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http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924012523464 


HISTORY 


OF 


Crawford   County,   Ohio 


AND 


Representative  Citizens 


BY 

JOHN  E.  HOPLEY 


"Study  History  for  it  is  Philosophy  Teaching  by  Example" 


PUBLISHED  BT 

RICHMOND-ARNOLD  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

P.  J.  Richmond,  Pres.;    C.  E.  Arnold,  Sec'y  and  Treas. 
CHICAGO,  ILL. 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE 


The  torch  shall  be  extinguish'd  which  hath  lit 
My  midnight  lamp,  and  what  is  writ,  is  writ — 
Would  it  were  worthier! 

— Byron. 

The  writing  of  this  history  has  been  the 
work  of  over  a  year  of  constant  research  and 
work,  and  the  idea  of  the  editor  has  been  to 
show  by  contrast  the  difference  between  the 
past  and  the  present.  The  latter  all  know,  and 
its  blessings  all  enjoy.  But  the  former,  with 
its  trials,  its  hardships,  and  its  struggles  bravely 
met,  manfully  born,  and  successfully  over- 
come should  make  the  thoughtful  reader  more 
content  with  the  conditions  of  today. 

In  finishing  the  work,  it  is  but  an  act  of 
justice  on  the  part  of  the  writer  to  express  his 
thanks  to  Hon.  Carl  C.  Anderson,  the  member 
of  Congress  from  this  district  for  the  valuable 
information  he  secured  from  the  old  records  at 
Washington;  to  Judge  Daniel  Babst  of  Crest- 
line and  Hon.  R.  W.  Johnson  of  Galion,  for 
much  valuable  information;  to  James  D.  Fer- 
ree  for  his  valuable  collection  of  historical 
data;  to  the  county  officials  of  Crawford  for 
their  imiform  courtesy  and  assistance  in  the 
search  of  all  records;  to  the  officials  of  Dela- 
ware, Huron,  Marion  and  Richland  for  similar 
favors.  In  the  preparation  of  the  work,  first 
credit  is  due  to  the  History  of  Crawford 
County  published  in  1880,  by  Baskin  and 
Beatty,  and  written  by  many  people,  but  the 
histories  of  Bucyrus  by  Thomas  P.  Hopley 
and  of  Galion  by  Dr.  J.  C.  Mcllvaine  were  most 
valuable.  The  old  files  of  the  Crawford 
County  Forum,with  its  pioneer  letters  of  James 
Nail,  James  Dunlap  and  others  and  of  the  Bu- 
cyrus Journal  with  the  letters  of  John  Moder- 
well,  Robert  Cowden  and  others  furnished  the 
substantial  early  history  of  the  county,  the 
Moderwell  letters  being  the  most  complete  of 
the  early  records  in  existence. 

The  following  are  the  more  important 
works  from  which  the  various  facts  were 
gleaned : 


Histories  of  the  United  States  by  Lossing 
and  Ellis. 

LaSalle's  Discoveries,  by  Parkman. 

Bouquet's  Expedition,  by  Parkman. 

Red-Men's  Roads,  by  Hurlbert. 

Col.  Smith's  Captivity,  1755-59. 

Crawford's  Campaign,  by  Butterfield. 

Narratives  of  Knight  and  Slover  of  the 
Crawford  Expedition,  published  in  1782. 

Ohio  in  1778,  by  James. 

Histories  of  Ohio  by  Atwater,  Taylor,  King, 
all  published  seventy  to  eighty  years  ago,  and 
the  modern  ones  of  Abbott,  and  Van  Tassell's 
Book  of  Ohio. 

Howe's  History  of  Ohio. 

The  Marion,  Richland  and  Wyandot  His- 
tories of  thirty  years  ago,  all  of  which  are  ex- 
cellent works,  similar  to  the  Crawford  County 
History  of  the  same  date;  the  modem  history 
of  Marion  county  by  Jacoby  and  of  Richland 
county  by  Baughman. 

The  history  of  Wayne  county  by  Douglass, 
Knapp's  History  of  the  Maumee  Valley,  and 
Brice's  History  of  Ft.  Wayne,  written  thirty 
years  ago. 

Files  of  the  Columbus  Gazette  from  1820 
to  1825,  copies  of  the  publications  of  the  Ohio 
Archaeological  Society  and  of  the  Ohio  Mag- 
azine. 

Reid's  Ohio  in  the  War,  Siebert's  Under- 
ground Roads,  the  Lives  of  James  Kilbourne 
of  Worthington  and  Judge  J.  T.  Anderson  of 
Marion. 

W.  A.  Taylor's  Annals  of  Progress;  the 
early  Gazetteers  of  Ohio. 

While  mistakes  may  have  been  made  in  this 
History  of  Crawford  County,  let  each  one  be 
overbalanced  more  than  a  hundred  times  by    * 
the  facts  which  are  correct. 

John  E.  Hopley. 
Bucyrus,  Ohio,  Oct.   i,  1912. 


PUBLISHERS'  PREFACE 


The  aim  of  the  publishers  of  this  volume 
and  of  the  author  of  the  history  has  been  to 
secure  for  the  historical  portion  thereof  full 
and  accurate  data  respecting  the  history  of  the 
county  from  the  time  of  its  early  settlement- 
and  to  condense  it  into  a  clear  and  interesting 
narrative.  All  topics  and  occurrences  have 
been  included  that  were  essential  to  this  sub- 
ject. 

The  reviews  of  resolute  and  strenuous  lives 
that  make  up  the  biographical  part  of  the 
volume  are  admirably  calculated  to  foster  local 
ties,  to  inculcate  patriotism  and  to  emphasize 
the  rewards  of  industry  dominated  by  intelli- 
gent purpose.  They  constitute  a  most  appro- 
priate medium  for  perpetuating  personal  an- 
nals and  will  be  of  incalculable  value  to  the 
descendants  of  those  commemorated.  These 
sketches  are  replete  with  stirring  incidents  and 
intense  experiences  and  are  flavored  with  a 
strong  human  interest  that  will  naturally  prove 
to  a  large  portion  of  the  readers  of  the  book 
one  of  its  most  attractive  features.  In  the 
aggregate  of  personal  memoirs  thus  collated 
will  be  found  a  vivid  epitome  of  the  growth  of 
Crawford  County,  which  will  fitly  supplement 
the  historical  statement,  for  its  development 
is  identical  with  that  of  the  men  and  women 


to  whom  it  is  attributable.  Sketches  unrevised 
by  subscribers  are  marked  by  a  small  asterisk 
(*)  placed  after  the  name  of  the  subscriber. 

The  publishers  have  avoided  slighting  any 
part  of  the  work,  and  to  the  best  of  their  abil- 
ity have  supplemented  the  editor's  labors  by 
exercising  care  over  the  minutest  details  of 
publication,  in  order  to  give  the  volume  the 
three- fold  value  of  a  readable  narrative,  a  use- 
ful work  of  reference  and  a  tasteful  ornament 
to  the  library. 

Special  prominence  has  been  given  to  the 
portraits  of  many  representative  citizens, 
which  appear  throughout  the  volume,  and  we 
believe  that  they  will  prove  not  its  least  inter- 
esting feature.  We  have  sought  in  this  de- 
partment to  illustrate  the  different  spheres  of 
industrial  and  professional  achievement  as 
conspicuously  as  possible. 

To  all  who  have  kindly  interested  them- 
selves in  the  preparation  of  this  work,  and 
who  have  voluntarily  contributed  most  use- 
ful information  and  data,  or  rendered  any 
other  assistance,  we  hereby  tender  our  grate- 
ful acknowledgements. 

The  Publishers. 

Chicago,  111.,  October,  1912. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 


Geological  History    21 

Formation  of  the  Earth,  Including  Crawford  County — The  Oldest  Known 
Inhabitant — Age  of  the  Earth — Thickness  of  the  Earth's  Crust — Age  of 
Crawford  County  from  a  Geological  Standpoint — The  Order  of  Creation 
— Geological  Strata  and  Sub-Strata — The  Glacial  Period — Ancient  Animal 
Life — Plant  Life — Pre-glacial  Man — Mastodonic  Remains  Found  at  Bucy- 
rus — Our  Early  "Settler^' — The  Mound  Builders. 

CHAPTER  II 

Discovery  of  America   29 

Landing  of  Columbus — Naming  of  America — Naddod,  the  Norwegian — Ice- 
land Visited  by  the  Irish — Early  Norse  Settlements  There — Expedition  of 
Lief  Erickson — Norse  Settlements  on  Baffin's  Bay,  1135 — Iceland  in  the 
i2th  Century — Visited  by  Columbus — The  Zeni  Brothers — Voyage  of 
Americus  Vespucius — Spanish  Settlements — The  New  World  Presented  to 
Spain — Expedition  of  Sebastian  Cabot — Ponce  de  Leon  Lands  in  Florida 
— Followed  by  DeSoto — Expedition  of  Cartier — D'Ayllon  and  Cortoreal 
Kidnap  Indians — Expedition  of  Verrazini — Possessions  of  Spain,  England 
and  France  in  Americor— Massacre  of  Protestant  Settlers  by  Menendes — 
Avenged  by  DeGourges — Sir  Richard  Grenville  Lands  on  Island  of  Roa- 
noke— His  Men  Killed  by  Indians — John  White  Reestablishes  Colony — 
The  First  English  Child  Born  in  What  is  now  the  United  States — The 
Jamestown  Settlement — Capt.  John  Smith — The  Dutch  Settle  New  York — 
Landing  of  the  Pilgrims — Penn  Settles  Pennsylvania — Other  Settlements 
— The  United  States  Obtains  Possession  of  Florida  and  Spanish  Settle- 
ments Beyond  the  Mississippi — Also  Territory  West  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains— The  Northern  Boundary  Settled — Colonial  Charters. 

CHAPTER  III 

Indian   Occupancy   37 

Character  of  the  Indians — Failure  of  Attempts  to  Enslave  Them — Their  Lack 
of  Written  Language — Their  History  Preserved  by  the  Missionaries — 
Their  Traditions — Legends  Concerning  a  Previous  Race — Division  of  the 
Country  Among  the  Tribes — The  "Five  Nations" — Conflict  with  the  French 


4  CONTENTS 

and  the  Hurons — Sell  Land  to  William  Penn — The  Franciscan  Friars — 
The  Jesuits — Treaties  of  the  Iroquois  with  the  Whites — Their  Wars  with 
Other  Tribes — The  Wyandottes  and  Ottawas — The  French  and  Indian 
Posts  at  Mackinac  and  Detroit — The  Foxes  Attack  Detroit — Are  Almost 
Exterminated — The  "Six  Nations" — The  Wyandots  and  Delawares  in  Ohio 
The  Shawanese — Indian  Raids  Into  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia — French 
Forts  in  Northwest  Territory- — The  French  and  Indian  War — Washing- 
ton Attacks  the  French — Braddock's  Defeat — Triumph  of  the  English — 
Pontiac's  Attempt — Ensign  Paully's  Capture  and  Escape — Murder  of  Pon- 
tiac — Gen.  Bradstreet's  Expedition — Battle  of  Point  Pleasant — Cornstalk 
— Simon  Girty — The  Revolution  and  Its  Results — The  English-Pay  Indians 
for  White  Scalps — Attack  on  Ft.  Henry — Bfavery  of  Elizabeth  Zane — Col. 
Crawford's  Defeat  and  Death — Treaty  of  Ft.  Mcintosh — Murder  of  Shor- 
tay-ya-ron-yah — Other  Treaties — Battle  of  Fallen  Timbers — Boundaries 
— War  of  1812 — Surrender  of  Gen.  Hull — Harrison's  Expedition — Attack 
on  Ft.  Meigs — Defense  of  Ft.  Stevenson — Perry's  Victory — Battle  of  the 
Thames  and  Death  of  Tecumseh — End  of  the  War.  ■ 

CHAPTER  IV 

Settlement  of  the  County   64 

Organization  of  Previous  Ownership — Indian  Reservations — Formation  of 
Wayne  County — Delaware  and  Knox  Counties  Formed — Richland  County 
Formed — Boundaries  of  Crawford  County  in  1820 — The  Wyandot  Reser- 
vation Purchased — Indian  Villages — Army  Routes — Early  Roads — The 
Sandusky  Plains — Passage  of.  Crooks^  Army — Ludlow's  Survey — Bad 
Lands — Abandoned  Cabins — The  "Old  Purchase" — The  Westward  Move- 
ment— Inhabitants  of  County  Prior  to  1815 — The  First  Land  Owner — The 
First  Permanent  Settler — A  Fatal  Accident — Early  Distilleries — Indian 
Treaty  of  181'j — Supplementary  Treaty — The  New  Land  Surveyed  and 
Settled — Where  the  Pioneers  Came  From — Log  Cabins  and  How  They 
Were  Built — A  ccidents — Furniture — Provisions — Baking — Water  Supply 
—  Log  Rolling  —  Clothing  —  Crops  and  Harvesting — Grist  Mills  —  Bee 
Hunting — Cranberries — Scarcity  of  Money — Prices  of  Various  Products — 
Blazed  Trails — Pioneer  Hospitality — Mails — The  Traveling  Minister — 
Early  Doctors  —  Pioneer  Pastimes  —  Funerals  —  Improvements  —  The 
County  Erected  and  Named — Population  in  1820 — List  of  Settlers. 

CHAPTER  V 

Organization  of  the  County  88 

First  Elections — Boundaries — First  Taxes — Early  Roads — Location  of  County 
Seat — Col.  Kilbourne's  Proposition — Settlement  of  Bucyrus — The  County 
Organized — The  Fight  on  Commissioners — Their  First  Proceedings — 
Readjustment  of  Township  Lines — Indian  Purchase,  1835 — The  Leiths — 
Justice  Garrett— Formatidn  of  the  County  in  1845  as  it  Now  Exists — ■ 
Township  Changes — New  Roads — The  Courts — Contest  for  County  Seat 
— Donations  of  Leading  Citizens — Erection  of  Court  House — Visit  of 


CONTENTS  5 

General  Harrison — The  County  Jail — Population  of  County  in  1830  and 
1850 — Construction  of  Railroads — New  Court  House — Improvements — 
Court  House  of  1856 — New  Jail — Care  of  the  Poor — The  County  In- 
firmary— Difficulties  of  Travel  in  Early  Days — The  Mails — Turnpikes  and 
Stage  Routes — Early  Stores — Population  by  Townships — Residents  in 
1826. 

CHAPTER  VI 

Political 118 

Early  Politics — Campaign  of  1840 — Harrison  at  Bucyrus — Campaign  Song — 
Exciting  Campaign  of  186^ — Minor  Parties — Constitutional  Conventions 
— Vote  of  the  County  Since  Its  Organization — The  County  in  State  Politics 
— Incidents  of  Early  Campaigns — Crawford  During  the  War — List  of 
Officials  Since  the  Organization  of  the  County. 

CHAPTER  VII 

Transportation  Facilities   143 

Indian  Trails  and  War  Routes— Swamps — Portages — Indian  Village  of  Sac- 
caium — Route  Followed  by  Gen.  Bradstreet — Capt.  James  Smith's  Travels 
— First  Road  in  Crawford  County — Geographical  Notes  by  Seth  Holmes 
and  James  Nail — Military  Roads — Blazed  Trails — Corduroy  Roads — The 
Sandusky  Pike — Work  of  Zalmon  Rowse  and  Other  Commissioners — 
5".  c&  C.  Turnpike  Co. — Rate  of  Toll — Transportation  of  Mail — Activity 
of  Col.  Kilbourne — The  Sandusky  Pike — Difficulties  of  Spring  Travel — 
Litigation — Stage  Lines — Cost  of  the  Old  Portland  Road — First  Attempt 
at  Improved  Roads — Railroads  of  the  County — Railroad  Excursion  to 
Bucyrus  in  1853 — The  "John  Bull"  Locomotive — Electric  Roads — Amount 
of  Trackage  in  Crawford  with  Values  by  Townships. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Auburn  Township    179 

Location  and  Topography  of  the  Township — Drainage — Creation  of  Auburn 
Township  and  First  Election — Early  Settlers — Justices — Forest  Adven- 
tures— Early  MUls — Churches  and  Schoolhouses — Waynesburg — North 
Auburn — Mechanicsburg — Tiro — DeKalb  Postoffice — A  Prohibition  Or- 
dinance— Mr.  Baker's  Enterprise — Cranberries — An  Indian  Burying 
Ground — The  Hanna  Graveyard — Other  Cemeteries. 

CHAPTER  IX 

BucYpus  Township   194 

Creation,  Location  and  Topography — Drainage — First  Settlers — Indian  Sugar 
Camp — Early  Mills — The  Nortons — Zalmon  Rowse — Colored  Pioneers 
— Organization  and  Election  in  1824 — Josiah  Scott — A  Township  Treas- 
urer's Responsibilities — Some  Early  Officials — Churches  and  Schools — «4 
Traveling  Schoolhouse — Miss  Monnett's  Donation — Early  Taverns — 
Farming  Operations  —  Indian  Trails  —  Roads  —  An  Ancient  Sword  — 
Cetneteries. 


6  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  X 

Chatfield  Township   212 

Erection  of  the  Township — Topography  and  Drainage — The  Cranberry  In- 
dustry— Pioneers  and  Early  Settlers — German  Immigration — Early  In- 
dustries^:—Rearing  Silkworms — Taverns — The  McKinley  Graves — Justices 
— North  Liberty  and  Its  Founder — RichvUle — Chatfield  P.  O.  Established 
— Postmasters — Grove  Hill  P-  0. — Schools  and  Churches — Cemeteries. 

CHAPTER  XI 

Cranberry  Township   224 

Location  and  Erection  of  the  Township — Topography  and  Drainage — Cran- 
berry Marsh — First  Settlers — Early  Industries — New  Washington — Kib- 
ler's  Tannery — Postmasters — Construction  of  Railroad — Justices — Educa- 
tion— Churches. 

CHAPTER  XII 

Dallas  Township   232 

Peculiar  Shape  of  the  Township — Dimensions — Fertility  of  the  Soil — Erection 
of  the  Township — Drainage — Stock  Raising — First  Settlers — Taverns  and 
Mills — Arrival  of  Johnston  Family — Enterprise  of  Mr.  Kerr — His  Dofta- 
tions — The  Monnetts — Roads  and  Stage  Lines — MUk  Sickness  and  Cholera 
Epidemics — Schools  and  Churches — Early  Marriages — Justices — The 
Bucyrus  and  Marion  Electric  Road. 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Holmes  Township  242 

Location,  Drainage  and  Topography — Burnt  Swamp — Limestone  Operations 
— Mysterious  Mounds — First  Settlers — First  Elections — Justices — Ger- 
man Immigration — An  Early  Tragedy — Joseph  Newell's  Town — Wingert's 
Corners — Conflict  Over  a  Name — Brokensword  Postmasters — Early  In- 
dustries— Saloons  and  Taverns — Interesting  Anecdotes — The  Under- 
ground Railroad — Schools  and  Churches — Sunday  Schools — Stone  Quar- 
ries— Spore  Post  Office. 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Jackson  Township  and  Crestline   253 

Jackson  Township — Its  Size  and  Location — Its  Origin — Topographical  Feat- 
ures— Productions— First  Settlers — An  Early  Tragedy — The  First  Road 
— Early  Schools  and  Teachers — Trading  Points  in  Early  Days — Taverns 
— Livingston  Laid  Out. 
Crestline — Growth  of  the  Town — Railroad  Interests-^First  Passenger  Train 
Through  Crestline — An  Early  Desription  of  the  Town — First  Merchants 
and  Prominent  Citizens — Destructive  Fires — An  Exciting  Bear  Story — 
Epidemic  of  Cholera^Manufacturing  Interests — City  Departments — 
Schools — Churches — Justices — Incorporation  of  Crestline  and  List  of 
Mayors — Water  Supply — Telephone  Service — Banks — Societies — Past 
Office  and  Postmasters. 


CONTENTS  7 

CHAPTER  XV 

Jefferson  Township  264 

Erection  of  the  Township — Indian  Trails — Roads — Wingemund's  CatHp — = 
Drainage  and  Topography — The  Windfall — First  Settlers — An  Early  Mar- 
riage— An  Early  Tragedy — Mills,  Taverns  and  Tanneries — Justices — Stone 
Quarries — The  Lees  and  Leesville — Graveyards — Schools  and  Churches. 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Liberty  Township   , ■  •  273 

Central  Location  of  the  Township — Drainage  and  Topography — First  Settlers 
— Mills — The  Blowers  Family — Other  Early  Settlers — Inter  eating  Anec- 
dotes— Fertility  of  the  Soil — Timber — Medicinal  Springs — Justices — 
Organizations  of  Township  and  First  Elections — Early  Treatment  of  the 
Poor — Binding  Out  Children — Deckertown  Laid  Out — Fuckertown  or 
Brandywine  Station — A  Manuscript  Newspaper — Teel  Toivn — Annapolis 
or  Surphur  Springs — Schools  and  Churches — Industries — S.  S.  Post- 
masters. 

CHAPTER  XVn 

Lykens  Township 290 

Boundaries  of  the  Township — Erection — Justices — First  Settlers — Drainage 
and  Soil — German  Immigration — Lost  in  the  Woods — Runaway  Slaves 
— Early  Mills — Stores — Lykens  Post  Office  and  Postmasters — Schools  and 
Churches — Lodges — Quarries. 

CHAPTER  XVni 

Polk  Township    299 

Origin  of  the  Township — Home  of  Wingemund — Military  Road — Indian  Pop- 
ulation— Johnny  Cake  and  His  Wife — Indian  Burying  Ground — An  Ab- 
ducted Child — Drainage  and  Soil — Organization  of  the  Township — First 
Election — Early  Settlers — The  Cranberry  Industry — A  Strange  Recogni- 
tion— Early  Names  of  Galion — Rev.  James  Dunlap's  Narrative— ^Early 
Mills,  Taverns  and  Distilleries — Churches  and  Schools — Cemeteries — 
Justices  of  the  Peace. 

CHAPTER  XIX 

Sandusky  Township  310 

Township  from  Which  All  Others  Were  Erected — The  Pioneers — The  Knisely 
Springs — First  Camp  Meeting  and  First  Sunday  School — "Governor"  Fer- 
guson Deals  Out  Justice  to  the  Indians — A  Woman  Missionary. 

CHAPTER  XX 

Texas  Township   . , 319 

Early  Settlers  With  Their  Mills  on  the  Sycamore — Benton  Incorporated  as  a 
Village  to  Comply  with  the  Law— Its  Early  Mayors — "Old  Pipes^'  Store 
Gives  its  Name  to  Fipetown — "Bishop"  Tuttle,  an  Influential  Citizen  and 
His  Hobbies — Postmasters  and  Justices  of  the  Peace. 


8  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXI 

Tod  Township    328 

The  Last  Land  in  the  County  Occupied  by  the  Indians — The  Township  Named 
Three  Times  and  Name  Wrong  Each  Time — Oceola  Laid  Out  with 
County  Seat  Expectations-^— Early  Settlers,  Churches  and  Schools — Rem- 
iniscences— A  Horse  Monument. 

CHAPTER  XXII 

Vernon  Township 338 

The  Township  Created — At  First  a  Wilderness — Its  Swampy  Character  in 
Early  Days — Wild  Game — Boundaries — Geohgic  Formation — Drainage 
— Indian  Occupation — First  Settlers — First  Deaths — Early  Mills — West 
Liberty — A  Temperance  Crusade  in  1838 — Postmasters — DeKalb — The 
DeKalb  Seminary — A  Row  Over  Postmaster — Decline  of  DeKalb — The 
Underground  Railroad — Oil  Speculation — Schools  and  Churches — Justices 
of  the  Peace. 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

Whetstone  Township   349 

Topography  of  the  Township — Survey  of  the  Township — Its  Erection — First 
Election — The  Soil — Early  Prevalence  of  Malaria — First  Settlers — Com- 
ing of  Zalmon  Rowse — Enterprise  of  James  Armstrong — First  Mills — 
Robbery  of  the  Albrights — Crawford's  March  Through  the  Township — 
An  Indian  Village — The  "Green  Sea" — Early  Roads — A  Peculiar  Mar- 
riage— The  First  Post  Office — Founding  of  New  Winchester,  Olentangy 
and  North  Robinson — The  Underground  Railroad — Postmasters — Early 
Mills — Justices  of  the  Peace — Schools  and  Churches — Graveyards. 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

BUCYRUS,    THE    COUNTY    SeAT 362 

Origin  of  the  Name  Bucyrus — Arrival  of  Samuel  Norton  and  Party — First 
White  Child  Born  in  Bucyrus — Expert  Spinners — Abundance  of  Game — 
Shortage  of  Bread — Slow  Milling — Arrival  of  Other  Settlers — Col.  Kil- 
bourne — Norton's  Agreement  with  Kilbourne — Survey  and  Platting  of 
Bucyrus — Naming  of  Streets — Sale  of  Lots — Bucyrus  in  1826 — Early 
Stores  and  Merchants — Prices  in  the  Early  Twenties — Fever  and  Ague — 
Mrs.  Lucy  Rogers'  Experience — Tanneries  and  Grist  Mills — The  Carys — 
Early  Industries — The  First  Tavern — Price  of  Whiskey — Mrs.  Rogers 
Thrashes  an  Indian — Selling  Liquor  to  the  Indians — Law  Aagainst  It — 
Adventure  of  a  Bibulous  Citizen — Bucyrus  Song. 

City  of  Galion    414 

First  House  in  Galion — Arrival  of  Asa  Hosford — His  Enterprise — The  Part 
Played  by  Col.  Kilbourne  in  Locating  Site  of  Galion — Various  Names  of 
the  Early  Settlement — Agreement  Between  Samuel  Brown  and  John  Ruhl 


CONTENTS 

— The  Two  Galions — First  Business  Industry — Post  Office  Established — 
Postmasters — Coming  of  the  Railroad  and  Subsequent  Prosperity — Visit 
of  Kossuth — The  Part  Played  by  German  Settlers  in  Galion's  Upbuilding 
— John  Kraft — Population — Incorporation  as  a  City — Public  Buildings — 
Opera  House — First  Theatrical  Entertainment — Religious  Development — 
Schools — Societies — Graveyards  and  Cemeteries — Fire  Department — 
Lighting  System — Streets  and  Sewers — Banks — Buildings  and  Loan  Asso- 
ciations— Hotels — Public  Library — Police  Department — Telephone  Serv- 
ice— Honor  to  Galion's  Founders. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

I 

Manufactures  437 

Introductory — Manufacturing  Enterprises  of  Bucyrus,  Galion,  Crestline  and 
New  Washington — The  Crawford  County  Nursery. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

The  Press  453 

The  Modern  Newspaper — Scarcity  of  Newspapers  in  Early  Part  of  ipth 

Century — The  Newspaper  of  Today  the  Reflection  of  Contemporary  Life  f^ 

and  History — The  Rural  Press — Character  of  Crawford  County's  News- 
papers— Early  Specimens — Lack  of  Local  News  in  Early  Newspapers — 
The  Scissors  Succeeded  by  the  Stereotype  Plate — The  First  Printing  Press 
in  Crawford  County — The  County's  First  Newspaper— ^-Newspapers  of 
Crawford  County  Past  and  Present  and  Their  Editors — Interesting  Anec- 
dotes. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

Military  History  of  the  County   469 

The  Revolutionary  War — Two  Battlefields  in  Crawford  County — Revolution- 
ary Soldiers  Who  Live  in  Crawford  County — Ancestral  Data — The  War 
of  1812-15 — The  Mexican  War — The  Great  Civil  War — Regiment  His- 
tories— Decoration  Day — The  G.  A.  R. — Relief  Corps — The  Oldest  Sol- 
dier-'—Crawford  County  Heroes — Southern  Prisons — Tribute  to  Sergeant 
D.  W.  Young — The  War  With  Spain — Record  of  Company  A,  8th  Regi- 
ment, 0.  V.I. 

CHAPTER  XXIX 

Bench  and  Bar   5x5 

The  Ordinance  of  1787 — Formation  of  the  Courts — President  and  Associate 
Judges — Justices  of  the  Peace — Lawyers  of  Crawford  County — Interest- 
ing Cases. 


10  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXX 

Medical  531 

The  Pioneer  Doctor— Empirical  Treatment  in  Early  Days — The  "Regular" 
Treatment  Often  Ineffectual — Various  "isms" — Credulity  of  the  Laity — 
Hardships  Endured  by  the  Pioneer  Doctors — Fever  and  Ague — Physi- 
cians of  Bucyrus,  Galion,  Crestline  and  Other  Towns  in  Crawford  County 
Past  and  Present. 

CHAPTER  XXXI 

The  Underground  Railroad    539 

Provisions  of  the  Ordinance  of  ifSj  in  Regard  to  Slavery — Popular  Feeling 
in  the  North — The  Fugitive  Slave  Act — The  Underground  Railroad — 
Escape  of  Slaves  Through  Crawford  County — Penalties — Interesting 
Anecdotes — Underground  Stations — How  the  Aspect  of  the  Civil  War 
Might  Have  Been  Changed. 

CHAPTER  XXXII 

Miscellaneous 547 

Dead  Man's  Hollow — Ancient  Land  Marks — Hidden  Treasures — The  Bucy- 
rus Mastodon — Johnny  Appleseed — The  Bad  Indian— Population  Statis- 
tics—The Hermits — Agricultural  Fairs — The  Canal  Crawford  County 
Did  Not  Get — The  Cholera — Early  Valuation  and  Expenses — Early  Mar- 
riage Licenses — The  Name  of  Bucyrus. 

Biographical  Sketches 571 


SCNCC4  CO, 


*^"'-      ^^'        fr-        ■''''       "^^ 


HURON       CO. 

R2IIV  R2nW. 


MORROW       CO 


MARION        CO 

MAP  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY,  0.,  1912 


INDEX 


Abger,  David  F.,  M.  D 1018 

Ackerman,  G.  F 869 

Adams,    Eli 394,    330 

Adams,    Franklin     673 

Ahlefeld,    C.    H 578 

Albrecht,    Christopher     * 1008 

Albright,  Daniel    1309 

Albright,   George   W 1309 

Albright,   Isaac    - 776 

Albright,  John  353 

Albright,    Joseph    1309 

Alt,  J.  B 949 

AltaflFer,   George    F 1115 

Anderson,    David    341 

Anderson,  Francis    M 1094 

Angell,   James  L 1135 

Angene,    Horace     1065 

Armstrong,  James    353 

Arnold,  A.  A 1082 

Arnold,  Charles     733 

Arnold,  W.  E.,  D.  D.  S 753 

Assenheimer,  E.  C 1049 

Assenheimer,  Frederic    C 793 

Assenheimer,  Lewis  H 790 

Auck,  John  C 740 

Auck,  MicTiael   1138 

Auck,  Samuel    E 1106 

Auck,  William  H 1138 

Aumend,  Adam   70 

Aumiller,  Daniel    690 

Aumiller,  Emanuel     745 

Aumiller,  Miss  Julia    690 

Aurand,    George    937 

Aurand,   Robert   M 731 

Aurand,  Kufus     802 

Babst,    Carl    M "99 

Babst,  Hon.    Daniel     571 

Babst,   Jacob    1^03 

Baer,   Amos    1020 

Baer,   Peter    833 

Bagley,  Erwin   S • 1300 


Bair,  Adam    377 

Bair,  Michael  D 748 

Bair,  Samuel   M 805 

Baker,  Curtis  J 1043 

Baker,  Ephraim    H 1165 

Baker,  Samuel    853 

Barney,    John    G 1166 

Barth,  Henry  A. 670 

Bash   Family,   The 350 

Bash,  Peter  L 809 

Batchelder,    David    1079 

Battef eld,  Hon.  Lewis  H 706 

Bauer,    George   J 1070 

Bauer,  Peter    1015 

Bauer,  William  D 1195 

Beach,  Frederick   875 

Beach,  George     784 

Beach,  Levi     773 

Beadle,  David    198 

Beadle,  Mishael    ". 198 

Beal,  Edwin  G 1048 

Beal,  Rev.  Isaac   '. 620 

Beal,  Simeon  G '. 793 

Beal,  Wesley    914 

Beall,   Arthur    J 589 

Bear,  Jacob  J 339 

Beard,   George    856 

Beaston,    Albert    L 838 

Bechstein,  Mrs.  Minnie  C 1073 

Bechstein,  William  C 1073 

Bechtol,  Charles  W 1340 

Beck,  George  H 1331 

Beck,  Otterbein  P 690 

Beck,  William    M 1110 

Beer,   Hon.   Thomas .  .  .  .  ■ 651 

Beer,   William   C 585 

Beilharz,  Charles  A , , .   666 

Beltz,  John  C 1158 

Beltz,  William   M ,  .1119 

Bender,  William    ,   663i 

Berry,  Frederick  K , 1133 

Bessinger,   William   H , .  1122 


11 


12 


INDEX 


Biebigbauser,  Henry    1031 

Bigelo-w,  Major  J.  Charles 1248 

Bilsing,    William    A 866 

Birk,  Christian  F 576 

Birk,  George  M.,  Ph.  D 636 

Birk,  John  W.,  M.  D 676 

Bishop,   Jacob   K 1060 

Bittikoffer,  J.  A 819 

Blair,  Herbert   S 622 

Bland,  Jerome,  M.  D 930 

Bleily,    Ferdinand    1103 

Bleily,  WUliam  A 1103 

Blicke,  William  A 603 

Bliss,  Julius  J 590 

Block,  W.  F.  L 1117 

Blowers,  John  0 375,  285 

Blowers,  William    276 

Blum,    F.    X.     976 

Blum,  Joseph  A 872 

Bodley,  Harry  L 1106 

Boehm,  Peter  989 

Boehm,  Peter   957 

Boeman,  John  J 381 

Bollerer,  Jacob    1079 

Bonebrake,   Charles    F 928 

Boner,   James    225 

Bormuth,  Henry  E 1149 

Bowers,   Frederick   G '.  .1102 

Boyd,  D.  C. 1021 

Boyer,  John  352 

Bracher,  Julius   968 

Braddock,  Gen 42 

Bradstreet,  Gen 43 

Braschler,   Eev.   Charles 597 

Brause,  George  A 1213 

Brause,  Gottfried   292 

Brause,  Willis  H.   1182 

Brehman,  E.  J 1010 

Brickley,  D.  W.,  M.  D 642 

Briggs,  Albert  L 588 

Brinkman,  Edward  F 1214 

Brinkman,  Jesse    E 1214 

Brinkman,  William    F. 1214 

Brinkman,  Family,  The 1214 

Bronkar,   Jerome   M. 1142 

Brough,  John   126 

Brown,    Jesse    G 1104 

Brown,  John    H. 1102 

Brown,  Rt.  Rev.  William  M.,  D.  D 1148 

Bryan,   Edelbert   A 1187 

Bryant,   Charles    P 635 

Buck,    WUliam    W 1054 

Bucklin,  Albigence    196 

Burghbacher,  Johannes   214 

Burgbacher,    William    1190 

Burger,  George    1127 

Burgert,   Thomas   B 1013 


Burkhart,    Sanford  W. 765 

Burnison,  John  S 649 

Burns,   Charles 315 

Burnison,    Samuel    249 

Byers,   George    70,  339 

Cahill,   D.    C 712 

Cahill,  John    C. 870 

Cairns,  Frank.  M 1107 

Cake,    Johnny    300 

Caldwell,  Hugh 1135 

Caldwell,  Samuel    S 101 

Campbell,  John   352 

Campbell,  John  B 1224 

Campbell,  Victor    D 1091 

Candel,  Harvey 1088 

Carpenter,   George    T 1196 

Carson,   T.   B 757 

Gary,  Lewis   375 

Casey,   Forest    740 

Casey,  James  E 1184 

Cassel,   David  .  H 1058 

Chadwick,  Ira  B 724 

Chesney,  John  A.,  M.  D 1222 

Chilcote,  Joshua   225 

Christee,    Urias     ggg 

Christie,    David 831 

Clements,  James  99 

Clutter,  Thomas  H.  B.,  M.  D 1068 

Clymer,  John  R .' .  127 

Cobb,   Carl  E 921 

Cole,  Daniel  182,  183 

Cole,  William    69,    183 

Colter,  Jacob   685 

Cook,  Francis  E 753 

Cook,  Isaac    781 

Cook,  John  L 795 

Cook,  Wesley    S 677 

Cook,  William   1115 

Coon,  Adam  and  John 321 

Cory  Family,  The 225 

Coughlin,   Thomas    126 

Coulter,  Edward  E 760 

Coulter,  James  W.   973 

Couts,  Benjamin  F. 762 

Couts,   Henry    275 

Cox,  Homer    1081 

Coyer,    PhUlip    W. 959 

Coykendall,  Jacob  69,  181 

Coyle,  C.  C 993 

Crall,    Earl    W 709 

Crall,  Oliver  K 758 

Cramer,    Philip    917 

Craner,   John   C. 702 

Crawford,    Allen    A 1083 

Crawford,  Col.  William 47,  50,  55 

Griddle,  A.  R. 1031 


INDEX 


13 


Crider,  James  0 827 

Crim,  Christian   S 927 

Crissinger,    Charles    J 645 

Crissinger,  Emanuel  C 905 

Crissinger,  Elias    , .  . .  897 

Cristee,  Urias 868 

Crosby,    William     126 

Crowe,  William  F 868 

Crum,   Mrs.    Frances 908 

Cummins,    David    183 

Cunningham,  William   E 1163 

Davis,   Capt.  William  R 997 

Day,    Jacob    L 578 

DeardorfF,   Emanuel    376 

Decker,  James   1150 

Decker,  John  B 1160 

Deerwester,  C.  P 1107 

Deerwester,  W.   S 790 

Deisler,   Edwin    , 1197 

Do  Lashmutt,  John  S 610 

Dennig,  Christopher  W 1236 

Dennig,   William   J. 1239 

Denzer,  Andrew  W. 983 

Denzer,   Jacob   A. 1033 

Denzer,    Simon    J 796 

De   Eoche,   A.  A 614 

Derr    Bros.    &    Co 1138 

Derr,  Prank  -. 1138 

Derr,   J.  W 1138 

Dice,    Mrs.    Sarah    A 659 

Diebler,    John    L 725 

Dick,  Franklin  P 936 

Dietrich,   George    J 1045 

Dinsmore    Family,    The    651 

Ditty,    Tira    E 861 

Ditty,  William     1067 

Dobbins,   Hugh  M 989 

Dobbins,  Hugh    O 989 

Doll,  HoUister  F 1180 

Donnenwirth,  Adam   993 

Donnenwirth,   A.    F 1143 

Donnenwirth,  George     990 

Donnenwirth,  George  F 623 

Dostal,    George   A 683 

Dostal,  John  M 683 

Dowd,  Ebenezer   377,  379 

Drolesbaugh,  T.  M 648 

Drumm,  Peter   1172 

Dunlap,  Eev.  James    306 

Dumwald,   Martin 1240 

Dutter,   H.    0 669 

Dye,  Henry  C 1235 

Eakin,    Frank    M 712 

Eckert,    John    E 1131 

Eckstein,  George  P 1071 


Eckstein,    Henry    E 1072 

Eckstein,  John  F 771 

Eckstein,    Peter    1071 

Edelstein,  Anchel   597 

Edler,  Charles    1044 

Eichelberger,  David  B 638 

English,   John    982 

Ensminger,    Albert    M 766 

Errett,    Jeremiah    1098 

EtSinger,    Charles    F 1188 

Exley,  John   W 898 

Faile,   John    1033 

Failor,  Andrew    378 

Farmers  Exchange  Bank,  New  Washington 1212 

Faulkner,  John  E 845 

Fauser,   John   J 773 

Feiring,  Otto   752 

Fenner,  Amandus    880 

Fenner,    Foster    734 

Fenner,   George   W. 734 

Ferguson,   James    292 

Ferrall,  William  L 728 

Ferree,    James    D 1215 

Field,   Cyre    r 1336 

Fike,    C.    F 1042 

Fischer,    John    F 714 

Fisher,   Anthony 1032 

Fisher,   Col.   Cyrus  W 592 

Fisher,    Jacob 71 

Fitzsimmons,  Dr.  James  F. 700 

Flaharty,    Adorham    J 613 

Flickinger,   Alvin    G 576 

Flickinger,    C.    H 611 

Flickinger,   Herschel   V 881 

Flickinger,  Samuel    ". 250 

Flocken,    Michael    614 

Foster,  Caleb  B 875 

Foster,  Francis    M 1088 

Foster,    George   E 1003 

Foster,  Ira  G 1088 

Foster,  Eobert    376 

Foy,  Jacob    291 

Fralick  Family,  The 250 

Frank,    C.    P 999 

Franz,  John  106 

Franz,  Col.  John 7O8 

Frazee,  Andrew  1019 

Freer,  James    116I 

Freese,   Egbert  M 1143 

French,  Alva   684 

French,  John  B 312 

French,  John  W. 981 

French,  S.   L 681 

Fry,  Elmer  J nsg 

Fry,  Eugene    E me 

Fuhrman,  Philip   608 


14 


INDEX 


Fulton,   Cochrane    126 

Fulton,  Perry  C 667 

Gaibler,  David  C 676 

Gallinger,  Charles  1310 

Gamble,   James    W 750 

Gangluff,   Mrs.   Catherine 933 

Gangluff,  Henry     933 

Ganshorn,  Jefferson    1130 

Garriguea,  W.  H 871 

Garton,   Harris    377 

Gebhardt,  John    747 

Geer,   William   J 1002 

Geiger,  Charles  E 637 

Geiger,  Henry     393 

Geiger,  Jacob     856 

Geissman,    John    B 868 

Geissman,  William    H 1163 

Gelsanliter,  J.   E 644 

George,    Alfred    C 848 

Gerstenslager,   John   P ,  . .  . .   733' 

Gibson,   Andrew  H 1038 

Gibson,  John  E 816 

Gibson,  Mervin    J 630 

Gill,  Bloomer  B 893 

Gill,  James  W 892 

Girty,  Simon 43,  44,  57 

Gordon,  John    896 

Gorman,  Daniel  E 781 

Gormly,   James   B 1049 

Gottfried,  Jacob    1123 

Grafmiller,    Mrs.    Phebe 1007 

Graham,  David    824 

Grau,  John   913 

Grauer,   G.   W 918 

Green,    Frank    R 1181 

Green,  Howard  M 904 

Green,  James    H 952 

Green,   William    69,   180 

Greenick,    Clarence    E 655 

Griffeth,  Wilbur    1206 

Grisell,  Thomas  J 574 

Gugler,  Carl  J 1101 

Gugler,  J.    Lew 713 

Guinther,    Jacob    F 932 

Guinther,  Samuel   W 770 

GuisB,    Charles    A 664 

Gundrum,    William     876 

Gwinner,    William    G 773 

Hadley,    E.    W. 1086 

Hageman,   Henry    1069 

Haley,  John   793 

Hall,  Joseph 292 

Haman,  Frank  B 857 

Hanna,  James  M 1025 

Harer,  J.  0 1173 


Harman,    Sherman   R 685 

Harper,    James 90 

Harris,    George    W •. 934 

Harrison,  Gen.  William  H 60,  98,  131 

Harrop,    James    B 843 

Harter,   Fred   F 638 

Harter,  John  H 881 

Hartle,  E.  G 1101 

Harvey,    Elmer   E 833 

Harvey,  Ulysses  G 836 

Hassler,  M.  F 1133 

Hawks,  Seth 183 

Haworth,  Albert   1011 

Hazlett,  John  L 1306 

Heck,    Ferdinand    650 

Heer,  Henry   M 1093 

Heffelfinger,  Benjamin   1056 

Heibertshausen,    William    1337 

Heinla,  Edward  C 754 

Heinle,   J.   L ^ . . , 601 

Heinle,  Joseph  913 

Heinlen,    Emanuel    728 

Heinlen,    E.    E 764 

Heinlen,   James   E 975 

Heinlen,  John   J 1020 

Heinlen,   L.   Frank 734 

Heinlen,  Samuel    r 1096 

Heinlen,  Simon    M 946 

Hemminger,  Mary  M 249 

Henkel,   Carl  H 780 

Henkel,  Charles    919 

Henry,   John    319 

Herbold,  John  G 1251 

Herbold,  Philip    971 

Herr,  Peter  F 1192 

Hershner,   Charles   M 1205 

Hershner,  Henry   271 

Hess,   Charles    1034 

Hess,  Henry    ? .  . .  1034 

Hetich,  Paul  1 357 

Heydinger,  Charles   986 

Heydinger,  Frank     951 

Heydinger,  Mrs.    Margaret 95] 

Hibner,  John    303 

Hieber,  Frederick  W 574 

Hieber,  Jacob     635 

Hieber,  John    G 923 

Hieber,  Mrs.  Lizzie 932 

High,    Adam     227 

High,    Adam    F 963 

High,  J.  J 977 

High,  William  A 609 

Hilborn,  Isaac    314 

Hilborn,    T.    E 1002 

Hildebrand,  Curtis  E 776 

Hildebrand,  C.  E 536 

Hildebrand,  Jacob     909 


INDEX 


15 


Hillis,  Davis  W 633 

Hills,  Pearl  J 1001 

Hipp,  Christian 214 

Hipp,  Hon.  Frederick 604 

Hipp,   J.    George 746 

Hoeriger,    Frank    J 758 

Hof stetter.  Miss  Louise 814 

Holcker,  Charles   1084 

Holcker,  Herman     1062 

Holcker,   Jacob    1084 

Holcker,   Louis    1084 

Holcker,    Richard    1063 

Holt,   Sidney    296 

Holtzhouse,  Jay   L 785 

Hoot,   Daniel    W 985 

Hoover,    Burdett    K 834 

Hoover,  Christian    234 

Hoover,    Charles    F 633 

Hoover,  Christian     796 

Hoover,  George    M 1181 

Hoover,  George   W.    656 

Hoover,   Lincoln    932 

Hoover,  William    F 817 

Hopley,  Frank  L 1195 

Hopley,  James    E 686 

Hopley,  John    627 

Hopley,  John   E 948 

Hopple,  Jeremiah    895 

Howe,  Aaron  B 70 

Hubbert,    Philip 355 

Hubbell,    Walter    M 611 

Hubley,  J.  Foster   655 

Hulse  Brothers    70 

Hunsicker,    Henry    W 1085 

Hurr,  Isaac  W 613 

Jackson,  Gen.  Andrevr 63 

Jacobs,  August    293 

Jcnner,  George  L 1109 

Johnson,   Disberry    72,   303 

Johnson,  Emanuel     919 

Johnson,  J.    E 641 

Johnson,  Prof.  Thomas  N 1248 

Johnston,  Henry  D.  E 945 

Johnston,  Eobert  W 964 

Johnston,  Thos.  F 235,  378 

-Jones,  William 1118 

Juilliard,   Jean    N 607 

Jump,    Charles    N 801 

Jump,  W.   J 690 

Kalb,  William    214 

Kaple,   Andrew    969 

Kavanagh,    Edward    696 

Kearsley,  Major  Edmund  R 699 

Keckler,  Josiah  H.  G 978 

Keel,   William   H 575 


Kehrer,  Frank  B 1074 

Kehrer,  Henry  A 782 

Keifer,  Peter  H 1080 

Keller,  Amos   F 1103 

Keller,    0.   J 914 

Kemp,    F.   L 1043 

Kemp,  Victor  L 639 

Kennedy,  Otho  W. 595 

Kennedy,  Thomas  S '■ 1065 

Kepler,   Flavins   S 833 

Kern,  John  F 1220 

Kerr,  Alexander  M 707 

Kerr,  John    736 

Kerr,  Robert     236 

Keyes,  Rev.  Francis  J 1124 

Kibler,    A.    G .1352 

Kibler,  Matthias   228 

Kibler,  S.  J 580 

Kichline,  George  H 968 

Kieffer,   Louis    988 

Kiess,  Joseph  F 733 

Kiess,    J.    H 899 

Kiess,    Sidney    E 808 

Kiess,  Simon 721 

Kiess,  Verne  E 1233 

Kiess,  William    C 692 

Kiess,  Winfield    S 720 

Kilbourne,  Col.  Jas 90,  97,  366 

Kile,  Eli    803 

Kimble,  Willis  P 1037 

Kimmerline,   F.  A 1138 

Kimerline,  Jonathan   F 1022 

King,  Joseph    ' 1152 

Kinsey,  A.  H 1097 

Kinsey,  Henry  A 1035 

Kitteridge,    John     303 

Klein,   G.    M 1038 

Kleinknecht,  Jacob   K 769 

Klopp,  Charles  E 1145 

Knapp,  Jacob  nag 

Knapp,   John   R 136 

Knell,   William    738 

Knisely,   Joseph    , 896 

Knisely,  Samuel    73 

Knoble,   Lewis   L.,   V.   S 1151 

Kopp,  Frederick  L 1219 

Krauter,  John  W 924 

Krauter,  William    785 

Kreim,  Frank  J 10O6 

Kreim,    Joseph    1029 

Kreiter,    Daniel     1104 

Krohn,   Henry    S 835 

Kuehnle,  Frederick   343 

Kuhn,   George  M 779 

Kunnert,  Rev.  John  P 96I 

Kurrley,    Henry    R 907 

Kurtz,   Isaac    735 


16 


INDEX 


Kurtz,   John   J 703 

Kurtz,    Samuel    891 

Kurtz,   Samuel    1234 

Kurtz,  Simeon  6 751 

Lahman,  William    978 

Laird,   Robert    686 

Lake,   Charles    727 

Lamb,  Frank  E 1001 

Lanius,  Charles  H 851 

La  Rue,  Frank    1090 

La    Rue,    Harry    6 615 

Lash,  G.  Franklin " 891 

Lashmutt,  John  S.  De 610 

Lauck,  Benjamin  F 1086 

Lauck,  George    377,   381. 

Lauer,  William    1121 

Laughbaum,    A.    H ^ 955 

Laughbaum,  Isaac    A 784 

Lauthers,  John  A 866 

Layer,   George  F 918 

Lea,  H.  A 929 

Lederer,  A.  G 970 

Lederer,  Jacob    985 

Lee,  Rev.  Robert   269 

Leith,  Geo.  W 94,  329 

Leith,  John  and  Samuel 94 

Leitzy,  Joseph   848 

Leitzy,  John    M 666 

Lemert,  Lewis   338 

Lemert,  Col.   Wilson   0. 1179 

Leonhart,   George    214 

Leonhart,  William   A 1183 

Lepp,   Henry    1019 

Leuthold,   Alfred 650 

Leuthold,  Godfrey    656 

Leveridge,   Benjamin    303 

Lewis,  A.  W 1239 

Lewis,  Milton    R 737 

Libins,  Edward 1305 

Lichty,  G.  Raymond   833 

Light,  John  H 595 

Lingenfelter,  Claude  A.,  M.  D 870 

Link,  Adam    278 

Linn,  L.  J 947 

Linn,  Orra  H 578 

Lisse,  Hugh    774 

Long,  Michael    972 

Longstreth,  Thomas  W 984 

Loomis,  John  W 668 

Lones,  Joseph   243,  251 

Lonsway,  Raphael  M ''21 

Lott,  Harry  E 889 

Loudon,  A.  A • 1009 

Lowe,  Austin  F 1036 

Lowmiller,  William  H 723 


Loyer,  A.  E.,  M.  D 602 

Lucus,  John   315 

Ludlow,  Maxwell 68 

Ludwig,  Clark  T 601 

Luke,   John    315 

Luscombe,  John  T 695 

Lust,   Abraham   J 596 

Lust,  David,  V.  S.  . : 837 

Lust,  Jacob    853 

Lust,  John    994 

Lutz,  Gottlelb    214 

Lutz,  T.  John    847 

McCallister,  Belman  7H 

McCarrell,  James  S.,  D.  D.  S 851 

McCarron,  John  W 643 

McCarthy,    William 1191 

McClain,  Marcus  H 1113 

McClellan,  John   M 1146 

McClenathan,  William  A 1196 

McCracken,   Chas.   W. 136 

McCracken,  Hugh,  James  and  John 377 

McCracken,  James    600 

McClure,  Thomas    275 

McDougal,  Victor   718 

MoFarland,  Forest  R 678 

McFarquhar,  Hugh   639 

McGaughy,  F.  C,  D.  D.  S 675 

McHenry,  William  M 857 

McJunkin,  Harry  M 1120 

McKinley,   James    316 

McMichael,  Daniel    198 

MoMichael,   John    612 

McMichael,  Leroy   1041 

McNeal,    Dennis   A 890 

McNeal,   Joshua    890 

McWherter,  William  H 1080 

Mackey,  David    1167 

Mackey,  Harry    791 

Mader,    William    F 633 

Magee,  James    314 

MaGee,  William    714 

Malcolm,  Gilbert  F 815 

Mann,  Charles  A 936 

Maple,   Aaron    1156 

Marquart,  August    1066 

Marquart,  George  M 939 

Marquart,  Jefferson    959 

Marquis,  William  V 300 

Martin,    George    F. 983 

Martin,  Harry  J 584' 

Martin,  James  J.,  M.  D 579 

Martinitz,  John   830 

Mason,   John    235 

Mason,  William     691 

Matthew,  Charles  F 853 

Maxfield,   John 275 


INDEX 


17 


Mayer,  George  C 636 

Meek,  Benjamin    587 

Meek,   John    A 847 

Messner,  John    789 

Meuser,  John   665 

Meyer,    John    C. i 805 

Michener,   Carey  A 1076 

Millard,   Rev.   Thomas    184 

Miller,    Carl    C 1147 

Miller,  Charles    H 1075 

Miller,  Charles    E 706 

Miller,  Daniel     305 

Miller,  Edward    951 

Miller,  Hon.  Frank 1067 

Miller,  George   W 1076 

Miller,  Herman  F 633 

Miller,  Miss   Inez    907 

Miller,  Isaac     331 

Miller,-  Jacob    321 

Miller,  James     844 

Miller,  James    W 1046 

Miller,  Hon.  J.  R 931 

Miller,  Lewis     932 

Miller,  Miss  Louise    773 

Miller,  Mrs.   Samuel    863 

Miller,  Stansbury   L 761 

Milliken,   John   I....y 836 

Milliron,  William  E 1105 

Mitchell,  William  B 1136 

Moderwell,  John    , 377,   383 

Moe,  Albe   1050 

MoUenkopf,    L.   F 972 

Monnett,  Abraham   237 

Monnett,  Abraham   942 

Monnett,  Abram  C 867 

Monnett,   Ephraim   B 1171 

Monnett  Family,  The   201 

Monnett,  Jeremiah   237 

Monnett,  Rev.  Thomas  J 909 

Monnette,  Isaiah  S 1124 

Monroe,  A.  W. 994 

Monroe,  Charles   F 1023 

Moorhead,  Alem    1175 

Morgan,  Chalmer  D.,  M.  D 1198 

Morkel,    John    P 1061 

Morckel,    Tobias 1095 

Morehead,  Jedediah    ■ 69' 

Morrow,  James  L 1157 

Morse,  Rodolphus 70,  181,  184,  189 

Motsch,  Joseph    1119 

Murphy,  John   S 664 

Musgrave,   R.   W 278 

Mutchler,  William  1 906 

Muth,   Willis   E 1133 

Myers,  George    225,  227 

Nagel,   L.   H •■■••   876 


Nail,  James   73,  303,  304,  373 

Nedolast,  George  950 

Nedolast,  Mrs.  Thomas  ■  ■  1016 

Neff,  Aaron    938 

Neflf,  Adam  1108 

Neflf,  Emanuel    900 

Neflf,  Frank  A 1093 

Ness,   George  F 1092 

Neumann,   George   W 671 

Neuman,  Jacob    J 783 

Neumann,    Peter    T 819 

Newell,  Joseph    245 

Newkirk,  Arthur  C 1150 

Nickels,   George   W 1073 

Niedermeier,    Joseph    1026 

Niman,    Jeremiah 786 

Noblit,   John   A.. 780 

Noggle,  Walter  L.. 1151 

Norton,  Fernando  J 823 

Norton,  Samuel 90,  97,   195i  374,  397 

Nungesser,  Christian  A 1030 

Nungesser,  Melanchthon  G 798 

Nungesser,  Frank         1134 

Nungesser,   Samuel   W 1168 

Oberlander,  H.  N 837 

Otto,  Carl  L 1110 

Ocker,  Allen  W. 922 

Oder,    Charles    1082 

Parcher,  John    855 

Parcher,  Samuel    . .    ....'. 353 

Patterson,   Jesse   J. 1123 

Paul,   Doddridge    331 

Paully,   Ensign    43 

Paxton,  Harry  A , 810 

Peppard,  D.  M 1047 

Perky,  Christopher 293 

Perrott,    Ralph    0 646 

Perry,   Commodore 63 

Peterman,    William    L 599 

Pettigon,   John    69 

Petri,    Jacob    H 960 

Retry,  David 863 

Pfahler,    Jefferson     1252 

Pfahler,  John  C 974 

Pfouts,   John  D 631 

Phelps,    Frederick   J 818 

Phillips,  A.  N 879 

Phillips,    Henry     876 

Picking,   Samuel    381 

Pickering,  Lewis  D 923 

Pif her,  Joseph    1045 

Pigman,  Frank    633 

Place,    Burt    B 1056 

Poister,   Henry    ggg 

Pool,   Hon.    P.   W 1233 


18 


INDEX 


Porter,   David 246,  249 

Porter,  Howard  B 1199 

Pounder,    Harry    A 1168 

Poundstone,  Jacob    382 

Powers,    Volney     237 

Pratt,   William   H 238 

Piiehta,    John    A 972 

Piigh,    John    220 

Pugh,    Moses     939 

Pugh,    Senate    A 946 

Quaintance,  Ira  E 1238 

Quaintance,    Jesse     379 

Quaintance,  John    221 

Quig,  John  A 1017 

Quilter,   Frank  J 759 

Reid,  Edward  G 703 

Reid,  William  M 703 

Reiff,    Charles   G.    F 643 

Reiff,    J.    C 608 

Reisinger,   Louis  K 1127 

Reiter,  Lewis   726 

Renseh,    Albert •. 912 

Resch,   William   T 963 

Rexroth,  Henry  P 683 

Rexroth,  John  N 883 

Rhoads,   Porter   F 1083 

Richards,    James     339 

Rieksecker,  Michael  A 658 

Ridgely,  Westell 71,  266,  268,  269 

Roberts,    Charles   W. 1174 

Roberts,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  Sr 834 

Roberts,  John    1173 

Roberts,  Joseph  W 1174 

Robinson,  J.  Bert 913 

Robinson,  William     269 

Roche,  A.  A.  De  614 

Roehr,  Charles   1320 

Rogers,  Mrs.  Lucy    374 

Rondy,  John  W 1091 

Rooks,   Levi   L 1245 

Roop,  H.  J 889 

Rorick,   Samuel    583 

Rosencrans,    John 238 

Ross,    George     619 

Ross,  Jacob    F 1053 

Ross,  John    W 1137 

Ross,   Philip 616 

Rowe,    Charles    R 588 

Rowe,  Thomas  G 589 

Rowse,  Arthur  C 616 

Rowse,  Zalmon 90,   97,   199,   352 

Rue,    Frank    La    1090 

Rue,   Harry  G.  La 615 

Ruhl,    Frank   I •■ 630 

Rumer,    Andrew    McI 810 


Rupert,    Emery     994 

Russell,   John  W 1323 

Russell,   Joseph 70 

St.  Bernard's  Catholic  Church    , 961 

St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church    1054 

St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church , 1093 

St.  Mary's  Catholic  Church   1055 

St.   Patrick's   Catholic   Church    1134 

Sand,    George     846 

Sargel,  Henry  C 947 

Sawyer,    John    F. 1035 

Sawyer,    R.    E 1036 

Sehaber,   Hgn.    Charles   F 573 

Schaber,   John  A 106 

Schack,    Anthony 615 

Schaefer,  John  J 1141 

Schafstall,  Albert  C,  V.  S 955 

Schieber,    Emanuel     623 

Sehiefer,  Abraham    1089 

Schiefer,    George    W 906 

Schifer,    William    F 607 

Schill,    John     1155 

Schill,    M.    H 668 

Schimpf,  John    889 

Schmitz,  Rev.  G.  M 1055 

Schneider,   Jacob   J 882 

Schreck,  Francis  M 958 

Schriener,  Rev.  A.  H 1054 

Schuler,    Harry    R 797 

Schumacher,  Charles  B 900 

Schwenck,  William  J 703 

Scott,   Josiah 126 

Scott,  William    C 883 

Seroggs,  Charles  J 806 

Sears,    Rufus    V 587 

Seele,  Albert  J 854 

Seele,  WiUiam  C 933 

Seery,  Reno  R 1048 

Seery,  Solomon   293,  297 

Seibel,    Martin    F 825 

Seibert,  Zen  W.,  V.  8 1134 

Sells,   Rebecca    249 

Shade,   William   R 769 

ShaftstalV   Christian    P 1017 

Sharer,  Claude  B 908 

Sharrock,   Alvertis  D 861 

Sharrock,  Benjamin  .  . . . , 72,  300 

Sharrock,  Oscar  K 679 

Shawk,  Charles  L 645 

Shawk,   Jay   F 891 

Shawk,   Jennings   T ' 903 

Shawk,  T.  C 

Shealy,    John 583 

Shealy,    Louis    E 880 

Shearer,   Benjamin    95c 

Sbearer,  Charles   W.    .  . ., 843 


INDEX 


19 


Shearer,  David    764 

Shearer,  Isaac    818 

Sheckler,  C.  E.,  M.  D 854 

Sheckler,  John  P 1031 

Sheehe,    Charles    M. 920 

Sheetz,   John  H 1211 

Sheihley,  Alhert    940 

Shell,  Mrs.  Catherine  1029 

Shell,    Joseph    M 1029 

Shemer,    George    L 693 

Shemer,  Levi    838 

Sheppard,  Col.  David 44 

Sheppard,  Rev.  Thomas  J 660 

Sherer,    Simeon    F 624 

Shifley,    Frederick    E 598 

Shonert,   Christian    689 

Shreck,   Andrew    353 

ShroU,    Charles   A 904 

Shultz,  Geo.  P 376 

Shumaker,  Albert  E 841 

Shumaker,   John  B 1042 

Shunk,   Adam    682 

Shunk,  Nelson  F 683 

Shupp  Family,  The 250 

Shupp,   Michael 393 

S'idner,    Martin 598 

Siefert,   John 1123 

Siefert,   William 1013 

Simonton,    Charles   A 1142 

Simpson,    Homer     804 

Sites,  Benjamin  L 1067 

Slifer,   John    387 

Smalley,  Samuel 276 

Smith,  Elliott  A 828 

Smith,    Horace    J 1057 

Smith,  Howard  H.,  M.  D 1233 

Smith,  H.  W 836 

Smith,  Isaac  W 1164 

Smith,  Joseph    314 

Smith,    Jefferson    1 719 

Smith,  Joseph  G 999 

Smith,  J.  J 726 

Smith,  Kelly  E 1148 

Smith,  L.  Melancthon   1352 

Snodgrass,   Thomas    1111 

Snyder,    Christian     266 

Snyder,   Clarence  E 801 

Snyder,  Frank  J 654 

Snyder,    George 1058 

Snyder,  William  H 1244 

Solze,   Frederick    1192 

Songer,  Hon.  Edward  J 762 

Songer,    Jonathan 1238 

Songer,  William  H '. 996 

Sourwine,   Frank   A 1098 

Sourwine,  Mrs.  Frances  M 1098 

Sourwine,  Henry  1098 


Sowash,  James    1050 

Speigel,  Winfield  S 646 

Spiegel,    Edward    A 827 

Spiegel,  J.  W 834 

Spillette,   Frank  H 934 

Spillette,  James  M. 1014 

Sponhauer,  Henry  C 1343 

Sponseller,  J.   P 958 

Spore,  Charles   S 874 

Springer,  W.  L 813 

Sprout,  Webster  H 817 

Sprow,   Frank    975 

Stair,   Frederick    1090 

Starner,  A.  A.,  M.  D 1036 

S'tephan,  Charles  C 873 

Stiger,   Elias    964 

Stiger,   Jacob   W 743 

Stine,    Charles    E < 998 

Stewart  Family,  The   351 

Stoltz,  Albert  G 584 

Story,  Nehemiah  and  John. 303 

Story,  Nehemiah  and  Nathaniel  73 

Strauch,    George    J 1054 

Strieker,    Daniel    J 596 

Stuckey,  William  J 1073 

Stuckman,    Fulton  N 844 

Stuckman,   John   W 1029 

Stump,   Henry   J 746 

Stump,  Samuel  J 871 

Sutter,  Joseph  E 1060 

Sutter,  Louis  H 1163 

Swalley,    William '. 393 

Sweney,  William  S 637 

Switzer,   Charles  E 1175 

Swope,   Isaac   F 1346 

Tames,  James   314 

Teel,  George  W 383 

Thomas,    P.    C 1070 

Throupe,   James    749 

Tobias,   Daniel   M 693 

Tobias,  Hon.  James  C 1144 

Tobias,   John   L 627 

Tobin,    David    E 1224 

Trago,    John    H 1176 

Trautman,  Philip    1014 

Trimble,  Charles  E.,  M.  D 987 

Treftz,  Michael    277 

Trimble,   Hugh    353 

Trish,   Frederick    841 

Tupps,    Calvin  D 762 

Tupps,  Isaac  H 771 

Tupps,   Samuel  A 775 

Tupps,  T.   T 948 

Tupps,  William  L 764 

Tuttle,    Daniel 334,  334 

Uhle,  Frederick  B 1247 


20 


INDEX 


Uhl,  L.   G.   F 1147 

Uhl,    Michael 1044 

Uhl,    Jacob 995 

Ulmer,    Charles 795 

Ulmer,  David  G 610 

Ulmer,  Harry   J 942 

Ulmer,  Israel 670 

Ulmer,  Jacob  F 976 

Ulmer,    William 573 

Umberfield,    Auer 375 

Unger,  Charles  F 803 

Utz,  John  L 984 

Utz,  Mrs.   Mary 984 

Van  Voorhis,  Eugene 631 

Van  Voorhis,  Harry  V 631 

VoUmer,  Charles 835 

VoUrath,    Edward 1313 

Vore,   Absolom   M >. 743 

Vorndran   Bros 820 

Vorndran,  Herman  J 830 

Vorndran,  Joseph  A 820 

Wachs,  Prof.  Simeon  R 1009 

Waechter,  Rev.  Joseph  R 1093 

Wagner,   Frank  C 725 

Wagoner,  George  L 1117 

Walcutt,   Robert   U 1094 

Walther,  Christopher 739 

Walther,   Frank  A 1159 

Walton,    George 234 

Warner,  Joseph  F 640 

Waller,    Milton 393 

Walter,    Daniel 321 

Washington,  George 43 

Waters,  Jacob 277 

Waters,  W.  A 905 

Watson,   Cooper   K 127 

Wayne,  Gen.  Anthony 60 

Weaver,  William  H 1097 

Wechter,  Mrs.  Amelia 1033 

Wechter,  Joseph  A 1033 

Weidemaier,  Samuel  F 853 

Weirick,    John 670 

Weithman,    D.    N 1237 

Welshons,  G.  P 897 

Weller,  Charles  K 845 

Wentz,    John 865 

Wentz,  J.  Ernest 873 

Wentz,  John  1 998 

Wenzelick,  Andrev? 1016 


Wert,   Charles    M 895 

Wert,   Charles   S 874 

Whalen,  J.  P 694 

White,  .Charles   W 234 

White,  David  H 651 

White,    Leo 694 

White,  Resolved 70,  180 

White,  Willard  T 858 

Whiteamire,  Edward  A 1333 

Whiteamire,  Jacob 775 

Whitmeyer,   C.   L 760 

Wickham,    Anson 816 

Wickham,  August 293 

Willford,   Lorenzo   D 122^ 

Williams,    Isaac 277 

Williamson,  Clemence  J.,  V.  S 872 

Williamson,  Col.  David 46,  47,  53 

Winans,   William   J-. 920 

Winch,  Daniel  P 949 

Winemiller,  M.  A 702 

Wingert,  William 246,  349 

Wingert,  William  M 801 

Winstead,    James 333 

Wise,  William  R 718 

Wisman,  Alfred  E 970 

Winters,  Eli 293 

Witter,  Henry 590 

Wright,  J.  Walter 575 

Worden,    Joseph 138 

Wolf,  Martin 377 

Worden,   James 106 

Worden,  "Uncle  Jimmie" 138 

Yaussy,  Godfrey 794 

Yeagley,    Lafayette. 1300 

Yingling,    Jonas 292 

Yost,   John 377 

Young,    Bernard 982 

Zaebst,    Adam 956 

Zaebst,  Mrs.  Harriet 956 

Zane,  Elizabeth 45 

Zeigler,  G.  K 1243 

Zellner,  Harvey  G 1071 

Zerbe,    John    K 967 

Ziegenfus,    David 774 

Zimmerman,  John  H 1060 

Zimmerman,  John  S 1006 

Zimmerman,   Samuel   A 779 

Zink,  David  L 864 

Zook,  A.  M 846 


Jj£-6iC^^    A  , 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  I 

GEOLOGICAL  HISTORY 

Formation  of  the  Earth,  Including  Crawford  County,  Together  with  the  Discovery  of  the 
Oldest  Known  Inhabitant — Age  of  the  Earth  According  to  Sir  William  Thompson's  Cal- 
culations— Prof.  Tait's  Views — Thickness  of  the  Earth's  Crust — Different  Theories — 
Age  of  Crawford  Geologically  Considered — The  Order  of  Creation — Geological  Strata 
and  Sub-Strata — The  Glacial  Period  and  Theories  Concerning  It — Ancient  Animal  Life 
— Plant  Life — Pre-Glacial  Man — Mastodonic  Remains  Found  at  Bucyrus — Our  Early 
"Settlers"— The  Mound  Builders  and  Indians. 


"In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and 
the  earth.  And  the  earth  was  without  form  and 
void. — Genesis,  I — 1-2. 

In  studying  the  geological  history  of  Ohio, 
it  is  a  pleasure  to  know  that  Crawford  county 
is  very  old.  Although  the  county  was  settled 
less  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  it  ranks  equally 
in  age  with  the  older  portions  of  the  earth. 
It  is  difficult  to  decide  as  to  what  that  age 
is,  as  eminent  geologists  differ  by  many  mil- 
lions of  years.  Dr.  CroU  places  the  age  "at 
not  less,  but  possibly  much  more,  than  sixty 
million  years."  The  stratified  rocks  of  the 
earth's  crust  give  abundant  proof  that  the 
whole  fauna  and  flora  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face have  passed  through  numerous  cycles  of 
revolution — species,  genera,  families,  appear- 
ing and  disappearing  many  times  in  succession. 
On  any  supposition  it  must  be  admitted  that 
these  vicissitudes  in  the  organic  world  can 
only  have  been  effected  with  the  lapse  of  vast 
periods  of  time.  The  argument  from  geolog- 
ical evidence  is  strongly  in  favor  of  an  interval 
of  probably  not  much  less  than  one  hundred 
million  years  since  the  earliest  form  of  life 
appeared  upon  the  earth,  and  the  oldest  strati- 
fied rocks  began  to  be  laid  down. 

Sir  William  Thompson  figures  the  age  of 


the  earth  on  three  different  lines.  First  the 
internal  heat  and  rate  of  cooling  of  the  earth : 
He  holds  that  estimating  from  the  known  rate 
of  increase  of  temperature  downward  and 
beneath  the  earth's  surface,  and  the  rate  of 
loss  of  heat  from  the  earth  we  have  a  limit 
to  the  antiquity  of  the  planet.  He  shows 
from  the  data  available,  that  the  superficial 
consolidation  of  the  globe  could  not  have  oc- 
curred less  than  twenty  million  years  ago,  or 
the  underground  heat  would  have  been  greater 
than  it  is.  Neither  could  it  have  occurred 
more  than  four  hundred  million  years  ago 
or  the  underground  temperature  would  have 
shown  no  sensible  increase  downward.  The 
distinguished  scientist  admits  that  a  difference 
of  380,000,000  years  as  to  the  age  is  consider- 
able latitude,  but  says  that  a  wide  limit  is 
necessary.  He  inclines  to  the  theory  that  the 
lower,  rather  than  the  higher,  figure  is  nearer 
correct  and  places  his  estimate  as  to  the  age 
of  the  earth,  judging  from  heat,  at  one  hun- 
dred million  years.  Second,  the  tidal  retarda- 
tion of  the  earth's  rotation:  He  argues  that 
owing  to  the  friction  of  the  tidal  wave,  the 
rotation  of  the  earth  is  retarded,  and  is  there- 
fore much  slower  now  than  it  must  have  been 
at  one  time.     He  contends  that  had  the  globe 


21 


22 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


become  solid  some  ten  thousand  million  years 
ago,  or  indeed  any  antiquity  beyond  a  hun- 
dred million  years,  the  centrifugal  force  due 
to  the  more  rapid  motion  must  have  given  the 
planet  a  much  greater  polar  flattening  than  it 
actually  possesses.  Third,  the  origin  and  age 
of  the  sun's  heat:  He  proceeds  upon  calcula- 
tions as  to  the  amount  of  heat  which  would 
be  available  by  the  falling  together  of  masses 
from  space,  which  gave  rise  by  their  impact 
to  our  sun. 

The  vagueness  of  the  data  on  which  this 
argument  rests  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact 
that  in  discussing  this  Prof.  Tait  places  the 
limit  of  time  during  which  the  sun  has  been 
illuminating  the  earth,  as,  "on  the  very  high- 
est computation,  not  more  than  about  fifteen 
or  twenty  million  of  years,"  while,  later  on 
in  the  same  volume,  he  admits  that  "by  cal- 
culations in  which  there  is  no  possibility  of 
large  error,  this  hypothesis  (the  origin  of  the 
sun's  heat  by  the  falling  together  of  masses 
of  matter)  is  thoroughly  competent  to  explain 
one  hundred  million  years  of  solar  radiation 
at  the  present  rate,  perhaps  more."  It  is  safe 
to  say,  therefore,  the  age  of  the  earth,  of 
which  Crawford  county  is  an  important  part, 
can  be  placed  at  a  hundred  million  years.  To 
those  inclined  to  criticise  wise  scientists  as  to 
their  wide  divergence  as  to  the  age  of  the 
earth,  their  attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that 
an  equally  wide  divergence  frequently  exists 
in  the  result  of  an  election,  based  on  the  fact 
as  to  whether  the  figures  are  given  out  before 
or  after  the  votes  are  cast  and  counted. 

Another  important  point  on  which  scien- 
tists differ  is  the  thickness  of  the  earth's  crust. 
Naturally  all  are  interested  in  the  solidity  and 
substantiality  of  this  county.  Early  writers 
were  of  the  opinion  the  center  of  the  earth 
was  a  seething  mass  of  fire,  demonstrated  by 
the  volcanoes  belching  forth  their  molten 
lava;  and  the  thickness  of  the  crust  was  ten 
to  twenty  miles,  shown  by  the  fact  of  earth- 
quakes bursting  this  crust  where  it  was  thin- 
nest. Three  theories  also  are  advanced  as  to 
the  interior  of  the  earth.  First,  that  the 
planet  consists  of  a  solid  crust  and  a  molten 
interior.  They  hold  that  the  ascertained  rise 
of  temperature  as  you  go  into  the  earth  from 
the  surface  (about  one  degree  for  every  sixty 
feet)   is  such  that  at  a  very  moderate  depth 


the  ordinary  melting  point  of  the  most  re- 
fractory substances  would  be  reached.  At 
twenty  miles  the  temperature,  if  it  increases 
progressively,  as  it  does  in  the  depths  acces- 
sible to  observation,  must  be  about  1,760  de- 
grees Fahrenheit,  and  at  fifty  miles,  about 
4,600  degrees,  about  1,500  degrees  hotter  than 
the  fusing  point  of  platinum.  This  school 
holds  that  all  over  the  world  volcanoes  exist 
from  which  steam,  fire,  and  molten  lava  burst 
forth.  Many  as  these  active  volcanoes  are 
today,  they  form  but  a  small  proportion  of 
the  volcanoes  which  have  been  in  existence 
since  early  geological  times.  It  is  held,  there- 
fore, that  these  numerous  funnels  of  com- 
munication with  the  interior  could  not  have 
existed  and  poured  forth  such  a  vast  amount 
of  molten  rock,  unless  they  had  some  inex- 
haustible base  of  supplies.  Also,  the  product 
of  these  eruptions  from  Europe,  Asia,  Africa, 
America  and  the  islands,  from  widely  sepa- 
rate regions,  when  compared  and  analyzed, 
are  found  to  exhibit  a  remarkable  uniform- 
ity of  character,  which  can  only  be  accounted 
for  from  the  fact  that  they  come  from  one 
common  source.  The  abundant  earthquake 
shocks,  which  affect  large  areas  of  the  globe, 
are  maintained  to  be  inexplicable  except  on 
the  supposition  of  a  thin  and  somewhat  flex- 
ible crust. 

The  second  school  holds  that  with  the  ex- 
ception of  local  hollow  spaces  the  earth  is 
solid  and  rigid  to  the  center.  In  1839  Prof. 
Hopkins,  of  Cambridge  University,  advanced 
the  theory  of  a  much  thicker  crust,  and  per- 
haps a  solid  interior.  He  held  that  the  revolu- 
tion of  the  earth  on  its  axis,  and  its  revolu- 
tion around  the  sun,  could  not  possibly  be  as 
they  are  if  the  planet  consisted  of  a  central 
ocean  of  molten  rock  surrounded  with  a  crust 
of  twenty  or  thirty  miles  in  thickness;  that 
the  least  possible  thickness  of  crust,  consistent 
with  the  existing  movements  of  the  earth, 
was  from  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand 
miles,  and  that  the  whole  might  even  be  solid 
to  the  center,  with  the  exception  of  compara- 
tively small  spaces  filled  with  molten  rock. 
Sir  William  Thompson  took  the  same  view, 
saying  that  the  assumption  of  a  very  thin 
crust  requires  that  the  crust  shall  have  such 
a  perfect  rigidity  as  is  possessed  by  no  known 
substance.     The  tide-producing  force  of  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


23 


moon  and  sun  exerts  such  a  strain  upon  the 
substance  of  the  globe  that  it  seems  in  the 
highest  degree  improbable  that  the  planet 
could  maintain  its  shape  as  it  does,  unless  the 
supposed  crust  were  at  least  2,000  to  2,500 
miles  in  thickness. 

The  third  school  holds  that  while  the  great 
mass  of  the  earth  is  solid,  there  exists  be- 
tween the  crust  and  a  solid  interior  a  mass 
of  molten  rock.  This  suggestion  was  ad- 
vanced by  Rev.  O.  Fisher  as  a  harmonious 
solution  between'  the  two  schools,  but,  geolog- 
ically considered,  there  was  no  foundation  for 
any  such  solution  of  the  problem. 

It  has  now  been  shown  as  reliably  as  pos- 
sible that  the  structural  area  of  Crawford 
county  is  practically  a  hundred  million  years 
old,  and  whether  the  crust  of  the  earth  at 
this  point  is  2,500  miles  thick,  or  less,  it  has 
certainly  sufficient  thickness  to  sustain  the 
weight  of  any  increase  of  population  which 
the  most  optimistic  figurer  might  desire. 

Next  comes  the  formation,  the  building  up, 
of  the  earth.  There  are  two  accounts  of  the 
formation  of  the  earth,  and  both  fairly  agree. 
The  shorter  is  given  first : 

"In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven 
and  the  earth,  and  the  earth  was  without  form 
and  void;  and  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of 
the  deep.  And  the  spirit  of  God  moved  upon 
the  face  of  the  waters.  And  God  said,  "Let 
there  be  light,"  and  there  was  light.  And  God 
saw  the  light  that  it  was  good;  and  God  di- 
vided the  light  from  the  darkness.  And  God 
called  the  light  Day  and  the  darkness  he  called 
Night.  And  the  evening  and  the  morning 
were  the  first  day." 

Second  Day — God  created  the  firmament, 
and  divided  the  waters  which  were  under  the 
firmament  from  the  waters  which  were  above 
the  firmament. 

Third  Day — God  gathered  the  waters  under 
■the  heaven  unto  one  place  and  created  the 
dry  land,  and  caused  the  land  to  bring  forth 
grass  and  herbs  and  trees. 

Fourth  Day — God  created  the  sun  and  the 
moon  and  the  stars,  and  arranged  the  days  and 
the  seasons  and  the  years. 

Fifth  Day — God  created  from  the  waters 
the  creatures  that  inhabit  the  waters  and  that 
fly  above  the  earth. 

Sixth  Day — God  created  the  animals  that 


occupy  the  land,  and  then  he  made  man  after 
his  own  image  and  gave  him  dominion  over 
every  living  creature,  the  fishes  of  the  sea  and 
the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  the  animals  of  the 
earth.  And  He  said,  "I  have  given  you  every 
herb  bearing  seed,  which  is  upon  the  face  of 
all  the  earth,  and  every  tree  in  which  is  the 
fruit  of  a  tree  yielding  seed;  to  you  it  shall 
be  for  meat.  And  to  every  beast  of  the  earth, 
and  to  every  fowl  of  the  air,  and  to  every- 
thing that  creepeth  upon  the  earth,  wherein 
there  is  life.  I  have  given  every  green  herb 
for  meat." 

The  other  account  is  the  geological,  show- 
ing the  earth  is  built  up  of  several  distinct 
strata,  deposited  in  the  different  ages,  and  by 
the  fossil  remains  found  in  the  different 
strata  scientists  are  able  to  trace  the  eras  in 
which  the  earth  became  habitable  to  different 
animals.  The  Ohio  Geologist,  Prof.  Edward 
Orton,  commences  the  strata  underlying  Ohio 
with  the  Silurian.  The  fossil  remains  show 
there  were  two  such  distinct  deposits  of  this 
era  that  geologists  call  it  the  Lower  and 
Upper  Silurian,  the  Lower  Silurian  being  the 
first  deposit.  On  top  of  the  Upper  Silurian 
came  the  Devonian,  and  on  this  the  Carbon- 
iferous. Above  came  the  Glacial  deposit,  a 
rearrangement  of  the  exterior  of  the  earth, 
the  other  strata  having  been  built  up  from 
the  interior. 

Scientists  and  archaeologists  differ  as  to 
what  caused  the  great  glacial  period  which 
swept  down  from  the  frozen  north  some 
eternities  ago.  There  are  several  schools.  One 
accounts  for  it  by  the  precision  of  the  equi- 
noxes, holding  it  was  due  to  the  laws  of 
gravitation  and  celestial  mechanics,  and  that 
the  earth's  ecliptic  or  ecliptical  revolutions 
around  the  sun  have  been  constantly  chang- 
ing, so  that  what  was  once  the  equatorial  cli- 
mate was  in  the  Arctic  region  and  vice  versa, 
thus  accounting  for  the  fact  of  remains  of 
tropical  animals  and  plants  being  found  in 
the  Arctic  regions. 

The  Annular  School  holds  that  when  the 
earth  was  forming  it  was  surrounded  by  a 
series  of  annular  belts,  the  results  of  igneous 
fires  raging  during  the  ages  of  the  earth's 
formation,  solidifying,  as  the  centuries  passed, 
into  the  rock  which  eventually  formed  the 
solid  surface  of  the  globe.     From  the  intense 


24 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


interior  fires  gases  forced  their  way,  and  fol- 
lowed the  earth's  movements,  and  although 
thousands  of  miles  away,  still  within  the 
earth's  attraction.  This  vapor  separated  into 
strata,  the  heaviest  nearest  the  earth,  but  they 
all  revolved  around  the  earth  similar  to  the 
present  rings  of  Saturn.  The  question  was 
whether  these  great  belts  would  break  away 
into  space,  or  whether  the  attraction  of  gravi- 
tation would  attach  them  to  the  earth.  Af- 
ter any  number  of  millions  of  years  the  at- 
traction of  gravitation  slowly  but  surely  con- 
quered, and  the  gases,  solidified  by  ages,  be- 
came a  part  of  the  earth,  changing  its  form, 
and  each  succeeding  attachment  marking  a 
geological  epoch,  accounting  for  the  changes 
in  vegetable  and  animal  life,  and  the  appear- 
ance of  new  types  in  both  the  vegetable  and 
animal  kingdoms.  In  the  great  fight  which 
raged  between  the  elements  endeavoring  to 
escape,  and  the  earth  endeavoring  to  hold 
them,  it  can  be  readily  seen  that  as  the  earth 
obtained  the  mastery,  and  finally,  by  the  at- 
traction of  gravitation,  brought  them  nearer 
and  nearer,  increasing  in  speed  as  the  earth's 
power  of  attraction  became  stronger,  they 
would  be  attached  with  great  force,  produc- 
ing powerful  shocks  and  violent  convulsions 
of  the  entire  earth.  For  some  reason  the  at- 
traction was  strongest  at  the  poles,  lessening  in 
force-as  it  reached  the  equator,  and  it  was  one 
of  these  violent  convulsions,  which  caused  the 
glacial  epoch,  driving,  pouring,  hurling,  all  the 
frozen  north  down  toward  the  equator.  Geol- 
ogy shows,  so  far  as  Ohio  is  concerned,  this 
great  belt  of  ice  and  snow,  rocks  and  boulders, 
earth  and  debris  was  forced  southward  until 
it  covered  all  the  great  lakes,  and  practically 
all  north  of  the  Ohio  river.  The  geological 
formation  shows  it  covered  Ohio  from  a  point 
north  of  where  the  Ohio  river  enters  Penn- 
sylvania, extending  thence  southwesterly  to 
the  Ohio  river  a  few  miles  above  Cincinnati, 
Crawford  county  being  covered  by  this  glacial 
deposit. 

Under  whatever  circumstances  the  earth  was 
formed  the  first  deposit  on  the  surface  was 
the  Silurian,  and  some  ages  later  another  de- 
posit or  solidification,  called  the  Upper  Silu- 
rian, to  distinguish  it  from  the  first  or  Lower 
Silurian.  In  the  Silurian  deposits  are  found 
cellular  marine  plants  and  the  lower  order  of 


fish,  while  in  the  Devonian  there  are  a  few 
specimens  of  cryptogramic  ferns  of  vascular 
plants  and  trilobites  with  abundant  fish. 
Humboldt  states  in  his  Cosmos  that:  "The 
oldest  transition  strata  contain  merely  cellu- 
lar marine  plants,  and  it  is  only  in  the  De- 
vonian system  that  a  few  cryptogramic  forms 
of  vascular  plants  have  been  observed.  Noth- 
ing appears  to  corroborate  the  theoretical 
views  that  have  started  regarding  the  sim- 
plicity of  primitive  forms  of  organized  life, 
or  that  vegetable  preceded  animal  life,  and 
that  the'  former  was  necessarily  dependent 
upon  the  latter." 

The  carboniferous  deposits  were  next,  and 
in  the  lower  strata  saurians  are  found,  to- 
gether with  fish  in  abundance  and  occasional 
specimens  of  land  plants.  The  upper  carbon- 
iferous strata  contain  plants  in  abundance, 
some  sixty  feet  high,  and  these,  in  the  coal 
deposits,  show  that  the  earth  was  thick  and 
dense  with  plants  and  trees.  Here  the  sau- 
rians show  diminution  in  size,  and  monster 
land  animals  make  their  appearance,  these 
animals  showing  through  the  different  strata 
of  the  carboniferous  deposits  that  while  all 
lower  strata  were  water  animals,  as  the  world 
was  building  these  water  animals  became  half 
land  and  half  water,  and  it  is  only  in  the 
upper  carboniferous  strata  that  the  land  mon- 
sters of  the  past  were  found;  and  after  ani- 
mals came  the  birds.  In  all  these  strata,  com- 
mencing with  fish,  followed  by  reptiles,  ani- 
mals and  birds,  no  trace  of  man  is  found. 

In  the  Lower  Silurian,  Ohio  is  underlaid 
with  the  Trenton,  Utica,  and  Hudson  river 
limestones  in  ascending  order.  In  the  Upper 
Silurian  come  the  Medina,  Clinton,  Niagara 
and  Heidelberg  layers.  It  is  in  these  Silurian 
strata  oil  and  gas  are  discovered,  geologists 
advancing  the  theory  that  oil  is  formed  from 
chemical  action  on  the  fish  that  abounded  in 
that  age.  In  the  Devonian  are  the  Devonian 
limestones  and  the  Hamilton  and  Ohio  shales. 
Then  come  the  carboniferous,  the  lowest  bed 
being  called  the  Waverly,  and  this  divided 
into  the  Bedford  Shale,  Hamilton  Shale  and 
Ohio  Shale,  the  latter  again  divided  into  the 
Huron,  Erie  and  Cleveland  Shale.  On  top 
of  these  is  sub-carboniferous  limestone,  cov- 
ered with  a  layer  of  conglomerate  series. 
From  this  to  the  glacial  drift  are  the  coal 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


25 


series  the  strata  in  which  coal  is  found.  The 
strata  underlying  Ohio  is  taken  from  the  cele- 
brated Ohio  geologist,  Prof.  Edward  Orton. 
^he  carboniferous  strata  was  formed  millions 
of  years  ago  (more  or  less)  by  the  deposits 
of  vast  forests,  which  some  chemical  action 
turned  into  coal.  It  is  probable  that  during 
the  carboniferous  period  the  atmosphere  must 
have  been  warmer  and  with  more  aqueous 
vapor  and  carbonic  acid  in  its  composition 
than  at  the  present  day  to  admit  of  so  lux- 
uriant a  flora  as  that  from  which  the  coal 
seams  were  formed.  The  vast  beds  of  coal 
found  all  over  the  world,  in  geological  for- 
mations of  many  different  ages,  represent  so 
much  carbonic  acid  once  present  in  the  air. 

In  different  sections  of  the  state  the  various 
strata  occur  at  varying  depths,  due  to  the 
different  upheavals  of  the  earth  in  the  ages 
long  past;  the  strata  also  vary  in  thickness  in 
different  localities. 

The  sub-strata  of  Crawford  county,  or  any 
other  section  of  the  earth,  shows  that  this 
globe  was  millions  of  years  in  forming.  It 
was  originally  decidedly  liquid  in  character, 
the  fires  of  the  interior  contending  with  the 
waters  of  the  surface  for  the  mastery,  the 
interior  throwing  out  vast  masses  to  be  at- 
tacked and  disintegrated  by  the  waters  which 
covered  the  earth.  Through  long  ages  the 
battle  between  the  two  elements— fire  and 
water — continued,  and  the  interior  won,  and 
a  foundation  for  the  earth  was  laid;  true  it 
was  soft,  spongy  and  marshy,  but  still  a 
foundation.  The  geological  strata  show,  at 
this  time,  no  specimens  except  those  of  the 
lowest  order  of  water  animals,  practically  only 
threads  with  life.  In  what  is  known  as  the 
Silurian  deposits,  as  the  ages  advanced  these 
water  animals  became  firmer,  and  instead  of 
being  merely  threads  of  life,  they  had  some 
body  and  the  trilobite  appears.  Of  the  de- 
posits of  these  earlier  forms  of  marine  ani- 
mal life.  Dr.  Buckland  draws  the  conclusion 
that  "the  eyes  of  the  trilobites  carries  to  liv- 
ing man  the  certain  knowledge,  that  millions 
of  years  before  his  race  existed,  the  air  he 
breathes,  and  the  light  by  which  he  sees,  were 
the  same  as  at  this  hour  and  that  the  sea  must 
have  been,  in  general,  as  pure  as  it  is  now." 

Each  additional  layer  of  the  Silurian 
showed  more  solidity  in  the  construction  of 


the  water  animals,  until  finally  the  monsters 
of  the  deep  held  full  sway  of  the  globe.  Some 
of  these  sea  animals  showed  there  was  land, 
their  construction  being  decidedly  reptilian, 
but  the  land  was  low,  marshy  and  boggy,  as 
the  remnant  of  no  strictly  land  animal  was 
found.  The  world  was  in  the  possession  of 
the  water  animals,  reptiles,  and  the  indica- 
tions are  it  was  in  their  possession  many 
thousand  times  longer  than  it  has  been  in 
the  possession  of  man.  Dr.  Buckland,  the 
English  naturalist,  says :  "When  we  see  that 
so  large  and  so  important  a  range  has  been  as- 
signed to  reptiles  among  the  former  population 
of  our  planet,  we  cannot  but  regard  with  feel- 
ings of  new  and  unusual  interest,  the  compara- 
tively diminutive  existing  orders  of  that  most 
ancient  family  of  quadrupeds  with  the  very 
name  of  which  we  usually  associate  a  senti- 
ment of  disgust.  We  shall  view  them  with 
less  contempt,  when  we  learn,  from  the  rec- 
ords of  geological  history,  that  there  was  a 
time  when  reptiles  not  only  constituted  the 
chief  tenants  and  most  powerful  possessors 
of  the  earth,  but  extended  their  dominion  also 
over  the  waters  of  the  sea;  and  that  the  an- 
nals of  their  history  may  be  traced  back 
through  thousands  of  years,  antecedent  to 
that  latest  point  of  progressive  stages  of  ani- 
.mal  creation,  when  the  first  parents  of  the 
human  race  were  called  into  existence." 

It  was  from  the  remains  of  these  innumer- 
able fishes  and  reptiles  that  through  some 
chemical  action  the  oil  fields  came  and  through 
them  the  gas  fields. 

Later  deposits  of  the  earth  showed  stronger 
and  higher  land  plants ;  and  commencing  with 
the  lowest  order  of  land  animals,  these  ani- 
mals showed  increasing  solidity  of  structure, 
evidencing  the  fact  that  the  earth  was  be- 
coming habitable.  All  this  took  ages,  the  in- 
terior constantly  throwing  out  great  masses 
until  it  finally  established  a  foundation,  which 
the  almost  universal  sea  failed  to  sweep  away ; 
on  this  it  builded.  The  geological  structure 
further  shows  the  air  was  not  yet  habitable, 
the  atmosphere  too  light,  as  no  remnants  of 
bird  life  are  discovered,  everything  lived 
either  in  the  water  or  on  the  earth.  And  it 
is  only  on  the  last  deposits  of  the  Carboni- 
ferous strata  that  birds  appear.  Traces  of 
fish,   reptiles,   plants,   animals   and   birds   are 


26 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


shown  in  the  geological  deposits  in  the  order 
named,  but  no  trace  of  man. 

The  nearest  approach  to  the  human  form  is 
in  the  topmost  drift  of  all,  just  before  the 
glacial  period  when  fossils  of  the  quadru- 
manna  (four  handed  or  monkey  tribe)  were 
found;  one,  three  feet  high,  contained  four 
incisor  teeth,  two  canine,  four  false  grinders, 
and  six  true  grinders  in  a  continuous  series. 
So  we  have  the  progression.  "The  earliest 
animals  and  plants  are  of  the  simplest  kind. 
Gradually  as  we  advance  through  the  higher 
strata,  or,  in  other  words,  as  Ave  proceed 
through  the  record  of  progressive  creation, 
we  find  animals,  and  plants  of  higher  and 
higher  structure  till  at  last  we  come  to  the 
superficial  strata,  where  there  are  remains  of 
kinds,  approximating  to  the  highest  of  all 
animated  tribes,  namely,  man  himself.  But 
before  the  above  discoveries  there  remained 
one  unmistakable  gap  in  the  series.  The 
quadrumanna,  or  monkey,  who  forms  an  or- 
der above  common  mammalia,  but  below  the 
bimana,  or  human  tribes,  \vere  wanting. 
Now,  this  deficiency  is  supplied;  and  it  is 
shown  that  every  one  of  the  present  forms  of 
animated  existence,  excepting  the  human,  ex- 
isted at  the  time  when  the  superficial  strata 
was  formed.  The  only  zoological  event  of 
an  important  nature  subsequent  to  that  period 
is  the  creation  of  man;  for  we  may  consider 
of  a  lesser  importance  the  extinction  of  many 
of  the  specific  varieties  which  flourished  in 
the  geological  ages,  and  the  creation  of  new."* 

The  earth  was  now  created,  inhabited  by 
everything  •  except  man,  and  then  came  the 
glaciers  from  the  north,  rearranging  and 
shifting  the  entire  universe. 

The  Glacial  drift,  the  geologists  divide  into 
six  parts,  the  lowest  being  the  Glacial  drift, 
above  this  the  Erie  clays,  the  Forest  bed,  the 
Iceberg,  drift  and  the  Terraces  or  Beeches 
which  mark  intervals  of  stability  in  the  grad- 
ual recession  of  the  water  surface  to  its  pres- 
ent level. f 

The  geologists  say  the  Glacial  period  was 
one  of  continual  elevation,  during  which  the 
topography  of  the  country  wzs  much  the  same 
as  now,  the  draining  streams  following  the 
lines  they  now  do,  but  cutting  down  their  beds 

*Humboldt. 

tOrton. 


until  they  flowed  sometimes  two  hundred  feet 
lower  than  they  do  at  present.  In  the  latter 
part  of  this  period  of  elevation,  glaciers,  de- 
scending from  the  Canadian  islands,  exca- 
vated and  occupied  the  valleys  of  the  great 
lakes,  and  covered  the  lowlands  down  nearly 
to  the  Ohio  river.  Next,  by  a  depression  of 
land  and  elevation  of  temperature,  the  glaciers 
retreated  northward,  leaving  in  the  interior 
of  the  continent,  a  great  basin  of  fresh  water, 
in  which  the  Erie  clays  were  deposited.  This 
water  was  drained  away  until  a  broad  land 
surface  was  exposed  within  the  drift  area. 
Upon  this  surface  grew  forests,  largely  of 
red  and  white  cedar,  inhabited  by  the  ele- 
phant, mastodon,  giant  beaver,  and  other 
large,  now  extinct,  animals.  Again  comes  the 
submergence  of  this  land  and  the  spreading 
over  it,  by  iceberg  agency,  of  gravel,  sand 
and  boulders;  the  gradual  draining  off  of  the 
waters,  leaving  the  land  as  we  now  find  it, 
smoothly  covered  with  all  the  layers  of  the 
drift,  and  well  prepared  for  human  habita- 
tion. 

How  many  years  all  this  took  is  purely  con- 
jectural. 

In  not  one  of  any  strata  prior  to  the  glacial 
deposits  have  the  fossil  remains  of  man  been 
found.  Fishes,  reptiles,  animals  and  plants, 
are  shown  to  have  existed,  prior  to  the  glacial 
period.  Prof.  Frederick  Wright  mentions  a 
stone  instrument  found  by  Dr.  C.  L.  Metz 
near  Cincinnati  which  scientists  are  confident 
was  made  by  man.  And  Prof.  Wright  ob- 
sen,'es  from  all  the  circumstances  connected 
with  the  discovery  that  it  shows  "that  in  Ohio, 
man  was  an  inhabitant  before  the  close  of  the 
glacial  period.  We  can  henceforth  speak  with 
confidence  of  pre-glacial  man  in  Ohio.  It  is 
facts  like  these  which  give  archaeological  sig- 
nificance to  the  present  fruitful  inquiries  con- 
cerning the  date  of  the  glacial  epoch  in  North 
America.  J  When  the  age  of  the  Mound 
Builders  of  Ohio  is  reckoned  by  centuries, 
that  of  the  pre-glacial  man  who  chipped  these 
palaeolithic  instruments  must  be  reckoned  by 
thousand  of  years."  Again  he  says:  "It  is 
not  so  startling  a  statement  as  it  once  was, 
to  speak  of  man  as  belonging  to  the  glacial 
period.     And  with  the  recent  discoveries  of 

tProf.  Wright     estimates    the    glacial    period    as 
only  8,000  or  10,000  years  ago. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


27 


Dr.  Metz  we  may  begin  to  speak  of  our  own 
state  as  one  of  the  earliest  portions  of  the 
globe  to  become  inhabited.  Ages  before  the 
Mound  Builders  erected  their  complicated  and 
stately  structures  in  the  valleys  of  the  Licking, 
the  Scioto,  the  Miami  and  the  Ohio,  man,  in 
a  more  primitive  state,  had  hunted  and  fished 
with  rude  instruments  in  some  portions  at 
least  of  the  southern  part  of  the  State.  To 
have  lived  at  such  a  time,  and  to  have  suc- 
cessfvilly  overcome  the  hardships  of  that  cli- 
mate and  the  fierceness  of  the  animal  life, 
must  have  called  for  an  amount  of  physical 
energy  and  practical  skill  which  few  of  this 
generation  possess.  Let  us  therefore  not 
speak  of  such  people  as  inferior.  They  must 
therefore  have  had  all  the  native  powers  of 
humanity  fully  developed,  and  are  worthy  an- 
cestors of  succeeding  races." 

From  the  geological  structure  of  Crawford 
county  we  find  the  first  known  inhabitant  of 
the  county,  and  it  is  a  pleasure  to  know  he  or 
it  was  one  of  the  prominent  occupiers  of  the 
earth.  On  August  13,  1838,  in  digging  a  mill- 
race,  Abraham  Hahn  came  upon  the  bones 
of  a  mastodon  in  a  swamp  just  east  of  the 
Toledo  &  Ohio  Central  shops  at  Bucyrus.* 
It  was  found  at  a  depth  of  only  six  feet. 
This  animal  was  a  forest  monster,  which  ex- 
isted in  the  carboniferous  era.  The  masto- 
don also  existed  after  the  glacial  period.  This 
section  of  Ohio  has  a  formation  of  several 
hundred  feet  of  glacial  drift,  overlying  the 
carboniferous,  so  the  mastodon  may  have 
roamed  this  county  after  the  glacial  drift,  or 
in  that  drift  was  swept  down  from  the  north, 
incased  in  the  ice  and  rocks  and  debris,  and 
had  lain  there  undisturbed  for  centuries. 
Other  remnants-  of  mastodon  have  been  found 

*THE  FIRST  INHABITANTS. 

Mastodon — Land  animal;  twelve  feet  tall,  body 
thirteen  feet  long;  similar  to  Megatherium  but 
heavier.     Tail  different,  being  like  an  elephant's  tail. 

Plesiosaurus — Water  animal,  about  forty-five  feet 
long;  head  and  neck  like  a  snake,  about  seventeen 
feet  long;  body  perhaps  six  feet  in  diameter  and 
fourteen  feet  long,  tapering  to  a  point.  Formed  of 
vertebrae  from  head  to  tail,  with  ribs  in  body. 
Lived  on  fish  and  sea  grasses. 

Ichthyosaurus — Water  animal,  but  partly  land. 
An  overgrown  crocodile  of  our  present  day;  thirty 
feet  long;  lived  on  fish. 

Deinotherium — Land  animal;  a  trifle  larger  than 
an  elephant.     Lived  on  leaves  and  branches. 

Pterodactyl— Between    bird    and    reptile.      About 


in  Holmes  township.  However  they  came 
here,  they  were  the  first  known  occupiers  of 
the  county.  Crawford  county,  therefore,  has 
definite  proof  that  it  was  in  existence,  and 
habitable,  in  the  ages-  long  ago. 

As  to  when  man  first  inhabited  this  section 
the  geological  indications  are  that  prior  to  the 
Glacial  drift  there  were  none  here,  and  none 
anywhere  else  on  the  face  of  the  globe — man 
as  he  exists  today.  When  the  country  was 
discovered  and  the  Indians  inhabited  this  re- 
gion, they  were  not  the  first  settlers.  Indian 
lore  shows  that  legends  had  descended  to  them 
of  a  prior  race  being  in  this  section ;  how  many 
hundreds  or  thousands  of  years  prior  is  an  in- 
determinable question.  Practically  all  over  the 
state  are  elevations,  the  work  of  what  are  called 
the  Mound  Builders.  The  line  of  the  Glacial 
drift,  geologically  considered,  is  pronounced, 
and  both  inside  and  outside  of  this  line  the 
work  of  the  Mound  Builders  is  found.  The 
glacial  drift  rearranged,  shifted  and  covered 
everything,  so  the  Mound  Builders  and  their 
work  probably  followed  after  the  glacial  drift. 
What  became  of  the  Mound  Builders  is  a  prob- 
lem. Physical  geography  gives  five  distinct 
races  of  men,  and  among  them  is  the  Indian. 
If  the  Mound  Builders  of  centuries  ago  became 
the  Indians  of  the  present  the  problem  is  easily 
solved.  But  the  tendency  of  creation  has  ever 
been  upward,  and  thousands  of  years  should 
have  produced  more  of  advancement  in  civili- 
zation than  the  nomadic  wanderers  through 
our  forests.  It  took  millions  of  years  to  de- 
velop water  into  the  lowest  order  of  animal 
life;  more  millions  to  develop  a  more  solidly 
constructed  marine  animal.  The  same  is  true 
of  land,  and  millions  of  years  passed  before 

eight  feet  high;  wings  twenty  feet  tip  to  tip;  like  a 
large  bat  with  head  of  bird  and  a  beak. 

Dinosaurus — Half  reptile;  half  animal;  four  legs; 
hind  ones' strongest;  sixty  to  eighty  feet  long;  head 
like  a  giraffe,  with  neck  twenty-five  feet;  body 
twenty-five  feet  and  about  eight  feet  in  diameter; 
tail,  starting  same  size  as  body  and  thirty-five  feet 
long,  tapering  to  a  point. 

Iguanodon — Reptile;  fifty  to  sixty  feet  long; 
front  legs  small,  hind  legs  strong;  could  walk  on  two 
feet  similar  to  a  kangaroo;  length  mainly  in  neck 
and  tail,  similar  to  dinosaurus. 

Deinornis — Bird,  ten  to  eleven  feet  tall,  and  very 
heavy  body. 

Megatherium — Land  animal;  twelve  feet  tall, 
body  thirteen  feet  long,  including  tail  eighteen  feet. 
Lived  on  roots  and  branches  of  trees;  tail  large  at 
body. 


28 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


the  incipient  tendrils  of  watery  ground  became 
plants  and  trees,  and  the  delicate  animalculae 
developed  into  the  higher  order  of  brute  life. 
The  Mound  Builders  leave  behind  them  crude 
implements,  and  earthworks  showing  they  were 
a  constructive  race,  living  in  communities,  and 
with  indications  of  civilization.  The  Indians 
were  the  reverse,  and  from  the  indications  of 
what  the  Mound  Builders  were  and  the  known 


facts  of  the  Indian,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive 
any  connection  between  the  two  races.  While 
the  Indians  were  anything  but  a  peaceful  peo- 
ple, even  before  the  advent  of  the  white  man, 
it  is  but  just  to  them  to  say  they  only  developed 
the  highest'  and  most  insistent  and  persistent 
ideas  of  cruel  savagery  after  they  came  in  con- 
tact with  a  superior  order  of  civilization. 


CHAPTER  II 

DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA 

The  Landing  of  Columbus  and  the  Various  Explorations — The  Naming  of  America — Naddod, 
the  Norwegian — Iceland  Visited  by  the  Irish — Norse  Settlements  There  in  Sy^ — The 
Expedition  of  Lief  Ericson — Discovers  the  American  Coast  and  Calls  It  Vinland — Norse 
Settlements  on  Baffin's  Bay,  1135 — Population  and  Trade  of  Iceland  in  the  12th  Century 
— Visited  by  Columbus,  1477 — The  Zeni  Brothers — The  Landing  of  Columbus — Voyage 
of  Americus  Vespucius — Spanish  Settlements — The  New  World  Presented  to  Spain  by 
the  Pope — Expedition  of  Sebastian  Cabot — Discovers  Labrador — Explores  Coast  to  So. 
Carolina — Ponce  de  Leon  Lands  in  Florida — Followed  by  de  Soto— Expedition  of  Car- 
tier — Sails  up  the  St.  Lawrence — D'Ayllon  Kidnaps  Indians — His  Example  Followed  by 
Cortoreal — Expedition  of  Verrasini — Possessions  of  Spain,  England  and  France — Protes- 
tant Settlements  in  South  Carolina — The  Settlers  Murdered  by  the  Spaniard  Menendes 
— The  Massacre  Avenged  by  de  Gourges — Sir  Richard  Grenville  Lands  at  the  Island  of 
Roanoke — His  Men  Murdered  by  the  Indians — The  Colony  Reestablished  by  John  White 
— Treats  Indians  Kindly — The  First  English  Child  Born  in  what  is  now  the  United  States 
— Jamestown  Settlement  of  1607 — Capt.  John  Smith — The  Dutch  Settle  New  York — 
Landing  of  the  Pilgrims — Other  Settlements  of  English,  Swedes  and  Dutch — Penn  Set- 
tles Pennsylvania — The  French  Establish  Posts  in  Canada  and  Northwest  Territory — Are 
Driven  from  the  United  States  and  Canada — The  United  States  Obtains  Florida  and  Span- 
ish Settlements  Beyond  the  Mississippi — England  obtains  all  East  of  the  Mississippi — - 
Also  Territory  West  of  the  Rocky  Mountains — The  Northwest  Boundary  Settled — Lib- 
eral Terms  of  Colonial  Charters. 

Steer  on,  bold  sailor,  wit  may  mock  thy  soul  that     tempting  to  reach  the  Faroe  Islands,  200  miles 

And'hopekss.'af the  helm,  may  drop  the  weak  and      "Orthwest  of  the  British  Isles,   was  driven  by 

weary  hand;  storm  to  Iceland,  and  he  found  the  land  had 

Yet  ever,  ever  to  the  west,  for  there  the  coast  must     already  been  visited  by  the  Irish.     The  Norse- 

And'dim  it  dawns,  and  glimmering  dawns,  before  "^^n  made  a  Settlement  there  in  87s  by  In- 

thy  reason's  eye, — Schiller.  golf.  The  Colonization  at  Iceland  was  carried 

in  a  southwesterly  direction,  through  Green- 
Columbus  discovered  America  and  landed  land  to  the  New  Continent.  Notwithstanding 
on  October  12,  1492.  The  country  was  named  these  Icelandic  explorations  westward,  one 
after  Americus  Vespucius,  who  discovered  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  elapsed  when 
South  America  seven  years  later,  and  North  Lief,  a  Norwegian,  the  son  of  Eric  the  Red, 
America  itself  had  been  discovered  five  hun-  in  one  of  his  voyages  landed  on  the  American 
dred  years  prior  to  Columbus'  discovery,  coast,  between  Boston  and  New  York,  in  the 
Yet  Columbus  was  given  credit  for  the  discov-  year  1,000.  He  called  the  new  land  Vinland, 
ery,  as  it  was  his  voyage,  followed  up,  which  on  account  of  the  grapes  growing  there,  and 
settled  the  country.  Toward  the  close  of  the  he  was  naturally  delighted  with  the  fruitful- 
ninth  century  Naddod,  a  Norwegian,  while  at-  ness  of  the  soil  and  the  mildness  of  the  cli- 

29 


30 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


mate  as  compared  with  Iceland  and  Green- 
land. Later  a  settlement  was  made  here,  and 
when  the  white  people  came  to  Rhode  Island 
in  1638  they  discovered  a  tower  of  unhewn 
stone  made  from  gravel  of  the  soil  around,  and 
oyster-shell  lime.  It  was  circular  in  form,  23 
feet  in  diameter  and  24  feet  high.  The  Nar- 
ragansett  Indians  knew  nothing  of  its  origin. 
The  Icelandic  chronicles  state  that  besides  Lief 
the  Red,  Thorfinn  Karlsefne  visited  the  point 
and  settled  here  with  his  wife  Gudrida,  and 
that  a  son  was  born  to  them,  Snorre  Thorb- 
randsson.  These  historic  chronicles  seem  to 
have  been  written  in  Greenland  as  early  as 
the  twelfth  century  and  partly  by  descendants 
of  settlers  born  in  Vinland,  so  others  besides 
Snorre  were  born  there.  The  care  with  which 
the  genealogical  tables  are  kept  was  so  great 
that  that  of  Thorfinn  Karlsefne,  whose  son 
Snorre  Thorbrandsson,  was  born  in  America, 
has  been  brought  down  from  1,007,  the  date 
of  Snorre's  birth,  to  the  present,  and  Lossing 
states  this  geneological  tree  shows  that  Thor- 
waldsen,  the  great  Danish  sculptor,  was  a  de- 
scendant of  this  first  known  white  child  born 
on  American  soil.  The  Icelandic  history  also 
shows  that  explorers  erected  three  boundary 
pillars  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Baffin's  Bay, 
bearing  a  date  of  1135.  When  these  were 
found  in  1824  there  were  also  discovered  the 
ruins  of  a  number  of  buildings,  showing  there 
had  been  a  settlement  there,  and  the  records 
further  show  frequent  fishing  trips  to  this  and 
other  localities  along  Baffin's  Bay. 

At  this  time  Iceland  was  an  important  place. 
It  had  in  iioo  a  population  of  50,000  people, 
had  a  government  and  records,  and  poets  and 
writers,  and  was  farther  advanced  in  litera- 
ture at  that  time  than  any  European  nation.* 
Ships  from  Bristol,  England,  kept  up  a  con- 
stant trade  with  Iceland,  and  Christopher  Co- 
lumbus himself,  in  a  work  on  "The  Five 
Habitable  Zones  of  the  Earth,"  says  that  in 
the  month  of  February,  1477,  he  visited  Ice- 
land, "where  the  sea  was  not  at  that  time  cov- 
ered with  ice,  and  which  had  been  resorted  to 
by  many  traders  from  Bristol."  Columbus,  in 
the  same  work,  mentions  a  more  southern 
island,  Frislanda,  a  name  which  was  not  on 
the  maps  pviblished  in  1436  by  Andrea  Bianco, 

*Encyclopasdia  Britannica. 


or  those  in  1457  and  1470  published  by  Fra 
Mauro.  The  island  is  dwelt  upon  at  length  in 
the  travels  of  the  brothers  Zeni,  of  Venice, 
in  1388  to  1404.  But  Columbus  could  not 
have  been  acquainted  with  the  travels  of  the 
Zeni  brothers  as  they  were  unknown  to  Zeni's 
own  Venetian  family  until  1558,  when  they 
were  first  published,  fifty-two  years  after  the 
death  of  Columbus.  Therefore  Columbus 
knew  there  was  land  southwest  of  Iceland. 
He  could  easily  have  reached  this  land  by  tak- 
ing the  beaten  track  to  Iceland,  and  then 
southwest,  but  his  gtnius  told  him  he  could 
find  it  by  taking  a  westerly  course  from  Spain, 
which  he  did,  and  became  the  discoverer  of  a 
new  world. 

The  landing. of  Columbus  was  on  what  is 
now  San  Salvador,  latitude  24  north,  longi- 
tude 76  west,  one  of  the  Bahamas,  about 
three  hundred  miles  east  of  the  Florida  coast. 
On  this  trip  he  cruised  south  as  far  as  twenty 
degrees  north  latitude  and  discovered  Cuba 
and  San  Domingo.  In  March,  1493,  he  re- 
turned to  Spain  with  plants,  birds,  animals 
and  Indians  of  the  new  world,  and  his  jour- 
ney overland  from  Palos  to  Barcelona,  to  meet 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  was  the  march  of  a 
conqueror.  At  Barcelona  the  throne  of  the 
rulers  was  erected  in  a  Public  Square  and 
Columbus  was  received  with  royal  honors,  all 
the  great  of  the  kingdom  being  there  to  do  him 
homage.  The  counselors  of  Spain  believed  it 
advisable  to  keep  the  wonderful  discovery 
quiet,  as  Columbus  reported  fabulous  wealth 
in  the  new  world.  That  same  year  he  re- 
turned again  to  America,  taking  with  him 
several  horses,  a  bull  and  some  cows,  the  first 
European  animals  taken  to  the  new  world. 
He  made  two  other  voyages.  In  1498  he 
discovered  the  Orinoco,  on  the  north  coast  of 
South  America.  On  his  third  voyage  he  was 
returned  to  Spain  in  chains,  owing  to  misrep- 
resentations made  to  Queen  Isabella.  Matters 
were  easily  explained  and  he  made  his  fourth 
and  last  trip,  in  1502,  but  on  his  return  in 
1504  the  Queen  was  dead,  and  his  enemies 
were  in  power,  and  he  who  had  given  Spain 
a  new  nation  and  a  glory  that  would  last  for 
all  time,  died  in  poverty  and  obscurity  at 
Valladolid  on  the  20th  of  May,  1506.  In  the 
meantime  Americus  Vespucius  in  1499  visited 
the  Orinoco,  one  year  after  Columbus  had  dis- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


31 


covered  it,  and  returning  gave  a  glowing  ac- 
count of  the  new  world  and  it  was  named 
America. 

Immediately  after  the  first  discovery  of  Co- 
lumbus, Spain  made  settlements  in  the  islands 
of  the  West  Indies  and  reduced  the  Indians 
to  slavery,  and  Spanish  cruelty  and  wrong 
broke  the  spirit  and  lowered  the  standard  of 
the  Indians.  The  Spanish  colonists  married 
the  Indian  women,  and  from  this  union  came 
the  mixed  race  of  the  West  Indies.  The  Pope 
recognized  the  discoveries  of  Spain,  and  by 
an  edict  granted  Spain  the  ownership  of  the 
new  world;  that  there  might  be  no  future 
doubt  of  what  Spain  owned  he  gave  them 
control  of  "the  whole  region  westward,  be- 
yond an  Imaginary  line  300  miles  west  of  the 
Azores." 

Notwithstanding  Spain  made  no  public  an- 
nouncement of  the  discoveries  of  Columbus, 
the  most  extravagant  stories  drifted  through 
Europe  of  the  fabulous  wealth  of  a  new 
world,  and  Sebastian  Cabot,  of  Bristol,  Eng- 
land, on  March  16,  1497,  was  granted  a  com- 
mission of  discovery  by  Henry  VIII.  Bristol 
was  the  port  which  years  previous  had  done 
most  of  the  trading  with  Iceland,  and  when 
Cabot  started,  he  took  the  well-known  route 
toward  the  northwest,  and  on  July  3,  1497, 
discovered  the  rugged  coast  of  Labrador.  He 
skirted  along  the  coast  southward,  past  New- 
foundland, touched  at  several  points,  and  re- 
turning to  England  announced  the  discovery 
of  what  was  undoubtedly  a  new  continent. 
The  next  year,  1498,  he  fitted  out  another  ex- 
pedition, and,  like  Columbus,  his  main  object 
was  to  discover  a  passage  to  India.  Again  he 
reached  Labrador,  and  cruised  north,  but  the 
ice  stopped  his  progress,  and  he  abandoned 
his  search  for  a  northwest  passage,  and  went 
south,  exploring  the  coast  from  Labrador  to 
North  Carolina. 

On  March  27,  15 12,  Ponce  de  Leon  landed 
in  Florida,  and  took  possession  in  the  name 
of  the  King  af  Spain — the  first  appearance 
of  Spain  on  United  States  soil.  Years  later, 
in  1539,  Ferdinand  de  Soto  landed  in  Florida 
with  six  hundred  men,  all  warriors,  and  pro- 
ceeded inland  through  Georgia,  Alabama  and 
Mississippi,  crossing  the  Mississippi  river 
somewhere  below  Memphis  in  May,  1541,  tak- 
ing possession  of  the  land  he  passed  over,  and 


the  land  beyond  that  river  in  the  name  of  the 
King  of  Spain.  During  the  entire  trip  he  had 
much  trouble  with  the  Indians,  men  died  of 
sickness,  and  when  he  reached  Florida  on 
September  20,  1543,  of  the  six  hundred  men 
who  started  but  sixty  returned,  but  they  had 
made  a  trip  of  three  thousand  miles,  through 
an  unbroken  wilderness,  wandering  on  and  on 
in  a  vain  search  for  the  fabulous  gold  they 
dreamed  was  somewhere  in  the  interior. 

In  1534  Jacques  Cartier,  a  Frenchman, 
went  up  the  St.  Lawrence  river  with  his  ships 
as  far  as  where  Quebec  now  stands,  and  learn- 
ing the  Huron  (Wyandotte)  King  had  his 
capital  at  a  point  called  Hochelaga  he  paid  him 
a  visit.  The  Wyandotte  King  entertained  his 
guest  with  the  greatest  hospitality  and  showed 
by  every  means  possible  that  the  visitors  were 
welcome.  Cartier  remained  the  guest  of  the 
King  for  several  days  and  climbed  the  large 
mountain,  saw  the  magnificent  St.  Lawrence 
stretching  above  and  below  him,  the  rich  coun- 
try as  far  as  the  eye  could  see  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  he  named  it  Mont  Real,  which  is  its 
name  today,  the  Metropolis  of  Canada  with 
a  population  of  half  a  million.  Cartier  re- 
turned the  King's  hospitality  by  a  dinner  on 
board  his  vessel  in  which  he  made  him  a  pris- 
oner and  took  him  to  France,  exhibiting  him 
to  that  civilized  nation  as  one  of  the  barbarian 
curiosities  of  the  new  world.  In  1542  Cartier 
returned  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  had  in- 
tended taking  the  King  back  with  him,  but 
the  unfortunate  savage,  pining  for  his  home 
and  people,  had  died  of  a  broken  heart.  On 
Cartier's  arriving  at  Quebec  with  a  force  of 
men  to  make  a  settlement,  he  found  the  In- 
dians so  unfriendly  that  he  was  compelled  to 
build  a  fort  at  Quebec  for  his  protection. 
This  was  the  first  experience  of  the  Wyandotte 
Indians  with  the  newer  and  higher  order  of 
civilization. 

Practically  the  same  thing  occurred  in  South 
Carolina.  D'Ayllon,  a  French  navigator,  who 
had  founded  a  colony  at  San  Domingo,  started 
for  the  Bermudas  to  capture  a  few  slaves  to 
work  the  Domingo  sugar  and  tobacco  planta- 
tions. Bad  weather  drove  him  to  the  coast 
of  South  Carolina  where  he  was  furnished 
water  and  provisions  by  the  natives,  and 
treated  with  the  greatest  hospitality.  He  en- 
tertained them  in  return  on  his  bQats,  showed 


32 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


them  over  the  vessels,  and  when  a  hundred 
savages  were  below  fastened  down  the 
hatches,  and  sailed  for  San  Domingo.  One 
vessel  was  lost,  and  on  the  other  the  savages 
stubbornly  refused  food,  and  nearly  all  died 
of  starvation.  A  few  years  later  D'AUyon  re- 
turned for  more  slaves.  He  landed  on  the 
same  coast,  and  was  again  hospitably  received 
by  the  ignorant  natives.  They  gave  him  feasts 
and  banquets,  and  arranged  a  magnificent  feast 
at  their  capitol,  and  when  in  the  wilderness, 
miles  from  help,  they  were  led  into  an  ambush, 
and  the  entire  party  massacred.  Thus  early 
were  the  Indians  learning  the  higher  order  of 
civilization.  Cortoreal  of  Portugal  obtained  a 
permit  from  King  John  to  make  discoveries. 
He  reached  Canada,  captured  fifty  natives, 
took  them  back  to  Portugal  and  sold  them 
for  slaves.  The  investment  was  so  profitable 
that  he  immediately  started  for  a  second  cargo, 
but  he  was  never  heard  of  afterward. 

In  1523,  Francis  the  First,  of  France,  sent 
out  John  Verrazini  with  four  vessels  to  make 
discoveries.  In  March  of  1 524  he  reached  the 
Cape  Fear  river  in  North  Carolina,  and  ex- 
plored the  coast,  anchoring  in  Delaware  Bay 
and  New  York  harbor,  and  landed  where  New 
York  now  is.  He  treated  the  Indians  to 
liquor,  and  not  being  used  to  it  many  became 
very  drunk,  from  which  fact  the  Indians  then 
called  the  place  Manna-ha-ta,  "place  of 
drunkenness."  He  continued  his  trip  north 
and  named  Canada  New  France. 

The  entire  coast  had  now  been  discovered; 
Spain  had  Florida  and  the  southern  part  of 
the  United  States  and  beyond  the  Mississippi; 
England  from  the  Carolinas  north,  and  France 
had  Canada,  all  this  within  half  a  century 
after  Columbus'  great  discovery.  Settlements 
had  been  established  by  the  Spanish  and 
French  in  the  West  Indies  and  by  the  Portu- 
gese in  Newfoundland,  but  no  permanent  set- 
tlement had  yet  been  made  in  the  United 
States. 

The  era  had  now  arrived'  when  John  Cal- 
vin in  England,  Martin  Luther  in  Germany, 
and  the  Huguenots  in  France  were  bitter  in 
their  opposition  to  the  Catholic  church,  and 
Admiral  Coligny,  the  advisor  of  the  weak 
Charles  the  Ninth  of  France,  decided  to  es- 
tablish a  place  of  refuge  for  the  Protestants  in 


the  new  world.  The  King  granted  him  a 
commission  for  that  purpose,  and  on  Febru- 
ary 28,  1562,  a  squadron  under  command  of 
John  Ribault  sailed  for  America.  The  fleet 
first  touched  near  the  harbor  of  St.  Augustine, 
Florida,  sailed  north  past  the  St.  John's  river 
to  Port  Royal,  the  southeastern  part  of  South 
Carolina,  where  they  established  their  colony, 
calling  it  Carolina,  in  honor  of  Charles  of 
France.  The  colony  did  not  prosper  and  ad- 
ditional settlers  were  sent.  In  the  meantime 
Philip  II  of  Spain,  who  claimed  the  territory 
by  virtue  of  Columbus'  discovery,  and  the 
edict  of  the  Pope  giving  Spain  everything 
west  of  the  Azores,  was  highly  incensed  at 
this  invasion  of  his  territory,  and  sent  Pedro 
Menendez  to  Florida  as  Governor  with  strict 
instructions  to  drive  out  the  French  and  es- 
tablish a  Spanish  colony.  He  had  a  strong 
force  and  landed  at  St.  Augustine,  founding 
a  town  there,  the  first  in  the  United  States, 
and  proclaimed  the  King  of  Spain  as  Monarch 
of  all  of  North  America.  Ribault,  learning 
of  the  landing  of  Menendez,  started  down  the 
coast  to  attack  him,  but  his  ships  were 
wrecked,  many  of  his  men  drowned,  and  those 
who  reached  the  shore  were  either  killed,  or 
were  murdered  by  the  Spaniards.  In  the 
meantime  Menendez  marched  overland  to 
Port  Royal  surprised  the  settlement,  and  mur- 
dered all  of  them,  about  nine  hundred  in  num- 
ber. He  erected  a  cross  on  the  site  of  the 
wholesale  butchery  and  on  it  placed ,  an  in- 
scription that  these  men  were  slain,  "not  be- 
cause they  were  Frenchmen  but  Lutherans." 
And  being  in  a  particularly  pious  frame  of 
mind  he  laid  the  foundation  for  a  church  to 
commemorate  the,  deed.  When  Charles  of 
France  learned  of  the  murder  of  his  subjects, 
matters  at  home  were  in  such  shape  that  he 
could  not  avenge  the  insult,  but  a  wealthy 
Frenchman,  Dominic  de  Gourges,  fitted  out  a 
ship  at  his  own  expense,  and  landed  at  Port 
Royal  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  warriors, 
captured  the  two  hundred  men  left  in  charge 
there,  and  hanged  the  whole  party,  he,  too, 
erecting  a  cross  with  the  inscription :  "I  do  not 
this  as  unto  Spaniards  or  Moors,  but  unto 
traitors,  robbers  and  murderers."  His  force 
^yas  too  small  to  risk  an  attack  on  Ft.  Augus- 
tine, and  being  in  dariger  of  being  attacked  by 
the  Spaniards  at  any  moment,  he  had  no  time 


ZALMON  EOWSE 


fif 


-^^ 


ASA  HOSFORD 
The  Father  of  Galion 


^m*^. 


SAMUEL   NORTON 
Founder  of  Bucyrus 


MARY  BUCKLIN  NORTON 
Wife  of  Samuel  Norton 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


35 


to  even  lay  the  foundation  of  a  church,  but 
sailed  immediately  for  home,  leaving  the 
placarded  Spaniards  hanging  to  the  trees  as 
an  object  lesson  to  the  Indians  of  the  new 
and  higher  order  of  civilization. 

From  1579  to  1585  settlements  were  made 
by  the  English  in  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina, but  they  were  not  permanent.  In  1585 
Sir  Richard  Grenville  landed  at  the  island  of 
Roanoke  in  Albermarle  Sound.  He  treated 
the  Indians  very  badly  and  they  returned  the 
compliment  with  interest.  He  was  finally 
compelled  to  return  to  England,  which  he  did, 
leaving  fifteen  men  in  charge.  Two  years 
later,  in  1587,  John  White  went  over  with  re- 
inforcements, and  found  the  colony  aban- 
doned, the  men  having  been  murdered  by  the 
Indians. 

White  re-established  the  colony,  and  re- 
versed the  policy  of  Grenville,  treating  the  In- 
dians kindly  and  cultivating  their  friendship. 
He  induced  Manteo,  their  chief,  to  become  a 
Christian,  and  baptised  him.  White  further 
pleased  the  Indians,  and  their  Chief  by  invest- 
ing him  with  the  title  of  Lord  of  Roanoke, 
with  great  formality  and  display,  followed  by 
a  feast  to  the  Indians  and  presents.  This  was 
the  first — as  well  as  the  last — ^peerage  ever  cre- 
ated in  America.  When  White  returned  to 
England  he  left  behind  his  daughter,  Eleanor 
Dare,  wife  of  Lieutenant  Dare,  one  of  his 
officers.  On  August  18,  1587,  there  was  born 
to  Lieutenant  and  Mrs.  Dare,  a  daughter,  and 
she  was  named  Virginia  Dare,  the  first  English 
child  born  in  what  is  now  the  United  States. 
In  1589  White  again  started  for  America  but 
was  driven  back  by  the  Spaniards;  however 
in  1590  he  returned  to  the  colony  only  to  find 
it  abandoned  and  all  traces  of  the  colonists 
lost,  and  it  was  not  until  eighty  years  later  the 
English  learned  that  their  lost  kindred  had 
been  adopted  by  the  Hatteras  tribe,  and  be- 
come amalgamated  with  the  children  of  the 
wilderness.* 

In  April,  1607  a  settlement  was  made  at 
Jamestown,  Virginia,  composed  almost  en- 
tirely of  English  "gentlemen"  whose  profligate 
lives  had  left  them  in  destitute  circumstances 
in  England,  and  who  only  came  to  America 
in  a  spirit  of  adventure,  and  the  hope  of  re- 

*EIlis. — People's  Standard  History  of  the  United 
States. 


alizing  a  fortune  in  the  new  world  without 
work.  The  colony  was  an  absolute  failure, 
dependent  on  the  Indians  for  the  necessaries 
of  life.  Capt.  John  Smith,  a  man  of  great 
force,  later  took  charge  of  the  colony  and  en- 
deavored to  instill  a  spirit  of  industry  into 
the  men.  He  urged  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil,  but  at  the  end  of  two  years  the  two  hun- 
dred settlers  had  only  forty  acres  under  culti- 
vation, and  but  for  the  Indians  would  have 
starved.  It  was  not  until  June,  1610,  on  the 
arrival  of  Lord  De  La  Warr,  with  a  different 
class  of  colonists,  that  a  permanent  and  last- 
ing settlement  was  established  in  Virginia. 

In  1 61 3.  the  Dutch  from  Holland,  settled 
in  New  York  City,  calling  it  New  Amster- 
dam, honestly  buying  the  land  from  the  In- 
dians for  $24.  On  December  22,  1620,  the 
Pilgrims  landed  at  Plymouth  Rock,  with 
forty-three  men  and  their  families.  In  1629 
a  colony  was  founded  in  New  Hampshire; 
in  1633  ill  Connecticut;  in  1634  in  Maryland; 
in  1636  in  Rhode  Island;  and  in  1638  in  Dela- 
ware, all  by  the  English.  In  1623  the  Swedes 
founded  a  colony  in  New  Jersey. 

This  settled  the  entire  coast;  New  England 
being  English ;  New  York,  Holland ;  New  Jer- 
sey, Sweden;  Delaware,  Maryland  and  the 
Carolinas,  English;  Georgia  and  Florida, 
Spanish.  The  Dutch  claimed  New  Jersey  as 
their  territory,  and  forced  the  Swedes  to 
acknowledge  their  claims.  But  in  1682,  when 
William  Penn  made  his  settlement  in  Penn- 
sylvania, the  Swedes  preferred  English  rule 
to  that  of  Holland,  and  in  time  they  came 
under  the  control  of  the  English.  Still  later 
the  English  took  possession  of  New  Amster- 
dam calling  it  New  York,  which  gave  them 
the  entire  coast,  excepting  Florida  and  South- 
ern Georgia.  The  French  were  in  undisturbed 
possession  of  Canada. 

While  the  English  were  colonizing  and  se- 
curing possession  of  the  coast  line,  the  French, 
through  Canada,  were  exploring  the  interior, 
passing  through  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  establishing 
forts  and  trading  posts,  exploring  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  by  virtue  of  their  discoveries,  all  the 
land  west  of  the  Alleghenies  and  north  of  the 
Ohio  river,  was  under  the  control  of  the 
French;  and  beyond  the  Mississippi  France 
owned  all  the  Mississippi  Valley  to  the  Rocky 


36 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Mountains;  Spain  owned  Texas  and  all  west 
of  the  Rockies  up  to  the  northern  boundaries 
of  California. 

In  1763,  after  a  long  war  between  England 
and  France,  the  American  colonies  being  Eng- 
lish assisting  the  mother  country,  France  was 
driven  from  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
all  east  of  the  Mississippi  being  ceded  to  Eng- 
land; all  her  possessions  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi being  ceded  to  Spain,  and  in  this  treaty 
Spain  ceded  Florida  to  England.  In  1783,  at 
the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  England 
secretly  ceded  Florida  to  Spain,  and  the 
United  States  bought  it  in  1819.  In  1801 
Spain  ceded  her  territory  beyond  the  Missis- 
sippi to  France,  and  in  1803,  Napoleon  need- 
ing money,  and  to  prevent  England  ever  secur- 


ing it,  sold  it  to  the  United  States.  The  war 
with  Mexico  gave  the  United  States  all  west 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  that  part  west  of  the 
Rockies  and  north  of  California  being  claimed 
by  the  United  States  by  right  of  the  discov- 
eries of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  a  daim  disputed, 
but  conceded  later  by  England  and  Spain  in 
the  settlement  of  the  northern  boundary  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Canada. 

When  Spain  first  discovered  America  she 
claimed  the  entire  continent,  north  and  west 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  rulers  of  England 
in  graftting  charters,  followed  the  same  liberal 
policy,  and  their  charters  were  for  land  be- 
tween certain  degrees  of  latitude  on  the  coast, 
extending  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 


CHAPTER  III 

INDIAN   OCCUPANCY 

Their  Home  on  the  Sandusky — Attacks  on  the  Settlers — Crawford's  Expedition — Character 
of  the  Indians — Their  Mode  of  Life — Their  Aversion  to  Work — Failure  of  Attempts  to 
Enslave  Them — Lack  of  Written  Language — Their  History  Preserved  by  the  Missionaries 
— Indian  Traditions  Concerning  Their  Origin — The  Various  Tribes — Legends  Concerning 
a  Previous  Race — Division  of  the  Country  Among  the  Tribes — Origin  of  the  "Five  Na- 
tions"— Conflict  with  the  French  and  the  Hurons — Sell  Land  to  William  Penn — Work  of 
the  Franciscan  Friars — Of  the  Jesuits — The  Iroquois  Make  Treaties  with  the  English  and 
Dutch — Their  War  with  the  Eries — Attack  the  Hurons  in  Canada — The  Country  Con- 
trolled by  Them — The  Wyandottes  and  Ottawas — The  French  and  Indian  Posts  at  Mack- 
inac and  Detroit — The  Foxes  Attack  Detroit — Are  Routed  and  Almost  Exterminated — ■, 
The  Tuscaroras  Unite  with  the  Five  Nations  Forming  the  "Six  Nations" — The  Wyan- 
dottes in  This  Section — The  Delawares  in  the  Muskingum  Valley — The  Shawanese — In- 
dian Raids  into  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia — Attacks  on  the  White  Settlers  Whom  They 
Torture  and  Kill — The  French  Forts  in  Northwest  Territory — The  French  and  Indian 
War — Washington  Attacks  the  French — Braddock's  Defeat — The  Triumph  of  the  Eng- 
lish and  Its  Results — Pontiac's  Attempt — Mistake  of  Ensign  Faulty — His  Capture  and 
Escape — The  Murder  of  Pontiac — Gen.  Bradstreet's  Expedition — Battle  of  Point  Pleas- 
ant— Cornstalk — Simon  Girty — The  Revolution  and  Its  Results — The  Part  Taken  by  the 
Indians  in  the  Revolutionary  War — The  English  Trading-Post  at  Sandusky  Where  In- 
dians were  Paid  for  Scalps  of  White  Settlers — Indian  Attack  on  Ft.  Henry — Bravery 
of  Elisabeth  Zane — The  Peaceful  Moravian  Indians  Butchered  by  Col.  Williamson — 
Col.  Crawford's  Defeat  and  Tragic  Death — End  of  the  Revolution — Treaty  of  Ft.  Mc- 
intosh— Murder  of  Sha-tay-ya-ron-yah — Other  Treaties — Battle  of  Fallen  Timbers — 
Boundaries — War  of  1812 — Surrender  of  Gen.  Hull — Harrison's  Expedition — British 
and  Indian  Attack  on  Ft.  Meigs — Defense  of  Ft.  Stevenson — Victory  of  Commodore 
Perry — Battle  of  the  Thames  and  Death  of  Tecumseh — British  Defeated  at  New  Or- 
leans— End  of  the  War. 


Lo,  the  poor  Indian,  whose  untutored  mind 
Sees    God    in   clouds    and    hears    him   in    the    wind. 
— Pope. 

The  only  good  Indian  is  a  dead  Indian. — Mark 
Twain. 

The  Indians  of  the  United  States  were  a 
race  who  had  no  written  history.  They  were 
principally  forest  wanderers,  living  on  game 
and  fish,  and  what  little  grain  the  Indian 
women  cultivated,  for  no  Indian  warrior 
would  demean  himself  by  labor.    In  the  early 


history  of  the  country  a  brisk  trade  existed 
by  adventurers  bringing  colored  men  from 
Africa  and  selling  them  to  the  early  settlers 
as  slaves.  The  thrifty  pioneers  endeavored 
to  secure  slave  labor  cheaper  by  capturing  In- 
dians, but  in  all  the  colonies  where  it  was  at- 
tempted it  proved  a  failure.  The  Indians 
would  not  work,  and  although  cruel  and  brutal 
punishment  was  inflicted  it  was  useless.  The 
Indians  died  under  the  lash  rather  than  de- 
grade themselves  by  manual  labor.    They  had. 


37 


38 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


as  stated,  no  written  language,  the  Iroquois 
being  regarded  as  the  most  intelligent,  as  they 
could  count  up  to -one  hundred,  many  of  the 
tribes  being  unable  to  definitely  express  num- 
bers above  ten. 

Long  before  the  hunter  and  the-  trapper 
wandered  through  the  great  northwest,  the 
Jesuit  and  Moravian  missionaries,  following 
on  the  heels  of  the  early  discoveries,  became 
very  friendly  with  the  Indians.  It  is  from 
records  left  by  these  men,  the  principal  infor- 
mation of  the  Indians  is  obtained,  but  the  early 
history  given  by  them  is  much  of  it  legendary. 
These  missionaries  learned  from  the  older 
men  of  the  Lenni  Lenape  (Delawares)  that 
centuries  previous  their  ancestors  dwelt  in  the 
far  west,  and  slowly  drifted  toward  the  east, 
arriving  at  a  great  stream,  called  the  Namoesi 
Sipee  (Mississippi)  or  "river  of  fish."  Here 
they  met  the  Mangwes  (Iroquois)  who  had 
drifted  westward  to  the  Mississippi,  far  to  the 
north,  the  Delawares  having  come  east  about 
the  centre  of  the  United  States.  The  country 
east  of  the  Mississippi  was  reported  as  being 
inhabited  by  a  very  large  race  of  men,  who 
dwelt  in  large  towns  along  the  shores  of  the 
streams.  These  people  were  called  the 
Allegewi,  and  it  was  their  name  that  was 
given  to  the  Allegheny  river  and  mountains. 
Their  towns  were  strongly  fortified  by  earth 
embankments.  The  Delawares  requested  per- 
mission of  the  Allegewi  to  establish  them- 
selves in  their  territory,  but  the  request  was 
refused,  although  permission  was  given  them 
to  cross  the  river,  and  go  through  their  coun- 
try to  the  east.  When  the  Delawares  com- 
_tnenced  crossing  the  river  the  Allegewi  became 
alarmed  at  their  numbers,  and  fell  upon  them 
in  force  and  killed  those  who  had  crossed, 
threatening  the  others  with  a  like  fate  should 
they  attempt  to  pass  the  stream. 

The  legend  indicates  the  Allegewi  were  not 
of  the  Indian  race  but  the  Iroquois  were. 
The  Delawares  were  indignant  at  the  murder 
of  their  braves  and  the  treachery  of  the 
Allegewi,  so  they  took  counsel  with  their 
Iroquois  brethren,  and  they  formed  a  compact 
to  unite  and  drive  the  Allegewi  beyond  the 
Mississippi,  and  divide  the  country.  The  war 
lasted  for  years  and  great  was  the  slaughter 
on  both  sides,  until  finally  the  Indians  con- 
quered, and  the  Allegewi  fled  down  the  Mis- 


sissippi, never  more  to  return.  The  Iroquois 
then  took  the  country  along  the  great  lakes, 
and  the  Delawares  the  country  to  the  south. 
The  two  nations  remained  peaceful  for  many 
years,  and  the  Delawares  explored  still  further 
and  further  to  the  east,  until  finally  they  es- 
tablished their  principal  headquarters  along 
the  Delaware  and  Susquehanna  rivers.  The 
Iroquois  covered  the  territory  north  of  the 
Delawares  and  along  both  shores  of  the  St. 
Lawrence.  The  Delawares,  occupying  land 
from  the  Atlantic  to  beyond  the  Mississippi 
river,-  became  divided  into  various  tribes,  but 
they  had  grown  in  strength  as  the  years 
passed  and  far  outnumbered  the  Iroquois. 
Trouble  arose  between  the  two  nations,  and 
they  went  to  war.  To  overcome  the  superior- 
ity in  numbers  of  the  Delawares  the  Iroquois 
resorted  to  stratagem.  An  Indian  tribe  is  one 
family,  and  an  injury  done  to  one  member  is 
avenged  by  the  entire  tribe.  All  tribes  had 
their  war  instruments  marked  with  some  pecu- 
liar design,  or  totem.  The  Iroquois  murdered 
an  Indian  of  one  of  the  Delaware  tribes  and 
left  at  the  scene  of  the  murder  the  war  club 
bearing  the  mark  of  another  branch  of  the 
Delawares.  This  caused  war  between  the  two 
branches  of  the  Delaware  tribes.  The 
shrewd  Iroquois  soon  had  the  Delawares  hope- 
lessly divided,  fighting  and  killing  each  other. 

The  treachery  of  the  Iroquois  was  discov- 
ered and  the  Delawares  called  a  grand  coun- 
cil, summoning  their  warriors  from  the  Atlan- 
tic to  the  Mississippi,  with  the  intention  of 
utterly  exterminating  the  Iroquois.  Then  was 
formed  by  the  Iroquois  the  Five  Nations,  or- 
ganized by  Thannawaga,  an  aged  Mohawk 
chief.  It  was  an  absolute  alliance  of  the  Mo- 
hawks, Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and 
Senecas,  a  form  of  Republic  in  which  the 
leaders  of  the  five  nations  consulted  and  acted 
as  one.  Under  this  powerful  organization  the 
Delawares  were  forced  back  to  their  own 
lands. 

The  Five  Nations  having  driven  back  the 
Delawares  turned  their  attention  to  the 
French,  who  were  forcing  them  south  from 
their  hunting  grounds  on  the  St.  Lawrence. 
North  of  this  river  were  the  Hurons  (Wyan- 
dottes)  and  although  of  the  Iroquois  branch 
of  the  Indians,  yet  they  were  now  a  separate 
nation  and  at  enmity.     Although  Cartier  had 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


39 


treacherously  taken  their  chief  to  France  on 
his  first  visit,  Champlain,  nearly  a  century 
later,  had  made  friends  with  the  Hurons  and 
when  the  Iroquois  began  resisting  the  French 
inroads  on  their  territory,  Champlain  or- 
ganized the  Hurons  and  made  a  raid  on  the 
Iroquois  in  1609,  administering  a  crushing 
defeat,  the  Hurons  returning  to  Quebec  with 
fifty  scalps.  In  1610  another  attack  was 
made  on  the  Iroquois  by  Champlain  and  his 
Huron  allies,  but  they  were  driven  back  by  the 
Iroquois.  The  French  now  abandoned  further 
extensions  to  the  south,  and  the  Iroquois  made 
an  onslaught  on  their  ancient  enemies,  the 
Delawares,  and  drove  them  from  the  Atlantic 
westward  to  the  AUeghenies. 

It  was  land  the  Five  Nations  had  taken 
from  the  Delawares  that  they  sold  to  William 
Penn  in  1682.  The  Iroquois  as  early  as  1609 
became  the  inveterate  enemy  of  the  French, 
an  enmity  which  continued  with  undiminished 
hatred  for  a  century  and  a  half.  So  when  the 
French  created  this  hatred  by  their  attacks  on 
the  Iroquois,  this,  and  an  admiration  the  west- 
ern and  northern  Indians  had  for  the  French, 
made  them  allies.  The  Hurons  were  not  as 
warlike  as  the  Iroquois,  but  like  all  Indians 
they  took  up  the  cause  of  any  insult  to  any 
member  of  their  tribe.  As  a  result  the  battles 
between  the  Iroquois  and  the  Hurons  were 
frequent,  and  they  were  ever  inveterate  ene- 
mies. To  balance  the  Five  Nation  league  of 
the  Iroquois,  the  Hurons  also  united  all  that 
branch  of  the  Algonquins  in  the  north  and 
west  who  were  opposed  to  the  Iroquois,  the 
principal  nation  of  the  confederation  being  the 
Wyandottes. 

After  the  French  and  Hurons  had  defeated 
the  Five  Nations  on  Lake  Champlain,  they  re- 
mained quiet  for  some  time.  The  Franciscan 
friars  had  done  much  missionary  work  among 
the  Hurons  and  many  had  adopted  the  Cath- 
olic faith,  and  with  religion  came  a  less  war- 
like spirit,  and  more  cultivation  of  the  soil. 
With  the  Iroquois  the  missionaries  could  do 
nothing,  many  losing  their  lives  in  the  attempt. 

The  Jesuits  followed  the  Franciscans,  and 
found  a  fruitful  field  of  labor  among  the 
Hurons.  This  was  from  1625  on,  and  the  en- 
ergetic Jesuits  soon  supplanted  all  over  the 
west  the  quieter  and  less  religiously -aggressive 
Franciscans.    The  Jesuits  established  missions 


and  schools  all  along  the  northern  border  of 
the  lakes,  at  Detroit,  through  Indiana,  Illinois 
and  Wisconsin,  and  along  the  Mississippi 
from  its  source  to  New  Orleans.  It  is  to  be 
noted,  however,  that  even  these  zealous  Jesuits 
in  going  from  Quebec,  on  the  St.  Lawrence, 
to  Detroit,  kept  north  of  the  lakes,  as  the 
more  convenient  route  by  way  of  the  Niagara 
river  and  Lake  Erie  was  controlled  by  the 
ferocious  Iroquois,  whose  implacable-  hatred 
of  everything  French  had  been  started  by 
Champlain.  It  is  but  just  to  the  Jesuits  to 
say  some  did  visit  the  Iroquois,  only  to  be 
horribly  treated,  sometimes  tortured  and 
burned  at  the  stake;  or,  if  allowed  to  return, 
maimed  for  life.  One  faithful  missionary 
was  sent  home  as  a  warning  to  others.  The 
fiendish  Iroquois  had  made  holes  through  the 
calves  of  his  legs;  through  these  holes  they 
had  placed  reeds  filled  with  gun-powder. 
These  were  then  set  on  fire,  blowing  the  calves 
of  his  legs  to  pieces.  It  is  stated  that  later  on 
he  again  limped  among  them,  and  the  Iroquois 
who,  with  all  their  cruelty  admired  bravery, 
let  him  alone.  But  he  was  the  only  French- 
man who  was  allowed  to  preach  to  the 
Iroquois.  As  the  legend  fails  to  state  whether 
he  made  any  converts  among  the  Iroquois,  it 
is  probable  he  did  not,  much  as  they  needed 
religious  teaching. 

For  nearly  forty  years  the  warlike  Iroquois 
remained  quiet,  except  occasional  marauding 
expeditions  against  neighboring  tribes  and 
treacherous  attacks  on  the  white  settlers. 
They  had  made  a  treaty  of  peace  with  the 
New  England  settlers,  and  in  1648  made  a 
treaty  with  the  Dutch  of  New  Amsterdam. 
Under  this  treaty  the  Dutch  sold  them  arms 
and  ammunition,  which,  prior  to  this  time,  the 
•Dutch  had  scrupulously  refused  to  do.  After 
two-score  years  of  rest  a  new  generation  had 
sprung  up,  equally  warlike  and  equally  fear- 
less, and  they  concluded  to  try  their  new 
weapons  on  the  Eries,  another  of  the  tribes  of 
the  Huron  combination.  The  Eries  then  oc- 
cupied the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  in- 
cluding the  territory  now  embraced  by 
Crawford  and  adjoining  counties.  The  Eries 
were  entirely  unprepared  and  the  victory  was 
so  complete  that  the  Eries  never  again  became 
prominent.  This  led  to  a  war  between  the 
Hurons  and  the  Iroquois,  and  it  raged  with 


40 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


undiminished  fury  for  several  years,  until  in 
1659,  the  Iroquois  crossed  into  Canada  in 
great  force,  above  the  French  settlements,  and 
marched  through  the  Huron  territory,  massa- 
cring their  enemies,  burning  their  towns,  de- 
stroying the  missions  and  murdering  the 
priests.  The  Hurons  fled  through  lower  Can- 
ada, across  the  river  at  Detroit,  and  into  upper 
Michigan,  and  only  found  final  refuge  from 
their  insatiable  foes  on  the  southern  shores  of 
Lake  Superior,  where  the  Chippewas  came  to 
their  defense  and  drove  the  Iroquois  back. 
The  Iroquois  were  now  in  undisputed  control 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi  and  from 
the  Lakes  to  the  Ohio  river. 

In  the  Lake  Superior  region  the  bulk  of  the 
Wyandottes  and  Ottawas  (another  of  the 
Huron  branch)  made  their  home  for  many 
years,  until  two  French  priests  arrived  among 
them,  Jacques  Marquette  and  Claude  Deblon, 
and  began  organizing  them  in  the  interest  of 
the  French,  and  establishing  a  headquarters 
for  all  the  Indian  allies  of  the  French  at  Mack- 
inac. This  was  in  1671,  and  here  they  re- 
mained for  thirty  years.  In  1701  Cadillac, 
who  had  been  in  command  of  the  French  fort 
at  Mackinac,  established  a  new  post  at  Detroit, 
which  was  called  Fort  Ponchartrain,  later 
changed  to  Detroit,  a  name  it  ever  after  re- 
tained. When  Cadillac  moved  to  Detroit,  at 
his  request  most  of  the  Indian  allies  accom- 
panied him;  they  were  joined  by  other  In- 
dians, and  new  tribal  relations  established, 
and  the  Hurons  took  the  name  of  their  lead- 
ing tribe,  the  Wyandots,*  the  name  meaning 
"Traders  of  the  West." 

The  Wyandots  were  frequently  attacked  by 
their  old  enemies,  the  Iroquois,  but'  the  Indians 
around  Detroit  were  all  united;  they  received 
arms  and  ammunition  from  the  French,  and 
when  necessary  the  French  soldiers  fought 
with  them,  and  at  the  end  of  six  years  the 
Iroquois  were  compelled  to  give  up  the  strug- 
gle and  leave  the  French  and  Wyandots  in 
control  of  lower  Michigan  and  Canada  north 
of  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario. 

But  the  shrewd  Iroquois  were  not  idle. 
They  instigated  the  Fox  nation  to  make  an  at- 
tack on  the  Detroit  settlement.     They  chose  ? 

*The  correct  name  was  Wyandotte,  but  from 
this  date  the  name  is  given  according  to  tlie  modern 
spelling. 


time  when  the  Wyandots  were  away  on  a 
hunting  expedition,  early  in  May,  1712.  Du 
Buisson  was  then  in  command  of  Fort  Pon- 
chartrain, with  only  twenty-one  men.  He 
sent  runners  out  to  notify  the  Indians  to  re- 
turn. On  the  13th  an  assault  was  made  on 
the  Fort,  but  the  Foxes  and  their  allies  were 
held  at  bay.  While  the  fight  was  going  on  the 
Wyandots  returned,  and  drove  the  Foxes  into 
the  fort  they  had  erected  when  they  came  to 
capture  the  French  settlement.  The  French 
and  Wyandots  in  turn  attacked  the  enemy's 
fort,  but  were  unsuccessful.  For  nineteen 
days  the  fighting  continued,  when  the  Foxes 
were  compelled  to  flee,  and  hurriedly  built  a 
fortification  a  few  miles  north  of  Detroit. 
Here  they  were  attacked  by  the  French  and 
their  allies,  the  French  bringing  two  small 
cannon  to  bear  on  the  enemy.  The  fighting 
lasted  three  days  more,  when  the  Foxes  were 
utterly  routed,  the  Wyandots,  and  their  allies, 
the  Ottawas  and  Pottawatomies  massacring 
eight  hundred  men,  women  and  children, 
nearly  wiping  out  the  Fox  nation,  a  few  of 
those  remaining  joining  their  friends,'  the 
Iroquois,  and  the  remainder  removing  to 
Wisconsin  and  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Su- 
perior, where  they  became  as  bitter  enemies  of 
the  French  as  were  the  Iroquois  in  the  east. 
It  was  this  same  year  the  Tuscaroras,  driven 
from  North  Carolina,  came  north  and  united 
with  the  Iroquois  and  the  confederation  be- 
came the  Six  Nations.  While  the  battles  at 
Detroit  intensified  the  anger  of  the  Six  Na- 
tions and  the  Foxes  against  the  French,  it 
gave  the  latter  the  strong  friendship  of  the 
Wyandots  and  all  those  Indians  who  sur- 
rounded the  French  settlement,  a  friendship 
which,  to  the  credit  of  the  Wyandots,  they 
faithfully  maintained  through  all  the  varying 
fortunes  of  war  for  the  next  half  century, 
and  when,  in  1763,  the  flag  of  France  fell  be- 
fore the  meteor  flag  of  England,  and  the 
French  retired  from  American  soil,  for  some 
years  after  the  treaty  of  peace  between  Eng- 
land and  France  was  signed,  the  Wyandots 
with  their  western  allies  were  at  war  against 
the  British. 

The  Wyandots  now  gradually  extended 
their  hunting  grounds  along  the  southern 
shore  of  L-ake  Erie,  the  nearly  half  a  century 
of  war  of  the  Iroquois  with  the  French  hav- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


41 


ing  left  that  nation  in  so  crippled  a  condition 
that  they  never  again  appeared  west  of  the 
Alleghenies  on  a  warlike  expedition.  The 
Wyandots  are  known  to  have  been  in  this 
section  as  early  as  1725,  and,  extending  their 
territory,  were  soon  in  control  from  Lake 
Erie  to  the  Ohio  river.  In  1740  the  remnant 
of  the  once  famous  Dela wares  was  driven 
from  Pennsylvania  by  the  Six  Nations  and 
by  the  advance"  of  the  Pennsylvania  colonists, 
and  the  Wyandots  gave  them  permission  to 
occupy  the  Muskingum  Valley.  A  number  of 
the  Shawanese  also  made  their  home  along 
the  Scioto,  and  the  Ottawas  had  land  between 
the  Sandusky  and  the  Maumee  rivers,  and 
from  here,  as  allies  of  the  French,  they  fre- 
quently made  warlike  excursions  into  Penn- 
sylvania and  Virginia,  surprising  the  settlers 
at  dead  of  night,  and  massacring  entire 
families,  men,  women  and  children,  and  when 
the  expedition  was  in  retaliation  for  some  real 
or  fancied  wrong,  returning  with  the  prison- 
ers and  holding  a  •  war  dance  while  the  un- 
fortunate captives  were  horribly  tortured  until 
death  alone  relieved  them  of  their  suffering. 

For  a  quarter  of  a  century,  from  their 
forest  fastnesses  on  the  Sandusky,  they  made 
raids  hundreds  of  miles  distant,  on  the  un- 
suspecting stockade  or  lonely  cabin,  pillaged, 
massacred  and  burned  and  were  ofif  again, 
lost  in  the  trackless  woods,  where  it  was  im- 
possible to  follow  them.  There  are  remains 
today  of  Indian  trails  all  over  the  southern 
portion  of  Crawford  county,  on  which  the 
Indians  stealthily  marched  in  single  file,  to  and 
fro  on  their  murderous  expeditions.  From 
the  lake  at  Sandusky  to  the  Ohio  river  their 
water  route  was  up  the  Sandusky,  across  to 
the  Scioto  and  down  that  stream  to  the  Ohio, 
one  of  their  portages  being  through  the  south- 
west portion  of  Dallas  township. 

In  1755  all  of  the  coast  states  were.  British 
colonies;  the  French  were  in  control  of  all 
west  of  the  Alleghenies  and  north  of  the  Ohio, 
they  had  fortifications  all  along  Lake  Erie; 
one  at  Fort  Duquesne  (Pittsburg)  another 
at  Erie,  Pennsylvania;  at  Detroit;  two  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Sandusky,  others  in  Indiana  and 
Illinois,  and  the  Indians  in  all  this  great  north- 
west were  their  friends  and  allies.  The  French 
claimed  the  territory,  and  justly,  by  right  of 
discovery;  the  English  claimed  through  chart- 


ers of  British  rulers,  granted  to  companies 
for  so  many  miles  along  the  Atlantic  "and  ex- 
tending west  to  the  Pacific  ocean."  The  sec- 
tion of  the  state  where  Crawford  county  is 
located  came  under  a  charter  granted  Virginia, 
this  charter's  northern  line  being  the  present 
northern  boundary  of  Crawford  county.  The 
country  from  the  northern  boundary  of  Craw- 
ford to  Lake  Erie  was  claimed  under  the 
charter  granted  to  Connecticut.  England 
further  claimed  Ohio  from  the  fact  that  in  a 
treaty  with  the  Iroquois  (Six  Nations)  she 
had  bought  of  them  all  their  territory  north 
of  the  Ohio  river  and  west  of  the  Alleghenies 
to  the  Mississippi.  While  there  is  a  dispute 
as  to  whether  the  Six  Nations  ever  did  ex- 
tend their  conquests  beyond  the  Cuyahoga 
river,  and  whether  the  Six  Nations  ever  did 
own  by  conquest  that  part  of  Ohio  where 
Crawford  county  is  situated,  England  always 
recognized  the  claims  of  the  Iroquois  and  the 
Americans  acquiesced. 

In  1744,  when  the  war  occurred  between 
France  and  England,  practically  all  the  Indians 
of  the  northwest  gave  their  services  to  the 
French.  They  attacked  the  frontiers  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  Virginia;  some  went  down  the 
St.  Lawrence,  reported  at  Montreal,  where 
they  were  given  arms  and  ammunition,  and 
attacked  the  settlers  of  New  York,  and  even 
extended  their  depredations  across  the  Hud- 
son to  massacre  settlers  in  far-off  New  Eng- 
land. They  were  as  loyal  to  their  French 
friends  as  they  were  bitter  and  implacable  in 
their  hatred  of  the  English  and  the  Iroquois, 
who,  after  a  hundred  years,  were  still  the  loyal 
friends  of  the  English.  In  1745  a  French 
commandant's  record  in  Canada  shows  the 
number  of  Indians  reporting  for  duty  in  the 
war  against  England,  among  them  the  Wyan- 
dots. Other  records  show  that  in  one  year  at 
least  twenty  of  these  blood-thirsty  murdering 
bands  were  sent  out  by  the  French,  frequent 
mention  being  made  of  the  part  taken  by  the 
Wyandots  in  the  wholesale  butcheries  which 
followed  in  these  bloody  raids. 

In  1748  a  treaty  was  patched  up  between 
England  and  France  and  comparative  quiet 
was  maintained  until  1754,  but  as  the  French 
still  remained  in  possession  of  the  great  north- 
west, and  England  was  determined  to  have 
the   territory,   war   again   broke   out.     In   the 


42 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


spring  of  1754  a  company  of  French  soldiers 
from  Fort  Duquesne,  while  extending  their 
explorations  southward,  were  attacked  by 
some  Virginia  rangers  under  Lieut.  Col. 
George  Washington.  A  fight  for  the  owner- 
ship of  the  great  northwest  between  the 
French  and  English  was  so  inevitable  that 
during  the  winter  of  1754-5  England  and  the 
colonies  on  the  one  side  and  the  French  on 
the  other  organized  for  the  coming  struggle, 
which  commenced  in  1755,  and  lasted  for 
seven  long  years,  England  and  the  extreme 
eastern  colonies  marching  to  Canada,  and  the 
Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  militia  joining  with 
the  English  soldiers  in  the  battles  in  the  north- 
west. 

In  this  section  the  war  commenced  with  the 
attempt  of  Gen.  Braddock  in  command  of  the 
English,  and  Col.  George  Washington  in 
command  of  the  militia,  to  capture  Fort 
Duquesne,  situated  at  the  point  where  the 
Allegheny  and  Monongahela  unite  to  form 
the  Ohio.  The  French  sent  an  army  from 
Detroit,  and  they  were  joined  in  their  march 
by  the  Wyandots,  and  through  the  forests  and 
over  the  plains  of  Crawford  they  hurried  to 
the  battle  ground.  The  Wyandots  then  were 
the  leading  nation  of  the  northwest,  the  most 
numerous,  and  in  bravery  were  the  equals  of 
the  Iroquois.  They  were  a  fighting  nation, 
every  man  a  warrior,  with  their  pride  of  brav- 
ery raised  to  so  high  a  pitch  that  not  one  ever 
surrendered,  and  for  more  than  half  a  century 
to  come  it  is  doubtful  if  a  single  Wyandot  was 
ever  captured.  They  were  among  the  Indian 
troops  who  were  secreted  in  the  woods  and 
poured  the  deadly  fire  on  the  ambuscaded 
Americans  and  English.  The  French  loss 
was  four  killed,  and  the  American  and  English 
300.  Among  the  slain  was  Gen.  Braddock, 
who  had  refused  advice  as  to  Indian  warfare, 
and  who  paid  the  penalty  with  his  life,  leav- 
ing Washington  in  command  to  save  what  he 
could  from  the  slaughter. 

The  victory  at  Fort  Duquesne  excited  the 
Indians'  thirst  for  blood,  and  nearly  every 
Wyandot  warrior  took  to  the  war  path.  Along 
the  borders  of  Pennsylvania  they  left  a  trail 
of  death  and  desolation;  they  were  with  Mont- 
calm in  Canada,  where  the  French  were  de- 
feated; then  on  to  Ottawa,  which  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  British;  returning  to  Fort 


Niagara  they  received  another  repulse;  every- 
where the  English  and  Americans  were  slowly 
but  surely  driving  back  the  French.  Bravery, 
endurance  and  fortitude  were  characteristic  of 
the  Wyandots,  but  adversity  they  could  not 
stand.  Their  belief  in  French  superiority  was 
becoming  shattered,  and  by  degrees  they 
drifted  back  to  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky, 
disappointed  and  discouraged,  and  took  no 
further  hand  in  the  struggle.  It  ended  in 
1763  when  France  relinquished  Canada,  and 
all  her  possessions  in  the  United  States  east 
of  the  Mississippi  to  the  English. 

It  is  probably  better  for  civilization  that 
the  result  was  as  it  was,  but  when  one  reflects 
that  cold  and  calculating  England  had  confined 
her  settlements  to  the  easily  reached  shores  of 
the  Atlantic,  while  the  French  for  two  hun- 
dred years  had  explored  the  boundless  forests, 
navigated  streams  unknown,  erected  trading 
posts,  gone  where  the  foot  of  the  white  man 
had  never  trod,  the  opinion  is  almost  inevitable 
that  although  it  was  probably  for  the  best,  it 
was  not  the  right  that  triumphed.  The  French 
had  made  all  the  explorations,  experienced  all 
the  hardships  of  travels  in  an  unknown  coun- 
try; their  explorers  had  suffered  torture  and 
death  in  harmonizing  the  savage  tribes,  and 
just  as  the  land  is  ready  for  settlement,  and 
the  harvest  of  her  years  of  toil  is  reached, 
England,  by  the  force  of  arms,  seizes  the  prize. 
But  why  mourn  for  the  French  or  criticise  the 
English.  "For  time  at  last  sets  all  things 
even,"  and  justice,  though  slow,  is  sure,  and 
before  England  could  reap  the  fruits  of  her 
shrewdness,  the  American  nation  rose  in  its 
might,  as  one  man,  and  the  Great  Northwest, 
stolen  from  the  French,  became  free  and  in- 
dependent, and  later  the  garden  spot  of  the 
United  States  with  today  more  than  twenty 
millions  of  people. 

While  the  French  were  receiving  their  re- 
verses, Pontiac  an  Ottawa  chief  (Huron 
branch  of  the  Indians)  organized  practically 
all  of  the  Indians  of  the  northwest  to  seize 
every  English  outpost,  probably  twelve  in 
number.  In  the  Great  Northwest  they  failed 
only  at  Detroit,  where  the  siege  lasted  for 
many  months,  by  which  time  the  English  had 
regained  their  forts  and  relieved  Detroit,  and 
peace  was  declared.  In  this  peace  Pontiac  re- 
fused to  join,  but  retired  with  his  Ottawas  to 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


43 


Illinois.  The  capture  of  the  different  forts 
was  arranged  for  May  7,  1763.  The  Wyan- 
dots  captured  the  Fort  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Sandusky.  Here  Ensign  Paully  was  in  com- 
mand, and  on  May  16  he  was  approached  by 
seven  Indians  with  a  request  for  a  conference. 
He  admitted  them  without  hesitation,  when 
he  was  seized,  bound  and  the  fort  captured, 
the  garrison  being  taken  unawares.  Nearly 
all  the  garrison,  eleven  in  number,  were  mas- 
sacred and  the  fort  was  burned.  Ensign 
Paully  being  reserved  for  torture.  He  was 
tied  to  the  stake,  and  just  as  the  fagots  were 
about  to  be  fired  an  Indiaw  squaw,  whose  hus- 
band had  been  killed,  claimed  the  prisoner  to 
take  the  place  of  her  dead  husband.  Paully 
consented,  and  was  liberated,  but  at  the  first 
opportunity  made  his  escape,  leaving  the 
widow  doubly  bereaved. 

Pontiac  in  Illinois  remained  the  inveterate 
foe  of  the  English,  and  in  1769  he  was  mur- 
dered by  an  Illinois  Indian.  The  Wyandots, 
who  had  for  some  years  been  living  quietly, 
on  learning  the  news,  accompanied  by  the  Ot- 
tawas  and  other  tribes  marched  to  Illinois  and 
avenged  the  chief's  death  by  the  almost  wip- 
ing out  of  the  Illinois  tribe. 

In  1764  Gen.  Bradstreet,  who  was  in  com- 
mand at  Detroit,  with  a  force  of  men 
"ascended  the  Sandusky  river  as  far  as  it 
was  navigable  by  boats."  The  point  reached 
was  "probably  the  old  Indian  town  of  Upper 
Sandusky  on  the  river  about  three  miles  south- 
east of  the  present  town  of  Upper  Sandusky. 
Here  a  treaty  of  peace  was  made  with  the 
chiefs  and  leading  men  of  the  Wyandots. 
Among  those  who  accompanied  Gen.  Brad- 
street  was  Israel  Putnam,  then  a  major  in 
command  of  a  battalion  of  Americans. 

This  peace  was  fairly  observed  until  in 
1774,  the  Wyandots,  Shawanese,  Delawares 
and  Mingoes  made  an  attack  on  Point  Pleas- 
ant, where  the  Kanawha  joins  the  Ohio. 
They  had  a  force  of  over  a  thousand  war- 
riors, under  command  of  Cornstalk.  General 
Lewis  was  in  command  of  Point  Pleasant  with 
1,100  men.  The  fight  continued  all  day  the 
English  loss  being  two  colonels,  five  captains, 
three  lieutenants  and  a  hundred  soldiers,  be- 
sides a  hundred  and  forty  wounded.  The  In- 
dian loss  must  have  been  severe,  as  during  the 


night  they  retreated  across  the  Ohio  river  and 
returned  to  their  homes.  Just  before  the  bat- 
tle they  were  joined  by  Simon  Girty,  who 
had  been  a  scout  for  the  English.  He  was  an 
efficient  scout,  but  in  some  altercation  with 
Gen.  Lewis,  the  latter  struck  him  with  a  cane 
over  the  head,  inflicting  a  deep  gash.  Girty 
threatened  vengeance,  and  escaped  from  the 
fort,  joining  the  Indians,  and  in  the  attack  on 
the  fort  was  as  savage  and  bitter  and  cruel  as 
any  Indian  warrior  could  desire.  He  remained 
with  his  new  friends  and  ever  after  made  his 
home  with  the  Shawanese,  Delawares  and 
Wyandots.  He  declared  he  had  foresworn  his 
white  blood  and  assumed  the  garb  of  the  In- 
dians with  their  painted  flesh  and  feathered 
headdress. 

After  the  Americans  and  English  had  suc- 
ceeded in  driving  out  the  French  in  1 763,  Eng- 
land for  years  pursued  an -unjust  policy  toward 
the  colonies,  which  eventually  culminated  in 
the  Revolutionary  war.  In  the  east  all  manu- 
factures which  interfered  with  England  were 
prohibited  or  crippled  by  severe  laws.  All 
goods  must  be  bought  in  England ;  all  products 
raised  in  America  must  be  sold  to  England 
alone,  and  forwarded  on  English  vessels.  The 
English  commercial  policy  also  affected  the 
great  Northwest,  of  which  Crawford  county 
is  a  part.  The  French,  by  their  -explorations, 
and  by  their  trading  posts  all  over  this  great 
territory  had  built  up  a  large  business  in  furs, 
of  which  they  had  a  monopoly.  The  English 
merchants  secured  this  trade,  and  it  was  so 
vast  and  profitable  they  wanted  it  continued. 
As  a  result  they  petitioned  the  King  and  Par- 
liament :  "It  does  appear  to  us  that  the  exten- 
sion of  the  fur  trade  depends  entirely  on  the 
Indians  being  undisturbed  in  the  possession  of 
their  hunting  grounds,  and  that  all  colonizing 
does,  in  its  nature,  and  must,  in  its  conse- 
quences, operate  to  the  prejudice  of  that 
branch  of  commerce."  So  George  Third  is- 
sued a  proclamation  declaring  the  new  terri- 
tory, the  Great  Northwest  from  the  Ohio  to 
the  Lakes  and  from  the  Alleghenies  to  the 
Mississippi,  royal  domain,  and  prohibited  fur- 
ther settlement  in  this  vast  territory,  or  the 
purchase  of  any  part  of  it  from  the  Indians. 
This  was  in  1774,  and  the  English  statesmen, 
forseeing  a  coming  contest,  attached  this  ter- 


44 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ritory  to  the  Province  of  Quebec,  and  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan  and  Wisconsin 
were  a  part  of  Canada. 

Eight  years  later  the  Province  of  Quebec 
was  the  danger  point  in  the  treaty  of  peace 
between  England  and  the  United  States.  The 
American  commissioners  were  Benjamin 
Franklin,  John  Adams,  John  Jay  and  Henry 
Laurens.  Their  imperative  instructions  were 
that  the  independence  of  the  United  States 
must  be  recognized.  Other  matters  were 
minor.  France  had  been  the  ally  of  the 
United  States  and  the  treaty  must  be  satis- 
factory to  that  nation.  France  had  received 
from  Spain  practically  all  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river,  and  desired  to  have  her  rights 
recognized  by  England.  Spain  was  with 
France,  and  the  two  secretly  arranged  with 
England  that  the  north  boundary  of  the 
United  States  should  be  the  Ohio  river,  basing 
the  claim  on  the  ground  that  the  Great  North- 
west was  a  part  of  the  Province  of  Quebec, 
and  there  was  no  question  that  Canada  was  to 
remain  English  territory.  In  the  early  part 
of  the  treaty,  while  this  agreement  was  not 
definitely  reached,  matters  were  tending  that 
way.  Franklin,  as  minister  to  France,  con- 
ducted the  earlier  negotiations,  and  later, 
when  John  Adams  and  John  Jay  arrived,  the 
boundary  came  up.  The  English  were  insist- 
ent; Vergennes,  the  French  minister,  favored 
the  English,  until  finally  Adams  and  Jay  posi- 
tively declared  they  would  submit  to  no  bound- 
ary except  the  lakes.  Laurens  and  Franklin 
stood  by  them  solidly,  and  it  was  over  a  year 
before  England  finally  yielded  the  point,  and 
Ohio  and  the  Great  Northwest  became  a  part 
of  the  United  States.  England  probably 
thought  the  territory  of  far  less  importance 
than  it  was,  having  relegated  all  that  vast  re- 
gion to  a  great  hunting  ground,  with  no  higher 
conception  of  its  future  use  than  the  protect- 
ing and  raising  of  fur  bearing  animals.  How 
different  the  views  of  John  Jay,  who  speaking 
of  this  territory  in  Congress  in  1777,  prophet- 
ically said:  "Extensive  wildernesses,  now 
scarcely  known  or  explored,  remain  yet  to  be 
cultivated;  and  vast  lakes  and  rivers,  whose 
waters  have  for  ages  rolled  in  silence  to  the 
ocean,  are  yet  to  hear  the  din  of  industry,  be- 
come subservient  to  commerce,  and  boast  de- 


lightful villas,  gilded  spires,  and  spacious  cities 
rising  on  their  banks." 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary 
war,  the  Wyandots  and  their  neighbors  at 
first  saw  no  reason  to  take  any  hand  in  the 
contest.  In  the  east  the  British  had  secured 
the  assistance  of  the  Six  Nations,  the  Mo- 
hawks being  then  the  chief  tribe,  but  by  1777 
the  English  had  succeeded  in  enlisting  the 
Wyandots  and  other  Ohio  tribes  on  their  side, 
and  under  British  pay  they  made  onslaughts 
on  the  western  borders  of  the  colony,  attack- 
ing the'  settlers  in  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia. 
Many  joined  the  British  army,  and  a  number 
of  Wyandots  joined  the  army  of  Gen.  Bur- 
goyne,  in  New  York  state,  but  did  little  be- 
yond burning  a  few  houses  of  settlers,  steal- 
ing their  stock  and  murdering  a  number  of  the 
pioneers.  In  an  excursion  with  BurgO)me 
into  New  Hampshire,  a  number  of  Wyandots 
were  killed,  and  they  blamed  the  British  Gen- 
eral for  the  loss,  claiming  the  warriors  were 
needlessly  sacrificed.  This,  and  the  fact  that 
Burgoyne  endeavored  to  restrain  their  ferocity 
and  cruelty,  disgusted  the  Wyandots,  and  most 
of  them  returned  to  their  home  on  the  San- 
dusky; but  still  under  the  pay  of  the  English, 
continued  to  harass  the  frontier,  destroying, 
burning  and  murdering.  The  English  had  a 
trading-post  at  the  Indian  village  of  Sandusky, 
where  settlement  was  made,  and  at  this  point 
nearly  all  the  Indian  tribes  were  paid  for  the 
scalps  taken. 

Their  first  expedition  was  in  1777.  The 
renegade  Girty  Avas  thoroughly  conversant 
with  affairs  along  the  Ohio  river,  and  at  his 
suggestion  five  hundred  warriors,  Delawares, 
^^'yandots  and  Shawanese,  started  on  an  ex- 
pedition against  Fort  Henry,  near  where 
Wheeling  now  is,  on  the  Ohio  river.  The 
British  had  supplied  them  with  arms  and  am- 
munition, and  the  Indians  made  their  way 
through  the  dense  forests,  along  their  trails, 
crossed  the  Ohio  and  surrounded  the  fort 
with  its  garrison  of  forty  men,  and  a  number 
of  women  and  children.  Col.  David  Shep- 
pard  was  in  command,  and  rumors  had 
reached  the  fort  that  five  hundred  warriors 
had  started  from  the  Sandusky  region  on  some 
murdering  expedition,  destination  unknown 
On  the  evening  of  September  26,  1771,  settlers 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


45 


reported  Indians  in  war  paint  had  been  seen 
lurking  in  the  neighborhood.  Cabins  were 
abandoned,  and  all  sought  safety  in  the  fort. 
Col.  Sheppard  sent  out  two  men  to  recon- 
noitre; one  was  killed  and  the  other  returned 
to  the  fort  wounded ;  the  Colonel  then  sent  out 
fourteen  men,  and  as  they  were  proceeding 
cautiously  down  the  river  they  fell  into  an 
ambush,  and  eleven  were  instantly  killed,  the 
others  escaping  in  the  dense  forest.  Hearing 
the  firing,  the  Colonel  sent  twelve  more  men 
to  relieve  the  imperiled  party;  eight  of  these 
were  promptly  killed.  The  fighting  force  in 
the  fort  was  now  reduced  to  a  dozen  men. 
The  Indians  made  constant  attacks,  but  were 
as  constantly  driven  back.  It  was  during  this 
engagement  that,  when  the  powder  gave  out, 
Elizabeth  Zane  bravely  went  to  the  storehouse, 
sixty  yards  away,  and  brought  back  the 
powder  in  safety.  She  volunteered  for  this 
service,  saying  that  no  man  could  be  spared 
for  this  perilous  trip  under  the  direct  fire  of 
the  enemy.  Night  coming  on,  the  Indians  re- 
tired until  morning.  During  the  night  a  dozen 
men  arrived  from  a  neighboring  settlement, 
and  succeeded  in  gaining  entrance  to  the  fort. 
In  the  morning  forty  more  rangers  arrived, 
and  the  Indians,  now  regarded  it  as  useless  to 
continue  their  assault  on  the  fort.  They 
therefore  destroyed  everything  they  could,  set 
fire  to  the  houses,  and  killed  or  carried  off 
three  hundred  head  of  cattle.  They  had  killed 
twenty-one  men,  with  several  others  wounded. 
Their  own  loss,  however,  was  over  a  hundred. 
They  returned  to  Sandusky  with  twenty-one 
scalps  for  which  cash  was  paid  by  the  British 
agent. 

While  the  Wyandots  were  allies  of  the  Eng- 
lish, as  well  as  the  other  tribes  of  Ohio,  on  an 
eastern  branch  of  the  Muskingum  in  Tuscara- 
was county  were  several  hundred  Moravian 
Indians,  of  the  Delaware  tribe,  who  con- 
stantly refused  to  take  part  in  the  war;  they 
had  become  Christian  Indians,  had  three  set- 
tlements in  Tuscarawas  county,  and  had 
cleared  considerable  land,  devoted  their  time 
,  mostly  to  farming  and  kept  up  constant  busi- 
ness relations  with  the  Americans  at  Pittsburg, 
about  sixty  miles  distant,  which  was  the  head- 
quarters of  the  American  forces  in  the  west. 
They  refused  all  the  overtures  and  bribes  of 
the  British.     Finally,  in  the  fall  of  1781,  Col. 


Elliott,  of  the  British  forces,  who  was  sta- 
tioned at  Upper  Sandusky,  took  with  him  two 
chiefs  and  three  hundred  warriors,  and 
marched  to  the  Moravian  settlements,  their 
route  being  through  Crawford,  crossing  the 
Sandusky  at  a  point  one  mile  south  of  the 
Tod  township  line,  and  passing  through  Bucy- 
rus  township  in  the  direction  of  New  Win- 
chester and  in  a  southeasterly  direction  toward 
the  Kilbuck  in  Holmes  county  and  on  to  the 
Tuscarawas  settlements.  The  three  Moravian 
towns,  all  on  the  Tuscarawas  river,  were 
Schonbrunn,  two  miles  south  of  the  present 
town  of  New  Philadelphia,  seven  miles  fur- 
ther south  was  Gnadenhiitten  and  five  miles 
further  Salem. 

On  reaching  the  Moravians  the  Indians 
urged  their  brethren  to  stand  by  them  in  their 
war  against  the  Americans;  the  English  Col- 
onel offered  them  presents,  but  the  Moravians 
stood  firm.  Failing  in  peaceful  persuasions 
the  Indians  insisted  they  should  accompany 
them  to  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky,  claiming 
they  were  too  near  Pittsburg,  and  the  Wyan- 
dots were  afraid  they  might  ally  themselves 
with  the  detested  Americans.  Expostulations 
were  useless  and  the  peaceful  Moravians  were 
forced  to  leave  their  crops  ungathered,  and 
accompany  their  captors  in  the  long  and  weary 
march  to  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky.  The 
Moravians  were  taken  to  Sandusky  and  from 
there  their  missionaries  were  sent  to  Detroit  as 
prisoners.  Some  writers  place  the  Moravian 
winter  quarters  on  the  river  southwest  of  Bucy- 
rus,  but  Butterfield  fixes  it  near  the  old  Indian 
town,  three  miles  southeast  of  the  present 
town  of  Upper  Sandusky.  Here  they  passed 
the  winter,  suffering  great  hardships,  as  the  In- 
dians make  no  provision  for  the  future,  and 
the  addition  of  several  hundred  to  the  Indian 
villages  along  the  Sandusky  was  beyond  their 
means  of  support.  After  a  severe  winter  a 
number  were  allowed  to  return  to  their  villages 
to  gather  the  crops  of  the  fall  previous.  About 
one  hundred  and  fifty  of  them,  men  with  their 
wives  and  children,  made  the  journey  to  their 
former  homes,  and  resumed  their  work  on  the 
clearings,  dividing  their  force  so  as  to  look 
after  all  three  of  the  villages. 

While  the  Moravians  had  spent  the  winter 
suffering  on  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky  the 
Wyandots  had  not  been  idle,  but  had  made 


46 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


maurading  expeditions  on  the  settlers  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  Virginia,  with  their  usual  burn- 
ing and  killing.  The  settlers  of  the  upper  Ohio 
and  the  Monongahela  determined  to  admin- 
ister a  lesson  that  would  be  a  warning  to  the 
Indians,  and  a  corps  of  a  hundred  mounted 
men  was  organized,  and  under  command  of 
Col.  Williamson  started  for  the  Moravian 
towns.  They  knew  the  Moravians  had  spent 
the  winter  on  the  Sandusky,  the  point  where 
all  the  brutal,  murdering  expeditions  were  or- 
ganized; they  knew  they  had  again  returned 
to  their  villages  on  the  Tuscarawas.  In  what 
follows,  the  most  lenient  might  concede  they 
did  not  know  the  peaceful  Indians  had  been 
taken  there  against  their  will,  but  this  is  not 
borne  out  by  history.  The  rangers  under  Wil- 
liamson reached  Gnadenhiitten  after  a  forced 
march  of  two  days,  and  at  this  village  found 
the  Indians  gathering  corn  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  Tuscarawas.  A  boat  was  secured  and 
sixteen  of  the  men  crossed  the  river,  but  found 
more  Indians  there  than  they  had  expected. 
Then  the  rangers  certainly  learned  their  visit 
to  Sandusky  had  been  an  enforced  one,  for 
they  sympathized  with  them  for  the  cruel 
treatment  they  had  received  and  assured  them 
of  their  friendship  and  that  they  had  come 
to  see  in  what  way  they  could  protect  the 
Moravians.  They  further  assured  them  that 
another  expedition  would  come  from  the  San- 
dusky region,  and  they  would  again  receive 
the  same  cruel  treatment,  and  that  their  friends 
at  Pittsburg  had  advised  them  to  go  to  that 
place  where  they  would  receive  protection. 
Knowing  the  settlers  of  Pittsburg  had  always 
treated  them  with  the  greatest  friendship,  and 
being  Christian  Indians,  they  did  not  doubt 
what  the  men  told  them,  and  placed  themselves 
under  their  protection.  The  trusting  Indians 
also  sent  a  messenger  down  the  river  to  the 
village  of  Salem  to  notify  the  Indians  there 
of  the  kindness  of  their  new-found  friends, 
urging  them  to  join  them  at  Gnadenhiitten. 
They  crossed  the  river  with  the  rangers  and 
gave  their  guns  into  their  hands,  after  which 
they  were  ordered  into  houses  and  a  guard 
placed  around  them..  Col.  Williamson  sent  a 
party  of  men  down  the  river  to  the  village  of 
Salem,  but  on  the  way  they  met  the  Salem 
Moravians  coming  up  the  river  to  join  their 
brethren   at   Gnadenhiitten.      The    Salem   In- 


dians arrived  and  they,  too,  were  deceived  into 
giving  up  their  arms  after  which  they  were 
imprisoned.  Col.  Williamson  then  called  a 
council  of  war,  and  put  the  question  for  the 
men  to  decide,  as  to  whether  the  Indians  should 
be  taken  as  prisoners  to  Fort  Pitt  (Pittsburg) 
or  whether  they  should  be  put  to  death.  There 
were  eighteen  who  favored  the  minor  outrage 
of  carrying  them  away  as  prisoners  and  eighty- 
two  voted  for  immediate  death. 

James  Patrick,  Esq.,  of  New  Philadelphia, 
wrote  an  interesting  history  of  the  Moravian 
Missions  in  Tuscarawas  county.  From  this 
work  the  following  account  of  the  horrible 
scene  is  taken:  "In  the  majority,  which  was 
large,  no  sympathy  was  manifested.  They  re- 
solved to  murder — for  no  other  word  can  ex- 
press the  act — the  whole  of  the  Christian  In- 
dians in  their  custody.  Among  these  were 
several  who  had  contributed  to  aid  the  mis- 
sionaries in  the  work  of  conversion  and  civili- 
zation. Two  of  them  had  emigrated  from 
New  Jersey  after  the  death  of  their  spiritual 
pastor,  the  Rev.  David  Brainerd.  One  woman, 
who  could  speak  good  English,  knelt  before 
the   commander   and   begged   his   protection. 

"The  supplication  was  unavailing.  They 
were  ordered  to  prepare  for  death.  But 
the  warning  had  been  anticipated.  Their  firm 
belief  in  their  new  creed  was  shown  forth 
in  this  sad  hour  of  their  tribulation,  by  relig- 
ious exercises  of  preparation.  The  orisons  of 
these  devout  people  were  already  ascending  to 
the  throne  of  the  Most  High.  The  sound 
of  the  Christian's  hymn  and  the  Christian's 
prayer  found  an  echo  in  the  surrounding 
woods,  but  no  responsive  feeling  in  the  bosoms 
of  their  executioners.  With  gun,  and  spear, 
and  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife,  the  work 
of  death  progressed  in  these  slaughterhouses, 
till  not  a  sigh  or  moan  was  heard  to  proclaim 
the  existence  of  human  life  within.  All  per- 
ished save  two.  Two  Indian  boys  escaped  as 
by  a  miracle,  to  be  witnesses  in  after  times  of 
the  savage  cruelty  of  the  white  man  toward 
their  unfortunate  race. 

"After  committing  their  cruel  and  cowardly 
act,  the  buildings  containing  the  mutilated 
bodies  of  the  murdered  Indians  were  set  on 
fire,  and  the  flames  of  the  heavy  logs  soon  re- 
duced to  crumbling  ashes  all  that  remained  of 
the  Christian  Indians." 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


47 


Dr.  Doddridge  pays  a  beautiful  tribute  to 
the  Christianity  of  the  Moravians  when  he 
writes:  "They  anticipated  their  doom,  and 
had  commenced  their  devotions  with  hymns, 
prayers  and  exhortations  to  each  other  to  place 
a  firm  reliance  upon  the  mercy  of  the  Saviour 
of  men.  When  their  fate  was  announced  to 
them  these  devoted  people  embraced  and  kissed 
each  other,  and  bedewing  each  others  faces 
and  bosoms  with  their  tears  asked  pardon  of 
their  brothers  and  sisters  for  any  offense  they 
might  have  committed  through  life.  Thus,  at 
peace  with  God,  and  each  other,  they  replied 
to  those  who,  impatient  for  the  slaughter,  de- 
manded whether  they  were  ready  to  die,  that 
'having  commended  their  souls  to  God,  they 
were  ready  to  die.'  " 

Having  reduced  to  ashes  all  traces  of  their 
inhuman  act,  the  men  started  up  the  river  for 
Schonbrunn  to  murder  the  Moravians  there, 
but  the  Christian  savages  had  learned  of  the 
sad  fate  of  their  companions  and  fled  to  the 
forest,  and  were  beyond  pursuit.  The  num- 
ber murdered  was  ninety-six;  of  these  sixty- 
two  were  grown  persons,  about  forty-two  men 
and  twenty  women;  the  remaining  thirty-four 
were  children.  A  few  of  the  men  who  looked 
as  if  they  might  be  warriors  were  taken  from 
the  slaughter  house  and  brained  with  toma- 
hawks. Most  of  these  quietly  knelt  down, 
and  while  offering  up  prayers  to  God,  received 
the  fatal  blow.  But  one  attempted  to  escape, 
and  he  soon  fell  dead  with  five  bullets  through 
his  body.  These  outside  dead  were  placed  in 
the  slaughter-houses  and  burned  with  the  rest. 

One  hundred  and  fifty  years  previous  when 
Menendez  murdered  the  Huguenot  Christians 
on  the  Atlantic  coast  he  tarried  on  the  site  of 
his  crime  long  enough  to  lay  the  foundation  of 
a  church  to  commemorate  his  act.  It  was  prob- 
ably through  inadvertence  Col.  Williamson 
overlooked  this  beautiful  finishing  touch  of 
piety ! 

It  was  only  a  part  of  the  Moravians  who 
had  been  murdered;  the  larger  number  were 
still  on  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky,  and  to  this 
same  retreat  fled  the  fifty  Christian  Moravians 
who  had  escaped  from  Schonbrunn.  Imme- 
diately on  Williamson's  return,  arrangements 
were  made  for  a  new  expedition  to  go  to  the 
fountain-head  of  all  the  trouble — the  head- 
quarters on  the  Sandusky — and  administer  a 


blow  that  would  leave  the  settlers  in  peace. 
The  massacre  of  the  Moravians  took  place  May 
3,  1702,  and  on  May  7  the  decision  was 
reached  to  attack  Upper  Sandusky,  the  seat 
of  the  Wyandots,  not  that  the  Wyandots  alone 
were  guilty  of  all  the  murdering  and  mas- 
sacreing,  butchering  and  scalping  of  the  un- 
fortunate settlers  and  their  families,  but  be- 
cause Upper  Sandusky  was  the  headquarters 
of  the  Wyandots,  Ottawas,  Delawares,  and 
Shawanese,  and  here  was  their  rendezvous, 
where  they  gathered  to  start  on  their  raids. 
Volunteers  to  the  number  of  480  were  secured, 
all  mounted  and  well  armed,  all  from  two  or 
three  counties  south  of  Fort  Pitt.  Monday, 
May  20,  was  the  time  set  for  their  assembling 
and  the  place  chosen  was  Mingo  Bottom,  on 
the  west  bank  of  the  Ohio,  about  seventy-five 
miles  below  Pittsburg,  and  about  two  miles 
below  the  present  city  of  Steubenville.  They 
began  assembling  on  the  21st,  and  on  the  24th 
the  last  man  had  reported.  A  vote  was  taken 
as  to  who  should  command  the  expedition, 
and  Col.  William  Crawford  received  235  votes, 
and  Col.  David  Williamson,  who  had  com- 
manded the  expedition  against  the  Moravians, 
230.  Col.  Crawford  was  therefore  selected 
as  commander  with  Col.  Williamson  as  senior 
major,  and  second  in  command.  Among  the 
troops  was  Robert  Sherrard,  grandfather  of 
Rev.  J.  H.  Sherrard,  who  was  for  many  years 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Bucyrus. 
Of  the  troops  320  were  from  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania,  130  from  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  20  from  Ohio 
county,  Virginia,  and  10  from  various  local- 
ities. Besides  the  two  commanding  officers 
there  were  three  other  Majors,  Gladdis,  Mc- 
Clelland and  Bunton,  with  Daniel  Leet  as 
brigade  major,  and  Dr.  John  Knight  as  sur- 
geon. John  Slover  and  Jonathan  Zane  accom- 
panied the  expedition  as  guides.  There  were 
eighteen  companies,  the  captains,  as  far  as 
known,  being  McGeehan,  Hoagland,  Beeson, 
Munn,  Ross,  Ogle,  Briggs,  Craig,  Ritchie,  Mil- 
ler, Bean,  and  Hood. 

The  Williamson  expedition  against  the  Mo- 
ravians was  a  private  affair  of  the  settlers.' 
The  expedition  against  the  Wyandots  was  a 
government  affair,  under  direction  of  Gen. 
Irvine,  who  commanded  the  western  depart- 
ment of  the  United  States  and  Lieut.   Rose, 


48 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


a  member  of  his  staff,  accompanied  the  expedi- 
tion as'  his  representative.  The  Indians  were 
assisting  the  English  by  their  constant  attacks 
in  the  west,  necessitating  the  keeping  on  the 
border  for  protection  a  large  force  which 
otherwise  could  have  been  utilized  in  the  war 
against  England.  The  attack  on  the  Wyan- 
dot village  was  in  reality  an  expedition  of  the 
Revolutionary  war,  to  destroy  a  post  which 
for  years  had  been  the  Indian  headquarters 
of  the  British  government;  a  place  which  had 
been  and  was  the  gathering  point  of  all  In- 
dian expeditions  against  the  colonies;  the  vil- 
lage where  the  Indians  of  northwestern  Ohio 
repaired  to  receive  their  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion from  the  British,  and  to  receive  pay  for 
services  rendered,  the  pay  being  based  on  the 
number  of  scalps  turned  over  to  the  British 
agent  at  Upper  Sandusky.  From  these  In- 
dian villages  came  the  stories  of  cruel  deaths 
inflicted  on  their  unfortunate  captives.  For, 
while  it  seems  sickening  and  saddening  that 
men,  women  and  children  were  murdered  on 
these  expeditions,  in  many  of  them  a  few  of 
the  stronger  captives  were  taken  back  alive, 
divided  among  the  different  villages,  and  died 
with  all  the  prolonged  agony  to  the  sufferer 
that  devilish  ingenuity  could  devise.  But  in 
these  tortures  the  Wyandots  took  no  part; 
they  murdered  and  scalped  their  prisoners,  but 
burning  at  the  stake  had  been  abandoned  years 
previous.  The  Delawares  and  Shawanese  were 
the  torturers. 

At  Gnadenhiitten  the  vote  to  murder  peace- 
ful Christian  Indians  was  eighty-two ;  the  vote 
for  mercy  being  eighteen,  and  a  deed  was  con- 
summated so  despicable  and  so  dastardly  that 
the  civilized  world  for  over  a  century  has 
blushed  with  shame  that  honest,  conscientious, 
law-abiding  Christian  men  should  place  so  foul 
a  stain  on  civilization.  In  this  every  reader 
of  this  work  will  coincide.  But  who  cast  those 
eighty-two  votes?  Men  whose  grey-haired 
fathers  had  been  cruelly  murdered;  men  who 
had  returned  to  their  peaceful  homes  only  to 
find  their  wives  butchered,  almost  beyond  rec- 
ognition, and  lying  welterin'g  in  blood,  bleed- 
ing and  scalpless,  on  their  hearthstones ;  to  find 
even  the  innocent  babes  at  the  mothers'  breasts 
scalped  and  butchered.  While  in  their  minds 
was  the  knowledge  of  the  death  by  the  Indians 
of  a  father  or  a  son,  a  brother  or  a  friend, 


who  had  first  run  the  gauntlet,  that  Indian 
"free  for  all"  in  which  every  villager  took  a 
part;  the  long  line  down  which  the  naked  cap- 
tive must  pass,  starting  with  the  children  and 
squaws  with  their  whips  and  clubs,  administer- 
ing blows  to  the  flying  victim;  then  past  the 
younger  men,  and  finally  brave  warriors  with 
knives  and  tomahawks  so  skilfully  used  as  to 
administer  blows  that  would  cut  and  wound 
but  not  kill;  and  on  and  on,  cut,  carved  and 
covered  with  blood,  to  sink  exhausted  at  the 
Council-house  door.  To  be  cared  for?  No! 
This  Meeding  remnant  of  a  man  was  some- 
times scourged  and  beaten  still,  and  thrown 
into  some  guarded  hut  to  await  the  morrow, 
when  the  poor  sufferer  was  dragged  forth  to 
furnish  what  further  amusement  the  strength 
of  his  constitution  would  stand.  Commencing 
at  the  less  vital  parts,  skilful  savages  took 
strips  of  skin  from  his  legs  and  arms,  and 
sometimes  nearly  half  the  body  was  laid  bare 
before  suffering  nature  could  stand  no  more 
and  death  relieved  him  of  his  sufferings.  At 
the  stake  the  fire  was  fiendishly  built  so  far 
away  that  the  torture  was  prolonged  for  hours, 
the  ears,  fingers  and  toes  cut  off,  the  fiends 
previously  pulling  the  nails  out  by  the  roots, 
yelling  with  delight  at  the  suffering  of  the  tor- 
tured victims.  Every  horror  the  inventive  mind 
of  the  savage  could  think  of  was  practiced.* 

*John  Leith  was  a  prisoner  and  storekeeper  among 
the  Indians  from  1763  until  he  made  his  escape  in  1791. 
During  the  Revolution  he  kept  a  store  at  Upper  San- 
dusky, employed  by  the  British.  In  his  biography, 
written  by  his  grandson,  Judge  George  W.  Leith,  is 
his  description  of  the  first  "Running  of  the  Gauntlet" 
he  witnessed:  "One  fine  day  in  early  summer  a  band 
of  warriors  came  in  from  the  south  with  a  captive,  a 
powerful  young  Virginian.  He  had  been  overpowered 
and  captured  in  a  hand-to-hand  struggle.  I  saw  him 
stripped  for  the  race,  and  thought  him  as  fine  a  speci- 
men of  a  man  as  I  ever  saw.  His  action  was  unim- 
paired, the  only  wound  perceivable  being  a  long  gash 
on  the  fleshy  part  of  his  thigh,  which,  though  consid- 
erably swelled,  did  not  impede  his  motion.  He  was 
stripped  naked  and  painted  black  for  the  race  at  my 
store.  Two  lines  of  Indians  were  formed,  extending 
back  from  the  store  about  two  hundred  yards.  He  was 
marched  back  through  the  lines  in  a  southerly  direc- 
tion, the  savages  panting  and  yelling  for  the  onset. 
Poor  fellow!  he  stepped  with  the  elasticity  of  a  race- 
horse, confidently  believing  that  if  he  succeeded  in  the 
race  his  life  would  be  spared.  But  his  doom  was 
sealed,  and  this  was  but  the  opening  scene  in  the  hor- 
rible tragedy.  The  warriors  were  armed  with  guns 
loaded  with  powder  to  be  shot  into  his  naked  body, 
the  boys  were  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  and  the 
squaws  and  children  with  clubs  and  switches.  No  one 
was   allowed  to   strike   or   shoot   until  the  victim  was 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


49 


All  these  horrible  acts  of  the  Indians  were 
known  to  have  been  visited  upon  the  relatives 
of  the  men  who  had  accompanied  Williamson, 
and  anger  and  revenge  were  a  stronger  motive 
than  right  and  justice.  Williamson  should 
have  prevented  it,  but  while  today  every  reader 
of  this  history  can  justly  shudder  and  denounce 
the  brutal  murder  of  the  Moravians,  the  fact 
remains  that  if  every  reader  had  been  on  the 
banks  of  the  Tuscarawas  at  the  time,  knowing 
what  these  men  knew,  having  suffered  as  these 
men  had  suffered,  when  the  vote  for  life  or 
death  came,  the  proportion  would  have  been 
the  same.  No  one  can  endorse  the  needless, 
inhuman  murder  of  the  innocent  Moravians, 
but  the  perpetrators  of  the  dastardly  deed  had 
minds  at  the  time  inflamed  by  the  cruelties  in- 
flicted on  themselves  and  their  relatives  by 
other  Indians.  In  this  modern  day  those  at  a 
distance  from  the  crime  can  well  shudder  and 
denounce  the  burning  at  the  stake  of  the  brute 
who  has  ruined  and  murdered  an  innocent  girl 
in  the  southland,  but  were  the  matter  to  come 
home  to  them  direct,  how  many  fathers,  with 
the  brutal  act  fresh  in  the  memory,  would  lift 
a  finger  to  stay  the  hand  that  fires  the  funeral 
pyre?  Would  there  be  even  eighteen  out  of 
eighty-two  ? 

It  was  Saturday  morning.  May  25,  1782, 
the  expedition  started  for  the  Sandusky 
Plains,  about  150  miles  distant,  but  to  avoid 
the  Indian  trails,  so  the  savages  would  have 
no  knowledge  of  the  attack,  their  course  was 
through  the  unbroken  forest,  to  the  Tusca- 
rawas, on  the  banks  of  which  were  the  de- 
stroyed Moravian  towns,  and  it  took  them 
four  days  to  cover  the  sixty  miles,  although 
Williamson's  men,  over  the  traveled  route,  had 
made  it  m  two  days  when  on  their  mission  of 


opposite  to  where  he  stood,  so  that  the  speed  of  the 
runner^might  not  be  impeded  or  checked  by  a  front 
fire.  The  word  was  given,  'All  ready,  go !'  and  sim- 
ultaneously a  yell  went  up  all  along  the  line  from  the 
savages,  who  were  eager  to  inflict  the  severest  punish- 
ment upon  the  helpless  captive.  The  young  fellow 
came  through  the  lines  with  astonishing  swiftness,  and 
ran  into  the  store  where  I  was.  He  was  covered  with 
ragged  and  gaping  wounds  made  by  the  discharge  of 
powder  and  the  tomahawks,  and  the  arrows  stuck  out 
from  his  blackened  body  like  the  shafts  of  a  clothes- 
rack.  He  gave  me  a  most  imploring  look,  as  if  he  ex- 
pected me  to  help  him,  and  suddenly  sprang  high  in  the 
air  as  if  in  terrible  agony.  He  turned  and  went  out  at 
the  door,  when  he  was  brained  with  a  tomahawk  and 
fell  to  the  around  with  his  last  despairing  groan." 


murder.  They  encamped  at  the  ruined  town 
of  Schonbrunn,  and  two  officers,  reconnoiter- 
ing,  saw  in  the  distance  two  Indian  warriors, 
who  had  been  spying  on  their  movements.  It 
was  now  believed  the  Indians  would  have  full 
knowledge  of  their  expedition,  and  Crawford 
determined  to  press  on  as  rapidly  as  possible. 
They  started  on  a  forced  march  through  the 
wilderness  of  Holmes  county,  and  the  night 
of  May  30  encamped  about  ten  miles  south 
of  the  present  site  of  Wooster,  just  south  of 
the  Wayne  county  line.  From  here  they  went 
almost  due  west,  passing  north  of  Odell's  lake, 
and  on  to  the  Mohican,  following  up  the  river 
until  near  where  Mansfield  now  is  they  turned 
west  and  encamped  on  June  ist  at  Spring 
Mills,  eight  miles  east  of  Crestline.  The  next 
day,  June  2,  about  one  o'clock,  they  entered 
Crawford  county  just  north  of  where  Crest- 
line now  is  and  continued  west  to  the  San- 
dusky river  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  creek 
called  Allen's  Run,  near  the  present  town  of 
Leesville.  The  Sandusky  river  was  the  point 
for  which  the  guides  were  aiming  and  the  offi- 
cers, pleased  at  reaching  this  destination,  called 
a  halt  for  an  hour.  They  had  reached  the 
river  south  of  the  Wyandot  trail,  which  the 
Indians  used  on  their  excursions  from  the 
Sandusky  towns  east  to  Pittsburg.  In  the  last 
five  days  they  had  made  eighty-five  miles,  and 
the  guide,  Slover,  told  Crawford  they  were 
now  about  twenty-five  miles  due  east  of  the 
Indian  town,  and  that  a  little  to  the  southwest 
there  were  extensive  plains  reaching  to  their 
destination.  After  nine  days  of  slow  and  diffi- 
cult marching  through  an  unbroken  forest, 
they  decided  to  make  for  the  open  plains,i'  so 
they  followed  the  south  bank  of  the  Sandusky, 
two  or  three  miles,  to  about  the  center  of 
section  12,  of  Jefferson  township.  Here  the 
Sandusky  bends  to  the  north  and  they  left  the 
river  and,  going  southwest,  encamped  for  the 
night  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Jefferson 
township,  on  the  eastern  edge  of  the  plains. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  June  3rd  they  en- 
tered the  plains,  and  the  open  sunlight,  after 
the  long  and  dreary  march  through  the  dense 
woods,  was  a  pleasing  relief  to  all.  Their 
course  was  now  west  through  Whetstone  and 
Bucyrus  townships,  passing  about  four  miles 
south  of  Bucyrus,  to  an  Indian  trail  skirting 
the  west  side  of  the  Sandusky;  they  followed 


50 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


this  trail  through  southwestern  Bucyrus  town- 
ship and  through  Dallas,  into  what  is  now  An- 
trim township,  Wyandot  county,  and  made 
their  final  encampment  near  the  present  town 
of  Wyandot,  within  ten  miles  of  their  destina- 
tion. 

On  the  morning  of  June  4th  they  started 
along  the  south  bank  of  the  Sandusky,  follow- 
ing its  course  in  a  northwest  direction  for  six 
miles  where  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Sandusky 
was  reached.  Here  they  crossed  the  Sandusky, 
following  the  trail  along  the  east  bank  which 
leads  to  the  Indian  towns,  and  they  soon 
reached  the  old  Indian  town  of  Sandusky,  on 
the  east  bank  of  the  river,  about  three  miles 
southeast  of  the  present  town  of  Upper  San- 
dusky. The  town  was  deserted.  The  guide 
Slover  said  that  when  he  was  a  captive  of  the 
Miamis,  he  frequently  visited  the  Wyandots 
and  this  was  their  principal  town.  The  offi- 
cers and  guides  were  astonished  and  a  halt 
was  called.  The  volunteers  feared  a  mistake 
had  been  made  and  that  there  was  no  village 
short  of  Lower  Sandusky  (Fremont)  forty 
miles  down  the  river,  through  a  section  known 
to  be  covered  by  roving  bands  of  Indians,  for 
they  were  now  in  the  heart  of  the  Indian  coun- 
try. 

It  was  one  o'clock  when  Crawford  ordered 
the  halt;  he  called  his  officers  into  consulta- 
tion. This  lasted  an  hour.  Slover  said  eight 
miles  further  down  the  river  was  another  In- 
dian town,  and  in  his  opinion  the  Indians  had 
made  that  their  headquarters.  Crawford 
feared  they  might  find  this  also  deserted  and 
there  was  danger  in  their  getting  too  far  into 
the  Indian  country  with  but  five  days'  of  pro- 
visions left.  It  was  decided  to  move  forward 
in  search  of  the  Indians.  The  army  crossed 
the  river  to  the  west  side,  continued  along  the 
trail  up  the  west  bank  to  the  site  of  the  pres- 
ent town  of  Upper  Sandusky;  they  continued 
a  mile  further,  with  no  sign  of  Indians  and 
the  troops  became  anxious,  and  for  the  first 
time  expressed  a  desire  to  return  home.  Craw- 
ford promptly  called  a  halt  and  a  council  of 
war.  Col.  Crawford  and  Guide  Zane  both 
favored  an  immediate  return,  as  further  pro- 
gress was  dangerous,  and  the  final  decision 
was  made  to  continue  that  day  and  if  no  In- 
dians were  discovered  they  would  return. 
The  march  was  continued,  and  the  troops  had 


gone  but  a  short  distance,  when  one  of  the 
light-horse  scouts,  who  in  the  open  prairie 
were  generally  a  mile  in  advance,  returned  at 
full  speed  announcing  the  Indians  were  in  front 
of  them.  The  volunteers  were  now  enthusi- 
astic and  the  whole  army  moved  forward 
rapidly. 

The  Indians  had  kept  trace  of  the  army  ever 
since  it  had  left  Mingo  Bottom,  and  had  sent 
warriors  to  the  Shawanese,  in  the  Miami  valley, 
and  to  the  Wyandots  and  Delawares,  on  the 
Sandusky,  to  prepare  for  an  attack.  The  va- 
rious tribes  gathered  and  when  Crawford  left 
the  Tuscarawas,  in  a  northwesterly  direction, 
it  was  known  the  Sandusky  Indians  were  the 
objective  point.  Pomoacan,  Wyandot  chief, 
sent  special  messengers  to  Detroit,  notifying 
DePeyster,  the  English  commandant  at  that 
point,  of  the  intended  attack.  DePeyster  acted 
promptly,  and  started  Butler's  rangers,  a 
mounted  troop,  to  Lower  Sandusky  (Fre- 
mont) by  boats  to  assist  their  allies;  special 
messengers  were  also  sent  by  the  Wyandots 
to  the  Shawanese  on  the  Miami,  and  two  hun- 
dred warriors  started  on  their  march  of  forty 
miles  from  Logan  county  to  help  their  breth- 
ren. In  the  meantime  the  Delawares,  under 
Pipe,  had  .assembled  three  hundred  warriors 
at  his  town  on  both  sides  of  the  Tymochtee, 
about  one  and  a  half  miles  northeast  of  the 
present  town  of  Crawfordsville,  Wyandot 
county,  near  the  place  now  marked  by  the 
monument  erected  on  the  site  where  Col. 
Crawford  was  burned  at  the  stake..  Zhaus- 
sho-toh  was  the  Wyandot  war  chief,  and  the 
village  of  Pomoacan,  the  "Half  King,"  was 
five  miles  northeast  of  Upper  Sandusky,  in 
Crane  township,  on  the  Sandusky  river.  Here 
he  had  four  hundred  warriors. 

The  Americans  had  advanced  about  two 
miles  north  of  Upper  Sandusky,  and  were  one 
mile  west  of  the  river,  when  they  met  the 
enemy,  the  Delawares  being  in  the  front  line 
of  battle,  under  Pipe,  his  assistants  being  the 
renegade  Simon  Girty  and  Chief  Wingenund, 
the  latter  having  joined  the  Delawares  from 
his  village  about  two  and  a  half  miles  north- 
west of  the  present  site  of  Crestline.  The 
Delawares  had  taken  posession  of  a  small 
grove  called  an  "island,"  and  from  this  they 
were  promptly  driven  by  the  Americans.  The 
Wyandots   under  Zhaus-sho-toh,   with   whom 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


53 


was  the  British  Captain  Elliott,  came  to  the 
support  of  the  Delawares.  Elliott  took  com- 
mand of  both  tribes,  and  the  Delawares  occu- 
pied the  west  and  south  sides  of  the  grove, 
and  the  Wyandots  the  north  and  east.  The 
grove  was  surrounded  by  a  prairie  of  tall 
grass,  high  enough  to  be  some  protection  to 
the  Indians,  while  the  Americans  had  the  bet- 
ter of  it  by  the  protection  of  the  grove.  The 
firing  began  at  four  o'clock,  and  the  battle 
lasted  until  dark.  As  the  Indians  exposed 
themselves  when  skulking  through  the  grass 
they  were  picked  off  by  the  American  sharp- 
shooters. Some  of  the  borderers  from  the 
tree-tops  had  a  better  opportunity  of  detect- 
ing the  savages.  One  of  these  Daniel  Canon,  an 
expert  rifleman,  remarked  afterward:  "I 
don't  know  how  many  I  killed,  but  I  never 
saw  the  same  head  again  above  the  grass  af- 
ter I  shot  at  it."  Toward  sunset  the  Indians 
became  more  cautious.  The  day  closed  de- 
cidedly favorable  to  the  Americans;  their  loss 
was  five  killed  and  nineteen  -wounded.  Indian 
losses  were  never  known,  but  their  killed  and 
wounded  far  exceeded  the  Americans.  Al- 
though the  Americans  were  in  full  possession 
of  the  field,  the  Indians  were  not  dispirited. 
Desultory  firing  was  resumed  at  six  o'clock 
in  the  morning  and  continued  until  noon,  the 
Americans  believing  the  Indians  had  not  re- 
covered from  their  defeat  of  the  day  previous, 
and  plans  were  discussed  by  the  Americans  to 
attack  the  enemy  in  force ;  the  Delawares  were 
drawn  up  south  of  them  and  the  Wyandots 
north. 

Before  the  plan  of  attack  was  matured,  a 
sentinel  reported  mounted  troops  coming  from 
the  north ;  they  proved  to  be  Butler's  rangers, 
sent  by  DePeyster  from  Detroit,  and  a  few 
minutes  later  another  sentinel  reported  the  ar- 
rival of  two  hundred  Shawanese  from  the 
south;  during  the  late  afternoon  additional 
small  detachments  of  Indians  were  continually 
arriving.  The  council  of  war  now  unani- 
mously decided  on  a  retreat  that  night.  About 
nine  o'clock  the  retreat  started  and  by  a  cir- 
cuitous march  to  the  west  passed  around  the 
Delawares  and  Shawanese  south  of  them, 
reaching  the  old  town  of  Upper  Sandusky, 
three  miles  southeast  of  the  present  county 
seat  of  Wyandot  county,  just  before  daylight. 
Here  a  halt  was  called  and  stragglers  kept  con- 


stantly arriving,  but  Col.  Crawford,  Dr. 
Knight  and  John  Slover  the  guide,  and  many 
others  were  missing. 

The  command  now  devolved  on  William- 
son, and  his  force  numbered  about  three  hun- 
dred. After  a  short  rest  the  army  went  south 
along  the  east  bank  of  the  Sandusky,  crossed 
the  river  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Sandusky, 
and  then  east,  skirting  the  southern  bank  of 
the  river.  They  were  again  on  the  Sandusky 
Plains,  and  when  they  reached  where  the  town 
of  Wyandot  now  is,  they  saw  in  the  distance 
a  large  force  of  mounted  Indians  and  Butler's 
rangers  following  in  pursuit.  They  were  a 
dozen  miles  from  the  woods  on  the  eastern 
boundary  of  the  plains,  where  alone  lay  safety. 
Their  horses  had  had  two  days'  rest  at  San- 
dusky during  the  battle,  but  the  eleven  days 
previous  marching,  and  the  long  night  ride 
had  left  both  man  and  horses  in  a  jaded  con- 
dition. They  were  also  hampered  by  their 
wounded.  Yet  Col.  Williamson  urged  his 
troops  forward  with  all  possible  speed ;  he  was 
ably  assisted  by  Lieut.  Rose,  the  military 
genius  of  the  expedition.  The  latter  was  an 
aide-de-camp  of  Gen.  Irvine,  the  commander 
of  the  Revolutionary  forces  at  Pittsburg,  and 
had  been  attached  to  Col.  Crawford's  staff  for 
this  expedition.  He  was  as  fearless  and  brave 
as  he  was  able  and  efficient,  and  to  him,  more 
than  any  other  man,  was  due  the  successful 
retreat.* 

The  retreating  column  left  the  Sandusky 
at  Wyandot,  and  started  northeast  across  the 
plains.  Passing  through  Dallas  into  Bucyrus 
township  they  crossed  what  is  now  the  Marion 
road  about  a  mile  north  of  the  Dallas  town- 
ship line,  and  a  little  before  noon  crossed  what 
is  now  the  Sandusky  pike  two  miles  north  of 


*John  Rose  was  known  among  the  Americans  as 
Major  Rose.  After  the  Revolutionary  War  was  over 
he  returned  to  his  own  country,  Russia,  and  Gen.  Irvine 
received  many  letters  from  him,  in  which  he  gave  his 
true  history.  His  name  was  not  John  Rose,  but  Gus- 
tavus  H.  de  Rosenthal,  of  Livonia,  Russia,  and  he  was 
a  baron  of  the  empire.  In  an  encounter  with  another 
nobleman  within  the  precincts  of  the  palace  at  St. 
Petersburg,  he  had  killed  his  antagonist  in  a  duel.  He 
fled  to  England,  where  he  sailed  immediately  to  America 
to  offer  his  sword  in  defense  of  the  colonies  in  their 
struggle  for  freedom.  During  his  absence  his  relatives 
secured  his  pardon  from  the  Emperor  Alexander,  and 
permission  for  him  to  return,  which  he  did,  and  be- 
came Grand  Marshal  of  Livonia.  Baron  Rosenthal  died 
in  1830. 


54 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


the  Dallas  township  line,  and  about  three  miles 
south  of  Bucyrus.*  Before  they  had  reached 
the  Sandusky  Pike,  the  faster  mounted  men 
of  the  enemy  had  overtaken  the  fleeing  col- 
umn, and  were  harrassing  them  with  occa- 
sional shots.  As  more  and  more  of  the  enemy 
came  up  and  scattered  along  the  flanks  of  the 
marching  column  the  firing  became  more  se- 
vere, and  it  required  all  the  skill  and  encour- 
agement of  Col.  Williamson  and  Lieut.  Rose 
to  prevent  the  demoralization  of  the  troops, 
and  to  preserve  the  column  in  solid  marching 
order.  The  woods  and  safety  were  still  six 
miles  away;  they  were  in  an  open  prairie 
rapidly  being  surrounded  by  double  their  num- 
ber of  infuriated  savages  from  whom  they 
could  expect  no  mercy,  and  the  weary  col- 
umn struggled  on.  About  two  o'colck  they 
were  within  a  mile  of  the  woods;  on  both  sides 
and  at  the  rear  were  hundreds  of  the  enemy, 
pouring  in  a  galling  fire,  and  the  rear  guard 
was  in  confusion;  the  Indians  had  pressed  for- 
ward and  were  seeking  to  bar  their  entrance 
to  the  woods,  and  the  troops  in  advance,  showed 
signs  of  wavering.  Williamson  urged  them 
to  stand  firm,  stating:  "Not  a  man  of  you 
will  reach  home  if  each  one  decides  to  shift 
for  himself.  Youi"  only  salvation  is  keeping 
in  line.  Our  ranks  once  broken,  all  is  lost." 
The  danger  of  the  demoralization  of  the  troops 
became  so  great  that  a  stand  had  to  be  made. 
A  point  was  selected  where  there  is  a  slight 
rise  in  the  ground  in  the  northeast  quarter  of 
Section  22  in  Whetstone  township.! 

The  troops  had  crossed  what  is  now  the 
Gallon  road  a  little  west  of  where  the  monu- 
ment now  stands  marking  the  site  of  the  bat- 
tle, which  really  occurred  a  little  north  of 
where  this  monument  was  placed.  A  body  of 
light  horse  troops  was  thrown  forward  to  pro- 
tect the  entrance  to  the  woods,  the  little  army 
was  reversed,  and  facing  to  the  west  hurriedly 
formed  into  solid  rank  to  resist  the  attacking 
foe.  Fortunately  for  the  Americans,  in  their 
haste  to  pursue  the  retreating  troops,  the  Brit- 
ish had  left  their  artillery  behind.     During  the 

*Locations  are  given  as  they  exist  today.  In  1782 
this  county  was  a  wilderness,  covered  with  forests, 
prairies  and  swamps. 

tButterfield. — Crawford's  campaign  against  San- 
dusky. The  west  half  of  this  quarter  section  is 
owned  (1912)  by  J.  B.  Campbell;  its  east  half  by 
Sarah  R.  Lust. 


morning  march  through  the  dry  prairie  a 
scorching  sun  had  added  to  the  discomforts 
of  the  tired  troopers,  but  toward  noon  a 
breeze  had  sprung  up,  and  the  sky  became 
overcast  with  clouds,  and  when  the  halt  was 
made  a  storm  was  threatening.  Having  hur- 
riedly formed  in  battle  line,  the  Americans 
awaited  the  assault,  and  six  hundred  painted, 
yelling  savages,  with  their  British  allies, 
charged  tfe^m  in  front  and  on  both  flanks. 
Rose  rode  down  the  line,  unmindful  of  the 
hail  of  bullets  pouring  in,  urging  the  men  to 
stand  firm,  to  aim  true,  and  to  see  that  every 
shot  brought  down  a  man.  The  first  attack 
was  repulsed,  the  line  was  unbroken  and  the 
Americans  regained  confidence,  and  the  sec- 
ond attempt  to  break  their  lines  was  another 
failure.  Then  Indian  caution  prevailed,  and 
under  protection  of  the  high  grass  they  con- 
tinued their  attack,  until  the  threatening  storm 
broke  forth,  and  both  armies  were  drenched 
to  the  skin,  rendering  most  of  the  fire-arms 
useless.  The  battle  had  continued  for  an  hour 
when  the  severe  rain  caused  a  cessation  of  hos- 
tilities. The  Americans  had  suflFered  a  loss 
of  three  killed  and  eight  wounded,  among  the 
latter  was  Capt.  Joseph  Beam,  whoi  was  shot 
through  the  body.  Although  the  wound  was 
thought  to  be  fatal,  he  was  taken  home  and 
e^-entually  recovered.  The  loss  of  the  enemy 
was  far  greater  than  that  of  the  Americans. 

\A'hen  the  rain  put  a  stop  to  the  battle  the 
Americans  hurriedly  buried  their  dead,  cared 
for  their  wounded,  making  them  as  comfort- 
able as  possible  for  transportation,  and  again 
formed  in  line  of  march.  The  enemy,  seeing 
the  column  again  on  the  retreat,  rallied  their 
forces  and  renewed  the  pursuit,  firing  on  the 
column  from  a  respectful  distance.  Capt. 
Biggs'  company  was  covering  the  retreat. 
They  had  led  the  advance  in  the  outward 
march  and  were  now  reduced  to  only  nine 
men.  Some  of  these  were  wounded  and  all 
greatly  exhausted,  and  there  was  again  danger 
of  the  ranks  being  demoralized  by  the  fire  of 
the  enemy,  and  each  man  attempting  to  shift 
for  himself.  Again  the  companies  began  to 
waver  under  the  irritating  attacks  of  the  en- 
emy, and  it  took  the  heroic  exertions  of  the 
officers  to  prevent  the  retreat  from  degenerat- 
ing into  a  hopeless  rout.  The  company  in 
front  was  ordered  to  file  to  the  left,  the  bal- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


55 


ance  of  the  army  marched  forward,  when  that 
company  wheeled  into  line  and  became  the  rear 
guard;  then  another  from  the  front  took  its 
place,  each  in  turn  protecting  the  rear,  and 
confidence  took  the  place  of  fear,  and  the 
weary  march  finally  ended  when  the  tired 
troopers  entered  the  friendly  shelter  of  the 
dense  woods. 

The  battle  of  Olentangy  on  June  6,  1782, 
may  have  been  but  a  skirmish,  but  it  is  inter- 
esting historically  as  a  battle  of  the  American 
Revolution,  fought  on  Crawford  county  soil. 
The  battle  of  Sandusky  on  June  4,  was  also  in 
what  was  Crawford  county  from  1820  to 
1845,  so  the  only  two  battles  of  the  Revolu- 
tion that  occurred  west  of  the  Alleghenies,  are 
of  historic  interest  to  this  county. 

Of  the  expertness  of  the  American  marks- 
man, Butterfield,  in  his  work  "Crawford's 
Campaign  Against  Sandusky,"  gives  an  inci- 
dent which  relates  to  the  battle  of  Olentangy. 
It  was  told  him  by  George  W.  Leith,  of  Ne- 
vada, a  grandson  of  John  Leith.  John  Leith 
was  a  trader  at  the  Indian  town  of  Sandusky, 
and  was  there  when  the  news  arrived  of  the 
approach  of  Crawford's  army.  On  June  4, 
the  day  before  the  battle,  he  started  down  the 
Sandusky  river  with  his  goods  and  furs  seek- 
ing safer  quarters.  He  camped  that  night  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  a  little  below  Tiffin. 
Here  a  Frenchman,  who  was  an  Indian  in- 
terpreter, on  his  way  to  join  the  Indians  at 
Sandusky,  spent  the  night  with  him.  The 
next  morning,  hearing  the  firing,  the  French- 
man hurriedly  left  for  the  field  of  battle. 
Reaching  the  Indians,  he  dressed  himself  in 
their  costume,  and  in  a  spirit  of  bravado 
painted  a  large  red  spot  on  his  breast,  re- 
marking to  one  of  the  Indian  warriors,  "Here 
is  a  mark  for  the  Virginia  riflemen."  He  ac- 
companied the  Indians  in  their  pursuit  of  the 
retreating  army,  and  took  part  in  the  battle 
of  Olentangy,  and  when  the  Americans  went 
over  the  battlefield  gathering  up  their  dead  and 
wounded  they  found  the  Frenchman,  cold  and 
stiff  in  death,  with  a  bullet  hole  passing  through 
the  red  mark. 

By  nightfall  the  Americans  reached  the 
place  where  they  had  made  their  first  camp 
in  Crawford  county,  near  Leesville,  and  here 
they  passed  the  night,  the  enemy  camping 
about  a  mile  to  the  rear.    In  less  than  twenty- 


four  hours  they  had  covered  forty  miles  and 
both  armies  were  completely  exhausted.  The 
next  morning  the  Americans  resumed  their 
retreat,  being  occasionally  fired  on  by  the  sav- 
ages, the  last  shot  as  they  were  leaving  what 
is  now  the  borders  of  Crawford  county,  just 
north  of  Crestline.  From  there  they  marched 
to  the  Ohio  with  no  sight  of  the  enemy.  They 
reached  the  Tuscarawas  towns  on  June  10, 
and  Mingo  Bottom  on  the  13th,  covering  the 
distance  in  less  than  seven  days,  and  even  with 
this  speed  they  were  rejoiced  to  find  some  of 
their  missing  comrades,  whom  they  had  feared 
had  either  been  lost  or  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy,  had  arrived  before  them — some 
of  them  as  much  as  two  days  previous.  The 
outward  journey  had  consumed  eleven  days, 
the  route  taken  having  been  about  one  hundred 
and  eighty-five  miles  each  way. 

When  the  retreat  was  started  Col.  Craw- 
ford missed  his  son  John  Crawford,  his  son- 
in-law,  William  Harrison,  and  his  nephew, 
William  Crawford.  While  looking  for  these 
relatives.  Dr.  Knight  joined  him.  Both  waited, 
calling  for  the  absentees,  until  all  the  troops 
had  passed.  By  this  time  there  was  severe 
firing  in  the  direction  of  the  retreating  army. 
An  old  man  and  boy  joined  Crawford  and 
Knight.  It  being  dangerous  to  attempt  to 
reach  the  main  column  the  four  went  north 
about  two  miles,  and  then  turned  due  east, 
,  over  a  mile  north  of  the  battle  ground.  A 
little  before  midnight  they  reached  the  San- 
dusky which  they  crossed  less  than  a  mile 
south  of  the  village  of  the  Wyandot  chief  Po- 
moacan.  The  old  man  lagged  behind,  and 
frequent  stops  were  made  for  hiin  to  catch 
up.  Finally  an  Indian  scalp-halloo  announced 
that  the  old  man  had  been  overtaken  by  some 
wandering  savage  and  killed.  At  daylight 
Crawford,  Knight  and  the  boy  entered  Craw- 
ford county  about  two  miles  northwest  of 
where  Oceola  is  now  situated,  their  progress 
being  slow  on  account  of  the  darkness  and  the 
jaded  condition  of  the  horses.  Here  Craw- 
ford and  the  young  man  were  compelled  to 
abandon  their  horses,  and  on  foot  they  con- 
tinued their  journey  east,  bearing  toward  the 
south,  and  about  two  o'clock  fell  in  with  Capt. 
Biggs,  who  had  carried  Lieut.  Ashley  from  the 
battle,  the  latter  being  badly  wounded.  The 
five  continued  an  hour  longer  when  a  heavy 


56 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


rain  came  on  and  they  were  compelled  to  go 
into  camp,  which  they  did  near  the  line  be- 
tween Holmes  and  Liberty  townships,  about 
two  miles  north  of  Bucyrus,  having  only  made 
nine  miles  since  daylight.  The  next  morning 
the  five  continued  their  journey,  passing 
through  the  southwest  corner  of  Liberty  and 
crossing  the  Sandusky  two  or  three  miles  east 
of  Bucyrus,  and  soon  entered  Whetstone  town- 
ship. While  marching  through  the  woods  they 
discovered  a  deer  recently  killed,  with  some 
meat  sliced  from  the  bones.  This  they  took 
with  them  and  a  mile  farther  espied  smoke  of 
a  fire.  They  approached  it  carefully  and  were 
of  the  opinion  some  of  their  own  party  had  en- 
camped there  the  previous  night.  They  used 
the  fire  to  roast  their  venison,  and  while  eat- 
ing were  joined  by  one  of  their  own  men,  the 
man  who  had  killed  the  deer,  who  hearing  them 
in  the  distance  had  secreted  himself  in  the 
woods  believing  them  to  be  Indians.  After 
eating  their  breakfast  of  venison  the  party 
continued  their  march  until  about  two  o'clock 
they  reached  the  point  on  the  Sandusky,  in 
section  12,  Jefferson  township,  where  the  troops 
had  left  the .  river  on  their  outward  march. 
It  was  near  this  point  the  enemy  had  camped 
the  preceding  night.  A  discussion  arose  as  to 
the  future  course ;  Crawford  held  to  follow  the 
course  of  the  army  as  they  could  make  better 
time  along  a  known  trail,  and  that  there  was  no 
danger,  as  the  Indians  would  not  follow  the 
retreating  army  into  the  woods,  and  they  were 
now  several  miles  from  the  plains.  Capt.  Ash- 
ley and  Lieut.  Biggs  thought  the  safer  course 
was  through  the  woods,  avoiding  all  Indian 
trails.  Crawford's  plan  was  followed,  the  Col. 
and  Dr.  Knight  leading,  on  foot;  about  a 
hundred  yards  behind  was  the  wounded  officer 
on  horseback,  Lieut.  Ashley,  with  his  friend 
Capt.  Biggs,  while  at  the  rear  were  the  two 
young  men.  They  followed  the  south  bank 
of  the  Sandusky,  through  the  site  of  the  pres- 
ent town  of  Leesville  and  just  east  of  that 
place  several  Indians  started  up  less  than  fifty 
feet  from  Crawford  and  Knight.  The  Doctor 
jumped  behind  a  tree  and  was  about  to  fire, 
when  Crawford,  observing  how  many  Indians 
there  were,  advised  him  not.  An  Indian  who 
knew  them  came  forward  and  shook  hands; 
Capt.  Biggs  in  the  meantime  had  fired  on  the 
savages,  but  missed,  and  he  and  his  companion 


Lieut.  Ashley,  took  to  the  dense  woods,  as 
did  the  two  young  men.  The  party  that  cap- 
tured Crawford  and  Knight,  were  Delaware 
Indians,  who  under  their  chief,  Wingenund, 
had  followed  the  retreating  army  as  far  as 
their  camp,  which  was  only  half  a  mile  dis- 
tant from  the  place  where  they  captured  Craw- 
ford, about  a  mile  and  a  half  northwest  of 
Crestline. 

Crawford  and  Knight  were  taken  to  Winge- 
nund's  camp,  where  they  found  nine  other 
prisoners.  Wingenund  sent  a  message  to  Capt. 
Pipe,  announcing  the  capture  of  Col.  Craw- 
ford, the  leader  of  the  expedition,  and  of  the 
other  prisoners,  and  received  word  to  bring 
them  to  the  headquarters  of  the  Delawares 
on  the  Tymochtee.  It  was  about  three  o'clock 
on  Friday,  June  7,  that  Crawford  and  Knight 
were  captured,  and  on  Sunday  evening,  June 
9,  some  Delaware  warriors  returned  bringing 
with  them  the  scalps  of  Capt.  Biggs  and  Lieut. 
Ashley,  the  two  young  men  having  escaped. 
On  Monday  morning,  June  10,  fhey  started 
for  the  Indian  towns  on  the  Sandusky.  Craw- 
ford had  been  told  that  Simon  Girty  was  at 
Pomoacan's  village,  and  as  Girty  knew  him 
and  had  frequently  been  his  guest  at  his  home 
in  Pennsylvania,  he  requested  that  he  be  taken 
there.  As  this  would  lead  the  Indians  past 
the  place  where  the  two  horses  of  Crawford 
had  been  abandoned,  Wingenund  consented. 
The  Indians  were  seventeen  in  number.  They 
followed  the  trail  about  three  miles  when  the 
party  separated.  Crawford,  guarded  by  two 
Indians,  bearing  to  the  northwest  over  the 
route  by  which  he  came,  and  the  other  six- 
teen with  their  ten  prisoners  going  west  over 
an  Indian  trail  to  the  old  town  of  Upper  San- 
dusky, crossing  the  river  southwest  of  the 
present  site  of  Bucyrus.  Crawford  arrived  at 
the  Half  King's  house  and  had  an  interview 
with  Girty,  who  promised  to  do  what  he  could 
for  him.  After,  his  interview  with  Girty 
Crawford  was  taken  up  the  river,  about  eight 
miles,  to  the  Old  Town,  where  the  other  pris- 
oners were.  Here  Pipe  and  W^ingenund  had 
preceded  him,  and  painted  the  face  of  the  pris- 
oners black,  which  meant  death.  On  Craw- 
ford's arrival  he  was  greeted  by  both  chiefs 
with  words  of  friendship,  but  he,  too,  was 
painted  black.  The  whole  party  now  started 
for  the  village  of  the  Wyandots  where  Craw- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


57 


ford  had  spent  the  night,  Crawford  and 
Knight  being  guarded  by  Pipe  and  Wingenund. 
As  they  marched  they  came  to  the  dead  bodies 
of  four  of  the  prisoners,  tomahawked  and 
scalped. 

At  the  present  site  of  Upper  Sandusky,  in- 
stead of  continuing  their  march  to  the  Half 
King's  Wyandot  town,  they  bore  to  the  north- 
west for  the  Delaware  town  of  Tymochtee. 
On  reaching  the  Little  Tymochtee  about  three 
miles  from  the  Indian  village.  Knight  was 
made  a  present  to  the  Shawanese,  to  be  taken 
to  their  town  on  the  Mad  river  for  torture, 
the  other  five  prisoners,  with  their  hands  tied 
behind  them,  were  given  over  to  the  squaws 
and  boys,  and  were  tomahawked  and  scalped, 
the  bloody  scalps  being  dashed  in  the  faces  of 
both  Crawford  and  Knight.  The  line  of 
march  was  again  taken  up,  and  the  party  were 
met  by  Simon  Girty  and  several  Indians,  who 
had  come  across  from  the  Half  King's  town 
to  witness  the  death  of  Crawford.  From  now 
on  both  Crawford  and  Knight  were  struck 
over  the  head,  face  and  body  with  the  fists,  or 
with  sticks  and  clubs  of  the  Indians.  They 
soon  reached  a  bluff  near  the  Tymochtee,  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  up  the  stream  from 
the  Delaware  village,  where  a  fire  had  already 
been  prepared.  The  account  of  the  death  of 
Crawford  is  taken  from  the  narrative  of  Dr. 
Knight,  written  in  August,  1782,  at  Pittsburg. 
There  being  no  printing  office  in  Pittsburg  at 
that  time  it  was  sent  to  Philadelphia  and  pub- 
lished in  November,  1782.  Speaking  of  the 
tortures  of  Crawford  Knight  says : 

"When  we  went  to  the  fire  the  Colonel  was 
stripped  naked,  ordered  to  sit  down  by  the  fire 
and  then  they  beat  him  with  sticks  and  their 
fists.  Presently  after  I  was  treated  in  the 
same  manner.  They  then  tied  a  rope  to  the 
foot  of  a  post  about  fifteen  feet  high,  bound 
the  Colonel's  hands  behind  his  back  and  fas- 
tened the  rope  to  the  ligature  between  his 
wrists.  The  rope  was  long  enough  for  him 
to  sit  down  or  walk  round  the  post  once  or 
twice  and  return  the  same  way.  The  Colonel 
then  called  to  Girty  and  asked  him  if  they  in- 
tended to  burn  him? — Girty  answered,  'yes.' 
The  Colonel  said  he  would  take  it  all  patiently. 
Upon  this  Captain  Pipe,  a  Delaware  chief, 
made  a  speech  to  the  Indians,  viz :  about  thirty 


or  forty  men,  sixty  or  seventy  squaws  and 
boys. 

"When  the  speech  was  finished  they  all 
yelled  a  hideous  and  hearty  assent  to  what 
had  been  said.  The  Indian  men  then  took 
up  their  guns  and  shot  powder  into  the  Col- 
onel's body,  from  his  feet  as  far  up  as  his  neck. 
I  think  not  less  than  seventy  loads  were  dis- 
charged upon  his  naked  body.  They  then 
crowded  about  him,  and  to  the  best  of  my 
observation,  cut  off  his  ears;  when  the  throng 
had  dispersed  a  little  I  saw  the  blood  run- 
ning from  both  sides  of  his  head  in  conse- 
quence thereof. 

"The  fire  was  about  six.  or  seven  yards  from 
the  post  to  which  the  Colonel  was  tied;  it 
was  made  of  small  hickory  poles,  burnt-  quite 
through  in  the  middle,  each  end  of  the  poles 
remaining  about  six  feet  in  length.  Three 
or  four  Indians  by  turns,  would  take  up,  in- 
dividually, one  of  these  burning  pieces  of 
wood  and  apply  it  to  his  naked  body,  already 
burnt  black  with  the  powder.  These  torment- 
ors presented  themselves  on  every  side  of  him 
with  the  burning  fagots  and  poles.  Some  of 
the  squaws  took  broad  boards  upon  which 
they  would  carry  a  quantity  of  the  burning 
coals  and  hot  embers  and  throw  on  him,  so 
that  in  a  short  time  he  had  nothing  but  hot 
coals  of  fire  and  hot  ashes  to  walk  upon. 

"In  the  midst  of  these  extreme  tortures,  he 
called  to  Simon  Girty  and  begged  him  to 
shoot  him;  but  Girty  making  no  answer  he 
called  to  him  again.  Girty  then,  by  way  of 
derision,  told  the  Colonel  he  had  no  gun,  at 
the  same  time  turning  about  to  an  Indian  who 
was  behind  him,  laughed  heartily,  and  by  all 
his  gestures  seemed  delighted  at  the  horrid 
scene. 

"Girty  then  came  up  to  me  and  bade  me 
prepare  for  death.  He  said,  however,  I  was 
not  to  die  at  that  place,  but  to  be  burnt  at 
the  Shawanese  towns.  He  swore  by  G — d  I 
need  not  expect  to  escape  death,  but  should 
suffer  it  in  all  its  extremities. 

"He  then  observed,  that  some  prisoners  had 
given  him  to  understand,  that  if  our  people 
had  had  him  they  would. not  hurt  him;  for 
his  part,  he  said,  he  did  not  believe  it,  but 
desired  to  know  my  opinion  of  the  matter, 
but  being  at  that  time  in  great  anguish  and 


58 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


distress  for  the  torments  the  Colonel  was  suf- 
fering before  my  eyes,  as  well  as  the  expecta- 
tion of  undergoing  the  same  fate  in  two  days, 
I  made  little  or  no  answer.  He  expressed  a 
great  deal  of  ill  will  for  Col.  Gibson,  and 
said  he  was  one  of  his  greatest  enemies,  and 
more  to  the  same  purpose,  to  all  which  I  paid 
very  little  attention. 

"Col.  Crawford  at  this  period  of  his  suffer- 
ings besought  the  Almighty  to  have  mercy  on 
his  soul,  spoke  very  low,  and  bore  his  tor- 
ments with  the  most  manly  fortitude.  He  con- 
tinued in  all  the  extremities  of  pain  for  an 
hour  and  three-quarters  or  two  hours  longer, 
as  near  as  I  can  judge,  when  as  last,  being 
almost  exhausted,  he  lay  down  on  his  belly; 
they  then  scalped  him  and  repeatedly  threw 
the  scalp  in  my  iace,  telling  me  "that  was  my 
great  captain."  An  old  squaw  (whose  appear- 
ance every  way  answered  the  ideas  people  en- 
tertain of  the  Devil)  got  a  board,  took  a  par- 
cel of  coals  and  ashes  and  laid  them  on  his 
back  and  head,  after  he  had  been  scalped;  he 
then  raised  himself  upon  his  feet  and  began 
to  walk  around  the  post ;  they  next  put  a  burn- 
ing stick  to  him  as  usual,  but  he  seemed  more 
insensible  of  pain  than  before." 

Dr.  Knight  was  at  this  time  taken  away  to 
Capt.  Pipe's  house,  and  did  not  see  the  final 
death  of  his  commander.  It  was  late  in  the 
afternoon  when  the  torture  of  Col.  Crawford 
commenced,  and  the  Indians  reported  later 
that  he  breathed  his  last  just  as  the  sun  was 
going  down,  and  that  the  Indians  covered  the 
body  with  fagots,  and  around  the  blaze  held 
a  war  dance  until  late  into  the  night.  The 
next  morning  as  Knight  started  for  the 
Shawanese  town,  the  charred  bones  of  Craw- 
ford were  pointed  out  to  him  by  his  captors. 

On  his  way  to  the  Shawanese  town  Knight 
escaped,  and  after  a  very  toilsome  journey 
and  much  suffering,  reached  his  friends  in 
safety,  passing  through  southern  Crawford, 
or  very  near  its  border  on  his  return  journey. 
Slover  was  captured  but  he,  too,  made  his 
escape. 

The  Wyandots  had  nothing  to  do  with 
Crawford's  death.  He  was  a  Delaware  pris- 
oner. The  Wyandots  for  some  years  had 
ceased  the  burning  of  prisoners  at  the  stake. 
The  Delawares  and  Shawanese  still  adhered 
to  the  custom.    The  Delawares,  however,  were 


only  by  courtesy  on  the  Wyandot's  land,  and 
Butterfield  says  that  through  a  trick  The  Pipe 
and  Wingenund  obtained  the  Half  King's 
consent  to  the  death  of  Crawford.  They 
sent  to  Pomoacan,  a  messenger,  bearing  a  belt 
of  wampum,  with  the  following  message: 
"Uncle !  we,  your  nephews,  the  Lenni  Lanape, 
salute  you  in  a  spirit  of  kindness,  love  and 
respect.  Uncle!  we  have  a  project  in  view 
which  we  ardently  wish  to  accomplish,  and 
can  accomplish  if  our  uncle  will  not  overrule 
us!  By  returning  the  wampum  we  will  have 
your' pledged  word!"  The  message  puzzled 
Pomoacan,  and  he  questioned  the  messenger, 
who  could  give  no  information,  and  the  Half 
King,  believing  it  was  some  new  expedition 
of  the  Delawares  against  the  white  settle- 
ments, sent  back  word :  "Say  to  my  nephews 
they  have  my  pledge."  This  was  the  death 
warrant  of  Col.  Crawford. 

Many  writers  incline  to  the  theory  that  Col. 
Crawford  suffered  torture  in  retaliation  for 
the  massacre  of  the  Moravian  Indians,  who 
were  Delewares.  In  a  sense,  this  may  be  true, 
but  The  Pipe  had  a  supreme  contempt  for  the 
Moravian  branch  of  his  tribe;  still,  they  were 
Delawares,  and  the  Indian  tribal  spirit  called 
for  the  tribe  to  avenge  their  death,  even  if 
they  refused  to  revenge  it  themselves,  although 
most  of  those  who  escaped  the  massacre  joined 
their  comrades  in  the  fight  against  Crawford. 
It  is  probable,  however,  the  fate  of  Crawford 
would  have  been  the  same  if  the  Moravian 
incident  had  not  occurred.  From  1776  to 
1 78 1  the  Delawares  and  Shawanese  had  made 
expeditions  to  the  border,  murdering  and 
massacreing,  and,  when  possible,  brought 
prisoners  back  to  their  villages  to  die  by  tor- 
ture. It  was  the  knowledge  of  these  con- 
stant barbarities  which  led  to  the  Moravian 
and  the  Crawford  expeditions.  Added  to  this 
was  the  fact  of  imperative  orders  of  the  Brit- 
ish officer  at  Detroit  to  his  Indian  allies  to 
send  no  more  prisoners  to  that  place;  The 
Wyandots  killed  theirs,  sometimes  after  hav- 
ing made  them  run  the  gauntlet;  the  Dela- 
wares and  Shawanese  killed  theirs,  frequently 
with  all  the  forms  of  cruelity  their  fiendish  in- 
genuity could  invent. 

Cornwallis  had  surrendered  at  Yorktown 
on  October  19,  1781,  which  practically  ended 
the  war  of  the  Revolution,  although  the  treaty 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


59 


of  peace  was  not  signed  until  a  year  later,  Nov. 
30,  1782.  The  British  still  retained  posses- 
sion of  Detroit,  and  kept  the  Indians  of  the 
northwest  hostile  to  the  Americans,  and  the 
depredations  still  continued.  The  Americans, 
however,  were  now  more  free  to  protect  their 
border,  and  expeditions  were  sent  against 
them  in  the  Miami  valley  and  up  toward  the 
Maumee  and  Detroit,  the  Wyandots  sending 
all  their  warriors  to  oppose  the  Americans  on 
these  expeditions.  On  Jan.  27,  1785,  a  treaty 
was  signed  at  Fort  Mcintosh,  a  fort  on  the 
Ohio,  thirty  miles  below  Pittsburg,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Beaver  river,  where  the  town 
of  Beaver,  Pa.,  now  is.  This  treaty  was  made 
between  the  Americans  and  the  Wyandots,* 
Delawares,  Chippewas  and  Ottawas.  The 
boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and 
the  Wyandots  and  Delawares  was  declared  to 
begin  "at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Cuyahoga, 
and  to  extend  up  said  river  to  the  portage 
between  that  and  the  Tuscarawas  branch  of 
the  Muskingum,  thence  down  that  branch  to 
the  crossing  place  above  Fort  Laurens  (on 
the  border  line  of  Stark  and  Tuscarawas 
counties,  near  where  the  town  of  Bolivar  now 
is)  thence  westerly  to  the  portage  of  the  Big 
Miami,  which  runs  into  the  Ohio  (its  western 
point  being  Fort  Recovery  in  Mercer  county) 
at  the  mouth  of  which  branch  was  Fort  Slovel 
which  was  taken  by  the  French  in  1752;  then 
along  said  portage  to  the  Great  Miami  or 
Omee  river  (Maumee)  and  down  'the  south 
side  of  the  same  to  its  mouth,  then  along  the 
south  shores  of  Lake  Erie  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Cuyahoga  river,  where  it  began."  All 
of  the  territory  inside  this  boundary  (all  of 
northwestern  Ohio),  was  assigned  to  the  In- 
dians, with  a  few  trading  posts  reserved,  six 
miles  square  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sandusky, 
and  a  tract  two  miles  square  at  Fremont. 

Sha-tay-ya-ron-yah,  or  Leather  Lips,  who 
signed  this  treaty  and  kept  it,  was  afterward 
murdered  under  Indian  law  on  account  of  his 
friendship  for  the  Americans.  In  18 10  Te- 
cumseh  commenced  his  organization  of  the 
Indians   against   the   whites,    but    found    the 

*The  Wyandots  signing  this  treaty  were 
Tar-he  (or  Crane),  T.  Williams  Jr.,  Tey-yagh-taw, 
Ha-ro-en-you  (or  Half  King's  son),  Te-haaw-to- 
rens,  Aw-me-yee-ray,  Staye-tak,  Sha-tay-ya-ron-yah 
(or  Leather  Lips),  Daugh-shut-tay-ah,  Shay-aw-run- 
the. 


Wyandots,  led  by  Tar-he  and  Leather  Lips, 
were  bitterly  opposed  to  the  plan.  Gen.  Har- 
rison was  of  the  opinion  the  chief's  death 
was  the  result  of  the  direct  command  of  Te- 
cumseh.  In  June,  1810,  Leather  Lips  was  an 
old  man,  and  was  on  the  Scioto  river  about 
twelve  miles  above  Columbus,  when  parties 
arrived  direct  from  Tecumseh's  headquarters 
at  Tippecanoe,  accusing  the  aged  chief  of 
witchcraft.  An  Indian  Council  was  called, 
which  lasted  for  three  hours.  His  accusers 
from  Tippecanoe  were  very  bitter  in  their  de- 
nunciations. The  venerable  chief  made  a 
calm  and  dignified  and  dispassionate  reply. 
Some  whites  present  endeavored  to  save  him, 
but  the  fierce  vindictiveness  of  the  opposition 
made  all  appeals  for  mercy  useless.  Sentence 
of  death  was  pronounced  and  six  Indians  ap- 
pointed as  his  executioners.  After  the  sen- 
tence Leather  Lips  walked  slowly  to  his  camp, 
calmly  ate  his  dinner,  washed,  and  dressed 
himself  in  his  best  apparel,  wearing  his  finest 
skins  and  brightest  colored  chieftain  feathers. 
He  painted  his  face  as  a  warrior.  When  the 
hour  arrived,  arrayed  as  a  chieftain,  his  erect 
stride  and  gray  hairs  made  his  appearance 
graceful  and  commanding.  He  walked  slowly 
to  his  doom,  chanting  the  Indian  death  song 
in  a  voice  of  surprising  melody  and  sweet- 
ness. Wyandot  warriors  slowly  followed, 
timing  their  march  to  the  mournful  dirge. 
At  the  grave  he  shook  hands  with  all  present, 
and  the  Wyandot  captain  of  the  executioners 
offered  a  prayer,  after  which  Leather  Lips 
knelt,  and  while  offering  a  prayer  to  the  Great 
Spirit,  one  of  the  executioners  quietly  ap- 
proached from  behind,  and  buried  a  toma- 
hawk in  his  brain.  He  was  buried  in  his 
chieftain's  robes,  and  with  all  his  decorations. 
He  had  given  his  life  as  a  penalty  for  keep- 
ing his  word  to  remain  loyal  to  the  Americans, 
and  a  dozen  or  more  of  the  white  men  were 
there  to  witness  the  cowardly  act,  and  never 
raised  a  hand  to  stay  the  brutal  murder. 

Jan.  9,  1789,  another  treaty  was  made  by 
Gov.  St.  Clair  at  Fort  Harmar  (Marietta), 
with  the  Wyandots  and  others,  confirming  the 
treaty  of  1785.  It  was  not  kept  and  the  In- 
dians, supplied  with  arms  and  ammunition  by 
the  British  at  Detroit,  continued  their  depre- 
dations, and  several  expeditions  sent  against 
them  were  disastrous  to  the  Americans.    Fin- 


60 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ally  in  1794,  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne,  "Mad  An- 
thony," led  the  expedition  against  them,  and 
at  the  battle  of  Fallen  Timbers  he  gained  a 
complete  and  decisive  victory,  and  on  August 
3,  1795,  the  Greenville  treaty  was  signed,  mak- 
ing the  Indian  reservation  about  as  before. 

On  July  4,  1805,  another  treaty  was  signed 
at  Fort  Industry  between  the  United  States 
and  the  Wyandots  and  other  tribes,  by  which 
the  eastern  boundary  of  their  reservation  was 
a  meridian  line,  starting  at  a  point  on  Lake 
Erie,  120  miles  west  of  the  western  boundary 
of  Pennsylvania,  thence  south  to  the  Green- 
ville treaty  line.  This  line  was  the  present 
west  boundary  of  Erie  and  Huron  counties; 
it  passed  through  Crawford  county  giving 
the  present  eastern  seven  miles  to  the  United 
States,  the  western  thirteen  miles  being  re- 
served to  the  Indians.  It  touched  the  Green- 
ville treaty  line  about  two  miles  east  of  what 
is  now  Cardington,  in  Morrow  county.  All 
east  of  this  north  and  south  line,  north  of 
the  Greenville  treaty  line,  extending  to  the 
Cuyahoga  river  was  now  open  to  settlement. 
For  this  territory  the  Indians  were  given 
goods  to  the  amount  of  $20,000,  and  were  to 
receive  in  addition  $7,500  in  goods  annually. 
From  this  new  territory  Richland  county  was 
created  in  1807,  and  it  included  the  four  east- 
ern miles  of  what  is  now  Crawford  county, 
all  of  Auburn,  Vernon  and  Jackson,  and  the 
eastern  two  miles  of  Jefferson  and  the  eastern 
four  miles  of  Polk.  Between  the  western 
boundary  of  Richland  county  and  the  eastern 
boundary  of  the  reservation,  a  three  mile  strip 
was  left  unattached,  the  present  three  eastern 
sections  of  Cranberry,  all  of  Sandusky  and 
the  three  western  sections  of  Jefferson  and 
Polk.  For  some  years  the  Indians  remained 
peaceful,  their  severe  losses  in  their  constant 
wars  having  so  greatly  reduced  their  num- 
bers that  they  realized,  without  help,  all  fur- 
ther opposition  to  the  Americans  was  hopeless. 

This  peace  would  have  continued  but  for 
the  actions  of  the  British  in  forcing  the  war 
of  1812.  England  for  several  years  had  been 
stopping  American  ships  on  the  high  seas, 
seizing  seamen  on  those  vessels  and  impress- 
ing them  into  the  British  navy  on  the  ground 
they  were  British  seamen.  Many  American 
born  sailors  were  thus  seized,  and  to  all  pro- 
tests the  British  government  turned  a   deaf 


ear.  The  British  also  instigated  the  Indians 
in  the  northwest  to  recommence  their  depre- 
dations against  the  Americans,  and  Tecumseh 
organized  the  savage  tribes,  and  when  war 
was  declared  by  the  United  States  Tecumseh 
and  nearly  all  the  northwestern  Indians  joined 
their  forces  with  the  British,  with  headquar- 
ters at  Detroit.  Tarhe  "The  Crane,"  was 
chief  of  the  Wyandots  at  that  time,  and  as- 
sisted by  Between-the-Logs,  another  Wyandot 
chief,  urged  their  tribe  to  remain  neutral, 
which  the  majority  of  them  did,  very  few 
Wyandots  following  the  lead  of  Tecumseh. 
At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  the  first  year 
in  the  northwest,  the  Americans  met  with  a 
constant  succession  of  reverses. 

In  July,  1 81 2,  Gen.  William  Hull,  in  com- 
mand at  Detroit,  surrendered  that  post  to  the 
British  and  Indians,  without  firing  a  gun.  The 
allied  army  consisted  of  a  thousand  British  and 
six  hundred  Indians.  The  force  surrendered 
was  2,500  men,  with  thirty-three  cannon,  arms 
and  ammunition.  Just  prior  to  the  surrender 
a  detachment  of  five  hundred  had  been  sent 
south  to  guard  some  supplies  coming  from 
Ohio.  These  were  a  part  of  Hull's  arrtiy  and 
were  surrendered  also,  and  as  they  were  re- 
turning they  were  met  by  a  company  of  Brit- 
ish soldiers  who  astonished  them  with  the 
statement  that  they,  too,  were  included  in 
the  capitulation.  The  American  troops  were 
released  on  parole.  A  number  started  home 
on  foot,  others  were  transported  in  boats 
across  Lake  Erie  to  the  mouths  of  the  San- 
dusky, Huron  and  Cuyahoga  rivers,  and  left 
at  those  points  to  go  overland  the  nearest  route 
to  their  homes,  many  passing  through  Craw- 
ford as  the  nearest  way  home. 

Gen.  William  Henry  Harrison  was  placed 
in  command  of  the  army  in  the  northwest  in 
September  of  1812,  the  objective  point  of 
this  campaign  being  to  regain  Detroit  from 
the  British.  Gen.  Harrison  immediately  es- 
tablished a  line  of  defense  across  the  state 
from  Wooster  through  Crawford  county,  to 
Upper  Sandusky  and  St.  Mary's  to  Ft.  Wayne. 
The  army  was  divided  into  three  divisions, 
the  left  composed  of  the  Kentucky  troops  and 
the  Seventeenth  and  Eighteenth  U.  S.  regu- 
lars under  Brigadier  General  Winchester ;  their 
route  was  up  the  Miami,  with  the  base  of 
supplies  at  St.  Mary's,  Auglaize  county.     The 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


61 


central  division  was  composed  of  1,200  of  the 
Ohio  militia  and  eight  hundred  mounted  in- 
fantry under  Brigadier  General  Tupper,  with 
their  base  of  supplies  at  Fort  McArthur 
(Kenton,  Hardin  county).  The  right  was 
composed  of  three  brigades  of  militia  from 
Pennsylvania,  Virginia  and  Ohio,  and  were  to 
assemble  at  Fort  Ferree,  a  fort  erected  at 
Upper  Sandusky,  where  Gen.  Harrison  had 
his  headquarters.  During  the  early  winter 
these  troops  were  assembling  at  the  three  diff- 
erent points  a  large  number  of  the  right  divi- 
sion marching  to  their  post  through  Crawford 
county.  On  October  22,  Gen  Harrison  wrote 
to  the  war  department:  "I  am  not  able  to  fix 
any  period  for  the  advance  of  the  troops  to 
Detroit.  It  is  pretty  evident  that  it  cannot 
be  done,  on  proper  principles,  until  the  frost 
shall  have  become  so  severe  as  to  enable  us 
to  use  the  rivers  and  the  margin  of-  the  lake 
for  the  transportation  of  our  baggage  on  the 
ice."  He  also  stated  that  to  go  from  Colum- 
bus to  Upper  Sandusky,  for  every  team  em- 
ployed in  transporting  supplies  it  would  re- 
quire two  teams  loaded  with  forage  for  their 
subsistence,  and  that  at  Upper  Sandusky  it 
was  necessary  to  accumulate  not  only  provi- 
sions for  the  men  but  forage  sufficient  for  at 
least  two  thousand  horses  and  oxen,  that 
would  necessarily  have  to  be  employed  in  ad- 
vancing the  main  expedition.  During  No- 
vember and  December  Gen.  Harrison  did  what 
he  could  toward  improving  the  roads. 

While  at  his  headquarters  on  the  Sandusky, 
Tarhe,  the  Wyandot  chief,  called  on  Gen. 
Harrison,  and  suggested  that  a  meeting  of 
the  Indians  be  held,  as  it  was  his  opinion 
many  of  the  Indians  had  been  deceived  into 
joining  the  British  forces.  In  response  to 
this,  a  council  of  Indians,  both  friendly  and 
unfriendly,  was  held  on  the  American  side 
of  the  Detroit  river  at  Brownstown.  The 
Wyandots  were  then  the  leading  and  most 
powerful  Indian  nation,  and  Tarhe,  their 
chief,  sent  a  strong  message  urging  them  to 
remain  neutral.  Tarhe's  message  was  re- 
ceived in  sullen  silence,  and  Round  Head,  a 
Canadian  chief,  and  a  Wyandot,  made  a  bit- 
ter speech  against  the  Americans,  which  was 
endorsed  by  practically  all  present.  The  Brit- 
ish were  represented  at  the  council  by  two 
agents,  Elliott  and  McKee,  and  Elliott,  seeing 
the  spirit  of  the  Indians,  made  a  very  insulting 


speech,  boasting  of  the  victories  already 
achieved,  and  alluding  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States  as  a  squaw,  and  saying:  "If 
she  receives  this  as  an  insult  and  feels  disposed 
to  fight,  tell  her  to  bring  more  men  than  she 
ever  brought  before.  If  she  wishes  to  fight  me 
and  my  children  she  must  not  burrow  in  the 
earth  like  a  ground  hog*  where  she  is  inac- 
cessible. She  must  come  out  and  fight  fairly." 
The  leading  chief  of  the  Wyandots  present 
was  Between-the-Logs,  the  chief  orator  of  that 
nation,  and  to  the  insulting  speech  of  Elliott 
he  made  a  dignified  reply: 

"Brothers,  I  am  directed  by  my  American 
father  to  inform  you  that  if  you  reject  the 
advice  given  you,  he  will  march  here  with  a 
large  army,  and  if  .he  should  find  any  of  the 
red  people  opposing  him  in  his  passage  through 
this  country,  he  will  trample  them  under  his 
feet.     You  cannot  stand  before  him. 

"And  now  for  myself,  I  earnestly  entreat 
you  to  consider  the  good  talk  I  have  brought, 
and  listen  to  it.  Why  should  you  devote  your- 
selves, your  women  and  your  children  to  de- 
struction? Let  me  tell  you,  if  you  should 
defeat  the  American  army  this  time  you  have 
not  done!  Another  will  come  on,  and  if  you 
defeat  that  still  another  will  appear  that  you 
cannot  withstand;  one  that  will  come  like  the 
waves  of  the  great  water,  and  overwhelm  you 
and  sweep  you  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

"If  you  doubt  the  account  I  give  you  of  the 
force  of  the  Americans,  you  can  send  some 
of  your  own  people,  in  whom  you  have  con- 
fidence, to  examine  their  army  and  navy. 
They  shall  be  permitted  to  return  in- safety. 
The  truth  is  your  British  father  lies  to  you 
and  deceives  you.  He  boasts  of  the  few  vic- 
tories he  gains,  but  never  tells  you  of  his  de- 
feats, of  his  armies  being  slaughtered,  and 
his  vessels  being  taken  on  the  big  waters.  He 
keeps  all  these  things  to  himself. 

"And  now,  father,  let  me  address  a  few 
words  to  you.  Your  request  shall  be  granted. 
I  will  bear  your  message  to  the  American 
father.  It  is  true  none  of  your  children  ap- 
pear willing  to  forsake  your  standard,  and  it 
will  be  the  worse  for  them.  You  compare  the 
Americans  to  ground  hogs,  and  complain  of 
their  mode  of  fighting.     I  must  confess  that 

*Alluding  to  the  Americans  having  pits  in  the 
embankments  to  shelter  them  from  cannon  balls 
thrown  into  their  forts. 


62 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


a  ground  hog  is  a  very  difficult  animal  to 
contend  with.  He  has  such  sharp  teeth,  such 
an  inflexible  temper,  and  such  an  unconquer- 
able spirit,  that  he  is  truly  a  dangerous  enemy, 
especially  when  he  is  in  his  own  hole.  But, 
father,  let  me  tell  you,  you  can  have  your 
wish.  Before  many  days  you  will  see  the 
ground  hog  floating  on  yonder  lake,  paddling 
his  'canoe  toward  your  hole,  and  then,  father, 
you  will  have  an  opportunity  of  attacking  your 
enemy  in  any  way  you  may  think  best." 

This  closed  the  council,  the  Canadian  In- 
dians remaining  with  the  British,  while  the 
Ohio  Wyandots  followed  the  advice  of  Be- 
tween-the-Logs.  Tarhe  made  another  at- 
tempt and  sent  another  message  to  his  Cana- 
dian Wyandot  kinsman:  "Let  all  the  Wyan- 
dots abandon  the  British.  They  are  liars  and 
have  always  deceived  the  Indians.  They  built 
Fort  Miami,  as  they  said,  to  be  a  refuge  to 
the  Indians.  When  wounded  and  bleeding, 
after  our  defeat  by  Gen.  Wayne,  we  fled  to 
their  fort  for  protection,  they  shut  the  gates 
against  us."  Later  in  the  campaign  Tecum- 
seh  threw  this  same  treacherous  act  up  to  Gen. 
Procter.  It  referred  to  a  campaign  when 
"Mad  Anthony"  Wayne  defeated  the  British 
and  Indians,  and  the  British  sought  refuge 
in  Fort  Miami,  and  closed  its  gates  against 
their  fleeing  Indian  allies.  He  called  atten- 
tion to  several  other  acts  of  perfidy  of  the 
British  but  it  had  no  effect  on  his  Canadian 
people,  although  nearly  all  the  Wyandots  in 
Ohio  remained  on  the  side  of  the  Americans ; 
only  a  very  few  joinmg  the  British. 

During  the  war  of  1812  Gen.  Harrison  had 
his  headquarters  much  of  the  time  along  the 
Sandusky  river.  He  established  Fort  Ferree, 
the  present  site  of  Upper  Sandusky ;  Fort  Ball 
at  Tiffin  and  Fort  Seneca  half  way  between 
Tiffin  and  Fremont.  This  latter  place  had  been 
a  trading  post  over  a  century,  established  by 
the  French,  and  here  was  Fort  Stevenson. 

On  December  17,  181 2,  Gov.  Meigs  sent  a 
message  to  the  State  Legislature  appealing 
for  aid  for  the  Ohio  militia  at  Sandusky,  in 
which  he  said :  "The  situation  of  the  men  as 
to  clothing  is  really  distressing.  You  will 
see  many  of  them  wading  through  the  snow 
and  mud  almost  barefooted  and  half  naked. 
Not  half  the  men  have  a  change  of  pantaloons, 
and  those  linen." 


In  January,  1813,  Gen.  Harrison  marched 
from  Upper  Sandusky  to  the  Maumee  and 
about  January  20  erected  Fort  Meigs,  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river  just  above  where 
Perrysburg  now  is,  and  for  the  balance  of  the 
winter  supplies  and  troops  were  sent  forward 
and  the  fort  strengthened.  Toward  the  last 
of  April  the  fort  was  besieged  by  Gen.  Procter 
and  Tecumseh  with  two  thousand  British  and 
Indians,  but  the  small  force  there  made  .so 
determined  a  resistence  until  re-inforcements 
arrived  under  Gen.  Clay,  that  on  May  5,  the 
allies  gave  up  the  siege  and  retired.  Gen. 
Harrison  sent  word  to  Gov.  Meigs  that  more 
troops  were  needed,  and  they  were  soon  on 
their  way  to  the  different  posts.  On  May  8 
the  commander  at  Fort  Ferree  wrote  that  five 
hundred  men  had  arrived  that  day  and  a  thou- 
sand more  would  be  there  the  next  day. 

On  July  21  Gen.  Procter  and  Tecumseh 
again  laid  siege  to  Fort  Meigs  with  four  thou- 
sand British  and  Indians,  Gen.  Clay  being  in 
command  of  the  Fort.  The  British  general, 
Procter,  left  Tecumseh  to  watch  the  Fort, 
while  he,  with  five  hundred  British  troops  and 
eight  hundred  Indians,  marched  to  Lower 
Sandusky  (Fremont)  to  capture  Fort  Steven- 
son, which  was  garrisoned  by  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  under  Major  Crogan,  a  young 
man  of  twenty-one.  They  arrived  before  the 
Fort  on  August-  ist,  1813,  and  Procter  de- 
manded its  surrender  under  the  threat  that 
its  defense  against  his  superior  force  was 
hopeless,  and  if  they  were  compelled  to  cap- 
ture the  place,  it  would  be  impossible  for  him 
to  restrain  the  savagery  of  the  Indians,  and 
the  entire  garrison  would  be  massacred.  The 
demand  was  refused  and  on  August  2d  the 
attack  commenced,  and  after  several  hours  of 
fighting  the  enemy  endeavored  to  take  it  by 
assault  but  were  repulsed  with  great  slaugh- 
ter. Gen.  Harrison  was  at  the  time  at  Fort 
Seneca,  nine  miles  up  the  river,  with  a  large 
force  of  troops,  and  Procter  fearing  an  at- 
tack in  return  gave  up  the  attempt  and  re- 
turned to  Detroit.  Their  loss  was  perhaps  one 
hundred  and  fifty  killed  and  wounded.  The 
American  loss  was  one  killed  and  seven 
wounded. 

The  Ohio  militia  continued  pouring  into 
Fort  Ferree  until  in  August  there  were  from 
five  to   six  thousand  men  there   under   com- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


63 


mand  of  the  Governor,  Return  Jonathan 
Meigs.  It  was  impossible  to  care  for  so  many, 
besides  the  enemy  had  abandoned  their  at- 
tempt to  capture  Fort  Meigs  and  retired  to 
Detroit,  and  the  pressing  need  for  the  militia 
had  passed,  so  all  but  two  thousand  were  dis- 
banded and  sent  home,  an  order  which  was 
received  with  the  greatest  disapproval  by  the 
disbanded  troops,  and  led  to  indignation  meet- 
ings in  which  severe  resolutions  were  passed 
against  Gen.  Harrison. 

On  September  lo,  1813,  Perry  gained  his 
signal  victory  on  Lake  Erie  and  Gen.  Harri- 
son pushed  forward  into  Michigan  to  retake 
the  fort.  Reaching  Detroit  he  found  the  place 
deserted,  the  British  and  Indians  having  re- 
tired across  the  river  into  Canada.  On  Oc- 
tober 2d,  Gens.  Harrison  and  Shelby,  with 
3,500  Ohio  and  Kentucky  troops,  started  after 
the  retreating  army  and  overtook  the  allied 
forces  at  the  river  Thames,  eighty  miles  from 
Detroit.  A  battle  followed  on  October  5,  in 
which  Tecumseh  was  slain,  which  so  demoral- 
ized his  Indian  followers  that  they  immediately 
took  flight.  A  large  number  of  the  British 
were  killed  or  captured  and  the  rest  fled.  This 
was  the  final  battle  of  the  northwest,  and  from 
that  time  the  settlers  of  northwestern  Ohio 
were  no  longer  disturbed  by  the  British  or  In- 
dians. The  war,  however,  continued  in  the 
east  and  south,  until  the  last  battle  was  fought 
at  New  Orleans,  on  January  8,  181 5,  by  Gen. 
Jackson,  who,  with  six  thousand  men,  ad- 
ministered a  crushing  defeat  to  Gen.  Packen- 
ham's  force  of  12,000.  The  troops  of  Pack- 
enham  were  the  pick  of  the  British  army,  the 
survivors  returning  to  Europe  in  time  to  take 
part  in  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  while  the  troops 
of  Jackson  were  the  raw  militia  of  Kentucky, 
Tennessee  and  the  Northwest,  but  every  man  a 
marksman.  In  the  repeated  charges  of  Pack- 
enham  against  the  breastworks  of  the  Amer- 
icans the  world  was  given  an  example  of  the 
height  to  which  disciplined  soldiery  can  be 
brought. 

During  the  war  of  1812,  in  the  battles  along 
the  Maumee,  the  brutal  murderings  by  the  In- 
dians of  the  soldiers  after  they  had  sur- 
rendered, were  of  frequent  occurrence.  Un- 
armed prisoners  were  butchered  and  scalped; 
huts  containing  the  wounded  were  set  on  fire, 
the  infuriated  savages  surrounding  the  burn- 
ing buildings,  and  as  the  maimed  and  crippled 


soldiers  endeavored  to  escape  they  were  bayo- 
netted  back  into  the  flames.  Some  prisoners 
were  taken  by  the  Indians  to  their  towns  to 
undergo  death  by  torture.  During  this  war 
the  English  endeavored  to  curb  the  cruelties 
of  their  Indian  allies,  but  it  was  generally  use- 
less, and  it  was  only  on  a  few  occasions  that 


/      a    ^^  :t%^ 


Map  of  the  Northwest  Territory. 

Tecumseh   himself   was   able   to   restrain   the 
ferocity  of  the  savages. 

The  Wyandots  being  at  peace  with  the 
Americans,  and  Harrison's  headquarters  for 
his  principal  army  of  advance  during  the  war 
being  in  what  was  Crawford  county  from  1820 
to  1845,  there  were  no  disturbances  in  this 
section;  in  fact  at  the  time  of  the  War  of  1812 
to  1 8 14,  there  was  not  a  single  settler  on  any 
land  within  the  borders  of  the  county,  it  was 
still  an  unbroken  wilderness,  crossed  by  a  mil- 
itary road  in  the  south  and  another  through 
where  Bucyrus  is  now  located,  with  Indian 
trails  covering  the  county  in  various  directions. 


CHAPTER  IV 

SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  COUNTY 

Crawford  County  Organized — Previous  Ownership — Indian  Reservations — Formation  of 
Wayne  County — Delaware  and  Known  Counties  Formed — Richland  County  Organized — 
Boundaries  of  Crawford  County  in  1820 — The  J^yandot  Reservation  Purchased — Indian 
Villages  in  Crawford  County — Army  Routes — Early  Roads — The  Sandusky  Plains — Pas- 
sage of  Crooks'  Army — Ludlow's  Survey — Bad  Lands — Abandoned  Cabins — Crawford 
County  in  its  Crude  State — The  "Old  Purchase" — The  Westward  Movement — Inhab- 
itants of  the  County  Prior  to  18 15 — Jedediah  Moorehead — John  Pettigon,  the  First  Land 
Owner — William  Green,  the  First  Permanent  Settler — Other  Early  Settlers  in  the  Various 
Townships — A  Fatal  Accident — Early  Distilleries — Indian  Treaty  of  181I — The  Land 
Secured  by  it — Supplementary  Treaty — Ihe  New  Land  Surveyed  and  Settled — Where 
the  Pioneers  Came  From — Their  Real  and  Personal  Estate — Log  Cabins  and  How  They 
Were  Built — Accidents — Furniture — Provisions — Baking — Water  Supply — Log  Rolling 
— Clothing — Crops  and  Harvesting — Grist  Mills — Honey  and  Bee-Hunting — Cranberries 
— Scarcity  of  Money — Price  of  Various  Products — Blazed  Trails — Neighbors'  Visits — 
Pioneer  Hospitality — Mails — The  Traveling  Minister — Family  Services — Medical  Re- 
sources and  Early  Doctors — Pioneer  Pastimes — Funerals — Improvements — The  County 
Erected  and  Named — Population  in  1820 — -List  of  Settlers. 


O!  the  pleasant  days  of  old  which  so  often  people 

praise! 
True,   they  wanted  all  .the  luxuries  that   grace   our 

modern  days: 
Bare  floors  were  strewed  with  rushes — the  walls  let 

in  the  cold; 
O!  how  they  must  have  shivered  in  those  pleasant 

days  of  old! 

I  love   to  sing  their  ancient  rhymes,  to   hear  their 

legends  told — 
But,  Heaven  be  thanked!     I  live  not  in  those  blessed 

times  of  old! — Francis  Brown. 


On  Feb.  12,  1820,  the  Legislature  of  the 
State  of  Ohio  passed  an  act  erecting  the 
County  of  Crawford,  and  on  Jan.  31,  1826, 
another  act  was  passed,  authorizing  the  cit- 
izens of  the  county  to  elect  their  officers  and 
Crawford  became  one  of  the  counties  in  the 
great  State  of  Ohio. 

Prior  to  this  the  territory  comprising  Craw- 
ford county  had  been  under  various  controls. 
The  first  civilized  owner  was  Spain,  when  it 
became  Spanish  territory  in  1492,  by  the  dis- 


covery of  Columbus,  and  the  claims  of  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella,  approved  by  Pope  Alexander 
VI.,  which  made  all  newly-discovered  terri- 
tory, west  of  the  Atlantic,  Spanish  possessions. 

In  1497,  and  subsequent  years,  the  Cabots, 
John  and  Sebastian,  especially  the  latter,  ex- 
plored the  Atlantic  coast  from  Canada  to 
Florida,  and  by  virtue  of  'their  discoveries 
England  claimed  the  entire  country  north  of 
Florida  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 
Later  England  made  grants  of  lands  to  colon- 
ization companies,  and  what  is  now  Crawford 
county,  under  one  of  these  grants,  came  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  Virginia.  The  present 
northern  boundary  of  Crawford  was  the 
north  line  of  Virginia  territory.  From  this 
line  north  to  the  Lake  belonged  to  Connecti- 
cut, also  supposed  to  extend  through  to  the 
Pacific  ocean. 

In  1554  Cartier  went  up  the  St.  Lawrence 
as  far  as  Montreal,  and  for  over  two  centuries 
France  made  explorations  of  the  entire  coun- 


64 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


65 


try  west  of  the  Alleghenies  and  north  of  the 
Ohio  river.  France  explored  it  and  fortified 
it,  erected  trading  posts  and  made  settlements,' 
claimed  it  by  the  right  of  discovery  and  had 
control  of  it.  England,  however,  still  claimed 
it  by  reason  of  the  Cabots'  coast  discoveries, 
and  the  further  claim  that  in  several  treaties 
with  the  Iroquois  Nation,  the  last  in  1744, 
they  had  purchased  of  that  Indian  nation  the 
entire  territory  from  the  Alleghenies  to  the 
Mississippi,  north  of  the  Ohio  river.  As  a 
result  of  these  conflicting  claims,  in  1755  the 
Seven  Years  War  started  between  England 
and  France.  The  French  were  defeated,  and 
in  1763,  by  force  of  arms,  the  land  became 
English,  and  Crawford  county  was  Virginia 
territory. 

In  1774  England  made  all  the  land,  from 
the  Ohio  to  the  Lakes  and  from  Pennsylvania 
to  the  Mississippi,  Royal  Domain  and  a  part 
of  the  Province  of  Quebec,  so  Crawford  coun- 
ty's headquarters  was  now  Canada. 

In  1776  the  War  of  the  Revolution  started, 
and  again  by  the  force  of  arms  the  ownership 
changed,  and  by  the  final  treaty  signed  in 
Paris,  Sept.  3,  1783,  Crawford  became  a  part 
of  the  new  Nation. 

By  the  Indian  treaties  of  Jan.  27,  1785,  and 
Jan.  9,  1789,  all  of  Ohio  west  of  the  Cuyahoga 
river,  and  about  the  northern  half  of  the 
State  west  of  that  river,  including  nearly  all 
of  northern  Indiana  and  all  of  eastern  Michi- 
gan was  reserved  to  the  Indians,  and  this  vast 
territory  was  designated  as  Wayne  county, 
with  headquarters  at  Detroit. 

On  July  4,  1805,  another  treaty  was  made 
with  the  Indians  extending  the  eastern  boun- 
dary of  the  Indian  reservation  fifty  miles 
further  to  the  west.  This  placed  the  boundary 
line  of  the  reservation  in  Crawford  county. 
The  eastern  line  of  the  reservation  being  the 
present  eastern  line  of  Liberty  and  Whetstone 
townships.  The  seven  eastern  miles  of  the 
present  county  were  now  open  to  settlement, 
and  of  this  territory  the  four  eastern  miles 
were  a  part  of  Fairfield  county,  and  the  balance 
a  part  of  Franklin  county.  In  1808  Delaware 
and  Knox  counties  were  created,  and  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  county  was  Knox  and  the  west- 
ern part  Delaware. 

Jan.  7,  1813,  Richland  county  was  organ- 
ized, and  the  four  eastern  miles  of  the  present 


Crawford  were  a  part  of  the  new  county,  the 
balance  of  the  county  being  Delaware. 

Sept.  20,  1817,  a  treaty  was  made  with  the 
Wyandots,  together  with  a  supplemental  treaty 
on  Sept.  17,  1818,  by  which  all  of  northwest- 
ern Ohio  was  purchased  from  the  Indians, 
their  only  reservation  being  a  few  tracts,  the 
largest  twelve  by  eighteen  miles  in  size  in 
what  is  now  Crawford  and  Wyandot  coun- 
ties. This  newly  opened  section  for  three  years 
remained  a  part  of  Delaware  county. 

By  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Feb.  12, 
1820,  Crawford  county  was  formed,  consist- 
ing of  a  tract  of  land,  commencing  at  the 
present  western  boundary  of  Auburn  and  Ver- 
non townships,  and  extending  west  thirty-three 
miles,  including  all  of  the  present  Wyandot 
county  except  an  irregular  strip  of  about  four 
miles  on  its  western  border.  The  northern 
boundary  was  the  same  as  today.  The  south- 
ern boundary  was  two  miles  north  of  the 
present  southern  line  of  the  county.  For 
judicial  purposes  the  new  county  was  placed 
under  the  care  of  Delaware.  Dec.  15,  1823, 
Marion  county  was  organized,  and  Crawford 
came  under  its  judicial  jurisdiction,  and  for 
the  convenience  of  settlers  in  the  northern 
portion,  all  land  north  of  the  Indian  reserva- 
tion, including  one  tier  of  townships  east  and 
west,  was  placed  for  judicial  purposes  under 
the  care  of  Seneca  county.  The  Seneca 
county  portion  was  practically  Texas,  Lykins, 
and  the  western  portion  of  Chatfield. 

On  Jan.  31,  1826,  Crawford  county  was 
organized,  the  same  territory  as  formed  in 
1820,  an  area  of  about  594  square  miles. 

In  1835,  six  miles  of  the  eastern  portion  of 
the  Wyandot  reservation  was  purchased  from 
the  Indians,  and  a  few  years  later  all  of  the 
present  Crawford  county  was  open  to  settle- 
ment. On  March  7,  1842,  the  balance  of  the 
Wyandot  reservation  was  purchased,  and  the 
last  foot  of  soil  in  Ohio  owned  by  the  In- 
dians passed  from  their  possession. 

The  organization  of  Wyandot  county  on 
Feb.  3,  1845,  changed  Crawford  county  to  its 
present  borders.  Crawford  lost  to  Wyandot 
on  the  west  a  strip  of  land  eighteen  miles 
square ;  from  Richland  on  the  east  was  added 
a  strip  four  miles  wide  and  eighteen  deep. 
From  Marion  on  the  south  a  strip  was  added 
twenty  miles  long  and  two  wide,  making  the 


66 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


new  and  present  Crawford  county  about  20 
miles  square,  with  an  area  of  nearly  four  hun- 
dred square  miles. 

Previous  to  the  war  of  18 12  there  was  no 
settler  in  Crawford  county.  Prior  to  that 
time  the  Indians  had  villages  and  camps  in 
various  parts  of  the  county.  An  Indian  vil- 
lage had  once  been  located  in  the  northwest- 
ern part  of  Auburn  township,  just  east  of 
what  is  now  North  Auburn  station.  Another 
village  was  that  of  the  Delawares,  half  a 
mile  northeast  of  the  present  site  of  Leesville. 
Another  was  a  Wyandot  village  on  the  bank 
of  the  Whetstone  in  what  is  now  the  corporate 
limits  of  Gallon.  There  may  have  been  a 
village  four  miles  west  of  Bucyrus  on  the 
Grass  Run,  If  it  was  not  a  village  it  was 
used  so  frequently  as  a  camp  as  to  leave  many 
of  the  signs  which  mark  the  sites  of  Indian 
villages.  The  same  is  true  of  a  site  on  the 
Sandusky  south  of  the  Mt.  Zion  church,  and 
another  point  on  the  Sandusky  a  mile  above 
the  present  village  of  Wyandot.  Early  set- 
tlers found  land  cleared  at  these  places  which 
had  been  used  for  the  raising  of  corn;  there 
were  also  a  few  fruit  trees,  but  the  clearing 
being  not  over  an  acre  they  may  have  been 
only  annual  camps.  Some  writers  hold  it  was 
on  the  Sandusky  river  at  one  of  these  points 
where  the  Moravian  Indians  spent  the  winter 
of  1 78 1,  when  they  were  forced  to  leave  their 
home  on  the  Tuscarawas,  and  were  brought 
as  prisoners  by  the  British  and  Wyandots  to 
Crawford  county.  The  Indians  had  camps  all 
over  the  county,  one  which  they  used  during 
the  maple  sugar  season  was  on  what  is  now 
the  public  square  at  Bucyrus ;  others  were  along 
the  banks  of  the  rivers  and  bordering  the 
plains  used  during  their  hunts;  in  Chatfield 
and  Cranberry  and  northern  Auburn  and 
southern  Holmes  were  those  used  during 
the  cranberry  season.  Many  an  early  settler 
on  his  first  arrival  made  use  of  these  little 
shelters  which  had  been  erected  by  the  In- 
dians. 

During  the  War  of  181 2  troops  passed 
through  what  is  now  Crawford  county;  the 
eastern  division  of  the  army  had  its  head- 
quarters at  Upper  Sandusky;  a  fort  was  built 
there,  called  Fort  Ferree,,  and  it  was  here  the 
bulk  of  the  stores  for  the  entire  army  operat- 
ing on  the  Maumee  was  assembled,  most  of 


these  stores  being  brought  north  from  Frank- 
linton  (Columbus),  and  entered  the  original 
Crawford  county  several  miles  west  of  the 
present  western  boundary  of  the  county,  at 
Little  Sandusky.  But  one  or  more  roads  had 
been  cut  through  the  forest  from  the  eastern 
to  the  western  part  of  Crawford  county  for 
the  transportation  of  troops  and  supplies  from 
the  east  to  the  Upper  Sandusky  headquarters. 
In  1805  the  seven  eastern  miles  of  the  pres- 
ent Crawford  had  been  purchased  from  the 
Indians,  and  in  1807  this  portion  of  the  county 
was  surveyed.  A  map  published  in  181 5  gives 
a  road  that  goes  west  along  the  present  boun- 
dary line  between  Vernon  and  Jackson  town- 
ships; at  the  southwest  corner  of  Vernon  it 
bears  to  the  north  one  mile  in  three,  leaving 
Sandusky  township  one  mile  north  of  its  south- 
ern boundary;  it  is  then  marked  through  the 
unsurveyed  Indian  reservation  as  an  air-line 
to  Upper  Sandusky,  which  would  pass  along 
the  present  north  corporation  line  of  Bucyrus 
in  Holmes  township,  and  leave  the  present 
county  about  a  mile  south  of  Oceola.  An- 
other of  these  military  roads  entered  the  county 
at  where  Crestline  now  is;  bore  to  the  SQUth- 
west,  practically  along  the  line  of  the  present 
Cleveland,  Columbus  and  Cincinnati  road, 
passed  through  Gallon  north  of  the  Whet- 
stone,* and  followed  about  the  line  of  the 
present  Gallon  road  to  Bucyrus,  keeping  to  the 
high  ground  north  of  that  road;  crossing  the 
Sandusky  at  Bucyrus,  and  getting  to  the  high 
ground  north  of  the  present  Pennsylvania 
road,  going  west  to  Upper  Sandusky.  This 
road  is  not  given  on  the  map  printed  in  181 5, 
but  that  a  military  road  existed  somewhere 
along  this  route  can  hardly  be  questioned.  H. 
W.  McDonald,  in  his  thorough  survey  of  the 
county  forty  years  ago,  traced  it  plainly 
through  Jackson  and  Polk  townships.  In  1821 
James  Nail  was  living  two  miles  north  of 
Gallon,  and  he  wanted  to  find  the  place  where 
the  Indians  gathered  their  cranberries,  so  he 
started  on  a  searching  expedition  with  two  of 
his  neighbors.  He  says :  "We  took  horses  and 
horsefeed  and  went  southwest  until  we  struck 
the  Pennsylvania  Army  Road,  which  we  could 
easily  distinguish."  After  following  that  road 
several  miles,  he  thought  they  were  not  "get- 

*In  1833  the  Legislature  changed  the  name  of  this 
stream  to  the  Olentangy. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


67 


ting  far  enough  north,"  therefore  "we  turned 
further  north,"  and  crossed  the  Sandusky  at 
McMochael's,  whose  land  was  then  about  two 
miles  up  the  river  from  Bucyrus.  The  lan- 
guage of  Nail  plainly  shows  that  when  they 
struck  the  Army  road  they  followed  it  in  a 
northwesterly  direction,  but  not  far  enough 
north  to  suit  them  so  they  turned  further  north. 
Added  to  this,  Seth  Holmes,  who  came  with 
the  Nortons  in  1819,  was  a  captain  of  team- 
sters in  the  army  in  1812,  and  always  insisted 
that  on  the  march  to  Upper  Sandusky  he 
camped  one  night  on  the  banks  of  the  San- 
dusky, the  camping  point  being  near  where 
the  Pennsylvania  railroad  now  crosses  East 
Mansfield  street. 

The  celebrated  Sandusky  Plains  in  this 
county  extended  from  the  eastern  part  of 
Whetstone  township  west  to  the  Sandusky 
river,  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  being  about  the 
northern  boundary.  Outside  of  this  section 
the  county  was  practically  all  forest,  where 
trees  would  have  to  be  cut  to  make  a  road. 
During  the  War  of  1812  the  entire  militia  of 
the  state,  nearly  twelve  thousand  in  number, 
were  assembled  at  Upper  Sandusky ;  many  reg- 
ular troops  were  also  massed  there,  and  there 
can  be  no  question  many  of  these  passed 
through  Crawford  county,  probably  nearly  all 
■of  them  on  horseback,  marching  light  without 
camp  equippage,  and  followed  the  Indian 
trails,  and  their  passage  gave  rise  to  the  tradi- 
tions handed  down  of  several  of  Gen.  Harri- 
son's Military  roads  in  Crawford  county. 

The  army  that  passed  through  Crawford 
•county  was  Pennsylvania  troops  under  Gen. 
Crooks.  They  arrived  at  Mansfield  a  little 
after  the  middle  of  October,  where  they  stopped 
several  weeks  for  rest  and  to  await  their  sup- 
plies. About  Dec.  loth  Gen.  Crooks  received 
orders  from  Gen.  Harrison  to  proceed  to  Up- 
per Sandusky.  At  that  time  reports  from  the 
■supply  train  showed  it  would  reach  Mansfield 
in  a  day  or  two,  and  on  Dec.  12th,  Col.  Ander- 
son arrived  with  the  stores.  He  reports :  "On 
the  12th  we  reached  the  village  of  Mansfield, 
where  we  found  two  blockhouses,  a  tavern  and 
two  stores."  The  army  train  of  which  Col. 
Anderson  had  charge  consisted  of  25  cannon, 
mostly  four  and  six  pounders,  each  of  these 
drawn  by  six  horses;  then  there  were  the 
twenty-five   cannon    carriages    each    requiring 


four  horses;  fifty  covered  wagons  containing 
the  stores,  with  six  horses  to  each ;  the  ammu- 
nition was  in  large  covered  wagons,  each  with 
six  horses ;  one  large  covered  wagon  drawn  by 
six  horses  contained  iron-bound  kegs  filled  with 
coin  for  the  payment  of  the  troops.  After  re- 
maining in  Mansfield  two  or  three  days  to  rest 
the  teams  they  started  for  Upper  Sandusky 
about  Dec.  15.  Each  teamster  was  armed 
with  a  gun  in  case  of  an  attack  by  the  Indians. 
The  army  train  had  reached  but  a  short  dis- 
tance from  Mansfield  when  a  heavy  snow  fell, 
and  the  ground  was  covered  to  a  depth  of  two 
feet.  The  ground  had  not  yet  frozen  for  the 
winter,  and  the  heavy  wagons  and  ordnance  cut 
into  the  soft  earth,  and  frequent  stoppages  had 
to  be  made  to  extricate  some  wagon  that  had 
become  stalled.  At  night,  after  a  toilsome 
day's  journey,  the  snow  had  to  be  cleared  away 
to  secure  a  camping  place;  they  had  no  tents, 
and  trees  were  cut  down  and  large  fires  burned 
all  night  to  keep  them  from  freezing.  This 
toilsome  journey  of  about  43  miles  from  Mans- 
field to  Upper  Sandusky,  through  Crawford 
county,  took  them  about  two  weeks  and  they 
reached  Upper  Sandusky  on  New  Year's  Day, 
1 81 3.  But  the  first  road  through  Crawford 
county  had  been  made. 

What  this  army  road  was  like  is  best  shown 
from  a  letter  written  by  one  of  the  Pennsylva- 
nia troopers  to  a  friend  at  Pittsburg,  when  he 
continued  his  march  from  Upper  Sandusky  to 
the  Maumee,  in  March,  1813:  "Early  the  next 
morning  at  two  o'clock  our  tents  were  struck, 
and  in  half  an  hour  we  were  on  our  way.  I 
will  candidly  confess  that  on  that  day  I 
regretted  being  a  soldier.  We  walked  thirty 
miles  in  an  incessant  rain.  For  eight  miles  of 
the  thirty  the  water  was  over  our  knees  and 
often  up  to  the  middle.  The  Black  Swamp, 
four  miles  from  the  Portage  river,  and  four 
miles  in  extent,  would  have  been  considered 
impassable  by  any  man  not  determined  to  sur- 
mount every  obstacle.  The  water  on  the  ice 
was  about  six  inches  deep.  The  ice  was  very 
rotten,  often  breaking  through,  where  the 
water  was  four  or  five  feet  deep.  That  night 
we  encamped  on  the  best  ground  we  could  find, 
but  it  was  very  wet.  It  was  next  to  impossible 
to  kindle  fires.  We  had  no  tents,  no  axes ;  our 
clothes  were  perfectly  soaked  through,  and  we 
had  but  little  to  eat.    Two  logs  rolled  together 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


to  keep  me  out  of  the  water  was  my  bed." 
This  was  Gen.  Harrison's  military  road,  over 
which  he  had  to  transport  all  his  troops  and 
supplies  from  the  eastern  division  of  his  army. 
If  the  Pennsylvania  trooper  had  left  Upper 
Sandusky  on  his  homeward  journey,  and 
passed  on  his  way  east  through  the  plains  of 
southern  Crawford,  the  description  in  March, 
1 813,  would  have  been  exactly  the  same. 

It  was  in  1807  that  Maxwell  Ludlow  sur- 
veyed the  eastern  seven  miles  of  the  present 
Crawford  county.  He  passed  over  what  is 
now  the  rich  farming  lands  of  southern  Ver- 
non, and  in  his  surveyor's  notes  says :  '  "This 
mile  is  low  land;  the  swamp  is  bad  and  no 
water;  am  very  thirsty;  had  but  one  drink  in 
48  hours."  Surveying  the  line  between  Ver- 
non and  Auburn  townships  he  writes :  "I  have 
traveled  the  woods  for  seven  years,  but  never 
saw  so  hedious  a  place  as  this."  The  land  was 
so  awful  that  the  surveyor  abandoned  the 
proper  spelling  of  the  descriptive  word  in  ex- 
pressing his  disgust.  In  northwest  Auburn, 
between  sections  3  and  4,  just  west  of  Coyken- 
dall's  run,  he  writes:  "Second  rate  lane,  ex- 
cept the  prairie,  20  inches  deep  in  water."  In 
Polk  township,  he  fared  some  better.  He 
writes :  "Level.  Good  meadow  ground.  Some 
swamps.  Many  crab  apples.  Hickory,  sugar, 
beech  and  swamp  oak."  Ludlow's  territory 
stopped  before  the  Plains  were  reached.  And 
it  was  not  until  1817  the  western  part  of  the 
county  was  opened  to  settlement,  and  it  was 
surveyed  by  Sylvester  Bourne  in  1819.  Here, 
on  the  Plains,  in  southern  Holmes,  and  in  the 
cranberry  region  of  Chatfield  and  Cranberry 
he  had  difficulty  in  setting  his  stakes,  and  in 
some  cases  had  to  use  a  log  or  boat. 

The  Plains  were  so  unhealthy  from  the  dis- 
ease that  lurked  in  the  swampy  ground  that 
many  an  early  settler  abandoned  his  claim  in 
disgust,  leaving  behind  an  empty  cabin  and  a 
few  unmarked  graves  of  those  of  his  family 
who  died  before  he  could  leave  the  unhealthy 
spot.  When  Abraham  Monnett  reached  Craw- 
ford in  1835,  he  states  that  on  the  Plains  he 
could  count  at  least  40  abandoned  cabins  of 
settlers  who  had  given  up  the  hopeless  fight. 
It  was  irnpossible  to  get  pure  water  in  this 
region.  Bourne  says  in  his  notes :  "Nearly 
all  the  water  I  get  by  digging  in  the  prairie  is 
strongly  impregnated  with  copperas;  so  much 


so  as  to  be  very  disagreeable  to  the  taste." 
Along  the  river  he  writes :  "There  are  many 
springs  along  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky  river, 
below  the  high  water  mark,  impregnated  with 
sulphur,  some  with  iron,  and  some  with  cop- 
peras, and  some  with  all  of  these."  When 
Nail  made  his  trip  in  1821,  across  northern 
Whetstone  nearly  to  Bucyrus,  and  then  north 
to  the  Cranberry  marsh,  he  summed  it  up :  "As 
long  as  we  followed  the  army  road  the  weeds 
were  as  high  as  the  horses'  heads,  and  from 
there  the  country  was  heavily  timbered.  We 
concluded  this  country  would  never  be  set- 
tled." 

This  was  Crawford  county  in  its  crude 
state,  just  as  nature  had  formed  it,  and  before 
the  hand  of  civilization  had  touched  it.  This 
was  the  land  to  which  the  early  pioneers  came, 
the  wilderness  which  they  transformed  into 
the  cultivated  farms  of  today,  with  the  rich 
fields  of  waving  grain  on  every  hand,  and  hun- 
dreds of  miles  of  pikes  to  take  the  place  of 
that  solitary  army  road  which  wound  its  way 
through  the  swamps  and  forests  of  the  virgin 
soil. 

In  1809  Huron  county  was  organized,  which 
bordered  on  the  seven  eastern  miles  of  Craw- 
ford's present  northern  boundary.  In  1813 
Richland  county  was  organized,  and  included 
in  that  county  was  all  of  the  present  Auburn, 
Vernon,  Jackson,  the  two  eastern  miles  of 
Jefferson  and  the  four  eastern  miles  of  Polk. 

All  of  Huron  and  Richland  counties  had  be- 
come open  for  settlement  by  the  treaty  of  July 
4,  1805,  and  settlers  began  taking  up  land  in 
those  counties.  But  settlement  was  partly 
stopped  by  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  1812. 
After  peace  was  declared  in  181 5  the  west- 
ward movement  again  commenced,  and  from 
Huron  and  from  Richland  the  settlers  drifted 
over  into  what  later  became  known  as  the 
"Old  Purchase,"  of  which  the  seven  eastern 
miles  of  Crawford  were  a  part. 

Prior  to  181 5  there  had  been  whites  resid- 
ing in  this  section.  Not  bona  fide  settlers,  but 
hunters  and  trappers,  who  with  the  Indians 
wandered  all  over  the  region,  erecting  their 
small  cabins,  and  making  their  living  from  the 
skins  and  furs  they  gathered  during  the  sea- 
son. Many  of  these  were  men  whose  business 
was  hunting  and  trapping.  There  were  others 
who  for  some  offense  had  fled  from  civiliza- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


69 


tion  to  find  safety  beyond  the  reach  of  all  law. 
These  were  little  better  than  desperadoes,  and 
this  class  were  the  men  who  in  the  earlier  days 
by  their  treatment  of  the  Indians,  stealing 
their  horses,  robbing  their  traps,  and  even 
shooting  them  without  provocation,  engen- 
dered much  of  the  bitterness  which  later  caused 
the  savages  to  fall  with  barbarous  cruelties  on 
the  innocent  and  harmless  settler.  Around  the 
Plains  were  the  bee-hunters,  who  in  the  sum- 
mer season  'traced  the  bees  to  their  hiding 
places,  marked  the  trees,  and  in  the  Fall 
gathered  the  honey.  These  were  the  first  white 
residents  of  Crawford,  and  as  the  real  pioneer 
came  they  went  farther  into  the  wilderness. 

One  of  these  hunters  and  trappers  who  built 
a  home  for  hiiriself  and  family  in  Auburn 
township,  this  county,  was  Jedediah  Morehead ; 
he  was  what  was  known  as  a  "squatter,"  own- 
ing no  land,  but  "squatting"  wherever  it  was 
most  convenient  for  his  hunting.  He  was  the 
first  white  man  to  build  a  real  cabin  for  him- 
self in  the  county.  He  came  with  his  wife  and 
a  large  family  of  children,  and  built  his  prim- 
itive cabin  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land  in  Au- 
burn township  on  the  Honey  Creek,  convenient 
to  the  marshes,  where  he  trapped  the  beaver 
and  the  otter,  the  most  valuable  furs  in  those 
days,  the  skins  of  these  animals  having  a  mar- 
ket value  of  $5  to  $8,  the  otter  having  the 
higher  value.  His  cabin  was  of  brush,  bark, 
and  small  logs,  and  some  of  the  old  settlers  of 
half  a  century  ago  were  of  the  opinion  he  came 
there  during  the  War  of  1812;  he  was  cer- 
tainly there  in  181 5,  and  probably  in  1814,  and 
his  cabin,  crude  though  it  was,  is  reported  as 
being  the  first  cabin  erected  in  the  county. 
His  business  was  exclusively  hunting  and 
trapping;  he  was  on  friendly  terms  with  the 
Indians,  and  was  sometimes  absent  for  weeks 
at  a  time  on  his  hunting  expeditions,  return- 
ing loaded  with  skins.  He  is  also  reported  as 
having  a  cabin  and  living  a  part  of  the  time  in 
northern  Vernon.  He  cleared  no  land,  and 
when  the  real  pioneer  came  he  moved  farther 
west  with  his  family,  but  the  site  of  his  first 
cabin  in  Crawford  county  is  still  known  as 
Morehead's  Point. 

John  Pettigon  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of 
1812,  and  during  the  latter  part  of  the  war  he 
purchased  a  small  tract  of  land  in  the  southern 
portion  of  Auburn  township ;  on  this  he  built  a 


small  cabin  in  181 4,  and  moved  into  it  with 
his  wife  and  family.  He  was  the  first  land 
owner  in  the  county,  but  he  devoted  his  time 
to  hunting  and  trapping.  Like  Morehead  the 
support  of  his  family  was  his  rifle,  the  sale  of 
furs  procuring  what  necessaries  of  life  the  for- 
est would  not  furnish.  He  carried  his  furs  on 
his  back  to  Huron  on  Lake  Erie,  exchanging 
them  for  ammunition,  salt  and  flour.  He  also 
had  a  cabin  in  northern  Vernon,  to  be  more 
convenient  for  deer.  On  what  is  known  as 
the  Cummins  farm,  in  Vernon,  was  a  deer 
lick,  and  here  it  was  easy  to  secrete  himself 
and  kill  the  deer  as  they  came  to  drink.  His 
principal  associates  were  the  Indian  hunters, 
and  as  the  settlers  began  entering  land  in  his 
section,  he,  too,  left  for  the  more  unsettled 
western  regions. 

In  1 81 5  the  first  real  pioneer  arrived  in 
what  is  now  Crawford  county.  It  was  William 
Green.  He  came  from  Massachusetts,  and  en- 
tered 160  acres  of  land  in  the  southeastern  part 
of  Auburn  township,  section  27.  He  built  his 
log  cabin  in  the  woods  in  the  fall  of  181 5. 
Then  he  returned  to  Licking  county,  where  he 
had  left  his  wife  and  children  with  relatives 
or  friends  until  he  could  prepare  a  home  for 
them.  He  spent  the  winter  in  Licking  county, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1816  came  with  his  wife 
and  family  to  their  new  home  and  commenced 
the  work  immediately  of  clearing  the  land  and 
in  the  fall  of  that  year  gathered  his  first  crop. 
His  descendants  are  sjill  residents  of  Auburn 
township. 

.A  man  named  Deardorff  entered  a  quarter 
section  in  Auburn  in  181 5,  on  which  he  lived 
for  several  years  and  then  sold  out  and  moved 
away.  About  this  time  came  Jacob  Coyken- 
dall,  settling  in  section  1 5  on  a  small  stream  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  township,  which  gave 
the  stream  the  name  of  Coykendall  Run.  He 
became  active  in  the  affairs  of  the  township, 
and  early  built  a  saw  and  grist  mill  on  the 
little  stream. 

William  Cole  came  in  181 7,  and  remained  a 
resident  of  the  township  until  his  death,  leav- 
ing a  large  family  of  descendants,  many  still 
living  in  that  section.  Charles  Morrow  settled 
in  Auburn  the  same  year,  but  after  remaining  a 
few  years  he  left. 

In  1818,  the  new  settlers  were  David  Cum- 
mins, William  Laugherty,  Charles  Dewitt,  and 


70 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


the  Bodleys — Levi,  Lester,  Jesse  and  John. 
Probably  about  the  same  time  Henry  Reif  set- 
tled in  the  township,  but  no  record  can  be  dis- 
covered as  to  the  date. 

In  1819  Adam  Aumend  arrived  with  his 
wife  and  daughter,  both  named  Mary.  He  was 
a  shoemaker  by  trade,  and  was  the  first  shoe- 
maker to  work  at  his  trade  in  the  county,  and 
after  his  day's  work  was  done,  in  the  evening 
and  on  rainy  days  he  made  shoes  for  his  fam- 
ily and  the  neighbors.  His  land  was  320  acres, 
which  he  purchased  of  Henry  Reif  at  $2.50  per 
acre.  It  was  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
township.  One  of  his  sons,  Adam,  who  came 
with  him  was  a  young  man  of  age.  Samuel 
Hanna  came  in  1819,  and  remained  a  resident 
of  the  township  until  his  death,  and  the  original 
land  is  still  in  the  possession  of  his  descendants. 

Resolved  White  and  his  wife  Lucy  came  in 
1819.  He  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Peregrine 
White,  the  first  Pilgrim  child  born  in  Amer- 
ica. He  was  born  on  the  Mayflower  while  it 
was  lying  at  anchor  off  Plymouth  Rock.  In 
an  old  New  England  Bible  is  the  following  rec- 
ord of  this  first  birth:  "Sonne  born  to  Sus- 
anna Whie  (White)  Dec.  19,  1620,  yt  six 
o'clock  morning.  Next  day  we  meet  for 
prayer  and  thanksgiving."  The  record  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  in  those  days  the  father 
was  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  receive  men- 
tion. His  name  was  William  White.  Re- 
solved White  bought  160  acres  of  land  of 
William  Laugherty  in  section  29,  a  mile  north 
of  the  present  village  of  Tiro.  It  is  still  owned 
by  his  descendants. 

In  1816  Aaron  B.  Howe  came,  one  of  the 
active  men  in  the  affairs  of  the  township.  He 
settled  on  section  16,  and  the  second  election  in 
the  township  was  held  at  his  cabin  in  1822. 

In  1820  Rodolphus  Morse  came  with  his 
wife  Huldah,  and  son  Amos,  an  infant  one  year 
old.  He  purchased  160  acres  of  land  in  sec- 
tion 29  of  William  Laugherty  at  $3.75  per 
acre.  Morse  immediately  took  an  active  hand 
in  township  affairs,  and  in  1824  secured  the 
establishment  of  a  post  office,  which  was  called 
both  Tiro  and  Auburn,  and  he  was  appointed 
Postmaster  by  President  Monroe.  The  office 
was  in  his  log  cabin  two  miles  north  of  the 
present  village  of  Tiro,  where  it  remained  for 
many  years. 

John  Webber  and  Palmer  and  Daniel  Huhe 


were  settlers  prior  to  1820.  The  Hulses  were 
brothers,  and  probably  lived  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  township,  in  what  is  today  Richland 
county.  They  were  active  in  the  early  affairs 
of  the  new  township,  gave  it  its  name  and  the 
first  election  of  township  officers  was  held  at 
the  cabin  of  Palmer  Hulse,  on  April  12,  1821. 

Other  early  settlers  were  the  Sniders  and 
Kelloggs,  as  on  Dec.  9,  1822,  the  first  known 
wedding  took  place  in  the  township  when  Sal- 
lie  Snider  was  married  to  Erastiis  Kellogg. 

In  Vernon  township  the  first  early  settlers 
were  the  two  hunters,  Jedediah  Morehead  and 
John  Pettigon,  both  of  whom  built  cabins  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  township  and  lived 
there  with  their  families,  but  clearing  no  land ; 
hunting  and  trapping  their  sole  occupation, 
and  on  the  arrival  of  early  settlers  they  took 
their  departure. 

The  first  real  pioneer  in  Vernon  was  George 
Byers,  who  built  his  cabin  on  or  near  the  pres- 
ent site  of  the  village  of  West  Liberty  in  181 7 
or  1818.  He  was  more  of  a  hunter  than  pio- 
neer. He  trapped  bears,  wolves  and  foxes ;  in 
one  winter  he  secured  a  hundred  mink,  be- 
sides many  coons,  a  number  of  beaver  and  a 
few  otter,  the  swampy  regions  in  Vernon  mak- 
ing it  a  home  for  these  fur  bearing  animals,  al- 
though, like  bears,  they  were  not  very  plenti- 
ful. He  did  some  farming,  as  in  1820  he  had 
several  acres  cleared,  and  as  his  occupation 
was  chiefly  hunting  the  size  of  the  clearing  in- 
dicates he  had  been  there  two  or  three  years  at 
that  time.  Andrew  Dixon  and  David  Ander- 
son are  both  reported  as  settling  in  Vernon  in 
1819.  Both  of  these  men  became  prominent  in 
the  affairs  of  the  township,  and  many  of  the 
descendants  of  the  Dixons  are  still  in  the 
township. 

In  what  is.  now  Jackson  township  the  first 
settler  was  Joseph  Russell,  who  entered  land 
about  a  mile  south  of  the  present  town  of 
Crestline,  and  built  his  cabin  there  in  1820. 
His  entire  tract  was  a  dense  forest,  and  his 
first  work  was  to  clear  the  land  for  farming 
purposes.  Soon  after  he  settled  there  another 
pioneer  arrived  in  John  Doyle,  who  entered 
a  tract  near  him.  Early  pioneers  mention  two 
other  families  of  whose  names  there  is  no  rec- 
ord. Of  one  of  these  is  handed  down  by  the 
descendants  of  Christian  Snyder,  who  settled 
in  Jefferson  township  in  181 7,  the  first  fatal  ac- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


71 


cident  among  the  pioneers.  In  the  clearing  oi 
the  forest  the  first  work  of  the  pioneer  was 
to  fell  the  trees  and  cut  them  into  logs;  then 
the  neighbors  came  willingly  from  miles 
around;  the  logs  were  rolled  to  one  or  more 
points  in  the  clearing,  piled  into  great  heaps, 
and  set  on  fire.  The  pioneer  had  cleared  his 
ground,  the  neighbors  had  responded,  and  the 
fire  started.  The  man  himself  was  keeping 
watch  to  see  that  the  logs  were  properly 
burned, — "mending  up"  it  was  called.  The 
clearing  was  some  distance  from  his  cabin,  and 
the  wife,  finishing  her  evening  work,  had  gone 
to  bed.  In  those  days,  a  trail  after  game,  a 
visit  to  some  neighbor  several  miles  distant, 
might  take  a  man  away  from  home  for  sev- 
eral hours,  so  there  was  no  anxiety  on  the  part 
of  the  wife  when  the  husband  was  absent  for  a 
few  hours.  The  next  morning  her  husband  not 
having  arrived  she  started  in  search  of  him, 
and  found  that  in  attempting  to  keep  the  logs 
in  position  on  the  burning  pile,  one  long  heavy 
log  had  fallen,  pinned  him  to  the  earth,  and  he 
was  burned  to  death. 

The  first  settler  in  the  present  township  of 
JefiFerson  was  Jacob  Fisher,  who  came  in  1816, 
settling  on  land  he  had  entered,  just  south  of 
the  gravel  bank  of  the  Pennsylvania  road.  He 
bought  the  land  for  $1.25  per  acre,  and  ar- 
rived in  a  two-horse  wagon  with  his  wife  and 
eight  children.  His  cabin  was  of  unhewn  logs, 
the  usual  crude  structure,  about  18  or  20  feet 
in  length.  He  lived  there  until  i86o,^when  he 
sold  out  and  moved  to  the  newer  country  of 
Missouri. 

Westall  Ridgley  came  to  the  township  in 
1816  or  1817.  He  came  in  a  wagon  with  his 
wife  and  eight  children,  four  sons  and  four 
daughters,  some  grown.  He  was  well-to-do 
for  those  days  and  brought  cattle  and  hogs 
with  him  and  many  useful  articles  for  the 
household.  He  built  a  large  cabin  and  was 
one  of  the  prominent  men  in  the  early  affairs 
of  the  county.  His  sons  had  no  love  for  farm- 
ing, and  spent  their  time  in  the  woods  on  hunt- 
ing expeditions  with  the  Indians,  but  they 
brought  in  the  game  for  the  support  of  the 
family.  The  girls  were  true  pioneers,  and 
were  of  much  assistance  in  the  house,  and  at 
times  in  the  work  of  the  farm  in  the  busy  sea- 
son.    The  forr  daughters  made  the  Ridgley 


home  the  popular  headquarters  of  the  young 
men  for  miles  around. 

Christian  Snyder  came  in  181 7,  settling  on 
section  17,  purchasing  160  acres  of  Jacob 
Fisher  at  $3  per  acre,  some  of  the  land  Fisher 
had  entered  the  year  previous  at  $1.25.  The 
family  consisted  of  himself,  wife  and  eleven 
children.  They  drove  through  from  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  in  a  two- 
horse  wagon,  and  from  Mansfield  he  came 
ahead  on  foot  to  erect  a  cabin  prior  to  their 
arrival.  The  old  road  from  Mansfield  started 
northwest  from  that  place  and  after  a  few 
miles  turned  southwest,  following  almost  the 
present  Pennsylvania  road  from  Mansfield  to 
Crestline.  When  the  family  came  to  follow 
they  took  an  old  trail  directly  west  from  Mans- 
field, which  for  a  time  was  passable  for  their 
wagon,  but  later  became  only  a  trail  through 
the  forest,  so  they  were  obliged  to  make  a  way 
for  themselves  through  the  woods,  cutting 
down  the  small  trees,  and  their  trip  from  Mans- 
field to  their  new  home  north  of  Gabon,  took 
them  nearly  a  month,  and  about  a  mile  east  of 
their  destination  they  crossed  the  old  army 
road  they  should  have  taken.  However,  the 
family  were  in  plenty  of  time,  as  Snyder  had 
experienced  some  delay  in  getting  to  his  land, 
and  the  only  part  of  the  cabin  built  on  their  ar- 
rival was  the  foundation  on  which  a  rude  floor 
had  been  laid,  but  on  this  floor,  in  the  open 
air,  they  spent  their  first  night,  and  awoke  in 
the  morning  to  find  that  a  snow-storm  had 
given  them  an  additional  covering  of  six 
inches.  The  arrival  of  the  new  settlers  was 
soon  known,  and  the  neighbors  responded,  and 
the  cabin  was  erected,  and  even  the  Indians 
made  friendly  calls  and  left  venison  and  game 
for  the  newcomers. 

In  1 81 8  John  Adrian  settled  west  of  the 
Snyders  on  section  13,  the  first  Frenchman  to 
make  his  home  in  the  county.  He  did  very 
little  in  the  way  of  clearing  his  land,  but 
started  a  distillery  instead,  the  first  in  the 
county.  He  was  a  man  of  tremendous  strength 
and  it  is  reported  of  him  that  he  could  pick  up 
a  barrel  and  take  his  drink  from  the  bung- 
hole.  It  is  probable  that  the  frequency  with 
which  he  performed  this  feat  for  the  astonish- 
ment of  his  neighbors,  was  the  reason  he  be- 
came his  own  best  customer,  and  his  distillery 


72 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


became,  unprofitable  and  was  discontinued. 
Besides  whisky  was  then  only  seven  dollars  a 
barrel.  Since  that  first  distillery,  whisky  in 
this  county  has  gone  up  very  largely  in  price 
and  gone  down  very  largely  in  quantity. 

About  1818  Lewis  Leiberger  settled  about 
two  miles  north  of  Gallon,  and  was  joined  in 
181 9  by  James  Nail,  who  entered  160  acres 
of  Government  land  at  $1.25  per  acre  adjoin- 
ing Leiberger's  tract  and  made  his  home  with 
the  latter  until  the  fall  of  1821,  when  he  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  William  Brown,  a  sister  of 
Mrs.  Leiberger,  walking  to  Delaware  to  get  his 
license. 

Other  settlers  in  Jefferson  prior  to  1820 
were  Thomas  Ferguson,  J.  S.  Griswell,  and 
Peter  Beebout,  all  settling  on  the  high  ground 
near  the  Sandusky  river. 

The  first  settlers  in  what  is  now  Polk  town- 
ship were  Benjamin  Leveridge  and  his  two 
sons,  James   and   Nathaniel.      They  came   in 

1817,  the  latter  part  of  their  journey  cutting 
their  way  through  the  woods.  Benjamin 
Leveridge  built  his  cabin  on  what  is  now  At- 
wood  street,  near  the  springs ;  James  built  his 
on  the  ground  which  for  so  many  years  was 
the  residence  of  David  Mackey;  Nathaniel 
built  his  on  what  is  now  the  Public  Square. 
His  father  and  brother  had  water  in  abundance 
from  the  springs  in  their  neighborhood,  but 
on  the  high  ground  Nathaniel,  had  no  water, 
and  dug  a  well,  and  traces  of  this  old  well 
were  found  when  the  Square  was  improved 
in  1880. 

George   Wood   and   David    Gill  arrived   in 

1 818,  and  settled  north  of  the  Whetstone,  near 
the  military  road  of  1812.  They  were 
brothers-in-law  and  came  from  Pennsylvania. 
Wood  was  a  carpenter  and  Gill  had  a  much 
better  education  than  the  average  pioneer,  and 
later  taught  school  and  became  the  clerical  of- 
ficial for  the  township. 

Benjamin  Sharrock  came  in  1818,  and  built 
himself  a  temporary  cabin  in  the  western  part 
of  the  city  of  Galion  near  where  the  Portland 
road  crosses  the  Bucyrus  and  Galion  road. 
Here  his  family  lived  while  he  walked  every 
day  to  his  land  a  few  miles  south,  where  on 
the  banks  of  the  Whetstone  he  built  his  cabin, 
to  which  he  removed  with  his  family,  later 
building  a  saw  and  grist  mill  and  a  distillery. 


He  became  early  a  prominent  man  in  that  sec- 
tion. 

On  Saturday,  Dec.  19,  18 19,  on  foot,  with 
his  axe  and  his  rifle  over  his  shoulder,  Asa 
Hosford  walked  into  what  is  now  the  city  of 
Galion,  of  which  city,  although  not  the  foun- 
der, he  became  the  father.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  his  brother  Horace,  and  they  stopped 
with  Benjamin  Leveridge.  Horace  Hosford 
erected  a  blacksmith  shop  at  where  is  now  the 
crossing  of  the  Portland  and  Galion  road. 
Asa  Hosford  later  built  a  saw  and  grist  mill 
on  the  Whetstone,  southwest  of  Galion,  still 
known  as  Hosford's  mill. 

Samuel  Brown  and  his  son  Michael  came  in 
1819,  settling  on  section  27,  now  the  Beltz 
farm  three  miles  west  of  Gralion.  One  of  his 
daughters  married  Lewis  Leiberger  and  an- 
other James  Nail. 

In  1818  Nehemiah  Story  came  with  his  fam- 
ily; his  son  Nathaniel  was  of  age,  and  with 
them  was  Father  Kitteridge.  The  first  winter 
they  occupied  a  cabin  belonging  to  John 
Leveridge,  southwest  of  the  Public  Square,  and 
the  next  Spring  Nathaniel's  home  was  west  of 
Galion  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Galion  road,  which  had  been  oc- 
cupied by  a  man  named  Sturges.  Father  Kit- 
teridge made  his  home  with  Story,  and 
devoted  all  his  time  to  hunting.  Other  ar- 
rivals about  this  time  were  J.  Dickerson,  whose 
cabin  stood  on  what  is  now  the  Gill  property 
on  West. Main  street.  David  Reid  and  a  man 
named  Fletcher  were  also  there. 

In  1819  Disberry  Johnson  came  to  Polk 
township,  numerically  the  "star"  pioneer  of 
the  county.  He  came  to  Ohio  after  the  war  of 
1812,  settling  in  Harrison  county.  His  wife 
died  leaving  him  a  widower  with  six  children. 
He  married  a  Mrs  Cooper,  a  widow  with  six 
children.  By  this  marriage  there  was  six  chil- 
dren, and  Johnson  decided  to  move  to  a  new 
home.  One  of  his  daughters  was  married,  so 
he  started  with  his  wife  and  his  five  original 
children,  the  six  Cooper  children,  and  the  six 
Johnson-Cooper  children,  nineteen  in  all  and' 
they  settled  on  section  26,  just  east  of  William 
Brown.  Johnson  was  prominent  in  the  town- 
ship, was  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  many  years, 
and  died  in  1868  at  the  advanced  age  of  104, 
leaving  many  descendants  all  over  the  county. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


73 


In  1819  Samuel  Knisely  settled  in  Sandusky 
township,  and  since  that  date  the  Kniselys  have 
been  prominent  in  the  county,  a  descendant, 
Richard  Knisely,  being  president  of  the  Craw- 
ford County  Pioneer  Association  for  years. 
James  Gwell  is  reported  as  settling  in  San- 
dusky in  1819  and  a  man  named  Elder  in  1820. 
Samuel  Shull  settled  in  Sandusky  township  in 
1820. 

No  record  is  found  of  any  pioneer  in  Cran- 
berry township  prior  to  1820;  many  hunters 
had  been  all  over  this  region,  notably  More- 
head  and  Pettigon,  living  in  huts  of  bark  and 
brush,  but  the  tide  of  immigration  had  ignored 
it,  and  it  was  still  a  swampy,  virgin  soil,  the 
home  of  the  rattlesnake  and  the  beaver,  and 
the  hiding  place  for  wild  game,  with  its  only 
product  an  annual  harvest  of  cranberries. 

The  eastern  portion  of  the  present  county 
had  been  purchased  from  the  Indians  in  1805, 
surveyed  in  1807,  but  owing  to  the  Indians 
and  the  War  of  1812  the  taking  up  of  this  land 
was  delayed,  but  from  181 5  on  these  lands 
became  settled,  and  the  pioneers  in  their  west- 
ward march  cast  their  greedy  eyes  on  the 
hunting  grounds  reserved  to  the  Indians  just 
beyond,  which  included  all  of  Northwestern 
Ohio,  in  this  county  that  reservation  being 
two  miles  in  Cranberry,  and  all  of  Liberty  and 
Whetstone;  Lykins,  Holmes  and  Bucyrus, 
Texas,  Tod  and  Dallas. 

In  1 81 7  Lewis  Cass  and  Duncan  McArthur, 
met  with  the  sachems,  chiefs  and  warriors  of 
the  Wyandot,  Seneca,  Delaware,  Shawanese, 
Pottawatomie,  Ottawa  and  Chippewa  tribes, 
at  the  foot  of  the  rapids  of  the  Maumee,  and  on 
Sept.  20.  181 7,  a  treaty  was  signed  by  which 
the  United  States  secured  all  this  land,  all  of 
northwestern  Ohio,  barring  a  few  reservations. 
The  sections  of  the  treaty  relating  to  Craw- 
ford were  as  follows : 

Article  II. — The  Wyandot  tribe  of  Indians,  in 
consideration  of  the  stipulations  herein  made,  on  the 
part  of  the  United  States,  do  hereby  forever  cede  to 
the  United  States,  the  lands  comprehended  within 
the  following  lines  and  boundaries:  Beginning  at  a 
point  on  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  where  the 
present  Indian  boundary  line  intersects  the  same,  be- 
tween the  mouth  of  Sandusky  Bay  and  the  Portage 
rfver,   thence   running   south*  with  said   line   to   the 

*The  line  passing  through  Crawford  was  the 
present  dividing  line  between  Sandusky,  Jefferson 
and  Polk  on  the  east  and  Liberty  and  Whetstone  on 
the  west.  In  Cranberry  the  line  ran  about  one  and 
a  half  miles  east  of  the  present  western  boundary  of 
that  township. 


line  establishedt  in  the  year  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  ninety-five  by  the  treaty  of  Greenville 
which  runs  from  the  crossing  place  above  Ft.  Laur- 
enst  to  Loromie's  store; II  thence  westerly  with  the 
last  mentioned  line  to  the  eastern  line  of  the  reserve 
at  Loromie's  store;  thence  with  the  line  of  said  re- 
serve north  and  west  to  the  northwest  corner  there- 
of; thence  to  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  reserve 
on  the  river  St.  Mary's  at  the  navigable  head  there- 
of; thence  east  to  the  western  bank  of  the  St.  Marys 
river  aforesaid;  thence  down  the  western  bank  of 
said  river  to  the  reserve  at  Ft.  Wayne;  thence  with 
the  line  of  the  last  mentioned  reserve,  easterly  and 
northerly,  to  the  river  Miami*  of  Lake  Erie;  thence 
down  on  the  north  bank  of  said  river  to  the  western 
line  of  the  land  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  the 
treaty  of  Detroit,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  seven;  thence  with  the  said  line  south 
to  the  middle  of  said  Maumee  river,  and  easterly 
with  the  line  of  the  tract  ceded  to  the  United  States 
by  the  treaty  of  Detroit  aforesaid,  so  far  that  a 
south  line  will  strike  the  place  of  beginning. 

Article  III. — The  Wyandot,  Seneca,  Delaware, 
Shawanese,  Pottawatomie,  Ottawa  and  Chippewa 
tribes   of   Indians   accede  to   the   cession   mentioned. 

Article  VI. — The  United  States  agree  to  grant  by 
patent,  in  fee  simple,  to  Doanquod,  Howoner,  Ron- 
tondee,  Tauyau,  Rontayau,  Dawatont  Manocue, 
Tauyaudautauson,  and  Haudawaugh,  chiefs  of  the 
Wyandot  tribes,  and  their  successors  in  office,  chiefs 
of  the  said  tribes,  for  the  use  of  the  persons,  and  for 
the  purposes  mentioned  in  the  annexed  schedule,  a 
tract  of  land  twelve  miles  square,  at  Upper  San- 
dusky, the  center  of  which  shall  be  the  place  where 
Fort  Ferree  stands;  and  also  a  tract  of  one  mile 
square,  to  be  located  where  the  chiefs  direct,  on  a 
cranberry  swamp  on  Brokensword  creek,  and  to  be 
held  for  the  use  of  the  tribe. 

Article  VII. — And  the  said  chiefs,  or  their  suc- 
cessors may,  at  any  time  they  may  think  proper, 
convey  to  either  of  the  persons  mentioned  in  said 
schedule,  or  his  heirs,  the  quantity  thereby  secured 
to  him,  or  may  refuse  to  do  so.  But  the  use  of  the 
said  land  shall  be  in  the  said  person;  and  after  the 
share  of  any  person  is  conveyed  by  the  chiefs  to 
him,  he  may  convey  the  same  to  any  person  what- 
ever. And  any  one  entitled  by  the  said  schedule  to 
a  portion  of  the  said  land,  may,  at  any  time,  convey 
the  same  to  any  person,  by  obtaining  the  approba- 
tion of  the  president  of  the  United  States,  or  of  the 
person  appointed  by  him  to  give  such  approbation. 
And  the  agent  of  the  United  States  shall  make  an 
equitable  partition  of  the  said  shares  when  conveyed. 

Article  VIII. — At  the  special  request  of  the  said 
Indians  the  United  States  agree  to  grant  by  patent, 
in  fee  simple,  to  the  persons  hereinafter  mentioned, 
all  of  whom  are  connected  with  the  said  Indians,  by 
blood  or  adoption,  the  tracts  of  land  herein  de- 
scribed; 

To  Elizabeth  Whitacre,  who  was  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Wyandots,  and  has  since  lived  among  them, 
1280  acres  of  land.  (This  land  was  near  Fremont, 
Sandusky  county.) 

To  Robert  Armstrong,  who  was  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Indians,  and  has  ever  since  lived  among  them, 

tAbout  one  mile  east  of  Cardington,  Morrow 
county. 

t Northern  boundary  Tuscarawas  county. 
llWestern  part  Shelby  county. 
*Maumee  River. 


74 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


and  has  married  a  Wyandot  woman,  640  acres. 
(This  land  is  now  a  part  of  Tiffin.) 

To  the  children  of  the  late  William  McCollock, 
who  was  killed  in  August,  1812,  near  Maugaugon, 
and  who  are  quarter-blood  Wyandot  Indians,  640 
acres.     (This  land  is  now  a  part  of  Tiffin.) 

To  John  Vanmeter,  who  was  taken  prisoner  by 
the  Wyandots,  and  who  has  since  lived  among  them, 
and  has  married  a  Seneca  woman,  and  to  his  wife's 
three  brothers,  Senecas,  1,000  acres.  (This  land  was 
on  the  Honey  Creek,  Seneca  county.) 

To  Sarah  Williams,  Joseph  Williams  and  Rachel 
Nugent,  lat^  Rachel  Williams,  the  said  Sarah  having 
been  taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians,  and  has  ever 
since  lived  among  them,  and  being  the  widow,  and 
the  said  Joseph  and  Rachel  being  the  children,  of 
the  late  Isaac  Williams,  a  half-blood  Wyandot,  160 
acres.  (This  land  was  on  the  Sandusky,  below  Fre- 
mont.) 

To  Catharine  Walker,  a  Wyandol  woman,  and  to 
John  R.  Walker,  her  son,  who  was  wounded  m  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  at  the  battle  of  Mau- 
gaugon,  in  1812,  640  acres  of  land  each.  (This  land 
-jras  on  the  Honey  Creek,  near  Tiffin.) 

To  William  Spicer,  who  was  taken  prisoner  by 
the  Indians,  and  has  ever  since  lived  among  tlem, 
and  has  married  a  Seneca  woman,  640  acres  or.  the 
east  bank  of  the  Sandusky. 

To  Horonu,  or  the  "Cherokee  Boy,"  a  Wyandot 
chief,  640  acres.  (This  land  was  where  the  Tym- 
pchtee  empties  into  the  Sandusky.) 

Article  XV. — The  tracts  of  land  being  granted  to 
the  chiefs,  for  the  use  of  the  Wyandot,  Shawanese, 
Seneca  and  Delaware  Indians,  and  the  reserve  for 
the  Ottawa  Indians,  shall  not  be  liable  to  taxes  of 
any  kind  so  long  as  such  land  contiftues  the  property 
of  said  Indians. 

Article  XIX. — The  United  States  agree  to  grant 
by  patent,  in  fee  simple,  to  Zeeshawan,  or  John 
Armstrong,  and  to  Sanondoyourayquaw,  or  Silas 
Armstrong,  chiefs  of  the  Delaware  Indians,  living  on 
the  Sandusky  waters,  and  their  successors  in  office, 
chiefs  of  the  said  tribe,  a  tract  of  land  to  contain 
nine  square  miles,  to  join  the  tract  granted  to  the 
Wyandots  of  twelve  miles  square,  and  to  include 
Capt.  Pipe's  village.* 

The  reservation  of  twelve  miles  square  was 
all  in  what  was  originally  Crawford  county. 
Its  eastern  boundary  was  about  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  west  of  the  present  western  boundary 
of  the  county. 

By  this  treaty  the  United  States  were  to  pay 
the  Wyandots  a  perpetual  annuity  of  $4,000; 
the  Senecas,  $500;  the  Shawanese,  $2,000  an- 
nually for  fifteen  years;  the  Chippewas  $1,000 
annually  for  fifteen  years ;  the  Delawares,  $500, 
but  no  annuity.  The  Government  also  agreed 
to  pay  for  property  and  other  losses  sustained 
by  the  Indians  during  the  war  of  1812-15:  to 
the  Wyandots,  $4,319.39;  Senecas,  $3,989.24; 
Delawares,  $3,956.50;  Shawanese,  $420;  and 

*This  village  was  the  present  village  of  Little 
Sandusky,  in  southern  Wyandot,  a  part  of  Crawford 
from  1820  to  1845.) 


to  the  Senecas  an  additional  sum  of  $219;  to 
Indians  at  Lewis'  and  Scoutash's  towns,  $1,- 
227.50;  to  the  representatives  of  Hembis, 
$348.50.  The  Shawanese  were  also  to  receive 
$2,500  under  the  treaty  of  Fort  Industry  in 
1805.  The  United  States  were  also  to  erect  a 
saw  and  grist  mill  for  the  Wyandots,  and  to 
provide  and  maintain  two  blacksmith  shops, 
one  for  the  Wyandots  and  Senecas,  and  the 
other  for  the  Indians  at  Hog  Creek,  t  The 
value  of  improvements  abandoned  by  the 
tribes  when  they  left  their  land  was  to  be  paid 
for.  *The  land  bought  by  the  United  States  of 
the  Indians  was  a  tract  as  large  as  about  one- 
third  of  the  State  of  Ohio.  It  proved  to  be  an 
excellent  and,  profitable  bargain — for  the 
United  States.  They  secured  something  over 
ten  million  acres,  which  they  soon  placed  on 
the  market  at  $1.25  per  acre  and  upward. 

The  reservation  of  twelve  miles  square  was 
all  in  what  is  now  Wyandot  county.  But  a 
supplemental  treaty  was  made  to  this  original 
treaty  on  Sept.  17,  1818,  between  Lewis  Cass 
and  Duncan  McArthur,  the  Commissioners  for 
the  United  States,  and  the  sachems,  chiefs  and 
warriors  of  the  Wyandot,  Seneca,  Shawanese 
and  Ottawa  tribes. 

When  the  original  treaty  was  made  in  181 7, 
the  Wyandots  positively  refused  to  sell  their 
land.  Most  of  the  other  Indian  nations  were 
willing  to  sell,  and  promptly  set  up  a  claim  of 
ownership  to  much  of  the  land  which  belonged 
to  the  Wyandots,  and  agreed  to  sell  the  land 
to  the  Commissioners.  The  Wyandots  denied 
these  ownerships  and  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  at  all  previous  treaties  these  same 
tribes  were  at  the  front  with  their  fraudulent 
claims,  when  in  reality  nearly  all  the  land 
they  had  they  only  occupied  through  the 
courtesy  of  the  Wyandots,  who  were  the 
sole  and  only  owners  of  the  land.  The 
Commissioners  preferred  buying  of  the  Wy- 
andots, but  as  they  absolutely  refused  to  sell, 
the  Commissioners  decided  to  buy  it  of  the 
other  tribes.  It  was  in  vain  that  Between-the- 
Logs,  the  orator  of  the  Wyandots,  protested 
on  behalf  of  his  tribe,  calling  attention  to  the 
fact  that  when  their  American  father  was  at 
war  with  their  enemies,  the  English,  the  great 
American  chief  made  his  home  on  the  land  of 

tHardin   County. 


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AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


77 


the  Wyandots  during  that  war ;  that  the  Wyan- 
dots  were  the  only  tribe  that  remained  loyal  to 
their  American  father,  and  in  the  latter  part  of 
that  war  it  was  Wyandot  braves  who  fought 
side  by  side  with  their  American  friends,  and 
at  the  request  of  the  American  father  delivered 
all  their  prisoners  to  the  great  general  un- 
harmed. The  land  had  to  be  had,  so  the  elo- 
quence of  Between-the-Logs  was  useless,  and 
finding  their  land  would  certainly  be  taken, 
the  Wyandots  made  the  best  of  a  bad  bargain 
by  signing  the  treaty,  and  so  came  in  for  a 
share  of  the  payments. 

That  winter  Between-the-Logs  and  several 
other  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  Wyandot, 
Seneca  and  Delaware  tribes,  took  "the  long 
trail"  east,  and  one  morning  presented  them- 
selves before  the  Secretary  of  war  at  Washing- 
ton. The  Secretary  was  very  much  surprised 
at  their  call,  and  his  first  words  were  a  mild 
rebuke  that  they  had  come  to  Washington 
without  his  first  having  received  word  from 
the  Commissioners  of  their  intended  visit. 
Between-the-Logs  tersely  replied :  "We  got  up 
and  came  of  ourselves.  We  believed  the  great 
road  was  free  to  us." 

They  explained  why  they  had  felt  com- 
pelled to  sign  the  treaty  as  the  only  way  of 
protecting  a  part  of  their  rights ;  that  the  Com- 
missioners had  not  treated  them  fairly,  and 
without  their  knowledge  they  had  come  to  the 
"Great  Father"  for  justice.  The  Secretary 
looked  the  matter  up  and  took  them  before  the 
"Great  Father,"  President  Monroe,  who  lis- 
tened patiently  to  Between-the-Log's  eloquent 
plea  for  justice  for  his  people.  It  was  found 
a  wrong  had  been  done  the  Wyandots,  so  in- 
structions were  sent  to  the  Commissioners  to 
rectify  this  wrong,  and  the  supplemental  treaty 
was  made  at  St.  Mary's,  on  Sept.  17,  1818. 
Article  two  of  the  supplemental  treaty  says : 

"It  is  also  agreed  there  shall  be  reserved  for  the 
use  of  the  Wyandots,  in  addition  to  the  reservation 
before  made,  fifty-five  thousand  six  hundred  and 
eighty  acres  of  land  to  be  laid  off  in  two  tracts,  the 
first  to  adjoin  the  south  line  of  the  section  of  640 
acres  of  land  heretofore  reserved  for  the  Wyandot 
chief,  "Cherokee  Boy,"  and  to  extend  south  to  the 
north  line  of  the  reserve  of  twelve  miles  square  at 
Upper  Sandusky,  and  the  other  to  join  the  east  line 
of  the'  reserve  of  twelve  miles  square  at  Upper  San- 
dusky, and  to  extend  east  for  quantity." 

They  were  also  to  receive  sixteen  thousand 
acres  of  land,  commencing:  a  mile  north  of  the 


present  town  of  Carey  and  extending  into 
Seneca  county,  a  tract  five  miles  square;  also 
160  acres  in  Sandusky  county.  The  Wyandots 
were  also  to  receive  an  additional  annuity  of 
$500;  the  Shawanese  $1,000;  the  Senecas  $500, 
and  the  Ottawas  $1,500. 

Of  the  55,680  acres,  2,240  was  in  the  grant 
south  of  that  given  to  Cherokee  Boy.  The 
balance  was  attached  to  the  twelve  mile  square 
reservation  on  the  east.  This  tract  entered 
the  present  Crawford  county  just  north  of  the 
half  section  line  of  section  35  in  Dallas  town- 
ship, continued  east  through  sections  31  and 

32  in  Bucyrus  township  and  nearly  to  the 
centre  of  section  33  (the  south  line  was  a 
little  over  half  a  mile  north  of  the.  southern 
boundary  of  Bucyrus  township)  ;  it  then  went 
north  twelve  miles  through  sections  28,  21,  16, 
9  and  4  Bucyrus  township,  a  trifle  over  two 
miles  west  of  the  present  western  line  of  the 
city  of  Bucyrus;  through  sections  33,  28,  21, 
16,  9  and  4  Holmes  township,  three  quarters  of 
a  mile  west  of  Brokensword ;  continued  north 
a  trifle  over  three  quarters  of  a  mile  in  section 

33  Lykins ;  then  west  through  sections  32  and 
31  Lykins  and  36  and  35  Texas,  about  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  south  of  Benton.  This 
reserved  to  the  Indians  about  the  western  two 
and  a  half  miles  of  Bucyrus  and  Holmes,  the 
northern  two  miles  of  western  Dallas,  the 
southern  half  mile  of  Lykins  and  Texas,  and  all 
of  Tod,  barring  it  to  settlement,  except  that 
with  the  consent  of  the  Government  the  In- 
dians could  sell  the  land. 

The  treaty  of  September,  181 7,  with  the 
supplementary  treaty  of  a  year  later  opened 
to  settlement  all  of  northwestern  Ohio,  except 
that  reserved  to  the  Indians,  about  225  square 
miles.  In  18 19  it  was  surveyed  by  Sylvester 
Bourne  and  Samuel  Holmes.  The  new  terri- 
tory was  known  as  the  New  Purchase,  and  al- 
though there  was  still  plenty  of  land  unoc- 
cupied that  had  been  purchased  from  the  In- 
dians in  1805,  yet  the  fact  of  new  land  being 
thrown  on  the  market  gave  it  to  the  settlers  a 
sort  of  superior  value  and  a  feeling  that  it  was 
a  choicer  article.  Even  before  the  surveyors 
had  completed  their  work  sufficient  to  place 
the  land  on  the  market  at  the  land  offices,  set- 
tlers were  in  the  New  Purchase  looking  up 
land. 

The  first  settler  to  enter  the  New  Purchase 


78 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


was  Samuel  Norton.  With  him  were  his  wife 
and  six  children;  his  brother-in-law  Albigence 
Bucklin,  with  a  wife,  six  children  and  an 
adopted  daughter;  and  Seth  Holmes,  their 
driver  and  guide.  These  first  pioneers  drove 
through  from  their  home  in  Eastern  Pennsyl- 
vania, a  distance  of  about  600  miles,  in  a  large 
schooner  wagon,  and  arrived  in  October,  1819, 
the  Nortons  locating  their  home  on  the  banks 
of  the  Sandusky,  west  of  the  present  Sandusky 
avenue  bridge  at  Bucyrus,  land  now  owned  by 
Christian  Shonert;  Bucklin  and  family  were 
also  on  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky  between  the 
brewery  and  the  T.  &  O.  C.  road.  (Up  to  half 
a  century  ago  the  main  channel  of  the  river 
was  at  the  foot  of  the  bluff  back  of  the  brew- 
ery.) Seth  Holmes  made  his  first  headquar- 
ters in  an  abandoned  cabin  that  was  standing 
where  is  now  the  court  house  yard.  A  family 
by  the  name  of  Sears  were  the  next  arrivals, 
locating  just  west  of  Oakwood  cemetery;  they 
remained  only  a  short  time  and  removed  to 
parts  unknown.  Daniel  McMichael  came  in 
1 819,  and  stopped  for  a  time  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  county  (what  is  now  Polk  town- 
ship), near  where  Norton  and  Bucklin  also  left 
their  families  until  they  could  find  land  that 
suited  them.  After  Norton  had  selected  his 
land,  McMichael  came  to  the  same  section  and 
entered  land  just  north  of  the  river;  also  land 
in  the  southwest  corner  of  Liberty  township, 
where  he  built  a  mill.  In  the  Spring  of  1820 
David  Beadle  came  with  two  sons,  Michel  and 
David,  and  a  son-in-law  John  Ensley,  who  mar- 
ried Ann  Beadle.  Michel  was  married,  and 
had  80  acres  on  West  Mansfield  street,  just 
west  of  Norton,  and  south  of  this  his  father  had 
80  acres,  his  son  David,  a  young  man  of  18, 
making  his  home  with  him. 

In  1820  Ralph  Bacon  settled  on  the  east  half 
of  the  south  east  quarter  of  section  25  in 
Liberty. township.  With  him  and  his  family 
came  Auer  Umberfield  as  a  teamster. 

In  1 819  John  Kent  settled  in  Whetstone 
township,  and  in  1820  he  was  followed  by 
Joseph  S.  Young,  Noble  McKinstry,  Martin 
Shaffner  and  a  man  named  Willowby. 

In  Dallas  township  in  1820  were  George 
Walton,  G.  H.  Busby,  Matthew  Mitchell  and 
Samuel  Line. 

In  Chatfield  township  in  1820,  Jacob  Whet- 
stone had  erected  a  cabin  and   cleared  some 


land.  His  occupation  was  that  of  a  hunter; 
he  wandered  all  over  that  section  and  never 
settled  permanently  in  any  one  location. 

As  early  as  1820  no  pioneer  had  settled  in 
Cranberry,  Lykins,  Holmes,  Texas  or  Tod. 

In  1820  there  were  about  sixty  known  fam- 
ilies in  Crawford  county,  and  counting  all  the 
members  of  those  families  there  must  have 
been  between  five  and  six  hundred  people  in 
what  is  now  Crawford.  Heading  the  list  was 
Disberry  Johnson  of  Polk  with  a  wife  and  17 
children,  while  on  the  section  adjoining  was 
Samuel  Brown  with  a  wife  and  several  chil- 
dren, so  that  in  1820  the  metropolis  of  Craw- 
ford county  was  in  western  Polk.  Christian 
Snyder  was  in  Jefferson  township  with  a  wife 
and  eleven  children,  and  in  the  same  township 
was  Westall  Ridgley  and  Jacob  Fisher  each 
with  a  wife  and  eight  children.  In  Bucyrus 
was  Samuel  Norton  with  a  wife  and  six  chil- 
dren, and  Albigence  Bucklin  with  a  wife  and 
seven  children,  one  an  adopted  daughter.  The 
"metropolis"  (the  largest  population  in  one 
section),  only  remained  in  western  Polk  for 
about  a  year  when  the  settlement  of  Bucyrus 
transferred  it  to  that  place,  where  it  remained 
until  the  census  of  1870  transferred  it  to 
Gallon,  where  it  remained  for  forty  years  until 
the  census  of  19 10  again  transferred  it  to 
Bucyrus. 

The  early  pioneers  came  from  New  Eng- 
land and  Pennsylvania  and  New  York  with  a 
few  from  Virginia.  They  came  in  wagons 
drawn  by  one  horse  or  a  yoke  of  oxen,  some- 
times a  two  horse  wagon,  always  weeks  on  the 
trip  and  sometimes  months,  and  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  very  few  all  took  up  their  claims 
in  the  forest  where  the  land  had  to  be  first 
cleared  to  give  them  the  ground  for  the  raising 
of  their  crops. 

Having  selected  his  land  the  first  work  of 
the  pioneer  was  the  erection  of  some  shelter 
for  the  protection  of  himself  and  family. 
Sometimes  the  pioneer  left  his  family  with 
friends  or  relatives  in  one  of  the  eastern  coun- 
ties, and  came  on  foot  with  his  axe  and  rifle, 
erected  his  little  cabin,  and  returned  for  his 
family.  ^  The  cabins  were  all  of  logs,  the 
"lean-to"  the  most  primitive,  which  was 
simply  a  three-sided  shelter,  built  of  saplings, 
and  very  small  logs,  sloping  to  the  ground  at 
the  rear,  with  only  the  two  sides  and  the  slop- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


79 


ing  roof,  the  front  being  hung  with  skins  as  a 
protection  from  the  wind  and  rain.  These 
cabins  were  similar  to  the  hunters'  "camps," 
and  in  only  a  very  few  cases  did  the  early  pio- 
neers of  Crawford  start  with  so  crude  a  shel- 
ter. 

The  early  pioneers  brought  very  little  with 
them  except  large  families;  some  had  practic- 
ally nothing ;  others  had  a  few  chickens,  a  few 
hogs,  sometimes  a  cow,  and  some  no  more  stock 
than  the  horse  or  the  yoke  of  oxen  that  had 
brought  them  on  their  long  and  toilsome  jour- 
ney in  the  one  wagon.  Some  came  on  foot, 
carrying  their  little  all  on  their  backs. 

With  the  first  pioneers  in  the  different  sec- 
tions it  was  impossible  to  build  a  cabin  of  very 
large  logs.  The  first  arrival  selected  his  site, 
cut  down  the  smaller  trees,  and  from  these 
made  the  logs  which  he  could  handle  alone, 
and  with  these  logs  he  built  his  home,  chinked 
up  the  cracks  with  mud,  covered  it  with  sap- 
lings and  brush,  and  had  a  place  to  live.  As 
neighbors  came  within  a  radius  of  several  miles 
the  pioneer  had  an  easier  task.  He  selected  his 
site  on  some  dry  ground,  near  a  stream  or 
spring  that  would  furnish  him  with  water,  a 
site  where  most  of  the  trees  were  of  the  uni- 
form thickness  for  the  logs  he  desired;  these 
trees  he  felled  himself,  cut  them  into  logs  of 
the  proper  length,  beveling  the  ends  so  they 
might  fit  as  closely  together  as  possible. 
Everything  being  in  readiness  the  neighbors 
came,  and  the  cabin  was  erected  by  strong  and 
willing  hands,  the  pioneer  adding  the  roof,  and 
also  the  door  and  perhaps  a  window  at  his  leis- 
ure. The  general  size  of  these  earlier  cabins 
was  14  to  16  feet  long,  with  a  heighth  of  six 
to  eight  feet.  The  ground  logs  were  first 
placed  in  position,  and  on  these  the  additional 
logs  were  piled,  the  beveling  and  notching  of 
the  logs  holding  them  in  place  at  the  corners. 
As  the  cabin  increased  in  height,  these  logs,  a 
foot  in  diameter,  had  to  be  lifted  into  position, 
which  was  done  by  the  strong  arms  of  the  men, 
some  with  hand  spikes  and  skid-poles,  and 
when  it  came  to  the  gable  logs  at  the  ends, 
each  shorter  than  the  one  below  it,  they  had  to 
be  held  in  place  until  the  ridge  pole  and  cross 
pieces  were  in  position.  In  the  erection  of  the 
cabin  the  responsible  positions  were  the  cor- 
ner-men, men  with  a  clear  head  and  a  quick  eye, 
expert  with  the  axe,  who  notched  the  logs  as 


they  were  lifted  into  place.  The  building  of 
these  cabins  was  not  without  danger,  for  some- 
times, fortunately  seldom,  a  heavy  log  slipped 
from  the  hand-spikes  or  the  skid-poles,  while 
strong  arms  beneath  were  shoving  it  into  posi- 
tion, and  an  accident  occurred,  a  broken  arm 
or  leg  of  some  one  caught  beneath  the  heavy 
log.  Sometimes  a  life  lost.  Leveridge  was 
killed  at  a  cabin  raising  where  the  city  of 
Gallon  now  stands,  and  a  year  or  two  later,  in 
1822,  Heman  Rowse  was  crushed  to  death  by 
a  falling  log  at  a  cabin  raising  a  mile  south  of 
Bucyrus. 

The  cabin  erected,  the  pioneer  put  on  his 
own  roof,  made  of  clap-boards,  cut  as  thin  as 
he  could  make  them  with  an  axe  or  an  adze, 
and  over  the  cracks  a  second  layer.  He 
chinked  and  daubed  the  sides,  filling  in  the 
cracks  between  the  logs  with  moss  and  sticks, 
plastering  it  with  mud,  both  inside  and  out- 
side the  cabin.  This  daubing  had  to  be  re- 
newed nearly  every  year,  as  the  rain  softened 
the  mud  and  washed  it  away.  The  chimney 
was  built  on  the  outside,  at  one  end  of  the 
cabin.  The  base  of  the  chimney  was  gen- 
erally of  irregular  stones,  plastered  with  mud, 
while  the  upper  portion  was  sticks  laid  rail- 
pen  or  corn-cob  fashion  and  plastered  with 
mud.  Sometimes  where  stone  was  scarce,  the 
entire  chimney  was  of  sticks  plastered  with 
mud.  The  fire-place  was  sometimes  so  large 
that  logs  six  to  seven  feet  in  length  could  be 
burned  in  it,  the  "back  log"  being  so  heavy  it 
had  to  be  towefl  or  snaked  into  the  cabin  by  a 
horse,  and  it  took  strong  arms  to  roll  it  into 
position,  where  it  would  burn  for  a  week. 
There  was  an  advantage  to  the  pioneer  to 
keep  a  roaring  fire,  as  all  the  wood  he  burned 
meant  so  much  more  of  his  land  cleared. 

The  door  was  a  crude  structure,  the  logs 
being  cut  away  in  the  front  of  the  house,  and 
the  door  made  of  lumber  roughly  split  from 
the  logs  with  bars  across  to  hold  it  together, 
and  hung  with  wooden  or  leather  hinges.  A 
wooden  bolt  was  inside  the  cabin,  which  fitted 
into  a  groove,  and  this  bolt  could  be  raised 
from  the  outside  by  means  of  a  latch-string 
of  deer  hide,  which- ran  through  a  little  hole 
above  the  bolt,  and  hung  outside,  hence  the  ex- 
pression, "the  latch  string  is  always  out."  All 
that  was  necessary  to  lock  up  the  house  was  to 
draw  the  string  inside,  but  this  was  seldom 


80 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


done  even  at  night.  After  his  cabin  was 
erected  the  pioneer  took  his  time  to  building 
his  door,  and  until  this  was  done,  the  opening 
was  covered  with  skins  to  keep  out  the  wind 
and  rain,  and  a  large  fire  kept  burning  on  the 
outside  at  night  to  keep  away  the  wild  animals 
that  were  prowling  through  the  forest.  If  a 
window  was  added  a  small  section  of  the  logs 
was  cut  away,  the  same  as  for  the  door,  and 
the  opening  was  covered  with  greased  paper  or 
the  thin  skin  of  some  animal,  glass  was  too  ex- 
pensive, besides  there  was  none  to  be  had  in 
the  early  days  in  the  wilderness. 

In  fact  nearly  every  one  of  the  earlier  cabins 
was  completed  and  occupied  for  years  with  not 
a  nail  or  a  screw  or  a  piece  of  metal  used  in  its 
construction;  everything  of  wood  and  leather, 
and  that  leather  the  skin  of  some  animal  of  the 
forest. 

Some  cabins  had  the  bare  ground  for  a  floor ; 
others  had  a  puncheon  floor,  boards  split  from 
logs  and  smoothed  as  well  as  the  work  could  be 
done  with  an  axe.  If  a  small  article  slipped 
through  the  cracks  all  that  was  necessary  was 
to  raise  one  of  the  puncheons  and  recover  the 
missing  article.  If  the  cabin  was  of  sufificient 
height,  it  boasted  of  a  loft,  puncheon  boards 
being  laid  across  where  the  slope  of  the  roof 
commenced.  This  made  a  sleeping  place  for 
the  children,  and  was  reached  by  climbing  up 
a  ladder  and  through  a  hole  cut  in  the  boards. 
This  was  also  the  guest  chamber,  the  visitor 
mounting  the  ladder  to  his  sleeping  apartment 
and  crawling  on  hands  and  knees  to  his  bed, 
which  consisted  of  a  tick  stuffed  with  dried 
leaves,  with  plenty  of  skins  and  furs.  Here  he 
could  listen  to  the  pleasant  patter  of  the  rain 
on  the  clapboard  roof,  sleep  soundly,  and  in 
the  morning  at  the  rear  of  the  cabin  find  a 
wooden  washbowl,  get  his  own  water  from 
the  spring  or  well,  and  prepare  himself  for  the 
wholesome  breakfast. 

Some  of  the  early  pioneers  brought  small 
articles  of  furniture  with  them,  but  in  most 
cases  much  of  it  was  made  by  hand  after 
their  arrival.  The  table  was  a  wide  board, 
carved  with  an  axe  and  supported  by  legs  cut 
from  small  saplings;  the  bed  was  made  the 
same  way,  and  the  primitive  cupboard  with  its 
few  rough  shelves  was  handmade.  On  these 
shelves  were  the  dishes ;  the  one  or  two  cook- 
ing utensils  of  iron  or  pewter ;  the  few  dishes 


brought  from  the  old  home,  and  the  others  of 
wood,  made  in  the  evening  from  the  buckeye; 
plates  and  saucers  and  basins  of  wood.  Oc- 
casionally there  were  knives  and  forks,  but  not 
enough  to  go  around,  and  wooden  ones  took 
their  place,  the  hunting-knife  of  the  pioneer 
being  the  carving  knife  for  the  meal. 

Game  was  abundant,  and  without  leaving 
his  little  clearing  the  early  pioneer  could  easily 
secure  an  abundant  supply  of  meat;  deer  and 
turkey  were  plentiful;  so  were  the  smaller 
game,  rabbit  and  squirrel,  but  powder  and  ball 
were  too  expensive  to  waste  in  killing  these, 
except  in  case  of  absolute  necessity.  Br,ead 
was  the  scarce  article  and  at  times  had  to  be 
used  sparingly.  After  his  first  crop  the  pio- 
neer diet  was  game,  potatoes  and  cornbread, 
with  cranberries,  honey  and  dried  apples  as  the 
luxuries.  On  important  occasions  they  in- 
dulged in  wheat  bread,  and  even  served  tea. 
There  were  no  stoves,  and  the  cooking  was 
done  in  the  large  fire-place,  the  kettles  or  pots 
hung  on  an  iron  or  wooden  crane  suspended 
over  the  fire.  The  frying  pan  had  a  long 
wooden  handle,  and  was  used  for  cooking  both 
the  meat  and  the  corn  cakes,  either  held  over 
the  fire  or  placed  on  a  bed  of  burning  coals 
drawn  out  over  the  hearth. 

Bread  was  baked  in  a  covered  "bake  ket- 
tle," and  under  and  over  it  was  a  bed  of  burn- 
ing coals  constantly  renewed.  Later,  many 
pioneers  had  a  bake  oven  built  of  stones  and 
mud  near  the  cabin.  Sometimes  the  bread  was 
baked  in  the  hot  ashes  underneath  the  fire,  or 
on  a  board  tipped  up  in  front  of  the  fire.  It 
was  in  this  manner  the  true  "hoe  cake"  was 
baked,  the  broad  hoe  being  used  for  the  pur- 
pose, which  gave  it  its  name;  also  called 
"johnny-cake,"  a  corruption  of  journey  cake, 
bread  in  convenient  shape  for  taking  on  a 
journey.  Corn  was  the  staple  article  of  diet, 
and  was  cooked  in  several  ways :  it  was  made 
into  hominy  or  boiled  into  mush;  cooked  in 
a  covered  oven  as  corn  pone;  cooked  in  front 
of  the  fire  as  johnny-cake,  or  cooked  in  round 
balls  as  corn  dodgers.  Like  the  old  New  Eng- 
land woman  who  never  baked  anything  but  ap- 
ple pies,  she  always  responded  to  inquiries  as 
to  what  kind  of  pies  she  had,  that  she  had 
three  kinds:  "open-faced,  kivered,  and  criss- 
crossed." The  pioneers  had  the  same  variety 
in  their  corn-bread;  and  it  was  a  variety,  as 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


81 


the  various  ways  of  cooking  gave  a  different 
taste  to  the  bread.  There  were  times  after  the 
husband  had  returned  from  one  of  his  long 
journeys  to  the  mill  that  the  good  house  wife 
became  the  envy  of  her  neighbors  by  actually 
serving  them  with  wheat  bread  when  they 
called. 

Potatoes,  both  Irish  and  sweet,  were  baked 
in  the  ashes,  and  although  the  ashes  had  to  be 
brushed  off,  this  manner  of  cooking  was  then, 
as  it  is  today,  the  most  palatable  and  whole- 
some way  of  preparing  the  food.  A  haunch  of 
venison,  a  piece  of  pork  or  beef,  and  turkeys 
were  cooked  by  suspending  in  front  of  the  fire, 
and  constantly  turning  them,  while  beneath 
was  a  pan  which  caught  the  drippings. 

Before  mills  were  within  easy  reach,  every 
pioneer  was  his  own  miller,  and  ground  his 
own  grain.  His  mill  consisted  of  a  solid  stump 
into  which  he  cut  or  burned  a  hole  in  the  shape 
of  a  mortar,  and  in  this  placed  a  quaritity  of 
corn,  and  with  a  heavy  block  of  wood  or  stone 
pulverized  the  grain  by  constant  pounding.  A 
more  advanced  way  was  to  have  the  pounder 
attached  to  the  end  of  a  pole  like  a  well-sweep, 
so  that  heavier  pounding  could  be  done  and 
a  larger  quantity  of  grain  pulverized  more 
rapidly.  In  this  way  sometimes  half  a  bushel 
of  corn  could  be  placed  in  the  hollowed  out 
stump  at  one  time.  The  grain  once  pulverized 
it  was  sifted  into  three  different  grades  for 
use,  the  coarser  grade  requiring  six  to  eight 
hours  of  cooking  before  it  was  thoroughly 
prepared  for  food.  These  stump  mills  were 
known  as  Indian  mills,  and  for  centuries  all 
the  grain  used  by  the  Indians  had  been  ground 
by  the  squaws  in  this  manner. 

If  the  pioneer  had  not  located  beside  a 
stream  or  spring,  his  first  business  was  to  dig 
a  well ;  water  was  generally  to  be  found  in  this 
county  at  a  very  few  feet.  The  well  was  lined 
with  stones  of  all  sizes,  plastered  with  clay, 
and  a  well-sweep  easily  constructed; — a  long 
heavy  pole  hinged  in  a  fork  at  the  top  of  a 
tall  pole,  and  a  rope  or  chain  to  which  the 
bucket  was  attached.  It  was  a  very  simple 
contrivance  and  the  water  could  easily  be 
drawn  from  the  bottom  of  the  well.  In  parts 
of  the  county,  notably  the  plains,  the  wells 
were  made  by  sinking  a  hollow  sycamore  into 
the  ground,  but  the  water  was  a  very  poor 


article,  and  generally  very  unhealthy;  some- 
times the  well  was  made  of  wood. 

Having  prepared  a  place  iii  which  to  live, 
the  next  business  of  the  pioneer  was  the  clear- 
ing of  his  land,  and  the  trees  were  felled  and 
cut  into  logs.  He  then  secured  game  in  abun- 
dance from  the  surrounding  forest,  went  to  the 
nearest  settlement,  sometimes  a  two  days' 
journey,  where  he  secured  what  provisions  he 
must  buy,  and  the  whisky,  which  was  re- 
garded as  a  necessity  in  those  days.  Every- 
thing being  in  readiness,  the  neighbors  came 
from  miles  around,  and  willing  hands  soon 
rolled  the  heavy  logs  into  piles,  making  sport 
of  the  work  by  dividing  the  party  into  two 
sides  and  separating  the  logs  equally,  each  side 
endeavoring  to  be  the  first  to  pile  up  their 
logs,  the  victors  being  rewarded  by  the  first 
drink  from  the  jug,  while  the  thirsty  van- 
quished patiently  awaited  their  turn.  The  im- 
mense piles  were  set  on  fire,  and  walnut  and 
wild  cherry,  oak  and  maple,  and  ash  and 
hickory,  worth  more  today  many  times  over 
than  is  the  land  itself,  were  burned  as  useless. 
Inside  the  cabin  the  women  had  not  been  idle, 
and  the  rough  hand-made  table  was  covered 
with  good  wholesome  food  to  which  perfect 
health  and  the  best  of  appetites  did  ample 
justice,  and  a  dance  generally  followed,  in 
which  old  and  young  alike  joined.  To  these 
gatherings  at  the  call  of  some  new  neighbor, 
every  pioneer  was  glad  to  respond.  They  gave 
their  time  willingly,  and  freely  and  frequently. 
One  of  the  pioneers  in  his  notes  of  these  early 
days  says  that  in  one  year  he  put  in  twenty- 
nine  days  responding  to  calls  for  assistance  at 
cabin-raisings  and  log-rollings.* 

The  wifely  duties  did  not  stop  at  the  cook- 
ing. To  her  also  fell  the  preparation  of  much 
of  the  clothing  for  the  family,  she  doing  the 
spinning  and  the  weaving.  The  spinning 
wheel  was  to  be  found  in  nearly  every  cabin  on 
which  the  yarn  or  the  flax  was  spun.  Some 
early  settlers  brought  sheep,  but  there  was  no 
protecting  them  from  the  wolves,  and  it  was 
years  before  any  sheep  could  be  raised  in  the 
county.  From  Knox  county,  and  what  is  now 
Morrow,  the  pioneers  made  long  journeys 
through  the  wilderness,  and  brought  back  a 
few  pounds  of  wool.     This  was  carded  and 

♦John  O.  Blowers,  Liberty  township. 


82 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


made  into  rolls  by  hand  cards,  and  the  rolls 
spun  on  the  wheel.  A  common  article  of  ap- 
parel was  the  linsey-woolsey,  the  chain  warp 
being  linen  and  the  filling  or  woof  of  wool. 
This  made  the  dresses  for  the  women  and 
girls,  and  jeans  were  woven  for  the  men's 
clothing.  The  skins  of  the  deer  and  the  coon 
were  made  into  garments  for  the  men,  and 
even  the  little  girls  sometimes  had  dresses  of 
fawn  skins,  colored  and  fringed  and  prettily 
picturesque.  These  homemade  fabrics  were 
dyed  with  walnut,  indigo  or  copperas,  and 
striped  or  checkered  goods  were  easily  made 
by  dying  the  yarns  the  different  colors  before 
they  were  placed  in  the  looms. 

The  pioneer  was  also  his  own  shoemaker 
and  hatter,  tanning  his  own  hides  in  a  vat 
made  of  a  hollow  log  sunk  in  the  ground,  and 
in  the  evening  by  the  fireside  making  his  own 
shoes,  and  those  for  the  family. 

The  costume  of  the  men  was  a  hunting- 
shirt  hanging  loose,  made  of  skins  or  of  woolen 
made  by  his  wife.  It  was  a  sort  of  blouse, 
belted  at  the  waist,  and  inside  this  loose  blouse 
was  the  storehouse  for  his  day's  provisions 
and  any  small  articles  he  might  need;  his 
breeches  were  of  deer  skin,  comfortable  and 
warm  in  dry  weather,  but  in  wet  weather  very 
uncomfortable  and  disagreeable,  and  then  it 
was  that  at  night  he  never  threw  them  on  the 
floor,  but  when  he  succeeded  in  getting  them 
off,  leaned  them  against  the  wall  for  use  in  the 
morning,  when  he  again  put  them  on  with  the 
same  ease  and  comfort  that  a  man  might  ex- 
perience in  incasing  his  legs  in  a  couple  of 
stove  pipes.  His  shoes  were  of  his  own  make, 
as  heavy  a  sole  as  possible,  with  the  tops  made 
of  skins  reaching  above  the  ankles  and  laced 
with  thongs  of  deer  skin.  In  summer  he  used 
the  softer  moccasin.  His  head  was  covered 
with  a  coonskin  cap,  or  a  hat  made  of  the  skin 
of  some  animal,  cured  and  pressed  by  himself, 
and  made  into  whatever  shape  or  style  that  best 
suited  his  fancy. 

The  women  were  clothed  mostly  in  linsey 
woolsey  garments  made  by  themselves  of  the 
raw  material ;  a  linen  waist  of  flax  they  them- 
selves had  spun;  heavy  shoes  and  stockings, 
all  home  made,  and  in  winter  gloves  of  buck- 
skin made  by  themselves. 

As  late  as  1845  a  young  boy  came  to  Bucyrus 


from  one  of  the  townships  to  get  the  advan- 
tage of  the  better  schools  the  village  afforded 
and  he  wore  his  coonskin  cap  and  buckskin 
breeches,  his  shoes  being  home-made  by  his 
father  or  himself,  and  forty  years  after  this  a 
familiar  figure  on  the  streets  of  Bucyrus  was 
one  of  the  pioneers  always  wearing  his  deer- 
skin vest.* 

On  his  first  cleared  land  the  pioneer  planted 
wheat,  corn  and  potatoes,  a  few  other  veg- 
etables, and  a  small  patch  of  flax  from  which 
to  make  the  clothing.  Some  had  a  crude  plow 
they  had  brought  with  them ;  others  made  their 
own,  and  the  harrow  was  also  of  their  own 
make,  sometimes  rough  brush  drawn  over  the 
ground.  The  grain  was  harvested  with  a 
sickle  or  scythe,  the  former  being  the  most  con- 
venient on  account  of  the  many  stumps,  and 
near  these  stumps  the  hunting  knife  was  used. 
The  wheat  was  threshed  by  spreading  it  on  the 
barn  floor,  and  having  the  patient  oxen  tramp 
it  out,  or  the  pioneer  with  his  heavy  shoes 
doing  the  work  himself  by  tramping,  or  with  a 
flail.  It  was  winnowed  by  taking  a  heavy 
sheet  and  with  men  at  the  corners  swing  it 
rapidly  over  the  grain,  creating  a  wind  to  blow 
away  the  chaff,  if  the  pioneer  had  to  depend  on 
himself  alone,  he  selected  a  day  with  a  good 
wind,  and  filling  a  bucket  with  the  grain  held 
it  as  high  above  his  head  as  his  arras  could 
reach,  and  slowly  poured  it  out,  the  wind  blow- 
ing away  the  chafif.  Two  or  three  pourings 
soon  had  the  heavier  wheat  fairly  separated 
from  the  lighter  chafif. 

Prior  to  1820  there  was  not  a  grist  mill  in 
Crawford  county,  so  the  pioneer  pounded  his 
own  grain  into  the  best  flour  he  could  in  his 
hollow  stump,  sometimes  using  a  hand  mill 
similar  to  our  old-fashioned  coffee  mills.  In 
this  it  took  an  industrious  housewife  several 
hours  to  grind  a  very  little  quantity  of  meal. 
Another  device  for  corn  in  an  emergency  was 
the  grater — jagged  holes  punched  in  a  piece  of 
tin  or  iron,  and  taking  an  ear  of  corn  rubbing 
it  over  the  rough  edges.  It  took  about  four 
hours  by  this  process  to  get  enough  meal  to 
give  each  member  of  the  family  a  very  small 
taste  pf  corn-bread  in  the  morning.  Some  of 
the  pioneers  state  there  were  times  when  the 

*Thomas  Fuhrman,  father  of  Mrs.  Geo.  Donnen- 
wirth  and  Mrs.  A.  J.  High. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


83 


cornmeal  was  so  scarce  that  the  family  were 
all  put  on  an  allowance.*  With  the  early  set- 
tlers the  nearest  mill  was  miles  away,  the  prin- 
cipal ones  being  at  New  Haven  in  Huron 
county;  Fredericktown  and  Mt.  Vernon  in 
Knox  county;  one  three  miles  southeast  of 
Mansfield,  and  another  at  Lexington  in  Rich- 
land county.  There  were  no  roads,  only  trails 
through  the  forest,  and  the  settler  loaded  his 
sacks  of  grain  on  the  horse  and  started  for  the 
mill,  leading  his  horse  the  entire  distance, 
sometimes  compelled  to  wait  his  turn  at  the 
mill.  The  trip  took  two  to  four  days.  The 
return  journey  he  might  ride,  as  the  load  of 
the  horse  was  much  lighter  the  miller  having 
taken  from  a  fourth  to  a  half  of  the  grinding 
as  his  share.  If  the  pioneer  had  no  horse,  he 
made  the  long  journey  on  foot,  carrying  what 
grain  he  could  on  his  back.  Very  soon  mills 
were  started  nearer  home,  generally  a  horse 
mill,  run  by  horse  or  ox  power,  erected  by  some 
enterprising  settler  for  his  own  use ;  to  this  the 
neighbors  came,  using  their  own  horses  or 
oxen  to  furnish  the  power  to  run  the  mill.  The 
mills  were  very  crude  in  construction,  and 
sometimes  four  horses  had  to  be  attached  to 
move  the  clumsy  machinery.  It  was  also  slow 
work  and  the  meal  ground  very  coarse.  Water 
mills  were  built  along  the  little  streams,  but 
on  account  of  the  smallness  of  the  streams  in 
this  county  when  there  was  enough  water  to 
run  the  mills,  the  ground  was  almost  impass- 
able, and  during  the  summer  season  when  the 
trails  could  be  used,  there  was  no  water  in  the 
streams  and  the  mills  were  idle,  and  in  the 
dead  of  winter  the  streams  were  frozen,  so  the 
pioneer  had  difficulty  in  keeping  a  supply  of 
meal  on  hand.  It  was  years  before  the  condi- 
tions of  the  roads  improved  in  many  sections, 
and  as  late  as  1845,  E.  B.  Monnett  now  living 
in  Bucyrus,  started  with  a  four-horse  team 
from  his  father's  farm  in  Dallas  township  with 
half  a  dozen  sacks  of  wheat  to  be  ground  at 
the  mill  at  Wyandot.  Small  as  the  load  was 
the  team  was  stalled,  and  he  had  to  secure  ad- 
ditional help  to  get  the  wagon  through  the 
marshy  ground.  As  late  as  1837  when  the 
farmer  took  his  load  of  grain  to  Sandusky  it 
took  from  six  to  seven  days  to  make  the  trip 
on  account  of  the  bad  roads;  he  received  his 

"  *Lewis   Cary,  Bucyrus. 


50  to  60  cents  a .  bushel  for  his  wheat,  and 
brought  back  a  consignment  of  goods  for  some 
merchant  for  which  he  was  paid  about  50  cents 
a  hundred  pounds.  Goods  for  the  eastern  part 
of  the  county  and  some  for  Bucyrus  were 
hauled  overland  from  Philadelphia  and  Balti- 
more. Generally  for  Bucyrus  they  came  by 
water  to  Sandusky,  and  were  hauled  from 
there  by  land.  The  freight  charges  reached  as 
high  at  times  as  four  dollars  a  hundred  pounds 
so  nothing  but  absolute  necessaries  could  be 
shipped. 

With  the  early  pioneers  there  was  an  abun- 
dance of  game,  but  as  the  county  became  more 
populated  game  became  scarcer,  but  the 
pioneer  had  brought  with  him  cattle  and  hogs. 
The  hogs  ran  at  large,  fattening  on  the  nuts 
and  grass  of  the  forest;  on  the  rattlesnakes 
and  small  vermin,  and  they  became  wild. 
While  wolves  prevented  the  raising  of  sheep, 
experience  soon  taught  them  to  let  the  wild 
hogs  severely  alone,  and  even  the  few  bears 
found  discretion  the  better  part  of  valor  and 
left  the  hogs  to  root  in  peace,  and  unless  very 
hungry  never  molested  them.  Each  farmer 
had  a  special  mark  for  his  hogs,  but  in  their 
wild  state  they  were  very  prolific,  and  many  of 
them  were  practically  common  property.  As 
to  those  marked  and  half  wild,  sometimes  a 
pioneer  was  near-sighted  and  failed  to  recog- 
nize the  mark  of  his  neighbor  on  the  hog  he 
had  shot — but  in  the  main  they  were  honest 
and  the  wild  hogs  of  the  forest  and  the  rapidly 
increasing  stock  of  cattle  made  up  for  the  con- 
stant lessening  of  the  wild  game. 

Another  plentiful  thing  was  honey,  which 
could  be  gathered  by  the  pioneer  himself  or 
purchased  of  the  Indians  or  the  bee-hunters. 
The  Indians  also  supplied  the  pioneers  with  an 
abundance  of  cranberries  when  in  season. 
Many  of  the  pioneers  became  experts  in  bee- 
hunting,  marked  the  trees  in  the  summer,  and 
in  the  autumn  gathered  the  harvest,  which  was 
not  only  a  welcome  addition  to  the  family  pro- 
visions, but  was  an  article  almost  sure  to  bring 
cash  in  the  market,  50  cents  a  gallon. 

There  was  very  little  money  in  those  days, 
business  being  carried  on  by  exchange,  the 
storekeeper  being  the  clearing  house.  He 
gave  the  pioneer  credit  of  about  a  cent  a  pound 
for  the  hogs  he  delivered,  and  two  cents  for 
his  cattle;  25  cents  each  for  his  coon  and  mink 


84 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


skins,  and  $i  for  a  deer  hide ;  40  cents  a  bushel 
for  his  wheat  and  three  cents  a  dozen  for  his 
eggs  and  the  same  price  per  pound  for  his  but- 
ter, and  sometimes  would  not  take  his  butter 
and  eggs  at  any  price,  but  he  was  glad  to  get 
the  honey  at  fifty  cents  per  gallon.  In  return 
he  charged  his  customer  with  $2  to  $3  a  pound 
for  tea,  and  very  few  charges  too  as  not  many 
could  afford  the  luxury  of  tea;  75  cents  a 
pound  for  coffee;  $5  for  a  barrel  of  salt  that 
weighed  50  pounds;  $2  a  pound  for  powder 
and  25  cents  a  pound  for  lead;  $1  a  yard  for 
calicoes  and  prints;  and  the  only  cheap  thing 
was  the  whisky  at  fifty  cents  a  gallon.  Every- 
body used  it  in  those  days  and  it  was  regarded 
as  more  of  a  necessity  in  the  house  than  tea  or 
coffee,  and  few  social  gatherings  were  complete 
without  it.  Money  was  not  an  absolute  neces- 
sity as  even  the  county  officials,  with  a  salary 
of  $50  to  $100  a  year,  were  in  some  other 
business,  and  taxes  could  be,  and  were,  paid  in 
skins  or  produce,  which  the  treasurer  turned 
into  cash.  The  merchant,  too,  when  he  sent 
his  skins  and  produce  to  the  market,  exchanged 
them  for  the  goods  he  needed,  paying  or  re- 
ceiving the  balance  in  cash. 

On  the  arrival  of  a  neighbor  a  trail  was 
blazed  through  the  woods  so  the  nearest  fam- 
ilies could  visit  back  and  forth  without  getting 
lost  in  the  forest,  and  the  women  folks  made 
their  friendly  calls.  Then  it  was  the  hostess 
did  the  honors,  proudly  displaying  all  her  little 
cabin  possessed.  In  one  case  all  the  newcomer 
could  boast  of  in  the  line  of  a  cooking  vessel 
was  a  solitary  pewter  pot,  but  it  was  bright 
and  glistening  from  the  polishings  it  received 
through  its  constant  use.  But  to  her  it  was 
enough.  She  placed  it  on  the  fire,  and  in  it  the 
pork  was  tried  into  lard,  and  in  the  same  ves- 
sel the  cakes  were  fried  in  the  lard;  it  was 
washed  and  cleaned  and  in  it  the  short  cakes 
were  baked ;  then  it  was  used  as  a  bucket,  taken 
to  the  spring  and  filled  with  water,  again 
placed  on  the  fire  and  the  water  boiled,  and  it 
being  her  first  "state  occasion"  a  little  tea  was 
taken  from  her  meagre  store  and  the  meal 
served  to  her  first  guest  in  her  new  home,  all 
prepared  in  the  one  and  only  cooking  vessel 
she  possessed. 

Strangers  were  always  welcome  and  every 
traveler  received  a  hospitable  reception.  If  he 
was  in  search  of  a  location  he  was  doublv  wel- 


come, and  the  pioneer  dropped  his  work  to 
show  his  visitor  all  the  best  sites  in  the  neigh- 
borhood that  were  yet  on  the  market,  and  if 
the  stranger  did  enter  land  in  that  section 
he  was  welcome  to  bring  his  wife  and  family 
of  half  a  dozen  children  to  make  their  home 
with  him  until  he  and  his  sons  and  the  neigh- 
bors had  erected  a  cabin  for  the  newcomer.  If 
a  settler  arrived  in  the  fall  the  neighbors  all 
kept  a  careful  watch  that  he  suffered  for  noth- 
ing until  he  could  clear  his  ground  and  raise 
a  crop  of  his  own.  It  was  not  uncommon  to 
make  jthe  newcomer  a  present  of  land  to  induce 
him  to  locate  in  their  neighborhood,  and  in 
one  case  in  this  county  a  pioneer  induced  a 
man  to  remain  by  selling  him  eighty  acres  off 
his  own  land  for  $100,  taking  his  pay  in  a  note 
due  in  one  hundred  years  without  interest.* 
The  note  is  not  yet  due,  but  will  be  in  1920. 

The  homes  of  the  early  settlers  were  indeed 
far  in  the  wilderness  for  it  took  from  two  to 
four  weeks  for  their  mail  to  reach  them  from 
their  old  homes  in  the  East,  and  when  a  letter 
did  arrive  it  was  marked  "due  25  cents,"  -for 
postage  in  those  days  need  not  be  paid  in  ad- 
vance and  the  charge  was  according  to  distance. 
Neither  was  the  letter  always  sent  to  where  the 
addressee  lived,  but  to  the  nearest  postoffice. 
Prior  to  1823  the  postoffice  of  residents  of 
Crawford  was  Mansfield  or  Delaware,  and  the 
pioneer  store-keeper  going  to  one  of  these 
places  brought  back  whatever  letters  were  there 
for  any  one  in  his  neighborhood.  When  a 
postoffice  was  established  at  Bucyrus  in  1823, 
that  little  village  received  the  letters  for  resi- 
dents for  miles  around,  those  of  Whetstone, 
Liberty,  Sandusky,  Chatfield,  Lykins,  Holmes, 
Texas  and  Tod  townships  all  getting  their 
mail  at  Bucyrus.  When  a  letter  did  arrive  for 
some  settler  the  watchful  postmaster  requested 
some  man  who  happened  in  from  that  section 
to  notify  his  neighbor  that  a  letter  had  arrived 
for  him.  The  pioneers  were  generous;  they 
shared  with  those  in  need;  of  the  stock  or 
game  killed  many  a  neighbor  received  a  por- 
tion ;  but  he  could  not  put  up  the  25  cents  for 
the  letter  due,  because  money  was  something 
he  did  not  have.  But  he  was  still  the  true 
neighbor,  and  after  reaching  home,  when  the 
evening  work  was  done,  he  went  through  the 
woods  to  the  home  of  his  neighbor,  several 

♦Benjamin   Sharrock,  Polk  township. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


85 


miles  away,  and  notified  him  that  there  was  a 
letter  in  the  postoffice  for  him.  Now  the  scene 
of  anxiety  is  transferred  to  the  little  farm; 
they  have  nothing  to  dispose  of,  but  the  post- 
age must  be  raised  to  secure  the  news  from 
home,  so  the  hens  are  "summoned  to  duty," 
and  after  patient  watching  and  waiting  eight 
dozen  eggs  are  gathered  and  the  pioneer  goes 
to  Bucyrus  and  exchanges  his  eight  dozen  eggs 
for  the  "24c  due"  letter,  and  returns  to  his 
clearing  to  read  over  and  over  again  the  news 
from  the  old  home  anywhere  from  a  month  to 
six  months  old. 

There  was  no  class  of  people  more  welcome 
among  the  pioneers  than  the  traveling  min- 
ister. Long  before  the  first  white  man  had 
ever  dreamed  of  settling  in  this  wilderness, 
these  faithful  servants  of  God  had  risked  their 
lives,  and  many  lost  them,  too,  in  preaching 
the  Gospel  of  Christ  to  the  savages.  And 
when  the  settler  came,  these  ministers,  on  foot 
or  on  horseback,  wandered  through  the 
sparsely  settled  region,  and  the  largest  cabin 
or  barn  was  the  meeting  place  of  the  settlers 
for  miles  around  to  hear  once  more  the  word 
of  God.  It  was  not  denominational  preach- 
ing; sometimes  it  was  one  creed,  sometimes 
another,  but  a  minister  of  any  denomination 
was  welcome,  and  although  a  man  may  not 
have  been  a  professing  Christian,  if  his  cabin 
were  the  larger  or  the  more  central  it  was  used 
for  the  services,  and  it  was  an  honor  and  pleas- 
ure to  him  to  entertain  the  minister.  Later  the 
different  denominations  became  numerous 
enough  to  hold  services  of  their  own  special 
creed  at  irregular  intervals.  Violent  pulpit 
oratory  was  regarded  as  more  necessary  in 
those  days  than  at  the  present  time,  and  the 
preacher  soared  to  his  highest  flights  in  pictur- 
ing the  terrors  and  horrors  of  a  brimstone  hell. 
The  construction  of  his  sentences,  as  far  as 
grammar  was  concerned,  was  a  secondary  con- 
sideration, and  frequently  was  a  neglected  art. 
The  loudest  in  their  oratory,  both  in  preaching 
and  in  prayer,  were  looked  upon  as  the  better 
Christians,  and  when  one  of  these  became 
thoroughly  warmed  up  to  his  work  his  prayer 
could  be  heard  for  half  a  mile. 

Among  the  more  religiously  inclined  morn- 
ing and  evening  services  were  held,  the  head  of 
the  house  reading  a  chapter  from  the  well-worn 
family  Bible,  giving  out  a  hymn  in  which  all 


joined  in  the  singing,  and  closing  with  one  of 
his  far-reaching  prayers.  If  a  guest  were  pres- 
ent, known  to  be  a  Christian,  by  courtesy  he 
was  asked  to  lead  in  the  family  services,  and 
if  he  failed  to  "loosen  the  rafters"  in  his  in- 
structions to  the  throne  of  grace,  the  thorough- 
ness of  his  conversion  was  doubted,  and  he 
was  never  again  invited  to  lead  in  prayer  in 
that  household.  Many  others  were  milder  in 
their  forms  of  worship,  but  among  the  more 
zealous  the  religion  of  most  of  the  milder  class 
was  looked  upon  with  suspicion,  and  hopes  and 
prayers  were  freely  offered  that  the  scales 
might  fall  from  their  eyes  and  they  become 
truly  converted.  But  as  sure  as  "the  groves 
were  God's  first  temples,"  so  the  purest  and 
truest  of  religion  existed  in  the  hearts  of  these 
pioneers.  No  destitution  was  so  severe  in  his 
own  family  that  he  ever  failed  to  share  the  lit- 
tle that  he  had  with  his  poorer  neighbor;  no 
sickness  ever  invaded  any  family  in  his  section 
when  he  failed  to  respond  with  sympathy  and 
with  succor;  and  when  the  icy  hand  of  death 
had  robbed  some  poor  struggling  family  of  a 
loved  one,  every  pioneer's  heart  beat  in  sym- 
pathy with  his  sorrowing  neighbor,  and  every 
pioneer's  hand  tendered  assistance  and  relief. 
They  were  true  Christians  in  the  broadest  and 
best  sense  of  the  word,  and  in  the  books  above 
where  the  recording  angel  has  written  the  list 
of  those  who  loved  their  fellow  men,  the  names 
of  these  early  pioneers  will  be  found  leading 
all  the  rest. 

Each  settler  was  his  own  doctor,  and  the 
minor  diseases  were  cured  by  their  own  simple 
remedies.  In  the  loft  of  each  cabin,  or  in  the 
cabin  itself  along  the  wall,  hung  the  worm- 
wood and  pennyroyal,  sassafras  and  sage,  tan- 
sey  and  catnip,  and  other  herbs  and  barks 
gathered  and  dried  for  sickness,  and  the  minor 
cases  were  cared  for  with  these  simple  ingre- 
dients. In  each  neighborhood  some  man  was 
depended  upon  to  set  a  broken  leg  or  arm,  and 
it  was  fairly  done  with  no  charge,  the  patient 
on  his  recovery  as  a  remembrance  of  the  kindly 
act  sending  around  a  deer  he  had  shot.  But 
there  were  times  when  the  disease  or  the  acci- 
dent was  beyond  the  knowledge  or  the  skill  of 
the  household  or  the  neighbors.  Then  it  was 
one  of  the  family  or  a  kindly  neighbor  started 
through  the  woods  anywhere  from  ten  to  forty 
miles  for  medical  aid,  and  a  day  or  two  later 


86 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


returned  with  the  doctor  on  horseback,  with 
his  saddle-bags  containing  his  wonderful  medi- 
cines, who  gave  what  treatment  he  thought  the 
patient  needed,  and  left  advice  for  future  care, 
for  the  distance  was  too  great  to  make  a  second 
call  possible.  He  was  paid  for  his  trip,  if 
there  was  anything  to  pay  with — a  little  cash, 
or  some  skins  or  some  provisions;  perhaps 
nothing,  and  a  year  or  two  later  receive  a 
wagon-load  of  potatoes  or  of  corn,  some  choice 
skins,  or  a  cash  payment  from  the  pioneer  who 
had  not  forgotten  his  faithful  services.  The 
doctor  was  satisfied;  he  had  gone  the  toilsome 
journey  as  an  errand  of  mercy  and  as  a  profes- 
sional duty,  and  the  pecuniary  reward  was  a 
secondary  consideration. 

But  the  pioneers  had  their  pleasures  as  well. 
They  had  their  cabin-raisings  and  their  log- 
rollings ;  and  they  had  their  shooting  matches, 
for  markmanship  with  the  rifle  was  their  high- 
est sport.  Then  there  were  the  quilting-bees 
and  the  husking-bees,  and  after  the  work  was 
over  many  provisions  were  eaten  and  much 
whisky  drank.  Whatever  the  occasion  for  the 
gathering  may  have  been  it  was  followed  by  a 
most  bounteous  meal  of  the  wholesome  provi- 
sions that  the  forest  and  the  farm  could  supply, 
and'  always  enjoyed,  for  good  appetites  were 
never  lacking  in  those  early  days.  The  natural 
result  of  these  gatherings  and  the  dances  with 
which  the  occasions  closed,  were  the  Aveddings, 
where  the  bride  was  complimented  and  ad- 
mired, resplendent  in  a  new  calico  gown  that 
cost  $1  a  yard  and  was  made  by  herself  out 
of  five  yards  of  goods;  the  happy  groom,  en- 
vied and  congratulated,  his  hair  smoothed  and 
plastered  to  his  head  and  polished  and  glisten- 
ing with  a  superabundance  of  bear's  grease. 
And  after  the  wedding  the  feast,  the  long  table 
so  crowded  and  covered  with  the  good  things 
prepared  that  no  one  could  see  that  a  table 
cloth  was  lacking.  After  the  feast  all  the 
young  folks  escorted  the  bridal  couple  to  their 
new  home,  which  was  another  little  log  cabin 
in  the  forest,  but  its  building  and  furnishing 
had  been  the  willing  work  of  the  young  hus- 
band for  many  an  evening  after  his  day's  work 
had  been  completed  on  his  father's  farm. 

Sometimes  and  frequently,  the  angel  of 
death  invaded  the  household,  and  a  parent  or 
child  was  called  away.  If  a  child,  it  was  the 
father  who  went  sorrowfully  to  the  woods  and 


selected  the  straightest  tree  from  which  he 
made  the  little  coffin,  lovingly  staining  the 
wood  with  walnut,  and  tenderly  covering  his 
rough  work  with  ferns  and  flowers,  and  the 
neighbors  came  from  miles  around,  and  in 
some  pretty  and  quiet  spot  on  the  little  farm 
the  body  was  placed  in  its  last  earthly  home, 
one  of  the  elderly  pioneers  conducting  the 
services  with  preaching  and  with  prayer.  If  it 
was  the  husband  called  away,  the  duties  of 
caring  for  the  family  fell  upon  the  stricken 
wife,  and  many  a  boy  of  eight  or  nine  became 
the  useful  assistant  of  the  widowed  mother  as 
the  provider  for  the  younger  members  of  the 
family.  If  help  was  needed,  the  pioneer  neigh- 
bors, after  their  own  hard  day's  work  was 
done,  assembled  of  an  evening  at  her  little 
clearing,  and  prepared  the  land,  and  planted 
the  seed,  and  harvested  the  crop,  and  kept  up 
their  kindly  work  until  the  children  were  old 
enough  to  care  for  the  family. 

So  the  pioneers  of  Crawford  settled  the 
county,  passing  through  frequent  trials  and 
undergoing  many  privations,  with  certainly 
one  redeeming  feature  in  their  own  experience 
in  the  wilderness,  and  that  was  that  by  the 
time  the  first  settler  placed  his  foot  on  Craw- 
ford soil,  the  Indians  had  been  so  thoroughly 
whipped  and  cowed  into  submission  that  no 
settler's  cabin  in  this  county  was  ever  burned, 
and  no  pioneer  was  ever  murdered  and  scalped 
by  the  savage  tribes,  as  was  so  frequent  and 
so  harrowing  in  the  eastern  and  southern 
counties  in  the  earlier  days. 

Slowly  but  surely  the  primitive  cabins  gave 
way  to  those  of  hewn  logs  and  to  the  double 
log  cabins ;  and  these  were  in  turn  followed  by 
a  few  frame  houses,  and  an  occasional  brick 
residence.  Each  year  the  acreage  of  cleared 
land  increased;  new  roads  were  laid  out  and 
the  earlier  ones  improved;  little  settlements 
were  started  which  became  villages,  grew  into 
towns,  and  expanded  into  cities,  and  the 
wilderness  of  a  century  ago  became  the  rich 
and  fertile  fields  and  farms,  and  the  busy  and 
prosperous  villages  and  cities  of  today. 

On  Feb.  12,  1820,  the  Legislature  passed  an 
act  erecting  a  county  which  they  named  Craw- 
ford, after  Col.  William  Crawford,  who  was 
burned  at  the  stake  in  1782  within  the  confines 
of  the  county  then  created.  In  1820  the  pres- 
ent county  of  Crawford  had  within  its  borders 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS  87 

less  than  a  hundred  settlers,  who  with  their  Jackson  Township.     1820 — Joseph  Russell, 

families   numbered   about    500   persons.      As  John  Doyle. 

nearly  as  can  be  gathered  the  principal  settlers  Jefferson    Township.     18 16 — Jacob   Fisher, 

up  to  1820  were  as  follows:  181 7 — Christian     Snyder,     Westell     Ridgley, 

Auburn  Township.     1814 — Jedediah  More-  Peter  Beebout,  Thomas  Ferguson,  J.  S.  Gris- 

head,  John  Pettigon.     1815 — William  Green,  well.      1818 — John  Adrian,  Lewis  Leiberger, 

Samuel    S.    Green,    Jacob    Coykendall,    John  James  Nail. 

Deardorff.  1816 — Aaron  B.  Howe.  1817 —  Liberty  Township.  1819 — Daniel  McMich- 
William  Cole,  Charles  Morrow.  1818 — Levi  ael.  1820 — Ralph  Bacon,  Auer  Umberfield. 
Bodley,  Lester  Bodley,  Jesse  Bodley,  John  Lykins  Township.  No  one. 
Bodley,  David  Cummins,  Charles  DeWitt,  Polk  Township.  1817 — Benjamin  Lever- 
William  Laugherty,  Henry  Reif.  1819 —  idge,  James  Leveridge,  Nathaniel  Leveridge. 
Adam  Aumend,  Adam  Aumend,  Jr.,  Samuel  1818— -Nehemiah  Story,  Nathaniel  Story, 
Hanna,  Resolved  White.  1820 — Rodolphus  Father  Kitteridge,  Benjamin  Sharrock,  George 
Morse,  Erastus  Kellogg,  Jacob  Snyder,  Pal-  Wood,  David  Gill.  18 19 — Samuel  Brown, 
mer  Halse,  Daniel  Hulse.  Michael  Brown,  Asa  Hosford,  Horace  Hos- 

Bucyrus    Township.     1819— Samuel    Nor-  ford,  Disberry  Johnson,  John  Sturgis.   1820— 

ton,   Albigence   Bucklin,    Seth   Holmes,   J-  ^ickerson,  David  Reid,  William  Hosford, 

Sears.     1820— David  Beadle,  Michael  Beadle,  ~r  ^'^^^'^^^• 

Joseph     Ensley,     William     Young,     George  ,  ^<^^dusky  Tozmship.     1819-Samuel  Knis- 

Young,  John  Young,  Joseph  Young.  Sl'the^^  mder                 ^S20-Samuel     Shull, 

Chatiield    Township.     1820-Jacob    Whet-  Texas  Township.     No  one. 

^  °n^'    I.         ^         ,  •        T.T  '^od  Township.     No  one. 

Cranberry  Township.     No  one.  y,,^,^    Township.     i8i8^George    Byers. 

Dallas  _  Township.     i82(^G.     H.     Busby,  1819— David  Anderson,  Andrew  Dixon. 

Samuel  Lme,  Matthew  Mitchell,  George  Wal-  Whetstone    Township.      1819— John   Kent 

ton,  Charles  White.  1820— Noble   McKinstry,   Joseph   S.    Young, 

Holmes  Township.     No  one.  Martin  Shaffner,  John  Willowby. 


CHAPTER  V 

ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  COUNTY 

First  Elections — Boundaries — First  Taxes — Early  Roads — Location  of  County  Seat — Col.  Kil- 
hourne's  Proposition — Settlement  of  Bucyrus — Crawford  County  Organized — The  Fight 
on  Commissioners — Their  First  Proceedings — Readjustment  of  Township  Lines,  i8^i- 
1825 — Indian  Purchase,  i8s5 — The  Leiths — Justice  Garrett — Formation  in  1845  of  Craiv- 
ford  County  as  it  Now  Exists — Later  Township  Changes — New  Roads — The  Courts — 
Contest  for  County  Seat — Donations  of  Leading  Citizens — Erection  of  Court  House — 
Visit  of  General  Harrison — The  County  Jail — Population  of  Crawford  County  in  1830 
and  1850 — Construction  of  Railroads — New  Court  House — Improvements — The  Court 
House  of  i8j6 — The  New  Jail — Care  of  the  Poor — Abuses  of  the  Old  System — The 
County  Iniirmary — More  Roads — DiMculties  of  Travel  in  Early  Days — The  Mails — Turn- 
pikes and  Stage  Routes — Early  Stores — Population  by  Townships — List  of  Residents  in 
1826. 


Toil  swings  the  axe  and  forests  bow; 

The  fields  break  out  in  radiant  bloom; 
Rich  harvests  smile  behind  the  plow, 

And  cities  cluster  round  the  loom. — Anon. 

On  Feb.  20,  1820,  the  Legislature  passed  an 
act  creating  fourteen  counties  out  of  the  ter- 
ritory purchased  from  the  Indians  in  1817 — 
Crawford,  Allen,  Hardin,  Hancock,  Henry, 
Marion,  Mercer,  Paulding,  Putnam,  Sandusky, 
Seneca,  Van  Wert,  Williams  and  Wood. 
Later,  from  these  counties,  were  erected  Aug- 
laize, Defiance,  Fulton,  Lucas,  Ottawa  and 
Wyandot,  the  latter  being  formed  almost  ex- 
clusively from  Crawford  in  1845,  taking  288 
square  miles  from  this  county,  47  from 
Marion,  45  from  Hancock  and  24  from 
Hardin.  The  new  county  of  Crawford  as 
erected  in  1820  was  18  miles  from  north  to 
south  and  thirty-three  from  east  to  west,  or 
594  square  miles.  Its  northern  boundary  was 
the  same  as  today;  its  southern  boundary  two 
miles  north  of  the  present  county  line.  On  the 
east  it  commenced  on  the  present  eastern 
boundary  of  Cranberry  and  Sandusky  town- 
ships, and  extended  west  to  seven  miles  beyond 
Upper  Sandusky,  the  present  western  bound- 
aries of  Crawford,   Salem  and  Mifflin  town- 


ships in  Wyandot  county.  As  surveyed  the 
territory  was  townships  i,  2  and  3  in  ranges 
13,  14,  15,  16  and  17  east,  and  the  western  half 
of  townships  16,  17  and  18,  in  range  21  west. 
The  new  county  of  Crawford,  not  having  suf- 
ficient population,  and  not  having  sufficient 
taxable  property  to  bear  the  expense  of  a 
county  government,  was  placed  temporarily, 
with  its  sister  county  of  Marion,  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  Delaware  county. 

The  first  act  of  the  commissioners  of  Dela- 
ware relating  to  Crawford  county  was  on 
March  9,  1820,  when  they  passed  a  resolution 
creating  that  part  of  Crawford  county  lying 
west  of  what  is  the  western  boundary  of  Bu- 
cyrus township  into  a  township  to  be  known  as 
"Big  Rock,  and  an  order  issued  for  the  elec- 
tion of  township  officers." 

On  June  5,  1820,  another  resolution  was 
passed  creating  the  township  of  Harmony, 
which  was  that  part  of  Crawford  county,  ex- 
tending from  the  present  western  boundary  of 
Bucyrus  township  to  the  Richland  county  line, 
which  was  then  the  present  western  boundary 
of  Auburn  and  Vernon  townships.  Crawford 
county  was  now  two  townships.  Harmony 
township  (all  of  Crawford  east  of  the  western 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


89 


boundary  of  Bucyrus  township)  is  never  again 
mentioned  in  connection  with  Crawford 
county,  but  later  in  the  Delaware  records  this 
territory  is  referred  to  as  Sandusky  township, 
so  it  is  probable  that  when  the  action  of  the 
commissioners  was  referred  to  the  court  for 
approval  the  name  of  the  township  was 
changed  to  Sandusky.  This  is  indicated  from 
the  fact  that  the  Delaware  commissioners  on 
Dec.  23,  1822,  passed  the  following: 

"Ordered,  that  all  that  part  of  Sandusky  town- 
ship which  lies  west  of  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
range  of  lands  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  erected 
into  a  separate  township  by  the  name  of  Bucyrus." 

Prior  to  this  the  Delaware  commissioners 
had  erected  the  township  of  Crawford,  which 
was  six  by  eighteen  miles  in  size,  and  embraced 
what  is  now  Texas  township,  Crawford 
county,  and  Sycamore,  Tymochtee  and  Craw- 
ford townships  in  Wyandot  county.  Here  an 
election  was  called,  the  first  in  the  new  county 
of  Crawford.  It  was  held  on  April  i,  1821, 
at  the  home  of  Henry  Lish,  who  ran  a  ferry 
across  the  Tymochtee  on  the  road  leading  from 
Upper  Sandusky  to  Little  Sandusky  (Fre- 
mont). There  were  just  thirteen  voters  pres- 
ent, and  fourteen  offices  to  fill,  and  Elijah 
Brayton  was  the  man  elected  to  two  offices. 

One  of  the  last  acts  of  the  Delaware  com- 
missioners relating  to  Crawford  County  was 
on  March  2,  1824,  when  they  created  the  town- 
ship of  Whetstone,  as  it  exists  today,  except 
that  in  the  rearrangement  of  Crawford  county 
in  1845,  two  miles  were  added  to  Whetstone 
on  the  south  from  Marion  county. 

On  June  6,  1821,  the  first  taxes  were  levied 
in  Crawford  county,  and  the  commissioners 
decided  to  levy  the  taxes  "to  the  full  extent 
allowed  by  law,  to  wit:  horses,  30  cents  each; 
cattle,  10  cents  each;  houses,  &c.,  the  one-half 
of  one  per  cent." 

The  p,rincipal  business  of  the  Delaware  com- 
rnissioners  relating  to  Crawford  county  was 
the  matter  of  roads.  On  Dec.  5,  182 1,  they 
granted  the  position  for  a  road  commencing 
in  Marion  county  and  joining  the  State  road 
from  Columbus  to  Portland  (Sandusky)  at  a 
point  near  Sharrock's  mills.  On  this  road 
Conrad  Roth  was  one  of  the  viewers,  and 
James  Kilbourne  the  surveyor.  On  March  5, 
1822,  a  road  was  petitioned  for  through  what 
is  now  Wyandot  county,  on  which   William 


Holmes  was  one  of  the  viewers.  On  June  3, 
1822,  John  B.  French  presented  a  petition  for 
about  the  present  road  from  Bucyrus  to  De- 
Kalb,  running  east,  south  of  the  Sandusky 
river,  and  crossing  that  stream  at  the  old  Luke 
tavern.  Michael  Beadle,  Joseph  S.  Young  and 
Daniel  Palmer  were  appointed  the  viewers  and 
John  Marshall,  the  surveyor. 

Westell  Ridgely  presented  a  petition  for  the 
present  road  from  Leesville  to  Bucyrus,  on 
Dec.  2,  1822. 

In  May  and  June  of  1822,  Col.  James  Kil- 
bourne surveyed  the  present  Sandusky  pike. 
His  surveyor's  notes  show  that  nearly  a  mile 
north  of  where  the  road  crossed  the  Broken- 
sword  it  passed  through  a  pondy  swale  half  a 
mile  wide,  and  a  half  a  mile  further  they  cut 
through  the  "southwest  bend  of  the  great 
marsh." 

On  Jan.  20,  1823,  the  commissioners 
granted  the  petition  for  a  road  from  the  "Up- 
per Sandusky  fort  to  the  Richland  county  line." 
It  passed  Crawford  on  the  present  boundary 
line  between  Bucyrus  and  Dallas  township,  and 
on  to  Gabon.  On  Dec.  3,  1822,  James  Kil- 
bourne presented  a  petition  for  a  road  starting 
in  Marion  county,  passing  through  Whetstone 
and  Sandusky,  and  "crossing  the  Sandusky 
river  below  the  mouth  of  Lost  Creek,  arid  then 
anglirig  northwest  to  strike  the  Columbus  to 
Portland  road.  This  road  is  probably  the  one 
that  joins  the  Portland  road  at  West  Liberty. 
Amos  Earl  and  John  B.  French  were  two  of 
the  viewers. 

Dec.  I,  1823,  Zalmon  Rowse  petitioned  for 
a  road  commencing  at  Sandusky  avenue,  Bu- 
cyrus, and  running  east  along  the  south  line  of 
Norton's  property,  the  present  Middletown 
road.  Thomas  McClure,  Auer  Umberfield  and 
John  Maxfield  were  the  viewers.  There  had 
been  some  irregularity  in  the  papers  for  the 
road  from  Leesville  to  Bucyrus,  by  Westell 
Ridgely,  so  on  Dec.  2,  1823,  it  was  petitioned 
for  again  by  Asa  Howard,  and  three  of  the 
viewers  were  John  B.  French,  Amos  Earl  and 
Amos  Utey,  and  this  time  the  road  was  laid 
out. 

In  1 82 1  James  Kilbourne  had  gone  through 
where  Bucyrus  now  is,  looking  for  a  location 
for  a  road  from  Columbus  to  the  Lake,  a  road 
having  already  been  built  from  Columbus  to 
Norton,   in   the   northern   part   of   Delaware 


90 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


county.  During  that  year  he  entered  into  a 
contract  with  Samuel  Norton  to  lay  out  a  town 
on  Norton's  land  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
Sandusky,  and  the  plat  of  the  new  town,  called 
Bucyrus,  was  filed  in  the  office  of  the  recorder 
of  Delaware  county  on  Feb.  ii,  1822,  the  first 
recorded  entry  of  the  name  Bucyrus. 

On  Dec.  15,  1823,  the  Legislature  passed  an 
act  authorizing  Marion  county  to  elect  officers, 
and  become  an  organized  county,  at  the  same 
time  transferring  Crawford  county  to  the  jur- 
isdiction of  Marion  county,  and  Feb.  17,  1824, 
placing  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  Seneca  county.  The 
act  went  into  effect  on  May  i,  1824,  and  on 
May  3,  1824,  the  first  election  took  place  for 
the  new  county  officials  of  Marion.  The 
officers  elected  were  Sheriff,  Auditor,  Coroner 
and  three  County  Commissioners.  There  were 
no  candidates  from  Crawford,  except  one 
County  Commissioner,  and  it  must  have  been 
understood  that  Crawford  was  to  haye  one  of 
the  Commissioners,  as  Crawford's  candidate 
headed  the  list.  The  vote  on  Commissioner 
was  Enoch  B.  Merriman  (Crawford  county) 
247;  Matthew  Merritt  209,  Amos  C.  Wilson 
157,  William  Cochran  122,  John  Page  102, 
Alexander  Berry,  Jr.  69,  Eber  Baker  53, 
David  Tipton  47,  William  Wyatt  26.  Merri- 
man, Merritt  and  Wilson  were  elected.  At  the 
regular  election  following,  on  Oct.  12,  Merri- 
man again  led  the  poll,  the  vote  for  commis- 
sioner being  Enoch  B.  Merriman  -297,  Amos 
C.  Wilson  256,  Jolm  Page  226,  Matthew  Mer- 
ritt 109;  Richard  Hopkins  130.  Merriman, 
Wilson  and  Page  elected.  At  this  election  C. 
Roth  was  a  candidate  for  Auditor.  He  was 
the  only  other  candidate  besides  Merriman 
from  Crawford  county,  but  he  was  defeated, 
receiving  only  33  votes.  His  opponent,  Hez- 
ekiah  Gorton,  receiving  334. 

At  this  election  Crawford  cast  its  first  vote 
for  Governor,  and  the  vote  of  Marion  and 
Crawford  combined  was  380,  the  Federalist 
candidate,  Allen  Trimble,  receiving  275,  and 
the  Democratic  candidate,  Jeremiah  Morrow, 
receiving  105.  The  returns  show  that  at  that 
time  there  were  but  two  voting  townships  in 
Crawford  county.  The  eastern  three  miles 
(present  width  of  Sandusky  township),  was 
Sandusky  township,  then  three  miles  wide  and 
18  deep,  and  cast  7  votes  for  Morrow  and  5 


for  Trimble;  then  came  Bucyrus  township, 
twelve  miles-wide  and  18  deep,  extending  from 
the  present  eastern  boundary  of  Whetstone 
and  Liberty  to  th6  western  boundary  of  Bu- 
cyrus, Holmes  and  Lykens.  This  township 
cast  49  for  Trimble  and  i  for  Morrow.  What 
is  now  Texas,  Tod  and  western  Dallas  voted 
as  a  part  of  Grand  Prairie,  Marion  county, 
while  all  of  Wyandot  belonging  then  to  Craw- 
ford, voted  with  Seneca  county. 

In  this  first  vote  probably  115  were  cast  in 
Craw^ford  county  and  265  in  Marion  county, 
and  of  this  115  the  present  Crawford  had  64 
of  the  votes  and  the  present  Wyandot  51.  The 
Crawford  vote  being  the  50  in  Bucyrus,  12  in 
Sandusky,  and  2  in  what  is  now  Texas  town- 
ship, but  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  in  this  first 
election,  Bucyrus  township,  which  included  in 
that  election,  all  of  the  present  townships  of 
Bucyrus,  Holmes,  Lykins,  Chatfield,  Liberty. 
Whetstone,  and  the  western  mile  of  Cranberry 
gave  Trimble  49,  and  Morrow  democrat  i .  In 
the  more  than  four-score  years  that  have 
passed  since  this  first  political  vote,  the  demo- 
cratic vote  has  very  largely  increased,  but  un- 
fortunately there  is  no  way  at  this  late  date  to 
discover  who  it  was  that  cast  that  first  demo- 
cratic vote  in  Bucyrus,  from  whom  so  numer- 
ous a  progeny  has  descended.  At  the  Presi- 
dential election  in  1908,  the  territory  that  was 
then  Bucyrus  township  gave  the  following 
vote:  Democratic  1859,  Republican  1151,  scat- 
tering 97.  Any  one  interested  can  figure  for 
himself  the  per  cent  of  increase  in  the  demo- 
cratic vote  in  the  last  84  years. 

Mr.  Merriman  resigned  as  commissioner 
and  was  succeeded  by  Zachariah  Welsh,  whose 
farm  was  near  where  the  village  of  Wyandot 
now  is,  the  Wyandot  part  of  Crawford  county. 
At  the  election  in  October  1825,  Zalmon 
Rowse  was  elected  as  the  commissioner  from 
Crawford  county,  taking  the  place  of  Welsh. 

On  Oct.  4,  1 82 1,  the  first  agreement  between 
Samuel  Norton  and  James  Kilbourne  was 
signed  to  lay  out  a  town  on  Norton's  land. 
Various  changes  were  made,  and  an  amended 
agreement  was  signed  on  Dec.  15,  1822,  and  in 
this  agreement  it  is  stated  the  town  is  "now 
named  Bucyrus." 

The  sale  of  lots  of  the  new  town  com- 
menced, and  the  wisdom  of  the  location  was 
demonstrated  by  the  interest  taken  in  the  new 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


91 


village.  But  the  projectors  of  the  new  town 
recognized  the  fact  that  it  was  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  the  county,  nine  miles  being 
east  of  them  and  twenty-four  west;  six  miles 
south  of  it  and  twelve  north,  so  Col.  Kilbourne 
brought  pressure  to  bear  on  the  Legislature 
for  the  organization  of  a  new  county  to 
be  called  Bucyrus,  so  arranging  this  territory 
that  Bucyrus  would  be  in  the  centre,  and  have 
no  opposition  as  the  county  seat.  To  facili- 
tate this  movement,  Samuel  Norton  issued  the 
follow  agreement : 

"Know  ye  that  I,  Samuel  Norton,  of  Bucyrus,  in 
Crawford  county  and  State  of  Ohio,  have  agreed, 
and  do  agree,  as  this  instrument  witnesseth,  that  in 
case  the  county  of  Bucyrus  should  be  established 
by  law  at  the  approaching  session  of  the  Legislature, 
for  which  petitions  will  be  presented,  and  the  seat  of 
justice  permanently  established  in  the  town  of  Bucy- 
rus, then,  and  in  that  case,  I  will  give,  and,  by  a 
warranty  deed  free  and  clear  of  all  incumbrance, 
convey  unto  such  agent  or  agents  as  may  be  ap- 
pointed to  the  trust,  for  the  use  of  said  new  county 
in  defraying  the  expenses  of  erecting  a  court  house 
and  offices  in  said  town  of  Bucyrus,  one  equal  third 
part  in  number  and  value  of  all  the  numbered  lands 
and  outlots  of  said  town,  or  that  may  be  numbered 
within  the  present  year,  which  remain  to  me  as 
original  proprietor  thereof;  that  is  to  say,  one-third 
of  all  the  lots  numbered  on  the  recorded  plat  of  said 
town,  or  that  may  be  numbered  as  aforesaid,  except- 
ing those  which  have  been  bargained  and  sold,  or 
that  may  be  sold  to  individuals,  by  deeds  or  title 
bonds  prior  to  the  acceptance  of  this  offer  and  ex- 
cepting also  the  fractional  parts  of  said  town,  origi- 
nally belonging  to  Abel  Carey  and  Daniel  McMichael. 
On  a  plat  of  said  town  accompanying  this  obliga- 
tion are  distinctly  marked  the  lots  by  their  numbers 
and  situations  composing  the  said  third  part  intended 
to  be  given  for  the  public  uses  aforesaid,  and  the 
foregoing  agreement  and  the  just  fulfillment  there- 
of I  bind  myself,  my  heirs,  executors  and  adminis- 
trators, firmly  by  these  presents.  In  witness  where- 
of, I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal  at  said 
Bucyrus,  this  20th  day  of  November,  1823. 

SAMUEL  NORTON. 

In  presence  of  A.  L.  Shover. 

Notwithstanding  the  influence  of  Col.  Kil- 
bourne in  the  State,  and  the  petitions  presented 
by  the  few  but  enterprising  citizens  of  Bu- 
cyrus, the  Legislature  declined  to  erect  the  new 
county  of  Bucyrus.  In  1823  an  enumeration 
of  the  voters  of  the  State  had  been  taken,  and 
this  count  showed  that  Crawford  county  had 
244  electors  and  Marion  517,  so  the  Legislat- 
ure, instead  of  erecting  a  new  county,  passed 
an  act  authorizing  Marion  county  to  elect  of- 
ficers and  organize,  placing  Crawford  county 
temporarily  a  part  of  Marion. 

The  first  road  laid  out  by  the  Marion  com- 


missioners was  what  is  now  the  Marion  road, 
on  June  8,  1824,  "commencing  at  David  Tip- 
ton's farm,  thence  on  nearest  and  best  road  to 
Bucyrus,  making  Benjamin  Salmon's  peach 
orchard,  Benjamin  Fickle's  farm,  and  David 
Bryant's  points."  Tipton's  farm  was  tvi^o 
miles  this  side  of  Marion  where  the  road  from 
Upper  Sandusky  forms  a  point  by  joining  the 
Marion  road.  The  same  day  a  road  was 
established  "beginning  at  the  east  line  of 
Crawford  county,  at  the  crossing  of  the  road 
leading  from  Wooster  to  Upper  Sandusky, 
thence  on  the  nearest  and  best  ground  to  Bu- 
cyrus, making  Daniel  Michael's  mill  a  point  on 
said  road."  This  road  passed  through  Liberty, 
north  of  the  Sandusky,  crossing  the  river  at 
McMichael's  mill,  which  was  on  the  south  bank 
of  the  river  but  across  the  road  from  the  pres- 
ent water  works  reservoir.  The  road  then 
joined  the  Mansfield  road  and  entered  Bucyrus. 
A  part  of  the  road  has  long  since  been  aban- 
doned, and  the  balance  straightened. 

On  Dec.  7,  1824,  Heman  Rowse,  Nathaniel 
Plummer,  Benjamin  Parcher  and  John  Mc- 
Clure  were  appointed  viewers  for  the  road 
from  Norton  to  Portland,  first  established  by 
the  Delaware  Commissioners.  (Two  years 
later  made  a  state  road,  the  Sandusky  Pike.) 

Dec.  17,  1824,  what  is  now  the  Mt.  Vernon 
road  was  laid  out.  A  part  of  it  was  to  go 
west  on  a  road  that  runs  from  the  Plains  to 
James  Nail's  mills  "until  it  crosses  the  bridge 
through  the  long  swamp,  thence  running  north- 
westwardly so  as  to  cross  the  Whetstone  about 
ten  or  fifteen  rods  north  of  dinger's  fields," 
thence  to  intersect  the  Bucyrus  road  running 
to  Gallon,  dinger's  fields  were  about  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  33,  Whetstone,  two 
miles  northwest  of  New  Winchester. 

The  last  road  the  Marion  commissioners 
ordered  was  the  Little  Sandusky  road,  "com- 
mencing at  or  near  the  Little  Sandusky  bridge, 
thence  by  nearest  and  best  ground  to  Bucyrus, 
passing  Selick  Longwell  and  Thomas  Terry." 
This  road  and  the  Leeville  road  are  the  two 
most  meandering  roads  in  the  county;  in  the 
years  that  have  passed  they  have  been 
straightened  in  many  places. 

From  1820  to  1826  there  was  a  constant  and 
steady  stream  of  settlers  taking  up  land  along 
the  few  roads,  and  on  the  best  farming  lands 
of  the  county.    The  establishing  of  a  town  by 


92 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Norton  and  Kilbourne  had  brought  many  to 
the  new  village,  and  the  settlement  in  and 
around  Bucyrus,  had  brought  business  to  the 
village  so  that  it  boasted  of  two  taverns,  a  mill, 
three  stores,  two  tanneries,  and  several  small 
shops.  It  was  the  only  village  in  the  eastern 
section  of  Crawford,  but  in  the  Wyandot  por- 
tion was  McCufchenville,  also  a  village  of  per- 
haps three  hundred  people,  a  few  larger  than 
Bucyrus.  Prior  to  1822,  the  only  outlet  for  a 
market  from  Bucyrus  was  over  the  crude  road 
constructed  by  the  settlers  themselves,  through 
the  present  Liberty,  Sandusky  and  Auburn 
townships  to  New  Haven,  but  roads  had  soon 
followed  to  Mansfield,  Sandusky,  Mt.  Vernon 
and  Delaware,  the  Sandusky  road  in  1822, 
being  a  better  outlet  for  the  lake  than  the  one 
to  New  Haven.  Having  failed  in  the  erection 
of  a  new  county  to  be  called  Bucyrus,  the  cit- 
izens of  the  village  and  of  the  county  had 
constantly  brought  pressure  to  bear  on  the 
Legislature  to  organize  the  county,  and  make 
the  county  seat  Bucyrus.  Finally,  on  Jan.  31, 
1826,  the  act  was  passed,  but  instead  of 
establishing  the  county  seat  at  Bucyrus,  the  act 
referred  the  matter  back  to  the  voters,  the 
location  of  Bucyrus  being  too  far  from  the 
centre  of  the  county  to  warrant  their  making 
it  the  county  seat.  Instead  they  ordered  an 
election  of  officers  in  the  new  county,  with  the 
proviso  that  the  commissioners  elected  should 
select  temporarily  the  county  seat.  At  that 
time  the  population  of  the  county  was  about 
as  follows,  the  table  being  given  in  a  way  to 
show  those  in  the  present  Crawford  part  and 
in  the  Wyandot  part : 

Townships  Crawford    Wyandot       Total 

Antrim    70  70 

Bucyrus    463  . .  .  463 

Crawford    499  499 

Liberty   372  ...  372 

Pitt    92  92 

Sandusky     346  ...  346 

Sycamore    22  ISO  172 

Whetstone    375  ...  375 

Totals    1,578        811     2,389 

A  total  of  about  2,389  people  in  the  county 
when  the  following  act  was  passed  on  Jan.  31, 
1826: 

Section  I. — Be  it  enacted,  &c.,  that  the  county  of 
Crawford  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  organized  into 
a  separate  and  distinct  county. 

Section  II. — That  all  Justices  of  the  Peace  resid- 
ing within  the  county  of  Crawford,  shall  continue  to 


discharge  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices  until 
their  commissions  shall  expire  and  their  successors 
are  chosen  and  qualified. 

Section  III. — That  the  qualified  electors  residing 
in  the  county  of  Crawford  shall  meet  in  their  re- 
.  spective  townships  on  the  first  Monday  of  April 
next,  and  elect  their  several  county  officers  who 
shall  hold  their  respective  offices  until  the  next  an- 
nual election  and  until  others  are  chosen  and  qual- 
ified according  to  law. 

Section  IV. — That  all  suits  and  actions,  whether 
of  a  civil  or  criminal  nature,  which  shall  have  been 
commenced,  shall  be  prosecuted  to  final  judgment 
and  execution,  and  all  taxes,  fines  and  penalties 
which  shall  have  become  due  shall  be  collected  in 
the  same  manner  as  if  this  act  had  not  been  passed. 

Section  V. — That  Zalmon  Rowse  is  hereby  ap- 
pointed assessor  for  said  county  of  Crawford,  who 
shall,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  April  next,  give 
bond  as  is  provided  in  the  fourth  section  of  the  "act 
establishing  an  equitable  mode  of  taxation,"  to  the 
acceptance  of  Enoch  B.  Merryman,  who  is  hereby 
"authorized  to  receive  said  bond,  and  deposit  the 
same  with  the  county  auditor  of  said  county  forth- 
with after  such  Auditor  has  been  elected  and  quali- 
fied; and  the  assessor  herein  appointed  shall  be  re- 
quired to  perform  the  same  duties,  hold  the  office 
for  the  same  time  and  in  the  same  manner  as  if  he 
had  been  appointed  by  a  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for 
said  County  of  Crawford;  and  the  Auditor  of  State 
is  hereby  required  to  transmit  to  said  Assessor  a 
schedule  of  all  lands  subject  to  taxation  within  said 
county,  which  schedule  said  Assessor  shall  return 
with  his  other  returns  to  the  County  Auditor. 

Section  VI. — ^That  the  commissioners  elected  ac- 
cording to  the  provisions  contained  in  the  third  sec- 
tion of  this  act,  shall  meet  on  the  first  Monday  of 
May  next,  at  the  town  of  Bucyrus,  and  then  and 
there  determine  at  what  place  in  said  county  of 
Crawford  the  judicial  courts  shall  be  held  till  the 
permanent  seat  of  justice  shall  be  established  in  said 
county. 

Section  VII. — That  those  townships  and  frac- 
tional townships  in  Crawford  county  which  have 
heretofore  been  attached  to  and  formed  a  part  of 
any  township  in  Marion  or  Seneca  county  respect- 
ively, are  hereby  attached  to,  and  declared  to  be  a 
part  of,  Crawford  township  in  said  Crawford  county, 
till  the  same  shall  be  otherwise  provided  for  by  the 
Commissioner  of  said  county. 

By  this  act  the  question  of  the  place  of  the 
county  seat  would  be  decided  by  the  first 
county  commissioners  elected.  As  early  as 
1 82 1  the  settlers  near  Bucyrus  had  made  a 
road  through  the  woods  to  Sandusky.  Almost 
following  the  route  laid  out  by  them  Col.  Kil- 
bourne, in  1822,  had  surveyed  a  road  to  San- 
dusky, and  along  this  road  much  land  was 
being  entered.  In  1825  Joseph  Newell  entered 
land  on  section  9,  Holmes  township;  it  was 
about  a  mile  west  of  the  Tiffin  road,  and 
was  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Brokensword, 
just  below  where  the  Brandywine  empties  into 
that  stream,  and  adjoining  the  eastern  bound- 
ary of  the  Indian  reservation.    It  was  a  hand- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


93 


some  site  for  a  town,  and  being  very  much 
nearer  the  centre  of  the  county,  Mr.  Newell 
laid  out  a  town  on  his  land  which  he  called 
Crawford,  in  the  hope  that  the  county  seat 
might  be  located  there. 

Before  the  town  had  fairly  started,  the 
question  came  before  the  voters  for  settlement 
by  the  election  of  the  first  commissioners.  At 
the  time  of  the  first  election,  April,  1826,  two- 
thirds  of  the  population  were  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  county,  and  nearly  all  of  these 
would  naturally  support  Bucyrus;  the  other 
third  were  expected  to  favor  a  more  central 
location.  The  most  thickly  settled  section  at 
that  time  was  in  what  is  now  northern  Wy- 
andot, the  present  township  of  Tymochtee, 
containing  the  little  settlement  of  Old  Tymoch- 
tee and  the  town  of  McCutchenville,  the  latter 
having  a  few  more  inhabitants  than  Bucyrus. 
It  was  in  this  township  the  first  election  in 
Crawford  county  was  held.  Crawford  town- 
ship had  been  established  by  the  Delaware 
County  Commissioners  in  1821,  and  comprised 
the  territory  that  is  now  Crawford,  Tymochtee 
and  Sycamore  townships,  Wyandot  county, 
and  Texas  township,  Crawford  county.  The 
electors  met  at  the  home  of  Henry  Lish,  who 
ran  a  ferry  across  the  Tymochtee  on  the  road 
from  Upper  Sandusky  to  Lower  Sandusky 
(Fremont),  passing  through  where  Tiffin  now 
is,  that  city  not  then  having  any  existence. 
There  were  thirteen  electors  present.  They 
elected  a  chairman  and  secretary  of  the  meet- 
ing, appointed  judges,  and  elected  by  ballot 
the  fourteen  township  officers.  At  that  time 
there  was  no  settler  in  what  is  now  Texas 
township,  so  there  was  no  vote  cast  from  what 
is  now  Crawford  county.  The  nearest  this 
county  came  to  getting  an  office  was  by  re- 
lationship, Ichabod  Merriman  being  elected  one 
of  the  trustees,  Rufus  Merriman  one  of  the 
appraisers,  and  Myron  Merriman  one  of  the 
fence  viewers.  They  were  relatives  of  the 
Merrimans  who  became  prominent  in  Bucyrus. 

When  the  first  county  election  was  held  on 
April  I,  1826,  the  principal  fight  was  for  the 
commissioners,  as  on  these  officers  rested  the 
selection  of  the  county  seat.  Bucyrus  was 
awake  to  her  interests,  as  the  men  she  pre- 
sented were  John  Magers,  of  Sandusky,  who 
came  to  the  county  in  1823  ;  Thomas  McClure, 
of  Liberty,  who  came  to  the  county  in  1821, 


and  George  Poe  of  Whetstone,  who  came  in 
1823.  In  these  three  townships  were  nearly 
half  the  population  of  the  entire  county,  and 
these  three  men  won  out.  The  other  first  offi- 
cers were  Hugh  McCracken,  of  Bucyrus,  for 
Sheriff;  James  Martin,  of  Bucyrus,  for  Au- 
ditor, and  John  McClure  for  Surveyor.  John 
H.  Morrison  may  have  been  elected  treasurer, 
but  the  general  custom  in  those  days  was  for 
the  commissioners  to  appoint  the  first 
treasurer.  At  any  rate,  Mr.  Morrison  was  the 
first  treasurer  of  the  county.  Of  the  men 
elected  the  commissioners  were  farmers,  Mc- 
Clure followed  his  occupation  of  surveyor,  Mc- 
Cracken was  a  wheelright,  Martin  was  a  school 
teacher,  and  Morrison  was  a  lawyer. 

The  Bucyrus  section  had  two-thirds  of  the 
vote,  so  political  wire  pulling  may  not  have 
been  necessary.  It  is  a  matter  of  record,  how- 
ever, that  in  the  October  election  of  that  year, 
John  Carey,  of  Crawford  township  (now 
Wyandot  county)  was  elected  as  the  first  rep- 
resentative from  the  new  county  to  the  State 
Legislature.  This  may  have  been  purely  ac- 
cidental, but  when  two-thirds  of  the  voters 
present  the  principal  office  in  their  gift  to  one- 
third,  present  day  politicians  would  have  their 
suspicions  that  the  Hon.  John  had  been  de- 
cidedly friendly  to  the  Bucyrus  commissioners 
in  the  county  seat  fight. 

The  newly  elected  commissioners  held  their 
first  meeting  at  Bucyrus,  on  the  first  Monday 
in  May,  1826,  and  promptly  selected  Bucyrus 
as  the  county  seat  of  the  new  county. 

All  the  early  records  of  the  county  commis- 
sioners were  destroyed  by  fire  in  October,  1831, 
when  the  jail  in  Bucyrus  was  burned.  Many 
other  records  of  the  county  were  lost  at  the 
same  time.  In  those  days  the  commissioners 
held  four  meetings  a  year.  The  first  meeting  of 
the  county  commissioners  of  which  there  is  any 
record  was  as  follows : 

"Proceedings    of    the    Commissioners    of    Crawford 
County,  begun  and  held  in  the  town  of  Bucyrus, 
on  the  17th  and  18th  days  of  October,  A.  D.  1831: 
"Be  it  resolved.  That  James  McCracken,  Esq.,  of 
Crawford  county,  be  and  hereby  is  appointed  a  com- 
inissioner    (in   the  room   of   R.   W.    Cahill,    Esq.,   re- 
signed) to  lay  out  a  certain  state  road,  commencing 
at  the  town  of  Perrysburg,  in  Wood  county;  thence 
to  McCutchenville;  thence  to  Bucyrus,  in  Crawford 
county. 

"Resolved,  That  an  order  be  issued  to  the  Au- 
ditor, John  Caldwell,  for  seventy  dollars  and  sixty- 
eight  cents,  for  his  services  as  Auditor. 


94 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


"Resolved,  That  Z.  Rowse  be,  and  he  is  hereby 
authorized  to  contract  for  books  for  the  Clerk's  and 
Recorder's  offices,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  county 
treasury." 

While  there  are  no  records  of  the  commis- 
sioners prior  to  the  above,  from  papers  in 
other  offices  and  from  township  records  it  is 
found  that  among  the  first  acts  of  the  commis- 
sioners in  1826  was  the  dividing  of  the  new 
territory  into  townships,  and  Cranberry  was 
formed  as  the  northeastern  township,  its  ter- 
ritory including  what  is  now  Cranberry  and 
the  eastern  four  miles  of  Chatfield.  Texas 
township  was  a  part  of  Sycamore  township; 
west  of  this  were  Tymochtee  and  Crawford, 
these  last  three  townships  having  been  created 
by  the  Marion  Commissioners.  This  consti- 
tuted the  northern  tier  of  townships.  The 
central  tier  commenced  on  the  east  with  the 
three  mile  strip  which  was  the  northern  half  of 
Sandusky  township ;  west  of  this  was  Liberty, 
about  six  miles  square ;  then  Holmes  six  miles 
square,,  and  then  Antrim,  which  included  what 
is  now  Tod  and  extended  to  Pitt  township. 
The  southern  tier  commenced  on  the  east  with 
the  southern  half  of  Sandusky,  three  miles 
wide ;  then  Whetstone  nearly  six  miles  square ; 
then  Bucyrus,  the  same  territory  as  now ; 
northern  Dallas  was  a  part  of  Antrim,  which 
extended  to  Pitt  township.  The  present  two 
miles  of  southern  Dallas  and  the  two  southern 
miles  of  \\"hetstone  were  then  a  part  of 
Marion  county,  and  the  eastern  four  miles  of 
the  county  were  a  part  of  Richland  county. 
With  the  exception  of  the  two  mile  strip  which 
was  added  to  Whetstone  on  the  south  in  1845, 
the  townships  of  Liberty,  Whetstone,  Holmes 
and  Bucyrus  were  in  1826  the  same  territory 
they  are  today. 

On  account  of  the  Pike  road  from  Bucyrus 
to  Sandusky,  and  the  business  it  created  along 
the  line  by  giving  a  market  outlet  to  the  set- 
tlers, the  western  portion  of  Cranberry  was 
becoming  rapidly  settled,  and  petitions  were 
presented  to  the  commissioners  for  the  division 
of  Cranberry,  and  about  183 1  Cranberry  was 
established  its  present  size,  and  Chatfield 
created  six  miles  deep  and  four  miles  wide. 
About  the  same  time  Lykins  was  erected  from 
Sycamore  township,  the  western  half  of  that 
township,  and  it  included  the  present  Lykins 
and  the  western  mile  of  Chatfield. 


No  further  change  was  made  in  the  town- 
ships until  in  1835.  Sandusky  township  was  a 
strip  on  the  east  three  miles  wide  and  twelve 
deep,  which  was  so  inconvenient  that  the  cit- 
izens petitioned  for  a  division  of  the  township, 
and  Sandusky  township  was  erected  as  at  pres- 
ent, the  three  mile  strip,  six  miles  deep,  east  of 
Whetstone  being  formed  into  a  new  township 
named  Jackson. 

In  1835,  the  Government  purchased  of  the 
Indians,  seven  miles  off  the  eastern  part  of 
their  reservation,  which  was  all  of  the  present 
Tod  township,  a  trifle  over  two  miles  of  west- 
ern Bucyrus  and  Holmes  and  the  northern 
three  mile  strip  of  Dallas.  This  was  surveyed 
and  in  1837  opened  to  settlement.  This  neces- 
sitated a  rearrangement  of  townships.  The 
parts  adjoining  Bucyrus  and  Holmes  were 
easily  placed  by  making  them  a  part  of  those 
townships,  \\'hich  they  already  were  by  the 
survey.  Antrim  was  divided,  the  northern 
half  being  named  Leith  township  and  the 
southern  half  remaining  Antrim.  Leith  town- 
ship included  in  its  borders  the  six  northern 
miles  of  Tod  while  the  three  southern  miles 
of  Tod  and  the  three  northern  miles  of  Dallas 
were  a  part  of  Antrim. 

The  prominent  man  in  the  new  township  of 
Leith  was  George  \Y.  Leith,  whose  father  was 
the  first  white  child  born  in  the  Sandusky  val- 
ley, his  grandfather,  John  Leith,  having  been 
taken  a  prisoner  by  the  AA^yandot  Indians  \^•hen 
a  boy,  afterward  marrying  Sally  Lowry,  a 
white  girl  who  had  also  been  taken  prisoner  by 
the  Indians.  John  Leith  was  an  Indian  trader 
and  Samuel  Leith,  the  father  of  George  AA^., 
was  born  in  1775,  at  the  village  which  was 
then  the  headquarters  of  the.  Indians,  probably 
the  old  Indian  town  of  Upper  Sandusky,  about 
three  miles  further  up  the  Sandusky  than  the 
present  town  of  Upper  Sandusky.  During  the 
Revolutionary  war  and  at  the  time  of  Craw- 
ford's campaign  John  Leith,  the  grandfather, 
ran  a  trading  store  at  the  AA^yandot  village, 
which  was  the  headquarters  of  the  Indian  allies 
of  the  British,  and  when  the  township  was 
named  Leith  by  the  commissioners,  the  enemies 
of  Leith  protested  against  the  name  on  the 
ground  that  his  grandfather  was  on  the  side 
of  the  British.  The  remonstrance  became  so 
universal  that  the  commissioners  were  com- 
pelled to  change  the  name,  and  wisely  avoided 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


95 


any  future  difficulty  by  deciding  that  as  the 
territory  was  the  exact  centre  of  the  county 
they  would  name  it  Centre  township.  Prior  to 
this,  when  the  township  was  organized  as 
Leith,  there  was  an  election  to  fill  the  various 
offices,  and  George  W.  Leith  was  elected  justice 
of  the  peace.  He  had  already  c[ualified  and 
was  serving  when  the  indignant  storm  broke, 
and  when  the  commissioners  discarded  the 
name  of  Leith,  he  promptly  resigned  his  office. 

The  justice  elected  in  Antrim  township  was 
George  Garrett.  When  the  Indian  mill  was 
started  for  the  use  of  the  Wyandots  near  Up- 
per Sandusky  under  the  treaty  of  1817,  it  was 
run  by  Garrett.  Later  he  built  the  Garrett 
mill  on  the  Sandusky  near  Wyandot,  and  was 
running  this  when  he  was  elected  justice.  He 
was  a  life-long  friend  of  Leith,  a  quarter- 
blood  Indian,  and  was  so  indignant  at  the  ac- 
tion of  the  commissioners  that  he,  too,  re- 
signed. 

There  were  no  other  changes  or  erections 
of  townships,  until  the  present  Crawford 
county  was  formed  in  1845,  when  18  miles  was 
taken  from  the  western  part  of  the  county  to 
form  Wyandot  county.  As  part  compensation 
for  this  loss  of  territory  four  miles  on  the  east 
was  added  to  Crawford  from  Richland,  and 
two  miles  on  the  south  was  added  from 
Marion.  The  Richland  addition  included  the 
present  townships  of  Auburn  and  Vernon. 
South  of  Vernon  was  Sandusky  township, 
Richland  county,  four  miles  wide  and  seven 
deep,  and  as  Crawford  had  a  township  named 
Sandusky  the  new  territory  was  called  Polk, 
it  receiving  two  miles  of  the  strip  taken  from 
Marion  county.  The  balance  of  the  two  mile 
strip  from  Marion  county  was  attached  to 
Whetstone,  and  further  west  the  two  mile 
strip  was  made  a  part  of  a  new  township  named 
Dallas.  West  of  Bucyrus,  Holmes  and  Lykins 
a  strip  two  miles  wide  remained  a  part  of 
Crawford  county.  The  northern  six  miles  of 
this  territory  was  erected  into  Texas  township, 
the  next  nine  miles  became  the  present  town- 
ship of  Tod  and  the  lower  three  miles  were 
added  to  Dallas.  In  the  north,  one  mile  was 
taken  from  the  eastern  side  of  Lykins  and 
given  to  Chatfield,  making  both  these  townships 
equal  in  size,  five  miles  square. 

Polk  and  Jackson  were  the  southeastern 
townships  of  the  county  Polk  being  four  miles 


wide  and  seven  deep  and  Jackson  three  miles 
wide  and  seven  deep.  A  petition  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Commissioners  to  make  a  dif- 
ferent division  of  these  two  townships,  and 
after  several  hearings,  the  boundary  was 
changed  and  instead  of  being  north  and  south 
the  dividing  line  was  made  east  and  west,  the 
northern  part,  seven  miles  wide  and  four  deep 
being  named  Jackson  and  the  southern  part, 
seven  wide  and  three  deep  being  called  Polk. 

The  next  change  of  townships  was  in  1873. 
Crestline,  in  Jackson  township,  had  been  laid 
out  in  1 85 1,  and  became  a  prominent  railroad 
centre,  and  grew  so  rapidly  in  population  that 
the  business  of  the  entire  township  was  con- 
ducted at  that  town,  which  was  so  inconvenient 
to  those  residing  in  the  western  portion  of  the 
township  that  a  petition  was  presented  to  the 
commissioners  to  divide  the  township,  and  the 
request  was  granted  the  five  western  miles  be- 
ing formed  into  a  township  which  was  named 
Jefferson,  leaving  Jackson  the  smallest  town- 
ship in  the  county,  only  two  miles  wide  and 
four  deep. 

The  final  change  of  township  lines  was  in 
1909,  when  two  southeastern  sections  of 
Vernon  township  petitioned  to  be  attached  to 
Jackson,  as  it  would  be  more  convenient  to 
them.    Their  request  was  granted. 

Another  large  branch  of  the  work  of  the 
early  commissioners  was  the  laying  out  of  new 
roads  and  the  straightening  of  old  ones.  The 
road  mentioned  in  the  first  records  of  the 
commissioners  in  1831,  that  from  Perrysburg 
to  Bucyrus,  was  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Tiffin  road. 

The  county  seat  had  only  been  selected  tem- 
porarily, so  the  people  of  Bucyrus  did  not  feel 
disposed  to  erect  a  new  court  house.  The 
county  did,  however,  build  a  jail.  The  com- 
missioners made  the  contract  with  Zalmon 
Rowse  for  its  construction.  It  was  of  logs, 
and  was  built  on  the  lot  now  occupied  by  the 
Park  House,  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Wal- 
nut street  and  the  Pennsylvania  road.  This 
jail  was  built  in  1827.  It  was  the  only  county 
building,  and  in  it  were  kept  many  of  the 
county  records  which  were  destroyed  by  the 
burning  of  the  building  in  October,  1831. 

The  selection  of  Bucyrus  as  the  county  seat 
carried  with  it  the  holding  of  court  at  Bucyrus. 
In  those  days,  a  Common  Pleas  Court  con- 


96 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


sisted  of  a  lawyer,  appointed  by  the  Legisla- 
ture, who  was  the  presiding  judge,  and  three 
prominent  citizens,  also  appointed  by  the  Legis- 
lature, who  sat  with  him  as  associate  judges. 
The  first  court  was  held  in  this  county  in  1826. 
There  was  no  court  house  and  the  most  con- 
venient place  to  hold  the  court  was  in  Abel 
Carey's  cabin  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Sandu- 
sky just  west  of  the  Sandusky  avenue  bridge. 
Ebenezer  Lane,  of  Norwalk,  was  the  presiding 
judge  for  this  section,  and  he  came  across  the 
country  on  horseback.  The  Legislature  had 
appointed  in  February,  as  the  associate  judges 
for  the  new  county,  E.  B.  Merriman  and  John 
Carey  of  Bucyrus,  and  John  B.  French  of 
Sandusky  township.  Later,  court  was  held  in 
the  school  house,  which  was  a  one  story  log 
structure  in  a  grove  just  west  of  the  present 
site  of  Holy  Trinity  Church,  the  lot  now  oc- 
cupied by  Mrs.  Charles  Vollrath.  When  a 
jury  case  was  on,  the  sheriff  escorted  the  jury- 
men to  some  private  residence  or  shop  where 
they  could  hold  their  deliberations  undis- 
turbed. Each  year  also  the  Supreme  Court 
met  at  Bucyrus.  In  those  days  the  Supreme 
Court  was  composed  of  four  members,  and 
court  was  held  not  less  than  once  each  year 
in  every  county  in  the  State,  two  members  of 
the  Supreme  Court  being  necessary  to  consti- 
tute a  quorum.  Court  days  were  great  days  for 
Bucyrus.  The  best  rooms  in  the  tavern  were 
reserved  for  the  judges,  and  lawyers  came  from 
the  surrounding  towns,  notably  Mansfield, 
Norwalk  and  Delaware,  and  in  the  evening  the 
judges  laid  aside  their  dignity  and  with  the 
visiting  lawyers  sat  in  the  hotel  office,  which 
was  the  bar  room,  and  told  their  stories  and 
reminiscences  to  the  delight  of  the  villagers 
who  dropped-  in.  These  villagers  were  not  a 
part  of  the  sacred  circle,  probably  not  more 
than  half  a  dozen  of  the  more  prominent  men 
in  the  town  having  the  temerity  to  take  any 
part  in  the  conversation. 

The  town  of  Bucyrus  was  growing,  the 
county  was  becoming  more  and  more  thickly 
settled,  and  roads  were  being  laid  out  so  they 
would  pass  the  mill  or  farm  of  some  prom- 
inent citizen,  his  convenience  being  of  far 
more  importance  in  those  days  than  an)rthing 
else;  or,  probably,  as  it  was  the  influential 
citizen  who  took  the  active  part  to  secure  the 
road  he  would  naturally  see  that  its  location 


was  the  most  convenient  for  him.  Finally  in 
1830  the  Legislature  appointed  three  commis- 
sioners to  visit  Crawford  county  and  recom- 
mend a  site  for  the  permanent  county  seat. 
The  commissioners  were  Judge  Hosea  Wil- 
liams of  Delaware,  R.  S.  Dickerson  of  Lower 
Sandusky  (Fremont),  and  J.  S.  Glassgo  of 
Holmes  county.  The  census  of  1830  gave 
Crawford  a  population  of  4,778,  and  of  these 
about  two-thirds  were  in  the  eastern  part,  and 
the  other  one-third  in  the  western  part,  or 
Wyandot  portion.  There  were  but  two  towns 
of  any  consequence  in  the  county,  Bucyrus 
with  a  population  of  about  300,  and  McCutch- 
enville  a  dozen  or  more  larger.  The  objection 
to  Bucyrus  was  that  it  was  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  the  county,  and  in  those  days 
when  the  only  means  of  travel  was  over  the 
worst  of  roads  this  was  a  serious  objection. 
McCutchenville,  however,  although  a  trifle 
larger  than  Bucyrus,  was  not  to  be  considered ; 
it  being  in  the  extreme  northwest.  The  only 
real  danger  to  Bucyrus  was  the  site  of  James 
Newell's  town  of  Crawford  on  the  bank  of 
the  Brokensword.  Unfortunately  for  him  the 
town  had  not  developed.  It  had  probably 
three  log  houses,  with  a  little  clearing  around 
each;  the  rest  was  all  original  forest  and  only 
the  plat  of  the  town  could  show  where  the 
streets  were  to  be.  A  graveyard  was  marked 
on  the  plat  but  even  this  was  covered  with 
trees  like  the  rest,  and  untenanted.  However, 
in  those  days  the  commissioners  appointed  by 
the  Legislature  to  locate  permanent  county 
seats  were  governed  by  a  desire  to  place  the 
site  as  near  the  centre  of  the  county  as  pos- 
sible. True,  the  exact  centre  of  the  county 
(within  a  mile  of  Osceola)  was  then  an  In- 
dian reservation  of  twelve  by  seventeen  miles 
in  size,  of  the  eighteen  by  thirty  of  the  county, 
but  the  commissioners  for  the  State  well  knew 
the  time  was  not  far  distant  when  this  great 
central  tract  would  be  thrown  open  for  settle- 
ment. Already  many  settlers  had  squatted  on 
the  reservation  in  defiance  of  the  law,  and 
others  were  occupying  and  clearing  it,  renting 
from  the  Indian  owners.  Four  miles  northeast 
of  the  exact  centre  of  the  county  was  Bucyrus' 
rival  for  the  county  seat. 

In  the  summer  of  1830  the  commissioners 
appointed  to  settle  the  question  came  to 
Bucyrus,  and   faithful  to  their  duties  visited 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


97 


the  site  of  Crawford,  going  out  what  is  now 
the  Tiffin  road  over  a  road  which  had  been 
made  by  the  settlers  themselves  through  the 
woods  avoiding  as  far  as  possible  the  swampy 
ground.  Five  miles  to  the  north  they  left  this 
semblance  of  a  road  and  took  a  trail  through 
the  woods  for  about  a  mile,  and  came  to  the 
three  or  four  little  cabins.  After  passing  over 
the  swampy  ground  that  then  covered  southern 
Holmes  this  higher  ground  on  the  banks  of 
what  was  then  a  pretty  little  river  certainly 
showed  up  as  an  attractive  site  for  a  town. 
The  commissioners  returned  to  Bucyrus,  no 
doubt  tired  from  a  twelve  miles  ride  on  horse- 
back through  what  was  then  nothing  but 
swamps  and  forest,  and  they  found  a  fine  sup- 
per waiting  for  them  at  the  tavern.  They 
found  also  the  prominent  men  of  the  village 
there.  Col.  Kilbourne  was  up  from  Columbus 
to  attend  the  banquet  given  in  their  honor; 
his  partner,  Samuel  Norton,  was  there;  also 
Zalmon  Rowse  and  a  young  attorney  who  had 
recently  located  in  the  town,  Josiah  Scott;  the 
Careys  and  the  Merrimans,  the  McCrackens 
and  the  Failors  were  there ;  George  Lauck  and 
Ichabod  Rogers,  the  latter  rapidly  becoming 
one  of  the  wealthy  men  of  the  village.  It  is 
probable  nearly  all  of  Bucyrus'  prominent  cit- 
izens were  there  or  dropped  in  to  meet  the 
commissioners.  The  matter  was  talked  over 
under  the  most  enjoyable  circumstances.  Nor- 
ton agreed  to  donate  the  two  lots  held  in 
reserve  by  him  for  a  school  house  and  jail. 
Kilbourne  agreed  to  donate  two  of  his 
reserved  lots  for  the  court  house.  And  under 
the  excitement  and  enthusiasm  of  the  mo- 
ment, and  the  stimulating  and  exhilarating  ef- 
fects of  the  liquid  end  of  the  feast,  liberal  cit- 
izens promised  various  subscriptions  toward 
the  erection  of  public  buildings,  and  to  show 
they  meant  it  they  reduced  their  promises  to 
writing  to  which  they  affixed  their  names. 

The  lots  donated  by  Kilbourne  for  the  court 
house,  were  Nos.  90  and  92,  the  present  site. 
The  lots  for  a  schoolhouse  and  a  jail  donated 
by  Norton,  were  Nos.  86  and  88,  now  occupied 
by  the  Park  House  and  the  residence  of  A. 
Wickham.  With  some  of  the  other  subscrip- 
tions, the  county  commissioners'  records  later 
show  that  legal  measures  had  to  be  taken  for 
their  collection,  which  indicates  the  wisdom  of 
those    engineering    the    movement    having    a 


promise  made  under  the  enthusiasm  of  the  mo- 
ment reduced  to  writing  and  signed.  Human 
nature  does  not  change  much  after  all,  and 
even  in  the  present  day  the  courts  are  some- 
times resorted  to  for  the  enforcement  of  the 
payment  of  subscription  to  some  enterprise 
which  the  signer  enthusiastically  supported  at- 
its  inception.  On  the  other  hand,  in  1823 
Samuel  Norton  signed  an  agreement  to  give 
one-third  of  the  proceeds  received  from  the 
sale  of  all  the  lots  he  owned  in  Bucyrus  to- 
ward the  erection  of  public  buildings,  pro- 
vided a  new  county  was  formed  with  Bucyrus 
as  the  county  seat,  and  in  1826,  when  the  Pike 
Road  from  Columbus  to  Sandusky  was  being 
prospected,  some  of  the  Bucyrus  business  men 
and  lot  owners,  to  secure  the  road  subscribed 
for  more  stock  than  their  property  was  ap- 
praised at  on  the  tax  duplicate.  No  wonder 
the  Ohio  Gazeteer  of  1826,  in  its  mention  of 
Bucyrus,  described  it  as  "a  lively  post  town 
laid  out  in  1822,"  &c.  It  was  easy  enough  to 
select  the  beautiful  site  of  Bucyrus,  but  that 
did  not  make  the  town ;  it  took  the  enterprise 
and  push,  the  liberality  and  work  of  Norton 
and  Rowse,  of  Merriman  and  St.  John,  of  the 
Careys  and  the  McCrackens  to  give  it  the 
name  and  the  reputation  of  "a  lively  post 
town"  when  it  was  only  three  years  old,  and  to 
keep  it  one. 

After  the  selection  of  Bucyrus  as  the  county 
seat  the  commissioners  let  the  contract  to 
Zalmon  Rowse  for  the  erection  of  a  court 
house.  Col.  Kilbourne  was  the  architect  of 
the  new  building  and  the  contractors  were 
Nicholas  Cronebaugh,  Abraham  Halm  and 
William  Early.  The  design  of  the  building,  as 
drawn  by  Kilbourne,  was  simply  a  copy  of  the 
State  House  at  Columbus,  only  smaller,  hav- 
ing but  one  window  on  each  side  of  the  door 
in  the  front  of  the  buildings,  instead  of  the 
two  windows  on  each  side  which  the  State 
House  had.  The  site  of  the  building  was  the 
present  site,  except  that  it  was  built  further 
forward,  even  with  Mansfield  street.  The 
first  floor  was  on  a  level  with  the  street,  cer- 
tainly not  more  than  one  log  step  being  neces- 
sary to  enter  the  building.  On  each  side  of 
the  door  was  the  window.  The  second  floor 
was  the  court  room  and  had  three  windows  in 
front  and  two  on  each  side.  The  first  floor 
also  had  but  two  windows  on  each  side  of  the 


98 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


buildings.  The  roof  sloped  from  the  four 
sides  up  to  a  square  tower.  On  top  of  this 
was  a  smaller  round  tower  surmounted  by  a 
weather  vane.  The  building  was  of  brick,  the 
brick  being  made  at  Halm's  brick  yard  which 
was  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Sandusky  and 
Warren.  In  the  course  of  its  erection  the 
building  had  reached  the  second  story  by  Dec. 
4,  1830,  and  on  that  day  the  scaffolding  gave 
way  and  Elias  Cronebaugh  and  a  man  named 
Seigler  were  thrown  to  the  ground  and  killed. 
On  the  completion  of  the  building  it  was 
painted  white,  emblematic  of  the  purity  of  the 
justice  which  it  was  expected  would  be  fur- 
nished within  the  new  structure.  In  1837  a  bell 
was  added,  which  cost  $100,  and  the  day  it 
was  placed  in  position  was  made  the  occasion 
for  a  jollification.  In  1844  a  fence  was 
placed  around  the  lot,  which  cost  $56;  it  was 
of  wooden  pickets,  about  four  feet  high,  rest- 
ing on  the  ground.  The  building  was  not  only 
used  for  the  courts  but  for  all  public  meetings, 
and  there  were  very  few  Sundays  when  the 
court  room  was  not  used  by  some  religious 
denomination  for  the  holding  of  services. 

It  was  in  this  old  court  room  that  Gen.  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison  spoke  in  1840,  when  he 
was  campaigning  for  the  presidency.  He  was 
accompanied  at  Bucyrus  by  Robert  C. 
Schenck,  a  rising  young  attorney  of  Dayton, 
and  a  brilliant  orator,  who  later  became  a 
General  in  the  Civil  War,  a  member  of  Con- 
gress, and  minister  to  England.  During  his 
stay  at  Bucyrus  Gen.  Harrison  stopped  at  the 
hotel  kept  by  Samuel  Norton,  where  the 
Zeigler  Mill  now  stands  on  North  Sandusky 
avenue.  Richard  M.  Johnson,  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  Vice  President,  spoke  at  Bucyrus 
during  the  same  campaign.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  Senator  William  Allen  and  Gov. 
Wilson  Shannon.  When  they  left  here  for 
the  meeting  at  Mansfield,  they  were  accom- 
panied by  George  Sweney,  the  Congressman 
from  this  district.  The  difficulties  of  cam- 
paigning in  those  days  may  be  judged  from 
the  fact  that  the  Vice  Presidential  candidate 
spoke  at  Bucyrus  on  Friday,  and  in  company 
with  Allen,  Shannon  and  Sweney  drove  to  the 
home  of  William  Patterson  this  side  of  Mans- 
field where  they  rested  on  Sunday  for  the 
Mansfield  meeting  of  Monday.     A  vice  presi- 


dential candidate  traveling  only  26  miles  and 
filling  two  dates  in  four  days ! 

Although  the  court  house  was  commenced  in 
1830,  it  was  1834  before  it  was  completed  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  commissioners,  and  ac- 
cepted by  them.  It  is  certain  that  the  con- 
tractors were  as  slow  then  as  they  sometimes 
are  today,  as  it  was  during  the  erection  of  the 
jail  in  1839  the  commissioner's  journal  con- 
tained the  following  terse  entry: 

"Commissioners  met  today  to  see  if  tlie  new  jail 
was  done,  and  of  course  it  wasn't  done.  On  motion 
adjourned." 

In  these  days  of  long  drawn  out  reports, 
one  turns  with  pure  joy  to  an  entry  which  in 
three  lines  expresses  the  exact  state  of  affairs 
with  a  side  swipe  at  the  dilatory  contractors 
thrown  in. 

The  old  log  jail  erected  in  1827  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  in  1831,  burned  up  by  Andrew 
Hesser,  who  was  being  confined  there  as  a 
lunatic.  Its  destruction  involved  also  that  of 
the  records  of  the  county  commissioners,  for 
it  was  in  this  building  that  that  body  held  their 
meetings.  After  the  fire,  in  searching  among 
the  ruins,  bones  were  found,  and  the  officials 
being  satisfied  that  the  unfortunate  Hesser  had 
lost  his  own  life  in  the  burning  of  the  jail,  the 
bones  were  carefully  gathered  up  and  given 
Christian  burial.  Some  time  later  the  citizens 
were  astonished  when  an  officer  arrived  from 
Wooster,  bringing  with  him  the  identical  Andy 
supposed  to  have  been  burned  up,  and  whose 
remains  were  known  to  have  been  decently 
buried.  It  appears  Andy  had  been  discovered 
at  Wooster  sitting  on  a  store  box,  and  as  his 
talk  and  actions  showed  he  was  of  unsound 
mind,  he  was  taken  in  charge,  and  learning 
from  him  that  he  was  from  Bucyrus  they 
brought  him  home.  Andy  was  quite  amused 
at  the  astonishment  of  the  citizens,  and  told 
them:  "Well,  you  folks  call  Andy  crazy;  but 
what  are  you?  A  set  of  men  who  find  a  lot 
of  old  sheep  bones,  and  say  they  belong  to 
Andy,  and  all  the  time  Andy  is  in  the  grove 
behind  a  tree  laughing  at  you."  When  Andy 
died  and  where  he  was  finally  buried  is  not 
known,  but  for  many  years  the  place  in  the 
graveyard  over  the.  river  where  the  sheep 
bones  were  mouldering  to  decay  was  humor- 
ously pointed  out  as  the  grave  of  Andy 
Hesser. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


99 


At  the  time  of  the  burning  of  the  jail  in 
October,  183 1,  the  new  courthouse  was  in  proc- 
ess of  erection,  and  the  county  could  not  af- 
ford to  erect  a  permanent  structure  at  that 
time,  so  another  temporary  jail  was  erected  on 
the  adjoining  lot  a  few  feet  south  of  the 
burned  building.  It  was  built  as  cheaply  as  it 
was  hurriedly,  and  appears  to  have  had  two 
uses;  first  as  a  place  in  which  to  confine  per- 
sons when  arrested,  and  second,  as  a  source  of 
complaint  to  the  various  grand  juries  on  ac- 
count of  its  insecurity  and  condition.  Its  first 
use  was  not  a  success,  as  its  construction  was 
such  that  it  was  optional  with  the  prisoner  as 
to  how  long  he  remained  within  its  enclosures, 
and  the  frequent  departure,  a  few  days  be- 
fore the  trial,  of  those  criminals  who  were 
certain  to  be  convicted  kept  the  court  and  jury 
busy  with  their  complaints  as  to  its  condition. 
Finally,  in  1838,  a  proposition  was  submitted 
to  the  people  for  a  new  jail,  and  it  carried,  and 
on  Feb.  4,  1839,  the  contract  was  awarded  to 
Zalmon  Rowse.  It  was  built  of  brick  on  the 
lot  donated  by  Norton  for  that  purpose,  just 
north  of  the  present  Carnegie  Memorial  Li- 
brary, the  brick  being  made  at  the  brick-yard 
on  Mansfield  street,  just  east  of  the  present 
Kearsley  residence.  The  building  was  two 
low  stories  in  height.  Below  in  front  were 
two  rooms  for  the  sheriff  and  his  family,  and 
at  the  rear  were  two  rooms  for  the  imprison- 
ment of  debtors.  Above  in  front  were  two 
more  rooms  for  the  sheriff,  and  at  the  rear 
were  two  .cells  for  the  prisoners,  one  in  the 
northeast  and  the  other  in  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  the  building.  Both  were  without  win- 
dows, and  they  were  separated  by  a  corridor, 
running  east  and  west,  and  at  each  end  of  this 
corridor  was  a  small  window,  so  the  only  light 
the  prisoner  had  was  that  which  came  through 
the  little  east  window,  and  found  its  way  to 
his  cell  through  the  gratings  of  the  cell  door. 
Later,  a  solid  board  fence,  eight  feet  high,  was 
built  around  the  lot  at  a  cost  of  $58,  with  a 
massive  gate  which  was  locked  at  night. 

The  first  log  jail  was  burned  when  John 
Miller  was  sheriff.  He  was  the  second  sheriff 
of  the  county,  succeeding  Hugh  McCracken, 
who  was  elected  to  that  office  in  October,  1826. 
The  pioneer  traditions  handed  down  are  to  the 
effect  that  when  the  commissioners  met  in 
May,  1826,  they  appointed  Hugh  McCracken 


as  the  first  sheriff.  He  had  only  recently 
arrived  in  the  town,  but  was  a  man  of  prom- 
inence and  integrity,  and  was  promptly  ap- 
pointed by  them.  There  was  little  to  do,  and 
he  did  it  satisfactorily,  but  being  sheriff  he 
naturally  pined  for  a  jail,  as  the  citizens  prob- 
ably did  also.  So  Samuel  Norton,  of  course, 
donated  the  lot,  and  equally, -of  course,  Zal- 
mon Rowse  was  given  the  contract  for  its 
building.  When  it  was  burned  it  was  no  spe- 
cial financial  loss,  and  in  a  very  short  time 
Zalmon  had  the  second  log  structure  ready 
for  use. 

The  little  brick  jail  did  duty  for  nearly 
twenty  years.  In  these  good  old  days  when  a 
man  was  unable  to  pay  his  debts  all  his  cred- 
itor had  to  do  was  to  bring  suit  before  a  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  and  unless  the  bill  was  paid, 
or  satisfactorily  secured,  the  unfortunate 
debtor  was  unceremoniously  arrested  and 
locked  up  until  the  amount  was  paid,  or  until 
his  creditor  relented  and  let  him.  out.  One 
feature  of  the  law  was  that  if  he  could  give 
bond  in  double  the  amount  of  the  debt  that  he 
would  not  run  away,  he  was  allowed  "debtor's 
limits,"  which  was  freedom  to  go  anywhere 
within  400  yards  of  his  prison.  This  limit  was 
allowed  not  so  much  for  the  debtor,  but  for 
the  creditor,  as  the  man  might  then  earn 
enough  to  pay  the  debt. 

During  the  building  of  the  little  brick  jail, 
James  Harper  was  sheriff,  and  he  occupied  as 
his  residence  a  house  that  stood  on  South  San- 
dusky avenue,  where  now  is  the  residence  of 
Dr.  Yeoman,  and  while  awaiting  the  comple- 
tion of  the  new  jail,  minor  prisoners  were  kept 
in  the  court  house,  and  the  more  serious  of- 
fenders were  lodged  in  the  Marion  jail.  The 
principal  events  of  the  new  brick  jail  all  cen- 
tered in  the  northeast  cell,  up  stairs.  A  man 
was  locked  up  there,  believed  to  be  crazy,  and 
he  determined  to  commit  suicide.  He  was 
very  persevering  in  his  job,  for  all  he  had  to 
hang  himself  to  was  a  bed-post,  two  and  a 
half  feet  high,  but  he  succeeded,  and  when  the 
sheriff  opened  the  cell  one  morning  he  found 
the  prisoner  dead. 

In  1849  James  Clements  was  sheriff.  A 
man  had  been  arrested  charged  with  incendia- 
rism. Several  fires  had  recently  occurred  in 
Bucyrus,  among  others  the  furniture  shop  of 
Peter  Howenstein   on   East   Mansfield   street. 


100 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


and  a  building  on  the  rear  of  the  lot  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  Warren  and  Poplar 
streets.  At  the  trial  one  of  the  strong  points 
of  the  prosecution  was  that  there  were  foot- 
prints on  the  soft  ground,  and  the  prisoner's 
shoes  just  fitted  these  marks.  He  was  found 
guilty,  the  jury  probably  believing  that  he 
ought  to  be  guilty  if  he  wasn't.  Judge  Bowen, 
of  Marion,  who  was  presiding,  mildly  cen- 
sured the  jury  for  their  verdict.  The  judge, 
however,  sentenced  him  to  six  years.  The 
prisoner  stoutly  declared  his  innocence,  and 
insisted  he  would  never  go  to  the  penitentiary. 
During  his  confinement  in  the  jail  he  was  a 
quiet  prisoner,  giving  no  trouble,  and  making 
friends  of  the  sheriff's  children,  especially  the 
sheriff's  little  daughter  who  used  to  sit  in  front 
of  his  cell  while  he  interested  her  with  fairy 
tales. 

The  sheriff  had  arranged  to  take  his  pris- 
oner to  Columbus  the  following  morning,  and 
had  selected  Jacob  Scroggs  to  accompany  him. 
During  the  day  the  prisoner  entertained  the 
sheriff's  little  daughter  with  more  entrancing 
fairy  stories  than  usual,  and  succeeded  in  get- 
ting her  to  give  him  the  keys  to  his  cell.  That 
night,  after  everything  was  quiet,  he  unlocked 
his  cell  door,  and  started  down  the  stairs  on 
his  way  to  freedom.  The  sheriff  was  in  the 
room  in  front  of  the  cell,  and  hearing  the 
noise,  jumped  from  his  bed,  and  without  stop- 
ping to  dress  started  after  the  prisoner.  There 
was  no  light,  but  by  the  sound  he  followed 
him  to  the  room  below,  and  although  unarmed, 
he  rushed  on  the  prisoner,  who,  although  a 
much  stronger  man,  he  managed  to  force  up 
stairs,  and  into  his  cell.  The  next  morning, 
when  the  sheriff  came  to  look  after  his  pris- 
oner, he  was  dead,  having  cut  his  throat  from 
ear  to  ear.  He  had  found  freedom  at  last. 
He  left  a  note  claiming  his  innocence,  and 
among  other  things  was  the  terse  statement: 
"A  poor  man  has  no  more  chance  in  this  world 
than  a  flea  in  a  hot  boiler." 

In  1830  when  the  court  house  was  built 
Crawford  county  had  a  population  of  4,778 
people;  this  had  increased  in  1850  to  18,177. 
A  new  Constitution  had  been  adopted  by  the 
State  in  1851,  and  this  Constitution  had  added 
a  new  office  to  the  list  of  county  officials,  that 
of  probate  judge.  At  the  election  in  October, 
1 85 1,  Harvey  Eaton  was  elected  as  the  first 


probate  judge,  and  commenced  his  first  term 
in  February,  1852,  but  his  only  duty  at  the 
start  was  to  draw  his  salary,  as  it  was  some 
time  before  the  Legislature  had  passed  the 
necessary  laws  relating  to  probate  judges. 
There  were  but  four  rooms  in  the  court  house, 
and  these  were  already  occupied,  so  there  was 
no  place  for  the  new  official.  The  commis- 
sioners therefore  rented  a  room  of  Andrew 
Failor  to  be  used  by  Judge  Eaton  as  his  office. 
It  was  the  room  opposite  the  court  house,  now 
occupi_ed  by  Mader  &  Crawford  as  a  saloon. 
For  this  room  the  commissioners  paid  $36  a 
year.  They  started  the  new  judge  in  busi- 
ness by  making  an  appropriation  of  $12  to  buy 
the  necessary  book  in  which  to  keep  his  rec- 
ords, and  another  appropriation  of  $10  to  buy  a 
seal.  They  furnished  the  office  by  buying  a 
set  of  chairs  of  Abe  Yost  for  $5.25,  and  this 
appropriation  included  a  set  of  rulers;  they 
bought  a  table  for  $4,  a  stove  of  Daniel  Pick- 
ing for  $10.97,  ^'^d  closed  with  an  appropria- 
tion of  $5  for  wood. 

In  1850  the  Cleveland,  Columbus  and  Cin- 
cinnati Railroad  had  been  built  through  the 
eastern  part  of  the  county,  and  in  1853  the 
Ohio  and  Indiana  railroad  was  also  in  opera- 
tion through  the  county.  The  increase  of  busi- 
ness and  of  population  made  the  little  court 
house  too  small  for  the  transaction  of  the  pub- 
lic business,  and  a  new  one  became  every  day 
more  and  more  of  a  necessity. 

■  When  the  county  lines  were  changed  in  1845 
Auburn,  Vernon  and  Jackson  townships,  and 
the  eastern  part  of  Polk  and  Jefferson  were 
transferred  from  Richland  county  to  Craw- 
ford. Isaac  Hetrick,  the  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature from  Richland  county  at  that  time,  se- 
cured the  passage  of  a  resolution  exempting 
the  people  of  that  part  of  Richland  county 
which  had  been  transferred  to  Crawford  from 
being  taxed  for  the  erection  of  public  build- 
ings "for  all  time."  The  claim  was  that  Rich- 
land county  had  new  and  modern  public  build- 
ings, for  which  the  Richland  part  of  Crawford 
had  already  been  taxed,  while  the  Crawford 
public  buildings  were  small  and  insufficient, 
and  while  there  was  much  that  was  just  in  the 
resolution,  the  exemption  "for  all  time" 
showed  that  Legislatures  were  just  as  careless 
and  as  thoughtless  in  the  passage  of  laws  in 
those   days  as  they  are  today.-     Many  other 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


101 


complications  had  arisen  in  the  formation  of 
the  present  Crawford  county.  An  attempt  was 
made  to  have  the  Legislature  make  Galion  the 
county  seat  of  the  new  county,  but  this  propo- 
sition was  defeated  through  the  work  of  Craw- 
ford's representative,  Samuel  S.  Caldwell. 
Another  proposition  was  submitted  to  the 
Legislature  to  exempt  that  part  of  Marion 
county  recently  attached  to  Crawford  from  the 
payment  of  any  taxes  for  the  erection  of  pub- 
lic buildings,  of  course  with  the  beautiful 
rider,  "for  all  time."  Mr.  Caldwell  promptly 
killed  this  by  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that 
no  one  from  this  attached  section  had  asked 
for  the  passage  of  any  such  act,  and  until  they 
did  present  a  petition  the  Legislature  had  no 
business  to  meddle  in  the  matter. 

To  obviate  matters  like  this  subscriptions 
were  made  by  a  number  of  citizens  of  the  new 
county  to  pay  off  the  debt,  and  start  the  new 
county  free  of  all  incumbrance.  A  number 
subscribed,  but  it  was  soon  seen  that  the  pay- 
ing off  of  the  debt  would  not  harmonize  the 
difficulties  that  had  arisen,  so  George  Sweney 
refused  to  pay  his  subscription,  and  a  test  case 
was  brought  against  him  by  the  commissioners. 
The  Common  Pleas  Court  decided  he  must 
pay,  but  when  the  case  reached  the  Supreme 
Court  the  county  was  beaten.  So  the  com- 
missioners allowed  Josiah  S.  Plants  $50  and 
Cooper  K.  Watson  $25  for  conducting  the  case 
for  the  county,  and  ordered  the  Treasurer  to 
refund  all  installments  that  had  been  paid  by 
parties  subscribing.  The  money  refunded 
ought  to  indicate  some  of  the  "boosters"  in 
those  days,  so  their  names  are  given:  Andrew 
Brookmiller  $1,  Joseph  S.  Morris  $2,  John 
Black  $2,  George  Hurr  $2,  Michael  Ruehl  $2, 
George  Buehl  $2,  Dutchman  $1,  Henry  Beck 
$2,  Lewis  Heinlen  $5,  John  Boyer  $8,  John 
Gibson  $2.50,  Abraham  Shull  $2,  Abraham 
Yost  $5,  John  Boeman  $2. 

The  county  commissioners  also  had  to  bal- 
ance the  finances  of  the  different  counties. 
Wyandot  county  had  no  public  buildings,  but 
had  been  taxed  for  the  erection  of  those  in 
Crawford,  and  asked  a  refunding,  and  on 
June  24,  1845,  the  commissioners  of  Craw- 
ford and  Wyandot  met  in  joint  session  and  it 
was  found  the  debt  of  Crawford  county  was 
$2,220.97,  exclusive  of  public  buildings;  there 
was  cash  on  hand  of  $1,886.52,  so  Crawford 


owed  Wyandot  nothing.  In  the  road  fund 
Wyandot  was  found  to  be  entitled  to  $145,71, 
and  an  order  was  issued  to  pay  Wyandot  the 
money.  Wyandot  demanded  a  refund  of  the 
money  that  had  been  paid  by  the  Wyandot  tax 
payers  in  the  building  of  the  new  jail,  but  it 
was  refused. 

When  the  rearrangement  of  the  new  Craw- 
ford county  was  made  Richland  county  was 
the  second  most  populous  county  in  the  State, 
being  exceeded  only  by  Hamilton  county.  It 
had  fine  public  buildings,  so  Crawford  made 
demands  on  Richland  for  any  balance  that 
might  be  due  Crawford  from  Richland.  On 
Aug.  28,  1845,  the  commissioners  of  the  two 
counties  met,  the  accounts  were  gone  over,  and 
it  was  found  the  debt  of  Richland  county  ex- 
ceeded the  cash  in  the  treasury,  so  Crawford 
received  nothing. 

In  1854  the  proposition  was  submitted  to 
the  voters  of  Crawford  county  for  a  new  court 
house  and  the  proposition  carried.  O.  S.  Kin- 
ney was  the  architect,  and  the  contract  was  let 
to  Ault  &  Miller  of  Mt.  Gilead,  and  the  build- 
ing was  completed  in  1856  at  a  cost  of  $18,- 
000.  During  the  erection  of  the  building  the 
county  officials  occupied  rooms  in  various 
parts  of  the  village,  the  court  room  being  the 
second  story  of  the  frame  building  still  stand- 
ing at  the  southeast  corner  of  Sandusky  and 
Warren.  This  court  house  is  easily  remem- 
bered by  many  of  the  present  citizens  of  Bucy- 
rus,  as  the  present  structure  is  the  same  build- 
ing with  additions.  It  had  two  stories  and  an 
unused  basement.  In  front  were  wide  steps 
leading  up  to  the  entrance  where  was  a  portico 
supported  by  large  wooden  columns.  The  in- 
terior was  the  same  as  at  present,  with  a  cor- 
ridor running  down  the  centre  and  the  offices 
on  each  side.  On  the  right  of  the  entrance  was 
the  auditor,  and  in  the  northeast  corner  the 
recorder,  while  cramped  between  this  office  and 
the  auditor  was  a  small  room  for  the  treas- 
urer. On  the  left  of  the  entrance  was  the  clerk, 
with  the  surveyor  in  the  northwest  room  and 
the  probabte  judge  in  the  centre.  The  court 
room  occupied  the  centre  of  the  second  floor, 
the  judge's  bench  was  on  the  north  side  of 
the  room,  and  above  and  back  of  it  was  a 
balcony;  underneath  the  balcony  on  each  side 
of  the  bench  were  the  jury  rooms.  At  the 
south  end  was  another  similar  balcony,  and 


102 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


underneath  this  on  the  west  was  the  sheriff's 
office  and  the  east  room  was  used  by  the  prose- 
cutor, the  commissioners,  the  judge,  a  wait- 
ing room  for  the  witnesses  and  a  consultation 
room. 

The  new  court  house  was  dedicated  on  Fri- 
day evening,  April  24,  1857,  and  it  was  a 
veritable  house  warming.  The  town  was  full 
of  people,  every  township  in  the  county  being 
represented.  The  court  room  and  the  two 
galleries  "were  crowded  with  citizens  to  listen 
to  the  music  furnished  by  Kronenberger's  Sax 
Horn  Band  and  the  Bucyrus  Quartette  Club. 
At  10  o'clock  supper  was  served  at  all  three  of 
the  hotels,  the  McCoy,  the  \\'estern  and  the 
American  House,  and  while  the  people  were 
doing  full  justice  to  the  supper,  the  court 
room  was  cleared  and  dancing  commenced 
which  continued  until  early  in  the  morning.  A 
fence  was  erected  around  the  entire  yard;  it 
was  of  iron  pickets,  set  in  stone,  the  founda- 
tion being  nearly  two  feet  high.  While  there 
was  no  attempt  at  ornairientation  the  fence 
was  attractive,  appropriate  and  expensive. 
Many  years  ago  this  court  house  became  too 
small  for  the  increased  business  of  the  county 
and  the  increased  force  of  officials  necessary 
to  handle  that  business. 

For  half  a  century  this  $18,000  structure 
had  filled  its  mission,  and  the  officials  were 
cramped,  the  records  scattered,  in  any  incon- 
venient place  temporarily  that  could  be  found. 
It  was  a  known  fact  that  any  proposition  sub- 
mitted to  the  voters  of  the  county  would  fail 
to  carry,  so  the  commissioners  took  advantage 
of  that  provision  of  the  law  which  allows  them 
to  make  improvements  on  public  buildings. 
They  improved  the  court  house,  and  when  it 
was  completed  the  improvement  had  cost  about 
double  that  of  the  original  building,  and  gave 
an  added  floor  space  as  large  as  the  original 
structure.  The  improvement  consisted  of  the 
addition  built  at  the  rear  as  it  exists  today. 
^^'hen  completed  the  first  floor  of  the  addition 
on  the  east  was  used  as  the  recorder's  office 
with  private  room  and  vault.  The  west  room 
was  the  probate  iudge's  office  with  private 
room  and  vault.  On  the  second  floor  the  east 
room  was  the  clerk's  office,  with  private  room 
and  vault  and  a  room  for  the  judge  or  prose- 
cuting   attorney.      The    west    end    was    occu- 


pied by  the  sheriff  and  surveyor.  The  third 
floor  had  a  room  for  the  examination  of  teach- 
ers, and  other  meetings,  and  also  rooms  for  the 
use  of  any  of  the  various  county  boards.  The 
offices  and  rooms  were  all  large  and  commodi- 
ous, and  fitted  with  all  modern  improvements, 
and  the  basement  was  cemented  and  walled  in 
a  modern  way  so  as  to  make  an  available 
room  for  the  Agricultural  Society  or  the 
Board  of  Elections,  with  several  large  storage 
rooms.  There  were  severe  criticisms  of  the 
commissioners  over  the  extensive  nature  of  the 
improvements  at  the  time  they  were  made,  but 
as  the  time  passed  the  wisdom  of  the  commis- 
sioners in  providing  the  additional  room  so 
greatly  needed  was  generally  approved.  The 
new  addition  left  the  original  building  occu- 
pied by  the  auditor  and  commissioners  on  the 
east  and  the  treasurer  on  the  west. 

The  court  house  now,  with  its  fairly  spa- 
cious offices  and  many  vaults  had  ample  room 
for  the  transaction  of  the  business  of  the 
county  and  the  safe  storage  of  all  the  records. 
But  another  element  now  made  its  attack  on 
the  half  century  old  court  house,  and  this  was 
time,  from  whose  ravages  there  is  no  protec- 
tion. The  wooden  pillars  supporting  the  por- 
tico were  showing  signs  of  weakness  and  de- 
cay; the  wooden  tower  containing  the  heavy 
bell  became  vmsafe,  and  notwithstanding  an 
intense  public  feeling  against  a  new  court 
house  the  commissioners  were  compelled  to 
submit  the  matter  to  the  voters  for  funds  to 
repair  the  building,  and  at  the  election  on  Nov. 
6,  1906,  the  expected  verdict  against  was  ren- 
dered by  the  people.  It  carried  the  city  of 
Bucyrus  by  a  majority  of  866,  lost  Gabon  by 
405  and  Crestline  by  163.  In  the  country  it 
carried  but  two  townships.  Auburn  by  5  votes 
and  Lykins  4.  It  lost  the  other  14  townships. 
Liberty  heading  the  country  opposition  with 
170  majority  against.  The  total  vote  ^^•as 
Yes — 2,979,  Xo — 3,494,  majority  against  515. 
This  settled  the  matter  as  far  as  the  commis- 
sioners were  concerned,  but  Father  Time  de- 
clined to  abide  by  the  vote,  and  matters  ran  on 
until  a  part  of  the  ceiling  fell  in  the  court  room, 
an  area  of  over  100  square  feet,  of  plastering, 
caused  by  the  weight  of  the  tower  on  the 
weakened  roof.  A  thorough  examination  was 
made  of  the  tower  and  it  was  reported  unsafe. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


105 


The  heavy  bell  might  at  any  time  make  a  pass- 
ing visit  through  the  court  room  on  its  way 
to  the  basement  below. 

This  being  the  condition,  Judge  Babst  de- 
clined to  hold  court  in  the  building,  so  quarters 
were  secured  at  the  Memorial  Library.  The 
matter  was  now  taken  up  by  the  commission- 
ers in  conjunction  with  the  citizens,  and  a 
committee  of  four  were  appointed  to  act  on  a 
suggestion  made  that  the  people  be  consulted 
directly  on  the  matter  and  the  responsibility 
thrown  upon  them.  Following  this  view  the 
committee  reported  the  names  of  two  prom- 
inent citizens  in  each  voting  precinct,  and 
these  men  were  requested  by  the  commission- 
ers to  meet  at  Bucyrus  to  examine  the  court 
house  and  advise  as  to  what  should  be  done. 
Of  the  80  advisers  selected  nearly  every  one 
responded,  and  they  examined  the  court  house 
from  basement  to  tower,  and  then  met  in  the 
office  of  the  probate  judge  to  render  their  deci- 
sion. The  commissioners,  preparing  for  the 
emergency,  for  the  past  two  years  had  made 
a  small  levy  for  building  purposes ;  this  now 
amounted  to  about  $40,000,  with  perhaps 
$10,000  available  from  other  sources.  Harlan 
F.  Jones,  a  Mansfield  architect,  had  submitted 
plans  by  which  the  old  part  of  the  court  house 
could  be  remodeled  for  $90,000.  It  was  easily 
seen  that  the  majority  of  those  present  recog- 
nized the  necessity  that  something  should  be 
done.  The  first  suggestion  of  a  new  court 
house  met  with  overwhelming  defeat.  The 
first  motion  was  for  a  one  mill  levy  for  four 
years,  a  one  mill  levy  bringing  in  about  $20,- 
000.  This  was  very  unfavorably  received;  a 
one  mill  levy  for  three  years  was  defeated  by 
a  small  majority,  and  the  final  vote  of  one 
mill  for  two  years,  which  would  raise  the 
building  fund  to  the  $90,000  estimated  for  the 
improvement  was  carried  almost  unanim- 
ously. The  question  then  came  before  the 
voters  again  at  the  election  on  Nov.  5,  1907, 
and  it  was  carried  by  a  vote  of  3,665  yes  and 
2,784  no.  Bucyrus  again  led  with  1,176  major- 
ity for  the  proposition,  while  Galion  gave  263 
majority  against  and  Crestline  134.  In  the 
country  ten  townships  favored  the  proposi- 
tion, and  six  returned  an  adverse  majority, 
leaving  the  country  vote  for  it  by  a  majority 
of  102. 

The  county  commissioners  at  this  time  were 


Louis  Gearhart  of  Holmes,  Frank  P.  Dick  of 
Dallas,  and  Hugh  M.  Dobbins  of  Bucyrus. 
Judge  Babst  appointed  as  a  building  commis- 
sion to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  commis- 
sioners, Frank  P.  Donnenwirth  and  John  Q. 
Shunk  of  Bucyrus,  W.  I.  Goshorn  of  Galion, 
and  Jacob  Babst  of  Crestline.  The  only  impor- 
tant change  made  in  the  plans  was  -the  plac- 
ing of  a  stone  covering  over  the  entire  build- 
ing. A.  E.  Hancock  of  Mansfield  was  the  con- 
tractor, and  the  new  structure  was  completed 
within  the  estimated  cost  with  enough  left 
over  to  build  and  equip  the  electric  light 
plant  of  the  court  house.  During  the  con- 
struction of  the  front  of  the  building  the 
offices  were  continued  in  the  court  house, 
with  the  exception  of  that  of  the  treasurer, 
who  for  a  time  had  the  office  at  the  Farm- 
ers and  Citizens  Bank,  the  county  treasurer, 
George  W.  Miller,  being  president  of  that  in- 
stitution, and  court  was  held  in  the  Memorial 
Library.  The  foundation  stone  was  laid  by 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Masons  assisted  by  Trin- 
ity Lodge,  No.  556  of  Bucyrus,  on  Aug.  17, 
1908.  At  the  completion  of  the  building 
there  was  no  house  warming  or  celebration. 
In  the  new  court  room  the  judge's  bench  was 
placed  in  the  east.  On  the  left  of  the  en- 
trance to  the  building  in  a  niche  was  placed  a 
life-sized  statue  of  Col.  Crawford,  ^^•hile  in 
the  basement  were  placed  two  waiting  rooms. 
After  the  erection  of  the  court  house  in  1856 
it  was  deemed  advisable  to  build  a  new  jail. 
The  one  built  in  1838  was  a  small  structure  of 
soft  brick,  and  as  a  place  of  confinement  was 
not  a  success.  It  took  more  care  and  skill  to 
keep  the  prisoners  after  their  arrest  than  it 
did  to  capture  them.  Nothing  special  had  hap- 
pened to  the  old  jail,  except  that  on  Sept.  4, 
1850,  the  building  had  been  struck  by  light- 
ning, but  no  damage  was  done;  a  number  of 
prisoners  had  escaped  from  the  building,  and 
orie,  preferring  death  to  liberty,  had  com- 
mitted suicide.  Commissioners,  grand  juries 
and  sheriffs  made  frequent  complaints  as  to 
its  condition,  and  the  final  blow  fell  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1858,  when  a  young  man  named  John 
Mouse  made  his  escape.  He  had  robbed  the 
till  at  the  Oregon  House,  and  was  arrested  and 
placed  in  the  jail.  Mouse  treated  his  impri- 
sonment as  a  joke  and  assured  the  sheriff  that 
after  he  had  rested  up  for  a  few  days  at  the 


106 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


expense  of  the  county  he  would  leave.  He 
kept  his  word,  and  a  few  nights  later  made  his 
escape,  by  the  use  of  a  false  key  he  had  con- 
structed, unlocking  the  door,  and  quietly  walk- 
ing out. 

John  Franz  was  sheriff  at  the  time,  and  while 
the  till-robbing  was  only  a  minor  offense,  and 
the  escape  of  the  prisoner  was  good  riddance, 
yet  the  contempt  with  which  the  prisoner  had 
treated  his  incarceration,  made  the  sheriff 
justly  indignant,  and  he  determined  on  his 
recapture.  The  sheriff  finally  found  him  at 
Sandusky  City,  and  brought  him  back.  He 
came  quietly,  but  again  assured  the  sheriff  that 
when  he  got  tired  of  stopping  with  him  he 
would  again  leave.  Franz  locked  him  up  in  the 
strongest  cell  on  the  second  floor,  and  a  few 
nights  later  Mouse  made  his  word  good  he 
dug  a  hole  in  the  brick  wall,  just  large  enough 
for  his  body  to  squeeze  through,  dropped  into 
the  yard,  climbed  the  eight  foot  fence  which 
surrounded  the  building,  and  was  gone  for 
good. 

As  in  the  "Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin,"  "the 
mayor  looked  blue,  and  so  did  the  corporation 
too."  It  was  the  final  blow,  and  the  commis- 
sioners promptly  issued  a  proclamation  for  an 
election  to  vote  on  a  new  jail,  to  cost  $6,000, 
one-half  to  be  levied  in  1858  and  the  other  half 
in  1859.  The  Mouse  escapes  were  so  fresh 
in  the  minds  of  the  people  that  at  the  April 
election  the  proposition  carried  easily.  A  con- 
tract was  entered  into  with  E.  Jacobs  &.  Co., 
of  Cincinnati,  for  the  jail  part  for  $5,500,  and 
with  George  B.  Terwilliger,  of  Bucyrus,  for 
the  balance  of  the  structure  $3,076.98.  It  was 
bviilt  on  the  site  of  the  old  jail,  and  did  duty 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  is  still  standing 
and    now    occupied    as    a    private    residence. 

ESCAPE  OF  PRISONERS 

While  it  was  building,  John  Franz  was 
Sheriff,  and  occupied  as  his  residence  the  house 
at  the  southwest  corner  of  Charles  and  Lane, 
now  the  home  of  B.  F.  Lauck.  During  the 
erection  of  the  new  jail  prisoners  charged 
with  minor  offenses  were  lodged  in  the  city 
prison,  while  the  more  serious  offenders  were 
placed  in  the  Wyandot  county  jail.  The  jail 
proved  to  be  a  very  safe  structure,  but  there 
was  one  notable  escape.    It  was  in  1872,  in  the 


heat  of  the  campaign  of  Grant  against  Greeley 
for  the  presidency. 

James  Worden  was  the  sheriff,  serving  his 
second  term,  and  he  had  only  two  prisoners 
in  the  jail,  Billy  Ring  and  his  partner,  charged 
with  theft.  On  Friday  morning,  Aug.  30, 
1872,  the  sheriff  discovered  his  two  prisoners 
had  made  their  escape.  An  examination 
showed  they  had  drilled  about  fifty  holes 
through  the  iron  floor  of  their  cell,  which  was 
about  a  third  of  an  inch  thick.  These  holes 
were  bored  on  three  sides  of  the  opening  they 
made, 'and  with  a  crow  bar  they  pried  up  the 
iron  floor,  breaking  off  the  fourth  side,  leaving 
a  hole  about  7^  by  13  inches,  through  which 
they  escaped;  they  crawled  through  several 
passages,  through  four  different  openings  in 
the  foundation  walls  before  they  reached  the 
cellar,  after  which  their  final  escape  was  easy. 
They  left  the  following  letter,  written  on  the 
back  of  an  engraving  torn  from  the  "Ladies' 
Repository" : 

Crawford  County  Jail,  Aug.  20,  1872. 
Sheriff  Worden : 

Respected  Friend : — Having  but  a  few  more  moments 
to  stay,  we  tliought  we  would  devote  them  to  writing  to 
you.  Deeming  it  proper  to  seek  some  other  place  of 
refuge,  and  as  we  did  not  wish  to  awake  you  from  your 
slumbers,  therefore  we  thought  we  would  go  without  in- 
forming you. 

P.  S. — We  think  we  will  vote  for  Greeley. 

In  1877  John  A.  Schaber  was  elected  sheriff, 
and  during  his  term  he  had  occasion  to  take 
five  prisoners  to  Columbus — four  men  and  one 
woman.  They  were  all  handcuffed,  and  the 
men  were  connected  in  pairs  by  a  heavy  chain. 
The  sheriff  took  as  assistants,  Lewis  Strem- 
mel,  George  Myers  and  W.  P.  Rowland. 
They  drove  to  Gallon,  and  after  all  were 
safely  on  the  train,  Rowland  returned  home. 
When  the  train  reached  Delaware  it  was  neces- 
sary to  transfer  from  one  car  to  another. 
Stremmel  went  first,  the  four  male  prisoners 
following,  Myers  next,  then  the  woman,  the 
sheriff  bringing  up  the  rear.  As  they  reached 
the  platform,  the  first  two  men  jumped  from 
the  steps  on  the  side  opposite  the  station. 
Stremmel  promptly  jumped  from  the  car  and 
grabbed  them.  They  raised  the  heavy  chair 
with  which  they  were  manacled  and  brought 
it  down  with  such  severe  force  on  Stremmel's 
head    as    to    knock    him    senseless.      Sheriff 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


107 


Schaber  seeing  or  hearing  the  disturbance 
forced  his  way  past  the  woman,  and  drew  his 
revolver,  but  already  a  crowd  had  collected, 
making  it  dangerous  to  shoot.  In  attempting  to 
lower  his  revolver  it  went  off,  the  ball  striking 
the  Sheriff  himself  on  the  hand,  inflicting 
a  slight  flesh  wound.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Byers, 
an  ex-chaplain  of  the  Penitentiary  happened  to 
be  present,  and  being  used  to  hardened  crim- 
inals, with  the  assistance  of  the  sheriff  and 
Myers  soon  had  the  prisoners  under  control. 
The  woman  in  the  car  had  been  left  to  her- 
self and  might  have  escaped,  but  the  passen- 
gers rising  in  the  excitement  so  blocked  the 
way  as  to  make  escape  impossible.  She  was 
a  "high  kicker"  and  contented  herself  with 
planting  one  of  her  feet  under  the  chin  of  a 
six-foot  traveling  man  who  barred  her  way. 
The  injured  guard,  Stremmel,  was  carried  to 
the  station  and  restored  to  consciousness,  and 
although  thirty  years  have  passed  he  still  car- 
ries the  scar  from  the  blow.  Additional  help 
was  obtained  at  Delaware  and  the  prisoners 
were  safely  landed  in  the  penitentiary  by  the 
sheriff,  but  on  his  return  home  the  wound  and 
the  excitement  brought  on  a  severe  fever 
which  confined  him  to  his  house  for  several 
days. 

In  time,  the  increasing  growth  and  busi- 
ness of  the  county  made  a  new  jail  a  necessity, 
and  in  1881,  the  commissioners  had  about 
$10,000  in  the  building  fund,  and  they  sub- 
mitted the  question  of  a  new  jail  to  the  peo- 
ple. It  was  the  most  bitter  non-political  elec- 
tion that  ever  occurred  in  the  county  with  one 
exception.  The  sheriff's  proclamation  called 
for  the  vote  on  the  jail  on  a  separate  ballot, 
the  votes  to  be  returned  to  the  auditor  for  can- 
vassing. 

The  election  took  place  on  Tuesday,  Oct.  1 1 , 
1881,  and  the  returns  from  every  precinct 
showed  that  2,475  votes  were  for  the  new  jail 
and  2,789  against;  majority  against  314.  The 
proposition  carried  Bucyrus  by  981  to  65,  and 
Crestline  by  315  to  66.  Gallon  and  Polk 
township  gave  the  phenomenal  vote  of  12  for 
the  proposition  and  1221  against  an  adverse 
majority  of  1,209.  I"  the  country.  Auburn, 
Dallas,  Holmes  Lykins,  Texas  Tod  and  Whet- 
stone were  for  the  proposition,  and  t^hatfield, 
Cranberry,  Jefferson,  Liberty,  Sandusky,  Ver- 
non against.     The  vote  was  cast  at  a  regular 


election,  and  in  those  days  election  returns 
were  forwarded  to  the  clerk  of  the  court.  In 
the  printing  of  the  ballots,  Auburn,  Dallas, 
Whetstone,  and  the  Second,  Third  and  Fourth 
wards  of  Gallon  had  placed  the  jail  proposi- 
tion on  the  regular  ballot,  and  the  vote  in  these 
precincts  were  returned  to  the  clerk,  and  not 
to  the  auditor.  A  study  of  the  returns  showed 
these  precincts  erroneously  returned  had  given 
337  for  the  jail  and  1,056  against,  and  the  jail 
being  a  necessity  the  returning  board,  con- 
sisting of  the  auditor  and  commissioners,  met 
and  proceeded  to  count  the  jail  returns  that 
were  before  them,  which  eliminated  the  six 
precincts  that  had  been  returned  to  the  clerk, 
and  it  was  found  the  proposition  had  carried  by 
a  vote  of  2,138  to  1,733,  or  a  majority  of  405 
for  the  new  jail.  This  official  result  was  de- 
clared and  the  returning  board  adjourned. 
In  1826,  the  Ohio  Gazeteer  spoke  of  Bucyrus 
as  "a  lively  post  town  in  the  southeastern  part 
of  Crawford  county,"  and  now  after  nearly 
three  score  years  and  ten  had  passed  for  about 
four  weeks  Bucyrus  was  again  the  "liveliest" 
town  not  only  in  Crawford  county  but  in  the 
State  of  Ohio.  Indignant  citizens  swarmed  to 
the  county  seat,  protests  and  resolutions  were 
sent  to  the  commissioners,  an  indignant  Gabon 
council  forwarded  to  the  auditor  official  re- 
turns of  the  three  eliminated  wards  of  Gallon, 
demanding  their  vote  be  counted,  but  the  time 
limit  had  passed  under  the  law  by  which  a  re- 
count could  be  made,  so  nothing  could  be  done. 
Public  opinion  quieted  down,  and  the  matter 
came  to  be  regarded  as  a  shrewd  move,  the 
necessity  for  the  jail  was  apparent,  and  the 
whole  affair  degenerated  into  a  huge  joke  on 
Gabon,  and  when  the  humor  of  the  situation 
became  the  predominant  feature,  ridicule 
killed  all  opposition,  as  it  generally  does. 
Eventually,  the  action  of  the  commissioners 
was  practically  universally  approved. 

The  next  step  was  a  change  of  location,  the 
people  and  the  commissioners  being  of  the 
opinion  the  proper  place  for  the  jail  was  at  the 
rear  of  the  court  house  instead  of  across  the 
street.  A  point  was  raised  by  the  opponents  ol 
the  jail  that  Norton  had  donated  the  jail  lot, 
and  if  it  was  abandoned  for  jail  purposes  it 
would  revert  to  the  Norton  heirs.  In  answer 
to  this  E.  R.  Kearsley  produced  a  paper  cover- 
ing this  contingency.    When  he  was  auditor  in 


108 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


1854  he  had  foreseen  that  this  question  might 
arise  some  day,  and  had  secured  a  signed 
agreement  from  Mr.  Norton  allowing  the 
county  at  any  time  to  sell  the  old  jail  site,  pro- 
viding the  money  received  from  the  sale  was 
used  for  the  purchase  of  a  new  site.  Another 
difficulty  was  that  the  site  needed — in  lot  126, 
adjoining  the  court  house  on  the  north — had 
been  occupied  by  Martin  Deal  as  a  residence 
for  many  years ;  it  was  his  homestead,  and  the 
associations  that  clung  around  it  made  him 
object  to  disposing  of  it.  The  property  was 
condemned,  and  bought  by  the  county  for 
$4,500,  and  that  time  probably  the  highest 
price  paid  for  a  similar  lot  in  Bucyrus.  The 
architect  of  the  new  jail  was  J.  C.  Johnson  of 
Fremont,  his  plans  estimating  the  cost  at  $23,- 
000.  The  lowest  bid  on  the  contract  was  a  Ft. 
Wayne  firm,  who  neglected  to  give  bond,  and 
the  contract  was  awarded  to  the  second  low- 
est bidder,  Peter  Faeth  of  New  Washington, 
for  $22,293.  The  old  jail  was  sold  to  Dr.  C. 
Fulton,  in  1883,  for  $3,900,  and  the  old 
buildings  on  the  Deal  lot  were  sold  for 
$445.10.  The  Deal  residence  was  purchased 
by  Peter  Faeth,  who  moved  it  to  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  Court  House  lot  and  occupied  it 
during  the  erection  of  the  new  jail.  In  1909 
the  commissioners  secured  an  option  on  the 
lot  between  the  jail  and  the  railroad,  the  build- 
ing of  the  new  court  house  making  it  inadvis- 
able to  purchase  at  that  time.  Unfortunately 
the  option  was  allowed  to  lapse,  as  it  is  prop- 
erty which  should  be  owned  by  the  county. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  county,  the  poor 
were  cared  for  by  the  respective  townships,  one 
of  the  most  important  offices  prior  to  the  con- 
stitution of  185 1  was  that  of  overseer  of  the 
poor.  To  this  thankless  office  the  best  men  in 
each  township  took  turns  in  serving,  filling  the 
position  from  a  sense  of  duty  alone.  If  at 
any  time  any  one  came  to  the  county  who 
might  eventually  become  a  charge  upon  the 
county,  the  county  had  the  right  to  demand 
that  the  newcomer  gave  bond  that  he  would 
never  become  a  public  charge.  There  is  one 
record  where  this  right  was  used.  About 
1828,  a  man  died  in  Roanoke  county,  Virginia, 
and  on  his  death  liberated  his  slaves  with  suf- 
ficient money  to  transport  them  to  some  point 
in  the  north.  A  number  of  them  came  to 
Crawford  county,  settling  two  miles  south  of 


Bucyrus,  which  gave  the  name  of  the  "Nigger 
Woods"  to  the  grove  where  they  located.  It 
was  the  farm  for  so  many  years  known  as  the 
Gormly  farm  and  later  as  the  Beal  farm.  The 
Overseers  of  the  Poor  demanded  a  bond  of 
$500  each  that  they  would  not  become  a  pub- 
lic charge.  This  they  could  not  give,  so  they 
were  compelled  to  leave.  One  family  re- 
mained, the  man  being  known  as  "Old  Solo- 
mon." The  bulk  of  the  negroes  having  left, 
no  objection  was  made  to  the  old  man  remain- 
ing, and  in  a  very  few  years  he  died,  and  his 
widow  married  again,  Zalmon  Rowse,  as 
justice  of  the  peace,  going  down  to  perform 
the  ceremony.  He  was  accompanied  by  Josiah 
Scott  and  Madison  Welsh,  three  cronies  in 
those  days,  who  got  all  the  rough  sport  they 
could  out  of  the  first  colored  wedding  in 
Crawford  county.  It  has  been  traditionary  his- 
tory that  these  slaves  were  a  part  of  the  fam- 
ily of  the  celebrated  statesmen,  John  Randolph 
of  Roanoke,  who  released  all  his  slaves  by 
will  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Randolph  died 
in  1833,  and  these  negroes  were  certainly  here 
in  1830,  probably  as  early  as  1828,  so  they 
were  not  the  Randolph  slaves. 

W^hile  each  township  cared  for  its  own 
poor,  they  were  let  to  the  lowest  "responsible" 
bidder.  It  was  probably  the  only  way  in  those 
early  days  that  they  could  be  cared  for,  but 
it  was  not  the  most  humane  way,  as  bidders 
sometimes  bid  very  low  for  the  keeping  of  the 
pauper,  and  as  a  result  he  was  kept  in  a  way 
that  the  bidder  could  make  money  on  his  in- 
vestment. There  were  occasions  when  the 
pauper  was  very  poorly  fed  and  worse  clad, 
and  as  for  housing,  kept  in  the  same  shed  with 
the  cattle  or  the  dog,  the  same  scraps  being  fed 
to  him  and  the  dog  at  the  same  time,  with  a 
division  of  food  in  favor  of  the  dog.  On  the 
least  provocation  he  was  chained,  and  the  chil- 
dren found  amusement  in  hitting  him  with 
sticks  and  stones  to  make  him  frantic.  Some- 
times the  inhumanity  of  keepers  brought  com- 
plaints from  the  neighbors,  and  the  overseers 
promptly  took  charge  of  the  unfortunate  and 
relet  him  to  some  new  bidder. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution 
in  185 1  Crawford  county  had  at  the  time  a 
population  of  nearly  20,000  people  (1850  cen- 
sus, 18,177),  and  at  the  October  election  of 
1856  a  proposition  was  submitted  for  the  se- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


109 


curing  of  a  site  and  the  building  of  an  infirm- 
ary, but  it  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  2,168  to 
1,017,  more  than  two  to  one.  It  carried 
Bucyrus  by  457  to  26  and  Cranberry  by  94  to 
92,  and  lost  every  other  township  in  the  county. 

Under  the  new  constitution  the  township 
trustees  had  charge  of  the  poor,  and  they 
were  still  let  to  some  party  for  their  keeping. 
It  was  very  unsatisfactory,  as  the  most  care- 
ful watchfulness  could  not  prevent  cruelties 
occurring,  and  a  county  infirmary  became  an 
absolute  necessity.  A  compromise  was  made 
with  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  by  which 
the  infirmary  would  be  located  between  Bucy- 
rus and  Galion,  and  in  1864  it  was  again  sub- 
mitted to  a  vote,  and  carried  by  2,246  to  1,654, 
a  majority  of  592.  It  carried  the  townships  of 
Bucyrus,  Jackson,  Polk  and  Tod,  was  a  tie  in 
Chatfield,  and  lost  the  other  ten  townships. 
Its  heavy  favorable  vote  in  Bucyrus,  Galion 
and  Crestline,  on  account  of  the  compromise 
as  to  location,  enabled  it  to  carry.  The  site 
selected  was  240  acre  of  fine  farming  land  in 
sections  16,  17  and  21  Whetstone  township 
along  the  Galion  road  three  miles  southeast  of 
Bucyrus.  On  this  a  large  three-story  building 
was  erected  by  David  Shanks  at  a  cost  of  about 
$30,000,  a  plain,  commodious  brick  structure, 
but  with  no  attempt  at  ornamentation.  As 
time  passed  the  various  necessary  outbuildings 
were  erected,  and  also  a  very  modern  structure 
for  the  care  of  the  insane.  The  farm  of  the 
infirmary  not  only  supplies  its  own  provisions, 
but' a  surplus  is  sold  every  year.  Much  of  the 
work  of  the  farm  is  done  by  the  inmates,  who 
for  the  past  few  years  average  about  70.  From 
the  sale  of  the  surplus  products,  and  the  funds 
received  annually  from  the  liquor  tax  the  in- 
stitution is  practically  self-sustaining 

When  the  county  was  organized  in  1826  the 
principal  difficulty  with  which  the  early  pio- 
neers had  to  contend  were  the  roads.  Most 
came  in  the  summer,  when  the  low,  marshy 
ground  was  passable,  and  those  who  failed  to 
come  in  the  summer  or  early  fall  waited  until 
the  ground  was  frozen,  and  even  built  their 
cabins  in  the  depths  of  the'  forest  with  the 
snow  covering  the  trees  and  ground.  The  first 
settlers  followed  the  old  military  road,  and 
after  reaching  the  county  branched  off  to  the 
north  or  south  of  this  road,  which  accounts  for 
the  fact  that  after  the  early  settlers  had  drifted 


over  into  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county 
from  the  Connecticut  lands,  nearly  all  the 
early  settlers  are  found  to  have  taken  up  land 
in  what  is  now  Jackson,  Jefferson,  Polk, 
northern  Whetstone  and  Bucyrus,  and  south- 
ern Liberty  and  Sandusky,  a  strip  of  territory 
within  four  miles  to  the  north  or  south  of  the 
present  Pennsylvania  road,  which  is  the  strong- 
est of  circumstantial  evidence  that  the  old 
army  road  was  somewhere  near  the  centre  of 
this  tract,  and  at  no  point  through  the  county 
very  far  from  the  Pennsylvania  road.  Those 
settling  in  the  eastern  part  entered  their  land 
at  Wooster,  while  those  around  Bucyrus,  com- 
ing from  the  east,  selected  their  site,  built  their 
cabin,  and  then  made  their  trip  of  forty  miles 
on  foot  or  on  horseback,  across  the  plains  and 
through  the  forest  to  Delaware,  where  their 
land  was  entered.  Gen.  Harrison,  in  181 2, 
had  constructed  a  road  through  Delaware  to 
Upper  Sandusky,  passing  through  where 
Marion  now  is.  This  road  the  pioneers  reached 
at  the  nearest  point  ana  followed  it  to  Dela- 
ware, but  later  they  made  a  trail  for  them- 
selves, wandering  in  and  out  over  the  highest 
and  best  ground  straight  south  from  Bucyrus. 
As  early  as  1819  the  settlers  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  county  (then  Richland  county)  had 
made  a  road  for  themselves  from  where  Ga- 
lion now  is  through  Jefferson,  Auburn  and 
Vernon,  and  on  to  Paris  (Plymouth),  where 
a  road  existed  through  New  Haven  to  Huron 
on  Lake  Erie,  thus  giving  them  an  outlet  to 
points  where  they  could  get  their  supplies. 
On  account  of  the  difficulties  of  land  trans- 
portation, it  was  necessary  to  reach  some 
point  where  there  was  water  navigation.  At 
Huron,  where  goods  had  arrived  from  the 
east  by  water,  necessaries  could  be  purchased 
25  per  cent  cheaper  than  at  Mansfield,  and 
prices  paid  for  the  products  the  hunter  and 
settler  had  to  sell  were  25  per  cent  higher. 
The  necessity  of  taking  grain  to  the  mill  at 
Fredericktown,  made  a  trail  southeast  from 
Bucyrus  througb  Whetstorte  township;  this 
later  became  a  traveled  road,  and  when  the 
county  was  organized  developed  into  the  Mt. 
Vernon  road.  The  settlement  at  Leveridge's 
or  Hos ford's  (Galion)  was  connected  with 
Bucyrus  by  an  Indian  trail,  later  became  a 
pioneer  road,  and  still  later  a  mail  route  to 
Mansfield,  now  the  Bucyrus  and  Galion  road. 


110 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


The  first  real  road  was  the  Columbus  and 
Portland  (Sandusky)  road.  It  was  surveyed 
by  Col.  Kilbourne  about  1820,  and  a  charter 
granted  by  the  Legislature  for  a  State  road. 
The  road  was  from  Columbus  to  Delaware, 
then  to  Mt.  Gilead  (then  in  Marion  county), 
then  north  through  the  western  part  of  Gal- 
ion,  through  the  present  villages  of  Middle- 
town,  Leesville  and  West  Liberty,  and  north- 
east to  Paris  (Plymouth)  and  on  to  Portland 
(Sandusky).  From  Hosford's  settlement 
(Gallon)  north  it  was  practically  following 
the  original  road  cut  through  the  woods  by  the 
early  settlers.  In  the  building  of  roads  high 
ground  was  looked  after  more  than  direct 
route,  and  when  the  road  reached  Leveridge's 
Kilbourne  proposed  to  have  it  pass  on  the  high 
ground  where  the  Gallon  public  square  now  is ; 
here  it  was  to  cross  an  east  and  west  road  from 
Mansfield  to  Bucyrus".  Kilbourne  proposed  to 
Leveridge  to  cross  at  this  point,  lay  out  a  town 
and  divide  the  profits,  but  Leveridge  decided 
he  had  too  fine  a  farm  to  spoil  it  by  cutting  it 
up  into  town  lots,  so  the  road  was,  run  through 
the  Hosford  settlement,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Whetstone,  half  a  mile  west  of  Leveridge's, 
over  low  ground,  which  was  frequently  over- 
flowed and  during  the  west  season  often  im- 
passable. A  town  was  not  laid  out  here,  but  the 
crossing  of  the  two  roads  soon  brought  a  few 
shops  and  a  tavern,  and  the  settlement  became 
known  as  "The  Corners." 

The  natural  outlet  to  secure  the  best  market 
for  Bucyrus  was  Portland  (Sandusky)  on  the 
Lake,  and  constant  trips  through  the  woods  to 
that  point  soon  made  a  road.  Travel  to 
Marion  after  1823  soon  made  a  road  to  that 
point,  another  bore  southwest  to  Little  San- 
dusky (the  present  Wyandot  road),  where  it 
joined  the  north  and  south  road  from  Colum- 
bus to  Upper  Sandusky,  and  from  where  it 
continued  its  route  southwest  to  Marysville 
and  Bellefontaine.  The  road  built  by  Harri- 
son in  1812  from  Franklinton  (Columbus)  to 
Upper  Sandusky,  as  far  north  as  Norton,  in 
the  northern  part  of  Delaware  county,  was  a 
part  of  the  present  Columbus  and  Sandusky 
Pike.  In  1820  Kilbourne  had  continued  this 
road  north  bearing  east,  following  the  Whet- 
stone, as  his  Columbus  and  Portland  road. 
Settlers  continued  drifting  to  the  west,  and  in 
1822,  Kilbourne  laid  out  his  direct  road  north 


to  Sandusky,  the  present  Sandusky  pike,  106 
miles  from  Columbus  to  the  Lake,  and  several 
miles  shorter  than  the  shortest  of  the  three 
roads  that  then  ran  from  Columbus  to  San- 
dusky. On  this  road  he  laid  out  the  towns  of 
Claridon  in  Marion  county,  Bucyrus  in  Craw- 
ford county,  and  Caroline  in  Seneca  county. 
Later  this  road  became  the  most  traveled  from 
Columbus  to  the  Lake.  John  Kilbourne,  a 
nephew  of  Col.  Kilbourne,  in  his  Ohio  Gazet- 
teer of  1826,  says:  "During  the  last  session  of 
the  Legislature  (Dec.  1825)  the  author  peti- 
tioned for  the  grant  of  a  turnpike  incorporation 
to  construct  a  road  from  Columbus  to  Sandusky 
city,  a  distance  of  104  miles  in  a  direct  line. 
An  act  was  accordingly  passed  therefor.  But 
whether  the  requisite  funds  to  make  it  can  be 
raised  is  yet  (March  1826)  somewhat  uncer- 
tain. But  its  benefits  and  advantages  to  above 
one  half  the  northern  and  western  part  of  the 
state  are  so  obvious  that  the  presumption  is 
that  it  will  be  made." 

When  the  county  was  organized  in  1826, 
these  were  the  routes  of  travel,  called  high 
ways,  as  they  went  from  one  point  to  another 
over  the  highest  and  best  ground.  The  road 
from  the  east,  from  Gallon  to  Bucyrus,  was  a 
mail  route,  with  a  tri-weekly  line  of  stages  in 
1826,  and  yet  that  road  from  Galion  to  Bucy- 
rus, with  its  half  dozen  turns  and  curves  to- 
day, is  an  air  line  in  comparison  to  the  way 
it  wandered  through  the  country  in  its  stage 
coach  days,  and  it  was  a  road  in  name  only. 
As  late  as  1834,  the  father  of  R.  W.  Johnston 
of  Galion  was  a  teamster  with  headquarters  at 
Mansfield.  He  hauled  goods  from  Philadel- 
phia or  Baltimore  to  the  merchants  at  Mans- 
field, the  freight  charges  being  from  $4  to  $5 
per  hundred  pounds.  He  used  one  or  more  six 
horse  teams  for  the  hauling.  In  February, 
1834,  he  had  a  consignment  of  goods  for  E. 
B.  Merriman  at  Bucyrus.  He  had  four  horses 
to  draw  the  wagon  that  delivered  the  goods. 
When  he  started  to  return  the  spring  thaw  had 
set  in  and  when  in  the  present  Beltz  neighbor- 
hood the  empty  wagon  drawn  by  four  horses 
became  so  mired  that  he  had  to  go  to  the  near- 
est farm  house  to  get  teams  and  men  to  push, 
pry  and  pull  the  wagon  out  of  the  swampy 
ground  in  which  it  was  embedded.  In  1845, 
E.  B.  Monnett,  taking  four  sacks  of  wheat 
across  one  of  the  Plains  roads  to  the  mill  at 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


111 


Wyandot,  found  four  horses  unable  to  drag  the 
light  load  over  a  county  road,  and  additional 
assistance  had  to  be  secured  to  extricate  the 
wagon.  In  1858,  on  the  State  Turnpike  be- 
tween Bucyrus  and  Chatfield,  a  road  built 
thirty  years  previous,  and  built,  too,  partly  by 
donations  from  Congress,  George  Donnenwirth 
with  a  light  load  of  beer  was  mired,  com- 
pelled to  shoulder  each  keg,  and  carry  it 
across  the  impassable  road,  and  leave  the 
horses  to  pull  the  empty  wagon  to  higher  and 
better  ground,  reload  his  beer,  and  proceed  on 
his  way.  In  1824,  when  Aaron  Carey  was 
made  postmaster  at  Bucyrus  a  weekly  line  of 
stages  was  established  from  Columbus  to  San- 
dusky. It  gave  the  passengers  exercise  during 
the  wet  season,  as  at  the  worst  parts  of  the 
road,  several  miles  of  which  were  in  Crawford 
county,  the  passengers  all  walked  to  enable  the 
horses  to  drag  the  empty  coach  over  the  bad 
places.  One  of  the  necessary  articles  carried 
by  all  coaches  was  an  axe,  which  was  used  to 
cut  down  saplings,  for  use  as  poles  with  A\'hich 
the  driver  and  passengers  would  pry  the  heavy 
coach  out  of  some  chuck-hole  in  which  it  was 
stalled.  Frequently,  through  the  plains,  the 
driver  left  the  road,  where  on  the  right  or  left 
he  was  able  to  find  better  ground.  Where  the 
road  passed  through  the  swampy  ground  it  was 
made  of  corduroy,  trunks  of  trees  laid  sidewise. 
Heavy  straps  were  stretched  across  the  in- 
terior of  the  stage,  to  which  the  unfortunate 
passenger  desperately  clung  to  avoid  being 
thrown  from  his  seat,  as  the  heavy  and  cum- 
bersome coach  bounced  and  rocked,  and 
lurched  and  rolled  over  this  rough  roadway. 
Here  is  an  advertisement  of  this  mail  route 
taken  from  the  Columbus  Gazette,  of  Aug.  28, 
1823: 

"PROPOSALS  FOR   CARRYING  MAILS." 

Leave  Norton  by  Claridon,  Bucyrus,  Sherman, 
Oxford  and  Perkins  to  Sandusky  City,  once  a  week 
80  miles. 

"Leave  Norton  every  Saturday  at  noon,  and  ar- 
rive at  Sandusky  City  by  Monday  at  6  p.  m. 

"Leave  Sandusky  City  every  Tuesday  at  6  a.  m., 
and  arrive  at  Norton  the  next  Thursday  at  noon." 

Thus,  the  first  regular  mail  arrived  in  Bucy- 
rus on  a  government  schedule  of  80  miles  in 
54  hours,  and  it  can  be  imagined  that  the  en- 
tire village  turned  out  to  greet  the  first  arrival 
and  hold  a  jollification  over  the  important 
event,  and  Zalmon  Rowse  and  Merriman  and 


Norton  were  the  envy  of  their  neighbors  when 
the  driver  of  the  coach  accepted  drinks  at  their 
expense,  and  condescended  to  converse  with 
them  as  equals,  and  every  small  boy  inwardly 
resolved  that  when  he  became  a  man  the 
height  of  his  ambition  would  be  reached  if 
he  could  only  become  the  driver  of  a  stage 
coach. 

This  stage  route  was  from  Columbus  to 
Norton,  to  Marion,  to  Bucyrus;  then  to  Sher- 
man (now  Weaver's  Corners  15  miles  south- 
west of  Norwalk) ;  then  to  Oxford  (now 
Bloomingville  nine  miles  northwest  of  Nor- 
walk), and  to  Perkin  and  Sandusky  City. 

A  year  later,  in  September,  1824,  John  Kil- 
bourne  commenced  his  advocacy  of  a  turnpike 
over  about  this  same  road  from  Columbus  to 
the  lake,  one  so  constructed  that  it  would  be 
"navigable"  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  In  an 
article  in  the  Columbus  Gazette  of  Sept.  23, 
1824,  he  says  that  the  freight  rate  from  New 
York  to  Sandusky  City  is  $1.75  per  hundred 
weight  (112  pounds),  and  that  if  a  pike  road 
were  built  from  Sandusky  to  Columbus,  goods 
could  be  shipped  from  New  York  to  Colum- 
bus, at  $2.75  per  cwt.,  which  is  but  a  fraction 
over  one-half  what  we  now  pay  from  Phila- 
delphia to  Columbus.    He  then  adds : 

"Besides,  this  northern  route  would  be  the 

quickest,  thus, 

"To  Sandusky. ..  126  miles,  as  the  road  goes  3  days 

"Buffalo 2S0  miles   2  days 

"Albany 300  miles   3  days 

"New  York 144  miles  1  day 

"Philadelphia 90  miles   1  day 

910  miles   10  days 

"And  that  for  only  about  $40  expense,  in- 
cluding carriage  and  tavern  bills.  I  know  this 
is  correct  as  I  went  this  route  myself." 

Ten  days  from  Columbus  to  New  York, 
and  this  Mr.  Kilbourne  says  was  the  "quick- 
est" route.  Three  days  from  Columbus  to 
Sandusky  indicates  the  stages  through  Bucy- 
rus did  not  travel  the  road  after  night,  but 
made  their  journey  only  during  daylight  when 
the  driver  could  pick  his  way  over  the  road  and 
dodge  the  tree  stumps  which  might  wreck  the 
coach. 

Prior  to  1826  Bucyrus  had  a  mail  coming 
from  Bellefontaine  once  a  week,  through  Lit- 
tle Sandusky.  A  man  named  Snyder  was  the 
carrier,  and  he  made  the  trip  on  horseback,  but 
sometimes  when  the  road  was  particularly  bad, 


112 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


he  made  the  entire  journey  on  foot,  with  the 
mail  sack  swung  over  his  shoulder.  Prior  to 
the  weekly  stage  line  from  Columbus  to  San- 
dusky the  man  who  carried  the  mail  \\hen 
he  reached  Bucyrus,  found  the  road  to  the 
north  so  impassable  that  he  left  his  horse  at 
Bucyrus,  shouldered  his  mail  sack,  and  made 
the  trip  to  Sandusky  and  back  on  foot.  Mail 
delivered  at  Bucyrus  at  that  time  included  all 
the  settlers  within  a  radius  of  probably  eight 
or  ten  miles  from  that  village.  In  1826  there 
was  but  one  post  office  in  that  part  of  the 
county  which  is  now  Crawford  county,  and 
that  was  at  Bucyrus;  in  v/hat  was  then  the 
Richland  county  part  of  Crawford  county 
there  was  a  post  office  at  Gallon  and  at  Tiro 
(three  miles  north  of  the  present  Tiro).  In 
that  part  of  Crawford  which  in  1844  became 
\A/yandot  county  there  were  post  offices  at 
Upper  Sandusky  and  Little  Sandusky. 

These  were  the  roads  and  their  condition, 
the  post  offices  and  their  locations,  when  the 
county  was  organized  in  1826.  There  was  but 
one  village  in  the  present  Crawford  county, 
Bucyrus ;  one  settlement  in  the  Richland  county 
part.  Galleon,  located  at  the  crossing  of  the 
two  roads,  with  half  a  dozen  houses,  a  settle- 
ment which  thrived  and  prospered  until  the 
present  Gallon  was  laid  out  in  1832  when  the 
buildings  at  the  Corners  gradually  became  de- 
serted and  crumbled  to  decay,  and  when  50 
years  later  the  territory  of  the  original  settle- 
ment became  a  part  of  Gallon,  but  one  house 
was  standing  on  what  was  in  early  days  one  of 
the  two  business  centres  of  the  county. 

The  only  stores  in  the  present  county  were 
at  Bucyrus,  those  of  E.  B.  Merriman,  Henry 
St.  John  and  Samuel  Bailey,  or  his  successors 
Bowers  &  French ;  there  were  several  shops  at 
Bucyrus,  and  two  or  three  at  the  Corners  at 
Galleon ;  there  were  three  distilleries,  all  in  the 
Richland  county  part ;  one  ran  by  John  Adrian, 
near  where  Leesville  now  is ;  another  by  Nathan 
Merriman,  near  Galleon,  and  the  third  by 
JTames  Nail,  on  the  Whetstone,  southwest  of 
Galleon.  There  had  been  a  distillery  I'un  by 
McMichael  &  Rogers  on  the  banks  of  the  San- 
dusky, the  site  of  the  present  electric  light 
works,  but  it  had  been  discontinued.  Carey 
had  a  grist  mill  in  Bucyrus,  and  the  McMichael 
mill  was  a  mile  up  the  river,  while  a  mile  south 
west  on  the  Sandusky  was  the  mill  of  William 
Young.    The  other  grist  mills  were  in  the  Rich- 


land county  part,  Hibner's  mill,  northwest  of 
Galleon,  where  the  C.  C.  &  C.  road  now  crosses 
a  branch  of  the  Glen  Tangy,  Hosford,  Park, 
Sharrock  and  Nail  had  mills  along  the  Whet- 
stone. There  were  saw  mills  in  many  of  the 
townships  along  the  various  streams.  There 
was  a  Methodist  and  a  Baptist  church  in  Au- 
burn township  (then  Richland  county),  but 
no  church  yet  erected  in  the  Crawford  county 
part;  there  was  a  log  school  house  in  Bucyrus, 
one  in  the  Blowers  settlement,  Liberty  town- 
ship, and  one  in  Auburn  township.  There  were 
taverns  at  Bucyrus,  one  at  the  northeast  corner 
of  Sandusky  and  Perry,  run  by  Robert  More, 
while  across  Sandusky  avenue  on  the  Carey 
lot  was  a  tavern  kept  by  Samuel  Roth,  who 
was  also  Justice  of  the  Peace.  At  the  Comers 
(Galleon)  William  Hosford  had  a  tavern,  and 
there  were  several  houses  along  the  main  roads, 
not  exactly  taverns  but  recognized  as  places 
for  the  entertainment  of  travelers. 

The  following  is  the  estimated  population  of 
the  county  in  1826;  also  the  populations  in  1830 
and  1840.  The  population  of  1826  is  esti- 
mated at  one-half  of  the  official  population  of 
1830,  and  is  probably  a  very  close  and  fair 
estimate : 


1826. 
Craw-      Wyan- 
tord.  dot. 

Antrim    70 

Bucyrus    463 

Centre   

Chatfield    '.    ... 

Cranberry     

Crawford    499 

Holmes    

Jackson     

Liberty    372 

Lykins     

Mifflin     

Pitt    92 

Sandusky    346 

Sycamore    22       1.S0 

Tymochtee     

Whetstone   375 


1830. 

Craw-  Wyan- 

ford.  dot. 

...  139 

724  ... 

'90  '.'.'. 
112 

202 

655 


1840. 
Craw-     Wyan- 
ford.        dot. 

200 


275 


579 
44 

750 


184 

300 

724 


61 
1654 

32 
878 
680 

'744 
636 

1469 
742 


679 
200 

ii24 


100 


812 


316 
423 

"758 
1659 


Totals,  old 

Crawford     1578 
Auburn, 

Richland  Co.    136 
Sandusky, 

Richland  Co.     143 
Vernon, 

Richland  Co.     139 
Scott, 

Marion   Co...     66 
Tully, 

Marion   Co. . .     47 

Totals,  pres- 
ent Crawford  2109 


811 


3156  1622 

272  ... 

385  ... 

278  ... 

112  ... 

97  ... 

4300  .... 


8899  4268 

680  .... 

977  .... 

693  .... 

285  .... 

290  .... 

11824  .... 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


113 


It  will  be  seen  by  the  above  that  the  esti- 
mated population  of  Crawford  county  when  it 
was  authorized  to  organize  as  a  county,  was 
2,389,  of  which  1,578  were  in  the  Crawford 
county  part,  and  811  in  the  Wyandot  section. 
In  1836  the  population  was  4,770,  of  these 
3,156  being  the  Crawford  part  and  1,622  Wy- 
andot. In  1840  the  population  was  13,167, 
Crawford  having  8,899  ^"^  Wyandot  4,268. 

The  Richland  and  Marion  county  figures  at 
the  bottom  give  the  population  of  those  sec- 
tions that  are  now  a  part  of  the  present  county, 
so  the  long  columns  are  the  population  of  the 
present  Crawford  county  at  the  three  dates 
given. 

Since  the  present  county  was  formed  in 
1845,  and  as  constituted,  the  population  at 
each  succeeding  census  has  been  as  follows : 

1850  i860  1870  1880  1890  1900  1910 

Auburn  951  1072  910  117&  1244  1174  1161 

Bucyrus  2315  3543  4184  5073  6988  7587  9032 

Chatfield  ....1351  1430  1247  1266  1201  1304  1129 

Cranberry  .  . .  1042  1339  1281  1824  1662  1819  1819 

Dallas  406  406  370  500  430  465  469 

Holmes  1238  1639  157°  1660  1423  1500  1233 

Jackson  171 1  3290  4021  3216  3248  3670  4236 

Jefferson* 1224  1009  913  802 

Liberty  1782  1788  1597  1679  1591  1566  1342 

Lykins  1185  1265  1140  1225  1058  930  883 

Polk  1318  2910  4369  6518  7200  8433  8019 

Sandusky 822  792  665  658  615  569  51° 

Texas  S45  S66  566  587  539  5i6  476 

Tod 578  1093  1156  1099  974  882  774 

Vernon 1276  1224  980  1038  952  926  722 

Whetstone  ..1657  1524  1490  1840  1793  1661  1429 

Total  18177  23881  25556  30583  31927  33915  34036 

Cities  and  villages : 

Bucyrus,  i822t  1365  2180  3066  3835  5974  6560  8122 

Galion.t  1831  589  1966  3523  5635  6326  7282  7214 

Crestline,  1852 1487  2279  2848  291 1  3282  3807 

New  WashVn,  1833.  76  221  273  675  704  824  889 

Tiro,  1874 65  177  293  321 

Chatfield,  1840 52  106  ig8  216  326  298  270 

N.  Robinson,  1861 157  182  257  200  155 

Leesville,  1829  197  235  320  213  203  178  115 

As  nearly  as  can  be  gathered  from  pioneer 
statements  and  records,  the  following  is  a  list 
of  those  in  Crawford  county  in  1826,  with  the 
dates  of  their  first  arrival.  Those  marked 
with  a  ( § )  had  been  residents  and  moved  away 
prior  to    1826;  those  marked  with  a   double 

*Jackson  township  was  divided  in  1873,  the  township 
of  Jefferson  being  created. 

tDates  are  the  year  town  was  started. 

tin  the  census  of  1910,  many  names  were  omitted, 
notably  in  the  first  ward.  The  population  in  1910,  was 
several  hundred  above  the  United  States  census  figures 
given  in  this  table. 


star  (**)  had  died  prior  to  1826.  Where  sev^ 
eral  names  are  given  of  the  same  family,  they 
are  generally  sons  who  are  young  men. 

AUBURN  TOWNSHIP — RICHLAND  COUNTY  UNTIL  184S. 

819 — Adam  Aumend 
819— Adam  Aumend,  Jr. 
826 — Enoch  Baker 
826 — Joseph  Baker 
822— David  Bender 
821 — Jacob  Bevard 
821— Ira  W.  Blair 
821— John  Blair 
821— Selden  Blair 
818— Jesse  Bodley 
818— John  Bodley 
818— Lester  Bodley 
818— Levi  Bodley 
821— Daniel  Bunker 
817— Martin  Clark 
82S— William  Cleland 
817— Barnet  Cole 
817— William  Cole 
816 — Jacob  Coykendall 
816 — David  Cummins 
816— John  Deardorff 
818— Charles  Dewitt 
82S — Jonathan  Dixon 
820 — James  Gardner 
820 — William  Garrison 
820— Michael  Gisson 
815— William  Green 
815 — Samuel  S.  Green 
815— Walter  Green 
820 — Benjamin  Griffith 
822 — George  Hammond 
819 — Samuel  Hanna 
821— Seth  Hawks 
820 — Harvey  Hoadley 
822 — Aaron  B.  Howe 
822— Nelson  S.  Howe 
818— Daniel  Hulse 
818— Palmer  Hulse 
826— William  Johns 
820— Erastus  Kellogg 
822 — Jesse  Ladow 
818 — William  Laugherty 
822— Richard  Millar 
814 — Jedediah  Morehead 
818— David  C.  Morris 
817 — David  Morrow 
817 — Charles  Morrow 
817 — James  Morrow 
820— Rodolphus  Morse 
819 — Frederick  Myers 
814 — John  Pettigon 
817— Henry  Reif 
821 — Robert  Robinson 
825— Abel  C.  Ross 
825- Daniel  W.  Ross 
820 — Erastus  Sawyer 
820 — Jacob  .Snyder 
820— William  Snyder 
821— John  Sheckler 
820— John  Talford 
822— Richard  Tucker 
818 — Andrew  Varnica 
817 — John  Wadsworth 
822— John  Webber 
819— Resolved  White 


114 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


BUCYRUS   TOWNSHIP. 

Those  marked   (§)   lived   outside  the  village. 
1822 — Thomas  Adams  § 
1826— Isaac  H.  Allen 
182S— Moses  Arden 
1826 — George  Aumiller  § 
1826— Henry  Babcock 
1824— Samuel  Bailey 
1823— Adam  Bair 
1825— Adam  Bair 
1826— Martin  Barr 
1820— David  Beadle  § 
1820— David  Beadle,  Jr.  § 
1820— Michel  Beadle  § 
1826 — Edward  Billups 
1823— John  Billups 
1824— George  Black  § 
1824— John  Black  § 
1826 — Jacob  Bowers 
1825 — John  Bowman 
1826— William  Bratton 
1823 — ^John  Brown 
1823— David  Bryant  § 
1819— Albigence  Bucklin  § 
1822— Elizabeth  Bucklin  ** 
1822 — Harry  Burns 
1822 — Aaron  Gary 
1822 — Aaron  Gary,  Jr. 
1821— Abel  Gary 
1822 — ^Lewis  Gary 
1822— "Old  Peter"  Gary  ** 
1826— John  Galdwell, 
1825 — Samuel  Garl 
1821— Amos  Glark§ 
1825- Elihu  Dowd 
1825 — Ebenezer  Dowd 
1822— John  Deardorff  ** 
1826 — David  Dinwiddle  § 
1826— Jacob  Drake 
1823— William  Early 
1820 — ^Joseph  Ensley  § 
1825— Andrew  Failor 
1825- Nicholas  Failor 
1823 — Benjamin  Fickle  § 
1823— Jacob  Fickle  § 
1823— Daniel  Fickle  § 
1823— Isaac  H.  Fickle  § 
1826— Michael  Flick 
1824— John  Funk 
1822 — Harris  Garton 
1821 — John  S.  George  § 
1825— George  Hawk 
1826 — George  Hesser  § 
1826— Peter  Hesser  § 
1824— Dr.  John  T.  Hobbs 
1821— Henry  Holmes 
1819— Seth  Holmes  ** 
1825 — James  Houston 
1825— Thomas  Howey  § 
1825- John  H.  Morrison 
1823— A.  L.  Shover 
1823— Patrick  Height 
1826— William  Hughey 
1826— William  Hughey,  Jr. 
1824— John  Huhr 
1825- Mary  Inman 
1826 — -Thomas  Johnson 
1825 — John  Kanzleiter 
1822— John  Kellogg** 
1822— David  Kent  § 


1821— Elisha  Kent  § 
1822— John  Kent  § 
1822— Thaddeus  Kent  § 
1825— Joseph  Knott  § 
1822 — Darius  Landon  § 
1822 — William  Langdon  § 
1826 — George  Lauck 
1825 — Joshua  Lewis  § 
1826— Hugh  Long 
1823— John  Magers  § 
1826— William  V.  Marquis  § 
1826— William  Marsh 
1826 — ^Jairies  Marshall 
1822— John  Marshall 
1822— Dr.  Joseph  McGomb 
1825— Bailey  McGracken 
182S^Hugh  McGracken 
1826— James  McGlure 
1826 — ^James  McLain 
1819— Matthew  McMichael  § 
1823— James  Martin 
1822 — Charles  Merriman 
1822— E.  B,  Merriman 
1825— Daniel  Miller  § 
1823— Harry  Miller 
1824— Henry  Miller  § 
1825— John  Miller 
1826— Henry  Minich 
1822— Robert  Moore 
1823— Joseph  S.  Morris  § 
1826 — Abraham  Myers 
1826— Samuel  Myers  § 
1826 — John  Nimmon 
1819— Samuel  Norton 
1819 — Rensselaer  Norton 
1821— David  Palmer  § 
1824 — Dr.  Joseph  Pearce 
1822— Russell  Peck 
1825— Horace  Pratt 
1823— William  Reeves 
1822 — Gonrad  Rhodes 
1822 — Ichabod  Rogers 
1824— John  Rogers** 
1821— Gonrad  Roth 
1821— Samuel  Roth 
1823 — Heman  Rowse  §  ** 
1821 — -Zalmon  Rowse  § 
1825 — Jonas  Scott 
1825 — Thomas  Scott  § 
1825— Daniel  Seal 
1826 — ^Jacob  Seigler 
1825— Daniel  Shroll  § 
1825— George  Shroll  § 
1825— John  Shroll  § 
1825— William  Shroll  § 
1821— George  P.  Shultz 
1821— Gottleib  John  Shultz  § 

1820 Sears* 

1826 — George  Sinn  § 
1826— EH  Slagle 
1823— Harry  Smith 
1826 — Joy  Sperry 
1826— Henry  St.  John 
1826— Gha^les  Stanberg 
1826 — James  G.  Steen 
1826— David  Stein  § 
1821— William  M.  Stephenson  i 
1821 — Lewis  Stephenson 
1822 — Joseph  Umpstead 
1825 — Benjamin  Warner  § 
1824— Joseph  Whitherd 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


115 


1825— George  Welsh  § 
1820— Jacob  Young  § 
1820— John  Young  § 
1820— Joseph  Young  § 
1820— William  Young  § 
1820 — George  Young  § 


1821— Zachariah  Welsh 
1823— Benjamin  S.  Welsh 
1820— Charles  White 


CHATFIELD  TOWNSHIP. 


1826 — William  Champion 
1824— Oliver  Chatfield 
1824— Silas  Chatfield 
1826— David  Clute 
1824— John  Henry 
1825 — John  Robinson 
1825 — James  M.  Robinson 
1825— William  Spanable 
1824 — George  Stuckman 
1820— Jacob  Whetstone  * 


CRANBERRY  TOWNSHIP. 


1823- 


Bergin 


1824 — Joshua  Chilcote 
1824 — Joshua  Chilcote,  Jr. 
1824 — Heathcote  Chilcote 
1824 — James  Chilcote 
1824— John  Chilcote 
1824 — Nicodemas  Chilcote 
1826 — Aaron  Cory 
1826 — Thomas  Cory 
1823 — Charles  Doney 
1826— Robert  Hilborn 
1826 — Jacob  Lederer 
1826 — Jacob  Lederer,  Jr. 
1826— Adam  G.  Lederer 
1826 — John  Lederer 
1826 — George  Myers 
1826— Oak  Tyndale 

DALLAS  TOWNSHIP. 

(Marion  County  until  1845.) 
1820— George  H.  Busby 
1825— David  Bibler 
1825— James  Bibler 
1825- George  Clark 
182S— Andrew  Clark 
1822 — Christian  Hoover 
1822— William  Hoover 
1825— William  Howe 
1823— Jacob  King 
1820 — ^Isaac  Longwell 
1820— Peter  Longwell 
1820 — Samuel  Line 
1825 — John  Mason 
1825 — John  Mason,  Jr. 
1825 — Joseph  Mason 
1820— Matthew  Mitchell 
1824— John  McClary 
1824 — Thomas  McClary 
1825 — Thomas  Mason 
1822— John  Page 
1821— Charles  iParrish 
1821— William  Parrish 
1824 — William  Ramey 
1824— Jacob  Shaffer 
1826 — Jacob  Snyder 
1826— John  Snyder 
1823— Christian  Stahley 
1822— Daniel  Swigart 
1820— George  Walton 
1821— Benjamin  Welsh 
1821— Madison  Welsh 


HOLMES  TOWNSHIP. 


1824— Thomas  Alsoph 
1821— William  Flake 
1826— Joel  Glover 

1821 Heaman* 

1821— Elisha  Holmes 
1821 — Lyman  Holmes 
1821— Samuel  Holmes 
1821— Truman  Holmes 
1821 — Zalmon  Holmes 
1826 — Christian  Haish 
1826 — John  Hussey 
1824 — Samuel  Hemminger 
1826— Martin  Holman 
1825— Timothy  Kirk** 
1823 — James  Martin 
1823 — Jonas  Martin 
1825— Joseph  Newell 
1825- Daniel  Snyder 
1826— William  Spitzer 


JACKSON  TOWNSHIP. 

(Richland  County  until  1845.) 

1824— Elisha  Allen 
1818 — John  Benjamin 
1823— David  Bryant 
1820— John  Doyle 
1824— John  Fate 
1818 — Benjamin  Rush 
1820— Joseph  Russell 
1821— Samuel  Rutan 

JEFFERSON  TOWNSHIP. 

(Part  of  Richland  County  until  1845.) 

1818— John  Adrian 
1817— Peter  Beebout 
1816— Jacob  Fisher 
1817— John  S.  Griswell 
1817 — Thomas  Ferguson 
1825— Samuel  Freese 
1820— Eli  Foglesong 
1824— David  Dorn 
1824 — John  Hise 
1819— Henry  Hershner 
1819— Jacob  Hershner 
1819— Michael  Hershner 
1825— John  Hershner 
1819 — Lewis  Leiberger 
1818— Daniel  Miller 
1819— James  Nail 
1817— Westell  Ridgely 
1817— Andrew  Ridgely 
1817— Daniel  Ridgely 
1817— John  Ridg-ely 
1817— William  Ridgely 
1817 — Christian  Snyder 
1817— Jacob  Snyder 
1817— Peter  Snyder 
1824 — Jacob  Weaver 
1826— Daniel  Wert 
1826— Joseph  Wert 
1826— Peter  Wert 
1821 — Benjamin  Worden 
1821— Benjamin  F.  Worden 
1821— Nathan  Worden 


116 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


LIBERTY  TOWNSHIP. 

1823 — John  Anderson 
1820— Ralph  Bacon 
182S— John  Bair 
1821— John  O.  Blowers 
1822— William  Blowers 
1823— John  Chandler 
1823 — Joseph  Chandler 
182S — ^James  Clingan 
1825 — John  Clingan 
1823— Asa  Cobb 
1823— Dudley  Cobb 
1821 — Christian  Couts 
1823— Israel  Borland 
1823— Garrett  Borland 
1823 — James  Borland 
1823— Luke  Borland 
1822— Robert  Foster 
1824— John  H.  Fry 
1823 — ^Jacob  Gurwell 
1825 — ^James  S.  Gurwell 
1825- Edward  Hartford 
1826— Bavid  Hawk 
1825— John  Helm 
1825— Pres  Hilliard 
1821— William  Huff 
1824— William  Huff 
1825— Baniel  Ketchum 
1825— Baniel  Kimble 

1824 — Richard  King 

1824— John  Kroft 

1824— William  Little 

1823 — Benjamin  Manwell 

1823— Horatio  Markley 

1823 — Matthias  Markley 

1821— Thomas  McClure 

1823 — ^James  McCurdy 

1819— Daniel  McMichael  ** 

1821— John  Maxfield 

1823— William  Moderwell 

1825— Alex  A.  McCullough 

1826 — ^James  McMannes 

1822— Simeon  Parcher 

1826 — Samuel  Peterman 

1826 — John  Peterman 

1826— Isaac  Rice 

1823— Thomas  Scott 

1825- Baniel  Shellhammer 

1826 — Abraham  L.  Shivers 

1825- Andrew  Shreck 

1825— John  Slifer 

1826— Isaac  Slater 

1823 — Samuel  Smalley 

1824 — Richard  Spicer 

1823— Ichabod  Smith 

1823— Thomas  Smith 

1822— Calvin  Squires 

1822 — Nehemiah  Squires 

1823 — Calvin  Stone 

1824— John  G.  Stough 

1826 — Peter  Stockman 

1820— Auer  Umberfield 

1825— Anthony  Walker 

1825— John  Walters 

1825- Asa  Wetherby 

1826 — Thomas  Williamson 

1825— Mary  Wood 

LYKENS  TOWNSHIP. 

1825 — Christopher  Keggy 


1826— Jacob  Miller 
1826 — George  Rhoad 

POLK  TOWNSHIP. 

(Part  of  Richland  County  until  1845.) 

1826— John  Ashcroft 
1820 — Alpheus  Atwood 
1820— John  Atwood 
1824 — James  Auten 
1826 — Jonathan  Ayres 
1819- — Samuel  Brown 
1819— John  Brown 
1819— Michael  Brown 
1820— John  Bashford 
1817 — Edward  Cooper 
1821— John  Cracraft 
1820 — Samuel  Dany 
1820— ^John  Bickerson 
1822 — Rev.  James  Bunlap 
1822 — John  Bunraeier 
1822 — ^John  Eysman 

1820 Fletcher 

1820 Fletcher 

1818— Bavid  Gill 
1826 — Thomas  Harding 
1822— John  Hauck 
1820— John  Hibner 
1819— Asa  Hosford 
1819— Horace  Hosford 
1820— William  Hosford 
1817 — Bisberry  Johnson 
1817^ — Samuel  Johnson 
1823 — Phares  Jackson 
1821— John  Jeffrey 
1818 — ^John  Kitteridge 
1817 — ^James  Leveridge 
1817 — James  Leveridge,  Jr. 
1817 — Nathaniel  Leveridge 
1823 — Nathan  Merriman 
1822— Alexander  McGrew 
1820— Daniel  Miller 
1821— Jacob  Miller 
1822— William  Murray 
1825— William  Neal 
1826— Andrew  Poe 
1825 — ^James  Reeves 
1822— Rev.  John  Reinhart 
1820— David  Reid 
1825 — George  Row 
1825 — John  Schawber 
1826 — ^John  Sedous 
1818 — Benjamin  Sharrock 
1818— Nehemiah  Story 
1818— Nathaniel  Story 
1817— John  Sturges 
1823— Owen  Tuttle 
1818— George  Wood 
1818— George  Wood,  Jr. 
1818— John  Williamson 

SANDUSKY    TOWNSHIP. 

1823 — Jacob  Ambrose 
1820— William  Beatty 
1820— Philip  Beatty 
1823 — Benjamin  Bowers 
1823 — Jacob  Bowers 
1823— William  Bowers 
1825 — ^John  Cove 
1826 — Isaac  Barling 
1826 — ^John  Bewey 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


117 


1823— Jacob  Dull 
1820— Matthew  Elder 
1823 — John  Clemens 
1823 — Adam  Clemens 
1823 — Thomas  Clemens 
1821— John  B.  French 
1819— James  Gwell 
1819— William  Gwell 
1822— William  Handley 
1822 — Jesse  Handley 
1826 — Isaac  Henry 
1823— Isaac  Hilborn 
1826— George  M.  Kitch 
1819 — Samuel  Knisely 
1820— Joseph  Knisely 
1823— James  Magee 
1826 — John  Magner 
1826— Henry  Magner 
182S— William  Matthews 
182S^-Isaac  Matthews 
1824— John  Mayer 
1826 — John  Ramsey 
1826 — Joseph  Smith 
1825— Alex  Smith 
1820— Samuel  Shull 
1825 — James  Tarns 
1825— Nelson  Tustison 
1826— Joseph  Wert 
1826— John  Wert 
1826— Adam  Wert 

TEXAS  TOWNSHIP. 

1824 — Eli  Adams 
1824— Paul  Adams 
1824 — George  Bender 
1822 — John  Henry  Coon 
1826 — Ebenezer  Culver 
1825 — Anthony  Detray 
1826— Jacob  Foy 
1826 — Samuel  Gregg 
1826— William  Griffiths 
1826 — Lewis  Lemert 
1825— Robert  Mayes 
1825— Adam  Miller 
1825— Isaac  Miller 
1825— Charles  Morrow 
1825— John  Nedray 
1825— David  Palmer 
1825— Doddridge  Paul 
1825— Elting  Paul 
1825 — Laban  Perdew 
1826 — William  Pennington 
1825— Robert  Roberts 
1825— Alva  Tash 

TOD  TOWNSHIP. 

All    Indian    Reservation   until   opened   for   settle- 
ment in  1837. 

VERNON  TOWNSHIP. 

(Richland  County  until  1845.) 
1818 — George  Byers 
1823— John  Cleland 
1823— William  Cleland 
1816 — Andrew  Dickson 
1823 — George  Dickson 
1825 — ^Jonathan  Dickson 
1825— James  Dickson 
1821 — James  Richards 
1824— Conrad  Walters 
1824 — Anthony  Walters 


WHETSTONE  TOWNSHIP. 


1823 — James  Armstrong 
1822 — Peter  Anderson 
1822 — Christian  Bair 
1822— John  Beckwith 
1826— John  Boyer 
1822— Philip  Clinger 
1822 — Adam  Clinger 
1822— Archibald  Clark 
1822 — George  Clark 
1822 — Benjamin  Camp 
1823 — John  Campbell 
1817— William  Cooper 
1824 — Charles  Chambers 
1824 — Isaac  Eichelberger 
1824 — Casper  Eichelberger 
1823 — James  Falloon 
1821 — Frederick  Garver 
1822 — Benjamin  George 
1822— William  Hamilton 
1821 — George  Hancock 
1822 — -Henry  Harriger 
1823 — James  Henderson 
1821— Asa  Howard 
1821 — Daniel  Jones 
1823— Adam  Jacob  Kieffer 
1819— John  Kent 
1826— Andrew  Kerr 
1821— John  King 
1825 — John  Lininger 
1820— Noble  McKinstry 
1824— J.  W.  Moderwell 
1822— Esi  Norton 
1821— Philander  Odell 
1821— Eli  Odell 
1821— Jacob  Odell 
1823 — 'George  Poe 
1821 — Samuel  Parcher 
1822 — Lyman  Parcher 
1822 — George  Parcher 
1822— John  Parcher 
1822 — Benjamin  Parcher 
1822 — George  Parcher,  Jr. 
1821— Nathaniel  Plummer 
1821— Abner  Rowse 
1823 — Cornwallis  Reese 
1824— Robert  Reid 
1824— George  Reid 
1826 — Henry  Remson 
1822— Daniel  Palmer 
1820— Martin  Shaffner 
1826— Henry  S.  Sheldon 
1826— Valentine  Shook 
1826 — Samuel  Shook 
1826— John  Staley 
1823— John  Stein 
1823 — Abraham  Steen 
1822— Hugh  Stewart 
1822— William  Stewart 
1822 — James  Stewart 
1822 — John  Stewart 
1822 — ^Joseph  Stewart 
1822— Hugh  Stewart,  Jr. 
1826— William  Stuck 
1823— Hugh  Trimble 
1823— John  Trimble 
1821 — Samuel  VanVoorhis 
1826— Robert  Walker 
1820— John  Willowby 
1826— Samuel  Winters 


CHAPTER  VI 


POLITICAL 


Early  Politics — The  Campaign  of  1840 — Harrison  at  Bucyrus — First  Campaign  Song — The 
Exciting  Campaign  of  186^ — Various  Minor  Parties — Constitutional  Conventions — Vote  of 
the  County  Since  Its  Organisation — The  County  in  State  Politics — Incidents  of  Early  Cam- 
paigns— Crawford  During  the  War — Complete  Li^t  of  Officials  Since  the  Organization  of 
the  County. 


Some  are  born  great,  some  achieve  greatness, 
And  some  have  greatness  thrust  upon  them. 

— S  H  A  KESPEAEE. 

Here  and  there  some  stern,  high  patriot  stood. 
Who  could  not  get  the  place  for  which  he  sued. 

— Byron. 

When  Crawford  county  was  first  estab- 
lished by  the  legislature  in  1820,  there  was 
considerable  unanimity  in  politics  not  only  in 
Ohio  at  that  time,  but  in  the  nation.  James 
Monroe  had  been  elected  president  without 
opposition.  Crawford  county  did  not  vote  as 
a  county  until  1824,  and  even  at  that  election 
its  vote  was  cast  with  Marion,  and  the  first 
separate  vote  of  the  county  was  in  1826,  and 
at  that  time  a  harmonious  spirit  existed  in  the 
county.  Prior  to  1820  there  had  been  two 
parties,  the  Federalists  and  the  followers  of 
Jefferson,  the  latter  using  the  names  of  Re- 
publican and  Democrat  indiscriminately.  The 
Jeffersonian  theory  of  government  had  pre- 
vailed to  such  an  extent  that  in  Ohio  there  was 
practically  no  opposition.  When  the  election 
took  place  in  1824  there  were  four  candidates 
John  Quincy  Adams  of  Massachusetts,  who 
represented  what  was  left  of  the  old  Federal 
party,  and  was  supported  by  the  more  con- 
servative voters;  William  A.  Crawford  of 
Georgia,  a  democrat  of  the  Federal  school, 
who  favored  the  leaders  of  the  party  at  Wash- 
ington controlling  the  nominations.  The 
other  two  were  Andrew  Jackson  and  Henry 
Clay.  The  bulk  of  the  Jackson  and  Clay  fol- 
lowers were  of  the  Jefferson-Madison-Monroe 
school,  Jackson  being  for  a  strict  construction 
of  the  constitution,  against  a  national  bank 
which  then  existed,  and  against  any  centraliz- 


ing of  power.  Clay  was  more  liberal,  and 
favored  the  government  looking  after  inter- 
nal improvements,  and  in  connection  with  that 
a  protective  tariff.  Not  one  of  them  was  a 
Federalist,  although  Adams  was  so  classed, 
while  the  Jackson  men  took  the  name  of 
Democratic  Republican;  the  Clay  men  Na- 
tional Republican.  The  election  in  Ohio  re- 
sulted Clay  19,255,  Jackson  18,489,  Adams 
12,280,  while  Crawford  had  no  electoral  ticket 
in  the  field.  It  will  be  observed  that  his  vote 
was  50,024.  A  month  previous  at  the  October 
election  for  governor  the  vote  was  Jeremiah 
Morrow,  democrat,  39,526;  Allen  Trimble,  na- 
tional republican,  37,108.  Trimble's  vote  com- 
ing from  the  Clay  and  Adams  men,  and 
Morrow's  vote  from  the  Jackson  men,  and 
many  democrats  who  were  dissatisfied  with  all 
the  presidential  candidates.  So  mixed  up,  or 
so  united,  were  political  affairs  that  two  years 
later  Trimble,  national  republican,  had  prac- 
tically no  opposition  for  governor,  receiving 
71,475  votes,  the  scattering  vote  being  about 
13,000.  By  1828  the  two  parties  took  definite 
forms,  both  either  republican  or  democratic, 
whichever  one  might  choose  to  call  them,  and 
the  only  difference  being  in  matters  of  govern- 
mental policy.  In  1828  Jackson  carried  the 
State  for  president,  although  the  national  re- 
publicans elected  their  governor  that  year  and 
in  1830,  and  after  Jackson  again  carried  the 
State  in  1832,  the  democrats  of  the  Jackson 
school  were  left  in  undisputed  possession  of 
the  name  of  democrat,  and  the  national  repub- 
licans united  all  opposition  to  the  democratic 
party  under  the  name  of  Whigs.     The  latter 


118 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


119 


party  carried  the  state  for  Harrison  in  1836 
and  1840.  Under  President  Jackson,  from 
1829  to  1837  party  lines  began  to  be  closely 
drawn,  but  prior  to  that  time  there  had  been 
no  special  difference  between  the  two  parties. 

The  first  mention  of  Crawford  county  in 
regard  to  political  matters  was  in  the  Colum- 
bus Gazette  of  July,  1824,  when  a  meeting 
was  held  at  Columbus  in  the  interest  of  Henry 
Clay.  At  that  meeting  Henry  Brown  of 
Franklin  county  was  appointed  the  Clay  elec- 
tor for  this  district,  and  Joseph  Chaffee  of 
Crawford  county  was  present  and  was  placed 
in  charge  of  the  Clay  interests  in  this  county. 
Chaffee  lived  in  Tymochtee  township.  That 
year  practically  all  were  Clay  or  Adams  men 
in  this  county,  as  at  the  election  in  1824,  Ma- 
rion county,  of  which  Crawford  was  a  part, 
gave  the  following  vote :  Adams  87 ;  Clay 
54;  Jackson  13.  The  formation  of  parties 
can  be  seen  by  the  presidential  vote  of  1832, 
when  it  resulted  in  this  county :  Andrew  Jack- 
son, dem.,  557;  Henry  Clay,  whig,  259. 

The  exciting  campaign  in  Ohio  and  in  this 
county  was  the  presidential  election  in  1840, 
when  William  Henry  Harrison  ran  against 
Martin  Van  Buren,  the  latter  being  the  demo- 
cratic candidate  for  re-election.  Pages  of 
history  have  been  written  about  the  campaign 
of  1840.  It  was  the  first  political  "tidal  wave" 
that  ever  swept  the  country.  From  1829  to 
1840  Andrew  Jackson  had  been  president,  fol- 
lowed by  Martin  Van  Buren,  and  the  demo- 
cratic party  was  strongly  intrenched  in  power ; 
the  whigs  were  demoralized,  their  principal 
issue  being  anti-Jackson.  On  December  4, 
1839,  they  met  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  and  nomi- 
nated Gen.  Harrison  for  the  presidency,  with 
John  Tyler  of  Virginia  for  vice  president. 
Van  Buren's  colleague  was  Richard  M.  John- 
son, of  Kentucky,  who  in  the  war  of  1812,  had 
won  the  final  battle  of  the  Thames  in  Canada, 
when  the  British  were  defeated  and  Tecumseh 
was  killed.  Harrison,  as  the  hero  of  the  war 
of  1812,  was  the  idol  of  the  then  great  rising 
northwestern  territory,  but  in  the  east  the 
business  interests  and  the  newspapers  made 
light  of  his  candidacy;  soon  after  the  Harri- 
son nomination,  the  editor  of  a  Van  Buren 
paper  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  visited  General  Har- 
rison at  his  country  home  at  South  Bend,  Ind., 
and  was  cordially  received  and  hospitably  en- 


tertained by  him.  He  published  an  account  of 
his  trip,  spoke  slightingly  of  Harrison's  abil- 
ities, and  stated  that  he  lived  in  a  log  cabin  and 
drank  hard  cider,  and  had  no  desire  to  be 
president,  and  neither  had  he  the  ability  to 
fill  the  position,  and  concluded  by  stating  that 
if  the  people  of  the  country  would  only  fur- 
nish him  with  a  liberal  supply  of  crackers  and 
sufficient  hard  cider  he  would  be  contented  to 
live  in  his  little  log  cabin  for  the  remainder 
of  his  days.  Every  Van  Buren  paper  in  the 
east  published  the  story  with  great  relish,  and 
it  was  copied  in  the  western  organs.  Then  the 
storm  broke.  In  all  of  the  great  northwest 
that  Harrison  had  rescued  from  the  Indians 
the  people  remembered  the  log  cabins  that  had 
been  their  first  homes ;  they  still  kept  the  hard 
cider  for  the  hospitable  entertainment  of  their 
guests,  and  many  still  lived  in  the  little  log 
cabins.  The  northwest  rallied  to  their  idol, 
the  log  cabin  and  the  buckeye  became  their 
rallying  cry,  and  the  hard  cider  was  free 
everywhere.  A  meeting  was  called  at  Colum- 
bus for  February  22,  1840,  and  although  it 
was  the  dead  of  winter,  when  the  day  arrived 
over  15,000  people  assembled  in  that  city  of 
6,000  population,  and  every  house  was  thrown 
open  to  entertain  free  every  guest.  Every 
county  within  a  radius  of  a  hundred  miles 
sent  monster  delegations,  some  hauling  log 
cabins  for  fifty  miles  over  the  miserable  roads. 
Nearly  a  hundred  went  down  from  Crawford 
county.  Heavy  rains  had  swollen  the  streams, 
and  the  roads  were  almost  impassable,  but 
there  were  miles  of  paraders,  with  their  in- 
numerable log  cabins,  and  heading  the  pro- 
cession was  a  reproduction  of  Fort  Meigs 
erected  by  Harrison,  and  defended  by  him  in 
1813,  and  on  the  front  flag  staff  Harrison's 
reply  to  General  Proctor's  demand  for  its  sur- 
render: "Tell  General  Proctor  when  he  gets 
possession  of  the  Fort,  he  will  gain  more 
honor,  in  the  estimation  of  his  King  and  coun- 
try, than  he  would  acquire  by  a  thousand 
capitulations."  There  were  speeches ;  and  the 
hard  cider  distributed  free  at  every  house,  with 
barrels  of  it  at  every  street  corner,  kept  up  the 
enthusiasm,  and  also  prevented  any  ill  effect 
from  the  intemperate  weather. 

Of  course  they  passed  resolutions,  a  column 
of  them,  glorifying  themselves  and  their  can- 
didate,   and   denouncing,   and   criticizing   the 


120 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


opposition,  and  one  resolution,  not  political, 
but  future  events  demonstrated  it  was  the 
shrewdest  of  politics.  It  was  a  resolution 
recommending  that  "the  young  men  of  Ohio, 
Kentucky,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  West- 
ern New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia 
celebrate  the  next  anniversary  of  the  raising 
of  the  siege  of  Fort  Meigs,  in  June,  1813,  on 
the  ground  occupied  by  that  fort." 

As  early  as  May  they  started  for  the  rendez- 
vous; men  left  their  farms  and  their  factories, 
their  stores  and  their  shops,  and  through  the 
forests  and  across  the  swamps  they  journeyed 
hundreds  of  miles  on  foot  and  on  horseback 
in  wagons  and  in  log  cabins,  these  latter  being 
hung  with  coon-skins  and  covered  with  strings 
of  buckeyes,  and  used  as  sleeping  places  dur- 
ing the  night.  And  -when  the  day  arrived 
fully  fifty  thousand  people  were  there  from 
every  state  in  the  union,  and  the  wagons  were 
camped  for  miles  around.  Harrison  spent  the 
night  at  Toledo,  a  little  town  of  1,300  people, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  day  went  on  a  little 
steamer  to  the  fort  he  had  so  bravely  defended 
a  generation  previous.  People  were  weeks 
getting  back  to  their  homes,  but  from  the  west 
the  excitement  spread  to  the  east,  and  the  chief 
export  of  Ohio  that  year  were  the  buckeyes, 
and  the  national  drink  was  hard  cider.  It 
was,  too,  a  cure  for  all  ills ;  with  a  pepper-pod 
sliced  into  it  it  was  a  sure  cure  for  rheuma- 
tism; mixed  with  willow-bark  and  iron-wood 
it  cured  fever  and  ague;  with  wild  cherry 
added  it  became  a  tonic.  It  was  the  juice  of 
the  apple,  and  many  a  temperate  man  in  his 
enthusiasm  for  the  cause  partook  so  liberally 
that  when  night  came  there  was  little  differ- 
ence between  a  moderate  and  a  heavy  drinker. 

It  was  at  Columbus  that  Otway  Curry,  of 
Union  county,  who  represented  this  district 
in  the  legislature  in  1837  and  1838,  wrote  the 
first  campaign  song  that  was  used  in  a  cam- 
paign. It  was  to  the  tune  of  "Highland  Lad- 
die," and  commenced : 

"Oh  where,  tell  me  where,  was  your  Buckeye 
Cabin  made? 
Oh  where,  tell  me  where  was  your  Buckeye 
Cabin  made? 
'Twas  built  among  the  merry  boys   who 
wield  the  plow  and  spade 
Where  the  Log  Cabin  stands  in  the  bonnie 
Buckeye  shade." 


Another  of  the  songs  was  to  the  tune  of 
"Rosin  the  Bow." 

Come  ye  who,  whatever  betide  her. 
To  freedom  have  sworn  to  be  true ; 

Prime  up  in  a  mug  of  hard  cider, 
And  drink  to  old  Tippecanoe.*  ' 

On  tap,  I've  a  pipe  of  as  good,  sir. 
As  man  from  the  faucet  e'er  drew; 

No  poison  to  thicken  your  blood,  sir. 
But  liquor  as  pure  as  the  dew. 

No  foreign  potation  I  puff,  sir, 
In  freedom  the  apple-tree  grew, 

And  its  juice  is  exactly  the  stuff,  sir, 
To  quaff  to  old  Tippecanoe. 

Let  Van*  sport  his  coach  and  outriders. 
In  liveries  flaunting  and  gay. 

And  sneer  at  log  cabins  and  cider; 
But  woe  for  the  re'ckoning  day! 

From  east  to  west  and  from  north  to  south 
the  wave  spread,  and  long  before  November 
came  the  one  side  felt  defeat  and  the  other 
scented  victory.  A  tidal  wave  swept  the  land 
"For  Tippecanoe  and  Tyler,  too."  The  mag- 
nificent democratic  organization  which  six 
months  previous  had  deemed  defeat  impos- 
sible was  swept  away  by  an  uprising  of  the 
people,  and  even  the  democratic  organ  in  Bal- 
timore that  first  started  the  sarcasm  on  the 
candidate  and  his  log  cabin  and  hard  cider, 
was  caught  by  the  wave,  and  closed  the  cam- 
paign as  a  Harrison  supporter.  During  the 
campaign  many  passed  through  Bucyrus  on 
their  way  to  the  great  demonstration  at  Fort 
Meigs,  and  among  them  none  other  than  Har- 
rison himself,  accompanied  by  Robert  C. 
Schenck,  a  rising  young  lawyer  from  Dayton 
and  an  orator.  He  came  over  the  Pike  from 
Columbus  speaking  in  Delaware  and  Marion, 
and  stopped  at  the  Union  Hotel,  then  kept  by 
Samuel  Norton  on  the  lot  now  occupied  by 
Zeigler's  mill.  He  spent  the  night  here. 
Bucyrus  had  a  Tippecanoe  club  and  John 
Moderwell  was  the  president  and  James  Mar- 
shall the  vice  president.  The  club  escorted 
him  to  the  court  house.     The  little  building 

*Tippecanoe  was  the  popular  name  in  the  west  for 
Harrison. 

*Van  Buren. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


121 


was  crowded.  The  meeting  was  presided  ovef 
by  Josiah  Scott,  then  a  rising  young  lawyer 
of  Bucyrus.  Robert  C.  Schenck  addressed  the 
meeting,  and  made  a  brilliant  speech.  Gen- 
eral Harrison  was  then  introduced,  but  the 
crowd  was  a  trifle  unfriendly  and  frequently 
interrupted  the  speaker,  but  he  bore  the  an- 
noyance with  dignity  and  calmness,  until  a 
better  feeling  prevailed  and  he  was  allowed  to 
continue. 

The  next  morning  he  left  for  Sandusky 
where  he  took  the  little  lake  steamer  for  To- 
ledo. This  was  the  first  president  ever  in 
Bucyrus.  Later  in  the  campaign,  in  Septem- 
ber, Richard  M.  Johnson,  the  candidate  for 
vice  president  was  in  Bucyrus,  and  addressed 
a  large  crowd.  He  was  the  guest  of  Congress- 
man George  Sweney  and  was  accompanied  by 
Senator  Allen  and  John  Brough,  and  when  he 
left  for  his  next  date  at  Mansfield,  Mr. 
Sweney  and  a  large  number  of  Bucyrus  poli- 
ticians accompanied  him. 

The  wave  that  swept  the  country  and 
landed  Gen.  Harrison  in  the  presidential  chair 
was  of  little  avail  to  the  whigs.  Whether  he 
could  have  built  up  a  party  is  problematical, 
but  he  died  shortly  after  his  election,  and  Ty- 
ler became  president,  and  in  1844  the  demo- 
crats again  returned  to  power.  In  1848  the 
whigs  were  again  successful  with  a  war  can- 
didate. They  had  opposed  the  Mexican  war, 
but  after  the  United  States  were  victorious 
stole  the  democratic  thunder  by  nominating 
the  hero  of  that  war.  General  Zachariah  Tay- 
lor, and  obtaining  a  presidential  victory.  Old 
"Rough  and  Ready"  as  he  was  called  was  just 
as  his  nickname  indicated.  One  of  his  first 
messages  congratulated  congress  with  the  ex- 
pression :  "We  are  now  at  peace  with  all  the 
world  and  the  rest  of  mankind."  Taylor  also 
died  and  Fillmore  succeeded  him.  For  years 
the  whigs  had  been  little  more  than  an  opposi- 
tion. But  in  their  later  years  they  had  driven 
the  democratic  party  to  a  defense  of  slavery. 
The  democratic  party  had  never  recognized 
slavery  as  one  of  their  party  principles,  but 
they  were  finally  forced  to  its  defense,  a  de- 
fense that  almost  killed  them,  and  did  kill  the 
party  that  forced  them  into  that  position.  For 
several  years  prior  to  1854,  a  new  party  had 
sprung  up  of  "Free  Soilers,"  who  were  op- 
posed to  any  further  extension  of  slavery;  an 


American  party,  who  held  that  Americans 
must  rule  America;  and  the  abolitionists. 
The  Free  Soilers  at  the  start  drew  largely 
from  the  democrats  and  later  from  the  whigs ; 
the  Americans  and  abolitionists  from  the 
whigs,  and  in  some  cases  the  whigs  became 
the  third  party.  In  1854  the  many  discordant 
elements  that  opposed  the  democratic  party 
got  together  with  a  firm  and  pronounced 
declaration  to  stop  the  inroads  of  slavery. 
The  free  soil  democrats  and  the  abolitionists 
practically  all  united  with  the  ne\v  party,  and 
about  two-thirds  of  the  whigs.  At  least  one- 
third  of  the  whigs  went  bodily  over  to  the 
democratic  party  declining  to  follow  such  ad- 
vanced ground  on  the  slavery  c]uestion.  in 
1853,  the  democratic  vote  in  Crawford  tor 
governor  was  1778,  the  whig  vote  525,  and 
the  free  soil  vote  306.  The  whigs  had  gone 
to  pieces.  In  1855  under  the  new  alignment 
the  democratic  vote  was  1710,  the  republican 
vote  1,449  and  the  American  vote  24.  Many 
well  known  democrats  in  Crawford  county, 
who  had  held  office  and  been  leaders,  joined 
the  new  party,  and  democracy  in  turn  re- 
cruited its  ranks  from  life-long  whigs.  Since 
then  it  has  been  a  straight  fight  between  the 
two  great  parties,  with  an  occasional  new 
party  springing  into  existence  to  cast  a  few- 
votes,  and  then  drift  back  to  one  or  two  other 
of  the  two  great  parties.  At  one  time  the 
populists  rose  to  several  hundred  votes  in  the 
county,  but  they  finally  found  a  home  in  one 
of  the  two  leading  parties.  The  prohibition- 
ists have  been  faithful  for  years,  but  their 
vote  has- been^drawn  from  both  parties  and  has 
been  recently  light,  many  years  ago  their 
highest  figure  being  about  three  hundred.  In 
the  past  few  years  the  socialists  under  various 
names  have  had  tickets  in  the  field,  taking 
their  following  from  both  parties  but  mostly 
from  the  dominant  one.  In  a  few  local  elec- 
tions their  vote  has  been  such  as  to  indicate 
that  if  the  increase  continues  they  are  a  power 
to  be  counted  on. 

When  the  war  started  in  1861,  it  was  heart- 
ily supported  by  both  parties,  but  as  time 
passed  the  republicans  being  in  power  in  the 
national  government  were  receiving  accessions 
of  strength,  which  bid  fair,  when  the  war 
reached  a  successful  conclusion,  to  wipe  out 
the   democratic   party.      And   the   democratic 


122 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


party  soon  changed  to  a  severe  criticism  of 
the  conduct  of  the  war,  and  later  came  out  in 
bitter  opposition  to  it.  The  RepubHcans,  to 
make  the  hne  more  marked,  headed  their  ticket 
in  this  state  with  the  word  Union  and  the 
party  was  known  as  the  Union  Republican 
party.  In  the  winter  of  1882  one  of  democ- 
racy's brilliant  orators,  Clement  L.  Vallandig- 
ham,  was  so  severe  in  his  strictures  on  the 
government  that  he  was  arrested  for  treason, 
and  banished  from  the  country,  first  trans- 
ported across  the  line  as  a  present  to  his 
friends  in  the  south.  From  there  he  went  to 
Canada.  The  democratic  party  in  this  state 
were  up  in  arms  against  the  administration  for 
the  arrest  and  banishment  of  their  leader  and 
insisted  the  rights  of  "freedom  of  speech" 
as  guaranteed  by  the  constitution  were  being 
suppressed.  They  called  their  next  convention 
at  Columbus  to  select  a  candidate  for  gover- 
nor, and  there  was  an  outpouring  of  the 
people;  over  two  hundred  went  down  from 
this  county ;  other  counties  turned  out  in  force ; 
there  were  delegations  from  everywhere,  and 
in  the  neighborhood  of  fifty  thousand  indig- 
nant and  protesting  democrats  assembled  at 
the  capital.  It  was  a  great  outpouring  of  the 
people,  and  there  was  no  building  large  enough 
to  hold  the  crowd,  but  the  problem  was  solved 
by  having  the  convention  outdoors  in  the 
state  house  yard.  With  the  greatest  enthusi- 
asm Vallandigham  was  nominated  by  acclama- 
tion for  governor.  Crawford  was  conspicuous 
at  this  convention.  The  headquarters  were  at 
the  American  house,  and  the  evening  of  the 
nominations  a  ratification  meeting  was  held, 
and  ex-Senator  George  E.  Pugh,  the  candidate 
for  Lieutenant  Governor,  and  many  others 
made  speeches,  most  of  them  too  mild  for  the 
anti-war  faction  of  the  party  and  the  excited 
crowd,  besides  which  the  speeches  were  temp- 
erate from  the  fact  that  dozens  of  United 
States  marshals  were  present  with  instructions 
to  arrest  any  one  guilty  of  treasonable  utter- 
ances. The  speeches  were  therefore  tamer 
than  the  Crawford  county  men  had  been  ac- 
customed to,  and  they  set  up  a  call  for  "Jack- 
son." Abner  M.  Jackson  was  a  natural  born 
orator,  pleasant,  affable,  the  friend  of  every- 
body, and  the  idol  of  the  democracy  of  this 
county.  The  crowd  caught  the  name  and 
Jackson    came    forward    to    speak.     He    ex- 


pressed his  opinion  on  the  generals,  the  war, 
the  government,  and  the  president,  with  the 
same  freedom  and  force  he  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  do  in  Crawford  county.  He  was  a 
brilliant  orator  and  set  the  crowd  on  fire,  and 
the  cheers  and  applause  he  received  showed 
he  was  the  orator  of  the  evening,  and  if  his 
speech  had  been  made  the  evening  before  there 
is  no  question  he  would  have  received  the 
nomination  for  lieutenant  governor.  At  the 
conclusion  of  his  speech,  policy  called  for  an 
adjournment  of  the  meeting. 

A  severe  campaign  followed,  processions 
miles  long  attending  every  meeting.  Pugh 
took  up  the  fight  for  his  party,  his  leader  being 
absent  in  Canada;  party  bitterness  ran  high; 
nearly  every  meeting  created  trouble  owing  to 
the  intense  earnestness  of  both  sides,  and  in 
the  end  Brough  was  elected  by  60,000  exclu- 
sive of  the  soldier  vote  which  was  41,000 
more.  A  law  had  been  passed  which  allowed 
the  soldiers  in  the  field  to  vote.  The  Craw- 
ford soldier  vote  was  Brough,  union,  268; 
Vallandigham,  democrat,  24.  On  the  county 
ticket  the  Union  vote  was  some  forty  less. 
In  the  vote  as  reported  from  the  field  57 
votes  were  thrown  out  for  informality,  of 
these  49  were  for  Brough  and  8  for  Vallandig- 
ham. In  1865  the  soldier  vote  was  not  counted 
in  this  county. 

The  next  important  contest  was  in  1867, 
when  the  state  was  called  upon  to  vote  on  an 
amendment  to  the  constitution  giving  to  col- 
ored people  the  right  to  vote,  the  republicans 
favoring  the  proposition  the  democrats  oppos- 
ing. The  amendment  was  beaten  in  Ohio  by 
fqrty  thousand,  but  the  republicans  carried  the 
state  by  a  small  majority. 

In  1872,  the  democrats  made  no  nomina- 
tion for  the  presidency,  meeting  at  Baltimore 
and  indorsing  Horace  Greeley,  who  had  been 
nominated  by  the  Liberal  republicans  at  Cin- 
cinnati. This  took  over  to  the  democratic 
ranks  less  than  a  hundred  in  this  county,  ow- 
ing to  their  intense  bitterness  against  the 
administration  of  President  Grant,  but  event- 
ually most  of  them  returned  to  the  republican 
party. 

Party  lines  remained  the  same  in  this 
county  until  1887  to  1891,  when  the  Peoples 
Party  sprang  into  existence,  an  organization 
principally    of    farmers    comprising    men    of 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


123 


both  parties,  but  later  coming  largely  from  the 
democrats.  It  ran  for  a  few  years,  and  its 
members  later  drifted  back  to  the  old  parties, 
the  democrats  getting  the  better  of  the  drift. 

So  strong  had  the  populistic  tendency  be- 
come, that  that  party  dictated  the  democratic 
presidential  nomination  and  platform  in  1896, 
which  caused  the  nomination  of  a  gold  demo- 
cratic ticket  made  up  of  those  who  still  be- 
lieved with  Andrew  Jackson  on  the  money 
question.  Many  joined  this  party,  but  when 
it  came  to  vote,  they  mostly  voted  for  McKin- 
ley.  In  the  last  few  years  the  Socialists  under 
various  names  have  had  an  increasing  vote, 
especially  in  the  cities,  and  both  the  great 
parties  have  been  drifting  toward  the  adop- 
tion of  many  of  the  milder  views  of  the 
Socialists. 

The  first  constitution  was  adopted  when 
Ohio  was  admitted  as  a  state  in  1803,  with  a 
proviso  that  a  constitutional  convention  could 
be  held  every  twenty  years  to  submit  a  new 
constitution  to  the  people.  In  1830  there  was 
no  desire  for  any  change  in  the  constitution, 
so  no  constitutional  convention  was  held. 

In  1850  a  constitutional  convention  was 
held,  the  delegate  from  this  county  being  Rich- 
ard W.  Cahill  of  Vernon  township.  The  ne^\ 
constitution  was  submitted  to  the  people  in 
June,  1851,  and  was  adopted,  the  vote  in 
Crawford  county  being  1,441  for  and  399 
against,  a  majority  for  of  1,042.  It  carried 
every  township  except  Auburn  and  Dallas,  los- 
ing in  Auburn  by  22  and  in  Dallas  by  8. 
When  this  constitution  was  submitted  a  sep- 
arate proposition  was  submitted  to  the  people 
as  to  whether  the  sale  of  liquor  should  be 
licensed  in  the  state.  License  was  defeated. 
On  this  question  Crawford's  vote  was,  for 
license  1,121,  against  592;  majority  for  529. 
License  carried  every  township  excepting  four, 
Bucyrus  giving  17  majority  against,  Jackson 
57,  Texas  4,  and  Tod  5.  The  next  constitu- 
tional convention  was  in  1870,  when  Thomas 
Beer  was  elected  the  delegate  from  this  county 
without  opposition.  The  constitution  was 
submitted  to  the  voters  on  August  18,  1874, 
and  defeated  by  147,284.  Three  other  propo- 
sitions were  submitted  separately  but  all  were 
defeated  overwhelmingly,  excepting  the 
licensing  of  the  liquor  traffic,  and  this  was 
defeated  by  only  7,286  majority  in  the  state. 


In  1851  the  majority  against  license  was  8,982. 
In  Crawford  county  in  1874,  the  vote  was 
1,107  for  the  new  constitution,  2,283  against. 
On  the  propositions  submitted  separately  the 
vote  was:  For  minority  representation  945, 
against  2,241 ;  for  railroad  aid  225,  against 
3,043;  for  licensing  liquor  traffic  2,212, 
against  1,187. 

In  1812  the  third  constitutional  convention 
was  held,  and  at  the  election  in  October  181 1, 
George  W.  Miller  was  selected  as  the  delegate. 

The  following  is  the  vote  of  Crawford 
county  for  governor,  the  years  1828  and  1832 
being  the  presidential  vote:  *Indicates  the 
candidates  who  carried  the  state: 


1824 — Allen  Trimble,  nat  rep. . 
*Jeremiah  Morrow,  dem 


Trimble   plurality.  .  . 

1826 — *  Allen  Trimble,  nat  rep 

John  Bigger,  dem 


Trimble   plurality.  .  . 
1828 — *  Allen  Trimble,  nat  rep 
John  W.  Campbell,  dem 
Trimble  plurality .  .  . 
1830 — -*Robert  Lucas,  dem.  .  . 

Duncan  McArthur,  nat  rep 

Lucas  plurality 

1832 — *  Andrew  Jackson,  dem.  .  . 
Henry  Clay,  whig 


Jackson  plurality 

1834 — *Robert  Lucas,  dem 

James  Findlay,  whig.  .  .  . 

Lucas  plurality 

1836 — Martin  Van  Buren,  dem.  . 
*Wm.  H.  Harrison,  whig. 

Van  Buren  plurality.  . 

1838 — •* Wilson  Shannon,  dem... 

Joseph  Vance,  whig 

Shannon  plurality 


1840 — Wilson  Shannon,  dem.  .  . 
*Thomas   Corwin,   whig . 


83 

32 

115 

51 

339 
3 

342 

336 
217 

52 

355 
109 

382 
464 

246 

557 
259 

816 

298 
528 
325 

853 

203 
702 
677 

i>379 

25 
948 
626 

1,574 

322 

' 

1,204 
994 

2,208 

Shannon  plurality 220 


124 
1842- 


-* Wilson  Shannon,  dem.  .  .  1,308 
Thomas  Corwin,  whig.  .  .     778  2,086 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 

1863 — Clement  L.  Vallandigham, 


Shannon  plurality 530 

1844 — David  Tod,  dem 1,671 

*Mordecai    Bartley,    whig.  1,123 
Leicester  King,  free  soil.         4  2,798 


Tod  plurality 548 

1846 — David   Tod,    dem 1,181 

*  William  Bebb,  whig 644 

Samuel  Lewis,  free  soil..       22   1,847 


1848- 

1850- 
1851- 

1853- 

1855- 


Tod  plurality 537 

-John  B.  Weller,  dem 1,558 

*Seabury   Ford,   whig....     751 
Scattering 84  2,393 


Ford  plurality 807 

-* Reuben  Wood,  dem 1,055 

William  Johnston,   whig.     538   1,593 


Wood  plurality 517 

-*Reuben  \'\^ood,  dem.    ...1,551 
Samuel  F.  Vinton,  whig.     683  2,234 


Wood  plurality 868 

-*Winiam  MediU,  dem.  .  .  .  1,778 


Nelson  Barrere,   whig. 
Samuel  Lewis,  free  soil. 


525 

306  2,609 


MediU  plurality 1,253 

-Wihiam  Medill,  dem...    .1,710 
*Salmon  P    Chase,  rep...  1,449 
Allen   Trimble,  amer.  ...       43  3,202 


MediU -plurality 261 

1857 — Henry  B.  Payne,  dem.  .  .  .2,038 
*Salmon  P.  Chase,  rep...  1,457 
Philadelphia  Van  Trump, 

amer   27  3,522 


1859- 


1861- 


Payne  plurality   581 

-Rufus  P.  Ranney,  dem... 2, 258 
*WiUiam   Dennison,   rep..  1,550  3,808 


Ranney  plurality 708 

-Hugh  J.  Jewett,  dem 2,501 

*David  Tod,   rep i,734  4,235 


dem 2,948 

*John  Brough,  union  rep.  .2,157  5>ic>5 


Vallandigham  plurality .    79 1 
1865 — George  W.  Morgan,  dem. 2,911 

*Jacob  D.  Cox,  rep i,759  4,670 


1867- 


1869- 


Morgan   plurality 1,152 

-Allen  G.  Thurman,  dem . .  3,497 
*Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  rep.  1,864  5,361 


Thurman   plurality.  .  .  .  1,633 
-Geo.  H.  Pendleton,  dem.  .3,183 
*Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  rep.  1,631  4.814 


Pendleton  plurality.  .  .  .  1,552 
1871 — George  W.  McCook,  dem. 2,948 
*Edward  .  Noyes,  rep.  .  ...  1,690 
Gideon  T.   Stewart,   proh      26  4,664 


i«73- 


McCook  plurality 1,258 

!=  William  Allen,  dem .  .  .  .  2,879 
Edward  F  Noyes,  rep..  1,292 
Gideon  T.  Stewart,  proh  180 
Isaac   Collins,   liberal.  .  25  4,376 


1875- 


AUen  plurality 1,587 

-William  Allen,  deiii 3,834 

*  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  rep.  2,064 
Jay   OdeU,   prob 44  5,942 


AUen   plurality i-77° 

1877 — *  Richard  M.  Bishop,  dem.  3,498 
WiUiam  H.  West,  rep.  ..  1,581 
Scattering 177  5,256 


1879- 


Bishop   plurality 1,917 

-Thomas  Ewing,  dem.  .  .    .4,193 

*Charles   Foster,   rep 2,213 

Gideon  T.   Stewart,  proh    135 

A.   Sanders  Piatt,  peo.  .  .       43  6,584 


Ewing  plurality 1,980 

-John  W.  Bookwalter,  dem. 3,608 

*Charles   Foster,   rep 1,967 

Abraham  R.  Ladow,  prob    256 
John   Seitz,   peo 56  5,887 


Jewett  plurality 767 


Bookwalter  plurality.  .  .  1,641 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


125 


1883 — *  George  Hoadley,  dem...4,457 
Joseph  B.  Foraker,  rep .  .  2,478 
Scattering    49  6,982 


Hoadley  plurality i,979 

1885 — George  Hoadley,  dem.... 4,269 
*  Joseph  B.  Foraker,  rep.  .2,364 
Adna  B.  Leonard,  proh .  .    297 
John  W.  Northup,  peo.  .      25  6,955 


Hoadley  plurality i  ,905 

1887 — Thomas  E.  Powell,  dem.. 4,258 
*  Joseph  B.  Foraker,  rep..  2,295 

Morris  Sharp,  proh 227 

John  Seitz,  peo 310  7,090 


Powell   plurality ^,9^2 

1889 — *  James  E.  Campbell,  dem.  4,767 
Joseph  B.  Foraker,  rep.. 2,353 
John  B.  Helwig,  proh .  .  .     222  7,342 


Campbell  plurality.  ..  .2,414 

1891 — ^James  E.  Campbell,  dem.  .4,400 

*William  McKinley,  rep .  .  2,346 

John  J.  Ashenhurst,  proh    122 

John   Seitz,    peo 428  7,296 


Campbell   plurality ....  2,054 

1893 — Lawrence  T.  Neal,  dem.  .  .4,110 

*  William  McKinley,  rep .  .  2,678 

Gideon  P.  Mackin,  proh.     150 

Edward  J.  Bracken,  peo.    224  7,162 


Neal  plurality 1,432 

1895 — James  E.  Campbell,  dem.. 4,395 

*Ada  S.  Bushnell,  rep 2,557 

Jacob  S.  Coxey,  peo.  ...     535 

Seth  H.  Ellis,  proh 154 

William  Watkins,  soc.  lab        5  7,646 


Campbell  plurality. .  .  .  1,838 
1897 — Horace  L.  Chapman,  dem. 4,725 
*Asa  S.  Bushnell,  rep.... 2,4 16 
John  C.  Holliday,  proh .  .  59 
Jacob  S.  Coxey,  peo....  81 
William  Watkins,  soc.  lab  10 
Scattering    17  7,308 


Chapman  plurality   ...2,309 

'T899— John  R.   McLean,  dem... 4,538 

*George  K.  Nash,  rep.  .  .  .2,417 


Samuel    M.    Jones,    non- 
partisan      637 

Seth  H.  Ellis,  reform...  90 

Robert  Bandlow,  soc.  lab  39  7,721 


McLean  plurality 2,121 

1 90 1 — James  Kilbourne,  dem.  .  .  .4,298 
*George  K.  Nash,  rep ....  2,396 
E.  Jay  Pinney,  proh ...  90 
John  Richardson,  reform  22 
Harry  C.  Thompson,  soc  yy 
John  H.  G.  Juergens, 
soc.  lab 16  6,899 


Kilbourne  plurality.  .  .  .  1,902 

1903 — Tom  L.  Johnson,  dem.  .  .  .4,425 

*  Myron  T.  Herrick,  rep.  .2,478 

Nelson  D.  Creamer,  proh      91 

Isaac  Cowen,  soc 124 

John  D.  Goerke,  soc.  lab.       17  7,135 


Johnson  plurality i,947 

1905 — *John  M.  Pattison,  dem.. 5,000 
Myron  T.  Herrick,  rep.  .2,489 
Aaron  S.  Watkins,  proh.       74 

Isaac  Cowen,  soc 112 

John  C.  Steiger,  soc.  lab.        8  7,683 


Patterson  plurality 2,511 

1908 — *Judson  Harmon,  dem... 5,913 


191C 


Myron  T.  Herrick,  rep. 
Robert  Bandlow,  soc .  .  . 
John  B.   Martin,  proh .  . 

Harmon  plurality.  .  .  . 
-*Judson  Harmon,  dem.  . 
Warren  G.  Harding,  rep 
Tom   CliiTord,   soc .... 
J.  R.  Malley,  soc.  lab 


3,i«« 
151 
77  9,329 


2,725 
5,450 
2,141 

315 
17 


Henry  N.  Thompson,  proh      33  7,956 


Harmon  plurality   ....  3,309 

Crawford  county  has  not  fared  very  well 
as  regards  state  offices.  It  started  in  all  right, 
but  later  devoted  more  attention  to  the  hold- 
ing of  county  offices,  leaving  other  counties 
to  fill  the  state  positions.  In  1830,  Moses  H. 
Kirby  of  Crawford  was  appointed  secretary 
of  state,  and  held  the  office  for  three  years. 
Over  fifty  years  passed  when  the  next  man 


126 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


to  hold  one  of  the  state  offices  was  E.  B.  Fin- 
ley.  His  office  was  also  an  appointive  one, 
he  being  tendered  the  position  of  adjutant  gen- 
eral of  the  state  by  Governor  Hoadley,  serving 
from  1884  to  1886.  In  1895  Crawford  county, 
for  the  first  time,  elected  one  of  its  citizens  to 
a  state  position,  Frank  S.  Monnett  being 
elected  attorney  general  and  reelected  in  1897. 
Another  ten  years  elapsed  and  in  19 10  Syl- 
vanus  Strode  was  elected  as  dairy  and  food 
commissioner,  and  renominated  again  this 
year. 

In  1856,  Josiah  Scott  was  elected  a  judge 
of  the  supreme  court.  He  came  to  Crawford 
in  1829,  but  removed  to  Butler  county  in  1850, 
and  was  elected  from  that  county,  and  re- 
elected for  two  terms,  and  at  the  expiration  of 
his  judgeship  returned  to  Crawford  county, 
so  this  county  has  a  right  to  claim  him.  In 
1876,  the  supreme  court  was  so  far  behind  in 
its  business  that  several  additional  judges  were 
appointed  by  Gov.  Hayes  to  serve  for  three 
years,  and  Judge  Scott  was  one  of  the  ap- 
pointees on  what  was  known  as  the  supreme 
court  commission. 

Another  citizen  of  Crawford  to  hold  office 
in  the  capitol  was  Charles  W.  McCracken,  who 
was  appointed  canal  commissioner  in  1896 
by  Governor  Bushnell. 

In  1867  Cochran  Fulton  of  this  county  was 
nominated  on  the  democratic  ticket  for  state 
treasurer  but  was  defeated.  Judge  Thomas 
Beer  was  nominated  for  supreme  judge  in 
1892,  on  the  democratic  ticket,  but  was 
defeated. 

In  the  legislature  this  county  has  held 
several  positions.  The  first  was  John  R. 
Knapp,  who  established  the  Peoples  Forum 
in  1845,  ^"d  in  1847  was  appointed  one  of  the 
clerks  of  the  Ohio  senate.  The  next  year  he 
was  a  candidate  for  the  clerkship.  The  senate 
stood  democrats  17,  whigs  17,  free  soil  2, 
and  the  first  ballot  resulted  Knapp,  dem.,  18; 
Galloway,  whig,  13;  Tappan,  whig,  4;  Stanley, 
free  soil,  i.  Balloting  commenced  on  Decem- 
ber 5,  and  Knapp  was  elected  on  December 
8,  on  the  121st  ballot,  receiving  just  the  19 
votes  necessary  to  elect,  the  other  17  votes 
scattering  between  six  candidates.  The  next 
year  he  was  elected  on  the  second  ballot.  The 
contest  over  clerk  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
prior  to  1850  the  clerk  of  the  senate  had  con- 


trol of  the  state  advertising,  which  amounted 
to  about  $50,000  annually  to  some  Columbus 
newspaper.  In  1898  David  O.  Castle  was 
elected  as  clerk  of  the  senate  serving  one  term. 
In  19 10  W.  I.  Goshorn  of  the  Gallon  Inquirer, 
was  elected  clerk  of  the  senate,  and  is  the 
present  incumbent. 

In  1874  Thomas  Coughlin  was  elected  clerk 
of  the  house,  serving  one  term.  He  was  also 
an  editor  of  the  Forum,  owning  that  office 
from  1862  to  1868,  later  serving  two  terms 
as  clerk  of  the  court. 

In  1890  Senator  Perry  M.  Adams  (Seneca 
county),  representing  this  district  in  the  state 
senate,  was  elected  president  pro  tem  of  that 
body  holding  the  office  for  two  years. 

Two  citizens  of  Crawford  county  have  re- 
ceived presidential  appointments  abroad,  both 
newspaper  men  and  both  in  the  consular 
service.  In  183 1  William  Crosby  published 
the  second  paper  ever  issued  in  Bucyrus,  which 
he  called  the  Bucyrus  Journal;  he  continued 
it  for  several  years  under  different  names, 
and  in  1845  President  Polk  appointed  him 
United  States  Consul  at  Talcahuano,  Chili, 
and  after  serving  for  some  time  he  found  the 
office  was  not  a  paying  institution  and  resigned 
to  go  into  the  business  of  whale  fishing  which 
proved  more  profitable.  In  1898  President 
McKinley  appointed  John  E.  Hopley,  editor 
of  the  Evening  Telegraph,  as  United  States 
Consul  to  Southampton,  England,  and  in  1903 
he  was  promoted  to  the  Consulate  at  Monte- 
video, Uruguay,  where  he  served  for  two  years 
returning  to  his  editorial  work  in  1905. 

Campaigning  in  the  old  days  was  vastly  dif- 
ferent from  what  it  is  today,  and  prior  to  1850 
a  speech  a  day  was  about  all  the  dates  a  can- 
didate could  fill,  but  if  he  were  some  promi- 
nent leader,  the  people  assembled  from  miles 
around,  and  little  towns  of  only  a  few  hun- 
dred had  crowds  that  numbered  away  up  into 
the  thousands.  Generally  the  distinguished 
speaker  was  attended  from  one  town  to  the 
next  by  a  delegation  of  worshippers.  It  was 
about  1849  that  John  Brough  made  a  demo- 
cratic speech  at  Bucyrus.  His  next  date  was 
at  Tiffin,  and  Jacob  Scroggs,  Tom  Orr,  and  a 
few  other  of  the  faithful  young  democrats  of 
that  day,  started  with  him  to  Tiffin.  The  roads 
were  bad,  as  they  generally  were,  and  reach- 
ing Melmore  they  decided  to  stay  over  night 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


127 


and  continue  their  journey  in  the  morning. 
After  supper  they  found  there  was  a  whig 
meeting  in  progress  at  the  school  house  ad- 
dressed by  some  local  celebrity,  and  to  put  in 
the  time  attended  the  meeting.  Brough  was 
like  the  old  Dutch  governors  of  New  York,  he 
was  built  on  the  purest  of  geometrical  prin- 
ciples ;  he  was  five  feet,  six  inches  tall  and  six 
feet,  five  inches  in  circumference,  and  as  jovial 
and  good  natured  as  men  of  that  build  gen- 
erally are.  He  was  a  great  lover  of  a  joke. 
During  the  young  man's  speech,  he  was  scath- 
ing in  his  denunciations  of  the  democratic 
party  and  defied  any  man  present '  to  contra- 
dict his  assertions.  After  several  challenges 
hurled  at  the  audience,  Biough  quietly  arose, 
and  with  his  mildest  look,  innocently  said, 
"Young  man,  if  you  have  no  objection  I  would 
like  to  answer  some  of  your  assertions." 
Brough  looked  anything  but  a  statesman  or  an 
orator,  and  the  young  man  jumped  at  the 
chance,  smilingly  thinking  of  how  he  would 
cover  himself  with  glory  by  later  literally 
skinning  the  unsophisticated  looking  stranger 
alive.  Brough  was  one  of  the  great  orators 
of  his  day,  and  added  to  this  was  the  happy 
faculty  of  being  one  of  the  people,  and  making 
himself  at  home  with  them.  With  his  wit  and 
humor,  sarcasm  and  oratory  he  soon  had  the 
audience  wild,  and  they  were  spell  bound  under 
his  matchless  eloquence,  and  when  he  con- 
cluded there  was  no  answer  from  the  young 
man,  but  instead  cheer  after  cheer  for  the  dis- 
tinguished speaker. 

Another  orator  of  the  early  days  was 
Cooper  K.  Watson,  not  a  natural  born  orator 
like  Brough  and  Gibson,  still  an  orator.  He 
was  a  candidate  for  congress  in  this  district 
in  1856,  and  had  a  date  for  an  evening  meet- 
ing at  New  Winchester,  and  Jacob  Scroggs 
drove  him  down.  Watson  was ,  a  republican, 
and  Mr.  Scroggs  was  one  of  the  many  in  the 
county  who  had  joined  the  new  party.  When 
•they  reached  New  Winchester,  they  found 
a  faithful  republican  who  had  built  a  fire  and 
lighted  up  the  school  house.  On  their  arrival 
he  rang  the  bell,  and  the  three  waited.  After 
half  an  hour  Watson  inquired  where  the  rest 
of  th^  people  were,  and  was  informed  that 
there  would  probably  be  no  one  else  there. 
Scroggs  was  for  canceling  the  meeting,  but 
Watson  held  the  man  had  come  to  hear  a  re- 


publican speech,  and  he  would  not  disappoint 
him.  So  Scroggs  presided,  and  introduced  the 
speaker,  and  Watson  addressed  his  single 
listener  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  when  the 
speech  was  over  the  man  turned  out  the  lights, 
locked  the  door  and  went  home,  the  two  men 
driving  back  to  Bucyrus. 

John  R.  Clymer  was  clerk  of  the  court  from 
about  1862  to  1868,  Tom  Coughlin  at  the  time 
being  editor  of  the  Forum,  and  Coughlin  con- 
cluded to  run  for  clerk,  the  arrangement  being 
that  if  he  got  the  nomination  Clymer  would 
buy  the  Forum.  Coughlin's  principal  oppon- 
ent was  A.  A.  Ruhl.  In  the  course  of  his  can- 
vass Coughlin  stated  that  he  visited  Gallon, 
and  met  Dr.  D.  Shumaker  there,  one  of  the 
prominent  democrats,  and  solicited  him  for  his 
support.  Shumaker  promptly  replied  that  he 
was  friendly  to  Mr.  Ruhl,  that  gentleman  hav- 
ing formerly  been  a  Gallon  man  and  his  people 
prominent  in  that  town  in  its  early  days,  there- 
fore he  should  certainly  support  Ruhl.  The 
Doctor  then  inquired  about  Mr.  Clymer,  who 
was  also  a  Gallon  man,  and  whose  ancestors 
were  also  pioneers,  and  asked  what  he  pro- 
posed to  do  when  he  left  the  clerkship. 

"Why,"  said  Coughlin,  "if  I'm  elected  clerk, 
Clymer  is  going  to  buy  the  Forum." 

The  Doctor  promptly  replied:  "If  that's 
the  case  you  can  count  on  my  support.  The 
Lord  knows  the  Forum  needs  a  change  of 
editors." 

Coughlin  got  the  nomination,  and  Mr. 
Clymer  became  editor  of  the  Forum. 

After  Mr.  Clymer  retired  from  the  Forum 
he  was  a  candidate  for  the  nomination  for 
probate  judge.  He  was  one  of  the  polished 
speakers  of  the  county,  was  more  than  friendly 
with  everybody,  in  fact  effervesced  in  his  ex- 
pressions of  interest  in  everyone.  He  was 
not  good  at  remembering  names  and  faces, 
and  during  the  campaign  met  a  young  demo- 
crat in  the  postofhce,  shook  him  warmly  by  the 
hand  and  expressed  his  great  delight  at  meet- 
ing him,  spoke  of  his  dear  old  father  and 
mother,  and  how  he  always  loved  to  meet 
them,  and  finally  inquired  after  the  father. 
The  young  man  solemnly  replied:  "Why, 
Mr.  Clymer,  father  died  last  year." 

"Ah,"  said  Mr.  Clymer,  "so  he  did.  I  re- 
member it  now,  and  how  sorry  I  was  to  hear 
of  it;  if  ever  there  was  a  democratic  saint  on 


128 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


earth,  it  was  your  dear  old  father.  I'm  a  can- 
didate for  probate  judge  and  I  know  I  can 
count  on  your  support."  ^ 

Half  an  hour  later,  Mr.  Clyraer  met  ^he 
same  young  man  on  the  street,  and  his  face 
looking  familiar  he  shook  him  warmly  by  the 
hand  and  expressed  his  great  delight  at  meet- 
ing him,  spoke  of  his  dear  old  father  and 
mother,  and  how  he  had  always  loved  to  meet 
them  and  then  inquired,  "How  is  your  dear 
old  father?"' 

The  young  man  promptly  replied:  "He's 
still  dead." 

In  1 86 1  Joseph  Worden  was  elected  sheriff 
of  the  county,  and  when  he  took  charge  the 
following  year  he  had  as  his  assistant  his  older 
brother,  better  known  as  "Uncle  Jimmie" 
Worden,  who  was  prouder  of  his  ofifice  as 
deputy  than  his  brother  was  of  the  Shrievality. 
He  was  as  faithful  and  accommodating  in  his 
duties  as  he  was  averse  to  fine  raiment  and 
soap  and  water.  He  was  so  friendly  and  good 
natured  and  willing  that  everybody  overlooked 
his  lack  of  cleanliness.  When  his  brother  left 
the  office  in  1866,  "Uncle  Jimmie"  was  out 
of  his  job,  but  he  pined  in  secret  for  the  posi- 
tion, and  in  1869  he  astonished  everybody  by 
announcing  his  name  as  a  candidate  for 
sheriff.  It  was  regarded  as  a  joke,  and  the 
only  man  in  the  county  who  took  the  matter 
seriously  was  "Uncle  Jimmie"  himself.  In 
1826  the  sheriff's  office  was  thrust  ^on  a  man 
who  had  just  become  a  resident  of  the  county, 
but  in  1869  things  were  different,  and  half  a 
dozen  men  were  in  a  terrific  struggle  to  have 
the  "thrust"  come  their  way.  It  was  cut  and 
slash  between  the  candidates,  except  "Uncle 
Jimmie,"  and  he  was  allowed  to  follow  the 
harmless  amusement  of  running  for  office  un- 
molested. In  fact,  the  other  candidates  rather 
"pitied  the  sorrows  of  a  poor  old  man,"  and 
while  all  had  a  bitter  word  for  their  opponents 
they  had  a  kindly  word  for  "Uncle  Jimmie," 
and  when  they  failed  to  land  a  man,  generally 
closed  with  the  remark,  "Well,  if  you  can't 
vote  for  me  don't  do  me  any  harm,  and  if  you 
can  vote  for  Uncle  Jimmie ;  he's  a  nice  old  fel- 
low, and  it  will  break  his  heart  when  he  finds 
how  few  votes  he  got." 

The  April  primaries  came.  The  ballots 
were  cast  and  counted,  and  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  everybody,  except  Uncle  Jimmie  him- 


self, he  was  the  winner.  His  every  act  and 
manner  showed  that  he  was  astonished  that 
anyone  would  think  they  could  defeat  him 
for  sheriff. 

The  above  is  the  story  handed  down  of 
"Uncle  Jimmie's"  election  as  sheriff  of  the 
county.  His  candidacy  had  been  a  huge  joke 
to,  it  was  believed,  every  one  but  himself^ 
yet  there  may  be  another  side  to  it ;  as  deputy 
for  four  years  he  had  been  the  faithful  and 
willing  servant  of  his  brother,  the  bar  and  the 
people;  that  he  took  more  pride  in  the  office 
than  he  did  in  his  own  personal  appearance 
his  dress  gave  unquestioned  proof,  but  per- 
haps there  were  more  people  remembered  his 
faithful  service  than  his  opponents  expected. 

For  four  years  he  was  the  happiest  and 
least  dressy  man  that  ever  held  office  in  the 
county.  But  he  still  had  those  good  qualities 
of  willingness  and  an  accomodating  disposi- 
tion, and  he  never  complained.  Notwithstand- 
ing his  slovenliness  he  was  not  disliked  by  the 
other  officials,  and  as  proof  of  this  a  glance  at 
the  election  returns  of  1871  when  he  was  re- 
elected, shows  he  had  the  largest  majority  of 
any  candidate  on  the  county  ticket.  He  was 
a  poor  writer  and  a  still  poorer  reader  of  writ- 
ing, although  he  prided  himself  on  his  ability 
in  reading  writing.  Once,  in  dead  of  winter,  a 
witness  was  wanted  in  an  important  case;  the 
subpoena  was  made  out  and  handed  to  Jimmie. 
He  spelled  it  out  slowly  and  carefully  and  left 
the  court  room.  The  important  witness  only 
lived  a  block  away.  A  half  hour  passed 
and  no  Jimmie ;  an  hour  went  by  and  another 
hour  followed  it  and  still  no  Jimmie,  and  court 
was  stopped  awaiting  his  arrival.  Inquiries 
were  made  but  he  could  not  be  found.  It  was 
10  o'clock  when  he  left  the  court  room;  he 
promptly  went  to  the  livery  stable,  secured  a 
rig  and  started  north  on  the  Tiffin  road.  It 
was  bitter  cold,  and  the  Tiffin  road  was  the 
worst  in  the  county  in  winter,  and  this  year 
worse  than  usual,  so  the  horse  walked  the 
entire  seven  miles  until  he  stopped  at  the  store 
of  Daniel  Fralic  in  Wingert's  Corners  where 
Jimmie  served  the  subpoena  on  the  squire. 
The  Squire  put  on  his  glasses,  read  the  docu- 
ment over  carefully,  and  returning  it  said: 
"Why  sheriff,  this  supoena  isn't  for  me;  it's- 
for  Dr.  Cuykendall  at  Bucyrus."  Jimmie 
never  complained,  and  never  said  a  word  or 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


131 


made  any  explanation.  It  was  noon,  and  he 
didn't  even  stop  to  eat,  but  got  in  his  buggy 
and  drove  slowly  back  to  Bucyrus,  and  handed 
the  document  to  Dr.  Cuykendall,  who 
promptly  repaired  to  the  court  house  reaching 
there  at  three  o'clock.  Jimmie  made  no  ex- 
planation, but  when  Squire  Fralic  came  to  town 
the  following  Saturday,  the  story  came  out. 
When  twitted  about  it  Jimmie  got  even  with 
the  pointed  remark:  "Lawyers  always  were 
such  d — n  poor  writers." 

Many  who  have  had  occasion  to  puzzle  over 
the  chirography  of  some  members  of  the 
Crawford  county  bar  will  incline  to  "Uncle 
Jimmie's"  view. 

Although  the  sheriff  is  the  official  who  deals 
with  criminals  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  while 
no  sheriff  has  lost  his  life  in  the  discharge  of 
his  duties,  yet  more  have  met  with  violent 
deaths  than  any  other  class  of  officials  in  the 
county.  Of  the  twenty-five  sheriffs,  five  have 
met  with  violent  deaths. 

John  Caldwell,  sheriff  from  '44  to  '46^  on 
the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  started 
across  the  plains  and  was  never  heard  from 
afterward,  believed  to  have  been  killed  by  the 
Indians;  his  body  never  having  been  found. 
Jonathan  Kissinger,  '50  to  '54,  after  his  term 
of  office,  removed  to  Williams  county,  and 
was  killed  by  the  cars.  His  successor,  Wil- 
liam C.  Beal,  '54  to  '58,  a  few  years  after  leav- 
ing the  office,  was  killed  by  the  cars  west  of 
Bucyrus.  Joseph  C.  Worden,  '62  to  '66,  was 
run  over  by  the  cars  at  Galion  and  killed. 
Daniel  Keplinger,  '66  to  '70,  was  just  com- 
pleting his  second  term,  when  on  the  morning 
of  Saturday,  Nov.  6,  1869,  he  was  thrown 
from  his  buggy  while  driving,  and  after  lin- 
gering for  days  died  on  Dec.  9,  the  only  sher- 
iff to  die  in  office.  The  Bar  Association  held 
a  meeting  with  Franklin  Adams  as  chairman 
and  John  Hopley  as  secretary,  passed  resolu- 
tions of  respect,  and  Judge  Chester  R.  Mott 
adjourned  court  for  six  days;  the  bar  at- 
tended the  funeral  in  a  body,  which  was  con- 
ducted by  La  Salle  Lodge  I.  O.  O.  F.  Much 
of  the  political  bitterness  that  arose  during 
the  war  still  existed,  yet  the  Journal,  the  op- 
position organ  to  the  sheriff  politically,  paid 
the  following  tribute  to  his  memory: 

"He  won  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact.     In  an  emi- 


nent degree  he  was  "diligent  in  business."  He 
softened  the  asperities  of  his  office  without 
relaxing  the  rigor  of  his  duties;  and  where 
many  persons  would  have  caused  lasting  harsh 
feelings,  he  made  warm  friends.  Even  in 
temper,  calm  in  character,  inflexible  in  integ- 
rity, faithful  in  duty,  and  firm  in  the  execu- 
tion of  it,  he  possessed  and  justly  merited 
the  esteem  of  all." 

To  the  people  of  the  present  day,  there  may 
be  wonder  at  this  insertion  of  a  deserved 
tribute  to  a  faithful  official.  And  yet  there 
were  many  republicans  in  that  day  who  se- 
verely criticized  the  republican  organ  for  "go- 
ing out  of  its  way"  to  praise  a  democrat. 
Times  indeed  have  changed 

"Through  the  shadow  of  the  globe  we  sweep 

into  the  younger  day ; 
Better  fity  years  of   Europe  than  a  cycle 

of  Cathay." 

The  present  generation  little  know  and  can 
not  remember  the  intensity  of  the  bitterness 
that  was  engendered  by  the  Civil  war.  How 
it  started  or  why  it  started  it  is  difficult  to 
determine.  For  the  first  thirty  years  of  the 
republic,  party  lines  were  a  -division  bet- 
tween  the  federalists,  who  believed  in  a  few 
controlling  and  the  democrats  and  republi- 
cans, who  believed  in  the  people  controll- 
ing. The  people  won,  and  under  Jackson 
took  the  name  of  democrat,  their  opposi- 
tion being  whigs,  but  both  believing  in  the 
right  of  the  people  to  rule,  that  question  hav- 
ing been  forever  settled  by  the  death  of  the 
federalist  party.  From  the  time  of  Jackson 
for  thirty  years  the  democratic  party  formu- 
lated the  laws  and  were  the  up-builders  of 
the  nation.  All  attempts  to  overthrow  their 
tremendous  hold  on  the  people-  were  unavail- 
ing. The  whigs,  as  a  party,  were  shifty,  eva- 
sive and  compromising,  and  succeeded  in  but 
one  thing  and  that  was  to  drive  the  demo- 
cratic party  unwillingly  into  a  defense  of  slav- 
ery. On  this  issue  the  south  became  dicta- 
torial and  the  party  was  disrupted  in  i860;  it 
was  the  north  against  the  south  in  the  demo- 
cratic party.  At  the  election  in  i860,  Craw- 
ford's vote  was  Douglas,  northern  democrat, 
2,752;  Lincoln,  republican,  2,064;  Brecken- 
ridge,  southern  democrat,  117.  There  was 
no  question  where  Crawford  stood.     The  war 


132 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


broke  out,  and  democrats  and  republicans  alike 
responded  to  their  country's  call,  and  for  a 
year  there  was  a  united  sentiment  in  the 
county,  for  the  defense  of  the  union. 

Shrewd  men  in  the  rising  young  republican 
party,  saw  that  in  a  successful  and  popular 
war  their  lease  of  power  would  be  perpet- 
uated; equally  shrewd  men  in  the  democratic 
party,  feared  the  disintegration  of  their  once 
powerful  party,  and  as  a  result  first  criticised, 
then  opposed,  and  finally  became  openly  hos- 
tile to  the  administration  and  in  many  cases 
strong  sympathizers  with  the  southern  cause. 
This  feeling  was  mostly  confined-  to  the 
party  leaders,  for  during  the  entire  war,  ex- 
cept among  the  most  bitter,  enlistments  con- 
tinued regardless  of  party.  But  it  is  true  that 
the  117  Breckenridge  men  eventually  molded 
the  opinion  of  the  county,  and  Crawford  be- 
came an  anti-war  county.  Many  altercations 
arose  between  the  soldiers  returning  on  fur- 
lough and  the  rougher  elements  in  the  demo- 
cratic party  and  fights  and  knock-downs  were 
frequent;  a  political  meeting  was  almost  in- 
variably followed  by  assaults  on  citizens.  In 
many  cases  shots  were  fired,  the  most  serious 
being  the  result  of  an  altercation  in  the  Fulton 
drug  store  when  three  soldiers  were  wounded, 
one  very  seriously.  In  many  places  in  the 
country  chui;ches  were  desecrated,  their  win- 
dows broken,  and  two  were  destroyed  be- 
cause the  minister  was  a  union  sympathizer. 
In  the  country  also  known  union  sympathizers 
found  their  stock  poisoned,  their  barns  and 
outhouses  burned,  and  their  families  ostra- 
cised. It  is  a  singular  fact  that  when  a  na- 
tion is  engaged  in  a  prolonged  war  the  baser 
instincts  pervade  human  nature,  and  among 
the  more  ignorant  and  brutal  the  animal  in- 
stincts prevail,  and  it  was  this  class  that  led 
the  outrages  in  defiance  of  law  and  of  decency. 
The  seed  sown  by  local  leaders  started  a  force 
which  got  beyond  their  control.  When  the 
draft  came  armed  resistance  was  prepared  for, 
but  wiser  counsels  prevailed  and  the  drafts 
passed  off  quietly.  To  add  to  the  intensity  of 
the  situation.  Judge  Hall  was  arrested  for  al- 
leged treasonable  utterances,  and  taken  a  pris- 
oner to  the  camp  at  Mansfield.  He  was  re- 
leased on  parole,  but  his  arrest  added  fuel  to 
the  flames  among  his  friends.  A  warrant  wa.s 
issued  for  the  arrest  of  A.  M.  Jackson  for  al- 


leged treasonable  utterances,  but  when  the  sol- 
diers searched  his  house  he  was  not  to  be 
found.  A  republican  friend  at  Crestline  had 
sent  word  to  him  that  the  soldiers  were  on 
their  way  to  arrest  him,  and  Mr.  Jackson  took 
refuge  in  the  house  of  a  friend.  He  remained 
in  hiding  several  weeks,  changing  his  resi- 
dence every  few  days,  so  that  his  place  of 
refuge  could  not  be  traced.  The  alleged 
treasonable  utterances  were  very  mild  criti- 
cisms of  the  war  to  what  occurred  later,  when 
no  attention  was  paid  to  them.  The  demo- 
cratic* organ  carried  two  flags,  which  they 
flew  over  their  office.  When  there  was  a  rebel 
victory,  the  Stars  and  Stripes  were  flung  to 
the  breeze,  and  when  the  Union  forces  were 
successful  the  flag  flown  was  of  pure  white, 
containing  a  picture  of  a  dove,  and  in  its 
beak  the  olive  branch  of  peace.  All  day  long 
on  July  4,  of  1863,  business  was  almost  sus- 
pended in  Bucyrus,  and  men  frequented  the 
telegraph  office  to  gain  what  little  tidings  they 
could  of  the  fearful  conflict  on  the  field  of 
Gettysburg.  The  early  reports  were  unfav- 
orable, and  night  settled  on  an  anxious,  doubt- 
ing and  discouraged  village.  In  the  evening 
a  jollification  meeting  was  held  on  account  of 
the  fourth,  and  one  of  the  speakers  in  his  de- 
nunciation of  the  war,  thundered  forth  the 
inquiry:  "Where  now  are  your  shattered 
armies?  fleeing  before  the  victorious  hosts  of 
Lee  in  Pennsylvania."  This  was  not  the  feel- 
ing of  the  better  element  of  the  democratic 
party  in  the  county;  it  was  the  expression  of 
the  views  of  a  class  which  catered  to  the  vicious 
element  of  the  community,  an  element  so  law- 
less that  men  found  it  the  safer  policy  not 
to  openly  denounce  their  outrages.  Naturally 
war  brought  its  hardships,  its  deprivations,  and 
its  struggles  on  the  families  of  soldiers  in  the 
field,  but  under  the  law  each  county  levied  a 
tax,  the  proceeds  of  which  were  distributed 
monthly  by  the  auditor  and  commissioners  to 
deserving  families  in  need.  Besides  this,  the 
citizens  of  both  parties  gave  freely  of  their 
means  to  see  that  none  should  suffer,  and 
many  a  grocer  and  store  keeper  had  charges 
on  his  books  for  the  necessaries  of  life  which 
were  never  presented  for  collection  and  of 
which  sometimes  no  entry  was  even  made. 
This  county  had  a  very  strong  German  popu- 
lation,  and  nine-tenths  of  them  belonged  to 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


133 


the  democratic  party,  and  yet  a  very  large 
majority  of  these  same  German  democrats 
were  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  The 
majority  of  the  people  in  Crawford  were  loyal 
during  the  war,  but  the  county  did  gain  an 
unenviable  notoriety  through  a  disorderly  ele- 
ment in  nearly  every  section  being  allowed  to 
commit  their  outrages  with  very  little  protest 
from  their  neighbors  and  much  less  restraint 
by  the  authorities.  It  was  a  case  where  the 
people  controlled,  not  the  whole  people,  but 
the  worst  element  as  in  the  days  of  the  French 
Revolution.  It  not  only  gave  the  county  a 
bad  name,  but  it  did  more  than  anything  else 
to  bring  on  the  intense  party  bitterness  which 
it  took  years  to  overcome.  Some  churches 
in  the  county  were  so  intense  in  their  unionism 
that  the  Christianity  of  a  democrat  was  so 
doubted  that  he  was  compelled  to  sever  his 
connection  with  the  church,  or  left  it  volun- 
tarily to  avoid  the  suspicions  with  which  he 
was  viewed  by  his  democratic  neighbors. 
Other  churches  were  composed  exclusively  of 
democrats.  There  were  republican  stores  and 
democratic  stores,  republican  and  democratic 
hotels  and  barber  shops,  and  nine-tenths  of 
the  trade  of  each  came  from  their  own 
partisans.  So  intense  was  the  feeling  that  it 
is  dqubtful  if  a  democratic  store  in  the  town 
had  a  republican  clerk,  and  when  some  of 
the  leading  republican  stores  later  had  a  demo- 
cratic clerk  they  were  regarded  as  unfaithful 
to  their  party  obligations.  In  many  churches 
it  took  careful  handling  by  the  ministers  to 
avoid  friction  in  their  congregations. 

Crawford  county  since  the  time  of  Andrew 
Jackson  has  been  a  democratic  county,  and 
since  the  courthouse  was  built  in  1856,  with 
one  exception  no  republican  ever  held  office 
within  its  portals,  and  that  one  republican  was 
not  elected  but  got  there  by  appointment.  In 
1857  Patrick  S.  Marshall  was  elected  pro- 
bate judge  and  in  August,  1858,  he  resigned. 
Under  the  law  the  probate  judge  is  the  only 
county  office  in  which  the  vacancy  is  filled 
by  the  appointment  of  the  governor.  Gov. 
Chase,  a  republican,  was  then  governor  and 
he  appointed  S.  J.  Elliott  to  serve  until  his 
successor  was  elected  and  qualified.  Abram 
Summers  was  elected  in  October,  and  as  soon 
as  he  received  his  commission  he  entered  on 
the  duties  of  his  office. 


As  to  other  offices  there  has  not  been  in 
this  county  a  republican  or  whig  official  since 
the  day  the  democratic  party  took  its  name 
under  Andrew  Jackson,  eighty  years  ago.  In 
1853  Mr.  Beal  was  elected  sheriff  as  an  in- 
dependent, the  whigs  making  no  nomination, 
and  he  receiving  their  support.  But  he  was 
a  democrat  from  Gabon.  Kissinger  had  been 
elected  in  1849  and  1851,  and  was  renomi- 
nated in  1853.  The  new  constitution  had 
changed  the  law  so  that  no  sheriff  could  serve 
for  more  than  four  years  consecutively.  The 
friends  of  Kissinger  held  that  the  limitation 
could  only  commence  under  the  new  constitu- 
tion, but  the  people  doubted  it,  and  Beal  was 
elected  by  less  than  200  majority,  his  town- 
ship of  Polk  giving  him  practically  their 
unanimous  vote. 

Twice,  disputes  arose  over  the  Democratic 
primaries  and  two  candidates  ran  on  that 
ticket  for  the  same  office,  but  a  democrat  can- 
didate won  over  the  republican  in  each  case. 
In  1887,  John  H.  Keller  came  within  300  votes 
of  being  elected  representative,  and  still  later, 
in  1906,  Joseph  Mollencop  was  defeated  for 
commissioner  by  less  than  a  hundred  votes. 

In  1856  the  tidal  wave  toward  the  new  re- 
publican party  landed  James  Lewis  of  this 
county  in  the  office  of  state  senator.  With 
the  exception  of  Mr.  Lewis  the  only  two  per- 
sons who  defeated  the  democratic  candidate 
for  state  senator  since  the  time  of  Andrew 
Jackson  were  James  H.  Godman  in  1840,  and 
Hezekiah  Gorton  in  1836,  both  of  Marion. 
In  the  lower  house  at  Columbus  the  last  man 
who  succeeded  in  defeating  the  democratic 
nominee  in  this  county  was  John  Carey,  in 

1843. 

The  first  election  was  in  1820;  what  is  now 
Crawford  county  (west  of  Auburn  and  Ver- 
non townships)  was  then  all  one  township, 
called  Sandusky  (which  also  included  nearly 
all  of  the  present  Marion  county.)  This  San- 
dusky township  for  judicial  purposes  was  a 
part  of  Delaware  county.  At  this  first  elec- 
tion, the  polling  place  was  at  the  house  of 
James  Murray,  a  mile  north  of  where  Marion 
now  stands.  There  were  48  votes  cast,  and 
one  of  the  trustees  elected  was  Daniel  Fickle, 
who  three  years  later  moved  to  Bucyrus  town- 
ship. The  Delaware  records  also  show  that 
Sandusky  township  was  in  existence  in  1821, 


134 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


as  on  April  15,  of  that  year  commissions  were 
issued  to  Westell  Ridgely  and  Joseph  Young 
as  justices  of  the  peace  of  Sandusky  township, 
Westell  Ridgely  then  living  near  the  present 
village  of  Leesville  and  Joseph  Young  near 
•Bucyrus,  neither  town  having  yet  been  started 
or  even  dreamed  of.  Sandusky  township  then 
was  probably  from  the  western  boundary  of 
Auburn  and  Vernon  to  the  western  boundary 
of  Bucyrus,  about  15  miles,  and  from  the 
southern  boundary  of  Bucyrus  to  the  north 
county  line,  18  miles.  It  was  easy  to  be 
elected  to  office  in  those  days  as  witness  the 
following  from  the  recollect'ions  of  M.  Peters, 
a  pioneer  of  Marion  county.  "The  first  elec- 
tion was  held  (1821)  for  one  justice  of  the 
peace.  There  being  no  candidates,  I  selected 
W.  Crawford  and  he  selected  me,  and  thus 
there  was  a  tie.  The  clerk  of  Delaware  county 
cast  lot  and  drew  for  Crawford."  But  gen- 
erosity has  its  reward  as  in  the  fall  Squire 
Crawford  resigned  and  Peters  was  elected. 

The  following  is  a  complete  list  of  the  dis- 
trict and  county  officials  since  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  county,  the  years  given  being  the 
date  of  their  election: 

PRESIDENTIAL    ELECTORS 

District  VIII,  1824,  elector  Henry  Brown, 
Franklin  county,  candidate,  Henry  Clay ;  party, 
whig. 

District  VIII,  1828,  elector,  John  M.  Elvain, 
Franklin  county;  candidate  *Andrew  Jack- 
son; party,  dem. 

District  XIV,  1832,  elector,  William  S. 
Tracy,  Huron  county;  candidate  *Andrew 
Jackson,  party,  dem. 

District  XIV,  1836,  elector  John  P.  Coulter, 
Richland  county;  candidate,  William  H.  Har- 
rison; party  whig. 

District  XIV,  1840,  elector,  John  Carey, 
Crawford  county;  candidate,  *William  H. 
Harrison;  party  whig. 

District  VI,  1844,  elector,  Josiah  Scott, 
Crawford  county;  candidate,  Henry  Clay; 
party,  whig. 

District  VI,  1848,  elector,  John  Caldwell, 
Crawford  county;  candidate,  Lewis  Cass; 
party,  dem. 

District  IX,  1852,  elector,  William  Palmer, 
Hardin  county;  candidate,  *Franklin  Pierce; 
party,  dem. 


District  IX,  1856,  elector,  R.  G.  Penning- 
ton, Seneca  county;  candidate,  John  C.  Fre- 
mont; party,  rep. 

District  IX,  i860,  elector,  John  F.  Hinkle, 
Wyandot  county;  candidate,  *Abraham  Lin- 
coln; party,  rep. 

District  IX,  1864,  elector,  Jacob  Scroggs, 
Crawford  county;  candidate,  *  Abraham  Lin- 
coln ;  party,  rep. 

District  IX,  1868,  elector,  L.  A.  Hall,  Seneca 
county;  candidate,  *Ulysses  S.  Grant;  party, 
rep. 

District  XIV,  1872,  elector,  Isaac  M.  Kirby, 
Wyandot  county;  candidate,  *Ulysses  S. 
Grant;  party,  rep. 

District  XIV,  1876,  elector,  L.  B.  Matson, 
Richland  county;  candidate,  *Rutherford  B. 
Hayes;  party,  rep. 

District,  XIV,  1880,  elector,  Jacob  Scroggs, 
Crawford  county;  candidate,  *James  A.  Gar- 
field; party,  rep. 

District  VII,  1884,  elector,  Lovell  B.  Har- 
ris, Wyandot  county;  candidate,  James  G. 
Blaine ;  party,  rep. 

District  V,  1888,  elector,  Jacob  Werner, 
Seneca  county;  candidate,  *Benjamin  Harri- 
son; party,  rep. 

District  XIII,  1892,  elector,  Joseph  E.  Mc- 
Neal,  Marion  county;  candidate,  Benjamin 
Harrison;  party,  rep. 

District  XIII,  1896,  elector,  Henry  L.  Wen- 
ner,  Seneca  county;  candidate,  *William  Mc- 
Kinley;  party,  rep. 

District  XIII,  1900,  elector^  Henry  B.  Hane, 
Marion  county;  candidate,  *  William  McKin- 
ley;  party,  rep. 

District  XIII,  1904,  elector,  Ralph  D. 
Sneath,  Seneca  county;  candidate,  *Theodore 
Roosevelt;  party,  rep. 

District  XIII,  1908,  elector,  I.  H.  Burgoon, 
Sandusky  county;  candidate,  *  William  H. 
Taft;  party,  rep. 

MEMBERS   OF   CONGRESS 

VIII — Crawford,  Coshocton,  Delaware, 
Franklin,  Knox,  Licking,  Marion. 

1824 — William  Wilson,  Licking,  whig. 
1826 — William  Wilson,  Licking,  whig. 
1828 — William  Stanberry,  Licking,  whig. 
1830 — William  Stanberry,  Licking,  whig. 

*EIected  president. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


135 


XIV — Crawford,    Huron,    Richland,    San- 
dusky, Seneca. 

1832 — William  Patterson,  Richland,  dem. 
1834 — William  Patterson,  Richland,  dem. 
1836 — William  H.  Hunter,  Huron,  dem. 
1838 — George  Sweney,  Crawford,  dem. 
1840 — George  Sweney,  Crawford,  dem. 

VI — Crawford,  Hancock,  Ottawa,  San- 
dusky, Seneca,  Wood. 

1842 — Henry  St.  John,  Seneca,  dem. 
1844 — Henry  St.  John,  Seneca,  dem. 
1846 — Rudolphus      Dickinson,      Sandusky, 

dem. 
1848 — Rudolphus   Dickinson*    dem;   Amos 

E.  Wood,  dem;  John  Bell,  dem; 

all  of  Sandusky.  ■ 
1850 — Frederick  W.  Green,  Seneca,  dem. 

IX — Crawford,  Hardin,  Marion,  Ottawa, 
Sandusky,  Seneca,  Wyandot. 

1852 — Frederick  W.  Green,  Seneca,  dem. 
1854 — Cooper  K.  Watson,  Seneca,  rep. 
1856 — Lawrence  W.  Hall,  Crawford,  dem. 
1858 — John  Carey,  Wyandot,  rep. 
i860 — Warren  P.  Noble,  Seneca,  dem. 

IX — Crawford,  Erie,  Huron,  Sandusky, 
Seneca,  Wyandot. 

1862 — Warren  P.  Noble,  Seneca,  dem. 
1864 — Ralph  P.  Buckland,  Sandusky,  rep. 
1866 — Ralph  P.  Buckland,  Sandusky,  rep. 
1868 — E.  F.  Dickinson,  Sandusky,  dem. 
1870 — Charles  Foster,  Seneca,  rep. 

XIV — Ashland,  Crawford,  Holmes,  Rich- 
land, Wyandot. 

1872 — John  Berry,.  Wyandot,  dem. 
1874 — Jacob  P.  Cowan,  Ashland,  dem. 
1876 — Ebenezer  B.  Finley,  Crawford,  dem. 

VIII — Crawford,  Hardin,  Marion,  Morrow, 
Seneca,  Wyandot. 

1878 — Ebenezer  B.  Finley,  Crawford,  dem. 

XIV — ^Ashland,  Crawford,  Holmes,  Rich- 
land, Wyandot. 

1880 — George  W.  Geddes,  Richland,  dem. 

*During  his  second  term  Rudolphus  Dickinson 
died,  and  Amos  E.  Wood  of  Sandusky  county  was 
elected  to  the  vacancy.  Wood  died,  and  John 
Bell,  of  Sandusky  county  was  elected  to  fill  the  un- 
expired   term,    about   two  months. 


V— Crawford,  Hancock,  Seneca,  Putnam, 
Wyandot. 

1882— George  E.  Seney,  Seneca,  dem. 

VII — Crawford,  Hancock,  Seneca,  Wood, 
Wyandot.    . 

1884— George  E.  Seney,  Seneca,  dem. 

V — Crawford,  Hancock,  Putnam,  Seneca, 
Wyandot. 

1886 — George  E.  Seney,  Seneca,  dem. 
1888 — George  E.  Seney,  Seneca,  dem. 

XV — Ashland,  Crawford,  Delaware,  Knox, 
Morrow,  Richland. 

1890 — Michael  D.  Harter,  Richland,  dem. 

XIII — Crawford,  Erie,  Marion,  Sandusky, 
Seneca,  Wyandot. 

1892 — Darius  D.  Hare,  Wyandot,  dem. 
1894 — Stephen  R.  Harris,  Crawford,  rep. 
1896 — James  A.  Norton,  Seneca,  dem. 
1898 — James  A.  Norton,  Seneca,  dem. 
1900 — Amos  H.  Jackson,  Sandusky,  rep. 
1900 — Grant  E.  Mouser,  Marion,  rep. 
1906 — Grant  E.  Mouser,  Marion,  rep. 
1908 — Carl  C.  Anderson,  Seneca,  dem. 
19 10 — Carl  C.  Anderson,  Seneca,  dem. 


CIRCUIT  COURT  JUDGES 

Thomas  Beer,  Crawford 1885  to  1893 

John  J.  Moore,  Putnam 1885  to  1895 

Henry  W.  Seney,  Hardin 1885  to  1896 

James  H.  Day,  Mercer 1893  to  1905 

James  L.  Price,  Allen 1895  to  1901 

John  K.  Rohn,*  Seneca  1896  to  1896 

Ebenezer  B.  Finley,  Crawford  .    1896  to  1897 

Caleb  H.  Norris,  Marion 1897  to  1909 

William  T.  Mooney,  Auglaize  .  .  1 901  to  1905 
Edward  Vollrath,f  Crawford  .  .  .  1905  to  1906 

Silas  E.  Hurin,  Hancock 1905  to  191 1 

Michael  Donnelly,  Henry   1906  to 

W.  H.  Kinder,  Hancock 1908  to 

Philip  Crowe,  Hardin 1910  to 


*Rohn  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Bushnell  to  succeed 
Seney  who  resigned,  and  in  the  fall  Finley  was  elected 
to  fill  the  vacancy  of  the  unexpired  Seney  term. 

tVollrath  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Herrick  to  succeed 
Mooney,  deceased. 


136 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Crawford  was  a  part  of  the  Third  Circuit, 
and  in  1884  the  counties  composing  that  cir- 
cuit were  Allen,  Augalize,  Crawford,  Defi- 
ance, Fulton,  Hancock,  Hardin,  Henry,  Logan, 
Marion,  Mercer,  Paulding,  Putnam,  Seneca, 
Union,  Van  Wert,  Williams,  Wood,  Wyan- 
dot. In  1887  Fulton,  Williams  and  Wood 
were  transferred  to  the  Sixth  Circuit,  leaving 
the  remaining  sixteen  counties  the  present 
Third  Circuit. 

COMMON    PLEAS  JUDGES 

Lawrence  W.  Hall,  Crawford  . .  1852  to  1856 

Machias  C.  Whitely,  Hancock  .  .  1856  to  1857 

George  E.  Seney,  Seneca 1856  to  1857 

Josiah  S.  Plants,*  Crawford  .  .  .  185810  1863 

Chester  R.  Mott,  Wyandot 1866  to  1871 

James  Pillars,  Seneca   1867  to  1877 

Abner  M.  Jackson,  Crawford  .  .  1871  to  1874 

Thomas  Beer,  Crawford 1874  to  1886 

Henry  H.  Dodge,  Wood 1877  to  1880 

Caleb  H.  Norris,  Marion 1884  to  1897 

Allen  C.  Smalley,  Wyandot  ....  1890  to  1900 

James  C.  Tobias,  Crawford  ....  1897  to  1907 

Boston  G.  Young,f  Marion  ....  1900  to  1910 

Daniel  Babst,  Crawford 1907  to 

William  E.  Scofield,  Marion  .  .  .  i9ioto 

In  185 1  Crawford  was  a  part  of  the  third 
division  of  the  Third  District,  the  counties 
being  Crawford,  Hancock,  Seneca,  Wood, 
Wyandot.  In  1879  the  districts  were  ar- 
ranged as  they  are  at  present,  the  counties 
of  Crawford,  Marion  and  Wyandot  being  the 
Second  Subdivision  of  the  Tenth  Judicial  Dis- 
trict. 

STATE   SENATORS 

Crawford,  Delaware,  Franklin,  Madison, 
Marion,  Union. 

1824 — David  H.  Beardsley,  Marion,  whig. 

Crawford,  Delaware,  Marion,  Sandusky, 
Seneca. 

1826 — James  Kooken,  Franklin,  dem. 

Crawford,  Delaware,  Marion. 

1828 — Charles  Carpenter,  Delaware,  whig. 

*Josiah  S.  Plants  died  in  1863. 

tBoston  G.  Young  died  in  1910,  and  Scofield  was 
appointed  by  Gov.  Harmon  to  fill  the  vacancy,  and  in 
November,  1910,  was  elected  to  fill  the  unexpired  term 
of  Younf,   and   also  for  a   full  term. 


1830 — Charles  Carpenter,  Delaware,  whig. 
1832 — James  W.  Crawford,*  Delaware,  dem. 
1834 — Robert  Hopkins,  Marion,  dem. 

Crawford,  Delaware,  Marion,  Union. 
1836 — Hezekiah  Gorton,  Marion,  whig. 
1838 — Benjamin  F.  Allen,  Delaware,  dem. 

Crawford,  Delaware,  Marion. 

1840 — ^James  H.  Goodman,  Marion,  whig. 

1842 — ^Joseph  McCutchen,  Crawford,  dem. 

Crawford,  Sandusky,  Seneca. 

1844 — Amos  E.  Wood,  Sandusky,  dem. 

Crawford,  Sandusky,  Seneca,  Wyandot. 
1846 — Henry  Cronise,  Seneca,  dem. 

Crawford,  Richland. 

1848 — Barnabas  Burns,  Richland,  dem. 

1850 — Barnabas  Burns,  Richland,  dem. 

Crawford,  Seneca,  Wyandot. 
185 1 — Joel  W.  Wilson,  Seneca,  dem. 
1853 — -Robert  Lee,  Crawford,  dem. 
1855 — James  Lewis,  Crawford,  rep. 
1857 — Robert  McKelly,   Wyandot,  dem. 
1859 — -Thomas  J.  Orr,  Crawford,  dem. 
1861-63 — William  Lang,  Seneca,  dem. 
1865-67 — Curtis  Berry,  jr.,  Wyandot,  dem. 
1869-71 — Alexander  E.  Jenner,  Crawford, 

dem. 
1873 — John  Seitz,  Seneca,  dem. 
1875 — Edson  T.  Stickney,  Seneca,  dem. 
1877 — ^John  Seitz,  Seneca,  dem. 
1879-81 — Moses  H.  Kirby,  Wyandot,  dem. 
1883-85— John    H.     ^^'illiston,    Crawford, 

dem. 
1887-89 — Perry  M.  Adams,  Seneca,  dem. 
1891-93 — William  C.  Gear,  Wyandot,  dem. 
1895-97 — Horace  E.  Valentine,  Crawford, 

dem. 
1899-01 — John  C.  Royer,  Seneca,  dem. 
i903-05^Elzie  Carter,  Wyandot,  dem. 
1908 — James  E.  Cory,  Crawford,  dem. 
1910 — Frank  T.  Dore,  Seneca,  dem. 

*In  18.^3  charges  were  presented  to  the  Senate 
aflfecting  the  reputation  of  Senator  Crawford,  and  the 
matter  was  referred  to  a  committee.  On  the  unanimous 
recommendation  of  the  committee  the  Senate  unani- 
i-.ouslv  expuno^ed  the  entire  matter  from  the  records. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS  137 

HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  1850 — William    Bushncll,    Richland,    dem; 

„       r     ,    -.^     •        c-     J     ,       c  Clark  K.  Ward,  Crawford,  dein. 

Crawford,  Marion,  Sandusky,  Seneca. 

1824— Jeremiah  Everett,  Sandusky,  whig.  "-J^^  ^^-  Bucvrus 

1825— Josiah  Hedges,  Seneca,  dem.  o^  ^^i     ,      •  ^%'  ^"^y*^"^" 

1826-Eber  Baker!  Marion,  ;hig.  1853-Mordecai  P.  Bean  Bucyrus. 

1827-Samuel  Lockwood,  Sandusky,  dem.  i855-57-John  Pitman,  Holmes 

'  '  ■'  1859-61 — John  S.  Reisinger,  Polk. 

Crawford,  Marion.  1863-65-Thomas  Beer,  Bucyrus. 

i82^John  Carey,  Crawford,  whig.  ^gjr^rfcs  T    Whke    tckson 

1829— Robet  Hopkins,  Marion,  dem.  1871-73— ihomas  J     White,  Jackson. 

1830-John  Nimmon,  Crawford,  dem.  1875-77-Jacob  G.  Meuser   Polk. 

1831-William  Brown,  Marion,  whig.  I^^-Si-James  E^  Cory,  Cranberry. 

1832-John  Campbell,  Crawford,  dem.  '^o^l^-George  M.  Zeigler    Polk. 

1833-James  McCutchen,  Crawford,  dem.  1887-89-Philip  Schuler   Polk. 

1834-John  Campbell,  Crawford,  dem.  1891-93-BenjaminF.  Taylor,  Holmes. 

i83S-James  H.  Goodman,  Marion,  whig.  1895-97-Andrew  J^Hazlett,  Bucyrus. 

•^^     •'  >  '         t.  1899-01 — David  O.  Castle,  Polk. 

Crawford,  Marion  and  Union.  1903-05-Frank  Miller   Jackson. 

1836-John    Carey,    Crawford,    whig;    Ot-  1908-io-Lewis  H.  Battefeld,  Bucyrus. 

way  Curry,  Union,  whig.  state  board  of  equalization 

1837 — Otway  Curry,  Union,  whig;  Stephen  o  ^     t^     ■  1  c    -kj    ^        v  \mT  n 

Fowler,  Crawford,. dem.  1826-Daniel  S.  Norton,  Knox,  VHI  Con-, 

1838— John     Campbell,     Crawford,     dem;  g^^^^^'^'^^l-  .  ,        ^       .  ^^  ^r.r  r- 

Stephen  Fowler,  Crawford,  dem.  1834— Pickett  Lattimer,  Huron,  XIV  Con- 

1839— James    H.    Goodman,    Marion,    rep;  gressional 

Guy  C.  Worth,  Crawford,  dem.  ,  1841-George  W.    Sharp,   Delaware,   XIV 

Senatorial. 

Crawford,  Delaware,  Marion.  i84^Joshua    Seney,    Seneca,    XIV   Sena- 

1840 — Emery  Moore,  Delaware,  whig;  Jo-  "^orial.  „    „  T,r        ,        ^t^^^tt 

siah  Scott,  Crawford,  whig.  „  1853— George  T.  Trees,  Wyandot,  XXXI 

1841— Thomas  W.  Powell,  Delaware,  whig;  Senatorial 

James    Grififith,    Crawford,   whig;  „  i860— Rasselas    R.    Titus,    Seneca,    XXXI 

George  W.  Sharp,  Delaware,  dem.  Senatorial  ^        ,     ^    ^^^-r 

1842— Isaac     E.     James,     Marion;     dem;  „  i87c>7-Andrew  Dickson,  Crawford,  XXXI 

George  W.  Sharp,  Delaware,  dem.  Senatorial 

1843— John  Carey,  Crawford,  whig;  Wil-  i88<^J-  S.  Hare,  Wyandot,  XXXI  Sena- 

liam  Smart,  Delaware,  whig.  toria.        ^  T.r  c  vwt    c- 

189a— Isaac   Kagy,    Seneca,   XXXI   Sena- 
Crawford  torial. 

1844— Samuel  S.  Caldwell,  Crawford,  dem.  ^  ipoo— Stephen   Waller,    Crawford,    XXXI 

Senatorial. 
Crawford,  Wyandot.  ^^^,  State  Board  of  Equalization  of   1900 

1845— Michael  Brackley,  Wyandot,  dem.  T^'*^   ^^'*'  ^^^.  legislature   passing  a   law 

1846-George     Donnenwirth,      Crawford,  abolishing  an  elective  board. 

dem.  probate  judges 

1847 — Michael  Brackley,  Wyandot,  dem. 

Year  elected 

Crawford,   Richland.  James  Eaton 1851 

1848 — Daniel  Brewer,  Richland,  dem;  Sam-  George  Wiley 1854 

uel  Myers,  Crawford,  dem.  Patterson  S.  Marshall* 1855-1857 

1849 — Miller  Moody,  Richland,  dem;  Sam-  *w;t„    a;^a   \„„   ,,.  •  xq^^       j  r-       at  j-„ 

^^  ,   ,,  -^  V-         i-      J     1  *  Wiley  died   Aug.   15,   1855,   and   Gov.   Medill  ap- 

uel  Myers,   Crawford,  dem.  pointed   Marshall.     Marshall   was    elected    in   October 


138 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


S.J.Elliott 1858 

Abram  Summers 1858-1860 

James  Clements 1863-1866 

Robert  Lee 1869-1872 

Shannon  Clements 1875-1878 

Frederick  Hipp 1881-1884 

James  C.  Tobias 1887-1890 

Charles  Kinninger 1893-1896 

William  C.  Kiess 1899-1902 

Charles  F.  Schaber 1905-1908 

AUDITORS 

Year  elected 

James  Martin 1826 

Charles  Merriman 1827 

Edward  Billups 1828 

John  Caldwell 1830-1832-1834 

Jacob  Howenstein^ 1836 

George  Sinn 1836-1838 

Owen  Williams 1842-1844 

John  Pitman 1846-1848 

Abner  M.  Jackson 1850-1852 

Edmund  R.  Kearsley 1854-1856-1858 

Alexander  A.  Ruhl 1860-1862 

Samuel   S.  Hoyt 1864-1866 

William  M.  Scroggs 1868-1871 

Frederick  M.   Swingly • 1873-1875 

James  H.   Robinson 1877-1880 

Adam  J.  High 1883-1886 

Reuben  Stable 1889-1892 

J.  F.  Kimmerline 1895-1898 

Jefferson  I.  Smith 1901-1904 

G.  F.  Ackerman 1908-1910 

SHERIFFS 

Year  elected 

Hugh   McCracken 1826-1827 

John   Miller 1829-1831 

John    Moderwell 1832-1833 

David  Holm 1835 

John  Shull 1837 

Samuel  Andrews 1839 

James  L.  Harper^   1841 

i8SS»  for  the  unexpired  term ;  and  elected  in  October, 
1857 ;  he  resigned  in  August,  1858,  and  Gov.  Chase  ap- 
pointed Elliott;  Summers  was  elected  to  the  vacancy 
in  October  and  immediately  took  the  office. 

1  July  16,  1836,  Caldwell  resigned,  and  Howen- 
stein  was  appointed.  At  the  October  election  Howen- 
stein  was  a  candidate  but  was  defeated,  so  in  Decem- 
ber he  resigned  and  Sinn,  who  had  been  elected,  was 
appointed   to  the  vacancy. 

2  Andrews  resigned  Sept.  30,  1839,  and  Harper  was 
appointed. 


John   Caldwell 1843 

James  Clements 1845-1847 

Jonathan  Kissinger 1849-185 1 

William  C.  Beal 1853-1855 

John   Franz 1857-1859  ■ 

Joseph  C.  Worden 1861-1863 

Daniel  Keplinger^   1865- 1867 

James  Worden 1869-1871 

Henry  J.  Row 1873-1875 

John  A.  Schaber 1877-1879 

John  Keil 1881-1883 

Peter  Faeth 1885-1887 

Christian  F.  Birk 1889-1891 

John  Keil . 1893-1895 

Charles   Vollmer 1897-1899 

John  Gebhardt 1901-1903 

August  Gerhart 1905-1907 

Solomon  Crum 1910- 

TREASURERS 

Year  elected 

John  H.  Morrison 1829-183 1 

Samuel  Myers 1833-1835 

George   Lauck 1837-1839 

Samuel  Myers 1841 

George  Lauck 1843-1845 

Charles  Hetich 1847-1849 

Otto  Fieldner '.  1851-1853 

George  Donnenwirth 1855-1857 

John  Kaler 1859-1861 

Joseph  Roop 1863-1865 

John  Franz*   1867-1869 

John  G.  Birk 1871-1873 

Christian  H.  Shonert 1875- 1.877 

William  Riblet 1879-1881 

Christian  H.  Shonert 1883-1885 

Frank  Blicke 1887-1889 

John  Blyth 1891-1893 

Michael   Auck 1895-1897 

William  L.  Alexander 1899-1901 

George   W.    Miller 1903-1905 

Daniel   Kreiter 1908-1910 

CLERKS 

Year  elected 
David  H.  Beardsley^ 1826 

3  Daniel  Keplinger  died  from  injuries  received  in  a 
runaway  in  1869  and  Worden  was  appointed  to  the 
vacancy. 

4  John  Franz  died  while  serving  his  second  term, 
and  the  commissioners  appointed  his  son  Job  Franz, 
who  was  his  deputy  at  the  time,  to  fill  out  the  unex- 
''ired  term. 

5  When  courts  were  first  organized  here  David  H. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


139 


Zalmon  Rowse 1826-1831 

Jabez  B.  Larwill 1841 

Daniel  W.  Swigart 1848 

Thomas  J.  Orr 1851-1854 

Alexander  P.  Widman^ 1857-1860 

John  R.  Clymer 1861-1864 

Thomas   Coughlin. 1867-1870 

David  C.  Cahill 1873-1876 

Alexander  A.  Ruhl 1879-1882 

Lewis  C.  Donnenwirth 1885-1888 

Aaron  H.  Laughbaum. 1891-1894 

Wallace   B.    Forrest 1897-1900 

L.  D.  Willford 1903-1906 

J.  E.  Myers 1908-1910 

RECORDERS 

Year  elected 

Zalmon  Rowse^   1826-1833 

Jacob  Howenstein 1840-1843 

James  Robinson 1846-1849 

Smith  Todd 1851-1854 

James  Robinson 1857- 

William  C.  Trimble 1860-1863 

Frank  M.  Bowyer 1866-1869 

William  Stremmel 1872-1875 

David  O.  Castle 1878-1881 

William  F.  Crowe 1884-1887 

Philip  Schaefer 1S90-1893 

H.  S.  Z.  Matthias 1896-1899 

Charles  F.  Matthew 1902-1905 

Jay  W.  Holler 1908-1910 

PROSECUTING  ATTORNEYS 

Year  elected 

Isaac  H.  Allen 1826-1827 

George   Sweney.  .  .  1829-183 1-1833-1835-1837 

Franklin  Adams*    1839-1841-1843 

Lawrence  W.    Hall 1845-1847-1849 

George   Sweney 1841- 

Abram  Summers 1853-1855 

Abner  M.  Jackson 1857-1859 

Burr  Morris 1861-1863 

Beardsley,  a  Marion  attorney  was  appointed,  but  dur- 
ins;  the  first  term  the  court  appointed  Zalmon  Rowse. 
It  was  an  appointive  office  lasting  seven  years.  Under 
the  Constitution  of  1850,  clerks  became  an  elective  office. 

1  Widman  died  March  29,  i860,  and  Clymer  was 
appointed  to  the  vacancy,  and  in  October  elected  to 
the  unexpired  term. 

2  Recorders  were  appointed  until  1840.  The  term 
was  seven  years. 

3  Adams  appointed  vice  Sweney;  resigned — elected 
to   Congress. 


Matthias  Buchman*   1864 

Nathan  Jones 1865-1867 

James  W.  Coulter 1869-1871 

Seth  G.  Cummings 1873-1875 

George  M.  Zeigler 1878 

Anson  Wickham 1881-1884 

Isaac   Cahill 1887-1890 

P.  W.  Poole 1893-1896 

Charles  Gallinger 1899-1902 

Carl  H.  Hinkel 1905-1908 

William  J.  Schwenck 1910- 

SURVEYORS 

Year  elected 

John   McClure 1826- 

John  Marshall 1828- 

Thomas  C.  Sweney 1831-1834 

William  Fitzsimmons 1837-1840 

Peter  B.  Beidler 1843 

William  McCoy 1845 

Joseph  Meer 1848 

George  M.  Wiley 1851-1853 

Horace  Martin^    .  .  1854-1855-1857-1859-1861 
H.  W.  McDonald"   ....  1863-1 865- 1867- 1869 

James  H.  Robinson 1872-1875 

Frank  L.  Plants'^ 1878 

Harry  L.  Weber 1879- 1882- 1885 

Horace  E.  Valentine 1888-1891 

Herschel  V.  Flickinger 1894- 1897 

Charles  P.  Bryant 1900-1903 

Charles  A.  Guiss 1906-1908 

S.  P.  Michaelis 1910 

CORONERS 

Year  elected 

Dr.  Dunn 1826- 

John  Forbes   1836-1840 

Robert  Forbes 1844-1848 

William  Bair 1848-185 1 

John  Messner 185 1 

William  R.  Shaw 1853-1855 

Oscar  W.  Truman 1857-1859-1861 

J.  M.  McEwenS   1864 

James  Worden 1866-1868 

4  Buchman  appointed  to  succeed  Morris,  resigned. 

5  Wiley  resignedto  become  Probate  Judge;  Martin 
aopointed, 

6  Horace  Martin  resigned  on  May  i,  1863,  and  on 
May  4.  H.   W.  McDonald  was  appointed. 

7  Frank  L.  Plants  was  annointed  July  31,  1877; 
elected  in  .October.  1877 :  died  Feb.  18,  1879,  and  Harry 
L.  Weber  appointed  April   19,   1879. 

8  Truman  resigned  in  December,  1862,  and  McEwen 
was  appointed. 


140 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Philip  Mofifit 1870-1872-1874 

Peter   Bauer 1876- 1878- 1880 

Philip  Moffit 1881- 

Jacob  C.  Housbergi 1882-1884 

Dr.  John  A.  Chesney^ 1885-1888 

Dr.  Elkanah  A.  Thoman 1890- 1892 

Dr.  Charles  H.  Noblet 1894-1896 

Dr.  Jerome  Bland 1898-1900 

Dr.  C.  A.  Marquart 1902-1904 

Dr.  E.  D.  Helfrich 1906-1908 

Dr.  Charles  A.  Ulmer 1910 

COMMISSIONERS 

1824 — Enoch  B.  Merriman  (Crawford  and 
Marion  counties). 

1825 — Zachariah    Welsh     (Crawford    and 
Marion  counties). 

1826 — Zalmon  Rowse  (Crawford  and  Ma- 
rion counties). 

McClure,     John     Magers 


McClure,  John  Magers, 
Ridgley,  John  Magers, 
Ridgley,  John  Coleman, 
Ridgley,     John     Coleman, 


1826 — Thomas 
George  Poe. 

1827 — Thomas 
George  Poe. 

1828— Westell 
George  Poe. 

1829 — Westell 
James  L.  Harper. 

1830 — Westell 
James  L.  Harper. 

183 1 — Isaac  Sweney,  John  Coleman,  James 
L.  Harper. 

1832 — Isaac  Sweney,  William  Early,  James 
L.  Harper. 

1833 — Isaac     Sweney,     Daniel     Williams, 
James  L.  Harper. 

1834 — ^David  Ellis,  Daniel  Williams,  James 
L.  Harper. 

1835 — David  Ellis,  William  Robinson,^  Ja- 
cob MoUenkopf. 

1836 — David  Ellis,  William  Robinson,  Ja- 
cob MoUenkopf. 

1837 — David  Ellis,  William  Robinson,  Ja- 
cob MoUenkopf. 

1838 — David  Ellis,  William  Robinson,  Ja- 
cob MoUenkopf. 

1839 — David   Ellis,   John  Clements,   Jacob 
MoUenkopf. 

1  Moffit  resigned  in  April,  1881,  and  Housberg  was 
appointed. 

2  Housberg  resigned  in   1885  and  Chesney  was  ap- 
pointed. 

3  Robinson  appointed      to    succeed    Williams,    re- 
signed. 


1840 — Hamilton  Kerr,  John  Clements,  Jacob 
MoUenkopf. 

1 84 1 — Hamilton  Kerr,  John  Clements,  Jacob 
MoUenkopf. 

1842 — Hamilton  Kerr,  John  Clements,  Jacob 
MoUenkopf. 

1843 — Hamilton  Kerr,  John  Clements,  Jacob 
MoUenkopf. 

1844^-Hamilton  Kerr,  John  Clements,  Sam- 
uel Lee. 

1845— George  Dickson,*  Peter  Conkle,  Sam- 
uel Lee. 

1846 — Phares  Jackson,  Peter  Conkle,  Sam- 
uel Lee. 

1847 — Phares  Jackson,  Peter  Conkle,  Sid- 
ney Holt. 

1848 — Phares  Jackson,  Peter  Conkle,  Sid- 
ney Holt. 

1849 — Phares  Jackson,  Peter  Conkle,  Sid- 
ney Holt. 

1850 — Phares  Jackson,   Peter  Conkle,  Sid- 
ney Holt. 

1 85 1 — Phares  Jackson,  J.  N.  Frye,  Sidney 
Holt. 

1852 — Samuel  Swisher,  J.  N.  Frye,  Sidney 
Holt. 

1853 — Samuel    Swisher,    James    Clemens,' 
Wilson  Stewart. 

1854 — Samuel    Swisher,    James    Clements, 
Wilson  Stewart. 

1855 — Samuel    Swisher,    James    Clements, 
Wilson  Stewart. 

1856 — Samuel    Swisher,    James    Clements, 
Wilson  Stewart. 

1857 — Andrew  Dickson,®  Isaac  Van  Voor- 
his,  Wilson  Stewart. 

1858 — Andrew  Dickson,  Isaac  Van  Voor- 
his,  Wilson  Stewart. 

1859 — Andrew  Dickson,  Isaac  Van  Voor- 
his,  Charles  Keplinger. 

i860 — Andrew  Dickson,  Isaac  Van  Voor- 
his,  Charles  Keplinger. 

1 86 1 — Hugh    Cory,    Isaac    Van    Voorhis, 
Charles  Keplinger. 

1862 — Hugh    Cory,    Isaac    Van    Voorhis, 
Charles  Keplinger. 

1863 — Hugh      Cory,      John      Burgbacher, 
Charles  Keplinger. 

1864 — Hugh      Cory,      John      Burgbacher, 
Charles  Keplinger. 

4  Dickson      appointed  to  succeed  Kerr,  resigned. 

5  Clements   appointed   to   succeed   Frye,   deceased. 

6  Dickson  appointed  to  succeed  Swisher,  resigned. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


141 


1865 — Hugh  Cory,  John  Burgbacher,  Lewis 
Littler. 

1866 — ^Hugh  Cory,  John  Burgbacher,  Lewis 
Littler. 

1867 — Barber  Robinson,  John  Burgbacher, 
Lewis  Littler. 

1868 — Barber  Robinson,  John  Burgbacher, 
Lewis  Littler. 

1869 — Barber  Robinson,  James  Hufty, 
Lewis  Littler. 

1870 — Charles  Myers,  James  Hufty,  Lewis 
Littler. 

1871 — Charles  Myers,  James  Hufty,  J.  J. 
Bauer. 

1872 — Charles  Myers,  James  Hufty,  J.  J. 
Bauer. 

1873 — Charles  Myers,  James  Hufty,  J.  J. 
Bauer. 

1874 — Charles  Myers,  James  Hufty,  J.  J. 
Bauer. 

1875 — Charles  Myers,  Charles  Keplinger, 
J.  J.  Bauer. 

1876 — Lysander  Waller,  Charles  Keplinger, 
J.  J.  Bauer. 

1877 — Lysander  Waller,  Charles  Keplinger, 
John  Neuman. 

1878 — Lysander  Waller,  Charles  Keplinger, 
John  Neuman. 

1879 — Lysander  Waller,  Charles  Keplinger, 
John  Neuman. 

1880 — Lysander  Waller,  Charles  Keplinger, 
John  Neuman. 

1 881 — Lysander  Waller,  Jacob  Burkley, 
John  Neuman. 

1882 — John  Richardson,  Jacob  Burkley, 
Charles  Keplinger.* 

1883 — ^John  Richardson,  Jacob  Burkley, 
Peter  Bauer. 

1884 — John  Richardson,  Jacob  Burkley, 
Peter  Bauer. 

1885 — John  Richardson,  Jacob  Burkley, 
Peter  Bauer. 

1886 — John  Richardson,  Jacob  Burkley, 
Peter  Bauer. 

1887 — ^John  Richardson,  Henry  Dapper, 
Peter  Bauer. 

1888 — John  Parcher,  Henry  Dapper,  Peter 
Bauer. 

1889 — ^John  Parcher,  Henry  Dapper,  Lewis 

Gearhart. 

*  Keplinger  appointed  to  succeed  Neuman,  de- 
ceased. 


1890 — John  Parcher,  Henry  Dapper,  Lewis 
Gearhart. 

1 89 1 — John  Parcher,  Henry  Dapper,  Lewis 
Gearhart. 

1892 — John  Parcher,  Henry  Drapper, 
Lewis  Gearhart. 

1893 — John  Parcher,  Christian  F.  Kiess, 
Lewis  Gearhart. 

1894 — L.  H.  Battefeld,  Christian  F.  Kiess, 
Lewis  Gearhart. 

1895 — L.  H.  Battefeld,  Christian  F.  Kiess, 
Albe  Moe. 

1896 — L.  H.  Battefeld,  Christian  F.  Kiess, 
Albe  Moe. 

1897 — L.  H.  Battefeld,  Christian  F.  Kiess, 
Albe  Moe. 

1898 — L.  H.  Battefeld,  Christian  F.  Kiess, 
Albe  Moe. 

1899 — L.  H.  Battefeld,  Samuel  Easterday, 
Albe  Moe. 

1900 — Henry  N.  Oberlander,  Samuel 
Easterday,  Albe  Moe. 

1901 — Henry  N.  Oberlander,  Samuel 
Easterday,  J.  H.  Petri. 

1902 — Henry  N.  Oberlander,  Samuel 
Easterday,  J.  H.  Petri. 

1903 — Henry  N.  Oberlander,  Samuel 
Easterday,  J.  H.  Petri. 

1904 — Henry  N.  Oberlander,  Samuel 
Easterday,  J.  H.  Petri. 

1905 — Henry  N.  Oberlander,  Frank  P. 
Dick,  J.  H.  Petri. 

1906 — Hugh  M.  Dobbins,  Frank  P.  Dick, 
J.   H.   Petri. 

1908 — Hugh  M.  Dobbins,  Frank  P.  Dick, 
Henry  E.  Bormuth. 

1910 — Fred  Leonhart,  A.  A.  Crawford, 
Henry  E.  Bormuth. 


INFIRMARY  DIRECTORS 

-Jarvice  Jump,  John  AUoback,  John 
A.  Klink. 

1869 — Jarvice  Jump,  John  Alloback,  John 
A.  Klink. 

1870 — Jarvice  Jump,  John  Alloback,  John 
A.  Klink. 

1 87 1 — Jarvice  lump,  John  Alloback,  John 
A.  Klink. 

1872 — Jacob  Easterday,  John  Alloback, 
John  A.  Klink. 


142 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


1873 — Jacob  Easterday,  Samuel  Rorick, 
John  A.  Klink. 

J  874 — Jacob  Easterday,  Samuel  Rorick, 
Frederick  G.  Linser.* 

1875 — John  Miller,  Samuel  Rorick,  Joseph 
Meer. 

1876 — ^John  Miller,  Samuel  Rorick,  Joseph 
Meer. 

1877 — John  Miller,  Samuel  Rorick,  Joseph 
Meer. 

1878 — ^John  Miller,  Samuel  Rorick,  Joseph 
Meer. 

1879 — John  Miller,  Samuel  Disc,  Joseph 
Meer. 

1880 — John  Miller,  Samuel  Dise,  Joseph 
Meer. 

1881 — Christopher  F.  Kiess,  Samuel  Dise, 
Joseph  Meer. 

1882 — Christopher  F.  Kiess,  Samuel  Dise, 
Joseph  Meer. 

1883 — Christopher  F.  Kiess,  Samuel  Dise, 
Albert  Sheibly. 

1884 — Christopher  F.  Kiess,  Samuel  Dise, 
Albert  Sheibly. 

1885 — Christopher  F.  Kiess,  William  Zim- 
merman, Albert  Sheibly. 

1886— Christopher  F.  Kiess,  William  Zim- 
merman, Albert  Sheibly. 

1887— Benjamin  Sherer,  William  Zimmer- 
man, Albert  Sheibly. 

1888 — Benjamin  Sherer,  William  Zimmer- 
man, Albert  Sheibly. 

1889 — Benjamin  Sherer,  William  Zimmer- 
man, C.  F.  Meek. 

1890 — Benjamin  Sherer,  William  Zimmer- 
man, C.  F.  Meek. 

*Frederick  Linser  died  in  office,  and  Joseph  Meer 
v.ras  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy. 


1 89 1 — Benjamin  Sherer,  David  Hurr,  C.  F. 
Meek. 

1892 — Benjamin  Sherer,  David  Hurr,  C.  F. 
Meek. 

1893 — Adam  Fike,  David  Hurr,.C.  F.  Meek. 

1894 — ^Adam  Fike,  David  Hurr,  C.  F.  Meek. 

1895 — Adam  Fike,  David  Hurr,  Philip 
Fabian. 

1896 — Adam  Fike,  David  Hurr,  Philip 
Fabian. 

1897 — Adam  Fike,  J.  K.  Zerbe,  Philip 
Fabian. 

1898— Adam  Fike,  J.  K.  Zerbe,  Philip 
Fabian. 

1899 — ^John  Meyer,  J.  K.  Zerbe,  Philip 
Fabian. 

1900 — ^John  Meyer,  J.  K.  Zerbe,  Philip 
Fabian. 

1901 — John  Meyer,  J.  K.  Zerbe,  Emanuel 
Heinlen. 

1902 — S.  W.  Nungesser,  J.  K.  Zerbe, 
Emanuel  Heinlen. 

1903 — S.  W.  Nungesser,  Henry  Beibig- 
hauser,  Emanuel  Heinlen. 

1904 — S.  W.  Nungesser,  Henry  Beibig- 
hauser,  Emanuel  Heinlen. 

1905— Charles  Meyer,  Henry  Beibighauser, 
Emanuel  Heinlen. 

1906 — Charles  Meyer,  Henry  Beibighauser, 
Emanuel  Heinlen. 

1908 — Charles  Meyer,  Isaac  Laughbaum, 
A.  M.  Vore. 

1910 — Charles  Meyer,  t  Isaac  Laughbaum, 
A.  M.  Vore. 

tin  1912  John  Meyer  was  appointed  to  succeed  his 
brother  Charles,  who  resigned  on  account  of  ill  health, 
and  died  soon  after  his  resignation. 

After  this  year  the  Board  of  Infirmary  Directors  is 
abolished,  their  business  being  transferred  to  the 
County   Commissioners. 


CHAPTER  VII 

TRANSPORTATION  FACILITIES 


Indian  Trails  and  Water  Routes — Swamps — Portages — Indian  Village  of  Seccaium — Route  Fol- 
lowed by  Gen.  Bradstreet — Capf.  James  Smith's  Travels;  His  Description  of  Water 
Routes  and  Portages — The  First  Road  in  Crawford  County — Geographical  Notes  by  Seth 
Holmes  and  James  Nail — Military  Roads — Biased  Trails — "Corduroy"  or  Log  Roads — 
The  State  Road  or  Sandusky  Pike — Zalmon  Rowse's  Work  as  Commissioner — Proceed- 
ings of  Other  Commissioners — Columbus  &  Sandusky  Turnpike  Co. — Rate  of  Toll — 
Transportation  of  Mail — Activity  of  Col.  Kilbourne — Cost  of  the  Sandusky  Pike — Rev. 
Mr.  Reid's  Description  of  this  Road — Its  C  ommercial  Use  and  Value — Difficulties  of 
Spring  Travel — Litigation — Stage  Lines — Bill  of  Cost  of  the  Old  Portland  Road — First 
Attempt  at  Improved  Roads — Vote  by  Townships — Railroads;  Early  Plans  and  Charters 
— The  Railroads  of  the  County;  Their  Origin,  Construction  and  Cost — Railroad  Excur- 
sion to  Bucyrus  in  i8js — The  "John  Bull"  Locomotive  Passes  Through  Bucyrus,  i8ps — 
Electric  Roads — Amount  of  Trackage  in  Crawford  County,  with  Values,  by  Townships. 


Singing  througii  the  forests, 

Rattling  over  ridges; 
Shooting  under  arches, 

Rumbling  over   bridges ; 
Whizzing  through   the    mountains. 

Buzzing  o'er  the  vale, — 
Bless  me!  this  is  pleasant. 

Riding  on  the  rail ! 

— ^JoHN  G  Saxe. 

One  of  the  first  difficulties  with  which  the 
pioneer  settlers  had  to  contend  was  the  lack  of 
roads.  But  even  before  the  first  white  man 
passed  through  this  region,  what  is  now  Craw- 
ford county  had  been  an  important  highway 
for  travel ;  and  along  its  streams,  and  through 
its  forests,  and  across  its  plains,  were  the  well 
used  routes  or  trails  of  the  Indians.  In  Craw- 
ford county  are  streams  that  run  north  to  the 
lake  and  south  to  the  Ohio.  Southwest  of 
Bucyrus,  the  Sandusky  and  the  Little  Scioto 
rivers,  both  flowing  in  a  southwesterly  direc- 
tion, are  only  from  two  to  three  miles  apart, 
and  when  they  leave  the  county  the  former 
bends  to  the  north,  and  proceeds  on  its  way 
to  Lake  Erie,  its  waters  passing  over  Niagara, 
and  down  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Atlantic, 
while  the  latter  joins  the  Scioto  proper,  and 
continues  on  its  way  through  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  county  is  the  Whet- 


stone, which  also  joins  the  Scioto  and  contin- 
ues its  flow  to  the  Gulf.  Between  the  San- 
dusky and  the  Little  Scioto  and  the  Whet- 
stone, in  the  townships  of  Dallas,  Bucyrus, 
Whetstone,  Jefferson,  Polk  and  Jackson,  are 
houses  and  barns  on  this  watershed  where  the 
waters  from  one  side  of  the  roof  find  their 
way  to  the  Atlantic,  and  on  the  other  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  Even  as  today  Crawford 
county  is  one  of  the  great  railroad  centres,  so 
in  the  years  long  gone  this  section  was  one  of 
the  great  centers  of  travel.  Not  alone  by 
land,  but  by  water,  for  many  a  stream  in  this 
county,  now  nothing  more  than  a  county  ditch 
or  a  city  sewer,  was  in  use  by  the  early  sav- 
ages as  a  route  for  transportation  and  for 
travel.  Along  the  Sandusky  river  in  Dallas, 
Bucyrus,  Liberty  and  Sandusky  townships, 
were  mills  run  by  water-power  over  80  years 
ago,  and  along  the  Whetstone,  both  above  as 
well  as  below  Gallon,  that  little  stream  was 
lined  by  four  mills;  along  the  Honey  Creek 
and  Cokyendall  run  in  Auburn  were  mills; 
the  Brokensword  and  the  Sycamore  had  suffi- 
cient water  to  furnish  the  power  for  the  run- 
ning of  mills.  Where  Adrian  had  his  mill  on 
the  bank  of  the  Whetstone  above  Gabon,  the 
stream  now  only  needs  a  small  culvert  for  its 


143 


144 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


passage  under  the  railroad  track.  At  Crest- 
line, Judge  Daniel  Babst,  whose  father  settled 
there  in  1852,  remembers,  when  a  boy,  Elisha 
Allen,  who  lived  near  Leesville,  coming  to  the 
village  on  one  of  the  branches  of  the  San- 
dusky in  a  canoe  to  do  his  marketing,  return- 
ing home  in  the  evening.  At  Bucyrus,  when 
Abraham  Hahn,  in  1838,  built  his  mill-race  to 
run  his  saw-mill,  that  mill  was  located  on  the 
lot  now  occupied  by  Edwin  G.  Beal,  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  Warren  and  Poplar 
streets.  At  the  rear  of  the  lot  was  the  little 
stream  on  which  the  mill  was  located,  and  now 
all  that  remains  of  this  stream  on  which  a 
mill  once  stood,  is  a  covered  sewer.  In  the 
old  Indian  days  the  Little  Scioto  had  suffi- 
cient water  for  canoes  as  far  up  as  Dallas  and 
probably  as  far  as  the  southern  part  of 
Bucyrus  township.  The  Whetstone  was  a  nav- 
igable stream  for  small  boats,  and  in  the 
region  of  Seccaium  Park  little  streams  en- 
tered into  it  from  the  north,  which  had  their 
rise  in  swamps,  and  from  these  same  swamps 
other  little  streams  flowed  to  the  north  and 
emptied  into  the  Sandusky. 

Along  these  creeks  the  land  was  all  so  low 
and  swampy  that  for  years  it  was  not  con- 
sidered by  the  first  settlers  in  their  entries  of 
land.  In  the  map  of  the  county  published  in 
i860,  in  the  eastern  half  of  section  14  in 
Whetstone  township,  one  of  these  swamps 
was  so  pronounced  as  to  be  marked  on  the  map 
as  a  small  lake.  Hon.  S.  R.  Harris  stated  that 
when  he  came  here  in  1849,  and  for  years 
afterward,  in  his  hunting  expeditions  he  found 
enough  water  in.  the  spring  of  the  year  cover- 
ing this  region  to  enable  one  to  cross  from  the 
Whetstone  to  the  Sandusky  by  water.  In  1777 
a  pamphlet  was  published  in  French  by  Joel 
Barlow,  describing  the  Northwest  Territory. 
In  that  pamphlet  he  says :  "The  Scioto  river 
furnishes  a  navigation  much  more  consider- 
able than  that  of  the  Hocking  and  the  Musk- 
ingum. For  an  extent  of  200  miles  large  ves- 
sels can  navigate  it.  Then  there  is  a  passage 
to  be  made  by  land  of  four  miles  only  to  the 
Sandusky,  a  river  also  easily  navigable,  which 
empties  into  Lake  Erie.  This  route  is  one 
of  the  most  considerable  and  most  frequented 
found  in  any  country."  John  Henry  James 
translated  this  work  into  English,  and  in  his 
noles  he  says : 


"The  statement  as  to  the  Scioto  being  nav- 
igable for  large  vessels  for  two  hundred  miles 
above  its  mouth,  and  its  navigable  head  waters 
being  within  four  miles  of  those  of  the  San- 
dusky, appears  so  extravagant  as  to  be  at- 
tributable either  to  gross  ignorance  of  the  coun- 
try or  a  deliberate  purpose  to  deceive.  We 
are  satisfied  there  was  no  intention  to  deceive 
on  the  part  of  the  author,  though  he  had  very 
imperfect  knowledge  of  the  country.  And  yet 
this  and  other  waterways  and  portages  were 
regarded  as  of  such  importance  at  the  time  as 
to  warrant  the  insertion  in  the  Ordinance  of 
1787  of  the  provision:  "The  navigable  waters 
leading  into  the  Mississippi  and  the  St.  Law- 
rence, and  the  carrying  places  between  the 
same,  shall  be  common  highways,  and  forever 
free  as  well  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  ter- 
ritory as  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  those  of  any  other  States  that  may  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  confederacy,  without  any  tax, 
impost,  or  duty  therefor." 

These  water  routes  and  portages  connecting 
the  Great  Lakes  with  the  Mississippi  were  first 
discovered  (leaving  the  Indians  out  of  consid- 
eration) by  the  early  French  explorers  and 
were  used  by  their  missionaries,  soldiers  and 
traders.  Marquette's  route  was  up  the  St. 
Lawrence,  through  Lakes  Ontario,  Erie  and 
Huron  to  Lake  Michigan,  then  up  the  Fox 
river,  with  a  portage  across  to  the  Wisconsin 
river  and  down  that  to  the  Mississippi.  This 
was  afterward  shortened  by  leaving  Lake 
Michigan  at  Chicago,  then  up  the  Chicago 
river,  portage  across  to  the  Illinois  and  down 
that  river  to  the  Mississippi.  The  next  short- 
ening was  up  the  Maumee  at  Toledo,  by  port- 
age to  the  Wabash  and  down  that  river  to  the 
Ohio. 

Who  made  the  first  trip  between  the  San- 
dusky and  the  Scioto  it  is  impossible  to  say. 
In  1670  La  Salle  went  up  the  St.  Lawrence 
to  Lake  Erie,  went  up  some  stream,  portaged 
across  to  another,  and  down  this  stream,  dis- 
covering the  Ohio  river.  It  is  almost  certain 
that  this  first  trip  of  La  Salle — when  he  dis- 
covered the  Ohio — was  across  to  the  head- 
waters of  the  Alleghany  and  down  that  river  to 
the  Ohio  at  Pittsburg,  which  river  he  followed 
to  Louisville.  For  twenty  years  La  Salle  de- 
voted his  entire  time  to  explorations  of  the 
Northwest  territory,  as  it  was  the  desire  of  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


145 


French  to  diacover  the  best  and  shortest  water 
route  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Mississippi.  There 
were  several  portages  in  Ohio,  the  principal 
ones  being  from  the  Sandusky  to  the  headwa- 
ters of  the  Scioto  and  from  the  Cuyahoga  to 
the  headwaters  of  the  Muskingum,  and  it  is 
probable  that  in  one  of  his  trips  La  Salle  came 
up  the  Sandusky  river,  crossed  by  portage  to 
the  Scioto,  and  down  that  river  to  the  Ohio, 
which  would  mean  that  the  first  known  white 
man  to  set  foot  on  Crawford  county  soil  was 
Rene  Robert  Cavalier,  the  Sieur  de  la  Salle, 
between  1670  and  1680. 

Hon.  E.  B.  Finley,  who  made  considerable 
research  in  order  to  locate  an  ancient  Indian 
village  called  Seccaium,  gives  the  following  on 
this  subject  in  an  address  by  him  at  the  ded- 
ication of  the  monument  that  marks  the  site  of 
the  Battle  of  the  Olentangy,  five  miles  south- 
east of  Bucyrus  on  the  Gallon  road : 

"In  addition  to  this  beautiful  monument 
marking  the  battlefield  of  June  6,  1782,  where 
the  retreating  army  of  Crawford  battled  with 
the  British  and  Indian  forces,  it  also  marks  the 
almost  forgotten  site  of  a  village  renowned  in 
the  traditions  and  legends  of  a  departed  race. 
Within  a  few  rods  from  this  spot  once  stood 
the  village  of  Seccaium,  celebrated  in  ancient 
legends  and  song  as  one  of  the  famous  places 
of  Indian  history.  For  hundreds  and  hun- 
dreds of  years,  before  the  white  man  set  foot 
on  this  continent,  the  Sandusky,  Olentangy 
and  Scioto  rivers  formed  a  great  water  thor- 
oughfare, over  which  Indian  commerce  was 
carried  to  and  fro  between  the  north  and  south. 
Over  this  route  Indian  war  parties  from  the 
Lake  regions  swept  down  upon  their  enemies 
in  the  south,  and  over  this  same  route  ofttimes 
came  the  wild  Catawbas,  Natches,  and  other 
southern  tribes,  in  fierce  retaliation.  From  the 
time  when  the  French  first  occupied  Canada 
until  the  opening  up  and  settlement  of  the 
United  States,  this  same  route  continued  to  be 
the  thoroughfare  of  traffic  and  travel,  not  only 
by  the  Indians  but  by  the  French  traders. 
Coming  anywhere  from  Canada  or  the  north  or 
northwest,  the  canoe  of  the  Indian  or  trader 
entering  the  mouth  of  the  Sandusky  river  was 
paddled  up  the  waters  until  arriving  at  the 
bend  northeast  from  this  point,  the  canoemen 
transported  their  boats  and  goods  from  thence 
across    this    point    to    yonder    bend    of    the 


Olentangy  (or  Whetstone  as  it  is  now  called), 
and  then  launching  their-  light  craft  in  the 
Olentangy,  paddled  down  to  the  Scioto,  enter- 
ing which  they  traveled  down  to  the  Ohio,  and 
into  the  Mississippi,  being  thus  enabled  to 
travel  by  water  from  the  great  lake  of  the  north 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  with  a  land  portage 
across  the  point  near  where  we  now  stand  of 
only  about  four  miles.  Near  the  landing  place 
on  the  Olentangy,  within  a  few  rods  of  this 
monument,  stood  the  once  great  village  of 
Seccaium,  famous  for  centuries  as  the  great 
mart  of  Indian  commerce;  it  was  the  common 
ground  where  all  the  tribes  of  the  north  and 
the  south  met  and  exchanged  their  peltries  and 
wares.  Here  it  was  that  the  great  treaties,  con- 
claves and  powwows  of  the  Indian  nations  were 
held.  When  it  first  was  built  no  one  knows. 
It  was  visited  by  white  men  as  early  as  1650, 
and  at  that  day  even  Indian  tradition  could 
not  give  the  age. 

"A  Frenchman,  who  passed  over  this  route 
in  1750,  thus  writes  of  it :  'The  Scioto  is  almost 
as  wide  as  the  Ohio,  and  runs  through  fertile 
bottoms  or  plains,  which  commence  a  few  miles 
above  the  river  Huskinkas,  and  extend  almost 
to  Seccaium.  The  Olentangy  is  navigable  for 
boats  as  far  as  the  famous  village  of  Seccaium. 
It  is  at  this  village  that  the  great  portage  to 
the  Sandusky  river  begins,  which  is  but  four 
miles.'  The  village  stood  here  in  1669  when 
it  was  visited  by  Robert  Cavalier,  Soeur  de  la 
Salle,  the  famous  discoverer  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  all  the  west  territory  bor- 
dering upon  that  river.  La  Salle,  in  com- 
pany with  DoUier  de  Casson  and  Galinee,  aCnd 
his  Indian  guides  and  companions,  passed  by 
water  from  Montreal  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Sandusky  river,  thence  up  the  Sandusky  and 
over  the  portage  to  this  point,  where  he  visited 
the  famous  village  of  Seccaium,  remaining 
several  days ;  thence  passing  down  the  Olen- 
tangy and  the  Scioto  to  the  Ohio,  where  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Scioto  he  planted  copper  plates 
bearing  the  image  of  the  King  of  France,  and 
then  formally  took  possession  of  all  the  coun- 
try in  the  name  of  his  King.  From  the  mouth 
of  the  Scioto  he  traveled  down  the  Ohio  to  the 
Falls  of  the  Ohio,  where  Louisville  now  stands, 
there  planting  other  copper  plates,  and  likewise 
taking  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name 
of  the  King  of  France." 


146 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


It  is  certain  the  Sandusky-Scioto  portage 
was  an  important  one  and  much  traveled,  as 
the  French  erected  a  fort  and  established  a 
trading-post  on  the  Ohio  just  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Scioto  in  1740.  Along  the  Lakes  the 
Wyandots  were  the  allies  of  the  French,  yet  in 
view  of  the  anticipated  coming  struggle  be- 
tween France  and  England  for  the  Northwest 
Territory,  the  French  in  1750  erected  a  fort 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Sandusky  to  guard  its 
mouth,  and  in  1754  about  six  miles  up  the 
river  erected  Fort  Junandat  on  the  east  bank. 
This  guarding  of  the  mouths  of  both  rivers 
shows  conclusively  it  was  the  principal  route 
from  the  Lake  to  the  Ohio.  They  built  no  fort 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga  or  the  Mus- 
kingum. It  was  the  only  fort-guarded  route  in 
Ohio  between  the  lake  and  the  river. 

The  location  of  the  old  Indian  town  of  Sec- 
caium  is  placed  by  Mr.  Finley  on  the  banks  of 
the  Whetstone,  southwest  of  what  is  now  Sec- 
caium  Park,  believed  to  be  at  this  point  from 
the  fact  that  besides  arrow-heads  found  there 
in  large  numbers,  the  ground  was  at  one  time 
covered  with  chipped  flint  covering  over  an 
acre.  It  was  a  flint  stone  found  nowhere  in 
this  region,  and  such  was  the  profusion  of  the 
chippings  of  flint  that  they  could  only  have 
been  caused  by  the  manufacture  of  arrow- 
heads there  on  a  very  large  scale.  But  the 
town  there  must  certainly  have  been  abandoned 
or  destroyed  more  than  two  centuries  ago. 
There  could  have  been  no  Indian  village  there 
during  the  Revolutionary  war,  as  when  Craw- 
ford's expedition  passed  within  a  mile  of  this 
site  in  1782  neither  Stover  nor  Zane,  Craw- 
ford's guides,  gave  any  intimation  of  any  such 
village  and  both  had  been  through  this  section 
many  years  previous. 

In  1764,  Gen.  Bradstreet,  "after  raising  the 
siege  at  Detroit,  and  dispersing  the  Indians, 
sailed  across  Lake  Erie  and  into  Sandusky  Bay 
and  up  the  Sandusky  river  as  far  as  it  was  nav- 
igable for  Indian  canoes,"  there  established 
himself  and  demanded  a  council  with  the  In- 
dian chiefs,  who  had  offered  but  little  opposi- 
tion to  his  progress.  The  council  was  held, 
and  the  Wyandots,  with  their  subordinate  de- 
pendents entered  into  a  treaty  of  peace.  This 
council  was  probably  at  the  Wyandot  village 
that  then  existed  on  the  Sandusky,  three  miles 


southeast  of  the  present  town  of  Upper  San- 
dusky. 

Col.  James  Smith,  when  a  young  man,  was 
a  captive  among  the  Indians  from  1755  to 
1759,  and  traversed  this  region,  and  from  his 
interesting  account  of  his  experiences  valuable 
information  is  learned  as  to  the  location  of  this 
portage.  With  his  adopted  Indian  brother, 
Tontileaugo,  he  had  been  hunting  in  what  is 
now  Ottawa  county,  and  they  decided  to  go 
up  the  Sandusky  to  the  prairies  on  a  hunting 
expedition.  In  his  narrative,  Smith  says: 
"When  we  came  to  the  falls  of  the  Sandusky, 
we  buried  our  birch  bark  canoes  as  usual,  at  a 
large  burying  place  for  that  purpose,  a  little 
below  the  falls.  At  this  place  the  river  falls 
about  eight  feet  over  a  rock,  but  not  perpen- 
dicular. With  much  difficulty  we  pushed  up 
our  wooden  canoes,  some  of  us  went  up  the 
river,  and  the  rest  by  land  with  the  horses,  un- 
til we  came  to  the  great  meadows  or  prairies 
that  lie  between  Sandusky  and  Scioto."  Here 
they  had  what  was  known  as  a  ring  hunt, 
setting  fire  to  the  grass  in  a  large  circle,  thus 
driving  the  game  to  a  common  centre,  where 
it  was  easily  killed.  They  fired  the  grass 
when  the  sky  had  every  appearance  of  rain, 
but  the  expected  rain  failed  to  fall,  so  the  fire 
spread,  and  "extended  through  the  whole 
prairie,  which  was  about  fifty  miles  in  length 
and  in  some  places  near  twenty  in  breadth." 

He  then  says:  "We  then  moved  from  the 
north  end  of  the  glades  and  encamped  at  the 
carrying  place.  This  place  is  in  the  plains  be- 
twixt a  creek  that  empties  into  Sandusky,  and 
one  that  runs  into  Scioto;  and  at  the  time  of 
high  water,  or  in  the  spring  season,  there  is 
but  about  one-half  mile  of  portage,  and  that 
very  level,  and  clear  of  rocks,  timber  or 
stones ;  so  that  with  a  little  digging  there  may 
be  water  carriage  the  whole  way  from  Scioto 
to  Lake  Erie." 

The  general  opinion  is  that  this  portage  or 
carrying  place  was  at  least  sixteen  miles  south- 
west of  Bucyrus  in  Marion  county,  and  was  be- 
tween the  Little  Sandusky  and  the  Little  Sci- 
oto, the  latter  stream  having  its  start  near 
Bucyrus.  However,  William  M.  Darlington, 
of  Pittsburg,  who  edited  Smith's  narrative, 
and  made  the  most  thorough  research  possible, 
has  a  number  of  notes  and  among  them  the 
following : 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


147 


( 1 )  "  'By  the  Sandusky,  Scioto  and  Ohio 
rivers  lay  the  route  of  the  Indians  of  Detroit 
and  Lake  Huron  when  going  to  war  with  the 
Catawabas  and  other  southern  tribes.  "They 
ascend  the  Sandusquet  river  two  or  three  days, 
after  which  they  make  a  small  portage,  a  fine 
road  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  league.  Some 
make  canoes  of  elm  bark  and  float  down  a 
small  river  (the  Scioto)  that  empties  into  the 
Ohio." — Memoir  of  Vaudreuil,  Governor  of 
Canada,  to  the  Council  of  Marine,  from  Que- 
bec, Oct.  30,  1 7 18.  Paris  Documents,  New 
York  Col.  Hist.,  vol.  ix,  page  168;  Pownall's 
Top.  Disc,  of  North  America,  page  42  and 
map.'  " 

(2)  "  'Through  these  rivers  lies  the  most 
common  pass  from  Canada  to  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi." — Morse's  Am.  Gazetteer  of  1798, 
page  497;  Kilbourne's  Ohio  Gazetteer  for 
1817,  page  60;  Carey's  Atlas  for  1812." 

(3)  "  'This  once  important  portage  ex- 
tended from  the  site  of  Garrett's  mill,  near  the 
village  of  Wyandot,  on  the  Sandusky  river,  in 
Wyandot  county,  thence  south,  about  four 
miles,  on  a  ridge,  through  part  of  Dallas  town- 
ship in  Crawford  county,  to  the  north  branch 
of  the  Little  Scioto,  near  Swinnerton,  on  the 
Old  Fort  Ball  and  Columbus  Road,  in  Grand 
Prairie  township,  Marion  county.  The  length 
of  the  portage  varied  according  to  the  stage  of 
the  water.  It  was  known  as  the  Four  Mile 
Cross.  In  high  water  the  north  branch  of  .the 
Little  Scioto  could  be  navigated  by  canoes  to 
a  point  about  a  mile  distant  from  Garrett's 
mill,  on  the  Sandusky.  A  cut  has  been  made 
through  the  ridge  about  half  a  mile  east  from 
the  village  of  Wyandot,  by  which  the  waters  of 
both  streams  are' united."  ( Notes  to  the  writer 
from  S.  R.  Harris,  Esq.,  of  Bucyrus,  and  Wm. 
Brown,  Esq.,  of  Springfield.)  Mr.  Brown  set- 
tled near  Wyandot  in  1826,  and  surveyed  the 
Wyandot  Indian  Reservation  for  the  U.  S. 
Government.'  " 

Besides  these  water  routes  the  Indians  had 
trails  crossing  the  county  in  many  directions. 
The  main  trail  from  the  Lake  to  the  Ohio 
river  passed  through  Crawford  county.  Hul- 
bert,  in  his  "Red  Men's  Roads,"  calls  it  the 
"Scioto  trail,"  also  the  "Sandusky  and  Rich- 
mond Trail."  It  started  on  the  Sandusky  bay, 
going  almost  due  south  to  Delaware,  then 
keeping  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Scioto  until 


it  reached  the  Ohio  below  Portsmouth.  Hul- 
bert  refers  to  this  route  as  "one  of  the  greatest 
war  paths  in  the  west,  leading  southward  into 
Warrior's  Path,  to  land  of  the  Cherokees  and 
Catawbas."  This  trail  had  a  branch  at  Lower 
Shawnee  town,*  that  crossed  the  present  coun- 
ties of  Hocking,  Vinton  and  Meigs  to  the  Ohio 
river,  and  then  up  the  Kanawha  to  Richmond, 
Va.  Of  this  trail  Hulbert  says:  "Important 
fur  route  between  Virginia  and  the  Lake  coun- 
try; also  most  direct  route  to  Central  Ohio 
from  southern  seaboard  colonies."  This  trail 
which  passed  through  Crawford,  and  the 
"Great  Trail"  were  the  main  thoroughfares  of 
the  Indians.  The  "Great  Trail"  was  from 
Pittsburg  to  Detroit;  it  did  not  pass  through 
Crawford,  but  through  Richland  and  Huron 
counties.  Just  east  of  Crawford  county  a 
branch  of  this  trail  bore  to  the  west  to  the  old 
Indian  town  of  Upper  Sandusky,  three  miles 
southwest  of  the  present  Upper  Sandusky, 
crossing  the  Sandusky  river  near  Bucyrus; 
another  branch  was  through  Crestline  and 
Galion,  across  Bucyrus  township,  and  follow- 
ing east  of  the  river  to  Little  Sandusky.  An- 
other important  trail  was  the  route  from  the 
Tuscarawas  Moravian  villages  to  the  Indian 
village  near  Upper  Sandusky.  It  entered  the 
county  near  the  southeastern  corner  of  Whet- 
stone township,  bore  northwesterly  through 
Whetstone  and  Bucyrus  townships,  and 
crossed  the  Sandusky  south  of  the  Mt.  Zion 
church.  This  was  the  route  taken  by  the  Mo- 
ravian Indian  in  1781  and  1782.  There  were 
important  Indian  villages  near  Greentown  and 
what  is  now  Jeromeville  in  Ashland  county. 
Trails  connected  both  these  Indian  villages 
with  the  various  Indian  villages  on  the  San- 
dusky. One  of  these  trails,  crossing  Jackson, 
Jefferson,  Whetstone,  Bucyrus  and  Dallas  was 
probably  the  route  followed  through  this 
county  by  the  army  of  Col.  Crawford  in  1782, 
both  going  and  returning.  There  were  many 
minor  trails  in  this  county,  used  by  the  In- 
dians in  going  to  and  from  their  various 
camps  and  hunting  grounds;  especially  is  this 
true  of  several  trails  to  the  cranberry  marshes 
in  Chatfield  and  Cranberry  townships.  Traces 
of  these  trails  are  shown  by  the  surveyor's 
notes  of  nearly  a  hundred  years  ago.    The  sur- 

*Circleville. 


148 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


veyor,  in  1819,  did  not  find  a  continuous  trail, 
as  parts  of  them  were  obliterated  even  then, 
but  he  found  sufficient  markings  so  that  the 
old  Indian  trails  can  be  traced  with  a  fair  de- 
gree of  accuracy. 

The  location  of  these  trails  are  not  of  spe- 
cial importance,  but  it  was  along  them  that 
the  first  pioneers  came  to  the  county;  it  was 
also  along  them  that  the  first  roads  were  laid 
out,  for  every  Indian  trail  follows  from  one 
place  to  another  over  the  highest  and  best 
ground.  These  children  of  nature,  with  no 
education,  had  a  trail  from  the  east  to  the  west, 
and  this  same  trail  through  Richland,  Craw- 
ford and  Wyandot  counties,  a  hundred  years 
later  was  selected  by  the  engineers  as  the  road 
bed  for  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad. 

The  first  made  road  in  the  county  was  the 
one  crudely  cut  through  the  woods  by  the  sol- 
diers in  1812.  A  map  of  Ohio,  published  in 
181 5,  gives  this  road  as  leaving  Richland 
county  to  enter  the  Indian  reservation,  which 
Crawford  county  then  was,  north  of  the  pres- 
ent town  of  Leesville  going  a  trifle  north  of 
west  for  three  miles,  then  straight  west  to  Up- 
per Sandusky.  When  this  map  was  made  the 
entire  country  west  of  the  Richland  county 
line  had  never  been  surveyed,  and  the  map 
shows  that  when  the  designer  reached  the  un- 
surveyed  Indian  reservation,  he  must  have 
taken  a  ruler  and  drawn  an  air  line  from  the 
western  boundary  of  Richland  county  to  Upper 
Sandusky.  This  line  would  pass  along  the 
present  northern  line  of  the  city  of  Bucyrus. 
The  map,  however,  is  conclusive  proof  that  the 
military  road  did  exist  through  this  county,  al- 
though west  of  Bucyrus,  neither  to  the  north 
nor  to  the  south  can  any  trace  be  found  of  a 
road  ever  having  been  cut  through  the  woods 
wide  enough  for  teams  to  pass. 

On  the  other  hand,  Seth  Holmes,  who 
piloted  Norton  here  in  1819,  was  a  teamster  in 
the  War  of  181 2,  and  was  with  the  supply  train 
which  went  through  Crawford  county  from 
Mansfield  to  Harrison's  headquarters  at  Upper 
Sandusky,  and  he  stated  that  when  he  was  on 
his  way  through  this  county  with  that  supply 
train  they  camped  one  night  near  what  is  now 
the  crossing  of  the  Pennsylvania  road  and  East 
Mansfield  street.  The  probable  camping  site 
was  about  where  the  brewery  now  stands,  as 
at  that  time  the  river  was  then  at  the  base  of 


the  blufif.  In  1819  James  Nail  entered  his  land" 
about  two  miles  north  of  Gallon  and  two  miles 
south  of  Leesville.  In  his  letter  in  "The  Craw- 
ford County  Forum"  in  1868,  he  writes  of  tak- 
ing a  trip  with  two  neighbors  to  find  where  the 
Indians  got  their  cranberries.  He  says:  "We 
took  our  horses  and  started  in  a  southwesterly 
direction  until  we  struck  the  Pennsylvania 
army  road,  then  followed  the  route,  which  we 
could  clearly  distinguish.  After  passing  along 
said  route  for  several  miles  we  thought  we  were 
not  getting  far  enough  to  the  north,  and,  there- 
fore, turning  further  north,  struck  the  San- 
dusky river  east  of  Bucyrus."  * 

At  the  river  they  found  Daniel  McMichael 
clearing  his  land;  this  land  was  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Sandusky  river,  one  mile  northeast 
of  the  eastern  boundary  of  Bucyrus  township. 
H.  W.  McDonald,  who  made  a  thorough  sur- 
vey of  the  county  in  the  sixties,  found  several 
markings  of  this  road  in  the  northern  part  of 
Polk  township,  which  is  a  confirmation  of  the 
recollections  of  Nail.  It  should  also  be  re- 
membered that  when  Norton  first  arrived  in 
this  section  he  stopped  near  Gallon,  and  would 
have  entered  land  there,  but  Holmes  assured 
him  he  knew  of  a  much  better  site  a  little  far- 
ther on,  and  it  was  through  the  statements  of 
Holmes  that  Norton  and  Bucklin  left  their 
families  and  followed  Holmes  until  he  piloted 
them  to  the  site  he  remembered,  which  was 
where  Bucyrus  now  is.  The  pioneer  recollec- 
tions are  that  this  road  must  have  been  through 
the  northern  part  of  Polk  township,  and  to 
Bucyrus  over  the  high  ground  between  the 
present  Gallon  road  and  the  Pennsylvania 
track,  crossing  the  Sandusky  near  the  West 
Mansfield  street  bridge,  crossing  the  Pennsyl- 
vania road  near  the  Oceola  road  crossing,  then 
northwest,  south  of  the  Oceola  road,  and 
crossing  the  Brokensword  southwest  of  Oceola, 
and  then  to  Upper  Sandusky. 

Polk  township  pioneers  also  report  a  military 
road  through  the  southern  part  of  that  town- 
ship, markings  of  which  still  remain.  This  is 
also  probably  correct.  When  Harrison  made 
Upper  Sandusky  his  headc[uarters  in  1812,  and 
built  Fort  Ferree,  many  troops  assembled 
there.  At  one  time  the  entire  militia  of  the 
State  were  hurriedly  ordered  to  report  at  that 

*  This  trip  of  Nail  was  in  1820. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


149 


point,  and  many  of  the  troops  from  eastern 
and  southeastern  Ohio  passed  through  Craw- 
ford county,  some  striking  the  Pennsylvania 
army  road,  and  others  following  the  Indian 
trail  along  the  Whetstone,  and  to  Little  San- 
dusky. Many  of  these  so-called  military  roads 
were  routes  taken  by  these  troops  responding 
in  a  hurry,  and  traveling  on  horseback,  car- 
rying their  arms  and  provisions  and  supplies, 
and  no  army  train  with  them.  Practically  all 
supplies  that  were  gathered  at  Upper  Sandusky 
came  up  the  river  from  the  Lake,  or  by  the 
road  Harrison  had  cut  through  the  woods 
from  Franklinton  (Columbus)  to  Upper  San- 
dusky. General  Harrison  makes  frequent 
complaints  of  the  difficulties  and  expense  of 
getting  his  supplies  over  this  road  from  Co- 
lumbus. 

After  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  was 
surveyed,  in  1807,  a  number  of  years  passed 
before  bonafide  settlers  began  occupying  the 
land,  but  by  1818  there  was  a  fair  sprinkling 
of  pioneers  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county. 
They  had  blazed  trails  through  the  woods  to 
their  nearest  neighbors,  but  about  1818  the  pi- 
oneers themselves  cut  down  trees,  laid  the 
trunks  over  the  worst  of  the  swampy  ground, 
and  had  a  road  running  from  the  settlements 
around  Galion  through  what  is  now  Middle- 
town,  Leesville  and  West  Liberty,  and  north  to 
the  Huron  river,  by  which  they  could  secure  an 
outlet  to  Huron  on  Lake  Erie.  This  was  the 
first  road  in  the  county.  A  year  or  two  later 
the  pioneers  of  Bucyrus,  Liberty  and  Sandusky, 
to  get  an  outlet  to  the  same  market,  made  a 
road  northeast  from  Bucyrus,  following  what 
is  now  the  Sulphur  Springs  road,  and  when 
near  that  village,  turning  east,  south  of  the 
present  road,  passing  half  a  mile  north  of  the 
present  village  of  Tiro,  and  connecting  with 
that  first  road  built  by  the  early  pioneers.  An- 
other early  road  made  by  the  pioneers  was  one 
from  Galion  to  Bucyrus. 

The  first  road  in  Crawford  county  of  which 
there  is  official  record  was  established  by  the 
county  commissioners  at  Delaware  in  1822, 
"from  the  southeast  corner  of  Section  13,  now 
a  part  of  Sandusky  township,  to  Bucyrus ;  total 
length  nine  miles  and  276  rods.  John  Marshall 
surveyor  and  Michael  Beadle,  Joseph  Young 
and  David  Palmer  viewers."  This  road  gave 
Bucyrus  better  connection  with  the  road  in  the 


eastern  part  of  the  county,  and  indicates  that 
the  important  markets  at  that  time  were  New 
Haven,  Milan  and  Huron.  The  same  year  a 
state  road  was  authorized  from  Norton  in 
Delaware  county,  north  through  Bucyrus  and 
on  to  Sandusky,  on  the  Lake.  James  Kil- 
bourne  was  the  surveyor.  Solomon  Smith  and 
Luther  Coe  the  commissioners.  Nothing  was 
done  with  this  road  until  later,  when  it  became 
the  Sandusky  Pike. 

In  1824  Crawford  was  transferred  from  the 
jurisdiction  of  Delaware  to  that  of  Marion 
county,  and  Crawford  was  given  a  commis- 
sioner in  the  person  of  E.  B.  Merriman.  On 
June  8,  1824,  a  road  was  established  "begin- 
ning at  the  east  line  of  Crawford  county,  at 
crossing  of  road  leading  from  Wooster  to 
Upper  Sandusky,  thence  on  nearest  and  best 
ground  to  Bucyrus,  making  Daniel  McMi- 
chael's  mill  a  point  on  said  road."  This 
passed  through  southern  Liberty  township 
north  of  the  river,  crossing  the  Sandusky  at 
the  present  water  works  reservoir,  McMi- 
chael's  mill  being  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
river,  west  of  the  present  road.  "Nearest  and 
best  ground"  has  given  way  to  straight  roads 
and  right  angles,  so  much  of  this  road  has 
been  straightened.  The  viewers  to  establish 
this  road  were  Joseph  Young  and  Abel  Carey. 
Another  road  in  1824  was  the  present  Little 
Sandusky  road  with  Lewis  Carey,  Daniel 
Fickle  and  Samuel  Norton  as  the  viewers. 
The  road  from  Norton  to  Portland  (San- 
dusky) was  taken  up  in  1824,  and  Heman 
Rowse,  Nathaniel  Plummer,  Benjamin  Parcher 
and  John  McClure  were  appointed  viewers. 
The  road  from  Bucyrus  to  Mansfield  was  laid 
out,  James  Cassaday  being  the  surveyor  and 
Amos  Utley,  and  James  Perfect  the  viewers. 
The  first  alteration  of  a  road  is  recorded  in 
1824.  It  was  of  "a  road  leading  from  Friends- 
borough  to  Benjamin  Sharrock's."  They  were 
instructed  to  "lay  it  out  on  old  boundary  line 
from  Friendsborough  until  it  intersects  the 
State  road  leading  from  Mt.  Vernon  to  Upper 
Sandusky." 

In  1825  Zalmon  Rowse  was  Crawford 
county's  commissioner.  The  first  road  he  intro- 
duced was  what  is  now  the  road  from  Cale- 
donia to  Bucyrus.  Another  was  what  later  be- 
came the  Mt.  Vernon  road  through  Whet- 
stone township,  and  near  New  Winchester  it 


150 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


was  to  go  through  "the  long  swamp."  An- 
other road  was  the  present  Marion  road  from 
Marion  to  Bucyrus. 

In  1826  Crawford  county  was  organized, 
and  the  early  sessions  of  the  commissioners 
were  mainly  given  to  the  laying  out  of  new 
roads  and  the  straightening  of  old  ones.  All 
the  records  of  the  commissioners  prior  to  183 1 
were  destroyed  by  fire,  but  the  first  meeting  of 
which  there  is  any  report  relates  to  roads : 

"Proceedings     of     the     Commissioners     of     Crawford 
County,  begun  and  held  in  the  town  of  Bucyrus,  on 
the  17th  and  i8th  day  of  October,  1831. 
"Be    it   resolved,    that    James    McCracken,   Esq.,    is 
hereby  appointed  a  commissioner  (in  the  room  of  R.  W. 
Cahill,  Esq.,  resigned),  to  lay  out  a  certain  state  road, 
commencing  at  the  town  of  Perrysburg  in  Wood  county, 
thence  to  McCutchenville,  thence  to  Bucyrus,  in  Craw- 
ford county." 

This  was  the  present  Oceola  road. 

As  early  as  1808  a  road  had  been  constructed 
from  Franklinton  (Columbus)  through  Dela- 
ware to  Norton,  a  town  on  the  border  line  of 
Delaware  and  Marion  counties,  within  two 
miles  of  the  Greenville  treaty  line,  all  north  of 
this  line  being  Indian  reservation.  In  1820  the 
two  miles  to  the  Greenville  treaty  line  were  laid 
out.  On  February  4,  1822,  the  General  As- 
sembly passed  an  act  establishing  a  State  road, 
"commencing  at  Norton,  in  Delaware  county, 
thence  to  the  city  of  Sandusky"  by  the  nearest 
and  best  route,  and  Hector  Kilbourne  and  Ly- 
man Farwell  were  appointed  commissioners 
with  instructions  to  report  to  the  county  com- 
missioners of  Delaware  county.  Previous  to 
this,  on  June  7,  1821,  the  Delaware  commis- 
sioners had  established  a  county  road  from 
Norton  "as  far  north  as  the  Indian  camps  on 
the  road  leading  from  Mt.  Vernon  to  Upper 
Sandusky." 

In  1826  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature 
incorporating  the  Columbus  and  Sandusky 
Turnpike  Company.  The  capital  stock  was 
$100,000,  divided  into  one  thousand  shares  of 
$100  each,  two  of  the  incorporators  being 
Judge  E.  B.  Merriman  and  Col.  Zalmon  Rowse 
of  Bucyrus.  The  road  was  to  be  a  "good,  se- 
cure and  substantial  road  of  stone,  gravel,  tim- 
ber or  other  material."  They  were  authorized 
to  collect  as  toll  for  each  ten  miles,  25  cents  for 
every  four-wheeled  carriage  or  wagon;  18^ 
cents  for  every  two-wheeled  vehicle;  and  6^ 
cents    for    each    horse    or   ox.      Each    four- 


wheeled  pleasure  carriage  drawn  by  two 
horses  was  required  to  pay  37J4  cents,  and 
i2j>2  cents  for  each  horse  additional.  Every 
person  going  to  and  from  religious  services  on 
Sabbath,  and  militiamen  going  to  and  from 
muster  grounds,  were  allowed  the  use  of  the 
road  free. 

John  Kilbourne,  in  his  Ohio  Gazetteer  of 
1826  says  of  this  road:  "During  the  last  ses- 
sion of  the  Legislature  (December,  1825)  the 
author  petitioned  for  the  grant  of  a  turnpike 
incorporation  to  construct  a  road  from  Colum- 
bus to  Sandusky  city,  a  distance  of  104  miles  in 
a  direct  line.  An  act  was  accordingly  passed 
therefor.  But  whether  the  requisite  funds  to 
make  it  can  be  raised  is  yet  (March,  1826) 
somewhat  uncertain.  But  its  benefits  and  ad- 
vantages to  above  one-half  of  the  northern  and 
western  part  of  the  State,  are  so  obvious  that 
the  presumption  is  that  it  will  be  made." 

This  road  was  so  important,  and  its  pro- 
moters were  so  influential,  that  on  March  3, 
1827,  Congress  passed  an  act  granting  to  the 
State  of  Ohio  49  sections  of  land,  amounting 
to  31,360  acres,  "situated  along  the  western 
side  of  the  Columbus  and  Sandusky  turnpike, 
in  the  eastern  part  of  Seneca,  Crawford  and 
Marion  counties."  The  considerations  for 
which  these  lands  were  granted  were  that  the 
mail  stages  and  all  troops  and  property  of  the 
United  States  which  should  ever  be  moved  and 
transported  along  this  road  should  pass  free 
from  toll.  On  February  12,  1828,  the  Ohio 
Legislature  transferred  these  lands  to  the 
turnpike  company,  which  sold  them  to  obtain 
funds  to  build  the  road. 

A  meeting  was  held  at  the  schoolhouse  in 
Bucyrus,  and  stock  sold  and  subscriptions  taken 
to  secure  funds  to  build  the  road.  Money  was 
scarce,  and  the  raising  of  the  funds  was  a  dif- 
ficult task.  It  was  Bucyrus's  first  attempt  to 
secure  a  public  improvement.  Merriman, 
Rowse  and  others  all  spoke  strongly  of  the  ad- 
vantages which  would  accure  to  Bucyrus  if  this 
road  could  be  built,  and  Abel  Carey,  who 
strongly  favored  the  project,  in  his  remarks 
lifted  the  veil  which  hid  the  future,  when  he 
hopefully  predicted,  "Why,  gentlemen,  if  we 
succeed  in  getting  this  road,  we  may  yet  see  a 
daily  line  of  stages  through  Bucyrus!"  The 
meeting  for  the  organization  of  the  company 
was  held  at  Bucyrus  and  Col.  Kilbourne  was 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


151 


appointed  surveyor  of  the  road.  The  cost  was 
assessed  to  the  different  counties,  and  nearly  all 
the  additional  meetings  were  held  at  Bucyrus, 
the  lively  post  town  being  the  headquarters  of 
the  enthusiastic  supporters  of  the  road.  If 
there  were  any  "knockers,"  pioneer  history 
fails  to  record  their  names,  but  it  does  record 
the  fact  that  some  of  the  citizens  subscribed 
and  paid  for  more  stock  than  all  their  real  es- 
tate would  have  sold  for  in  cash.  The  diffi- 
culty of  raising  the  funds  made  the  road  long 
in  building,  and  it  was  1834  before  it  was 
finally  completed.  It  will  be  remembered  the 
charter  called  for  the  building  of  the  road  of 
"stone,  gravel,  timber,  or  other  material."  It 
was  built  of  the  latter.  The  "other  material" 
being  the  throwing  up  of  earth  in  the  centre  of 
the  roadway,  and  through  the  low  and  marshy 
ground  laying  trees  crosswise,  side  by  side, 
forming  a  corduroy  foundation.  In  some 
places,  so  deep  and  swampy  was  the  land  that 
trees  were  felled  and  laid  across  the  swamps, 
and  on  these  were  placed  the  smaller  trees 
crosswise.  The  cost  of  the  road  was  about 
$700  per  mile.  It  was  probably  the  most  direct 
road  in  Ohio,  the  distance  from  Columbus  to 
Sandusky  by  the  road  being  106  miles,  while 
an  air  line  is  104.  Although  the  road  was  not 
completed  tmtil  1834,  stages  had  been  running 
over  the  old  county  and  state  road,  along  prac- 
tically the  same  route,  since  1823.  In  1827  the 
first  line  of  stages  began  running  on  the~  new 
pike. 

What  this  road  was  is  best  told  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Reid,  a  Congregational  minister  who  came 
over  from  England  to  visit  the  American 
churches.  He  went  from  Sandusky  to  Cincin- 
nati in  1834.  He  spent  Sunday  in  Sandusky 
City,  and  writes  of  "the  stumps  still  standing 
in  the  main  street  and  over  the  spots  that  have 
been  cleared  for  settlement." 

Mr.  Reid  published  his  experiences  in  a  little 
volume  entitled  "Visit  to  American  Churches," 
and  it  is  so  complete  and  vivid  a  description  of 
the  Columbus  Pike,  and  what  first-class  travel- 
ing was  in  those  early  days,  the  condition  of 
the  country  and  the  customs,  that  his  entire  trip 
is  given  from  the  Lake  to  the  Ohio : 

"Having  rested  over  Sabbath  I  arranged  to 
leave  by  coach  early  in  the  morning  for  Colum- 
bus. I  rose,  therefore,  at  two.  Soon  after  I 
had  risen  the  bar  agent  came  to  say  that  the 


coach  was  ready  and  would  start  in  ten  min- 
utes. As  the  rain  had  made  the  road  bad  this 
was  rather  an  ominous  as  well  as  untimely  in- 
timation, so  I  went  down  to  my  place.  I  had 
no  sooner  began  to  enter  the  coach  than  splash 
went  my  foot  into  mud  and  water.  I  ex- 
claimed with  surprise.  'Soon  be  dry.  Sir,'  was 
the  reply,  while  he  withdrew  the  light,  that  I 
might  not  explore  the  cause  of  complaint.  The 
fact  was  that  the  vehicle,  like  the  hotel  and  the 
steamboat,  was  not  water-tight,  and  the  rain 
had  found  an  entrance.  There  was,  indeed,  in 
this  coach,  as  in  most  others,  a  provision  in 
the  bottom — of  holes — to  let  off  both  water 
and  dirt,  but  here  the  dirt  had  become  mud  and 
thickened  about  the  orifices  so  as  to  prevent  es- 
cape. I  found  I  was  the  only  passenger;  the 
morning  was  damp  and  chilly;  the  state  of  the 
coach  added  to  the  sensation,  and  I  eagerly 
looked  for  some  means  of  protection.  I  drew 
up  the  wooden  windows — out  of  five  small 
panes  of  glass  in  the  sashes  three  were  broken. 
I  endeavored  to  secure  the  curtains;  two  of 
them  had  most  of  the  ties  broken  and  flapped  in 
one's  face.  I  could  see  nothing;  everywhere 
I  could  feel  the  wind  drawn  in  upon  me;  and 
as  for  sounds,  I  had  the  call  of  the  driver,  the 
screeching  of  the  wheels,  and  the  song  of  the 
bull-frog  for  my  entertainment. 

"But  the  worst  of  my  solitary  entertainment 
was  to  come.  All  that  had  been  intimated 
about  bad  roads  now  came  upon  me.  They 
were  not  only  bad,  they  were  intolerable ;  they 
were  rather  like  a  stony  ditch  than  a  road.  The 
horses,  on  the  first  stages  could  only  walk  most 
of  the  way;  we  were  freqvfently  in  up  to  the 
axle-tree ;  and  I  had  no  sooner  recovered  from 
a  terrible  plunge  on  one  side,  than  there  came 
another  in  the  opposite  direction.  I  was  liter- 
ally thrown  about  like  a  ball.  Let  me  dismiss 
the  subject  of  bad  roads  for  this  journey  by 
stating,  in  illustration,  that  with  an  empty 
coach  and  four  horses,  we  were  seven  hours  in 
going  twenty-three  miles;  and  that  we  were 
twenty-eight  hours  in  getting  to  Columbus,  a 
distance  of  one  hundred  and  ten  miles.  Yet 
this  line  of  conveyance  was  advertised  as  a 
'splendid  line,  equal  to  any  in  the  States.'  " 

"At  six  o'clock  we  arrived  at  Russell's  tav- 
ern,* where  we  were  to  take  breakfast.    This 

*Cook's  Corners,  Huron  county,  three  miles  east 
of  Bellevue.. 


152 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


is  a  nice  inn;  in  good  order,  very  clean,  and 
the  best  provision.  There  was  an  abundant 
supply,  but  most  of  it  was  prepared  with  butter 
and  the  frying-pan ;  still  there  were  good  coffee 
and  eggs,  and  delightful  bread.  Most  of  the 
family  and  driver  sat  down  at  the  table,  and 
the  daughters  of.  our  host  waited  on  us.  Mr. 
Russell,  as  is  commonly  the  case  in  such  dis- 
tricts, made  the  occupation  of  innkeeper  sub- 
sidiary to  that  of  farming.  You  commanded 
the  whole  of  his  farm  from  the  door,  and  it  was 
really  a  fine  picture,  the  young  crops  blooming 
and  promising  in  the  midst  of  the  desert. 

"From  the  good  manners  of  the  family,  and 
from  the  good  husbandry  and  respectable  car- 
riage of  the  father,  I  hoped  to  find  a  regard  for 
religion  here.  I  turned  to  the  rack  of  the  bar 
and  found  there  three  books;  they  were  the 
Gazetteer  of  Ohio,  Popular  Geography  and  the 
Bible ;  they  all  denoted  intelligence ;  the  last  one 
the  most  used. 

"Things  now  began  to  mend  with  me ;  day- 
light had  come;  the  atmosphere  was  getting 
warm  and  bland.  I  had  the  benefit  of  a  good 
breakfast;  the  road  was  in  some  measure  im- 
proved; it  was  possible  to  look  abroad,  and 
everything  was  inviting  attention.  We  were 
now  passing  over  what  is  called  the  Grand 
Prairie,  and  the  prairies  of  the  western  coun- 
try are  conspicuous  among  its  phenomena. 
The  first  impression  did  not  please  me  so  much 
as  I  expected.  It  rather  interests  by  its  singu- 
larity than  otherwise.  If  there  be  any  other 
source  of  interest  it  may  be  found  in  its  ex- 
pansion over  a  wide  region. 

"Land  here  is  worth  about  two  dollars  and 
a  half  per  acre ;  and  you  may  get  a  piece  of  five 
acres,  cleared,  and  a  good  eight-railed  fence 
around  it  for  fifty  dollars. 

"Most  of  the  recent  settlers  along  this  road 
seem  to  be  Germans.  We  passed  a  little  settle- 
ment of  eight  families  who  had  arrived  this 
season.  The  log-house  is  the  only  description 
of  house  in  these  new  and  scattered  settlements. 
I  passed  one  occupied  by  a  doctor  of  medicine, 
and  another  tenanted  by  two  bachelors,  one  of 
them  being  a  judge. 

"The  most  interesting  sight  to  me  was  the 
forest.  It  now  appeared  in  all  its  pristine  state 
and  grandeur,  tall,  magnificent,  boundless.  _  I 
had  been  somewhat  disappointed  in  not  finding 
vegetation  develop  itself  in  larger  form  in  New 


England  than  with  us ;  but  there  was  no  place 
for  disappointment  here.  I  shall  fail,  however, 
to  give  you  the  impression  it  makes  on  one. 
Did  it  arise  from  height,  from  figure,  or 
grouping,  it  might  readily  be  conveyed  to  you ; 
but  it  arises  chiefly  from  combination.  You 
must  see  it  in  all  the  stages  of  growth,  decay, 
dissolution  and  regeneration;  you  must  see  it 
pressing  on  you  and  overshadowing  you  by  its 
silent  forms,  and  at  other  times  spreading  it- 
self before  you  like  a  natural  park;  you  must 
see  that  all  the  clearances  made  by  the  human 
hand  bear  no  higher  relations  to  it  than  does  a 
mountain  to  the  globe;  you  must  travel  in  it 
in  solitariness,  hour  after  hour,  and  day  after 
day,  frequently  gazing  on  it  with  solemn  de- 
light, and  occasionally  casting  the  eye  round  in 
search  of  some  pause,  some  end,  without  find- 
ing any,  before  you  can  fully  understand  the 
impression.  Men  say  there  is  nothing  in 
America  to  give  you  the  sense  of  antiquity, 
and  they  mean  that,  as  there  are  no  works  of 
art  to  produce  this  effect,  there  can  be  noth- 
ing else.  You  cannot  think  that  I  would  de- 
preciate what  they  mean  to  extol;  but  I  hope 
you  will  sympathize  with  me  when  I  say  that 
I  have  met  with  nothing  among  the  most  ven- 
erable forms  of  art  which  impresses  you  so 
thoroughly  with  the  idea  of  infinite  distance 
and  countless  continuity  of  antiquity  shrouded 
in  all  its  mystery  of  solitude,  illimitable  and 
eternal. 

"The  clearances,  too,  which  appeared  on  this 
road  were  on  so  small  a  scale  as  to  strengthen 
this  impression,  and  to  convey  a  distinct  im- 
pression of  their  own.  On  them  the  vast  trees 
of  the  forest  had  been  girdled  to  prevent  the 
foliage  from  appearing  to  overshadow  the 
ground ;  and  the  land  at  their  feet  was  grubbed 
and  sown  with  corn ;  which  was  expanding  on 
the  surface  in  all  its  luxuriance.  The  stems  of 
the  Indian  corn  were  strangely  contrasted 
with  the  large  trunks  of  the  pine  and  oak,  and 
the  verdant  surface  below  was  as  strangely  op- 
posed to  the  skeleton  trees  towering  above, 
spreading  out  their  leafless  arms  to  the  warm 
sun  and  the  refreshing  rains,  and  doing  it  in 
vain.  Life  and  desolation  were  never  brought 
closer  together. 

"About  noon  we  arrived  at  a  little  town* 
and  stopped  at  an  inn,  which  was  announced  as 

*Bucyrus. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


153 


the  dining-place.  My  very  early  breakfast, 
and  my  violent  exercise,  had  not  indisposed  me 
for  dinner.  The  dinner  was  a  very  poor  affair. 
The  chief  dish  was  ham  fried  in  butter — orig- 
inally lard,  and  the  harder  for  frying.  I  tried 
to  get  my  teeth  through  it,  and  failed.  There 
remained  bread,  cheese,  and  cranberries,  and 
of  these  I  made  my  repast.  While  here,  a  Ger- 
man woman,  one  of  the  recent  settlers,  passed 
by  on  her  way  home.  Her  husband  had  taken 
the  fever  and  died.  She  had  come  to  buy  a 
coffin  for  him,  and  other  articles  of  domestic 
use  at  the  same  time.  She  was  now  walking 
home  beside  the  man  who  bore  the  coffin,  and 
with  her  other  purchases  under  her  arm.  This 
was  a  sad  specimen  either  of  German  phlegm 
or  of  the  hardening  effect  of  poverty. 

"Here,  also,  was  a  set  of  Mormonites  pass- 
ing through  to  the  'Far  West.'  They  are 
among  the  most  deluded  fanatics. 

"We  now  took  in  three  passengers,  who 
were  going  on  to  Marion.  One  was  a  colonel, 
though  in  mind,  manners  and  appearance 
among  the  plainest  of  men;  another  was  a 
lawyer  and  magistrate;  the  third  was  a  con- 
siderable farmer. 

"All  of  them,  by  their  station  and  avocation, 
ought  to  have  been  gentlemen;  but  if  just 
terms  are  to  be  applied  to  them,  they  must  be 
the  opposite  of  this.  To  me  they  were  always 
civil;  but  among  themselves  they  were  evi- 
dently accustomed  to  blasphemous  and  corrupt 
conversation.  The  colonel,  who  had  admitted 
himself  to  be  a  Methodist,  was  the  best,  and 
sought  to  impose  restraints  on  himself  and 
companions ;  but  he  gained  very  little  credit  for 
them.  I  was  grieved  and  disappointed,  for  I 
had  met  with  nothing  so  bad.  What  I  had 
witnessed  at  Sandusky  was  from  a  different 
and  lower  class  of  persons ;  but  here  were  the 
first  three  men  in  respectable  life  with  whom  I 
had  met  in  this  State ;  and  these  put  promiscu- 
ously before  me — and  all  bad.  It  was  neces- 
sary to  guard  against  a  hasty  and  prejudiced 
conclusion. 

"On  reaching  Marion  I  was  released  from 
my  unpleasant  companions.  I  had  to  travel 
through  most  of  the  night;  but  no  refresh- 
ments were  provided.  I  joined  in  a  meal  that 
was  nearly  closed  by  another  party,  and  pre- 
pared to  go  forward  at  the  call  of  the  driver. 
I  soon  found  I  was  to  be  in  different  circum- 


stances. We  were  nine  persons  and  a  child, 
within.  Of  course,  after  being  tossed  about  in 
an  empty  coach  all  day,  like  a  boat  on  the 
ocean,  I  was  not  unwilling  to  have  the  pros- 
pect of  sitting  steadily  in  my  corner;  but  when 
I  got  fairly  pinned  inside,  knees  and  feet,  the 
hard  seat  and  the  harder  ribs  of  the  coach  be- 
gan to  search  out  my  bruises,  and  I  was  still  a 
sufferer.  However,  there  were  now  some 
qualifying  considerations.  The  road  was  im- 
proving, and  with  it  the  scenery.  I  had  come 
for  fifty  miles  over  a  dead  flat,  with  only  one 
inclination,  and  that  not  greater  than  the  pitch 
of  Ludgate  Hill ;  the  land  was  now  finely  undu- 
lated. My  company,  too,  though  there  was 
something  too  much  of  it,  was  not  objection- 
able; some  of  it  was  pleasing. 

"There  were  among  them  the  lady  of  a 
judge  and  her  daughter.  The  mother  was  af- 
fable and  fond  of  conversation.  She  was 
glad  we  had  such  agreeable  society  in  the  stage, 
as  "that  did  not  always  happen."  She  talked 
freely  on  many  subjects,  and  sometimes  as  be- 
came a  judge's  lady  of  refinement  and  educa- 
tion ;  but  she  did  it  in  broken  grammar,  and  in 
happy  ignorance  that  it  was  broken.  As  the 
night  shut  in,  she,  without  the  least  embarrass- 
ment, struck  up  and  sang  off,  very  fairly, 
'Home,  Sweet  Home.'  This  was  all  unasked, 
and  before  strangers ;  yet  none  were  surprised 
but  myself.  I  name  this  merely  as  a  point  of 
manners.  The  lady  herself  was  unquestionably 
modest,  and,  as  I  think,  pious. 

"At  nearly  one  o'clock  we  arrived  at  Dela- 
ware. Here  I  was  promised  a  night's  rest. 
You  shall  judge  whether  that  promise  was  kept 
or  broken.  There  was  no  refreshment  of  any 
kind  prepared  or  offered,  so  we  demanded 
our  lights  to  retire.  The  judge's  lady  and 
daughter  were  shown  into  a  closet  called  a 
room.  There  was  no  fastening  to  the  door, 
and  she  protested  that  she  would  not  use  it. 
I  insisted  that  it  was  not  proper  treatment.  All 
the  amendment  that  could  be  gained  was  a 
proposition  'to  fetch  a  nail,  and  she  could  nail 
herself  in,  and  be  snug  enough.' 

"I  was  shown  into  a  similar  closet.  There 
was  no  dressing  accommodations.  I  required 
them,  and  was  told  that  these  things  were  'in 
common'  below.  I  refused  to  use  them;  and 
at  length,  by  showing  a  little  firmness  and  a  lit- 
tle kindness  obtained  soap,  bowl  and  towel.    I 


154 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


dressed.  By  this  time  it  was  nearly  two 
o'clock.  I  was  to  be  called  at  half  past  two; 
and  I  threw  myself  on  the  bed  to  try  to  sleep, 
with  the  soothing  impression  that  I  must  awake 
in  half  an  hour. 

"At  half  past  two  I  was  summoned,  and 
having  put  myself  in  readiness,  and  paid  for 
a  night's  lodging,  I  was  again  on  my  way.  The 
day  broke  on  us  pleasantly,  and  the  country 
was  very  beautiful.  We  foirded  the  Whet- 
stone, a  lively  river,  which  ornamented  the 
ride.  We  passed  through  Worthington,  a 
smart  town,  prettily  placed,  and  having  a  good 
college,  and  arrived  at  Columbus  the  capital,  at 
nine  o'clock. 

"The  inn  at  which  we  stopped  is  the  rendez- 
vous of  the  stages.  Among  these  there  were 
two  ready  to  start  for  Cincinnati.  On  seeking 
to  engage  my  place  the  inquiry  was,  'Which 
will  you  go  by.  Sir,  the  fast  or  the  slow  line  ?' 
Weary  as  I  was  of  the  slow  line,  I  exclaimed, 
'Oh  the  fast  line,  certainly!'  I  quickly  found 
myself  enclosed  in  a  good  coach,  carrying  the 
mail,  and  only  six  persons  inside.  In  this  jour- 
ney we  had  but  three. 

"In  demanding  to  go  by  the  fast  line  I  was 
not  aware  of  all  the  effects  of  my  choice.  It  is 
certainly  a  delightful  thing  to  move  with  some 
rapidity  over  a  good  road ;  but  on  a  bad  road, 
with  stubborn  springs,  it  is  really  terrible.  For 
miles  out  of  Columbus  the  road  is  shamefully 
bad;  and  as  our  horses  were  kept  on  a  trot, 
however  slow,  I  was  not  only  tumbled  and 
shaken  as  on  the  previous  day,  but  so  jarred 
and  jolted  as  to  threaten  serious  mischief.  In- 
stead, therefore,  of  finding  a  lounge,  or  sleep, 
as  I  had  hoped,  in  this  comfortable  coach,  I  was 
obliged  to  be  on  the  alert  for  every  jerk.  And 
after  all  I  could  do,  my  teeth  were  jarred,  my 
hat  was  many  times  thrown  from  my  head, 
and  all  my  bruises  bruised  over  again.  It  was 
really  an  amusement  to  see  us  laboring  to  keep 
oar  places. 

"About  noon  we  paused  at  the  town  called 
J  efferson.  We  were  to  wait  half  an  hour ;  there 
would  be  no  other  chance  of  dinner ;  but  there 
were  no  signs  of  dinner  here.  However,  I  had 
been  on  very  short  supplies  for  the  last  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  considered  it  my  duty  to  eat  if 
I  could.  I  applied  to  the  good  woman  of  the 
inn,  and  in  a  very  short  time  she  placed  venison, 
fruit-tarts  and  tea  before  me,  all  very  clean  and 


the  venison  excellent.  It  was  a  refreshing  re- 
past, and  the  demand  on  my  purse  was  only 
twenty-five  cents.  'How  long  have  you  been 
here  ?'  I  said  to  my  hostess,  who  stood  by  me 
fanning  the  dishes  to  keep  off  the  flies.  'Only 
came  last  fall,  Sir.'  'How  old  is  this  town?' 
'Twenty-three  months.  Sir ;  then  the  first  house 
was  built.' 

"There  are  now  about  five  hundred  persons 
settled  here,  and  there  are  three  good  hotels. 
There  is  something  very  striking  in  these  rapid 
movepients  of  life  and  civilization  in  the  heart 
of  the  forest. 

"On  leaving  Jefferson  we  again  plunged  into 
the  forest,  and  toward  evening  we  got  on  the 
greensward,  or  natural  road.  This  was  mostly 
good  and  uncut  and  we  bowled  along  in  serpen- 
tine lines,  so  as  to  clear  the  stumps  with  much 
freedom.  The  scenery  now,  even  for  the  for- 
est, was  becoming  unusually  grand.  I  passed 
in  this  day's  ride  the  Yellow  Springs  and 
Springfield.  The  former  is  a  watering  place. 
There  is  a  fine  spring  of  chalybeate,  and  an 
establishment  capable  of  receiving  from  150 
to  200  visitors.  Springfield  is  a  flourishing 
town,  built  among  the  handsome  hills  that 
abound  in  this  vicinity.  It  is  one  of  the  clean- 
est, brightest  and  most  inviting  that  I  have 
seen.  But  all  the  inhabitants  were  as  noth- 
ing compared  with  the  forest.  I  had  been 
traveling  through  it  for  two  days  and  nights, 
and  still  it  was  the  same.  Now  you  came  to  a 
woodman's  hut  in  the  solitude ;  now  to  a  farm ; 
and  now  to  a  village,  by  courtesy  called  a  town 
or  a  city;  but  it  was  still  the  forest.  You 
drove  on  for  miles  through  it  unbroken;  then 
you  came  to  a  small  clearance  and  a  young  set- 
tlement; and  then  again  you  plunged  into  the 
wide,  everlasting  forest  to  be  with  nature  and 
with  God.  This  night  I  had  also  to  travel, 
and,  weary  as  I  was,  I  was  kept  quite  on  the 
alert. 

"The  early  morning  found  me  still  traveling 
and  getting  seriously  unwell.  I  thought  I 
must  have  remained  in  Lebanon,  a  town  about 
twenty  miles  from  Cincinnati,  to  sicken  and 
suffer  without  a  friend ;  and  then  all  the  lone- 
liness of  my  situation  came  over  me.  The 
stage  halted  here  an  hour;  this  allowed  me 
some  time  to  recover  and  I  resolved,  if  it  were 
possible,  to  go  forward  to  what  I  might  re- 
gard as  a  resting  place. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


155 


"Happily,  everything  was  now  improving. 
The  road  was  not  unworthy  of  MacAdam, 
and  we  bowled  over  it  at  the  rate  of  nine  miles 
an  hour.  The  country  was  covered  with  hills, 
finely  wooded,  and  all  about  them  were  spread 
farms,  in  a  handsome  and  thriving  state  of 
cultivation.  Many  ornamental  cottages  now 
appeared,  and  the  white  suburbs  put  on  a 
cheerful  and  beautiful  aspect.  At  last  we 
drove  into  the  Western  metropolis.  I  had 
traveled  three  days  and  three  nights,  and  was 
so  wearied,  bruised  and  hurt  that  I  could  not, 
with  comfort,  sit,  lie  or  walk.  The  remainder 
of  the  day  I  spent  in  my  chamber." 

From  Sandusky  to  Cincinnati,  three  days 
and  three  nights  through  the  forests  and  ford- 
ing the  streams,  over  the  worst  of  roads 
and  traveling  first-class  at  that.  Today  he 
could  make  the  same  trip,  never  deviating 
more  than  a  few  miles  from  exactly  the  same 
route,  in  a  palatial  car,  with  "soap,  and  bowl 
and  towel,"  and  tasty,  well  served  meals  on 
the  train,  and  reach  his  journey's  end  rested 
and  refreshed,  at  less  than  half  the  price  he 
paid  for  his  discomforts  and  inconveniences, 
and  if  he  were  to  start  from  Sandusky  at  two 
in  the  morning  he  would  reach  Cincinnati  in 
time  to  transact  his  business  and  return  home 
in  the  evening.  Or  he  could  take  exactly  the 
same  route  in  an  automobile  today,  go  over 
exactly  the  same  road  the  entire  distance  to 
Cincinnati,  and  every  foot  of  that  road  macad- 
amized ;  pass  farming  lands  on  every  hand  in 
the  highest  state  of  cultivation;  through 
thriving  villages  and  towns  and  cities,  each  a 
hive  of  busy  industry,  and  in  the  entire  dis- 
tance not  a  log  hut  to  be  seen,  not  a  stream 
to  be  forded,  and  of  the  forests  he  so  much  ad- 
mired not  one  spared  in  the  remorseless  march 
of  civilization. 

Times,  indeed,  have  changed,  for  the  route 
he  took  marked  an  era  of  progress  in  those 
days,  as  witness  the  following  from  the  Ohio 
State  Journal  of  June  28,  1827:  "From  the 
encouragement  offered,  the  tri-weekly  line  of 
stages  through  this  place,  between  the  city  of 
Cincinnati  and  Sandusky,  on  Lake  Erie,  has 
been  changed  by  its  enterprising  proprietors 
into  a  daily  line.  This  offers  an  important  ad- 
vantage to  travelers  between  these  places,  who 
may  pursue  their  journey  without  the  delay 
in  most  cases  of  a  single  hour.    The  fare  has 


been  reduced  to  twelve  dollars,  which  is  like- 
wise something  of  a  consideration." 

This  Sandusky  Pike  was  a  very  good  road — 
in  the  summer  and  fall  and  in  dry  weather,  as 
all  well  traveled  dirt  and  clay  roads  are.    And 
the  road  was  well  traveled  from  the  start;  on 
busy  days  as  many  as  fifty  teams  being  in 
sight  at  one  time,  those  from  the  south  taking 
their  grain  and  other   farm  products  to  the 
Sandusky  market,  and  also  large  droves  of 
cattle  and  other  stock  passing  over  the  road  on 
their  way  to  the  Lake.    The  teams  returning 
brought  the  goods  needed  by  the  people,  which 
had  reached  Sandusky  by  water  from  the  east- 
ern  market   over   the   newly-completed   Erie 
Canal.    The  easier  access  to  a  market  at  San- 
dusky gave  the  farmers  a  better  price  for  their 
produce  and  equally  the  goods  they  purchased 
were  reduced  in  cost  owing  to  the  cheaper  ex- 
pense and  better  means  of  transportation.    In 
all  the  little  villages  and  every  few  miles  along 
the  road  were  taverns,  where  accommodation, 
more  or  less  good,  was  furnished  to  the  trav- 
eler, and  these  places  were  crowded.     Many 
a  farmer  made  extra  and  needed  cash  by  fur- 
nishing   accommodation    to    the    traveler   or 
drover  who  passed  over  the  road.     Along  the 
road  at  night  could  be  seen  the  camp-fires  of 
those  drovers  who  carried  their  cooking  uten- 
sils with  them,  prepared  their  own  meals  and 
slept  in  the  open  air.     Notwithstanding  the 
traffic  and  the  heavy  toll  charges,  for  some  rea- 
son the  road  was  not  a  profitable  investment, 
and  the  stockholders  never  received  any  divi- 
dends; neither  were  there  sufficient  funds  to 
make  the  road  bed  what  it  should  have  been, 
and  what  the  charter  called  for.     As  a  result, 
from  Bucyrus  to  Delaware,  a  large  amount  of 
the  travel  and  even  the  stages,  went  by  Ma- 
rion, and  although  the  distance  was  four  miles 
further,  the  road  was  better  and  they  escaped 
the  excessive  toll.    In  the  spring  of  the  year  so 
bad  was  this  toll  road  that  four  horses  were 
necessary  to  pull  a  wagon  with  the  lightest  of 
loads.     And  many  a  disgusted  traveler,  strug- 
gling through  the  mire  and  mud  found  him- 
self stalled  and  compelled  to  seek  help  from 
some  neighboring  farmer  to  pull  him  to  higher 
and  dryer  ground,  and  after  paying  for  this 
assistance  proceed  a  few  miles  further  and  be 
held  up  for  toll  charges  for  the  privilege  of 
passing  over  this  route.     There  were  similar 


156 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


roads  to  this  all  over  northwestern  Ohio,  some 
so  bad  that  rights  to  mud  holes  were  recog- 
nized, and  many  an  enterprising  farmer  found 
a  handsome  addition  to  his  income  in  furnish- 
ing aid  and  assistance  to  the  unfortunate  trav- 
eler stalled  by  the  bad  roads.  One  young  man 
had  started  with  a  wagon  drawn  by  a  team 
of  mules,  and  with  $ioo  in  cash  contemplated 
buying  land  in  the  new  country.  Before  he 
reached  his  destination  he  had  been  compelled 
to  use  all  his  capital  in  paying  for  assistance 
to  get  him  over  the  worst  places.  He  was  not 
discouraged,  however,  and  was  something  of 
a  philosopher,  so  he  went  into  camp  at  his 
last  mud  hole  and  by  the  relief  of  other  trav- 
elers in  distress  soon  had  his  hundred  dollars 
back.* 

It  was  in  these  days  that  profanity  reached 
its  highest  range,  and  many  indignantly  re- 
fused to  pay,  and  there  were  cases  where  the 
angry  driver  in  passing  managed  to  get  a 
hitch  on  the  toll-gate,  and  drag  it  a  mile  or  two 
down  the  road.  The  court  records  of  those 
days  show  many  cases  against  travelers  for 
"malicious  destruction  of  property,"  the  prop- 
erty being  these  toll-gates,  and  as  the  jury  were 
men  who  knew  these  roads  and  had  suffered, 
but  were  at  the  same  time  conscientious,  they 
always  brought  in  verdicts  for  the  company, 
fixing  the  damages,  however,  at  one  cent,  which 
followed  the  law  and  expressed  their  opinion 
at  the  same  time.  The  turnpike  company  le- 
gally continued  to  make  their  charges,  and 
when  possible  collected  them,  and  the  people 
finally  demanded  the  abrogation  of  the  char- 
ter on  the  ground  of  non-compliance  with  its 
provisions.  Proceedings  dragged  their  way 
through  the  legislature  and  through  the 
courts,  with  "nothing  doing,"  until  one  night 
the  people  along  the  line  from  Columbus  north 
for  thirty  miles  made  a  raid  on  the  toll-gates 
and  morning  found  every  one  of  them  de- 
stroyed. This  act  brought  the  matter  so  forci- 
bly before  the  legislature  that  at  their  next 
session  in  1843  the  act  creating  the  company 
was  repealed.  The  company  asked  a  hearing 
and  asked  reimbursement,  and  for  ten  years 
in  one  form  or  another  the  matter  was  before 
the  legislature,  until  in  1856  it  came  up  for 
the  last  time,  when  the  Senate  passed  a  bill  au- 
thorizing the  company  to  bring  suit  against  the 
*  "The  Sandusky  River."— Lucy  Elliot  Keeler. 


State,  but  the  bill  failed  to  pass  the  House,  and 
from  that  time  to  the  present  the  discouraged 
owners  seem  to  have  dropped  the  matter. 
Which  means  that  the  heirs  of  the  original 
stockholders  in  this  and  other  counties  along 
the  line  have  still  something  coming  from  the 
State  of  Ohio. 

Besides  this  road,  in  the  early  days  another 
stage  line  ran  through  this  county  from  Col- 
umbus to  the  Lake;  it  was  authorized  by  the 
legislature  in  1820,  and  was  known  as  the  Col- 
umbus   and    Portland    road.      It   entered   the 
present  Crawford  in  the  southeastern  part  of 
the  county,  from  Mt.  Gilead  (then  in  Marion 
county)    passed  north,   just   west  of   Gallon, 
through  where  now  stands  Middletown,  Lees- 
ville  and  West  Liberty,  following  the  route  of 
the  first  road  cut  through  the  woods  by  the 
pioneers.     Col.   Kilbourne  was  also  the  sur- 
veyor   for   this   road,    and   when  he   reached 
where  Gallon  now  is  it  was  his  desire  to  have 
the  road  pass  over  the  high  ground  where  the 
public  square  is  now  located.     He  made  over- 
tures to  Leveridge  who  owned  the  land  to  have 
the  road  pass  here  and  the  two  would  lay  out 
a  town,  but  Leveridge  objected  to  having  his 
nice  farm  spoiled  by  cutting  it  up  into  town 
lots,  so  when  the  road  was  located  it  was  in 
what  is  now  the  western  part  of  Galion,  cross- 
ing the  road  from  Mansfield  to  Bucyrus  just 
east  of  the  Whetstone,  and  at  the  junction  a 
few  houses  were  soon  located,  with  a  black- 
smith shop  and  a  tavern  and  later  a  store  and 
post  office,  and  when  the  present  city  of  Galion 
was  laid  out  some  ten  years  later,  the  owner  of 
the  new  village  with  its  two  or  three  houses 
looked   west  half   a  mile  to   the   "Crossing" 
where  at  times  as  many  as  fifty  teams  were  sta- 
tioned, stopping  on  their  journey  over  one  or 
the  other  of  the  roads.    The  Portland  road  fell 
off  in  business  after  the  western  route  to  San- 
dusky was  established  through  Bucyrus,  but 
the  Mansfield  road  continued  to  be  a  stage  line 
until  driven  out  of  business  by  the  railroads, 
and  the  little  town  of  Galion  became  the  cen- 
tral point  and  the  cluster  of  houses  at  the 
crossing  were  abandoned. 

Other  stage  lines  in  the  early  days  prior  to 
railroads  were  from  Bucyrus  to  Bellefontaine, 
and  on  to  Indianapolis;  from  Bucyrus  to  Mt. 
Vernon;  from  Bucyrus  to  Tifiiin  and  on  to 
Perrysburg.    The  condition  of  this  latter  road 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


157 


was  such  in  the  spring  of  the  year  that  it  could 
have  been  better  utihzed  by  steamboats  than  by 
stages ;  it  was  mostly  under  water  during  the 
entire  spring  season.  This  was  also  true  of 
many  of  the  early  coach  roads  in  this  county. 
The  roads  south  of  Bucyrus  were  through 
water  for  miles.  There  were  no  fences,  and 
the  driver  frequently  found  better  ground  by 
leaving  the  road  and  picking  his  way  along  the 
higher  spots  across  the  plains. 

There  was  no  difficulty  in  laying  out  roads 
in  those  days.  All  the  road  makers  had  to  do 
was  to  avoid  the  worst  swamps,  and  the  larg- 
est trees,  and  find  the  easiest  crossings  of  the 
smaller  streams.  The  first  road  the  pioneer 
had  was  only  a  path  which  he  made  through 
the  woods  to  his  nearest  neighbors,  blazing  the 
trees  so  his  family  would  not  miss  the  way  in 
making  neighborly  visits  a  mile  or  two  away. 
When  it  came  to  a  road  to  secure  an  outlet  to 
market,  there  were  no  county  commissioners  to 
petition;  no  thirty  days'  notice  was  necessary; 
besides  there  was  no  one  to  object  to  the  road; 
they  appointed  no  viewers  and  had  no  sur- 
veyor; one  or  two  expert  woodsmen  started 
out  on  a  clear  day,  when  they  could  be  guided 
by  the  sun  and  take  their  course  in  the  intended 
direction,  keeping  on  the  highest  and  dryest 
ground  and  winding  in  and  out  to  avoid  the 
larger  trees  and  all  obstructions,  cutting  down 
the  underbrush  as  they  passed,  and  a  road  was 
ready  for  passage  on  foot  or  on  horseback. 
Later  the  pioneers  at  their  leisure  cut  down  the 
small  trees  in  the  roadway,  removed  the  fallen 
logs  and  other  obstructions,  and  the  road,  such 
as  it  was,  was  completed.  Neither  was  it  ex- 
pensive to  lay  out  a  state  road.  When  Col. 
Kilbourne  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  he 
introduced  a  bill  to  pay  himself  and  others  for 
the  laying  out  of  the  first  state  road  in  Craw- 
ford county,  the  old  Portland  road,  through 
Polk,  Jefferson,  Vernon  and  Auburn  town- 
ships. The  section  of  the  bill  showing  the 
cost  is  as  follows : 

"Section  12. — That  there  shall  be  paid  to  Luther  Coe 
and  James  Kilbourne  from  the  fund  aforesaid  for  their 
services  as  road  commissioners  and  the  services  of  the 
surveyor  and  other  assistants  by  them  employed  in  lay- 
ing out  and  establishing  a  state  road  from  Worthington 
in  Franklin  county,  by  the  salt  reserve  section  in  the 
county  of  Delaware,  to  New  Haven,  in  Huron  county, 
the  following  sums,  viz. :  For  that  part  of  said  road 
which  is  in  the  county  of  Marion,  to  be  charged  to  said 
Marion  in  the  next  general  appropriation  of  said  fund, 


sixty-three  dollars;  for  that  part  of  said  road  which  is 
in  Crawford  county,  to  be  charged  to  said  Crawford  as 
aforesaid,  five  dollars;  and  for  that  part  of  said  road 
which  is  in  said  Huron  county,  twelve  dollars,  to  be 
charged  to  said  county  in  the  next  general  appropriation 
of  said  fund ;  making  in  all  the  sum  of  $80  chargeable 
to  the  said  three  counties.  The  part  of  said  road  which 
is  in  the  said  counties  of  Franklin  and  Delaware  hav- 
ing been  heretofore  paid  for ;  and  the  remaining  part 
thereof,  which  is  in  Richland  county,  amounting  to 
$76.50,  not  having  been  paid  or  provided  for  by  this 
act;  but  the  same  is  left  for  future  settlement." 

This  road  was  about  twenty-one  miles  in 
Richland  county,  the  same  in  Marion,  and  only 
two  miles  in  Crawford.  When  Crawford  was 
given  four  miles  from  Richland  county  in 
1845,  twenty-five  years  after  the  road  was 
built,  it  was  the  territory  through  which  this 
road  passed. 

The  first  attempt  at  improved  roads  in  the 
county  was  made  as  early  as  1852,  when  in 
January  of  that  year,  the  citizens  of  Oceola 
met,  and  decided  to  organize  a  company  to 
build  a  plank  road  from  Tiffin  to  Oceola,  R.  G. 
Perry,  John  Bair  and  Lewis  Tannehill  being 
the  committee  appointed  to  receive  and  confer 
with  other  towns.  Tiffin  was  the  objective 
point,  it  being  the  nearest  large  town  on  a 
railroad,  and  an  outlet  was  wanted  for  the 
products,  which  were  then  grain,  pot  and  pearl 
ashes,  lumber,  staves,  etc. 

Later  in  the  year  Oceola  endeavored  to  se- 
cure the  Ohio  and  Indiana  road,  but  the  cost 
of  construction  was  so  much  heavier,  that  it 
went  to  the  south  of  them.  But  as  Bucyrus 
was  certain  to  secure  the  road,  the  matter  of 
a  plank  road  was  taken  up  with  the  Bucyrus 
people. 

A  meeting  was  called  for  Bucyrus  on  De- 
cember 18,  1852.  It  was  held  at  the  court- 
house, and  Zalmon  Rowse  was  chairman  and 
D.  W.  Swigart,  secretary.  It  was  decided  to 
incorporate  as  the  Oceola  and  Bucyrus  Plank 
Road  Company,  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$12,000.  The  second  meeting  was  at  the  of- 
fice of  Franklin  Adams,  and  books  for  sub- 
scription opened.  Rodney  Pool,  Seneca  Leon- 
ard, Lewis  Tannehill  and  Samuel  Osborn 
having  charge  of  the  subscriptions  at  Oceola, 
and  Zalmon  Rowse,  C.  Fulton,  John  Sirns  and 
P.  S.  Marshall  at  Bucyrus.  Rodney  Pool, 
Samuel  Osborn  and  John  Sims  were  commit- 
tee to  secure  the  right  of  way. 

April    I,    1853,  the  company  met  and  re- 


158 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ported  115  shares  sold  at  $50  per  share, 
amounting  to  $5,750.  Bucyrus  had  taken  71 
shares,  Bucyrus  to  Oceola  26  shares,  and  Oce- 
ola  18  shares.  The  directors  elected  were 
Zalmon  Rowse,  John  Sims,  P.  S.  Marshall  and 
D.  W.  Swigart  of  Bucyrus,  and  Lewis  Tanne- 
hill,  Samuel  Osborn  and  Rodney  Pool  of  Oce- 
ola. Votes  were  also  cast  for  Franklin  Ad- 
ams, Henry  Converse,  Benjamin  Sears,  George 
Quinby  and  Willis  Merriman.  Zalmon  Rowse 
was  elected  president,  D.  W.  Swigart,  secre- 
tary, and  John  Sims,  treasurer. 

On  January  6,  1854,  the  contract  was  let  for 
building  the  road,  G.  W.  J.  Willoughby  and 
R.  G.  and  A.  H.  Perry  having  the  contract  for 
the  western  three  miles  and  Samuel  Osborn 
for  the  eastern  half  near  Bucyrus.  At  the  an- 
nual meeting  the  new  directors  were  John 
Sims,  president,  D.  W.  Swigart,  secretary, 
Rodney  Pool,  superintendent;  P.  S.  Marshall, 
W^illiam  \Y.  Miller,  Samuel  Osborn  and  Jo- 
seph Ream.  The  road  was  completted  during 
the  year  and  the  first  six  miles  of  improved 
road  in  Crawford  county  in  operation.  Toll 
gates  were  erected  west  of  Bucyrus  and 
east  of  Oceola.  At  the  start  the  road  was 
good  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  and  occasional 
repairs  were  made  on  it  to  keep  it  in  condi- 
tion, but  each  season  found  the  plank  in  worse 
and  worse  condition.  It  was  not  a  profitable 
investment  financially,  as  in  1864,  the  report 
showed  the  road  was  "about  out  of  debt,"  and 
on  the  strength  of  the  favorable  report  they 
ordered  50,000  feet  to  repair  the  worst  places. 
After  this,  no  attempt  \\  as  made  to  keep  up 
the  road,  and  it  was  finally  abandoned  in  July, 
1866. 

Time  passed,  and  in  neighboring  counties, 
pike  roads  had  been  built,  but  the  people  of 
Crawford  still  continued  in  the  spring  of  each 
year  to  haul  their  loads,  sometimes  up  to  the 
axle,  with  many  a  stalled  team  and  many  a 
broken  trace  that  failed  to  stand  the  strain. 
The  rich  soil  of  Crawford  made  the  roads 
worse  than  in  the  usual  run  of  counties. 

After  twenty  years  most  of  the  roads  in 
spring  were  as  impassible  as  in  the  days  when 
the  plodding  oxen  dragged  the  early  pioneer 
wagon  over  the  roadless  virgin  soil,  and  this 
was  the  condition  of  road,  where  every  acre 
of  land  was  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation 
and  each  year  yielding  a  bounteous  harvest. 


In  1886  a  proposition  was  submitted  to  the 
voters  of  the  county  by  the  commissioners,  by 
which  the  entire  county  should  be  piked  by  a 
general  tax.  It  was  submitted  at  the  spring  of 
the  year,  when  hardly  a  road  was  navigable, 
and  was  one  of  the  most  singular  elections,  and 
the  most  bitter  that  ever  occurred  in  the 
county.  Friends  of  a  lifetime  became  bitter 
enemies;  newspapers  and  business  men  advo- 
cating the  proposition  were  boycotted;  enmi- 
ties were  created  that  were  years  in  healing. 
Many  humorous  e\'ents  occurred.  A  fanner 
stalled  in  Holmes  township,  asked  assistance 
of  a  neighbor.     "Are  you  in  favor  of  pike 

roads?"  was  the  inquiry.     "Not  by  a  d 

sight,"  was  the  reply.  "Then  get  out  the  best 
way  you  can,"  and  he  was  left  stalled  until  a 
friendly  anti-piker  lent  him  the  assistance  he 
needed.  The  election  came  off  with  the  fol- 
lowing result: 

For  Against  Majority 

Pikes  Pikes  For  Against 

Auburn    8  226  ...  218 

Bucyrus  22  194  ...  172 

Chatfield    2  263  ...  261 

Cranberry   53  315  ...  262 

Dallas  10  71  ...              61 

Holmes    28  254  . . .  226 

Jefferson   32  184  ...  152 

Liberty    7  349  . . .  342 

Lykins    8  216  ...  208 

Polk   o  172  ...  172 

Sandusky    2  145  ...  143 

Texas  22  105  ...             83 

Tod    26  178  ...  152 

Vernon    i  204  . . .  203 

Whetstone    15  234  . . .  219 

Bucyrus,  city   689  218  471 

Crestline,   village    ....  307  244  63 

Gallon,  city   20  1003  . . .  983 

Totals  1252         4S7S  534         3857 

Majority  against  . . .  3323  3323 

The  tax  duplicate  of  1887,  under  which  the 
first  levy  would  have  been  made,  showed  the 
townships  had  a  total  valuation  of  $11,854,500, 
and  the  three  cities  of  Bucyrus,  Crestline  and 
Gallon  of  $5,865,200,  so  the  singular  resulf 
was  obtained  of  the  townships  voting  down  a 
proposition  by  which  one-third  of  the  cost 
would  have  been  paid  for  by  the  cities. 

The  question  was  certainly  misunderstood, 
or  regarded  with  suspicion,  as  two  years  later 
bills  were  introduced  in  the  legislature  author- 
izing certain  townships  to  build  pikes,  the  cost 
to  be  assessed  on  the  townships.  Cranberry, 
Jefferson  and  Polk  were  the  first  to  build  pikes. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


159 


and  in  1890  their  usefulness  and  necessity  for 
pike,  building  was  so  apparent  that  the  people 
were  as  unanimous  for  pikes  as  they  had  been 
against  them.  The  financial  depression  of 
1893  put  a  stop  to  the  work,  but  after  better 
times  came,  pikes  were  again  taken  up  and 
their  building  was  only  limited  to  the  amount 
of  tax  the  various  townships  would  stand  for 
road  purposes. 

It  was  not  only  the  country  that  had  the 
bad  roads,  but  city  streets  were  frequently  im- 
passible, for  in  the  spring  of  1893,  the  hearse 
of  a  funeral  procession  was  stalled  on  Center 
street,  sinking  hub  deep  in  the  mire,  and  the 
pall  bearers  were  compelled  to  take  the  casket, 
in  which  was  the  little  child,  and  carry  it  to  the 
cemetery.  It  was  the  finishing  stroke  and  that 
year  Center  street  was  paved. 

In  1898  the  three  townships  of  Bucyrus, 
Holmes  and  Whetstone  entered  into  a  joint 
ajrangement  for  the  piking  of  roads.  Other 
townships  were  doing  it  singly  and  in  the  past 
twenty  years  over  300  miles  of  improved 
roads  have  been  constructed,  distributed 
among  the  various  townships  as  follows : 

Square  Miles     Mile  Pike 

Auburn    26  i2}i 

Bucyrus    36  40^A 

Chatfield    30  1654 

Cranberry    28j4  23 

Dallas    22  14 

Holmes  36  39 

Jackson   10  ISJ^ 

Jefferson    20  24 

Liberty   32^  23 

Lykins    3°  i9'/2 

Polk    21  25^^ 

Sandusky   18  i^ 

Texas    12  6 

Tod    18  16 

Vernon   22  12 

Whetstone  42  36^ 

The  above  is  exclusive  of  15  miles  of  brick 
streets  in  Bucyrus,  Creathive  and  Gabon. 

In  1830  a  number  of  the  citizens  of  Craw- 
ford, Seneca,  Huron,  Delaware,  Logan,  Clark 
and  Champaign  counties  presented  a  petition 
to  the  legislature  for  a  charter  to  build  a  rail- 
road from  Sandusky  to  Dayton,  with  a  branch 
to  Columbus.  The  committee  to  whom  it  was 
referred  reported  it  back  without  any  recom- 
mendation. The  road  contemplated  horses  as 
the  motive  power,  and  the  cost  was  estimated 
at  $4,842  per  mile,  including  the  bar  or  strap 
iron  for  the  .track.  It  was  this  road  that  was 
9 


built  in  1840  to  1845,  the  Mad  River  and  Lake 
Erie,  the  first  road  built  in  the  state,  and  it 
passed  through  the  Wyandot  portion  of  Craw- 
ford county. 

In  1832,  charters  were  granted  to  eleven 
roads  in  Ohio,  and  of  these  four  were  through 
Crawford  county. 

Jan.  5,  1832,  the  Mad  River  and  Lake 
Erie  Railroad.  (Built  in  1840-45.)  Among 
those  petitioning  for  the  charter  were  E.  B. 
Merriman  and  John  Cary  of  Crawford. 

Feb.  3,  1832,  the  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio 
Railroad  Company  from  Pittsburg  to  Massil- 
lon.  (Twenty  years  later  this  road  was  com- 
pleted to  Crestline.) 

Feb.  8,  1832,  the  Delaware,  Marion  and 
Sandusky  Railroad,  from  Columbus,  through 
Delaware,  Marion  and  Bucyrus  to  Sandusky. 
Among  the  incorporators  were  E.  B.  Merri- 
man, Zalmon  Rowse,  John  Cary,  Joseph  Chaf- 
fee, Joseph  McCutchen  and  Henry  St.  John 
of  Crawford.  (Sixty  years  passed  before  this 
road  was  built  by  the  children  and  grandchil- 
dren of  the  early  pioneers.) 

Feb.  II,  1832,  the  Milan  and  Columbus  road, 
from  Milan  to  New  Haven  past  Gallon  to  Mt. 
Gilead  and  on  to  Columbus,  the  old  Portland 
stage  route.  E.  B.  Merriman  was  one  of  the 
incorporators.  (This  road  was  partially  built, 
as  later  the  C.  C.  &  C.  was  chartered,  follow- 
ing the  route  from  Columbus  to  Gallon,  and 
then  going  northeast  to  reach  the  lake  at 
Cleveland  instead  of  Sandusky.) 

These  roads  were  undoubtedly  to  be  ope- 
rated by  horse  power,  as  the  charters  provided 
for  the  erection  of  toll  houses,  and  people  were 
to  be  permitted  to  go  over  the  road  with  proper 
and  suitable  carriages  of  their  own. 

In  1836  a  charter  was  granted  to  the  Cleve- 
land, Columbus  and  Cincinnati  Railroad,  and 
in  1837  to  the  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Pennsylvania 
Railroad.  Feb.  8,  1847,  the  charter  of  the 
Cleveland,  Columbus  and  Cincinnati  was 
amended  so  as  to  allow  it  to  construct  branches. 
At  the  same  session  a  law  was  passed  allow- 
ing counties  and  towns  to  subscribe  for  the 
stock  of  a  railroad  company  providing  the 
people  voted  favorably  on  the  proposition. 

Feb,  24,  1848,  the  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania 
was  incorporated  and  on  the  same  date  the 
Bellefontaine  and  Indiana,  and  on  March  20, 
1850,  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  was  incorporated. 


160 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


A  charter  was  also  granted  at  this  time  for  a 
road  from  Bucyrus  to  Toledo,  but  nothing 
was  done  with  it.  A  generation  later  it  was 
built  as  the  Atlantic  and  Lake  Erie,  now  the 
Toledo  and  Ohio  Central,  owned  by  the  Lake 
Shore  Company. 

It  was  nearly  twenty  years  from  the  time 
the  first  charters  were  granted  until,  with  one 
or  two  exceptions,  work  resulted  in  the  build- 
ing of  railroads.  Crawford  county  citizens 
had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  promotion  of 
the  various  railroad  projects,  but  it  was  the 
Ohio  and  Indiana  road  which  was  strictly  a 
Crawford  county  organization,  in  fact,  pro- 
moted, built,  and  put  in  operation  by  Craw- 
ford county  citizens,  especially  those  of  Bucy- 
rus. The  incorporators  of  the  road  in  1850 
were  John  Anderson,  George  Lauck,  Willis 
Merriman,  Robert  Lee,  John  Frantz,  Josiah 
S.  Plants,  John  J.  Bowman,  George  Quinby, 
John  Simms,  John  A.  Gormley,  Z.  Rowse, 
Aaron  Carey  and  C.  Widman  of  Crawford 
county,  and  D.  Ayres,  R.  McKelley  and  H. 
Peters  of  Wyandot. 

At  this  time  the  Mad  River  road  was  in 
operation  from  Sandusky  to  Cincinnati, 
through  Wyandot  county,  and  a  road  through 
Richland  county  from  Sandusky  through 
Mansfield  to  Mt.  Vernon  and  Newark.  Be- 
tween these  two  the  Cleveland,  Columbus  and 
Cincinnati  was  nearing  completion,  through 
eastern  Crawford.  When  the  charter  of  the 
last  named  road  was  originally  granted  the 
Bucyrus  incorporators  were  strongly  favor- 
able to  its  going  through  Bucyrus,  but  the 
people  at  that  time,  not  knowing  the  value  of 
railroads,  offered  no  special  inducements,  and 
put  forth  a  very  feeble  effort  to  secure  the 
road.  A  proposition  was  submitted  to  the 
voters  of  Crawford  county  at  the  spring  elec- 
tion of  1846  to  empower  the  commissioners 
to  subscribe  for  $50,000  stock  in  the  road  but 
it  was  voted  down:  Yes,  361,  No,  1,507;  ma- 
jority against,  1,146.  Galion  voted  to  take 
$15,000  stock  in  the  new  road  and  it  was  lo- 
cated through  that  town.  Work  was  com- 
menced immediately  and  it  was  pushed  rap- 
idly, as  in  April,  1850,  the  stockholders  were 
called  upon  to  pay  $10  per  share  on  their 
ninth  assessment.  In  May  of  1850,  Alfred 
Kelly,  the  president  of  the  road,  announced 
that  he  had  just  succeeded  in  purchasing,  in 


England,  5,000  tons  of  rails  for  the  new  road. 
It  was  later  in  this  year  that  cars  were  running 
to  Galion.  The  opening  of  the  road  was  on 
Feb.  21,  1 85 1,  and  on  that  day  by  invitation  of 
President  Kelly,  the  Ohio  legislature  and  other 
prominent  people  were  the  guests  of  the  road 
on  the  first  regular  train  from  Columbus  to 
Cleveland,  the  first  railroad  train  in  Crawford 
county. 

Soon  after  this,  death  reaped  his  first  re- 
corded harvest  in  this  county  from  this  new 
method  of  locomotion.  It  is  thus  mentioned 
in  the  "Crawford  County  Forum"  of  April  4 
185 1 : 

Man  Killed— On  the  26th  ult.,  the  cars  on  the  Cleve- 
land and  Columbus  Railroad  ran  over  a  man  who  was 
lymg  on  the  track,  severing  his  head  from  his  body. 
The  man  was  recognized  (we  did  not  learn  his  name), 
and  subject  to  fits,  and  is  supposed  to  have  fallen  on  the 
track.  The  engineer,  as  soon  as  he  saw  him,  reversed 
the  engine,  but  it  was  too  late  to  save  him.  The  ac- 
cident happened  near  Galion. 

As  early  as  April,  1851,  the  road  was  run- 
ning three  passenger  trains  each  way  per  day, 
one  a  fast  train  called  the  "Empire  State  or 
Buckeye  State  Express." 

The  citizens  of  Galion  early  appreciated  the 
value  of  railroads,  for  on  May  24,  1850,  the 
citizens  of  Polk  township  decided  by  a  large 
majority  to  take  $10,000  in  stock  in  the  Belle- 
fontaine  and  Indiana  Railroad,  to  run  from 
Crestline  to  Indianapolis.  The  Bellefontaine 
and  Indiana  was  118  miles  long,  starting  from 
the  main  road  of  the  C.  C.  &  C.  at  Crestline, 
and  running  southwest  to  the  Indiana  line.  In 
1852,  the  company  issued  a  prospectus  of  the 
contemplated  road,  which  is  interesting  as 
showing  the  cost  of  road  building  in  those  days 
and  also  the  prospective  business.  From  this 
prospectus  the  following  facts  are  taken : 

Road  118  1-5  miles  in  length. 
Cost  of  grading  and  masonry,  118  1-5  miles  at 

.  $4,000   $472,800 

Five  miles  double  track  at  $2,000 10,000 

Railway  superstructure,  118  1-5  miles  at  $7,900  933,780 
Railway  superstructure,   five   miles   sidings  at 

^.  $7,900   39,500 

Right  of  way  12,600 

$1,468,680 
The  capital  stock  was  $2,000,000. 
The  following  was  the  estimated  income  to 
be  derived  from  the  new  road : 

75  passengers  each  way  at  $3.00 $4S0 

100   through   passengers,   estimated  one-half   dis- 
tance,  at  $1.50 ■. 300 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


161 


loo  tons  freight,  each  way,  at  $3.60 720 

100  tons  freight,  half  way,  at  $1.80  360 

Transportation,  mails  and  sundries 50 

Total   per   day $i,88o 

Deduct  40  per  cent.,  repairs  and  expenses 752 

Net  income  per  day $1,128 

313  days  in  year  at  $1,128  per  day,  $353,064,  or  about 
20  per  cent,  on  investment. 

The  abo\e  shows  that  in  those  days  it  was 
not  customary  or  e\'en  contemplated  to  run 
trains  on  Sunday.  The  Sandusky,  Mansfield 
and  Newark  road  was  completed  as  far  as 
Mansfield  as  early  as  1846,  and  John  Hoover 
of  Mansfield,  who  was  one  of  the  early  con- 
ductors on  that  road,  states  that  in  the  long 
ago  something  had  gone  wrong  with  the  en- 
gine a  few  miles  north  of  Shelby.  By  the 
time  the  engineer  had  his  engine  in  running 
order  again  night  was  upon  them  and  they 
sought  lodgings  for  the  night  at  a  farm  house 
near  by.  A  passenger  suggested  that  if  they 
had  a  big  lantern  a  man  might  carry  it  ahead 
and  the  train  follow  him  to  Shelby.  This  was 
looked  upon  as  absurd  and  the  man  who  sug- 
gested it  viewed  with  pity,  if  not  with  con- 
tempt, for  who  ever  heard  of  a  train  of  cars 
running  after  night !  * 

In  1852  the  railroads  in  Ohio  were  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Cleveland  and  Columbus;  from  Cleveland, 
through  Gabon  and  Columbus  and  then  to  Cin- 
cinnati. 

Sandusky,  Mansfield  and  Newark;  from 
Sandusky  to  Newark. 

Mad  River  and  Lake  Erie;  from  Sandusky 
to  Tiffin,  Carey,  Bellefontaine  and  Dayton. 

Columbus  to  Newark,  Zanesville  and 
Wheeling. 

Cleveland  to  Alliance. 

Cincinnati,  Hamilton  and  Dayton;  com- 
pleted from  Cincinnati  to  Sidney. 

Lake  Shore ;  completed  from  Toledo  east  to 
mouth  of  Sandusky  river;  building  to  San- 
dusky. 

Ohio  and  Pennsylvania ;  completed  to  Mans- 
field ;  building  to  Crestline. 

Ohio  and  Indiana;  building  from  Crestline 
to  Fort  Wayne. 

Bellefontaine  and  Indiana;  building  from 
Galion  to  Indianapolis. 

In  the  map  of  1852,  giving  the  above  roads, 

*Baughman's  History  of  Richland  county. 


Gallon  is  spelled  "Galeon,"  and  Crestline  is 
two  words,  "Crest  Line." 

It  was  on  Feb.  24,  1848,  that  the  charter 
was  granted  under  which  the  Ohio  and  Penn- 
sylvania was  built,  the  old  Pittsburg,  Fort 
Wayne  and  Chicago  road.  In  the  spring  of 
1848  a  vote  was  taken  in  Crawford  county, 
and  carried,  authorizing  the  county  commis- 
sioners to  subscribe  for  $100,000  of  stock  in 
the  road.  The  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania,  which 
was  building,  found  difficulty  in  raising  suffi- 
cient funds  to  complete  their  road  through 
Ohio  to  the  Indiana  line.  It  was  all  they 
could  do  to  handle  the  eastern  half  of  the 
state.  As  a  result  a  number  of  the  business 
men  of  Bucyrus  secured  a  charter  for  the 
building  of  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  railroad. 
The  Cleveland,  Columbus  and  Cincinnati  road 
was  in  operation,  and  the  charter  of  the  Ohio 
and  Indiana  called  for  its  building  from  "a 
point  on  the  Cleveland,  Columbus  and  Cin- 
cinnati road  near  Seltzer's  tavern  in  Richland 
county,  thence  to  Bucyrus,  to  Upper  Sandusky, 
thence  by  a  route  to  be  determined  to  the  In- 
diana line  and  to  Ft.  Wayne." 

In  March,  1850,  Hon.  C.  K.  Ward,  the 
member  of  the  legislature  from  Crawford,  se- 
cured the  passage  of  an  act  allowing  the 
county  commissioners  of  Crawford  county,  to 
subscribe  the  $100,000  voted  to  the  Ohio  and 
Pennsylvania  road  in  1848,  to  "any  other  rail- 
road passing  through  the  town  of  Bucyrus." 

The  county  commissioners  were  Peter  Con- 
kle,  Phares  Jackson  and  Sidney  Holt.  The 
records  of  the  Crawford  county  commis- 
sioners of  June  7,  1850,  show :  "This  day  the 
county  commissioners  subscribed  for  stock  in 
the  Ohio  and  Indiana  railroad  company  to  the 
amount  of  $100,000,  on  condition  said  com- 
pany shall  agree  to  receive  the  bonds  of  said 
county,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per 
centum  per  annum  from  date  thereof,  at  par, 
in  payment  of  said  stock  subscribed  as  afore- 
said." At  the  same  meeting  they  authorized  a 
tax  to  be  levied  of  $650  for  railroad  purposes. 

On  Sept.  2,  1850,  they  issued  the  first  ten 
bonds  of  $1,000  each;  then  legal  complications 
arose  and  it  took  many  months  to  compromise 
the  trouble,  but  eventually  the  matter  was  har- 
monized, and  at  their  November  meeting  of 
1852  the  balance  of  the  bonds  were  issued.  J. 
N.  Frye  had  succeeded  Peter  Conkle  as  com- 


162 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


missioner  in  December  of  185 1,  but  on  account 
of  his  health  attended  but  few  meetings,  and 
when  it  came  to  the  signing  of  the  bonds  he 
had  to  sign  by  proxy  as  witness  the  following : 

"I  hereby  authorize  and  empower  A.  M.  Jackson  to 
sign  my  name  to  all  railroad  bonds  that  the  other  com- 
missioners of  Crawford  County  are  willing  to  sign  their 
names  to. 

"West  Liberty,  Nov.  19th,  1852. 

"J.  N.  Feye." 

Mr.  Jackson  was  county  auditor  at  the  time, 
and  while  the  proxy  was  not  in  the  legal 
phraseology  of  today  it  said  exactly  what  the 
writer  wanted  to  say  and  the  bonds  were  is- 
sued, and  accepted. 

In  April,  1850,  the  books  were  opened  to 
secure  subscriptions  for  the  new  road  at  the 
business  places  of  George  Lauck,  John  Ander- 
son, Willis  Merriman  and  John  J.  Bowman  in 
Bucyrus,  and  Robert  Lee  and  John  Frantz  in 
Leesville.  On  May  4,  a  meeting  was  held  in 
the  interest  of  the  road.  Samuel  Myers  was 
chairman  and  Andrew  Failor  secretary.  The 
object  of  the  meeting  was  stated  by  J.  S. 
Plants  and  remarks  were  made  by  S.  R.  Har- 
ris, Willis  Merriman,  Samuel  Myers  and  J.  S. 
Plants  of  Bucyrus,  and  Robert  McKelly  and 
H.  Peters  of  Upper  Sandusky.  A  liberal 
amount  of  money  was  subscribed  to  the  stock 
of  the  road,  and  a  resolution  passed  soliciting 
the  county  commissioners  to  subscribe  the 
$100,000  to  the  road. 

The  township  trustees  decided  to  submit  to 
a  vote  the  question  of  Bucyrus  township  sub- 
scribing for  $15,000  worth  of  stock  in  the  new 
road.  The  constable,  Lewis  Stevenson,  issued 
the  call  for  the  election,  but  there  was  pro- 
nounced opposition,  and  the  friends  of  the 
road  believing  it  might  interfere  with  their 
securing  the  $100,000  already  voted,  the  elec- 
tion was  not  held 

On  July  4,  1850,  the  stockholders  of  the 
road  met  at  the  courthouse  and  elected  Wil- 
lis Merriman,  George  Quinby,  Henry  Peters, 
Franklin  Adams,  Jacob  Augustein  and  Josiah 
S.  Plants  as  directors,  and  the  next  day  the 
board  organized  by  electing  Willis  Merriman, 
president,  George  Lauck,  secretary,  and  John 
A.  Gormly,  treasurer.  And  by  July  26,  the 
sur\'eyors  were  at  work  locating  the  route 
from  "at  or  near  Seltzer's  tavern"  to  Bucyrus. 
Another  survey  was  made,  commencing  at  the 
C.  C.  &  C.  at    Gallon   and   passing   through 


the  southern  part  of  Bucyrus,  along  what  is 
now  Lucas  street.  This  was  the  favorite  route 
of  the  directors  and  of  the  engineer,  as  the 
more  level  ground  made  the  cost  of  construc- 
tion much  less.  President  Merriman  had  sev- 
eral meetings  with  the  Ohio  and  Pennsyl- 
vania ofHcials  over  the  crossing  point,  the 
eastern  road  favoring  the  crossing  point  north 
of  Seltzer's  on  account  of  cheaper  construc- 
tion, the  western  road  favoring  Gabon.  In 
October  President  Merriman  reported  that  the 
Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  had  decided  to  make 
their  western  terminus  at  a  point  on  the  C.  C. 
&  C.  road,  called  Crest  Line,  three  and  one- 
half  miles  northeast  of  Gallon.  He  stated  the 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  would  reach  Massillon 
by  June,  1851,  and  Crest  Line  in  two  years. 
That  the  arrangement  was  for  the  Ohio  and 
Indiana  to  commence  their  road  at  a  point  near 
Seltzer's  tavern.  The  country  west  of  Mans- 
field was  such  that  the  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio 
preferred  crossing  the  C.  C.  &  C.  track  about 
two  miles  northeast  of  Crestline,  but  to  accom- 
modate the  Ohio  and  Indiana  and  the  Belle- 
fontaine  and  Indiana  the  Pennsylvania  com- 
pany reluctantly  consented  to  make  the  point 
at  Crest  Line,  providing  the  Ohio  and  Indi- 
ana road  would  construct  their  road  to  Bucy- 
rus, commencing  at  Crest  Line.  And  the 
Belle  fontaine  and  Indiana  railway  also  com- 
mence at  Crest  Line,  and  the  Pennsylvania  and 
Ohio  will  build  no  further  west.  Merriman 
then  adds :  "A  railroad  from  Bucyrus  to  Gal- 
ion  could  be  constructed  cheaper  than  to 
Crest  Line,  but  if  Gabon  is  adopted  as  the 
eastern  terminus,  the  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania 
will  cross  two  miles  northeast  of  Crest  Line 
and  later  extend  west  on  a  line  that  will  par- 
allel the  Ohio  and  Indiana.  Crest  Line  was 
the  southern  ultimatum  of  the  Ohio  and  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  must  con- 
nect at  that  point." 

The  $10,000  in  bonds  issued  by  the  commis- 
sioners in  September  Mr.  Merriman  announced 
he  had  sold  in  New  York  "at  good  prices." 

Then  came  the  trouble  in  the  court.  An  in- 
junction was  secured  at  Tiffin  before  Judge 
Bowen  restraining  the  commissioners  from  the 
further  issue  of  bonds,  Josiah  Scott  and  J.  D. 
Sears  being  the  attorneys  for  the  commission- 
ers. Commenting  on  the  injunction  allowed 
by  Jvidge  Bowen,  the  "Forum"  said:  "Deep 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


163 


are  the  murmurings  against  Judge  Bowen  for 
his  decision  in  this  case,  while  in  the  portion  of 
the  county  remote  from  the  seat  of  justice  the 
news  will  be  received  with  joy." 

On  Feb.  ii,  185 1,  President  Merriman  re- 
ported to  the  directors  that  the  cost  of  grading 
and  bridging  for  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  road 
and  getting  the  roadbed  ready  for  the  rails 
was  $3,000  per  mile. 

The  opposers  of  the  road  were  still  active 
and  endeavored  to  have  the  legislature  re- 
peal the  act  which  gave  the  commissioners 
power  to  buy  stock  in  the  road,  and  Represen- 
tative Ward  presented  a  petition  signed  by 
335  citizens  of  the  county  against  the  repeal. 
Mr.  Ward's  influence  was  such  that  the  Legis- 
lature took  no  action. 

In  April  a  motion  was  heard  to  dissolve  the 
injunction  but  it  was  overruled,  and  in  June 
the  case  came  before  the  supreme  court,  and 
they  announced  they  would  reserve  their  de- 
cision until  December,  the  directors  deciding, 
however,  to  continue  their  work  on  the  road. 
On  April  8,  1852,  at  Bucyrus,  the  contract  was 
let  for  the  grading  of  the  road  from  Crest 
Line  to  Upper  Sandusky,  the  contracts  being 
let  in  sections  of  one  mile  each,  the  object  be- 
ing to  have  the  work  completed  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. Of  the  29  sections  between  Crest  Line 
and  Upper  Sandusky  over  two-thirds  went  to 
Bucyrus  parties. 

January  2,  1852,  Jesse  R.  Straughan,  the 
engineer  in  charge  of  the  construction,  re- 
ported that  on  the  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  the 
grading  was  completed  from  Pittsburg  to  one 
mile  east  of  Wooster.  That  part  from  Pitts- 
burg to  Alliance,  81  miles,  was  completed  and 
in  use,  except  nine  miles.  From  Massillon 
east  the  iron  was  being  laid  and  the  road  would 
be  working  about  January  25,  when  track  lay- 
ing will  be  extended  to  Wooster,  which  will 
take  about  sixty  days.  From  Wooster  to 
Crestline  a  force  is  at  work  on  the  heavy  sec- 
tions. The  lighter  sections  are  about  com- 
pleted and  timber  in  progress  of  preparation. 
By  April  next  the  distance  of  staging  on  direct 
route  from  Bucyrus  will  be  86  miles,  and  in 
twelve  months  the  railroad  will  be  completed 
to  Crestline,  and  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  can  be 
permitted  to  begin. 

In  January,  1852,  Franklin  Adams  suc- 
ceeded George  Lauck  as  secretary  of  the  road. 


The  supreme  court  also  this  month  rendered 
their  decision  in  the  injunction  case  of  James 
Griffith  against  the  commissioners.  It  did  not 
meet  the  point  at  issue,  but  made  the  evasive 
decision  that  the  supreme  court  had  no  juris- 
diction while  the  suit  was  pending  in  the  com- 
mon pleas  court.  The  matter  was  therefore 
returned  to  the  court  of  common  pleas,  and 
as  stated  above  a  satisfactory  settlement  was 
made  with  Griffith  and  the  bonds  issued. 

The  legal  point  involved  in  this  case  was  as 
to  the  constitutionality  of  the  law  allowing  a 
majority  to  vote  public  money  to  a  railroad. 
It  was  settled  later  in  a  case  from  another 
county  that  such  a  law  was  constitutional.  On 
this  question,  in  1852,  Judge  Spaulding  held 
that  "the  legislature  has  no  constitutional 
power  to  authorize  a  majority  of  citizens  in  a 
county  to  vote  subscription  of  stock  to  a  rail- 
road company  that  shall  be  binding  on  the 
property  of  the  minority."  Judge  Spaulding 
was  alone  in  this  view,  but  his  minority  opinion 
is  the  law  today,  showing  "the  stone  which  the 
builders  rejected,  the  same  is  become  the  head 
of  the  corner." 

During  the  year  1852  railroad  matters  at 
Bucyrus  moved  along  at  high  pressure.  In 
January  the  directors  held  their  annual  meet- 
ing at  that  village  lasting  four  days,  and  let 
the  contract  to  William  Mitchell  &  Co.  for  the 
construction  of  the  entire  road  from  Crestline 
to  Fort  Wayne,  he  to  furnish  everything  ex- 
cept the  rails  and  rolling  stock,  and  to  com- 
mence work  between  Crestline  and  Bucyrus  as 
soon  as  the  individual  subscriptions  amounted 
to  $45,000.  The  subscriptions  at  that  time 
were  about  half  that  amount.  It  was  also  de- 
cided people  could  pay  for  their  stock  in  land 
at  a  cash  value  to  be  fixed  by  the  seller  and  the 
treasurer  of  the  company.  On  March  5,  1852, 
the  town  council  passed  an  ordinance  and  for 
the  usual  one  dollar  consideration  the  rail- 
road company  was  authorized  to  construct  a 
road  on  and  along  Galen  street  and  to  lay  one 
or  more  tracks  and  to  repair  them.  The  ordi- 
nance was  signed  by  S.  R.  Harris  as  mayor 
and  Charles  Rupp  as  recorder.  On  April  30th 
came  the  first  call  for  payment  of  stock,  which 
was  to  be  paid  in  ten  installments  of  $5  each  to 
John  A.  Gormly.  In  June  the  entire  road  was 
under  contract  in  mile  sections,  all  to  be  com- 
pleted by  July  I,  1853. 


164 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


The  following  was  the  distribution  of  stock 
for  the  building  of  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  road : 

County.  Individual.  Total. 

Crawford   count}-    $100,000  $50,000  $150,000 

Wyandot  county    50,000  25,000  75,000 

Allen  county 100,000  50,000  150,000 

Van  Wert  county   50,000  5,000  5S,ooo 

Allen  county,  Ind 100,000  S7,ooo  157,000 

Contractors    150,000  150,000 


$400,000      $337,000      $737,000 

While  Hardin  county  was  organized  in  1833,  the  road 
passed  through  the  northern  part  of  that  county,  all 
marsh  land,  and  was  regarded  as  of  so  little  benefit  to 
the  county,  that  Hardin  contributed  nothing. 

In  July  President  Merriman  returned  from 
New  York  and  stated  that  he  had  arranged  for 
the  entire  amount  of  rails  needed  for  the  road 
and  that  they  would  be  delivered  in  New  York 
from  England  by  May  i,  1853.  He  had,  also, 
made  a  contract  for  the  locomotives.  On  Oc- 
tober 5th  the  injunction  case  came  on  before 
the  court  at  Upper  Sandusky  and  the  injunc- 
tion was  dissolved  to  the  great  satisfaction  of 
the  citizens  in  and  around  Bucyrus,  and  Bucy- 
rus's  difficulties  in  securing  the  first  railroad 
were  over. 

The  report  of  the  president  in  January 
stated  that  he  had  purchased  6,000  tons  of  the 
best  T  rails  to  be  delivered  early  in  the  spring. 
The  distance  from  Crestline  to  Ft.  Wayne  was 
131  miles,  and  the  cost  of  construction  would 
be  $14,045  per  mile.  He  stated  that  his  ac- 
companying estimate  was  based  on  the  high 
price  of  iron  rails,  $66  a  ton. 

Road-bed,     track-laying,     spikes     and     station 

buildings,  per  contract $740,000 

12,000  tons  rails  at  present  prices 800,000 

Machinery  for  first  year 210,000 

Right  of  way,  engineering  and  incidentals....  90,000 


Average,  $14,045  per  mile $1,840,000 

During  the  spring  of  1853  work  was  pushed 
rapidly,  the  papers  announcing  in  April  "Sev- 
eral hundred  new  hands  have  arrived  to  work 
on  the  road  near  Bucyrus.  The  ties  are  mostly 
delivered  between  Crestline  and  Bucyrus,  and 
it  is  expected  the  road  will  reach  Bucyrus. 
July  4."  On  July  15,  the  fourth  had  passed 
and  the  announcement  was:  "Rails  are  laid 
three  miles  this  side  of  Crestline.  If  there  are 
no  strikes  the  work  will  be  done  to  Bucyrus  in 
two  weeks." 

On  August  19,  the  death  of  Lon  Dixon  oc- 
curred   at    Bucyrus.      He   had    been   assigned 


there  in  185 1  as  the  resident  engineer  in  the 
building  of  the  road.  Another  young  man  to 
come  in  1852  was  Cyrus  W.  Fisher  who  had 
the  position  of  telegraph  operator;  his  salary 
was  $20  a  month,  and  half  of  this  was  paid  to 
the  McCoy  House  for  room  and  board,  but  it 
was  at  Bucyrus  he  had  his  first  experience  in 
railroad  work ;  later  going  to  Belief ontaine,  en- 
tering the  army  in  the  Twenty-third  Ohio, 
rising  to  the  rank  of  colonel,  and  becoming 
one  of  the  prominent  railroad  men  of  Colo- 
rado, and  in  1889  returning  to  Bucyrus,  where 
he  still  resides. 

The  first  train  arrived  on  Wednesday  even- 
ing, August  31,  and  of  course  there  were  great 
demonstrations.  The  new  road  and  the  iron 
horse  were  equally  a  wonder  to  the  small  boys, 
who  were  the  same  as  they  are  now,  judging 
from  the  following  from  the  Forum  of  Sept. 
2,  1853: 

"Timely  Warning. — We  learn  that  our  town  boys  are 
in  the  habit  of  laying  such  things  as  spikes,  chips,  etc., 
on  the  railroad  track  to  see  what  eflfect  the  cars  will 
produce  in  running  over  them.  Such  acts  might  throw 
a  whole  train  off  the  track ;  it  is  also  a  penitentiary  of- 
fence. We  also  see  small  boys,  from  5  to  10  years  of 
age,  playing  around  the  cars,  not  knowing  or  caring 
about  the  danger  they  are  in.  Parents  should  keep  chil- 
dren away  or  go  with  them  to  see  the  cars." 

The  following  from  the  Forum  is  the  ac- 
count of  the  arrival  of  the  first  train  in  Bucy- 
rus, Aug.  31,  1853: 

RAILROAD  EXCURSION  TO  BUCYRUS. 

The  first  passenger  train  on  the  Ohio  and  Indiana 
Railroad  arrived  at  this  place  last  Wednesday  evening 
(Aug.  31),  on  which,  according  to  previous  arrange- 
ment, our  Pittsburg  friends  made  us  a  visit.  A  com- 
mittee, consisting  of  Dr.  W.  Merriman,  president  of  the 
Ohio  and  Indiana  Railroad  company,  Gen.  S.  Myers, 
Col.  G.  P.  Seal,  Capt.  John  Miller  and  M.  P.  Bean,  re- 
ceived the  party  at  Crestline  and  came  down  with  them. 
On  arriving  here  the  committee  of  arrangements  con- 
ducted them  to  the  American  and  National,  where 
sumptuous  suppers  were  in  waiting.  After  supper  the 
party  were  conducted  to  Sims  New  Hall  where  a  table 
was  prepared  filled  with  eatables  and  drinkables  (on  the 
temperance  principle  of  course).  Dr.  Merriman  then 
welcomed  them  to  the  hospitalities  of  our  town,  arid 
was  replied  to  by  Gen.  Robinson,  president  of  the  Ohio 
and  Pennsylvania  road.  Speeches  were  also  made  by 
Mr.  Roberts,  chief  engineer  of  the  Ohio  and  Penn- 
sylvania, John  Larwill,  Esq.,  of  Wooster,  Judge  Leith, 
of  Wyandot,  Mr.  Straughan,  chief  engineer  of  the  Ohio 
and  Indiana,  and  others.  The  speeches  were  not 
lengthy,  but  well-timed  and  to  the  point.  The  party  re- 
mained over  night,  leaving  early  next  morning.  Our 
citizens  having  been  invited  to  take  a  ride  to  Pittsburg, 
quite  a  number  of  gentlemen  and  ladies  went  out  with 
them  to  that  place. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS  167 

As  early  as  October,  1853,  it  was  announced  mean  what  it  does  now,  as  the  connection  to 

that  the  accommodation  train  between  Crest-  Cleveland  meant  a  wait  of  three  hours  and 

line  and  Bucyrus  paid  expenses.     The  follow-  thirty-five  minutes,  and  to  Columbus  and  Cin- 

ing  was  the  first  time  card:  cinnati  of  five  hours  and  forty-five  minutes. 

Office  Ohio  and  Indiana  Railroad.  There  was  one  advantage  in  the  fact  that  the 

Bucyrus,  Sept.  22,  1853.  passenger   desirmg   to   make   the    connection 

From  and  after  Tuesday,  Sept.  27,  an  accommoda-  never  worried  as  to  whether  his  train  was  on 

tion  train  will  be  run  on  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  Rail-  ,•„                ,         r        .      .„„i„^„^„j„.„^  ,„^i^^-^;^\ 

road  between  Bucyrus  and  Crestline,  as  follows:  time  or  not,  a  few  hours  late  made  no  material 

Leaves  Bucyrus  11  :oo  a.  m.  difiference. 

Arrives  Crestline  12:15?.  m.  During   the   construction   of   the   road  the 

Leaves  Crestline   2  :oo  p.  m.  ,        ,         °         ,      1  ,             ^  t>                            1        11 

Arrives  Bucyrus  3:15  p.  m.  headquarters  had  been  at  liucyrus;  nearly  all 

Lester  Bliss,  Superintendent.  the  directors  each  year  had  been  Bucyrus  men. 

It  was  later  announced  that  persons  desir-  It  had  been  promoted  and  built  by  the  perse- 

ing  to  send  freight  must  have  it  at  the  depot  verance,  the  energy  and  the  push  of  the  busi- 

one  hour  before  the  train  leaves  '^^^^  "^^"  °^  Bucyrus.    All  over  the  great  state 

The   freight  agent  was  taking  no  chances  °^  Ohio  are  cities  and  villages  that  have  done 

on  being  swamped  at  the  last  minute.    Besides,  ™^^ch  for  their  improvement,  but  in  the  entire 

no  one  was  in  a  hurry,  not  even  the  train  it-  ^i^t  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  any  act  in  any 

self,  as  it  jogged  along  to  Crestline  at  the  rate  0"^  that  equals  the  building  of  so  important  a 

of  ten  miles  an  hour.    There  was  no  danger  of  ""o^d,   almost  single  handed  and  alone,  by  a 

a  "head  on"  or  a  "rear  end"  collision,  it  being  ^'ll^ge  of  1365  people.     It  stands  today  the 

the  only  train  on  the  road.     But  it  should  be  greatest  monument  to  the  enterprise  of  the  citi- 

remembered  the  roadbed  was  built  at  a  cost  of  ^^ns  of  Bucyrus  of  half  a  century  ago,  and  a 

about   $5,650    (including   stations)    per  mile,  fulfillment  of  the  prophetic  statement  which 

and  the  most  skillful  work  of  the  engineer  was  described  the  little  village  at  its  birth  as  "a 

required  to  keep  his  engine  on  the  track.    That  lively  post  town"  m  Crawford  county, 

this  road-bed  was  improved  rapidly  is  shown  When  the  annual  meeting  of  the  stockhold- 

from  the  fact  that  in  the  spring  of  1854  the  ers  was  held  in  Bucyrus,  m  January,  1854,  the 

new  time  card  gave  the  time  of  the  fast  train  road  was  m  operation  as  far  as  Forest.    Up  to 

from  Crestline  to  Bucyrus  at  43  minutes,  and  this   time  nearly   all  the   directors   had   been 

the  accommodation  at  50  minutes.     It  was  un-  Bucyrus  men.     At  this  meeting  the  following 

doubtedly  safety  that  was   looked  to   in  the  directors  were  elected:  Willis  Mernman  and 

running  of  the  trains  as  the  return  trip  from  P-  S.  Marshall  of  Bucyrus ;  Judge  Hanna  and 

Bucyrus  to  Crestline,  up  grade,  was  scheduled  B.  Hoagland  of  Fort  Wayne;  William  Robin- 

for  40  minutes  for  the  fast  line.  son  of  Pittsburg;  Robert  McKelly  of  Upper 

During  the  fall  the  work  west  was  pushed  Sandusky,  and  Mr.  Jacobs  of  Lima.  This 
rapidly,  and  in  December  the  road  had  reached  board  is  interesting  as  showing  the  first  tend- 
within  two  miles  of  Patterson*  (Forest)  and  ency  toward  the  combination  of  railroad  inter- 
many  passengers  were  on  the  trains  daily  to  ests.  Mr.  Robinson  was  president  of  the  Ohio 
make  connection  with  the  Mad  River  road  at  and  Pennsylvania,  from  Pittsburg  to  Crestline, 
Patterson  for  the  north  or  south,  the  passen-  Mr.  Merriman  was  president  of  the  Ohio 
gers  walking  the  two  miles  intervening,  and  and  Indiana,  from  Crestline  to  Ft.  Wayne, 
the  railroad  furnishing  conveyances  to  trans-  nearly  completed;  Mr.  Hanna  was  president 
port  their  baggage.  By  January  the  two  mile  of  the  Indiana  and  Chicago,  from  Ft.  Wayne 
gap  was  completed,  and  the  road  advertised  to  Chicago,  building.  The  directors  organized 
connection  at  that  point- for  Cincinnati  and  by  electing  Willis  Merriman  president; 
Sandusky.  It  also  advertised  connection  at  George  Quinby  treasurer;  C.  W.  Butterfield 
Crestline  for  Cincinnati  and  Cleveland.  But  secretary,  and  J.  B.  Sears  solicitor,  all  from 
connection  in  those  days  certainly  did  not  Bucyrus.  During  the  year  Mr.  Merriman  re- 
signed the  presidency  of  the  road  and  was  suc- 

*The  road  crossed  the  Mad  River  and  Lake  Erie  one  ^ppA^A  k„  Tudo-p  Hanna    nf  Ft   Wavnp 

mile  from  Patterson;  and  at  the  crossing  a  new  town  <^eedecl  Dy  Judge  Llanna,  Ot  tt.  Wayne, 

was  started,  which  is  now  Forest.  ihe  hrst  accident  on  the  new  road  occurred 


168 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


on  Feb.  25,  1854,  when  a  man  named  Michael 
Kenney,  who  was  employed  on  a  freight  train, 
was  accidentally  killed  a  short  distance  west 
of  Bucyrus.  The  train  ran  off  the  track  and 
threw  him  between  the  cars,  the  wheels  run- 
ning over  him,  killing  him  almost  instantly. 
He  was  taken  to  his  home  at  Shelby  for  burial. 

Crawford  county  was  now  one  of  the  most 
important  railroad  counties  in  the  state,  with 
the  most  important  north  and  south  road  pass- 
ing through  Gallon  and  Crestline  and  the  most ' 
important  east  and  west  road  passing  through 
Crestline  and  Bucyrus.  The  country  at  that 
time,  especially  west  of  Bucyrus,  was  still  in 
a  very  wild  condition,  very  sparsely  settled. 
The  new  road  east  of  Bucyrus  is  thus  described 
by  William  Crosby,  the  editor  of  the  Journal, 
and  it  A\as  probably  his  first  extended  trip  on 
a  railroad : 

"On  Thursday,  June  15  (1854),  at  12:30 
we  took  the  express  train  at  Bucyrus,  but  with 
scarcely  time  to  be  seated  we  found  ourselves 
at  Crestline,  amid  the  clattering  of  the  dinner 
gong,  the  confused  din  of  a  thousand  voices, 
with  as  many  different  orders  and  wants;  the 
rush  of  the  hungry  multitude  to  Mr.  Hall's 
dining  saloon,  the  scraping  and  thumping  of 
chairs,  the  rattling  of  dishes,  knives  and  forks, 
and  the  occasional  crash  of  a  plate,  the  whole 
mixed  up  into  a  continuous  fountain  of  noise 
by  the  stunning  effect  of  escaping  steam. 
After  fortifying  the  inner  man  against  the  de- 
mands of  nature  for  a  time  at  a  table  teeming 
with  all  the  luxuries  of  early  summer,  supplied 
with  the  profusion  and  served  in  that  enticing 
style  which  only  such  caterers  as  friend  Hall 
of  the  Crestline  House  understand,  we  seated 
ourselves  in  the  cars  of  the  Ohio  and  Pennsyl- 
vania road  for  Pittsburg. 

"Attached  to  an  iron  steed  whose  powers 
equalled  the  tornado  and  whose  speed  sur- 
passed the  whirlwind,  we  swept  along  the  iron 
course  threatening  destruction  to  everything 
that  would  impede  the  onward  flight.  Un- 
fortunately this  rapid  progress  resulted  in  the 
killing  of  three  cows  at  as  many  different 
points,  which  careless  owners  or  inefficient  in- 
closures  permitted  (the  cows,  not  the  points) 
to  wander  from  their  proper  range.  Stop- 
ping only  at  the  more  important  stations  to 
drop  or  pick  up  such  passengers  as  awaited, 
still  onward  we  coursed  through  clouds  of  dust 


which  rendered  the  various  tints  of  bonnet- 
trimmings — the  brilliant  colors  of  ladies' 
dresses  and  the  jet  coats  of  the  "sterner  sex" 
— all  of  a  russet  brown ;  penetrating  eyes,  ears, 
nose  and  mouth  with  a  pertinacity  irresistible 
to  all  the  puffing,  blowing  and  brushing  of 
those  who  endeavored  to  escape  this  disagree- 
able appendage  of  railroad  traveling. 

"We  supped  at  Alliance — a  new  town  at  the 
junction  of  the  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  and  the 
Cleveland  and  Pittsburg  road.  At  this  place 
all  the  laggards  and  loungers,  together  with 
those  peculiar  natures  that  love  to  be  regaled 
with  an  exhibition  of  abilities  in  the  science 
pugilistic,  were  supplied  with  a  display  to  their 
taste  in  the  form  of  a  brutal  fight  between  the 
runners  and  drummers  of  a  couple  of  opposi- 
tion eating-houses.  One  of  these  houses 
charged  50  cents  a  meal,  the  other  25  cents — 
hence  the  hostility.  We  were  "sharpset,"  so 
leaving  the  more  interested  to  see  the  end  of 
the  fight,  and  discuss  the  brutalizing  merits, 
we  made  our  way  into  one  of  the  dining  halls 
and  endeavored  to  make  a  meal  on  allowance 
time  only  extending  to  fifteen  minutes.  After 
collecting  off  of  sparingly  supplied  dishes 
something  to  start  on,  the  eatables  commenced 
disappearing  in  the  magical  manner  peculiar 
to  good  appetite.  When  about  fairly  inter- 
ested in  the  game  of  "open  and  shut"  the  mo- 
tion of  the  rapidly  vibrating  knife  and  fork 
was  suddenly  arrested  by  a  gentle  tap  on  the 
arm,  and  the  information  of,  "fifty  cents  each, 
sir,"  gently  whispered  in  the  ear.  There  was 
no  escaping  the  extortion,  so  we  forked  over 
— but  to  those  who  travel  this  route  we  advise 
the  house  on  the  right,  going  east,  not  that  we 
can  indorse  the  table,  but  because  we  think 
that  it  could  not  be  much  more  scantily  sup- 
plied, and  that  we  think  25  cents  an  ample 
price  for  a  meal,  to  discuss  which  you  have 
bvit  fifteen  minutes  time  allowed,  and  which 
anxious  watching  of  moving  cars  reduces  to 
five,  and  moreover  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  do 
any  degree  of  justice  in  the  way  of  mastica- 
tion to  a  dime's  worth  of  food  per  minute. 

"Reached  Allegheny  City  at  8:30,  just  eight 
hours  from  Bucyrus — 200  miles.  Here  we 
had  to  go  through  all  the  disagreeable  attend- 
ants of  city  stations,  resulting  from  the  con- 
flicting interests  of  bus  and  hack  drivers,  ho- 
tel runners,  etc.     Finally  reached  friends." 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


169 


In  the  fall  of  1854,  the  Ohio  and  Indiana 
road  was  completed,  and  Mr.  Creever  accom- 
panied the  first  train  to  Fort  Wayne,  and  his 
account  of  that  trip  will  give  the  reader  an 
idea  of  the  western  end  of  the  line  at  that 
time. 

"On  Wednesday,  November  15,  at  9  o'clock 
the  excursion  train  left  Bucyrus  for-  Fort 
Wayne,  the  occasion  being  the  opening  of  the 
Ohio  and  Indiana  road.  When  the  train 
reached  Bucyrus,  delegates  were  on  from 
Pittsburg  to  Mansfield.  At  Upper  Sandusky 
we  were  joined  by  the  Wyandot  delegation  and 
at  Forest  by  a  few  more. 

"Leaving  Forest,  20  miles  out.  Judge 
Hanna,  president,  was  found  missing.  He 
had  gotten  off  at  Forest  to  oversee  some  work 
and  the  train  left  without  him.  At  Johns- 
town* two  freight  trains  were  waiting  the 
passage  of  the  excursion  train.  Chief  Engi- 
neer Straughan  ordered  one  of  the  locomotives 
to  go  to  Forest  and  bring  back  the  missing 
president. 

"Between  Johnstown  and  Lafayette  we 
passed  over  Hog  Creek  Marsh.  At  the  time 
the  road  was  located  this  prairie  was  covered 
with  water,  above  the  surface  of  which  naught 
was  to  be  seen  but  the  coarse  sedge  grass  or 
reed,  growing  and  undulating  in  the  breeze. 
Several  ditches  have  been  cut  across  the  prairie 
and  the  surface  water  well  drawn  off.  The 
soil  now  begins  to  wear  a  tolerable  appearance. 
The  prairie  embraces  from  15,000  to  20,000 
acres,  occasionally  dotted  with  little  clumps 
of  bushes  and  groves  of  timber.  It  was  a  beau- 
tiful and  novel  sight,  appearing  like  a  great 
lake  surrounded  by  wilderness. 

"At  Lima  we  met  the  mail  train,  which 
brought  a  large  delegation  from  Ft.  Wayne  to 
meet  our  excursionists.  Here  we  were  saluted 
with  several  rounds  of  artillery  from  the  Mad 
Anthony  Guards  of  Ft.  Wayne,  and  cheering 
music  by  Strubey's  band  of  Ft.  Wayne.  But 
the  grand  feature  at  Lima  was  the  collation. 
Munificent  and  magnificent.  The  caterers  did 
justice  to  the  hungry  guests,  and  keen  appe- 
tites did  ample  justice  to  the  collation.  It  was 
specifically  set  forth  in  the  invitation  card  that 
the  collation  would  return  to  Ft.  Wayne  and 
every  guest  appeared  to  labor  under  the  im- 

*Ada. 


pression  that  it  was  his  duty  to  see  that  the 
specification  was  fulfilled,  and  accordingly 
each  set  to  work  to  carry  out  the  requirement. 
After  the  collation  was  loadened  up  to  the  ut- 
most capacity  of  the  excursionists — which, 
however,  was  not  sufficient  to  absorb  the  en- 
tire ^'fixins"  by  a  large  amount — the  company, 
while  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  missing  presi- 
dent, passed  the  time  in  friendly  intercourse 
with  the  Ft.  Wayne  delegation,  who  met  us 
with  warm  and  hearty  greeting.  After  delay- 
ing for  some  time  it  was  concluded  to  move 
on  slowly  that  the  express  locomotive  might 
overtake  us. 

"At  Lima  the  excursion  train  had  three 
passenger  cars  added,  increasing  it  to  ten  cars, 
well,  but  comfortably  filled.  The  Ft.  Wayne 
delegation  spread  themselves  throughout  the 
train,  giving  out  free  tickets  to  the  supper  at 
Ft.  Wayne  in  the  evening,  and  also  distribut- 
ing tickets  containing  the  name  of  the  person 
at  whose  residence  the  holder  was  to  be  enter- 
tained for  the  night.  Our  card  showed  we 
were  to  be  with  Thomas  Tigar  of  the  Ft. 
Wayne  Sentinel.  We  made  no  calculation  for 
such  a  result,  but  as  such  was  our  luck  we 
philosophically  marshalled  our  courage,  and 
prepared  to  abide  with  the  Tigars. 

"A  short  time  after  leaving  Lima  an  ac- 
cident occurred  which  had  like  to  turn  our  en- 
joyment to  sorrow.  The  chief  engineer  and 
superintendent,  Mr.  Straughan,  was  very 
anxious  for  the  arrival  of  the  president,  Judge 
Hanna,  and  while  keeping  a  lookout  to  the 
rear  from  the  platform  of  one  of  the  cars,  he 
by  some  means  lost  his  balance  and  was  pre- 
cipitated from  the  train.  The  alarm  was  given 
and  the  train  immediately  checked  and  backed. 
Mr.  Straughan  was  taken  up  by  some  men  who 
were  working  near  the  spot  where  the  accident 
occurred  and  when  the  train  arrived  he  was 
taken  to  the  rear  car.  After  an  examination  by 
some  physicians  who  were  aboard,  he  was, 
beyond  being  stunned  and  bruised,  pronounced 
uninjured.  This  pleasing  intelligence  was 
quickly  spread  from  car  to  car,  and  soon  the 
company  assumed  its  wonted  tone.  In  a  few 
minutes  after,  the  express  locomotive  overtook 
us  with  the  president  aboard.  He  was  heartily 
greeted  by  the  excursionists.  Everything  be- 
ing thus  righted,  our  iron  steed  took  a  more 


170 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


rapid  gait,  but  we  had  tarried  so  much  on  the 
way  that  we  could  not  possibly  arrive  at  Ft. 
Wayne  until  long  after  schedule  time. 

"At  Delphos  the  road  crosses  the  Miami 
Canal.  After  leaving  Delphos  the  next  im- 
portant point  for  which  we  kept  a  lookout  was 
the  State  Line,  but  although  the  train  stopped, 
and  the  brakeman  called  out  "State  Line,"  yet 
with  all  our  vigilance  we  could  not  see  it.  We 
could  discover  no  line  between  the  Buckeye 
State  and  Hoosierdom.  Inseparably  united  as 
the  two  states  are  in  feeling  and  interest,  may 
a  no  more  tangible  line  ever  be  drawn  to  sep- 
arate them.  Hand  in  hand  may  they  march 
onward  and  upward  to  the  great  and  prosper- 
ous destiny  that  awaits  their  united  energy  and 
enterprise. 

"From  Upper  Sandusky  westward  to  the 
neighborhood  of  Ft.  Wayne  the  great  feature 
of  the  country  is  wilderness — almost  unbroken. 
At  Lima,  Delphos  and  Van  Wert  the  forest  is 
driven  back,  and  a  thriving,  busy  population  is 
fast  turning  the  wilderness  into  a  garden,  but 
many  years  will  pass  before  Ohio  has  attained 
a  population  nearing  her  capacity. 

"The  energy  and  enterprise  of  the  Buck- 
eyes miist  be  great  to  have  raised  Ohio  to  rank 
as  the  third  State  in  the  Union,  while  two- 
thirds  of  her  rich  soil  rests  undisturbed  be- 
neath the  shade  of  the  primitive  forest.  Rank- 
ing, as  the  State  now  does,  what  must  be  her 
ultimate  destiny,  when  the  wilderness  shall  be 
forced  from  her  surface  and  teeming,  busy 
life  usurps  its  place,  causing  fruitful  farms, 
populous  towns,  and  busy  workshops  to  oc- 
cupy the  complete  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land. 

"Half  past  four  is  the  hour  at  which  we 
should  have  arrived  at  Ft.  Wayne,  but  we 
reached  there  at  six.  We  marched  to  the  sup- 
per room  preceded  by  a  band.  The  city  was 
brilliantly  illuminated  and  the  excursionists 
were  continually  greeted  by  the  cheers  of  the 
crowds  lining  the  streets.  After  supper  we 
went  to  Colerick  Hall,  where  D.  H.  Colerick 
delivered  the  address  of  welcome.  It  was  re- 
sponded to  by  Gov.  Johnston,  and  S.  W.  Rob- 
erts of  Pennsylvania,  Robert  W.  Schenck,  late 
minister  to  Brazil,  and  Henry  B.  Payne,  of 
Ohio. 

"In  company  with  Brother  Day  of  the  Mans- 
field Herald  we  were  conducted  by  our  worthy 


host — Brother  Tigar — to  his  den.  Oh,  may  it 
always  be  our  fortune  when  among  strangers 
to  fall  into  a  "Tigar's  Den." 

"At  ten  next  morning  left  for  home.  At 
Lima  made  a  raid  on  the  remains  of  yester- 
day's banquet.  Had  dinner  at  Forest.  Ar- 
rived at  Bucyrus  at  six." 

In  his  account  of  the  trip  to  Pittsburg,  Mr. 
Creever  mentions  as  one  of  the  incidents  the 
speed  of  the  train  "resulted  in  the  killing  of 
three  cows."  The  casual  manner  in  which  this 
is  stated  and  the  following  item  from  his  paper 
in  NoVember,  1855,  would  indicate  little  at- 
tention was  paid  in  those  days  by  the  engineers 
to  protect  the  stock  straying  on  the  unfenced 
track : 

"Monday  night,  Nov.  12,  the  express,  two  miles  from 
Bucyrus,  came  into  colHsion  with  40  or  50  cattle,  be- 
longing to  Enos  Barrett.  The  cattle  got  onto  the  rail- 
road and  were  met  by  the  train.  After  making  two  at- 
tempts to  push  through,  the  locomotive  was  thrown 
from  the  track  and  the  effort  had  to  be  abandoned. 
The  result  was  five  of  the  cattle  killed,  eleven  so  se- 
verely wounded  they  had  to  be  killed.  A  number  of 
others  were  wounded.  An  investigation  is  demanded  to 
learn  how  the  engine  driver  could  push  the  locomotive 
half  a  mile  through  the  flock  before  they  were  scat- 
tered and  straggling  along  the  track.  A  reasonable  de- 
gree of  concern  for  himself  and  passengers  would  have 
dictated  the  necessity  of  stopping  the  train  as  soon  as 
possible,  and  sending  a  man  ahead  to  clear  the  track." 

More  than  fifty  years  have  passed  since  the 
publication  of  the  above  item,  and  today  it  is 
well  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  humorous  col- 
umn of  any  railroad  journal.  The  faithful 
persistency  with  which  the  engineer  stood  at 
his  post  and  made  repeated  attempts  to  force 
his  engine  through  a  drove  of  forty  to  fifty  cat- 
tle, and  finally  being  compelled  to  give  up  the 
fight  by  his  engine  being  thrown  from  the 
track ! 

On  June  24,  1856,  the  last  meeting  of  the 
Ohio  and  Indiana  road  was  held  in  Bucyrus, 
and  it  was  to  consider  the  proposition  of  con- 
solidating the  three  roads,  the  Ohio  and  Penn- 
sylvania, the  Ohio  and  Indiana,  and  the  Ft. 
Wayne  and  Chicago.  A  large  number  of 
shares  were  represented  at  the  meeting  and  the 
vote  was  unanimous  for  consolidation,  and  the 
road  became  the  Pittsburg,  Ft.  Wayne  and  Chi- 
cago and  the  headquarters  were  at  Pittsburg. 
For  a  few  years  the  road  had  trouble  adjusting 
its  financial  affairs,  the  interests  of  the  directors 
and  stockholders  being  looked  after  by  Allen 
G.  Thurman  of  Columbus.    The  trouble  origi- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


171 


nated  from  the  bondholders  seizing  the  road. 
It  was  not  until  July,  1861,  that  the  matter  was 
finally  adjusted  by  the  company  agreeing  to 
pay  one-fourth  of  the  principal  and  interest  in 
cash,  and  secure  the  other  three- fourths  in  third 
mortgage  bonds  of  the  Pittsburg,  Ft.  Wayne 
and  Chicago,  bearing  interest  at  7  per  cent. 

In  1862  the  new  directors  of  the  road  con- 
sisted of  three  from  New  York,  Pennsylvania 
Ohio  and  Indiana,  and  one  from  Illinois. 
Among  the  Pennsylvanians  was  J.  Edgar 
Thompson,  the  man  who  started  the  Pennsyl- 
vania company  on  its  great  era  of  prosperity; 
one  of  the  men  from  New  York  was  Samuel 
J.  Tilden;  and  one  of  the  Ohioans  was  Willis 
Merriman  of  Bucyrus,  the  first  president  of 
the  central  division  of  the  consolidated  roads. 

Today  the  road  is  a  part  of  the  great  Penn- 
sylvania system,  and  the  Ohio  and  Indiana, 
fostered  and  fathered,  and  built  and  controlled 
by  the  business  men  of  Bucyrus  is  now  an  im- 
portant link  in  the  greatest  railroad  system  of 
the  world,  and  the  first  little  train  which 
jaunted  along  from  Crestline  to  Bucyrus  in  an 
hour  and  fifteen  minutes  has  as  its  successor 
one  that  would  be  almost  to  Ft.  Wayne  in  the 
same  length  of  time,  and  as  for  the  thirteen 
miles  it  frequently  makes  it  in  ten  minutes. 

At  the  start  of  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  Craw- 
ford county  issued  bonds  to  the  amount  of 
$100,000  drawing  6  per  cent  interest.  The 
bonds  were  issued  on  Jan.  i,  1853,  payable 
Jan.  I,  1868,  and  for  these  bonds  the  county 
received  $100,000  of  stock  in  the  road,  each 
year  one  of  the  commissioners  taking  turns 
in  attending  the  annual  meeting  of  the  road 
and  voting  the  county's  stock.  After  1856, 
this  meant  a  trip  to  Pittsburg.  By  agreement 
with  the  road,  the  county  was  to  receive  an- 
nually six  per  cent  interest,  payable  not  in 
cash,  but  in  additional  stock  in  the  road. 
These  certificates  of  stock,  in  lieu  of  cash  in- 
terest, the  county  received  up  to  the  time  of 
the  completion  of  the  consolidation  of  the 
roads  on  Jan.  20,  1858,  a  few  days  over  five 
years,  so  at  the  time  of  the  final  consolidation 
the  county's  stock  in  the  road  amounted  to 
$130,096,  and  after  that  the  county  received 
no  dividends  in  stock  or  cash. 

The  seizure  of  the  road  by  the  bondholders, 
the  troubles  arising  in  the  adjustment  of  the 
difficulties,  decreased  the  value  of  the  stock. 


The  latter  part  of  the  year  1861  the  stock  had 
reached  so  low  a  figure  that  the  commissioners 
took  measures  to  prepare  to  meet  the  bonds 
when  they  became  due,  and  levied  a  tax  of  two 
and  nine-twentieth  mills,  which  would  bring 
in  $21,983.  In  December,  1862,  $14,339  of 
this  tax  had  been  collected,  leaving  for  col- 
lection in  June,  1863,  $7,644.  After  the  first 
levy  was  made,  there  was  a  favorable  turn  in 
the  affairs  of  the  road,  and  the  stock  began 
gradually  going  up  in  value.  The  market  was 
closely  watched,  and  two  of  the  commission- 
ers went  to  New  York  and  sold  the  entire 
stock  held  by  Crawford  County  at  69  1-3C — 
the  highest  price  at  which  the  stock  had  ever 
sold.     The  railroad  account  now  stood : 

Proceeds  from  sale  of  $130,096  stock $90,214 

Tax  collected  December,   1862 14,339 

$104,553 
Add  tax  to  be  collected  in  June,  1863 7,644 

$112,197 
Deduct  interest,  Jan.  i,  1863 6,000 

Leaving  amount  in  Treasury $106,197 

The  commissioners  then  tried  to  buy  the 
$100,000  of  county  bonds  outstanding  at 
their  cash  value,  and  close  up  the  transaction, 
but  the  holders  of  the  bonds  declined  to  sell, 
as  "they  wished  no  better  investment  for  their 
funds."  It  spoke  well  for  the  credit  of  the 
county,  but  there  were  $100,000  lying  idle  in 
the  treasury  and  six  per  cent  interest  being 
paid  on  the  outstanding  bonds,  so  the  commis- 
sioners announced  the  money  would  be  lent  to 
the  citizens  until  March,  1867. 

They  met  first  on  Feb.  1 1 ,  and  the  first  day 
lent  $352  to  H  M.  Fisher,  $4,000  to  Linus 
H.  Ross,  $1,000  to  G.  Donnenwirth,  and  $400 
to  Mary  Newell.  During  the  eleven  days 
they  met  in  February  they  placed  $47,002. 
Seven  meetings  in  March  disposed  of  $37,200 
and  in  April  and  June  $27,360  was  placed  out 
at  interest. 

This  money  was  kept  on  interest  for  four 
years,  thus  meeting  the  interest  on  the  bonds  by 
the  interest  received  on  the  money  loaned,  and 
when  the  bonds  fell  due  on  Jan.  i,  1868,  they 
were  paid  and  cancelled,  and  Crawford's  first 
and  only  investment  in  railroad  bonds  was  an 
incident  that  was  closed.  Such  investments  by 
counties  are  not  allowed  today,  yet  the  Craw- 


172 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ford  county  one  was  a  success.  And  the 
profitableness  of  that  investment  has  gone  on 
and  on,  and  will  go  on  in  the  years  to  come. 
When  the  road  was  built,  the  cost  of  construc- 
tion from  Crestline  to  Lima,  131  miles,  was 
placed  at  $1,840,000.  Today  its  valuation  on 
the  tax  duplicate  in  Crawford  county  alone  is 
$4,298,040. 

It  would  seem  that  as  a  business  proposition 
the  investment  was  a  financial  success.  Craw- 
ford county  borrowed  $100,000,  which  it  in- 
vested in  the  stock  of  the  road ;  it  paid  interest 
on  this  borrowed  money  for  1 5  years,  amount- 
ing to  $90,000 ;  when  ten  years  had  passed  the 
stock  was  so  low  that  the  commissioners  lev- 
ied a  tax  of  $20,000,  preparing  to  meet  the 
bonds  when  due.  Total  cost  to  the  county, 
$210,000.  It  sold  its  stock  for  $90,000;  it 
received  interest  on  money  loaned  of  $30,000. 
Total  receipts  of  $190,000,  leaving  a  cost  to 
the  county  of  $90,000.  But  for  over  sixty 
years  the  company  has  been  paying  taxes,  and 
this  year  those  taxes  amount  to  $40,000.  An 
investment  of  $90,000  (the  net  loss  of  the 
county)  that  brings  in  $40,000  a  year  looks 
very  much  like  a  50  per  cent,  annual  divi- 
dend on  the  original  investment. 

As  to  what  per  cent  of  the  increase  in  the 
lands  and  products  and  prosperity  of  the 
county  is  due  to  railroads  can  not  be  figured 
with  any  degree  of  exactness,  but  statistics 
show  that  in  1850  Gallon  was  a  straggling  vil- 
lage of  five  to  six  hundred  people,  and  the  C, 
C.  &  C.  and  the  B.  &  I.  were  built,  and  in  ten 
years  she  trebled  her  population  to  1,967,  an 
increase  from  300  to  400  per  cent;  then  the 
Atlantic  &  Lake  Erie  came,  and  the  next  ten 
years  gave  her  another  increase  to  3,5-23,  or 
60  per  cent,  and  twenty-five  years  after  her 
first  railroad,  from  a  country  village  of  no  im- 
portance she  had  become  one  of  the  thriving 
and  prosperous  cities  of  the  state  with  over 
five  thousand  population. 

In  1850  Crestline  was  a  forest,  with  no  resi- 
dents beyond  a  farmer  or  two  and  their  fam- 
ilies; three  railroads  came,  and  the  town  was 
laid  out,  and  in  i860  it  had  a  population  of 
1,487,  and  has  had  an  increase  every  decade 
since,  and  in  1910  it  was  a  prosperous  town 
of  3,807  people. 

In  1850  Bucyrus  had  a  population  of  1,365; 
she  secured  a  railroad,  and  by  i860  her  popu- 


lation increased  60  per  cent  to  2,180;  a  steady 
growth  followed  and  in  1880  her  population 
was  3,380.  Then  came  the  T.  &  O.  C,  and  by 
1890  her  population  had  jumped  to  5,974  or  an 
increase  of  76  per  cent. 

In  i860  Crawford  county  had  three  railroads 
the  C,  C  and  C.  and  the  B.  &  I.  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  the  county,  with  eight  and 
a  half  miles  of  track,  and  the  P.  Ft.  W.  &  C. 
through  the  county  from  east  to  west,  about 
twenty  and  a  half,  miles,  making  thirty  miles 
of  railroad  in  the  county.  In  1864  the  Belle- 
fontaine  &  Indiana  was  consolidated  with  the 
Indianapolis,  Pittsburg  and  Cleveland  Rail- 
road, forming  the  Bellefontaine  Railway  Com- 
pany, and  in  1868  this  was  consolidated  with 
the  Cleveland,  Columbus,  Cincinnati  and  In- 
dianapolis Company,  which  in  1889  took  the 
name  of  the  Cleveland,  Cincinnati,  Chicago  & 
St.  Louis  Railway  Company,  popularly  known 
as  the  "Big  Four."  When  the  Ohio  and  Penn- 
sylvania was  building  they  decided  to  go  no 
further  than  Crestline,  providing  the  Ohio 
and  Indiana  would  commence  their  road  at 
that  point,  and  provided  the  Bellefontaine  and 
Indiana  would  commence  at  the  same  place. 
This  proposition  was  accepted,  and  Crestline 
was  for  some  years  the  connecting  point  of 
the  B.  &  I.  with  the  P.  Ft.  W.  &  C.  road,  but 
after  the  B.  &  I.  came  under  the  control  of 
the  C.  C.  &  C,  Gabon  became  the  eastern 
terminus  of  the  B.  &  I.  trains. 

The  next  railroad  in  the  county  was  the 
New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  A  char- 
ter was  granted  to  the  Franklin  &  Warren 
Railroad  Company  March  10,  185 1,  but  noth- 
ing was  done,  and  in  1855  the  name  was 
changed  to  the  Atlantic  &  Great  Western  Rail- 
way. In  1863  the  building  of  the  road  had 
reached  Gabon,  and  it  was  completed  to  Day- 
ton in  1864.  It  was  popularly  known  as  the 
"Broad  Gauge"  road,  the  rails  being  six  feet 
apart,  a  belief  prevailing  that  with  a  wider 
track,  heavier  equipment  could  be  used,  and 
greater  speed  and  comfort  obtained.  The  idea 
was  a  failure.  The  expense  of  construction 
was  heavier,  the  cost  of  rolling  stock  greater, 
and  nothing  gained  in  speed  or  comfort.  Along 
nearly  the  entire  track  a  third  rail  was  added 
to  accommodate  the  transfer  of  cars  from  a 
standard  gauge  to  their  line.  At  other  times 
cars  were   shifted  to   other   trucks.      In   the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


173 


spring  of  1880,  the  road  was  sold  to  the  Ohio 
and  Pennsylvania  Company,  and  the  new  own- 
ers decided  to  change  the  entire  road  to  stan- 
dard gauge.  It  was  doing  a  tremendous  busi- 
ness, both  in  passengers  and  freight,  with  hun- 
dreds of  trains  daily  from  one  end  of  the  line 
to  the  other,  and  the  change  was  made  on  June 
22,  1880.  Every  detail  had  been  seen  to,  and 
every  possible  arrangement  made,  and  at  a 
given  signal  the  work  was  commenced  all  along 
the  entire  line,  and  in  less  than  six  hours  the 
entire  road  was  changed  to  standard  gauge 
without  the  discontinuance  of  a  train,  and  the 
delay  of  only  a  few,  one  of  the  greatest  feats 
ever  accomplished  in  railroad  work.  The  road 
is  now  the  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio, 
a  part  of  the  Erie  system;  it  has  the  shortest 
mileage  of  any  road  in  the  county,  Gallon  be- 
ing its  only  station  in  Crawford,  but  the  build- 
ing is  the  handsomest  railroad  station  in  the 
county.  On  this  road  Galion  was  the  end  of  a 
division,  and  large  shops  were  erected  here 
employing  several  hundred  men;  the  Big  Four 
also  had  shops,  and  the  town  being  a  division 
point  on  the  A.  8:  G.  W.  and  the  junction 
point  of  the  Indianapolis  division  with  the 
"Three  C's,"  many  crews  had  their  home  here, 
and  Galion  was  one  of  the  prominent  railroad 
centers  of  the  state,  and  became  the  metropolis 
of  the  county. 

In    1850   a   charter   had  been   granted   for 
building  a  road  from  Bucyrus  to  Toledo,  the 
project  being  engineered  by  Bucyrus  people. 
The  eastern  part  of  the  county  had  an  outlet 
with  the  C.  C.  &  C.  road  nearing  completion, 
and  the  western  part  also  needed  an  outlet  to 
the  Lake,  and  with  the  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania 
reaching  Buc)t:us,  its  citizens  could  well  look 
forward  to  the  little  village  becoming  a  great 
business  center.    Before  the  project  had  gotten 
fairly  under  way,  the  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania 
had  been  compelled  to  abandon  for  the  present 
the  building  of  their  line  further  west  than 
Crestline.    This  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  hopes 
of  Bucyrus  as  the  east  and  west  road  was  more 
important  than  anything  else,  so  all  considera- 
tion of  the  Bucyrus  and  Toledo  road  was  re- 
luctantly abandoned,  and  the  people  of  Bucy- 
rus took  upon  themselves  the  herculean  task 
of  building  the   road   from   Crestline  to  Ft. 
Wayne.    Here  are  the  men  to  whom  the  char- 
ter was  granted  on  March  20,  1850,  to  build 


131  miles  of  railroad:  Robert  Lee. and  John 
Frantz  of  Leesville,  John  Anderson,  George 
Lauck,  Willis  Merriman,  Josiah  S.  Plants, 
John  J.  Bowman,  George  Quinby,  John  Sims, 
John  A.  Gormly,  Z.  Rowse,  Aaron  Carey  and 
C.  Widman  of  Bucyrus;  David  Ayres,  Robert 
McKelly,  Henry  Peters  of  Upper  Sandusky. 
In  four  years  the  road  was  built. 

Fifteen  years  passed  and  the  necessity  of  a 
railroad  from  the  coal  fields  in  southeastern 
Ohio  to  the  Lake  at  Toledo  was  apparent,  and 
the  Atlantic  and  Lake  Erie  was  incorporated 
to  start  at  Pomeroy  on  the  Ohio  river,  through 
the  coal  fields  of  Athens  and  Perry  counties, 
then  up  to  Bucyrus  and  Toledo.     From  Bucy- 
rus to  Toledo  it  was  the  original  road  pro- 
posed in   1850,   and  Bucyrus  took  an   active 
interest  in  the  road  from  the  start,  Daniel  W. 
Swigart  being  president  of  the  new  road  and 
James    B.    Gormly,    treasurer,    both    Bucyrus 
men.     Meetings  were  held  in  various  towns 
along  the  line,  and  in  1869  the  preliminary  sur- 
vey was  made.     In  February,  1872,  a  contract 
was  made  with  Michael  Moran  aijd  W.  V.  and 
A.  M.  McCracken  of  Bucyrus,  to  •  grade  the 
road   from   Bucyrus  to  Toledo,  and  in  July 
another  contract  was  made  with  B.  B.   Mc- 
Donald &  Co.,  of  Bucyrus,  to  lay  the  rails  on 
two  sections  from  Bucyrus  north.     The  same 
year,    1872,   the   contract   was  made   for  the 
bridge  over  the  Sandusky  at  Bucyrus,  together 
with  the  long  trestle  of  nearly  half  a  mile, 
necessary  to  cross  the  stream.     In   1873  the 
panic  came  on,  and  it  was  impossible  to  get 
capital  interested  in  any  investment,  but  the 
projectors  of  the  road  at  Bucyrus  persevered. 
Bucyrus   had   invested  over  $100,000   in  the 
road;    other   sections   had   given    freely.      In 
September,    1875,  the  condition  of  the   road 
was  at  its  worst,  and  a  meeting  was  held  at 
Bucyrus  to  devise  ways  and  means  to  save 
what  had  already  been  invested  and  to  com- 
plete the  road.     The  president  made  a  report 
at  that  meeting  stating  that  a  proposition  had 
been  made  to  sell  a  portion  of  it,  which  would 
be  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  Crawford, 
Wyandot  and  other  counties.     This  proposi- 
tion had  been  temporarily  defeated  by  the  in- 
fluence of  the  friends  of  Bucyrus  on  the  board 
of   directors.     But  the  road  was  in  debt  so 
heavily  that  unless  something  was  done  im- 
mediately the  Atlantic  &  Lake  Erie  must  be 


174 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


abandoned.  The  proposition  was  that  if 
$450,000  could  be  raised,  the  more  pressing 
obHgations  could  be  met  and  the  road  com- 
pleted. This  sum  was  divided  along  the  line, 
and  $50,000  assigned  to  Crawford  county.  On 
top  of  the  sum  already  subscribed,  the  task 
was  a  difficult  one,  but  the  amount  was  raised. 
Construction  went  ahead  slowly,  and  every 
attempt  made  to  reduce  expenses  to  the  mini- 
mum. The  Bucyrus  Foundry  and  Machine 
Company  went  into  the  car  business,  and  built 
fifteen  cars  to  be  used  in  the  construction 
work;  second-hand  locomotives  were  pur- 
chased and  put  to  use  in  the  building  of  the 
road,  and  little  by  little  the  work  progressed, 
and  finally  in  the  summer  of  1880  the  first 
train  came  to  Bucyrus.  It  was  less  than  a 
generation  since  Bucyrus  had  built  the  Ohio 
and  Indiana  road,  and  now  the  descendants 
of  the  men  who  had  built  that  first  road,  had 
overcome  all  difficulties,  and  secured  another 
road  for  Bucyrus.  The  president  of  the  At- 
lantic &  Lake  Erie  was  Daniel  W.  Swigart,  a 
son-in-law  of  George  W.  Sweney,  one  of  the 
active  workers  for  the  Ohio  and  Indiana;  the 
secretary  and  treasurer  was  James  B.  Gormly, 
whose  father  John  A.  Gormly,  was  treasurer 
of  the  Ohio  and  Indiana.  Among  others  con- 
nected with  the  road  were  Col.  W.  C.  Lemert, 
a  grandson  by  marriage  of  Samuel  Norton, 
one  of  the  heavy  subscribers  to  the  Ohio  and 
Indiana.  Horace  and  William  Rowse,  sons 
of  Zalmon  Rowse,  a  director  of  the  Ohio  and 
Indiana;  W.  V.,  A.  M.  and  Charles  Mc- 
Cracken,  sons  of  James  McCracken,  another 
active  supporter  of  the  Ohio  and  Indiana; 
Joseph  N.  Biddle,  a  son-in-law  of  Robert  W. 
Musgrave,  another  of  the  men  active  in  se- 
curing the  Ohio  and  Indiana ;  Thomas  C.  Hall, 
who  had  been  one  of  the  builders  of  the  Ohio 
and  Indiana,  and  now  with  his  son  Joseph  E. 
Hall,  had  similar  contracts  for  construction 
work  on  the  Atlantic  and  Lake  Erie. 

After  the  road  was  completed,  the  influ- 
ence of  Bucyrus,  and  the  work  the  people  of 
that  town  had  done  for  the  road,  secured  a 
favorable  proposition  for  the  location  of  the 
shops  at  Bucyrus,  but  Bucyrus  capital  was 
already  in  the  road  up  to  its  limit,  so  a  friendly 
legislature  was  appealed  to  and  D.  W.  Swigart, 
James  B.  Gormly,  W.  C.  Lemert,  Dr.  C.  Ful- 
ton, S.  R.  Harris  and  George  W.  Teel  secured 


the  passage  of  an  act  allowing  the  town  by  a 
vote  of  the  people  to  bond  itself  for  $50,000 
to  build  railroad  shops.  The  proposition  car- 
ried almost  unanimously  and  the  shops  were 
secured,  and  for  more  than  thirty  years  they 
have  given  employment  to  hundreds  of  men 
with  a  large  monthly  pay  roll  that  has  added 
materially  to  the  prosperity  of  Bucyrus,  and 
that  village  which  in  1880  had  a  population  of 
3,348,  by  the  census  of  1890  had  taken  its  po- 
sition as  one  of  the  cities  of  the  state  with  a 
population  of  5,974,  an  increase  of  78  per 
cent  in  ten  years.  When  the  road  was  re- 
organized in  1878  the  name  was  changed  to 
the  Ohio  Central,  and  it  was  sold  at  that  time 
for  $106,668.  Later  a  western  division  was 
built  to  take  care  of  the  increasing  traffic  from 
the  coal  fields  to  the  Lake.  The  road  is  today 
a  part  of  the  Lake  Shore  system,  and  in  191 1 
required  additional  room  for  its  shops  and 
trackage,  and  the  only  way  to  secure  it  was 
from  the  Fair  Ground  which  adjoined  the 
railroad  property  on  the  south.  The  Fair 
Ground  could  not  spare  the  land,  so  the  citi- 
zens promptly  formed  a  company,  bought  the 
entire  thirty  acres  belonging  to  the  Fair  Asso- 
ciation at  $1,000  an  acre,  and  sold  the  Lake 
Shore  the  eight  acres  they  wanted  at  $400  an 
acre  and  the  remainder  of  the  grounds  will 
be  laid  out  as  an  addition  to  Bucyrus.  The 
Fair  Association  immediately  purchased  a 
new  site  just  across  the  road  of  sixty  acres  at 
$300  an  acre. 

In  1867  the  Mansfield,  Coldwater  and  Lake 
Michigan  railroad  was  projected,  to  start  at 
Toledo,  then  run  to  Tiffin,  and  through  Ly- 
kins  and  Sulphur  Springs  to  Crestline  and 
Mansfield.  The  people  in  the  central  and 
northeastern  part  of  the  county  took  active 
measures  to  secure  the  road.  Both  New 
Washington  and  Sulphur  Springs  subscribed 
liberally,  and  so  enthusiastic  were  the  people 
in  and  around  Sulphur  Springs -that  their  sub- 
scriptions amounted  to  $35,000.  A  prelimin- 
ary survey  was  made,  which  located  the  road 
about  half  a  mile  east  of  Sulphur  Springs,  and 
an  eastern  suburb  of  that  village  was  laid  out 
where  the  station  was  to  be,  on  land  owned  by 
George  W.  Teel,  and  several  houses  were 
built.  The  people  of  Crestline,  however,  took 
very  little  interest  in  the  road,  which  was  fatal 
to  the  Sulphur  Springs  route.    New  Washing- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


175 


ton  then  took  up  the  matter  with  the  Toledo 
and  Mansfield  people,  and  a  new  survey  was 
made    farther    north,    from    Tiffin    through 
Bloomville  to   New   Washington   and   Mans- 
field.    The  citizens  of  New  Washington  and 
southern  Auburn  subscribed  $30,000  for  the 
new  road  and  so  great  was  the  interest  in  that 
section,   that   these   subscriptions    were   prac- 
tically all  made  in  sums  ranging  from  $50  to 
$250,  the  stock  being  in  $50  shares.     There 
were  two  hundred  men  in  the  two  townships 
of  Cranberry  and  Auburn  who  took  stock  in 
the  road.    Work  was  commenced  in  the  spring 
of    1872,   and   by   October   the   road  was   in 
operation  from  Toledo  to  New  Washington, 
and  on  May  i,  1873,  regular  trains  were  run- 
ning over  the  line.     In  Auburn  township  the 
road  passed  about  half  a  mile  north  of  the 
village  of  DeKalb,  and  the  same  distance  south 
of    a  little   settlement   called    Mechanicsburg, 
and  at  this  point  a  station  was  placed  called 
DeKalb,  and  in   1874  a  town  was  laid  out 
around  the  station  which  was  called  Tiro,  after 
the  postofifice  two  miles  north,  which  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  station,  and  in  1882  the  DeKalb 
postoffice,  which  had  been  in  existence  half  a 
century,  was  discontinued,  being  consolidated 
with  the  Tiro  ofifice,  and  the  railroad  dropped 
the  name  of  DeKalb  and  called  the  station 
Tiro. 

About  the  time  of  the  building  of  the 
Mansfield  &  Coldwater  road  the  people  of 
Delphos  and  Carey  had  constructed  a  narrow 
gauge  road  between  those  two  towns.  It  was 
a  purely  local  affair,  built  by  the  people  of 
Putnam  and  Hancock  counties  residing  in  the 
little  towns  along  the  line  and  gave  them  an 
outlet  to  the  markets.  Later  it  was  taken  over 
by  some  capitalists,  among  them  W.  V.  Mc- 
Cracken  of  Bucyrus,  and  was  changed  to  a 
standard  gauge  road,  and  extended  eastward 
from  Carey  to  Akron,  passing  through  Craw- 
ford in  the  center  of  the  northern  tier  of 
townships,  Texas,  Lykins,  Chatfield,  Cranberry 
and  Auburn,  and  when  completed  it  was 
almost  an  air  line,  165  miles  in  length,  known 
as  the  Pittsburg,  Akron  and  Western.  In  the 
construction  of .  the  road  no  attention  was 
paid  to  the  little  towns.  From  the  time  it 
entered  the  county  in  Texas  township  it  fol- 
lowed a  half  section  line  due  east  for  fourteen 


miles  to  New  Washington,  passing  half  a  mile 
south  of  the  village  of  Lykins,  and  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  north  of  Chatfield.  At  New  Wash- 
ington it  took  an  air  line  northwest,  going- 
north  of  the  little  village  of  Waynesburg. 
Eastern  capitalists  had  secured  the  road  with 
the  intention  of  making  it  the  most  direct  and 
quickest  route  between  Pittsburg  and  Chicago, 
but  the  grand  plans  never  materialized  and  it 
is  today  a  purely  local  road,  but  a  great  con- 
venience to  the  people  along  the  route.  It  es- 
tablished a  station  in  Texas  township,  which 
was  named  Plankton,  and  another  in  Northern 
Auburn,  which  is  named  North  Auburn  after 
the  township.  The  road  is  now  the  Northern 
Ohio. 

It  was  Feb.  8,  1832,  that  the  legislature  of 
Ohio  passed  an  act  incorporating  the  Dela- 
ware, Marion  and  Sandusky  Railroad,  and 
among  the  incorporators  were  E.  B.  Merri- 
man,  Zalmon  Rowse  and  Henry  St.  John.  It 
was  a  time  when  there  was  a  craze  for  rail- 
road building  all  over  the  state,  and,  like  doz- 
ens of  other  roads  incorporated  at  that  time, 
nothing  came  of  it.  Nearly  sixty  years  passed 
and  all  the  original  projectors  had  long  since 
moldered  into  dust  when  on  April  12,  1889, 
practically  the  same  road  was  again  incorpo- 
rated as  the  Columbus,  Shawnee  and  Hocking. 
By  the  close  of  the  year  twelve  miles  of  the 
road  had  been  built  from  Sandusky  to  Belle- 
vue,  and  this  twelve  miles  on  the  right  of  way 
where  fifty  years  previous  the  Mad  River  road 
had  run  its  cars  on  scrap  iron  rails.  The  route 
had  been  abandoned  by  the  Mad  River  road 
in  the  fifties  for  a  new  route  from  Sandusky 
to  Clyde.  But  the  northern  twelve  miles  of  the 
C.  S.  and  H.  (the  Short  Line)  is  the  roadbed 
where  first  ran  the  first  cars  on  the  first  real 
railroad  in  the  state  of  Ohio. 

The  work  on  the  C.  S.  and  H.  was  pushed 
rapidly  from  both  ends  of  the  line,  and  it  was 
on  Sunday,  Dec.  4,  1892,  at  12:15  noon,  that 
the  last  connecting  rail  was  laid  that  joined 
the  lines.  This  rail  was  at  the  north  end  of 
the  trestle  in  Bucyrus.  Although  the  road 
was  completed  as  far  as  track-laying  was  con- 
cerned, there  was  still  much  to  be  done  in  the 
way  of  preparing  the  road  bed,  and  securing 
the  rolling  stock,  and  it  was  on  Monday,  April 
17,   1893,  that  the  first  regular  trains  began 


176 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


running  on  the  road,  and  the  people  turned 
out  all  along  the  line  with  demonstrations  and 
rejoicings. 

This  was  the  last  railroad  built  in  Crawford 
county,  with  its  well  ballasted  track,  heavy 
steel  rails,  monster  locomotives,  and  hand- 
somely furnished,  easily  riding  cars.  Every- 
thing was  new  and  modern  and  presented  the 
strongest  contrast  to  the  track  and  equipment 
of  the  pioneer  days  of  railroading.  It  was 
Monday,  April  17,  the  train  went  through,  rep- 
resentative of  the  highest  type  of  railroad  de- 
velopment, and  three  days  later,  on  April  20th, 
the  contrast  came.  A  great  exposition  was  to 
be  opened  at  Chicago  (one  year  late)  to  com- 
memorate the  discovery  of  America  by  Colum- 
bus, 401  years  previous,  and  the  first  loco- 
motive ever  brought  to  America  was  to  pass 
through  Bucyrus.  Over  a  thousand  school 
children  and  double  that  number  of  citizens 
were  at  the  station,  when  the  little  locomotive, 
the  "John  Bull,"  hardly  larger  than  a  traction 
engine,  pulling  its  two  small  cars,  came  round 
the  bend,  puffing  and  blowing  as  if  it  appre- 
ciated the  full  measure  of  its  responsibility.  It 
came  up  to  the  station  very  slowly,  through 
two  dense  ranks  of  people,  who  crowded  both 
sides  of  the  track,  leaving  only  room  for  it 
to  pass.  It  looked  small  and  it  looked  old,  and 
even  the  veteran  pioneers  present  had  be- 
come so  accustomed  to  the  modern  trains  that 
they  too  were  astonished  at  the  smallness  and 
crudeness  of  the  engine  and  coaches,  that 
in  their  early  day  they  had  regarded  as  a  won- 
der and  a  marvel  in  the  science  of  transporta- 
tion.* 

*In  1876,  this  little  engine,  the  "John  Bull,"  was  dis- 
covered among  the  old  junk  in  the  Pennsylvania  shops; 
it  was  repaired  and  exhibited  at  the  Centennial  Expo- 
sition at  Philadelphia,  and  later  presented  to  the  United 
States  government.  Prior  to  1830  experiments  had 
been  made  in  England  with  more  or  less  success  with 
locomotives  to  be  propelled  by  steam.  In  1830,  Robert 
L.  Stevens,  the  founder  of  the  Camden  &  Amboy  road, 
saw  the  "Rocket"  in  England,  the  invention  of  George 
Stevenson,  and  he  ordered  one  built  for  shipment  to 
this  country.  The  engine  was  built,  shipped  to  America, 
and  named  the  "John  Bull."  It  arrived  in  Philadelphia 
in  August,  183 1.  When  it  was  finally  put  together  it 
was  placed  on  a  track,  specially  built  for  its  trial;  the 
boiler  was  filled  with  water  from  a  hogshead ;  a  fire  of 
pine  wood  was  lighted  in  the  furnace,  and  at  the  mdi- 
cation  of  thirty  pounds  of  steam  pressure,  the  young 
engineer  named  Dripps,  nervous-  with  excitement, 
opened  the  throttle,  and  the  first  locomotive  in  America 
moved  over  the  rails.  One  of  the  little  old  cars  had 
been  purchased  in  1868  bv  a  farmer  living  near  South 


When  the  train  stopped,  men  and  boys  and 
women  and  girls  crowded  around  the  little 
cars,  -and  went  inside,  finding  them  so  low 
that  a  tall  man  must  stoop.  Common  wooden 
seats  ran  along  the  sides;  there  were  little 
windows,  placed  there  only  to  give  light,  so 
high  that  one  must  stand  up  or  kneel  upon  the 
seat  to  look  out.  These  windows  could  not  be 
opened;  there  were  no  lights  for  after  night, 
so  when  the  shades  of  evening  fell,  the  passen- 
gers rode  in  darkness.  The  engine  weighed 
ten  tons,  and  was  the  same  as  when  it  first 
ran  in  America,  except  that  it  had  been  changed 
from  wood  to  coal  fuel.  The  tender  had  a 
capacity  of  about  a  ton  of  coal,  and  the  water 
tank  about  1500  gallons  of  water.  The  water 
was  sufficient  for  thirty  miles,  but  the  coal 
would  last  for  ninety  miles.  The  boiler  was 
13  feet  long,  and  3  feet  6  inches  in  diameter. 
The  cylinders  were  9  by  20  inches.  There 
were  two  drive  wheels  on  each  side,  4  ft.  6  in. 
in  diameter,  with  cast  iron  hubs  and  wooden 
felloes.  On  top  of  the  tender  at  the  rear  was 
a  contrivance  resembling  a  poke  bonnet;  it 
was  called  the  "gig  top,"  and  here  sat  the  for- 
ward brakeman  on  the  lookout  for  approach- 
ing trains,  and  also  to  signal  the  rear  brake- 
man  should  occasion  require.  He  worked  the 
brakes  on  the  locomotive  and  tender  by  means 
of  a  lever  which  extended  up  between  his  knees. 
There  was  no  bell  cord  or  gong  to  the  locomo- 
tive and  all  communication  between  the  brake- 
man  and  engineer  was  by  word  of  mouth.  He 
kept  by  him  a  few  soft  clods  which  carefully 
aimed,  attracted  the  attention  of  the  engineer 
if  hasty  communication  was  necessary. 

Following  the  little  train  was  one  of  mod- 
ern construction.     The  locomotive,  weighing 

Amboy,  the  Camden  and  Amboy  road  having  thrown 
it  into  discard.  The  farmer  removed  it  to  his  place 
and  used  it  as  a  chicken-coop.  It  housed  the  chickens 
until  a  representative  of  the  Pennsylvania  road  looking 
for  curiosities,  ran  across  it,  and  entered  into  negotia- 
tions for  its  purchase.  The  thrifty  farmer  discovered 
that  lapse  of  time  had  endowed  his  hen-coop  with  an 
unexpected  value,  and  he  demanded  and  received  a  price 
which  represented  more  than  compound  interest  on  his 
original  purchase,  and  although  the  hens  were  left 
homeless,  the  farmer  looked  out  for  himself  by  build- 
ing a  new  residence  with  all  modern  improvements 
from  the  proceeds  of  his  sale.  The  second  car  had  not 
so  romantic  a  history.  It  was  found  years  previously 
in  a  lumber  yard  in  a  New  Jersey  town,  and  a  far- 
sighted  Pennsylvania  official  had  secured  it  as  a  relic, 
believing  the  day  might  come  when  it  would  have  a 
value  as  a  curiosity. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


177 


160,000  pounds,  easily  drew  its  long  line  of 
parlor  cars  and  sleepers,  and  diner,  all  fitted 
with  every  modern  improvement  and  filled 
with  the  officers  and  guests  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania company.  From  Philadelphia  to  Chi- 
cago this  finest  locomotive  of  modern  con- 
struction restrained  its  power,  followed  its 
wheezing  ancestor,  decrepit  with  age,  as  if  it 
were  exercising  a  fatherly  and  protecting  care 
over  him  which  it  no  doubt  was. 

At  Bucyrus,  the  train  was  joined  by  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Journal  and  Telegraph,  the 
Forum  and  the  Courier.  The  Journal  sent 
their  veteran  editor,  John  Hopley,  who  in 
1842,  had  come  as  far  west  as  Pittsburg  on 
just  such  a  train,  and  with  him  the  youngest 
member  of  the  firm,  J.  W.  Hopley,  as  repre- 
sentatives of  the  past  and  the  present.  They 
rode  in  one  of  the-  ancient  coaches  as  far  as 
Upper  Sandusky,  jarred  and  jolted  in  the 
springless  car,  kneeling  on  the  seat  occasion- 
ally to  glance  from  the  window,  and  when 
Upper  Sandusky  was  reached  both  youth  and 
age  preferred  comfort  to  novelty,  and  as  far 
as  they  were  concerned  the  little  train,  once 
the  pride  of  the  road,  and  once  the  acme  of 
perfection  in  traveling,  was  left  to  jog  on  its 
slow  way  alone,  while  they-found  all  the  com- 
forts of  travel  in  the  palatial  cars  of  the  mod- 
ern train.  The  speed  of  both  trains  was  of 
course  governed  by  the  motive  power  of  the 
John  Bull  and  it  took  nine  hours  to  go  from 
Bucyrus  to  Ft.  Wayne,  being  a  trifle  over  14 
miles  an  hour. 

On  Nov.  12,  1891,  the  commissioners  of  the 
county  granted  a  franchise  for  the  building 
of  an  electric  road  from  Galion  to  Bucyrus,  to 
be  known  as  the  Suburban  Electric  Railway 
Company.  The  financial  depression  of  1893 
put  a  stop  to  all  improvement  investments,  but 
later  the  matter  was  again  taken  up,  and  the 
work  of  building  commenced  at  Gabon,  and 
gradually  extending  to  Bucyrus.  On  Aug.  26, 
1899,  a  regular  train  service  was  started  from 
Galion  as  far  as  the  T.  &  O.  C.  tracks  at  Bu- 
cyrus, and  on  September  ir,  the  track  had 
been  completed  to  the  Public  Square,  and  there 
was  a  half-hourly  service  between  the  county 


seat  and  the  metropolis  of  the  county.  Al- 
though the  two  cities  had  a  combined  popula- 
tion of  about  14,000  the  business  did  not  jus- 
tify so  frequent  a  service  and  it  was  soon  re- 
duced to  hourly  trains.  Later  the  road  was 
extended  to  Crestline,  and  the  following  year 
to  Mansfield,  and  it  became  the  Cleveland, 
Southwestern  and  Columbus  Railway  Com- 
pany, with  through  trains  from  Cleveland  to 
Bucyrus.  The  headquarters  of  the  motive 
power  and  the  car  barns  are  at  Galion. 

In  1894  an  electric  road  was  projected  from 
Columbus  to  Cleveland,  by  way  of  Delaware, 
Marion  and  Galion.  The  latter  city  took  little 
interest  in  the  road  so  Bucyrus  took  the  matter 
up,  and  Frank  L.  Hopley  had  the  builder  of 
the  road,  John  G.  Webb,  of  Springfield,  visit 
Bucyrus,  and  after  a  consultation  with  J.  B. 
Gormly,  W.  C.  Lemert,  George  Dennenwirth 
and  others,  the  road  was  incorporated  as  the 
Columbus,  Marion  and  Bucyrus  Electric  Rail- 
way, and  on  Aug.  5,  1905,  James  B.  Gormly 
was  elected  one  of  the  directors  of  the  new 
road.  Owing  to  the  high  prices  at  which  land 
was  held  much  time  was  consumed  in  securing  a 
right  of  way,  but  the  Marion  road  was  finally 
decided  upon,  and  the  work  of  construction 
commenced.  On  Monday,  Aug.  10,  1908,  reg- 
ular trains  started  from  the  south  end  of  Pop- 
lar street,  and  the  first  through  passenger  to 
Columbus  was  County  Treasurer  George  W. 
Miller,  who  took  the  first  car  to  make  his  set- 
tlement with  the  state  treasurer.  There  was 
difficulty  over  the  route  through  Bucyrus,  but 
the  matter  was  finally  settled,  and  on  Oct.  27, 
the  track  laying  reached  the  Public  Square,  E. 
B.  Monnett  and  Charles  Roberts  driving  the 
last  spikes  which  made  the  connecting  link  at 
Bucyrus  of  an  electric  line  from  Cleveland  to 
Cincinnati. 

The  following  table  shows  the  amount  of 
trackage  in  the  various  townships  in  the 
county,  and  their  value  as  placed  on  the  tax 
duplicate.  Also  the  appraised  value  of  the  va- 
rious roads  in  the  county.  The  total  valuation 
of  all  property  on  tax  duplicate  in  the  county 
is  $52,453,120,  and  of  this  $8,758,680  is  rail- 


178 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


roads.  Jefferson  township  fares  best,  as  its 
entire  valuation  on  the  tax  duplicate  is  $2,190,- 
840,  and  of  this  nearly  half,  $981,770  is  rail- 
road property. 


elex:tric  roads. 


Total 
Main     Double  Sid-   Track- 
Track   Track   ings       age        Value 


Bucyrus   16.45 

Whetstone    11. 14 

Polk    11-99 

Jefferson   4.89 

Jackson   5.52 

Tod  4.31 

Chatfield    13.30 

Cranberry   9.84 

Holmes 6.47 

Liberty  6.07 

Vernon 2.90 

Auburn 6.09 

Dallas  2.43 

Texas  2.51 

Lykins    5.04 

Sandusky    


6.07 

S-44 
S.83 
4.89 
5.52 
2.00 


14.99 
.78 

22.93 
2.72 

21.65 
2.06 
2.28 
2.09 
1.38 


2.25 

.65 
.16 
.38 


37.51 
17.36 

40.75 

12.50 

32.69 

8.37 

15.58 

11.93 

7.85 

6.96 

2.90 

8.34 
3-08 
2.67 
5-42 


$1,811,670 

1,301,780 

1,126,610 

981,770 

842,190 

508,330 

408,940 

377,740 

291,030 

233,610 

191,250 

170,930 

95,030 

32,160 

25,290 


Totals    .108.95 

Electric 26.77 


29-75    75.21  213.91    $8,398,330 
32    27.09         360,350 


Track 

Polk   6.95 

Whetstone    6.48 

Bucyrus  8.06 

Jackson    2.77 

Dallas 2.51 


Totals  26.77 


Sidings 
.01 
.08 
-14 

-09 

-32 


Total 
6.96 
6.56 
8.20 

2-77 
2.60 


Value 

$110,590 

104,810 

79,890 

42,990 

22,070 


27.09 


$360,350 


VALUATION  OF  ROADS  IN  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


Main 

Track 

P.,  Ft.  W.  &  C...  20.46 

T.  &GI1  C 18.19 

T.,  W.  V.  &  O., 

San.  branch  . .  21.94 
T,  W.  V.  &  O., 

Mans,  branch  .  12.33 
C,  C,  C.  &  St.  L.  9.55 
N.  Y.,  P.  &  O....  5.90 
Northern  Ohio   . .  20.58 


Total 
Second  Sid-   Track- 
Track   ings       age 
20.46    28.25    69.17 
11.62    29.81 


Valu- 
ation 
$4,298,040 
935,290 


5.18    27.12         868,820 


3.12  15.45  835,470 

5.43  11.60  26.58  691,630 

3.86  12.50  22.26  665,560 

2.94  23.52  103,520 


Totals 108.95 

C.  &  S.  W.,  elec. .   17^1 
C,  M.  &  B.,  elec.      9.16 


29.7s    75.21  213.91    $8,398,330 

09    17.70         280,090 

23      9.39  80,260 


Totals    135.72    29-75    75-53  241.00    $8,758,680 


135.72    29.7s    75.53  241.00    $8,758,680 


CHAPTER  VIII 

AUBURN  TOWNSHIP. 


Auburn  Township — Location  and  Topography — Drainage — Creation  of  Auburn  Town- 
ship and  First  Election — Early  Settlers — Justices — Forest  Adventures — Early  Mills 
— Churches  and  Schoolhouses — Waynesburg — North  Auburn — Mechaniscburg — Tiro 
— DeKalb  PostoMce — A  Prohibition  Ordinance — Mr.  Baker's  Enterprise — Cranber- 
ries— An  Indian  Burying  Ground — The  Hanna  Graveyard — Other  Cemeteries. 


Sweet  Auburn !  loveliest  village  of  the  plain, 

Where  health  and  plenty  cheered  the  laboring  swain, 

Where  smiling  spring  its  earliest  visit  paid, 

And  parting  summer's  lingering  blooms  delayed. 

— Oliver  Goldsmith. 

Auburn  township  was  a  part  of  the  land 
ceded  by  the  Indians  ,to  the  United  States  in 
1805,  and  is  the  northeastern  township  of  the 
county.  It  was  surveyed  by  Maxfield  Ludlow 
in  1807,  and  it  was  in  the  southern  portion  of 
this  township  his  notes  show  that  he  had  not 
been  able  to  get  a  drink  of  water  for  48  hours, 
while  in  the  northern  portion,  the  land  was  the 
most  "hedeous"  he  had  ever  surveyed  in  his 
seven  years'  experience,  and  much  of  it  was  two 
feet  under  water.  This  northern  portion  was 
a  vast  swamp,  very  wet  and  unproductive  ex- 
cept for  cranberries.  The  township  is  very 
level,  with  a  gradual  slope  to  the  north.  In  the 
western  portion,  Honey  creek  after  rising  near 
Tiro,  goes  north  through  the  western  sections, 
then  west  to  the  Sandusky  river,  while  in  the 
eastern  part  Coykendall  run  goes  north  to 
empty  into  a  branch  of  the  Huron  river  at 
New  Haven.  Both  these  streams  have  small 
branches,  so  that  every  section  of  the  township 
is  well  watered.  In  the  earlier  days  little 
streams  starting  in  the  forest  wandered  on 
their  way  northward  to  be  eventually  lost  in  the 
great  swamp.  Later  an  outlet  to  the  swamp 
was  made  by  which  nearly  all  the  marsh  was 
drained  into  Honey  creek  or  Coykendall  run, 
and  the  worst  country  that  the  surveyor  had 
ever  gone  over,  became  one  of  the  most  fertile 
and  productive  regions  of  the  county.    The  soil 


of  the  entire  township  is  very  rich,  being  deep 
and  black,  with  sufficient  sand  to  furnish 
enough  silica  for  strengthening  the  growing 
grain.  The  drift  deposits  are  underlain  in  the 
southern  portion  of  the  township  by  an  abun- 
dance of  excellent  limestone,  too  deep  to  be 
profitably  worked,  except,  perhaps  in  the  south- 
west part  of  section  28  and  northwestern  part 
of  section  23,  where  on  a  little  run  there  is  a 
surface  outcropping  of  very  good  limestone. 
There  is  a  quantity  of  iron  in  the  soil  of  the 
drift  deposits,  and  in  a  number  of  wells  the 
water  is  tinctured  with  that  mineral.  Abun- 
dance of  water  is  easily  found  in  the  sand  of 
the  Waverly  group  of  rocks  at  a  very  slight 
depth. 

Auburn  township  was  a  part  of  Richland 
county  when  the  latter  was  created  in  1807, 
and  for  13  years  it  was  the  west  half  of  Ply- 
mouth township  of  that  county.  On  April  3, 
1820,  Auburn  township  was  created  by  the 
commissioners  of  Richland  county.  From  its 
now- fertile  fields  of  waving  grain,  and  its  level 
stretch  of  the  richest  of  farming  land  under  the 
highest  state  of  cultivation  one  might  today 
suppose  it  received  its  name  from  Goldsmith's 
lines  at  the  head  of  this  chapter. 

But,  however  appropriate  such  an  idea  for 
the  selection  might  seem,  it  was  not  the  case. 
Several  settlers  met  to  discuss  the  affairs  of  the 
new  township  and  among  other  matters  to  se- 
lect a  name.  Naturally,  each  one  had  a  choice, 
and  several  names  were  mentioned,  every  man 
supporting  his  own  choice.     Among  the  set- 


179 


180 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


tiers  were  two  brothers,  Palmer  and  Daniel 
Hulse,  who  had  come  there  from  Auburn,  N. 
Y.,  and  as  they  cast  two  solid  votes  lor  Au- 
burn, that  name  was  selected.  Of  the  other 
names  presented  there  is  no  record,  but  while 
the  name  chosen  was  not  from  the  poetry  of 
Goldsmith,  the  new  township  started  on  its  ca- 
reer with  one  of  the  few  poetical  names  in 
the  county.  The  Richland  commissioners  fol- 
lowed the  wishes  of  the  citizens  and  named 
the  township  Auburn,  and  called  an  election 
for  April  2,  1 821,  to  elect  township  officers. 
The  following  is  the  account  of  the  first  elec- 
tion, taken  from  a  record  book  in  the  pos- 
session of  James  M.  Cory : 

"At  an  election  held  at  the  house  of  Palmer 
Hulse,  in  Auburn  township,  on  the  second  day 
of  April,  1821,  agreeable  to  an  order  of  the 
county  commissioners,  the  following  persons 
were  elected  township  officers :  Jacob  Coyken- 
dall,  clerk;  Samuel  Hanna,  Levi  Bodley  and 
Michael  Gisson,  trustees;  David  Cummins, 
treasurer ;  James  Gardner  and  David  Cummins, 
overseers  of  the  poor;  Adam  Aumend  and 
Charles  Dewitt,  fence  viewers ;  James  C.  Coy- 
kendall  and  Lester  and  Jesse  Bodley,  apprais- 
ers; Adam  Aumend,  Jr.,  constable;  Michael 
Gisson,  William  Cole,  William  Laugherty  and 
William  Garrison,  supervisors.  The  above  of- 
ficers were  severally  elected  and  qualified  ac- 
cording to  law.  Jacob  Coykendall,  township 
clerk." 

In  the  book  containing  these  records,  the  fol- 
lowing entry  is  found : 

"Jacob  Coykendall's  commission  as  justice 
of  the  peace  bears  date  July  14,  1821.  He  was 
qualified  Aug.  29,  same  year,  and  gave  bond 
Sept.  27,  182 1 ;  James  Coykendall  and  James 
Gardner,  bondsmen." 

The  second  election  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Jacob  Coykendall  on  April  i,  1822,  and  the 
third  at  the  house  of  Aaron  B.  Howe,  April  7, 
1823. 

In  182 1  the  pioneers  of  Auburn  were  nearly 
all  from  New  England  with  a  few  from  New 
York,  and  it  is  probable  the  first  election  fol- 
lowed the  town-meeting  plan  of  New  England, 
where  all  the  voters  met  in  convention  and  se- 
lected their  officials.  The  residence  of  Palmer 
Hulse  was  in  what  is  now  Richland  county, 
near  the  road  which  runs  from  Bucyrus  to  Ply- 
mouth.    So  the  townshio  was  named  by  two 


men  who  never  resided  in  what  is  the  present 
Auburn  township,  the  same  as  Crawford 
county  was  named  after  the  revolutionary  of- 
ficer who  was  tortured  by  the  Indians  at  a  site 
which  is  not  now  a  part  of  the  county. 

In  the  chapter  relating  to  Crawford  county, 
the  names  are  given  of  those  who  settled  there 
in  the  early  days,  John  Pettigon  and  Jedidiah 
Morehead,  who  erected  cabins  and  pursued 
their  occupation  as  hunters  as  early  as  1814 
to  1815.  William  Green  entered  160  acres  and 
erected  a  log  cabin  on  section  27  in  181 5,  to 
which  he  removed  with  his  family  on  Dec.  16, 
1816.  He  had  left  his  family  in  Licking 
county.  Green  was  the  first  real  settler  in  Au- 
burn township  and  what  is  now  Crawford 
county.  He  increased  his  quarter  section  un- 
til later  he  owned  a  full  section  of  640  acres, 
and  half  a  century  later  his  sons  Samuel  S. 
and  Walter,  were  cultivating  the  land  cleared 
by  their  father.  A  man  named  John  Deardorff, 
settled  in  Auburn  township  in  18 16,  but  left 
before  the  township  was  organized.  William 
Cole,  in  181 7,  settled  on  section  27;  Charles, 
David  and  James  Morrow,  in  1817,  just  west 
of  Green  and  Cole,  on  section  28;  Jacob  Coy- 
kendall, on  section  15,  two  miles  west  of  the 
Hulses,  in  18 16;  Charles  Dewitt,  John  Bodley, 
David  Cummins,  on  section  22,  north  of  Green ; 
William  Laugherty  on  section  29,  a  mile  north 
of  the  present  village  of  Tiro,  in  1818.  Among 
those  in  1819,  were  Resolved,  a  descendant  of 
Perigrene  White,  who  was  born  on  the  May- 
flower while  it  was  anchored  off  the  coast  of 
Massachusetts.  Perigrene  White  was  the  sec- 
ond son  of  William  and  Susanne  White,  who 
sailed  from  Southampton  on  the  Mayflower 
with  their  two  children,  one  a  daughter  Faith, 
and  the  other  a  son.  Resolved,  receiving  that 
name  from  the  fact  of  his  birth,  just  at  the 
time  his  father  had  finally  resolved  to  accom- 
pany the  Pilgrims  to  America.  The  Resolved 
White  who  settled  in  Auburn,  was  the  fifth  or 
sixth  generation  from  William  White,  the  Pil- 
grim father.  He  was  born  in  Poonfred  town- 
ship, Windham  county,  Conn.,  on  March  31, 
1787,  and  in  1794  went  with  his  parents  to 
Windsor,  Berkshire  county,  Mass. ;  here  his 
father  died  in  1804,  and  four  years  later  his 
mother  moved  to  Otsego  county,  N.  Y.,  and 
later  to  Ontario  county.  Early  in  181 8,  Re- 
solved White,  in  company  with  Rev.  Asabel 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


181 


Moore  and  family,  left  in  a  horse  and  sleigh 
for  the  Connecticut  reserve.  A  part  of  this 
way  they  made  on  the  ice,  along  the  southern 
shore  of  Lake  Erie.  Reaching  Huron  on  Lake 
Erie,  they  went  up  the  Huron  river  through 
Milan  to  Norwalk,  which  at  that  time  consisted 
of  two  or  three  log  cabins,  Paul  Benedict  of 
Connecticut  having  erected  the  first  log  cabin 
there  in  1817.  White  stopped  here  and  erected 
the  first  frame  building  in  Norwalk  for  a  man 
named  Forsyth.  He  decided  to  settle  in  this 
section,  and  went  through  the  woods  on  an  ex- 
ploring tour,  and  reaching  Auburn  township, 
purchased  of  William  Laugherty,  the  east  half 
of  section  29,  paying  $3.75  per  acre.  There 
was  a  small  log  house  on  the  farm  and  a  few 
acres  cleared.  He  then  returned  to  Norwalk 
and  continued  his  trade  as  a  carpenter,  and  in 
the  spring  of  1821,  went  to  Ontario  county,  N. 
Y.,  sailing  on  Lake  Erie  on  the  steamboat 
Walk-in-the-Water,  the  first  steamer  that  ever 
plied  the  waters  of  Erie.  The  event  which 
transpired  on  White's  return  to  Ontario 
county  showed  there  was  a  reason  for  his  se- 
curing a  home  in  the  west,  and  that  his  return 
had  been  arranged  for  when  he  left  home  three 
years  previous.  On  May  13,  1821,  he  married 
Lucy  Searl,  and  he  purchased  a  horse  and 
wagon  and  with  his  bride  started  for  their 
western  home,  where  he  arrived  on  July  10  of 
that  year,  and  remained  a  resident  of  Auburn 
township  until  his  death  on  April  5,  1875,  his 
wife  Lucy  having  died  a  year  previous.  May 
13,  1874.  Rodolphus  Morse  settled  on  section 
20,  just  north  of  White's  purchase,  in  1819  or 
1820.  He  arrived  with  his  wife  Huldah  and 
son  Amos,  then  but  a  year  old.  Morse  took 
a  prominent  position  in  the  afifairs  of  Auburn 
township,  and  was  followed  by  his  son  Amos, 
who  until  his  death  was  a  leading  man  in  the 
control  of  the  township.  Others  in  1819  were 
Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Hanna,  settling  on  land 
his  father  James  had  entered  in  1818. 
John  Webber  and  Palmer  and  Daniel  Hulse 
were  also  early  settlers.  The  first  officers 
of  the  township  show  that  other  early  settlers 
were  Levi  Bodley,  Michael  Gisson,  James 
Gardner  and  William  Garrison;  besides 
these,  the  records  indicate  that  a  man  named 
Tyndall  was  a  resident  of  the  township;  also 
Jacob  Byerson,  section  31,  and  Lester  Levi 
and  Jesse  Bodley;  John  Blair,  who  came  in 


1 82 1  from  New  York  State,  bought  a  half  sec- 
tion in  sections  20  and  21,  where  his  son  Ira, 
still  lives;  George  Hammond  and  wife  Sarah, 
who  came  from  Connecticut  in  1822,  purchased 
150  acres  of  Martin  Clark,  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  28,  on  which  there  was  a 
small  cabin,  and  a  few  acres  already  cleared. 
His  heirs  still  live  on  the  farm.  John  Sheckler 
came  from  Pennsylvania  in  1821,  settling  on 
section  22.  In  1850,  151  acres  of  this  land 
was  appraised  at  $1,000.  Erastus  Sawyer  set- 
tled on  section  21,  Jesse  Ladow  on  section  10, 
and  Nelson  S.  Howe  on  section  16,  also  Aaron 
B.  Howe ;  Daniel  Bunker,  Jacob  Bevard,  Rich- 
ard Tucker,  Seth  Hawkes,  Jacob  and  William 
Snyder  and  Erastus  Kellogg;  William  Johns, 
Thomas  Cooker,  Enoch  Baker,  and  John  Tal- 
ford.  Erastus  Sawyer  came  in  1820.  Adam 
Aumend,  with  his  wife  and  daughter,  both 
named  Mary,  came  in  1819. 

Jacob  Coykendall  was  the  first  justice  of  the 
peace;  his  commission  was  dated  July  14,  1821, 
and  he  qualified  on  Aug.  29,  with  James  Coy- 
kendall and  James  Gardner  as  bondsmen.  One 
of  his  first  acts  was  the  marriage  of  Harvey 
Hoadley  to  Elizabeth  Blair  in  1821.  The  next 
known  marriage  was  Dec.  19,  1822,  when 
Erastus  Kellogg  and  Sally  Snider  became  man 
and  wife. 

May  8,  1824,  Jacob  Coykendall  and  Aaron 
Howe  were  appointed  justices.  On  April  23, 
1827,  Jacob  Coykendall  was  again  appointed 
and  with  him  James  Clements. 

Since  Auburn  township  has  been  a  part  of 
the  present  Crawford  county,  the  following 
have  been  the  justices  of  the  peace;  dates  given 
being  the  year  of  their  election :  William  Cum- 
mins— 1845-48-51;  William. D.  Sims — 1845- 
57-59-60-63;  Adam  Aumend — 1848;  David  C. 
Morrow — 1854;  Amos  Morse — 1854-60-63- 
66-69-72-78-8 1  -84 ;  Jacob  Eckis —  1 85  7-66 ; 
George  Hammond — 1865;  Enoch  T.  Kenes- 
trick. — 1869;  Jacob  Shutt — 1872;  Resolved  R. 
Ross— 1876-79;  Daniel  Howe— 1882-85-88; 
Charles  McConnell — 1 887-91  -94-97- 1 900-04 ; 
George  S.  McKee — 1891-94;  Samuel  R.  Houk 
— 1897;  F-  L.  Kemp — 1903-07;  James  Cahill 
— 1906-07;  Harvey  B.  Morrow — 1910;  J.  C. 
Johnson — 19 10. 

When  the  first  settlers  appeared  there  were 
many  Indians  in  the  neighborhood,  the  Wyan- 
dots  and  Delawares  being  the  principal  tribes 


182 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


with  Senecas  and  others.  They  gathered  cran- 
berries during  the  season,  and  shot  the  game 
that  abounded  in  the  forests.  The  pioneers  of 
Auburn  had  located  there  to  make  homes  for 
themselves  and  nearly  all  of  them  devoted  their 
time  to  the  clearing  away  of  the  forests  and 
the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  Some  few  hunted 
the  wild  game,  but  the  majority  preferred  de- 
voting their  time  to  agriculture,  purchasing 
game  of  the  friendly  Indians,  or  of  some  neigh- 
bor skillful  with  the  rifle.  The  principal  pay 
of  the  Indians  was  in  whiskey,  a  gallon  being 
sufficient  for  the  result  of  one  day's  hunting, 
but  when  it  came  to  the  white  hunter  it  was  a 
matter  of  cash,  or  if  in  whiskey,  several  gal- 
lons were  the  price  of  a  day's  shooting. 

One  of  the  first  things  needed  was  roads. 
The  southern  half  of  the  township  by  1820, 
was  fairly  settled  with  perhaps  a  mile  separat- 
ing neighbors.  These  were  reached  by  blazed 
paths  through  the  forest.  But  \\hen  crops 
were  gathered  a  market  was  necessary,  so  the 
settlers  cut  through  the  woods  a  road  extend- 
ing from  the  southern  part  of  the  township  up 
toward  Paris  (Plymouth)  and  into  Huron 
county,  through  New  Haven  to  Milan,  then  the 
principal  town  in  what  is  now  Huron  county. 
This  road  was  very  crudely  constructed,  merely 
the  trees  and  bushes  cut  away,  and  where  the 
ground  was  low  and  swampy,  trees  were 
felled  and  a  corduroy  road  made.  Another 
road  ran  from  Paris,  through  the  township 
southwest  to  Bucyrus,  while  a  third  crossed 
the  northeastern  part  of  the  county,  running 
from  Tiffin  through  where  New  Washington 
now  is  and  on  east.  In  Auburn  township 
nearly  the  entire  distance  was  corduroy,  the 
only  way  to  make  the  swamps  passable;  and 
each  spring  new  logs  had  to  be  piled  on  the 
old,  where  the  old  ones  had  sunk  into  the  soft 
mire.  Deer,  bear,  wolves  and  catamounts 
were  abundant;  the  deer  were  harmless  but 
the  three  latter  were  a  nuisance  and  a  danger 
to  the  settlers.  The  killing  of  the  deer  by  the 
Indians  was  at  such  wholesale  rates  that  the 
settlers  were  obliged  to  put  a  stop  to  the  kill- 
ing of  the  does,  the  true  white  hunter  only 
killing  does  out  of  the  breeding  season  and  for 
meat.  The  Indians  killed  indiscriminately 
for  the  skins  of  the  animal,  leaving  the  car- 
casses in  the  Avood  as  useless.  Amos  Morse 
tells    the    storv    that    his    father,    Rodolphus 


Morse,  had  an  agreement  with  David  Byers, 
an  expert  woodsman,  by  which  his  father 
agreed  to  bring  in  all  the  deer  that  Byers 
could  kill  in  one  day.  Byers  made  the  ar- 
rangement one  evening  when  there  was  a 
heavy  snow  fall,  assuring  the  next  day  as  an 
excellent  one  for  deer.  The  hunter  had  an 
old  flint  lock  rifle,  which  had  done  him  serv- 
ice for  years,  and  during  the  day  killed  seven 
deer.  Six  of  these  Morse  brought  in,  but  the 
seventh  had  only  been  wounded  and  Byers  had 
followed  it  for  eight  miles  before  he  killed  it, 
and  it  was  late  in  the  day,  and  impossible  for 
Morse  to  bring  in  the  animal  as  per  the  agree- 
ment. Many  of  the  hunters  captured  the 
fawns,  which  patiently  stood  at  their  dead 
mother's  side,  and  were  easily  led  home  where 
they  became  the  pets  of  the  children,  following 
them  around,  adorned  with  some  bright  rib- 
bon, and  when  possible,  with  a  bell  so  they 
could  be  found  when  they  strayed  away  into 
the   forests. 

The  wilder  animals  were  a  nuisance.  On 
one  occasion  Enoch  Baker  had  gone  through 
the  woods  on  Saturday  evening  to  see  his  girl, 
following  the  trail  his  frequent  trips  had  done 
much  toward  establishing  between  the  two 
cabins.  On  his  way  home  he  was  scented  by 
the  wolves,  and  started  on  a  swift  run  for  his 
father's  cabin.  He  could  hear  the  howling  of 
the  wolves  as  they  approached  nearer  and 
nearer,  finally  snapping  and  snarling  on  both 
sides  of  him.  Fortunately,  he  was  near  his 
home.  He  was  armed  only  with  a  stout  club, 
and  threatening  demonstrations  with  this  kept 
the  snarling  animals  at  bay  until  he  could 
reach  the  clearing,  and  when  he  got  into  the 
open  the  wolves  slunk  back  into  the  forest. 
It  was  not  a  pleasant  experience,  but  he  did 
not  regard  it  as  serious  enough  to  overcome 
the  pleasures  of  his  Saturday  evening's  visits, 
for  they  were  continued  until  the  young  lady 
solved  the  problem  and  relieved  him  of  all 
further  dangerous  trips  by  making  her  home 
with  him,  the  young  couple  moving  into  a 
cabin  on  his  father's  farm. 

One  Sunday  morning  Daniel  Cole,  having 
arisen  early  to  look  after  his  farm  duties, 
heard  a  hallooing  in  the  woods,  went  into  the 
house,  and  got  his  rifle,  and  started  out  to 
find  the  cause.  Up  in  the  crotch  of  a  small 
tree  sat  one  of  his  young  neighbors,  while  at 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


183 


the  base,  a  bear  was  patiently  standing  guard. 
Cole  killed  the  bear,  and  the  young  man  came 
down.  He,  too,  was  on  his  way  home  from  a 
visit  to  his  best  girl,  when  he  was  followed  by 
a  bear  and  only  found  safety  in  a  sapling  too 
small  for  the  bear  to  climb  but  large  enough 
to  support  him.  It  had  not  been  a  long  wait, 
as  in  those  days  when  a  young  man  started  for 
a  courting  visit  of  several  miles  after  doing 
his  evening  chores,  he  arrived  there  in  time  to 
find  the  old  folks  very  sensibly  in  bed,  and 
etiquette  only  demanded  that  he  leave  before 
daylight. 

William  Cole,  a  brother  of  Daniel,  when 
about  1 6,  started  off  with  the  dogs  to  bring 
in  the  cows  which  were  wandering  in  the  for- 
est. Suddenly  the  dogs  rushed  forward  and 
he  heard  a  tremendous  barking.  He  hurried 
forward  and  found  them  standing  guard  over 
a  large  hollow  log,  and  from  their  actions  was 
satisfied  it  was  an  animal  of  which  they  were 
afraid.  He  stole  cautiously  forward  and 
found  a  small  bear  had  sought  safety  in  the 
hollow  log.  The  boy  was  unarmed,  but  he 
secured  a  heavy  club,  and  boldly  caught  the 
bear  by  the  hind  legs,  to  pull  him  out  of  the 
log,  the  dogs  previously  attacking  the  animal, 
their  sharp  teeth  making  the  bear  get  out  into 
the  open  as  quickly  as  possible.  Young  Cole 
seized  the  club,  and  dealt  the  bear  a  savage 
blow  on  the  head.  The  bear  responded  by  a 
rush  at  Cole,  who  defended  himself  with  his 
club,  while  the  dogs  made  vicious  attacks  on 
the  bear,  and  when  the  animal  had  to  turn  to 
defend  himself  from  the  dogs.  Cole  used  his 
club  to  such  advantage,  that  between  him  and 
the  dogs  the  bear  was  killed.  Both  Cole  and 
the  dogs  were  badly  scratched  and  bruised, 
and  he  returned  home  where  he  told  his  story 
to  the  great  astonishment  of  his  father,  who 
refused  to  credit  it,  until  he  had  gone  out  and 
brought  in  the  bear. 

William's  brother  Daniel  went  on  a  visit  to 
a  relative  near  West  Liberty,  and  one  morn- 
ing started  home  at  daylight  his  only  com- 
panion being  a  large  bull  dog  belonging  to 
Enoch  Baker.  He  had  not  gone  far  into  the 
woods  before  he  found  a  pack  of  wolves  were 
on  his  trail.  He  hurried  forward,  but  the 
wolves  were  soon  on  both  sides  of  him  more 
than  a  dozen  of  them,  and  one  large  one,  the 
leader  of  the  pack,  was  about  to  spring  on 


him,  when  the  dog  seized  the  animal  by  the 
throat  giving  the  boy  time  to  climb  into  a 
small  iron-wood  tree.  The  dog  had  the  wolf 
down,  but  the  brute  managed  to  shake  himself 
free,  and  the  whole  pack  then  slunk  away  into 
the  woods. 

One  day  Seth  Hawks  heard  the  squealing  of 
one  of  his  hogs,  and  started  immediately  to  see 
what  the  trouble  was,  neglecting  to  take  his 
gun  with  him.  A  quarter  of  a  mile  from  his 
cabin  he  came  upon  a  large  log  and  behind  it 
was  his  hog,  with  two  large  bears  attacking  it. 
The  bears  saw  Hawks  and  made  a  rush  for 
him.  Hawks  made  a  run  for  it,  and  with  a 
desperate  spring  caught  the  branches  of  a 
small  tree,  and  swung  himself  over  the  limb, 
as  the  bears  oassed  beneath  him.  The  in- 
furiated animals  endeavored  to  climb  the  tree, 
but  it  was  too  small.  They  then  tried  to  leap 
high  enough  to  get  their  claws  on  the  scared 
man  and  sometimes  the  bear  managed  to  strike 
the  frail  limb  almost  shaking  him  off.  He 
called  loudly  for  assistance  and  fortunately 
his  wife  heard  him,  and  hurried  for  help  to 
their  nearest  neighbor,  who  was  Rodolphus 
Morse,  and  in  half  an  hour  he  arrived,  and 
on  seeing  him  approach  the  bears  quickly  left 
and  were  lost  in  the  woods. 

The  forests  were  swarming  with  squirrel; 
they  were  so  plentiful  that  there  was  no  ex- 
citement of  the  hunt  in  killing  them,  besides 
deer  and  turkeys  were  more  plentiful  for 
game,  but- the  squirrel  were  a  nuisance.  They 
infested  the  fields  of  the  farmer,  ate  his 
planted  grain  and  injured  his  crops,  and  fre- 
quently squirrel  hunts  were  arranged  to  get 
rid  of  the  troublesome  little  fellows.  At  one 
famous  squirrel  hunt,  sides  were  chosen 
with  Thomas  Cooker  captain  of  one  team  and 
Enoch  Baker  of  the  other.  When  the  two 
parties  met  at  night  each  had  slain  their  hun- 
dreds and  while  they  were  in  doubt  as  to  which 
side  belonged  the  victory,  Baker  added  to  his 
pile  a  huge  catamount  he  had  killed,  and  to 
him  the  victory  was  given. 

David  Cummins  built  a  saw  mill  on  the 
Honey  Creek  in  section  17.  It  was  a  small 
frame  structure,  and  run  by  water  power,  a 
dam  being  built.  This  was  about  1827,  but 
there  was  little  demand  for  lumber,  most  of 
the_  pioneers  being  contented  with  their  log 
cabins.     Prior  to  its  erection  the  few  frame 


184 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


houses  erected  were  built  of  lumber  obtained 
a  dozen  miles  away  on  the  Mohican  or  on  the 
Huron  rivers.  In  1855  the  saw  mill  was  aban- 
doned, after  passing  through  several  hands. 
About  1830  Rev.  Thomas  Millard  came  to  the 
township  and  settled  in  the  northwest  quarter 
of  section  17,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Honey 
creek  he  erected  a  saw  mill.  One  section  was 
supplied  with  mill  stones  made  of  nigger 
heads,  and  wheat  and  corn  were  ground,  which 
was  a  great  convenience  to  the  people,  as  pre- 
viously they  were  obliged  to  go  to  New  Haven 
to  have  grain  ground. 

The  mill  was  a  large  frame  one,  a  dam  hav- 
ing been  built  to  furnish  the  power.  After 
running  the  mill  for  a  dozen  years,  Mr.  Mil- 
lard leased  it  to  Enoch  Baker,  for  which  he 
was  to  receive  half  the  profits,  but  the  arrange- 
ment proved  unprofitable  to  Baker,  ;and  he 
quit  the  business  and  a  few  years  later  Mil- 
lard sold  out  to  Rufus  Page.  Although  the 
mills  turned  out  a  good  brand  of  flour,  there 
was  not  enough  business  to  make  it  profitable, 
and  the  grinding  of  grain  was  abandoned.  In 
1836  Coykendall  &  Ladow  built  a  saw  mill  on 
Coykendall  creek  in  section  10.  At  first  the 
mill  was  operated  by  water  power,  but  too 
much  of  the  year  there  was  not  sufficient 
water,  so  steam  was  introduced.  The  mill 
burned  down,  but  the  business  was  good  and 
it  was  immediately  rebuilt.  There  now  being 
a  demand  for  lumber  to  replace  the  log  houses 
about  1840  William  Ewing  built  a  mill  on  the 
Coykendall  creek,  further  up  the  stream,  and 
this  was  continued  for  twenty  years  before  it 
was  abandoned.  Another  grist  mill  was  built 
by  Jonathan  Davis  and  William  Crouse  at 
Mechanicsburg,  half  a  mile  north  of  Tiro,  but 
it  was  only  run  four  years,  when  it  was  moved 
away.  The  usual  price  at  the  mill  for  sawing 
was  40c.  per  hundred  feet,  or  one  half  the 
logs.  About  1883  the  citizens  of  Tiro  and  the 
surrounding  farmers  raised  $4,000  and  gave 
it  to  Thornberg  &  Haskell  as  an  inducement 
fort  them  to  start  a  mill  in  the  village.  A  very 
large  frame  building  was  erected,  it  was  fur- 
nished with  all  the  modern  machinery,  and 
was  a  success  from  the  start.  It  was  erected 
just  south  of  the  railroad  track,  with  every 
convenience  for  shipment,  and  here  grain  is 
either  ground,  or  bought  and  shipped,  and  the 
having  of  a  fine  mill  in  easy  access  has  been  a 


profitable  business  both  to  the  firm  and  to  the 
farmers. 

The  township  being  largely  settled  by  peo- 
ple from  New  England  they  were  a  Sunday 
observing  class  and  as  early  as  18 18  services 
were  held  in  the  larger  cabins,  when  some 
traveling  minister  came  among^  the  pioneers. 
The  pioneers  were  all  strict  observers  of  the 
Sabbath,  and  generally  knew  when  the  day 
came  around,  although  watches  and  clocks 
were  hardly  known  in  the  township  and  alma- 
nacs were  scarce.  One  Sunday  morning  Ro- 
dolphus  Morse  had  had  his  usual  family  wor- 
ship, and  was  doing  the  necessary  feeding, 
when  he  heard  the  voice  of  Seth  Hawks,  his 
nearest  neighbor,  shouting  to  his  oxen.  The 
noise  continued  and  Mr.  Morse  thought  it  best 
to  go  across  and  see  what  was  the  cause  of  this 
unseemly  disturbance  on  the  Sabbath  day,  Mr. 
Hawks  being  one  of  the  strictest  Presbyterians 
in  the  neighborhood.  Reaching  the  barn  of 
Hawks  he  found  his  neighbor  very  busily  en- 
gaged in  driving  a  yoke  of  oxen  around  the 
puncheon  floor  on  which  was  a  heavy  spread 
of  grain,  and  in  this  way  was  threshing  his 
wheat.  Mr.  Morse  asked  him  what  he  meant 
by  working  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  Hawks 
discovered  he  had  mistaken  the  day,  thinking 
it  was  Saturday.  He  promptly  unhitched  his 
oxen,  retired  to  the  house,  and  finished  the 
day  in  fasting  and  prayer. 

By  1 82 1  it  was  found  necessary  to  erect 
churches  and  both  the  Methodists  and  Baptists 
that  year  built  small  log  churches,  organized 
their  societies,  and  preaching  was  more  regu- 
lar. The  Presbyterians,  Winebrennarians 
(Church  of  God)  and  English  Lutherans  or- 
ganized societies  and  held  services  at  irregular 
intervals.  In  1830,  Avhen  Rev.  Thomas  Mil- 
lard settled  on  section  19  he  donated  two  acres 
of  land  for  church  purposes.  He  was  an  earn- 
est and  indefatigable  worker  in  the  vineyard 
of  the  Lord.  Erecting  his  saw  mill,  one  of  the 
first  uses  was  the  sawing  of  the  lumber  for  the 
new  church,  and  much  of  the  work  of  the  . 
building  was  done  by  him,  and  when  completed 
he  was  chosen  as  the  first  minister  of  "Good 
Will  church."  The  church  was  built  in  1835, 
and  the  congregation  thrived  and  multiplied, 
and  in  1868  this  building  became  too  small, 
and  a  new  and  larger  structure  was  erected  on 
the   same  site  in   1868.    In  the  southeastern 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


187 


part  of  the  township  is  the  Pleasant  Grove 
M.  E.  church,  organized  in  1850.  It  is  on  the 
old  Portland  road,  one  mile  north  of  the  town- 
ship line.  About  1835  an  M.  E.  church  was 
built  in  the  northern  part  of  this  township,  a 
mile  west  of  Waynesburg  on  the  road  leading 
to  Plymouth.  It  was  sold  to  the  Winebren- 
narians  and  by  them  was  later  moved  to  the 
northeastern  part  of  the  township,  but  the  at- 
tendance gradually  became  less  and  less,  and 
although  still  standing  it  is  only  used  for 
funerals  and  occasional  services. 

The  Baptists  held  services  as  early  as  the 
Methodists  but  they  progressed  more  slowly, 
until  about  1830  it  had  an  unexpected  increase 
of  membership,  and  in  1840,  a  frame  church 
was  erected  on  section  16,  on  the  farm  of 
Deacon  Howe  who  was  one  of  the  prominent 
Baptists  and  an  earnest  worker,  and  did  much 
to  build  up  the  church.  This  building  was 
sufificient  for  the  congregation  until  in  1879 
a  new  and  larger  one  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
$2,500. 

The  first  Presbyterian  services  were  held 
as  early  as  1825.  They  were  conducted  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Wolf,  who  for  years  previous  had 
been  a  missionary  among  the  Indians  and 
traveled  all  over  Northern  Ohio,  establishing 
churches,  and  it  was  through  his  work  and 
efforts  a  Presbyterian  congregation  was 
formed,  and  later  a  church  erected. 

The  United  Brethren  held  services  long  be- 
fore they  were  strong  enough  to  erect  a 
church.  '  They  finally  built  one  near  Tiro,  and 
their  present  large  building  was  erected  in 
1878. 

St.  Mary's  Catholic  Church,  at  North  Au- 
burn, had  its  origin  in  the  spring  of  1879, 
when  the  Catholics  living  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Waynesburg  met  together  to  devise  some 
plan  whereby  Sunday  services  could  be  held 
and  a  Sunday  school  started  nearer  than  New 
Washington.  It  was  decided  to  erect  a  frame 
structure  on  a  corner  of  the  old  Faeth  farm, 
which  was  accordingly  done,  Father  Am- 
adeus  Dambach  being  the  first  pastor.  He 
was  called  away  in  the  summer  of  1881  and 
the  church  then  became  a  mission  of  the  New 
Washington  church.  Rev.  Laurence  Heiland 
ministering  to  the  two  congregations  from 
1 88 1  to  1888.  The  Rev.  George  Vogt  was 
then  assigned  as  pastor  and  during  his  form 


of  service  the  church  was  frescoed  and  stained 
glass  windows  were  substituted  for  the  old 
plain  glass  panes.  Father  Vogt  donating  one 
window  and  Father  Horstman  another.  In 
1899  Rev.  John  Kunnert  took  charge  of  the 
church  at  New  Washington  and  the  mission 
of  St.  Mary's.  During  his  term  as  pastor  a 
basement  was  dug  and  the  building  equipped 
with  a  furnace;  and  the  somewhat  high 
church  tower  was  lowered  for  considerations 
of  safety.  In  July,  1906  Rev.  G.  M.  Schmidz 
was  appointed  as  resident  priest  of  St.  Marys, 
and  under  him  various  church  organizations 
were  established.  These  are  the  Christian 
Mother  Society,  which  has  a  membership  of 
thirty-seven;  the  St.  Agnes  Sodality  and  St. 
Aloysius  Sodality,  in  which  the  young  women 
and  young  men  of  the  parish  are  respectively 
enrolled.  The  parish  now  numbers  about  60 
families.  In  connection  with  the  parish  there 
is  a  successful  parochial  school.  Father 
Schmidz  was  ordained  at  Baltimore,  Md.  in 
1904  by  Cardinal  Gibbons.  Besides  acting  as 
pastor  of  St.  Mary's  he  supplies  St.  An- 
thony's church,  which  he  organized  three 
years  ago. 

The  first  school  house  was  built  on  the  farm 
of  Robert  Cook  in  182 1.  It  was  a  small  log 
structure  and  built  by  the  settlers.  A  school- 
house  being  necessary,  a  day  was  fixed  and  the 
settlers  in  that  section  all  turned  out,  selected 
the  site,  cut  down  the  trees,  did  not  stop  to 
hew  the  logs,  but  put  them  in  round,  and  by 
nightfall  the  building  was  up.  A  roof  of 
clapboards  was  added  and  a  floor;  the  crevices 
between  the  logs  were  filled  with  mud.  It  was 
a  small  cabin,  and  the  fire  place  occupied  al- 
most one  end  of  the  room,  while  at  the  other 
was  the  teacher's  desk,  this  desk  and  the 
benches  being  made  by  the  pioneers.  The  pu- 
pils had  no  desks.  John  Talford  was  the  first 
teacher,  during  the  winter  of  182 1-2,  and  he 
had  about  fifteen  scholars.  About  1823  a 
young  lady  named  Mary  Wilcox  was  the  first 
female  teacher  in  the  township,  having  a 
school  in  an  old  abandoned  cabin,  in  the  Ham- 
mond neighborhood.  It  had  been  fitted  up 
with  benches,  and  the  following  year  a  school 
house  was  erected  on  the  Hammond  farm,  the 
settlers  in  that  section  turning  out  to  do  the 
work.  It  was  of  logs  but  larger  than  the  first 
sclinol    linuse.      Amos    Morse    attended    this 


1S8 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


school,  when  a  boy  of  five,  passing  through 
the  forest  daily  about  two  miles  from  his 
father's  farm  to  the  school  building.  He 
states  the  benches  were  very  uneven,  having 
been  split  out  of  wood  having  a  crooked  grain. 
Unfortunately,  he  was  so  small  his  feet  could 
not  touch  the  floor,  and  here  he  was  compelled 
to  sit  hour  after  hour  to  learn  his  letters.  The 
early  part  of  the  day  it  was  fairly  easy  to 
occupy  the  seat  without  slipping  off,  but  the 
discomfort  became  torture  as  the  day  wore 
on.  Among  the  first  teachers  in  this  school 
house  were  Erastus  Sawyer  and  Daniel  W. 
Ross.  In  1824  Rodolphus  Morse  was  the 
teacher  and  from  some  cause  the  building 
caught  fire  and  was  burned  down,  but  the  bal- 
ance of  the  term  was  completed  in  an  aban- 
doned cabin  near  the  school  house,  which  was 
hurriedly  fitted  up  with  home-made  benches. 
Everything  was  destroyed  by  the  fire,  most  of 
the  books  of  the  pupils,  which  were  generally 
left  in  the  school  room. 

In  1824  another  school  building  was  erected 
on  what  is  now  the  Willford  farm,  a  mile  east 
of  Waynesburg,  with  a  young  man  named 
John  Webber  as  the  teacher.  Webber  was  a 
very  lively  young  man,  and  although  he  was 
conducting  the  school  successfully  the  staid 
old  directors  had  their  doubts,  and  one  day 
William  Laughertv,  one  of  the  directors,  was 
irritated  at  his  latest  boyish  prank,  and  went 
to  the  school  house  and  ordered  him  to  leave. 
Webber  saw  it  was  useless  to  argue  with  the 
irate  director,  so  he  gathered  up  his  books,  and 
left  the  school  room,  demonstrating  that  he 
was  decidedly  full  of  fun  and  entitled  to  his 
reputation  as  being  a  lively  boy,  by  pausing 
at  the  door  long  enough  to  paralyze  the  hor- 
rified director  with  a  parting  blast : 
"Farewell  schoolroom,  farewell  school, 
Farewell  Laugherty,  you  d d  old  fool." 

The  school  being  without  a  teacher,  Mr. 
Laugherty  finished  the  term  himself. 

About  1825  a  school  house  was  built  on  the 
farm  of  Adam  Aumend  and  another  on  that 
of  Jesse  Ladow,  and  some  years  later  one  in 
the  northwestern  part  of  the  township,  so  that 
prior  to  1830  the  entire  township  was  con- 
veniently supplied  with  school  houses. 

The  first  village  laid  out  in  the  township  was 
Waynesburg.  It  is  one  of  the  eldest  of  the 
now  abandoned  towns  in  the  county.     It  was 


laid  out  by  John  Stewart,  the  surveyor  of 
Richland  county,  in  the  spring  of  1833,  as  the 
plat  was  filed  in  the  office  of  the  county  re- 
corder at  Mansfield,  on  May  16,  1833.  The 
new  town  was  on  one  of  the  important  roads, 
the  nearest  town  to  the  east  being  Plymouth 
and  on  the  west  Attica.  It  was  called 
Waynesburg  after  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne,  and 
was  laid  out  on  land  belonging  to  Aaron  Cory 
and  Richard  Miller.  It  had  twenty-six  lots, 
all  facing  Main  street,  that  street  being  the 
public  road  from  Plymouth  to  Sycamore  and 
McCutchenville.  The  north  and  south  street 
was  called  Market,  and  on  both  sides  of  each 
street  was  an  alley.  This  constituted  the  town. 
There  were  two  or  three  cabins  in  the  neigh- 
borhood when  the  town  was  started,  and  sev- 
eral farmers  bought  lots,  expecting  to  realize 
a  handsome  profit  when  the  village  prospered, 
but  their  expectations  were  doomed  to  disap- 
pointment, as  later  in  the  same  year  New 
Washington,  three  miles  west  was  laid  out, 
and  eventually  became  the  town  in  that  sec- 
tion. The  lots  at  Waynesburg  were  sold  at 
auction,  bringing  $8  to  $10  each.  Enoch 
Baker  bought  one  of  the  corner  lots  for  $10, 
and  shrewdly  hesitated  about  paying  the  cash 
until  the  town  showed  symptoms  of  making 
the  investment  profitable.  Later  the  town 
looked  as  if  it  would  be  a  success,  and  he  of- 
fered his  $10,  but  the  price  was  refused,  the 
lot  being  then  held  at  $20,  and  Baker  declined 
to  stand  the  raise.  Very  few  shops  were 
started  in  the  new  village.  John  M.  Robison 
started  a  blacksmith  shop  a  few  rods  west  of 
the  town  in  1835,  and  followed  the  business 
until  his  death,  after  which  it  was  run  by  his 
son  Robert  for  many  years.  Reuben  Frisbie 
opened  a  general  store  in  1835.  He  was  a 
natviral  business  man.  He  had  only  $60  cash, 
but  he  borrowed  $500  of  his  brother,  and  with 
this  capital  he  started  his  store.  He  was  a 
careful  buyer  and  shrewd  trader,  and  in  eight 
years  had  paid  off  his  original  debt  and  had  a 
capital  of  $5,000.  About  1840  Frisbie  had 
opposition  when  Anderson  &  Moore  opened  a 
store  with  $2,500  stock,  but  Frisbie  still  did 
the  bulk  of  the  business  and  they  sold  out  to 
Rufus  Page.  Later  Frisbie  discontinued  his 
store,  and  Page  did  a  good  business  for  eight 
or  ten  years  when  he  sold  to  Baker  &  Sims,  the 
firm   eventually  becoming   Sims   &   Son,   and 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


189 


finally,  business  constantly  decreasing,  the 
store  was  closed.  Bear  &  Grafmiller  also  had 
a  store,  of  which  Bear  became  sole  proprietor 
and  later  sold  to  Enoch  Baker.  In  1858  Jo- 
seph Kerr  started  a  small  grocery.  Martin 
Clark  started  a  tavern.  By  1848,  the  village 
had  become  an  important  enough  center  to 
have  a  postoffice,  and  on  July  13th  of  that  year 
James  K.  Davis,  who  kept  the  principal  store 
in  the  village,  was  appointed  as  postmaster. 
He  held  the  office  for  fifteen  years,  and  May 
20,  1863,  was  succeeded  by  William  D.  Sims, 
who  in  turn  was  followed  by  Martin  Clark, 
May  26,  1865.  On  January  24,  1876,  he  was 
succeeded  by  Nancy  Clark,  who  held  the  office 
a  little  over  a  year,  when  it  was  discontinued 
in  July  8,  1877.  For  years  the  town  had  been 
on  the  decline,  what  little  business  there  was 
gradually  being  abandoned.  The  Mansfield 
and  Coldwater  road  had  passed  to  the  south  of 
it,  and  the  Pittsburg,  Akron  &  Western,  from 
Carey  had  come  straight  east  for  over  thirty 
miles  on  a  direct  line  for  Waynesburg,  and 
when  it  reached  New  Washington,  only  three 
miles  away,  it  bore  to  the  north  and  passed  by 
the  little  village  and  established  a  station  a 
mile  away  called  North  Auburn,  and  here  on 
January  17,  i8gi,  George  S.  McKee  was 
made  postmaster,  succeeded  May  16,  1896,  by 
Adam  P.  Miller  and  he  October  27,  1898, 
by  A.  M.  Cramer.  All  that  today  remains  of 
Waynesburg,  are  a  few  houses  falling  into  de- 
cay, and  nearly  all  the  original  twenty-six 
town  lots  are  again  converted  into  farming 
land.  And  North  Auburn,  the  post  office,  is 
only  a  railroad  station. 

Half  a  mile  north  of  the  present  village  of 
Tiro,  between  1845  and  1850  several  me- 
chanics settled  at  the  point  where  the  road 
running  from  West  Liberty  and  DeKalb  to 
Waynesburg  crosses  the  angling  road  from 
Bucyrus  to  Plymouth.  Samuel  Hilborn  and 
Israel  H.  Irwin  had  blacksmith  shops  there 
and  S.  B.  Raudabaugh  was  a  cabinetmaker 
and  carpenter.  A  cooper  shop  was  also  lo- 
cated there,  and  later  Jonathan  Davis  and 
William  Grouse  ran  a  grist  mill,  and  for  a 
time  these  enterprises  were  all  successful,  and 
a  dozen  families  were  located  at  the  crossing, 
and  it  had  the  appearance  of  a  little  village,  al- 
though it  was  never  laid  out  in  town  lots.  It 
was  known  to  the  people  as  Mechanicsburg. 


As  the  years  passed  the  little  shops  were  dis- 
continued, and  when  the  town  of  Tiro  was 
laid  out  with  a  railroad  the  last  little  shop  was 
discontinued,  and  what  was  Mechanicsburg 
is  now  a  collection  of  houses  on  the  outskirts 
of  that  thriving  little  village. 

When  Rodolphus  Morse  settled  two  miles 
north  of  the  present  village  of  Tiro,  he  be- 
came an  active  citizen  and  Dec.  12,  1825,  was 
appointed  the  first  postmaster,  the  office  being 
in  his  cabin.  He  was  succeeded  on  Jan.  3, 
1835,  by  David  C.  Morrow,  who  held  the  of- 
fice for  twenty-six  years,  and  on  July  5,  1861, 
Ezekiel  Dougherty  became  postmaster,  fol- 
lowed Feb.  14,  1870,  by  M.  D.  Morse,  and  on 
March  17,  1870,  by  Amos  Morse,  who  held 
the  office  until  it  was  moved  to  Tiro  in  1874. 
In  the  early  days  the  post  office  was  called  both 
Tiro  and  Auburn. 

When  the  Mansfield,  Coldwater  and  Lake 
Michigan  road  was  built  it  passed  through  the 
southwestern  corner  of  Auburn  township,  en- 
tering the  township  at  what  is  now  the  village 
of  Tiro.  Half  a  mile  south  of  this  point  was 
the  small  but  very  old  village  of  De  Kalb  in 
Vernon  township.  Where  Tiro  now  stands 
the  railroad  established  a  station  and  called  it 
De  Kalb.  J.  D.  Brown  laid  out  forty  lots  on 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  22,  and  they 
were  promptly  disposed  of  and  buildings 
erected.  In  November,  1878,  John  Hilborn 
made  an  addition  to  the  land  of  eighty  lots. 
The  Tiro  postoffice  was  transferred  to  the  new 
town  and  Ira  Van  Tilburg  was  appointed 
postmaster  on  Jan.  22,  1874;  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  M.  L.  Callin,  Dec.  15,  1884,  and  he 
by  Willis  A.  Brown  Aug.  6,  1885,  and  he  by 
John  O.  Davis  Aug.  16,  1889;  Willis  Brown 
again  Aug.  18,  1893,  and  J.  M.  Van  Tilburg 
July  23,  1897,  who  has  held  the  office  ever 
since  and  is  a  nephew  of  the  first  postmaster. 
In  1882  the  De  Kalb  post  office,  one  mile 
south,  was  discontinued,  being  consolidated 
with  Tiro. 

J.  and  B.  S.  Van  Tilburg  started  the  first 
store  in  the  new  village  in  1872,  the  following 
year  erecting  a  substantial  brick  for  their  use. 
In  1876  a  drug  store  was  started  by  William 
Flavin.  In  1878  J.  D.  Brown  opened  a  dry 
goods  and  general  store;  and  in  1880  Davis 
&  Mitchell  started  a  store  with  general  mer- 
chandise.   Charles  McConnell  started  a  notion 


190 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


store  and  Misses  Crall  &  Owens  a  millinery 
and  dress  making  establishment.  In  1883,  the 
present  large  flouring  mill  was  opened  for 
business.  In  1893  the  little  village  was  thriv- 
ing and  the  Tiro  American  was  started,  a 
small  weekly,  which  had  a  struggling  existence 
for  three  years,  and  then  died  a  natural  death, 
and  some  years  later  a  neighboring  printer 
bought  the  plant  and  moved  it  away.  On 
Aug.  3,  191 1,  the  field  was  again  occupied  by 
W.  W.  Davis  with  the  Tiro  Weekly  World. 

Tiro  was  incorporated  as  a  village  in  1890, 
and  the  first  election  was  held  on  Dec.  12th  of 
that  year  when  Charles  McConnell  was  elected 
mayor,  C.  M.  Smith,  clerk,  and  J.  M.  Van  Til- 
burg,  treasurer.  The  first  councilmen  were 
J.  H.  Stevens,  John  O.  Davis,  D.  C.  Robinson, 
James  Hanna,  J.  W.  Burget  and  A.  J.  Mauk. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Council  was  held 
on  Dec.  29th,  and  the  first  resolution  passed 
was  to  borrow  $300  "to  defray  incidental  ex- 
penses that  have  accrued  and  may  accrue,  un- 
til such  time  as  funds  can  be  raised  by  munici- 
pal taxes."  J.  H.  Stevens,  John  O.  Davis  and 
D.  C.  Robinson  were  appointed  a  committee 
to  borrow  the  money. 

The  next  meeting  on  Jan.  5th  showed  the 
credit  of  Tiro  was  good,  and  that  the  ladies 
were  interested  in  the  little  village,  as  the  com- 
mittee reported  they  had  borrowed  the  money 
of  Miss  Viola  Chapman,  for  fourteen  months 
at  six  per  cent.  The  note  was  signed  not  only 
by  the  committee  but  by  every  councilman. 
The  first  ordinance  was  introduced  by  John  O. 
Davis.  "Ordinance  No.  i.  An  ordinance  to 
prohibit  ale,  beer  and  porter  houses,  and  other 
places  where  intoxicating  liquors  are  sold  at 
retail."  Tiro  is  the  only  village  in  the  county 
where  saloons  never  existed.  The  puritanic 
views  of  the  early  settlers  are  largely  inherited 
by  their  descendants,  and  it  is  a  very  law  abid- 
ing communitv.  Some  years  ago,  some  of  the 
wags  of  the  villag-e  during  the  night  put  up 
posters,  announcing  a  game  of  foot  ball  was 
to  be  played  in  Tiro,  the  following  Sunday  be- 
tween teams  of  two  neighboring  towns.  Ev- 
ery citizen  left  his  home  and  was  on  the 
streets,  crowds  gathered  everywhere,  men  and 
women  in  indignant  protest  against  such  an 
unheard  of  sacrilege  of  the  sanctity  of  the 
Sabbath.    "The  mayor  looked  blue  and  so  did 


the  corporation,  too."  Backed  by  a  practically 
unanimous  public  opinion  the  corporation  of- 
ficers stood  firm;  if  necessary,  the  National 
Guard  at  Bucyrus  and  Gallon  would  be  ap- 
pealed to ;  the  sheriff  of  the  county  must  pre- 
serve the  law,  and  many  of  the  citizens  passed 
a  sleepless  night  prior  to  the  sacred  day,  when 
a  foot  ball  game  was  to  be  played.  The 
marshal  was  early  abroad  and  on  the  watch; 
the  citizens  waited  with  anxious  eye  the  com- 
ing of  the  degenerate  teams,  but  the  day  passed 
as  quietly  as  usual  and  it  leaked  out  the  bills 
were  a  pure  "fake"  put  up  as  a  joke.  How- 
ever, it  demonstrated  that  the  fourth  com- 
mandment must  be  kept  sacred  in  Tiro,  and  it 
is.  They  have  three  churches — the  Presby- 
terian, Baptist  and  United  Brethren,  and  all 
have  good  congregations  and  are  in  a  flourish- 
ing condition. 

Charles  McConnell  was  elected  as  mayor 
until  the  year  1907  when  he  was  defeated  by 
James  Cahill,  but  in  1909,  he  was  again 
elected,  and  died  a  few  months  afterward,  be- 
ing succeeded  by  the  President  of  the  Council, 
G.  O.  Blair,  who  was  elected  to  the  office  in 
November,   191 1. 

C.  M.  Smith  was  succeeded  as  clerk  by  J.  E. 
Clark,  F.  W.  Carmichael,  J.  E.  Brown,  J.  E. 
Jones,  E.  A.  Burroughs,  Frank  F.  Rouda- 
baugh,  W.  H.  Guiss,  Charles  McConnell,  1907 
to  1909,  and  C.  D.  Schilling,  the  present  in- 
cumbent was  elected  in  1909  and  191 1. 

In  August,  1879,  Tiro  Lodge  No.  688  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  was  insti- 
tuted with  seven  charter  members,  Daniel 
Howe,  Cornelius  Fox,  E.  E.  Ashley,  S.  W. 
Jeffrey,  J.  R.  Hall,  Lewis  Williams  and  Mat- 
thew Irwin.  The  first  officers  were  S.  W.  Jef- 
frey, N.  G. ;  J.  R.  Hall,  V.  G. ;  Cornelius  Fox, 
Sec'y ;  E.  E.  Ashley,  Treas.  The  present  mem- 
bership of  the  lodge  is  about  fifty. 

On  May  24,  1893,  Tiro  Lodge  No.  592  was 
instituted  by  Demas  Lodge  of  Bucyrus,  with 
twenty-eight  charter  members  :  W.  A.  Brown, 
W.  H.  Guiss,  W.  F.  McConnell,  B  C.  Ramsey, 
J.  C.  Davis,  I.  M.  Vantilburg,  I.  E.  Jones,  A. 
E.  Fox,  J.  M.  Dickson,  A.  C.  Robinson,  A.  F. 
Cline,  J.  M.  Michener,  F.  F.  Shilling,  H.  L. 
Raudabaugh,  Charles  McConnell,  E.  T.  Hil- 
born,  T.  S.  Melchior,  S.  A.  Stock,  A.  E.  Gaff, 
Paul  Galehr,  I.  E.  Brown,  James  Hart,  \Y.  M. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


191 


Ovens,  E.  B.  Rex,  F.  W.  May,  E.  A.  Yarnell, 
F.  W.  Carmichel,  R.  E.  Sawyer.  The  lodge 
now  has  a  membership  of  102. 

In  April,  1896,  Willis  A.  Brown  organ- 
ized the  Farmers  and  Citizens  Bank.  Among 
those  interested  in  the  bank  with  Mr.  Brown 
were  J.  D.  Brown,  A.  C.  Robinson  and  John 
E.  Brown;  A.  C.  Robinson  was  the  president, 
and  W.  A.  Brown,  the  cashier.  The  capital 
stock  was  $10,000.  While  the  bank  was  a 
great  convenience  to  the  people  of  that  section 
the  growing  business  of  the  village  made  it  a 
profitable  investment,  and  the  capital  stock 
was  increased  to  $25,000.  Of  the  original 
founders  of  the  bank,  W.  A.  Brown  is  the  only 
one  now  connected  with  the  institution,  and 
he  has  remained  its  cashier  since  its  organiza- 
tion. Mr.  Robinson  was  succeeded  as  presi- 
dent by  J.  M.  Dickson,  and  on  his  death,  Sher- 
man Daugherty  became  president,  a  position 
he  still  holds. 

In  1900  Tiro  had  a  population  of  293, 
which  was  increased  to  321  in  1910.  It  has 
several  good  stores,  a  number  of  shops,  a  hotel, 
and  the  principal  street  has  a  fine  stone  pave- 
ment extending  almost  its  entire  length,  on 
both  sides.  Two  physicians  are  located  in 
Tiro,  Dr.  G.  O.  Blair  and  R.  M.  Guiss  and  the 
village  is  remarkably  healthy,  the  principal 
cause  of  death  being  old  age.  It  is  well  lighted 
and  has  an  abundance  of  good  water.  Its 
town  hall  is  conveniently  located,  and  its  peo- 
ple are  contented,  prosperous  and  happy. 
Nearly  all  own  their  own  homes  and  many 
of  them  are  men,  who  have  worked  hard  in 
their  younger  days,  and  now  in  the  pretty  vil- 
lage they  are  passing  their  declining  years  en- 
joying that  freedom  from  care  and  worry  they 
have  so  well  earned. 

John  Hilborn  lived  with  his  father  on  the 
road  that  passed  north  of  Tiro,  the  road  from 
Bucyrus  to  Plymouth,  part  of  the  way  near 
his  father's  it  crossed  a  swamp  half  a  mile  in 
width ;  this  had  a  corduroy  road  bed,  and  even 
with  these  it  was  sometimes  almost  impass- 
able, and  many  a  time  he  took  his  father's 
team  to  assist  in  extricating  some  wagon 
loaded  with  wheat  on  its  way  to  the  market  at 
Milan. 

About  a  mile  northeast  of  Waynesburg 
was  the  Baker  farm,  and  just  east  of  Waynes- 
burg Honey  creek  makes  a  sudden  turn  to  the 


east;  in  the  earlier  day  it  continued  in  a  north- 
easterly direction  and  meandered  through  the 
Baker  farm,  and  for  half  the  year  his  land  was 
under  water,  and  during  the  wet  spring  his 
house,  which  was  on  a  mound,  was  completely 
surrounded  by  water.  At  his  own  expense 
Mr.  Baker  cut  a  channel  for  the  creek  straight 
north  so  that  it  passed  half  a  mile  east  of  his 
house,  and  Honey  creek  today  from  the 
Waynesburg  road  north  is  almost  as  straight 
as  a  section  line.  The  cost  was  over  $1,000, 
exclusive  of  the  time  and  labor  of  Mr.  Baker, 
but  the  wisdom  of  the  investment  was  demon- 
strated by  the  fact  that  the  cost  was  paid  for 
in  a  very  few  years  by  the  increased  crops. 

In  the  earlier  days,  the  entire  northern  part 
of  the  township  was  a  vast  marsh  filled  with 
cranberries,  and  the  earlier  settlers  found  it 
a  profitable  business  to  gather  these  cran- 
berries for  the  market.  The  reclaiming  of  the 
marsh  land  by  ditching  has  made  much  of  it 
farming  land,  but  still  cranberries  can  be 
found  and  the  past  year  Lafayette  Akers 
gathered  about  three  bushel  in  one  day.  In 
the  extreme  northern  section  is  the  lower  part 
of  the  great  Pittsburg  farm,  where  vegetable 
gardening  is  conducted  in  a  wholesale  way. 
The  Pittsburg  company  thoroughly  drained 
the  entire  section.  A  dam  was  erected  on  the 
Coykendall  creek,  and  a  mud  scow  containing 
the  machinery  was  used,  and  the  accumula- 
tions of  years  taken  from  the  bottom  of  the 
creek,  sometimes  at  a  depth  of  six  to  eight 
feet  coming  across  fallen  trees  with  trunks 
over  a  foot  in  diameter.  This  entire  swamp 
land  in  the  centiiries  had  been  filled  up  a  little 
each  season  by  the  decaying  grass  and  trees 
which  made  it  when  drained  such  a  wealth- 
producing  soil.  In  the  preparation  of  roads, 
in .  later  years,  through  the  forests  and 
swamps,  traps  were  frequently  unearthed  sev- 
eral feet  underground  which  had  been  origin- 
ally placed  by  Pettigon,  Morehead  or  one  of 
the  early  settlers. 

The  Baker  house  in  the  northwestern  part 
of  the  township  was  on  a  small  mound,  and 
this  was  once  a  large  Indian  burying-ground. 
Indian  remains  were  first  discovered  by  Mr. 
Baker  in  1833  when  he  dug  a  well  on  the 
mound,  and  at  a  depth  of  about  eighteen  inches 
came  upon  four  skeletons  lying  side  by  side, 
two  with  their  heads  to  the  east  and  two  to 


192 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


the  west.  No  hunting  implements  or  articles 
of  clothing  were  found,  and  on  being  exposed 
to  the  air  the  more  fragile  portions  crumbled 
into  dust.  One  of  the  Indians  was  very  large, 
as  his  jaw  bone  was  large  enough  to  pass  over 
the  jaw  of  an  ordinary  man,  and  the  upper 
bone  of  the  arm  was  four  inches  longer  than 
that  of  the  average  man,  and  had  a  corre- 
sponding thickness.  Later  in  digging  around 
the  yard  fifteen  other  skeletons  have  at  differ- 
ent times  been  found,  and  in  no  case  was  any 
war  instrument  found  with  them  as  is  custom- 
ary in  the  burial  of  an  Indian  warrior.  These 
were  all  buried  near  the  surface.  In  1866  when 
digging  a  cellar  nine  more  were  unearthed, 
these,  too,  having  some  with  their  heads  to  the 
east  and  others  to  the  west.  Since  the  first 
discovery  in  1833,  as  many  as  thirty  skeletons 
have  been  unearthed  on  the  mound  on  which 
the  residence  stands  and  those  last  discovered 
show  no  greater  signs  of  decomposition  than 
the  earlier  ones,  indicating  they  had  lain  there 
for  several  centuries. 

In  April,  1887,  J.  D.  Michener,  while  dig- 
ging a  ditch  for  Herbert  Duboise  on  the  old 
Green  farm  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
township  found  a  number  of  bones  of  some 
pre-historic  animal,  one  part  of  a  tooth  6^ 
by  4  inches  in  length  and  20  inches  in  circum- 
ference. It  weighed  2  pounds  10  ounces. 
Several  smaller  teeth  were  found  weighing 
about  a  pound.  All  other  bones  except  these 
teeth  had  long  since  mouldered  to  decay. 

About  two  miles  northeast  of  Tiro  is  the 
Hanna  grave  yard,  and  as  far  as  pioneer  lore 
is  concerned  this  little  country  grave  yard  goes 
back  to  the  earliest  days,  and  contains  more 
pioneers  than  any  other  burial  site  in  the 
county.  The  oldest  stone  here  is  that  of  John 
Snyder,  who  died  Dec.  i,  1821.  He  was  born 
in  1764.  Daniel  Daugherty  is  buried  here; 
born  April  23.  1776.  the  year  and  the  month 
"the  shot  was  fired  heard  round  the  world." 
He  died  N'ov.  26.  1876,  over  a  hundred  years 
old.  Here  lies  Seth  Hawks,  the  pious  Pres- 
b)^erian,  who  forgot  the  Sabbath  day.  He 
was  born  July  2,  1793,  foughtin  the  War  of 
181 2,  and  died  July  20,  1824.  Another  vet- 
eran of  the  War  of  1812  was  Rudolphus 
Morse,  born  April  26,  1791,  and  died  Oct.  11, 
1872.  Here  lies  also  Andrew  Varnica,  the 
hermit,  born  in  Prussia,  Jan.  24,   1768,  lead- 


ing his  lonely  life  until  March  23,  1847,  when 
he  passed  into  the  presence  of  his  maker  carry- 
ing his  secret  with  him.  Here  are  other 
graves  of  those  in  this  one  burial  spot  who 
belong  to  the  days  of  over  a  century  ago : 

Jonathan  Ashley,  born  Aug.  9,  1775;  died 
Nov.  3,  1852. 

Jonas  Ashley,   born   Nov.   26,   1797;   died 
Sept.  26,  1862.    " 

P.  J.  Archer,  born  Feb.  2,  1790;  died  April 
24,  -1845. 

Adam  Aumend,  born  Nov.  12,  1799;  died 
June  30,  1882. 

John  Blair,  born  1777;  died  Sept.  19,  1847. 

George  Bloom,  born  March  30,  1791;  died 
July  9,  1865. 

John    Burchard,    born    March    1790;    died 
June  5,  i88r.  '    ' 

Joseph  Champion,  born  Aug.  9,  1781;  died 
June  8,  1845. 

David  Cummings,  born  Feb.  27,  1772;  died- 
Dec.  27,   1855. 

David  Cummings,  born  May  4,  1781 ;  died 
Aug.  17,  1841. 

Joshua  Chilcott,  born  April  3,   1761 ;  died, 
July  3,  1837. 

Benjamin  Chilcott,  born  April  5,  1799;  died 
Aug.  30,  1824. 

Tiwecke  Dewitt,  born  1790;  died  Sept.  22,. 
1823. 

John  Frazee,  born  Jan.  27,  1770;  died  Dec. 
I,  1859. 

John  Frazee,  born  July  25,  1799;  died  Dec. 
4,  1862. 

William   Green,  born   Nov.   8,    1778;  died 
April  21,  1862. 

Benjamin  Griffith,  born  Aug.  16,  1782;  died 
Feb.  9,  1840. 

George  Hammond,  born  May  20,  1789;  died 
Dec.  30,  1868. 

Aaron  B.  Howe,  born  Feb.  3,  1782;  died 
April  20,  18 q 3. 

Samuel  Harley,  born  Sept.  24,   1776;  died" 
Aug.  6,  1841. 

Samuel  Hanna,   born   Sept.   2,    1795;  died 
June  2,  1862. 

Harvey  Hoadley,  bom  Feb.  9,   1798;  died 
June  17,  1897. 

William  Jameson,  born  Aug.  21,  1779;  died 
Aug.  26.   1846. 

Isaac  Hilborn,   bom  July   20,    1799;  died 
April  30,  1864. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


193 


Frederick  Myers,  born  1768;  died  June  20, 

1843- 

James  McCrea,  born  Feb.  14,  1773;  died 
Dec.  31,  1850. 

John  L.  Metcalf,  born  March  7,  1775;  died 
June  19,  1871. 

Charles  Morrow,  born  Jan.  i,  1777;  died 
Dec.  4,  1845. 

Thomas  Pope,  born  June  i,  1782 ;  died  Feb. 
22,  1849. 


Daniel  Trago,  born  May  5,  1796;  died  Jan. 
3,  1876. 

Peter  Vanorsdoll,  born  1790;  died  Dec.  14, 

1834. 

John  Wilson,  born  March  31,  1799;  died 
May  10,  1861. 

Joseph  William,  born  July  17,  1765;  died 
Dec.  27,  1836. 

The  Handley  grave  yard  is  one  mile  north- 


AK„i  r*   Ti^r.^   u        -Mr      o     o J-  J  T  1  west  of   Tiro;   here  the   first   mterment  was 

Abel  C.  Ross,  born  May  8,  1800;  died  July  ,,r.„.        tt     ji         1.  u         ■  a 

12    1870  William  Handley  who  was  born  in  1791,  and 

Robert  Ralston,  born  April  26,  1768;  died  f^^  ^"^^^f  'T     ^T'^u    P'°"'''  '' j^"" 


Oct.  26,  1 8^4.. 


drew  McCaskey,  born  March  17,   1791;  died 


James   Ralston,   born   Jan.    i,    1799;    died  ^^P*-  i7»  1867.                           ,       ^     ^    ,,,-,. 

Sent    I    1888  Other    cemeteries    are   at   the    Good    Will 

Robert  Robinson,  born  1783;  died  May  14,  church;  another  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 

i8[^,                                           '  August  Herzer,  one  mile  east  of  Waynesburg, 

Erastus  Sawyer,  born  Oct.  10,  1800;  died  and    the    Baptist    cemetery    near    the    Howe 

July  12,  1870.  farm. 


CHAPTER  IX 

BUCYRUS  TOWNSHIP 

Creation  of  the  Township — Location  and  Topography — Drainage — First  Settlers — In- 
dian Sugar  Camp — Early  Mills — The  Notions — Zalmon  Rowse — Colored  Pioneers — Or- 
ganization and  Election  in  1824 — Josiah  Scott — A  Township  Treasurer's  Responsibili- 
ties— Some  Early  Officials — Churches  and  Schools — A  Traveling  Schoolhouse — Miss 
Monnett's  Donation — Early  Taverns — Farming  Operations — Indian  Trails — Roads — An 
Ancient  Sword — Cemeteries. 


First  Norton  and  the  Beadles  came, 

With  friends  (an  enterprising  band), 
Young  and  McMichael,  men  of  fame, 

Soon  joined  the  others,  hand  in  hand; 
By  various  plans  t'  improve  the  lands. 

They  early  rise  with  every  morn, 
Near  where  the  town  Bucyrus  stands, 

All  on  Sandusky's  rural  bourn. 

— CoL.  Kilbourne's  Song  of  Bucyrus. 


Bucyrus  township  was  named  after  the  town 
of  Bucyrus,  the  town  being  named  between 
Oct.  1st  and  Dec.  15,  182 1.  It  was  created  by 
the  commissioners  at  Delaware  in  1822, 
and  consisted  of  territory  12  miles  wide  ex- 
tending from  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
present  Bucyrus  township  to  the  present 
northern  boundary  of  the  county,  the  present 
Bucyrus,  Holmes,  Lykens,  Chatfield,  Liberty 
and  part  of  Cranberry  and  Whetstone  town- 
ships by  surveyor's  maps,  township  i,  2  and  3, 
range  16,  east,  and  township  i,  2  and  3,  range 
17  east.  Later  the  commissioners  of  Delaware 
county  created  the  township  of  Bucyrus  as  it 
at  present  exists,  and  on  Dec.  7,  1824,  the 
journal  of  the  Marion  county  commissioners 
contains  the  following  entry :  "On  application 
of  citizens  of  surveyed  fractional  township 
three  of  range  16  an  order  was  issued  to  or- 
ganize the  original  fractional  township  3  of 
range  16."  While  six  miles  square  the  town- 
ship was  called  fractional  as  the  western  two 
and  a  third  miles  of  the  township  was  Indian 
reservation.  Bucyrus  township  was  then  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  the  county  and  when 


the  charter  was  granted  for  the  Columbus  and 
Sandusky  turnpike,  the  Legislature  gave  the 
company  31,360  acres  of  land,  49  sections, 
"along  the  western  side  of  the  Columbus  and 
Sandusky  turnpike,  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Crawford,  Marion  and  Seneca  counties." 

Before  Bucyrus  township  was  formed  it  was 
a  part  of  Sandusky  township,  perhaps  all  of 
the  present  Crawford  being  that  township,  as 
on  April  15,  1821,  the  Delaware  commission- 
ers appointed  Joseph  Young  and  Westell 
Ridgely  as  justices  of  the  peace  for  Sandusky 
township.  Young  then  lived  near  Bucyrus  and 
Ridgely  near  Leesville,  neither  place  being  then 
in  existence.  These  were  the  officials  in  Craw- 
ford county. 

South  of  Bucyrus  and  east  of  the  present 
Little  Sandusky  road  the  country  was  the  San- 
dusky Plains,  named  by  the  Indians  after  the 
river.  From  the  river  north,  the  entire  north- 
western part  of  the  township  was  forest.  The 
township  was  well  watered.  The  Sandusky 
river  entering  in  the  northeast  quarter  section 
of  the  township,  and  running  southwesterly 
leaves  the  township  two  miles  from  the  south- 
west corner.  Small  streams  on  both  sides 
empty  into  this  river.  A  mile  and  a  half  south 
of  the  Sandusky,  the  Little  Scioto  starts  south- 
westerly through  the  township,  entering  Dal- 
las township  a  mile  and  a  half  east  of  the 
western  boundary  of  the  township.  This  little 
stream  has  half  a  dozen  smaller  tributaries  on 
both  sides.     In  the  northwestern  part.  Grass 


194 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


195 


Run  with  several  branches  covers  that  section, 
while  in  the  southwest  little  streams  go  south- 
ward to  the  Whetstone.  The  extensive  plains 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  county  were  nearly 
all  swamp,  and  most  of  the  year  in  the  early 
day  under  water.  In  the  summer  season  in 
the  ages  past,  the  land  was  covered  with  a  tall 
coarse  grass,  as  high  as  five  and  six  feet ;  each 
fall  this  decayed  and  in  years  following  pro- 
duced a  rich,  soft  soil,  so  that  the  snows  of 
winter  and  the  rains  of  summer  kept  the  sec- 
tion covered  with  marshes.  While  the  land 
was  almost  level,  there  was  occasionally  some 
slightly  rising  ground,  on  which  trees  grew, 
small  groves  which  were  called  "islands." 
The  formation  of  the  soil  from  its  decaying 
vegetation  made  it  some  of  the  richest  farm- 
ing land  in  the  county,  yet  its  swampy  condi- 
tion, and  the  absence  of  trees  for  building"  cab- 
ins and  for  fuel  in  winter  made  it  a  section 
which  few  of  the  early  settlers  desired  to  oc- 
cupy, and  as  a  result  they  preferred  the  wood- 
land, with  the  labor  of  clearing  the  forest,  and 
making  their  farms  by  the  slow  process  of 
cutting  down  the  trees,  rather  than  the 
swampy  land  nature  had  already  cleared. 
Also,  the  marshy  land  was  unhealthy,  and 
ague  was  frequent  with  the  few  early  settlers 
who  risked  a  location  in  this  spot.  Some  who 
came  braved  it  through;  others,  after  a  short 
trial,  abandoned  their  land,  and  took  up  claims 
elsewhere;  still  others,  too  poor  to  move,  had 
to  remain,  stand  their  siege  of  fever  and  ague 
yearly,  and  start  graveyards  for  their  unfor- 
tunate little  ones.  This  was  the  Sandusky 
Plains,  today  spoken  of  and  written  of  all  over 
the  state  as  the  finest  and  most  fertile  section 
in  Ohio. 

The  locations  of  the  Sandusky  and  Scioto 
rivers  as  they  traverse  the  township  in  the 
same  southwesterly  direction  two  miles  apart, 
produce  the  interesting  fact  that  between  these 
streams  are  many  buildings  from  which  the 
water  falling  from  the  roofs,  flow  on  the  one 
side  into  the  Sandusky  and  Lake  Erie  and  to 
the  Atlantic,  and  on  the  other  into  the  Scioto, 
and  through  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  most  noted  of  these 
buildings  was  the  large  barn  built  by  Col.  Wm. 
Monnett  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  pres- 
ent city  of  Bucyrus.  It  was  on  a  knoll,  sev- 
eral hundred  feet  southwest  of  the  house,  in 


11 


his  pasture  field.  An  Indian  trail  once  passed 
over  this  knoll,  following  along  the  higher 
ground  through  Bucyrus,  and  to  Upper  San- 
dusky, and  near  the  barn  a  generation  ago  was 
to  be  seen  an  old  Indian  well,  a  hollow  syca- 
more several  feet  in  the  earth  where  lizards 
made  their  home  in  the  stagnant  water;  and 
men  who  are  grandfathers  now,  remember 
their  speculations  as  to  the  old  well  and  as  to 
who  planted  the  wild  cherry  tree  that  shared 
with  the  barn  and  the  well  a  position  on  the 
knoll. 

The  first  settlers  in  Bucyrus  township  were 
Samuel  Norton,  with  a  party  of  eighteen. 
They  were  the  first  arrivals  in  what  became 
Crawford  county  in  1820.  Crawford  county 
had  not  yet  been  created,  the  land  known  as 
the  New  Purchase,  being  the  land  purchased 
of  the  Indians  by  the  treaty  of  181 7.  Later 
in  the  spring  of  1819  they  left  their  home  in 
Luzerne  (now  Susquehanna)  county,  the  ex- 
treme northeastern  county  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  in  'a  big  "schooner"  wagon,  with  its 
curved  canvas  top,  traveled  through  the  en- 
tire length  of  Northern  Pennsylvania,  then 
half  through  Ohio,  to  near  Galion,  on  the 
border  of  the  New  Purchase,  where  Norton 
had  determined  to  locate.  Here  he  left  his 
family,  and  with  his  brother-in-law  Albigence 
Bucklin,  and  Seth  Holmes,  the  driver  and 
guide  of  the  expedition,  who  in  the  War  of 
1812  had  passed  through  this  section,  they 
started  on  a  prospecting  expedition,  visiting 
the  settlers  along  the  Whetstone;  but  having 
come  so  far,  the  pioneer  fever  was  on  them, 
and  Holmes  told  of  a  better  location  on  a  big- 
ger river  farther  to  the  west,  so  they  wandered 
through  the  tall  wild  grass  of  the  Sandusky 
plains,  and  finally  reached  the  Sandusky  river 
where  Bucyrus  now  is.  The  clear  stream  run- 
ning through  the  woods,  the  freshness  of  the 
air,  after  the  dry  heat  of  the  plains,  and  the 
level  country  to  the  south  of  the  river,  all  sat- 
isfied Norton  that  on  the  banks  of  the  San- 
dusky was  the  land  he  wanted.  The  three  re- 
turned to  their  families  and  again  the  march 
was  taken  up  of  a  dozen  miles,  and  in  October, 
1819,  they  reached  the  land  selected,  and  for 
three  days  thev  lived  in  an  Indian  wigwam, 
which  was  standing  on  the  ground  now  occu- 
pied by  the  courthouse.  The  men  went  to 
work  and  erected  a  small  log  house ;  there  were 


196 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


but  three  of  them  so  the  logs  were  small, 
and  it  was  erected  on  the  banKS  of  the  San- 
dusky, on  the  west  side  of  the  present  San- 
dusky avenue  bridge,  on  what  is  now  the  land 
owned  and  occupied  by  C.  H.  Shonert.  Down 
the  slight  bluff  Norton  had  his  pretty  river, 
with  its  clear  pure  water;  around  him  were 
the  forest  trees,  and  he  could  shoot  game  from 
his  door,  and  find  fish  in  the  stream.  The 
"homestead"  being  built,  a  similar  log  struc- 
ture was  erected  for  his  brother-in-law,  on  the 
land  north  of  East  Mansfield  street,  and  west 
of  the  T.  &  O.  C.  road.  Here  Albigence 
Bucklin  with  his  wife  and  six  children  and  an 
adopted  daughter  Polly  moved,  the  "home- 
stead" being  occupied  by  Norton  and  his  wife 
and  six  children,  Seth  Holmes  being  sole  pro- 
prietor and  owner  by  right  of  discovery  of  the 
Indian  wigwam.  Here  the  pioneers  passed 
their  first  winter,  the  woods  furnishing  them 
with  an  abundance  of  game,  and  the  meal 
brought  with  them  furnishing  the  bread;  the 
game  was  the  staple  food,  and  the  corn  bread 
was  the  luxury.  In  the  Norton  cabin  on  the 
banks  of  the  Sandusky,  on  Feb.  i6,  1820,  was 
born  a  daughter,  who  was  named  Sophronia, 
the  first  white  child  born  in  Bucyrus,  and  the 
first  white  child  born  in  that  part  of  Crawford 
west  of  Richland  county. 

Fortunately  for  these  early  settlers  the  win- 
ter of  1819-20  was  very  mild;  the  winter  was 
put  in  clearing  away  the  trees,  and  in  Febru- 
ary Mr.  Norton  planted  his  first  crop,  showing 
how  mild  the  winter  had  been,  and  the  virgin 
soil  responded  with  gladness,  for  he  stated  in 
after  years  his  first  crop  was  the  finest  he  ever 
raised.  The  nearest  settlement  was  a  dozen 
miles  away  on  the  banks  of  the  Whetstone, 
where  a  few  settlers  had  erected  cabins;  the 
nearest  store  double  that  distance,  with  no 
roads,  only  Indian  trails  through  the  forest: 
so,  as  with  all  early  settlers,  these  pioneers  had 
to  depend  on  the  resources  at  hand  and  their 
own  ingenuity.  The  children  must  be  clothed 
and  fed ;  the  latter  was  easy  owing  to  nature's 
prodigalitv,  but  the  clothing  was  another  mat- 
ter. In  the  house  the  mother  and  daughters 
spun  the  flax  and  wove  the  cloth  into  the 
coarse  garments,  and  made  up  the  deer  skin 
into  breeches  and  jackets.  Norton  made  a 
trip  of  about  20  miles  to  "Friendsborough,"  a 
Quaker  settlement  in   what   is  now   Morrow 


county,  where  he  secured  ten  pounds  of  wool. 
They  had  brought  with  them  spinning  wheels 
and  a  loom  and  the  wool  was  made  into  cloth, 
and  the  cloth  into  clothing.  Norton  started  a 
little  tannery  adjoining  his  house,  the  first 
business  industry  in  Bucyrus.  He  tanned  the 
hides  and  then  manufactured  shoes  for  the 
family.  He  planted  an  orchard  with  seeds  he 
had  brought  with  him  from  Pennsylvania,  and 
while  waiting  for  the  trees  to  grow  gathered 
apples  from  an  orchard  across  the  river 
planted  by  Johnny  Appleseed,  on  the  lot  now 
owned  by  Hon.  E.  B.  Finley,  where  even  to 
this  date,  a  century  after,  some  of  the  trees 
still  exist,  while  of  the  orchard  of  Norton  not 
a  tree  remains. 

While  the  Nortons  and  the  Bucklins  were 
the  only  white  i>eople  for  miles  around,  they 
were  not  the  only  inhabitants  of  the  region, 
and  it  was  only  a  few  days  until  the  Norton 
home  was  visited  by  a  band  of  Indians  from 
the  Wyandot  reservation.  These  savages 
were  always  peaceful  and  had  been  for  years, 
but  the  pioneers  had  frequently  heard  in  their 
eastern  home  of  the  cruelties  and  barbarities 
of  the  savages,  and  naturally  at  first  they  re- 
garded these  visits  with  anxiety.  When  the 
men  folks  were  at  home,  the  Indians  lay  on 
the  floor  of  the  cabin,  with  their  blankets 
wrapped  around  them,  thankful  for  any  food 
given  them.  Occasionally  they  came  when 
the  men  folks  were  absent,  and  the  children  in 
their  fear  would  run  to  their  mother,  as  scared 
as  themselves.  It  was  a  great  delight  to  the 
Indians  to  see  the  fear  their  presence  created, 
and  they  would  whoop,  yell  and  dance,  bran- 
dishing their  knives,  and  adding  to  the  terrors 
of  the  mother  and  children.  Later,  these  vis- 
its were  regarded  as  a  matter  of  course,  the 
custom  of  an  Indian  always  being  to  drop  into 
any  cabin  whenever  he  pleased  and  consider 
the  house  as  his  own.  Not  infrequently  he  en- 
tered a  cabin  at  night,  and  without  a  word, 
perhaps  with  a  guttural  grunt,  wrapped  his 
blanket  around  him,  and  lay  down  in  front  of 
the  fire,  and  promptly  fell  asleep,  leaving  in 
the  morning  without  a  word.  It  was  soon 
found  that  the  Indians  were  harmless;  they 
were  treated  kindly  and  sometimes  brought 
game  to  the  family.  They  greatly  enjoyed 
seeing  people  exhibit  fear,  age  or  sex  being 
no  bar,  hence  their  wild  yells  and  frantic  ac- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


197 


tions  to  frighten  the  women  and  children. 
The  Norton  girls  state  that  once  they  were 
playing  near  the  Bucklin  home,  about  where 
the  old  Bucyrus  Machine  company  building 
now  stands;  their  game  was  hide-and-seek, 
concealing  themselves  behind  the  fallen  logs. 
An  Indian  trail  ran  past  this  site,  and  while 
they  were  in  hiding  behind  the  logs,  a  band  of 
Indians  appeared  along  the  trail.  One  of  the 
Indians,  Charley  Elliott,  caught  a  glimpse  of 
one  of  the  children  and  he  raised  a  blood  curd- 
ling yell,  which  very  promptly  raised  three 
girls  from  behind  as  many  different  logs,  who 
made  up  their  minds  home  was  the  best  place 
for  them,  and  they  started  at  top  speed,  the 
Indians  accelerating  their  flight  by  all  joining 
in  a  series  of  war  cries.  The  Indians  did  not 
care  to  follow  but  evidenced  their  delight  by 
wild  whooping  and  howling. 

In  the  spring  of  1S20,  the  cool  nights  and 
the  warm  days  made  the  best  of  maple  sugar 
weather.  Where  the  public  square  now  is 
west  of  it  was  a  grove  of  maple  trees, 
and  here  the  Indians  established  a  camp, 
tapped  the  trees  and  gathered  the  sap,  and 
boiled  it  down  into  sugar,  and  the  Norton 
homestead  was  swarmed  with  visiting  Indians 
while  the  season  lasted.  The  squaws  brought 
the  kettles,  some  on  horseback,  and  others 
traveling  the  sixteen  miles  from  their  Upper 
Sandusky  village,  carrying  the  heavy  brass 
kettle  and  a  pappoose  or  two  besides.  Mrs. 
Norton  visited  the  camp  and  was  kindly  re- 
ceived by  the  Indians,  especially  by  the  women, 
who  showed  great  friendship  for  the  "pale- 
faced  squaw." 

Norton  had  settled  on  his  land,  built  his 
cabin,  and  in  1820,  when  the  land  was  open 
to  purchase  he  went  to  Delaware  and  entered 
400  acres  on  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky,  on 
240  of  which  the  central  portion  of  Bucyrus 
now  stands.  The  Norton  daughters  reported 
that  their  father  told  them  that  when  he 
reached  Delaware  to  secure  the  certificate  from 
the  government  for  his  land,  some  Quakers 
endeavored  to  persuade  him  that  the  lands  he 
intended  entering  did  not  correspond  with  the 
tract  he  wanted,  but  their  father  insisted  he 
knew  the  land  he  wanted.  The  Quakers  were 
partly  right,  as  the  final  survey  showed  the 
Norton  land  did  not  extend  to  the  river,  but 


only  to  Perry  street,  and  Norton  found  he  had 
built  his  cabin  just  north  of  his  land.  The 
cabin  was  of  no  value,  but  Norton  hated  to 
leave  his  home  on  the  bluff  overlooking  the 
pretty  river.  He  built  another  cabin,  how- 
ever, on  his  own  land  on  the  lot  that  is  now 
the  southeast  corner  of  Spring  and  Galen 
streets.  It  was  a  double  cabin,  had  two  large 
rooms  on  the  lower  floor,  and  was  built  of 
large  logs,  a  cabin  raising  being  held  when 
the  neighbors  came, to  place  the  heavy  logs  into 
position.  The  chimney  was  of  stone  for  the 
first  story,  and  above  that  it  was  made  of 
sticks  and  mud.  It  had  a  large  garret  for  the 
children  to  sleep  in,  and  was  for  those  days  a 
commodious  structure. 

After  the  arrival  of  the  Nortons  and  the 
B-ucklins,  the  next  settler  to  arrive  was  a 
"squatter,"  a  man  who  does  not  enter  land; 
he  "squats"  down  wherever  he  pleases,  builds 
a  little  cabin,  stays  as  long  as  he  pleases,  and 
then  leaves.  Mr.  Norton's  daughters  state 
that  "One  Sunday  morning  we  were  awakened 
by  the  crowing  of  several  roosters  in  the 
southwest,  and  our  ears  were  saluted  with  the 
welcome  ring  of  another  pioneer's  ax,  which 
sounds  seemed  to  us,  who  had  so  often  listened 
to  the  barking  and  howling  of  the  wolves,  the 
sweetest  music."  After  a  hurried  breakfast, 
Norton  and  his  wife  started  out  in  search  of 
the  newcomers.  It  was  a  man  named  Sears, 
who  with  his  wife  and  family  had  located  on 
land  just  west  of  where  Oakwood  cemetery 
now  is.  They  had  arrived  the  evening  before 
with  a  horse  and  wagon,  and  were  glad  to 
meet  neighbors  in  the  wilderness.  The  whole 
family  returned  to  the  Norton  home  for  a 
meal,  and  the  next  day  Norton,  Bucklin  and 
Holmes  put  in  the  day  raising  a  small  log 
cabin  for  the  new  arrivals,  and  after  it  was 
erected  Sears  plastered  the  cracks  with  mud, 
put  on  the  roof,  and  moved  in,  the  wagon  hav- 
ing been  their  sleeping  apartment  until  the 
family  home  was  done.  While  Sears  was  at 
work  on  his  cabin,  Seth  Holmes  took  over  a 
deer  and  other  small  game;  the  Nortons  and 
the  Bucklins  sent  over  honey  and  other  pro- 
visions they  could  spare,  and  at  odd  hours  as- 
sisted in  makine  the  new  home  habitable.  The 
Sears  family  did  not  stay  long;  the  restless 
moving  spirit  of  the  "squatter"  soon  came  on 


198 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


them  again,  and  they  left  for  parts  unknown, 
drifting  still  farther  to  the  west,  leaving  an 
empty  cabin  behind. 

But  during  the  year  1820  other  settlers,  real 
settlers,  did  arrive.  The  Beadles  were  the  first 
in  the  spring  of  that  year,  David  Beadle,  with 
two  sons,  Mishael  and  David,  and  a  son-in- 
law,  John  Ensley.  Next  came  Daniel  Mc- 
Michael  and  Joseph  Young,  and  during  the 
year  several  others.  In  his  song  of  Bucyrus 
Col.  Kilbourne  thus  gives  them: 

"First  Norton  and  the  Beadles  came 

■  With  friends  an  enterprising  band ; 
Young  and  McMichael,  men  of  fame. 
Soon  joined  the  others  heart  and  hand." 

Poetry  is  not  the  best  method  of  writing  his- 
tory, as  to  preserve  the  rhythm  and  meter 
much  of  the  detail  must  be  omitted,  so  two  of 
the  first  pioneers,  Bucklin  and  Holmes,  get 
notice  as  "friends,"  the  same  with  son-in-law 
Ensley.  As  to  Sears,  he  was  not  a  pioneer  and 
Col.  Kilbourne  did  well  to  omit  him.  Young 
and  McMichael,  although  classed  as  men  of 
fame,  were  not  more  distinguished  than  Nor- 
ton and  Beadle,  but  the  necessity  of  a  rhyme 
to  "came,"  occurring  in  the  line  with  their 
names,  gave  them  the  distinguished  honor  of 
being  famous. 

The  Beadles  came  across  the  Plains  from 
the  Quaker  settlement  of  Friendsborough  in 
Morrow  county,  and  Mishael  Beadle  had  his 
cabin  on  West  Mansfield  street,  where  the  late 
Silas  Bowers'  residence  now  is;  this  was  on 
the  north  40  acres  of  an  80-acre  tract;  on  the 
south  40  acres  David  Beadle  had  his  cabin, 
and  with  him  was  his  son,  David,  a  young  man 
of  17;  their  cabin  was  near  the  corner  of 
Charles  and  Spring  streets.  The  Norton 
daughters  and  Mrs.  Ichabod  Rogers  state  the 
Beadles  were  very  migratory,  Mishael  at  one 
time  living  across  the  river  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  Tiffin  road  and  North  River 
street,  the  old  man  and  young  David  moving 
into  Mishael's  former  cabin  on  West  Mans- 
field. John  Ensley,  with  his  wife,  Ann  Bea- 
dle, also  lived  over  the  river,  near  Mishael's 
second  residence.  Mishael  was  married,  and 
in  the  summer  of  1822,  the  first  death  oc- 
curred, a  little  son  of  Mishael  Beadle,  and 
Norton  gave  the  ground  for  a  burial  site,  at 
the  junction  of  Walnut,  Gallon  and  Middle- 
town   streets,    and    here   the   little    boy   was 


buried,  the  early  pioneers  all  tendering  what 
aid  and  sympathy  they  could  to  the  afflicted 
family.  That  winter  another  daughter  of 
David  Beadle,  named  Clarinda,  was  married 
and  later  young  David  took  himself  a  wife. 
Mishael  Beadle  tired  of  his  residence  over  the 
river  and  entered  a  tract  of  land  south  of  the 
present  Oakwood  cemetery,  now  the  Magee 
farm,  and  here  he  was  contented  to  remain 
several  years,  his  brother-in-law  entering  the 
land  just  east  of  him,  extending  to  what  is 
now,  the  Marion  road.  The  Beadles  were  as 
fond  of  hunting  as  they  were  opposed  to  work, 
and  when  about  1826,  Samuel  Myers  bought 
the  original  80-acre  tract  they  had  entered 
only  eight  or  ten  acres  had  been  cleared.  The 
price  paid  to  the  Beadles  by  Myers  for  the  land 
was  $6  an  acre.  About  1827  they  moved 
west.  Bucklin  also .  left  the  county,  but  the 
Nortons,  the  McMichaels  and  the  Youngs  are 
still  here  in  the  third  and  fourth  generations. 
Joseph  Young  entered  his  first  land  in  section 
5,  Whetstone  township,  nearly  two  miles  east 
of  Bucyrus ;  he  built  a  small  flouring  mill  run 
by  horse  power,  on  the  river  a  mile  west  of 
Bucyrus,  where  Sinn's  dam  was  later  built 
with  a  regular  water-power  mill;  afterward 
known  as  Couts  dam.  The  mill  run  by  horse 
power  meant  with  him  that  a  man  brings  his 
grain,  hitches  his  own  horse  to  the  mill,  and 
grinds  the  grain.  He  kept  no  horses  himself 
at  the  mill.  Later  he  gave  the  mill  to  his  son- 
in-law,  George  Black,  and  a  dam  was  built, 
and  the  mill  run  by  water  power  and  it  became 
an  important  mill  for  years  to  come.  Young 
also  gave  each  of  his  sons  160  acres,  as  the  tax 
duplicate  of  1830  shows  that  George,  Jacob 
and  John  Young  each  had  160  acres  along  the 
river  near  the  mill. 

Daniel  McMichael  came  to  this  section  in 
the  fall  of  1819,  and  spent  his  first  winter  on 
the  banks  of  the  Whetstone,  eight  miles  from 
Bucyrus.  He  was  there  with  his  family  when 
Norton  was  making  his  trip  looking  up  a  loca- 
tion. He  was  in  what  is  now  Crawford 
county,  but  then  it  was  a  part  of  Richland 
county,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Sharrocks. 
Daniel  McMichael  then  moved  into  Liberty 
township  in  the  spring  of  1820,  the  first  set- 
tler in  that  township,  built  a  grist  mill  on  his 
land  on  the  river  one  mile  northeast  of  Bucy- 
rus, the  first  mill  in  the  county.    Then  he  came 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


199 


to  Bucyrus  erecting  a  house  on  his  8o-acre 
tract  north  of  the  river,  on  the  hill  where  the 
residence  of  Hon.  E.  B.  Finley  now  stands. 
He  also  entered  80  acres  east  of  Norton's 
land,  and  80  acres  south  of  the  Norton  land, 
this  80  being  south  of  Middletown  and  east 
of  Walnut  streets.  He  started  a  small  dis- 
tillery on  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky,  where 
the  electric  works  now  are,  but  he  only  ran  it 
a  few  months.  He  died  in  1825,  and  for  ten 
years  the  settlement  of  his  estate  occupied 
many  entries  in  the  court  docket.  The  ruins 
of  the  old  log  house  he  built  remained  for 
many  years,  until  in  1865  they  were  torn 
down  and  the  present  handsome  building 
erected  by  .John  Sims,  who  a  year  or  two 
later  sold  it  to  Mr.  Finley,  the  present  occu- 
pant. 

In  1 82 1  Zalmon  Rowse  came  to  Crawford 
county,   and   while  he  settled   in   Whetstone 
township   came   to    Bucyrus   the   same   year, 
settling  on  the  land  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Gallon  road,  where  for  so  many  years  Col. 
Wm.  Monnett  resided.    He  promptly  took  an 
active  hand  in  the  village  and  county  affairs, 
and  when  in  1823,  Crawford  was  attached  to 
Marion  for  judicial  purposes,  Zalmon  was  the 
first  justice  of  the  peace,  his  territory  includ- 
ing the  present  three  townships  in  range  16 
and  17,  and  in  1825  was  elected  county  com- 
missioner,   a    position   he    held    at    the    time 
Crawford   county   was    organized,    when    he 
was  appointed  assessor  for  the  entire  county. 
When  courts  were  first  held  here,  he  was  ap- 
pointed the  first  clerk.     At  the  time  of  the 
first    court,  David  H.  Beardsley    came    over 
from  Marion  as  clerk  to  act  until  the  new 
court  could  find  a  suitable  man.     They  found 
him  instantly  and  promptly  appointed  him  in 
Zalmon  Rowse.    Courts  up  to  1851  appointed 
the  clerk.     Rowse  served  without  any  inter- 
ruption for  14  years.     He  was  also  recorder 
during  practically  the  same  time;  also  justice 
of  the  peace,  and  frequently  township  clerk, 
and  now,  after  nearly  a  century  has  passed, 
it  is  a  pleasure  for  any  searcher  of  the  an- 
cient records,  to  meet  with  those  kept  by  Zal- 
mon Rowse  in  any  of  his  multitudinous  of- 
fices.    They  are  clear  and  concise,  and  above 
all  exact;  the  writing  neat,  legible  and  cor- 
rectly spelled.     They  show  he  was  systematic 
and  methodical.     He  was  at  the  head  of  ev- 


ery movement  for  the  building  up  of  his  vil- 
lage and  county.    Norton  was  the  founder  of 
Bucyrus,  Kilbourne  was  the  sponsor,   Enoch 
Merriman    was    the    capitalist,    but    Zalmon 
Rowse  was  the  ceaseless,  untiring  worker,  the 
fii'st  and  greatest  booster  the  town  ever  had, 
and  when  some  really  important  public  im- 
provement is  made   in  the  future  it  should 
be  called  Zalmon,  in  remembrance  of  the  man 
who  did  more  than  any  other  one  man  for 
his  town.     A  generation  later  Stephen,  Hor- 
ace, Quincy,  William  and  Henry  Rowse  were 
all   active  business  men   in  this   community, 
Horace    and    William    building    the    Rowse 
Block   that    still    bears    their    name;    Quincy 
owning  the   woolen   mills,    Stephen   being   a 
heavy  stock-dealer  and  Henry  a  rising  young 
attorney,    mayor   of    the   village,    but    called 
away  in  his  early  manhood.     In  his  leisure 
moments    Zalmon    Rowse   was   a    farmer,    a 
contractor  and  builder,  and  shone  resplendent 
once  a  year  in  a  gorgeous  uniform  as  colonel 
of   the    Ohio   militia,    having    been   commis- 
sioned lieutenant-colonel  in  1825.     His  duties 
as  clerk  of  the  court  in  those  days  included 
those  of  recorder  and  probate  judge,  and  for 
filling  these  three   offices  he   received   $60  a 
year,  and  never  petitioned  the  legislature  for 
an  increase  of  salary.     When  the  Columbus 
and  Sandusky  turnpike  was  incorporated,  he 
was  a  director;  when  the   Pennsylvania  and 
Indiana  road  was  built,  he  was  for  a  time  sec- 
retary,   and   when  the   Masons   organized   a 
lodge  here,  he  was  a  charter  member.     He 
built  the  brick  building  still  standing  on  the 
old  Monnett  farm,  and  he  built  the  American 
House  in  1831,  which  stood  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  Sandusky  and  Warren  streets.     In 
1835  he  united  with  the  M.  E.  church,  and  un- 
til his  death  was  one  of  the  pillars  of  that  or- 
ganization.    The  Rowses.  once  so  prominent 
here,  have  all  moved  away,  and  the  only  ones 
now    recalled    are    Edith    Chesney,  a    great- 
granddaughter,     her     mother      being      Cora 
Rowse,  her  grandfather  William  Rowse,  and 
another    great-granddaughter    Lucille    Lewis, 
daughter  of  Lily  Rowse,  who  was  a  daugh- 
ter  of   Stephen  D.  Rowse;  a  great-grandson, 
Allen  Campbell,  son  of  Eva  R'owse,  who  was 
a  daughter  of  Horace  Rowse.    Zalmon  Rowse 
died  in  Bucyrus,  Aug.  1=;.  1854. 

Heman  Rowse,  a  brother  of  Zalmon,  set- 


200 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


tied  in  Whetstone  township  in  1822,  and  the 
following  year  moved  to  Bucyrus  township, 
purchasing  80  acres  on  the  pike  just  south  of 
Bucyrus.  He  was  killed  while  assisting  at  a 
house  raising  southwest  of  the  village  in  183 1. 

Seth  Holmes,  who  came  with  the  Nortons, 
entered  some  land  in  Whetstone  township, 
but  lived  in  the  town  and  died  here  about 
1826.  He  never  married.  He  was  Bucyrus' 
first  old  bachelor.  His  brother,  Truman  came 
to  Bucyrus  township  in  1823  or  1824,  with 
four  sons,  Lyman,  Henry,  Elisha  and  Zalmon. 
One  of  the  daughters  of  Truman  Holmes 
married  Rensselaer  Norton. 

Elisha,  Thaddeus,  David  and  John  Kent 
came  about  1821,  Elisha  entering  the  80-acre 
tract  on  Plymouth  street,  which  was  the  Kerr 
farm  for  so  many  years  and  later  the  Hall 
farm.     Abel  Gary  came  to  the  township  in 

1 82 1,  and  was    followed  by  Lewis   Gary  in 

1822,  with  a  wife  and  nine  children.  A  year 
or  two  later  his  brother  Aaron  came.  The 
Carys  all  settled  in  Bucyrus  village. 

Amos  Glark  settled  on  80  acres  southwest 
of  Sandusky  and  Charles,  his  cabin  being  near 
the  present  residence  of  E.  B.  Monnett.  He 
also  owned  38  acres  north  of  town  and  do- 
nated a  portion  of  it  for  the  burying  ground 
on  the  Tiffin  road. 

In  1826  Gen.  Samuel  Myers  came  and  pur- 
chased of  the  Beadles  the  80  acres  west  of 
Spring  street,  and  also  entered  a  tract  south 
of  Bucyrus.  Later  he  received  the  commis- 
sion of  general  in  the  Ohio  militia. 

George  and  John  Shroll  came  in  1830, 
George  having  138  acres,  a  part  of  which  is 
now  Oakwood  cemetery.  John  had  140  acres 
west  of  this,  where  later  Judge  Summers  re- 
sided, and  still  later  known  as  the  William 
Magee  farm.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  Lu- 
theran church.  About  July  i,  1835,  business 
called  him  to  Sandusky  City;  he  arrived  to 
find  cholera  raging  there.  He  hurriedly  trans- 
acted his  business  and  returned  home,  but  he 
had  exposed  himself  and  he  was  stricken  with 
the  dread  disease  and  died.  His  faithful 
brother  Daniel  hurried  to  his  assistance  and 
tended  him  to  the  last.  Daniel  was  a  deacon 
in  the  church  of  which  his  brother  was  elder, 
and  his  soul  passed  into  the  presence  of  his 
Maker,  sustained  and  soothed  by  his  faithful 
brother.     But    family   loyalty    and    brotherly 


faithfulness  must  look  for  their  reward  in  the 
world  above,  for  in  ministering  to  his  brother, 
Daniel  himself  caught  the  fatal  disease  and 
died,  and  if  ever  a  man  received  the  grand 
words  as  he  entered  the  pearly  gates  of  "Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou 
into  the  joys  of  the  Lord,"  that  man  was  Dan- 
iel Shroll.  The  Crawford  County  History  of 
1870  says:  "The  Lutheran  church  met  on 
July  12,  1835,  and,  after  showing  due  respect 
to  their  memory,  elected  successors  to  fill  the 
vacancy  caused  by  their  sad  death." 

It  will  be  observed  that  these  early  settlers 
all  chose  the  high  ground  within  a  mile  of 
Bucyrus.  Those  now  so  rich  and  fertile 
plains  were  passed  by.  Nobody  wanted  them. 
As  James  Nail  said  he  "doubted  if  this  land 
would  ever  be  occupied" — land  now  where  ev- 
ery acre  is  held  as  high  as  a  town  lot  in  many 
of  the  additions  to  Bucyrus.  But  some  were 
wise — not  Crawford  county  people,  but  the 
outside  investors.  In  the  southern  half  of 
Bucyrus  township,  much  of  the  land  had  been 
entered  by  speculators,  buying  it  of  the  gov- 
ernment at  $1.25  an  acre,  believing  the  time 
would  come  when  land  already  cleared  would 
find  ready  sale.  The  heaviest  of  these  invest- 
ors was  Henry  W  Delavin,  who  never  lived 
in  the  county,  but  owned  several  sections  in 
southern  Bucyrus.  One  of  these  sections  was 
26,  on  the  Pike,  three  miles  south  of  Bucyrus, 
later  the  Ross  farm  and  the  G.  H.  Wright 
farm,  now  owned  by  John  Ross,  Lafayette 
Yeagley,  David  Rexroth,  J.  B.  Steifel,  and 
Mrs.  D.  M.  Odaffer. 

It  was  Nov.  12,  1829,  when  William  Vance 
Marquis  came  to  Bucyrus  and  settled  on  land 
two  miles  south  of  Bucyrus ;  he  had  pre- 
viously visited  the  county  and  entered  several 
tracts  of  land,  and  in  1829  took  possession  of 
one  of  them.  At  that  time  there  were  just 
two  families  between  him  and  the  little  vil- 
lage. William  V.  Marquis  was  a  Virginian, 
who  moved  to  Washington  county,  Pa.,  where 
he  married  Mary  Page,  whose  father  was 
killed  by  the  Indians.  The  Marquis  land  was 
in  section  24,  the  land  later  owned  by  David 
Marshal,  then  Benjamin  Beal  and  later  Ben- 
jamin Beal's  children.  Mr.  Marquis  was  an 
early  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
a  prominent  one.  He  died  in  1834  and  left 
ten  children,  one  a  daughter  Ruth,  who  mar- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


201 


ried  James  McCracken,  who  for  two  genera- 
tions -was  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  this 
county,  and  whose  children  were  also  active 
and  prominent  in  the  history  of  Bucyrus. 

About  1828  there  came  into  southern  Bucy- 
rus Isaac,  William,  Thomas  and  Osborne 
Monnett.  Isaac  Monnett  owned  several  farms 
on  the  plains  prior  to  1830.  In  1835  Rev. 
Jeremiah  Monnett  removed  to  the  township 
and  purchased  his  land  of  John  Barney,  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Monnett  farm,  four  miles  south 
of  Bucyrus,  now  occupied  by  William  Mon- 
nett, son  of  Rev.  Thomas  Monnett.  Rev.  Jere- 
miah's house  stood  just  south  of  the  present 
large  brick  building.  It  was  a  cabin  of  hewed 
logs.  Here  he  lived  until  a  better  house  was 
erected  on  the  east  side  of  the  pike.  He  had 
three  children,  Abraham,  Thomas  J.  and 
Mary,  the  latter  later  marrying  James  Royce. 
There  were  several  families  of  negroes  settled 
on  what  afterward  became  the  Gormly  farm, 
two  miles  south  of  Bucyrus,  later  the  Rexroth 
farm.  This  gave  the  name  to  the  woods  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  pike  the  "nigger 
woods."  These  first  colored  pioneers  were 
from  Virginia,  and  came  in  1828.  At  that 
time,  under  Ohio  laws,  the  poor  overseers  of 
each  township  had  the  right  to  demand  bond 
of  $500  of  any  new  arrival  that  he  would  not 
become  a  public  charge.  The  Virginia  owner 
on  his  death  had  given  them  freedom  but  not 
enough  cash,  and  thev  were  unable  to  put  up 
the  bond,  so  all  left  but  one  family,  known  as 
Old  Solomon;  he  remained  with  his  wife.  He 
did  not  put  up  the  .S^oo,  but  one  family  made 
no  difference  and  he  was  allowed  to  remain. 
Among  those  living  in  the  township  in  1830, 
as  shown  by  the  tax  duplicate,  were  Thomas 
Adams,  John  Black.  John  Bowman,  Isaac 
Fickle,  Joshua  Lewis,  John  Miller,  Joseph 
Pearce,  Jane  Stephenson  and  Gottlieb  John 
Schultz.  Thomas  Adams  had  48  acres  in  sec- 
tion 9,  two  miles  west  of  Bucyrus,  the  Chris 
Wisman  farm  along  the  river ;  John  Black,  80 
acres,  section  13,  a  mile  south,  the  Henry 
Flock  farm  on  the  T.  &  O.  C.  John  Bowman 
had  80  acres  in  section  11,  southwest  of  Bucy- 
rus, the  William  Magee  oroperty  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Little  Sandusky  road.  Isaac  Fickle 
had  160  acres  in  section  10.  a  Quarter  of  a 
mile  west  of  Bowman's,  the  William  Shroll 
farm,    through    which    the    Little    Sandusky 


road  passes;  Joshua  Lewis  had  80  acres  in 
section  15,  south  of  Fickle,  the  George  Gib- 
son farm;  John  Miller,  80  acres,  section  2, 
just  northwest  of  Bucyrus,  adjoining  the 
Fourth  ward,  now  F.  W.  Bittikoffer's.  Jo- 
seph S.  Morris,  80  acres,  section  12,  south  of 
the  fair  ground,  the  John  Wentz  addition, 
Elizabeth  Monnett,  and  the  John  Wentz  land. 
Joseph  Pearce,  80  acres,  section  2,  west  of 
Miller's,  owned  by  John  Wentz.  Gottleib 
John  Schultz,  80  acres,  south  of  Miller's,  ad- 
joining the  corporation  on  the  west,  the  Penn- 
sylvania road  passing  through  the  northern 
portion  of  his  tract.  Jane  Stephenson,  160 
acres,  section  4,  two  miles  west  of  Bucyrus, 
now  owned  by  L.  W.  Buck  and  P  A.  Beard; 
also  a  quarter  section  of  the  Wm.  Caldwell 
farm  on  the  Marion  road,  three  miles  south  of 
Bvicyrus.  Other  residents  in  the  township  as 
indicated  by  their  paying  tax  on  personal 
property  in  1830  were  John  Bowman,  Jr. ; 
Thomas  Bennet,  J.  Coulter,  Isaac  Didie,  D. 
and  I.  Dinwiddle,  William  and  Joshua  Fore- 
acre,  William  Fraley,  Jacob  Forney,  Jesse 
Goodell,  Jonas  Gilson,  Peter  Hesser,  George 
Hesser,  William  Hughey  and  son  William, 
Lewis  Heinlen,  John  Kent,  Christopher  No- 
acre,  George  Aumiller,  George  Sinn,  Daniel 
Seal,  David  Tipton,  George  Welsh,  Frederick 
\Visman. 

Until  1835  Bucyrus  was  a  fractional  town- 
ship, on  account  of  the  western  third  being  an 
Indian  reservation.  The  encroachment  on  the 
Indian  land  became  so  great,  that  early  in  the 
thirties  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  on  the 
Indians  to  sell,  but  nothing  came  of  it.  Fi- 
nally, in  1835,  the  government  arranged  to 
buy  seven  miles  of  their  strip  12  miles  deep. 
This  was  about  two  and  a  third  miles  of  the 
western  part  of  Bucyrus  and  Holmes  town- 
ships, the  two  miles  of  northern  Dallas,  all  of 
Tod,  and  southern  Texas  and  extending  nearly 
three  miles  into  Wyandot  county.  The  sale 
was  set  for  Marion  in  1837,  but  there  were 
objections  by  the  Indians  after  about  one- 
third  of  the  land  was  sold,  and  the  sale  was 
stopped.  Later  matters  were  arranged,  and 
the  entire  seven-mile  strip  was  sold,  and  all 
of  the  present  Crawford  county  was.  open  to 
settlement.  The  land  brousfht  about  $2  an 
acre.  In  the  sale  a  syndicate  bought  up  all 
the  land  around  Osceola  and  laid  it  out  into 


202 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


town  lots,  in  the  hopes  that  it  being  the  geo- 
graphical center  of  the  county  as  it  then  ex- 
isted, it  might  become  the  county  seat.  The 
southeastern  part  of  the  county,  especially 
Bucyrus  township,  recognized  this  danger, 
and  later  acquiesced  in  the  formation  of 
Wyandot  county,  with  Upper  Sandusky  as  the 
county  seat,  losing  a  strip  of  land  i8  miles  deep 
and  1 6  miles  wide,  not  very  well  populated,  ex- 
cept around  Tymochtee  in  the  northern  part, 
and  around  Little  Sandusky  in  the  southern 
part.  They  secured  in  return  a  strip  two 
miles  wide  along  the  southern  border  of  the 
county  from  Marion  and  four  miles  wide 
and  20  deep  on  the  east  from  Richland,  get- 
ting in  that  territory  the  towns  of  Galion, 
Leesville,  West  Liberty,  Middletown  and  De 
Kalb,  at  that  time  the  densest  settled  section 
of  the  county,  except  Bucyrus. 

It  was  Dec.  7,  1824,  that  the  resolution  was 
passed  by  the  Marion  commissioners  for  the 
organization  of  Bucyrus  township  as  it  ex- 
ists today.  Prior  to  that  it  had  been  a  town- 
ship, which  included  Holmes  and  Chatfield. 
In  1823  Zalmon  Rowse  was  justice  of  the 
peace  of  these  townships,  his  jurisdiction  in- 
cluding Whetstone,  Liberty  and  Cranberry. 

The  first  recorded  township  election  was 
Oct.  12,  1824,  for  justice  of  the  peace,  when 
49  votes  were  cast :  Conrad  Roth,  26 ;  Mishael 
Beadle,  22;  Conrad  Rhoades,  i.  The  follow- 
ing were  the  justices  in  Bucyrus  township, 
dates  being  year  of  election:  Zalmon  Rowse, 
1823-27-30-33-36-39;  E.  B.  Merriman,  1824; 
Conrad  Roth,  1824;  Edward  Billips,  1827; 
James  McCracken,  1828-31-36-45;  William 
Early,  1834;  Peter  Worst,  1837;  James  C. 
Steen,  1839-42;  David  Holm,  1840-43;  Sam- 
uel S.  Caldwell,  1842-69-72;  Jacob  Howen- 
stein,  1844-50-53;  James  Stough,  1848-51-54; 
James  Marshall,  1849;  John  Byers,  1856;  John 
Smith,  1856-59;  Christopher  Elliott,  1859-62; 
Chapman  D.  Ward,  1862-75-78-81-84-87- 
90-93;  William  M.  Scroggs,  1863-66;  Wil- 
son Stewart,  1863-66;  George  Donnenwirth, 
1869-72;  James  M.  Van  Voorhis,  1872-75; 
John  C.  Jackson,  1875 ;  Allen  Campbell,  1878- 
81 ;  Caleb  B.  Foster,  1884-87-90;  Horace  Hol- 
brook,  1893;  William  H.  Scheckler,  1896-99; 
George  W.  Didie,  1896-99;  John  A.  Meek, 
1901-05-09;  Frank  E.  Lamb,  1902;  Wallace 
L.   Monnett,   1905;  Edward  J.  Myers,   1907- 


09;   Cornelius  H.   Myers,   1908;  and  Rufus 
Aurend,  1912,  vice  Meek,  deceased. 

There  are  no  records  to  show  who  the  first 
officers  of  the  township  were,  but  there  are 
several  reasons  why  the  first  clerk  was  Zalmon 
Rowse.  First,  he  was  a  fine  penman;  second, 
he  was  the  most  competent  man  for  the  po- 
sition; third,  he  had  practically  every  other 
clerical  position;  fourth,  the  records  were  de- 
s'troyed,  and  the  search  for  old  records  show 
that  it  was  the  records  of  the  offices  held  by 
Zalmon  Rowse  that  were  destroyed  when  the 
jail  burned  in  1831;  he  kept  all  his  records 
with  the  court  records  in  the  county  jail. 

In  1829  a  young  lawyer  came  to  Bucyrus 
and  opened  an  office.  This  lawyer  was  Josiah 
Scott,  later  supreme  judge  of  the  state  and  one 
of  the  most  able  lawyers  the  state  ever  pro- 
duced, so  able  and  so  just  that  later,  when  su- 
preme judge  of  the  state,  a  grave  question 
arose,  he  gave  a  decision  adverse  to  the  opin- 
ion of  a  majority  of  the  people  of  his  state,  in 
opposition  to  the  wishes  of  his  political  party 
and  against  his  own  personal  views.  He  sac- 
rificed popular  opinion,  party  loyalty  and  pri- 
vate friendships  in  the  interest  of  the  law  and 
legal  right.  The  coming  of  Judge  Scott  was 
probably  more  advantageous  to  the  village  in 
those  early  days  than  it  was  to  himself.  He, 
too,  was  a  fine  penman,  highly  educated,  and 
the  result  was  that  he  was  early  pressed  into 
the  service  and,  at  least  as  early  as  1832,  was 
township  clerk..  He  not  only  was  Zalmon 
Rowse's  ally  in  these  matters,  but  he  was  also 
Zalmon's  crony  and  friend,  and  these  men, 
full  of  life,  strong  and  healthy,  were  boon 
companions  in  many  a  village  prank  and  the 
leaders  in  every  amusement.  The  judge  was 
a  great  friend  of  the  Indians,  their  admiration 
starting  on  his  fine  physique  and  being  contin- 
ued on  account  of  his  sociability  and  love  of 
athletic  exercises,  and  many  a  time  he  headed 
a  band  of  mounted  Indians  in  a  race  down 
Main  street,  bare-headed  and  coatless,  yelling 
equal  to  the  loudest  Indian.  That  they  had 
confidence  in  him  and  that  he  retained  that 
confidence  is  shown  from  the  court  records, 
for  when  Indians  brought  suit  the  books  show 
that  the  attorney  for  the  Indians  was  Josiah 
Scott.  The  minutes  of  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  township  trustees  held  March  4,  1833,  are 
signed  by  Josiah  Scott,  and  show  that  a  full 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


205 


board  was  present.  They  settled  with  Samuel 
Myers,  supervisor  of  road  district  No.  i,  and 
found  14^2  days  of  road  labor  unperformed 
in  his  district;  William  Early,  3d  district,  all 
labor  performed;  James  Coulter  and  John 
Marquis,  district  No.  4,  all  labor  performed. 
Coulter  was  paid  75  cents  and  Marquis  $1  for 
their  services  as  road  supervisors.  George 
Hesser  in  the  5th  district,  showed  all  the  labor 
had  been  performed.  They  settled  with  Abra- 
ham Hahn,  the  township  treasurer,  and  found 
in  the  treasury  a  note  of  John  and  Jacob  Staley 
for  $14.56,  payable  March  12,  1833 ;  a  note  of 
James  Coulter  and  Henry  St.  John  for  75 
cents ;  a  note  of  Joseph  S.  Morris  and  Zalmon 
Rowse  for  $5.31,  due  June  i,  1833,  and  $3.15 
cash,  making  a  total  of  $23.15.  They  issued 
an  order  to  Hahn  for  1.48  "for  the  percentage 
on  moneys  collected  for  the  year  1832."  They 
paid  William  Early  75  cents,  his  salary  as  road 
supervisor  during  the  year  1832.  Also  order 
for  $1.55  to  James  McLean  "for  advertising 
the  township  election  in  the  spring  of  1831, 
and  notifying  the  officers  of  their  election." 
They  paid  John  S.  George  $3  for  services  as 
township  trustee,  and  Henry  Minich  and 
Nicholas  Failor  $1.50  each  for  services  as 
trustees;  Josiah  Scott  $2.50  for  services  as 
clerk  of  the  township,  and  the  last  order  "in 
favor  of  R.  W.  Musgrave  and  Company,  for 
75  cents  for  a  blank  book  for  the  use  of  the 
township,"  and  thereupon  adjourned. 

This  record  shows  that  the  trustees  in  1832 
were  John  S.  George,  Henry  Minich  and  Nich- 
olas Failor.  Why  George's  services  vi^ere 
worth  the  fabulous  salary  of  $3  it  is  impos- 
sible to  state.  Henry  Minich  owned  a  tannery 
and  Nicholas  Failor  a  store,  and  yet  they  only 
received  half  that  amount. 

In  those  early  days  township  elections  were 
called  by  the  constables,  so  James  McLain 
must  have  been  elected  constable  in  1830,  and 
he  held  the  office  from  that  time  until  1836. 
He  was  first  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  made 
shingles.  In  1836  he  took  the  government  con- 
tract to  carry  mail.  He  came  here  in  1828, 
and  his  residence  was  a  one-story  frame  house 
standing  on  the  site  of  the  present  Rowse 
Block.  To  run  a  township  election  for  $1.55, 
which  included  the  posting  or  tacking  of  a 
written  notice  on  three  conspicuous  trees,  and 
then  notifying  the  successful  candidates  after- 


ward, at  that  price  he  could  get  the  job  today 
and  hold  it  forever.  And  the  treasurer,  with 
$1.48  to  squander  annually,  would  be  pointed 
out  by  the  little  children  and  stared  at  by  small 
boys  as  the  man  who  positively  had  in  his  pos- 
session $23.77  of  public  funds,  of  which  $3.15 
was  actual  cash!  Mr.  Hahn  at  that  time 
owned  what  is  now  the  Deal  House,  a  brick 
hotel  erected  by  him  in  1.831.  It  will  be  ob- 
served the  trustees  issued  orders  for  $14.53, 
with  only  $3.15  cash.  It  is  probable  that  Mr. 
Hahn,  being  a  shrewd  business  man,  made  his 
$1.48  first  lien  on  the  treasury  and  let  the  oth- 
ers wait.  True,  James  McLean's  bill  for  $1.55 
was  allowed  in  March,  1833,  for  work  done 
two  years  previously;  so  people  were  used  to 
waiting.  But  how  McLean  ever  accumulated 
sufficient  funds  to  buy  a  large  flouring  mill  on 
a  salary  of  $1.55  is  a  problem.  There  was 
certainly  no  chance  for  graft  on  a  treasury 
that  only  carried  $3.15  cash.  And  the  notes! 
They  were  all  good,  as  the  trustees  considered 
them  the  same  as  cash.  The  75  cent  note  was 
abundantly  secured,  as  James  Coulter  had  160 
acres  of  land,  and  Henry  St.  John  had  the  dry 
goods  "emporium"  of  the  village,  and  became 
so  prominent  and  prosperous  they  later  sent 
him  to  congress. 

A  month  after  this  meefing  the  township 
election  came  on,  being  held  April  i,  1833,  at 
the  court  house,  and  the  high-priced  trustee, 
Mr.  George,  was  either  not  a  candidate  or  was 
defeated.  Failor  was  re-elected  and  with  him 
John  Magers  and  John  McCullough.  Josiah 
Scott  was  re-elected  clerk  and  Jacob  Hinman 
constable;  John  Nimmon  and  Enoch  B.  Mer- 
riman  were  elected  overseers  of  the  poor. 
George  Shaffer,  John  Cronebaugh  and  Lewis 
Gary  were  elected  fence  viewers.  Samuel 
Myers  was  re-elected  road  supervisor  in  his 
district,  notwithstanding  his  showing  of  "four- 
teen and  a  half  days  of  road  labor  unper- 
formed;" the  other  supervisors  were — second 
district,  John  Barney;  third,  Emanuel  Dear- 
dorfif;  fourth,  George  Welsh;  fifth,  George 
Hesser,  re-elected. 

The  office  of  overseer  of  the  poor  was  one 
of  honor,  as  Enoch  B.  Merriman  was  a  very 
prominent  citizen,  and  John  Nimmon  had  rep- 
resented the  county  in  the  legislature  in  1830. 
One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  trustees  was  to  ap- 
point Mr.  Hahn  as  treasurer,  and  they  didn't 


206 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


forget  the  faithful  James  McLean,  for  they 
appointed  him  as  constable.  As  far  as  can 
be  seen  by  the  salaries  and  the  names,  it  was 
not  a  question  of  politics  or  of  office  in  those 
days;  it  was  only  a  question  of  who  would 
take  the  position,  and  most  of  these  men  rec- 
ognized it  as  an  honor  and  served  from  a 
sense  of  duty  and  served  faithfully,  their  high- 
est reward  being  the  consciousness  of  having 
performed  their  full  duty  as  citizens  by  giving 
a  part  of  their  time  for  the  public  good.  There 
is  a  lesson  to  be  learned  from  our  grand- 
fathers. 

Outside  the  city  of  Bucyrus  there  are  three 
churches  in  the  township.  There  was  no  call 
for  any  more.  Bucyrus  being  a  village  with 
churches,  people  walked  or  drove  from  half  a 
dozen  miles  around  for  family  worship,  while 
occasionally  some  traveling  minister,  on  his 
missionary  rounds,  held  services  at  the  cabin 
where  he  was  stopping.  The  first  known  of 
these  gatherings  for  religious  purposes  was 
held  prior  to  1830,  at  the  home  of  Isaac  Mon- 
nett,  in  the  extreme  southeastern  section  of  the 
township  No.  36.  Services  were  held  in  the 
various  cabins  at  irregular  intervals,  but  in 
1835,  when  Rev.  Jeremiah  Monnett  arrived, 
after  he  built  his  house  on  the  east  side  of  the 
pike,  the  old  log  cabin  he  had  occupied  on  the 
west  side  was  fitted  up  for  a  school  and  for 
school  purposes.  It  was  on  the  Bucyrus  cir- 
cuit, and  services  averaged  perhaps  once  every 
two  weeks.  Rev.  John  Hazzard  was  the  early 
minister,  whose  zeal  and  work  built  up  the 
membership  to  such  an  extent  that  a  better  and 
larger  church  was  needed.  In  1840  the  church 
was  erected  east  of  the  pike,  a  short  distance 
north  of  the  Monnett  home,  on  land  donated 
by  Rev.  Jeremiah  Monnett,  who  was  also  a 
large  contributor  to  the  building  fund.  The 
other  contributors  were  Osborne,  Abraham, 
William,  Thomas,  John  and  John  Monnett, 
Jr.,  Rev.  Samuel  P.  Ely,  Charles  W.  and  J.  W. 
Shaw,  Jeremiah  Morris  and  David  Sayler. 
The  building  was  a  neat  frame  and  cost  about 
$1,500.  It  was  named  Monnett  Chapel  after 
Rev.  Jeremiah  Monnett.  Among  the  early 
ministers  of  half  a  century  ago  were  Revs. 
Stephen  Fant  and  George  Moore,  who  were 
appointed  to  the  Bucvrus  circuit  in  1853. 

The  church  was  dedicated  by  Rev.  Adam 
Poe  during  the  winter  of  1840-T.    In  1871,  un- 


der the  pastorate  of  Rev.  D.  M.  Conaht,  it 
was  repaired  and  improved,  the  dedicatory 
services  being  conducted  by  Rev.  Dr.  A.  A. 
Nelson.  In  1853  the  Monnett  chapel  Was  as- 
signed to  the  Caledonia  circuit  and  regularly 
supplied.  A  graveyard  was  attached  to  the 
church  on  the  east,  and  here  many  of  the  pio- 
neers of  southern  Crawford  sleep  their  last 
sleep. 

The  next  church  in  the  township  was  the  Mt. 
Zion  U.  B.  church  on  the  banks  of  the  San- 
dusky,, five  miles  southwest  of  Bucyrus.  Serv- 
ices were  held  at  the  various  homes  in  the 
neighborhood  and  later  in  the  schoolhouse. 
The  ground  where  the  church  now  stands  was 
purchased  of  Thomas  Newell,  and  about  1868 
the  old .  Wilson  schoolhouse  was  removed  to 
the  lot,  and  the  old  frame  building  giving  way 
to  a  brick,  this  served  as  a  church  for  a  few- 
years.  In  1871  the  present  building  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,300.  The  earlier 
preachers  to  the  congregation  were  Revs.  Mc- 
Downey  and  E.  Berry.  David  Parcher  built 
the  church,  and  when  it  was  dedicated.  Rev. 
David  Hart  was  the  pastor.  Preaching  was 
generally  held  every  other  Sunday. 

The  third  church  is  Scioto  Chapel,  on  the 
Marion  road,  six  miles  southwest  of  Bucyrus, 
three  miles  west  of  the  Monnett  chapel,  prin- 
cipally from  whose  membership  the  congrega- 
tion was  formed  to  have  services  more  con- 
venient in  bad  weather.  The  church  was 
erected  in  1874  and  was  built  very  quickly.  In 
May  of  that  year  two  meetings  were  held  at 
the  residence  of  E.  B.  Monnett;  and  at  the 
second  it  was  decided  to  build  a  church,  and  E. 
B.  Monnett,  F.  A.  Harvey  and  George  Welsh 
were  appointed  a  building  committee.  Chris- 
tian W^alther  was  the  architect,  and  in  October 
of  that  year  the  church  was  completed  at  a 
cost  of  about  $2,000 — a  very  neat  and  commo- 
dious one-story  frame.  It  was  dedicated  by 
Elder  Wilson,  of  Kenton,  O.,  and  when  the 
church  started  the  membership  were  E.  B. 
Monnett  and  wife,  M.  J.  Monnett  and  wife, 
Isaac  Shearer  and  wife,  J.  P.  Beall,  wife  and 
two  daughters ;  Oliver  Monnett  and  wife,  Ben- 
jamin Shearer  and  wife.  E.  Monnett  and  wife, 
G.  H.  Welsh  and  wife,  Bishop  Scott  and  wife. 
The  church  was  attached  to  Claridon  circuit, 
and  the  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Stephen  Fant. 

In  the  early  days  the  parents  whose  children 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


207 


lived  outside  of  walking  distance  from  Bucy- 
rus  had  very  little  school  instruction.  Many 
came  to  Bucyrus,  some  from  as  far  as  four 
or  five  miles  distant,  bringing  their  dinner, 
starting  from  home,  after  doing  a  fair  morn- 
ing's work,  and  returning  to  do  the  "chores" 
in  the  evening.  Thomas  Shawke  came  to  Bu- 
cyrus in  1832,  and  was  a  noted  hunter,  trav- 
ersing the  entire  country  for  miles  around  in 
every  season  of  the  year,  and  he  is  authority 
for  the  statement  that,  certainly  prior  to  1832, 
there  was  not  a  single  school  building  in  the 
township  south  of  Bucyrus.  In  some  neigh- 
borhoods a  few  families  joined  together  and 
small  private  schools  were  occasionally  held. 
The  first  township  schoolhouse  built  outside 
the  village  was  in  district  No.  2,  just  west  of 
the  corporation  limits  and  stood  on  the  north- 
west corner  of  Warren  and  Spring  streets.  It 
was  built  of  logs  in  1833,  and  was  later  re- 
placed by  a  one-story  frame,  the  old  log  school- 
house  being  used  as  a  woodshed  for  the  school- 
house  proper. 

Previous  to  1834  there  were  but  four  school 
districts  in  the  county:  on  March  12,  of  that 
year,  the  number  was  increased  to  five  by  the 
formation  of  the  four  southeastern  sections 
into  district  5;.  On  June  S.  1838,  the  township 
was  reorganized  into  eight  districts,  four  of 
these  practically  the  four  northeastern  sections 
of  the  township,  now  the  city  of  Bucyrus — 
these  were  districts  i,  6,  7  and  8;  south  of 
these  the  four  square  miles  was  district  2,  and 
the  southeastern  four  square  miles  was  district 
5 ;  district  4  was  north  of  the  river,  between 
the  Indian  reservation  and  the  village  of  Bucy- 
rus, a  trifle  over  four  square  miles;  district  3 
was  two  miles  wide  and  four  miles  deep,  ex- 
tending from  the  Indian  reservation  east  to 
districts  2  and  5,  what  afterward  became  the 
Bell  or  Harvey  and  the  Arbuckle  districts. 

When  Ohio  became  a  state,  section  16  of 
every  township  was  set  aside  for  school  pur- 
poses; this  land  could  be  held,  leased  or  sold. 
On  April  6.  1831^,  the  question  of  selling  this 
school  section  was  voted  on  and  carried.  The 
vote  was  light  but  practically  unanimous — 
sixtv-two  for  the  sale  and  only  one  against  it. 
At  this  time  small  schoolhouses  were  being 
erected.  Previous  to  this  the  old  log  cabin  of 
some  earlv  sauatterwas  fixed  uo  and  used  for 
school  purposes.     In  Oct.,  1838.  an  enumera- 


tion of  the  school  children  of  the  township  was 
taken.  The  four  Bucyrus  districts  had  315; 
No.  I,  82;  No.  6,  51;  No.  7,  107;  No.  8,  75; 
the  other  districts — No.  2,  70;  No.  3,  72;  No. 
4,  31;  No.  5,  41;  or  214  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts; 529  in  the  entire  township. 

After  1837  the  Indian  reservation  became 
open  to  settlement  and  the  township  was  again 
divided  into  school  districts.  There  are  today 
nine  districts.  In  the  southeastern  district  a 
schoolhouse  was  not  erected  until  1840,  the 
people  along  the  pike  wanting  it  there,  and 
those  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  district  wanting 
it  in  the  center  of  the  four  sections.  It  was 
finally  built  on  the  pike,  five  miles  south  of  Bu- 
cyrus. Prior  to  its  erection  schools  were  held 
in  an  old  log  house,  which  was  unoccupied,  just 
south  of  the  Monnett  brick  residence  now  oc- 
cupied by  William  Monnett.  Susan  Bovel  and 
Harriet  Huntley  were  the  earlier  teachers  here. 
Later  the  old  log  church  on  the  Monnett  home- 
stead was  used,  and  here  Eliza  Chapman  and  a 
Mr.  Canef  taught,  the  latter  being  like  Silas 
Wegg  in  "Our  Mutual  Friend,"  "a  literary  man 
with  a  wooden  leg."  The  schoolhouse  located 
in  1840  was  a  constant  source  of  dispute  to  the 
residents  of  the  district.  It  was  originally 
built  on  the  pike,  half  a  mile  west  of  the  cen- 
ter of  the  district,  the  residents  there  predom- 
inating in  numbers  and  influence.  Later  the 
eastern  part  of  the  district  elected  trustees  fa- 
vorable to  their  section,  and  the  schoolhouse 
was  hauled  across  the  fields  half  a  mile  to  the 
east  to  the  center  of  the  district.  The  pike 
residents  wakened  up  and  at  the  next  election 
selected  their  own  trustees,  and  the  school- 
house  was  hauled  back  to  its  original  site. 
There  A\as  no  east  and  west  road  at  that  time, 
so  transportation  of  the  building  was  across 
the  fields.  This  was  so  inconvenient  that  a 
road  was  petitioned  for  and  laid  out,  and  the 
next  time  the  eastern  section  secured  control, 
the  schoolhouse  had  a  road  to  travel  on.  The 
little  temole  of  learning  became  a  much  trav- 
eled building,  and  was  known  as  the  "mov- 
able schoolhouse."  Its  search  for  a  final  rest- 
ing place  might  have  continued  to  this  day,  but 
for  the  fact  that  many  years  ago  the  earlv 
residents  along  the  pike  had  moved  away, 
and  the  schoolhouse  was  finally  placed  in  the 
center  of  the  district,  half  a  mile  east  of  the 
pike,  where  it  still  remains  with  no  one  to  ob- 


208 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ject,  as  the  entire  four  sections  are  now  large 
farms,  so  that  it  would  be  considered  a  ban- 
ner day  in  some  terms  when  half  a  dozen 
scholars  were  present. 

On  March  22,  1834,  a  number  of  the  resi- 
dents of  school  district  No.  5  met  at  the  home 
of  David  Dinwiddle,  two  miles  south  of  Bucy- 
rus  and  decided  to  erect  a  schoolhouse  on  the 
southwest  corner  of  Silas  Sweney's  land; 
later  the  building  on  the  farm  then  owned  by 
Andrew  Kerr,  on  the  east  side  of  the  pike,  two 
miles  south  of  Bucyrus.  It  was  a  small  log 
building,  and  among  the  first  teachers  were 
Casper  Rowse,  Harriet  Robinson,  Abraham 
Myers  and  Sarah  Butler.  In  a  few  years  it 
was  replaced  by  a  small  frame  building  and 
this,  in  1877,  by  the  present  brick  structure. 
It  was  known  for  years  as  the  Beal  school- 
house,  and  here  many  a  young  lawyer  of  Bucy- 
rus and  many  a  pupil  .in  the  high  school  at- 
tended the  debating  societies  and  spelling 
schools  held  during  the  winter  seasons.  Other 
districts  followed  with  log  schoolhouses  re- 
placed by  frame,  and  these  gave  way  to  the 
present  brick  buildings,  the  first  brick  being 
erected  in  district  No.  8  in  1876. 

In  1857  Miss  Mary  Monnett,  a  daughter  of 
Abraham  Monnett,  who  was  attending  the 
Wesleyan  Female  College  at  Delaware,  made 
a  donation  to  that  college  of  $20,000.  This 
liberal  donation,  occuring  as  it  did,  had  a  very 
great  efifect  in  strengthening  that  seat  of 
learning  and  was  the  first  practical  effort  to- 
wards making  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University 
what  it  is  today.  The  money  was  used  for 
the  erection  of  a  needed  building,  which  was 
named  Monnett  Hall — a  name  it  retains  to 
this  day,  with  the  donor's  picture  occupying 
a  prominent  place  in  the  building.  Even  be- 
fore the  donation  Miss  Monnett's  relatives, 
being  Methodists,  attended  the  college;  but 
in  the  last  half  century  it  is  probable  that  a 
hundred  of  the  Monnetts  or  their  immediate 
relatives  have  obtained  their  instruction  at 
that  institution.  One  among  them,  the  Hon. 
Frank  S.  Monnett,  was  a  graduate  of  the 
class  of  '80;  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and 
became  one  of  the  successful  lawyers  of 
Bucyrus  and  in  this  section,  and  in  1895  was 
elected  by  the  Republicans  as  attorney  gen- 
eral of  the  state.  For  some  years  the  office 
of   attorney  general  had   drifted  into  minor 


importance.  The  new  attorney-general  was 
active,  fearless  and  energetic,  and  early  re- 
stored the  office  to  its  former  position  as 
second  only  to  that  of  the  governor.  He  was 
ten  years  in  advance  of  the  political  parties  on 
the  subject  of  trusts  and  combinations,  and 
drifted  into  the  Democratic  party,  removing 
his  home  from  Bucyrus  to  Columbus.  He  had 
a  collegiate  education,  a  strong  voice,  and  be- 
came one  of  the  national  speakers  for  Mr. 
Bryan  in  1908,  and  it  was  generally  under- 
stood ithat  he  would  be  the  attorney-general 
of  the  United  States  in  Mr.  Bryan's  cabinet. 
Prior  to  1830  several  roads  had  been  lo- 
cated in  Bucyrus  township,  the  Columbus  and 
Sandusky  pike  entering  the  township  two 
miles  west  of  its  eastern  border  and  running 
northeast  to  Bucyrus.  In  laying  out  this  road 
Heman  Rowse,  Nathaniel  Plummer  and  Ben- 
jamin Parcher  were  appointed  the  viewers  in 
1824.  The  same  year  what  is  now  the  Wyan- 
dot, or  Little  Sandusky  road,  was  ordered  laid 
out,  entering  Bucyrus  on  its  western  boundary 
one  mile  north  of  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
township  and  northwest  to  Bucyrus.  The  next 
year,  1825,  the  Marion  road  was  established, 
halfway  between  the  pike  and  the  Wyandot 
road  and  running  northwest  to  Bucyrus.  These 
roads,  all  being  arteries  from  the  southern  and 
southwestern  part  of  the  state  to  Bucyrus  and 
the  north,  were  soon  thronged  with  travellers, 
at  first  with  a  weekly  line  of  stages,  later  tri- 
weekly, and  eventually  daily.  As  a  result 
taverns  were  started  all  along  these  roads. 
Who  kept  the  first  it  is  impossible  to  state. 
But  in  1836  a  license  was  issued  to  Peter  Hes- 
ser,  on  payment  of  $5,  to  keep  a  tavern;  also 
one  to  Benjamin  Warner  for  $7 ;  his  place  was 
on  the  pike  five  miles  south  of  Bucyrus  and 
was  known  as  the  "Four-mile  Tavern."  He 
came  to  the  county  in  1826  from  Pennsylvania 
and  kept  a  tavern  for  about  fifteen  years.  He 
was  a  Quaker,  one  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
and  his  tavern  was  recognized  as  a  S5monym 
for  good  cheer.  He  was  hospitable  and  made 
all  welcome,  and  many  a  poor  and  weary  trav- 
eller, withoul;  money,  found  rest  and  refresh- 
ment at  Benjamin  Warner's.  Like  a  Quaker, 
he  said  little,  but  many  a  weary  black,  fleeing 
from  slavery,  arriving  before  daylight,  found 
food  and  shelter  during  the  day  and  left  after 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


209 


dark,  guided  to  his  next  station  on  the  under- 
ground railroad. 

Joshua  Bebout  in  1838  took  out  a  $5  license 
to  keep  a  tavern  in  the  township,  and  some 
years  later  it  was  taken  out  by  John  W.  Be- 
bout. Thompson  Brown  took  out  a  license  in 
1840  for  $7.50.  There  were  taverns  on  the 
Marion  road,  three  miles  from  Bucyrus,  and 
another  in  Dallas  township ;  on  the  Little  San- 
dusky road  there  was  one  about  three  miles 
from  Bucyrus  and  another  some  six  miles  out. 
All  did  a  good  business. 

Excepting  Bucyrus  there  are  no  villages  or 
even  settlements  in  the  township,  and  no  store 
ever  existed  outside  the  city.  A  number  of 
saw-mills  were  erected  in  the  early  days. 
Young  ran  a  horse-power  mill,  later  changed 
to  waterpower  on  the  Sandusky,  a  mile  south- 
west of  Bucyrus,  later  Sinn's  mill,  then  the 
Couts  mill,  then  abandoned,  and  of  which  only 
the  ruins  now  remain,  the  dam  being  washed 
away. 

Further  down  the  stream  was  Danser's  dam, 
where  once  stood  a  saw-mill  run  by  water- 
power  ;  and  still  farther  was  Athey's  dam,  with 
another  saw-mill,  both  long  since  abandoned, 
the  dams  washed  away  and  hardly  enough 
ruins  left  at  either  place  to  mark  where  they 
once  stood. 

The  plains  from  the  start  were  almost  en- 
tirely used  for  grazing.  True,  wheat  and 
corn  were  raised,  but  the  corn  mainly  for 
feeding  purposes,  although  fine  crops  have  been 
produced  on  the  plains.  As  early  as  1852, 
Linus  H.  Ross,  father  of  John  Ross  and 
grandfather  of  Linus  Ross,  reported  a  yield 
of  126  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  the  next  year 
E.  Barrett  reported  three  acres  with  an  aver- 
age yield  of  129.2  per  acre,  and  the  same  year 
Samuel  S.  Caldwell,  three  acres,  with  an  aver- 
age of  124.2  per  acre,  and  in  1859  Joseph  Kerr 
reported  one  acre  yielding  128  bushels.  But 
the  bulk  of  the  plains  was  devoted  to  cattle 
raising  and  cattle  grazing,  and  some  flocks  of 
sheep.  In  1834  there  was  a  craze  for  short- 
horn Durhams  in  this  county,  and  Robert 
Kerr  brought  in  some  from  Pickaway  county, 
and  John  Ross  some  from  Kentucky.  Many 
farmers  devoted  their  attention  to  cattle 
breeding,  and  also  to  the  fattening  and  sale  of 
cattle,  a  thousand  head  sometimes  being  held 
by  one  man.  Abraham  Monnett  was  the  cat- 
tle king  of  southern  Crawford  and  northern 


Marion,  and  when  but  a  young  man  E.  B. 
Monnett  made  several  trips  to  Illinois  driving 
100  to  300  head  through  for  his  father;  also 
from  intermediate  points.  The  trip  took 
weeks.  Later  followed  their  sale,  the  seller 
sending  along  a  man  the  first  day  or  two  to 
get  the  cattle  "started,"  for  after  one  or  two 
days'  driving,  the  cattle  had  a  leader  and  they 
followed  without  any  trouble,  these  trips  fre- 
quently extending  as  far  as  New  York. 

The  plains  being  low  and  marshy  in  many 
places  and  overgrown  with  tall  grass  and 
weeds,  decaying  each  season,  it  was  easy  to 
obliterate  traces  of  the  Indian  trails.  Yet  Syl- 
vester Bourne,  in  his  field  notes,  made  in  1817, 
finds  many  distinct  traces  of  these  Indian 
trails  across  the  plains.  Hulbert,  the  authority 
on  Indian  trails,  gives  as  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent a  trail  commencing  west  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Scioto,  north  on  the  west  side  of  that 
river,  until  south  of  Columbus,  where  it 
crosses  the  river  and  continues  north,  passing 
through  or  near  Bucyrus.  This  trail  is  dis- 
tinctly traced  by  Bourne's  notes,  but  west  of 
where  Hulbert's  map  would  place  it.  It  is 
marked  in  sections  35  and  36  in  Dallas  town- 
ship, and  enters  Bucyrus  township  in  section 
30,  going  from  section  30  northeast  through 
sections  20,  21,  16,  15,  11  and  i.  In  section  30, 
Bucyrus,  northwest  of  the  Harvey  school- 
house,  perhaps  half  a  mile,  the  notes  show  a 
trail  going  through  the  northeast  corner  of  sec- 
tion 24,  Dallas  township,  crossing  the  river 
between  sections  24  and  2^,  Dallas,  and  con- 
tinuing on  to  the  Indian  village  at  Upper  San- 
dusky. According  to  writers  on  ancient  trails, 
this  trail  from  Upper  Sandusky  continued 
through  southwestern  Bucyrus  in  a  southeast- 
erly direction  through  Dallas  and  toward  Owl 
Creek  (Knox  Co.)  and  to  the  Tuscarawas  re- 
gion. Bourne's  notes  show  it  continued  east, 
crossing  the  Little  Scioto  in  the  northwest 
quarter  section  of  section  28  (farm  of  Daniel 
Rexroth)  then  northeast  near  the  south  side  of 
the  Little  Scioto  through  the  northwest  quarter 
of  section  27  (farm  of  W.  H.  Miller)  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  22  (farm  of  Wm. 
Caldwell's  heirs)  and  through  sections  23  and 
24  into  Whetstone  township,  where  one  branch 
went  toward  Leesville  and  the  other  to  the 
Whetstone  and  followed  the  north  banks  of 
that  river  into  Polk.     In  the  east  half  of  sec- 


210 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ton  28  Bucyrus  (between  the  land  of  Daniel 
Rexroth  and  Jonathan  Carmean),  the  trail  it 
met  leading  northeast  was  a  man  trail,  and 
that  continued  southwest  crossing  the  little 
Scioto  in  the  south  half,  section  26  (Carmean 
farm)  and  tollowing  the  Little  Scioto  through 
Dallas  into  Marion  county  and  south  to  Co- 
lumbus, 'ihe  Bourne  field  notes  show  a  trail 
from  Bucyrus  to  Upper  Sandusky  crossed  the 
river  just  abouf  at  the  Mansfield  street  bridge 
and  followed  the  present  Oceola  road  one 
mile,  then  ran  a  little  south  of  it,  and  following 
through  sections  33,  32  and  31  in  Holmes  it 
entered  Tod,  in  the  northeast  corner  of  sec- 
tion 36,  half  a  mile  south  of  the  Oceola  road, 
passing  through  sections  25  and  26  in  Tod, 
crossed  the  Brokensword,  half  a  mile  south- 
west of  Oceola,  about  on  the  farm  of  G.  E. 
Sigler,  then  west  to  Upper  Sandusky. 

As  to  the  military  road,  over  which  some  of 
the  Pennsylvania  troops  marched  in  181 2  to 
Fort  Ferree,  Benjamin  Sears,  who  came  to 
Crawford  county,  in  1837,  remembers  no 
trace.  At  the  time  he  arrived,  the  Mansfield 
and  Bucyrus  road  had  been  laid  out,  and  was 
in  use;  it  had  extended  west  toward  Oceola 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  past  their  home,  and  was 
in  1837  almost  to  the  Indian  reservation  line, 
which  was  about  a  mile  beyond  his  father's 
house.  Mr.  Sears  hunted  all  over  that  region, 
and  does  not  recall  a  trace  of  any  road.  At 
that  time,  1837,  he  is  certain  no  road  was 
cut  through  the  woods  from  Bucyrus  to  Upper 
Sandusky  nor  was  there  any  trace  of  such  a 
road.  The  road  is  given  on  all  maps  from  181 5 
to  1825,  so  it  seems  it  was  only  vised  for  mili- 
tary purposes;  in  the  dozen  years  that  elapsed 
from  its  use  to  the  first  coming  of  the  pioneers, 
it  became  overgrown  with  bushes  and  grass  and 
small  trees,  leaving  no  definite  trace  behind. 
It  is  difficult  to  figure  how  a  road  could  be 
cut  through  the  forest,  and  a  generation  later, 
and  even  less,  leave  no  trace  behind.  That  a 
body  of  Pennsylvania  troops  did  pass  from 
Crestline  through  Bucyrus  and  on  to  Upper 
Sandusky  all  records  show  there  is  no  question. 
Another  military  road  it  appears  also  existed, 
entering  the  county  north  of  Gabon,  passing 
through  southern  Whetstone,  and  southern 
Bucyrus  through  Wyandot  to  Little  Sandusky. 
Of  this  faint  traces  are  seen  in  eastern  and 
central  Polk  township,  but  all  trace  is  lost  for 


about  three  miles  in  western  Polk  and  eastern 
Whetstone  townships,  just  before  it  reaches 
the  plains,  where,  of  course,  the  open  country 
and  decaying  vegetation  and  overfiowing 
swamps  would  obliterate  everything  in  a  very 
few  seasons. 

There  was  an  Indian  camp  existed  at  an 
early  day,  about  four  miles  west  of  Bucyrus. 
The  Bucyrus  Journal  of  June  10,  1853,  con- 
tains the  following  item: 

"We  were  shown  the  other  day  a  sword, 
foun4  on  May  29,  by  Jacob  Kinsey,  about 
four  miles  west  of  this  place,  at  what  is  called 
'Plumb  Orchard,'  or  the  'Old  Indian  Camp.' 
The  sword  bears  every  appearance  of  having 
been  made  and  used  by  some  ancient  race,  un- 
known perhaps  in  this  country.  The  blade  is 
three  feet,  two  inches  in  length,  about  one  and 
a  quarter  inches  wide  at  the  hilt,  tapering  from 
both  sides  to  the  point,  which  is  very  sharp. 
The  hilt  is  covered  with  a  basket  of  steel, 
strongly  made,  and  serves  as  a  perfect  safe- 
guard to  the  hand  and  wrist.  It  is  very  much 
rusted  but  if  there  were  letters  on  it,  they 
could  easily  be  seen ;  there  are,  however,  none. 
The  following  figures  are  found  on  the  basket 
of  the  hilt: 

6/56 

"It  is  quite  a  curiosity  and  may  lead  to^  a 
more  careful  ex^imination  of  matters  connected 
with  it.  It  was  found  with  the  point  in  the 
ground,  with  a  large  root  practically  grown 
over  the  hilt.  In  the  same  place,  we  learn,  a 
musket  was  found  a  few  years  ago,  which  had 
every  appearance  of  being  very  old." 

The  early  grave  yards  of  Bucyrus  were  out- 
side the  original  plat  of  the  town  but  now  in- 
side the  corporation  limits.  The  very  first 
A\as  along  Middletown  street  east  of  Walnut. 
Among  those  known  to  be  buried  there  were 
Daniel.  Beadle,  the  infant  child  of  Mishael 
Beadle,  who  died  Sept.  i,  1822  ;  the  next  burial 
was  the  five-year  old  child  of  Jacob  Kellogg, 
died  Dec.  30,  1822.  The  first  adult  was  John 
Deardorff^,  who  died  in  1823,  and  the  same 
year  his  daughter  Margaret  was  buried  here, 
and  in  1824  his  son  William.  Rachel  Kellogg 
was  buried  here  in  1824,  and  her  father,  John 
Kellogg,  in  182 1;. 

In  1824  the  Carys  had  a  grave  yard  across 
the  river,  in  what  was  known  years  ago  as  the 
Henry  orchard,  just  south  of  the  present  Holy 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


211 


Trinity  cemetery.  The  tirst  burial  here  was 
in  1824,  Rachel  Gary,  wife  of  Lewis  Gary,  and 
that  same  year  was  buried  Elizabeth  Bucklin, 
the  mother  of  Albigence  Bucklin  and  Mrs. 
Samuel  Norton.  Daniel  McMichael  was  bur- 
ied here  in  1825,  and  also  Seth  Holmes  the 
same  year;  also  Timothy  Kirk  and  wife.  In 
this  yard  was  buried  in  1827,  Peter,  the  col- 
ored servant  of  Lewis  Gary,  the  first  colored 
man  ever  in  Bucyrus. 

The  next  burial  ground  was  the  Tiffin  grave 
yard,  located  on  land  donated  by  Amos  Glark,. 
and  still  in  existence  as  a  cemetery,  but  for 
many  years  unused  as  a  burial  site.  The  first 
burial  was  that  of  Samuel  Yost,  the  infant  son 
of  Abraham  Yost,  who  died  May  12,  1827. 
In  these  grounds  are  the  last  resting  place  of 
Samuel  Norton,  who  died  April  18,  1856,  and 
his  wife  Mary  Norton,  who  died  April  29, 
1859,  the  first  pioneers  of  Bucyrus.  Two  other 
graves  there  are  Thomas  Howey,  died  May 
27,  1835,  and  Joseph  Knott,  died  Nov.  5,  1826, 
both  reported  as  soldiers  who  served  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  Among  others  buried  here 
of  the  early  pioneers  were  Isaac  H.  Allen,  the 
first  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  county;  Elias 
Gronebaugh  who  was  killed  accidentally  at  the 
building  of  the  first  court  house  on  Dec.  4, 
1830:  Matthew  and  Elizabeth  Free,  Robert 
Foster.  John  Heinlen.  Abraham,  John  and 
Daniel  Halm,  Elisha  Kent,  John  Kanzleiter, 
Darius  Langdon.  Hugh  and  William  Mc- 
Gtillough.  Hugh  iMcGracken.  Matthew  Mc- 
Michael, William  V.  Marquis,  William  Magers, 
John  J.  MoUenkopf,  John  Nimmons,  Thomas 
Parks,  William  Robinson,  Thomas  Rogers, 
Gonrad  Roth,  Ghristian  Sexauer,  Henry  and 
James  Sell,  William  F.  Schindler,  John  Stine- 
man,  Beniamin  and  Joseph  Spahr,  James  and 
Matthew  Tate,  Jonathan  Timberlin. 

In    1830    the    Lutheran    grave    yard    was 


started,  known  as  the  Southern  grave  yard.  It 
was  outside  the  corporation,  and  was  on  the 
west  side  of  Spring  street,  between  Rensselaer 
and  Warren.  When  it  was  abandoned  all  the 
bodies  were  removed  to  Oakwood  cemetery. 
Among  the  pioneers  originally  buried  there 
were  George  Aumiller,  GhrLstopher  Boyer, 
Isaac  Ditty,  Peter  and  George  Lauck,  Peter 
Miller,  Abraham  Myers. 

There  was  a  grave  yard,  two  miles  west  of 
Bucyrus  on  the  Wyandot  road,  where  Joseph 
Young  and  many  of  his  family  were  buried. 
The  first  known  burial  was  that  of  William 
Young,  who  died  Oct.  25,  1839,  aged  -jy 
years. 

In  the  Monnett  chapel  grave  yard  the  first 
burial  was  Margaret  Slagle,  who  died  Aug. 
12,  1 84 1.  John  W.  Shaw,  colonel  of  the  34tli 
O.  V.  I.,  is  buried  here;  also  Abram  Monnett, 
who  died  Aug.  12,  1854.  Jeremiah  Monnett, 
the  founder  of  the  church,  died  Sept.  i,  1864, 
and  is  buried  here. 

One  mile  north  of  the  Monnett  chapel  was 
the  original  Monnett  grave  yard,  on  the  land 
of  Isaac  Monnett.  The  first  known  burial 
was  John  Monnett,  who  died  Nov.  26,  1831, 
aged  26  years. 

Mt.  Zion  church  has  a  grave  yard,  and  the 
first  recorded  interment  is  the  Mcllwain  twins, 
who  died  Sept.  25,  1866.  Another  grave  there 
is  Esther  White,  who  died  Oct.  22,  1884,  in 
the  89th  year  of  her  age. 

Five  miles  west  of  Bucyrus  is  the  Streib 
grave  yard,  and  the  first  known  interment  was 
Mary  Zimmerman  on  Feb.  17,  1867.  Many 
buried  here  are  over  seventy  vears  of  age,  J.  G. 
Mellenkopp,  who  died  Oct.  18,  1886,  being  then 
in  his  Q^d  year,  and  Rev.  Michael  Streib,  who 
died  May  4,  i8q7,  being  in  his  86th  year; 
Ghristooher  Soieele,  84:  John  Steinhilber.  83, 
and  Michael  Snvder,  81. 


CHAPTER  X 


CHATFIELD  TOWNSHIP 

The  Erection  of  Chatiield  Township— Topography  and  Drainage— The  Cranberry  Industry 
Pioneers  and  Early  Settlers — German  Immigfation — Early  Industries — Rearing  Silk- 
worms  Taverns — The  McKinley  Graves — Justices — North  Liberty  and  Its  Founder — 

Richville-ChatHeld   P.    0.   Established— Postmasters— Grove  Hill  P    0.— Schools 
Churches — Cemeteries. 


The  farmer  sat  in  his  easy  chair 

Smoking  his  pipe  of  clay, 
While  his  hale  old  wife  with  busy  care 

Was  clearing  the  dinner  away. 

— Charles  G.  Eastman. 

March  6,  1828,  Chatfield  township  was 
erected  by  the  Commissioners  of  Crawford 
county.  Prior  to  that  time  it  had  been  a  part 
of  Cranberry  township,  but  the  building  of  the 
pike  road  from  Bucyrus  to  Sandusky,  the 
large  amount  of  travel  over  that  road,  and  the 
tendency  of  settlers  to  enter  land  along  the 
most  traveled  routes,  had  made  the  western 
part  of  Cranberry  as  populous  as  the  eastern, 
so  the  citizens  in  the  western  portion  presented 
a  petition  to  the  commissioners  for  a  division 
of  the  township  and  the  request  was  granted. 
Cranberry  at  that  time  was  six  miles  deep  and 
eight  and  a  half  wide,  and  the  four  western 
miles  were  taken  off  and  the  new  township 
was  named  Chatfield,  after  Silas  and  Oliver 
Chatfield.  The  division  left  Cranberry  the 
same  as  it  is  at  present.  At  the  same  time 
Lykins  was  erected  six  miles  square — the 
present  Lykins  and  the  western  mile  of  the 
present  Chatfield.  When  Wyandot  county 
was  created  by  the  Legislature  in  1845,  it 
necessitated  a  rearrangement  of  the  western 
townships  of  the  county,  and  the  eastern  mile 
of  Lykins  was  attached  to  Chatfield,  making 
both  townships  five  miles  square,  as  they  exist 
today. 

Chatfield  township  is  one  of  the  most  fer- 
tile sections  of  Crawford  county.     Crossed  by 


those  extensive  glacial  ridges  which  extend 
from  east  to  west  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
state,  it  has  the  advantage  of  long  and  grad- 
ual slopes  which  give  it  excellent  drainage. 
The  soil  is  chiefly  alluvial  in  the  eastern  part, 
while  the  western  portion  contains  more  clay. 
Its  principal  drainage  is  Sycamore  creek 
which,  with  several  branches,  covers  almost 
the  entire  township.  In  the  northern  part 
Silver  creek  passes  to  the  west  entering  Seneca 
county  on  its  way  to  the  Sandusky,  while  in 
the  southern  section  of  the  township  are  small 
branches  that  find  their  way  to  the  Broken- 
sword. 

Many  of  the  Wyandot  Indians  roamed  over 
Chatfield  township  as  late  as  1830,  as  they 
came  every  autumn  and  camped  near  the  cran- 
berry marshes  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
township.  They  often  remained  all  winter, 
the  squaws  gathering  the  berries,  while  the 
men  engaged  in  the  manlier  occupations  of 
hunting  and  trapping.  The  cranberries  and 
skins  were  taken  by  them  on  their  ponies  to 
Sandusky  or  Bucyrus,  and  here  exchanged  for 
a  few  necessaries,  more  trinkets,  and  still  more 
"Sandusky  water,"  the  latter  an  inferior 
whisky  which  was  a  bad  investment  for  poor 
"Lo."  The  white  settlers  were  not  long  in 
discovering  that  the  cranberry  industry  was  a 
profitable  one,  and  the  same  rule  prevailed  in 
Chatfield,  as  elsewhere,  of  the  survival  of  the 
fittest,  and  the  Indians  were  gradually  driven 
from  the  region.  The  influx  of  settlers,  with 
the  clearing  of  the  land,  no  longer  left  that 


212 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


213 


section  a  hunting  ground,  and  in  1843  the  few 
of  the  Wyandots  who  occasionally  drifted  into 
the  township  joined  with  their  tribe  and  turned 
their  faces  toward  the  setting  sun,  typical  of 
the  departed  glories  of  their  race,  and  found 
a  new  home  in  the  reservation  allotted  to  them 
in  far  away  Kansas. 

The  first  settler  in  Chatfield  township  was 
Jacob  Whetstone,  who  as  early  as  1820  roamed 
through  the  woods  hunting  and  trapping.  He 
built  for  himself  a  cabin  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  northwest  of  the  present  village  of  Chat- 
field  on  the  bank  of  the  Sycamore.  He  had 
a  wife  and  family  and  cleared  about  an  acre 
of  land.  But  his  principle  support  was  the 
rifle,  and  the  products  of  his  skill,  carried  to 
Sandusky  or  Bucyrus  on  foot,  furnished  the 
necessaries  of  life  the  forest  failed  to  supply. 
Later  George  Stuckman  "squatted"  near  him, 
another  hunter,  but  owning  no  land,  support- 
ing his  family  by  his  rifle.  As  the  first  set- 
tlers came  these  hunters  were  employed  by 
them  to  secure  the  game  while  the  real  pio- 
neers put  in  their  time  clearing  away  the  for- 
est. They  assisted  the  settlers  in  erecting 
their  first  cabins,  and  at  times  in  the  work  of 
the  forest  and  field.  But  manual  labor  was 
irksome  to  them,  and  both  moved  with  their 
families  to  the  west  where  the  game  was  still 
plentiful. 

Another  early  settler  was  John  Henry,  who 
devoted  his  entire  time  to  hunting  and  trap- 
ping. He  was  an  expert  shot,  careful  and 
provident,  and  from  the  sale  of  his  furs  se- 
cured sufficient  money  to  purchase  a  farm  in 
section  19,  and  as  the  country  became  more 
settled  and  game  became  scarcer,  he  devoted 
less  attention  to  hunting  and  more  to  farming. 

As  early  as  1824  the  road,  which  later  be- 
came the  Columbus  and  Sandusky  Pike,  was 
in  existence  from  Columbus  through  Bucyrus 
to  Sandusky  and  there  was  already  much 
travel  along  this  route.  Settlers  began  locat- 
ing along  this  road,  among  the  first  being  Silas 
and  Oliver  Chatfield,  James  and  John  Robin- 
son, William  Spanable,  William  Champion 
and  David  Clute,  the  Chatfields  entering  land 
near .  the  present  village  of  that  name  and 
Champion  and  Spanable  north  of  Chatfield. 

Among  other  early  settlers  were  Ira 
Chase,  Demetry  Winterhalter,  John  Hamilton, 
Thaddeus  Kent,  David  Tipton,  Ichabod  Smith, 


who  came  about  1828;  John  Armitage,  Luther 
C.  Flint,  David  Kimball,  John  Mitchell,  Dan- 
iel Shaffstall,  in  1829;  Lloyd  Ady,  Jacob  Bib- 
ble,  Richard  Davidson,  Samuel  Foote,  Sidney 
Holt,  William  McPherson,  Truman  Wilkin- 
son, Jonas  Yingling,  in  1830;  and  Nathan  An- 
thony, Jacob  Bunce,  John,  Benjamin  and 
Ephraim  Clements,  Richard  Frisbie,  Adam 
Fauser,  in  1831. 

These  settlers  were  mostly  of  English  de- 
scent, and  came  to  Chatfield  from  the  eastern 
counties  of  the  state,  having  previously  em- 
igrated from  New  England.  They  entered 
land  along  the  Columbus  and  Sandusky  turn- 
pike, which  being  an  outlet  both  north  and 
south  soon  became  lined  with  the  log  cabins  of 
these  and  other  settlers.  Many  of  them  be- 
came early  prominent  in  township  affairs.  In 
183 1  Ichabod  Smith  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace,  Richard  Davidson  in  1834,  and  Daniel 
Shaff stall  in  1837;  Richard  Davidson  was  also 
township  clerk  in  1833,  and  David  Clute  and 
John  Mitchell  were  trustees  the  same  year; 
Luther  C.  Flint  was  appointed  the  first  post- 
master in  1834  by  Andrew  Jackson. 

As  early  as  1832  was  an  influx  of  Germans, 
coming  direct  from  the  mother  country.  In 
later  years  their  friends  were  sent  for  and 
eventually  Chatfield  and  surrounding  town- 
ships were  so  strongly  settled  by  this  nation- 
ality that  public  and  private  business  was  best 
conducted  in  the  German  language,  and  at  the 
national  and  state  elections,  the  tickets  were 
printed  in  both  English  and  German.  These 
German  settlers  were  steady  and  industrious, 
temperate  and  frugal;  they  labored  early  and 
late,  cleared  the  forests  and  reclaimed  the 
marshes,  and  half  a  century  later,  in  times  of 
monetary  depression,  when  the  business  men 
of  Bucyrus  had  need  of  cash  to  meet  some 
pressing  emergency  they  took  a  hurried  drive 
to  Chatfield  township  and  never  came  back 
empty-handed. 

Among  the  Germans  and  others  arriving  in 
the  thirties  were  the  following: 

1832 — George  Brown,  Edward  Biggs, 
Jacob  Bright,  George  Carrothers,  Henry  Durr, 
Harris  Garton,  John  Heckenlively,  John  G. 
Karg,  John  G.  Long,  Benjamin  Lindsley, 
Jacob  Nigh,  John  Scott  and  five  sons,  Isaac, 
Solomon,  George,  William  and  John  H. 

1833 — Daniel  Brindley,  Jacob  Gross,  Chris- 


21-t 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


tian  Hipp,  William  Koenig,  Gottleib  and 
Michael  Lutz,  Jacob  Regala,  Peter  Reidel, 
Thomas  Timony,  Peter  Wieter,  George  Wid- 
dle,  John  Winterholter,  James  Adams. 

1834 — Hugh  Goshorn,  Jacob  L.  Gurwell, 
Abraham  Harmon,  Benjamin  Hilliar,  John  G. 
Ott,  Benjamin  Royce,  Jacob  Schlater,  B. 
Dimock. 

1835 — Johannes  Burgbacher,  John  Fissel, 
Thomas  Johnson,  William  King,  David  and 
James  McKinley,  George  Shaffer. 

1836— William  Kolb,  Spencer  Moffitt, 
Timothy  Park,  Nathan  Rich. 

1837 — George  Leonhart,  David  Spore. 

As  their  names  indicate  some  of  these  set- 
tlers were  of  English  or  Scotch-Irish  origin. 
David  McKinley  above  mentioned  being  no 
less  a  personage  than  the  great  grandfather  of 
the  late  President  McKinley,  and  James  Mc- 
Kinley his  grandfather.  These  settlers  located 
in  different  parts  of  the  township,  and  their 
log  cabins  and  clearings  soon  began  to  en- 
croach on  the  primeval  forest,  their  settle- 
ments being  the  germ  of  that  advanced  civil- 
ization, and  well  cultivated  farms  and  com- 
fortable homesteads  that  meet  the  eye  on  every 
hand  today.  The  substantial  and  well  fur- 
nished residences  which  the  farmer  of  today 
regards  as  necessary  to  his  comfort  and  re- 
spectability would  doubtless  have  been  re- 
garded by  them  as  palatial,  and  they  would  no 
doubt  have  looked  on  such  modern  furnishings 
as  brussels  carpets,  cane-seated  or  plush  fur- 
niture, pianos  and  all  the  various  nicknacks 
in  which  the  modern  housewife  takes  such 
pride,  as  scandalous  superfluities. 

They  experienced  the  same  inconvenience 
of  those  in  other  portions  of  the  county. 
Money  was  scarce,  and  besides  clearing  their 
land,  and  making  their  own  crude  furniture 
they  obtained  needed  cash  by  working  on  the 
turnpike  then  being  constructed,  or  leaving 
the  farm  during  the  summer  to  the  care  of 
their  wives  and  children,  went  on  foot  to  the 
western  part  of  the  state,  where  they  obtained 
employment  on  the  Miami  canal,  then  build- 
ing between  the  Maumee  river  and  Dayton, 
and  the  cash  obtained  for  their  labor  they 
promptly  invested  in  additional  land. 

One  of  these  settlers  was  Jacob  Shaffer,  who 
came  from  Germany  in  1833,  at  the  age  of  18, 
settling   in   Stark  county,   and   in   two   years 


saved  $50,  when  he  came  to  Chatfield  town- 
ship with  his  wife  and  entered  forty  acres  of 
land  in  section  3.  He  btiilt  his  log  cabin,  and 
it  was  pointed  out  for  several  years  as  the  best 
house  in  that  neighborhood.  His  land  was 
all  forest,  and  the  first  year  he  cleared  three 
acres,  which  he  planted  in  wheat.  Shaffer 
was  one  of  those  who  walked  over  sixty  miles 
to  Paulding  county  to  obtain  needed  money 
by  working  on  the  canal. 

George  Leonhart  came  to  America  in  1833, 
and  liaving  $600,  invested  it  in  land  in  Stark 
county,  which  he  later  sold  at  an  advance  of 
$200,  and  came  to  Chatfield  where  he  started 
with  160  acres,  adding  to  his  land  as  the  years 
passed  until  his  holdings  were  nearly  1,000 
acres. 

Gottleib  Lutz  came  to  Chatfield  in  1833,  and 
his  brother  Michael  about  the  same  time. 
Gottleib  started  with  forty  acres  in  the  woods 
where  he  built  his  cabin.  He  was  married  in 
Germany  to  Eva  Kibler,  and  his  wife  accom- 
panied him  to  their  new  home.  Like  the 
others  they  were  much  annoyed  by  the  wolves 
whose  dei>redations  on  stock  left  the  sheep- 
pens  and  pig-styes  tenantless. 

William  Kalb  came  to  Crawford  county  in 
1833,  settling  first  in  Holmes  township  where 
he  remained  three  years  clearing  the  land,  and 
in  February,  1836,  removing  to  Chatfield 
township  where  he  had  purchased  no  acres 
of  land  in  section  19,  the  price  being  $400, 
less  than  four  dollars  an  acre.  Three  acres  of 
this  land  was  already  cleared.  He  planted 
his  crops  among  the  stumps,  and  in  some 
l^laces  harvested  them  with  a  butcher-knife. 

Christian  Hipp  came  from  Germany  with 
William  Kalb  in  1833,  and  settled  in  Chat- 
field township  that  same  year.  Accompany- 
ing him  was  his  11 -year  old  son  Frederick 
Hipp,  who  when  he  became  of  age  learned  the 
trade  of  a  wagon  maker  in  Bucyrus,  went  into 
business  at  Chatfield,  was  one  of  the  early 
postmasters  of  the  village,  justice  of  the  peace 
for  twenty-one  years,  only  resigning  in  1882, 
on  account  of  his  removal  to  Bucyrus,  having 
been  elected  probate  judge  of  the  county. 

Johannes  Burgbacher  settled  in  the  north- 
western part  of  Chatfield  in  1835,  purchasing 
eighty  acres  of  land  in  section  7.  Here  he 
died  in  1842,  and  on  his  eighteen  year  old  son 
John  devolved  the  support  of  his  family.    The 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


215 


day  before  the  Fourth  of  July  in  1849  John 
married  Susanna  M.  Koenig,  a  daughter  of 
one  of  the  pioneers,  and  later  he  became  active 
in  the  affairs  of  the  township.  He  was  first 
elected  justice  of  the  peace  in  1856,  and  re- 
elected in  1859  and  1862.  Retired  from  the 
office  long  enough  to  serve  as  county  commis- 
sioner for  two  terms,  and  at  the  expiration  of 
his  services  as  commissioner,  in  1872,  he  was 
again  elected  justice,  and  re-elected  every 
three  years  until  his  last  election  in  1899,  mak- 
ing thirty-six  years  as  justice  of  the  peace,  the 
banner  record  of  the  county. 

One  of  the  first  industries  of  the  county  was 
a  cooper  shop  started  by  William  Koenig,  who 
arrived  from  Germany  in  1833.  David  or 
Daniel  Shaffstall  built  a  sawmill  on  Sycamore 
creek  as  early  as  1834,  this  being  one  of  the 
first  industries  in  the  township.  It  was  located 
where  there  was  quite  a  slope  of  land  toward 
the  mill  on  the  opposite  side  from  the  stream, 
and  often  in  winter,  when  this  slope  was  cov- 
ered by  snow  or  ice,  the  logs  were  rolled 
down  it  to  the  mill.  After  being  operated  for 
nearly  twenty  years  by  Mr.  Shaff.stall,  it 
passed  into  other  hands  for  ten  years  and  was 
again  disposed  of  and  finally  abandoned. 

As  early  as  1832  there  were  two  taverns  on 
the  turnpike  about  a  mile  north  of  Richville, 
one  kept  by  Richard  Frisbie  and  the  other  by 
Nathan  Anthony.  They  were  located  on  op- 
posite sides  of  the  pike,  were  two-story  frame 
iDuildings,  and  both  were  well  patronized,  as 
this  turnpike  was  largely  used  by  settlers  from 
the  central  part  of  the  state,  who  passed  along 
to  the  northern  markets  on  Lake  Erie,  with 
large  droves  of  hogs  or  cattle,  or  with  grain- 
loaded  wagons,  and  these  drovers  being  a 
thirsty  and  hungry  tribe,  they  seldom  passed 
a  tavern  without  stopping  a  few  moments  to 
refresh  the  inner  man. 

Another  tavern  was  opened  in  1833  near 
the  southern  boundary  of  the  township  by 
Garton  Frislen,  and  still  another  was  built 
about  this  time  in  the  extreme  northern  part, 
which,  however,  bore  a  somewhat  bad  reputa- 
tion, as  a  resort  of  carousers  or  even  worse 
characters,  though  nothing  more  serious 
seems  to  have  been  proved  against  it  except 
excessive  drinking  and  some  gambling  on  the 
part  of  its  frequenters.  It  was  at  one  time, 
however,  suspected  of  being  a  resort  of  coun- 


terfeiters, and  the  suspicion  may  have  been 
well  founded,  as  at  a  later  period  some  im- 
plements such  as  counterfeiters  use,  were  dis- 
covered in  an  old  shed  near  the  tavern.  With 
this  tavern  was  also  connected  a  distillery  hav- 
ing two  copper  stills,  having  a  united  capacity 
of  about  thirty  gallons.  After  this  place  had 
been  conducted  for  about  ten  years  the  land- 
lord was  forced  by  popular  opinion  to  sell  out, 
and  he  moved  to  another  locality,  and  a  pub- 
lic nuisance  was  ended. 

The  Richard  Frisbie  tavern  and  the  Senate 
House  kept  by  Nathan  Anthony  were  at  the 
crossing  about  a  mile  north  of  the  present  vil- 
lage of  Chatfield,  where  the  pike  is  crossed  by 
the  road  running  from  Plymouth  to  Sycamore 
and  McCutchenville,  which  was  a  much  trav- 
eled east  and  west  road  in  the  early  days. 
Other  taverns  along  the  pike  prior  to  1840 
were  kept  by  Luther  C.  Flint,  Jacob  Bunn, 
Samuel  Webber  and  Harris  Garton,  the  Shade 
House  kept  by  a  brother  of  Samuel  Shade, 
who  ran  a  tavern  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
township,  also  the  tavern  of  Nathan  Plum- 
mer.  Later  Martin  Wirt  had  a  tavern  south 
of  Chatfield  which  he  advertised  as  a  "tem- 
perance inn,"  and  near  him  Phillip  Moffitt 
had  a  tavern.  L.  D.  Johnson  fitted  up  grounds 
at  considerable  expense  south  of  Chatfield,  and 
established  a  sort  of  summer  resort  hotel, 
which  was  known  as  the  "Everglade  Retreat." 
It  was  a  great  place  for  picnic  parties  and 
dances,  but  proving  unprofitable  was  discon- 
tinued, and  Johnson  moved  to  Bucyrus,  and 
purchased  the  McCoy  House,  now  the  Deal. 

In  1837  Jacob  Reidel  built  an  ashery  near 
Richville,  which  was  conducted  for  about  ten 
years.  The  majority  of  asheries  in  those 
days  were  run  in  connection  with  stores,  as 
owing  to  the  scarcity  of  money,  business  was 
largely  conducted  on  a  system  of  barter  and 
exchange.  Goods  were  exchanged  for  the 
ashes,  which  were  subsequently  manufactured 
into  potash. 

In  1840  John  Lucas,  with  his  widowed 
daughter,  Mrs.  Sarah  Breston,  started  a  silk 
manufacturing  industry  in  Chatfield  township. 
They  reared  the  silkworms  from  eggs  obtained 
in  Eastern  cities,  feeding  them  on  the  leaves  of 
the  few  mulberry  trees  found  growing  in  the 
woods.  The  attempt  was  only  partially  suc- 
cessful, owing  chiefly  to  the  difficulty  of  oh- 


216 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


taining  a  sufficient  supply  of  mulberry  plants. 
Some  good  silk  was  made,  however,  and  found 
a  ready  market  in  Bucyrus  or  Sandusky  city 
and  the  enterprise  was  carried  on  for  some 
twelve  years,  when  it  was  finally  abandoned. 
No  cloth  was  manufactured,  although  neck- 
ties and  ribbons  were  woven  by  Mrs.  Breston. 
The  buildings  were  located  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  township,  and  were  visited  by  many 
people  from  all  over  the  county  and  elsewhere. 
Mr.  Lucas  and  his  daughter  were  of  English 
descent  and  were  educated  and  refined  people; 
their  business,  if  not  wholly  successful,  was  an 
object  lesson  in  intelligent  enterprise  and  as 
such  was  probably  not  without  its  fruits. 

Among  the  prominent  early  settlers  in  the 
northern  part  of  Chatfield  was  the  Scott  fam- 
ily, whose  members  were  industrious  and  in- 
telligent citizens,  having  a  large  share  in  the 
building  up  and  improvement  of  the  town- 
ship. A  member  of  this  family,  John  H.  Scott, 
a  son  of  the  original  settler,  was  one  of  the 
contractors  on  the  turnpike  and  in  addition  to 
money,  had  received  an  extensive  tract  of  land 
adjoining  the  turnpike  as  part  payment  for 
his  services.  After  residing  in  Chatfield  for 
many  years,  the  Scotts  sold  out  and  moved 
farther  west. 

About  1838  a  wool-carding  factory  was 
erected  in  the  northern  part  of  Chatfield  by 
Martin  &  Hilliar,  the  building  being  a  two 
story  frame.  The  business  was  carried  on  for 
some  eight  or  ten  years,  when  it  was  aban- 
doned, the  proprietors  taking  up  farming,  as 
a  more  profitable  industry. 

James  McKinley  has  been  mentioned  as  one 
of  the  early  settlers  of  Chatfield  township. 
He  was  the  grandfather  of  President  Wm. 
McKinley.  He  settled  on  the  pike,  south  of 
Chatfield,  near  where  German  Lutheran  church 
now  stands,  and  near  the  site  where  his  cabin 
stood  is  now  the  brick  school  house  of  that 
district.  When  he  came  to  Crawford  county 
he  was  accompanied  by  his  brother  Ephraim 
who  settled  in  Bucyrus,  and  married  Hannah 
McCreary,  a  sister  of  the  late  Thomas  Mc- 
Creary  of  Bucyrus.  Both  the  brothers  were 
carpenters,  and  a  number  of  buildings  in  Bucy- 
rus, Holmes,  Lykins  and  Chatfield  townships 
were  built  by  them.  When  James  moved  to 
his  farm  in  Chatfield  all  his  sons  accompanied 


him,  excepting  William,  the  father  of  the 
president.  There  was  also  with  him  his 
father,  David  McKinley,  and  his  mother-in- 
law,  Hannah  C.  Rose,  both  great-grandpar- 
ents of  President  McKinley.  David  McKin- 
ley was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  was  born  in  1755,  and  died  in  August, 
1840,  and  was  buried  on  the  farm  of  his  son 
James.  A  week  later  the  mother-in-law  of 
James  McKinley  died  and  she  was  buried  be- 
side David  McKinley.  The  land  was  owned 
by  David  McKinley,  and  in  1844  it  was  .sold 
by  James  McKinley  and  he  moved  to  Lykins 
township,  a  little  over  a  mile  west  of  Lykins. 
At  this  new  home  on  August  14,  1846,  there 
was  a  double  wedding,  one  daughter,  Hannah, 
marrying  T.  J.  Tilford,  and  another  daugh- 
ter, Ellen,  marrying  James  Winters.  On 
Christmas  day,  1853,  another  daughter,  Mar- 
tha, was  married  to  Stephen  Waller.  The 
parents  had  moved  to  South  Bend,  Indiana, 
where  both  died  on  the  same  day  on  the  for- 
tieth anniversary  of  their  marriage  in  1847, 
and  were  buried  in  the  same  grave.  James 
McKinley,  the  grandfather  of  the  president, 
was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812,  and  passed 
through  this  section  during  the  war,  arid  was 
so  favorably  impressed  with  the  country  that 
it  eventually  led  to  his  location  in  the  county. 
In  disposing  of  the  farm  the  David  McKinley 
heirs  still  retained  control  of  the  burial  site, 
and  on  the  death  of  James  it  passed  to  his  son 
William,  the  father  of  President  McKinley. 
More  than  a  half  a  century  passed,  and  the 
stones  that  once  marked  the  last  resting  place 
of  the  ancestors  of  a  president  of  the  United 
States  had  long  since  mouldered  into  decay, 
the  graves  alone  remained,  grass  grown  and 
briar  covered,  when  the  name  of  McKinley 
became  known  through  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land,  and  the  old  settlers  re- 
called the  fact  that  the  grandfather  of  one  of 
the  nation's  greatest  men  had- once  made  his 
home  among  them.  The  coming  president, 
then  governor  of  the  state,  visited  the  site,  and 
at  his  request  the  little  churchyard  was  ex- 
tended to  include  the  McKinley  burial  plot, 
and  in  the  extreme  southeastern  comer  of  the 
yard  can  be  seen  the  two  stones,  erected  by 
the  president  of  the  United  States,  and  bear- 
ing the  simple  inscriptions: 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


219 


David  McKinley 

revolutionary  soldier 

Born  1755,  Died  1840. 

Hannah  C.  Rose 
Born  1757,  Died  1840. 

In  1830  one  of  the  pioneers  was  Richard 
Davidson.  His  father,  George  Davidson  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  was  a 
cousin  of  the  ill  fated  Colonel  Crawford. 
Richard  was  born  in  Virginia  on  May  28, 
1799,  on  land  which  was  granted  to  his  father 
by  the  government  for  services  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, but  the  title  was  never  perfected  and  the 
land  passed  into  other  hands.  George  David- 
son went  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  in  1830 
his  son  Richard  came  to  Crawford,  settling  on 
land  just  southeast  of  Chatfield,  and  in  1834 
was  one  of  the  first  justices  of  the  county, 
serving  for  three  terms. 

The  complete  list  of  justices  of  Chatfield 
township  is  as  follows :  Ichabod  Smith — 
1 83 1  -34 ;  Richard  Davidson —  1 834-3  7-40 ; 
Daniel  Shafifstall — 1837-40-43-49;  Levi  Cas- 
key — 1846;  James  Gibson — 1846;  John  Rob- 
erts— 1849;  Demetry  Winterhalter — 1849; 
Ormond  W.  Johnson — 1852;  Wilson  Stewart 
—1852-55-58;  Simon  Nefsger— 1853;  John 
Burgbacher  —  1856-59-62-71-75-78-81, 84, 
87-90-93-99;  Frederick  Hipp — 1861-64-67-70 
73-76-79;  J.  H.  Davidson — 1865-68-82;  John 
H.  Lust — 1885;  John  Guiss— 1888-91-95-98; 
D.  H.  Angene — 1894-95;  Joseph  H.  Mollen- 
cop — 1896;  F.  H.  Barth — 1898-0 1 -07-1 1 ;  and 
C.  F.  Hammer — 1903. 

The  first  town  laid  out  in  Chatfield  town- 
ship was  by  John  Henry  who  came  to  the 
township  in  1824  as  a  hunter.  From  the  pro- 
fits of  his  markmanship  he  bought  land  in  sec- 
tion 19  a  mile  south  of  the  present  village  of 
Chatfield,  but  he  was  not  cut  out  for  a  farmer. 
In  those  early  days  stock  was  allowed  to  run 
at  large,  and  the  hogs  soon  grew  wild.  As  a 
protection  settlers  marked  their  stock  so  that 
even  the  hogs  when  wild  could  be  identified. 
These  marks  were  made  a  matter  of  township 
record,  as  the  following  from  a  township 
clerk's  book  in  the  possession  of  Frederick 
Hipp  shows : 

"Thomas  Johnson's  ear  mark  for  his  cattle 
and  hogs  is  a  square  crop  off  the  left  ear  and 
a  slit  in  the  same." 


"Adrian  Hoblitzell's  ear  mark  for  cattle  and 
hogs  is  a  slit  in  both  ears." 

"John  Davidson's  ear  mark  for  cattle  and 
hogs  is  a  swallow  fork  in  each  ear." 

If  the  ears  of  the  hogs  held  out  it  is  prob- 
able that  each  settler  had  his  distinguishing 
brand.  There  were  many  wild  hogs  in  the 
early  days,  and  also  many  not  marked,  but 
when  a  settler  shot  a  hog  it  was  the  almost 
invariable  custom  to  return  the  dead  animal 
to  its  owner.  John  Henry  was  an  expert  shot 
with  the  rifle;  he  disliked  farming,  and  it  was 
generally  reported  by  his  neighbors  that  many 
of  their  hogs  found  their  way  into  his  larder. 
At  any  rate  he  salted  down  large  quantities  of 
pork,  and  realized  considerable  money  by  sell- 
ing this  pork  to  his  neighbors.  One  day  he 
sold  a  barrel  of  this  pork  to  Richard  Davidson, 
who  lived  about  a  mile  from  him,  and  after 
Henry  left,  Davidson  humorously  remarked 
to  his  wife:  "'Well,  we  are  only  buying  back 
our  own  pork." 

John  Henry  concluded  to  lay  out  a  town 
along  the  pike,  so  in  the  summer  of  1834,  he 
sent  for  the  surveyor  of  the  county,  Thomas 
C.  Sweney,  and  a  town  of  forty-one  lots  was 
platted  along  both  sides  of  the  pike.  The 
plat  was  filed  in  the  recorder's  office  at  Bucy- 
rus  on  June  9,  1834,  and  showed  the  location 
as  being  on  "the  north  half  of  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  No.  19  Chatfield  town- 
ship." It  was  nearly  a  mile  south  of  the 
present  village  of  Chatfield.  The  town  was 
called  North  Liberty,  the  Pike  was  the  prin- 
cipal, street  and  was  called  Bucyrus  street; 
west  of  this  was  a  street  running  north  and 
south  called  Poplar  and  east  of  Bucyrus  street 
was  Sycamore.  There  was  but  one  east  and 
west  street,  which  was  called  Cranberry,  but 
for  lack  of  east  and  west  streets  it  had  an 
alley  on  each  side.  There  were  sixteen  lots 
on  Bucyrus  street,  eight  on  each  side,  seven- 
teen on  Poplar  and  eight  on  Sycamore.  The 
prospects  of  the  town  were  good,  with  a  daily 
line  of  stages  passing  along  the  road,  with 
Bucyrus  nine  miles  to  the  south  and  Caroline 
eight  to  the  north.  The  Bucyrus  Journal,  of 
June  1834,  thus  mentions  the  enterprise : 

"John  Henry,  sr.,  has  laid  off  a  new  town 
to  be  called  North  Liberty,  in  the  center  of 
Chatfield  township,  and  offers  lots  for  sale  on 


220 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


July  loth.  The  town  is  nine  miles  north  of 
Bucyrus,  on  the  Columbus  and  Sandusky  pike, 
on  which  there  is  a  daily  line  of  mail  stages, 
the  county  road  from  Cranberry  to  Sycamore 
crosses  the  turnpike  at  the  town." 

When  the  town  was  originally  laid  out  John 
Henry  had  his  house  on  the  land  and  near 
was  a  small  frame  which  had  been  erected  by 
Demetry  Winterhalter.  The  two  first  settlers 
in  the  new  town  were  Jacob  Bibble  and  John 
Winterhalter,  who  built  houses  into  which 
they  moved  with  their  families,  two  other 
families  coming  soon  after.  The  place  never 
advanced  to  the  dignity  of  having  a  store  or 
a  tavern.  There  were  taverns  north  and 
south  of  the  village,  and  half  a  mile  south,  in 
1839  Jacob  Kronenbach  started  a  store  with 
about  $300  worth  of  goods,  which  he  had  pur- 
chased in  Bucyrus;  this  store  was  continued 
until  about  185 1  when  the  proprietor  died  and 
the  store  was  discontinued.  The  only  in- 
dustry ever  in  the  village  was  the  ashery  of 
Jacob  Reidel.  The  serious  drawback  to  the 
town  was  the  proprietor  himself.  He  was 
openly  accused  by  his  neighbors  of  shooting 
their  hogs.  On  one  occasion  several  settlers 
while  hunting  near  the  cranberry  marsh  heard 
the  crack  of  a  rifle,  and  creeping  through  the 
brush  saw  Henry  in  the  act  of  cutting  up  a 
hog  he  had  just  slain.  One  of  them  indig- 
nantly fired,  bringing  Henry  down  with  a  shot 
in  the  leg.  However,  after  shooting  him  they 
carried  him  home  on  a  stretcher,  and  ever 
after  he  was  called  "Hog  Henry."  He  made 
no  complaint  of  the  shooting,  rather  gloried 
in  the  name,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  be 
about  again  his  supply  of  pork  was  kept  up 
as  before.  His  town  was  known  all  over  as 
"Hog  Town,"  and  without  a  store  or  a  tavern 
or  a  friend  it  died  a  natural  death.  Henry 
eventually  removing  to  the  west. 

In  May,  1840,  the  village  of  Richville  was 
laid  out  and  platted  by  William  Fitzimmons, 
the  county  surveyor,  on  the  land  of  Nathan 
Rich,  the  promoter  of  the  new  town  and  the 
sole  proprietor,  and  the  plat  was  filed  in  the 
recorder's  office  May  4,  1840.  It  was  laid 
out  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  18,  and 
consisted  of  nineteen  lots.  The  Pike  road 
was  the  main  street,  and  was  called  Harrison 
street ;  east  of  it  was  a  north  and  south  street 
called  Sycamore.    One  street  ran  east  and  west 


called  Washington.  Nathan  Rich  was  of 
English  descent,  and  about  1837  had  erected 
a  story  and  a  half  frame  on  the  present  site 
of  the  village.  The  second  house  was  built 
by  John  Robbins  and  the  third  by  John  Pugh, 
both  locating  there  immediately  after  the  lay- 
ing out  of  the  town.  Pugh  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  shingles  and  siding,  which 
business  he  continued  for  a  number  of  years, 
finally  moving  west.  His  charges  were  from 
25  to  50  cents  per  hundred  for  the  shingles. 
He  made  his  siding  by  splitting  out  the  rough 
clapboards,  and  afterward  shaving  them  down 
to  the  required  thickness,  the  shingles  being 
prepared  in  much  the  same  manner.  He  had 
a  son  who  was  constitutionally  and  resolutely 
opposed  to  manual  labor,  which  no  amount  of 
punishment  could  make  him  perform,  but  who 
was  a  particularly  bright  scholar.  This  son 
subsequently  became  a  member  of  congress 
from  the  western  district  to  which  the  family 
had  moved.  His  conduct,  however,  with  re- 
spect to  shirking  physical  labor  cannot  be  held 
up  as  an  example  to  youths  of  the  present  day, 
as  not  all  boys  who  are  thus  idle  become  con- 
gressmen, the  rule  applying  rather  in  the  op- 
posite direction. 

Mr.  Rich,  who  founded  the  village,  also 
opened  the  first  store,  beginning  with  about 
$75  worth  of  notions,  which  he  kept  chiefly 
to  exchange  ^f or  ashes,  as  he  owned  one  of  the 
largest  asheries  in  the  county,  manufacturing 
as  high  as  twenty-five  tons  of  pearlash  per  an- 
num. He  paid  from  three  to  five  cents  per 
bushel  for  the  ashes,  or  gave  notions,  at  the 
same  rate,  in  exchange.  The  pearlash  was  sold 
in  Bucyrus  or  Sandusky  city  at  a  handsome 
profit. 

In  the  same  year  in  which  he  founded  the 
town  Mr.  Rich  also  built  a  saw  and  grist-mill. 
It  was  a  large  two-story  frame  building,  fur- 
nished with  one  set  of  "niggerhead"  stones 
and  with  a  large  "up  and  down"  saw.  The 
only  grain  ground  was  corn,  and  that  only  to 
a  limited  extent,  but  the  saw-mill  did  a  good 
business.  These  industries,  including  the  ash- 
ery, attracted  settlers  to  the  village,  which  be- 
fore long  began  to  assume  an  air  of  prosper- 
ity. New  houses  were  erected  and  stores  and 
other  business  enterprises  were  opened.  The 
first  real  store  in  town  was  kept  by  John  Rob- 
bins,  who  began  in  1840  with  a  general  assort- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


221 


ment  valued  at  about  $800.  After  conduct- 
ing the  business  for  six  years  he  sold  out  and 
removed  to  Wyandot  county. 

His  successor  was,  singularly  enough,  a  man 
of  the  same  name,  John  Robbins,  who  for  ten 
years  kept  a  large  general  stock  and  did  a  fair 
business,  after  which  he  also  sold  out  and  re- 
moved to  some  other  locality. 

The  first  saloon  in  town  was  kept  by  John 
Quaintance,  who  also  sold  groceries.  The  whis- 
key, the  stock  of  which  at  the  start  scarcely 
ever  exceeded  a  jugful,  was  sold  at  three  cents 
per  drink.  Mr.  Quaintance's  stock  of  grocer- 
ies, which  included  coffee,  was  also  very  small. 
He  had  as  an  assistant  a  briglft  youth  of  six- 
teen summers — or  winters — who  on  a  certain 
occasion,  as  narrated  by  a  former  historian, 
evinced  a  singular  inaptitude  for  business.  It 
seems  that  while  Mr.  Quaintance  was  out  buy- 
ing paper  rags  or  engaged  in  some  other  out- 
side business,  a  citizen  came  in  with  about  fif- 
teen pounds  weight  of  rags,  which  he  wished 
to  exchange  for  coffee.  The  youth,  after 
weighing  the  rags,  weighed  out  the  same  num- 
ber of  pounds  of  coffee,  which  he  handed  over 
as  an  even  exchange,  and  was  much  hurt  sub- 
sequently to  find  his  business  abilities  seriously 
questioned  by  his  employer.  After  conduct- 
ing his  store  for  a  number  of  years  Mr. 
Quaintance  finally  closed  out  his  stock  and  re- 
tired. Another  saloon  was  opened  not  long 
afterward  by  a  man  named  Kaler  who,  how- 
ever, did  not  remain  long  in  the  business. 

In  1839  Lorenzo  Bartimess,  a  practical 
distiller,  erected  buildings  on  a  somewhat  large 
scale  for  the  manufacture  of  whiskey  and 
brandy.  They  were  furnished  with  two  cop- 
per stills,  one  containing  about  eight  barrels 
and  the  other  four  and  both  together  turned 
out  from  ten  to  thirty  gallons  per  day,  the 
liquor  being  of  fair  quality.  This  distillery 
commanded  an  extensive  patronage  and  was 
the  most  profitable  enterprise  in  the  township. 
Late  in  the  seventies  the  distillery  was  discon- 
tinued owing  to  the  intervention  of  the  United 
States  ofiicials. 

A  store  building  was  erected  in  the  town 
in  1864  by  Hipp  &  Robinson  and  furnished 
with  $6,000  worth  of  goods.  The  business 
proved  profitable  for  a  short  time  only,  being 
unfavorably  affected  by  the  general  decline  in 
prices   on   the   conclusion   of   the   war.     The 


partners  continued  for  five  years,  however,  at 
the  end  of  which  time  they  sold  out  for  $3,000, 
having  sustained  large  losses.  Markley  & 
Durr,  who  bought  the  store  conducted  it  for 
several  years,  but  they  also  found  it  unprofit- 
able and  finally  gave  it  up.  Previous  to  Hipp 
&  Robinson's  vmdertaking  a  man  named 
George  Maltz  had  opened  a  store  a  little  south 
of  the  village,  in  1854,  with  a  stock  of  goods 
valued  at  $2,500.  He  continued  in  business 
for  about  ten  years,  luckily  or  wisely  closing 
out  just  before  war  prices  began  to  decline. 
Michael  Hall  succeeded  Maltz,  and  was  in 
business  about  four  years,  but  the  investment 
was  not  a  profitable  one  and  he  closed  up  his 
stock.  Other  merchants  in  Richville  were 
Hiram  Lyons,  in  1859;  Frederick  and  William 
Achbaugh,  and  Jacob  Buckman,  who  carried 
stock  to  the  amount  of  $2,000  to  $3,000, 
Mohroff  &  Lutz,  J.  M.  Durr.  August  Muth 
kept  the  principal  store  of  the  village  for  many 
years,  being  succeeded  by  his  son-in-law, 
Joseph  Mollencop.  The  first  physician  in  the 
village  was  Dr.  A.  B.  Fairbanks,  locating 
there  soon  after  the  town  was  started. 

In  1830  Chatfield  township  had  a  popula- 
tion of  ninety  people,  and  this  was  increased 
by  the  census  of  1840  to  six  hundred  and 
eighty.  After  ,1830  the  settlement  of  the  town- 
ship was  rapid,  the  completion  of  the  Colum- 
bus and  Sandusky  Pike  making  land  along 
that  road  desirable.  On  March  8,  1834,  a 
postoffice  was  established  in  the  township, 
called  Chatfield,  named  after  the  township. 
It  was  located  north  of  the  present  village  at 
the  cross  roads  where  the  Frisbie  tavern  was 
situated.  The  first  postmaster  was  L.  C. 
Flint.  One  of  the  early  postmasters  was  Har- 
ris Garton,  who  came  to  Bucyrus  in  1822, 
married  Louisa  Norton,  and  moved  to  Chat- 
field. When  John  Henry  laid  out  his  town  of 
North  Liberty  attempts  were  made  to  have  the 
post  office  removed  to  that  place,  but  the  lack 
of  a  store  or  tavern  there  and  the  feeling  of 
the  people  against  the  town  and  its  owner  pre- 
vented its  removal.  In  1848  the  post  office 
was  removed  to  Richville,  that  place  having 
become  a  business  center,  Dr.  A.  B.  Fairbanks 
being  the  first  postmaster.  The  name,  how- 
ever, remained  Chatfield,  and  eventually  the 
little  village  dropped  the  name  of  Richville, 
and  is  now  known  by  all  as  Chatfield.    Among 


222 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


the  postmasters  at  Chatfield  were  Wilson 
Stewart,  who  was  elected  county  commis- 
sioner and  removed  to  Bucyrus;  Frederick 
Hipp,  who  followed  Wilson  Stewart  in  1856, 
twenty-five  years  later  removed  to  Bucyrus, 
having  been  elected  probate  judge.  His  son- 
in-law,  James  H.  Robinson,  was  postmaster 
from  1867  to  1870,  and  came  to  Bucyrus  as 
county  surveyor,  and  later  was  auditor  of  the 
county  for  two  terms;  it  was  under  the  ad- 
ministration of  Mr.  Robinson  that  Chatfield 
first  secured  a  daily  mail  service.  Today  it 
has  several  mails  a  day,  and  there  are  two 
rural  routes  on  which  carriers  start  daily  to 
deliver  the  mail  at  the  homes  of  all  the  farm- 
ers in  that  section. 

Prior  to  the  removal  of  the  postoffice  to 
Chatfield,  the  postmasters  were  tavern  keep- 
ers, the  taverns  in  the  early  days  being  the 
most  frequented  place,  in  the.  various  sections. 
The  county  records  show  tavern  licenses 
granted  to  Luther  C.  Strong,  Samuel  Webber 
and  Harris  Carton  during  the  years  they  were 
postmasters.  The  following  are  the  different 
postmasters  at  Chatfield  with  the  date  of  their 
appointment : 

L.  C.  Flint,  March  8,  1834;  B.  Dimock, 
April  4,  1837;  S.  P.  Webber,  April  9,  1838; 
Richard  Frisbie,  March  2,  1839;  Harris  Gar- 
ton,  November  9,  1841 ;  Richard  Frisbie,  July 
6,  1843;  A.  B.  Fairbanks,  July  5,  1848;  John 
Roberts,  March  11,  1850;  L.  D.  Johnson, 
March  15,  185 1;  James  M.  Stewart,  July  16, 
1853;  Wilson  Stewart,  May  31,  1856;  Fred- 
erick Hipp,  August  I,  1856;  J.  Pitezel,  July 
26,  1861 ;  George  W.  Moltz,  September  19, 
1861;  M.  R.  Hull,  December  5,  1863;  Wil- 
liam Aschbacker,  June  22,  1865 ;  James  H. 
Robinson,  July  29,  1867;  C.  D.  Markley,  May 
2,  1870;  William  Aschbacker,  July  5,  1871 ; 
Charles  D.  Markley,  February  3,  1873;  Wil- 
liam Holste,  July  17,  1876;  William  Mohr- 
hofif,  March  31,  1879;  Elizabeth  Mohrhoff, 
April  23,  1885;  August  Muth,  January  27, 
1886;  Harrison  Williams,  April  19,  1892;  H. 
A.  Williams,  November  11,  1892;  L.  F.  Kib- 
ler,  June  8,  1894;  Joseph  H.  Mollenkop,  May 
9,  1898. 

The  people  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town- 
ship in  1863  petitioned  the  government  for  a 
postoffice.  The  request  was  granted  and  a 
postoffice  established  about  seven  miles  north 


of  Bucyrus  in  the  Hopple-Klink  neighbor- 
hood. The  postoffice  was  called  Grove  Hill, 
and  Frederick  Rapp  was  appointed  postmaster 
March  30,  1863;  he  was  succeeded  by  Philip 
J.  Moffitt  October  5,  1868,  and  he  by  Isaac  An- 
derson June  II,  1873,  and  sixteen  days  later, 
on  June  27,  the  office  was  discontinued. 

The  advancement  of  any  community  is  usu- 
ally in  proportion  to  its  educational  facilities. 
In  this  respect  Chatfield  township  has  kept  up 
with  the  times.  The  educational  movement 
was  inaugurated  in  the  summer  of  1834  by 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Thompson,  who  opened  a 
school  in  her  own  dwelling  at  North  Liberty. 
She  was  a  lady  of  refinement  and  education, 
though  little  is  known  of  her  previous  history. 
She  taught  several  terms  of  school  of  three 
months  each,  charging  her  pupils — of  whom 
she  had  some  twelve  or  fifteen — one  dollar 
each  for  the  term.  After  her  removal  from 
the  neighborhood,  school  was  kept  in  a  frame 
building  erected  in  1836  on  the  turnpike  near 
Richville.  John  Rissell  was  one  of  the  first 
teachers  here.  A  few  years  later  two  more 
school-houses  were  erected — one  about  a  mile 
northwest  of  the  village  and  the  other  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  south  on  the  turnpike.  An  early 
teacher  in  the  school  in  the  northern  part  was 
Mrs.  Sarah  Breston,  previously  mentioned  in 
this  chapter  as  having  been  engaged  in  rear- 
ing silkworms  with  her  father,  John  Lucas. 
Several  teachers,  however,  had  preceded  her, 
whose  names  are  now  forgotten.  After  the 
division  of  the  township  into  school  districts, 
each  had  a  frame  schoolhouse,  and  the  old  log 
schoolhouse  fell  into  disuse.  Several  of  the 
township  schools  were  taught  in  the  German 
language,  owing  to  the  large  proportion  of 
settlers  of  that  nationality.  John  H.  David- 
son was  in  former  years  a  potent  factor  in 
the  educational  work  of  the  township,  and  was 
the  first  teacher  in  the  first  brick  schoolhouse. 
Some  of  the  most  efficient  teachers  in  adjacent 
townships  were  educated  in  Chatfield. 

The  first  division  of  the  township  into 
school  districts  was  on  November  11,  1833, 
when  the  trustees  held  a  meeting  and  divided 
the  township  into  three  school  districts.  The 
township  was  then  four  miles  wide  and  six 
deep,  and  the  northern  two  miles,  extending 
across  the  township  was  district  No.  i,  the 
central  two  miles  district  No.  2,  and  the  south- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


223 


ern  two  miles  district  No.  3.  The  township 
now  has  eight  school  districts,  with  a  brick 
school  house  in  each  one,  the  first  township 
in  the  county  to  have  all  its  schoolhouses  of 
brick. 

The  spiritual  needs  of  Chatfield  township 
were  early  looked  after  by  ministers  who 
came  from  Bucyrus  and  other  parts  of  the 
county,  some  of  whom  organized  churches  or 
religious  societies.  The  German  Lutheran 
and  the  German  Reformed  churches  were  or- 
ganized soon  after  the  large  influx  of  German 
settlers  in  or  about  1832.  Meetings  in  the 
cabins  of  the  settlers,  which,  in  fact,  was  the 
general  custom  until  1837,  at  which  time  the 
German  societies  fitted  up  a  large  log  cabin 
exclusively  for  church  purposes,  and  it  was 
thus  used  for  many  years  the  building  sub- 
sequently becoming  a^  schoolhouse.  The  log 
cabin  above  mentioned  was  succeeded  by  a 
large,  almost  square  structure,  having  four 
windows  and  a  door  and  constructed  of  black 
walnut  lumber.  Here  also  a  Sabbath  school 
was  organized.  An  early  revival  increased 
the  membership  of  the  church  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  even  this  building  was  scarcely  large 
enough  to  hold  the  usual  congregation.  In 
the  late  seventies  or  thereabouts,  the  congre- 
gation divided,  the  Lutherans  retaining  the 
old  building  and  the  Reformers  erecting  a 
new  and  more  imposing  one  a  short  distance 
east  on  the  turnpike. 


In  1844  the  Baptists  erected  a  church  on  the 
turnpike  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township, 
which  building  is  still  standing.  Not  far 
away  is  a  quiet  little  cemetery,  where  re- 
pose the  remains  of  some  of  Chatfield's  best 
known  and  most  beloved  citizens  of  former 
days. 

About  1846  the  Dunkards  built  a  church 
just  across  the  line  in  Seneca  county,  near  the 
northwest  corner  of  Chatfield,  which  drew 
many  members  from  the  latter  county.  Many 
years  afterward  it  was  moved  across  the  line 
into  Chatfield,  and  the  old  building  was  finally 
replaced  by  a  new  and  more  commodious 
structure. 

As  early  as  1832  the  Methodists  held  serv- 
ices in  the  cabins  of  the  settlers,  being  sup- 
plied with  occasional  preachers  by  the  minister 
from  Bucyrus  and  traveling  missionaries. 
Later,  as  the  membership  grew  they  erected 
a  frame  church  which  did  service  for  many 
years  and  was  succeeded  by  the  structure  now 
erected  in  Chatfield. 

Chatfield  is  today  a  solid,  substantial  little 
village,  with  a  population  by  the  census  of 
1910  of  two  hundred  and  seventy.  It  has 
two  railroads,  and  one  large  mill,  the  Chatfield 
Milling  Company,  which  being  the  center  of  a 
rich  grain-growing  region  does  a  large  busi- 
ness. It  has  several  stores  and  shops,  a  town 
hall,  and  graded  schools. 


CHAPTER  XI 

CRANBERRY    TOWNSHIP 

Location  and  Erection  of  the  Township — Topography  and  Drainage — Cranberry  Marsh — 
First  Settlers — Early  Industries — New  Washington — Kibler's  Tannery — Postmasters — 
Construction  of  Railroad — Justices — Education — Churches. 


Happy  the  man  who  tills  his  field 

Content  with  rustic  labor ; 
Earth  does  to  him  her  fullness  yield, 

Hap  what  may  to  his  neighbor. 
Well  days,  sound  nights ;  oh,  can  there  be 
A  life  more  rational  and  free? 

— Richard  Henry  Stoddard. 

Cranberry  township  comprises  land  lying 
on  either  side  of  the  eastern  boundary  of  an 
extensive  tract  which,  subsequent  to  1820  was 
known  as  the  "New  Purchase."  The  three 
tiers  of  sections  on  the  east  belonged  to  the 
"Three-mile  Strip,"  a  narrow  tract  of  land 
lying  next  east  of  the  boundary  mentioned 
above ;  and  the  tier  of  sections  on  the  west  and 
the  fractional  tier  lying  next  east  of  the  west- 
ern tier,  were  portions  of  the  New  Purchase. 
The  former  portion  of  the  township — that 
lying  east  of  the  New  Purchase — was  laid  out 
in  sections  as  early  as  1807,  the  remainder  not 
being  surveyed  until  about  1820.  These  town- 
ships were  at  first  known  only  by  their  num- 
bers and  ranges,  names  being  given  subse- 
quently to  them  by  the  settlers.  Cranberry  was 
named  from  the  extensive  cranberry  marshes 
lying  in  its  southwestern  parts.  It  was  erected 
as  a  township  by  the  Crawford  county  commis- 
sioners in  1826  and  included  what  is  now 
Cranberry  and  the  eastern  four  miles  of  the 
present  Chatfield  township.  Its  boundaries 
have  been  frequently  changed  but  in  1828  at 
the  presidential  election  the  polling  place  was 
at  the  cabin  of  Joshua  Chilcote,  in  Cranberry. 
Out  of  the  fifteen  or  sixteen  votes  then  cast, 
seven  came  from  Cranberry,  and  the  remainder 
from  the  Chatfield  part.    In  1828  Chatfield  was 


erected  by  taking  from  Cranberry  its  four 
western  sections.  Its  present  boundaries  and 
dimensions  were  assigned  to  Cranberry  in 
1835,  at  which  time  Sandusky  township  was 
divided  and  Jackson  township  created,  sections 
34,  35  and  36  being  annexed  to  Cranberry. 

The  surface  of  Cranberry  township  is  gen- 
erally flat,  though  in  the  northern  part  some- 
what undulating.  Lying  on  the  northern 
slope  of  the  Ohio  watershed,  it  is  drained  on 
the  northern  and  eastern  sides  by  streams  run- 
ning into  Huron  river.  Its  western  side  is 
drained  by  Sycamore  creek,  a  branch  of  the 
Sandusky.  The  drift  deposits  are  deep  and  in 
no  place  is  the  underlying  rock  exposed.  In 
the  southern  part  of  the  township  is  found  a 
rich,  black  and  largely  alluvial  soil,  while  in  the 
northern  part,  being  mixed  with  sand  and  clay, 
it  is  somewhat  lighter.  This  clay  of  a  heavy 
tenacious  quality,  has  been  used  to  quite  an 
extent  in  the  manufacture  of  brick,  tile  and 
pottery.  A  few  sulphur  springs  occur  in  sev- 
eral parts  of  the  township  but  are  of  no  par- 
ticular value. 

Owing  to  the  wet  and  marshy  character  of 
the  soil  in  a  large  part  of  the  township,  Cran- 
berry offered  few  or  no  attractions  to  the  pio- 
neer settlers  and,  as  a  rule,  they  passed  on  to 
more  favored  localities.  Of  course,  in  those 
days  artificial  drainage  was  not  thought  of,  or, 
if  thought  of,  was  regarded  as  impracticable, 
as  so  much  other  real  work  needed  to  be  done. 
The  vast  cranberry  maijsh,  however,  proved  an 
attraction  to  hunters  and  trappers,  as  it  was  a 
favorite  hiding  place  for  game,  and  in  the  win- 


224 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


225 


ter,  when  the  water  was  frozen,  was  the  scene 
of  many  an  exciting  hunt.  Wolves,  foxes, 
mink,  and  other  fur-bearing  animals  were 
taken  in  large  quantities,  while  occasionally  a 
panther  or  bear  was  found.  In  wet  weather 
the  water  was  in  some  places  two  feet  deep  and 
large  pools  of  stagnant  water  abounded 
through  all  this  vicinity. 

Bands  of  Wyandot  Indians  camped  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  township  as  late  as  1825 
and  they  continued  to  visit  the  locality  for  ten 
years  subsecjuently,  after  which  they  came  no 
more.  In  the  winter  they  often  organized  ex- 
tensive hunts,  being  sometimes  joined  by  the 
white  settlers.  The  game  was  surrounded  by 
a  wide  circle  of  hunters,  who  gradually  closed 
in  upon  it,  driving  it  to  a  common  center, 
where  it  was  slaughtered,  being  afterwards 
divided  among  the  participants.  Many  such 
exciting  scenes  took  place  in  early  days  in  this 
township.  Most  of  the  large  ponds  which  in 
those  days  formed  such  a  leading  feature  of 
the  landscape,  are  no  longer  to  be  seen,  owing 
to  the  system  of  drainage  inaugurated  some- 
what over  a  generation  ago,  by  which  means 
the  stagnant  water  was  turned  into  neighbor- 
ing streams.  The  marsh  has  also  been  drained 
and  the  soil  rendered  fit  for  the  plow. 

The  name  of  the  first  settler  in  Cranberry 
township  will  probably  never  be  ascertained. 
In  1825  thtre  were  but  three  or  four  families 
settled  in  the  township,  none  of  whom,  prob- 
ably, had  been  there  more  than  three  or  four 
years.  In  1823  or  1824  a  Mr.  Bergin  built  a 
log  cabin  on  what  was  afterwards  the  Cory 
farm,  being  assisted  in  raising  it  by  some  set- 
tlers from  Auburn  township.  By  1826  he  had 
cleared  and  fenced  a  number  of  acres. 

In  that  year  the  township  witnessed  the 
advent  of  Aaron  Cory,  an  ordained  minister  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  who  was  of 
Scotch  descent.  He  is  thought  to  have  been  a 
descendant  of  Giles  Cory,  who  was  executed 
for  witchcraft  at  Salem,  Mass.,  September  i, 
i6q2,  when  aged  77  years.  Removing  from 
New  Jersey  to  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  in 
1802,  he  had  resided  there  a  number  of  years 
and  afterwards  been  a  resident  of  Richland 
and  Wayne  counties.  He  died  in  Cranberry 
township  in  1834  at  the  age  of  60  years,  hav- 
ing founded  a  family  that  has  given  to  the 
county  some  of  its  most  intelligent,  disting- 


uished and  upright  citizens.  Among  them  was 
Thomas,  son  of  Rev.  Aaron,  who  "served  with 
singular  fidelity  in  various  positions  of  honor 
and  trust."  Another,  James  E.  Cory,  repre- 
sented Crawford  county  in  the  state  legisla- 
ture and  was  the  author  of  several  useful  legis- 
lative enactments,  and  Hugh  M.  Cory  was 
state  senator  from  1909  to  191 1. 

Other  settlers  who  came  about  the  time  of 
Cory  were  Charles  Doney,  George  Myers  and 
Joshua  Chilcote.  Doney,  who  came  in  1825, 
was  a  hunter  and  trapper  and  built  a  log  cabin 
near  the  cranberry  marsh.  He  gave  his  name 
to  a  long  winding  ridge  or  strip  of  land  which 
extended  out  to  the  center  of  the  marsh  and 
which  to  this  day  is  known  as  Doney's  Point. 
He  was  a  Connecticut  Yankee  and  had  pre- 
viously settled  in  the  northern  part  of  Richland 
county  but  on  account  of  game  becoming 
scarce  in  that  locality  had  removed  to  Cran- 
berry township,  this  county,  where  he  erected 
a  cabin  for  himself  and  family.  He  cultivated 
a  small  garden  but  his  main  business  was  hunt- 
ing. He  had  much  trouble  with  the  Indians, 
who  stole  his  furs,  but  he  finally  stopped  this 
practice  by  catching  one  of  the  thieves  and 
giving  him  a  sound  thrashing. 

George  Myers  bought  land  on  the  subsequent 
site  of  New  Washington  and  was  afterwards 
closely  identified  with  the  early  history  and 
development  of  that  village. 

Chilcote  was  an  Easterner  who  before  com- 
ing here  had  resided  for  some  time  in  Colum- 
biana county,  Ohio.  He  was  an  enterprising 
and  energetic  citizen,  took  a  prominent  part  in 
opening  up  roads  through  this  locality  and 
served  with  ability  in  most  of  the  township 
ofifices.  It  is  thought  that  the  first  marriage 
in  the  township  was  that  of  one  of  his  daugh- 
ters with  "Oak"  Tyndal.  He  has  numerous 
descendants,  though  most  of  them  are  residents 
of  other  counties.  His  immediate  family  num- 
bered five  sons — John,  Nicodemus,  James, 
Joshua  and  Heathcote — and  two  or  three 
daughters.  In  1820  Jacob  Lederer  settled  in 
the  township  with  his  three  sons. 

About  1828  James  Boner  settled  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  township.  He  also  was 
one  of  the  township's  most  useful  citizens  dur- 
ing its  early  period.  He  was  a  man  of  more 
than  ordinary  intelligence  and  served  for 
many  years  as  a  justice  of  the  peace.     A  for- 


226 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


mer  historian  relates  that  on  one  occasion — 
about  1829 — ^Judge  Boner  was  called  upon  to 
"splice"  a  young  German  named  Zipsie  with 
the  object  of  his  choice.  About  a  week  later 
Zipsie  appeared  and  addressing  the  Judge,  who 
was  weeding  his  garden,  exclaimed:  "Wie 
gehts,  Mishter  Boner,  wie  gehts.  You  did  got 
me  a  firsh  shtrate  wife  dot  time." 

In  1830  arrived  Jacob  Boyer,  Jacob  Shafer 
and  Christopher  Faulk.  They  were  followed 
three  years  later  by  a  large  number  of  German 
settlers  who  located  in  various  parts  of  the 
township.  Among  them  were  George  Klein^ 
Timothy  McCarty,  Jacob  and  Philip  Gangloff, 
George  Seifert,  Warren  Rang,  William  Hoo- 
ver, Henry  Koehler,  Benjamin  Hudson,  George 
Seiter,  William  and  Arthur  Tildon,  George 
Donnenwirth,  William  Scott,  George  Stro- 
hacker,  Frederick  Weaver,  Michael  Hartneck 
and  Joseph  Worst. 

About  the  same  time  came  Adam  and  Valen- 
tine High,  Jefferson  Kibler,  Valentine  Lantz, 
John,  William  and  Armstrong  Irwin,  John 
Siefert,  Amos  Stevens  and  six  sons,  and  others. 
Most  of  the  German  settlers  came  directly  from 
Germany  to  Cranberry  township.  The  ma- 
jority of  these  settlers  selected  the  higher  lands 
for  their  settlement,  but  some  braving  malaria, 
chose  the  ridges  that  projected  like  peninsulas 
into  the  swamp.  They  took  some  measures, 
however,  for  draining  the  worst  places  and 
in  the  course  of  years  their  united  labor  in  this 
direction  had  a  most  beneficial  result.  Many 
of  them  made  no  little  money  out  of  the  cran- 
berry-picking industry,  the  berries  in  1824  sell- 
ing for  20  and  25  cents  per  bushel,  with  the 
price  steadily  advancing.  With  the  aid  of  a 
box-like  implement  having  a  serrated  board 
for  scraping  off  the  berries,  15  or  20  bushels 
per  day  were  often  gathered.  The  pickers 
wore  long-legged  boots  to  keep  out  the  water 
and  as  a  precaution  against  snake-bites,  rattle- 
snakes being  numerous  in  the  marsh.  The 
picking  season  began  the  latter  part  of  Sep- 
tember and  lasted  until  well  into  the  following 
spring;  but  few  being  gathered  in  the  winter, 
however,  owing  to  their  being  frozen  in  the  ice. 
Those  gathered  in  the  spring  were  considered 
of  the  best  quality,  as  they  required  less  sugar 
to  prepare  them  for  table  use.  By  1855  the 
marsh  had  become  so  dry  that  cranberries  no 
longer  grew  there  in  paying  quantities. 


Previous  to  1830  the  township  was  without 
any  of  the  usual  appurtenances  of  civilization. 
Mills,  manufactories,  schools,  churches  or  vil- 
lages were  non-existent.  To  obtain  flour  or 
meal  it  was  necessary  to  go  to  the  Huron  river, 
20  miles  north,  except  that  a  very  small  quan- 
tity could  sometimes  be  obtained  at  the  horse- 
mills  in  Auburn  township.  Household  sup- 
plies were  brought  from  Huron  and  Richland 
counties,  or  where  obtained,  later,  at  Bucyrus. 
By  1842  Jefferson  Wallace,  a  cabinet-maker 
began  "business  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
township,  after  which  many  of  the  citizens 
procured  their  household  furniture  from  him. 

In  or  about  1836  a  log  grist-mill  was  erected 
in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  township,  on 
Broken  Knife  creek,  "niggerhead"  stones  be- 
ing used.  This  mill  was  conducted,  it  is 
thought,  for  about  six  or  seven  years  and  pro- 
duced a  good  article  of  flour.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  race  was  a  sawmill  operated  by  Mr. 
Chilcote,  which  ran  for  about  the  same  length 
of  time.  Both  mills  were  built  of  logs,  the 
grist-mill  being  the  larger  building. 

In  August,  1833,  the  town  of  West  Liberty 
was  laid  out,  and  the  plat  was  filed  in  the  Re- 
corder's Office  in  Crawford  county,  on  Sept. 
2,  1833.  It  was  platted  and  surveyed  on  land 
belonging  to  John  Drum,  who  was  the  pro- 
jector and  proprietor  of  the  new  town.  Its 
location  is  described  as  being  the  south  end 
of  the  west  half  of  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  No.  12,  Chatfield  township  (now  Cran- 
berry. )  It  was  laid  out  almost  entirely  on  the 
east  of  the  road  which  ran  through  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  county  from  Mansfield  to  At- 
tica and  Tiffin.  There  were  three  north  and 
south  streets  and  three  north  and  south  al- 
leys, named  Caroline,  Walnut  and  Poplar 
streets,  and  a  West,  Middle  and  East  alleys. 
All  of  the  26  lots  laid  between  two  east  and 
west  streets,  Jackson  being  the  street  on  the 
north  and  Front  on  the  south.  The  Mans- 
field and  Tiffin  road  crossed  diagonally  through 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  plat.  It  was  pro- 
posed to  abandon  that  part  of  the  road  that 
cut  through  the  town  and  have  it  enter  from 
the  north  on  Caroline  street,  run  south  to  Jack- 
son, then  east  to  the  original  road.  It  was 
only  four  days  after  the  plat  was  filed  in 
Bucyrus,  that  George  Myers  filed  the  plat  of 
New  Washington,  which  laid  just  south  of 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


227 


Drum's  town  of  West  Liberty.  There  was  a 
very  spirited  rivalry  for  a  while  between  the 
two  places  as  to  which  should  be  the  town. 
But  eventually  New  Washington  proved  the 
stronger,  and  the  site  of  West  Liberty  was 
abandoned,  but  it  is  now  the  northern  part 
of  New  Washington. 

George  Myers  was  a  very  energetic  and 
industrious  citizen.  His  cabin  stood  near  the 
site  of  the  grist-mill  and  was  a  small  building 
constructed  of  round  logs.  He  was  a  short 
chubby  man  with  heavy  whiskers,  which  stood 
straight  out  from  his  face  and  which  caused 
him  to  be  generally  known  as  "Chipmunk" 
Myers.  In  course  of  time  he  broke  himself 
down  by  hard  work.  By  1833  he  had  cleared 
and  fenced  30  acres  of  land  and  had  it  under 
cultivation.  A  part  of  it  is  now  the  business 
center  of  New  Washington. 

The  early  growth  of  New  Washington  was 
slow  but  steady.  It  was  well  situated  for  a 
trade  center,  having  no  near  rivals  in  this, re- 
spect and  the  number  of  merchants  gradually 
increased,  most  of  them  keeping  large  and 
well  selected  stocks.  Jacob  Hoover  came  soon 
after  Myers  and  built  a  round  log  cabin  near 
the  northern  limits  of  the  town.  He,  how- 
ever, was  a  very  different  kind  of  man,  having 
a  strong  disinclination  to  hard  labor  and  be- 
ing by  natural  taste  a  hunter,  at  which  he  was 
very  successful. 

The  first  stock  of  goods  was  brought  to  the 
town  by  a  Mr.  Hussey,  who,  in  1835  or  1836 
erected  a  double  log  cabin,  where  he  kept  a 
general  assortment  of  goods,  purchased  in 
Sandusky  City  and  valued  at  about  $800.  The 
stock,  of  course,  included  a  liberal  supply  of 
whiskey,  without  which  as  a  sort  of  lubricat- 
ing oil — as  was  generally  supposed  in  those 
days — the  world  would  have  failed  to  turn 
on  its  axis.  Mr.  Hussey  was  drowned  in  a 
storm  on  Lake  Erie  in  1842,  and  for  some 
years  after  his  death  his  business  was  con- 
ducted by  his  widow,  who  subsequently  be- 
came the  wife  of  John  A.  Sheets.  Mr.  Sheets 
then  carried  on  the  business,  increasing  the 
stock  until  it  was  worth  several  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  enjoying  an  excellent  trade.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  sons,  by  whom  the  business 
was  still  further  expanded  and  increased  in 
value  and  importance. 

Volney  Powers  was  the  second  merchant  in 


New  Washington  and  had  a  good  trade, 
though  secondary  in  importance  to  that  of 
Sheets.  He  had,  however,  one  of  the  largest 
asheries  in  the  county  and  turned  out  on  an 
average  about  fifteen  tons  of  excellent  pearl-ash 
per  annum  for  about  eight  years.  He  also 
owned  a  large  farm  near  the  town  from  which 
he  cut  and  burned  the  timber,  preserving  the 
ashes  for  use  in  his  ashery.  Many  of  the 
early  merchants  dealt  in  furs  and  some  in  wool, 
or  in  anything  from  which  an  honest  penny 
might  be  gained,  achieving  success  or  failure 
according  to  their  business  ability  or  the  con- 
ditions by  which  they  were  confronted.  In 
1836  New  Washington  could  boast  of  seven 
families  who  were  living  in  log  cabins  of  va- 
rious patterns  and  dimensions.  By  1840  the 
population-  of  the  village  had  increased  to 
nearly  fifty,  at  which  figure,  or  nearly  so,  it 
remained  for  about  twenty  years. 

Adam  High,  previously  mentioned  as  among 
the  early  arrivals  came  in  1834,  and  was  an 
old  man  when  he  arrived.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  wealthy  among  the  pioneer  settlers, 
having  money  out  at  interest  as  well  as  in- 
vested in  land.  His  cabin,  built  probably  the 
year  of  his  arrival,  is  thought  by  some  to 
have  been  the  second  one  erected  in  New 
Washington.  His  son  Valentine  carried  on  a 
blacksmith's  business  for  many  years,  opening 
a  shop  about  1837.  He  also  built  a  small  tan- 
nery which  he  conducted  for  about  eight  years. 
Years  later,  a  grandson  of  the  original  Adam 
High  was  badly  hurt  in  the  most  serious  ac- 
cident that  ever  occurred  at  New  Washington. 
The  grandson  was  also  named  Adam,  and  was 
a  wagonmaker.  On  July  4,  i860,  he  was 
pounding  broken  brick  on  a  charge  of  powder 
in  an  anvil.  The  charge  exploded  and  tore 
off  his  left  hand  and  about  one-half  of  his 
arm  below  the  elbow.  His  face  and  breast 
were  much  bruised  and  a  deep  wound  was 
made  in  his  side  under  his  right  arm  and  shoul- 
der. At  the  same  time  three  or  four  others 
were  also  badly  hurt,  among  the  worst  in- 
jured being  Mr.  Gangloof.  The  latter  was 
holding  the  powder  receptacle  from  which  he 
had  just  charged  the  anvil  and  it  also  took 
fire,  burning  his  hand,  arm  and  face.  The 
faces  and  necks  of  all  were  much  cut  and 
marked  by  the  fine  grains  of  brick,  though 
fortunately    all    their    eyes    escaped    injury. 


228 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


George  Shichtal  had  a  finger  torn  off.  The 
force  of  the  explosion  was  terrible,  throwing 
Mr.  High  up  and  back  and  causing  him  to 
strike  on  his  shoulders  and  side  six  or  eight 
feet  from  the  anvil.  One  or  two  others  were 
also  knocked  down.  Robert  Robinson,  a  tan- 
ner and  cobbler,  began  the  manufacture  of 
shoes  in  1834.  He  prepared  his  own  leather, 
having  five  or  six  vats  and  selling  his  surplus 
in  Bucyrus.  He  employed  three  men  and  kept 
several  hundred  dollars  worth  of  stock  on 
hand.  About  1845  his  tannery  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Matthias  Kibler,  an  active  and  en- 
terprising citizen  who  did  much  for  the  de- 
\'elopment  and  improvement  of  the  town, 
particularly  in  advancing  its  educational  in- 
terests. 

Mr.  Kibler  was  born  in  Germany,  June 
II,  1822,  and  came  to  Cranberry  in  1841.  He 
started  tanning  on  a  farm  that  was  subse- 
quently owned  by  Daniel  Early.  In  1846  or 
'47  his  tannery  burned  and  in  the  next 
spring  he  took  up  his  residence  in  New 
Washington,  as  above  mentioned  purchasing 
the  tannery  of  Mr.  Robinson.  This  he  con- 
ducted with  great  success,  also  dealing  in 
boots  and  shoes.  His  business  increased  until 
it  became  the  largest  and  most  successful  of 
its  kind  that  ever  existed  in  the  town.  On  his 
death,  which  took  place  Sept.  23,  1876,  it 
passed  into  the  hands  of  his  sons,  being  con- 
ducted by  his  son  Jefferson  and  later  in  con- 
nection with  his  brother  Matthew,  under  whose 
management  twenty  or  more  vats  were  in  full 
operation,  and  today  the  hide  business  of  the 
Kiblers  is  one  of  the  greatest  industries  of  the 
county.  Mr.  Kibler,  Sr.,  served  with  credit 
in  various  local  offices  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  was  mayor  of  the  town.  He  made  an 
addition  to  the  town  of  a  number  of  lots 
platted  from  a  tract  which  he  had  purchased 
on  his  first  arrival  here.  He  was  the  chief 
mover  in  having  the  township  at  an  early  day 
divided  in  eight  school  districts  and  supplied 
with  schools  and  adequate  school  facilities. 

Jacob  and  Magdalena  Lederer  came  to  Cran- 
berry in  1826;  Valentine  and  Catherine  Lantz 
in  1834;  John  M.  and  Jane  Robinson  came  in 
1835,  locating  half  a  mile  west  of  Waynes- 
burg.  Robinson  was  one  of  the  earliest  black- 
smiths. Amos  and  Hannah  Stevens  came  in 
1834,  as  did  also  John  and  Saloma  Siefert. 


The  Sieferts  bought  80  acres  of  land,  for 
which  they  paid  $85,  leaving  them  with  $25 
cash  on  hand. 

Robert  Cunning,  grandfather  of  J.  H. 
Stevens,  served  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 
Amos  Stevens  was  a  local  preacher  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Thomas  and  Esther  Cory  ( father  of  Aaron 
and  Elizabeth)  came  to  Cranberry  in  1826. 
Aaron  emigrated  to  Ohio,  settling  in  Wayne 
county  about  18 14- 15. 

Bemjamin  and  Hannah  Hudson  came  in 
1833;  Morgan  and  Elizabeth  Cummins  in 
1828. 

George  Donnenwirth  came  to  New  Wash- 
ington in  1838  and  kept  a  blacksmith's  shop. 
He  was  postmaster  for  several  years,  1852  to 
1856,  the  office  being  located  at  his  shop.  In 
those  days  New  Washington  got  its  mail  from 
Chatfield.  Every  Sunday,  regardless  of  the 
weather,  Mr.  Donnenwirth  went  over  to  Fris- 
bie's  on  the  pike  and  got  his  mail.  During  the 
week  his  sons  or  the  neighbor  boys  frequently 
went  over,  walking  the  distance,  about  five 
miles.  A  correct  list  of  the  postmasters  of 
New  Washington  from  1846,  with  dates  of 
appointment,  is  as  follows: 

Postmasters,  John  A.  Sheetz,  Jan.  5,  1846; 
George  Donnenwirth,  Jan.  17,  1852;  George 
Walter,  March  13,  1856;  Peter  Miller,  March 
20,  1857;  E.  A.  Hesse,  Nov.  9,  1861 ;  John  S. 
Hershiser,  Feb.  28,  1866;  Jacob  F.  Ailer, 
April  9,  1866;  John  Donnenwirth,  Aug.  6, 
1885;  T.  B.  Carson,  April  20,  1889;  John 
Donnenwirth,  Sept.  i,  1893;  T.  B.  Carson, 
Aug.  4,  1897;  S.  A.  Pugh,  Feb.  i,  1911. 

One  of  the  most  enterprising  citizens  that 
New  Washington  ever  had  was  William  H. 
Pratt  who  came  in  1844.  He  was  a  carpenter 
and  millwright  having  a  very  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  his  trade  and  was  moreover  a  man  of 
good  general  business  ability.  He  entered 
largely  into  building  operations,  having  a 
large  shop,  and  keeping  fifteen  men  employed. 
He  erected  a  large  number  of  buildings 
throughout  Cranberry  and  adjacent  townships, 
many  of  which  are  standing  today,  and  his 
reputation  as  a  contractor  stood  high  through- 
out the  county.  After  carrying  on  this  busi- 
ness for  about  eight  years,  he  sold  out  and 
opened  a  provision  store  and  saloon.  He  also 
dealt  largely  in  furs,  buying  all  he  could  ob- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


229 


tain  and  shipping  them  to  the  eastern  markets, 
where  they  brought  a  good  price.  In  a  single 
year — 1859 — he  invested  $2,000  in  this  branch 
of  his  business  alone.  He  also  caught  many 
fur-bearing  animals  by  means  of  dogs  and 
traps.  At  that  time  mink  skins  sold  for  $4 
and  $5  each;  coon  skins,  75  cents  to  $1;  fox 
skins  from  $1  to  $2  and  wolf  skins  for  about 
a  dollar,  exclusive  of  the  bounty,  which  was 
several  dollars. 

After  conducting  his  provision  store  a  few 
years  he  sold  out  that  branch  of  his  business 
and  put  in  instead  a  stock  of  drugs,  which 
also  proved  a  good  investment.  In  the  early 
fifties  he  bought  a  steam  muley  sawmill,  which 
he  ran  for  about  four  years.  This  mill  after- 
wards passed  through  various  hands.  In  1871 
he  built  a  large  planing  mill,  which  he  con- 
ducted until  1880,  when  it  was  sold  to  An- 
thony Harmon. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  business  disappoint- 
ment that  New  Washington  ever  had  was  the 
failure  of  the  foundry  project  in  1850.  Elab- 
orate plans  were  laid  out  and  a  large  build- 
ing erected  and  supplied  with  furnace  and 
other  necessary  appurtenances,  the  project  be- 
ing backed  by  men  with  considerable  money 
at  their  command.  The  result  was  eagerly 
looked  forward  to  by  the  townspeople  who 
naturally  expected  an  era  of  business  and 
commercial  activity.  The  proprietors,  how- 
ever, were  not  made  of  the  right  stuff  to 
command  success.  They  s^iuandered  their  re- 
sources in  loose  living  and  the  foundry  was 
never  put  into  operation.  In  spite  of  this  the 
town  took  on  a  healthy  growth  at  this  time, 
several  new  industries  arose,  new  houses  were 
built  and  the  population  increased  until  in  the 
early  sixties  the  town  had  some  200  inhabi- 
tants, who  were  for  the  most  part  thrifty  and 
prosperous.  In  1854  a  man  named  Johnson 
built  a  large  and  substantial  grist  mill  at  a  cost 
of  about  $4,000.  This  mill  was  furnished 
with  three  sets  of  stone  and  was  operated  by 
steam  and  soon  commanded  a  large  trade, 
furnishing  excellent  flour.  It  is  still  running, 
a  large  part  of  its  product  being  shipped  to 
other  localities. 

Another  noted  citizen  of  New  Washington 
was  Jacob  J.  Bear.  He  was  born  Aug.  6,  1835, 
and  at  the  age  of  13  began  to  learn  the  printers' 
trade   at    Painesville.      He   subsequently   pub- 


lished a  book  on  latitude  and  longitude,  en- 
titled "Mnemotechny."  In  i860  he  made  the 
journey  overland  to  Pike's  Peak,  with  the  in- 
tention of  engaging  in  nrining.  But  finding 
this  occupation  unprofitable,  he  turned  his  at- 
tention to  journalism,  assisting  W.  N.  Byers 
in  starting  the  Rocky  Mountain  News,  the  first 
paper  published  in  Colorado.  He  took  part  in 
the  Civil  War  as  a  member  of  Company  A, 
Twenty-first  Indiana  regiment.  Returning 
later  to  New  Washington,  he  opened  a  livery 
business  here  which  he  conducted  with  fair 
success  for  a  number  of  years. 

So  far  as  is  now  known  the  first  physician 
to  locate  in  New  Washington  was  Dr.  Stoute- 
neour,  and  the  first  lawyer  was  J.  C.  H.  Elder 
who  opened  a  law  office  in  the  village,  January 
16,  1878. 

The  construction  of  the  Mansfield,  Cold- 
water  &  Lake  Michigan  Railroad  gave  a  great 
impetus  to  the  growth  of  New  Washington, 
which  was  noticeable  as  soon  as  the  construc- 
tion became  certain.  Many  new  buildings, 
both  public  and  jjrivate,  were  erected,  new  in- 
dustries were  projected  or  started,  property 
increased  largely  in  value  and  the  population 
soon  tripled.  Since  the  road  was  put  into  oper- 
ation a  number  of  additions  have  been  made 
to  the  village,  largely  increasing  its  area.  On 
the  4th  of  March,  1874,  in  accordance  with  a 
previous  petition,  signed  by  a  majority  of  the 
legal  voters,  the  village  of  New  Washington 
was  incorporated  by  the  County  Commission- 
ers and  immediately  afterward  the  following 
officers  were  elected :  Matthias  Kibler,  mayor ; 
Lewis  Donnenwirth,  clerk;  John  Miller,  treas- 
urer; Lewis  Faeth,  marshal;  J.  H.  Miller,  Ja- 
cob Stouteneour,  William  Aschbaugh,  Jacob 
Sheets,  William  Donnenwirth  and  John  Tribo- 
let,  councilmen.  Succeeding  Mr.  Kibler  as 
mayor  was  W  H.  Pratt  for  two  years,  Peter 
D.  Studer  two  years,  L.  C.  Donnenwirth  four 
years,  and  in  1885  H.  M.  Cory  was  elected, 
serving  over  a  dozen  years. 

On  Dec.  28,  1827,  the  County  Commission- 
ers appointed  Isaac  Matthews  and  Nicodemus 
Chilcote  as  Justices  of  the  Peace.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  complete  list  of  those  who  have  held 
the  office,  and  the  dates  of  their  election : 

Isaac  Matthews,  1827;  Nicodemus  Chilcote, 
1827-30-33;  Aaron  Cory,  1832;  John  Cory, 
1834;    James    Boner,    1836;    Jacob    Shafifer, 


230 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


1837;  Abraham  English,  1839;  Abner  Cory, 
1839-42;  Alexander  Stevens,  1842;  George 
Donnenwirth,  1843-46-52-55;  Moses  Kling, 
1845-48-51-54-57;  Mathias  Kibler,  1849-58- 
61-64-67-70-73;  Christian  Guiss,  1859-62-65- 
68-71 ;  John  Tribolet,  1874;  William  H.  Pratt, 
1876;  Peter  D.  Studer,  1877-80-83-86;  John 
Michelf elder,  1879;  H.  M.  Cory,  1882-85-88- 
91-95-98-01-05-08-11;  George  B.  Wolf,  1888; 
Matt  Sheibly,  1892;  F.  S.  Blair,  1895;  John 
Donnenwirth,  1899;  E.  D.  Robinson,  1901-05; 
and  A.  A.  De  Roche,  1908-11. 

In  April,  1862,  New  Washington  had  two 
churches,  two  dry  goods  stores,  one  drug  store, 
six  groceries,  three  blacksmith  shops,  five  shoe 
shops,  two  wagon  shops,  one  tin  shop,  two  cab- 
inet shops,  one  flouring  and  sawmill,  a  tannery 
and  an  ashery.  Today  it  is  a  thriving  and 
prosperous  town,  has  a  good  weekly  news- 
paper, the  New  Washington  Herald,  owned 
by  Percy  Lantz,  and  a  solid,  substantial  bank 
of  which  George  W.  Sheetz  is  president.  It 
leads  the  county  in  two  things :  the  Kibler 
tannery  does  a  business  of  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  dollars  yearly,  and  has  a  national 
reputation,  and  a  large  combination  store  is 
the  most  extensive  mercantile  establishment  in 
the  county.  Another  thriving  industry  is  the 
Uhl  hatchery,  the  little  chickens  being  shipped 
to  practically  every  state. 

The  Farmers  Exchange  Bank,  of  New 
Washington,  C,  was  organized  as  long  ago 
as  1876  and  is  thus  one  of  the  old  established 
financial  institutions  of  the  county.  Its  origi- 
nal officers  were :  John  A.  Sheetz,  president ; 
Jacob  Sheetz,  vice  president;  and  John  H. 
Sheetz,  cashier,  and  they  continued  to  operate 
the  bank  until  the  death  of  John  A.  Sheetz 
in  1889.  The  business  was  then  reorganized, 
with  Jacob  Sheetz  as  president,  John  M.  Guiss, 
vice  president,  and  John  H.  Sheetz,  cashier. 
The  directors  and  stockholders,  in  addition 
to  the  officers,  were  Mrs.  Margaret  Sheetz 
and  Louisa  P.  Guiss.  The  death  of  John  M. 
Guiss,  in  1907,  and  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Sheetz 
in  1892,  caused  further  changes.  Jacob 
Sheetz  continued  as  president,  Mrs.  Louisa  P. 
Guiss  became  vice  president,  John  H.  Sheetz 
continued  as  cashier,  George  H.  Seitter  became 
assistant  cashier  and,  in  1910,  Miss  Ida  Kim- 
merline  became  bookkeeper.  This  bank  was 
organized  with  a  capital  of  $25,000,  with  a 


surplus  of  $25,000.  Its  earliest  location  was 
in  the  back  part  of  the  J.  Sheetz  &  Bros.'  store. 
In  1906  the  present  modern  bank  building 
was  erected.  This  building  is  of  brick  con- 
struction, with  dimensions  of  70x25  feet,  and 
two  stories  in  height.  The  first  floor  is  occu- 
pied by  the  different  banking  departments,  and 
the  second  floor  by  the  local  telephone  ex- 
change and  by  tenants.  The  bank  is, equipped 
with  a  burglar  and  fire-proof  vault,  with  inside 
dimensions  of  8x11  feet,  and  an  automatic 
time-lock  door,  weighing  three  tons.  The 
officers  of  the  bank  are  members  of  the  Amer- 
ican Bankers'  Association,  the  Ohio  Bankers' 
Association  and  the  Ohio  Private  Bankers' 
Association. 

The  first  settlers  of  Cranberry  township 
were  too  much  occupied  in  the  struggle  with 
nature  to  pay  much  attention  to  the  question 
of  education.  Their  children  were  taught  at 
an  early  age  to  make  themselves  useful — the 
boys  assisting  their  father  in  extending  the 
clearing,  draining  the  marshes  or  developing 
the  farm,  and  the  girls  in  helping  their  mother 
to  perform  the  multifarious  household  duties, 
which,  in  many  or  most  cases,  included  the 
making  of  homespun  clothes  for  the  family. 
If  they  attended  school  at  all,  it  was  probably 
in  Auburn  township — ^where  at  an  early  date 
there  were  a  few  rude  schoolhouses — and  at 
short  and  infrequent  intervals.  But  in  the 
winter  of  1833-34  an  educational  change  set  in. 
The  elder  people  had  by  that  time  seen  the 
advisability  of  providing  their  children  with 
an  opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted  with 
the  elements  of  knowledge  and  a  small  build- 
ing was  therefore  rented  and  roughly  prepared 
for  the  purposes  of  a  schoolhouse.  The  name 
of  the  teacher,  who  was  probably  the  first 
teacher  in  the  township,  has  been  forgotten. 
School  was  taught  there  every  winter  until 
1839,  at  which  time  a  large  log  schoolhouse 
was  built  about  a  mile  southeast  of  New  Wash- 
ington. This  was  attended  by  the  town  chil- 
dren until  about  1842,  when  a  log  schoolhouse 
was  built  in  the  town.  The  latter  building 
was  used  until  1855,  when  a  schoolhouse  was 
built  at  a  cost  of  nearly  $2,000,  to  be  succeeded 
30  years  later  by  the  present  handsome  and 
commodious  brick  structure.  At  the  time  the 
log  schoolhouse  was  erected  in  the  village, 
others  were  built  in  various  parts  of  the  town- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


231 


ship.  One  near  the  present  Tabor  church, 
in  1840,  and  another  in  the  northern  part 
at  about  the  same  time.  Several  years  later 
one  was  built  near  the  eastern  limits.  These 
buildings  were  used  generally  for  about  25 
years,  after  which  the  present  more  commodi- 
ous and  substantial  ones  were  erected. 

The  pioneer  settlers  of  Cranberry  being 
largely  of  German  origin,  the  Lutherans  and 
German  Reformers  united  to  organize  a  church 
in  the  township.  This  was  done  in  the  spring 
of  1834  by  Rev.  Mr.  Stanch,  who  afterward 
made  periodical  visits  to  the  society,  at  inter- 
vals of  every  two  months.  Among  the  first 
members  were  the  families  of  John  Seifert, 
Conrad  Seiter,  Phillip  Gangloof,  Adam  High, 
and  Mrs.  Ehregott  Hesse.  Two  years  later 
Rev.  Maschop  came  to  serve  the  congregation, 
preaching  once  a  month.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  John  Krauss,  who  visited  the  society 
from  1839  to  1845.  At  first  services  were  held 
in  schoolhouses  or  in  the  cabins  of  the  mem- 
bers, but  in  1840  a  log  church  was  built  in 
the  eastern  part  of  New  Washington,  which, 
though  small,  was  adequate  to  the  member- 
ship. After  the  erection  of  this  church  Rev. 
Mr.  Krauss  visited  it  every  alternate  Sunday. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Mr.  Graetz,  who 
preached  every  Sunday  from  1845  to  1850. 
In  1853,  the  congregation  having  largely  in- 
creased, a  new  and  larger  church  was  erected 
at  a  cost  of  $2,700,  including  a  bell  and  organ. 
In  the  previous  year  the  Lutheran  members 
being  in  a  preponderance,  the  title  of  "German 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church"  had  been 
adopted.  The  new  church  dedicated  in  1854, 
the  councilmen  at  that  time  being  George  Don- 


nenwirth,  Jacob  Utz,  Jacob  Weil,  Valen- 
tine High,  George  Leonhardt,  John  P.  Walter, 
Michael,  Margaret  and  John  A.  Sheetz.  This 
is  one  of  the  strongest  church  organizations 
in  the  county. 

The  early  Catholics  in  Cranberry  township 
attended  a  church  located  on  the  Columbus 
and  Sandusky  Turnpike,  in  the  southern  part 
of  Seneca  county.  But  by  1844  they  so  in- 
creased as  to  be  able  to  organize  a  church  of 
their  own,  which  was  accordingly  done,  a  small 
frame  building  being  erected  a  little  to  the  east 
of  Hillburn's  tavern.  This  building,  which 
cost  about  $600,  was  used  until  1868,  when 
the  present  fine  church  was  erected  at  a  cost 
of  $25,000.  In  1875  the  parsonage  was  built 
on  an  adjacent  lot  at  a  cost  of  $4,000. 

About  1850  a  Protestant  Methodist  church 
was  organized  in  the  township,  the  members 
meeting  for  services  in  schoolhouses.  In  1854 
they  built  a  frame  church  on  section  27,  at  a 
cost  of  $1,400. 

The  United  Brethren  about  1844  began 
holding  meetings  at  the  residences  of  some  of 
the  members  of  their  faith,  among  whom 
George  Keller  was  one  of  the  most  prominent. 
Their  meetings  were  afterwards  for  several 
years  held  in  a  schoolhouse.  The  society  in- 
creasing, a  church  was  built  in  1852  at  a  cost 
of  about  $800.  The  families  of  George  Keller, 
Conrad  Cragle,  Peter  Lash,  Nicholas  Whittle 
and  Charles  Hagerman  were  among  the  first 
members.  Rev.  John  Smith  was  one  of  the 
first  ministers.  In  1880  or  1881  a  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  was  built  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  township  at  a  cost  of  $1,200,  the 
membership  of  which  has  since  largely  in- 
creased. 


CHAPTER  XII 

DALLAS  TOWNSHIP 

Peculiar  Shape  of  Dallas  Township — Dimensions- — Fertility  of  the  Soil — Erection  of 
the  Township— Drainage — Stock  Raising — First  Settlers — Taverns  and  Mills — Arrival 
of  Johnston  Family — Enterprise  of  Mr.  Kerr — His  Donations — The  Monnetts — 
Roads  and  Stage  Lines — Milk  Sickness  and  Cholera  Epidemics — Schools  and  Churches 
— The  "Devil's  Half  Acre" — Early  Marriages — Justices — The  Bucyrus  and  Marion 
Electric  Road. 


There  buds  of  the  buckeye  in  spring  are    he  iir:;. 

And  the  willow'5  gold  hair  then  appears. 
And  snowj-  the  cups  of  the  dogwood  that  burst 

By  the  red-bud,  with  pink-tinted  tears. 
And  striped  the  bolls  which  the  poppy  holds  up 

For  the  dew,  and  the  sun's  yellow  rays ; 
And  brown  is  the  pawpaw's  shade-blossoming  cup, 

In  the  wood,  near  the  sun-loving  maize. 

— Wn.T.TAM   ^^'.  FOSDICK. 

That  peculiarly  shaped  strip  of  territory 
which  clamps,  so  to  speak,  the  southwest  cor- 
ner of  Crawford  county,  and  which  is  desig- 
nated on  the  map  as  Dallas  township,  forms 
part  of  a  tract  that  was  surveyed  as  far  back 
as  1819,  by  Deputy  Sun-eyor  Gen.  Sylvanus 
Bourne,  assisted  by  Samuel  Holmes,  from 
whom  Holmes  township  derives  its  name.  It 
forms  a  part  of  the  famous  Sandusky  Plains, 
a  strip  of  land  about  20  miles  in  width  and 
stretching  east  and  west  through  Clarion  and 
A\'yandot  coimties.  for  40  miles,  that  is  one 
of  the  most  fertile  tracts  of  land  to  be  found 
in  Ohio,  and  which  in  early  days  was  noted 
for  the  rank  luxuriance  of  its  sedge  grass  and 
yellow  blossomed  weeds,  but  which  today,  laid 
out  in  fenced  and  cultivated  fields,  yields  boun- 
tiful crops  of  a  more  useful  nature  in  grains 
and  farm  produce  of  every  description,  and 
makes  the  finest  of  pasture  land. 

The  peculiar  shape  of  the  township  is  due 
to  the  conditions  brought  about  by  the  Legis- 
lature creating  the  county  of  Wyandot  in 
184:;.  Buc}Tus,  Holmes  and  Lykins  were  al- 
readv  established  townships,  and  when  Wj^an- 
dot  was  erected  west  of  these  townships  was  a 


strip  two  miles  wide,  while  to  Crawford  coimty 
was  added  on  the  south  two  miles  from  Cla- 
rion county.  Instead  of  attaching  this  terri- 
tory to  adioining  townships,  the  Crawford 
County  Commissioners  erected  new  townships 
from  the  strips,  and  one  of  these  was  Dallas, 
which  was  made  up  of  the  strip  six  miles  long 
and  two  wide  taken  from  Scott  township, 
Marion  coxxaty,  and  in  the  extreme  southwest- 
em  corner  fom-  square  miles  taken  from  Grand 
Prairie  township,  Marion  county,  and  north 
of  this,  six  square  miles  taken  from  Antrim 
township,  which  had  been  a  township  of  Craw- 
ford county,  but  the  bulk  of  it  had  gone  into 
the  new  coimt}-  of  ^^'3^ndot.  This  made  an 
■'L"  shaped  township  in  the  southwestern  part 
of  the  coimty,  two  miles  across.  The  new 
township  was  named  Dallas,  in  honor  of 
George  M.  Dallas,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  the 
}  ear  previous  had  been  elected  vice  president 
of  the  United  States. 

Dallas  township  is  drained  by  two  principal 
streams — the  Sandusky  or,  as  called  by  the 
Indians,  ■Sa-tm-dus-tee"'  (clear  water),  and 
the  eastern  branch  of  the  Scioto,  known  as  the 
Little  Scioto,  original  AA'^yandot  name  "Sci-on- 
to."  The  former  enters  the  township  near  its 
northeast  comer  and  meanders  in  a  south- 
westerly direction  until  it  enters  Wyandot 
count)-.  Its  bed  consists  of  a  coarse  wash- 
gravel,  diversified  with  sand  bars  that  make 
the  river  a  favorite  resort  of  minnows.  The 
gravel   is   also  much  used   for  making  road 


232 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


233 


repairs.  The  gravelly  bed  and  picturesque 
aspect  of  the  stream  made  it  in  former  days 
a  favorite  resort  of  the  Wyandot  Indians 
whose  camps  might  often  have  been  observed 
on  its  banks. 

The  other  stream  referred  to — the  Little 
Scioto — enters  Dallas  a  quarter  of  a  mile  east 
of  the  Marion  road,  and,  like  the  Sandusky, 
also  flows  in  a  general  southwesterly  direction, 
passing  into  Marion  couty  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  east  of  the  Wyandot  county  line.  This 
river  furnishes  a  constant  supply  of  water  to 
the  stock  farms  that  lie  along  its  banks. 

Mud  Run,  now  a  partly  artificial  stream  cuts 
Dallas  township  close  to  the  Whetstone  town- 
ship line,  flowing  south  into  Marion  county, 
and  empties  into  the  Whetstone.  During  the 
spring  freshets  it  is  sometimes  swollen  to  a 
considerable  width.  A  small  tributary  of  the 
Sandusky,  which  passes  through  the  Hoover 
farm  and  is  known  by  the  somewhat  imposing 
title  of  "The  Outlet  of  the  Plains,"  had  its 
origin  in  a  dug  ditch,  but,  on  account  of  the 
fall  of  the  land,  which  gives  it  a  swift  cur- 
rent, and  what  man  began  nature  has  com- 
pleted by  cutting  a  gully  fifteen  to  eighteen 
feet  deep,  giving  passage  to  a  perennial  flow 
of  water.  The  original  ditch,  man  made,  was 
there  long  before  the  first  pioneer  settled  in 
this  section,  and  it  was  believed  to  be  the  con- 
necting lines  between  the  Sandusky  and  the 
Scioto  used  by  the  French  and  Indians  two 
hundred  years  ago  on  their  way  by  boats  from 
Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio  river. 

Dallas  township  contains  a  considerable  va- 
riety of  timber,  much  of  which  is  of  recent 
growth,  in  particular  the  picturesque  clumps 
of  jack-oak  trees.  Much  of  the  earlier  timber 
was  destroyed  by  the  Indians — not  that  they 
were  accustomed  to  exercise  themselves  by 
felling  it,  but  in  their  "ring-hunts"  they  used 
to  fire  the  grass  in  order  to  drive  the  game  to 
a  center,  and  in  dry  and  windy  weather  the  fire 
sometimes  got  beyond  their  control,  thus  de- 
stroying the  young  growth  of  timber.  Upon 
the  ridges,  or  so-called  "islands,"  where  the 
grass  was  not  so  long  and  rank,  the  timber 
sometimes  escaped,  and  these  spots  accordingly 
were  the  best-'wooded  portions  of  the  township. 
One  of  the  most  common  trees  in  the  southern 
and  western  parts  of  Dallas  was  and  still  is 
the   "shellbark"   or  nut-bearing  hickory.      A 


generation  ago  it  was  customary  for  large  nut- 
ting parties  to  be  formed  at  the  proper  season, 
large  numbers  of  people  going  in  wagons  and 
picnicing  in  the  groves.  As  some  of  these 
people  had  little  regard  for  property  rights, 
they  trespassed  where  they  would,  broke  down 
fences  and  damaged  the  property  of  the  farm- 
ers generally,  besides  disturbing  the  peace  and 
quietness  of  the  Sabbath,  Sunday  being  a 
favorite  day  with  them  for  this  kind  of  recre- 
ation. The  nuisance  was  finally  abated  by  leg- 
islation. Along  the  rivers  some  fine  walnut 
timber  may  be  found,  while  in  the  northern 
part  the  maple  gives  rise  to  family  sugar 
camps.  Timber  useful  for  building  purposes, 
such  as  the  ash,  also  occur,  while  among  other 
trees  or  shubbery  may  be  mentioned  hazel, 
ironwood,  buckeye,  dogwood  and  sassafras. 

The  southern  part  of  Dallas  township  is 
favored  with  a  deep  black  soil,  peculiarly 
adapted  to  corn,  and  also,  since  it  has  been 
drained  and  tamed  by  cultivation,  very  suit- 
able to  wheat,  though  it  was  formerly  too  rich 
for  that  cereal.  Oats  and  rye  may  also  be 
raised  in  abundance.  In  the  northern  portion 
the  soil  is  more  of  a  clay  loam.  On  the  "white 
ridges"  it  is  thinner  and  of  a  less  rich  quality, 
but  when  artificially  enriched  produces  good 
wheat  crops.  Excellent  grazing  is  found 
throughout  Dallas  township  and  the  raising 
of  cattle  was  formerly  extensively  carried  on, 
though  owing  to  the  formidable  competition 
of  the  large  western  ranches,  it  has  been  partly 
abandoned,  the  farmers,  as  in  other  parts  of 
the  county,  still  raising  cattle,  and  the  graz- 
ing remains  an  important  industry.  Sheep  and 
hogs  are  raised  to  some  extent.  For  many 
years  Mr.  John  Monnett  was  a  leading  breeder 
of  short-horn  cattle,  importing  many  choice 
animals  into  Crawford  county  from  Kentucky. 
He  removed  in  1873  to  Iroquois  county.  111. 
Ephraim  Monnett  was  also  noted  as  a  large 
dealer  in  the  Durham  thoroughbreds. 

Sheep  raising  was  attended  with  many  diffi- 
culties in  pioneer  days,  these  animals  being 
particularly  liable  to  attacks  from  wolves, 
which  made  great  ravages  in  the  flocks,  unless 
the  latter  were  well  protected.  They  had  to 
be  closely  watched  and  at  night  were  kept  in 
high-built  pens.  The  pork  trade  was  also  an 
uncertain  business  of  doubtful  profit,  as  the 
hogs  usually  ran  wild  among  the  timber  and 


234 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


owing  tb  their  roaming  nature,  were  frequently 
the  subject  of  litigation.  Among  those  who 
devoted  their  attention  largely  to  the  sheep 
and  hog  trade  in  early  days  were  David  and 
Simon  Bryant,  who  about  1829  took  possession 
of  what  later  became  the  Ephraim  Monnett 
farm,  Madison  Welsh  at  an  early  day  estab- 
lished a  packing-house  on  the  Marion  road, 
on  land  that  was  later  known  as  the  George 
Welsh  place. 

The  first  white  settlers  in  Dallas  township 
were  men  of  a  low  and  more  or  less  worthless 
if  not  criminal  character,  who  squatted  on  land 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  watercourses.  They 
usually  built  a  rude  cabin  and  cleared  a  small 
patch  of  ground,  on  which  they  raised  such 
necessary  vegetables  as  could  be  cultivated 
with  the  minimum  of  physical  exertion.  Their 
rifles  procured  them  plenty  of  game,  and  fish 
could  be  had  in  the  streams  for  the  catching. 
Their-  instincts  were  predatory  and  in  many 
cases,  at  least,  their  conduct  was  governed  by 
the  motto :  "When  you  see  what  you  want, 
take  it,"  which  they  did  when  they  were  able 
or  when  they  could  do  so  undetected.  With 
the  advent  of  a  better  class  of  settlers,  how- 
ever, who  came  to  found  permanent  homes, 
these  gentry  found  the  moral  atmosphere 
getting  uncongenial  to  them,  and  so  they 
gradually  departed  to  wilder  scenes,  turning 
their  faces  to  the  setting  sun  and  following 
close  in  the  wake  of  the  retreating  red  man, 
much  to  the  relief  of  the  better-ordered  por- 
tion of  the  community. 

One  of  the  earliest  permanent  settlers  was 
George  Walton,  described  as  "a  middle-aged 
man,"  of  large  family,  who  moved  into  Dallas 
from  the  Pike-Whole-Prairie,  in  Pickaway 
county,  in  the  fall  of  1820.  Taking  possession 
of  an  abandoned  squatter  cabin,  located  near 
the  site  of  the  subsequent  residence  of  Maj. 
Matthew  Carmean,  he  repaired  and  enlarged 
it  and  rhade  it  suitable  for  habitation.  Here 
he  reared  an  enterprising  family  the  members 
of  which  became  useful  and  industrious  men 
and  women.  Here  also  the  first  Methodist 
meetings  in  the  township  were  held,  and  min- 
isters of  that  faith — to  which  he  himself  be- 
longed— entertained.  After  having  seen  his 
children  comfortably  settled  in  life  as  farmers, 
or  engaged  in  other  vocations,  he  removed  to 
the  state  of  Iowa,  where  he  died  in  1857.    An- 


other Pickaway  county  man,  Mr.  Van  Home, 
came  to  Dallas  in  1821,  and  developed  a  farm 
consisting  of  two  80-acre  lots.  He  had  three 
sons  and  the  family  remained  here  until  the 
death  of  the  elder  Van  Home,  after  which 
they  appear  to  have  moved  away. 

Christian  Hoover  settled  here  in  1822,  be- 
ing accompanied  by  his  son  William,  then  aged 
six  years.  His  daughter  Hannah  was  mar- 
ried Nov.  25,  1830,  by  Zalmon  Rowse,  Esq. 
to  Charles  Wesley  White,  theirs  being  one  of 
the  fir^t  weddings  in  Dallas. 

Charles  W.  White  was  a  son  of  Charles 
White,  who  served  in  the  Patriot  army  dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  war.  The  latter  on  the 
death  of  his  father  inherited  a  number  of 
slaves  in  Virginia.  He  subsequently  removed 
to  Kentucky,  where  he  liberated  his  slaves, 
and  in  182 1  removed  from  there  to  Ross 
county,  Ohio.  Two  sons  of  Charles — Samuel 
and  George — fought  in  the  War  of  1812, 
Charles  W.  being  then  only  ten  years  old.  The 
latter  came  to  Crawford  in  1820  and  was  em- 
ployed for  some  time  at  the  old  Indian  mill  on 
the  Sandusky  near  the  present  town  of  Upper 
Sandusky.  He  was  also  employed  by  the  Gov- 
ernment as  Indian  agent,  his  assistant  being 
Charles  Garrett.  He  worked  at  the  mill  three 
years  and  then  bought  207  acres  in  Dallas 
township.  He  continued  his  investments  in 
land  until  he  eventually  owned  1,300  acres. 
His  wife  died  in  185 1  and  he  never  married 
again.  His  son,  W.  T.  White,  and  grandson, 
Leo,  followed  him  on  the  original  farm.  In 
his  latter  years  he  spent  his  winters  at  the  home 
of  his  son-in-law,  J.  J.  Fisher  of  Bucyrus. 

In  1830  Christian  Hoover  bought  out  the 
heirs  of  William  Johnson  the  land  he  then 
acquired  subsequently  becoming  the  property 
of  Christian  Hoover,  Jr.  In  addition  to  the 
daughter  Hannah,  above  mentioned,  his  son, 
William,  who  was  a  boy  of  six  years  when  he 
first  came  to  this  county  was  one  of  the  larg- 
est wheat  growers  in  the  township.  He  was 
a  progressive  man  and  as  early  as  1835  pur- 
chased a  threshing  machine,  which,  though 
not  equal  to  the  thrashers  of  the  present  day, 
was  a  novelty  at  that  time  and  a  great  improve- 
ment on  the  flail,  the  implement  usually  used 
for  the  purpose.  Mr.  Hoover,  Sr.,  died  in 
1849  ^t  the  age  of  60  years.  His  wife  sur- 
vived him  but  a  short  time,  passing  away  in 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


235 


the  following  year.  The  son  William  came 
to  Bucyrus  in  the  sixties,  and  became  engaged 
in  manufacturing,  and  later  retired  from  all 
active  business,  his  sons  and  grandsons  still 
being  prosperous  farmers. 

John  Mason,  a  widower  with  three  sons, 
John,  Thomas  and  Joseph,  came  to  America 
from  England  in  1825  and  subsequently  found 
their  way  to  Dallas  township,  this  county, 
where  they  followed  ditching  for  an  avoca- 
'tion.  They  lived  in  a  cabin  on  a  forty-acre  lot, 
which  Mr.  Mason  purchased,  and  which  sub- 
sequently came  into  possession  of  his  son  John, 
and  from  the  latter  into  that  of  his  widow. 
Old  Mr.  Mason,  it  seems,  was  an  excellent 
cook  and  his  skill  in  bread  making  was  greatly 
admired  by  the  housewives  for  miles  around. 
He  died  in  1876.  Samuel  Coulter  came  to 
Dallas  in  1832  from  Huntingdon  county, 
Pennsylvania.  He  first  leased  a  piece  of  land 
from  Mr.  Van  Home,  which  he  afterwards 
purchased,  and  it  subsequently  became  the 
property  of  his  youngest  son,  George.  He  de- 
voted his  main  energies  to  the  raising  of  grain, 
and  gradually  enlarged  his  holdings,  buying 
out  his  neighbors,  John  and  Daniel  Reecer, 
and  acquiring  other  40  and  80  acre  lots  until 
he  was  one  of  the  laeaviest  land  holders  in 
the  township.  He  also  put  up  a  large  barn, 
built  in  the  Pennsylvania  style,  which  was 
something  of  a  novelty  at  that  period  and 
which  is  still  standing.  He  lived  to  a  ripe  old 
age.  His  maiden  sister.  Miss  Sarah  Coulter 
also  lived  well  into  her  eighties,  being  the. old- 
est person  in  Dallas  at  the  time  of  her  death. 

One  of  the  most  successful  stock  dealers  of 
Dallas  in  the  first  half  of  the  last  century  was 
Robert  Griffith,  generally  known  as  "Bob" 
Griffith,  who  came  from  Ross  county  in  1832. 
He  first  took  care  of  some  land  owned  by 
Linus  Ross,  a  resident  of  that  county  and  af- 
terwards bought  this  land  from  Mr.  Ross,  add- 
ing to  it  200  acres  more.  In  1842,  seeking  a 
still  larger  field  for  his  operations,  he  moved 
to  Iowa,  where  he  prospered  and  became  a 
heavy  shipper  of  cattle  to  the  Chicago  markets. 

One  of  the  earliest  taverns  in  Dallas  which 
was  located  on  the  Wyandot  and  Bucyrus  road, 
on  the  county  line,  was  kept  by  David  Bibler, 
who  conducted  it  for  many  years.  In  1826 
Mr.  Bibler  took  up  his  residence  near  what 
has  since  been  known  as  the  "Bibler  Spring," 


the  land  having  been  entered  a  few  years  pre- 
viously by  Christian  Stahley.  This  tavern  was 
one  of  the  welcome  stops  on  the  old  stage 
road,  and  was  doubtless  the  scene  of  many  a 
hasty  but  substantial  repast  in  old  stage-coach 
days,  of  which,  alas,  the  glory  hath  now  de- 
parted. In  connection  with  his  tavern  Mr. 
Bibler  also  ran  a  still-house  on  the  south  bank 
of  the  Sandusky,  and,  not  satisfied  with  these 
activities,  conducted  a  sawmill,  cultivated  a 
farm  and  dealt  in  live  stock.  The  year  1856 
was  an  unfortunate  one  for  him,  as  he  lost  his 
first  wife,  who  died  in  December;  also  a  son, 
who  committed  suicide,  and  a  daughter,  Susan. 
He  subsequently  contracted  a  second  marriage, 
but  his  second  wife  dying  within  a  few  years, 
he  removed  to  Hardin  county.  The  Bibler 
Spring  near  which  his  tavern  was  located  was 
of  the  purest  of  water,  and  was  visited  from 
miles  around,  and  it  was  this  water  that  was 
used  in  the  running  of  the  still.  The  site  was 
also  historical  as  it  was  at  this  point  Col.  Craw- 
ford and  his  army  passed  their  last  night,  be- 
fore their  engagement  with  the  Indians  on 
June  2,  1782. 

In  the  year  1826  Thomas  F.  Johnston  and 
family,  accompanied  by  Benjamin  Warner  ar- 
rived in  Dallas.  Mr.  Johnston,  who  subse- 
quently became  one  of  the  foremost  citizens 
of  the  township,  was  then  a  young  man,  hav- 
ing been  born  in  Lycoming  county,.Pa.,  in  1800. 
He  was  a  cabinet  maker  by  trade.  With  his 
wife  and  infant  child  and  with  Benjamin  War- 
ner, his  wife  and  infant  son,  he  started  in  the 
fall  of  1825  for  the  capital  of  Ohio,  intend- 
ing to  stop  on  their  way  at  the  home  of  a 
relative,  George  Walton,  who  had  settled  at 
Dallas  a  few  years  previous.  After  journeying 
for  three  weeks,  the  approach  of  winter  and 
the  badness  of  the  roads  compelled  them  to 
stop  for  the  winter  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
state.  Resuming  their  journey  early  in  the 
spring,  they  were  again  brought  to  a  halt  on 
the  eastern  border  of  the  county  by  their 
wagon  becoming  badly  mired.  Leaving  the 
wagon,  the  men  went  ahead  with  their  rifles, 
the  women  and  children  following  on  horse- 
back, and,  being  guided  by  a  settler  with 
torches,  arrived  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning 
at  Mr.  Walton's,  where  they  found  the  eldest 
Walton  daughter,  Miss  "Tishy"  still  awake, 
being  engaged  in  entertaining  a  beau,  a  son  of 


236 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


their  neighbor  Van  Home.  Naturally  their  un- 
expected arrival  at  that  hour  caused  some  ex- 
citement, under  cover  of  which  Miss  "Tishy's" 
amorous  beau  effected  a  masterly  retreat.  Re- 
freshments were  at  once  the  order  of  the  day 
— or  rather,  of  the  night,  while  discussing 
\\hich  the  travelers  entertained  their  hospitable 
hosts  and  relatives,  with  the  story  of  their  ad- 
ventures. The  next  day,  with  the  assistance 
of  a  team  of  oxen,  the  wagon  was  rescued, 
and  a  few  days  later  the  party  were  following 
the  Claridon  blazed  road  to  Bucyrus.  Near 
the  Sandusky  they  found  the  country  largely 
under  water.  Mr.  Johnston  took  up  a  tem- 
porary abode  at  Bucyrus  in  a  deserted  cabin, 
but  after  a  short  stay  in  this  neighborhood,  he 
resolved  to  proceed  to  Columbus.  Having 
been  offered  by  his  neighbors,  however,  a  free 
gift  of  land  in  a  choice  of  two  forty-acre  lots, 
now  a  part  of  the  Jacob  Herr  farm,  in  Whet- 
stone township,  he  accepted  the  offer  on  con- 
dition that  wheat  could  be  raised  on  the  land. 
This  condition  was  fulfilled,  though  many  dis- 
couragements were  met  with  in  the  swarms 
of  birds,  which  devoured  the  grain  in  the  ear, 
the  distance  to  the  nearest  mill,  which  re- 
quired a  journey  of  two  days  and  a  night  to 
reach,  and  the  poor  quality  of  the  flour  when 
ground.  But  a  still  greater  drawback  was  the 
impure  quality  of  the  water  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  this  finally  induced  Mr.  Johnson  to 
remove  to  Ft.  Findlay,  where  he  purchased 
a  quarter  section  of  land,  and  was  promptly 
elected  to  a  county  ofiice  to  induce  him  to  re- 
main in  Hancock  county.  But  later  he  re- 
turned to  Crawford  county,  where  he  found 
improved  conditions,  with  an  increased  popu- 
lation. He  accordingly  bought  a  40-acre  lot 
about  half  a  mile  west  of  his  first  homestead 
and  subsequently  added  to  it  by  further  pur- 
chase. Here,  about  1857,  he  erected  a  hand- 
some Gothic  residence  designed  by  Mr.  CuUis- 
ton,  which  long  continued  to  be  one  of  the 
finest  houses  in  the  county.  He  was  an  ac- 
curate shot  with  the  rifle — an  accomplishment 
that  counted  for  more  in  those  days  than  it 
does  today —  and  he  derived  the  title  of  Major 
from  his  connection  with  the  Marion  county 
militia,  Dallas  township  at  that  time  being  a 
part  of  Scott  township,  Marion  county. 

Two  of  the  early  settlers  were  Samuel  and 
Rachel  Line  who  came  to  Crawford  county  in 


1820.  The  same  year  George  H.  Bushy  and 
Peter  Longwell  came  with  their  families  and 
entered  land. 

Robert  Kerr,  was  one  of  the  prominent  land 
owners  of  Dallas.  He  was  born  in  Mifflin 
county,  Pa.,  Oct.  27,  1807,  son  of  James  and 
Betsy  (Arbuckle)  Kerr.  Both  grandparents 
were  natives  of  Ireland.  Robert  remained 
with  his  parents  until  19  years  of  age,  receiv- 
ing scarcely  any  educational  advantages.  His , 
father  had  a  farm  of  160  acres  in  Knox 
county.*  In  1826  young  Robert  began  learning 
the  tanner's  trade  at  Meartinsburg,  Ohio,  and 
completed  his  apprenticeship  in  two  years  and 
five  months.  At  the  end  of  this  time  he  hired 
out  to  drive  hogs  through  to  Baltimore,  Md., 
at  three  shillings  a  day  and  board,  excepting 
dinner,  which  he  was  to  furnish  himself  or  go 
without.  On  his  return  to  Ohio  he  found 
general  work  around  a  sawmill  at  $11  a  month. 
While  employed  in  the  following  harvest,  he 
was  prostrated  by  a  fever.  This  sickness, 
with  the  expense  of  it,  soon  took  the  greater 
part  of  his  earnings.  On  his  recovery,  and 
some  time  thereafter,  he  followed  the  business 
of  clearing  up  land  for  different  parties,  at 
from  $2.50  to  $3.00  per  acre.  His  part  of  the 
contract  was  complete  when  everything  was 
cleared  up  within  12  inches  of  the  ground. 
Over  100  acres  of  land  was  cleared  up  by  him 
in  this  manner.  While  clearing  this  land  he 
cut  1,000  cords  of  wood  at  20c  per  cord,  and 
many  hundreds  of  rails  at  50c  per  hundred. 
He  then  bought  two  80  acre  tracts  in  Dallas 
township  (then  Scott  township,  Marion 
county.)  For  the  first  80  he  paid  $100,  and 
for  the  second  80  he  paid  $200.  Aug.  29, 
1833,  he  married  Matilda  Swaggert,  daughter 
of  Daniel  and  Betsey  (Coonrod)  Swaggert, 
and  at  once  commenced  keeping  house  on  his 
160  acres.  From  this  time  on  he  devoted  his 
attention  to  farming,  the  first  year  clearing 
$100.  About  1836  he  purchased  360  acres 
for  $1,500,  on  five  years'  time  at  6  per  cent, 
to  pay  $300  each  year.  He  stocked  this  land 
with  sheep,  and  made  enough  to  pay  the  notes 
as  they  fell  due.  The  first  year  he  sold  his 
wool  at  2iJ^c.  He  was  an  extensive  wool 
grower  when  wool  brought  80  cents  a  pound. 
When  it  declined  to  50  cents  and  showed  there 
was  a  constant  tendency  downward  he  dis- 
posed of  his  sheep.     He  was   also  a  heavy 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


237 


dealer  in  cattle.  He  constantly  added  to  his 
land,  and  had  at  one  time  2,573  acres  in  Ma- 
rion county,  1,059  ^^  Crawford,  and  443  in 
Wyandot,  making  over  4,000  acres  all  free  of 
encumbrance.  He  started  banks  and  built  ho- 
tels, the  Kerr  house  at  Marion  costing  $60,000 
and  the  one  at  Nevada  $18,000.  He  made  va- 
rious liberal  donations,  one  of  about  $53,000 
to  Hiram  college,  and  $23,000  to  Bethany  col- 
lege of  Virginia.  He  was  at  one  time  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Disciple  church;  he  remained  a 
member  for  a  number  of  years,  but  for  what 
he  considered  unchristian  conduct  on  the  part 
of  some  of  the  members  he  withdrew  from 
that  church  and  never  united  with  any  other. 
Two  of  his  sons,  Stephen  and  John,  became 
residents  of  Bucyrus.  On  January  i,  1883, 
while  walking  down  the  street  in  Caledonia, 
which  was  very  icy,  he  slipped  and  fell  caus- 
ing a  fracture  or  dislocation  of  the  hip  joint 
on  the  left  side,  and  he  was  forever  after  badly 
crippled  in  his  walk.  He  lived  on  his  original 
farm  in  Dallas  township  until  about  1877, 
when  he  moved  across  the  line  into  his  new 
house  in  Marion  county,  and  made  his  home 
at  one  of  his  hotels  until  his  death  a  dozen 
years  ago. 

Another  prominent  stock  dealer  and  land 
owner  was  Abraham  Monnett.  Abraham  Mon- 
nett,  Sr.,  moved  from  Virginia  to  near  Chil- 
licothe  in  1800  with  his  family,  of  six  sons 
and  two  daughters.  One  son,  Jeremiah,  re- 
turned to  Virginia  where  he  married  Miss 
Alice  Slagle.  In  1814,  Jeremiah  Monnett  who 
was  an  ordained  minister,  came  to  Pickaway, 
county  with  his  family,  one  of  the  children 
being  Abraham  Monnett.  The  trip  was  at- 
tended with  many  difficulties  and  probably 
would  not  have  been  undertaken  but  for  the 
timely  assistance  of  a  widow  named  Jones 
who  accompanied  them  to  the  state.  Upon 
arriving  at  his  destination  in  Pickaway  county, 
Mr.  Jeremiah  Monnett  had  only  $5  in  money, 
his  team  and  some  household  goods.  In  1835 
he  came  to  Crawford,  settling  on  the  farm 
on  the  Pike,  four  miles  south  of  Bucyrus, 
where  he  lived  until  his  death,  Sept.  1863. 
Abraham  Monnett  came  with  his  father  to 
Crawford  county  in  1835.  He  was  born  in 
Virginia,  Oct.  12,  181 1.  He  purchased  his 
first  40  acres  in  Marion  county,  Scott  town- 
ship.    In  1836  returned  to  Pickaway  county 


where  he  married  Miss  Catherine  Brougher,  an 
orphan.  When  starting  for  himself  his  father 
gave  him  $120;  on  his  marriage  his  wife 
brought  with  her  $2,500.  Outside  of  these 
sums  the  fortune  accumulated  by  Mr.  Monnett 
was  due  to  his  individual  work.  In  1838  he 
commenced  the  handling  of  cattle,  sometimes 
driving  them  from  as  far  as  Illinois,  grazing 
them  on  the  plains,  and  then  selling  them  to 
eastern  purchasers,  who  drove  them  to  New 
York  for  consumption.  The  trip  from  Illi- 
nois sometimes  took  35  days.  As  Mr.  Mon- 
nett increased  his  stock  he  was  also  increasing 
his  land  purchases,  until  finally  he  had  11,000 
acres  of  the  choicest  land  in  Crawford  and 
Marion  counties.  He  went  into  banking, 
started  the  Farmers  Bank  at  Marion,  and  the 
Monnett  Bank  at  Bucyrus,  practically  all  the 
stock  being  owned  by  him  and  his  sons.  Later 
he  started  the  Crawford  County  Bank,  which 
became  the  Second  National.  Of  his  twelve 
children,  all  but  two  made  Crawford  their 
home.  Ephraim  B.,  who  settled  in  Dallas 
township,  succeeded  his  father  as  president 
of  the  Monnett  Bank,  coming  to  Bucyrus; 
Martha  married  G.  H.  Wright,  who  settled  on 
a  farm  south  of  Bucyrus,  just  north  of  the 
original  farm  of  her  grandfather;  Wright 
was  in  the  stock  business  for  a  number  of 
years  and  moved  to  Marion ;  Oliver  is  a  farmer 
on  Marion  road  in  Dallas  township;  Augustus, 
a  farmer  in  Bucyrus  township;  Alcy,  wife  of 
James  Malcolm,  a  farmer  in  Bucyrus  town- 
ship, later  a  stock  dealer,  at  Bucyrus;  Mervin 
J.,  a  farmer  and  stock  dealer  in  Dallas,  was 
later  president  of  the  Second  National  Bank 
and  a  mine  owner,  is  now  a  banker  at  Los  An- 
geles, and  a  millionaire;  Mary  J.,  became  the 
wife  of  G.  W.  Hull,  banker  at  Mt.  Gilead  and 
Findlay,  then  president  of  the  Crawford 
county  bank  and  Second  National;  Madison 
W,.  became  cashier  of  the  Monnett  Bank,  and 
was  also  in  the  Crawford  County  Bank;  then 
went  west ;  Amina  J.  married  James  C.  Tobias, 
and  came  to  Bucyrus;  Kate  married  Linus 
Ross,  settled  on  the  Pike,  just  south  of  the 
original  purchase  of  her  grandfather.  The 
other  two  children  remained  in  Marion  county, 
John  T.  in  Grand  Prairie  township,  and  Mel- 
vin  on  the  old  homestead  in  Scott  township. 
Mrs.  Monnett  died  Feb.  8,  1875,  and  on  May 
30,  1877,  Mr.  Monnett  married  Mrs.  Jane  L. 


238 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Johnston,  widow  of  Henry  L.  Johnston,  a 
daughter  of  Samuel  Ludwig.  He  was  early- 
identified  with  the  M.  E.  church,  and  gave 
liberally  to  the  erection  of  new  churches  all 
over  his  section.  In  1850  he  made  a  liberal 
donation  to  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  Female  Semi- 
nary at  Delaware,  and  in  1853  to  the  Ohio 
Wesleyan  University,  both  of  which  had  much 
to  do  in  placing  those  institutions  on  their 
feet,  and  making  the  combined  institution  the 
prominent  seat  of  learning  it  is  today  in  Ohio. 
He  died  at  his  home  in  Bucyrus,  March  7,  1881. 
John  Rosencrans  who  came  to  Bucyrus  in 
1882,  was  born  Oct.  14,  1808,  in  Luzerne 
county,  Pa.  His  grandparents  came  from 
Holland,  the  grandfather  being  a  soldier  in 
the  Revolutionary  war.  He  married  Margaret 
Fairchild,  in  Pennsylvania.  He  was  elected 
school  director  of  his  township,  and  when  29 
years  of  aee  was  elected  Auditor  of  Luzerne 
county.  His  home  was  in  Newport  township. 
Pa.,  and  a  oostoffice  was  established  there,  he 
being  appointed  postmaster  by  Andrew  Jack- 
son, and  served  six  years,  the  office  being  in 
his  house.  He  was  also  township  assessor, 
land  appraiser,  and  filled  any  other  office  that 
needed  a  man  who  would  do  the  work.  Hav- 
ing held  about  all  the  offices,  he  concluded  to 
give  others  a  chance  and '  came  west,  and  in 
1847  settled  on  160  acres  just  west  of  Latim- 
berville.  He  was  too  influential  a  man  and  too 
good  a  citizen  to  be  left  quietly  to  his  farm- 
ing, for  the  very  next  year,  1848,  they  elected 
him  justice  of  the  peace,  a  position  to  which 
he  was  constantly  re-elected  for  eleven  terms 
— 33  years — and  the  only  reason  he  did  not 
die  in  the  office  was  that  he  removed  to  Bucy- 
rus, thus  comoelling  them  to  select  some  one 
else.  As  justice  of  the  peace  he  "filled  the 
office  with  such  impartiality  and  good  judg- 
ment that  he  was  continued  in  the  position 
by  the  unanimous  votes  of  the  people  for 
thirty-three  years,  and,  what  is  unprecedented, 
only  one  case  was  ever  carried  up  to  a  superior 
court  that  came  before  his  court."  Other  odd 
jobs  to  fill  in  his  time  were  as  member  of  the 
school  board  thirty-five  years;  land  appraiser 
two  terms ;  assessor  two  terms ;  county  com- 
missioner of  Marion  county  six  years :  and 
member  of  the  Legislature  two  years — 1866  to 
1868,  Thomas  Beer  being  the  member  from 
Crawford   at  that  time.     He  was  also  post- 


master at  Latimberville  (Kirkpatrick)  under 
President  Taylor. 

The  first  public  boarding  house  in  Dallas 
was  a  double  log  building  known  as  the  Half- 
Way  House,  or  "Ramey  Tavern,"  which  was 
located  on  the  east  side  of  the  Marion  and 
Bucyrus  road,  about  half  way  between  the  two 
towns.  Here  the  stage  horses  were  exchanged 
and  fed.  Mr.  Ramey  dying  in  1835,  the  tavern 
was  afterward  conducted  by  Mr.  Knapp  of 
Marion  until  1840,  when,  the  stage  line  being 
abandoned  the  building,  which  had  been  en- 
larged and  improved  by  Mr.  Ramey,  became 
a  private  residence.  This  tavern  always  had 
a  good  reputation.  On  the  opposite  side  of 
the  same  road  was  another  hostelry,  first 
owned  by  James  Carmean,  and  afterwards  by 
Fay  Muhlinger,  into  whose  possession  it  came 
about  1836  and  who  conducted  it  for  several 
years  on  a  somewhat  smaller  scale.  The  third 
tavern^the  Bibler  House  on  the  Wyandot 
road.  Bibler  also  had  a  sawmill  there.  It 
was  a  water  mill,  built  on  the  Sandusky,  close 
to  the  Wyandot  county  line.  It  began  oper- 
ation about  1827  but  some  ten  years  later  was 
sold  to  Mr.  Longacre.  It  afterwards  became 
the  property  of  Mr.  Rumble,  who  converted  it 
into  a  grist-mill,  running  two  sets  of  buhrs. 
Mr.  Vail,  a  later  proprietor,  repaired  it  and 
put  in  a  steam  engine.  The  property  being  at- 
tached, the  machinery  was  sent  back  to  Cleve- 
land. It  was  then  operated  again  as  a  water- 
mill  by  a  Mr.  Rex,  but  gradually  fell  into  dis- 
use. 

The  first  roads  in  Crawford  county,  as 
throughout  the  frontier  regions  generally,  fol- 
lowed the  old  Indian  trails,  of  which  one  of 
the  best  known  and  most  used  was  that  lead- 
ing from  Capt.  Pipe's  town,  near  Little  San- 
dusky, in  Wyandot  county  east  toward  the 
present  site  of  Leesville.  This  was  the  route 
followed  by  the  Wyandot  and  Delaware  In- 
dians southwest  of  Bucyrus  in  travfeling  to  and 
from  Bucyrus.  Along  this  trail  came  also 
the  white  settlers  from  the  southwestern  town- 
ships of  what  was  then  Crawford  county  to 
pay  their  taxes  at  the  county  seat.  They  often 
traveled  in  large  companies  of  70  or  80  in 
single  file,  both  Indians  and  white  men.  Upon 
it  doubtless  there  often  passed  the  renegade 
Simon  Girty  on  his  way  to  take  part  in  some 
deed  of  blood  and  slaughter  with  his  savage 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


239 


allies  or  to  carry  the  news  of  such  a  success- 
ful expedition  to  Chief  Pipe.  In  the  earliest 
days  this  route  was  marked  by  blazed  trees 
but  by  1825  it  had  become  so  well  known  that 
these  mute  guides  were  no  longer  needed.  The 
main  road  passing  through  the  township  is 
the  Columbus  and  Sandusky  pike,  a  fuller  ac- 
covmt  of  which  may  be  found  in  the  chapter 
on  Transportation. 

The  first  known  death  and  funeral  in  Dallas 
township  took  place  in  the  spring  of  1827  and 
was  that  of  a  young  man,  who  died  in  the 
cabin  of  Jacob  Synder.  The  body  was  en- 
closed in  a  rude  coffin  and  buried  near  the 
Mervin  Monnett  place,  without  any  stone  or 
mark  of  identification.  In  the  same  year  the 
first  interment  was  made  in  the  White  grave- 
yard in  the  central  part  of  the  township,  about 
a  mile  east  of  the  village  of  Wyandot,  the  de- 
ceased being  a  man  named  McClary,  who  re- 
sided near  the  village.  The  second  burial  in 
this  cemetery  took  place  when  Charles  Parish 
died  in  1829  on  the  farm  west  of  Ephraim 
Monnett's.  A  few  years  later — in  the  fall  of 
1833 — a  severe  epidemic  of  "milk  sickness" 
broke  out  which  caused  a  number  of  deaths. 
This  disease,  which  at  times  proved  very  fatal 
to  the  pioneer  settlers,  was  caused,  it  is  thought, 
by  drinking  the  milk  of  cattle  that  had  fed  on 
a  certain  kind  of  poisonous  weed,  and  the  doc- 
tors of  that  day  seem  to  have  known  no  ef- 
fective method  of  treatment.  Among  those 
who  died  at  this  time  were  three  members  of 
the  Wood  family — Elizabeth,  Henry  and 
James,  whose  deaths  all  took  place  within  a 
few  days. 

At  about  the  same  time  several  people  died 
from  Asiatic  cholera  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  township.  This  latter  scourge  again  at- 
tacked the  settlement  in  the  summer  of  1854, 
being  introduced  by  John  Norris,  who,  against 
the  warnings  of  his  wife,  had  gone  to  Marion 
to  get  some  strong  drink,  the  disease  at  that 
time  being  prevalent  there.  He  was  taken  sick 
soon  after  his  return  and  died  August  29th, 
within  little  more  than  two  days  after  he  had 
thus  rashly  exposed  himself  to  gratify  a  per- 
nicious appetite.  On  Sept.  ist  Mrs.  Norris 
was  attacked  and  died  within  twenty  hours. 
Their  two  adopted  children  fled  to  the  woods, 
where  they  were  fed  by  the  neighbors,  who 
left  food  and  bed  clothing  for  them  upon  a 


stump,  and  where  they  remained  for,  some 
days.  They  escaped  the  plague  and  lived  for 
many  years  afterward.  Doctor  Fulton,  of 
Bucyrus  who  had  attended  Mrs.  Norris,  also 
took  the  disease,  but  recovered. 

In  1827  a  subscription  school  was  started 
in  Dallas  township  in  a  log  house  on  the  San- 
dusky river,  a  short  distance  north  of  David 
Bibler's  cabin.  The  first  teacher  was  Miss 
Clara  Drake,  daughter  of  Capt.  Drake,  who 
taught  there  for  two  years,  being  paid  $1.25 
per  week.  She  had  about  twelve  pupils.  Not 
long  after,  or  perhaps  about  the  same  time, 
another  school  was  opened  opposite  the  loca- 
tion afterward  occupied  by  Maj.  Carmean's 
residence.  This  school,  which  was  due  to  the 
enterprise  of  Osborn  Monnett  and  George 
Walton,  was  later  known  as  the  "Monnett 
Schoolhouse."  Mr.  Haney  was  engaged  as 
the  first  teacher  at  a  salary  of  $10  per  month. 
In  the  summer  the  school  was  taught  by  Miss 
Chapman.  After  the  Huntly  schoolhouse  was 
established  in  1830  it  was  discontinued  and 
the  building  appropriated  to  other  purposes. 
In  the  fall  of  1838  a  frame  schoolhouse  was 
erected  by  Rev.  Jackson  Doeling  and  John 
Cooper,  John  Bevington  being  the  first  teacher 
at  a  salary  of  $15  per  month.  The  township 
is  now  well  equipped  with  educational  facili- 
ties, there  being  a  sufficiency  of  commodious 
houses,  provided  with  modern  furniture  and 
presided  over  by  competent,  well  trained 
teachers. 

As  was  customary  in  all  the  frontier  settle- 
ments religious  services  in  Dallas  were  at  first 
held  in  schoolhouses  or  in  the  cabins  of  the 
settlers.  Indeed  there  were  no  church  build- 
ings erected  previous  to  1875.  In  the  sum- 
mer services  were  often  held  in  the  open  air, 
than  which,  perhaps,  no  better  place  could 
have  been  found,  for  what  more  fitting  than 
the  God  of  Nature  should  have  been  worship- 
ped in  His  own  temple.  Later  services  were 
held  at  Winchester  and  "Sixteen  Chapel,"  on 
the  eastern  boundary. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  and  Disciple 
churches  at  Latimberville,  on  the  south,  drew 
a  part  of  their  membership  from  Dallas  town- 
ship, likewise  the  Methodist  and  Presbyterian 
churches  on  the  west.  Many  Dallas  citizens 
with  their  families  also  attended  the  Monnett 
Chapel  in  Bucyrus  township  and  later  Scioto 


240 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


chapel  erected  just  north  of  the  township  line. 
One  of  the  most  zealous  workers  in  this 
church  was  Zachariah  Welsh  of  Wyandot,  at 
whose  cabin  religious  exercises  of  prayer  and 
praise  were  frequently  held  before  the  school- 
houses  were  utilized  for  that  purpose.  One 
of  the  most  noted  among  the  early  Methodists 
was  the  Rev.  James  Gilruth.  He  was  a  man 
of  powerful  frame  and  with  a  voice  to  corres- 
pond, and  a  commanding  air  that  awed  even 
the  turbulent  element  or  "rowdies"  one  of 
whose  favorite  amusements  it  was  to  attend 
church  for  the  express  purpose  of  disturbing 
the  meeting.  His  physical  prowess  was  well 
known  to  this  unruly  class  and  there  was  little 
trouble  from  them  when  he  occupied  the  pul- 
pit. In  1823-24  he  traveled  a  four  weeks'  cir- 
cuit, which  took  in  the  neighboring  villages  of 
Delaware,  Kenton  and  Bucyrus,  with  interme- 
diate appoinments  in  the  lesser  villages.  He 
often  preached  in  Mr.  Welsh's  cabin  and  in 
those  of  some  of  the  other  settlers.  In  1840 
he  was  transferred  to  an  Iowa  conference, 
after  having  twice  been  returned  to  this  cir- 
cuit. He  was  followed  in  1824  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Cadwallader.  Once  every  three  months  the 
western  part  of  the  county  was  visited  by  Rev. 
James  B.  Finley,  who,  as  early  as  18 17  was 
superintendent  of  the  Wyandot  Mission.  The 
celebrated  Russell  Bigelow  who  was  stationed 
at  the  Sandusky  Mission  in  1827,  also 
preached  occasionally  in  this  district,  to  the 
great  edification  of  the  settlers,  who  came 
from  miles  around  to  hear  him.  Dallas  was 
then  part  of  the  Portland  District,  Ohio  Con- 
ference, which  included  in  its  bounds  the  state 
of  Michigan.  In  the  winter  of  1836-37  Rev. 
John  Gilbert  Bruce  conducted  revival  meet- 
ings, being  assisted  by  Rev.  Jeremiah  Monnett. 
The  presiding  elder  of  Portland  District  from 
1826  to  1830  was  Rev.  James  McMahon,  in 
1836,  Rev.  Adam  Poe,  and  in  1840,  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Runnels. 

One  of  the  most  able  divines  who  minis- 
tered to  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  early  set- 
tlers was  Rev.  S.  P.  Shaw,  founder  of  Shaw 
University,  Tennessee.  He  was  a  highly  edu- 
cated man  and  an  earnest  and  powerful 
preacher.  He  was  ordained  deacon  in  the 
Ohio  conference  in  1827. 

The  "Devil's  Half-Acre"  is  the  name  given 
to  a  locality  in  the  midst  of  Dallas  township, 


this  side  of  the  Scioto,  which  has  been  the 
scene  of  many  unsuccessful  efforts  to  estab- 
lish a  church.  A  log  cabin  stood  on  the  spot 
previous  to  1830,  which  was  used  for  school 
and  church  purposes,  and  which  after  that 
date  was  replaced  by  another  log  building, 
which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  school 
building.  Here  efforts  were  first  made  to  es- 
tablish a  society  by  the  United  Brethren,  but 
without  success.  The  Methodists  made  two 
attempts,  under  the  Rev.  William  Mathews 
and  ethers,  but  succeeded  in  making  only  a 
few  nominal  converts,  who  soon  relapsed  into 
the  ways  of  sin.  The  Presbyterians  tried 
under  Rev.  Mr.  Hutchinson,  but  also  failed. 
The  United  Brethren  made  a  second  attempt 
and  were  followed  by  the  Disciples,  with  like 
results.  It  was  then  that  Amos  McMullen 
declared  that  he  believed  the  spot  was  in  pos- 
session of  the  Devil,  which  remark,  becoming 
known,  led  to  its  being  called  the  "Devil's 
Half  Acre,"  which  name  it  has  since  retained. 
Prior  to  1845  the  eastern  six  miles  of  Dal- 
las township  were  a  part  of  Marion  county, 
Scott  township,  while  still  another  part  be- 
longed to  Grand  Prairie  township  in  the  same 
county.  Among  the  citizens  who  resided  in 
the  Crawford  county  part,  and  were  justices 
of  the  peace  in  the  early  days  were  Zachariah 
Welsh  in  1824,  Daniel  Swigert  in  1827,  and 
Jacob  Shaffer  in  1828.  The  Crawford  county 
records  show  many  marriage  ceremonies  per- 
formed by  Alanson  Packard;  he  lived  near 
Latimberville,  in  the  Marion  county  part  of 
the  township,  and  was  justice  for  many  years. 
He  was  poetically  inclined",  as  one  of  the 
entries  on  the  record  is  as  follows,  the  parties 
being  in  the  Marion  county  section  of  the 
township : 

"Marriage  license  was  granted  to  Norton 
B.  Royce  and  Eunice  M.  Dexter,  March  14, 
1832. 

"I  certify — that  is  to  say, 
This  present  March,  the  i8th  day, 
Eunice  Dexter,  Norton  Royce, 
As  did  your  license  authorize — 
An  awkward,  ungainly,  long-legged  pair — 
By  me  in  marriage  joined  were. 
By  sages  wise,  it  has  been  said 
That  matches  all  above  are  made. 
If  so,  these  ones  in  heaven  have  been : 
God  knows  they'll  never  go  again." 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


241 


Alanson  Packard,  himself,  married  Nancy 
Fickle  in  June,  1824,  and  there  is  little  doubt 
she  was  related  to  the  Fickles  who  settled  in 
the  southern  part  of  Bucyrus  township  in 
1823,  a  daughter  of  Daniel  Fickle,  who  came 
here  from  Marion  county. 

Since  1845  the  following  have  been  the 
justices  of  the  peace  of  Dallas  township: 
Andre  Corn,  1845;  William  Hoover,  1847-50; 
Daniel  Swigart,  1848;  Ezra  Huntly,  1850; 
Isaac  N.  Munson,  185 1;  Samuel  P.  Shaw, 
1852;  James  Hufty,  1854-57;  S.  D.  Welsh, 
1860-63;  Henry  Martin,  1863-66;  William 
H.  Churchill,  1866;  Caleb  McHenry,  1869- 
72-74-77-92-95;  R.  H.  Rogers,  1869;  E.  B. 
Monnett,  1872;  John  Monnett,  1873;  Barn- 
hart  Sayler,  1876-79;  A.  M.  Zook,  1880-83; 
Otis  Brooks,  1882-86;  H.  Q.  Johnston, 
1886;  George  Whiteamire,  1888^91;  Marcel- 
lus  Hoover,  1888-89;  William  Petry,  1889-98- 
01;  J.   M.  Quaintance,   1894;  Isaac  Shearer, 


1897;  Ira  E.  Quaintance,  1902-03-06-09;  and 
P.  S.  Hinkel,  1905-09. 

In  1892,  when  the  Columbus,  Shawnee  and 
Hocking  railroad  was  built  it  passed  through 
the  center  of  Dallas  township,  and  a  town 
was  laid  out  by  Mervin  J.  Monnett,  and  named 
after  himself  and  the  many  representatives  of 
the  Monnett  family  who  had  been  and  were 
prominent  in  that  section.  The  little  village 
started  well.  A  large  elevator  was  erected  by 
Mr.  Monnett;  a  store  was  started,  and  on 
October  25,  1893,  William  A.  Heinlen  was 
appointed  the  first  postmaster;  he  has  been 
succeeded  by  the  following:  G.  J.  Feltis,  No- 
vember 30,  1897;  D.  L.  Parcher,  December 
23,  1901 ;  William  Monnett,  June  5,  1906; 
F.  G.  Smith,  April  5,  1910;  C.  S.  Wert,  June 
23,  1911. 

Three  quarters  of  a  mile  west  of  Monnett 
is  the  Bucyrus  and  Marion  electric  road,  with 
a  station  to  accommodate  the  people  of  that 
village. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


HOLMES  TOWNSHIP 

Location  and  Erection — Drainage  and  Topography — Burnt  Swamp — Limestone  Opera- 
tions— Mysterious  Mounds — First  Settlers — First  Elections — Justices — German  Immi- 
gration— An  Early  Tragedy — Joseph  Newell's  Town — Wingert's  Corners — Conflict  Over 
a  Name — Brokensword  Postmasters — Early  Industries — Saloons  and  Taverns — Interest- 
ing Anecdotes — The  Underground  Railroad — Schools  and  Churches — Sunday  Schools — 
Stone  Quarries — Spore  Post  Office. 


Let  other  lands  exulting  glean 

The  apple   from   the  pine," 
The  orange  from  its  glossy  green 

The  cluster  from  the  vine ; 
We  better  love  the  hardy  gift 

Our  rugged  vales  bestow. 
To   cheer   us,   when   the   storm   shall    drift 

Our  harvest  fields  with  snow. 

— Whittier's  Corn  Song. 

This  township  lies  wholly  on  the  northern 
slope  of  the  Ohio  watershed  and  is  drained  by 
tributaries  of  the  Sandusky  river.  One  of  the 
most  attractive  and  wealthy  townships  in 
Crawford  county,  it  was  organized  by  the 
commissioners  in  March,  1828,  and  was  named 
after  Deputy  Surveyor  General  Samuel 
Holmes,  who  originally  surgeyed  this  section, 
and  who  was  authorized  to  make  a  resurvey  of 
its  territory  in  1836  as  the  western  sections 
were  a  part  of  the  Indian  reservation  purchased 
about  that  time  from  the  Indians.  The  larg- 
est stream  is  Brokensword  Creek,  which  en- 
ters the  township  in  the  northeastern  portion 
and  runs  in  a  southwesterly  direction  into 
Tod  township.  The  banks  of  this  stream  in 
some  places  rise  into  a  series  of  low  bluffs,  that 
were  in  early  days  covered  with  a  heavy  for- 
est of  poplar.  Grass  Run,  a  small  branch  of 
the  Sandusky,  meanders  in  a  southwesterly  di- 
rection across  the  southern  portion.  Brandy- 
wine  Creek,  entering  Holmes  from  Liberty 
township,  flows  into  Brokensword  at  a  point 
in  section  9.  The  southeastern  part  of  Holmes 
township  is  the  most  level  and  in  early  days 


was  wet  and  muddy  throughout  the  year.  The 
outflow  of  the  water  was  retarded  by  fallen 
logs,  which  lay  thickly  scattered  over  this  en- 
tire district,  so  that  the  settlers  in  traversing 
this  portion  were  obliged  to  wade  ankle-deep 
through  mud  and  water.  These  logs  and 
fallen  trees  were  often  used  as  stepping  stones, 
being  so  close  together  that  it  was  sometimes 
possible  to  go  cpite  a  distance  by  jumping 
from  one  to  another.  The  other  parts  of  the 
township  have  more  of  a  rolling  character  and 
in  the  northern  and  western  parts  there  are 
small  hills  both  long  and  steep. 

In  the  western  part  there  is  an  area  of  about 
fifty  acres  which,  from  the  earliest  times  has 
been  known  as  the  "Burnt  Swamp."  It  de- 
rives its  name  from  the  circvimstance  that  or- 
iginally it  was  covered  thickly  with  willows 
and  tall  weeds,  and  one  of  those  fires  that  were 
often  lighted  by  Indians  or  settlers  to  dis- 
lodge game,  swept  over  it,  destroying  all  the 
vegetation.  In  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
township  the  soil  consists  of  a  black  alluvial 
earth  overlaid  with  decaying  vegetable  matter, 
and  when  properly  drained,  as  it  is  today,  is 
very  productive. 

It  was  not  until  after  1820  that  the  white 
settlers  were  able  to  purchase  land  in  Holmes 
township,  and  the  western  part  remained  in 
possession  of  the  Wyandot  Indians  up  to  1836, 
at  which  time  the  eastern  side  of  their  reserva- 
tion was  purchased  by  the  government  and 


242 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


243 


sold  at  public  auction,  the  land  adjoining 
Holmes  township  becoming  a  part  of  that 
township.  This  newly  acquired  portion  was 
something  more  than  two  sections  wide  and 
proved  a  source  of  wealth  to  some  of  the  citi- 
zens, owing  to  the  large  and  numerous  beds  of 
excellent  limestone  it  contained.  This  lime- 
stone brought  from  $i  to  $2  per  load  and  was 
used  for  the  foundation  of  houses  and  barns 
and  for  the  walls  of  wells.  Among  those  who 
engaged  extensively  in  taking  out  this  stone 
were  Nicholas  Pool,  Adam  Gearhart  and 
Christian  Reiff.  Lime  has  been  burned  in  con- 
siderable c^uantities  in  this  district  ever  since 
1838  or  1840. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Brokensword  creek  are 
some  nearly  obliterated  mounds,  which  are  re- 
garded as  relics  of  that  mysterious  aboriginal 
people  usually  denominated  as  the  "Mound 
Builders,"  and  whose  origin  and  history  have 
been  the  cause  of  much  speculation  among 
scientists.  Many  interesting  works  have  been 
written  upon  this  subject,  but  the  entire  truth 
about  them  will  never  be  known,  for  they  left 
no  written  records,  nor  have  their  successors, 
the  Indians,  by  whom  they  were  probably 
driven  out  or  exterminated,  retained  any  but 
very  vague  and  uncertain  traditions  concern- 
ing them.  Though  they  built  extensive  earth- 
works and  have  left  behind  the  numerous  ar- 
ticles of  pottery  inscribed  with  more  or  less 
picturesque  designs,  they  were  probably  of  no 
high  order  of  civilization  and  were  certainly 
inferior  to  the  Red  races  in  the  art  of  self 
preservation,  though  they  may  possibly  have 
been  in  some  way  related  to  the  latter. 

A  man  named  Heaman,  who  is  supposed  to 
have  come  from  some  eastern  township, 
or  from  Bucyrus,  is  said  to  have  been  the 
first  settler  in  Holmes.  He  settled  on  the  Pike 
north  of  Bucyrus,  but  little  more  is  known 
about  him.  He  was  soon  followed  by  a  settler 
named  William  Flake,  who  built  a  log  cabin 
and  began  a  clearing  on  the  old  farm  of  Joseph 
Quaintance.  This  man  was  of  a  very  pecu- 
liar character.  He  was  kind  and  charitable 
and  freely  gave  away  his  property,  but  as 
readily  appropriated  the  property  of  others  to 
his  own  uses,  finally  carrying  his  communistic 
tendencies  so  far  as  to  break  open  a  store  in 
Bucyrus,  for  which  he  was  sentenced  to  serve 
some  years  in  the  penitentiary.    He  died  soon 


after  his  release  and  none  of  his  descendants, 
so  far  as  known,  are  now  living  in  the  county. 
The  first  settlers  came  about  1823. 

Two  years  later  a  man  named  Daniel  Sny- 
der, known  as  "Indian  Snyder,"  built  a  round- 
log  cabin  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township, 
into  which  he  moved  his  family,  consisting  of 
a  wife  and  some  half  dozen  children,  the  latter 
all  about  the  same  size.  He  was  a  famous 
hunter,  spending  most  of  his  time  in  the  woods 
and  was  often  paid  $1  per  day  by  the  settlers 
to  furnish  them  with  venison.  He  understood 
the  Indian  tongue  and  invaded  the  Redrnen's 
lands  in  pursuit  of  game  with  apparent  im- 
punity. He  was  also  often  called  upon  to  act 
as  interpreter  between  the  white  settlers  and 
the  Indians.  Many  swine  belonging  to  the 
pioneers  were  shot  by  the  savages  and  found 
their  way  into  an  Indian  stew-kettle.  The 
swine  usually  ran  wild  in  the  woods  and  those 
that  had  no  earmarks  were  regarded  as  the 
property  of  the  finder.  Many  possessing  the 
requisite  marks,  however,  were  stolen  and 
shipped  to  the  Sanduskv  market. 

Joseph  Lones  came  to  Holmes,  township 
from  Columbiana  county  in  1828,  having  prac- 
tically no  money  or  property  at  the  time.  He 
was  accompanied  by  his  father-in-law,  John 
Boeman,  who  brought  his  family  in  a  wagon 
drawn  by  five  horses,  while  Lones  drove  the 
sixth  horse  to  a  small  empty  Dearborn  wagon. 
The  journey  was  rendered  extremely  difficult 
from  the  depth  of  the  mud  and  the  great 
quantity  of  fallen  timber  that  obstructed  the 
route ;  yet  in  spite  of  this  they  made  about  ten 
miles  a  day.  It  was  often  necessary  to  use 
the  axe  to  cut  a  way  through  the  natural  ob- 
structions, and  for  that  purpose  the  men  pre- 
ceded the  wagon  on  foot,  walking  almost  the 
entire  distance  with  axes  on  their  shoulders. 
Mr.  Lones  built  a  cabin  on  land  adjoining  the 
Quaintance  farm  and  found  vv^ork  on  the  Col- 
umbus and  Sandusky  pike,  then  in  process  of 
construction.  He  continued  thus  occupied  for 
about  two  years,  receiving  $10  per  month  for 
his  services,  out  of  which  money  he  paid  for 
most  of  his  land.  He  lived  to  an  advanced  age 
and  in  his  declining  years  was  surrounded  by 
the  comforts  of  wealth,  the  result  of  his  early 
industry  and  self  denial. 

In  1828  William  Flake  lived  in  a  round-log 
cabin  on  land  that  today  is  the  farm  of  Joseph 


244 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Quaintance;  of  this  land  he  cleared  about  ten 
acres.  At  this  date  there  were  in  the  township, 
besides  those  already  mentioned,  John  Bretz, 
Abraham  and  Isaac  Ditty,  Henry  Fralic,  Chris- 
tian Haish,  John  Hussey,  Samuel  Hemminger, 
Martin  Holman,  Joseph  Lones,  Jacob  Lint- 
ner,  David  Moore,  Joseph  Newell,  Daniel 
Potter,  Michael  Shupp,  Isaac  Williams,  David 
Brown,  Samuel  Miller,  William  Spitzer,  James 
Martin,  Jacob  Andrews,  Joel  Glover  and  Jacob 
King.  J.  P.  Black  owned  the  farm  that  was 
originally  the  property  of  Timothy  Kirk.  Mr. 
Spitzer  settled  on  the  farm  later  owned  by 
Charles  Lehman.  Mr.  Glover  was  on  the  farm 
where  George  Lapp  is  living.  Jacob  Andrews 
was  on  a  farm  east  of  the  Pike,  where  he  lived 
for  over  half  a  century.  Eli  Quaintance  was 
on  the  Tiffin  road,  near  the  farm  now  owned 
by  Eli  Lones.  Martin  Holman  was  on  the 
Pike,  and  in  1830  John  McCulloch  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  R.  V.  Sears.  Jacob  King  in 
1828,  was  living  in  a  little  log  cabin  on  Broken- 
sword  creek,  on  the  farm  later  owned  by  Sam- 
uel Slapp,  south  of  Brokensword.  James  Mar- 
tin, a  sort  of  local  minister,  came  to  Holmes 
township  at  an  early  day  from  England  and 
settled  on  the  farm  now  known  as  the  Gebhart 
farm.  He  was  accompanied  by  a  young  man 
named  Thomas  Alsoph,  a  son  of  an  English 
nobleman.  This  young  man  was  an  interest- 
ing character.  He  was  refined  and  well  edu- 
cated but  to  some  extent  was  mentally  afflicted, 
though  rational  on  most  ordinary  subjects. 
Some  said  that  his  mental  infirmity  was  due  to 
a  disappointment  in  love,  though  why  he  came, 
or  had  been  shipped  so  far  from  home  to  be- 
come a  backwoodsman,  was  what  nobody  knew 
or  could  understand.  He  taught  some  of  the 
early  schools  and  became  a  general  favorite, 
and  after  a  residence  in  the  township  of  quite 
a  number  of  years  he  returned  to  England. 

The  annexing  of  that  part  of  the  Wyandot 
Reservation  to  which  reference  has  already 
been  made,  gave  Holmes  a  township  of  36 
square  miles.  The  first  election  was  held  at  the 
cabin  of  John  Hussey,  in  the  spring  after  the 
township  had  been  organized  and  nine  votes 
were  polled.  Joseph  Newell  was  elected  clerk 
and  Jacob  Andrews  was  the  first  justice  of  the 
peace.  At  the  second  election  Joseph  Lones 
was  elected  constable,  having  no  competitors 
for  this  office.    Indeed  the  office  was  not  much 


sought  after  in  early  days,  for  the  remunera- 
tion was  small,  and  hardships  and  danger  had 
sometimes  to  be  encountered  in  the  pursuit  of 
fugitives  from  justice,  the  serving  of  writs, 
etc.,  which  frequently  militated  against  the 
popularity  of  the  incumbent.  Constable  Lones 
had  but  one  annoying  experience,  however, 
during  his  term  of  office.  He  was  called  upoft 
to  levy  on  the  personal  property  of  one 
Thomas  Williams,  and  while  reading  the  war- 
rant Williams  suddenly  snatched  it  out  of  his 
hand  and  refused  to  give  it  up,  Mr.  Lones 
thereupon  procured  another  execution  from 
the  Squire  and  going  to  Williams'  cabin  in  his 
absence,  accompanied  by  a  deputy  with  an  ox- 
sled,  he  seized  the  furniture  in  spite  of  the 
protests  of  Mrs.  Williams  and  carried  it  to  the 
cabin  of  Squire  Andrews,  who  advertised  it 
for  sale.  This  brought  the  rebellious  Williams 
to  terms,  and  he  accordingly  paid  the  charges, 
about  $15,  and  was  allowed  to  take  his  prop- 
erty home. 

The  following  are  the  Justices  of  the  Peace 
of   Holmes   township   since   its   organization: 

Jacob  Andrews,  1832;  Joseph  S.  Newell, 
1832;  David  Brown,  1835-38;  John  McBride, 
1835-38;  John  Pittman,  1843-44-53;  Jedediah 
Cobb,  1843-44-47;  Samuel  Shaffner,  1847; 
Daniel  Fralick,  1850-53-56-59-70;  Thomas 
Menaigh,  1850;  John  P.  Black,  1855;  Enoch 
Knable,  1858-61 ;  Reason  Eaton,  1862;  Charles 
H.  Tisley,  1863-66;  John  Holman,  1865-68- 
71-74-77-82-86-89;  Jasper  W.  Taylor,  1867; 
Horace  Flickinger,  1874;  Samuel  Flick- 
inger,  1876;  David  Bair,  1879;  Rufus  Aurand, 
1880-86-89;  J.  E.  Ferrall,  1892-93;  J.  C.  Lich- 
tenwalter,  1893;  William  Lahman,  1894-97; 
J.  N.  Taylor,  1^5-98;  A.  M.  Vore,  1901;  A. 
L.  Whitmyer,  1900-03-06;  A.  L.  Gallinger, 
1904;  John  I.  Wentz,  1906-07;  George  H. 
Orthwein,  1906-07;  W.  L.  Fralick,  1908-10; 
W.  J.  Cosgrove,  191 1,  and  Jacob  Campbell, 
1911. 

The  southern  part  of  Holmes  township  wit- 
nessed an  influx  of  new  settlers  about  1830, 
among  those  who  came  at  this  time  being 
Samuel  Shaffner,  John  McCulloch,  William 
Roberts,  Thomas  Minich,  Thomas  Williams, 
John  Hussey,  Jacob  Mollenkopf,  Abraham 
Cary,  Moses  Spahr  and  John  Lichtenwalter. 
As  their  names  indicate,  some  of  these  settlers 
were  German.     Two  distinct  settlements  were 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


245 


formed,  about  six  miles  apart,  one  near  the 
present  site  of  Brokensword,  and  the  other  in 
the  southeastern  comer,  near  Bucyrus.  The 
one  in  the  northern  part  was  almost  wholly 
German  and  included,  with  a  few  others,  some 
eight  or  ten  German  families  that  had  come 
in  1828  from  Dauphin  county,  Pa.  Among 
these  settlers  were  Michael  Shupp,  Henry  and 
Daniel  Fralick,  Isaac  and  Abraham  Ditty, 
Jacob  Lintner,  Jacob  Moore  and  Daniel 
Porter. 

For  a  number  of  years  the  southern  part  of 
the  township  bore  an  enviable  reputation  due 
to  the  fact  that  no  liquor  was  used  at  the 
house-raising  or  log-rollings,  the  settlers  being 
a  rarely  temperate  lot  who  used  nothing 
stronger  than  coffee. 

As  new  settlers  came  in,  however,  they 
brought  with  them  the  inevitable  whiskey  and 
the  community  in  consequence  lost  a  portion  of 
its  fair  fame.  The  northern  settlers  were  from 
the  first  a  bibulous  lot,  whose  evenings  were 
largely  spent  in  passing  round  the  flowing  bowl 
and  in  drinking  each  other's  health  to  the  usual 
detriment  of  same.  It  is  said  that  even  women 
were  often  seen  lying  by  the  roadside  com- 
pletely overcome  by  liquor.  Fortunately  this 
state  of  things  has  long  since  passed  away. 
Abraham  Didie,  born  in  Dauphin  county,  Pa., 
removed  to  Holmes  township  in  1828.  He 
died  March  14,  1870. 

Fisher  Quaintance,  previously  mentioned  as 
one  of  the  arrivals  in  1828  or  1829,  was  a 
member  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  He  died 
in  Holmes  township  March  27,  1866,  at  the 
age  of  73  years.  His  wife  Sarah  came  to  this 
township  with  him. 

Years  ago  a  murder  was  committed  on  the 
Joe  Quaintance  farm,  known  as  the  old  Flake 
farm.  An  old  peddler  was  killed,  and  in  order 
to  cover  all  traces  of  the  crime,  his  body,  to- 
gether with  his  wagon  and  all  his  belongings, 
were  thrown  into  an  old  well  and  covered  up. 
Whom  the  peddler  was  and  who  were  the  per- 
petrators of  the  deed  have  never  been  discov- 
ered to  this  day. 

William  Mateer,  an  early  settler  of  Holmes 
township,  was  a  great  grandson  of  an  immi- 
grant who  started  for  America  in  the  year 
1700  with  four  sons.  All  died  on  the  voyage 
and  were  buried  at  sea.  The  immigrant 
reached  America  and  subsequently  had  four 


more  sons,  whom  he  named  respectively  after 
the  first  four,  and  their  descendants  became 
prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  township. 

John  and  Barbara  Peterman  came  to  this 
county  in  October,  1827,  and  entered  320  acres 
in  Liberty  township  on  the  Sandusky  river. 
Clearing  his  land  he  erected  thereon  a  hewed 
log  cabin.  Their  son,  Samuel,  came  to  Bucy- 
rus in  1832.  He  engaged  in  a  sort  of  express 
business,  hauling  goods  from  Pittsburg,  Balti- 
more, Cincinnati,  Columbus  and  Sandusky 
with  a  six-horse  team  and  also  carried  consid- 
erable money  for  others.  He  later  took  up 
farming  in  Holmes  township. 

Joseph  Newell  came  to  Crawford  county  in 

1825,  and  entered  160  acres  of  government 
land  in  section  No.  9,  of  what  is  now  Holmes 
township.  He  was  above  the  average  in  edu- 
cation and  business  ability.  He  early  saw  that 
with  the  settling  up  and  developing  of  the 
county,  especially  in  the  north  and  west  parts, 
his  land  would  be  much  nearer  the  center  of 
the  county  than  the  little  town  of  Bucyrus,  and 
there  was  a  possibility  that  the  county  seat 
might  be  located  at  some  point  nearer  the 
center  of  the  county,  and  he  selected  his  land 
for  that  purpose.  Bucyrus  then  had  a  popu- 
lation of  something  over  two  hundred  people; 
it  had  a  post  office,  stores,  taverns,  and  several 
shops;  notwithstanding  this  Newell  laid  out  a 
town  on  a  part  of  his  land,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Brokensword,  below  where  the  Brandywine 
empties  into  it.  He  named  the  new  town 
Crawford,  and  set  apart  several  lots  as  dona- 
tions for  public  buildings,  and  also  laid  out  a 
graveyard.  The  first  election  in  Crawford 
county  after  its   organization   was   in   April, 

1826,  at  which  election  commissioners  were  to 
be  chosen,  who  would  meet  in  the  town  of 
Bucyrus,  and  there  select  the  temporary  county 
seat  of  the  county.  The  greatest  interest  in  the 
election  was  over  the  commissioners,  the  voters 
in  the  west  and  north  supporting  the  com- 
missioners who  would  favor  Crawford  for  the 
county  seat,  while  those  in  the  south  and  east 
were  for  the  commissioners  who  favored 
Bucyrus.  The  election  resulted  in  favor  of 
John  Magers  of  Bucyrus,  Thomas  McClure  of 
Liberty,  and  George  Poe  of  Whetstone,  who 
met  at  Bucyrus  the  third  Monday  in  May  and 
selected  Bucyrus  as  the  temporary  county  seat 
of  the  new  county.    Newell,  while  temporarily 


246 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


defeated,  did  not  give  up  the  fight,  but  con- 
tinued it  up  to  1830,  when  the  legislature  ap- 
pointed three  commissioners  to  settle  definitely 
the  county  seat  question,  and  they  came  to 
Bucyrus,  looked  over  the  field,  and  decided  in 
favor  of  Bucyrus.  Then  Newell  gave  up  the 
fight  and  the  town  of  Crawford  became  farm- 
ing land.  Newell  himself  had  erected  a  house 
on  the  land,  had  sold  one  lot  to  a  man  named 
Swigart,  and  perhaps  one  or  two  others  had 
located  there,  but  today  nothing  remains  of  the 
town  whose  proprietor  had  hopes  of  making  it 
the  county  seat.  When  Holmes  township  was 
organized  Mr.  Newell  was  one  of  the  first  of- 
ficers elected  and  on  his  death  was  buried  in 
the  graveyard  he  had  laid  out. 

About  1834  William  Wingert  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  of  a  country  post  office 
that  was  opened  under  the  name  of  Lykens. 
The  post  office  was  in  his  house,  on  the 
Tiffin  road  just  north  of  the  Holmes  town- 
ship line.  Several  other  families  located  in 
that  section  and  in  a  few  years  it  assumed 
the  aspect  of  a  thriving  village.  Here  he 
built  a  shop  and  manufactured  furniture, 
and  in  1851  started  a  store.  In  August,  1852, 
fifteen  years  after  the  post  office  had  been 
established,  David  Porter,  laid  out  a  town  just 
south  of  the  settlement  of  Wingert,  and  called 
it  Portersville,  in  honor  of  himself.  The  two 
settlements  were  really  one,  as  they  bordered 
on  each  other,  Wingert's  being  in  Lykens  town- 
ship and  Porter's  in  Holmes  township.  But 
there  was  the  bitterest  rivalry  between  the  two 
for  the  name  of  the  village.  Wingert's  claim 
that  it  be  called  Wingert's  Comers  was  on  the 
ground  that  his  settlement  ante-dated  the 
mushroom  town  of  Porter's  by  nearly  twenty 
years.  Porter's  claim  was  that  his  was  a  town, 
laid  out,  and  had  a  name  legally,  and  therefore 
that  name  was  the  correct  and  only  one  for  the 
new  town.  The  post  office  department  decided 
in  favor  of  Portersville.  But  Wingert  and  his 
friends  were  so  persistent,  having  their  goods 
and  their  mail  all  addressed  to  Wingert's  Cor- 
ners, Crawford  county,  that  everybody  else 
recognized  that  as  the  name,  and  only  the 
government  and  Porter  knew  there  was  such 
a  place  as  Portersville.  During  the  war  of 
the  rebellion  the  people  of  the  county,  the 
state,  and  the  nation  with  one  accord  gave  it  a 
new  name.     Party  spirit  ran  high,  and  there 


were  some  at  Wingert's  Corners  so  bitter  that 
they  were  very  pronounced  against  the  Union. 
At  this  stage  Petroleum  V.  Nasby  commenced 
a  series  of  burlesque,  political  letters,  taking 
his  characters  and  views  from  the  situation  as 
it  existed  at  Wingert's  Corners.  Later  these 
letters  were  dated  "Confederit  X  Roads",  and 
although  the  date  line  of  the  letter  always  con- 
tained the  additional  description,  "which  is  in 
the  Stait  of  Kentucky,"  the  description  was 
useless;  the  people  still  recognized  it  as  Win- 
gert's Corners,  and  through  the  war,  and  for 
years  after,  the  place  was  best  known  as  "Con- 
fedrit  X  Roads."  It  had  a  national  notoriety 
by  this  name;  its  county  and  local  name  was 
Wingert's  Corners,  and  the  government  car- 
ried it  as  Portersville.  As  the  bitterness  of  the 
war  passed  away,  there  was  a  general  desire  to 
get  away  from  the  bitterness  that  still  rankled 
on  account  of  the  action  of  lawless  men  and 
the  name  of  the  office  was  changed  to  Broken- 
sword,  after  the  stream  that  passes  to  the 
south  of  that  village.  Today  no  one  would  rec- 
ognize the  name  of  Portersville;  some  few  al- 
lude to  it  as  Wingert's  Corners ;  Confederit  X 
Roads  is  but  an  historical  allusion,  and  as 
Brokensword  it  is  one  of  the  villages  of  the 
county  which  still  retain  an  existence. 

The  following  are  the  postmasters  at 
Brokensword,  with  dates  of  appointment: 

William  Wingert,  April  6,  1837;  George  Mc- 
Donald, Jan.  30,  1850;  Daniel  Fralick,  July  5, 
1861;  William  Seele,  Oct.  23,  1895;  Matilda 
E.  Chapman,  June  24,  1898 ;  and  Frank  Sprow, 
June  18,  1904. 

On  Feb.  14,  1906,  the  office  was  discon- 
tinued, the  mail -being  supplied  by  rural  route 
from  Bucyrus.  Daniel  Fralick  was  postmaster 
for  34  years,  the  longest  service  of  any  man 
in  the  county. 

Jacob  Lintner,  who  came  at  an  early  day  to 
this  settlement,  was  a  blacksmith  and  built  a 
shop  just  across  the  line  in  Lykens  township. 
As  he  could  not  find  enough  work  at  his  trade 
to  keep  him  busy,  he  also  did  carpenter  work, 
becoming  self-taught  through  frequent  prac- 
tice. Jacob  Moore  kept  a  small  shoe  shop  in 
one  end  of  his  cabin,  and  traveled  from  house 
to  house  plying  his  trade,  as  was  an  early  cus- 
tom in  the  frontier  settlements  generally.  Al- 
though the  price  of  shoes  was  small  in  those 
days  as  compared  with  the  present,  many  peo- 


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AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


249 


pie  were  unable  to  buy  them  and  wore  instead 
a  sort  of  rough  moccasin  made  from  the  skin 
of  the  deer  or  some  other  animal.  Buckskin 
clothes  were  also  largely  worn. 

Among  other  artizans  of  those  days  may  be 
mentioned  William  Fralick,  a  carpenter,  who 
built  many  of  the  early  frame  houses;  and 
William  Spitzer,  a  mason  residing  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  township,  who,  when 
the  construction  of  a  better  class  of  buildings 
began,  built  many  of  the  foundations  and 
chimneys.  He  also  made  bricks  which  he  sold 
to  the  settlers,  commencing  this  business  about 
1830. 

Samuel  Burnison,  before  he  turned  his  at- 
tention to  farming,  tried  one  or  two  business 
ventures  which  proved  unsuccessful.  He 
owned  a  small  copper  still  and  in  1841  built  a 
small  distillery  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
township,  operating  in  connection  with  it  a 
small  horse-mill  from  which  he  obtained  his 
supply  of  ground  grain.  When  the  enterprise 
failed — perhaps  because  the  whiskey  was  not 
of  very  good  quality — he  bought  some  cows 
and  made  arrangements  to  begin  the  man- 
ufacture of  cheese,  turning  his  distillery  into  a 
cheese  factory,  but  for  some  reason  he  changed 
his  mind  before  he  had  the  enterprise  started, 
and  went  to  farming. 

David  Porter  started  an  ashery  about  1837, 
manufacturing  black  and  scorched  salts,  and 
continued  the  business  for  some  ten  years, 
when,  the  supply  of  ashes  failing,  he  gave  it 
up. 

About  1857  William  Wingert  was  employed 
by  George  Quinby  of  Bucyrus  to  sell  goods  on 
commission,  and  was  given  about  $300  worth 
to  commence  with.  These  were  the  first  goods 
sold  in  Portersville  and  were  quickly  disposed 
of.  After  thus  working  for  Mr.  Quinby  for 
several  years,  Mr.  Wingert  started  in  business 
for  himself  with  an  $800  stock  of  goods  pur- 
chased personally  in  New  York  city.  He  con- 
tinued as  a  merchant  for  about  ten  years  be- 
fore retiring  to  his  farm,  and  was  fairly  suc- 
cessful. About  two  years  before  he  retired  an- 
other store  was  opened  in  the  village,  which 
was  a  branch  store  owned  by  Brinkerhoff  and 
Wilson,  of  Sycamore.  They  put  in  about 
$3,000  worth  of  goods.  The  stock  was  pur- 
chased in  1854  by  Daniel  Fralick,  who  added 
to  it  considerably  and  carried  on  a  successful 

14 


business  for  many  years.  At  a  later  date 
Shook  and  Ditty  were  also  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile pursuits  here. 

Liquor  has  been  sold  in  Brokensword  (Por- 
tersville) since  1846,  at  which  time  Scale  & 
Hollingshead  opened  a  saloon  in  the  village, 
also  occasionally  entertaining  travellers.  The 
first  genuine  tavern  keeper  in  the  village  was 
John  Stinerock,  a  tailor  by  trade,  who  con- 
ducted a  very  orderly  place  and  kept  no  bar. 
In  1868  Elias  Shirk  built  another  tavern  in 
the  town,  which  subsequently  passed  into  the 
hands  of  his  widow. 

Martin  and  Rosannah  Holman  came  to 
Crawford  county.  Holmes  township,  in  the 
twenties  for  John  Holman  was  born  in  the 
township  Nov.  7,  1828. 

Mary  Martin  Hemminger,  born  January  i, 
1812,  was  a  daughter  of  James  and  Sarah 
Martin,  who  took  passage  for  America  from 
England  in  the  fall  of  1822,  Mary  being  then 
ten  years  old.  On  the  voyage  the  ship's  rud- 
der became  detached  and  the  vessel  was  for  a 
while  in  great  danger,  several  lives  being  lost 
in  the  attempt  to  readjust  it  under  water.  It 
was  finally  secured,  after  a  long  delay,  and  the 
voyage  took  nearly  three  months  to  accomplish. 
They  must  have  reached  Crawford  county 
from  about  1824  to  1828.  From  the  perils  of 
the  ocean  wave  they  changed  at  once  to  the 
hardships  of  pioneer  life  on  the  frontier, 
which,  if  a  trifle  less  dangerous,  were  no  less 
hard  to  endure.  The  daughter  Mary  became 
cowboy  for  the  family,  taking  care  of  the  stock 
and  often  passing  days  and  nights  in  the 
woods.  At  one  time  when  no  less  than.  26 
miles  from  home,  she  was  overtaken  by  dark- 
ness and  was  compelled  to  wait  for  the  moon 
to  rise  before  she  could  direct  her  weary  march 
homewards.  In  stormy  weather  their  cabin 
was  often  resorted  to  for  shelter  by  Indians, 
who  came  by  the  dozen  or  score,  almost  crowd- 
ing the  family  out  of  doors.  Mary  Martin 
was  married  May  13,  1830  to  a  Mr.  Hem- 
minger. She  died  Sept.  6,  1877,  at  the  age  of 
80  years. 

Samuel  McClure,  a  weaver  by  trade,  came 
to  Holmes  township,  May  5,  1830. 

Rebecca  Sells,  a  lady  of  forceful  character, 
at  one  time  well  known  in  Holmes  township, 
was  a  daughter  of  John  and  Anne  McBride, 
who  came  to  Crawford  in  1830.    On  Oct.  4th, 


250 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


she  became  the  wife  of  Jacob  Sells,  whose  par- 
ents, Peter  and  Barbara  Sells,  had  come  to 
Crawford  in  1831.  The  young  couple  imme- 
diately began  housekeeping  in  their  own  home 
on  the  Tiffin  road.  Jacob  was  an  architect  and 
builder  and  was  away  much  of  the  time,  not 
only  on  account  of  the  demands  of  his  pro- 
fession, but  also  on  account  of  military  ser- 
vice during  the  Civil  war  and  because  of  his 
attendance  at  land  sales  in  the  Osage  country. 
Mo.  During  his  absence  she  had  to  suffer 
many  trials  on  account  of  her  fearless  advo- 
cacy of  abolition,  the  people  around  her  being 
generally  in  favor  of  secession.  During  the 
war,  not  having  received  any  communication 
from  her  husband  for  a  long  time,  she  feared 
he  might  be  dead,  but  had  not  lost  all  hope 
until  one  day  she  received  word  that  his  corpse 
was  awaiting  her  at  Bucyrus.  She  went  there 
at  once  almost  broken  hearted.  The  body  was 
identified  by  the  family  and  friends,  but  be- 
fore removing  the  corpse,  her  sorrow  was 
changed  to  surprise,  joy  and  gladness  on  being 
handed  a  communication  from  her  husband, 
stating  that  he  would  be  with  her  in  a  few 
hours.  Thus  suddenly  was  a  scene  of  the  deep- 
est sadness  turned  into  one  of  rejoicing. 

Michael  and  Margaret  Shupp  and  their  son 
Henry  came  to  Crawford  in  May,  1828,  set- 
tling on  80  acres  on  Brokensword  Creek  in 
Holmes  township. 

John  and  Ann  Shupp  and  son  Samuel  came 
to  Crawford  county  and  Holmes  township  in 
the  spring  of  1831. 

Jacob  Brinkman  came  to  Bucyrus  when  it 
was  a  small  hamlet  and  after  a  residence  there 
of  several  years  removed  to  Holmes  township. 

Jacob  and  Mary  Bash  came  to  Bucyrus  in 
1829.  Both  died  and  their  son  Peter  Bash  went 
to  the  grandfather  at  Annapolis,  who  was  a 
Dunkard  preacher.  Grandmother  Bash  was 
the  first  person  buried  in  Annapolis  cemetery. 
Peter  later  purchased  a  farm  in  Holmes  town- 
ship. 

William  and  Mary  Fralick  and  son  Daniel 
came  to  Bucyrus  in  1830  and  settled  on  the 
Rowse  farm,  later  known  as  the  Monnett  farm. 
In  the  fall  they  removed  to  the  northern 
part  of  Holmes  township,  where  they  entered 
80  acres  and  erected  a  log  cabin.  In  1834 
Daniel  came  to  Bucyrus  and  worked  in  the 
flour  and  saw-mill  of  Elias  Slagel  during  high 


water,  when  the  mill  was  running.  During 
low  water  he  worked  on  his  father's  farm.  In 
1853  he  commenced  keeping  store  at  Wingert's 
Corners,  and  in  1855  built  a  new  house,  which 
he  occupied  until  his  death. 

Samuel  Flickinger,  born  in  Lancaster  county. 
Pa.,  May  29,  1792,  moved  to  McConnellstown, 
Pa.,  in  1796;  went  from  there  to  Stark  county, 
Ohio,  in  181 1,  coming  from  there  to  Crawford 
county  in  the  spring  of  1833  and  resided  here 
until  his  death  June  20,  1871  at  the  age  of  79 
years.  In  1820  he  married  Miss  Phylinda 
Healy,  who  was  born  in  Jamaica,  Wingham 
county,  Vt.,  and  they  resided  on  a  farm  in 
Holmes  township.  Their  sons,  Samuel  and 
William  ran  the  principal  saw  mill  in  the  town- 
ship for  many  years. 

John  Eaton,  born  in  Washington  county. 
Pa.,  1778,  removed  to  Columbiana  county, 
Ohio,  in  1808  and  to  Crawford  in  1830  or 
1 83 1.  He  had  been  a  soldier  in  the  War  of 
1812.  He  died  July  23,  1850,  aged  72  years. 
Soon  after  Eaton  came  to  the  township,  he 
was  joined  by  Edmund  Ferrall,  who  had  mar- 
ried his  daughter  Mary  in  1827. 

About  1834  the  first  saw  mill  was  built  on 
the  Brandywine  by  Frederick  Williams.  He 
ran  it  about  ten  years  and  then  disposed  of  it 
to  other  parties.  When  gold  was  discovered  in 
California,  in  1849  Williams  joined  a  party 
and  crossed  the  country  to  the  gold  fields. 
About  the  time  Williams  built  his  mill  in  1834 
Jesse  Quaintance  built  a  mill  on  the  Broken- 
sword; it  was  of  hewn  logs,  two  stories,  and 
25  by  28  feet  in  size.  It  was  originally  a  grist 
mill,  but-  after  a  few  years  a  frame  addition 
was  added  and  a  saw  mill  started,  and  for 
twenty  years  both  departments  of  the  mill  did 
a  large  business.  Both  these  mills  were  run 
by  water  power,  little  dams  being  erected 
across  the  streams.  After  Williams  sold  out 
his  mill,  the  little  dam  was  washed  away,  and 
was  never  rebuilt,  so  the  mill  was  abandoned. 

The  third  saw-mill  was  built  in  1845  by 
Rodney  Poole,  at  the  falls  on  Brokensword 
creek.  This  was  the  best  site  in  Holmes  town- 
ship for  either  a  grist  or  saw-mill,  as  at  this 
point  there  is  a  fall  of  about  a  foot  and  a  half 
in  the  bed  of  the  stream,  which,  together  with 
a  good  dam  and  race,  furnished  abundant 
water  power.  The  mill  was  a  frame  building, 
having  a  long  shed  at  right  angles  to  the  main 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


251 


building,  in  which  the  sawed  lumber  was 
stored.  The  charge  made  for  sawing,  when 
not  done  on  shares,  was  at  the  rate  of  50  cents 
per  hundred  feet.  The  mill  dams  of  those 
days  were  far  from  being  as  substantially 
built  as  they  are  at  the  present  day,  when  stone 
can  be  had  at  a  small  cost.  A  pile  of  dirt, 
stones,  brush,  logs  or  anything  that  came 
handy,  was  heaped  together  in  a  line  extending 
across  the  stream,  and  the  whole  held  in  place 
by  logs  driven  into  the  bed  of  the  stream  in  a 
slanting  position.  These  loosely  constructed 
dams  often  gave  way,  resulting  in  a  total  .sus- 
pension of  milling  operations  for  some  time 
until  they  could  be  repaired  or  rebuilt.  The 
muskrats  often  caused  such  breaks  by 
burrowing  into  the  dams.  During  heavy 
rains,  when  the  dams  held,  they  often  caused 
the  surrounding  country  to  become  flooded  to  a 
considerable  depth. 

A  steam  saw-mill  was  built  in  1853  on  Grass 
Run  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township,  by 
Joseph  Lones,  and  was  furnished  with  a  muley 
saw.  After  being  operated  by  Mr.  Lones  for 
three  years,  it  was  sold  to  other  parties.  Two 
years  after  Lones  built  his  mill,  Fralick  and 
Flickinger  erected  a  large  steam  saw-mill  on 
Brokensword  creek,  which  continued  in  opera- 
tion until  after  the  war.  It  was  a  large  frame 
building  and  had  a  muley  saw.  Other  mills 
were  subsequently  built  in  various  parts  of  the 
township  and  while  the  timber  lasted  a  lively 
business  was  done  in  this  line  of  industry. 
With  the  gradual  disappearance  of  the  timber 
nearly  all  of  these  mills  went  out  of  existence. 

Although  previous  to  the  Civil  war  a  strong 
sentiment  existed  in  Crawford  county  against 
assisting  negroe  slaves  to  escape  to  Canada, 
many  were  thus  aided  by  that  mysterious,  but 
efifective  organization,  or  system,  known  as 
"The  Underground  Railroad."  A  family 
named  Jackson,  living  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  township,  kept  one  of  the  stations  on  this 
"road,"  and  Isaac  Jackson  and  his  son, 
Stephen,  were  seen  on  more  than  one  occasion 
driving  rapidly  northward  by  night  with  a 
sled  or  wagon  load  of  these  black  fugitives, 
conveying  them  into  Seneca  county,  where 
doubtless  there  was  another  station  from  which 
they  were  assisted  farther  north.  In  this  man- 
ner— as  the  plan  was  operated  all  over  the  state 
of  Ohio  and  to  some  extent  in  other  states — 


thousands  of  slaves  were  helped  to  freedom. 
In  engaging  in  this  work  the  Jacksons,  of 
course,  sacrificed  some  of  their  popularity,  but 
doubtless  had  their  reward  in  the  approval  of 
their  own  consciences. 

The  first  school  was  opened  in  Holmes  town- 
ship in  the  northern  part  during  the  winter 
of  1829-30,  although  the  southern  part  had 
been  earlier  settled  by  almost  a  decade.  The 
school  was  started  in  the  cabin  of  David 
Moore,  an  old  bachelor  who  had  come  to 
Holmes  a  year  or  two  previous  and  who  had 
left  his  cabin  vacant  to  go  on  a  visit  to  his  old 
home  in  Pennsylvania,  to  bring  his  widowed 
mother  to  his  new  home.  John  Bretz,  a  Penn- 
sylvanian  of  German  antecedents,  was  the  first 
schoolmaster  and  the  school  was  well  attended. 
Although  Mr.  Bretz's  scholarly  attainments 
were  not  above  question,  he  was  excellent  in 
enforcing  discipline — a  very  desirable  quality 
for  a  schoolmaster  in  those  days — for  he  was 
a  man  of  great  strength  and  fine  physique  and, 
it  is  said,  "could  handle  any  other  man  in  the 
neighborhood  with  ease."  He  taught  for  a 
number  of  years  in  the  German  settlement  and 
its  vicinity  and  always  had  good  orderly 
schools.  The  first  regular  schoolhouse  in  the 
township,  was  built  on  section  3,  during  the 
summer  of  1833.  It  was  first  taught  by  Ed- 
ward Porter,  who  during  the  previous  winter 
had  taught  school  in  a  log  cabin  in  Lykins 
township.  About  nine  years  later  it  was  super- 
ceded by  a  larger  and  better  schoolhouse 
erected  a  short  distance  to  the  southward. 
This  latter  building  was  a  frame  made  almost 
entirely  of  lumber  sawed  at  the  mills  on 
Brokensword  creek.  One  of  the  early  teach- 
ers in  the  northern  part  of  Holmes  was  Miss 
Margaret  Cannon,  who  gave  general  satisfac- 
tion both  as  to  maintaining  discipline  and  im- 
parting instruction.  The  first  school  building 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  township  was 
erected  in  1835  on  or  near  the  farm  of  Mr. 
Black,  and  was  constructed  of  hewed  logs. 
Some  years  later  a  frame  building  was  put  up 
on  the  Lones  farm  and  school  was  kept  in  it 
for  nearly  20  years,  after  which  it  was  re- 
moved to  make  way  for  a  more  modern  struc- 
ture. About  1836  the  township  was  divided 
into  school  districts  and  a  schoolhouse  built 
in  each  district,  according  to  the  present  plan. 
The  gospel   was  first  preached   in   Holmes 


252 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


township  by  itinerant  ministers  from  the  neigh- 
boring villages,  who  made  occasional  visits, 
and  were  ordinarily  designated  as  "circuit 
riders."  For  some  time  previous  to  1834, 
meetings  were  held  regularly  in  the  cabins  of 
Michael  Shupp,  Daniel  Scale  and  others.  In 
that  year  an  Evangelical  church  was  built  in 
the  extreme  southern  part  of  Lykens  township, 
which  was  attended  by  a  number  of  citizens 
from  Holmes.  A  little  later  the  Lutherans  and 
members  of  the  German  Reformed  church 
united  in  erecting  a  log  church  in  the  northern 
part  of  Holmes.  A  lack  of  harmony  prevailed, 
however,  in  this  combined  society;  which  re- 
sulted in  litigation.  In  1852  the  Protestant 
Methodists  built  a  log  meeting-house  about  a 
mile  west  of  Portersville,  which  became  known 
as  the  Concord  Meeting-house.  The  pastor  of 
this  church  during  or  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Civil  war  period  was  the  Rev.  William  Brown, 
a  strong  abolitionist,  who  persisted  against  the 
wishes  of  a  large  part  of  his  congregation,  in 
preaching  anti-slavery  sermons.  This  led  to 
such  bitterness  of  feeling  that  finally,  one 
night,  a  party  of  men  assembled  and  leveled 
the  church  to  the  ground.  We  read  also  that 
upon  another  occasion  a  minister,  of  similar 
views  and  similarly  outspoken,  who  was  con- 
ducting a  revival  meeting  near  Portersville,  was 
pelted  with  eggs,  which  had  been  bought  for 
the  purpose  at  the  store  of  Daniel  Fralick. 
Another  outrage  took  place  soon  after  when 
a  church  on  the  line  between  Holmes  and  Lib- 
erty townships,  was  burned  down  for  the  same 
cause. 

In  the  southern  part  of  the  township  the 
Quakers  erected  a  church  in  1840,  which  is 
still  standing.  It  was  built  originally  of  logs 
and  afterward  weather-boarded  with  poplar 
lumber.  It  has  not  been  used  as  a  church  for 
many  years. 

In  connection  with  the  different  churches 
or  otherwise,  a  number  of  Sunday  schools  have 
been  established  in  Holmes  township  from  time 
to  time.  Mission  Chapel  was  established  in 
1848,  the  first  summer  had  an  attendance  of 
sixty  scholars  and  was  conducted  for  sixteen 
years.  James  Moore  was  the  first  superin- 
tendent, he  being  followed  by  Samuel  Shaff- 
ner,  John  Lichtenwalter  and  others. 

Pietsel  Sunday-school,  organized  in  May, 
1850,  had  the  first  summer  an  attendance  of 


fifty.  Among  the  early  superintendents  were 
William  Pietsel,  G.  Hall,  William  Taylor,  and 
Newton  Taylor. 

The  Grass  Run  Sunday  school  was  organ- 
ized May,  1852,  with  fifty-five  scholars.  Its 
early  superintendents  were  Abraham  Kniseley, 
D.  J.  Heller,  John  Kerstetter  and  Almon 
Ames. 

Other  later  Sunday  schools  were : 
The  Friend's  Sunday  school  was  organized 
in  May,  i860,  with  fifty  scholars.  Lavina 
Benedict  was  superintendent,  followed  by 
James  Jackson  and  others.  The  Spahr  Sun- 
day school  was  organized  in  May,  1870,  115 
enrolled,  with  William  Mateer,  superintendent. 
Wingert's    Corners    Sunday   school    in   May, 

1869,  with  an  enrollment  of  70,  Daniel  Fra- 
lick, superintendent.  The  Lutheran  Sunday 
school,  in  May,  1870,  with  an  enrollment  of 
118;  G.  W.  Parks,  superintendent.  Mission 
Chapel  was  reorganized  as  Holmes  Chapel  in 
May,  1870,  with  71  scholars,  and  James  Moore 
superintendent.     No.  3  Sunday  school  in  May, 

1870,  with  an  enrollment  of  60;  Henry  Dieffen- 
bacher,  superintendent.  From  60  pupils  in 
i860,  with  12  teachers,  the  Sunday  schools  of 
the  township  now  have  an  enrollment  of  over 
500,  with  50  officers  and  teachers. 

All  along  the  Brokensword  is  an  abundance 
of  stone,  which  the  early  pioneers  found  so 
useful  that  stone  quarries  were  started,  but 
the  business  developed  to  such  an  extent  that 
capital  was  invested  and  the  Brokensword 
Stone  Company  took  over  the  business,  and 
employed  a  large  force  of  men,  the  quarries  be- 
ing fitted  with  all  the  latest  machinery,  the 
T.  &,  O.  C.  road  having  a  spur  which  furnishes 
shipping  facilities.  The  development  of  the 
quarries  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  post 
office  and  a  station  on  the  railroad,  called 
Spore,  after  Sidney  L.  Spore,  one  of  the  promi- 
nent men  in  that  section.  The  first  postmaster 
was  F.  D.  Osborn,  appointed  May  22,  1888. 
Owing  to  the  difficulty  of  securing  a  man  to 
take  the  office  it  was  discontinued  Dec.  24, 
1889,  but  was  re-established  April  9,  1892, 
with  Rufus  D.  Spore  as  postmaster.  He  was 
succeeded  July  17,  1897,  by  D.  R.  Diefen- 
bacher,  and  he  by  G.  F.  Cox,  on  July  31,  1900. 
No  town  was  started,  and  when  rural  routes 
were  established,  the  postoffice  was  discontin- 
ued on  July  30,  1904. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

JACKSON  TOWNSHIP  AND   CRESTLINE 

Jackson  Tow-nship — Its  Size  and  Location — Its  Origin — Topographical  Features — Produc- 
tions— First  Settlers — An  Early  Tragedy — The  First  Road — Early  Schools  and  Teach- 
ers— Trading  Points  in  Early  Days — Taverns — Livingston  Laid  Out. 

Crestline — Growth  of  the  Town — Railroad  Interests — First  Passenger  Train  Through 
Crestline — An  Early  Description  of  the  Town — First  Merchants  and  Prominent  Citizens 
— Destructive  Fires — An  Exciting  Bear  Story — Epidemic  of  Cholera — Manufacturing 
Interests — City  Departments — Schools — Churches — Justices — Incorporation  of  Crestline 
and  List  of  Mayors — JVater  Supply — Telephone  Service — Banks — Societies — Post  Office 
and  Postmasters. 


Who  are  they  but  the  men  of  toil, 

Who  cleave  the  forest  down, 
And  plant,  amid  the  wilderness, 

The  hamlet  and  the  town. 

— Stewart. 

This  township,  bearing  the  name  of  one  of 
America's  •  most-  famous  heroes  and  Presi- 
dents, is  the  smallest  in  Crawford  county,  and 
probably  one  of  the  smallest  in  the  state  of 
Ohio.  It  is  a  fractional  township,  being  now 
ten  sections,  or  about  a  fourth  of  a  Congres- 
sional township.  It  lies  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  county,  somewhat  south  of  a  central 
line,  and  -is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Vernon 
township,  on  the  east  by  Richland  county,  on 
the  south  by  Polk  township  and  on  the  west  by 
Jefferson  township.  According  to  document- 
ary evidence,  up  to  1845  it  formed  a  part  of 
Richland  county,  and  from  that  date  to  1873  it 
included  the  territory  how  known  as  Jefferson 
township.  The  twelve  western  sections  of  what 
is  now  Jefferson  formed  a  part  of  Sandusky 
township.  In  1835,  three  miles  wide  and  six 
deep,  was  taken  from  the  southern  section  of 
Sandusky  township  and  named  Jackson  in 
honor  of  the  hero  of  New  Orleans.  In  1845 
a  four-mile  strip  was  added  to  Crawford  from 
Richland  county,  and  Jackson  township  was 
created  seven  miles  wide  and  four  deep,  while 
south  of  it  was  Polk,  seven  wide  and  three 


deep.  The  setting  off  of  Jefferson  was  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  people  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  territory,  after  1850,  on  account  of  the 
city  of  Crestline,  appropriated  to  themselves 
most  of  the  lucrative  offices,  as  well  as  those 
conferring  chiefly  honor  on  the  incumbents, 
the  western  end  of  the  township  being  assigned 
only  the  leavings  or  crumbs  of  office.  Ac- 
cordingly proceedings  were  taken  by  the  latter 
to  change  this  state  of  things,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  following  record  of  official  action; 

March  11,  1873. 
To  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Crawford  County 
in  the  State  of  Ohio : 

The  undersigned  householders,  residing  within  the 
bounds  of  Jackson  township  in  said  county,  respectfully 
represent  that  it  is  necessary  and  expedient  that  a  new 
township  be  laid  off  and  designated,  embracing  the  fol- 
lowing portions  of  the  territory  of  said  township  of 
Jackson,  to  wit : 

Sections — i,  2,  3,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14,  15,  22,  23,  24  in 
township  16  of  range  21.  Also  sections — S,  6,  7,  8,  17, 
18,  19  and  20  in  township  16  of  range  20- 

The  undersigned  therefore  pray  your  honorable  body 
to  lay  off  and  designate  such  new  township. 
Signed — D.   O.   Castle, 

Benjamin    Heckaet, 
William  McKean 
and  414  others. 

The  commissioners  considered  the  matter  on 
Monday,  March  10,  1873  and  ordered  the 
township  divided ;  the  new  township,  five  miles 
from  east  to  west  and   four  miles  deep,   to 


253 


254 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


be  known  as  Jefferson;  the  remaining  ter- 
ritory, two  miles  east  and  west  and  four  miles 
deep  to  continue  as  Jackson.  In  1900  by  peti- 
tion of  nearly  all  the  tax  payers  of  sections  27 
and  34  in  Vernon  township  these  two  sections 
were  added  to  Jackson. 

There  is  very  little  in  the  way  of  Indian  tra- 
dition connected  with  the  history  of  Jackson 
township,  though  this  is  not  the  case  with  Jef- 
ferson, as  that  territory  can  boast  of  numerous 
Indian  legends,  but  through  both  the  ill-fated 
Crawford  marched  to  his  terrible  doom. 
There  were  also  several  Indian  trails  through 
the  present  Jackson  township. 

In  its  topography  Jackson  township  resem- 
bles closely  the  surrounding  country.  In  for- 
mer days  it  was  heavily  timbered,  though  in 
some  places  flat  and  swampy.  The  soil  is  nat- 
urally rich  and  in  the  last  forty  or  fifty  years, 
artificial  or  tile  draining  has  largely  reclaimed 
the  swamps  and  rendered  the  soil  suitable  for 
cultivation,  which  has  been  brought  to  a  high 
point  of  perfection.  Its  principal  productions 
are  corn,  wheat  and  oats.  The  timber  origin- 
ally consisted  of  several  kinds  of  oak,  hickory, 
poplar,  sugar  maple,  beech,  elm,  ash  and  some 
walnut,  together  with  A-arious  shrubs  of  the 
more  common  varieties.  The  only  streams  are 
a  tributary  of  the  Sandusky,  passing  through 
the  northern  part,  Whetstone  creek,  and  one  or 
two  little  brooks,  all  of  which  are  small 
streams,  most  of  them  not  even  being  indicated 
on  the  map. 

Jackson  township  may  be  said  to  play  second 
fiddle  to  Jefferson,  in  the  sense  that  in  the  lat- 
ter territory  the  first  settlements  were  made 
and  most  of  those  events  took  place  which  con- 
stitute the  early  history  of  a  township.  The 
first  settler  in  what  is  now  Jackson  is  supposed 
to  have  been  Joseph  Russell,  who  arrived,  it  is 
thought  as  early  as  1820.  He  came  from  the 
vicinity  of  Coshocton,  this  state,  and  settled 
about  a  mile  south  of  Crestline.  He  subse- 
quently removed  to  Hancock  county.  Russell 
was  soon  followed  by  John  Doyle,  who  settled 
near  him,  coming  from  the  vicinity  of  Steu- 
benville  in  Jefferson  county.  After  remaining 
here  several  years  he  sold  out  and  went  to  In- 
diana. About  the  time  of  the  advent  of  Doyle, 
the  population  was  still  further  increased  by 
the  arrival  of  two  families  which  settled  in 
the  same  neighborhood,  whose  names  are  now 


forgotten.  Mr.  Snyder,  who  some  years  ago 
was  a  resident  of  Crestline,  and  whose  father 
settled  in  what  is  now  Jefferson  township,  in 
1816-17,  tells  a  story  of  one  of  these  families 
which  reveals  one  of  those  pitiable  tragedies 
not  uncommon  in  pioneer  history.  It  seems 
the  pioneer  having  cleared  a  piece  of  ground, 
his  neighbors  came  together  and  rolled  his  logs 
for  him  into  heaps  some  distance  from  the 
cabin.  He  then  fired  them,  together  with  the 
brush,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  going  out  to 
attend  to  the  fire  at  night,  his  wife  some- 
times coming  out  to  assist  him.  But  one  night 
she  was  too  busy  with  household  duties  to 
come,  and  on  that  night  the  tragedy  happened. 
As  he  failed  to  come  home,  in  the  morning 
she  went  out  to  look  for  him  and  found  him 
burned  to  death  at  a  log  heap.  It  seems  that  in 
mending  the  fire,  a  heavy  log  had  fallen  on  his 
feet,  knocking  him  to  the  ground  and  holding 
him  so  fast  that  he  was  unable  to  extricate 
himself.  In  that  helpless  position  he  died  by 
slow  torture,  doubtless  shrieking  for  help  so 
long  as  his  voice  lasted,  and  vainly  hoping  that 
his  wife  or  some  one  might  hear  his  cries.  Of 
the  wife  we  have  no  further  record.  Her 
feelings  may  be  imagined. 

Benjamin  John  and  Benjamin  Rush  are 
spoken  of  as  settlers  who  were  in  the  town- 
ship prior  to  1820.  Samuel  Rutan  settled  in 
the  township  in  1821,  David  Bryant  in  1823, 
Elisha  Allen  and  John  Fate  in  1824,  William 
Minnerly  in  1827,  David  Ogden  and  Edwin 
Manley  in  1828,  David  Seltzer  and  Michael 
Magill  in  1829,  Edward  Cooper,  Isaac  Dille 
and  William  Snodgrass  in  1833,  David  Dewalt 
in  1835.  Others  were  James  Lowne,  John 
Philip  Bauer,  John  and  Philip  Eichorn  and 
Harvey  Aschbaugh. 

The  first  settlers  had  to  get  their  corn 
ground  at  Belleville,  or  the  Heron  Mill  south 
of  Mansfield,  which  were  the  nearest  points. 
At  a  later  date  Christian  Snyder  put  up  his 
horse  mill  at  Leesville,  and  Hibner  and  Hos- 
ford  had  their  mills  on  the  Whetstone  near 
Gallon,  which  were  a  great  convenience  to 
the  people  of  Jackson  township.  There  were 
no  grist-mills  ever  in  Jackson  township  until 
after  1850  when  Crestline  became  a  village. 
It  was  the  Snyder  family  who  cut  the  first 
road  through  Jackson  township,  when  they 
originally  came  to  Crawford  county  in  1817, 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


255 


and  were  endeavoring  to  find  a  short  cut  from 
Mansfield  to  their  land  near  Leesville.  The 
markings  of  this  road  can  still  be  seen  south 
of  Crestline  in  the  Russell  neighborhood. 

The  first  schools  were  taught  in  the  vicinity 
of  Leesville  and  Middletown,  in  what  is  now 
Jefferson  township.  Edwin  Manley,  a  gentle- 
man of  Scotch-Irish  antecedents,  was  the  first 
teacher  within  the  present  limits  of  Jackson, 
but  having  got  into  some  trouble  was  soon 
obliged  to  leave.  Another  early  school  was 
taught  by  an  old  Irishman,  Michael  Magill, 
who  before  or  afterwards  taught  school  in  va- 
rious places  in  the  county.  He  was  in  the  habit 
of  indulging  in  weekly  sprees,  lasting  from 
Friday  night  to  Monday  morning  and  often 
opened  school  on  Monday  in  a  somewhat  fud- 
dled condition,  at  which  times  he  was  fre- 
quently made  a  butt  of  by  the  scholars,  who 
indulged  in  many  practical  jokes  at  his  ex- 
pense. The  first  schoolhouse  in  Jackson  was 
built  south  of  town,  in  the  creek  bottom,  on 
land  later  owned  by  Jacob  ShefHer. 

The  accumulation  of  wealth,  or  even  of  a 
reasonable  competence,  by  the  early  settlers 
was  a  practical  impossibility,  owing  to  the  dis- 
tance of  the  markets  at  which  their  surplus 
products  could  be  sold,  the  difficulty  of  reach- 
ing them,  and  the  small  price  offered  for  the 
produce  when,  after  great  toil  and  rough  trav- 
eling over  the  worst  roads,  it  had  been  trans- 
ported thither.  The  nearest  trading  points 
were  Sandusky  City,  Zanesville,  Mansfield  and 
Mt.  Vernon,  the  two  former  being  the  most 
important.  For  a  load  of  wheat  thus  labor- 
iously carried  to  market,  the  farmer  was  fre- 
quently offered  as  low  as  I2>^  cents  a  bushel, 
while  15  cents  was  considered  a  fair  price,  and 
even  then  he  had  to  take  his  pay  in  merchan- 
dise. Under  such  conditions  it  is  no  wonder 
that  they  often  found  it  difficult  to  get  enough 
money  to  pay  their  taxes  and  postage,  letters 
costing  25  cents  in  coin  at  the  office  of  de- 
livery. If  some  of  these  early  pioneers  could 
but  see  the  changes  which  have  occurred, 
what  would  be  their  thoughts?  However,  al- 
though their  descendants  have  done  wonder- 
ful things  in  improving  the  conditions  of  life, 
it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  a  heavy  debt 
of  gratitude  is  due  to  the  early  settlers  for 
it  was  they  who  laid  the  foundation  upon 
which  their  children  builded  so  successfully; 


it  was  they  who  endured  the  toil  and  danger, 
with  little  in  the  way  of  recompense  save  the 
knowledge  that  their  children  and  their  chil- 
dren's children,  thanks  to  their  labors,  would 
be  better  off  than  themselves,  though  in  their 
most  sanguine  moments  they  never  dreamed 
to  what  an  extent  this  would  come  true. 
Even  as  late  as  1840  the  site  of  Crestline  was 
covered  with  big  woods,  which  were  filled 
with  deer,  wolves,  wild  turkeys  and  other 
species  of  game.  The  first  cabin  or  house  in 
the  locality  was  erected  just  west  of  the  stone 
arch  bridge  on  the  Pittsburg,  Ft.  Wayne  & 
Chicago  Railroad,  and  was  there  as  early  as 
1833,  but  by  whom  it  was  built  is  not  known. 
Aschbaugh's  cabin  was  built  some  years  later, 
where  Crestline  now  stands.  Aschbaugh  was 
followed  by  a  negro  family,  who  built  a  cabin 
at  what  is  now  the  west  end  of  Main  street. 
About  the  same  time  Samuel  Rutan  built  an- 
other cabin  on  an  adjoining  eighty  acre  lot, 
at  what  is  now  the  east  end  of  Main  street, 
having  purchased  the  land  from  the  Govern- 
ment. To  the  east  of  Rutan  was  Benjamin 
Ogden's  place.  The  earliest  tavern  was  kept 
by  David  Seltzer.  It  was  a  double  log  house 
situated  at  some  distance  to  the  east  of  Og- 
den's home,  on  the  Leesville  &  Mansfield  road, 
and  here  humble  fare  was  provided  for  the 
weary  traveler,  consisting  usually  of  "corn- 
pone"  and  venison,  but  as  time  passed,  Selt- 
zer's tavern  became  the  best  known  place  west 
of  Mansfield;  it  was  headquarters  of  the 
stages  from  Wooster  to  Bucyrus,  and  after 
the  Cleveland,  Columbus  and  Cincinnati  road 
was  built,  and  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  took  out 
its  charter,  that  charter  read  that  the  road  was 
to  commence  on  the  C.  C.  &  C.  at  a  point  near 
Seltzer's  tavern,  probably  the  only  tavern  in 
the  United  States  which  was  distinguished  by 
being  made  the  terminal  point  for  a  great  rail- 
road. The  junction  point  of  the  two  roads 
was  made  later  half  a  mile  south  of  the  Selt- 
zer tavern,  and  soon  after  this  his  tavern  was 
discontinued  and  he  moved  to  Crestline,  one 
of  the  principal  streets  in  that  city  being  named 
after  him. 

The  smallness  of  Jackson  township  in  ter- 
ritory, and  the  importance  and  growth  of 
Crestline  have  today  made  the  history  of  Jack- 
son and  Crestline  synonomous.  The  history 
of  the  one  is  the  history  of  the  other. 


256 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


The  Sandusky  river  has  its  source  about 
two  miles  north  of  Ontario,  Richland  county, 
and  in  its  northwest  course  to  Lake  Erie 
passes  through  a  country  which  was  so  thickly 
timbered  and  abundant  in  game  that  the 
pioneers  were  at  first  reluctant  to  undertake 
the  hard,  difficult  task  of  clearing  the  land 
and  despoiling  such  prolific  hunting  grounds. 
But,  in  the  westward  march  of  civilization, 
even  this  thickly-wooded  tract  on  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Sandusky  had  to  be  supplanted 
in  part  by  an  enterprising  town  through  which 
trunk  lines  of  railroads  pass,  whose  trains 
carry  much  of  the  interstate  traffic  of  the 
north. 

The  Cleveland,  Columbus  and  Cincinnati 
Railroad,  now  known  as  the  Big  Four — was 
chartered  in  1833,  but  its  construction  was 
delayed  for  a  number  of  years.  Even  after 
the  work  was  begun,  it  progressed  so  slowly 
that  the  road  was  not  opened  for  traffic  until 
1 85 1.  There  was  no  town  at  that  time  be- 
tween Shelby  and  Gallon,  a  distance  of  13 
miles.  For  the  convenience  of  the  people  it 
was  thought  there  should  be  a  station  between 
these  towns,  and  the  crossing  of  the  Leesville 
road  was  selected  as  the  proper  place  for  its 
location.  The  station  was  established  and 
called  Vernon.  Its  location  was  where  Main 
street  crosses  the  Big  Four,  which  is  nearly 
a  half  mile  north  of  the  present  station  or 
junction  of  the  Big  Four  and  Pennsylvania 
lines.  Soon  after  the  erection  of  the  station 
a  town  was  founded  there  called  Livingston, 
after  its  founder — Rensselaer  Livingston. 

In  the  summer  of  1850  the  Cleveland,  Col- 
umbus and  Cincinnati  road  was  being  built 
and  was  completed  as  far  north  as  where 
Main  street  now  crosses  it  in  the  town  of 
Crestline  and  it  was  at  this  point  the  station 
was  established  and  called  Vernon  Station, 
after  Vernon  township.  Van  Rensselaer 
Livingston,  who  was  an  early  settler  in  that 
section,  bought  the  land  around  the  station 
and  had  Joseph  Meer,  the  surveyor  of  Craw- 
ford county,  lay  out  a  town.  Just  east  of 
where  the  station  was,  was  Seltzer's  tavern, 
a  leading  place  for  travelers  on  the  road  from 
Mansfield  to  Bucyrus,  near  where  the  Ohio 
and  Indiana  was  to  commence  by  legislative 
enactment,  and  go  west  through  Bucyrus  and 
Upper  Sandusky  to  the  Indiana  line.    Living- 


ston therefore  believed  he  had  laid  out  a  town 
at  the  junction  of  what  is  now  the  C.  C.  &  C. 
and  the  Pennsylvania  road.  The  plat  was 
filed  in  the  Recorder's  office  at  Bucyrus,  on 
Feb.  17,  1 85 1,  and  the  new  town  was  called 
Livingston.  The  location  given  was  "the 
west  half  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
No.  ID,  Jackson  township."  There  were  three 
east  and  west  streets,  the  centre  one  to  be  the 
principal  thoroughfare  of  the  town  and  was 
called  Main  street.  The  one  north  of  it  was 
North  street,  and  the  one  south,  South  street. 
The  street  through  which  the  railroad  passed 
was  called  Railroad  street.  It  being  a  station 
on  the  railroad,  several  houses  were  immedi- 
ately erected,  and  Thomas  C.  Hall  opened  a 
general  store  in  1850.  The  government  es- 
tablished a  post  office  in  the  new  town,  and 
Livingston  was  appointed  postmaster.  The 
office  was  in  Hall's  store,  and  was  run 
by  him,  he  being  the  deputy,  and  later  the 
postmaster.  The  place  was  prospering  and 
bid  fair  to  become  a  thriving  village,  but  when 
the  Ohio  and  Indiana  road  was  finally  located 
in  1852,  the  crossing  of  the  C.  C.  &  C.  was 
half  a  mile  south  of  Livingston.  Jesse  R. 
Straughan,  who  was  the  civil  engineer  of  the 
Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  road,  and  his  brother, 
C.  J.  Straughan,  bought  the  farm  of  Harvey 
Aschcroft  at  the  junction  of  the  two  roads, 
and  laid  out  a  town  which  they  named  Crest 
Line.  They  filed  the  plat  of  their  new  town 
in  the  Recorder's  office  on  Dec.  21,  1852,  and 
described  the  location  as  being  on  the  "north 
half  of  section  15,  Jackson  township."  There 
were  three  north  and  south  streets,  named 
Hall,  Columbus  and  Thoman.  Four  east 
and  west  streets,  named  Bucyrus,  Mansfield, 
Brown  and  Livingston.  The  one  along  the 
C.  C.  &  C.  road  they  named  Seltzer,  and  the 
one  along  the  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  road 
was  Warehouse  street.  Both  towns  thrived 
from  the  beginning,  but  Crestline  had  the 
advantage  of  the  junction  with  a  union  depot, 
and  besides  that,  large  railroad  shops  were 
established  at  the  junction,  and  Crestline 
soon  distanced  Livingston  in  population  and 
business.  The  post  office  was  removed  to  the 
new  town,  and  the  name  became  one  word 
instead  of  two.  As  time  went  on  the  two 
towns  grew  together  and  today  there  is  no 
dividing  line  between  the  two,  Livingston  as 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


257 


a  town  having  passed  out  of  existence  and 
is  today  the  northern  part  of  Cresthne. 

Prior  to  the  laying  out  of  Crestline,  Liv- 
ingston enjoyed  quite  a  boom.  T.  C.  Hall 
opened  a  store  there  in  1850  and  Newman  and 
Thoman  had  a  store  there  about  the  same 
time.  John  Adam  Thoman  had  purchased  the 
80  acres  just  west  of  Livingston's  eighty  acre 
tract,  paying  $600  for  the  property,  and  part 
of  this  he  laid  out  in  town  lots  and  commenced 
the  erecting  of  houses.  Michael  Heffelfinger 
built  a  hotel  at  Livingston  which  he  called  the 
Ohio  House.  A  number  of  residences  were 
erected  and  little  shops  started.  The  Ohio 
and  Pennsylvania  was  nearing  Crestline  from 
the  east,  and  a  syndicate,  consisting  of  Jesse 
R.  Straughan,  chief  engineer  of  the  Ohio  and 
Indiana  road,  Thomas  W.  Bartley  of  Mans- 
field, and  John  and  Joseph  Lardwill  of  Woos- 
ter,  bought  the  80-acre  tract  south  of  the  Liv- 
ingston and  Thoman  tract,  Joseph  Larwill 
had  been  the  financial  promoter  of  the  Ohio 
and  Pennsylvania.  Soon  after  this  purchase 
it  was  found  that  the  junction  point  of  the 
roads  would  be  on  the  tract  owned  by  the  syn- 
dicate, and  the  town  of  Crestline  was  laid 
out.  Its  growth  was  rapid.  The  plat  was 
only  filed  Dec.  21,  1852.  The  first  train  of 
cars  from  the  east  arrived  at  Crestline  on 
April  II,  1853,  and  J.  A.  Crever  of  the  Bu- 
cyrus  Journal  went  over  with  Willis  Merri- 
man,  president  of  the  Ohio  and  Indiana,  and 
others  to  welcome  the  first  train.  Writing  of 
the  town  Crever  says : 

"Visited  Crestline  April  nth;  found  many 
large  and  small  houses  where  a  few  months 
ago  it  was  all  woods  and  cultivated  fields. 
Crestline  has  two  stores,  five  groceries,  one 
tavern,  two  steam  saw-mills,  several  boot  and 
shoe  shops,  and  numerous  other  mechanics' 
shops.  The  lots  are  being  sold  very  fast  and 
building  timber  is  seen  strewn  on  every  hand. 
Mr.  Straughan  has  a  large  eating-house  nearly 
finished  at  the  junction  of  the  Ohio  &  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  Ohio  &  Indiana  roads.  When 
completed  it  will  be  a  fine  structure.  The 
whole  appearance  of  the  place  is  business-like 
and  the  inhabitants  are  looking  forward  to 
the  time  when  they  will  have  a  city  in  full 
blast.  The  first  train  of  passenger  cars  on 
the  Ohio  &  Pennsylvania  entered  Crestline 
Monday  evening  at  7.30,  with  a  large  number 


of  passengers.  The  people  of  that  village 
greeted  them  with  numerous  hearty  cheers 
and  much  rejoicing." 

Two  months  later  the  editor  made  a  second 
visit  to  the  town  which  had  leaped  into  ex- 
istence practically  in  a  day,  and  on  June  23, 
1853,  he  wrote  of  it: 

"Crestline  and  Livingston  are  located  at 
the  place  where  the  Ohio  &  Indiana  and  the 
Ohio  &  Pennsylvania  roads  unite  with  the 
C.  C.  &  C.  road.  The  two  places  constitute 
one  town,  so  recognized.  Here  can  be  seen 
that  great  feature  of  American  enterprise,  a 
city  in  the  wilderness.  Houses  are  erecting 
on  all  sides,  and  hundreds  of  laborers  and 
mechanics  are  biisily  engaged  in  pushing  the 
present  improvements  to  completion.  It  will 
surprise  many  to  learn  what's  doing  in  this 
clearing — for  clearing  it  is,  as,  except  what 
have  been  grubbed  out,  the  stumps  are  still 
standing  on  all  sides.  The  ticket  office  and 
building  for  the  accommodation  of  the  trav- 
elers is  just  finished.  The  building  partakes 
somewhat  of  an  oriental  style  of  architecture, 
is  30  feet  wide  and  80  feet  long.  It  contains 
a  ticket  office,  a  baggage-room,  and  a  large 
salon  for  the  accommodation  of  passengers 
waiting  for  the  cars.  The  salon  is  abundantly 
supplied  with  lounges  or  settees,  tables  and 
chairs.  It  also  contains  a  fine  clock  and  a 
large  water  cooler. 

"Another  building  for  a  similar  purpose  is 
constructing  30  feet  wide  and  100  feet  long, 
and,  including  the  basement,  is  three  stories 
high.  The  basement  is  used  as  a  kitchen.  The 
second  floor  is  occupied  by  the  dining  salon  and 
refreshment  hall;  the  third  floor  is  divided 
into  sleeping  apartments.  This  building  is 
not  quite  finished  but  is  in  full  use.  One  hun- 
dred persons  dine  here  daily  and  sometimes 
the  number  amounts  to  two  hundred.  At  one 
corner  of  this  building  and  with  which  it  will 
be  placed  in  connection,  the  foundation  of  an 
octagonal  building  is  being  laid,  which,  when 
finished,  will  be  four  stories  high.  The  first 
floor  of  the  octagonal  building  is  to  be  used 
as  a  barber  shop,  the  second  floor  as  a  reading- 
room  and  the  third  and  fourth  floors  will  be 
divided  into  sleeping  apartments. 

"The  frame  work  of  a  wood  house  is  com- 
pleted and  ready  for  the  roof.  This  building 
is  65  feet  wide  at  one  end,  20  at  the  other, 


258 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


and  300  feet  long.  In  this  building  will  be 
several  wells  and  reservoirs  to  supply  the  lo- 
comotives with  water.  The  balance  of  the 
building  will  be  used  for  storing  wood. 

"An  engine-house  or  stable  is  completed 
which  is  30  feet  wide  and  1 10  feet  long.  Next 
season  it  is  contemplated  to  build  a  circular 
stable  of  brick,  large  enough  to  stand  fifteen 
locomotives.  The  plan  of  another  building  is 
decided  upon,  and  as  soon  as  the  title  to  the 
ground  can  be  secured,  it  will  be  commenced. 
It  will  be  40  feet  wide  and  260  feet  long.  The 
use  to  which  it  is  to  be  applied  we  did  not 
learn.  We  presume,  however,  it  is  intended 
for  a  warehouse.  Near  these  improvements 
is  a  steam  saw-mill,  owned  by  Miller  and 
Langham.  This  will  be  kept  running  day  and 
night.  In  the  old  division  of  the  settlement, 
of  Livingston,  town  lots  are  selling  at  $300, 
and  in  the  new  division,  or  Crestline,  they 
sell  at  $400. 

"There  is  but  one  thing  to  be  apprehended, 
and  that  is  that  the  settlement  will  outgrow 
itself.  At  the  present  time  money  is  abund- 
ant, but  this  results  from  the  large  number 
of  hands  now  in  the  employ  of  the  Ohio  & 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  company,  who  get 
their  money  regularly  and  are  in  turn  enabled 
to  pay  as  they  go.  The  present  abundance 
will  cease  as  soon  as  the  railroad  improve- 
ments are  finished  and  the  settlement  will  then 
have  to  depend  upon  the  local  and  exchange 
trade,  which,  however,  will  always  be  large 
and  abundant  for  a  good  sized  town;  but  it 
has  its  limits." 

The  doubts  of  the  editor  as  to  Crestline's 
future  were  never  realized.  What  was  forest 
and  farming  land  in  1850  was  a  thriving  vil- 
lage at  the  first  census  in  i860,  and  each  suc- 
cessive decade  the  census  enumerator  has 
given  Crestline  a  flattering  growth  until  today 
it  has  a  population  of  about  five  thousand 
people. 

The  first  lots  were  sold  at  auction,  and  G. 
W.  Emerson  was  the  first  purchaser,  the  lot 
later  coming  into  the  possession  of  Daniel 
Babst.  On  this  lot  was  built  a  hotel,  which 
was  known  as  the  Emerson  House,  and  was 
the  second  hotel  in  the  place.  The  first  hotel 
was  the  Crestline  House,  built  by  Jesse  R. 
Straughan  and  was  run  at  the  start  by  a  man 
named  Brown  of  Mansfield.     It  was  opened 


in  April,  1853,  when  the  Ohio  and  Pennsyl- 
vania was  completed  to  Crestline.  It  soon 
passed  under  the  management  of  Thomas  C. 
Hall,  who  disposed  of  his  store  at  Livingston 
and  came  to  Crestline  and  ran  the  hotel  sev- 
eral years,  making  it  one  of  the  popular  places 
along  the  road.  An  interesting  incident  oc- 
curred in  connection  with  this  first  hotel.  Mr. 
Hall  disposed  of  it  to  Miller  &  Morz.  Later 
it  was  kept  by  A.  Moorhead,  Thomas  White 
and  others  until  in  1877  the  management 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Mrs.  E.  Lepez.  The 
ground  and  building  were  owned  by  the  Lar- 
wills,  descendants  of  one  of  the  original  own- 
ers of  the  town,  and  Mrs.  Lepez  arranged  to 
sell  to  James  Lindsey,  her  rights  consisting 
of  the  lease,  furniture  and  fixtures.  The 
papers  were  all  drawn  up,  and  nothing  re- 
mained to  be  done  but  the  signing  of  the  pa- 
pers, and  Mr.  Lindsey,  Mrs.  Lepez  and  the 
agent  of  the  Larwills  left  the  hotel  for  the 
lawyer's  office  to  complete  the  transaction. 
Just  as  they  were  leaving  a  heavy  train  with 
two  engines  drew  up  in  front  of  the  build- 
ing, and  almost  immediately,  smoke  was  seen 
coming  from  the  roof  of  the  hotel  followed 
by  a  blaze,  a  spark  from  one  of  the  engines 
having  set  the  building  on  fire.'  The  building 
was  of  frame  built  many  years  previously; 
it  was  very  dry,  burned  like  tinder  and  build- 
ing and  contents  were  a  total  loss.  The  loss 
to  Mrs  Lepez  was  $2,000,  partly  covered  by 
insurance.  If  the  freight  had  been  five  min- 
utes late  James  Lindsey  would  have  been  the 
loser. 

Crestline's  first  severe  fire  was  in  Septem- 
ber, 1859,  when  flames  broke  out  in  the  bag- 
gage room  of  the  Pittsburg,  Ft.  Wayne  & 
Chicago  road.  It  was  before  the  town  had 
any  fire  department,  and  the  building  was 
soon  reduced  to  ashes,  with  a  loss  of  about 
$11, GOD,  mostly  falling  on  the  railroad  com- 
pany. 

The  most  severe  fire  was  also  in  September, 
ten  years  later,  when  the  block  from  the  Con- 
tinental Hotel  to  Bucyrus  street  was  prac- 
tically all  destroyed.  It  occurred  about  2 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Sept.  13,  the  fire 
starting  in  the  Franklin  House,  just  north  of 
the  Continental  Hotel.  The  more  severe  losses 
were  the  baggage  room  of  the  C.  C.  &  C. 
road,   the   saloon  of  Charles   Courtright,  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


259 


building  being  owned  by  Daniel  Babst;  the 
Franklin  House  owned  by  Mrs.  Courtright, 
the  clothing  store  of  Davis  &  Newman,  Lind- 
sey  &  Lovejoys'  saloon,  barber  shop  of  G. 
A.  Fisher,  Robert  Ralphan's  saloon,  Fred 
Schaack's  bakery,  Western  Hotel,  old  Wash- 
ington House  owned  by  D.  Babst  and  oc- 
cupied by  the  clothing  store  of  Stahley  & 
Neuman;  H.  A.  Schoeber's  shoe  store,  the 
Hoffman  corner,  occupied  by  O.  L.  Lawson, 
jeweler.  Dr.  William  Pope,  drugs,  and  Adam 
Hoffman,  grocer.  The  total  loss  was  about 
$75,000.  The  Gallon  Fire  Department  was 
hurried  to  the  scene  by  special  train  and  gave 
valuable  assistance.  Another  serious  fire  was 
when  the  Continental  Mills  were  burned 
down  in  1879.  These  mills  were  erected  in 
1857,  and  were  one  of  the  large  industries  of 
Crestline  for  many  years.  They  were  rebuilt 
later. 

From  its  start  Crestline  was  a  great  rail- 
road centre,  shops  were  located  there  employ- 
ing hundreds  of  men,  and  it  was  the  end  of 
a  division  on  two  roads,  making  the  town  the 
home  of  a  large  number  of  train  crews,  and 
this  with  the  passenger  traffic  over  the  various 
roads  made  the  hotel  business  one  of  the  lead- 
ing industries.  The  leading  hotel  after  it  was 
built  was  the  Continental,  run  by  L.  G.  Rus- 
sell for  many  years,  and  the  most  popular 
hotel  under  his  management  between  Pitts- 
burg and  Chicago,  but  the  introduction  of 
dining-cars,  robbed  it  of  much  of  its  patron- 
age. Mr.  Russell  had  two  hobbies;  one  was 
flowers,  and  he  kept  a  large  nursery,  and  the 
hotel  was  constantly  supplied  with  beautiful 
blossoms.  The  other  was  his  menagerie, 
which  was  just  east  of  the  hotel.  Here  he 
kept  bears,  wolves  and  foxes,  eagles  and  other 
birds,  and  few  of  the  thousands  of  passen- 
gers who  went  through  Crestline  failed  to 
enjoy  the  two  things  for  which  the  Conti- 
nental was  celebrated — an  excellent  meal  and 
the  menagerie. 

The  original  Crawford  county  was  a  home 
for  bears,  and  many  interesting  incidents  are 
handed  down  in  the  way  of  bear  stories,  but 
since  1830-  it  is  probable  there  were  no  wild 
bears  in  the  county,  but  Crestline  had  a  real 
bear  story  as  late  as  1857.  A  man  named 
Caldwell  had  a  bear  which  he  kept  chained 
near  Parker's  saloon,  near  the  railroad  track. 


One  summer  afternoon  some  boys  began 
teasing  him.  Bruin  became  very  angry  at 
their  constant  irritation,  and  his  strains  finally 
succeeded  in  breaking  the  chain  by  which  he 
was  confined.  The  scared  boys  promptly 
sought  safety  in  flight,  but  the  bear  seized 
one  of  the  boys  named  Hassinger,  who  lived 
near  Leesville,  on  whom  he  inflicted  terrible 
wounds  with  his  teeth  and  claws.  The  boy's 
frantic  screams  brought  the  owner,  who,  with 
a  heavy  club,  succeeded  in  driving  away  the 
bear  and  rescuing  the  boy.  Young  Hassinger 
was  taken  to  the  home  of  Rev.  Mr.  Barr,  and 
Dr.  William  Pope  sent  for.  An  examination 
showed  that  his  right  thigh  and  leg  were  hor- 
ribly torn,  his  back  terribly  bitten  and  bruised, 
some  of  the  wounds  made  by  tthe  animal's 
teeth  being  an  inch  across.  Several  ribs  on 
the  right  side  were  broken,  one  of  them  in 
two  places.  The  bear  in  the  meantime  roamed 
the  streets  at  will,  everybody  hurriedly  giving 
him  right  of  way.  He  was  finally  captured 
an  hour  later  by  the  owner,  but  the  indig- 
nant citizens  insisted  the  town  was  not  large 
enough  to  accommodate  .both  them  and  the 
bear,  so  the  next  morning  poor  Kruin  was 
shot  by  Mr.  Caldwell.  The  Russell  bears  were 
kept  in  large  dens  with  heavy  iron  bars,  and 
became  great  pets,  the  amount  of  cakes  and 
even  pies  they  were  fed  by  an  interesting 
public  would  have  depleted  any  bakery  in  the 
village. 

The  cholera  year  of  1854  struck  the  little 
town  of  Crestline.  It  broke  out  in  July 
among  the  people  living  in  some  shanties  on 
the  Ohio  and  Indiana  road  on  the  low,  damp, 
marshy  ground  about  half  a  mile  west  of  the 
crossing.  It  started  on  Wednesday,  and  by 
Friday  morning  there  were  seven  deaths.  The 
matter  was  serious  and  the  citizens  took 
prompt  and  vigorous  action.  Several  of  the 
citizens  purchased  the  shanties  where  the 
plague  was  raging;  they  removed  the  sick  to 
fresh  and  clean  quarters,  and  buried  the  seven 
dead.  Then  they  applied  the  torch,  and  the 
shanties,  with  all  their  furniture,  bedding  and 
clothing  were  soon  a  heap  of  ashes.  Of  the 
dozen  or  more  removed,  all  recovered  except- 
ing two.  One  man  died  that  same  day,  and 
the  other,  a  little  girl,  died  on  Saturday 
morning. 

One  of  the  important  industries  of  Crest- 


260 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


line  some  forty  years  ago,  were  the  Crestline 
Lock  Works,  which  were  established  in  1870, 
the  people  subscribing  $8,000  towards  erect- 
ing the  buildings  on  condition  that  a  certain 
number  of  men  should  be  employed.  C.  A. 
Faulkner  &  Co.,  conducted  the  business  for 
one  year,  and  then  sold  to  John  A.  Thoman 
&  Co.,  who  operated  them  until  1874,  when 
they  failed  and  went  into  bankruptcy. 

In  1 87 1  a  brass  foundry  was  established  in 
Crestline,  by  G.  W.  Dyar  and  for  a  number 
of  years  did  quite  a  successful  business. 

The  business  section  of  Crestline,  and  the 
principal  residence  portion  are  well  paved 
with  brick,  two  streets,  however,  comprising 
about  one  mile  of  paving,  being  McAdamized. 
The  police  department  consists  of  five  men, 
who  are  under  the  direction  of  George  Rhodes. 
The  streets  are  well  lighted. 

Crestline  has  two  fire-engine  houses,  the 
Central  station  being  located  in  the  City  Hall 
building.  At  this  station  there  is  one  hand- 
relief  engine,  and  two  carts,  with  about  iioo 
feet  of  hose,  altogether,  500  feet  of  which 
are  new  hose.  Several  hundred  feet  more 
are  to  be  added.  At  the  other  station,  which 
is  located  on  Main  street,  there  is  one  truck, 
with  ladder  of  20  feet  extension,  and  600  feet 
of  hose.  There  is  a  telephone  alarm  system 
with  fifteen  stations  for  calls.  The  depart- 
ment numbers  altogether  23  men,  some  of 
whom  are  paid.  Charles  P.  Helfrich  has  been 
fire  chief  for  the  last  ten  years,  and  has 
two  assistants — Clarence  Helfrich  and  Fred 
Bloom.  The  company  has  had  no  disastrous 
fires  to  contend  with  for  a  long  time,  the  last 
one  of  any  consequence  being  in  the  spring  of 
the  present  year  (1912)  at  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  shops,  when  200  or  300  barrels  of 
oil  were  destroyed. 

About  300  men  are  employed  in  the  engine 
and  car  shops  of  the  Pennsylvania  road  at 
Crestline  and  at  one  time  engines  were  built 
there,  but  today  the  shops  are  most  extensively 
used  for  repairs.  There  is  a  large  round- 
house, having  36  stalls  for  engines,  a  few  of 
them,  however,  being  otherwise  occupied.  A 
few  years  ago  this  roundhouse  was  enlarged 
by  a  16-foot  extension.  F.  M.  Cairns  is  fore- 
man and  W.  F.  Beardsley,  master  mechanic. 

The  first  school  in  the  town  of  Crestline 
was  taught  by  a  man  named  Edgerton  in  an 


old  log  schoolhouse  situated  about  a  mile  and 
a  half  northwest  of  the  present  site  of  the 
town  on  the  Leesville  road,  and  school  was 
held  here  by  one  teacher  or  another  up  to 
1850.  About  1853,  when  Crestline  was  in- 
creasing rapidly  in  population,  a  two-story 
frame  schoolhouse  was  erected  in  the  east 
part  of  the  town,  and  not  long  afterward  an- 
other one  was  built  in  the  west  part.  These 
two  buildings  were  used  until  1868,  at  which 
time  a  union  school  building  was  erected. 
This  building,  with  the  two  lots  on  which  it 
stands,  cost  over  $30,000  and  reflected  credit 
upon  all  concerned  in  the  project.  It  is  a 
brick  building,  with  three  stories  and  base- 
ment, 72  feet  in  length  by  65  in  greatest  width 
and  contains  eleven  school  rooms,  besides  six 
smaller  rooms  used  for  offices.  It  was  de- 
signed by  Mr.  Thomas  and  built  by  Miller, 
Smith  &  Frayer,  contractors,  and  was  opened 
to  the  children  April  12,  1869.  In  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  is  the  School  Park,  planted 
with  evergreens  and  shade  trees  and  traversed 
by  gravel  walks.  In  the  center  of  the  grounds 
an  elegant  fountain  was  erected  and  around 
the  base  six  hydrants  for  drinking  purposes. 
The  Board  of  Education  under  whose  wise 
supervision  the  school  and  grounds  were  de- 
signed and  laid  out  consisted  of  Jacob  Stah- 
ley,  president,  D.  W.  Snyder,  John  Berry, 
S.  P.  Hesser,  C.  Miller  and  Nathan  Jones — 
names  worthy  to  be  held  in  grateful  remem- 
brance by  the  citizens  of  Crestline.  The  rapid 
growth  of  the  town  made  the  large  handsome 
central  structure  insufficient  to  properly  care 
for  the  increasing  number  of  school  children, 
and  ward  buildings  were  erected,  the  first  east 
of  the  railroad  track.  Last  year  a  handsome 
high  school  building  of  brick  was  erected  on 
the  central  lot,  and  Crestline  now  has.  ample 
school  facilities. 

The  oldest  church  society  in  Crestline  was 
formed  by  the  Methodists  in  1844,  ^^  what 
was  then  called  Minnerly's  schoolhouse,  later 
known  as  McCulloch's.  This,  however,  was 
several  years  before  the  laying  out  of  the 
town.  John  Lovitt  was  the  principal  mover 
in  this  enterprise.  The  church  edifice,  which 
is  still  standing  on  Thoman  street,  was  built 
in  1854.  Those  most  active  in  the  work  were 
Mr.  Minnerly,  Francis  Peppard,  David  Kerr. 
Francis  Conwell,  David  Thrush,  David  White 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


261 


and  Mr.  Howland,  who,  with  their  wives  and 
a  portion  of  their  famiUes,  were  among  the 
first  members.  In  connection  with  this  church 
is  a  large  and  flourishing  Sunday  school. 

After  the  Methodists  came  the  German 
Lutherans,  who  organized  their  society  about 
185 1,  the  original  members  of  which  were 
Henry  Lambert,  George  Hass,  Michael  Web- 
ber, B.  Faltz,  John  Keller  and  others.  Their 
meetings  were  first  held  in  the  schoolhouse, 
but  in  .1861  they  erected  a  new  church  edifice 
at  a  cost  of  $3,000.  The  first  minister  was 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Meiser.  The  Sunday  school  was 
established  at  the  same  time  as  the  church  and 
has  kept  pace  with  it  in  growth  and  efficiency. 
The  organization  is  known  as  the  Trinity 
German  Lutheran  Church. 

The  second  German  Lutheran  church  was 
an  offshoot  from  the  first  Lutheran  society 
above  mentioned  and  resulted  from  a  differ- 
ence of  opinion  on  the  part  of  some  of  the 
members  in  regard  to  matters  of  belief  or 
church  government.  These  members,  among 
whom  were  Charles  Christman,  Peter  Sleen- 
becker,  Michael  Reh,  C.  Morkel  and  others, 
in  1879  withdrew  from  the  parent  body  and 
founded  the  Second  German  Lutheran  So- 
ciety, erecting  a  church  on  E.  Mansfield 
Street  at  a  cost  of  $4,000.  Their  first  pastor 
was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Shultz  of  Gallon  and  their 
early  meetings  were  held  in  the  old  German 
Refonned  Church.  A  Sunday  school  was 
also  organized. 

In  1854  a  society  of  English  Lutherans  was 
organized  by  Rev.  A.  F.  Hills  and  among  the 
first  members  were  A.  W.  Stine,  David  Mc- 
Cartel,  William  Knisely,  David  Keplinger, 
Isaac  Miller,  David  Lichtenwalter,  Elizabeth 
Warner,  Hannah  Stine,  Jane  McCartel  and 
D.  Minich.  A  church  edifice  was  soon  erected, 
though  the  early  meetings  were  held  in  the 
residences  of  the  members.  The  church  now 
constitutes  an  active  and  flourishing  society, 
with  a  large  and  effective  Sunday  school. 

The  German  Reformed  Church,  situated  in 
the  northwest  part  of  the  town,  was  organ- 
ized in  1858,  by  Rev.  M.  M.  Stern  of  Gallon, 
who  was  followed  by  Rev.  John  Rettig,  Rev. 
John  Winter  and  others.  A  brick  edifice  was 
erected  in  1862  at  a  cost  of  $2,000.  Among 
the  first  members  of  this  society  were  Joseph 
Bender,    Philip    Eichorn,    Frederick    Eichorn 


and  David  Bluem.  This  church  also  has  a 
large  Sunday  school. 

Commencing  about  the  middle  of  the  year 
1854  the  Presbyterians  of  Crestline  and  the 
vicinity  had  held  occasional  meetings  in  vari- 
ous places,  being  ministered  to  by  Rev.  Luke 
Dorland.  On  Feb.  20,  1855,  their  society 
was  organized  into  a  church  by  Rev.  I.  N. 
Shepherd  of  Marion,  Ohio,  and  Rev.  Silas 
Johnston,  of  Bucyrus.  The  organization  was 
effected  in  a  schoolhouse  and  for  some  time 
afterwards  meetings  were  held  occasionally  in 
the  different  church  buildings  already  erected. 
Rev.  J.  P  Lloyd  was  the  first  pastor  and 
among  the  original  members  were  John  and 
Mary  White,  John  S.  and  Jane  Smith,  Alex- 
ander, Martha  J.  and  Margaret  Patterson, 
Sampson  Warden,  P.  and  Mary  Mansfield 
and  John  and  Elizabeth  Jane  Banbright.  The 
second  pastor.  Rev.  James  Shields,  remained 
seven  years  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  W.  W. 
Macamber.  The  Sunday  school  was  organ- 
ized August  12,  1862. 

Like  the  Presbyterians,  the  early  Catholics 
held  their  first  services  in  the  houses  of  the 
members  of  that  faith.  A  regular  organiza- 
tion was  effected  in  1858  by  Father  Gallagher 
of  Cleveland,  who  was  pastor  at  Mansfield 
at  the  same  time,  the  society  taking  the  name 
of  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church.  The  early 
meetings  were  held  in  the  houses  of  the  orig- 
inal members,  among  whom  were  Mike  Dunn, 
Patrick  Dunn,  J.  A.  Barrel,  Laurenz  Raindl 
and  Thaddeus  Seifert.  A  frame  church  was 
erected  on  North  street  in  1861  at  a  cost  of 
$1,000. 

Both  Jackson  and  Polk  townships  were  a 
part  of  Richland  county  up  to  1845,  ^^'^  ^t 
the  first  election  only  twelve  votes  were  cast; 
this  was  about  1821;  John  Williams  was  the 
first  Justice  of  the  Peace.  Daniel  Riblet  was 
a  Justice  for  eighteen  years  while  it  was  a 
part  of  Richland  county,  and  William  Robin- 
son was  a  Justice  for  nine  years.  Since  Jack- 
son has  been  a  part  of  Crawford  the  following 
are  the  Justices : 

Robert  Lee— 1845-47. 

Stephen  Kelly— 1846. 

John  Franz — 1849-52-55. 

James  Robinson — 1851. 

David  Ogden— 1853-56-59-79-82-85-88-91  -94-97. 

Abraham  Holmes — 1857. 

George   W.   Good — 1858-61-64, 


262 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


D.  L.  Keplinger — 186>2. 

Emanuel  Warner — 1864. 

B.  O.  Richards— 186s. 

William  Robinson — 1863. 

Joseph  Miles — 1866. 

Jacob  Stable— 1867. 

George  Heis — 1868. 

James  Walsh — 1870. 

Jonathan  Kissinger — 1870. 

John  Neuman — 1872. 

Jesse  Williams — 1872-75-78, 

James  M.  Reed — 1875. 

William  F.  Crowe — 1876-98-99-ID09. 

F.  M.  Anderson— 1881-84-87-90-93. 

Frederick   Neuman — 1897-1900-03-05-08. 

Ralph  Glosser — 1902-04. 

William  Robinson — igo6. 

Carl  M.  Babst— 1907. 

W.  D.  Mewhart — 1909. 

Jacob  Ogden,  who  was  elected  to  the  posi- 
tion for  ten  terms,  was  filling  the  office  when 
he  died  on  Aug.  27,  1898. 

Crestline  was  originally  laid  out  in  1852, 
but  its  growth  was  so  rapid  that  it  was  in- 
corporated on  March  3,  1858,  and  the  first 
officers  elected  were  David  Ogden,  Mayor; 
William  Knisely,  Recorder;  William  P.  Ker- 
nahan,  E.  Warner,  Robert  Lee,  M.  C.  Archer, 
William  Boals,  Councilmen.  Following  David 
Ogden  as  Mayor  was  Silas  Durand  i860, 
Samuel  Hoyt  1861,  Nathan  Jones  1862-64- 
65-74,  Jacob  Stable  1863,  Dr.  J.  McKean 
1865,  William  Robinson  1866,  George  W. 
Pierce  1870,  A.  E.  Jenner  1874,  Dr.  Edwin 
Booth  1876,  Daniel  Babst  1879-80-82-94,  P. 
W.  Poole  1884-86-90-92-03-05,  F  M.  Ander- 
son 1888,  Frank  Miller  1896-98,  J.  J.  Tisch- 
ler  1908-10. 

Crestline  has  the  finest  water  supply  of  any 
town  in  the  county.  Originally  the  town  was 
supplied  with  water  by  wells,  but  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  town  and  the  demand  for  pure 
water  for  the  use  of  the  locomotives  de- 
manded a  better  system  and  in  1871  the  neces- 
sary legislation  was  passed  to  give  to  Crest- 
line an  adequate  water  supply.  It  was  ob- 
tained at  the  Palmer  Springs,  in  Richland 
county,  about  four  miles  east  of  the  city. 
These  springs  are  historical,  as  it  was  here 
that  Col.  Crawford  and  his  army  went  into 
camp  on  the  night  of  June  i,  1782,  the  night 
before  they  entered  what  is  now  Crawford 
county.  The  springs  are  over  a  hundred  feet 
higher  than  Crestline,  and  the  water  is  con- 
veyed by  pipes  to  the  city.  Bonds  were  issued 
to  the  amount  of  $80,000.     As  usual,  an  im- 


portant and  necessary  enterprise  like  this  met 
with  much  expensive  litigaton,  but  the  im- 
provement was  successfully  concluded.  Later 
the  growth  of  the  town  necessitated  the  sink- 
ing of  a  number  of  wells  near  the  springs, 
and  the  capacity  is  now  arhple,  and  the  water 
pure  and  of  good  quality. 

The  Crestline  Local  Telephone  Company 
was  incorporated  about  ten  years  ago  by  Jacob 
Babst  and  others,  and  has  today  about  a  thou- 
sand phones  in  Crestline  and  the  surrounding 
country. 

In  1867,  Jacob  Riblet  and  William  Hays 
of  Gallon,  and  John  Newman  of  Crestline, 
established  a  bank  under  the  firm  name  of 
Riblet,  Hays  &  Co.,  which  they  conducted  for 
two  years,  when  they  sold  out  to  John  A. 
Thoman  &  Co.,  who  ran  it  as  the  Citizens 
Bank  until  the  panic  of  1873,  when  they  were 
compelled  to  discontinue.  In  1870  the  Babst 
bank  was  organized  by  Daniel  Babst  and 
Jonathan  Martin,  the  firm  name  being  Babst, 
Martin  &  Co.,  Jacob  Babst  being  the  cashier, 
and  he  has  been  connected  with  the  institution 
ever  since.  In  June  1878,  Jacob  and  Daniel 
Babst  became  the  owners  of  the  bank,  the 
two  sons  of  Daniel  Babst,  the  original  found- 
er, and  the  name  was  changed  to  the  Babst 
Banking  House.  In  1876  the  Farmers  and 
Mechanics  Bank  Avas  established  by  Booth  & 
Stewart,  and  in  1878  was  owned  by  Stewart 
&  Son,  and  after  running  a  few  years  was  dis- 
continued. In  1897,  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Crestline  was  incorporated  with  a  capital 
stock  of  $50,000 ;  William  Monteith  being  the 
president. 

The  first  secret  society  organized  in  the 
village  was  Crestline  Lodge  No.  237  I.  O. 
O.  F.,  its  charter  dating  Feb.  23,  1854.  The 
charter  members  were  John  I.  Kert.  G.  W. 
Keplinger,  W.  P.  Kernahan,  William  Knott, 
William  Boals,  M.  C.  Archer.  Elijah  Johnson, 
William  McGraw,  and  Daniel  Laughbaum. 
The  first  officers  were :  William  Knott,  N.  G. ; 
W.  P.  Kernahan,  V.  G. ;  G.  W.  Keplinger,  Sec. 

On  June  15,  1875,  Crawford  Encampment 
No.  187  was  instituted  by  J.  W.  Parch,  the 
Most  Worthy  Grand  High  Priest.  The  char- 
ter members  were  F.  C.  Berger,  G.  G.  Cruzen, 
F.  Newman,  J.  W.  Sanders,  E.  Davis,  John 
Snyder,  and  J.  H.  Becker.  The  first  officers 
^^'ere  John  H.   Becker,  C.   P. ;  F.  £,.   Berger, 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


263 


H.  P.;  George  G.  Cruzen,  S.  W.;  E.  Davis, 
Sec. ;  John  Snyder,  Treas. 

A  German  lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  was  in- 
stituted on  July  3,  1872,  with  the  following 
charter  members;  F.  Newman,  Jacob  Stahley, 
George  StoU,  J.  P.  Zimmermacher,  J.  H. 
Becker,  Adam  Neff,  John  Bauer,  John  Et- 
singer,  and  John  Cook.  The  first  officers  were 
George  Stoll,  N.  G.;  Jacob  Stahley,  V.  G.; 
J.  H.  Becker,  Sec;  F.  Newman,  Treas.  In 
connection  with  the  Odd  Fellows  is  Rebecca 
Lodge  No.  816. 

The  second  order  to  organize  in  Crestline 
was  the  Masons.  Arcana  Lodge  No.  272  was 
granted  a  charter  Oct.  26,  1855,  the  charter 
members  being  J.  R.  Straughan,  Erastus  S. 
Spencer,  Matthew  Elder,  J.  McCluny,  E.  C. 
Gregg,  J.  J.  Bening,  George  Bewson,  A.  P. 
Cann,  John  Newman,  John  Franz,  John  A. 
Thoman,  J.  Warden,  J.  Eddington,  H.  A. 
Donaldson,  H  Gusleman.  The  first  officers 
were  J.  R.  Straughan,  W.  M. ;  E.  S.  Spencer, 
S.  W.;  Matthew  Elder,  J.  W. 

Crestline  Chapter  No.  88  was  chartered 
Oct.  15,  1864,  the  charter  members  being  M. 
C.  Archer,  David  Ogden,  John  H.  Berry, 
William  Boals,  Benjamin  Eaton,  Robert  Lee, 
John  McGraw,  William  McGraw,  Thomas 
Boorman,  J.  S.  Potter,  W.  H.  Shamp,  H.  W. 
Stocking,  J.  H.  Brewster.  The  first  officers 
were :  David  Ogden,  H.  P. ;  Nathan  Jones, 
King;  T.  B.  Fowler,  Scribe;  D.  W.  Sny- 
der, Sec. 

The  importance  of  Crestline  as  a  railroad 
center  brought  many  railroad  men  to  the 
place,  and  many  of  these  being  Masons  an 
Encampment  of  Knights  Templar  was  insti- 
tuted, but  after  being  in  existence  for  twenty 
years  it  was  removed  to  Mansfield. 


Connected  with  the  Masonic  Fraternity  is 
Harmony  Chapter  No.  43,  Order  of  the  East- 
ern Star. 

The  Knights  of  Pythias  have  three  or- 
ganizations— Crestline  Lodge  No.  266,  Craw- 
ford Company  No.  89,  and  the  Pythian 
Sisters. 

Crestline  Lodge  No.  859  order  of  Eagles 
is  the  most  recent  of  the  secret  societies. 

Peter  Snyder  Post  G.  A.  R.,  was  organized 
Aug.  31,  1 881,  and  was  named  after  Peter 
Snyder,  a  member  of  Co.  E,  loist  Ohio,  who 
died  Jan.  2,  1863,  from  the  effects  of  a  wound 
received  three  clays  previous  at  the  battle  of 
Stone  River. 

Crestline  has  a  number  of  benevolent  and 
trades  organizations,-  the  railroad  employes 
making  many  of  these  very  strong. 

It  was  Aug.  26,  185 1,  that  Rensselaer  Liv- 
ingston was  appointed  postmaster  of  Living- 
ston, followed  by  Thomas  C.  Hall  and  John 
Gates,  and  during  the  incumbency  of  the  lat- 
ter, the  post  office  was  removed  to  Crestline, 
and  took  the  name  of  that  town  on  Sept.  4, 
1854.  The  following  have  been  the  post- 
masters of  Crestline,  with  the  dates  of  their 
appointment  : 

Rensselaer  Livingston — Aug.  26,  1851. 
Tliomas  C.  Hall— Nov.  S,  1852. 
John  Gates — July  29,  1853. 
A.  E.  Jenner — April  26,  1855. 
Alexander  Hall — April  16,  1861. 
Albert   M.    Patterson— Oct.   28,    1864. 
John  C.  Williams — June  14,  1832. 
Reuben  Stahley — July  3,  1886. 
John  G.  Barney — Oct.  9,  1889. 
William  L.  Alexander — Feb.  5,  1894. 
Albert  Haworth — March  9,  i8g8. 

Crestline  being  an  important  railroad  cen- 
ter, over  two  hundred  and  fifty  railroad  clerks 
are  paid  off  at  this  point. 


CHAPTER  XV 


JEFFERSON  TOWNSHIP 

The  Erection  of  Jefferson  Township — Indian  Trails — Roads — Wingemimd's  Camp — 
Drainage  and  Topography— The  "Windfall" — First  Settlers— An  Early  Marriage— An 
Early  Tragedy — Mills — Taverns  and  Tanneries — Justices — Stone  Quarries — The  Lees 
and  Leesville — Graveyards — Schools  and  Churches. 


Sandusky,  Tymochtee  and   Brokensword  streams, 
Never  more  shall  I  see  you  except  in  my  dreams. 
Adieu  to  the  marshes  where  the  cranberries  grow; 
O'er  the  great  Mississippi,  alas !  I  must  go. 

— The  Wyandot's  Farewell  Song. 

Jefferson  township  is  the  youngest  township 
in  the  county,  and  was  erected  in  1873,  by 
the  Commissioners  of  Crawford  county,  by  a 
division  of  Jackson  township.  That  township 
was  created  in  1845,  seven  miles  wide  and 
four  deep.  At  that  time  the  western  portion 
of  the  township  contained  the  bulk  of  the 
population,  on  account  of  the  important  town 
of  Leesville,  the  principal  one  in  the  township, 
and  the  little  town  of  Middletown.  In  1850, 
the  influential  men  who  controlled  the  affairs 
of  the  county  lived  at  Bucyrus,  Leesville  and 
West  Liberty.  About  that  time  three  rail- 
roads came  to  Jackson  township,  and  at  the 
crossing  of  these  roads  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  township,  a  town  was  laid  out,  which  was 
called  Crestline.  Its  growth  was  the  most 
rapid  of  any  town  ever  started  in  the  county. 
In  1850  its  site  was  forest  land,  with  a  few 
acres  cleared  for  farming  purposes.  In  i860 
it  had  a  population  of  1,487,  and  in  1870  it 
had  increased  to  2,279,  and  dominated  the 
affairs  of  the  township.  Instead  of  all  the 
business  of  the  township  being  conducted  at 
Leesville,  the  affairs  were  all  transferred  to 
Crestline,  which  was  inconvenient  to  the  west- 
ern portion,  so  a  petition  was  presented  to 
the  county  commissioners  praying  for  a  divi- 
sion of  the  township.  So  strong  was  the  feel- 
ing   for   this    division   that   the   petition   was 


signed  by  D.  O.  Castle  as  chairman ;  Benjamin 
Heckart,  secretary;  William  McKean  and  414 
others.  The  prayer  of  the  petitioners  was 
granted  and  the  western  five  miles  were  formed 
into  a  new  township  which  was  named  Jeffer- 
son, after  the  third  president  of  the  United 
States,  leaving  the  eastern  two  miles  as  Jack- 
son township. 

Of  what  is  now  Jefferson  township,  the  east- 
ern two  miles,  prior  to  1845,  were  a  part  of 
Sandusky  township,  Richland  county,  and  was 
surveyed  by  Maxfield  Ludlow  in  1807.  When 
Crawford  was  erected  in  1820,  the  present 
Crawford  county  west  of  Richland  county  was 
one  township  called  Sandusky ;  later  townships 
were  organized  from  this  territory,  and  San- 
dusky was  left  three  miles  wide  and  twelve 
deep,  comprising  the  present  Sandusky  town- 
ship and  the  western  three  miles  of  Jefferson 
and .  Polk.  This  was  so  inconvenient  to  the 
settlers  that  in  1835  it  was  divided,  and  San- 
dusky county  practically  created  as  at  present, 
while  the  southern  half,  three  miles  wide  and 
six  deep  was  called  Jackson,  and  although 
Jackson  was  then  president  of  the  United 
States,  the  Commissioners'  Journal  shows  the 
name  of  the  new  township,  entered  in  all  the 
importance  of  capital  letters  "JACSON." 
This  new  township  of  Jackson  included  the 
western  three  miles  of  the  present  Jefferson. 
In  1845  when  Crawford  received  four  miles 
from  Richland  county  what  is  now  Jefferson, 
Jackson  and  Polk  was  divided  north  and  south, 
the  western  three  miles  being  Jackson  town- 
ship, the  eastern   four  miles,  being  the  part 


264 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


265 


taken  from  Richland  county.  Jackson  was 
now  three  miles  wide  and  seven  deep,  but  as 
both  townships  preferred  an  east  and  west 
division,  it  was  divided  east  and  west,  and  the 
northern  part,  seven  miles  wide  and  four  deep 
was  given  the  name  of  Jackson,  and  the  south- 
ern section,  seven  miles  wide  and  three  deep 
was  called  Polk. 

When  the  white  man  first  came  to  this  sec- 
tion, two  Indian  trails  passed  through  the 
township,  -one  of  which  led  from  the  present 
site  of  New  Philadelphia  in  Tuscarawas  county 
to  the  Indian  town  in  Wyandot.  On  this  trail 
at  the  time  of  Crawford's  campaign  was  lo- 
cated the  camp  of  the  War  Chief  Wingenund. 
At  a  later  date  there  was  an  Indian  trail  lead- 
ing east  and  west  from  Mansfield  to  Bucyrus, 
and  passing  through  the  site  of  the  village  of 
Middletown.  Roads  constructed  by  the  pio- 
neers were  usually  crooked,  as  they  aimed  to 
follow  the  high  places  as  much  as  possible, 
avoiding  swamps  and  streams,  and  thus  ob- 
viating the  necessity  of  bridges.  The  first  state 
highway,  known  as  the  Columbus  and  Cleve- 
land road,  was  laid  out  in  1830,  and  passed 
through  Leesville,  West  Liberty,  nine  miles 
of  it  being  constructed  by  the  citizens  of  those 
places  without  cost  to  the  state.  Another  state 
road  and  mail  route  led  from  Mansfield  to 
Bucyrus,  passing  through  Middletown.  Fords 
were  used  almost  exclusively  in  early  days, 
instead  of  bridges.  The  first  bridge  in  the 
township  was  built  over  the  Sandusky  at  Lees- 
ville and  was  a  crude  structure,  which  has  long 
since  been  replaced  by  a  fine  stone  arch  bridge. 

Jefiferson  township  contains  historical 
ground,  especially  in  relation  to  the  ill-fated 
Col.  Crawford  expedition.  It  was  through 
this  township  his  army  moved,  and  it  was  at 
the  mouth  of  Allen  Run,  where  it  empties  into 
the  Sandusky,  the  troops  stopped  for  a  brief 
rest  at  i  o'clock  on  June  2,  1782.  In  reaching 
this  resting  place  they  had  passed  unknowingly 
not  over  a  mile  back,  half  a  mile  to  the  south 
of  the  camp  of  Wingenund,  a  Delaware  chief. 
His  camp  was  on  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky, 
just  north  of  the  Bucyrus  and  Crestline  road, 
a  mile  east  of  Leesville,  on  the  southwest  quar- 
ter of  section  5,  the  land  now  owned  by  Se- 
bastian Brown  and  W.  S.  and  C.  E.  Brown. 
After  a  short  rest  the  troops  followed  along 
the   south   bank  of   the   Sandusky  until   the 


stream  turned  to  the  north,  when  they  left  the 
river,  and  after  going  through  the  woods  to- 
ward the  southwest  for  about  two  miles,  went 
into  camp  for  the  night  in  the  southwestern 
part  of  the  township.  On  their  return,  after 
the  battle  of  Olentangy,  they  camped  on  the 
night  of  June  6,  about  where  Leesville  now 
stands,  near  the  mouth  of  Allen's  Run,  the 
savages  also  camping  on  the  bank  of  the  San- 
dusky, a  mile  further  down  the  stream.  It 
was  at  this  latter  point  Crawford  arrived  about 
three  that  afternoon  in  making  his  escape  from 
the  battlefield.  He  and  his  companions  fol- 
lowed the  river  until  they  came  to  just  east 
of  the  present  site  of  Leesville,  when  he  and 
Dr.  Knight  were  captured  by  Wingenund  and 
his  men,  and  taken  to  Wingenund's  camp  and 
from  there  Crawford  was  taken  to  the  place 
of  his  death  on  the  Tymochtee. 

The  Sandusky  river,  rising  in  the  borders 
of  Richland  county,  flows  through  Jefferson 
in  a  northwesterly  direction  and,  with  its  trib- 
utaries, furnishes  ample  drainage.  Among  the 
latter  may  be  mentioned  Allen's  Run,  which, 
rising  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township, 
flows  into  the  Sandusky  east  of  Leesville; 
Spring  Run,  originating  in  certain  springs 
south  of  Middletown,  which  flows  north  and 
empties  into  the  Sandusky  near  Leesville,  and 
a  small  stream  rising  on  the  Snyder  farm, 
which  also  flows  north  until  it  joins  the  San- 
dusky. In  various  parts  of  the  township  are 
found  other  small  streams  which  contribute  to 
the  natural  drainage  of  the  land,  some  of 
which,  together  with  the  larger  ones,  were 
utilized  in  early  days  for  water-power. 

The  land  in  the  eastern  part  of  Jefferson 
is  of  a  rolling  character  and  in  the  vicinity  of 
Leesville  are  some  knolls  or  ridges  composed 
of  gravel  and  stone,- one  of  which,  somewhat 
more  extensive  than  the  others,  is  known  lo- 
cally as  the  "Hog's  Back."  These  elevations 
are  found  chiefly  along  the  banks  of  the  San- 
dusky and  Spring  Run,  the  channels  of  which 
streams  are  in  many  places  cut  through  solid 
masses  of  rock.  In  section  i  the  banks  of 
the  river  rise  precipitously  to  a  height  of  68 
feet  6  inches  from  the  surface  of  the  stream, 
35  feet  of  this  ascent  being  composed  of  solid 
rock,  belonging  to  the  Waverly  sandstone  for- 
mation. The  gravel  in  this  ridge  has  been 
utilized  for  many  years  by  the  Pittsburg,  Ft. 


266 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Wayne  &  Chicago  and  the  Cleveland,  Colum- 
bus, Cincinnati  &  Indianapolis  Railroads  in 
the  construction  and  repair  of  their  respective 
roadbeds. 

Jefferson  township  is  favored  with  a  good 
soil,  consisting  largely  of  clay,  mingled  in  some 
places  with  gravel  and  sand  and,  with  proper 
culti\'ation,  well  adapted  to  farming,  particu- 
larly for  the  raising  of  wheat  and  corn.  The 
timber — more  abundant  in  former  days  than 
now — consists  chiefly  of  oak,  beech,  maple, 
walnut,  ash  and  elm.  A  large  portion  of  it 
was  destroyed  in  1820  by  a  terrific  cyclone, 
which  was  long  remembered  as  "the  windfall," 
so  completely  did  it  level  the  forest  in  its  path. 
It  was,  however,  subsec]uently  replaced  by  a 
new  growth. 

In  18 1 6  there  came  to  Ohio  a  man  named 
Jacob  Fisher,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  who 
settled  in  what  was  then  Richland  county,  but 
which  is  now  Jefferson  township,  at  a  point 
just  south  of  the  gravel  ridge.  Here  he  bought 
a  considerable  tract  of  land,  which  cost  him 
$1.25  per  acre.  His  cabin  of  round  logs,  18  x 
20  feet,  built  to  accommodate  a  family  which 
numbered  eight  children,  was  probably  the  first 
civilized  residence  erected  within  the  present 
limits  of  Jefferson.  But  if  the  residence  was 
civilized,  the  man  was  not,  or  hardly  so,  for, 
though  industrious  and  hardworking,  he  was 
sometimes  quite  dissipated  and  always  of  a  ma- 
lignant disposition,  which  he  showed  by  com- 
mitting vicious  assaults  on  those  who  offended 
him,  or  damaging  their  property.  It  is  said 
that  a  favorite  amusement  of  his  was  to  make 
a  present  to  some  woman — the  wife  of  a  pio- 
neer— of  a  pound  of  tea  to  excite  the  jealousy 
of  her  neighbors,  and  then  promise  another 
pound  to  some  other  woman  if  she  would  fight 
and  whip  her  and  then  watch  the  hair-pulling 
contest  with  the  greatest  enjoyment.  He  nat- 
urally had  trouble  with  most  if  not  all  his 
neighbors,  and  finally  left  for  Missouri. 

In  181 7  Christian  Snyder,  with  his  wife 
and  eleven  children,  came  to  the  township 
from  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and 
settled  near  the  eastern  boundary  line,  in  sec- 
tion 17,  where  he  purchased  160  acres  of 
land  from  Jacob  Fisher,  paying  for  it  $3  an 
acre.  He  made  the  journey  from  Pennsyl- 
vania in  a  two-horse  wagon,  also  bringing 
with  him  some  twenty  head  of  cattle,  a  drove 


of  swine,  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  an  extra  team 
of  horses.  His  sons  had  to  cut  a  road  from 
a  few  miles  west  of  Mansfield  to  their  desti- 
nation, and  this  occupied  them  a  month.  They 
expected  to  find  a  cabin  already  prepared  for 
them,  as  Jacob  Snyder  had  gone  on  ahead  for 
that  purpose,  but  when  they  arrived  they  found 
that  only  a  foundation  had  been  laid  and  a 
rude  puncheon  floor  constructed.  They  had 
no  recourse  but  to  lie  down  on  the  floor  with 
no  roof  but  the  vast  expanse  of  heaven  above 
them,  and  for  walls  the  dark  and  gloomy  for- 
est which  surrounded  them  on  all  sides,  whence 
issued  every  now  and  then  the  hoarse  cry  of 
some  beast  or  bird  of  prey.  In  the  morning 
they  awoke  to  find  themselves  covered  by  some 
six  inches  of  snow.  But  the  Snyders  were 
not  the  sort  of  people  to  be  easily  discouraged. 
They  set  resolutely  to  work  to  complete  the 
cabin,  in  which  they  were  aided  by  the  neigh- 
boring Indians,  who,  scenting  "firewater,"  or 
perhaps  really  taking  pity  on  them  in  their  try- 
ing situation,  also  kept  them  supplied  with  game 
and  other  food.  In  a  short  time  the  cabin  was 
finished  and  their  worst  troubles  were  over. 
The  Snyders  became  prominent  residents  of  the 
township,  and  descendants  of  Mr.  Snyder  are 
still  living  in  the  county.  Jacob  Snyder  at 
one  time  owned  the  ground  on  which  Leesville 
now  stands.  He  constructed  the  first  house  in  • 
the  town  after  it  was  founded  and  also  started 
the  first  blacksmith  shop  in  the  township. 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  Snyder  family, 
John  Adrain  came  here  from  France.  He  was 
a  man  of  great  strength  but  dissipated.  He 
lived  for  a  number  of  years  on  the  c^uarter- 
section  now  owned  by  William  Freese,.  and 
here  he  started  a  distillery,  where  he  made  an 
inferior  grade  of  whiskey.  Mr.  Adrian's 
lic[uor  had  one  good  characteristic,  however,  it 
is  said,  in  that  it  took  a  great  deal  of  it  to 
make  a  man  drunk. 

The  prominent  settler  of  Jefferson  township 
was  Westell  Ridgely  who,  in  181 7  settled  where 
the  Leesville  and  Bucyrus  road  crosses  the 
Sandusky  river.  He  was  accompanied  by  his 
family,  consisting  of  four  sons  and  as  many 
daughters,  the  latter  of  whom,  being  very  at- 
tractive young  ladies,  excited  matrimonial  de- 
signs in  the  breasts  of  the  eligible  young  bache- 
lors for  miles  around.  The  marriage  of  Lucy, 
one  of  these  daughters,  in  the  summer  of  1822 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


267 


was  the  second  marriage  solemnized  in  the 
township,  and  was  a  great  social  event,  long 
to  be  remembered  and  talked  about,  particularly 
by  the  feminine  portion  of  the  community, 
who  no  doubt  took  scrutinizing  notice  both 
of  the  manners  and  costume  of  the  bride  on 
so  important  an  occasion.  She  married  John 
Bear,  of  Liberty  township,  but  no  account  is 
given  of  him.  Doubtless  he  was  well  enough 
as  young  men  went  in  those  days.  Evidently 
Miss  Lucy  thought  so  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
her  opinion  was  justified. 

About  the  same  time  that  Mr.  Ridgely  thus 
started  the  ball  of  civilization  rolling  in  Jeffer- 
son township  there  appeared  two  other  settlers, 
Thomas  Ferguson  and  J.  S.  Griswell.  Some 
time  after  came  Peter  Bebout,  who  settled  im- 
mediately below  them.  Ferguson  in  some  man- 
ner gained  the  confidence  of  the  Indians,  who 
had  great  respect  for  him  and  called  him  Gov- 
ernor, and  he  was  often  instrumental  in  set- 
tling differences  that  arose  between  them  and 
the  whites. 

Arrivals  now  became  more  common  and  the 
population  rapidly  increased.  In  1818  came 
Daniel  Miller  from  Pennsylvania,  settling  on 
what  later  became  the  Simon  Snyder  farm. 
Miller  was  a  great  hunter  and  loved  the  for- 
est. He  lived  long  in  the  township,  dying 
here  in  the  early  seventies  of  the  last  century. 
Another  Pennsylvanian,  who  came  in  181 9, 
or  thereabouts,  from  Westmoreland  county, 
that  state,  was  Henry  Hershner,  who  settled 
near  Middletown,  of  which  place  he  was  the 
founder.  He  was  an  intelligent  Christian  man, 
and  took  a  prominent  part  in  organizing  the 
United  Brethren  church.  He  opened  the  first 
store  in  Middletown,  of  which  his  son  John 
afterward  took  charge. 

Lewis  Leibarger  came  in  1819,  and  about 
the  same  time  his  future  brother-in-law,  James 
Nail.  In  1820  Eli  Foglesong  settled  in  the 
township,  and  in  1821,  the  Wordens,  Ben- 
jamin, Benjamin  F.  and  Nathan.  David  Dorn 
came  in  1824,  as  did  John  Hise,  the  latter  later 
removing  to  Liberty  township  where  his  son 
was  Justice  of  the  Peace  many  years.  Jacob 
Weaver  arrived  in  1824,  and  the  next  year 
Samuel  Freese.  In  1826  came  the  Werts,  Peter, 
Daniel  and  Joseph;  Peter  being  probably  the 
most  prominent  man  in  the  county  in  later 


years  in  assisting  escaping  slaves  to  a  refuge 
in  Canada. 

The  first  child  born  in  Jefferson  township 
was  in  1819  in  the  family  of  Jacob  Fisher. 
The  first  marriage  was  Eli  Foglesong,  who 
came  in  1820,  and  promptly  decided  it  was 
not  good  that  man  should  live  alone  and  the 
following  year,  1821,  married  Hannah  Snyder, 
a  daughter  of  Christian  Snyder.  The  event 
was  attended  by  the  settlers  from  miles  around 
and  the  young  couple  were  escorted  to  their 
new  home,  a  log  cabin  in  the  woods  erected 
by  the  young  husband  and  the  neighbors. 

It  is  in  Jefferson  township  that  what  is 
known  as  the  "Windfall"  is  best  traced.  This 
was  the  most  destructive  windstorm  that  ever 
passed  through  the  county,  and  occurred  on 
May  17,  1820.  It  swept  across  the  southeast 
corner  of  Whetstone  township,  went  north- 
west through  the  present  Jefferson,  through 
Vernon,  but  its  greatest  destruction  was 
through  Jefferson,  where  the  line  of  its  fury 
is  still  easily  traced  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  a 
hundred  years.  The  best  account  of  it  is 
handed  down  by  Peter  Snyder,  who  died  a 
few  years  ago  at  his  home  at  Crestline.  He 
was  a  son  of  Christian  Snyder  and  at  the  time 
of  the  storm  was  a  boy  sixteen.  He  was  in 
the  field  plowing  when  he  beheld  in  the  west 
a  heavy  black  cloud,  which  threatened  coming 
danger.  The  wind  kept  increasing  in  fury, 
and  he  hurriedly  unhitched  the  team  and  put 
it  in  the  barn,  and  by  the  time  the  horses  were 
housed  the  wind  had  increased  to  a  hurricane, 
and  he  could  hear  the  falling  of  the  trees  and 
feel  the  swaying  of  the  barn.  It  was  danger- 
ous to  go  outside,  and  fearing  the  barn  might 
fall  upon  him  he  clambered  up  the  joists  of 
the  barn,  and  no  sooner  felt  himself  secure  in 
that  position  when  the  entire  roof  was  torn 
away.  He  climbed  down  to  the  floor,  and  the 
entire  barn  was  swept  away,  and  he  was  pinned 
under  a  falling  beam,  and  received  a  scar 
which  he  carried  to  the  day  of  his  death.  The 
violence  of  the  storm  left  everything  in  dark- 
ness, and  after  he  had  extricated  himself  from 
the  falling  timbers,  and  it  became  light 
enough  to  see,  he  looked  in  the  direction  of  the 
house  and  found  that  it  was  in  ruins.  A 
severe  rain  followed  the  hurricane  which  came 
down  in  torrents  for  half,  an  hour.    When  the 


268 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


storm  subsided  he  reached  the  house,  and  found 
the  family  all  safe,  but  in  a  drenched  condi- 
tion and  badly  scared.  All  along  the  track 
of  the  storm,  trees  were  uprooted,  crops  de- 
stroyed, houses  and  barns  blown  away,  and 
stock  killed.  Where  once  was  promised  crops 
and  prosperity  was  now  destruction  and  utter 
desolation.  The .  settlers  had  escaped  with 
their  lives,  but  all  else  was  lost.  Their  provi- 
sions were  destroyed  and  starvation  stared 
them  in  the  face.  Young  Snyder  traveled  on 
foot  through  the  woods  to  Coshocton,  over 
sixty  miles  away,  the  nearest  point  at  which 
he  could  obtain  food,  and  here  he  was  for- 
tunate enough  to  secure  two  bushels  of  corn 
at  $4  a  bushel,  the  bulk  of  which  was  pounded 
into  meal  for  food,  and  the  balance  used  for 
planting. 

Another  incident  which  caused  great  ex- 
citement in  the  early  days  was  the  Weaver 
murder  of  which  the  following  account  is  given 
in  the  Crawford  County  History  of  1880: 

"Still  another  affair  which  caused  consider- 
able excitement  at  the  time,  was  the  supposed 
murder  of  a  man  named  Weaver,  by 
Ridgely,  who  employed  him  as  stiller  in  his 
whisky  establishment.  There  had  been  a  quar- 
rel between  Weaver  and  his  employer,  and  it 
is  supposed  that  he  became  engaged  in  a  broil 
with  Ridgely,  and,  during  the  melee.  Weaver 
was  killed.  Nothing,  however,  was  certainly 
known  concerning  it,  although  many  of  the 
early  settlers  considered  Ridgely  the  criminal. 
Several  of  them  pretended,  or  actually  be- 
lieved, that  Weaver's  ghost  had  actually  ap- 
peared to  them,  and  had  told  them  in  detail 
the  whole  affair.  From  these  mythical  stories 
it  appears  that  Weaver  was  in  the  still-house 
with  Ridgely  one  evening  after  dark,  and  that 
in  some  manner  their  quarrel  was  renewed, 
when  angry  words  followed  and  Rigdely  be- 
came greatly  incensed.  In  his  hasty  madness 
he  seized  a  heavy  club  and  struck  Weaver  over 
the  head  a  fatal  blow.  He  then,  horrified  to 
see  what  he  had  done,  dragged  the  body  to 
an  out-of-the-way  place,  and  covering  it  with 
leaves  left  it,  and  told  it  around  that  Weaver 
had  quit  his  employ.  The  body  of  the  mur- 
dered man  was  found,  but  every  attempt  to 
find  the  criminal  was  futile,  and  no  one  was 
ever  brought  to  justice." 

Such  is  the  story  which  was  the  first  sensa- 


tion in  Crawford  county.  It  is  probable  it 
does  not  do  justice  to  Westell  Ridgely.  When 
he  came  to  the  county  in  18 17,  he  was  above 
the  average  of  the  early  pioneers;  on  account 
of  his  daughters  his  house  was  a  headquarters 
for  all  the  young  men  for  miles  around.  His 
own  character  and  influence  were  so  unques- 
tioned that  in  1821  he  was  one  of  the  two  men 
selected  for  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  the  new 
territory,  which  then  embraced  nearly  all  of 
the  present  Crawford  county,  Joseph  Young, 
of  near  Bucyrus  being  his  colleague.  The  first 
commissioners  elected  in  1826  were  Magers, 
McClure  and  Poe;  the  next  man  elected  to 
that  office  was  Westell  Ridgely,  about  1828. 
This  was  after  the  alleged  murder,  and  in 
those  days  it  would  have  been  a  practical  im- 
possibility to  elect  a  man  to  the  office  of  county 
commissioner  on  whom  any  shadow  of  sus- 
picion rested.  Ridgely's  distillery  was  located 
on  the  Sandusky  river  on  the  quarter  section 
now  occupied  by  the  farm  of  Leopold  Long  and 
Peter  F.  Huber.  He  ran  it  for  some  years  and 
one  night  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  under  such 
suspicious  circumstances  that  it  was  believed 
to  be  the  work  of  an  incendiary,  some  attrib- 
uting the  act  to  Jacob  Fisher,  but  there  was  no 
proof  of  this  except  the  quarrelsome  disposi- 
tion of  Fisher,  his  frequent  threats  against 
many  of  the  citizens,  and  especially  Ridgely, 
against  whom  he  always  was  very  hostile. 

At  the  time  of  the  death  of  Weaver,  Benja- 
min and  William  Bowers  had  a  distillery  on 
Loss  Creek  just  above  where  that  creek  emp- 
ties into  the  Sandusky,  about  two  and  a  half 
miles  north  of  the  Ridgely  distillery.  It  was 
in  Loss  Creek  near  this  mill  the  body  of 
Weaver  was  found,  and  there  were  no  marks 
of  violence  on  the  body.  Near  where  the  body 
was  found  a  log  crossed  the  stream,  and  the 
general  belief  was  that  Weaver  had  attempted 
to  cross  by  the  log  bridge,  fell  into  the  water 
and  was  drowned.  The  first  recorded  case  in 
Crawford  county  was  probably  the  result  of 
the  Weaver  death.  On  the  finding  of  the 
body,  Fisher  had  circulated  a  report  accusing 
Ridgely  of  the  crime.  Others  probably  re- 
peated the  same  story.  At  the  term  of  court 
held  at  Marion,  in  April,  1825,  the  first  civil 
case  tried  before  a  jury  was  that  of  Westell 
Ridgely  against  Isaac  Borland  of  Liberty 
township  for  slander.     The  plaintiff  claimed 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


269 


$500  damages  and  the  jury  awarded  him  $75. 
On  that  first  jury  of  twelve  men,  several  Craw- 
ford county  men  were  drawn :  George  Poe  of 
Whetstone,  Amos  Clark  of  Bucyrus,  John 
Maxfield  of  Liberty,  Peter  Beabout  and  George 
Luke  of  Sandusky. 

Jefferson  township  had  a  station  on  the 
"Underground  Railway,"  which  was  kept  by 
a  man  named  Peter  Wert,  a  wagon  maker  of 
Leesville,  who  was  commonly  known  as  "Black 
Pete."  He  aided  many  runaway  slaves  on 
their  way  to  Canada  and  freedom. 

The  first  tannery  was  started  in  the  town- 
ship near  Leesville  by  a  man  named  Jonas 
Hassinger.  Robert  Lee,  Jr.,  kept  the  first 
tavern,  at  Leesville,  later  selling  it  to  Elisha 
Allen,  who  conducted  it  for  several  years.  An- 
other early  tavern  keeper  was  Henry  Hersh- 
ner,  who  kept  a  place  at  Middletown  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  traveling  public.  Mid- 
dletown being  where  the  Columbus  and  San- 
dusky road  crossed  an  important  road  from 
Mansfield  to  Bucyrus.  Christian  Snyder 
owned  the  first  grist-mill,  which  was  a  horse- 
mill  located  just  east  of  Middletown.  In  the 
absence  of  horses,  oxen  were  sometimes  used 
to  turn  the  sweep.  The  flour  made  was  coarse 
and  uninviting  in  appearance,  the  settlers  be- 
ing obliged  to  bolt  it  by  hand,  but  in  spite  of 
this  the  mill  did  a  good  business.  Westell 
Ridgely  also  had  a  grist-mill  connected  with 
his  distillery. 

Jacob  Snyder  built  a  saw-mill  to  the  east  of 
Leesville,  but  sold  it  a  short  time  after  to 
Robert  Lee,  Sr.,  who  added  to  it  a  grist-mill, 
a  fulling-mill  and  a  carding  machine,  and  con- 
ducted them  for  many  years,  being  assisted 
by  his  sons. 

Adam  Beck,  who  came  in  1829,  two  years 
later  built  a  saw-mill  which  was  run  by  him 
and  his  sons  for  over  half  a  century. 

John  J.  McClure  came  to  the  township  in 
1829,  and  was  the  township  clerk  for  many 
years. 

Another  prominent  arrival  was  William 
Robinson  in  1831.  He  settled  on  the  land 
where  North  Robinson  now  is,  purchasing  it 
for  $1.25  per  acre.  He  was  a  soldier  of  the 
War  of  1812,  and  for  eighteen  years  was 
elected  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  the  township. 
The  family  came  from  Washington  county. 
Pa.,  and  on  the  trip  his  son  James  walked 


the  entire  distance,  driving  the  cows.  The  son 
James  also  held  office.  He  was  elected  clerk 
of  the  township  in  1839,  was  elected  recorded 
of  the  county  in  1846  and  re-elected  in  1849, 
and  again  elected  in  1857  and  ten  years  later 
represented  the  county  for  two  terms  in  the 
Legislature.  He  took  an  active  hand  in  mili- 
tary afifairs  under  the  old  militia  laws  of  the 
state,  and  attained  the  rank  of  Major,  by 
which  title  he  was  always  known. 

About  1833  ^^  influx  of  Germans  came  to 
the  township,  among  them  the  Becks,  Shumak- 
ers  and  Laughbaums.  One  was  John  Franz, 
who  took  an  active  hand  in  affairs.  He  served 
nine  years  as  Justice  of  the  Peace,  was  sheriff 
of  the  county  for  two  terms  and  also  treasurer 
for  two  terms,  and  in  1862  was  Lieutenant 
Colonel  of  the  loist  Ohio,  serving  four 
months. 

The  first  Justice  of  the  Peace  from  Jefferson 
township  was  Westell  Ridgely  in  1821,  by  ap- 
pointment of  the  Delaware  county  Commis- 
sioners. The  first  election  took  place  on  May 
15,  1824,  when  Matthias  Markley  and  Ichabod 
Smith  were  elected.  John  Cox  and  Disberry 
Johnson  were  also  justices,  while  the  present 
Jefferson  was  a  part  of  Sandusky  township. 
From  1835  to  1873  Jefferson  was  a  part  of 
Jackson  township,  but  since  that  time  the  fol- 
lowing have  been  the  Justices : 

Isaac  W.  Smith,  1873;  James  Robinson, 
1873;  Samuel  R.  Goshorn,  1873-76;  D.  O.  Cas- 
tle, 1876;  James  Seanor,  1877-80-86-88-91; 
Benjamin  F.  Warden,  1879;  A.  D.  Littler, 
1881;  L.  C.  Orr,  1881 ;  W.  P.  Deam,  1882; 
J.  P.  Flick,  1882;  J.  W.  Littler,  1886-89-92; 
A.  A.  Pfeifer,  1895-98-01-11,  and  J.  R.  John- 
ston, 1906-10. 

In  1828,  Rev.  Robert  Lee  came  to  what  is 
now  Leesville  and  bought  160  acres  of  Jacob 
Snyder,  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  7.  It 
was  on  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky  located  on 
high  ground,  and  here  the  following  year — 
1829 — he  laid  out  the  town  of  Leesville, 
which  he  named  Leesburg.,  It  has  three  streets, 
the  Bucyrus  and  Leesville  road  was  the  prin- 
cipal street  and  was  called  Main  street,  while 
north  of  it  was  Wood  street.  There  was  but  one 
north  and  south  street,  which  was  the  Portland 
road,  and  was  called  Liberty  street.  The  lots 
sold  for  a  good  price,  bringing  from  $25  to 
$50  each.     Lee  induced  several  mechanics  to 


270 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


come  to  the  place  and  open  shops,  and  his  son 
Robert  Lee,  Jr.,  opened  the  first  general  store, 
which  he  ran  successfully  for  many  years. 
Alexander  Cannon  located  in  the  town  and 
started  a  chair  factory  with  Rickson  Lewis  as 
the  painter.  Dr.  John  McKean  was  the  first 
physician,  coming  about  1830  and  remaining 
for  many  years,  after  which  he  removed  to 
Crestline.  Fifty  years  after  Dr.  McKean,  Dr. 
T.  H.  B.  Clutter  was  the  physician  of  the  vil- 
lage, and  he  also  removed  to  Crestline.  John 
Lewis  kept  a  tavern.  Elijah  Castle  was  the 
first  shoemaker  and  Peter  Wirt  was  the  first 
blacksmith  and  wagonmaker.  John  Teel 
started  a  blacksmith  shop  and  later  ran  the 
first  saloon.  The  first  merchants  were  Rob- 
ert and  Porter  Lee,  who  kept  a  general  store. 
Nearly  all  the  smaller  branches  of  the  trade 
were  established  in  the  village  and  it  was  in  a 
fair  way  of  becoming  a  place  of  importance 
when  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  road  was  built, 
and  passed  a  mile  to  the  south,  and  Leesville 
would  have  followed  similar  villages,  and  gone 
into  a  decline,  but  just  east  of  the  village  on 
the  farm  of  John  Neuman,  one  of  the  finest 
stone  quarries  in  the  state  was  opened,  a  spur 
was  built  to  the  Pittsburg  road  and  for  years 
the  output  of  the  quarries  was  constantly  in- 
creased. The  original  quarries  were  operated 
by  Heckert  &  Rupp,  and  they  finally  ^^'ere  pur- 
chased by  a  company  composed  of  Bucyrus 
and  Leesville  men  and  were  known  as  the 
Leesville  stone  company.  For  a  dozen  years 
this  was  one  of  the  profitable  industries  of 
the  county,  and  at  times  the  force  numbered 
100  men.  This  was  Leesville's  era  of  pros- 
perity and  a  large  brick  schoolhouse  was  built 
on  a  scale  that  showed  the  confidence  the  peo- 
ple had  in  the  future  of  the  village.  Two 
churches  are  in  the  village.  It  was  made  a 
postoffice  in  1839,  the  office  being  called  Lees- 
ville X  Roads,  and  Robert  Lee,  Jr.,  was  ap- 
pointed the  first  postmaster  by  President  Van 
Buren.  In  its  palmy  days  Leesville  boasted  a 
population  of  nearly  three  hundred  people;  it 
had  two  stores;  two  taverns,  three  saloons, 
and  a  dozen  small  shops,  but  the  quarries  failed 
to  prove  profitable;  they  were  no  longer  re- 
munerative, and  the  census  of  1900  and  1910 
shows  too  sadly  the  general  decline  of  the  vil- 
lage.    The  handsome   schoolhouse,   once   the 


pride  of  the  village,  may  be  still  their  pride, 
but  there  are  now  rooms  in  it  to  spare. 

The  Lees,  both  Robert  Sr.  and  Robert  Jr. 
were  men  of  education  and  ability  and  were 
deservedly  held  in  high  respect.  The  former 
was  a  son  of  Thomas  Lee,  born  in  Donegal, 
Ireland,  in  1770.  He  emigrated  to  America 
in  1787,  settling  in  Washington  county.  Pa. 
He  studied  for  the  ministry  at  Cannonsburg 
Seminary  and  became  a  member  of  the  Erie 
Presbytery.  After  coming  to  Crawford 
county  he  assisted  in  the  organization  of  many 
of  the  fearly  churches  and  did  much  for  the 
cause  of  religion  and  morality.  He  died  in 
1842.  Robert  Lee,  Jr.,  was  a  prominent  man 
in  both  state  and  county  and  efificiently  served 
two  terms  as  probate  judge.  He  passed  his 
last  years  in  retirement  at  Bucyrus. 

Newton  Ashcroft,  who  settled  south  of  Mid- 
dletown,  came  to  Jefferson  in  1828  with  his 
father's  family,  the  father  being  a  native  of 
England,  and  a  man  of  good  education,  who 
was  an  early  school  teacher.  Joseph  Gledhill 
and  family,  also  from  England  and  settled 
south  of  Leesville,  on  the  south  side  of  the 
gravel  ridge,  where  he  began  farming  opera- 
tions and  resided  for  many  years,  dying  in  the 
late  seventies.  His  son  Joseph  became  a  pros- 
perous citizen  of  Middletown. 

Abraham  Littler  in  1832  purchased  and 
moved  onto  the  Ridgely  farm  with  his  family. 
He  was  born  in  Hardy  county,  Va.,  in  1780 
and  died  in  Jefferson  township,  August  10, 
1844.  His  son  Lewis  became  one  of  the  promi- 
nent citizens  of  Sandusky  township,  serving 
in  various  oflfices. 

Leesville  has  had  the  largest  number  of 
postmasters  of  any  office  in  the  county: 

Robert  Lee,  Jr.,  Dec.  14,  1839;  Henry  Davis, 
June  5,  1849;  James  Clements,  May  18,  1850; 
J.  M.  Lewis,  Dec.  28,  1850;  S.  P.  Lee,  July  29, 
1853;  James  Clements,  Dec.  14,  1853;  John 
Newman,  April  17,  1857;  George  W.  Good, 
Jan.  29,  1859;  Adam  Billow,  July  26,  1861 ; 
Isaac  W.  Smith,  July  19,  1866;  George  Heis, 
Sept.  22,  1866;  George.  R.  Schaeffer,  April 
i.S,  1869;  John  Schaefifer,  April  17,  1871 ; 
John  U.  Shumaker,  Aug.  2,  1872;  Daniel  O. 
Castle,  Aug.  22,  1872;  Henry  Castle,  Jan.  22, 
1877;   Peter  Herr,  Jr.,  Nov.    11,   1878;  Wil- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


271 


liam  Dewalt,  March  24,  1880,  and  Henry  Berg, 
May  17,  1882. 

On  Oct.  10,  1882,  the  office  was  discontinued 
as  no  one  could  be  induced  to  take  the  job. 
Finally  they  secured  a  man  and  in  December 
it  was  reopened. 

John  P.  Flick,  Dec.  5,  1882;  and  O.  P. 
Beck,  April  5,  1883. 

On  Oct.  19  of  that  year  it  was  again  dis- 
continued, but  reopened  in  April,  1884. 

Peter  Herr,  April  4,  1884;  Peter  Bauer, 
Dec.  7,  1887;  Rosa  E.  Kochinderfer,  April  28, 
1888;  Charles  E.  Trimble,  June,  4,  1889;  Jacob 
Kelly,  July  3,  1889;  H.  H.  Bilsing,  April  12, 
1900;  C.  M.  Kelly,  Aug.  i,  1900;  and  Har- 
rison Rettig,  July  ig,  1901. 

On  May  13,  1904,  the  office  was  perma- 
nently discontinued  the  patrons  of  the  office 
being  supplied  by  rural  carriers  from  Crestline. 

The  importance  of  Leesville  in  the  early 
days  was  such  that  it  was  incorporated  by  the 
County  Commissioners  as  a  village.  Among 
the  Mayors  elected  was  Samuel  R.  Carson  in 
1847,  John  M.  Lewis,  1849;  John  C.  Teel, 
1851;  David  O.  Castle,  1874;  Enos  Flick, 
1879;  John  P.  Flick,  1883;  Jacob  Kelly, 
1889,  Sherwood  McKean  1891,  C.  E.  Schaad 
1899.  The  little  village  had  the  same  trou- 
ble over  its  officials  as  it  did  over  postmas- 
ters, in  getting  people  to  serve,  as  witness 
the  following  letter  written  to  A.  A.  Ruhl 
who,  as  County  Clerk  was  endeavoring  to  find 
out  to  whom  he  should  send  the  commission 
as  Mayor  of  the  village,  and  had  addressed  a 
letter  to  the  "Township  Clerk"  for  informa- 
tion: 

Leesville  X  Roads,  Aug.  11,  1883. 
Mr.  Alex  A.  Ruhl, 
"Bucyrus,  Ohio : 
"Yours  not  received  until  today  on  account 
of  P.  M.  at  this  place  not  knowing  who  was 
Corporation  Clerk,  and  I  hardly  know  myself. 
We  have  had  no  election  since  April,  1881 ;  at 
that  time  I  was  elected.     I  think  my  time  ex- 
pires in  two  years  from  date  of  election.    Some 
say  that  an  officer  holds  office  until  his  successor 
is  elected  or  chosen  and  qualified,  but  I  am  not 
certain  about  it.    I  filled  part  of  the  certificate, 
but  it  is  no  good  anyhow.     B.  Heckert  had  a 
talk  with  John  P.  Flick  and  he  will  not  serve  at 


all,  so  I  don't  see  any  use  in  sending  for  com- 
mission. 

"Resp'y  Yours, 

"Henry  Berg." 

In  1835,  Henry  Hershner  was  the  leading 
promoter  of  a  town  that  he  with  Christian 
Snyder  and  Adam  Ashcroft,  decided  to  lay 
out  on  the  Columbus  and  Portland  state 
road,  about  half  way  between  Gallon  and  Lees- 
ville. They  engaged  John  Stewart  of  Rich- 
land county  (the  town  being  in  that  county) 
to  lay  out  and  plat  the  town.  It  had  a  public 
square  and  two  diagonal  streets.  The  one 
running  from  southwest  to  northeast  was  the 
Portland  road  and  was  called  Columbus  street. 
The  other  from  northwest  to  southeast  was  the 
road  from  Bucyrus  to  Mansfield,  and  was  called 
Bucyrus  street.  There  were  30  lots,  18  of  them 
on  the  public  square  and  Bucyrus  street,  and 
12  on  Columbus  street.  It  was  named  from 
the  fact  that  it  was  about  midway  between  the 
two  towns  of  Gallon  and  Leesville. 

Henry  Hershner  opened  a  tavern  and  store ; 
the  store  he  soon  transferred  to  his  son  John, 
who  ran  it  successfully  for  many  years.  Wash- 
ington Modie  started  a  blacksmith  and  wagon 
shop.  Jacob  Hershner  started  a  cabinet 
maker's  shop.  Michael  and  John  Hershner 
built  a  saw-mill,  and  Christian  Snyder  a  grist- 
mill, which  was  run  by  horse-power.  It  also 
had  a  church  and  graveyard,  when  it  was  first 
laid  out,  and  later  two  other  church  buildings 
were  erected.  At  first  it  seemed  as  if  the  new 
town  would  be  a  formidable  rival  of  Gallon 
and  Leesville,  but  as  the  channels  of  travel  be- 
came diverted  from  the  old  road  by  new  and 
better,  as  well  as  shorter  routes  through  the 
county,  the  business  came  to  a  standstill,  and 
finally  began  to  decline,  and  in  1852  when  the 
Ohio  and  Indiana  road  passed  it  by  to  the 
north,  its  fate  was  sealed ;  many  of  the  build- 
ings were  abandoned,  and  as  time  passed 
either  fell  or  were  torn  down,  so  that  nothing 
now  remains,  but  one  or  two  residences  built 
in  recent  years  in  the  site  of  the  old  village, 
that  of  William  Gledhill  being  one  of  the 
handsome  country  residences  in  the  county. 

There  still  remains  the  old  burying  ground 
in  which  rest  the  remains  of  Henry  Hershner, 
Christian    Snyder   and   Adam   Ashcroft,    the 


272 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


original  founders  of  the  town  and  many  more 
of  its  early  inhabitants  and  their  descendants. 
The  oldest  stone  is  that  of  Jacob  Hershner, 
born  March  25,  1769;  died  March  9,  1829. 
Henry  Hershner,  his  brother,  was  born  Feb. 
II,  1776;  died  June  24,  1850.  Adam  Ash- 
croft  was  born  June  17,  1774;  died  Nov.  28, 
1866.  Christian  Snyder  was  born  May  6, 
1765;  died  June  20,  1863,  aged  98  years,  and 
Mary,  his  wife,  was  born  Dec.  4,  1768;  died 
Nov.  II,  1872,  aged  104  years. 

During  the  summer  of  1836,  Adam  Shu- 
maker,  William  Robinson  and  Abraham  Be- 
bout,  whose  farms  joined  at  a  point  about  half 
a  mile  south  of  the  present  village  of  North 
Robinson,  conceived  the  idea  of  laying  out  a 
new  town.  They  engaged  the  services  of  C. 
Sweney,  who  was  then  the  county  surveyor 
of  Crawford  county,  to  lay  out  the  town  and 
make  a  plat  of  it,  and  on  Feb.  2,  1836,  this 
plat  was  filed  in  the  Recorder's  office.  The 
new  town  was  on  the  road  leading  from  Bu- 
cyrus  to  Middletown  and  was  on  the  southeast 
part  of  fractional  section  13  Whetstone  town- 
ship, and  the  northwest  part  of  section  15, 
Jefferson  township,  in  what  was  then  Jackson 
township.  The  town  was  laid  out  in  a  style 
that  indicated  the  proprietors  believed  it  would 
assume  great  proportions.  There  was  a  large 
public  square,  four  north  and  south  streets — 
Wood,  Broadway,  Second  and  East ;  there  was 
but  one  east  and  west  street,  and  that  was 
the  Middletown  road  which  was  named  Main 
street ;  this  street  was  extensively  traveled,  as 
the  Bucyrus  and  Mansfield  stage  route  passed 
along  three  days  every  week.  The  lots  were 
placed  on  the  market,  but  it  was  about  this 
time  the  trouble  was  on  between  President 
Jackson  and  the  National  Bank,  and  the  panic 
which  resulted  left  no  money  in  the  country. 
This  financial  stringency  lasted  several  years, 
and  before  money  again  came  freely  into  cir- 
culation the  profect  was  abandoned  and  what 
was  once  to  be  the  town  of  Jacksonville  is  now 
nothing  but  a  cross  roads.  Not  even  a  house 
was  erected  on  the  site  of  the  town. 

The  first  schoolhouse  in  Jefferson  township 
was  built  about  1824  south  of  Leesville,  near 
the  "Hog's  Back,"  and  was  a  rude  log  struc- 
ture, about  20  by  24  feet  in  dimensions.  The 
furniture  was  as  crude  as  the  building,  the 
seats  being  hewed  slabs  with  four  legs  and  the 


writing  desk  a  slab  placed  against  the  wall  in 
a  slanting  position  and  supported  by  wooden 
pins  driven  into  the  logs.  David  Dorn  was 
the  first  pedagogue  who  presided  over  this 
temple  of  knowledge.  He  was  a  Pennsyl- 
vanian  of  limited  education  and  spoke  rather 
broken  English.  He  received  75  cents  apiece 
from  his  pupils  and  as  he  began  with  nine,  his 
income  to  start  with  was  $6.75  per  month.  An- 
other school  was  taught  by  David  Gill  on  the 
Tracht  place.  Soon  after  this  a  schoolhouse 
was  built  in  Leesville  and  was  followed  in  dif- 
ferent places  in  the  township  by  several  others. 
One  of  the  very  earliest  schools  was  held  at 
the  house  of  John  McClure,  Mr.  McClure  and 
Mr.  Akers  alternating  with  each  other  as  teach- 
ers by  the  week.  Another  early  teacher  was 
Mr.  Ashcroft,  father  of  Newton  Ashcroft,  who 
came  here  in  1828  and  spent  several  years  as 
a  pedagogue.  He  had  the  reputation  of  be- 
ing an  excellent  mathematician. 

One  of  the  earliest  church  organizations  in 
the  township  was  that  of  the  United  Brethren 
under  the  direction  of  Henry  Hershner.  For 
many  years  services  were  held  at  Mr.  Hersh- 
ner's  own  house,  but  later  a  church  was  erected 
in  Middletown,  which  is  still  standing. 

In  1835  a  church  was  erected  on  land  which 
later  became  the  property  of  John  Smith,  and 
was  for  many  years  known  as  the  Smith 
church,  but  it  was  torn  down  long  ago.  The 
United  Brethren  organized  the  first  church  in 
Leesville,  the  English  Lutheran  church  being 
organized  shortly  after.  There  is  a  German 
Reformed  church  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
township.  The  Rev.  Joseph  Van  Deman,  of 
Delaware,  a  Presbyterian  preacher,  took  a  lead- 
ing part  in  organizing  several  churches  in  the 
county.  Jacob  Newman  was  also  an  early 
preacher,  who  held  services  in  the  homes  of 
the  settlers.  Rev.  Robert  Lee  and  his  sons 
were  also  prominent  in  Christian  work,  though 
Mr.  Lee  held  no  pastorate  after  his  removal 
here. 

The  first  Sunday  school  held  in  Crawford 
county  was  organized  near  the  northern  bound- 
dary  line  of  Jefferson  township  by  David  Wert, 
one  of  the  early  settlers  in  that  section.  An- 
other early  Sunday  school  was  held  about  1832 
at  the  home  of  Benjamin  Worden,  and  these 
important  agencies  for  Christian  work  have 
since  been  multiplied  all  over  the  township. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


LIBERTY  TOWNSHIP 

The  Central  Location  of  Liberty  Township — Drainage  and  Topography — First  Settlers — Mills 
— The  Blowers  Family — Other  Early  Settlers — Interesting  Anecdotes — Fertility  of  the 
Soil — Timber — Medicinal  Springs — Justices — Organization  of  the  Township  and^  First 
Elections — Early  Treatment  of  the  Poor — Binding  Out  Children — Deckertown  Laid  Out 
— Puckertown  or  Brandywine  Station — A  Manuscript  Newspaper — Teel  Town — An- 
napolis or  Sulphur  Springs — Schools  and  Churches — Industries — Postmasters. 


"Who  planted  this  old  apple-tree?" 
The  children  of  that  distant  day 
Thus  to  some  aged  man  shall  say; 
And,  gazing  on  its  mossy  stem, 
The  gray-haired  man  shall  answer  them : 

"A  poet  of  the  land  was  he. 
Born  in  the  rude  but  good  old  times ; 
'Tis  said  he  made  some  quaint  old  rhymes 

On  planting  the  apple-tree." 

— William  Cullen  Bryant. 


Liberty  is  the  central  township  of  Crawford 
county,  the  geographical  center  of  the  county 
and  township  being  almost  coincident.  It  is 
geographically  defined  in  the  Government 
survey  as  township  2  of  range  17  east.  In 
1835  the  county  commissioners  attached  the 
fractional  sections  on  the  east  to  Sandusky 
township,  but  after  remaining  as  a  part  of 
Sandusky  township  for  several  years,  they 
were  again,  and  this  time  permanently,  at- 
tached to  Liberty  township,  the  dimensions  of 
which  are  six  miles  from  north  to  south  and 
nearly  five  and  one-half  miles  east  and  west. 
Liberty  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Chatfield 
and  Cranberry  townships ;  on  the  east  by  San- 
dusky and  a  small  portion  of  Cranberry;  on 
the  south  by  Whetstone,  and  on  the  west  by 
Holmes.  It  was  erected  by  the  Marion  county 
commissioners  on  Nov.  27,  1825,  and  called 
Liberty,  after  the  Goddess  of  Liberty. 

The  township  is  drained  by  the  Sandusky 
river,  which  enters  near  the  southeastern  cor- 
ner and  meanders  in  a  westerly  and  south- 
westerly    direction     toward     the     southwest 


corner,  where  it  enters  Bucyrus  township; 
Brokensword  creek,  which  rises  in  Liberty 
and  flows  through  the  northern  portion;  Bull 
Run,  a  small  stream  which  aids  in  forming 
the  Brokensword  and  drains  the  eastern  and 
central  lands;  and  Brandywine  creek,  which 
flows  through  the  western  portion,  finally  en- 
tering Holmes  tovimship;  besides  several  small 
creeks.  The  drainage  has  also  been  largely 
helped  by  numerous  ditches,  which  have  been 
cut  from  time  to  time  for  many  years  past  to 
carry  off  the  surplus  water,  whereby  most  of 
the  swamps  and  wet  lands,  which  originally 
covered  much  of  the  township,'  have  been  re- 
claimed and  made  suitable  for  cultivation. 

The  eastern  boundary  line  of  Liberty  town- 
ship forms  a  part  of  the  boundary  line  of  the 
New  Purchase,  the  immense  tract  of  land  ac- 
quired in  181 7  by  the  United .  States  Govern- 
ment from  the  Indians.  Among  the  numerous 
home  seekers  who  set  out  at  that  time  for  the 
territory  thus  newly  acquired,  many  visited 
Liberty  township,  attracted  by  its  great  nat- 
ural advantages,  and  of  these  a  large  number 
remained.  In  a  few  years  most  of  the  Gov- 
ernment land  in  the  township  had  been  entered 
by  actual  settlers.  In  January,  1820,  the  town- 
ship was  destitute  of  white  inhabitants,  but 
ten  years  later  there  was  a  white  population  of 
655.  The  first  settlers  came  mostly  from  New 
England  and  the  Western  Reserve,  they  being 
followed  in  the  early  thirties  by  the  Pennsyl- 
vania  Dutch  and   emigrants   from   Germany. 


273 


274 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


The  former  entered  land  along  the  Sandusky 
river  bottom,  while  the  Germans  settled  mostly 
in  the  central  and  northern  portions  of  the 
township. 

In  1840  the  United  States  census  showed  a 
population  of  1,469;  in  1850,  1,782;  i860, 
1,788;  the  highest  population  reached,  and 
since  that  time  it  has  gradually  decreased  in 
population,  due  to  the  fact  that  many  of  the 
smaller  land  holder*  had  sold  out  and  moved 
to  the  far  West. 

In  pioneer  days  Liberty  township  was  al- 
most entirely  covered  by  the  forest  and  was, 
of  course,  destitute  of  roads,  the  trails  or 
paths  between  the  settlements  being  indicated 
by  blazed  trees.  There  were  no  Indian  vil- 
lages, but  game  was  abundant,  as  were  also  the 
wolves,  who  disturbed  the  silence  of  the  night 
with  their  discordant  howls.  Occasionally  a 
black  bear  made  his  appearance,  though  if  he 
lingered  long  he  was  likely  to  become  a  target 
for  the  rifle  of  the  pioneer  or  that  of  some 
solitary  Indian  hunter.  With  the  pioneer  set- 
tler meat  was  easier  to  procure  than  bread,  as 
deer  and  wild  turkeys  were  plentiful  and  the 
streams  were  full  of  fish  and  in  many  places 
frequented  by  waterfowl.  Flour  ^was  another 
question,  however,  owing  to  the  lack  of  mills. 
For  some  time  hand-mills  were  used  which 
bruised  the  corn  into  coarse  meal,  but  wheat 
flour  was  a  comparative  rarity.  Gradually 
horse-mills  began  to  make  their  appearance, 
and  as  soon  as  one  of  these  was  constructed 
it  was  frequented  by  the  settlers  from  miles 
around,  who  often  had  to  wait  some  time  for 
their  turn,  the  journey,  to  and  from  home  often 
taking  two  or  three  days  and  the  grist  being 
carried  on  the  back  of  a  horse.  The  early 
mills  at  Mansfield  and  on  the  Mohican  were 
patronized  by  those  of  the  settlers  who  cared 
to  make  the  long  journey  through  the  pathless 
woods.  Isaac  Rice  built  a  mill  on  his  farm  at 
an  early  day,  which  enjoyed  a  large  custom. 
The  first  mill  was  built  by  Daniel  McMichael, 
and  was  a  great  accommodation  to  the  settlers. 
Mr.  McMichael  was  a  native  of  Ireland  who 
came  to  America  with  his  parents  at  the  close 
of  the  1 8th  century,  when  he  was  about  16 
years  old,  they  settling  in  Westmoreland 
county.  Pa.  He  married  a  Scotch  "lassie"  by 
whom  he  had  five  sons-  and  two  daughters, 
and   in    18 19   the   family   came   to    Crawford 


county,  spending  the  winter  on  the  banks  of 
the  Whetstone.  In  the  spring  of  1820  they 
settled  in  what  is  now  the  northern  part  of 
Bucyrus  corporation.  After  remaining  a  short 
time  there,  however,  he  removed  into  Liberty 
township,  about  one  mile  up  the  Sandusky 
river,  where  he  entered  land  and  built  his  mill, 
it  being  the  first  mill  erected  in  what  was  then 
Crawford  county,  and  was  erected  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1820.  Up  to  that  time  the  settlers  in 
the  neighborhood  had  been  compelled  to  go  to 
the  mills  in  Huron  or  Richland  counties,  a  trip 
through  the  forests  taking  two  and  three  days. 
About  1823  Mr.  McMichael,  finding  the 
water  power  on  the  Sandusky  insufficient  to 
keep  his  mill  going  twelve  months  in  the  year, 
rented  the  property  to  Nehemiah  Squires  and 
removed  to  Bucyrus,  where  he  died  in  1825. 
To  him  belongs  the  honor  of  having  been  the 
first  white  settler  in  Liberty  township,  and 
when  he  entered  his  land  it  was  one  of  the 
sites  where  already  were  the  coming  signs  of 
civilization,  for  on  this  land  Johnny  Appleseed 
had  planted  one  of  his  apple  orchards.  From 
probably  1800  to  181 5  this  wandering  char- 
acter had  planted  his  little  orchards  at  various 
points  along  the  Sandusky  and  the  larger 
streams,  and  his  fruit-bearing  trees  were 
found  later  by  the  earlier  pioneers. 

The  second  settler  in  Liberty  was  Ralph 
Bacon,  who  arrived  with  his  wife  and  nine 
children  in  the  fall  of  1820.  He  was  a  Massa- 
chusetts man  and  previous  to  his  advent  here 
had  resided  for  some  time  in  that  part  of 
northeastern  Ohio  that  is  now  Lake  county. 
They  arrived  at  Bucyrus  in  November  in 
Avagons  drawn  by  oxen,  and  stopped  the  first 
night  at  the  home  of  Mishael  Beadle  on  what 
is  now  West  Mansfield  street.  They  then 
moved  into  a  vacant  shanty  in  the  northeast- 
ern part  of  Bucyrus,  an  old  log  cabin  some 
hunter  or  squatter  had  abandoned,  on  what 
is  now  Plymouth  street,  remaining  there  until 
Mr.  Bacon  had  constructed  a  round  log  cabin 
upon  his  land  in  Liberty  township,  the  cabin 
being  completed  in  about  two  weeks.  His 
land  comprised  80  acres  in  the  east  half  of  the 
southeast  quarter  of  Section  33,  about  three 
miles  east  of  Bucyrus,  south  of  the  Sandusky 
river,  which  farm  subsenuently  came  into  the 
possession  of  his  son  Martin.  He  also  pur- 
chased   from   the   Government    160   acres   in 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


275 


Whetstone  township,  where  many  years  later 
he  erected  a  better  house,  which  he  occupied 
until  his  death  on  June  14,  1850.  He  had  thir- 
teen children.  Dexter,  the  tenth  child,  born 
May  6,  1822,  was  the  first  white  male  child 
born  in  Liberty.  In  September,  1822,  Sarah 
Bacon  married  Philander  Odell  and  they  were 
the  first  couple  married  in  the  township.  All 
Mr.  Bacon's  children  attained  maturity,  and 
most  of  them  married  and  reared  large  fam- 
ilies. 

Auer  Umberfield,  who  came  with  the 
Bacons,  in  1820,  driving  one  of  their  ox-teams, 
was  the  third  settler  in  Liberty  to  purchase 
land  and  erect  a  cabin.  Land  was  then  worth 
only  $1.25  per  acre  and  as  Mr.  Umberfield 
brought  with  him  $100  in  gold  he  was  enabled 
to  purchase  80  acres.  He  later  married  a 
daughter  of  James  Scott,  of  Whetstone  town- 
ship. In  1835  he  sold  out  to  Samuel  Plants 
and  went  farther  west.  Samuel  Plants  was 
the  father  of  Josiah  Plants,  who  later  was 
judge  of  the  court  and  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Bucyrus.  The  land  afterwards  came  into  pos- 
session of  Mrs.  Diana  Blowers. 

Thomas  McClure  settled  upon  160  acres 
just  south  of  the  Sandusky  river,  and  built  a 
cabin,  but  in  1833  sold  out  to  Michael  Nigh 
and  removed  to  Richland  county.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  county  commissioners  and  one 
of  those  who  located  the  county  seat  at 
Bucyrus.  John  Maxfield,  a  Vermont  Yankee, 
also  settled  in  Liberty  in  1821,  purchasing  160 
acres  of  land,  eighty  of  which  lay  between 
Umberfield's  and  McClure's  and  the  other 
eighty  just  east  of  Umberfield's.  By  mistake 
he  built  his  cabin  a  little  north  of  his  northern 
boundary  line,  and  came  near  losing  it;  for 
the  mistake  of  the  location  of  the  cabin  was 
discoverel  "by  a  peddler,  who  hurriedly  went  to 
Delaware  and  entered  the  eightv  acres  on 
which  it  stood.  Mr.  Maxfield  had  been  made 
suspicious,  however,  by  the  peddler's  actions, 
and  discovered  his  error  in  time,  so,  with  the 
assistance  of  his  neighbors,  in  a  few  hours 
they  moved  the  cabin  onto  his  own  land,  to 
the  subsequent  discomfiture  of  the  enterpris- 
ing peddler,  who  expected  to  get  a  cabin  for 
nothing.  Maxfield  sold  out  about  twenty 
years  later  and  removed  to  Illinois.  About 
the  year  1833  he  built  the  first  brick  house  in 
Liberty  township,  which  house  was  occupied 


by  Bacon.  The  brick  in  those  days  was  by 
no  means  of  the  quality  that  would  be  de- 
manded at  the  present  day.  It  was  usually 
made  by  pouring  water  on  the  ground  and  then 
having  the  clay  trampled  into  the  proper  con- 
sistency by  the  hoofs  of  cattle.  Naturally 
mud  and  other  undesirable  matter  entered 
largely  into  its  composition.  This  was  exem- 
plified in  a  house  built  by  Michael  Nigh  soon 
after  Maxfield's  was  finished,  which  fell  to 
pieces  soon  after  the  brick  was  moistened  by 
a  heavy  rain.  Maxfield's,  however,  seems  to 
have  bc^n  made  of  better  material,  as  it  lasted 
many  years  and,  perhaps,  may  be  still  stand- 
ing. Nigh  afterward  left  these  parts  for  Mis- 
souri and  came  to  his  end  by  being  drowned 
in  the  Missouri  river. 

In  April,  1821,  Henry  Couts  moved  into 
Liberty  from  Bucyrus  township  with  his  fam- 
ily, consisting  of  his  wife,  three  sons  and  three 
daughters.  He  entered  land  about  a  mile 
south  of  Sulphur  Springs,  which  farm  after- 
wards came  into  possession  of  Pharaoh  Bell. 
William  Huff  was  the  only  resident  in  the 
neighborhood  at  the  time.  Couts'  father. 
Christian,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary 
war. 

Perhaps  the  most  valuable  accession  to  Lib- 
erty township  in  its  earlier  history  was  John 
O.  Blowers,  who  first  visited  it  in  1821,  pur- 
chasing 160  acres  of  land  half  a  mile  east  of 
Ralph  Bacon's  place,  and  who  took  up  his 
permanent  abode  here  in  the  following  year, 
1822.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  intellectual, 
moral  and  Christian  character,  having  an 
abundant  fund  of  sound,  practical  wisdom, 
backed  by  moral  firmness.  He  became  a 
potent  force  for  good  in  the  township,  repress- 
ing and  overaweing  evildoers  and  leading  in 
every  movement  for  the  moral  and  material 
advancement  of  the  community.  He  pro- 
moted and  assisted  in  the  construction  of  the 
first  schoolhouse  and  in  his  cabin  the  first  re- 
ligious services  were  held.  A  devout  member 
of  the  Methodist  persuasion,  his  home  was  the 
resting-place  of  all  the  pioneer  circuit  riders 
and  itinerant  ministers  of  that  church  who 
visited  the  neighborhood,  but  he  also  gave  a 
hearty  welcome  to  those  of  other  sects,  it  being 
sufficient  for  him  that  his  guest  was  engaged 
in  Christian  work.  A  good  cause  was  sure 
not  only  of  his  moral  support  but  also  of  more 


27tj 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


substantial  assistance.  Mr.  Blowers  was  born 
in  Vermont  in  1782  and  was  married  in  1810 
to  Sylvinia  Chadsey.  Previous  to  1812  he 
had  purchased  land  near  Kingston,  Canada, 
with  the  intention  of  making  a  temporary 
home  in  that  country.  On  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  between  the  United  States  and  Eng- 
land, the  Canadian  authorities  tried  to  press 
him  into  the  English  service,  but  he  refused 
to  bear  arms  against  his  country  and  finally, 
to  escape  further  persecution,  abandoned  his 
accumulated  possessions  and  returned  to  his 
native  land,  settling  in  Wayne  county,  Ohio, 
from  where  he  and  his  family  subsequently 
removed  to  Crawford  county,  as  already  nar- 
rated. He  had  a  son  born  February  23,  1823, 
James  C,  who  died  the  same  day,  and  this  in- 
fant was  the  first  person  buried  in  the  town- 
ship, a  burial  site  being  selected  on  the  farm 
which  became  the  Blowers  grave  yard.  The 
second  death  occurred  in  the  family  of  John 
and  Joana  Maxfield,  July  8,  1823,  it  being 
of  their  son,  James  M.,  aged  two  years,  eleven 
months  and  twenty  days.  Mr.  Blowers  was 
the  father  of  sixteen  children,  eleven  sons  and 
five  daughters,  of  whom  only  five  sons  and  one 
daughter  grew  to  maturity.  Mr.  Blowers 
died  September  29  1844,  in  his  sixty-second 
year,  having  lived  in  the  township  nearly 
twenty-three  years,  and  was  buried  in  the 
grave  yard  which  takes  his  name. 

In  November,  1822,  William  Blowers  ar- 
rived in  Liberty  .township  from  Salem,  Wash- 
ington county,  N.  Y.,  and  settled  on  his 
brother's  farm.  He  was  accompanied  by  two 
of  his  sisters,  with  their  husbands,  Calvin  and 
Nehemiah  Squires,  the  latter  of  whom  was 
the  father  of  Dr.  J.  B.  Squires  of  Sulphur 
Springs. 

During  th^  War  of  181 2  Robert  Foster, 
with  his  wife  Peggy  and  four  children,  left 
Ireland  for  the  United  States  and  on  their  ar- 
rival settled  in  Richland  county.  Several 
years  later,  1822,  came  to  Crawford  county, 
where  in  due  time  the  family  was  increased  by 
several  additions.  They  were  vigorous  and 
aggressive,  taking  such  active  part  in  the  polit- 
ical struggles  at  the  time  of  the  rebellion  as  to 
be  referred  to  generally  as  "the  fighting  Fos- 
ters." Most  of  this  family  subsequently  re- 
moved farther  west.  One  of  the  daughters, 
Sarah,  born  May  22,  1822,  was  the  first  female 


child  born  in  Liberty  township.  She  became 
the  wife  of  Robert  Andrews.  Another 
daughter,  Mary  Ann,  married  Rev.  George 
Reid  and  was  the  mother  of  Hon.  William  M. 
Reid,  of  Bucyrus.  This  marriage  license  is 
the  first  one  on  the  record  in  the  Probate 
Judge's  office.     It  bears  date  of  October  17, 

1 83 1,  and  the  marriage  took  place  on  October 
18,  Rev.  Samuel  P.  Shaw  performing  the 
ceremony.  Prior  to  this  date  all  marriage 
records  were  destroyed  •  by  the  fire  which 
burned  the  county  jail. 

In* November,  1823,  Samuel  Smalley  ar- 
rived from  Vermont,  with  his  wife,  who  was 
a  sister  of  William  Blowers.  They  had  jour- 
neyed for  over  600  miles  in  a  wagon.  Soon 
after,  Smalley  settled  on  a  farm  east  of  Bu- 
cyrus, and  about  1830  he  purchased  of 
Nicholas  Singely  what  later  became  the  Crura 
farm. 

The  year  1823  was  marked  by  the  advent  of 
a  considerable  number  of  settlers,  among 
whom  were  James  McCurdy,  Asa  Cobb, 
Simeon  Parcher,  Ichabod  Smith,  Calvin  Stone, 
Garrett  Dorland,  with  his  sons,  James,  Isaac 
and  Luke;  Matthias  Markley,  Thomas  Smith, 
Benjamin  Manwell,  Jacob  Gurwell,  Joseph 
Chandler,  John  Chandler,  Charles  Doney  and 
Edward  Hartford.  In  1824  came  John  G. 
Stough,  Horatio  Markley,  Noble  McKinstry, 
John  Kroft  and  others.  These  settlers  mostly 
purchased  Government  lands,  which  were  ex- 
empt from  taxation  for  five  years.  The  fol- 
lowing persons  also,  as  shown  by  the  tax 
duplicate  of  the  county  for  1830,  entered  lands 
previous  to  April,  1825 :  John  Anderson, 
John  Bear,  John  Clingan,  John  H.  Fry,  Wil- 
liam Huff,  Daniel  Ketchum,  Philip  Klinger, 
Richard  King,  Daniel  Kimball,  William  Little, 
Richard  Spicer,  Daniel  Shelharrimer,  John 
Slifer,  Asa  Wetherby,  Anthoriy  Walker  and 
Mary  Wood. 

Other  early  arrivals,  whose  names  and  the 
facts  concerning  them  have  been  derived  from 
various  sources,  were  the  following:  John 
Essig  and  wife  came  to  Liberty  township  in 

1832,  taking  up  160  acres  on  the  Sandusky 
river.  J.  H.  Fry  came  in  1824  and  settled  on 
160  acres  west  of  Sulphur  Springs.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1827,  he  married  Catherine,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Williamson.  Rachel  Helm's  parents 
came  to  Liberty  in   182=;.     Jacob  D.   Heller, 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


277 


with  his  wife  and  nine  children,  came  to  Lib- 
erty in  1836,  with  a  two  horse  team  and  en- 
tered seventy-seven  acres.  Andrew  Hess  came 
in  1831.  In  April,  1833,  he  married  Mary 
Henry,  who  came  to  Crawford  with  her  par- 
ents in  1830.  Abraham  Grogg  came  in  1836 
and  settled  on  what  is  now  the  farm  of  J.  H. 
Moderwell.  He  also  bought  at  the  same  time 
120  acres  in  Chatfield  township.  John  Hise, 
with  his  wife  and  three  children,  settled  in 
Jackson  township  in  1824.  His  son,  William 
H.  Hise,  born  in  1818,  learned  the  shoemaker's 
trade  and  opened  a  shop  at  Gallon,  which  was 
probably  the  first  in  that  place.  Later  he 
opened  a  shop  in  Bucyrus,  where  he  remained 
three  years;  then  went  to  Sulphur  Springs, 
then  to  Whetstone  township  and  finally  took 
up  a  farm  in  Liberty,  and  was  Justice  of  the 
Peace  for  thirty  years. 

John  Williams  came  in  1832,  with  Solomon 
Shaffstall  and  family.  In  1833  he  worked  for 
his  brother,  building  a  mill  in  Holmes  town- 
ship. He  built  a  log  cabin  on  his  place,  using 
nails  which  cost  ten  cents  a  pound,  which  he 
paid  for  with  maple  sugar  that  he  and  his 
wife  made. 

Jacob  and  Mary  Waters  came  to  Liberty 
with  six  children  in  1830  and  settled  on  a  farm 
on  the  Sandusky  river,  which  had  been  en- 
tered several  years  previously  by  Philip  Trout. 
Their  son  Isaac  often  spoke  of  the  old  log 
schoolhouse,  in  which  sometimes  the  wood  fire 
made  so  much  smoke  that  teacher  and  schol- 
ars were  obliged  to  take  the  benches  out  of 
doors  and  finish  the  exercises  in  the  open  air. 

Martin  Wolf  came  to  Crawford  county  in 
1834.  His  father,  Henry  Wolf,  was  a  Revo- 
lutionary soldier.  Martin  was  a  sort  of  jack- 
of -all-trades,  but  was  very  poor  and  had  five 
children.  He  bought  sixty-three  acres  but 
could  not  pay  the  full  purchase  price,  so  gave 
his  note  of  $25  for  the  balance,  due  in  four 
months.  He  was  a  hard  worker  and  in  one 
week,  while  splitting  rails  in  the  day  time, 
made  five  pairs  of  shoes  in  the  evenings.  In 
this  way  he  paid  for  his  land. 

Jacob  and  Elizabeth  Zeiter  came  to  Liberty 
with  four  children  in  1830. 

Jacob  Sell  came  to  Liberty  township  with 
his  parents  in  1830. 

Daniel  Steen,  who  died  in  Liberty  township 
September   27,    1868,   was   born   in   Donegal 


county,  Ireland,  and  came  with  his  parents 
and  two  brothers  to  America,  settling  in  Lib- 
erty in  1827  on  the  farm  on  which  he  died. 

Michael  and  Elizabeth  (Kleinknecht) 
Kafer  came  to  Crawford  county  in  1833  and 
purchased  eighty  acres  in  Liberty. 

Michael  Treftz  came  to  Liberty  township  in 
1832 ;  after  he  entered  the  land  he  left  his  fam- 
ily at  Bloomingville  in  a  barn,  there  being  no 
other  accommodations,  and  he  came  on  foot 
to  prepare  their  new  home  for  them.  In  the 
meantime  his  daughter  Magdalena  and  her 
sister  walked  from  Bloomingville  to  San- 
dusky, where  they  secured  work  at  eighteen 
cents  per  week.  They  afterward  worked  in 
Columbus,  walking  the  entire  distance  several 
times  through  the  forest,  carrying  their  cloth- 
ing and  food,  and  stopping  at  farm  houses 
over  night,  and  occasionally  at  the  taverns 
where  the  price  was  six  cents  for  a  bed.  The 
money  they  earned  was  used  in  helping  to 
develop  the  family  farm.  Magdalena  Treftz 
later  married  Jacob  Green,  one  of  the  earlier 
settlers  in  Liberty  township. 

Michael  and  Susanna  Sponseller,  with  seven 
children,  came  to  Crawford  in  1832,  and 
bought  80  acres  in  section  20  of  his  brother- 
in-law,  Jacob  Mollenkoff,  who  came  here  in 
1828,  paying  him  $400,  or  $5  an  acre. 

Isaac  Williams  came  to  Crawford  in  1828, 
and  first  bought  160  acres  in  Holmes  township. 
Going  back  to  Stark  county,  he  returned  in 
1829  with  his  family,  in  a  two  horse  team  and 
wagon  and  driving  a  few  cattle.  Leaving  his 
family  at  Spring  Mills,  he  came  on  here  and 
purchased  80  acres  in  Liberty,  after  which  he 
went  back  to  bring  his  family.  In  the  vicin- 
ity of  Gabon  he  found  the  ground  so  soft  that 
he  had  to  hire  an  additional  team  to  get  the 
wagon  through. 

Gottleib  and  Magdalen  (Brosey)  Shieber 
came  to  Sandusky  City  by  boat  with  a  party 
from  Germany  in  1832.  They  then  walked 
overland  to  Crawford  county  in  search  of 
Fred  Feichtner,  and  found  him  in  Liberty 
township,  on  the  Brokensword.  Liking  this 
section,  they  walked  back,  hired  teams,  and 
returned  to  Crawford  the  same  year,  settling 
in  Liberty  township. 

John  G.  and  Catherine  Klink  worked  in  Co- 
lumbiana county  in  the  winter  of  1828  and 
saved  enough  to  buy  a  pair  of  oxen  and  a  cart. 


278 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


In  the  spring  of  1829  they  came  to  Crawford 
county,  with  their  three  children — Catherine, 
John  A.  and  John  G. — and  settled  in  the 
woods  in  Liberty  township,  where  he  bought 
80  acres,  paying  for  it  with  what  money  he 
had  and  two  watches.  They  stayed  at  a  neigh- 
bor's until  their  cabin  could  be  erected.  They 
had  many  hardships  to  contend  with.  Their 
cattle  strayed;  one  night  John  A.  got  tired  of 
hunting  for  them  and  went  to  sleep  in  a  hollow 
tree,  where  he  stayed  all  night,  returning  in 
the  morning.  Many  other  times  he  stayed  all 
night  in  some  Indian  camp.  He  became  quite 
friendly  with  the  Indians,  visited  their  camps, 
and  in  his  younger  days  they  sometimes 
brought  him  home  when  he  had  lost  his  way. 
He  was  married,  in  1848,  to  Melissa  Kohlman 
and  moved  to  a  farrn  of  no  acres,  which  he 
purchased  with  money  earned  by  chopping 
wood.  To  this  he  afterward  added  more  land 
until  he  had  a  tract  of  740  acres  all  together, 
besides  176  in  the  neighborhood.  He  brought 
his  farm  into  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and 
it  was  known  as  the  "model  farm"  and  for 
many  years  visitors  were  taken  out  from 
Bucyrus  to  see  the  Klink  farm,  as  it  had  a  state 
reputation  for  the  neatness  with  which  it  was 
kept. 

Adam  Link,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  re- 
sided in  Liberty  township,  near  Sulphur 
Springs.  The  Washington  "Constitution,"  of 
August,  1859,  thus  wrote  of  this  veteran: 
"Adam  Link  entered  the  regular  service  in 
1777.  His  father  had  settled  in  Washington 
county,  Pa.,  near  the  Virginia  line,  on  the  ex- 
treme borders  of  civilization.  Here  Adam 
was  brought  up,  surrounded  by  frontier  dan- 
gers in  the  vicinity  of  unfriendly  Indians.  On 
the  commencement  of  hostilities  the  Indians 
made  a  descent  on  the  settlements,  captured 
his  father,  murdered  and  scalped  him,  burnt 
the  house  and  barn  and  destroyed  a  large  field 
of  corn,  100  hogs,  40  sheep,  all  the  cattle  and 
horses  and  300  bushels  of  wheat.  From  this 
period,  the  family,  instead  of  being  well-to-do 
and  prosperous,  suffered  great  privations  and 
dangers  during  the  remainder  of  the  war.  At 
the  time  of  his  enlistment,  1777,  under  Capt. 
Mason,  he  was  so  well  known  that  the  remark 
was  made  'He  is  a  good  marksman  and  will 
now  have  an  opportunity  to  try  his  skill.'  At 
different   periods   he    served    in    garrisons    at 


Wheeling,  Moore,  Dement's  and  Shepherd's 
forts  and  acted  as  an  Indian  spy,  as  well  as 
scouting  along  the  frontier.  He  was  at 
Wheeling  garrison  when  Capt.  Mason  was 
shot  through  the  hips. 

"The  old  man  many  years  ago  applied  to  a 
pension  agency  at  Tiffin  to  secure  the  pension 
to  which  he  was  entitled.  The  agent  de- 
manded an  exorbitant  fee,  which  Link  refused 
to  pay,  whereupon  the  agent  misrepresented 
matters  at  Washington  so  that  the  pension  to 
which^he  was  so  justly  entitled  was  withheld 
from  him  for  twelve  years.  Some  eight  years 
ago  the  Hon.  F.  W.  Green  took  the  matter  in 
hand  and  since  that  time  he  has  received  his 
pension  regularly." 

August  13,  1859,  eight  names  were  recorded 
which  comprised  all  the  Revolutionary  soldiers 
on  the  pension  rolls  in  Ohio.  Among  them  ap- 
peared the  name  of  Adam  Link,  Crawford 
county,  aged  99  years. 

Adam  Link  was  born  Nov.  14,  1761,  and 
died  at  the  home  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Horatio 
Markley,  in  Liberty  township,  Aug.  15,  1864, 
aged  103  years,  and  was  buried  in  the  Union 
cemetery  one  mile  northeast  of  Sulphur 
Springs. 

R.  W.  Musgrave,  born  at  Cayuga,  N.  Y.,  in 
181 1,  came  to  Jeromeville,  Ashland  county, 
and  in  1829  to  Bucyrus,  O.,  where  he  was  ap- 
prenticed to  Henry  St.  John  in  his  store  until 
183 1.  He  went  to  Massillon  in  1832  as  a 
partner  of  Mr.  St.  John;  was  married  to  a 
Miss  Gillespie  and  in  1841  settled  in  Annap- 
olis, Liberty  township.  In  1845  the  legislature 
elected  him  one  of  the  associate  judges  of 
Crawford  county,  which  position  he  held  until 
the  new  constitution  was  adopted.  In  185 1  he 
became  secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Agri- 
culture and  was  president  and  secretary  for  six 
years. 

August  28,  1856,  Thomas  Brown,  editor  of 
the  Ohio  Farmer,  wrote  of  him  as  follows,  and 
the  account  shows  the  wealth  of  the  forests  of 
half  a  century  ago :  "R.  W.  Musgrave,  Esq., 
lives  at  Sulphur  Springs  in  Crawford  county, 
Ohio.  He  is  now  and  has  for  several  years 
been  a  very  efficient  member  of  the  State 
Board  of  Aericulture,  and  for  some  time  its 
president.  His  farm  consists  of  700  acres  of 
as  good  land  as  there  is  in  the  rich  county  of 
Crawford  and  two-thirds  of  it  are  under  culti- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


279 


vation.  As  evidence  of  the  quality  of  the  soil, 
we  might  mention  that  the  timber  land  is  cov- 
ered with  the  largest  growth  of  black  walnut, 
sugar  tree,  ash,  white  oak,  beech,  etc.  We 
have  never  seen  such  huge  walnuts.  Hun- 
dreds of  them  are  from  three  to  four  feet  in 
diameter,  and  their  trunks  clear  of  limbs  from 
fifty  to  sixty  feet  from  the  ground.  The  sur- 
face of  the  country  is  not  level,  but  sufficiently 
rolling  to  drain  well.  The  soil  is  generally  a 
deep  black  loam,  that  never  bakes,  but  tills 
as  kindly  as  best  bottom  land.  The  most 
promising  field  of  corn  we  have  seen  this  sum- 
mer we  saw  on  the  Judge's  farm.  He  has 
close  by  his  house  a  sulphur  spring,  whose 
chemical  and  medicinal  qualities,  we  should 
judge  from  the  taste  and  smell,  are  similar  to 
the  springs  of  Delaware  and  the  White  Sul- 
phur Spring  of  Virginia.  The  volume  of 
water  is  quite  large.  It  would  average  a 
stream  of  from  two  to  three  inches  in  diameter. 
There  are  other  springs  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  and  several  others  in  the  county.  The 
waters  are  generally  cathartic  and  diuretic  and 
diaphoretic  in  their  effects.  There  is  also  a 
chalybeate  spring  near  Bucyrus." 

From  1820  to  1825,  Liberty  township  was 
a  part  of  Sandusky.  W'estell  Ridgely  and 
Joseph  Young  were  commissioned  justices  of 
the  peace  for  Sandusky  township  April  15, 
1 82 1,  and  when  their  terms  expired  an  election 
was  held  May  15,  1824,  the  successful  candi- 
dates being  Mathias  Markley  and  Ichabod 
Smith,  but  they  were  both  commissioned  jus- 
tices of  the  peace  of  Sandusky  township  May 
31,  1824,  and  sworn  in  as  such  by  Zalmon 
Rowse,  justice  of  the  peace  of  Bucyrus  town- 
ship. In  1824  Crawford  county  was  tempo- 
rarily attached  to  Marion  county  and  justices 
of  the  peace  had  been  appointed  for  only  four 
townships.  The  commissioners  of  Marion 
county,  at  the  March  session  in  the  year  above 
mentioned  (182=;)  passed  the  following  order: 
"That  surveyed  township  No.  2,  in  range  17 
south  of  the  base  line  in  the  district  of  Dela- 
ware be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  organized  into 
a  new  township,  by  the  name  of  Liberty." 
For  some  reason  Smith  received  another  com- 
mission dated  June  18.  182^,  as  justice  of  the 
peace  for  Liberty,  but  Markley  still  continued 
to  hold  his  office  by  virtue  of  the  former  elec- 
tion.    Markley  was  twice  re-elected,  but  after 


serving  for  over  eight  years  resigned  and  re- 
moved to  Illinois.  Ichabod  Smith  was  re- 
elected in  1827,  but  resigned  before  his  term 
expired  to  take  a  contract  for  building  a  part 
of  the  Columbus  and  Sandusky  Pike. 

The  following  is  a  complete  list  of  the 
justices  of  Liberty  township : 

Mathias  Markley,  1824-27-30;  Ichabod 
Smith,  1824-27;  James  S.  Gurwell,  1832;  Asa 
Cobb,  1834-37-40-43-49;  John  Slifer,  1835-38; 
William  VVoodside,  1844;  Charles  Keplinger, 
1846;  William  Snyder,  1847;  Horace  Rowse, 
1848-51 ;  Robert  Johnson,  185 1 ;  Joseph  Roop, 
1852-55-58-61 ;  Jonathan  N.  Harmon,  1854- 
57-60;  William  H.  Hise,  1863-66-69-78-81- 
84-87-90-93-97;  Henry  Fry,  1864-67-70; 
Clark  Bacon,  1872;  A.  R.  Briggs,  1872-75; 
Thomas  Millard,  1873;  S.  A.  McKeehen, 
1873-76-79-82-85-88-91-02-07;  William  D. 
Mewhart,  1896-99;  Rufus  Aurand,  1900; 
Emanuel  Schieber,  1903-06;  Jacob  S.  Keller, 
1905-09,  and  Samuel  Hise,  1909. 

It  is  probable  that  Liberty  township  was 
fully  organized  and  township  officers  chosen 
at  the  spring  election  in  1826,  but  the  names 
of  the  officers  are  not  known,  as,  if  any  rec- 
ords were  kept,  they  have  been  lost  or  de- 
stroyed. It  is  thought  that  John  Kroft  was 
the  first  clerk.  John  G.  Stough  was  chosen 
one  of  the  three  trustees  elected  in  the  spring 
of  1828,  James  McCurdy  being  another.  The 
first  elections  were  held  in  private  houses  near 
the  center  of  the  township,  until  the  Center 
schoolhouse  was  erected.  Gen.  Jackson  polled 
a  heavy  vote  for  president  in  November,  1828, 
the  polling  place  being  at  the  cabin  of  James 
McMannes.  On  July  i,  1831,  the  township 
trustees,  Isaac  Rise,  Elias  Chambers  and  Rob- 
ert Foster,  took  an  enumeration  of  the  house- 
holders of  the  township,  and  at  the  same  time 
appointing  John  G.  Stough  as  treasurer.  As 
Thomas  Smith  had  been  previously  elected  to 
this  latter  position,  but  had  failed  to  take  the 
oath  of  office,  Stough  declined  to  serve,  and 
the  trustees  then  served  a  notice  on  Smith, 
who  appeared  and  consented  to  act.  In  those 
days  many  citizens  preferred  to  pay  a  fine 
rather  than  serve  in  any  public  office. 

Liberty  township  was  divided  into  road  dis- 
tricts by  the  trustees  on  March  5,  1832.  On 
April  2d  of  that  year  the  first  election  on 
record  took  place  and  was  held  at  the  house  of 


280 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Leven  Conley,  near  the  center.  The  persons 
chosen  to  fill  the  different  offices  were  as  fol- 
lows: Trustees,  Isaac  Rise,  Robert  Foster 
and  Jacob  Mollenkopf;  constables,  Isaac 
Slater  and  Frederick  Beard;  clerk,  John 
Kroft;  treasurer,  John  G.  Stough;  overseers 
of  the  poor,  Robert  Foster  and  Isaac  Markley; 
fence  viewers,  Samuel  Cover,  Hanry  Charlton 
and  Frederick  Williams. 

The  duties  pertaining  to  the  office  of  over- 
seer of  the  poor  were  sometimes  of  a  disagree- 
able nature  and  the  office  was  not  coveted  by 
any  of  the  citizens,  but  was  filled  only  from 
a  sense  of  public  duty.  It  was  the  business  of 
such  officials  not  only  to  inquire  into  cases  of 
destitution  and  render  assistance  to  deserving 
unfortunates,  but  also  to  warn  away  by  legal 
notice  any  idle,  roving  or  otherwise  worthless 
characters  that  might  come  into  the  township 
and  threaten  to  become  a  public  charge.  One 
of  these  notices  issued  in  1832,  read  as  fol- 
lows: 

The  State  of  Ohio,  Crawford  County,  S.S. 
To  Isaac  Slater,  Constable  of  Liberty  Town- 
ship, greeting: 

Whereas,  information  hath  been  given  to 
us,  Mathias  Markley  and  Robert  Foster,  Over- 
seers of  the  Poor  for  said  township,  that 
Thomas  Alsoph  has  come  within  the  limits  of 
the  township  to  be  sick,  who  will  be  likely  to 
become  a  township  charge;  you  are  hereby 
commanded  forthwith  to  warn  said  Thomas 
Alsoph  to  depart  the  said  township  and  of  this 
writ  make  legal  service,  and  duly  return  it, 
according  to  laws  given  under  our  hands  this 
1 2th  day  of  March,  A.  D.,  1852. 

Mathias  Markley, 
Robert  Foster, 
Overseers  of  the  Poor. 

There  was,  perhaps,  little  call  for  this 
notice,  as  Alsoph  was  an  Englishman,  at  times 
childish  in  his  mind,  and  his  wealthy  relatives 
had  gotten  rid  of  him  by  shipping  him  to 
America  about  1824,  sending  money  quarterly 
for  his  support.  His  home  was  generally 
Holmes  township,  and  his  money  usually 
gone  in  a  spree  within  a  week  after  its  recep- 
tion, except  that  some  of  his  unscrupulous 
keepers  frequently  kept  the  entire  remittance. 
He  had  periods  of  sobriety,  in  which  he  took 


an  active  hand  in  politics,  being  very  impar- 
tial as  to  what  principles  he  advocated,  his 
main  desire  being  to  make  speeches,  and 
he  was  a  fairly  fluent  talker.  In  i860  John 
Hopley,  another  Englishman,  became  the  at- 
torney to  whom  the  remittances  were  for- 
warded, and  he  found  Alsoph  almost  uricared 
for,  his  constitution  and  mind  both  weakened 
by  his  years  of  excesses.  By 'degrees  he  was 
straightened  up  and  returned  to  his  family  in 
England. 

This  old  law  was  sometimes  used  as  a  prac- 
tical joke,  and  the  warning  notice  was  served 
on  some  responsible  person,  who  was  in  no 
danger  of  ever  becoming  a  public  charge. 
Sometimes  this  led  to  trouble,  but  they  were 
generally  ignored.  The  Liberty  township 
records  are  full  of  these  warnings.  John  B. 
Morrison-  received  two  of  these  notices  order- 
ing him  to  leave,  one  in  1833,  followed  by  the 
second  in  1836.  He  did  not  go,  as  in  April, 
1837,  the  Common  Pleas  Court  at  Bucyrus  ap- 
pointed him  one  of  the  school  examiners  for 
Liberty  township,  a  position  for  which  the 
Court  selected  none  but  the  best  men. 

Another  law  allowed  poor  or  shiftless  par- 
ents to  bind  out  their  children  to  others  for  a 
term  of  years,  or  until  they  became  of  age,  and 
there  are  records  of  a  number  of  cases  of  this 
kind  in  Liberty  township.  One  Moses  Co- 
berly  thus  bound  out  three  of  his  children 
within  the  space  of  thirty  days.  The  first  of 
these — and  the  first  of  which  there  is  any 
record  in  the  township — is  between  Moses 
Coberly,  who  binds  his  son  Robert  to  Corne- 
lius Borland  for  a  term  of  seven  years,  during 
which  time  Borland  is  to  "teach  the  young 
man  arithmetic  to  the  rule  of  three  and  keep 
him  in  wearing  apparel."  At  the  end  of  the 
seven  years  Robert  is  to  receive  from  Borland 
"one  horse,  saddle  and  bridle  worth  $75,  also 
one  suit  of  broadcloth  clothes  and  one  suit  of 
home  made  or  common  wearing  apparel." 
This  agreement  is  dated  Becember  31,  1834. 
In  1843  the  trustees  bound  Lucy  Wilhelgriner, 
an  orphan,  to  Frederick  and  Elizabeth  Wil- 
liams for  a  term  of  five  years  and  four  months. 
This  young  lady  was  to  be  taught  "the  art, 
mystery  and  occupation  of  common  labor" 
and  they  were  to  train  her  in  "habits  of  obedi- 
ence,   industry    and    morality."      Buring   her 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


281 


term  of  service  she  was  to  be  allowed  "meat, 
drink  and  wearing  apparel  both  for  summer 
and  winter,"  and  at  the  end  of  the  time  she 
was  to  receive  "two  suits  of  common  wearing 
apparel  and  a  new  Bible."  Miss  Wilhelgriner, 
it  seems,  had  to  be  satisfied  with  common  or 
ordinary  apparel  after  all  her  years  of  serv- 
ice, in  this  respect  being  less  fortunate  than 
the  young  man  Robert,  above  mentioned,  who 
got  at  least  one  suit  of  broadcloth  to  wear  on 
state  occasions.  As  for  Robert,  if  he  were 
bound  out  today,  instead  of  a  horse  he  would 
demand  an  automobile. 

On  Dec.  31,  1837,  there  was  filed  in  the  Re- 
corder's office  at  Bucyrus  the  plat  of  a  pro- 
posed town  to  be  called  Deckertown,  on  the 
southwest  part  of  section  25,  Liberty  town- 
ship. It  was  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
west  of  Luke's  tavern  which  stood  on  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  road  known  as  the 
"Old  River  Road,"  the  Sandusky  being  just 
across  the  road  from  the  tavern,  the  north  and 
south  road  which  passed  Luke's  tavern  being 
the  boundary  line  between  Liberty  and  San- 
dusky townships.  At  that  time  the  old  river 
road  was  very  much  traveled,  being  the  route 
from  Bucyrus  to  West  Liberty,  the  latter  vil- 
lage being  a  very  important  business  center. 
The  town  was  laid  out  on  both  sides  of  the 
road,  thirteen  lots  on  each  side,  and  in  the 
town  limits  the  road  was  called  Main  street. 
There  was  one  north  and  south  street  named 
Mill,  so  called  from  the  fact  that  it  led  to  the 
Decker  saw  mill  which  was  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  north  of  the  town  on  the  bank  of  the 
Sandusky.  Deckertown  was  also  a  victim  of 
the  great  panic  of  1837,  and  the  project  was 
abandoned  before  any  lots  were  sold.  It  de- 
rived its  name  from  the  projector  and 
proprietor,  James  Decker,  on  whose  land  it 
was  situated  and  who  owned  the  saw  mill. 

About  three-quarters  of  a  mile  east  of  the 
station  of  Brandywine  on  the  Columbus  and 
Sandusky  Division  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
way, and  about  four  and  a  half  miles  north- 
east of  Bucyrus  in  Liberty  township  many 
years  ago  five  or  six  families  located  at  and 
near  to  the  crossing  of  two  county  roads  at 
that  point.  At  a  very  early  day  Samuel 
Parcher  had  a  saw  mill  near  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  crossing.  He  sold  it  to  Jonas 
Heckert,  who  after  several  years  sold  it  to  the 


16 


Hildebrands,  who  still  operate  it.  Solomon 
Benson  had  a  saw  mill  a  few  rods  from  the 
crossing  that  ran  successfully  for  many  years. 
Charles  Keplinger  had  a  brickyard  a  few  rods 
west  of  the  crossing,  he  also  had  a  cider  press. 
Scott  Shell  had  a  blacksimth  shop  on  the 
northwest  corner.  Later  it  was  run  by  Louis 
Ritenhauer  for  several  years.  Four  or  five 
dwelling  houses  were  erected  for  those  em- 
ployed in  the  dii¥erent  industries,  and  the  cor- 
ners was  a  fairly  busy  center,  and  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  thriving  little  village.  In  1888 
William  E.  Keplinger  opened  a  store  on  the 
northwest  corner.  A  postoffice  was  estab- 
lished and  was  called  Brandywine,  after  the 
little  stream  that  passed  the  town.  William 
E.  Keplinger  was  appointed  postmaster 
March  2,  1888,  and  had  the  office  in  his  store. 
When  the  railroad  was  completed  and  opened 
for  business  in  1893,  a  station  called  Brandy- 
wine was  opened'  for  the  convenience  of  the 
people  in  that  section,  and  it  was  not  long  be- 
fore the  store  and  postoffice  were  removed 
half  a  mile  west  to  the  station.  The  place  had 
been  known  as  Puckertown  for  more  than 
sixty  years.  David  Shealey,  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  that  section,  gives  the  origin  of  the 
name.  He  says  that  in  the  early  days  it  was 
customary  to  have  literary  exercises  at  the 
school  house,  and  among  other  features  at 
each  meeting  was  a  newspaper  giving  the  news 
of  the  neighborhood,  and  humorous  hits  at 
the  follies  and  foibles  of  the  members  and 
friends.  Of  course  it  was  in  manuscript,  dif- 
ferent ones  of  the  brighter  pupils  taking  a 
turn  as  editor  and  publisher.  It  was  necessary 
to  have  a  name  for  the  paper  and  some  one 
now  forgotten  gave  it  the  name  of  the  Pucker- 
town  News,  and  this  gave  the  name  to  the 
locality.  Keplinger.  continued  as  postmaster 
until  the  appointment  of  the  present  incum- 
bent, C.  E.  Hildebrand,  on  March  28,  1910. 

Three  miles  north  of  Brandywine  in  the 
northwestern  section  of  Liberty  township, 
there  was  a  station  on  the  Columbus  and  San- 
dusky Short  Line  at  which  the  trains  stopped 
on  signal.  Here  a  store  was  started  and  a 
petition  presented  for  a  post  office,  and  on 
Sept.  18,  1894,  a  post  office  was  established 
called  Ridgeton  and  George  B.  Quaintance 
was  appointed  postmaster.  He  held  the  office 
until  it  was  discontinued  on  Feb.  14,  1906,  the 


282 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


people  after  that  being  supplied  by  rural  route 
from  Bucyrus. 

Along  in  1867  and  1868  the  citizens  of  Sul- 
phur Springs  were  actively  interested  in  a 
proposed  railroad  from  Toledo  to  Crestline, 
via  Tiffin,  Melmore,  Lykins  and  Sulphur 
Springs.  The  citizens  of  the  latter  village  and 
Liberty  township  were  very  anxious  to  have 
the  railroad  built  and  subscribed  $35,000,  or 
rather  they  guaranteed  to  take  that  amount  of 
the  stock  of  the  company.  The  preliminary 
surveys  were  made,  the  line  passing  through 
the  northeastern  part  of  Sulphur  Springs. 

George  W.  Teel,  one  of  the  leading  pro- 
moters of  the  railroad  had  a  plot  of  town  lots 
laid  out  on  his  farm,  about  half  a  mile  east  of 
Sulphur  Springs,  at  the  point  where  the  depot 
was  to  be  located,  and  seven  or  eight  dwelling 
houses  were  erected  and  occupied.  It  never 
attained  any  standing  as  a  commercial  or  in- 
dustrial point,  as  no  stores  or  shops  were  ever 
located  there,  but  otherwise  it  had  the  appear- 
ance of  a  country  village.  By  common  con- 
sent of  the  people  in  the  neighborhood  it  was 
called  Teel  Town,  and  today  is  generally 
spoken  of  by  that  name.  It  might  he  added 
the  ideas  of  the  Sulphur  Springs  promoters 
were  very  expansive,  and  the  sanguine  ones 
believed  that  if  the  road  was  secured  it  would 
eventually  lead  to  the  removal  of  the  county 
seat  to  Crawford  county  on  account  of  the 
central  location  of  Sulphur  Springs.  The 
Crestline  people  failed  to  give  the  financial  aid 
to  the  proposed  road  that  was  necessary  and 
it  was  abandoned.  But  later  New  Washing- 
ton parties  got  Mansfield  and  Toledo  people 
interested  and  built  the  Mansfield  and  Cold- 
water  road,  now  known  as  the  Toledo  Divi- 
sion of  the  Pennsylvania  system.  Sulphur 
Springs  and  Teel  Town  were  completely  ig- 
nored and  New  Washington  was  placed  on 
the  railroad  map  and  the  village  of  Tiro  came 
into  existence. 

The  first  school  in  Liberty  township  was 
taueht  in  a  cabin  on  the  farm  of  Daniel 
McMichael  during  the  winter  of  1821-22. 
The  teacher  was  John  McClure,  who  in  1826 
was  the  first  surveyor  of  Crawford  county. 
The  attendance  was  not  large,  the  school  being 
supported  by  a  few  families  only,  The  build- 
ing was  probablv  a  very  rude  afifair.  with 
rough  slabs  for  benches  or  desks,  a  stick  and 


mud  chimney  and  some  oiled  paper  pasted 
over  a  hole  in  the  wall  for  a  window.  Such 
were,  in  general  the  earliest  pioneer  school- 
houses;  yet  in  them  germs  of  knowledge  were 
planted  which  afterward  ripened  into  many  a 
stately  tree  of  intellect  and  moral  force.  With 
the  growth  of  settlements,  however,  better 
educational  facilities  were  provided,  and  thus 
we  find  as  early  as  the  fall  of  1823  a  school- 
house  was  built  in  Liberty  which  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  glass  windows,  and  which  was 
known  as  the  Maxfield  schoolhouse,  it  being 
located*  on  the  northeast  corner  of  John  Max- 
field's  land.  Nehemiah  Squire  made  the  win- 
dow sash  for  it  out  of  a  linn-wood  puncheon 
that  had  constituted  part  of  the  chamber  floor 
of  an  aristocratic  log  cabin  the  previous  win- 
ter. Here  school  was  first  taught  by  Rev. 
William  Blowers  in  the  winter  of  1823-24. 
Other  early  teachers  here  were  Cary  Tilbury, 
Samuel  Magers  and  a  Mr.  Ortop.  Another 
schoolhouse  was  built  during  the  fall  of  1827 
just  southeast  of  the  present  site  occupied  by 
the  Crall  United  Brethren  church.  Sally 
Smith  was  the  first  teacher  and  the  building 
was  known  as  the  Smith  schoolhouse.  The 
Maxfield  and  Smith  schoolhouses  were  both 
in  what  is  now  the  Second  school  district,  and 
the  Blowers  church  in  the  same  territory  was 
used  for  school  purposes  many  years.  In  the 
Third  district  the  Simmons  schoolhouse  was 
built  before  1833;  the  Bell  schoolhouse,  in  the 
Fourth  district  several  years  previous,  and  it 
is  probable  that  schools  were  taught  there  as 
early  as  1827,  as  there  were  many  settlers  in 
the  neighborhood  at  that  time.  The  lands  of 
the  Fifth,  or  Center,  district  were  not  entered 
until  a  later  date,  in  1825  only  240  acres  of 
this  territory  having  been  purchased  from  the 
Government.  In  what  is  now  the  Sixth  dis- 
trict a  schoolhouse  was  erected  about  1838. 
In  the  Seventh  district  a  round  log  schoolhouse 
was  erected  bv  the  united  efforts  of  some  of 
the  settlers  during  the  fall  of  1830.  At  this 
time  no  other  schoolhouse  had  been  built  in 
the  northwestern  oart  of  Liberty  or  the  north- 
eastern part  of  Holmes :  neither  at  the  Center 
district  or  the  district  north  of  Liberty  Cen- 
ter. The  Kroft  schoolhouse  in  the  Eighth  dis- 
trict was  built  before  1832.  The  Ninth  dis- 
trict, being  thinlv  settled,  was  perhaps  the  last 
to  organize.    In  the  Tenth,  or  Sulphur  Springs 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


285 


special  district,  a  log  building  was  erected  for 
school  purposes  in  1837,  on  land  donated  by 
John  Slifer.  In  course  of  time  these  rough 
log  schoolhouses  were  replaced  by  finer  frame 
buildings,  and  these  in  turn  were  superseded 
by  the  present  brick  structures.  The  first  of 
these  more  durable  edifices  was  constructed  for 
the  Seventh  or  Keplinger  district  in  1876,  at 
a  cost  of  $1,200,  and  this  was  soon  followed 
by  others. 

The  Methodists  were  the  pioneers  in  the 
religious  field  of  Liberty  township,  the  gospel 
being  first  preached  here  by  the  itinerant  min- 
isters of  that  denomination.  During  the  year 
1 82 1  Methodist  missionary  preachers  belong- 
ing to  the  Delaware  Circuit  had  advanced  as 
tar  north  as  Bucyrus,  where  they  were  filling 
regular  monthly  appointments.  The  "most 
energetic  worker  in  the  cause  of  Methodism 
was  John  O.  Blowers,  who  has  been  pre- 
viously mentioned  as  having  exerted  a  great 
moral  and  religious  influence  in  the  commu- 
nity. It  was  through  him  that  the  first  class 
meeting  was  formed  and  preaching  held  at  his 
cabin  in  the  spring  or  summer  of  1822.  The 
class  was  composed  of  Mr.  and  -Mrs.  Blowers, 
William  Cooper  and  wife,  of  Whetstone  town- 
ship, and  a  German  named  Shultz.  The  min- 
ister on  this  occasion  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bacon, 
a  social,  genial  hearted  man,  who,  it  is  said, 
generally  had  his  pockets  full  of  lettuce  or 
other  garden  seed  for  the  women  and  fishing 
tackle  for  the  boys,  and  who  was  naturally  a 
favorite  among  the  pioneers.  The  class  he 
formed  at  Mr.  Blower's  cabin  was  the  nucleus 
of  the  first  M.  E.  church  of  Liberty.  Regular 
monthly  appointments  were  kept  up  during  the 
summer  of  1822  and  the  next  winter  preaching 
was  held  on  Sunday  at  Bucyrus  and  on  Mon- 
day at  the  home  of  Mr.  Blowers.  In  the  fall 
of  that  year  Rev.  James  Monroe  was  sent  to 
this  section  of  the  country  by  the  M.  E.  Con- 
ference, and  in  the  spring  of  1823  John  O. 
Blowers  and  his  brother  William  were  licensed 
to  preach  the  Gospel,  having  previously  quali- 
fied themselves  by  a  course  of  study  in  theol- 
ogy, Mr.  Blowers  having  a  fine  library  of  relig- 
ious books,  which  he  frequently  lent  to  some 
of  the  settlers.  In  the  fall  of  1823  this  sec- 
tion became  part  of  a  regular  circuit  of  the 
M.  E.  church.  Among  those  who  rode  this 
first    circuit   was   the    Rev.    James    St.    Clair. 


Other  preachers  who  rode  this  circuit  about 
that  time  and  for  a  few  years  subsequently 
were  Rev.  James  Gilruth,  Rev.  Abner  Goff, 
Rev.  Russell  Bigelow  and  Revs.  Fenneland, 
Rennels  and  S.  P.  Shaw.  After  the  erection 
of  the  Maxfield  schoolhouse  in  the  fall  of 
1823,  religious  services  were  held  there  and 
.continued  until  the  Blowers  church  and  school- 
house  were  built  about  1830.  In  1840  the 
Methodist  society  had  over  100  members,  who 
were  divided  into  two  classes,  one  at  Sulphur 
Springs  and  one  in  the  Blowers  neighborhood, 
besides  a  small  class  in  the  McDonald  neigh- 
borhood in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  town- 
ship. The  M.  E.  church  at  Sulphur  Springs 
was  erected  in  1848.  In  course  of  time  many 
members  of  the  Blowers  class  removed  to  the 
far  west  and  the  Sulphur  Springs  organiza- 
tion became  the  stronger  of  the  two,  but  for 
many  years  services  were  held  at  the  Blowers 
church  in  the  afternoon.  As  previously  nar- 
rated, John  O.  Blowers  died  in  1844,  but 
William  continued  as  a  Methodist  preacher  for 
many  years,  until  he  was  finally  superannuated. 
In  the  nation's  hour  of  need — in  the  fall  of 
1862 — being  then  66  years  old,  he  enlisted  in 
the  151st  N.  Y.  Infantry  as  a  private  and  did 
active  duty  in  camp  and  field  near  Washing- 
ton city,  being  later  detailed  for  hospital  duty 
at  Baltimore.  What  a  splendid  example  of 
sturdy  manhood  and  self  secrifice  for  the 
youth,  not  only  of  his  day,  but  of  our  own! 
He  died  January  28,  1868,  and  was  buried  in 
the  Blowers  graveyard. 

The  first  Sunday  school  was  started  in  Lib- 
erty in  the  spring  of  1824,  John  O.  Blowers 
being  a  leading  spirit  in  the  enterprise,  and 
possibly  the  first  superintendent.  It  was  held 
in  the  Maxfield  schoolhouse  until  the  Blowers 
M.  E.  church  was  built  in  1830.  It  was  carried 
on  as  a  union  school,  being  supported  by  mem- 
bers of  other  denominations,  until  the  United 
Brethren  started  one  in  connection  with  their 
religious  work,  when  school  at  the  Blowers 
church  was  discontinued,  many  of  the  work- 
ers uniting  with  the  new  school 

The  United  Brethren  were  the  second  de- 
nomination to  send  missionaries  into  Liberty 
and  some  of  their  ministers,  it  is  said,  preached 
in  the  township  as  early  as  1827.  Previous 
to  1830  Revs.  Smith  and  Erit  conducted  ser- 
vices in  the  cabins  of  John  Shong  and  Law- 


286 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


rence  Simmons,  and  in  the  winter  of  1830  a 
congregation  was  organized  by  Rev.  John 
Clymer.  Among  the  first  members  were,  John 
Shong  and  wife;  Betsey  Simmons,  his  sister; 
Anselm  Fuller  and  wife,  the  latter  also  a  sister 
of  Simmons ;  Abraham  Grogg  and  wife,  Anna 
Grogg.  Services  were  held  for  many  years  in 
the  old  Simmons  schoolhousc.  In  the  fall  of 
1848  the  building  known  as  the  Crall  church 
was  erected.  The  edifice  was  enlarged  in  1854 
and  repaired  about  1870,  being  converted  into 
one  of  the  finest  country  churches  in  the 
county.  Among  the  early  ministers  were  the 
Revs.  Benjamin  Moore,  1836,  Alexander  Bid- 
die,  Francis  Clymer,  Jacob  Newman,  Jacob 
Berger,  G.  Spracklin  and  others. 

Previous  to  1830  German  ministers  of  the 
Evangelical  Lutheran  church  had  held  ser- 
vices in  the  log  cabins  of  several  early  set- 
tlers, the  first  of  whom  was  Rev.  David  Shue, 
who  preached  at  the  home  of  John  Stough. 
In  1830  the  congregation  was  regularly  or- 
ganized by  Rev.  John  Stough,  who  was  the 
first  Lutheran  minister  who  crossed  the  Alle- 
ghany mountains.  He  was  then  quite  an  el- 
derly man,  having  been  born  in  York  county. 
Pa.  in  1762,  and  having  labored  forty-  years 
as  a  minister.  He  lived  in  the  township  for 
more  than  fifteen  years,  dying  July,  1845  at 
the  age  of  83  years,  when  in  the  56th  year  of 
his  ministry. 

About  1836  members  of  the  Reformed  and 
Lutheran  congregations  united  in  building  a 
hewn  log  church,  which  stood  near  the  present 
site  of  the  Reformed  church  and  was  occupied 
by  both  sects  for  many  years.  In  1852  tlje 
German  Lutherans  purchased  a  lot  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  east  of  this  Union  church,  on 
which  they  erected  a  church  edifice  of  their 
own. 

The  English  Lutheran  church  of  Annapolis 
was  organized  about  1833  by  Rev.  F.  J.  Ruth, 
who  was  the  first  pastor,  at  the  same  time 
being  pastor  of  the  church  at  Bucyrus._  Rev. 
J.  Grouse  also  preached  frequently  during  the 
early  history  of  this  church.  Among  the  first 
persons  baptized  were  Lawrence  Simmons,  an 
adult;  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Michael^  and 
Sarah  Peterman,  and  Jacob,  son  of  Benjamin 
and  Louisa  Sinn.  Services  were  held  in  pri- 
vate cabins  until  the  schoolhouse  was  built  in 
the    village    of    Annapolis,    after   which    the 


schoolhouse  was  occupied  by  the  congregation 
until  the  erection  of  their  first  church  in  1848, 
at  which  time  Rev.  Mr.  Ruth  was  still  pastor 
of  the  charge.  The  society  built  another  ed- 
ifice in  1876  at  a  cost  of  nearly  $5,000. 

As  has  been  stated,  those  of  the  settlers  who 
were  members  of  the  Reformed  church,  or 
believed  in  its  doctrines,  united  with  the  Ger- 
man Lutherans  in  1836  and  for  some  years 
the  two  sects  used  the  same  meeting-house,  an 
agreement  having  been  made  between  them 
that  the^  building  should  always  be  open  to  the 
religious  services  of  either  denomination. 
Among  the  first  ministers  of  the  Reformed 
church  who  preached  in  the  township  were 
Revs.  Frederick  Gottleib  Maschop  and  J.  Mil- 
ler, who  were  pastors  of  the  congregation  at 
Bucyrus  from  1835  to  about  the  year  1845. 
The  Liberty  congregation  was  organized  under 
Rev.  Wendel  Wasnich  about  1848.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Abraham  Keller,  who  re- 
mained until  his  death  in  1852,  when  Rev. 
Max  Stern  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Re- 
formed churches  of  Crawford  county.  Under 
his  pastorate  the  new  church  was  erected. 

Previous  to"  the  year  1850  an  organization 
of  German  Methodists  had  been  effected  in 
the  northwest  part  of  Liberty  township  by 
ministers  connected  with  the  church  at  Bucy- 
rus. For  some  years  services  were  held  in  a 
little  red  schoolhouse  on  the  Van  Duzzen 
farm.  A  Mr.  Plummer  having  donated  some 
land  for  the  purpose,  a  church  edifice  was 
erected  thereon  about  1854.  In  October, 
1862  the  building  was  almost  completely  de- 
stroyed by  a  mob,  opposed  to  the  draft,  who 
were  angered  by  the  utterances  of  the  pastor. 
Rev.  Phillip  B.  Weber,  Avho  supported  the 
Government  in  its  action.  But  as  this  did 
not  stop  his  patriotic  preaching,  they  set  fire 
to  the  building  in  May,  1863  and  totally  de- 
stroyed it.  About  a  year  later  another  church 
was  erected  to  take  the  place  of  the  old  one, 
but  situated  about  half  a  mile  south  of  the  old 
site. 

The  Zion  church  edifice,  otherwise  known 
as  the  Conley  church,  situated  near  the  center 
of  Liberty  township,  was  built  about  the  year 
1856,  as  a  union  church,  owned  jointly  by  the 
Evangelical  Association  and  the  Church  of 
God,  or  Winebrennarians.  Services  had  been 
held  for  several  years  previously  by  Rev.  Wil- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


287 


liam  Adams,  of  Plymouth,  a  Winebrennarian 
preacher.  The  first  society  of  the  Evangel- 
ical Association  was  organized  about  1846  by 
Rev.  D.  Swartz,  with  David  Pfleiderer  as  the 
first  class  leader.  In  1852  the  organization 
was  perfected  by  the  Revs.  G.  Haley  and  B. 
Keller. 

In  1879  the  United  Brethren,  under  the 
leadership  of  Rev.  Moses  Spahr,  organized  a 
small  congregation  and  built  a  chapel  near  the 
center  of  school  district  No.  6. 

About  the  year  1842  a  small  Baptist  con- 
ference was  organized  at  Sulphur  Springs, 
which  held  services  at  somewhat  irregular  in- 
tervals for  several  years. 

The  first  grist-mill  erected  by  Mr.  Mc- 
Michael,  was  as  already  stated  a  great  boon  to 
the  settlers,  though,  owing  to  the  insufficiency 
of  the  water-power,  it  proved  unprofitable  to 
the  several  proprietors  through  whose  hands 
it  passed.  In  1824  Calvin  and  Nehemiah 
Squier  built  a  saw-mill  on  the  Sandusky  river, 
for  John  O.  Blowers,  at  the  northwest  corner 
of  his  farm.  It  soon  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Eli  Odell,  of  Whetstone  township,  who,  in 
1825,  took  in  Asa  Wetherby  as  a  partner. 
Soon  after  Mr.  Wetherby  bought  out  Mr. 
Odell  and  conducted  the  business  himself  until 
1829,  when  he  sold  out  to  a  Mr.  Ball.  In  a 
few  years  Mr.  Ball  transferred  the  mill  to 
George  Fleck.  In  1834  John  O.  Blowers  re- 
purchased the  concern  in  order  to  stop  Sun- 
day milling,  and  sold  it  to  his  brother-in-law, 
Nehemiah  Squier.  At  this  time  a  grist-mill 
also  formed  part  of  the  establishment,  it  hav- 
ing been  built  in  1830  or  previously.  Mr. 
Squier  conducted  the  business  for  a  number 
of  years,  after  which  the  property  passed 
through  various  hands.  In  1867,  J.  B.  Squier 
and  W.  S.  Bacon,  who  were  then  the  propri- 
etors, having  erected  an  improved  steam  mill 
at  Sulphur  Springs,  removed  the  business  from 
the  banks  of  the  Sandusky  to  the  new  build- 
ing. In  1874  Mr.  Bacon  sold  out  to  his  part- 
ner, and  later  the  business  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Edgar  A.  and  Oscar  W.  Squier.  By 
1836  there  were  nine  or  ten  saw-mills  in  the 
township. 

A  small  distillery  was  run  for  a  short  time 
about  1826  by  a  man  named  Wood  on  the 
land  of  Edward  Hartford,  just  east  of  the 
Blowers   Mill.      But  the  proprietor  got   into 


some  trouble  and  soon  left  the  township,  the 
business  being  then  discontinued. 

David  Hawk  and  Jacob  L.  Gurwell  started 
a  tannery  previous  to  the  year  1830,  just  north- 
east of  Annapolis.  David  Kinter  also  ran  one 
for  a  time  before  1840,  west  of  Annapolis,  but 
did  only  a  small  business. 

It  was  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion 
that  the  sorghum  industry  developed  in  this 
county,  John  H.  Fry  of  Liberty  township, 
writing  a  number  of  articles  on  the  subject, 
the  industry  being  given  prominence  on  ac- 
count of  the  war  shutting  off  the  southern 
supply  of  molasses.*  The  cane  planted  in  this 
county,  was  the  Chinese  sugar  cane  which  was 
later  introduced  into  France.  In  1856  some 
of  this  seed  was  obtained  by  the  United  States 
from  France,  and  distributed  among  the  far- 
mers. The  cane  grows  from  8  to  18  feet  in 
height,  and  requires  about  the  same  soil  as 
Indian  corn.  Well  ripened  cane  yielded  about 
half  its  weight  in  juice,  of  which  it  took  from 
five  to  ten  gallons  to  make  one  gallon  of  syrup. 
A  field  would  average  from  150  to  175  gallons, 
per  acre.  There  were  several  cane  mills 
started  in  Liberty  township,  the  mill  of  An- 
drew Dirmeyer  being  built  in  i860.  After 
the  cane  is  ripened  about  September,  the 
leaves  are  stripped  off,  and  the  stalks  passed 
beneath  three  steel  rollers,  the  juice  being  green 
in  color.  This  is  placed  in  the  boiling  pans, 
and  the  green  scum  is  taken  off  leaving  the 
syrup  white,  which  again  changes  until  the 
finished  product  is  of  a  golden  color.  The 
capacity  of  the  Dirmeyer  mill  was  125  gallons 
per  day,  and  during  its  running  the  mill  turned 
out  80,000  gallons  of  molasses.  Other  mills 
were  operated  a  short  time  and  were  discon- 
tinued. The  Dirmeyer  mill  after  many  years 
was  removed  to  Brandywine,  and  later  went 
the  way  of  the  other  mills,  and  today  there  is 
probably  not  a  sorghum  mill  in  the  county. 

The  village  of  Annapolis  was  laid  out  in 
1833  by  John  Slifer  on  "the  southern  portion 
of  the  east  half  of  the  northeast  quarter  of 
section  14."  This  was  part  of  the  quarter 
section  Slifer  had  purchased  from  the  gov- 
ernment when  he  came  to  the  township  in 
1825,  from  Maryland,  and  the  village  was 
named  Annapolis  after  the  capital  of  his  na- 

*  He  had  a  sorghum  mill,  and  Horatio  Markley  also 
erected  one  of  the  first  mills. 


288 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


tive  state.  Mr.  Slifer  held  several  township 
offices,  but  he  was  never  successful  in  busi- 
ness, and  in  1841  sold  his  land  to  Judge  R. 
W.  Musgrave,  and  went  west,  and  the  follow- 
ing year  in  a  fit  of  despondency  committed 
suicide.  The  village  was  laid  out  along  the 
Bucyrus  and  Plymouth  road,  which  went 
through  the  village  in  a  northwestern  direction 
and  was  called  Paris  street,  the  road  at  that 
time  being  known  as  the  Paris  road,  after  the 
town  of  Plymouth,  which  was  originally 
called  Paris.  South  of  Paris  street  was  South 
street  and  Sandusky  street.  It  had  four  north 
and  south  streets.  Walnut,  Poplar,  Jackson 
and  East,  the  latter  being  the  eastern  limit  of 
the  new  village.  There  were  about  51  lots. 
At  the  start  many  referred  to  the  place  as 
Sliferstown,  after  the  proprietor. 

The  first  houses  in  Annapolis  were  built  by 
James  L.  Gurwell,  Jacob  Peterman,  John  Bol- 
inger,  Peter  Stuckman  and  Benjamin  Sinn. 
Ex- Judge  Enoch  B.  Merriman  opened  the  first 
dry  goods  store  in  the  fall  of  1834.  Two  years 
later  he  transferred  it  to  his  nephew,  G.  N. 
Davis,  who  ran  the  business  for  two  years, 
when  Mr.  Merriman  resumed  possession. 
Soon  after  he  passed  it  to  another  nephew, 
Pomeroy  A.  Blanchard,  who  remained  in 
Sulphur  Springs  for  several  years.  Another 
store  was  started  in  the  fall  of  1836  or  early 
in  1837  by  Cornelius  and  James  F.  Dorland, 
but  they  did  not  continue  it  long  and  for  a  few 
months  in  the  years  1840  and  1841  the  place 
was  without  a  store.  Ex-Judge  R.  W.  Mus- 
grave then  started  one,  which  he  sold  in  1844 
to  Horace  Rowse,  of  Bucyrus,  the  latter  con- 
ducting business  in  Annapolis  until  the  autumn 
of  1 85 1,  his  brother  Stephen  being  a  partner 
most  of  the  time.  Mr.  Musgrave  also  started 
an  ashery,  and  not  long  afterward  another 
store,  which  he  sold  to  his  brother-in-law, 
Thomas  Gillespie. 

Frederick  Beard  and  a  man  named  Wine- 
bar  were  early  blacksmiths  in  Annapolis  or 
the  vicinity.  About  183Q  James  Gurwell  and 
Jacob  Peterman  started  a  linseed  oil  mill,  which 
soon  passed  into  the  hands  of  William  Souder, 
who  carried  on  the  business  for  many  years. 
A  small  distillerv  and  a  pottery  were  also 
started  at  about  the  same  time  as  the  oil  mill, 
or  a  few  months  later,  but  both  enterprises 
were    failures.      James    McKee   built    a   saw- 


mill in  the  vicinity  about  1839.  John  Birk,  a 
hatter,  was  conducting  business  in  1838.  John 
L.  Dawson  had  a  cabinet  shop  in  1837.  Wil- 
liam Dicks  was  a  shoemaker  and  his  brother, 
James  Dicks  a  harness-maker,  about  1841. 
About  the  same  time  that  McKee  started  his 
saw-mill,  David  Hawk  established  a  tannery. 
John  Grogg  kept  tavern  in  a  log  house  about 
1836,  while  shortly  afterward  Cornelius  Dor- 
land  and  Robert  McKee  built  a  hotel.  Dr. 
Turley  also  put  up  a  fine  building  for  hotel 
purposes  on  the  lot  later  occupied  by  the  Sex- 
auer  Bros.'  carriage  manufactory.  Ihis  build- 
ing was  burned  in  1847. 

The  first  physician  was  Dr.  Kelly,  who, 
however,  paid  more  attention  to  running  a 
saloon  than  to  medical  practice,  in  which  he 
was  probably  not  an  adept.  Dr.  George  L. 
Zeigler  moved  to  the  village  in  1842  and  was 
practicing  there  in  1851.  Later  physicians 
were  Drs.  J.  B.  Squier,  H.  S.  Bevington  and 
M.  M.  Carrothers.  Among  the  prominent 
citizens  of  the  village  was  George  Heiby,  who 
came  to  Liberty  in  1836,  and  served  as  asses- 
sor of  Liberty  township  24  terms,  and  for 
years  ran  the  hotel. 

A  post  office  was  established  at  Annapolis 
in  1846,  with  George  L.  Zeigler  as  the  first 
postmaster.  It  was  called  Sulphur  Spring  on 
account  of  the  large  sulphur  spring  on  the 
Musgrave  land.  On  July  11,  1890,  an  "s" 
was  added  to  the  name  making  it  Sulphur 
Springs,  A\hich  is  now  the  generally  accepted 
name  of  the  place,  although  the  original  name 
of  Annapolis  is  still  used  by  many.  It  is  sup- 
plied by  a  special  route  daily  from  Bucyrus, 
the  business  of  the  town  making  it  important 
enough  to  be  one  of  the  few  villages  where  the 
post  office  has  not  been  discontinued  by  trans- 
ferring it  to  a  rural  route.  The  following  is 
the  list  of  the  postmasters : 

George  L.  Ziegler,  April  i,  1846. 
Horace  Rowse,  Feb.  24,  1849. 
Charles  W.  Perse,  Dec.  11,  1851. 
George  L.  Ziegler,  Aug.  8,  1853. 
George  Heiby,  Sept.  9.  i8s7. 
J.  N.  Biddle,  March  12,  1861. 
Alfred  Fry,  March  29,  1869. 
A.  J.  Scott,  May  2,  1881. 
Lewis  Sexauer,  May  6,  188=;. 
Eli  A.  Young,  Aug.  12,  1889. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


289 


J.  K.  Zerbe,  Aug.  31,  1893. 

John  W.  Bittekofer,  Sept.  11,  1897. 

In  1862  the  Sexauer  Brothers,  Louis,  Wil- 
liam, Frederick  and  Lewis,  started  their  car- 
riage manufactory.  They  were  natives  of 
Bucyrtis,  and  their  step-father,  Mr.  Kinninger, 
had  for  some  time  previously  followed  the 
trade  of  wagon  maker  in  Annapolis.  They 
soon  established  a  first  class  reputation  for 
the  excellence  of  their  product  and  in  a  short 
time  had  a  larger  trade  in  farm  wagons  than 
any  other  firm  in  the  county.  They  manu- 
factured not  ■  only  heavy  farm  wagons,  but 
also  carriages,  buggies  and  light  spring  wag- 
ons. Their  work  carried  off  first  prizes  at 
county  fairs  and  elsewhere  against  strong 
competition. 

For  thirty  years  Jacob  Rice  has  been  en- 
gaged in  the  construction  of  telescopes  and 
microscopes,  and  his  instruments  are  so  per- 
fect that  they  are  in  use  in  many  of  our  larg- 
est colleges. 

A  lodge  of  the  Knights  of  Honor  was  estab- 
lished in  Annapolis  January  2,  1878,  with 
thirteen  charter  members,  and  with  John 
(jruiss  Jr.,  William  Heffner  and  William  Sex- 
auer as  the  first  trustees.     The  town  now  has 


three  large  stores,  and  a  number  of  smaller 
stores  and  shops. 

Previous  to  1837  the  children  residing  in 
Annapolis  attended  school  at  the  Bell  school- 
house  about  half  a  mile  south  of  the  village 
but  in  the  year  mentioned  a  schoolhouse 
was  erected  in  the  village  on  land  donated 
by  John  Slifer.  In  1858  G.  A.  Allen  was 
superintendent.  For  a  number  of  years 
previous  to  1872  the  location  of  the  school 
building  had  been  a  subject  of  much  dis- 
cussion and  several  special  districts  had 
been  formed,  but  on  Oct.  2,  1872  the 
present  special  district  was  created,  and  di- 
rectors elected  as  follows :  C.  W.  Perse  for 
one  year,  William  Sexauer  for  two  years  and 
Dr.  H.  S.  Bevington  for  three  years.  In  ac- 
cordance with  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  cit- 
izens, Dec.  14,  1872  it  was  decided  to  levy  a 
tax  of  $3,000  for  the  purpose  of  building  and 
furnishing  a  new  schoolhouse,  and  the  same 
was  erected  in  1873  at  a  cost  of  $3,316.  A 
bell  was  also  provided  at  an  additional  cost  of 
some  $700.  The  first  enumeration  taken  in 
the  new  district  showed  53  boys  and  69 
girls;  total,  122.  Robert  McKee  and  Jennie 
Birch  taught  the  first  schools  in  the  new  build- 
ing during  the  winter  of  1873-4. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


LYKENS  TOWNSHIP 

Boundaries  of  the  Township — Its  Erection — Justices — First  Settlers — Drainage  and  Soil — 
German  Immigration — Lost  in  the  Woods — Runaway  Slaves — Early  Mill's — Stores— 
Lykens  P.   O.  and  Postmasters — Schools  and  Churches — Lodges — Quarries. 


Where  once  frowned  a  forest  a  garden  is  smiling — 
The  meadow  and  moorland  are  marshes  no  more ; 

And  there  curls  the  smoke  of  my  cottage,  beguiling 
The  children  who  cluster  like  grapes  at  the  door. 

Then  enter,  boys;  cheerily,  boys,  enter  and  rest. 

The  land  of  the  heart  is  the  land  of  the  West. 

— George   P.  Morris. 

Lykens  township  is  situated  in  the  north- 
western part  of  Crawford  county,  having  to 
its  west  only  the  narrow  township  of  Texas. 
On  the  north  is  Seneca  county,  while  it  is 
bounded  on  the  east  by  Chatfield  township 
and  on  the  south  by  Holmes.  For  a  number 
of  years  previous  to  1828  Lykens  was  .at- 
tached to  Sycamore  township,  of  which  also 
the  present  Texas  township  was  a  part  until 
1845.  But  owing  to  the  considerable  increase 
in  population  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
county,  the  inhabitants  of  what  is  now  Chat- 
field  township  presented  a  petition  to  the 
county  commissioners  to  have  Chatfield  set  off 
as  a  separate  township,  and  the  petition  was 
granted  on  March  6,  1828,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  new  township  was  erected  west  of 
Chatfield  and  called  Lykens.  The  name  of 
Lykens  was  suggested  by  Jacob  Lintner,  a 
prominent  German  settler  living  near  Porters- 
ville,  who  had  come  from  a  town  of  that  name 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  after  some  discussion  it 
was  adopted.  The  township  when  erected 
had  not  sufficient  population  to  be  organized, 
and  the  first  election  was  held  at  the  home 
of  Jacob  Foy  in  the  spring  of  1832.  Accord- 
ing to  the  most  authentic  accounts,  the  officers 
selected  at  that  time  were  as  follows :  Ben- 
jamin Huddle,  justice  of  the  peace ;  Levi  Gif- 
ford,    constable;    John    Elliott,    clerk;    Jacob 


Lintner,  treasurer ;  Joseph  Hall,  Joseph  Much- 
ler  and  Robert  Knott,  trustees,  with  two 
others  selected  as  fence  viewers.  It  is  said 
that  almost  every  settler  was  honored  with 
an  office,  which,  if  true,  would  indicate  that 
the  population  cannot  have  been  very  numer- 
ous. At  that  time  the  township,  with  a  por- 
tion of  sections  31,  32  and  33,  which  belonged 
to  the  Wyandot  reservation,  comprised  its 
present  territory,  and,  in  addition,  the  west- 
ern tier  of  sections  in  Chatfield  township.  In 
1835  all  that  portion  of  the  township  belong- 
ing to  the  Wyandot  reservation  was  annexed 
to  Lykens.  In  1845  the  eastern  tier  of  sec- 
tions was  attached  to  Chatfield,  leaving  Ly- 
kens thirty  sections,  the  territory  it  comprises 
at  present. 

When  Lykens  township  was  created  in 
1828,  Jacob  Foy  and  Robert  Mays  were  prob- 
ably appointed  the  first  Justices  of  the  Peace. 
The  following  are  the  men  who  have  served 
in  that  position,  Frederick  Smith  who  had 
the  longest  term  of  service,  dying  while  in 
office: 

Jacob  Foy — 1828-31. 

Robert  Mays— 1828. 

Benjamin  Huddle — 1832. 

Levi  Gifford — 1834. 

William  Wingert — 1838-44-48. 

John  N.  Holt — 1840-43. 

Timothy  Park— 1847. 

Edward  Porter— 1847. 

J.  B.  Larroue — 1850. 

Abraham  Knisely — 1851-54. 

Sidney  Holt— 1853. 

Willard   Wickham— 1853-56-59-78. 

Julius  A.  Wolf— 1856. 

James  Miller — 1862. 

Frederick  Smith — 1862-65-68-71-74-77. 

Jeremiah  Feichner — 1864-67. 


290 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


291 


Eli  Winters— 1858-70-73-76-79. 

Peter  H.  Kiefer— 1881-84-87-90-93. 

R.  W.  Gary— 1882. 

George  W.  Miller— 1886-89-92. 

A  J.  Brown — 1896-03-06-09. 

Charles  A.  Laubach — 1896. 

W.  H.  Angene — 1899. 

Jacob  Englert — 1899. 

Louis  F.  Smith — 1900-03. 

J.  P.  Gerhart — 1902. 

Frank  Sprow — 1906-09. 

The  first  settlers  who  appeared  in  Lykens 
selected  land  in  the  western  and  northwestern 
portions,  as  the  land  in  that  part  seemed  to 
promise  a  speedier  and  more  abundant  return 
for  the  labor  of  cultivation;  the  eastern  and 
southern  portions  were  not  settled  until  five 
or  six  years  later.  The  soil  of  the  township 
is  chiefly  alluvial,  there  being  but  little  sur- 
face clay  or  sand.  In  early  years  the  land  in 
most  parts  of  the  township  was  very  wet, 
owing  to  lack  of  drainage,  and  probably  also 
to  the  abundance  of  timber,  which,  as  shown 
by  observation,  exercises  a  potent  influence 
in  inducing  rain.  The  disappearance  of  the 
timber  in  large  measure,  and  the  systematic 
drainage  operations,  have  changed  this  condi- 
tion of  things,  and  the  wet  and  mirey  lands 
bordering  on  the  swampy  character,  are  no 
longer  in  evidence.  The  soil  is  rich  and  pe- 
culiarly adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  com, 
large  crops  of  which  can  be  raised  year  after 
year  on  the  same  piece  of  land,  without  any 
appreciable  decrease  in  the  quantity  or  deteri- 
oration in  the  quality  of  the  product.  This 
is  especially  true  in  the  eastern  and  south- 
eastern parts,  where  the  deep  black  soil  pre- 
dominates; the  western  part  being  better 
adapted  to  wheat  and  kindred  grains,  owing 
to  the  larger  proportion  of  sand  and  clay 
which  the  soil  there  contains. 

The  township  is  drained  in  the  central  and 
western  portions  by  Sycamore  creek  and  its 
numerous'  Ismail  branches,  jthe  'principal  of 
which,  known  as  Little  Syciamore  creek,  rises 
in  the  flat  land  near  the  southeastern  corner, 
and  flows  northwest  until  it  unites  with  the 
main  stream  in  section  20.  Along  the  course 
of  Sycamore  creek  there  is  found  an  abund- 
ance of  corniferous  limestone,  especially  in 
section  16,  where  the  stone  is  covered  with 
a  layer  of  earth  of  from  six  inches  to  eight 
feet  in  thickness.  The  stone  is  blue,  and 
though  less  pure  than  that  obtained   at  the 


large  quarries  in  Holmes  and  Tod  townships, 
it  is  very  durable  and  suitable  for  building 
purposes. 

It  is  not  known  who  was  the  first  settler  in 
Lykens  township.  At  an  early  day — probably 
about  1825 — settlers  of  English  descent  came 
into  Lykens  from  Seneca  county,  where  they 
had  been  disappointed  in  finding  the  most 
valuable  lands  already  taken  up,  but  it  is  not 
likely  that  all  of  these  remained  in  the  town- 
ship permanently.  About  1830  pioneers  en- 
tered the  southern  part  of  the  township  and 
two  years  later  the  settlement  of  this  portion 
was  increased  by  a  large  influx  of  German  set- 
tlers, who  arrived  in  a  body  directly  from  Ger- 
many. Many  of  these  had  entered  land  at 
the  land  offices  without  having  first  inspected 
it,  and  when  they  arrived  they  found  their 
farms  almost  entirely  under  water.  Not  being 
a  people  easily  discouraged,  however,  they 
went  to  work  with  energy  to  improve  condi- 
tions, paying  their  first  attention  to  the  drain- 
age of  their  lands,  after  which  they  began  their 
clearings,  established  farms,  and  in  time  were 
abundantly  rewarded  by  an  ample  prosperity. 

Among  those  who  came  to  the  township  in 
the  early  days  were  Christopher  Keggy  in  1825 ; 
Jacob  Miller  in  1826;  Jacob  Foy  and  Gottleib 
Hoss  in  1827;  Robert  Mays,  John  Elliott,  Levi 
Gifford,  Jacob  Lintner,  Michael  Shupp  and 
Joseph  Trask  in  1828;  James  Ferguson,  Joseph 
Hall,  Benjamin  Huddle,  Samuel  Hall,  Samuel 
Spittler,  and  Daniel  Pratt  in  1829;  John  and 
Solomon  Babcock,  Robert  Knott,  Joseph  Much- 
ler,  Seth  and  Benjamin  Parker  and  Lewis 
Warren  in  1830. 

Christopher  Keggy  came  from  Fairfield 
county,  and  first  located  in  Seneca,  coming  over 
to  Lykens  township  about  1825.  He  had 
hunted  all  over  the  section  before  he  located 
in  the  township.  His  life  was  that  of  a  hunter 
and  woodsman,  and  he  made  his  living  from 
the  sale  of  furs  and  game.  Later  what  little 
land  he  had  cleared  he  sold  out  to  Reuben 
Keran,  and  left  the  county.  Jacob  Miller  was 
also  a  hunter,  and  did  little  at  clearing  land  or 
farming.  Joseph  Trask  came  from  Seneca 
county,  but  after  clearing  a  few  acres,  re- 
mained only  three  years  when  he  returned  to 
Seneca  county. 

Jacob  Foy  was  the  first  real  settler  in  the 
township;  he  came  to  stay,  cleared  his  land 


292 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


raised  his  crops,  and  became  one  of  the  influ- 
ential men  in  the  early  days  of  the  township. 

Michael  Shupp  arrived  at  Bucyrus  with  his 
family,  May  26,  1828.  He  entered  80  acres 
in  Lykens  township,  which  he  developed  and 
sold,  purchasing  160  acres.  His  son  Michael 
was  18  years  of  age  when  he  came  with  his 
parents  to  this  county.  He  commenced  life 
for  himself  in  183 1.  He  worked  one  year  for 
others,  earning  $100,  then  entered  80  acres  of 
land,  which  he  improved  and  sold,  like  his 
father  purchasing  160  more.  This  latter  he 
cleared  and  kept  and  added  to  as  the  years 
went  by.  On  March  4,  1834,  he  married 
Susannah  Miller.  Michael  Shupp,  Sr.,  died  in 
1836,  and  his  little  daughter,  Mary  Ann 
Shupp  made  her  home  with  her  brother, 
Michael,  until  Dec.  20,  1847,  when  she  mar- 
ried Frederick  Smith,  who  came  to  the  town- 
ship in  1840.  Mr.  Smith  was  a  stone  mason, 
who  had  contracts  for  bridges  on  the  National 
Pike,  and  had  saved  several  hundred  dollars, 
and  with  this,  in  1840,  he  bought  a  quarter 
section  of  land  in  Lykens.  He  and  his  de- 
scendants were  prominent  in  the  affairs  of 
Lykens  township  and  the  county. 

Joseph  Hall  and  wife,  with  their  son,  Sam- 
uel, came  to  Lykens  in  Deccember,  1829,  set- 
tling on  a  quarter  section  of  land  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  township.  Later  Samuel  se- 
cured a  farm  in  the  center  of  the  township, 
which  was  in  after  years  the  William  Tippin 
farm.  The  land  at  the  time  was  partly  cleared. 
Here  he  lived  for  many  years,  but  in  1866 
removed  to  the  farm,  where  he  died,  Aug.  25, 
1863,  and  was  buried  in  St.  John  Reform 
graveyard,  three  miles  northwest  of  Lykens. 
May  4,  1843  he  married  Elizabeth  Telford, 
who  in  1835,  came  with  her  parents  from 
Washington  county,  N.  Y.,  making  the  trip  in 
three  weeks  and  four  days  in  a  wagon  drawn 
by  two  yoke  of  oxen. 

James  Ferguson,  who  came  to  the  township 
in  1829,  was  probably  a  brother  of  Thomas 
Ferguson,  who  settled  in  Sandusky  township  in 
1 81 7.  James  entered  his  land  in  the  western 
part  of  Lykens  township  along  the  Sycamore 
creek,  and  although  he  was  a  skillful  hunter, 
he  cleared  some  land  as  well  and  devoted  much 
of  his  time  to  farming.  He  was  an  expert  in 
woodcraft,  and  during  the  war  of  1812  was 
the  bearer  of  important  dispatches  from  one 


commander  to  another,  and  it  was  while  en- 
gaged in  this  work  he  first  passed  through 
Crawford  county  and  was  so  pleased  with 
this  section  that  later  he  located  in  Sandusky 
township.  He  stated  later  in  life  that  on  one 
occasion  he  was  the  bearer  of  dispatches  from 
the  headquarters  at  Columbus,  to  a  point  in 
northwestern  Ohio,  when  he  was  followed  by 
the  Indians  for  two  days  before  he  finally 
succeeded  in  eluding  them.  After  remaining 
in  Lykens  a  few  years  he  removed  to  the  west. 

Following  these  first  settlers  were  Adam 
Braden,  Gottfried  Brause,  Daniel  Coon,  Nel- 
son Holt  and  David  Hill  in  183 1;  Ira  Cory, 
Barnaby  Harper,  and  Solomon  Seery  in  1832; 
David  Albaugh  in  1833;  John  Aupt,  Nathan 
Coran,  Joseph  Dellinger,  Lucas  and  Adam 
Shook,  William  Swalley,  Samuel  and  Timothy 
Parks,  John  Shoulter,  Eli  Winter,  Milton  Wal- 
ler and  Frederick  G.  Hesche  in  1834;  John 
Apple,  Ira  G.  Allen,  Anson  Brown,  Otto 
Fieldner,  Conrad  Hass,  August  Jacobs,  Reuben 
Keran,  Joseph  Kennedy,  Jacob  Oberlander,  and 
Jonas  Yingling  in  1835;  William  Burgett,  and 
Moses  and  Aaron  Pugh  in  1836. 

Gottfried  Brause  and  wife  came  to  the  town- 
ship Sept.  II,  1 83 1,  being  accompanied  by 
their  son  Rudolph,  then  aged  five  years.  The 
latter  subsequently  married  a  daughter  of 
George  and  Catherine  Klink,  who  came  to 
Crawford  county  about  1829. 

William  Swalley,  born  Nov.  20,  1810,  was  a 
son  of  John  Swalley,  a  weaver,  who  came  to 
Ohio  in  181 7,  settling  fifteen  miles  south  of 
Zanesville.  The  father  died  and  the  family 
then  returned  to  Pennsylvania,  their  home 
state.  Later  his  sons,  William  and  John,  came 
to  Lykens  township  and  in  1834  the  mother 
arrived  with  her  two  daughters,  and  they  all 
made  their  home  in  Lykens  township.  William 
was  married  Dec.  8,  1833  to  Catherine  Won- 
setler. 

Jonas  Yingling  was  married  in  Portage 
county  to  Mary  Thomas,  and  the  bride  and 
groom  came  immediately  to  Crawford  county 
to  make  their  home.  He  entered  80  acres  of 
land  in  Lykens  township.  He  was  a  mason  by 
trade,  and  worked  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
road  when  it  was  building,  securing  cash  which 
he  invested  in  land.  Besides  clearing  his  land 
in  Lykens  township  and  raising  his  crops,  he 
worked  at  his  trade,  and  during  his  life  owned 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


293 


several  farms.  Soon  after  settling  in  the  town- 
ship death  visited  their  little  cabin  and  they 
were  called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  their 
first  child,  John  Yingling,  who  died  Aug.  3, 
1S36,  and  was  buried  in  the  Lutheran  Grave- 
yard south  of  Chatfield,  the  oldest  burial  stone 
now  readable  in  that  graveyard. 

George  Rhoad  came  to  Crawford  county  in 
the  early  thirties,  and  lived  in  Lykens  town- 
ship for  tw'o  years.  He  then  moved  with  his 
family  to  Seneca  county,  where  they  helped  to 
clear  the  land,  on  the  site  of  the  present  town 
of  Republic. 

Christopher  Perky,  a  veteran  of  the  War  of 
1812,  came  to  Ohio  in  1819,  settling  in  Seneca 
county  in  1827,  his  son  David  taking  a  farm 
in  Lykens  township.  The  latter  married  Mary 
Seitz,  and  four  of  their  sons  entered  the  army 
during  the  civil  war,  three  of  them  losing  their 
lives  in  the  service. 

Solomon  Seery,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Ly- 
kens, came  to  Crawford  county  from  Ross 
county  in  1832,  with  his  two  eldest  sons,  and 
entered  three  80-acre  tracts.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Ross  county,  where  he  remained  dur- 
ing the  winter.  Coming  back  in  the  spring  of 
1833,  he  built  a  cabin  and  planted  a  small  crop 
of  corn,  and  then,  leaving  his  eldest  son  and 
daughter  to  keep  house,  he  went  back  to  Ross, 
harvested  his  crop  there  and  brought  his  en- 
tire family  to  Crawford,  arriving  with  then 
Sept.  I,  1833.  Soon  after  settling  in  the  town- 
ship death  invaded  their  home,  and  the  Seery 
graveyard  was  started  on  the  Seery  farm  two 
miles  east  of  Benton,  the  first  burial  being  John 
Seery,  who  died  Nov.  11,  1835. 

Eli  Winters  was  born  February,  1802,  in 
Jefferson  county,  entered  land  in  Lykens  in 
1833,  moving  on  to  it  in  1834.  With  the  aid 
of  his  sons  he  developed  the  land,  his  chief 
helper  being  his  son,  Eli,  Jr.  In  order  to  in- 
crease the  family  income  Mr.  Winters  estab- 
lished a  night  school  at  his  home,  and  here 
the  children  learned  to  read  and  write,  the 
son  Eli  teaching  his  younger  brothers  and  sis- 
ters. The  latter  became  an  enterprising  and 
prominent  citizen.  At  a  comparatively  early 
age  he  ran  a  threshing  machine,  had  a  half  in- 
rerest  in  a  saw-mill  at  Bui  jo  (Lykens),  and 
also  started  a  store.  He  was  elected  justice 
of  the  peace  in  i8t;8  and  held  the  office  up  to 
1880,  except  for  a  few  years  during  the  war. 


In  1 85 1  he  married  Eliza  Howenstein,  a 
daughter  of  Peter  Howenstein,  one  of  the  Ly- 
kens pioneers. 

Milton  Waller  came  to  Lykens  township  in 
1834,  making  his  home  on  80  acres  of  land 
which  he  had  entered  the  year  previous.  This 
took  all  his  capital,  and  he  secured  a  further 
40  acres  by  working  by  the  day  for  others,  and 
being  a  cooper  by  trade  during  bad  weather 
and  in  the  evenings  he  made  buckets  and  tubs 
for  the  neighbors,  thus  giving  hiin  needed  cash. 
Two  little  sons  came  with  him  to  the  county, 
Lysender  aged  seven  and  Stephen  aged  three. 
These  boys  as  they  grew  older  helped  in  the 
clearing  and  developing  of  the  farm.  Both 
r,ons  took  an  active  hand  in  the  affairs  of  the 
township  and  county,  Lysander  Waller  being 
one  of  the  County  Commissioners  for  two 
terms.  On  Dec.  25,  1853,  Stephen  Waller 
married  Martha  McKinley,  a  daughter  of 
James  McKinley,  and  the  aunt  of  the  late 
President  McKinley. 

August  Jacobs  was  a  native  of  Saxony,  Ger- 
many. He  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  in 
his  native  land,  where  also  he  married  Rachel 
Bair,  and  later  started  for  America,  landing 
in  New  York  with  only  25  cents  in  cash  and 
owing  $11.  With  his  bride  he  came  west, 
found  work  on  the  National  pike,  and  later 
made  his  way  to  Crawford  county,  where  he 
bought  land,  which  was  then  entirely  covered 
by  the  forest,  and  was  mostly  swamp  land. 
He  cleared  his  land  slowly  by  working  in  the 
evenings,  following  his  trade  during  the  day, 
doing  carpenter  work  for  the  neighbors.  He 
finally  sold  his  land  and  bought  a  larger  tract, 
also  covered  with  timber,  which  he  cleared. 

David  Wickham,  served  in  the  War  of  181 2. 
The  family  came  to  Crawford  county  in  1837 
and  secured  a  partly  developed  farm  in  Texas 
township.  His  son  Willard,  having  previously 
taught  school  for  a  few  terms,  in  1840  pur- 
chased a  tract  of  land  covered  by  the  forest,  in 
Lykens  township  which  he  cleared  and  devel- 
oped into  a  good  farm.  He  was  subsequently 
appointed  by  Gov.  Pierce  as  Indian  agent  to 
the  Winnebagoes  at  Long  Prairie,  Minn.,  and 
after  several  years  ser^^ice  returned  to  his 
home  in  Lykens  where  he  lived  until  his  death 
in  1899. 

Henry  Geiger  was  born  in  Germany,  and 
when  fifteen  years  of  age,  came  with  his  par- 


294 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ents  to  America,  settling  in  Stark  county.  He 
married  there,  and  in  the  '30s  came  to  this 
section  where  he  entered  80  acres  in  Seneca 
county,  later  having  land  in  Lykens  township. 
They  walked  the  entire  distance  from  Stark 
county,  and  his  entire  possessions  were  his 
wife,  an  axe,  50  pounds  of  flour  which  he  had 
carried  the  entire  distance  on  his  back,  and  $1 
in  cash.  Of  course  he  succeeded,  and  when 
each  of  his  seven  children  started  in  life  for 
themselves  they  were  all  assisted  by  him. 

Eli  Adams  came  to  Crawford  county  in 
1825,  settling  on  80  acres  of  land  in  Texas 
township.  His  son  Ephraim  married  Mary 
Andrews,  daughter  of  another  pioneer,  and 
built  his  cabin  in  the  woods  in  Lykens  town- 
ship. 

John  and  Frederica  Solze  came  to  Lykens 
township  in  1841  with  six  children.  Even  as 
late  as  this  date,  they  walked  from  Attica  to 
Lykens  township  and  losing  their  way  were 
compelled  to  pass  the  night  in  the  woods  under 
a  large  tree.  The  next  day  they  reached 
friends,  who  accorded  them  a  hearty  welcome. 
They  started  with  40  acres  on  which  a  small 
improvement  had  been  made. 

We  of  today,  living  in  the  towns  or  in  the 
open  country,  where  the  timber  has  been 
largely  cleared  away,  save  for  small  patches 
here  and  there,  can  have  little  conception  of 
the  difficulty  experienced  by  the  pioneer  set- 
tler in  finding  his  way  through  the  trackless 
and  almost  illimitable  forest.  Even  the  ship- 
wrecked mariner,  without  a  compass,  in  the 
midst  of  the  vast  ocean,  can  direct  his  course 
usually  by  means  of  the  heavenly  bodies;  but 
the  early  settler,  lost  in  an  almost  equally  vast 
expanse  of  forest,  had  not  even  this  advantage, 
for  the  trees,  with  their  towering  trunks  and 
spreading  branches,  decked  with  a  super- 
abundant foliage,  shut  out  for  the  most  .part 
any  view  of  the  sun,  moon  or  stars,  and  even 
in  the  middle  of  the  day  maintained  beneath 
their  branches  a  sort  of  half  light  or  semi- 
gloom,  while  at  night  the  darkness  was  im- 
penetrable. The  routes  from  settlement  to 
settlement,  or  even  from  one  neighbor's  house 
to  another,  when  the  woods  lay  between,  were 
marked  by  blazed  trees,  but  it  sometimes  hap- 
pened that  a  settler,  in  going  to  visit  a  neigh- 
bor at  evening  time,  forgot  to  take  a  lantern 
with  him,  or  perhaps  thought  he  could  find  his 


way  without  it,  and  missing  the  path,  was 
obliged  to  spend  the  night  in  the  woods,  having 
for  his  lullaby — if  he  were  phlegmatic  enough 
to  try  to  go  to  sleep — the  howling  of  the 
wolves,  the  moaning  of  the  wind  in  the  tree- 
tops,  and  the  hoarse  croaking  of  myriads  of 
frogs  in  some  neighboring  swamp  or  marsh. 
The  Park  brothers  one  evening  started  to  go 
to  the  cabin  of  Eli  Winters  about  a  mile  and 
a  half  away,  but  failing  to  take  a  light,  were 
caught  by  the  darkness,  and  after  groping  for 
hours  in  the  woods,  and  falling  waist-deep  into 
numerous  swamps  and  bogs,  passed  the  re- 
mainder of  the  night  on  a  large  log  that  lay 
half  out  of  the  water.  In  the  morning  they 
found  an  easy  path  from  the  swamp  and 
reached  Mr.  Winter's  home  thoroughly  pros- 
trated from  their  experience. 

On  another  occasion  the  wife  of  James  Fer- 
guson, accompanied  by  her  ten  year  old  son, 
started  to  bring  home  the  cows.  She  had  some 
trouble  in  getting  the  animals  together,  and 
in  running  about  through  the  trees,  trying  to 
head  them  towards  the  house,  she  became  be- 
wildered and  lost  her  sense  of  direction.  Had 
she  left  the  cows  alone  and  followed  them  she 
would  probably  have  reached  home  all  right, 
for  they  soon  began  to  go  all  in  one  direction, 
being  really  headed  toward  the  homestead. 
Thinking  she  knew  more  about  the  matter 
than  they  did,  however,  she  finally  left  them 
and  set  out  with  her  son  to  find  her  way  home 
alone.  This  she  failed  to  do,  and  not  knowing 
which  way  to  go,  and  with  night  closing  in 
about  her,  she  lay  down  with  her  boy  by  the 
side  of  a  large  log,  where  she  thought  they 
might  be  safe  from  the  notice  of  the  wolves, 
whose  howls  they  heard  throughout  the  night. 
The  next  day  she  resumed  her  wanderings, 
calling  out  at  intervals  to  attract  the  notice  of 
some  settler,  but  night  again  came  without 
rescue  and  all  day  the  mother  and  child  had 
eaten  nothing  but  a  few  berries.  It  was  not 
until  the  middle  of  the  next  afternoon,  after 
passing  two  nights  and  almost  two  days  in  the 
woods,  that  she  heard  the  sound  of  a  rifle  and 
in  a  few  minutes  saw  a  neighbor  walking  to- 
ward her.  He  was  one  of  a  party  searching 
for  her,  and  was  furnished  with  food,  which 
the  half  famished  mother  and  child  eagerly 
devoured.  She  was  about  three  miles  from 
home  and  had  been  walking  in  a  circle,  coming 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


295 


once  or  twice  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  her 
cabin. 

For  some  time  previous  to  the  Civil  War 
Lykens  township  was  often  traversed  by  run- 
away slaves  on  their  way  to  Canada.  They 
always  passed  through  at  night,  traveling  north 
along  the  Tiffin  road,  during  the  day  time  ly- 
ing hid  in  the  dwelling  of  some  abolitionist  set- 
tler, some  distance  off  the  main  track,  and  re- 
suming theif  journey  towards  dark.  Several 
citizens  in  the  township  were  known  to  be  en- 
gaged in  this  work,  but  no  special  objection 
was  ever  made  to  it. 

Grist  and  saw-mills  are  among  the  first  in- 
dustrial necessities  in  a  new  country,  such  as 
the  Ohio  frontier  was  in  early  days.  The  set- 
tlers in  Lykens  for  many  years  went  to  Sen- 
eca County  for  their  flour  and  lumber,  mills 
having  been  established  there  many  years  pre- 
vious to  the  settlement  of  this  township,  and 
that  locality  being  easier  of  access  than  Bu- 
cyrus.  John  Moore  remembers  when  they 
ground  buckwheat  through  their  coffee  mill 
for  a  family  of  9  children.  The  early  grist- 
mills were  crude  affairs  and  were  sometimes 
known  as  "corn-crackers,"  for  they  were  cap- 
able only  of  manufacturing  a  coarse  kind  of 
meal.  Otto  Fieldner  erected  one  such,  about 
1836,  about  a  mile  south  of  the  village  of  Ly- 
kens, which  was  furnished  with  one  set  of 
"nigger-head"  stones,  and  which  continued  in 
operation  for  about  eight  years.  In  connection 
therewith  he  also  operated  one  of  the  best  of 
the  early  saw-mills,  which,  however,  ran  only 
about  four  months  in  the  year,  not  being  pro- 
vided with  sufficient  water-power,  owing  to  the 
small  size  and  slow  current  of  the  stream  on 
which  it  was  located.  He  finally  provided  it 
with  machinery  to  be  worked  by  horses,  after 
which  it  was  continued  in  fairly  steady  opera- 
tion. 

A  steam  saw-mill  was  built  and  operated  in 
the  northwest  corner  of  the  township  by  Joseph 
Stammitz,  as  early  as  1844,  and  was  largely 
patronized.  It  continued  in  operation  for  ten 
or  fifteen  years,  after  which  it  was  abandoned. 
It  was  run  for  some  time  by  Eli  Winters,  Jr., 
a  skillful  sawyer,  who  was  connected  with 
several  of  the  early  mills. 

A  combined  saw  and  grist-mill  was  built 
about  1834  by  Jacob  Foy,  who  was  also  an  ex- 
perienced and  able  sawyer.     This  was  one  of 


the  largest  and  best  mills  in  early  days.  It 
was  a  large  two-story  frame  structure,  and 
was  erected  at  the  junction  of  the  Big  and 
Little  Sycamore  creeks.  This  mill  had  ample 
water-power  and  ground  excellent  flour  and 
meal.  Inch  lumber  from  any  wood  was  fur- 
nished for  about  40  cents  by  the  hundred,  or 
a  share  was  taken,  varying  from  one-third  to 
two-thirds.  Numerous  buildings,  some  of 
which  are  still  standing  were  constructed  from 
lumber  furnished  by  the  Foy  saw-mill.  After 
operating  the  mill  for  fifteen  or  twenty  years, 
Mr.  Foy  sold  the  property  to  Moses  Wood- 
sides,  who  improved  the  mill  and  increased  the 
output  by  substituting  steam  for  water  as  the 
motive  power.  After  running  many  years  the' 
mill  was  finally  abandoned.  A  man  named 
Patrick  built  and  operated  a  saw-mill  on  Syca- 
more creek  about  1865 ;  another  was  built  and 
operated  for  many  years  by  a  Mr.  Blanchard. 

Francis  Slee,  a  carpenter,  built  many  of  the 
early  frame  houses,  and  also  manufactured 
chairs,  looms,  spinning-wheels  and  other  use- 
ful articles.  Milton  Waller,  previously  men- 
tioned as  a  cooper  by  trade,  had  a  small  shop 
at  his  house,  where  he  made  tubs,  kegs  and  bar- 
rels, finding  a  ready  sale  for  them.  He  was  a 
prominent  man  and  his  sons  grew  up  to  be  in- 
telligent and  enterprising  citizens,  among  the 
best  in  the  township.  It  has  been  said  by  some 
that  Ira  Cory  was  the  first  blacksmith  in  the 
township.  He  erected  a  small  shop  about  a 
mile  or  so  south  of  the  village  of  Lykens. 
Others,  however,  claim  that  Nathan  Coran  was 
the  first  blacksmith.  He  built  his  shop  as  early 
as  1834  and  worked  at  his  trade  for  many 
years.  William  Jackson  carried  on  a  small 
business  in  tanning  skins,  beginning  about  1840. 
Another  industry  that  was  also  undertaken  in 
Lykens  township,  between  1840  and  1850,  was 
the  rearing  of  silkworms  and  the  manufacture 
of  silk  goods.  A  man  named  Blanchard  tried 
the  experiment.  The  chief  adviser  in  this  en- 
terprise was  Mrs.  Breston,  of  Chatfield  town- 
ship, through  whose  influence  others  in  Lykens 
township  were  induced  to  engage  in  the  same 
pursuit.  It  failed,  however,  chiefly  because  it 
was  found  difficult  or  impossible  to  procure 
the  necessary  supply  of  mulberry  leaves,  which 
constitute  the  caterpillar's  only  food. 

In  1830  Otto  Fieldner  built  a  primitive  grist 
and  saw-mill  on  the  banks  of  a  small  branch  of 


296 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Sycamore  creek,  near  where  the  station  now 
known  as  Lykens  on  the  Northern  Ohio  rail- 
road is  located.  The  next  year  Ira  Cory 
started  a  blacksmith  shop  across  the  road  from 
him,  and  a  few  years  later  James  Drake  built  an 
ashery  just  north  of  them  on  the  Sycamore 
near  the  crossing  of  the  road  from  Bucyrus  to 
Bloomville  and  the  road  from  Sycamore  to 
Plymouth.  Several  other  industries  were 
started  near  the  cross  roads,  and  stores  were 
located  there  and  a  post  office  established 
under  the  name  of  Lykens  Centre.  At  a  very 
early  day  a  saloon  \^•as  opened  and  became  a 
carousing  point  for  the  more  bibulously  in- 
clined in  that  section.  One  of  the  bar  room 
stories  current  at  that  time  contained  a  fre- 
quaint  repetition  of  the  expression  "Having  a 
high  old  time  in  Buljo,"  and  this  gave  the  nick- 
name of  Buljo  to  the  place.  It  was  also  known 
as  "Santa  Fe"  and  "Buzzard's  Glory."  The 
town  was  regularly  laid  out  by  J.  F.  Feighner 
in  October,  1870,  by  H.  W.  McDonald,  the 
county  surveyor.  While  several  names  have 
been  given  it,  its  correct  name  has  always  been 
Lykens. 

The  first  house  was  built  in  the  town  by  a 
man  named  Swetland,  who  also  opened  the 
first  store;  the  latter  was  a  very  small  affair, 
however,  as  his  entire  stock  of  groceries  and 
dry  goods  was  only  valued  at  $200.  A  better 
store  was  opened  by  Anson  Brown,  in  1840, 
Air.  Brown  starting  with  a  general  assortment 
worth  about  $600.  His  store  was  burned  in 
1847,  but  he  rebuilt  and  increased  his  business 
and  stock,  until  in  time  the  latter  was  worth 
nearly  $8,000.  He  finally  sold  out  to  other 
parties.  Byron  Brown  (no  relation  of  Anson) 
started  a  store  about  1848,  with  a  stock,  chiefly 
of  groceries,  worth  about  $1,000,  and  con- 
tinued the  business  for  about  seven  years. 

After  the  Browns  George  Jackson  carried  on 
a  small  store  for  about  five  years.  Samuel 
Martin  started  a  general  store  about  1856,  but 
having  continued  it  with  indiiiferent  success  for 
six  or  eight  years,  he  discontinued  it.  James 
Drake  built  an  ashery  as  early  as  1845.  which 
was  located  on  Sycamore  creek,  near  the  south- 
ern limits  of  the  town  and  here  he  manufact- 
ured as  much  as  fifteen  tons  of  potash  per  an- 
num, for  a  number  of  years.  He  finally  sold 
it  to  Anson  Drake,  who  continued  it  on  an 
even  more   extensive  scale.      Another   ashery 


was  built  by  Jacob  Hodge  on  the  bank  of  Ihe 
creek  and  carried  on  for  about  six  years. 

There  was  a  tannery  in  Lykens  as  early  as 
1846.  It  was  built  by  Jerry  Jolly,  who  carried 
on  the  business  for  about  ten  years,  doing  good 
work,  and  then  sold  out  to  Ephraim  Adams, 
who  continued  it  for  five  years,  when  it  was 
abandoned.  A  man  named  Cummins  had  a 
blacksmith  shop  in  the  village  as  early  as  1838 
and  was  followed  in  the  same  line  of  business 
by  a  Mr.  Madison.  In  1847  ^  saw-mill  was 
erected  on  Sycamore  creek,  in  the  village,  by 
Peter  Howenstein.  He  did  good  work  and 
continued  the  business  for  about  fifteen  years, 
when  he  sold  out.  The  mill  was  owned  for  a 
while  by  Eli  Winters.  The  first  resident  physi- 
cian in  Lykens  was  Dr.  James  Dodge,  who  re- 
mained, however,  only  five  or  six  years.  Aftei 
him  Dr.  Harmon  practiced  for  a  few  years 
and  then  removed;  Dr.  Ritchie  came  in  1856, 
but  died  at  the  end  of  four  years. 

Previous  to  the  establishment  of  the  post 
office  in  1844,  the  mail  was  brought  from  Mel- 
more,  in  Seneca  county^  and  later,  from  Por- 
tersville.  W'illiam  Hank  carried  it  once  a  week 
for  many  years  until  finally  a  post  office  was 
established  at  Lykens  on  March  18,  1844,  with 
J.  T.  Drake  as  postmaster.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Anson  Brown,  Jan.  6,  1846;  Jeremiah  Jol- 
ley,  Sept.  i,  1852;  James  Winters,  June  3, 
1854;  Eli  Winters,  July  2,  1856;  G.  B.  Van- 
fleet,  Oct.  23,  1856;  Ephraim  Adams,  No\. 
13,  1856;  J.  M.  Richey,  July  11,  1861 ;  John  ^ 
H.  Barron,  Feb.  4,  1867;  William  Kohl,  July 
13,  1871;  James  T.  Carbin,  Aug.  12,  1889; 
Jacob  Brown,  Aug.  8,  1893;  Gust  V.  Harer, 
June  6,  1894;  James  T.  Carbin,  May  6,  1898; 
H.  B.  Tippin,  June  13,  1900;  M.  L.  Aurand, 
Feb.  26,  1909;  C.  A.  Michner,  Jan.  28,  19 10. 

In  1837  Sidney  Holt  was  one  of  the  prom- 
inent men  in  Lykens  township,  and  he  de- 
cided he  would  like  to  have  a  post  office  for 
the  convenience  of  himself  and  his  neighbors. 
Congressman  Hunter  of  Huron  county  who 
then  represented  this  district,  was  a  personal 
friend  of  Holt's  and  the  office  was  easily  se- 
cured, and  was  named  Holt's  comers,  Sidney 
Holt  being  appointed  the  postmaster  on  July 
ID,  1837.  The  office  was  established  in  Holt's 
residence,  but  Air.  Holt  soon  tired  of  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  office,  he  could  secure  no 
neighbor  willing  to  undertake  the  job,  and  after 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


297 


running  it  for  a  little  over  a  month  it  was  dis- 
continued on  Aug.  i8,  1837. 

What  is  thought  to  have  been  the  first  school- 
house  in  the  township  was  built  about  two 
miles  west  of  the  village  of  Lykens,  near  the 
farm  of  Eli  Winters,  in  1834,  the  people  gen- 
erally uniting  in  its  erection.  Isabel  Hall  was 
the  first  to  teach  school  in  this  building.  This 
school  was  supported  by  subscription  and  the 
attendance  was  large  enough  to  make  the  teach- 
er's remuneration  come  to  about  $10  a  month. 
Other  early  teachers  in  this  school  were  a  man 
named  Andrews  and  Miss  Lucinda  Warren. 
After  being  in  use  many  years  this  building 
was  subsequently  replaced  by  a  better  one  at 
a  cost  of  $500.  The  Ransom  Schoolhouse,  a 
log  building,  was  built  in  1836.  In  a  few  years 
it  was  replaced  by  a  small  frame  building,  and 
this  in  turn  by  the  building  known  as  the 
"Frog-pond  Schoolhouse."  In  1840  a  school- 
house  was  erected  about  a  mile  north  of  Ly- 
kens village.  The  village  itself  had  no  school 
building  until  1851,  the  village  children  at- 
tending the  one  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
north  of  town,  which  had  been  erected  many 
years  before.  Section  29  had  a  log  school 
building  as  early  as  1838;  in  1854  it  was  re- 
placed by  a  frame  building,  and  the  latter  was 
used  until  1880,  when  a  large  brick  school- 
house  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $1,600,  which  is 
still  in  use.  In  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
township  a  cabin  for  school  purposes  was 
erected  in  1840  and  has  since  been  replaced  by 
two  or  more  others.  Spelling  schools  and 
singing  schools  were  among  the  educational 
diversions  of  early  days.  David  Spittler  taught 
one  of  the  latter  during  the  winter  months  for 
many  years.  Many  amusing  incidents  are 
doubtless  stored  away  in  the  minds  of  the  few 
survivors  who  attended  these  schools,  and 
could  they  all  be  gathered  together  and  pub- 
lished would  make  interesting  reading  for  the 
present  generation. 

The  pioneers  settlers  in  Lykens  attended 
church  in  Seneca  county,  but  after  the  popula- 
tion of  the  township  had  been  increased  in 
1832  by  a  large  German  immigration,  it  was 
deemed  advisable  to  erect  churches  nearer 
home.  The  Free  Will  Baptists  in  that  year 
began  holding  meetings  in  the  cabins  of  the 
settlers.  Among  their  earliest  ministers  were 
Seth  and  Benjamin  Parker,  Rev.  James  Ash- 


ley and  Comfort  Waller.  The  families  of 
Comfort  Waller,  David  Hill,  William  Swalley 
and  Lewis  Warren  were  among  the  first  active 
members  of  the  organization.  In  1842  this 
society  erected  a  church  on  the  farm  of  Com- 
fort Waller.  This  church,  which  was  the  first 
in  the  township,  was  a  low  frame  building,  with 
clapboard  seats  fastened  to  poles  laid  length- 
wise of  the  house.  The  pulpit  was  of  planed 
poplar  lumber,  and  the  building  was  furnished 
with  a  large  fire-place.  It  was  used  for  many 
years  and  was  then  superseded  by  a  new  build- 
ing, which  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,200. 

Among  the  early  Presbyterians  in  Lykens 
township  was  Solomon  Seery,  at  whose  home 
meetings  were  held  about  1834,  as  well  as  in 
the  cabins  of  others  of  that  faith.  A  society 
was  gradually  formed,  which  was  visited  for 
a  number  of  years,  at  regular  intervals,  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Tracy,  a  circuit  rider,  who  traveled 
over  several  counties.  After  the  society  had 
continued  on  this  basis  for  a  number  of  years, 
receiving  gradual  accessions,  a  church  was 
built  at  Seery  Corners,  which  has  since  been 
known  as  the  Seery  church.  It  was  a  small 
frame  building,  with  seats  and  pulpit  of  rough 
poplar  lumber,  and  without  paint  or  varnish. 
It  was  superseded  by  a  new  building  in  1870. 
This  society  was  built  up  and  placed  on  a  finn 
footing,  both  with  respect  to  finance  and  mem- 
bership bv  Rev.  Mr.  Lillibridge,  a  well  known 
and  particularly  effective  preacher  of  those 
days,  who  labored  with  the  congregation  for 
many  years. 

In  1850  the  German  Lutherans  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  German  Reformed  church  organ- 
ized a  society  in  the  northwestern  part,  their 
first  meetings  being  held  in  a  schoolhouse  and 
later  in  a  barn  belonging  to  John  Klaes.  The 
barn  being  destroyed  by  lightning,  the  meet- 
ings were  transferred  to  Mr.  Klaes'  house, 
and  were  there  continued  until  the  summer  of 
1852,  when  a  small  brick  church  was  erected. 
The  first  minister  was  Rev.  John  Bentz,  his 
immediate  successors  being  Rev.  William 
Veiler,  Rev.  Elias  Keller  and  Rev.  John  Win- 
ter. During  Mr.  Winter's  pastorate,  in  1859, 
the  congregation  divided,  a  separate  church 
being  erected  by  the  Reformers  in  close  prox- 
imity to  the  old  one.  Two  years  later  the  old 
church  was  abandoned  by  the  Lutherans.  The 
Reformed    congregation    has    had    a    steady 


298 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


growth  and  is  one  of  the  strongest  church  or- 
ganizations in  the  township.  A  burial  ground 
was  here  long  before  the  establishment  of  the 
church  as  in  the  graveyard  is  the  first  recorded 
burial  in  the  township  that  of  Samuel  Huddle, 
little  son  of  Benjamin  Huddle,  who  died  June 
27,  1832. 

The  Lutherans  residing  in  the  southern  part 
of  Lykens,  for  many  years  attended  a  church 
of  that  denomination  which  was  erected  at  an 
early  day  in  the  northern  part  of  Holmes  town- 
ship. 

About  1890  the  Pittsburg,  Akron  and  West- 
ern was  extended  from  Gary  through  Lykens 
township.  It  follows  a  half  section  line 
through  the  township,  and  passes  half  a  mile 
south  of  the  village  of  Lykens.  A  station  was 
erected,  and  a  store  was  started  at  the  station 


with  two  or  three  industries,  the  most  impor- 
tant being  the  bending  works  and  a  grain  ware- 
house. An  attempt  was  made  to  take  the  main 
body  of  the  town  to  the  station  but  it  never 
materialized,  and  even  the  store  was  abandoned. 

In  1872  a  lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  was  organ- 
ized at  Lykens  with  fifteen  members.  It  more 
than  doubled  in  membership,  and  when  the 
railroad  came  the  lodge  room  was  moved  to 
the  building  at  the  station.  This  proved  so  in- 
convenient for  the  members  that  the  lodge 
was  finally  discontinued. 

The  fine  quarries  west  of  the  town  were 
wgrked  for  many  years, 'and  when  the  era  of 
pike  building  was  commenced  they  again  be- 
came useful  in  the  furnishing  of  the  stone  for 
much  of  the  road  improvements  in  that  section. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


POLK  TOWNSHIP 


Origin  of  Polk — Home  of  JVingemund — Military  Road — Indian  Population — Johnny  Cake 
and  His  Wife — Indian  Burying-Ground — An  Abducted  Child — Drainage  and  Soil — 
Organization  of  the  Township — First  Election — Early  Settlers — The  Cranberry  Indus- 
try— A  Strange  Recognition — Early  Names  of  Galion — Rev.  James  Dunlap's  Narra- 
tive— Early  Mills,  Taverns  and  Distilleries — Churches  and  Schools — Cemeteries — Jus- 
tices of  the  Peace. 


Fresh  from  the  fountains  of  the  wood 

A  rivulet  of  the  valley  came. 
And  gUded  on  for  many  a  rood, 

Flushed  with  the  morning's  ruddy  flame. 
I  looked;  the  widening  vale  betrayed 

A  pool  that  shone  like  burnished  steel, 
Where  the  bright  valley  stream  was   stayed 

To  turn  the  miller's  ponderous  wheel. 

— John  Howard  Bryant. 

Polk  township  which  occupies  a  strip  of  ter- 
ritory extending  seven  miles  east  and  west,  and 
three  miles  north  and  south,  in  the  southeast 
corner  of  Crawford  county,  was  at  one  time, 
like  Vernon  and  Jackson,  a  part  of  Sandusky 
township,  Richland  county.  The  latter  was 
surveyed  in  1807  by  Maxfield  Ludlow.  It  was 
first  erected  as  one  of  the  western  townships 
of  Richland  county,  and  was  12  miles  deep 
and  six  wide.  At  this  time  the  territory  was 
inhabited  almost  entirely  by  the  Delaware  and 
Wyandot  Indians,  who  yet  lingered  in  their 
ancient  haunts,  loath  to  retreat  before  the  in- 
vading hosts  of  the  palefaces.  Of  the  whites, 
however,  there  were  few  before  the  year  181 7. 
In  this  township  was  the  home  of  Wingenund, 
and  here  occurred  the  capture  of  Col.  Craw- 
ford. To  the  Indian  mind  the  land  was  an  ideal 
abiding-place,  and  it  was  one  of  their  favorite 
hunting  and  fishing  grounds.  It  was  heavily 
timbered  with  every  variety  of  stately  tree; 
intersected  by  clear  sparkling  streams,  having 
their  source  in  the  purest  springs,  and  abounded 
with  game  of  various  kinds.  But  the  wave  of 
civilization  kept  rolling  steadily  westward.  In 
1812  the  soldiers  cut  a  road  through  the  town- 


IT 


ship,  which  passed  north  of  the  Olentangy,  near 
the  present  site  of  Galion.  In  the  southern 
part-  another  road  had  been  cut  by  the  Penn- 
sylvania militia,  and  when  the  settlers  began 
arriving  half  a  dozen  years  later  these  high- 
ways of  progress  rapidly  multiplied;  over  them 
came  rumbling  in  ever  increasing  numbers  the 
ox-drawn  wagons  of  the  pioneers,  and  the 
Red  Man  knew  that  the  hour  of  his  departure 
was  at  hand.  He  had  fought  his  fight  and  lost. 
With  sad  heart  he  turned  his  back  on  the  land 
of  his  fathers,  and  with  his  face  to  the  setting 
sun,  set  out  with  reluctant  steps  to  the  more 
distant  wilderness  of  the  possession  of  which 
his  rapacious  white  brother  was  not  yet  ready 
to  deprive  him. 

Some  of  these  Indians  had  adopted  Eng- 
lish family  names.  Among  them  were  the 
Walkers,  Williamses,  Armstrongs,  Dowdys, 
etc.  One  of  them,  well  known  among  the 
earliest  settlers,  rejoiced  in  the  appelation  of 
Solomon  Johnny  Cake.  He  was  a  fine  looking, 
good  natured  and  friendly  hunter  of  superb 
physical  proportions  and  had  for  a  wife  a 
woman  who  was  three-fourths  white.  Her 
mother  was  a  Castleman,  and  had  been  captured 
in  eastern  Ohio  by  the  Indians  after  the  Revo- 
lution and  adopted  into  an  Indian  family  living 
on  the  Sandusky.  She  married  Abraham  Wil- 
liams, a  half-breed  Indian,  and  the  fruit  of  this 
union  was  a  beautiful  daughter  named  Sally, 
who  became  the  wife  of  Johnny  Cake.  Sally 
and  his  children  frequently  accompanied  him  on 


299 


300 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


his  hunting  excursions.  He  usually  constructed* 
a  neat  bark  wigwam  to  protect  his  squaw  and 
children  from  the  storms  and  exposure  of  the 
forest,  while  he  ranged  the  woods  in  search  of 
game.  He  sometimes  exchanged  venison  for 
side  pork  with  the  pioneers,  and  frequently 
met  parties  who  had  a  curiosity  to  see  Sallie, 
and  the  children.  Sally  was  regarded  as  a  very 
apt  housekeeper,  and  preferred  as  far  as  pos- 
sible to  imitate  the  whites. 

Johnny  Cake  was  a  prominent  man  in  his 
tribe,  renowned  for  council  and  courage,  and 
in  1823  had  accompanied  an  exploring  expedi- 
tion to  the  Far  West,  beyond  the  Mississippi. 
He  and  his  wife  accompanied  the  Wyandots 
when  they  removed  from  their  reservation  in 
this  county  in  1843.  Three  of  his  grandsons 
served  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  enlisting  at 
Wyandot,  Kan.  He  was  very  friendly  with 
the  white  men,  whose  superiority  he  seemed  to 
recognize,  though  grieving  for  the  approaching 
doom  of  his  race. 

On  the  north  banks  of  the  Olentangy,  just 
west  of  Union  street  was  an  Indian  burying 
ground,  which  was  used  by  the  Red  men  until 
their  departure  from  this  vicinity.  After  they 
were  gone  some  young  men  opened  the  graves 
with  the  hope  of  finding  treasure,  but  found 
nothing  to  repay  them  for  their  trouble.  The 
field  was  subsequently  cultivated  and  the  graves 
plowed  level  and  it  is  now  covered  with  resi- 
dences. Sometimes  strange  Indians  from  the 
lake  region  visited  the  settlements.  Previous 
to  1820,  when  there  were  not  more  than  twenty- 
five  settlers  in  the  township,  a  party  of  this 
kind  made  their  appearance.  Several  of  these 
went  to  the  home  of  Benjamin  Sharrock  and 
tried  to  negotiate  for  the  purchase  of  a  young 
girl,  whom  they  wanted  to  adopt  into  their 
tribe.  Of  course  Mr.  Sharrock  declined  to  be 
a  party  to  any  such  arrangement.  A  few  days 
later  the  Indians  went  away  and  about  the 
same  time  a  little  girl  about  four  years  old, 
the  child  of  a  settler  named  John  Dunmeyer, 
who  lived  about  a  mile  southwest  of  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Gabon,  was  found  to  be  missing. 
She  had  been  with  her  mother  in  the  woods,  the 
latter  being  engaged  in  boiling  sugar  water, 
and,  thinking  it  time  for  her  to  be  in  the  house, 
the  mother  had  taken  her  little  daughter  to  the 
fence,  lifted  her  over  it  and  told  her  to  go 
into  the  cabin.     When  she  returned  the  child 


was  gone.  The  frantic  mother  gave  the  alarm ; 
a  party  was  formed  who  searched  the  woods  for 
three  days  and  nights,  and  finally  dragged  the 
creek,  but  the  child  was  never  found.  It.  was 
supposed  that  she  had  been  abducted  by  the 
Indians  and  taken  to  Canada,  but  her  fate  for- 
ever remained  a  mystery.  The  fact  that  such 
crimes,  and  worse  if  worse  could  be,  were  not 
unfrequently  committed  by  the  Indians,  miti- 
gates' to  a  large  extent  the  feelings  of  pity  and 
compunction  that  one  might  otherwise  enter- 
tain foj  the  fate  of  the  Red  Man  in  being 
driven  "from  his  ancient  hunting  grounds  and 
reduced  to  a  few  miserable  tribal  remnants  lo- 
cated in  far  western  states  under  the  ever- 
watchful  eye  of  the  Government.  Though  they 
were  in  many  cases,  undoubtedly  deprived  of 
their  lands  by  trickery  or  force,  and  had  just 
cause  for  complaint  against  the  whites,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  there  is  scarcely  a  square 
yard  of  land  in  any  civilized  country  the  title 
to  which  has  not,  at  some  time  or  other,  been 
derived  in  the  same  manner,  namely,  by  the 
right  of  the  strongest.  The  Indians  held  their 
lands  by  the  same  title,  having  in  the  first  place 
driven  out  or  exterminated  that  mysterious  race 
who  held  the  land  before  them,  and  who  them- 
selves may  have  obtained  their  title  in  a  similar 
manner;  and  after  the  Indians  had  gained 
possession  of  the  continent  they  fought  among 
themselves  for  territory  and  deprived  each 
other  of  their  possessions  without  compunc- 
tion. That  they,  themselves,  should  have  been 
finally  ousted  by  the  palefaces  may  after  all 
have  been  only  a  sort  of  retributive  justice. 
"To  the  victor  belong  the  spoils"  has  been  the 
motto  of  every  conqueror  since  the  world  began 
and,  though  it  may  not  be  in  accord  with  the 
precepts  of  Christianity,  it  has  had  much  to 
do  with  promoting  the  cause  of  civilization  and 
making  the  world  what  it  is  today,  and  de- 
monstrate the  undeniable  fact  of  "the  survival 
of  the  fittest." 

Indians  traveled  this  section  in  early  days  in 
large  numbers.  It  was  on  their  route  from 
the  cranberry  marshes,  and  loaded  down  with 
these  berries  they  passed  through  to  Mansfield, 
where  they  disposed  of  them.  Again,  bands 
of  them  went  through  with  their  skins  and 
furs,  and  bark  baskets  made  by  the  squaws 
which  found  a  ready  sale  at  Mansfield,  and  in 
the  sugar  seasons  two  of  the  baskets  were 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


301 


strapped  together,  placed  across  their  horses, 
and  each  basket  containing  about  fifty  pounds 
of  maple  sugar  was  conveyed  to  the  market, 
where  they  exchanged  it  for  the  supplies  they 
needed.  The  Wyandots  made  Mansfield  their 
principal  market  until  about  1835,  when  their 
trading  was  removed  to  Bucyrus  and  Marion. 

They  always  traveled  through  the  woods 
single  file,  and  when  settlers  or  hunters  met  a 
band  of  half  a  dozen  or  more,  only  one  of  the 
Indians  would  do  any  talking,  and  it  was  al- 
most an  impossibility  to  induce  any  one  except 
the  spokesman  to  say  a  word  in  English. 
Neither  would  they  talk  English  except 
when  necessary.'  One  day  Tommy  Vanhorn,  a 
Marion  county  hunter,  who  was  returning 
home  from  a  day  in  the  woods,  met  one  of  these 
Indians  who  could  not  understand  a  word  of 
English,  and  they  were  both  compelled  to  talk 
in  pantomime,  to  express  their  ideas.  Vanhorn 
had  taken  one  or  more  drinks  during  his  day's 
hunting  and  in  the  course  of  his  sign  language 
conversation  with  the  Indian,  happened  to  get 
on  the  windward  side  of  him,  and  the  Indian's 
nose  being  in  better  working  order  than  his 
tongue,  he  caught  the  fragrance  of  the  hunt- 
er's breath.  He  promptly  straightened  up, 
took  an  interest  in  matters,  and  looking  Van- 
horn squarely  in  the  face,  inquired  in  the  best 
of  English — "Where  you  get  whisky?" 

Polk  township  lies  upon  the  very  summit  of 
the  crest  or  ridge  which  separates  the  valley 
of  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  St.  Lawrence  river 
from  that  of  the  Ohio.  Thus  it  happens  that, 
among  the  numerous  springs  which  are  found 
v/ithin  its  borders,  there  are  two,  but  a  few 
rods  apart,  the  waters  from  one  of  which  wend 
their  tortuous  way  down  the  northern  slope  to 
Lake  Erie,  mingle  with  the  foaming  torrent 
which  plunges  headlong  to  lower  depths  in  the 
stupendous  cataract  of  Niagara,  traverse  the 
length  of  Lake  Ontario,  pursue  their  winding 
course  among  the  beautiful  "Thousand  Is- 
lands" of  the  St.  Lawrence  until  they  finally 
rest  in  the  bosom  of  the  broad  Atlantic.  Those 
of  the  other  meander  here  and  there,  as  if  un- 
certain which  way  to  take,  but  gradually,  in 
obedience  to  Nature's  law,  assume  a  more 
southerly  course,  unite  with  the  waters  of  the 
Ohio,  then  with  those  of  the  majestic  "Father 
of  Waters,"  flow  peacefully  past  the  once  shot- 
battered  heights  of  Vicksburg,  and  many  an- 


other spot  famous  in  our  country's  history,  past 
the  busy  wharves  and  cotton-laden  steamers  of 
the  Queen  City  of  the  South,  and  through 
gloomy  lagoons  overhung  with  the  moss-cov- 
ered branches  of  the  cypress,  until  they  emerge 
into  the  warm  and  sunlit  waters  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico. 

The  land  of  Polk  township,  though  high,  is 
generally  level,  having  a  natural  tendency  to 
retain  the  water,  on  account  of  which,  before 
artificial  drainage  was  resorted  to,  it  had  the 
appearance  of  being  wet  and  swampy.  The 
timber  consisted  mostly  of  oak,  beech,  maple, 
elm,  black  walnut  and  ash.  The  soil,  formed 
chiefly  in  primitive  times  by  vast  glacial  de- 
posits of  drift,  sand  and  gravel,  mixed  with 
iron  and  clay,  is  rich  and  admirably  adapted  to 
cultivation.  It  is  watered  chiefly  by  the  Olen- 
tangy  river,  which  meanders  in  a  general 
westerly  direction  through  the  whole  length  of 
the  township.  All  along  its  valley  are  out- 
croppings  of  sandstone  belonging  to  the  Wa- 
verly  group,  which  were  quarried  in  the  early 
days  for  building  purposes  and  for  years  have 
been  one  of  the  profitable  industries  of  the 
township.  This  river,  which  waters  the  bot- 
tom lands  of  the  whole  township,  had,  in  for- 
mer days  before  the  forests  had  been  cleared 
from  its  banks,  a  stream  of  greater  volume 
than  at  present  and  was  far  more  picturesque. 
In  early  days  numerous  mills  were  erected 
upon  its  banks.  The  western  part  of  the  town- 
ship is  eminently  adapted  to  grazing  purposes, 
on  account  of  the  variety  and  luxuriance  of  the 
grasses. 

Sandusky  township  was  organized  on  July 
12,  1 81 8,  as  a  part  of  Richland  county.  The 
territory  it  then  contained  was  twelve  miles 
long  by  six  wide,  including  within  its  limits 
the  present  townships  of  Vernon,  and  Jackson 
and  a  part  of  Jefferson  and  Polk.  While  a  part 
of  Richland  county,  the  northern  half  was 
taken  from  it  and  called  Vernon  township, 
thus  reducing  its  territory  to  six  miles  square. 
Changes  were  being  constantly  made  in  laoun- 
dary  lines  of  townships  and  counties  and  in 
the  creation  of  new  townships,  counties  and 
county  seats  throughout  the  state,  and  when 
Wyandot  county  was  erected  on  Feb.  3,  1845, 
four  tiers  of  sections  were  taken  from  the  west 
side  of  Sandusky  township,  Richland  county, 
and  annexed  to  Crawford  county.     Then,  to 


302 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


the  west  side  of  this  tier  of  four  sections  was 
added  what  was  known  as  the  "three-mile 
strip."  On  the  south  was  added  a  strip  one 
mile  wide  from  Marion  county.  From  the 
territory  thus  formed  a  strip  of  land  three 
miles  north  and  south  and  seven  miles  east 
and  west  was  taken  from  the  south  side  and 
named  Polk  township,  which,  as  still  consti- 
tuted, is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Jackson  and 
Jefferson  townships,  on  the  east  by  Richland 
county,  on  the  south  by  Morrow  county,  and 
on  the  west  by  Whetstone  township. 

There  was  much  dissatisfaction  for  a  time 
on  the  part  of  those  farmers  residing  in  that 
part  of  Polk  that  had  been  taken  from  Richland 
county.  While  citizens  of  Richland  they  had 
been  taxed  to  pay  for  the  erection  of  its  pub- 
lic buildings,  and  now  that,  against  their  will, 
they  had  become  citizens  of  another  and  poorer 
county  the  public  buildings  of  which  were 
small,  and  which  had  not  yet  been  paid  for, 
they  objected  to  this  additional  taxation.  After 
considerable  agitation  of  the  subject,  not  un- 
accompanied by  threats  of  violence,  they  at 
last  sent  Asa  Hosford  to  the  State  capital  as 
a  lobby  representative,  empowered  to  look 
after  their  interests.  He  did  not  accomplish 
all  that  was  expected,  but  through  their  Rich- 
land county  representative,  Isaac  Hetrick,  the 
Legislature  was  induced  to  pass  an  enactment 
whereby  the  residents  of  that  part  of  the  new 
township,  which  had  formerly  been  in  Rich- 
land county,  were  released  from  the  payment  of 
taxes  upon  the  county  buildings  of  Crawford. 
As  there  was  practically  no  opposition  to  this 
enactment,  Mr.  Hosford  asked  that  the  same 
favor  be  shown  to  those  residing  in  the  strip 
which  had  been  taken  from  Marion  county. 
But  the  representative  of  Crawford  county, 
John  Carey,  objected,  stating  that  the  citizens 
of  the  southern  strip  had  not  asked  for  any  ex- 
emption and  the  matter  was  dropped. 

Polk  township  was  named  after  President 
Polk,  in  whose  term  of  ofSce  it  was  created. 
The  resolution  of  the  county  commissioners 
which  gave  it  existence  read  as  follows : 

March  6,  1845 — Board_  met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 
Present,  full  board.  Resolution — This  day  it  was  re- 
solved by  the  Commissioners  of  Crawford  County  that 
the  following  fractional  townships,  taken  from  the  coun- 
ties of  Richland  and  Marion,  according  to  an  act  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  passed  Febru- 
ary third  (3d),  1845,  to  erect  the  new  county  of  Wyan- 


dot, and  alter  the  boundaries  of  Crawford,  was  organ- 
ized into  separate  townships,  to  wit:  All  that  part 
taken  from  the  county  of  Richland,  and  being  Town- 
ship twenty  (20)  north.  Range  twenty  (20)  west,  and 
all  that  part  taken  from  Township  nineteen  (19),  with 
Range  twenty  (20),  and  all  that  part  taken  from  the 
county  of  Marion,  and  being  in  Township  fifteen  (15) 
with  Range  twenty-one  (21)  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby, 
organized  into  a  separate  township  by  the  name  of  Polk, 
and  that  the  County  Auditor  be  and  is  hereby  author- 
ized to  cause  notice  to  be  given  to  the  said  township 
of  the  foregoing  organization  and  alteration,  according 
to  the  statute  of  Ohio  in  such  case  made  and  provided. 

John  Clements, 
Hamilton  Kerr, 
Samuel  Lee. 
Attest:  '  O.  Williams,  County  Auditor. 

The  first  election  in  the  new  township  was 
held  April  7th,  1845,  with  Isaac  Criley,  Joshua 
Canon  and  Phares  Jackson,  judges,  and  Sol- 
omon P.  Nave  and  Samuel  R.  Canon,  clerks. 
This  election  was  held  only  to  fill  vacancies 
caused  by  the  separation,  the  Sandusky  town- 
ship officers  having  been  previously  elected, 
and  some  of  them  being  in  the  Polk  township 
part,  Abraham  Underwood,  the  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  being  one  of  them.  Those  duly  elected 
and  qualified  on  this  occasion  were  as-  follows : 
Trustees — Asa  Hosford,  Samuel  P.  Lee, 
Bartholomew  Reed,  Jr. ;  Clerk — Peter  Cress ; 
Treasurer — John  S.  Davis;  Assessor — Samuel 
R.  Cannon;  Constables — John  A.  Loneus, 
Joseph  Kimmel;  Supervisors — Eri  Hosford, 
Joseph  Diddy,  Edward  Cooper,  David  Thrush, 
William  White,  A.  C.  Jackson,  Frederic  Tay- 
lor, Jacob  Stinebaugh,  John  Ashcroft,  William 
L.  Dille,  Bart  Reed,  Sr.,  Andrew  Reed,  A.  S. 
Caton,  Phillip  Ichorn,  Phillip  Zimmermaker, 
Isaac  Nayer. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  new  trustees  was 
held  on  April  26,  1845,  and  among  the  business 
transacted  was  "the  sale  of  James  Sutton,  a 
town  pauper.  He  was  taken  by  Jacob  Stein- 
baugh  for  one  year  for  $100,  clothing  and 
doctor  bills  excepted."  Other  business  trans- 
acted was  the  levying  of  a  tax  of  two  mills  on 
the  dollar  for  poor  purposes  and  three  quarters 
of  a  mile  for  township  purposes. 

Prior  to  the  formation  of  the  new  township, 
elections  had  been  held  at  the  house  of  John 
Fate,  a  mile  southwest  of  the  present  town  of 
Crestline.  This  election  booth  was  now  in  the 
new  township  of  Jackson,  and  on  Sept  6,  1845, 
the  trustees  met  and  appointed  the  place  for 
holding  elections  at  the  school  house  in  the 
village  of  Galion.     Only  two  of  the  trustees 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


303 


were  present — Asa  Hosford  and  Bartholomew 
Reed. 

Among  the  first  settlers  in  Polk  township 
were  Benjamin  Lever idge  and  his  two  sons 
James  and  Nathaniel ;  Disberry  Johnson,  Sam- 
uel Johnson,  Edward  Cooper  and  John  Sturges 
in  1817;  Benjamin  Sharrock,  Nathaniel  and 
Nehemiah  Story,  John  Williamson,  John  Kit- 
tridge,  David  Gill,  and  George  Wood  in  181 8; 
Asa  and  Horace  Hosford  and  John  Hibner  in 
1819;  Samuel  Brown  and  his  two  sons,  John 
and  Michael,  William  Hosford,  John  and  Al- 
pheus  Atwood,  John  Bashford,  Samuel  Dany, 
David  Reid,  James  Dickerson,  John  Dun- 
meier,  Daniel  Miller  and  Jacob  Pletcher  in 
1820. 

Benjamin  Leveridge,  and  his  two  sons, 
James  and  Nathaniel,  were  the  first  settlers,  and 
all  three  built  their  cabins  on  land  that  is  now 
a  part  of  the  city  of  Galion.  The  cabin  of 
Benjamin  Leveridge  was  southwest  of  the 
present  public  square,  between  Atwood  and 
Cherry  streets,  and  near  him  his  son  James 
built  his  cabin,  while  Nathaniel  erected  his  on 
the  high  ground  which  is  now  the  public  square. 
The  first  two  had  splendid  water  from  the 
springs  in  that  neighborhood,  but  Nathaniel 
was  compelled  to  dig  a  well,  and  in  1880,  when 
the  Public  Square 'was  being  improved,  re- 
mains of  this  old  well  were  discovered. 

The  next  year,  1818,  the  pioneers  were  as- 
sisting in  raising  a  cabin  for  John  Williamson, 
and  John  Leveridge  was  killed  by  a  falling  log. 
Work  was  immediately  suspended,  and  the 
cabin  remained  for  some  time  without  a  roof, 
just  as  it  was  when  Mr.  Leveridge  was  killed. 

Later  the  same  year,  Nehemiah  Story  and 
his  son  Nathaniel  and  John  Kitteridge  came 
from  Maine.  They  stopped  for  a  short  time 
in  the  Williamson  settlement,  east  of  Galion. 
They  took  possession  of  the  unfinished  cabin 
where  Leveridge  was  killed,  and  having  com- 
pleted it,  here  they  spent  the  winter,  and  the 
next  spring  moved  into  a  cabin  that  had  been 
built  by  John  Sturges,  on  the  hill  north  of  the 
Galion  road  west  of  the  Olentangy,  where  they 
remained  for  four  years.  Nathaniel  Story 
was  a  hunter  and  trapper,  and  Kitteridge  lodged 
with  him ;  he  was  known  throughout  that  sec- 
tion as  "Father"  Kitteridge,  and  also  devoted 
much  of  his  time  to  hunting.  Nehemiah 
Story  was  a  Baptist,  and  the  first  minister's 


name  on  the  court  records  in  Marion  county 
was  when  Rev.  Nehemiah  Story  was  author- 
ized to  solemnize  marriages  Nov.  13,  1826. 

Disberry  Johnson  came  in  181 7,  locating 
on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  26,  two 
miles  west  of  Galion.  He  was  born  in  Virginia 
in  1764,  married  there  and  came  to  Ohio  with 
six  children.  His  first  wife  died,  and  his  sec- 
ond wife  was  a  widow  named  Cooper  with 
six  children.  And  by  this  union  there  were  six 
children.  So  when  Johnson  decided  to  come 
to  Crawford  county,  he  brought  with  him  his 
wife  and  seventeen  children,  one  daughter  be- 
ing married  and  remaining  in  Ross  county. 
Probably  all  of  the  five  Johnson  children  who 
came  with  him  were  of  age,  and  probably  some 
of  his  step-children,  the  Coopers.  Mr.  John- 
son was  early  appointed  one  of  the  justices  of 
the  peace,  a  position  he  held  for  many  years. 
Johnson  lived  to  be  104,  and  died  in  1868  at 
the  home  of  J.  Throckmorton,  a  grandchild. 
He  was  buried  in  the  Galion  graveyard. 

The  Browns  settled  on  section  27  west  of 
the  Johnson  family.  Jacob  Pletcher  lived  for 
a  short  time  near  Galion  and  then  entered  his 
land  along  the  Olentangy  in  section  34,  the 
land  now  owned  by  David  Tracht.  Just  north 
of  him  was  David  Reed,  a  part  of  his  land  be- 
ing that  now  owned  by  Isaac  C.  Guinther;  he 
also  entered  land  across  the  line  in  Whetstone 
township. 

John  Hibner  settled  on  the  land  just  east  of 
Galion  now  owned  by  Christian  Burgner.  It 
was  in  the  midst  of  a  forest  filled  with  wild 
animals,  and  before  the  bears  had  left  that 
section.  One  day  while  Mr.  Hibner  was  ab- 
sent, his  wife  while  at  her  household  duties 
in  the  little  log  cabin  heard  a  noise  near  the 
chimney,  and  looking  in  that  direction  was 
horrified  to  see  that  the  chimney  stones  had 
been  displaced,  and  the  great  black  paw  of  a 
bear  had  been  thrust  through  the  opening  to 
seize  the  baby  which  she  had  placed  near  the 
fire  place.  She  hurriedly  grabbed  the  baby, 
and  removed  it  to  a  place  of  safety,  but  before 
she  could  get  the  axe  or  some  other  weapon, 
the  bear  withdrew  his  paw  and  returned  to  the 
woods. 

At  another  time  James  Neil  arose  before 
daylight,  and  started  on  foot  with  a  sack  of 
corn  to  have  it  ground  at  the  Beam  mills  south 
of  Mansfield,  hoping  to  return  before  dark.   It 


304 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


was  before  he  even  had  a  door  to  his  cabin, 
skins  being  hung  over  the  one  entrance.  He 
was  delayed  and  night  had  set  in  when  he 
reached  his  cabin,  where  he  was  astonished  to 
find  everything  quiet.  On  entering  the  house 
he  found  his  wife  sitting  on  a  stool  facing 
the  doorway,  with  a  determined  look  on  her 
face  and  the  axe  in  her  hand.  Just  as  evening 
came  on  a  gaunt  and  hungry  wolf  had  entered 
the  cabin,  and  Mrs.  Nail  grabbed  the  axe,  and 
the  snarling  animal  beat  a  hasty  retreat,  and 
she  was  now  on  the  look-out  for  a  second  call. 

The  township  gained  a  useful  citizen  in 
1819,  by  the  arrival  of  Asa  Hosford,  who  with 
his  brother,  Horace,  trudged  in  on  foot,  on 
Saturday,  Sept.  19th,  and  was  given  shelter 
over  Sunday  at  the  home  of  Benjamin  Lev- 
eridge.  He  was  a  man  of  great  tact  and  ability 
and  from  the  time  of  his  arrival  was  the  rec- 
ognized leader  of  all  the  important  matters  of 
the  township.  His  native  place  was  Richfield, 
Mass.,  but  in  his  youth  he  accompanied  his 
father's  family  to  New  York.  When  twenty- 
one  years  old  he  left  New  York  with  his 
brother  Horace  and  set  out  for  the  Great  West. 
They  arrived  at  Cleveland  on  the  steamer, 
Walk-in-the-Water,  the  first  steam  vessel  ever 
on  Lake  Erie.  They  set  out  on  foot  for  the 
interior,  arriving  at  Galion,  Saturday  evening, 
Sept.  19,  1819.  They  returned  to  Huron 
county  where  they  passed  the  winter,  and  in 
the  spring  again  came  to  Crawford,  where  later 
they  were  met  by  their  father  and  the  other 
members  of  the  family.  After  arriving  at  the 
corners  the  father,  William  Hosford,  erected  a 
double  log  cabin,  where  he  often  entertained 
travelers  who  could  not  find  accommodations 
elsewhere.  In  the  meanwhile  Asa  Hosford 
worked  at  anything  he  could  find  to  do,  while 
his  brother  Horace  opened  a  blacksmith's  shop 
near  the  father's  dwelling.  It  took  the  former 
several  years  to  save  $100  with  which  to  buy 
a  piece  of  land.  Finally  the  elder  Hosford  sold 
his  property  to  his  son-in-law,  from  whom  it 
was  purchased  by  Asa,  who,  in  1824,  opened  a 
tavern  there.  Not  as  yet  being  married,  his 
sister  acted  as  landlady.  About  a  year  later, 
however,  he  married  Miss  Alta  Kent  of  Bucy- 
rus.  For  eight  years  he  carried  on  a  prosperous 
business  at  the  tavern,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  he  sold  out  to  John  Ruhl. 

To  illustrate  the  ease  with  which  a  settler 


might  get  lost  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  his 
own  clearing,  the  story  is  handed  down  that 
Samuel  Dany  went  into  the  woods  to  shoot  a 
deer  and,  having  lost  his  sense  of  direction, 
wandered  round  and  round  until  he  was  per- 
fectly confused  and  knew  not  which  way  he 
was  going.  At  last  he  came  to  a  clearing  and 
saw  a  cabin,  in  the  door  of  which  a  woman 
was  standing.  Going  up  to  the  fence,  he  called 
to  her  and  asked  her  if  she  could  tell  him 
where  Samuel  Dany  lived.  She  laughed  and 
told  him  he  might  come  in  and  see,  when  he 
discov^ed  that  it  was  his  own  home  and  that 
he  had  been  speaking  to  his  own  wife. 

John  Hibner  erected  the  first  mill  in  the 
township;  it  was  east  of  the  present  town  of 
Galion,  where  the  Erie  road  crosses  the  Olen- 
tangy,  on  what  is  now  the  Christian  Burgner 
farm. 

Benjamin  Sharrock  was  born  in  1779.  His 
father  James  Sharrock  came  to  America  as  a 
British  soldier,  but  joined  the  American  cause 
and  fought  under  Washington  and  LaFayette. 
Benjamin  was  in  the  War  of  1812,  in  the  New 
York  militia.  After  that  war  he  married 
Constantine  Williams  in  Guernsey  county,  and 
in  1818  with  his  family  came  to  Polk  town- 
ship, where  he  had  a  small  cabin  for  his  fam- 
ily on  the  banks  of  the  Olentangy  just  west 
of  Galion.  Here  they  lived,  while  he  walked 
daily  to  his  land  two  miles  south  where  he 
erected  a  cabin  on  the  bank  of  the  river;  later 
he  had  a  saw  and  grist  mill.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  physical  strength,  strongly  religious,  and 
preached  to  the  pioneers  in  the  early  days.  He 
was  known  to  all  the  settlers  as  "Uncle  Ben." 

James  Nail  was  born  in  Somerset  county. 
Pa.  During  the  War  of  1812  he  was  residing 
with  his  father's  family  in  Richland  county, 
Ohio.  In  1819  he  left  home  and  came  to  what 
is  now  Jefferson  township  purchasing  160 
acres  of  "Congress"  land,  two  miles  north  of 
Galion.  In  1821  he  married  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  Brown,  walking  to  Delaware  to  secure 
the  license,  and  settled  on  his  land,  having 
previously  resided  with  his  brother-in-law, 
Lewis  Leiberger.  The  latter  in  1822  removed 
from  the  neighborhood.  Having  ascertained 
that  the  Indians  were  in  the  habit  of  taKmg 
large  quantities  of  cranberries  into  Richland 
county,  where  they  disposed  of  them  for  meal 
and  other  produce,  Mr.  Nail,  with  his  father- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


305 


in-law,  Samuel  Brown,  his  brother-in-law 
Michael  Brown  and  Daniel  Miller,  set  out  in 
1820,  to  discover  where  they  procured  them, 
with  the  view  of  profiting  by  the  knowledge. 
They  went  west  for  several  miles  along 
the  Pennsylvania  army  road,  and  then  turned 
north,  keeping  on  until  they  struck  the  San- 
dusky river,  east  of  Bucyrus.  Here  they  found 
Daniel  McMichael,  who  gave  them  information 
in  regard  to  the  Indian  trail  that  led  to  the 
cranberry  marsh.  As  night  came  on  they  saw 
the  camp-fires  of  the  Indians,  who,  however, 
did  not  molest  them.  They  camped  out  all 
night  and  in  the  morning  loaded  their  horses 
with  as  many  cranberries  as  they  could  carry 
and  reached  home  that  same  evening.  In  many 
places  the  weeds  were  as  high  as  their  horses' 
heads.  Aside  from  the  Indians,  the  only  man 
they  saw  during  the  trip  was  Mr.  McMichael, 
on  the  Sandusky  river,  just  east  of  Bucyrus. 
Mr.  Nail  and  his  brother-in-law  also  went  on  a 
search  for  bee  trees,  of  which  they  found  a 
number  and  collected  nearly  two  barrels  of 
honey,  which  at  that  time  was  selling  in  Jef- 
ferson county,  to  which  they  shipped  it,  for 
$1  a  gallon.  In  1822  Mr.  Nail  sold  his  land 
to  Daniel  Miller  and  bought  80  acres  on  a 
branch  of  the  Whetstone,  or  Olentangy,  south- 
west of  Gabon.  About  this  time  Mr.  Nail  de- 
cided to  build  a  mill  and  let  the  contract  to 
Alexander  McGrew,  of  Tuscarawas  county. 
A  dam  was  made  and  the  frame  and  running- 
gear  put  together  in  six  weeks'  time.  In  the 
fall  he  sold  the  mill  and  farm  to  John  Hauck, 
who  was  looking  for  a  site  for  a  carding  ma- 
chine and  fulling  mill.  Owing  to  the  small- 
ness  of  the  population,  however,  Mr.  Hauck's 
project  proved  a  failure.  In  making  the  agree- 
ment with  Mr.  Hauck,  Mr.  Nail  had  reserved 
the  right  to  live  in  the  cabin  and  also  to  use  the 
mill  for  one  year,  which  he  accordingly  did, 
furnishing  lumber  to  the  settlers.  In  1822  he 
moved  to  another  location,  about  half  a  mile 
below  his  saw -mill,  and  in  1824  erected  a  grist- 
mill. In  1825  Mr.  Nail  added  a  distillery  to 
his  grist  mill,  and  followed  the  combined  occu- 
pations of  grinding  and  distilling  until  1835, 
in  which  year  he  sold  both  the  mill  and  distil- 
lery to  a  man  named  Parks,  from  Beaver 
county.  Pa. 

Mr.   Nail's  name  appears  on  the  first  will 
that   was   ever   recorded   in   Marion  county, 


Crawford  being  at  that  time  a  part  of  Marion, 
for  legal  purposes.  The  will  was  made  by 
Samuel  Ferrel,  and  was  admitted  to  probate 
May  29,  1826.  Ferrel  left  all  his  property  to 
his  mother,  Martha  Ferrel,  and  no  executor 
being  named  she  was  appointed  as  administra- 
trix. Benjamin  Jeffrey  and  Jonathan  Smith 
were  the  witnesses,  and  James  Nail  and  Wil- 
liam Moore  were  the  sureties  for  the  admin- 
istratrix. 

Daniel  Miller  bought  160  acres  of  timber- 
land  from  James  Nail  in  the  spring  of  1822, 
the  land  being  a  little  over  two  miles  north  of 
Gallon.  He  married  Lydia,  daughter  of  Henry 
and  Elizabeth  (Ruhl)  Hershner.  They  had 
seven  daughters,  the  fifth  of  whom,  Lydia 
Tabitha,  married  Col.  Robert  .Cowden.  At 
the  time  of  Miller's  arrival  in  the  county  the 
settlers  were  few  and  far  between.  Their 
nearest  flouring  mill  was  on  the  Clear  Fork  of 
the  Mohican,  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  south- 
east of  Gallon.  A  blazed  trail  through  an  un- 
broken forest  marked  the  road,  and  there  were 
no  bridges  over  any  of  the  streams.  A  set- 
tler would  start  with  a  sack  or  two  of  his  own 
corn,  and  some  for  his  neighbors,  and  would 
go  and  wait  at  the  mills  until  it  was  ground, 
which  sometimes  took  several  days.  Col. 
Cowden  writes  that  one  time  his  father-in- 
law,  Daniel  Miller,  had  made  the  trip,  taking 
provisions  for  himself  and  food  for  the  horse. 
It  was  the  fall  of  the  year,  and  the  nights  were 
chilly.  He  arrived  at  the  mill  late,  and  slept 
in  his  wagon.  Arising  early  the  next  morning, 
4  o'clock,  he  took  a  brisk  walk  to  warm  up, 
and  met  Mr.  Hisky,  the  miller,  going  to  the 
mill  to  start  it  up  for  the  day.  Mr.  Hisky  in- 
quired his  name,  and  he  told  him  it  was  Daniel 
Miller.  "Daniel  Miller!"  was  the  reply. 
"Where  do  you  come  from?"  "York  county, 
Pennsylvania,"  replied  Miller.  Mr.  Hisky 
looked  at  him  in  astonishment,  and  said: 
"Daniel  Miller?  From  York  county,  Penn- 
sylvania? That  is  strange!  My  wife's  name 
was  Miller,  she  is  from  York  county,  Penn- 
sylvania and  I  have  often  heard  her  speak  of 
her  little  brother,  Daniel."  Mr.  Miller  was 
now  interested,  and  the  two  men  went  back  to 
the  house,  and  sure  enough  the  woman  was  his 
sister,  and  Miller  had  slept  out  in  the  cold  in 
the  dooryard  of  his  sister's  house,  and  never 
knew  it.    The  explanation  is  simple.    Eve  Mil- 


306 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ler  was  the  oldest  of  fourteen  children  and 
Daniel  was  the  youngest.  He  was  but  a  small 
boy  when  she  married  and  left  her  Pennsyl- 
vania home.  She  married  a  man  named  George 
Bidleman,  who  became  too  lazy  and  shiftless 
to  work  and  degenerated  into  a  robber,  fol- 
lowing the  line  of  travel  to  the  west,  and  as- 
saulting the  unsuspecting  traveler,  taking  from 
him  the  money  he  was  bringing  west  for  the 
purchase  of  land.  All  efforts  to  reform  the 
husband  were  unavailing.  Discouraged  and 
feeling  the  disgrace,  she  wrote  home  but  sel- 
dom, and  finally  ceased  to  write  altogether. 
During  one  of  his  attempted  robberies  he  was 
killed,  and  the  sister  was  left  a  widow  in  the 
wilderness.  Later  she  met  and  married  Mr. 
Hisky  and  with  her  name  changed  all  trace  of 
her  was  lost,  until  the  accidental  discovery  re- 
united the  brother  and  sister.  Daniel  Miller's 
farm  was  in  the  track  of  the  Windfall.  When 
he  saw  the  storm  coming,  the  children  took 
refuge  in  the  big  chimney;  there  were  but  two 
daughters  at  the  time,  Laura  and  Elizabeth,  and 
while  the  roof  of  the  log  cabin  was  blown  away, 
no  one  was  hurt.  All  around  them  the  trees, 
large  and  small,  were  blown  down,  and  piled 
criss-cross  in  every  direction.  Much  of  the 
stock  was  killed  outright,  and  the  settlers  were 
busy  for  days  chopping  away  the  trees  to  get 
at  their  cattle  and  other  stock,  which  had  been 
penned  up  by  the  fallen  trees,  and  were  still 
alive. 

Other  early  settlers  in  Polk  township  were 
John  Cracraft  and  Jacob  Miller  in  1821 ;  John 
Eysman,  John  Hauck,  John  Jeffrey,  William 
Murray,  Alexander  McGrew,  James  Nail,  Rev. 
John  Rhinehart,  and  Rev.  James  Dunlap  in 
1822;  Owen  Tuttle  and  Phares  Jackson  in 
1823;  James  Auten  and  Nathan  Merriman  in 
1824;  William  Neal,  James  Reaves,  George 
Row  and  John  Shawber  in  1825;  John  Ash- 
croft,  Jonathan  Ayres,  Andrew  Poe,  Thomas 
Harding,  and  John  Sedous  in  1826;  Francis 
Clymer  and  Rev.  John  Smith  in  1828;  Samuel 
Gerbrecht,  and  Christopher  Beltz,  wife  and 
seven  children,  in  1829;  Jonathan  Fellows,  and 
John,  Michael,  Jacob,  Levi,  Henry,  and  Peter 
Ruhl,  in  1830;  Benjamin  Grove,  Joseph  Rech, 
Jacob  Cronenwett,  Rev.  John  Stough,  Jacob 
Seif,  and  AVilliam  Hise  in  1831 ;  Solomon 
Nave  in  1832;  John  Morriso,  John  Kraft, 
Daniel,  Benjamin,  John,  Joseph,  and  Randolph 


Hoover,  John  and  Adam  Klopfenstein,  and 
Samuel  and  Joseph  Lee  in  1833. 

In  1822  Rev.  James  Dunlap  came  to  Polk 
township  from  what  is  now,  Ohio  county,  West 
Va.  In  an  article  in  the  Forum  published  in 
December,  1874,  he  thus  describes  the  condi- 
tion of  this  section  at  that  time : 

"About  1822  my  uncle,  William  Murray, 
Major  Benjamin  Jeffrey  and  myself,  rigged 
up  an  old  one-horse  wagon  with  a  pole  for- 
two  horses.  We  gathered  up  our  traps,  con- 
sisting of  a  rifle  gun,  some  amunition,  a  cross- 
cut saw,  two  axes,  several  old  quilts,  and  some 
kitchen  furniture,  covering  the  whole  with  a 
linen  cover.  We  then  bid  our  friends  farewell 
and  started  for  the  "Far  West,"  as  it  was  then 
called.  We  crossed  the  Ohio  at  Short  Creek, 
a  few  miles  above  Wheeling,  came  through 
Mt.  Pleasant  to  Cadiz,  down  the  Stillwater  to 
New  Philadelphia,  through  Wooster  to  Mans- 
field, a  town  then  of  some  note,  having  three 
stores,  two  taverns  and  a  blacksmith  shop; 
continued  west  to  'Goshen,'  'Moccasin,'  or 
'Spangtown,'  as  it  was  then  called,  but  now 
Gallon.  We  found  five  families  between  Mans- 
field and  Gallon — ^Judge  Patterson,  Alfred  At- 
wood's  mother,  a  widow;  old  John  Edginton, 
John  Marshall  and  John  Hibner. 

"All  was  woods  until  we  came  to  what  is 
now  the  public  square,  Galion,  where  we  found 
two  log  cabins  occupied  by  a  man  named  Lev- 
eredge.  Just  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  where 
Mrs.  J.  W.  Gill  now  lives  was  another  cabin 
occupied  by  a  man  named  Frederick  Dickerson. 
A  little  further  west,  where  J.  R.  Clymer's 
brick  house  now  is,  there  was  a  double  log 
cabin  hotel,  which  was  kept  by  old  Uncle  Wil- 
liam Hosford,  father  of  Asa  Hosford.  Horace 
Hosford  lived  and  had  a  blacksmith's  shop  at 
Reisinger's  Corners.  Old  Grandfather  Kit- 
teridge  lived  on  the  other  corner  and  followed 
trapping  wild  game  for  fur.  Thence  we  went 
southwest  to  Benjamin  Sharrock's  house,  ar- 
riving safely  and  having  made  a  trip  of  150 
miles  in  twelve  days  through  mud,  water,  ice 
and  snow,  sometimes  up  to  our  wagon-bed. 

"Next  day  we  went  to  our  land  and  found 
a  camp  of  twelve  or  fourteen  Indians  upon  it, 
who  had  had  a  big  drunk  the  day  before.  One 
of  them  had  been  stabbed  through  the  left  side 
with  a  large  butcher  or  scalping-knife.  But  he 
recovered  and  afterward  bragged  that  he  was 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


307 


a  'berry  stout  Injin — stick  big  knife  through — 
no  kill-whoop!'  They  were  a  Wyandot  tribe, 
very  friendly  with  the  whites;  ever  ready  to 
help  us  at  our  log-rollings  and  cabin  raisings, 
which  were  very  common  in  those  days.  We 
got  old  Mother  Sharrock  to  bake  us  some  bread 
and  started  for  the  woods.  Pitching  our  tent  by 
the  side  of  an  old  log,  we  built  it  into  a  half- 
faced  shanty,  chincked  it  with  moss  and  piled 
in  with  some  straw  for  bedding.  One  of  our 
party  went  upon  a  ridge  and  killed  a  very  fine 
deer,  so  we  had  plenty  meat.  We  cooked 
our  venison  and  lived  sumptuously  and  deli- 
ciously.  At  night  we  would  crawl  into  our 
nice  bed-chamber  to  rest.  Then  would  come 
the  howling  of  wolves  to  lull  us  to  sleep. 
Sometimes  they  would  venture  so  near  that  we 
could  hear  them  gnawing  the  bones  of  our 
venison  behind  the  fire.  Sometimes  we  would 
shoot  at  them  in  the  dark  to  scare  them  away. 
They  would  then  scatter  with  a  howling  that 
made  music  indeed.  We  continued  there  three 
weeks  cutting  logs,  and  raised  a  cabin.  We 
prepared  it  fit  for  use  and  then  returned  home 
for  the  family." 

The  principal  food  of  the  pioneers  consisted 
of  bear's  meat,  venison,  turkey,  corn-meal, 
potatoes  and  hominy.  The  hominy  was  pre- 
pared in  what  was  known  as  a  hominy  block, 
which  was  hollowed  out  something  like  a  drug- 
gist's mortar,  the  hominy  being  cracked  with 
a  sort  of  pole  or  long  pestle,  armed  with  an 
iron  wedge.  Their  clothing  was  generally 
buckskin  and  linsey-woolsey,  a  kind  of  linen 
also  being  made  from  nettles.  The  children 
went  bareheaded  and  barefooted  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  year.  Adventures  with 
wolves  and  other  wild  animals  were  common. 

In  1825  the  first  distillery  in  the  township 
was  erected  by  Nathan  Merriman,  who  had 
arrived  in  the  year  previous.  It  was  located 
at  the  springs,  not  far  from  the  home  of  the 
Levendges.  Besides  the  Hibner  grist-mill, 
north  of  Galion  was  a  saw-mill,  while  Hos- 
ford's  and  Park's  grist-mills  and  Sharrocks' 
grist  and  saw-mill  were  all  located  on  the 
banks  of  the  stream  south  of  Galion  and  with- 
in a  few  miles  of  each  other.  Modern  "im- 
provements" have  made  a  great  change  m 
this  stream,  and  it  has  long  since  lost  the 
picturesque  aspect  it  once  possessed.  Many 
of  the  springs  which  once  fed  it  have  become 


dry  and  except  in  the  spring,  or  immediately 
after  heavy  rains,  it  consists  of  a  mere  suc- 
cession of  pools  imperfectly  drained  by  a  small 
rivulet,  the  waters  turbid  with  the  rinsings 
and  refuse  of  gas-works,  dye-houses  and  other 
debris  from  the  drainage  of  a  city. 

All  these  mills  along  the  Whetstone  were 
run  by  water-power  and  to  secure  sufificient 
fall  to  run  the  water  wheels,  mill  races  were 
dug,  in  the  case  of  Horsford's  and  Nail's 
mills,  those  water  courses  being  nearly,  if  not, 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length.  At  the  Sharrock 
mill  the  fall  of  water  in  the  stream  was  heavier 
and  here  the  mill  race  was  much  shorter.  All 
these  mills  passed  out  of  existence  except  the 
Hosford  mill,  which  has  continued  to  this  day. 
It  was  built  in  1832  by  Asa  Hosford,  and  the 
old  mill  race  was  long  since  abandoned  and 
the  mill  run  by  steam.  It  is  a  three-story 
frame  structure,  and  is  today  the  oldest  mill 
in  the  county;  on  the  beams  in  the  second 
story,  can  still  be  seen  carved  in  rude  letters 
the  words  "Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too,"  one 
of  the  rallying  cries  of  the  campaign  of  1840. 
The  crude  millstones  of  the  early  days  have 
been  long  since  replaced  by  the  more  modern 
machinery,  and  one  of  these  early  stones  finds 
a  last  resting  place  as  a  curiosity  of  the  pioneer 
days  at  the  home  of  R.  V.  Sears  in  Bucyrus. 
Still  another  of  these  ancient  mill  stones  was 
brought  to  Bucyrus  by  Oscar  Sharrock,  and 
is  now  in  his  yard,  his  grandfather,  nearly  a 
century  ago,  having  used  similar  mill-stones 
at  his  mill. 

The  first  road  built  through  the  township 
was  the  Portland  road  surveyed  by  James  Kil- 
bourne.  It  was  from  Columbus  to  Sandusky 
and  was  called  the  Portland  road  from  the 
fact  that  up  until  about  1824,  what  is  now 
the  city  of  Sandusky  was  known  as  Portland. 
The  next  road  was  the  one  from  Galion  to 
Bucyrus.  Over  this  latter  road  about  1830 
a  line  of  stages  were  running  to  Bucyrus  three 
times  a  week,  going  east  from  Galion  to  Mans- 
field and  Wooster  and  on  to  Pittsburg.  This 
road  is  now  Main  street  in  Galion,  but  prior 
to  1830  it  branched  to  the  north,  east  of  the 
present  square,  and  followed  the  Whetstone 
until  it  again  joined  the  old  road  east  of  Ga- 
lion and  then  continued  to  Mansfield.  The 
most  important  point  between  Galion  and 
Mansfield  on  this  old  State  road  was  Riblet's 


308 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Corner.  Here  Christian  Riblet  had  settled 
two  miles  east  of  the  Crawford  county  line 
and  his  son  Daniel  kept  the  Riblet  House  at 
the  Corners,  the  best  known  tavern  between 
Bucyrus  and  Mansfield.  Daniel  Riblet  after- 
ward was  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  township 
(Sandusky)  for  i8  years,  and  from  1839  to 
1 84 1  represented  Richland  county  in  the  Leg- 
islature. A  post  office  was  established  at  Rib- 
let's  Corners  and  after  Gallon  became  more 
prominent  as  a  settlement  the  Riblets  came 
to  the  new  town  and  became  among  the  most 
active  citizens. 

A  line  of  stages  never  passed  over  the  Col- 
umbus and  Portland  road.  At  the  time  it  was 
surveyed  the  route  from  Columbus  to  San- 
dusky was  east  of  this  road  through  Mansfield 
and  Norwalk,  and  later  the  road  was  surveyed 
from  Columbus  to  Sandusky  through  Dela- 
ware, Marion  and  Bucyrus,  and  these  roads 
became  the  routes  for  stages  and  for  mails, 
but  the  Portland  road  was  one  of  the  most 
prominent  in  the  State,  being  used  by  the 
farmers  in  carrying  their  produce  to  the  mar- 
kets on  the  lake,  coming  sometimes  from  Del- 
aware and  other  points  further  south.  A 
majority  of  these  farmers  carried  their  provi- 
sions with  them,  and  also  feed  for  the  horses, 
and  slept  in  their  wagons,  as  owing  to  the 
low  price  of  produce,  wheat  being  seldom 
more  than  fifty  cents  per  bushel,  they  had  to 
be  very  economical.  Two  farmers  made  the 
trip  from  this  county  to  Sandusky,  disposed 
of  their  wheat  and  other  grain  and  returned 
after  being  gone  six  days  and  their  entire  ex- 
pense was  six  cents,  and  this  they  state  was 
spent  for  two  drinks  of  whiskey,  which  in 
those  days  was  regarded  as  a  necessity  and 
required  cash,  the  same  as  it  does  even  to 
this  day.  Some,  however,  put  up  for  the  night 
at  one  of  the  many  taverns  which  lined  the 
road.  The  expense  for  the  night's  lodging 
being  only  a  sixpence.  The  number  of  these 
houses  of  entertainment  was  much  increased 
in  the  early  thirties  by  the  wild  mania  which 
set  in  for  land  speculation,  bringing  people 
here  who  desired  to  enter  land.  The  panic  of 
1837  exploded  the  bubble  of  speculation  and 
was  the  ruin  of  many,  besides  leaving  much 
of  the  farming  business  paralyzed  for  the  want 
of  money.  In  order  to  relieve  the  financial 
stringency  relief  measures  were  taken  by  the 


State  legislature.  At  that  time  the  national 
Government  had  a  surplus  of  money  which 
they  turned  over  to  the  State  and  this  money 
in  turn  was  loaned  out  to  farmers  and  others 
at  7%  interest.  The  county  paying  the  State 
S%  for  the  use  of  this  money.  The  loans 
were  handled  by  the  county  commissioners 
and  Jacob  Mollenkopf,  at  that  time  one  of  the 
commissioners  in  Crawford  county,  went  to 
Columbus  and  brought  Crawford's  share  of 
the  funds  to  Bucyrus  on  horseback.  The 
money  was  carried  in  his  saddle  bags  and 
amounted  to  $7,000.  These  saddle  bags  which 
carried  this  fund  are  still  in  the  possession  of 
his  descendants.  The  fund  was  carried  on 
the  books  in  the  auditor's  office  by  both  the 
names  of  the  2%  fund  and  the  7%  fund,  so 
called  because  7%  was  the  amount  at  which' 
it  was  loaned  and  2%  was  the  amount  of 
profit  to  the  county.  This  fund  was  origi- 
nally started  in  1837,  and  shows  conclusively 
that  the  idea  of  the  Government  lending 
money  to  the  people  in  time  of  need  is  not  a 
new  one.  The  fund  itself,  the  records  show, 
was  collected  with  but  little  loss  to  the  county 
and  there  was  a  profit  arising  from  the  2% 
interest,  for  when  the  present  new  jail  at  the 
County  Seat  was  built  it  was  a  part  of  the 
profits  arising  from  this  and  other  funds  that 
was  transferred  to  the  construction  of  the 
jail  so  that  it  was  built  without  the  necessity 
of  a  tax  levy. 

There  is  but  one  church  in  Polk  township 
outside  of  the  city  of  Gallon,  and  that  is  an 
old  Baptist  church  which  is  still  standing,  a 
frame  structure  about  a  mile  east  of  Gallon 
on  the  land  now  owned  by  L.  E.  Reed.  The 
first  preacher  was  Rev.  Nehemiah  Story. 

Polk  township  advanced  with  educational 
facilities  as  fast  as  the  settlement  of  the  county 
made  schools  necessary.  The  earliest  settlers 
were  in  and  around  what  is  now  Gallon  and 
here  the  first  building  was  erected  as  early  as 
1822.  It  was  built  of  round  logs  and  was 
located  on  West  Main  street  near  the  present 
residence  of  Mrs.  Martha  Crim,  now  No.  422 
West  Main.  David  Gill  was  the  first  school 
teacher.  For  the  second  school  the  site  se- 
lected was  the  old  graveyard  and  this  building 
was  destroyed  by-  fire  in  1844.  When  the 
next  school  house  was  erected  the  settlers  had 
advanced   a   stage   and   the   building  was   of 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


309 


hewn  logs,  where  Lewis  W.  Riblet's  residence 
now  is,  ii6  North  Market.  Although  the 
settlers  had  hewn  the  logs  instead  of  having 
them  in  the  rough,  as  in  the  two  earlier  school- 
houses,  slab  seats  were  still  used  and  the  bal- 
ance of  the  furniture  was  equally  crude.  Jim 
Mann  taught  in  this  school. 

In  the  country  districts  many  of  the  early 
settlers  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  town- 
ship attended  the  school  which  was  established 
at  the  Russel  schoolhouse.  The  school  in  dis- 
trict No.  I  now  on  the  farm  of  A.  L.  Stevens 
was  originally  in  Marion  county,  and  only  be- 
came a  part  of  Crawford  county  in  1845  when 
the  new  county  was  organized.  Hence  the 
schoolhouses  in  districts  Nos.  i,  2,  and  3  were 
all  on  the  border  line  of  the  county. 

One  of  the  earliest  populous  settlements  was 
in  the  northwest  part  of  Polk  township  in 
what  is  known  as  the  Beltz  neighborhood. 
Here  was  Disberry  Johnston  and  the  Browns 
and  later  Christopher  Beltz  with  his  family 
of  seven  children,  and  the  first  schoolhouse  was 
started  on  what  is  now  the  land  of  H.  E. 
Mader,  just  south  of  the  Gabon  road.  There 
was  a  little  stream  there  at  that  time  and  on 
the  west  bank  of  this  stream  the  log  school- 
house  was  built  on  slightly  rising  ground  and 
beside  the  creek  was  a  little  spring  where  wa- 
ter was  procured.  J.  C.  Beltz,  still  living,  re- 
members attending  this  schoolhouse,  and  it 
was  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  forest  and  when 
a  boy  he  walked  a  half  a  mile  through  the 
woods  to  attend  the  school,  seeing  an  oc- 
casional deer  and  being  frequently  scared  by 
the  wild  hogs  which  roamed  through  the 
woods.  Other  settlers  arriving,  a  frame 
schoolhouse  was  built  on  the  Beltz  farm,  a 
mile  west  of  the  first  location,  and  later  the 
school  was  removed  further  to  the  east  where 
it  is  today,  just  south  of  the  Gabon  road  on 
the  farm  of  Lida  M.  Beck.  The  other  school- 
houses  are  those  in  district  No.  5  north  of  the 
Gallon  road  a  mile  west  of  Gallon  on  the  farm 
of  Frank  W.  Tracht.  District  No.  6,  is  a 
mile  north  of  Gabon  on  the  farm  of  J.  M. 
Tracht  while  district  No.  7  is  on  the  farm  of 


the  Henry  Peister  heirs  in  the  northeastern 
section  of  the  township. 

Outside  of  the  city  of  Gallon  the  early 
pioneers  had  a  burying  ground  on  the  farm  of 
Jacob  Pletcher,  three  miles  west  of  Gallon. 
Here,  the  first  known  burial  was  the  son  of 
Samuel  Pletcher  who  died  March  15,  1830. 
Several  other  Pletchers  were  buried  here  and 
also  David  Reed  who  was  one  of  the  early 
pioneers  of  the  township  and  died  October  12, 
1844.  Near  here  is  another  burial  ground, 
known  as  the  Snyder  graveyard.  The  first 
burial  being  that  of  George  Snyder  who  died 
May  26,  1848. 

Polk  township  was  a  part  of  Richland 
county  prior  to  1845,  and  among  the  justices 
of  the  peace  in  the  earlier  days  were  Daniel 
Riblet,  John  Williams  and  Thomas  Jackson. 
As  in  most  townships,  the  people  generally 
had  some  justice  whose  office  they  made  as 
near  perpetual  as  possible.  Abraham  Under- 
wood being  the  justice  when  the  township  was 
formed  in  1845,  ^^^  being  elected  his  last 
time  in  1885,  but  in  the  meantime  the  people 
started  Charles  B.  Shumaker  in  as  justice  in 
1878,  and  he  was  elected  for  eight  terms  of 
three  years  each.  The  following  have  held 
the  office  in  Polk  township: 

Phares  Jackson — 1845-47-59. 

Abraham  Underwood— 1845-47-50-61-65-73-76-79-82-85. 

John  WilHams — 1850-53. 

WiUiam  C.  Parsons — 1852. 

M.  R.   Payne— 1853-56-63. 

Samuel  Sillex — 1855. 

Peter  Pfeifer— 1856. 

Peter  Cress— 1858-61-63-66-69. 

James  C.  Worden — 1860. 

Seth  G.  Cummings — 1868. 

O.   T.   Hart— 1869-72-75. 

Samuel  Myers — 1870. 

H,  S.  Z.  Matthias— 1873-1904. 

Charles  B.  Shumaker— 1878-81-84-87-90-99-02-05, 

Sylvester  Price— 1888. 

Jacob  Riblet — 1891-94. 

D.   O.   Castle— 1893-96-98. 

Morris  Burns — 1896. 

L.  C.  Barker— 1898. 

George  J.  Kochenderfer — 1901. 

Harry  R.   Schuler — 1904. 

Wendel  Helfrich — 1907-11, 

Carl  J.  Gugler — 1907. 

J.  R.  Rummel — 1911. 

A.  W.  Lewis — 191 1. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


SANDUSKY  TOWNSHIP 


Sandusky  Township — The  Township  From  Which  All*Others  Were  Erected — The  Pioneers — 
The  Knisely  Springs — First  Camp  Meeting  and  First  Sunday  School — "Governor"  Fergu- 
son Deals  Out  Justice  to  the  Indians — A  Woman  Missionary. 


The  mighty  oak,  proud  monarch  of  the  wood, 
Upon  this  land  in  stately  grandeur  stood; 
Throughout  the  wilds  did  mortal  panthers  prowl. 
And  oft  was  heard  the  wolf's  terrific  howl. 
But  all  these  savage  beasts  have  passed  away, 
And  the  wild  Indians,  too,  where  now  are  they? 

Sandusky  township  contains  today  only 
eighteen  square  miles,  one  of  the  smallest 
townships  in  the  county.  Yet  the  time  was 
when  it  was  the  entire  county,  and  from  its 
territory  every  township  was  taken.  Craw- 
ford county  was  secured  from  the  Indians 
by  a  treaty  signed  July  4,  1905,  and  the  four 
eastern  miles  were  surveyed  by  Maxfield  Lud- 
low in  1807,  and  the  new  territory  was  at- 
tached to  Franklin  county  and  known  as  San- 
dusky township.  In  1814,  when  Richland 
county  was  organized  the  four  eastern  miles 
of  the  present  county  of  Crawford  and  the 
two  western  miles  of  Richland  county  were 
erected  into  a  township  which  was  named 
Sandusky  township,  Richland  county.  This 
township  was  six  miles  wide  and  eighteen 
deep.  The  balance  of  Crawford  county  still 
retained  the  name  of  Sandusky  township. 
When  the  county  of  Crawford  was  erected 
in  1820  it  was  placed  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  Delaware,  and  the  commissioners  of  that 
county  erected  the  first  township  in  Crawford 
county.     The   following  is  the  record: 

"Dec.  3,  1822. — Ordered,  That  all  that  part  of  San- 
dusky township  which  lies  west  of  the  middle  of  the 
Seventeenth  Range*  of  lands  be  and  the  same  is  hereby 
erected  into  a  separate  township  by  the  name  of 
Bucyrus." 

*  The  17th  Range  alluded  to  is  not  taken  from  the 
ranges  along  the  base  line  on  the  northern  border  of 
Crawford  county,  but   is   Range   17   on  the   Greenville 


This  left  Sandusky  a  narrow  strip,  three 
miles  wide,  extending  from  the  northern  to 
the  southern  boundary  of  the  county.  This 
was  known  as  the  "Three  Mile  Strip,"  as  it 
was  secured  by  the  treaty  of  1805  from  the 
Indians,  was  not  surveyed  in  1807,  and  for 
a  dozen  years  was  unattached  territory.  It 
was  not  on  the  market  until  1820.  The  east- 
ern boundary  of  this  three  mile  strip  was 
Richland  county;  the  western  boundary  was 
the  commencement  of  the  "New  Purchase" 
secured  from  the  Indians  in  181 7.  Before 
this  three  mile  strip  was  open  for  settlement, 
adventurous  men  had  "squatted"  on  the  land, 
in  defiance  of  the  law,  made  improvements 
in  the  most  desirable  locations,  with  the  ulti- 
mate purpose  of  perfecting  their  titles  when 
the  land  was  thrown  on  the  market.  Later  in 
1820  this  land  was  opened  for  settlement  at 
Delaware,  and  there  was  a  rush  to  enter  lands, 
and  many  found  to  their  sorrow  that  the  land 
had  been  legally  entered  by  others ;  some  hon- 
estly entering  the  land,  while  other  shrewd 
men,  having  visited  the  section,  and  discover- 
ing where  the  land  had  been  cleared  hurried 
to  Delaware,  and  entered  and  paid  for  the 
claim.  Those  who  filed  their  entries  at  Del- 
aware were  the  legal  owners,  and  when  they 
came  to  settle  on  their  land  much  trouble  fol- 
lowed. The  original  settlers  were  "squatters" 
with  no  legal  rights,  and  many  refused  to  leave 

treaty  line.  On  the  base  line,  ranges  were  numbered 
from'  west  to  east.  On  the  Greenville  treaty  line  they 
run  from  east  to  west.  The  present  western  boundary  of 
Sandusky  township  is  the  centre  of  Range  17,  Green- 
ville treaty  line,  and  the  east  line  of  Range  17,  on  the 
base  line  survey. 


310 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


311 


the  land  they  had  cleared,  and  in  cases  vi- 
olence was  resorted  to.  It  took  years  to  set- 
tle these  disputes  by  courts  especially  appoint- 
ed to  adjudicate  the  matter,  and  in  many  cases, 
after  years  of  litigation,  the  unfortunate  early 
settlers  had  no  recourse  but  to  see  the  legal 
purchaser  secure  his  land  with  all  the  improve- 
ments the  original  settler  had  placed  on  it  by 
years  of  toil  in  the  wilderness. 

When  the  first  recorded  vote  was  cast  in 
this  county  in  1824,  there  were  but  two  town- 
ships in  the  county,  Sandusky  with  12  votes 
and  Bucyrus  with  50. 

In  1828  Cranberry  township  was  erected, 
leaving  Sandusky  a  strip  three  miles  wide,  and 
12  deep.  It  was  good  farming  land  and  be- 
came settled  rapidly,  and  this  long  narrow 
strip  was  so  inconvenient  to  the  people  that 
a  petition  was  presented  to  the  county  commis- 
sioners for  a  division  of  the  township,  and 
on  June  2,  1835,  Sandusky  township  was 
erected,  by  the  following  order: 

"This  day  came  David  Reed  and  filed  a  petition, 
praying  that  some  relief  may  be  given  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Sandusky  township,  stating  that  the  township  is  12 
miles  in  length  and  three  in  breadth,  and  requesting  the 
commissioners  to  divide  and  alter  said  township  and 
the  adjoining  townships,  so  that  it  may  be  more  con- 
venient. Whereupon  the  commissioners  ordered  that  all 
the  original  surveyed  fractional  township  i6.  Range  21, 
commonly  called  the  south  end  of  Sandusky  Township, 
and  the  east  tier  of  fractional  sections  in  Township  3, 
Range  17  (Whetstone  Township),  viz:  Sections  i,  12, 
13,  24,  25  and  36,  and  Sections  34,  3S  and  36,  Township 
17,  Range  21,  are  hereby  organized  into  a  separate  town- 
ship, to  be  designated  and  known  by  the  name  of  Jack- 
son. And  it  is  further  ordered,  that  all  the  original  sur- 
veyed fractional  township  17,  Range  21,  except  Sections 
34,  35  and  36,  called  the  northern  end  of  Sandusky 
Township,  and  the  east  tier  of  sections  of  Township  2, 
Range  17  (Liberty  Township),  viz:  Sections  i,  12,  13, 
24,  25,  and  36,  and  Sections  34,  .?S  and  36,  Township  18, 
Range  21  (Cranberry  Township),  shall  constitute  a 
separate  and  remain  and  be  known  by  the  name  and  title 
of  Sandusky  Township." 

Sandusky  township  is  drained  in  part  by  the 
Sandusky  river,  from  which  it  takes  its  name, 
and  which  flows  in  a  serpentine  course  across 
the  southern  part.  Loss  Creek,  flowing  from 
Vernon  township,  enters  the  Sandusky  near 
the  center  of  Section  26.  These  streams,  with 
their  tributaries,  drain  the  southern  half  of  the 
township.  The  northern  part  is  drained  chiefly 
by  Broken  Sword  Creek  and  its  tributaries,  this 
stream,  a  winding  branch  of  the  Sandusky,  en- 
tering from  Vernon  township.  In  the  extreme 
northern  part  branches  of  Honey  Creek  convey 


the  water  to  the  Huron  river,  by  which  chan- 
nel it  finds  its  way  into  Lake  Erie.  In  Section 
I  in  the  northeastern  corner  there  is  a  swampy 
tract  of  land  known  as  Bear  Marsh,  which  is 
noticeably  depressed  below  the  surface  of  the 
surrounding  country  and  was  formerly  covered 
with  water  the  year  round,  though  since  the  re- 
moval of  the  forests  much  of  the  water  has  been 
evaporated  or  has  found  its  way  into  Broken- 
sword  Creek.  This  tract,  however,  affords 
good  pasture  land  and  has  been  largely  used  as 
such. 

The  surface  aspect  of  Sandusky  township 
is  picturesque  and  the  land  generally  is  of  a 
gentle  rolling  character,  though  along  the  val- 
ley of  the  Sandusky  the  hills  are  so  steep  and 
precipitous  as  to  render  cultivation  on  their 
sides  impossible.  The  rolling  character  of  the 
surface  is  more  pronounced  along  the  valley 
of  Brokensword  Creek.  Considerable  coarse 
gravel  is  found  interspersed  with  boulders — 
relics  of  a  former  geologic  age,  when,  carried 
southward  by  glaciers  from  their  home  in  the 
highlands  of  Canada,  north  of  the  Great  Lakes, 
they  were  released  by  the  melting  of  the  ice  on 
reaching  a  more  southerly  latitude  and  were 
deposited  where  they  are  now  found,  and 
where  they  have  been  lying  since  a  date  far 
anteceding  human  history.  An  abundance  of 
Waverly  sandstone  may  also  be  found  under- 
lying the  heavy  beds  of  drift  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  township,  and  some  of  it  has  been 
taken  out  and  used  for  building  purposes.  A 
dark  brown  slate  of  shale,  of  uncertain  forma- 
tion, is  also'  found  along  the  Sandusky  river. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  geologic  fea- 
tures. Section  26  contains  a  number  of  gas  and 
medicinal  springs,  the  latter  of  which  have  ap- 
parently pronounced  curative  properties,  as 
some  remarkable  cases  of  cure  from  disease 
have  been  recorded.  Eleven  of  these  springs 
are  on  the  Knisely  farm,  and  were  first  dis- 
covered by  Samuel  Knisely,  the  pioneer,  who 
came  to  the  county  in  1819,  and,  foreseeing 
their  value,  purchased  the  land  on  which  they 
flow.  Their  waters  are  found  on  analysis  to 
contain  sulphureted  hydrogen  gas,  carbureted 
hydrogen  gas,  sulphur,  iron,  potassium,  sodium, 
magnesium,  calcium,  with  traces  of  siliceous 
and  other  matter  and  also  of  sulphuric  and 
phosphoric  acids.  These  eleven  springs,  which 
are  all  contained  within  an  area  of  four  rods. 


312 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


are  located  in  a  small  basin  on  a  little  rill  that 
flows  into  the  Sandusky  river.  From  one  Of 
them  an  unpleasant-smelling  gas,  probably 
carbureted  hydrogen  gas — is  constantly  bub- 
bling. This  gas  is  lighter  than  air,  is  highly 
inflamable  and  burns  with  a  light  yellow  flame, 
showing  occasionally  fine  scintillations  indi- 
cative of  small  particles  of  carbon.  Situated 
along  the  creek  at  no  great  distance  above  these 
springs  are  twelve  others,  some  of  which, 
strange  to  say,  contain  no  trace  of  sulphur. 
About  40  rods  southeast  of  the  Knisely  resi- 
dence is  a  section  of  land  several  rods  square, 
from  which  large  quantities  of  inflammable 
gas  are  constantly  escaping  into  the  atmos- 
phere. 

Long  before  the  advent  of  the  white  man 
these  springs  were  a  frequent  resort  of  the  In- 
dians on  account  of  their  medicinal  qualities. 
Here  they  camped  for  days  using  the  waters 
for  their  healing  properties,  and  while  no 
trace  remains,  it  is  fairly  certain  that  in  this 
section  was  an  old  Indian  graveyard.  Many 
of  these  Indians  came  for  miles  to  plaster 
themselves  with  the  mud  which  was  considered 
very  healing  for  their  sores,  and  frequently 
this  mud  was  taken  away  on  their  ponies  to  re- 
lieve some  Indian  who,  was  unable  to  make 
the  journey  to  the  springs. 

James  Gwell  came  to  the  township  in  181 9 
and  began  a  clearing.  He  was  followed  the 
same  year  by  Matthew  Elder  and  John  Shull, 
who  built  cabins  into  which  they  moved  their 
families.  Mr.  Shull  built  a  water-power  saw- 
mill on  Sandusky  riVer,  prior  to  1830.  In  182 1 
Samuel  Knisely  moved  his  family  to  the 
"Spring  farm,"  which  he  had  selected  and 
partially  purchased  in  1819.  Mr.  Knisely  was 
noted  as  a  most  skillful  hunter  and  woods- 
man, and  it  is  said  that  he  killed  100  deer  each 
winter  for  many  years.  He  also  destroyed 
many  bears,  in  which  he  did  the  community 
good  service,  as  these  animals  were  too  fond 
of  pork  to  be  convenient  neighbors.  They 
would  also  on  occasion  make  an  attempt  to 
seize  a  baby,  though  no  reports  are  handed 
down  that  they  were  ever  successful.  Samuel 
Knisely  Jr.  was  also  a  successful  hunter, 
though  the  larger  species  of  game  had  mostly 
disappeared  before  he  was  old  enough  to  at- 
tain name  and  fame  in  this  direction.  He  had 
a  trained  dog  named  Lyon,  which  he  made 


use  of  in  his  hunting  expeditions  after  deer, 
wild  cats  and  other  animals.  Mr.  Knisely  was 
also  a  successful  bee  hunter,  and  collected 
large  quantities  of  wild  honey,  which  found  a 
ready  sale  in  Sandusky  city  or  Mansfield.  As 
many  as  20  or  30  gallons  were  sometimes  taken 
from  a  single  tree. 

In  August,   182 1   John  B.   French,  a  Vir- 
ginian, built  a  hewed-log  cabin  in  Section  23, 
into  which  he  moved  with  his  family.    He  was 
a  man  of  great  sociability  and  intelligence,  but 
was   in  somewhat   impaired  health  when  he 
came  here,  and  the  privations  of  a  life  in  the 
wilderness,    where    he    was    surrounded    by 
marshes  and  swamps,  were  too  much  for  his 
enfeebled  constitution,  and  he  gradually  failed 
until  he  died  in  1830,  his  death  being  one  of 
the  first  in  the  township.     He  was  one  of  the 
first  three  associate  judges  in  the  county  ap- 
pointed when  it  was  organized  in  1826.    His 
cabin  was  quite  a  resort  for  travelers,  who 
often  went  some  distance  out  of  their  way  to 
reach  it.    His  wife,  a  woman  of  superior  mind 
and  character,  survived  her  husband  50  years, 
dying  in  West  Liberty.     The   French  cabin 
was   frequently  visited  by  the  Wyandot  In- 
dians, they  having  a  camp  near  by ;  they  came 
without  warning  or  invitation,  seated  them- 
selves before  the  fire,  and,  lighting  their  pipes, 
would  hand  one  to  Mrs.  French — in  the  ab- 
sence of  her  husband — as  a  token  of  amity. 
To  return  the  civility  she  would  take  a  few 
puffs  and  then  return  it.     One  of  these  In- 
dians,  named   Blacksnake,*   who   was  looked 
upon  with  distrust  by  the  settlers,  had  quite  a 
number  of  scalps  in  his  possession,  which  he 
claimed  to  have  taken  from  the  heads  of  white 
settlers.      He    said    he   had   ninety-nine   and 
wanted  one  more  to  make  the  number  an  even 
hundred.     This  unabashed  savage  soon  after 
left  the  neighborhood,  doubtless  to  the  relief  of 
some   of   the   settlers.      The  latter  often  re- 
ceived invitations  to  attend  the  peace  dances 
of  the  Indians  or  to  attend  their  great  feasts, 
and  occasionally  friendly  contests  and  games 
were  gotten  up  and  participated  in  by  whites 
and  red  men  alike,  prizes  being  assigned  to 
the  victors.     Though  the  Indians  usually  ex- 
celled in  running,  it  is  said  that  the  white  men 

*  Probably  Tom  Lyons,  as  all  historians  in  this  sec- 
tion, state  Tom  Lyons  was  the  Indian  who  boasted  01 
the  ninety-nine  scalps. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


313 


frequently  carried  off  the  prizes  for  marksman- 
ship with  the  rifle,  and  it  is  a  well  known  fact 
that  the  Indian,  though  sometimes  a  fair 
marksman,  never  learned  to  shoot  with  the 
same  unerring  precision  and  deadly  aim  as  the 
skilled  white  scout  or  frontiersman. 

The  Indians  had  a  warm  regard  for  Mr. 
French,  and  went  to  him  for  counsel  and  ad- 
vice, and  his  influence  over  them  was  great. 
He  was  of  an  easy,  kindly  disposition,  strictly 
just,  and  could  do  more  with  them  than  any 
other  man  in  the  township.  But  when  any 
really  serious  case  arose  they  took  it  before 
Thomas  Ferguson.  French  was  gentle,  cour- 
teous, affable,  and  not  of  strong  build.  Fer- 
guson was  a  man  of  great  physical  strength 
which  partly  accounted  for  the  Indian  admira- 
tion of  him.  He  was  also  a  man  of  great 
common  sense,  and  thoroughly  understood  the 
Indian  character.  He  was  spoken  of  by  them 
as  "Governor"  Ferguson,  and  this  title  later 
was  given  him  by  his  neighbors.  He  lived  near 
the  line  between  what  is  now  Sandusky  and 
Jefferson  townships.  Sandusky,  Jefferson  and 
Polk  had  been  their  favorite  hunting  grounds, 
and  fifteen  years  after  the  land  had  passed  from 
their  hands  by  treaty,  they  still  lingered  in 
this  section  with  their  camps,  and  roamed 
through  the  forests  until  the  advancing  civili- 
zation had  driven  away  the  game,  and  the  In- 
dians reluctantly  retired  to  their  own  reserva- 
tion. The  Indians  had  been  cowed  into  sub- 
mission, and  except  when  under  the  influence 
of  liquor  were  fairly  harmless.  True,  any- 
thing they  wanted  they  took,  making  no  dis- 
tinction as  to  whether  it  belonged  to  them  or 
some  one  else,  and  no  household  utensil  or 
stock  of  the  farmer  was  safe.  The  most 
serious  case  that  came  before  "Governor" 
Ferguson  was  in  the  early  twenties.  Two 
young  men  came  from  the  east,  brothers  named 
Philip  and  William  Beatty.  When  they  were 
but  children  their  parents  had  been  murdered 
by  a  marauding  band  of  Indians,  and  the  two 
boys  being  away  in  the  woods  escaped;  they 
returned  to  the  cabin  only  to  find  their  par- 
ents cruelly  butchered.  Naturally  they  were 
filled  with  intense  hatred  of  the  entire  Indian 
race,  and  when  they  arrived  in  this  section 
continued  their  vengeance  against  the  unof- 
fending Wyandots.  One  very  dark  night  they 
crept  cautiously  toward  an  Indian  camp  and 


took  careful  aim  on  two  unsuspecting  Indians. 
Fortunately,  both  shots  missed,  but  the  In- 
dians sprang  to  their  feet  and  started  in  hot 
pursuit.  In  the  darkness  of  the  wood  the 
young  men  easily  eluded  their  pursuers.  The 
next  day  the  Indians  visited  "Governor"  Fer- 
guson, and  demanded  justice.  The  "Governor" 
patiently  listened  to  their  story,  was  justly  in- 
dignant to  the  intense  delight  of  the  Indians; 
he  assured  them  it  was  an  outrage  which 
should  not  go  unpunished,  and  they  could  de- 
pend upon  him  to  see  that  the  attempted  mur- 
derers received  the  punishment  they  so  richly 
deserved.  But  in  the  meantime  they  should 
find  out  who  it  was  that  committed  the  coward- 
ly act,  and  notify  him,  and  whoever  it  was 
should  receive  the  most  severe  punishment. 
These  children  of  the  forest  left  supremely 
happy  over  the  fatherly  care  the  "Governor" 
was  taking  of  them,  but  as  they  never  dis- 
covered who  fired  the  shot  the  matter  was 
finally  dropped,  except  that  the  Indians  had  a 
greater  confidence  than  ever  in  the  wisdom, 
impartiality,  and  strict  sense  of  justice  of 
their  good  friend,  "Governor"  Ferguson. 

Sandusky  township  gives  the  first  record  of 
a  traveling  managerie  in  the  county.  In  the 
year  1829  one  passed  through  the  township  on 
the  way  from  Mansfield  to  the  northwest,  and 
camped  for  the  night  on  the  farm  of  John  B. 
French.  They  had  several  cages  of  lions  and 
other  wild  beasts,  and  also  an  elephant  and 
some  camels,  and  people  came  from  miles 
around  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  strange  animals, 
but  tradition  states  that  the  roars  of  the  lions, 
as  the  caravan  was  traveling  through  the  coun- 
ty, startled  many  a  timid  pioneer,  while  the 
more  valiant  hurriedly  seized  their  rifles,  and 
started  for  the  noise,  only  to  discover  the  un- 
known wild  animal  was  not  a  beast  at  large 
in  the  forest. 

In  1823  the  nearest  mills — of  any  note — 
were  eight  miles  away.  In  that  year,  how- 
ever, there  arrived  Jacob  Dull,  Jacob  Am- 
brosier,  and  Benjamin  and  William  Bowers. 
The  Bowers  brothers,  soon  after  their  arrival 
erected  a  large,  hewed-log,  two-storied  cabin 
on  Loss  Creek,  not  far  from  its  mouth,  which 
they  converted  into  a  saw  and  grist-mill,  and 
this  mill,  especially  the  saw-mill  department, 
rendered  good  service  for  many  years.  Saw- 
mills at  this  time  were   greatly  needed,    for 


314 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


there  were  not  enough  to  supply  the  home  de- 
mand for  lumber,  although,  besides  the  one 
above  mentioned,  another  was  established  near 
the  settlement  now  known  as  Sulphur  Springs, 
and  one  or  two  existed  in  adjoining  townships. 
The  finest  timber  was  then  wasted  with  what 
today  would  be  regarded  as  reckless  prodigal- 
ity. The  Bowers  Brothers  also  built  an  addi- 
tion to  their  mill,  designing  it  for  a  distillery, 
but  its  product  at  any  time  was  small  and  not 
more  than  sufficient  to  supply  the  local  de- 
mand. They  started  a  saloon  which  became  a 
noted  resort  for  the  more  convivial  spirits  in 
the  neighborhood.  After  running  for  about 
ten  years  both  mills  and  distillery  were  aban- 
doned. It  was  near  this  mill,  as  late  as  1838, 
that  William  Wert  killed  a  large  panther,  which 
he  found  in  a  tree,  and  which  he  at  first  took 
to  be  only  a  catamount.  He  had  a  desperate 
struggle  with  the  animal,  which  killed  one  of 
his  dogs  and  badly  wounded  another,  but  he 
finally  effected  its  destruction,  after  cutting 
down  no  less  than  three  trees,  in  which  it  had 
taken  refuge  in  succession,  and  bore  home  his 
prize  in  triumph. 

James  Magee  came  to  the  township  in  1821 ; 
he  was  accompanied  by  three  brothers-in-law: 
John  Clements,  John  Magers  and  William 
Moderwell.  James  Magee  was  the  father  of 
William  Magee,  who  is  still  living  in  Bucyrus, 
and  who  assisted  at  the  raising  of  the  mill  of 
James  Robinson  on  the  Sandusky.  It  was 
first  built  as  a  saw-mill,  and  later  a  grist-mill 
was  added;  a  small  dam  was  erected  to  fur- 
nish the  power,  but  even  with  this  the  supply 
of  water  was  so  small  that  it  was  impossible  to 
run  it  in  dry  weather.  Later  the  mill  burned 
down,  and  only  the  saw-mill  was  rebuilt.  Wil- 
liam Magee  has  a  record  showing  that  in  his 
early  days  he  assisted  at  the  raisings  of  loi 
mills,  houses  and  barns,  and  some  of  these 
buildings  were  built  almost  entirely  of  walnut 
logs.  John  Clements  was  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners from  1839  to  1845,  and  his  son  James 
was  sheriff  and  probate  judge.  William 
Moderwell  was  the  father  of  J.  Watson  Moder- 
well, a  prominent  stock-buyer,  farmer  and 
land  owner.  John  Magers  was  a  Pennsyl- 
vanian  and  a  Presbyterian,  and  when  he  en- 
tered the  land  it  was  one  unbroken  forest. 
This  he  cleared,  and  lived  on  the  same  farm 
until  his  death,   which  occurred  on  July   18, 


1862,  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  his  age.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  commissioners  of  Craw- 
ford county,  elected  in  1826,  and  voted  to  lo- 
cate the  county  seat  at  Bucyrus. 

William  Handley  settled  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  township  in  1822,  near  the  Bear  Marsh. 
This  was  the  name  given  it  by  the  In- 
dians before  the  arrival  of  the  whites,  on  ac- 
count of  its  being  a  favorite  resort  for  bears. 
Near  him  were  Nelson  Tustison  and  William 
Matthews  who  came  in  1825. 

David  Dewalt,  came  in  1823  and  John 
Mayer  in  1824. 

Joseph  Smith  and  James  Tarnes  came  in 
1825.  Smith  was  known  as  Capt.  Smith, 
having  been  a  commissioned  officer  in  the  War 
of  1812,  and  on  account  of  his  military  ex- 
perience was  elected  captain  of  a  militia  com- 
pany raised  in  and  around  Sandusky  township. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  an  eastern  college  and 
had  come  west  for  his  health  believing  the 
rugged  life  of  the  open  air  would  be  of  ben- 
efit, but  he  died  a  few  years  later  of  consump- 
tion. Tarnes  settled  on  a  quarter  section  in 
the  western  part  of  the  township  on  which  he 
built  his  cabin  of  hewed  logs.  He  was  a  black- 
smith by  trade,  and  near  his  cabin  he  built  a 
small  shop  and  was  the  first  blacksmith  in  the 
township,  and  here  he  carried  on  his  trade  for, 
many  years,  clearing  his  land  and  farming  in 
connection  with  his  blacksmithing. 

Isaac  Hilborn  settled  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  township  in  1825.  He  came  with  nothing, 
and  mauled  rails  to  secure  the  money  to  pay 
for  his  land.  He  was  an  expert  marksman  and 
resorted  to  his  rifle  to  secure  cash  to  pay  his 
taxes  and  purchase  necessaries.  Coon  skins 
then  brought  from  25  cents,  but  occasionally 
a  dollar  for  those  that  were  well  dressed.  One 
night  when  hunting  coons  with  his  young  son, 
Robert,  they  were  attacked  by  wolves.  He 
placed  the  boy  in  the  hollow  of  a  tree,  and 
with  a  large  fire-brand  kept  the  wolves  at  bay, 
occasionally  rushing  forward  and  waving  the 
blazing  brand  in  their  faces  until  the  scared 
animals  sneaked  back  into  the  forest.  Hilborn 
later  moved  to  Auburn  township  where  he 
died  April  30,  1864,  and  was  buried  in  the 
Hanna  graveyard. 

In  1826,  the  arrivals  were  Andrew  Dewey. 
George  M.  Kitch,  Henry  Magner,  John  Ram- 
sey and  Joseph  Wert.     Isaac  Dorland  came 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


315 


into  the  township  the  same  year  from  Liberty- 
township,  where  he  had  first  settled  three  years 
previously.  He  was  a  tanner  by  trade,  and 
dressed  skins  for  several  years.  Joseph  Wert 
was  bom  April  28,  1775.  He  established  the 
first  Sunday  school  in  the  township,  was  active 
in  church  work,  and  died  Jan.  i,  1855,  and 
■was  buried  in  the  Biddle  graveyard. 

Other  of  the  early  settlers  were  William  and 
Philip  Beatty,  Isaac  Henry  and  John  Peter- 
man  in  1827;  John  Davis,  Charles  Burns, 
Isaac  Beck,  William  Core,  Peter  Long,  John 
Ruth,  John  Mclntyre  and  two  sons,  Emanuel 
and  Patrick,  in  1828;  Abel  Dewalt,  John  Ka- 
ler  and  Adam  Stone  in  1830;  William  and 
George  Cox,  Andrew  Dickson,  John  Luke  and 
Samuel  Stone  in  183 1 ;  Benjamin  Lobe  in  1832 ; 
John  Brown,  Matthias  Pfahler  and  Lewis 
Rutan  in  1833;  John  Kile  in  1834;  Jacob  Ore- 
wiler  and  John  P.  Wert  in  1835. 

Charles  Burns  was  probably  the  most  pa- 
triotic of  the  early  pioneers;  he  was  born  in 
Dauphin  county,  Pa.,  and  made  it  a  duty  every 
Fourth  of  July  to  read  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, and  when  he  had  advanced  in  years 
and  his  eyesight  was  failing  he  had  one  of  his 
sons  read  it  to  him;  and  still  later,  one  of  his 
grandchildren  read  the  document  to  him  each 
Fourth  of  July  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
on  Oct.  2,  1869. 

By  1835  conditions  were  much  improved. 
There  were  about  fifty  families  in  the  town- 
ship. Industries  and  improvements  had  been 
started,  markets  were  nearer,  and  excellent 
flour  and  meal  could  be  obtained  within  a  few 
miles.  Mansfield  and  Bucyrus  were  the  prin- 
cipal trading  points.  A  rude  shingle  factory 
was  erected  by  Mr.  Ruth  in  about  1836,  but 
turned  out  an  inferior  product  and  was  dis- 
continued after  a  few  years.  Isaac  Beck 
owned  a  one-horse  saw  and  grist-mill  on  the 
river  about  1835  and  conducted  it  for  about 
four  years.  The  foot-wear  of  the  community 
was  attended  to  by  John  Kaler  a  cobbler,  who 
during  the  winter  season,  in  accordance  with 
pioneer  custom,  traveled  from  house  to  house 
mending  shoes.  John  Mclntyre,  whose  orig- 
inal trade  was  that  of  weaver,  had  a  loom  in 
one  end  of  his  cabins,  which  he  operated  when 
not  engaged  on  his  farm. 

The  first  tavern  in  the  township  was  the 
cabin  of  John  B.  French  where  travelers  were 

18 


principally  entertained  as  a  convenience  and 
generally  without  any  charge.  John  Luke 
came  to  the  county  from  New  Jersey,  and  es- 
tablished the  first  tavern  at  Luke's  corners 
where  the  road  between  Liberty  and  Sandus- 
ky townships  crosses  the  Sandusky  river.  It 
was  on  one  of  those  fractional  sections  which 
are  now  a  part  of  Liberty  township.  This 
tavern  was  on  two  important  roads  and  did  a 
large  business,  Mr.  Luke  becoming  fairly  well 
to  do  in  this  world's  goods.  It  was  the  only 
early  tavern  ever  in  the  township.  Across  the 
road  from  his  tavern  he  gave  land  for  the 
Luke  graveyard,  in  which  several  of  the  old 
pioneers  are  buried,  the  first  known  interment 
being  Mary  Peterman,  a  child  who  died  Nov. 
15,  1838.  Other  burials  are  Matthias  Am- 
brosier,  born  April  16,  1776,  died  Dec.  12, 
1850;  John  Essig,  born  Feb.  12,  1798,  died 
Aug.  26,  1880;  John  Peterman,  born  Sept.  20, 
1776,  died  Sept.  27,  1859;  Jesse  Spahr,  born 
March  3,  1800,  died  May  5,  1881 ;  Jacob 
Waters,  born  June  5,  1788,  died  Sept.  26, 
i860. 

Some  years  ago  an  attempt  was  made  to 
convert  the  Knisely  Springs  into  a  watering 
place.  At  a  heavy  expense  the  buildings  were 
remodeled,  a  little  lake  was  constructed,  and 
for  a  time  it  was  a  popular  resort  for  picnic 
parties,  and  a  few  regular  boarders,  but  the  in- 
vestment did  not  prove  profitable,  and  after 
several  parties  had  tried  and  failed  the  hotel 
was  closed,  and  it  is  now  again  a  residence. 

In  the  early  days  Jacob  Warner  had  a  black- 
smith shop  in  the  township  about  two  miles 
east  of  Annapolis,  and  Z.  Staple  also  had  a 
blacksmith  shop  near  where  John  B.  French 
first  settled  in  1821.  Henry  Kalb  about  1836 
had  a  saw-mill  on  Slate  Rock  run. 

Sandusky  township  is  the  only  township  in 
the  county  which  has  no  village  and  never  had 
one.  It  has  no  postofifice  today  but  is  sup- 
plied by  rural  route  from  Bucyrus  and  Tiro, 
yet  it  has  had  in  the  past  three  postofifices,  and 
one  of  the  first  ofBces  established  in  this  coun- 
ty was  in  Sandusky  township.  There  were  so 
many  settlers  along  the  Sandusky  river  on  ac- 
count of  the  excellence  of  the  land,  that  the 
people  petitioned  for  better  mail  facilities  and 
their  request  was  granted,  and  in  1834  a  post- 
ofifice was  established  called  Loss  Creek.  John 
Clements  was  appointed  the  first  postmaster 


316 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


on  February  7,  1834.     He  served  three  years 
and  was  succeeded  on  July  21,  1837  by  Oba- 
diah   Roberts.     On  July  29,    1840   Matthew 
Torrence  was  appointed  the  postmaster  and 
served  until  Jan.  26,  1852,  when  the  office  was 
temporarily  discontinued,  but  the  demand  for 
mail   facilities  was  such  that  it  was  opened 
again  on  Sept.  27,  1852,  with  Matthew  Tor- 
rence again  the  postmaster,  but  with  the  name 
changed  to  Camp  Run.     The  office  now  con- 
tinued for  over  20  years  as  Camp  Run  and 
with   no  change   of  postmaster  until   it  was 
finally  discontinued  on  July  21,  1873.     These 
offices  were  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town- 
ship near  Loss  Creek  after  which  it  was  first 
named.     After  the  office  had  been  discontin- 
ued there  was  a  general  desire  for  its  re-estab- 
lishment, and  pressure  was  brought  to  bear 
and  on  March  31,  1880,  a  postoffice  was  again 
started  in  the  same  neighborhood  and  this  time 
called  Biddle.     William  H.   Korner  was  the 
first  postmaster,   being  appointed  March   31, 
1880.    Succeeding  him  were  Joseph  Parr,  Jan. 
II,  1883,  Thomas  S.  Dewald  July  11,  1884, 
Woods  R.  Mitchel,  Jan.  6,  1890,  Isaac  Kieffer, 
Feb.  12,  1891,  S.  S.  Elberson,  May  10,  1893, 
Guy  E.  V.  Fry,  Feb.   12,   1895.     The  latter 
served  until  the  postoffice  was  discontinued  on 
Jan.  14,  1904,  since  which  time  patrons  have 
been  served  by  rural  routes. 

The  first  justices  of  the  peace  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  commissioners  of  Delaware 
county,  on  April  15,  1821,  and  had  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  entire  county,  the  appointees  be- 
ing Westell  Ridgely  of  near  Leesville,  and 
Joseph  Young  of  near  Buc5n-us,  neither  town 
then  being  in  existence.  The  first  election  was 
May  15,  1824  when  Matthias  Markley  and 
Ichabod  Smith  each  received  22  votes,  both 
living  in  what  is  now  Liberty  township.  The 
following  are  the  justices  of  Sandusky  town- 
ship. 

Westell  Ridgely— 1821. 

Joseph  Young — 1821. 

Matthias  Markley— 1824-27-30. 

Ichabod  Smith— 1824-27. 

John  Cox— 1832-35. 

Disberry  Johnson — 1833. 

John  Slyfer— 1835. 

Obediah  Roberts— 1838. 

Peter  Esler— 1840. 

Adam  Stone— i8/i4-47-SO- 

Henry  Cobb— 1842-45. 

Isaac  N.  Fry— 1848. 

Andrew  Dickson— 1850-56-59-62-65. 


William  C.  Parsons — 1853. 

John  Burns — 1853. 

Lewis  Littler — 1856-59-62-65. 

Joseph  Knisely — 1868-71-74. 

James  Smith — 1868. 

Philip  Keller — 1870-73-76-79. 

John  Knisely — 1877. 

J.  H.  Blackford— 1880-83-86-93. 

John  Burns — 1882. 

Josiah  Keller— 1886. 

A.  D.  Grogg— 1887. 

Solomon  Harley — 1890-93-96-99-03-06-08-1 1. 

B.  F.  Warden— 1890-98-01. 
H.  J.  Roop — 191 1. 

The  first  religious  services  in  Sandusky,  as 
in  othet  townships,  were  conducted  by  itinerant 
ministers,  who  always  received  a  cordial  wel- 
come, and  held  forth  in  the  cabin  or  barn  of 
one  of  the  settlers,  all  attending  regardless  of 
the  denomination  of  the  preacher.     As  early 
as    1822   a  Methodist  society  was  organized 
and  services  were  held  whenever  a  minister 
could  be  secured  in  the  cabins  of  Mr.  French, 
Samuel  Knisely,  and  later  Isaac  Henry.    The 
first  ministers   were   Rev.   John  O.   Blowers, 
who  after  1823  was  constantly  preaching  to  the 
little  congregations  all  over  the  central  por- 
tion of  the  county;  another  early  minister  was 
Rev.  James  Martin,  who  came  from  England 
in  1823,  settling  in  Holmes  township,  and  gave 
spiritual  teaching  to  the  early  pioneers.     Ef- 
forts were  made  by  the  early  missionaries  to 
convert  the  Indians,  who  were  still  living  in 
the  township.    One  of  these  early  missionaries 
was  a  Miss  Melinda  Hunt,  who  had  her  home 
on  the  Sandusky  river,  and  from  there  visited 
the  various  Indian  camps,  where  she  sang  to 
their  great  delight,  they  never  tiring  of  the 
singing  and   always   demanding  more.     She 
also  taught  them  the  lessons  of  Christianity, 
they  listening  patiently  as  they  knew  more  sing- 
ing was  to  follow.     By  degrees  her  teaching 
had  its  effect,  and  many  attended  the  regular 
services  in  the  cabins.     The  impression  pre- 
vailed that  in  her  early  days  her  family  had 
been  murdered  by  the  Indians,  and  instead  of 
taking   the   usual   course   of   retaliation,   she 
sought  to  convert  them  from  their  evil  ways. 
When  the  Indians  finally  left  this  section,  she 
followed  them,  continuing  her  good  work  in 
their  new  location  still  further  to  the  westward. 
The  first  camp  meeting  ever  held  in  the 
county  was  in  Sandusky  township,  on  the  farm 
of   John  B.   French  north   of  the   Sandusky 
river.     It  was  in  1831,  and  the  settlers  came 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


317 


from  many  miles  around,  over  60  families 
being  present  and  erecting  their  tents  in  the 
woods,  while  on  the  edge  of  the  camp  grounds 
over  100  Indians  established  themselves  in 
their  wigwams.  The  tents  were  erected 
around  a  square  about  an  acre  in  size,  and  in 
this  square  was  a  platform,  surrounded  by 
roughly  made  seats  for  those  in  attendance. 
Services  were  held  morning,  noon  and  even- 
ing; among  the  ministers  taking  charge  of 
the  exercises  were  Revs.  Prentice,  Bell,  Pal- 
mer, Chase  and  Havens.  Game  could  still  be 
shot  in  the  woods,  and  other  supplies  were 
brought  to  the  camp  and  all  the  food  was 
cooked  on  the  ground,  and  many  had  brought 
their  cows,  which  gave  them  a  supply  of  milk. 
There  was  also  a  little  store  adjoining  the 
grounds  where  tobacco,  candy,  fruit,  etc.,  were 
sold.  The  Indians  attended  the  services,  many 
of  them  understanding  sufficient  English  to 
follow  the  minister.  The  Indians  sat  on  the 
ground  by  themselves,  and  during  the  services 
a  number  were  converted.  Among  the  whites 
there  were  a  large  number  of  conversions, 
which  greatly  strengthened  the  churches  of 
Sandusky  township  and  the  surrounding  coun- 

try.  .    ^  . 

A  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  m 
1829,  near  the  centre  of  the  township.  Occa- 
sional services  had  been  held  in  the  cabins  of 
the  settlers,  and  the  nearest  church  of  that 
faith  was  about  three  miles  east  of  Crestline, 
where  a  church  had  been  erected  in  1822. 
This  was  the  Hopewell  church,  and  it  was 
nothing  unusual  for  the  people  to  start  on  Sun- 
day morning,  walk  the  twelve  miles,  and  be 
there  in  time  for  the  morning  services.  It 
was  not  alone  these  pioneers,  but  all  over  the 
county  the  people  went  long  distances  to  hear 
the  word  of  God.  Nearly  all  wore  moccasins 
in  those  days,  but  some  of  the  women  had 
real  shoes,  and  these,  on  Sunday  morning, 
carried  their  shoes  on  their  long  walk  and 
when  near  the  church  stopped  beside  some 
little  stream  and  put  on  their  shoes,  and  thus 
appropriately  dressed  entered  the  house  of 
God.  After  settlers  became  more  numerous 
it  was  decided  to  build  a  church,  and  the  site 
selected  was  about  four  miles  southwest  of  the 
present  town  of  Sulphur  Springs.  Money  was 
scarce  in  those  days,  and  instead  of  contribut- 
ing cash  every  man  did  a  certain  amount  of 


work,  and  by  1833  the  building  was  finished. 
It  was  a  hand-made  building,  the  settlers  not 
only  putting  it  up,  but  making  the  platform 
and  the  rough  seats,  and  this  structure  re- 
mained practically  as  built  and  furnished  by 
the  early  pioneers,  except  necessary  repairs, 
until  another  church  was  erected,  the  old 
church  being  removed  half  a  mile  to  the  west 
where  it  did  duty  as  a  barn  on  the  farm  of 
William  Stone,  the  land  now  owned  by  Caleb 
Pfahler.  In  September,  1870  the  present 
church  was  dedicated.  Before  the  church  was 
built  a  graveyard  had  been  started,  for  here 
the  oldest  tomb  records  the  death  of  Emanuel 
Mclntyre,  who  died  March  4,  1829.  Other 
graves  are  those  of  James  Magee,  who  was  a 
soldier  in  the  War  of  1812;  Rev.  J.  F.  Blay- 
ney,  who  died  Aug.  16,  1886,  after  a  half  a 
century  of  religious  work  in  many  places;  and 
many  other  names  are  there  whose  willing 
hands  assisted  in  the  building  of  the  first 
church. 

A  Lutheran  church  was  organized  and  a 
church  erected  about  1840  on  Loss  Creek,  and 
in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  township  is 
the  U.  B.  church.  Probably  the  first  cem- 
etery started  was  what  is  known  as  the  Biddle 
graveyard.  Here  the  first  record  is  that  of 
George  M.  Kitch,  who  died  Dec.  21,  1827. 
Here  is  buried  Rev.  Alexander  Biddle,  who 
was  a  United  Brethren  Minister  for  62  years. 

The  first  Sunday  School  in  the  county  is 
claimed  by  Sandusky  township,  having  been 
first  held  in  the  cabin  of  Joseph  Wert,  soon 
after  his  arrival  in  1826.  This  township  was 
the  birthplace  of  Robert  Cowden,  who  organ- 
ized the  Crawford  County  Sunday  School  As- 
sociation in  1867,  and  from  that  time  on  de- 
voted his  life  to  the  Sunday  school  work,  be- 
ing one  of  the  recognized  leaders  in  the  State. 
He  was  born  in  the  township  in  1833,  and  his 
father  died  when  he  was  a  boy  of  but  five 
years  of  age,  and  his  death  is  another  record 
of  the  trial  and  experiences  of  the  early  pio- 
neers. Kind  neighbors  did  all  that  was  pos- 
sible, one  of  them  making  the  coffin,  and  on 
the  day  of  the  funeral  they  assembled  at  the 
little  cabin  where  services  were  held.  A  wa- 
gon was  secured  on  which  to  carry  the  coffin, 
to  the  graveyard  several  miles  distant,  the  fam- 
ily and  friends  walking  behind  this  improvised 
hearse.     The  distance  was  too  great  for  the 


318 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


little  son  to  walk,  so  he  rode,  having  for  his 
seat  his  father's  coffin.  Robert  Cowden 
learned  the  carpenter  trade  at  the  age  of  15 
to  assist  in  the  support  of  his  mother,  entered 
the  army,  rose  to  the  rank  of  colonel,  was 
later  postmaster  of  Gallon,  and  then  devoted 
all  his  time  to  religious  work  in  connection 
with  the  United  Brethren  church. 

The  first  school  in  Sandusky  township  was 
taught  probably  during  the  winter  of  1826-27, 
in  a  small  round  log  cabin,  on  the  farm  later 
owned  by  Alexander  Smith.  Miss  Jane  Ho- 
gan,  who  afterward  became  Mrs.  Smith,  was 
the  teacher.  The  cabin,  though  divided  into 
two  compartments,  was  provided  with  but  one 
window,  and  the  appointments  were  of  the 
crudest  kind.  During  the  following  winter 
Mr.  Dewey  taught  a  term  of  three  months  in 
his  own  cabin,  having  about  fifteen  or  twenty 
pupils.  Mr.  Dewey's  cabin  was  much  better 
lighted,  having  three  glass  windows,  and  it 
is  said  he  kept  an  unusually  successful  school. 
He  was  a  well  educated  man  and  continued 
in  this  occupation  until  the  first  schoolhouse 
was  erected  a  number  of  years  later.  Miss 
Mary  Ann  Higby  taught  a  short  term  in 
Dewey's  cabin  during  the  summer  in  1828,  and 
afterwards  taught  many  terms  in  this  and  ad- 


joining townships.  It  is  thought  that  there 
may  have  been  other  schools  taught  previous 
to  1826,  but,  if  so,  there  is  no  definite  record 
of  them.  In  1830  a  hewed  log  schoolhouse  was 
built  on  the  corner  of  Isaac  Henry's  farm.  It 
was  in  use  for  about  fifteen  years,  when  it  was 
superceded  by  a  frame  building.  The  second 
schoolhouse  was  built  south  of  the  river  in 
1838,  and  was  used  for  many  years.  Another 
was  built  in  1842  in  the  extreme  northern  part 
of  the  township. 

Sandusky  township  with  its  eighteen  square 
miles  has  five  school  districts.  No.  i  being  on 
the  northwest  quarter  of  section  2  on  the  land 
of  O.  J.  Keller;  No.  2  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  11  on  the  land  of  O.  P.  McKeehen; 
No.  3  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  23, 
the  land  of  Angelina  Roop;  it  is  opposite  the 
township  hall,  which  is  the  exact  centre  of  the 
township.  Holmes  and  Sandusky  being  the 
only,  township  where  the  township  hall  is  ex- 
actly in  the  center.  No.  4  the  northeast  quar- 
ter of  section  34  on  the  land  of  Louisa  Mc- 
Michael;  No.  5  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 36,  the  land  of  George  Lahr. 

Sandusky  township  is  the  only  one  of  the 
sixteen  townships  in  the  county  through  which 
no  railroad  passes. 


CHAPTER  XX 

TEXAS    TOWNSHIP 

Texas  Township — Early  Settlers  with  Their  Mills  on  the  Sycamore — Benton  Incorporated  as 
a  Village  to  Comply  With  the  Law — Its  Early  Mayors — "Old  Pipes'  "  Store  Gives  the 
Name  to  Pipetown — "Bishop"  Tuttle,  an  Influential  Citizen  and  His  Hobbies — Post- 
masters and  Justices  of  the  Peace. 


"Ah!  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  when  from  East  and  from 

West, 
From  North  and  from  South  come  the  pilgrim  and 

guest. 
When  the  gray-haired  New-Englander  sees  round  his 

board 
The  old  broken  links  of  affection  restored, 
When  the   care-wearied   man   seeks   his   mother   once 

more, 
And  the  worn  matron   smiles 'where  the  girl  smiled 

before, 
What  moistens  the  lip    and  what  brightens  the  eye? 
What  call,  back  the  past  like  the  rich  pumpkin-pie?" 
John  Greenleaf  Whittieh. 

What  is  now  Texas  township  was  first  a 
part  of  Crawford  township,  organized  in  1821 
by  the  county  commissioners  of  Delaware 
county,  the  new  township  including  the  pres- 
ent Texas,  and  the  territory  for  16  miles  to 
the  west,  the  present  townships  of  Sycamore, 
Tymochtee  and  Crawford  in  Wyandot  coun- 
ty. Here  the  first  election  took  place  April 
I,  1 82 1,  but  there  were  no  votes  cast  from 
Texas  township,  as  at  that  time  there  was  not 
a  settler  in  the  present  township,  the  entire 
region  being  a  dense  forest;  in  no  part  was 
there  an  acre,  or  a  half  acre  or  even  a  quarter 
but  what  was  covered  with  trees;  it  was  the 
forest  primeval  awaiting  the  coming  of  the 
pioneer  and  the  axe  of  the  settler.  In  1825 
Crawford  township  was  divided  by  the  com- 
missioners of  Delaware  county,  the  eastern  six 
miles  being  Sycamore  township,  and  the  two 
eastern  miles  of  this  township  were  the  pres- 
ent Texas  township.  The  first  election  was 
held  in  the  house  of  George  Kisor  where 
Deunquat  now  is,  two  miles  west  of  the  pres- 
ent village  of  Benton;   there  were  several  set- 


tlers then  in  Texas  township  who  may  have 
participated  in  this  election.  Until  the  or- 
ganization of  Crawford  county  in  1826,  Tex- 
as township  was  under  the  judicial  supervision 
of  Seneca  county.  In  1845,  Wyandot  county 
was  erected  and  on  March  6,  1845,  the  Craw- 
ford county  commissioners  arranged  the  new 
townships,  the  dividing  line  of  the  two  coun- 
ties being  through  Sycamore  township,  the 
four  western  miles  of  that  township  going 
to  Wyandot  and  the  two  eastern  miles  re- 
maining in  Crawford.  The  clause  in  the  res- 
olution relating  to  Texas  is  as  follows:  "All 
that  part  taken  from  township  one  ( i )  south, 
range  fifteen  (15)  east,  be,  and  the  same  is 
hereby,  organized  into  an  independent  town- 
ship, and  shall  be  known  by  the  name  of  Tex- 
as." It  was  named  Texas  after  the  independ- 
ent state  of  Texas,  whose  admission  to  the 
Union  had  been  a  subject  of  political  discus- 
sion for  many  years,  and  the  act  admitting  it 
to  the  Union  had  been  signed  by  President 
Polk  on  March  i,  just  five  days  before  the 
commissioners  gave  the  new  township  its 
name.  The  township  contained  only  12  square 
miles. 

Lying,  as  it  did,  on  the  nothem  border  of 
the  Wyandot  Reservation,  the  township  was 
first  inhabited  by  white  hunters  and  other  ad- 
venturous spirits,  who  made  their  living  in 
the  main  by  trespassing  on  the  Indian  reserva- 
tion in  search  of  game,  which  was  more 
abundant  there  than  in  the  regions  which  had 
been  already  settled  by  the  white  man.  These 
hunters  and  their  families,  when  they  had  any. 


319 


320 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


were  generally  a  worthless  and  shiftless  class 
of  people,  with  little  regard  for  the  rights, 
either  of  the  Indians  or  for  those  of  their 
early  white  neighbors,  whose  hogs  they  appro- 
priated whenever  they  could  find  them  running 
at  large  in  the  woods,  together  with  any  other 
property  on  which  they  could  lay  their  hands. 
Though  they  often  made  considerable  money 
by  the  shooting  and  trapping  of  furbearing 
animals,  they  spent  the  greater  part  of  it  for 
liquor  and  seldom  invested  any  of  it  in  the 
purchase  of  more  land  or  the  improvement 
of  their  property.  Their  children  were  usually 
ill  clad  and  poorly  fed  and  often  extremely 
dirty.  It  was  for  the  benefit  of  the  community 
when  this  class  of  settlers  finally  disapeared 
and  was  replaced  by  an  industrious.  God- 
fearing class  of  men,  who  set  to  work  to  sub- 
due the  wilderness,  cultivate  farms,  establish 
little  industries,  and  build  schools  and 
churches,  which  have  made  the  township  what 
it  is  today. 

One  of  the  last  of  this  shiftless  band  of 
petty  thieves  was  waited  upon  by  his  indignant 
neighbors  and  peremptorily  ordered  to  leave 
that  section.  It  was  the  fall  of  the  year,  and 
the  man  protested  against  being  driven  away 
just  as  winter  was  approaching;  that  his  chil- 
dren were  without  clothing,  and  it  would  be 
impossible  to  protect  them  from  freezing. 
The  settlers  were  humane,  and  returned  to 
their  homes,  and  a  few  days  later  again  called 
with  a  supply  of  winter  clothing  they  had 
gathered  for  the  wife  and  children.  The  man 
was  now  more  reluctant  than  ever  to  leave  so 
generous  a  neighborhood,  and  he  was  only 
finally  compelled  to  leave  after  some  very 
forceful  threats,  and  a  little  accidental  vio- 
lence, and  the  neighborhood  was  not  only  rid 
of  him  but  it  had  a  good  effect  on  others  who 
were  inclined  to  live  partly  on  the  labor  of 
others. 

The  township  is  drained  in  the  northern 
part  by  Buckeye  creek,  a  small  tributary  of 
the  Sandusky  river  and  by  two  or  three  small 
streams  that  empty  into  the  Sycamore. 
Through  the  southern  part  the  Sycamore 
passes,  and  its  largest  branch  is  the  Big  Run. 
The  land  in  both  the  northern  and  southern 
parts  of  the  township  is  quite  rolling,  especial- 
ly along  Sycamore  creek,  where  the  hills  rise 
in  some  places  to  80  feet  above  the  bed  of 


the  stream.  In  the  central  part  of  the  town- 
ship it  is  more  level,  but  this  part  is  well 
drained  and  contains  the  most  fertile  territory. 

The  first  settler  in  Texas  township  not  be- 
longing to  the  wandering  hunter  class,  was 
George  Bender,  who  came  from  Pennsylvania 
with  a  wife  and  three  children  and  entered  a 
tract  of  land  in  the  southern  part  in  1824  and 
built  a  round-log  cabin  thereon.  About  three 
years  later  he  built  a  rude  dam  on  Sycamore 
creek,  southwest  of  the  present  village  of  Pop- 
lar, or  Benton,  and  employed  a  man  named 
James  McGrew  to  construct  a  saw-mill.  But 
having  unfortunately  erected  his  mill  on  the 
land  of  John  Hazlett,  he  received  notice  that 
he  must  relinquish  his  claim  to  the  property. 
Hazlett  took  charge  of  the  mill  and  conducted 
it  until  1834,  when  its  usefulness  came  to  an 
end  owing  to  the  washing  away  of  the  dam. 
Bender  in  the  meanwhile  had  erected  another 
mill  further  down  the  creek  on  his  own  land, 
which  was  operated  for  a  few  years  and  then 
discontinued.  Bender  also  conducted  a  farm, 
the  work  being  done  by  a  team  which  con- 
sisted of  a  large  bay  horse  and  an  ox;  these 
he  used  to  hitch  to  one  of  those  old  fashioned 
wide-track  wagons  and  with  the  odd  rig  he 
was  often  seen  on  the  streets  of  Bucyrus  in  the 
early  days,  it  taking  two  days  to  make  the 
trip  to  Bucyrus  and  return.  His  first  cabin 
had  two  doors,  hung  on  wooden  hinges,  one 
on  each  side  of  the  building,  while  one  end 
was  entirely  occupied  by  the  fire-place.  A 
pleasing  addition  to  his  domicile  was  a  long 
shed,  made  of  rough  boards,  which  answered 
the  combined  purposes  of  swine,  cow  and 
horse  stable.  Bender  was  the  first  postmaster 
at  Poplar  and  died  in  1850.  His  wife,  Mary, 
died  in  1832. 

In  1825  the  arrivals  were  Eli  Adams,  An- 
thony Defray,  Charles  Morrow,  Adam  Miller, 
John  Nedray,  David  Palmer,  Laban  Perdew, 
Doddridge  Paul,  Robert  Roberts  and  Alva 
Trask.  In  1826,  Lewis  Lemert,  William  Pen- 
nington, Robert  Mays,  Ebenezer  Culver,  Jacob 
Foy,  Andrew  Gregg  and  William  Griffiths. 

Eli  Adams  was  born  in  Massachusetts  in 
1803,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  Huron 
county  in.1813.  When  22  years  of  asfe  he 
came  to  this  county  entering  80  acres  of  land 
in  what  is  now  Texas  townshio.  The  land 
was  all  forest,  in  the  midst  of  which  he  erected 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


321 


his  cabin,  and  commenced  clearing  the  land. 
He  married  Mary  Andrews  who  came  to  Sen- 
eca county  with  her  parents  in  1823,  and  later 
to  Crawford  county. 

Isaac  Miller  settled  on  the  Sycamore,  just 
below  the  present  village  of  Benton.  Here 
in  1836  he  placed  a  rude  dam  across  the  river, 
and  erected  a  saw-mill,  which  he  ran  about 
eight  years,  when  dam  and  mill  were  washed 
away  by  a  rising  of  the  stream  during  a  spring 
freshet,  and  the  mill  was  never  rebuilt;  he 
then  devoting  his  attention  to  farming. 

Laban  Perdew  settled  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  township,  took  an  active  hand  in  local 
matters  and  was  one  of  the  early  justices  of 
the  peace. 

Jacob  Miller  settled  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  township.  His  grandfather  Andrew 
Mueller  was  the  owner  of  a  large  mill  in  Ger- 
many, but  during  one  of  Napoleon's  marches 
into  Germany  the  mill  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
and  two  of  his  sons  drafted  into  the  army. 
In  order  to  escape,  the  entire  family  secretly 
left  the  country  for  America,  but  within  a 
year  after  their  arrival  the  entire  family,  ex- 
cept Jacob,  died  at  Hagerstown,  Md.  Jacob 
came  to  Fairfield  county,  O.,  and  with  his  son 
Jacob  came  to  Seneca  county  in  1830,  settling 
on  80  acres  which  they  purchased  for  $100; 
later  they  came  to  Texas  township,  the  young- 
er Jacob  marrying  Phoebe  Pennington,  daugh- 
ter of  one  of  the  pioneers. 

Daniel  Walter  was  born  in  July,  1797,  and 
came  to  this  section  in  March,  1821,  with  the 
family  of  Peter  Baum,  one  of  the  first  pioneers 
to  settle  in  Sycamore  township,  Crawford 
county,  now  in  Wyandot  county.  He  worked 
thirteen  months  for  Thomas  Leeper,  a  pioneer 
who  came  the  same  year  and  entered  land  a 
few  miles  west  of  Baum.  Walker  received 
$100  for  his-  services,  and  with  this  bought 
80  acres  of  land,  on  which  he  erected  his  own 
log  cabin,  with  its  mud  chimney  and  puncheon 
floor.  He  married  Susanna  Baum,  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  pioneer  who  came  to  the  county 
with  him.  While  he  lived  near  to  county  line, 
it  was  not  until  late  in  life  he  moved  into 
Texas  township,  where  he  died  Aug.  7,  1875, 
and  was  buried  in  the  Benton  graveyard. 

Another  settler  on  the  border  was  Adam 
Coon.  His  grandfather,  John  Coon,  was  a 
soldier  in   the   Revolutionary  War,   and  set- 


tled in  Pickaway  county  in  1803,  and  when 
the  War  of  1812  broke  out  his  son  John 
shouldered  his  musket  to  fight  against  the 
British.  John  Coon,  the  father  of  Adam,  was 
a  blacksmith,  and  made  a  number  of  articles 
for  the  Indians,  among  them  a  tomahawk  and 
pipe  combined,  which  delighted  the  red  man. 
His  son  Adam  also  learned  the  blacksmith's 
trade,  and  in  1821,  started  out  in  life  for  him- 
self, his  father  setting  him  up  in  business  by 
presenting  him  with  an  axe,  an  iron  wedge 
and  a  maul.  Carrying  these,  Adam  walked 
to  this  section  where  he  started  just  west  of 
Texas  township  with  80  acres,  for  which  he 
promised  to  pay  75  cents  an  acre.  The  con- 
tract was  too  large  for  him,  and  he  had  to 
give  up  forty  acres.  He  followed  in  the 
footsteps  of  his  father  by  making  the  com- 
bination pipe  and  tomahawk,  and  by  degrees 
his  land  was  partly  cleared,  and  in  three  years 
he  had  money  enough  to  buy  back  the  forty 
acres  he  had  been  compelled  to  relinquish  at 
the  start.  He  married  Elizabeth  Hackerthom, 
whose  father  was  also  in  the  War  of  1812. 
Her  parents  came  to  this  country  when  she 
was  an  infant,  and' when  they  came  west  she 
was  carried  in  the  arms  of  her  mother  and 
aunt  the  entire  seven  hundred  miles.  When 
they  first  married,  the  cabin  was  one  built 
entirely  by  the  husband;  it  had  only  a  bark 
roof  and  the  bare  ground  for  a  floor,  and  here 
they  lived  for  several  years  until  a  better 
cabin  was  erected  of  hewn  logs.  He  died  on 
March  19,  1877. 

Doddridge  Paul,  another  pioneer,  came  here 
from  Huron  county  (now  Erie  county)  in 
May,  1825.  He  had  previously  married  Rox- 
ana  Whitney  but  left  his  wife  with  friends 
in  Seneca  county  until  he  could  prepare  a 
home  for  her.  He  built  a  cabin  in  the  forest, 
a  neighbor  helping  him  to  put  on  the  bark 
roof.  His  family  arrived  before  he  had  fin- 
ished the  cabin,  and  they  had  to  sit  on  the 
stumps  outside,  with  their  goods,  while  he 
was  cutting  out  a  place  for  a  door,  when  they 
moved  in,  his  wife  building  a  fire  in  one  cor- 
ner, where  she  prepared  their  first  meal  in 
their  new  home.  At  the  start  their  only  door 
was  a  blanket,  which  they  hung  across  the 
entrance,  and  at  night  their  sleep  was  dis- 
turbed by  the  howling  of  the  wolves.  Indians 
made  frequent  calls  for  something  to  eat.   Mr. 


322 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Paul  cleared  three  acres  the  first  season,  which 
he  put  into  wheat,  and  in  the  next  season  built 
a  better  cabin.  He  also  cleared  six  acres  for 
corn  and  set  out  loo  apple  trees,  the  first  or- 
chard planted  in  the  township. 

Lewis  Lemert  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1802. 
His  father,  Joshua  Lemert,  was  an  officer  in 
the  War  of  1812.  On  Jan.  2,  1823,  Lewis 
Lemert  married  Ruth  Perdew  in  Coshocton 
county,  and  in  1826,  the  young  couple  came 
to  Texas  township  entering  80  acres  in  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  township.  On  this 
he  built  his  cabin  and  cleared  away  the  forest, 
took  an  active  interest  in  church  work,  and 
assisted  in  the  building  of  the  Ebenezer  M.  E. 
Church  at  Pipetown.  He  died  Aug.  4,  1882, 
and  was  buried  in  the  Pipetown  graveyard. 
One  of  his  sons  was  Col.  W.  C.  Lemert,  who 
worked  on  the  farm  in  early  life,  taught 
school,  came  to  Bucyrus,  entered  the  army, 
and  after  the  war  devoted  his  attention  to  rail- 
road building  and  manufacturing. 

Other  of  the  early  settlers  were  John  Mc- 
Grew  who  came  in  1827;  William  Gregg  and 
Martin  Holman  in  1829;  Charles  Dickens  in 
1830;  James  Andrews  in  "1832;  John  Ballack 
in  1834;  David  Beal,  Robert  Clark,  Wash- 
ington Duncan,  William  Jackson  and  James 
Longwell  in  1835. 

James  Andrews  came  to  Texas  township  in 
1832,  his  sons  Arthur  and  John  being  twins, 
and  24  years  of  age  when  they  came  to  the 
township.  Arthur  worked  on  a  farm  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  having  accumulated  $113,  walked 
from  Steubenville,  O.,  to  Texas  township, 
where  he  invested  $100  in  an  80-acre  tract  to 
which  the  family  moved  in  1832. 

Jacob  Walcutt  came  to  Texas  township  and 
entered  80  acres  just  west  of  Benton.  Before 
he  removed  to  the  land,  he  died,  and  his  wife, 
Elizabeth  (Riley)  Walcutt,  settled  on  the  land 
with  her  seven  children,  between  1835  and 
1840,  and  the  farm  was  cleared  and  carried  on 
by  the  mother  and  children.  Jacob  Walcutt 
was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812. 

Those  who  located  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  township  were  Anthony  Detray,  Charles 
Morrow,  Robert  Mays,  Adam  Miller  and 
Robert  Roberts.  Those  in  the  northern  part 
were  Eli  Adams,  Joseph  Nedray,  Doddridge 
Paul,  David  Palmer,  Laban  Perdew,  Lewis 
Lemert,  and  Alva  Trask.     Nearly  all  of  the 


settlers  in  the  northern  half  of  the  township 
came  from  Seneca  county  and  were  of  New 
England  origin,  some  of  them  having  settled 
in  that  county  about  the  time  of  the  War  of 
1 8 12.  The  same  time  another  wave  of  col- 
onization was  sweeping  westward  into  Craw- 
ford from  Mansfield  and  vicinity,  coming 
north  from  Bucyrus,  most  of  those  who  came 
from  this  direction  settling  in  the  southern 
part  of  Texas  township.  Many  of  these  pio- 
neers started  on  little  or  nothing  but  succeeded 
by  dint  of  willing  hearts  and  busy  hands  in 
building  up  a  good  homestead  and  laying  the 
foundations  of  prosperity  for  their  descend- 
ants. When  Adam  Miller  and  wife  arrived, 
their  combined  fortune  consisted  of  an  ox,  a 
rifle,  a  few  plain  cooking  utensils,  and  about 
1 2 1/2  cents  in  money,  yet  with  this  they  began 
to  clear  and  improve  a  farm  and  prospered. 

Owing  to  the  proximity  of  the  Wyandot 
Reservation  the  settlers  had  plenty  of  oppor- 
tunity of  getting  acquainted  with  the  habits 
and  manners  of  the  Indians.  Though  great 
beggars,  and  sometimes  thieves,  they  were  on 
friendly  terms  with  the  whites  and  after  the 
white  settlement  of  the  township  began  no 
serious  trouble  ever  occurred  between  the  two 
races.  One  of  the  most  successful  resident 
hunters  was  John  Hazlett.  The  Hazlett  broth- 
ers are  said  to  have  killed  a  hundred  deer 
every  winter  for  many  years  after  coming  to 
the  township.  They  had  many  exciting  ad- 
ventures. One  of  the  humorous  incidents  is 
related  of  Robert  Clark,  who  had  just  come 
from  the  East  and  was  not  accustomed  to  life 
in  the  woods.  His  cabin  had  no  door,  but  only 
an  opening,  which  was  covered  by  a  blanket 
suspended  from  above.  One  night,  soon  after 
their  arrival,  the  family  heard  strange  and 
bloodcurdling  cries  issuing  from  the  forest 
around,  them,  and,  thinking  that  some  fero- 
cious wild  animals  were  meditating  an  attack 
upon  them,  he  hurriedly  sent  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren into  the  loft,  and  valiantly  took  up  his  po- 
sition at  the  entrance  with  an  axe  ready  to  ex- 
terminate any  intruder  or  perish  in  the  attempt. 
He  thus  kept  guard  all  night  and  in  the  morn- 
ing discovered  that  the  unearthly  cries  which 
had  so  alarmed  them  were  merely  the  screech- 
ing of  owls.  The  children  of  the  pioneers  fre- 
quently lost  their  way  in  the  woods  and  some- 
times several  days  would  elapse  before  they 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


323 


were  recovered.  On  such  occasions  the  whole 
neighborhood  would  turn  out  with  bells,  guns 
and  horns  and  scour  the  woods  until  the  wan- 
derers were  found.  Occasionaly  grown  per- 
sons also  lost  their  way  and  wandered  about 
in  the  dense  forest  for  hours  or  even  days  be- 
fore they  found  their  way  to  a  clearing  or 
some  settler's  cabin,  which  they  did  not  rec- 
ognize though  it  might  prove  to  be  their  own, 
so  bewildered  were  their  faculties. 

In  the  early  days  the  Sycamore  creek,  small 
as  it  is  today,  by  means  of  little  dams  had 
water  sufficient  to  run  several  saw-mills  about 
four  months  in  the  year.  The  first  mill  was 
that  of  George  Bender  about  1827.  He  had 
his  machinery  first,  and  erected  his  mill  in 
the  woods  on  the  bank  of  the  stream,  and  in 
the  open  air  sawed  the  lumber  with  which 
the  mill  was  built.  This  mill  he  lost,  as  it 
was  built  on  another  man's  land,  who  claimed 
it,  so  he  built  another  on  the  same  stream, 
being  careful  this  time  to  have  it  on  his  own 
land.  Isaac  Miller  also  had  a  saw-mill.  These 
were  small  affairs  but  a  great  convenience  to 
the  settlers.  In  1837  James  Longwell  built 
his  saw-mill  on  the  Sycamore,  charging  40 
cents  per  hundred  feet  or  sawing  the  lumber 
on  shares.  After  he  had  operated  it  profitably 
for  a  number  of  years  he  entered  into  part- 
nership with  Uriah  Wooster,  and  the  first 
grist  mill  was  erected  in  the  township.  It  was 
a  three-story  building,  with  all  the  modern 
machinery  necessary  to  a  mill  at  that  time. 
It  was  in  this  mill  that  Wooster  met  his  death ; 
one  of  the  stones  broke  while  he  was  running 
the  mill  at  high  pressure,  and  a  piece  of  the 
flying  stone  struck  him  in  the  head,  fractur- 
ing his  skull  and  killing  him  instantly.  The 
mill  was  in  the  possession  of  several  owners, 
and  in  1862  came  into  the  possession  of  Sam- 
uel Clapper  of  Bucyrus,  and  the  following  year 
he  sold  it  to  C.  S.  Miller  of  Bucyrus.  The 
saw-mill  was  discontinued  but  the  flouring 
mill  still  did  a  large  business  being  constant- 
ly improved  with  the  demands  of  the  time, 
and  became  one  of  the  leading  mills  in  the 
county. 

Outside  of  the  milling  business  there  were 
no  special  industries  in  the  township  in  the 
early  days,  a  couple  of  blacksmith  shops  being 
the  headquarters  of  the  neighborhood.  Most 
of  the  trading  was  done  at  Sycamore  or  Mel- 


more,  and  on  larger  purchases  the  headquar- 
ters being  at  Bucyrus  or  Tiffin.  In  1848  Mar- 
tin Holman  established  a  tannery,  but  it  was 
not  a  profitable  venture  and  was  discontinued. 
Mr.  Holman  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
came  to  Texas  township  in  March,  1829. 

About  a  mile  and  a  half  northeast  of  Plank- 
ton, the  old  state  road  from  Plymouth  to  Syc- 
amore crosses  the  present  boundary  line  road 
between  Crawford  and  Wyandot  counties.  In 
the  early  thirties  a  store  was  started  near  this 
crossing.  The  owner  of  the  store  had  no- 
ticed the  joy  of  the  Indians  when  they  be- 
came the  proud  possessors  of  one  of  the 
tomahawk  pipes  of  Adam  Coon,  and  saw  a 
fortune  in  furnishing  the  Indians,  who  were 
inveterate  smokers,  as  well  as  the  settlers, 
with  a  cheap  pipe.  So  he  bought  a  large  stock 
of  clay  pipes,  and  any  one  entering  the  store 
found  pipes  to  the  right  of  him,  pipes  to  the 
left  of  him,  pipes  in  front  of  him.  In  fact, 
it  seemed  as  if  there  was  nothing  in  the  store 
but  pipes;  they  were  so  prominent  that  all 
the  other  stock  was  eclipsed.  The  pipe  ven- 
ture was  not  a  success,  the  Indians  did  not 
take  kindly  to  them  and  neither  did  the  set- 
tlers, but  they  gave  the  proprietor  of  the 
store  the  name  of  "Old  Pipes,"  and  the  Cor- 
ners the  name  of  Pipetown,  and  while  the 
name  originated  in  burlesque  the  Ebenezer  M. 
E.  Church  built  there  was  seldom  known  as 
Ebenezer,  but  called  the  "Pipetown"  church, 
and  the  little  graveyard  was  known  as  the 
Pipetown  graveyard,  while  near  the  church 
stands  the  Pipetown  school. 

Benton  was  laid  out  in  August,  1841,  by 
George  Bender  and  John  Hazlett,  and  was 
named  after  Senator  Thomas  Benton  of  Mis- 
souri, Hazlett  being  a  great  admirer  of  that 
statesman.  Previous  to  its  being  laid  out,  in 
1837,  a  post  office  had  been  established  there 
called  Poplar.  It  has  always  carried  the  two 
names ;  at  the  start  the  name  of  Benton  being 
the  generally  accepted  one,  but  in  the  last 
few  years  there  is  a  heavy  tendency  prevailing 
toward  the  Government  name.  The  site  of 
the  town  was  excellent,  on  a  bluff  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Sycamore. 

When  the  town  was  started  there  was  a 
blacksmith  shop  at  the  crossing  of  the  two 
roads  kept  by  Daniel  Beal.  This  was  a  great 
resort  for  the  farmers  who  gathered  there  in 


324 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


the  early  days  to  pitch  horse  shoes,  and  after 
dark  and  in  rainy  weather  sit  around  the 
forge  and  exchange  the  latest  news  and  dis- 
cuss politics.  Another  blacksmith  shop  was 
near  the  crossing,  built  by  John  Leigh  about 
1837,  also  a  headquarters  for  political  and 
other  discussions.  After  the  village  was  laid 
out,  John  Hazlett  built  the  first  frame  house 
there  in  1842,  now  the  tavern  kept  by  Ceil 
Jump.  Alvin  Williams  kept  the  first  store  in 
the  village,  having  as  a  partner,  Amos  L.  West- 
over.  In  1845,  Texas  township  was  organ- 
ized, and  under  the  law  12  square  miles  was 
too  small  a  territory  to  be  erected  into  a  town- 
ship, unless  it  contained  a  village.  Benton 
could  hardly  then  be  classed  as  a  village.  The 
commissioners  solved  the  problem  by  incor- 
porating the  village  of  Benton,  probably  at 
the  time  the  smallest  settlement  ever  burdened 
with  the  responsibilities  of  a  village  govern- 
ment. But  the  citizens  stood  up  to  the  rack 
and  on  Aug.  23,  1845,  elected  Alvin  Williams 
as  the  first  mayor  and  Joseph  Pietzel  as  re- 
corder, and  Williams  gave  bond  in  the  sum  of 
$1,000  for  the  faithful  performance  of  his 
duties.  In  1846,  Williams  was  again  elected, 
and  in  1847  the  office  was  given  to  Joseph 
Pietzel,  but  the  next  year  the  people  returned 
to  their  first  choice  and  again  entrusted  the 
responsibilities  of  government  to  Williams. 
The  village  organization  long  since  gave  up 
its  existence,  although  in  its  palmiest  days  the 
population  reached  over  200. 

The  postoffice  was  first  established  in  1837, 
and  has  always  been  called  Poplar.  The  fol- 
lowing have  been  the  postmastsrs: 

George  Bender,  July  3,  1837;  George  W. 
Saltsman,  Oct.  24,  1849;  Joseph  Pitezel,  Nov. 
I,  1850;  Abraham  Eyestone,  March  18,  1852: 
Nathan  Hollinshead,  July  18,  1854;  Daniel 
Tuttle,  Jan.  15,  1855;  Fayette  Thornton,  Sept. 
25,  1857;  Daniel  Tuttle,  July  11,  1859;  A.  F. 
Bender,  Jan.  3,  i860;  Solomon  Feltis,  May 
24,    i860;   W.   S.   Mulford,  April  25,    1861; 

A.  B.  Stewart,  May  26,  1869;  J.  P.  Temple, 
Nov.  3,  1871;  William  A.  Longwell,  Feb.  11, 
1873;  Adam  R.  Winter,   Sept.   14.   1881 :  G. 

B.  Valentine,  July  30,  1885 ;  William  T.  Hor- 
ton,  Dec.  15,  1890;  James  Beistle,  April  19, 
1899;  V.  D.  Campbell,  March  17,  1903.  On 
Nov.  30,  1905,  the  office  was  discontinued,  the 
people  being  supplied  by  rural  route. 


When  the  Northern  Ohio  road  was  built  a 
station  was  located  two  miles  north  of  Ben- 
ton, which  was  called  Plankton  and  a  post 
office  established.  The  first  postmaster  was 
Peter  J.  Thompson,  appointed  Oct.  13,  1891; 
he  was  succeeded  by  A  .  H.  Miller  on  May  13, 
1899,  who  still  holds  the  office.  On  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  station  a  grain  elevator  was 
built  there  and  a  small  store  for  the  conven- 
ience of  the  people  in  that  neighborhood,  but 
notwithstanding  the  railroad  Benton  is  still 
the  larger  place,  having  a  hotel,  a  store,  two 
churche's,  the  schoolhouse,  and  two  or  three 
small  shops. 

The  store  of  Williams  &  Westover  when 
first  started  at  Benton,  carried  a  stock  of 
about  $500,  and  after  being  run  about  four 
years  they  retired  from  business.  While  run- 
ning the  store  Williams  conducted  an  ashery 
and  later  a  saloon,  the  first  in  the  township. 
The  next  store  keeper  was  G.  W.  Saltsman, 
«-ho  had  a  stock  of  $1,000,  with  the  post 
office  at  his  store,  and  after  running  the  busi- 
ness two  or  three  years  he  retired. 

In  1844  William  Sigler  purchased  the 
building  erected  by  Hazlett,  and  opened  a  tav- 
ern with  a  store  in  connection;  and  this  pros- 
pered as  he  continued  in  business  a  number  of 
years.  In  1850  the  town  had  two  stores,  An- 
drew Failor  opening  up  there  with  a  stock  of 
goods  from  Bucyrus ;  Robert  Martin  started  a 
carpenter  shop,  and  in  1845,  Daniel  Rank  estab- 
lished a  tannery,  which  he  ran  successfully  for  a 
dozen  years;  there  were  two  shoemakers  in 
the  village  and  the  leather  they  failed  to  use 
he  sold  at  Bucyrus  and  Tiffin.  William  Jack- 
son also  started  a  tannery.  The  first  phy- 
sician in  the  village  was  Dr.  Pitezel,  who  set- 
tled there  in  1844,  remaining  fourteen  years. 
Dr.  John  Atwood  was  there  from  1846  to 
1849.  Dr.  D.  Alvord  was  there  from  1847 
to  1853.  Dr.  Yates  and  Dr.  Bissell  were  also 
there  prior  to  1850,  but  remained  but  a  short 
time. 

The  tavern  started  by  William  Sigler  he 
disposed  of  to  Daniel  Tuttle  who  ran  it  as  a 
hotel  and  grocery,  also  selling  liquor.  Mr. 
Tuttle  in  1849  went  to  California  on  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  gold  excitement;  he  went  by 
way  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  was  gone 
two  years,  and  on  his  return  again  went  into  the 
hotel  business. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


325 


He  seems  to  have  been  a  somewhat  original 
character,  as  is  evidenced  in  the  following 
notice  posted  in  his  hotel,  which  may  indicate 
his  humor,  and  the  improvement  in  manners 
and  habits  that  have  taken  place  in  the  last  fifty 
or  sixty  years : 

Oct.  29,  1852. 

TUTTLE  AT  HOME  AGAIN 

DANIEL  TUTTLE  AT  TUTTLE  HOUSE, 

BENTON 

Meals  125^  to  50  cents,  according  to  the 
quality  and  quantity  of  the  "fixings"  packed 
or  stowed  in. 

Lodging  123^  cents. 

Every  horse  in  stable  one  hour,  I2j4  cents. 

Every  gill  of  tobacco  juice  deposited  on  a 
clean  floor  25  cents. 

Ditto  on  a  white  wall  behind  a  bed,  50  cents. 

For  every  half  pint  on  the  floor,  50  cents. 

For  every  old  quid  of  cigar  stump  thrown 
in  the  corner  of  the  room  or  under  the  table 
or  bed,  25  cents. 

For  every  time  a  "loafer"  forgets  to  clean 
his  boots  at  the  "scraper"  and  brings  100 
pounds  of  mud  into  the  hall  or  sitting-room 
and  there  deposits  it,  $1.00. 

For  every  bed  tumbled  by  a  "loafer"  in  the 
day  time  with  his  boots  on,  50  cents. 

"I  shall  never  forget  these  dear  patrons  of  old, 
To  me  they're  more  precious  than  mountains  of  gold." 

Mr.  Tuttle  did  much  to  build  up  and  improve 
the  town.  He  was,  however,  an  infidel  in  his 
religious  principles  and  an  open  enemy  of 
all  christian  denominations.  Beginning  with 
1850  he  published  occasional  numbers  of  a 
paper,  which  he  called  "The  Divinity  Physi- 
cian," the  object  of  which  was  to  satirize  and 
burlesque  the  doctrines  held  by  the  various 
Christian  churches.  He  expended  several 
thousand  dollars  in  the  publication  of  this 
paper  with  practically  no  return  to  himself, 
except  several  prosecutions  for  libel,  together 
with  a  good  deal  of  abuse.  The  last  issue 
was  published  in  1870. 

On  account  of  his  anti-religious  views  he 
became  universally  known  as  "Bishop"  Tut- 
tle. He  was  liberal  and  generous,  of  good 
education,  and  outside  of  his  infidelity,  very 


little  criticism  could  be  passed  on  him  as  a 
citizen.  He  was  a  strong  advocate  of  the 
right  of  freedom  of  speech.  In  1837  an  aboli- 
tion meeting  had  been  held  at  the  American 
Hotel  at  Bucyrus,  which  was  attacked  by  indig- 
nant citizens,  the  windows  of  the  building  were 
broken,  and  the  abolition  speaker  compelled 
to  flee  form  the  hotel  for  safety  and  leave  the 
town.  The  "Bishop"  was  a  prominent  mem- 
ber of  the  Democratic  party  at  the  time,  and 
he  wrote  a  strong  letter  to  the  editor  of  his 
party  organ,  then  the  Bucyrus  Republican, 
in  which  he  denounced  the  outrage  and  those 
connected  with  it.  The  "Bishop"  being  a 
subscriber,  and  a  staunch  supporter  of  the 
"organ,"  and  of  such  sterling  democracy  as 
to  be  unquestioned,  the  young  editor  had  no 
hesitation  in  printing  the  communication. 
But  the  party  rose  in  their  righteous  indigna- 
tion against  supporting  a  paper  that  dared 
insinuate  that  any  one  had  any  rights  except 
a  Democrat.  The  editor  humbly  explained 
how  he  had  came  to  publish  the  communica- 
tion, but  it  was  useless,  and  he  was  summarily 
bounced,  and  a  new  editor  installed.  In  1853 
Daniel  Tuttle  was  a  candidate  for  representa- 
tive, and  issued  a  characteristic  announce- 
ment, in  which  he  stated  frankly  that  he  was 
a  temperance  man  but  opposed  to  any  law 
founded  on  the  iniquitous  Maine  liquor  law; 
that  he  was  opposed  to  taking  the  people's 
money  to  pay  for  chaplains  to  pray  in  the 
State  House,  neither  was  he  in  favor  of  their 
praying  there  under  any  circumstances;  he 
was  opposed  to  the  modern  practice  of  "treat- 
ing" by  candidates  before  election,  and  closed 
by  saying:  "As  a  great  many  and  perhaps 
all  know  me  in  the  county,  I  shall  during  the 
canvass  stay  at  home,  and  mind  my  own 
business."  He  probably  did,  as  the  returns 
showed  his  overwhelming  defeat,  his  own 
township  of  Texas  giving  him  one  vote,  and 
his  adjoining  township  of  Tod  not  one.  In 
1859  he  was  postmaster  at  Benton,  and  saw 
fit  to  espouse  the  candidacy  of  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  for  the  presidency,  as  did  nearly  all 
the  Democrats  in  this  county.  This  was  un- 
satisfactory to  Hon.  L.  W.  Hall,  at  that  time 
representing  this  district  in  Congress,  and  a 
Breckenridge  man,  and  he  very  promptly  re- 
moved Tuttle  from  office.    The  "Bishop"  was 


326 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


then  publishing  the  "Divinity  Physician"  at  ir- 
regular intervals,  and  the  next  number  was 
a  sizzler. 

The  pioneers  of  Texas  township  were  most- 
ly from  New  England  and  from  the  East, 
and  the  Bible  was  found  in  nearly  every  home. 
Religious  services  were  held  at  the  cabins  of 
the  settlers,  any  cabin  being  willingly  tendered 
for  this  purpose.  The  road  from  Bucyrus 
to  Tiffin,  laid  out  soon  after  the  first  settler 
arrived,  passed  through  Texas  township,  and 
the  itinerant  missionaries  in  passing  on  horse- 
back from  one  town  to  the  other  stopped  at 
some  cabin,  where  he  was  always  gladly  and 
hospitably  entertained,  "without  money  and 
without  price."  The  township  was  so  narrow 
and  so  small  that  when  it  came  to  churches, 
the  settlers  attended  in  some  adjoining  town- 
ship, many  in  the  northern  part  attending  the 
church  in  Seneca  county,  of  which  they  were 
members.  The  Methodists  held  meetings  in 
the  cabins  and  about  1834  those  in  the  northern 
part  decided  to  build  a  church.  It  was  on 
what  is  now  the  county  line  road  between 
Crawford  and  Wyandot  counties,  a  few  rods 
north  of  the  road  that  led  from  Sycamore 
to  Plymouth,  one  of  the  important  and  most 
traveled  east  and  west  roads.  When  Wyan- 
dot county  was  formed  in  1845,  the  church 
was  in  that  part  that  went  to  Wyandot  coun- 
ty, just  across  the  road  from  the  farm  now 
owned  by  Benjamin  W.  Moore.  The  church 
was  of  frame,  and  was  30x40  feet  in  size, 
and  was  built  by  the  settlers,  all  turning  out 
and  contributing  their  work.  The  first  min- 
ister was  Rev.  Thomas  Thompson,  followed 
by  James  Wilson  and  H.  O.  Sheldon,  and  the 
first  trustees  were  Robert  Weeks,  William 
Gregg  and  Thomas  Yates.  It  was  known  as 
the  Ebenezer  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
About  the  time  the  church  was  built  "Old 
Pipes"  started  his  clay-pipe  store  a  little  south 
of  the  church,  and  it  gave  the  building  the 
name  of  the  "Pipetown"  church.  The  first 
building,  while  of  frame,  was  roughly  con- 
structed, all  the  interior  work  being  done  by 
the  settlers  themselves.  The  church  pros- 
pered and  in  ten  years  had  a  membership  of 
about  forty- four.  In  December,  1844,  under 
the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Martin  Welsh  a  revival 
took  place  and  about  two  dozen  new  members 
were  added,  and  in  1854  under  Rev.  Luke  S. 


Johnson,  another  revival  added  largely  to 
the  membership.  In  connection  with  the 
church  was  the  "Pipetown"  graveyard,  and 
within  its  enclosures  rest  many  of  the  early 
pioneers,  the  oldest  stone  being  that  of  Lydia 
Cowgill,  wife  of  Elisha  Cowgill,  who  died 
June  8,  1840. 

Prior  to  1838  the  Presbyterians  held  serv- 
ices in  the  various  cabins  and  in  the  school- 
houses,  and  in  1838  they  formed  an  organiza- 
tion, under  the  guidance  of  Rev.  Robert  Lee. 
Robert. Clark,  William  Jackson  and  William 
Marquis  were  appointed  as  elders.  The  fol- 
lowing year  Rev.  William  Hutchinson,  who 
was  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Bu- 
cyrus, was  engaged  to  supply  the  congrega- 
tion on  Sunday  afternoons  in  the  summer 
months.  The  little  church  was  built  on  the 
Andrews'  farm  on  the  angling  road  from  Bu- 
cyrus to  Tiffin,  and  the  little  graveyard  ad- 
joining the  church  is  best  known  as  the  An- 
drews graveyard.  Here  the  oldest  stone  is 
that  of  James  Andrews,  who  died  April  25, 
1840.  He  was  a  soldier  of  the  War  of  1812 ; 
another  of  the  veterans  of  1812  buried  here 
is  Moses  Pugh,  who  died  Sept.  27,  1848., 

In  the  southern  part  of  the  township,  church 
societies  jwere  organized  as  early  as  1830, 
but  no  church  edifice  was  built  for  20  years, 
services  being  held  in  the  cabins  and  later  in 
the  schoolhouses.  About  1830  a  schoolhouse 
had  been  built  west  of  where  Benton  now  is, 
and  this  was  extensively  used  for  church  pur- 
poses. In  the  thirties  Rev.  Mr.  Oliver  had 
arranged  to  hold  services  in  this  building,  but 
before  he  or  the  congregation  arrived  "Bish- 
op" Tuttle  had  entered  the  building,  and  writ- 
ten on  the  wall  with  a  piece  of  charcoal: 

"Oliver,   Bender  and   Gillim 
Have  caught  the  devil 
And  are  going  to  kill  'im." 

Bender  and  Gillim  were  two  of  the  pillars 
of  the  church.  The  minister  took  the 
scrawled  words  for  his  text  and  preached  a 
forceful,   extemporaneous   sermon. 

About  1851  a  United  Brethren  Church  was 
built  in  Benton,  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,500, 
and  in  1870  the  Methodists  erected  a  church 
in  the  village  that  cost  $3,000.  Both  churches 
prospered,  and  nearly  all  the  "Pipetown"  con- 
gregation united  with  this  new  church  or 
joined  the  M.  E.  Church  at  Sycamore. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


327 


The  first  settlers  in  Texas  drifted  into  the 
county  from  Seneca,  and  in  the  early  days 
the  children  went  long  distances  for  their 
schooling,  sometimes  four  and  five  miles. 
This  was  too  inconvenient,  and  the  pioneers 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  township  built  a 
log  structure  of  fairly  good  size  for  those 
days.  They  put  in  a  puncheon  floor  and  cov- 
ered it  with  a  clapboard  roof.  They  intro- 
duced an  innovation  in  construction  by  hav- 
ing the  chimney  in  the  centre  of  the  roof,  and 
it  was  constructed  of  small  stones  and  mud 
and  hung  down  to  within  six  feet  of  the  floor, 
widening  out  funnel  shaped  at  the  bottom 
to  facilitate  ventilation.  The  seats  were  clap- 
board benches,  and  a  walnut  table,  constructed 
by  some  settler  expert  with  an  axe,  furnished 
the  desk  for  the  teacher  and  served  as  a  pul- 
pit when  religious  services  were  held,  which 
were  almost  every  Sunday  in  summer  by  a 
traveling  minister  of  some  denomination.  In 
1833,  this  building,  which  resembled  in  looks 
a  modem  pottery,  was  abandoned  and  an- 
other erected,  more  modem,  nearer  the  center 
of  the  township;  this  new  building  was  of 
frame.  The  next  schoolhouse  was  the  one 
west  of  Benton,  about  1830,  and  ten  years 
later  it  was  replaced  by  a  frame  structure, 
which  was  in  the  western  part  of  what  is  now 
Benton,  near  the  graveyard.  In  1858  the  first 
schoolhouse  was  built  in  the  village.  Al- 
though the  township  contains  only  12  square 
miles,  and  in  the  locating  of  schoolhouses 
should  have  but  three,  yet  when  school  dis- 
tricts were  organized  at  the  same  time  as  the 
township  in  1845,  there  were  four  districts 
in  the  township,  and  are  today.  The  northern 
four  miles  in  district  No.  i,  and  the  school- 
house  is  in  the  northeastern  corner  of  sec- 
tion II,  the  farm  now  owned  by  Jacob  Zig- 
ler.  District  No.  2  is  the  central  four  miles 
and  the  schoolhouse  is  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  section  14,  the  land  of  Samuel  Dun- 
lop.  The  southern  four  miles  has  two  dis- 
tricts. No.  3  being  in  the  village  of  Benton, 
and  No.  4  northwest  quarter  of  section  36 
on  the  farm  of  Jacob  Rank.  All  these  school- 
houses  are  on  the  north  and  south  road  which 


passes  through  the  center  of  the  township, 
the  one  in  District  4,  being  about  forty  rods 
north  of  the  old  Indian  Reservation  line. 

What  is  known  as  the  Benton  graveyard 
was  probably  the  first  burial  place  in  the 
township,  as  here  is  buried  Mary  Bender, 
wife  of  the  first  settler,  who  died  May  13, 
1832.  Three  veterans  of  the  War  of  1812 
are  buried  here,  John  Coon,  who  died  March 
22,  1856;  Elijah  Jump,  who  died  Dec.  5, 
1871 ;  and  David  Wickham,  who  died  Sept. 
15,  1848.  George  Bender  and  John  Hazlett, 
the  founders  of  the  town  of  Benton  are  bur- 
ied here,  Hazlett  dying  Nov.  8,  1841,  and 
Bender,  Feb.  10,  1851.  Another  grave  is  that 
of  Amos  L.  Westover,  who  died  July  17, 
1859,  and  received  a  Masonic  funeral,  the  first" 
society  funeral  in  that  section.  He  was  one 
of  the  charter  members  of  the  Bucyr us  Lodge 
of  Masons,  started  in  1846,  and  for  over  ten 
years  drove  12  miles  to  attend  the  meetings 
of  the  order,  and  on  his  death,  his  brethren 
from  Bucyrus  attended  and  gave  him  a  Ma- 
sonic burial. 

Westover  was  one  of  the  early  justices  of 
the  peace,  and  was  always  active  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  township.  Prior  to  1845  Texas 
was  a  part  of  Sycamore  township.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  list  of  the  justices : 

Charles  Morrow — 1832. 

John   Knapp — 1832. 

Laban  Perdew — 1833-36. 

James  Milligan— 1834-37- 

James  Griffith — 1836-46. 

Amos  L.  Westover— 1840-53-54-57. 

Robert  Weeks— 1846. 

Joseph  Pitezel — 1848-52. 

Abraham  Eyestone — 1851. 

Nelson  Close— 1852-55-58-61-67-70. 

Daniel  Tuttle— 1859-73. 

Samuel   Beistle — 1862-65. 

Arthur  Andrews — 1864. 

Martin  Woodside — 1868. 

A.  B.  Stewart— 1870-73. 

George  Wickham — 1873-76. 

Nelson  Holt— 1876-79. 

Harvey  Close— 1880-83-86-89-92-97-01 -07-09. 

M.  W.  Wickham— 1881-84-87-90. 

J.  H.  Beistle— 1893-97. 

C.  H.  Miller— 1895. 

Melvin  C.  Huddle— 1900-01. 

H.  J.  Miller — 1904-05. 

George  W.  Wickham— 1905-07-09. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


TOD  TOWNSHIP 

« 

The  Last  Land  in  the  County  Occupied  by  the  Indians — The  Township  Named  Three  Times 
and  Named  Wrong  Each  Time — Osceola  Laid  Out  With  County  Seat  Expectations- 
Early  Settlers — Churches  and  Schools — Reminiscences — A  Horse  Monument. 


"Dear  country  home !  can  I  forget 
The  last  of  thy  sweet  trifles? 
The  window-vines  that  clamber  yet 
Whose  bloom  the  bee  still  rifles? 
The    roadside  blackberries,     growing 
And  in  the  woods  the  Indian  pipe?" 

— Richard  Henry  Stoddard. 


ripe, 


Tod  township  was  the  last  township  in  this 
county  to  be  opened  for  settlement.  The  treaty 
of  the  Indians  in  1817  reserved  to  them  a  tract 
of  land  12  miles  square  in  what  is  now  Wyan- 
dot county.  By  a  supplementary  treaty  in  1818 
the  Wyandots  were  given  an  additional  five 
miles  adjoining  this  tract  on  the  east.  In  this 
five-mile  strip  was  Tod  township. 

On  the  north  and  the  south  and  the  east,  the 
land  was  being  rapidly  taken  up  by  the  set- 
tlers, and  all  along  the  border  the  forests  were 
being  cleared  away  and  the  farms  cultivated. 
Many  settlers,  besides  hunting  in  the  reserva- 
tion as  it  suited  their  pleasure,  settled  on  the 
land,  some  honestly  leasing  from  the  Indians, 
but  most  of  them  "squatting"  on  the  reserva- 
tion. As  early  as  1825  the  advancing  civiliza- 
tion demanded  this  land,  but  the  Indians  re- 
fused to  sell,  but  finally  in  1836,  they  agreed 
to  dispose  of  the  60  square  miles  ( 12  miles  deep 
and  5  miles  wide)  which  they  had  secured  at 
the  supplemental  treaty  and  two  additional 
miles.  In  1837,  these  lands  were  thrown  on 
the  market,  and  what  is  now  Tod  township 
was  open  to  settlement,  and  the  Indians  had  no 
longer  any  land  in  the  present  Crawford 
county. 

Tod  township  is  nine  miles  from  north  to 
south  and  two  miles  east  and  west.    In  March, 


1838,  the  Crawford  county  commissioners  di- 
vided the  territory  secured  from  the  Indians 
into  two  townships.  The  northern  six  miles 
was  called  Leith  and  the  southern  six  miles 
was  attached  to  Antrim.  There  was  objection 
to  the  name  of  Leith.  George  W.  Leith  was 
one  of  the  prominent  men  in  the  new  territory, 
and  with  William  Brown  was  appointed  justice 
of  the  peace  of  the  new  township.  His  ances- 
try goes  farther  back  in  this  county  than  any 
other  white  settler.  His  father,  Samuel  Leith, 
was  the  first  known  white  child  born  in  the 
Sandusky  valley,  probably  in  the  old  Indian 
town  on  the  river,  about  three  miles  southeast 
of  the  present  town  of  Upper  Sandusky.  The 
original  John  Leith  in  1763,  when  a  boy  of  16, 
was  captured  by  the  Indians.  Instead  of  kill- 
ing him  they  adopted  him  into  their  tribe,  in 
the  family  of  Capt.  Pipe,  the  Delaware  chief 
who  burned  Crawford  at  the  stake.  They 
brought  him  to  their  town  on  the  Sandusky, 
and  when  the  War  of  the  Revolution  broke  out 
the  British  appointed  him  in  charge  of  the 
store  at  the  Wyandot  town  and  here  he  re- 
mained during  the  Revolution,  and  was  also 
there  during  the  Crawford  campaign  of  1782. 
His  store  was  naturally  the  headquarters  of  the 
British,  Indians,  and  the  renegades  during  the 
Revolution  and  the  Indian  wars  which  fol- 
lowed. In  1762  the  Mingo  Indians  on  one  of 
their  raids  into  Pennsylvania  captured  a  young 
girl,  Sallie  Lowry,  and  adopted  her  into  their 
tribe. 

During  one  of  the  hunting  expeditions  of  the 
Mingoes  to  the  Sandusky  region  Leith  met  the 


328 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


329 


captive  white  girl  and  they  were  married,  and 
in  1775,  Samuel  Leith  was  born.  The  husband 
and  wife  were  captives  of  different  tribes,  and 
the  wife  was  taken  to  the  home  of  the  Mingoes 
on  the  Muskingum,  while  Leith  remained  on 
the  Sandusky.  Every  argument  and  induce- 
ment were  offered  the  Mingoes  to  let  the  wife 
join  her  husband,  but  they  refused  to  give  her 
up,  and  Indian  courtesy  prevented  more  drastic 
measures.  Finally  the  Mingo  Indians  held  a 
council,  and  decided  to  let  the  wife  join  her 
husband  but  the  decision  was  that  they  would 
give  to  the  Wyandots  nothing  but  the  wife  and 
child.  So  every  vestige  of  clothing  was  re- 
moved from  the  mother  and  child,  and  she  was 
informed  that  if  she  wanted  to  join  her  hus- 
band, she  could  go.  Leith  in  his  narrative  thus 
describes  her  reunion  with  her  husband :  "She 
shouldered  her  boy,  waded  the  Walhonding, 
the  Tuscarawas,  passed  through  the  wilderness, 
slept  in  the  leaves  by  a  log,  contending  with 
briars,  nettles,  flies,  mosquitos,  living  on  June 
berries,  wild  onions,  wild  peas,  elm  bark,  roots, 
etc.  She  came  to  a  squaw  who  was  tending  a 
small  piece  of  corn  and  taking  care  of  several 
Indian  children,  while  the  warrior  was  abroad. 
The  squaw  said :  'Where  you  go  ?'  She  re- 
plied: 'Sandusky;  my  husband.'  'Where 
clothes?'  'They  took  them,'  (pointing  from 
whence  she  came.)  'You  hungey?'  'Yes.' 
'Me  get  meat.'  The  squaw  told  her  to  remain 
until  the  warrior  returned;  but  she  concluded 
to  journey  on.  The  squaw  gave  her  a  piece  of 
blanket  and  some  deer  meat  and  she  started. 
I  was  at  the  time  busily  engaged  in  handling 
pelts,  revolving  in  my  mind  what  I  should  do. 
I  was  whipping  the  pelts  and  throwing  them 
on  a  pile,  and  had  just  stepped  in  to  get  another 
supply,  when  I  saw  my  wife  approaching. 
She  threw  the  child  down  on  the  skins,  drop- 
ping there  herself,  saying:  'Here,  John,  I've 
brought  your  boy.'  The  fatigue  of  the  jour- 
ney and  the  joy  of  the  meeting  overwhelmed 
her  for  a  time.  There  have  been  many  happy 
meetings  under  far  more  favorable  circum- 
stances, but  at  no  time  or  place  was  there  ever 
a  meeting  that  filled  the  parties  with  more  tri- 
umphant joy."  John  Leith  continued  with  the 
Indians  until  about  1792,  when  with  his  wife 
and  two  children,  he  made  his  escape,  and  was 
closely  pursued  by  the  Indians  until  he  reached 
Fort  Pitt,  (  Pittsburg. )    The  son,  Samuel,  came 


to  Ohio  and  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812 
on  the  side  of  the  Americans.  He  settled  in 
Fairfield  county,  and  here  John  Leith  was  born 
in  1807  and  George  W.  Leith  in  1810,  the  lat- 
ter coming  to  this  county  in  1824,  making  his 
home  with  his  guardian,  his  father,  Samuel 
Leith,  having  died. 

After  this  family  the  township  was  named 
Leith  on  account  of  the  influence  of  George  W. 
Leith.  But  the  name  was  not  satisfactory  to 
many  of  the  settlers,  on  account  of  the  original 
Leith  being  a  British  agent  and  an  ally  of  the 
Indians  during  the  Revolution  and  the  Craw- 
ford campaign.  Through  courtesy  toward 
George  W.  Leith,  and  for  whom  all  had  the 
greatest  respect,  the  specious  argument  was 
presented  that  there  were  many  Germans  in  the 
township,  and  the  word  Leith  was  as  difficult 
for  them  to  pronounce  as  was  the  world  Shib- 
boleth to  the  Scriptural  heathens-  two  thousand 
years  previously.  The  commissioners  took  this 
as  their  cue,  and  changed  the  name  of  the 
township  to  Centre,  in  June,  1839,  it  being  at 
that  time  the  exact  centre  of  the  county,  a  name 
which  was  certain  to  get  them  into  no  trouble 
on  account  of  ancestors.  This  name  continued 
until  Wyandot  county  was  formed  in  1845, 
which  left  only  two  miles  of  Centre  township 
in  Crawford  county,  and  this  two  miles  was 
no  longer  in  the  centre,  but  was  the  extreme 
western  part  of  the  county,  so  that  name  was  a 
misnomer,  and  in  1845  the  commissioners 
named  the  new  township  Tod,  after  David  Tod 
the  democratic  candidate  for  Governor  in  1844, 
who  was  defeated  and  his  supporters  on  the 
Board  of  Commissioners  did  him  what  honor 
they  could  by  naming  a  township  after  him. 
South  of  Tod  the  fractional  township  of  An- 
trim that  remained  in  the  county  was  named 
Dallas,  after  George  M.  Dallas,  the  Vice  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  In  the  eastern  part 
of  the  county  the  land  secured  from  Richland 
was  named  at  the  same  time  after  James  K. 
Polk  the  Democratic  president,  and  the  new 
townships  had  the  good  old  democratic  names 
of  Polk,  Dallas,  Tod  and  Texas,  the  latter  be- 
ing a  rallying  cry  of  the  party  as  the  Whigs  bit- 
terly opposed  the  admission  of  Texas  into  the 
union.  Had  it  been  given  to  our  pioneer  fa- 
thers to  lift  the  veil  that  obscures  the  future 
there  would  have  been  more  protest  against  the 
name  of  Tod  than  there  had  been  to  that  of 


330 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Leith.  For  hardly  had  the  machinery  of  gov- 
ernment started  in  the  new  township  than  there 
was  a  re-alignment  of  parties,  and  David  Tod 
joined  the  new  party  and  as  the  opponent  of 
the  Democrats  was  elected  Governor  of  the 
State  in  1861,  so  it  is  not  safe  to  perpetuate 
the  name  of  a  political  idol  until  after  he  has 
quietly  died  and  been  honorably  buried. 

Tod  township  is  traversed  by  three  streams, 
Brokensword,  Indian  Run,  and  Grass  Run,  the 
beds  of  which  consist  of  a  shaly  limestone  rock. 
The  first  named  is  the  largest  and  by  far  the 
most  important,  and  the  derivation  of  its 
name  is  traditional.  It  is  said  that  after  Col- 
onel Crawford's  historical  engagement  with 
the  Indians  and  subsequent  escape,  he  missed 
his  nephew.  With  others  he  retraced  his  steps, 
only  to  be  taken  prisoner  by  the  Delawares. 
Conducted  by  them  to  this  stream,  he  is  said 
to  have  drawn  his  sword  and  broken  it  over 
a  rock.  Another  version  is,  a  broken  sword 
had  been  dropped  by  one  of  Crawford's  re- 
treating army. 

Col.  Crawford,  after  '•'^e  battle,  in  making 
his  escape,  did  pass  througA  Tod  township,  en- 
tering the  township  about  two  miles  northwest 
of  the  present  village  Oceola,  about  where  the 
farm  of  John  R.  Outhwaite  or  U.  M.  Kellogg 
is  now  located ;  he  passed  through  in  a  south- 
easterly direction,  leaving  the  township  at  about 
the  farm  of  John  Fisher  or  John  W.  Snavely, 
a  mile  and  a  half  northeast  of  Oceola.  After 
his  capture,  near  the  present  town  of  Leesville, 
the  Delawares  took  him  back  over  the  same 
route  as  they  were  desirous  of  finding  the 
horses  which  Crawford  had  been  compelled  to 
abandon  about  the  time  they  entered  the  town- 
ship. The  stream  Brokensword  was  first 
known  by  the  Indians  as  Crookedknife,  but 
there  is  no  authority  for  connecting  the  name 
with  anything  relating  to  Col.  Crawford.  He 
crossed  the  stream  in  Holmes  township,  near 
where  the  Brokensword  Stone  quarries  are 
now  located. 

The  soil  of  Tod  township  is  a  pale  clay  loam 
but  exceedingly  rich.  Well  improved  farms 
with  substantial  and  attractive  buildings  are 
seen  on  every  hand. 

Lumbering  and  limeburning  for  many  years 
formed  the  chief  industries,  aside  from  agri- 
cultural, but  a  number  of  grist-mills  also 
flourished  here,  at  one  time  four  being  along 


the  banks  of  the  Brokensword.  In  early  years 
when  there  was  much  waste  timber,  potash 
and  blacksalts  were  manufactured,  and  in  more 
recent  years  a  considerable  amount  of  quarry- 
ing of  stone  has  been  done.  The  timber  of  this 
section  was  largely  black  walnut,  oak,  beech, 
maple,  sycamore,  butternut  and  poplar. 

After  the  Wyaridots  had  relinquished  their 
claim  to  this  territory  in  the  spring  of  1837, 
the  United  States  held  a  sale  at  Marion,  Ohio, 
selling  off  this  land  to  private  ownership. 
Neighboring  landowners,  capitalists  from  the 
East  and  from  Bucyrus  and  Marion,  both  in 
the  form  of  organized  companies  and  as  indi- 
viduals, vied  with  each  other  in  acquiring  this 
land.  A  Mr.  Howland  of  Cayuga,  New  York, 
purchased  fourteen  hundred  acres,  partly  lying 
within  Tod  township.  Zalmon  Rowse,  Gen- 
eral Samuel  Myers,  Abram  Holm  of  Bucyrus, 
with  Messrs.  Cox  and  Young  of  Marion 
county,  formed  a  syndicate  known  as  the  Oce- 
ola Company  and  purchased  the  choice  or  cen- 
tral part  of  the  township,  with  an  expressed 
view  of  bringing  the  county  seat  to  the  town 
which  they  would  there  establish.  That  their 
plan  miscarried  was  probably  no  disappoint- 
ment to  the  promoters,  who  disposed  of  their 
land  to  good  advantage  before  the  death  blow 
to  the  hopes  of  the  little  village  of  Oceola  fell 
by  the  erection  of  Wyandot  county  by  the  Leg- 
islature. Of  the  private  buyers.  Judge  G.  W. 
Leith,  James  Winstead,  Daniel  Tuttle  and 
Jacob  Shaffer  were  first.  It  has  been  a  debat- 
able question  as  to  whether  Leith  or  Winstead 
made  actual  settlement  first,  for  with  that  dis- 
tinction goes  the  honor  of  being  the  first  set- 
tler of  Tod  township.  Regardless  of  the  ques- 
tion, there  is  a  full  measure  of  honor  and  credit 
accorded  the  name  of  each,  for  both  were  men 
of  bright  minds  and  active,  and  with  Daniel 
Tuttle  did  more  than  any  others  in  directing 
the  earliest  affairs  of  the  township.  Besides 
Leith,  Winstead  and  Tuttle,  other  settlers  in 
1837  were  Adam  Bair,  John  Foster,  James  B. 
Horick,  William  Hartman,  Edward  Kellogg, 
David  Kisor,  Lucius  P.  Lea,  Mordecai  McCau- 
ley,  Isaac  Miller,  John  Turner,  and  Jacob  Yost. 
Other  early  settlers  were  John  Cronebaugh, 
Lewis  Longwell,  James  McCain,  James  B. 
Robinson,  Jacob  Snavely,  and  Stephen  White 
in  18^8 ;  Lyman  King  in  1839 ;  William  Brown, 
William  Gordon,   Michael  Hough,  Jesse  Ja- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


333 


queth,  and  John  Webb  in  1840;  William  An- 
drews, Frederick  G.  Hesche,  and  Samuel 
Swineford  in  1841 ;  Elijah  Jaqueth  in  1843, 
Jonathan  Outhwaite  and  Amos  Souders  in 
1845. 

Adam  Bair  had  been  a  carpenter  in  Bucyrus, 
and  so  had  John  Cronebaugh,  the  latter  as- 
sisting .in  building  the  first  court  house ;  F.  G. 
Hesche,  had  also  come  there  from  Bucyrus  to 
run  a  saw  mill,  and  later  returned,  built  the 
Hesche  corner,  and  was  in  business  at  Bucyrus 
until  his  death. 

James  Winstead  lived  to  a  remarkable  old 
age,  honored  and  respected  by  all.  He  was 
born  in  Shenandoah  county,  Virginia,  in  1801, 
and  was  fifteen  years  old  when  he  moved  to 
Ohio,  locating  in  Fairfield  county.  In  1826, 
he  moved  to  Bowsherville,  Wyandot  county, 
then  Crawford  county,  where  he  built  a  cabin 
on  the  edge  of  the  Indian  reservation  and  fol- 
lowed his  trade  as  a  coppersmith.  It  would 
seem  there  could  not  be  much  business  done  at 
that  trade  in  those  days,  and  in  fact  his  great- 
est patronage  was  not  from  the  settlers  but 
from  the  Indians.  The  latter  had  in  their  pos- 
session ore  obtained  from  Michigan  mines  and 
for  converting  this  into  rings,  bracelets  and 
anklets  they  would  pay  most  liberally.  So 
strongly  did  he  become  entrenched  in  the  good 
graces  of  the  redmen,  he  was  in  1829  persuaded 
by  them  to  move  upon  their  reservation.  He 
was  given  the  use  of  a  double  log  cabin  east 
of  Upper  Sandusky,  an  orchard,  all  the  cleared 
land  he  wished  to  cultivate,  was  furnished 
with  meats,  and  was  given  a  liberal  patronage. 
He  lived  almost  as  one  of  them,  taking  a  seat 
at  their  camp-fires  and  joined  them  on  hunting 
excursions.  Probably  no  white  man  had  a 
more  intimate  knowledge  of  this  tribe,  their 
habits,  beliefs  and  mode  of  life,  than  did  he. 
He  remained  with  them  until  after  the  sale 
and  then  moved  to  section  11  of  Tod  town- 
ship, where  in  the  spring  of  1837  he  erected  a 
rough  log  cabin,  with  puncheon  floor,  but  also 
equipped  with  glass  windows.  There  was  no 
semblance  to  a  road  leading  to  the  tract  he  lo- 
cated, necessitating  the  cutting  away  of  timber 
and  brush  to  permit  the  passage  of  his  oxen 
and  wagon.  The  road  he  made  became  known 
as  the  Perrysburg  road,  and  enabled  him  to 
strike  the  Upper  Sandusky  road.  As  illus- 
trative of  the  customs  of  the  times  and  neigh-. 


borly  help  settlers  were  glad  to  give,  it  may  be 
mentioned  that  Winstead  gave  a  wood  chop- 
ping bee  with  a  view  to  having  a  better  road 
between  his  farm  and  Oceola.  Neighbors 
joined  in  with  a  will,  and  the  cost  to  him  was 
two  gallons  of  whiskey  and  the  expectation  that 
he  would  be  called  upon  to  return  the  favor 
upon  occasion  and  for  the  same  remuneration. 
Mr.  Winstead  was  one  of  the  three  first  trus- 
tees of  the  township  and  one  of  the  most  active 
men  of  the  times. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  township  as 
Leith,  James  Winstead,  Z.  P.  Lea  and  Jacob 
Yost  were  installed  as  trustees,  and  G.  W. 
Leith  and  William  Brown  as  justices  of  the 
peace.  Stephen  White  was  first  clerk,  but  re- 
signed the  same  day  and  was  succeeded  by 
Ozro  N.  Kellogg.  Abram  Shaffer  was  con- 
stable ;  Mordecai  McCauley  and  Z.  P.  Lea,  su- 
pervisors ;  Adam  Bair,  G.  W.  Leith  and  Lewis 
Longwell,  fence  viewers,  and  David  Kisor  was  ■ 
treasurer.  G.  W.  Leith  and  David  Kisor  also 
were  overseers  of  the  poor.  The  first  election 
was  held  at  the  home  of  Mordecai  McCauley, 
and  James  Winstead,  John  Cronebaugh  and 
John  Horrick  were  elected  trustees;  David 
Kisor,  treasurer,  and  James  B.  Robinson, 
clerk.  The  first  officers  after  the  name  was 
changed  to  Tod  township  were :  James  Win- 
stead, Isaac  Miller  and  Daniel  Tuttle,  trus- 
tees; John  Forster,  clerk;  Isaac  Miller,  treas- 
urer ;  F.  G.  Hesche,  assessor ;  Frank  Rapenow, 
constable;  and  William  Andrews,  judge  of 
election. 

When  the  name  of  the  township  was 
changed  from  Leith  to  Centre  George  W.  Leith 
immediately  tendered  his  resignation  as  justice, 
and  his  friend  George  Garrett  also  resigned. 

The  various  justices  of  the  peace  of  Tod 
township  are  as  follows : 

Charles  B.  Garrett — 1836. 
George  W-  Leith — 1839. 
William  Brown — 1839. 
Daniel  Tuttle — 1842-45. 
Thomas  L.  Lea — 1844. 
Robert  Andrews — 1846. 
Cyrus  F.  Jaqueth — 1847. 
John  Gordon — 1849. 
Jacob  Steiner — 1850. 
Horace  Martin — 1851-57. 
James  Clegard — 1852. 
Samuel  Swisher — 1852-55. 
O.  W-  Johnson— 1854. 
Frederick  Wise — 1857-60. 
G.  W.  J.  Willoughby— 1860-63. 
David  Neeley— 1862-65-68. 


334 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Frank  P.  Davis— 1866-69. 

G.  P.  Lea— 1870. 

Caleb  B.  Foster — 1871-74-77-80. 

Rufus  Aurend — 1873-76. 

David  Hosterman — 1877-80. 

Gust  Leonhart — 1882-86. 

T.  F.  Coder — 1884-88-91-97-1900-03-07-10. 

Deloss  Jump — 1887-90-93-96. 

S.  M.  Wilson— 1894. 

W.  E.  Coonrod — 1899-02-05-07-11. 

The  first  recorded  marriages  in  the  town- 
ship were  those  of  Isaac  Miller  and  Jane  Lea 
and  also  Stephen  White  and  Mary  Lea,  in 
1838,  Zalmon  Rowse  going  out  from  Bucyrus 
to  perform  the  ceremony.  A  trip  from  Bucy- 
rus to  Oceola  was  no  easy  matter  in  those  days. 
James  C.  Steen  was  an  early  Bucyrus  justice, 
and  he  was  sent  for  to  perform  the  marriage 
ceremony  of  William  W.  Norton,  his  bride  be- 
ing Mary  Brown  of  Oceola.  Mr.  Steen  in  his 
recollections  gives  the  following  account  of  his 
trip,  the  marriage  occurring  on  the  evening  of 
Jan.  8,  1841 :  "I  was  called  upon  to  perform 
this  ceremony  at  a  time  of  year  when  the  most 
miserable  of  all  roads  were  at  their  worst. 
There  was  sufficient  frost  to  make  the  walking 
uncertain  and  the  ice  on  the  streams  unsup- 
portable.  It  was  impossible  to  drive  from  Bu- 
cyrus to  Oceola  in  a  buggy,  could  one  have  been 
procured.  Allowing  myself  plenty  of  time,  I 
concluded  to  make  the  trip  on  foot.  After  a 
circuitous  meandering  through  the  woods,  over 
logs,  and  through  mudholes,  I  arrived  at  Grass 
Run,  which  was  quite  swollen  and  bridgeless. 
The  lateness  of  the  hour  forced  me  to  a  hasty 
decision,  which  was  to  attempt  to  cross  on 
rather  an  insecure  limb;  but  like  a  friend  in 
need,  it  failed  to  furnish  its  support  at  the  most 
critical  moment,  giving  me  an  opportunity  to 
rehearse  the  oath  before  the  evening  ceremony, 
in  water  up  to  my  neck,  at  freezing  point.  I 
arrived  a  little  late  at  the  village,  and  coolly 
walked  to  a  friend's  to  brush  up  a  little  for  the 
festive  occasion.  The  ceremony  was  per- 
formed without  referring  to  the  incident!" 
The  first  known  birth  in  the  township  was  a 
son  of  William  Hartman,  born  in  1838. 

Oceola  was  laid  out  in  May,  1837,  by  a  land 
company,  composed  of  Bucyrus,  Columbus  and 
Marion  capitalists,  and  named  Osceola,  after 
the  most  noted  Indian  chief  of  the  Seminoles. 
With  the  passing  of  time,  probably  through 
carelessness,  the  letter  "s"  has  been  dropped 
and  the  name  has  long  since  been  mispelled 


Oceola.  The  land  where  Oceola  was  situated 
had  just  been  purchased  from  the  Indians,  and 
the  town  was  laid  out  on  the  north  and  west 
banks  of  the  Brokensword,  on  a  site  which  was 
almost  the  exact  center  of  the  county,  and  the 
idea  prevailed  that  if  a  thriving  village  could 
be  built  up  there,  the  time  would  arrive  when 
it  would  become  the  county  seat.  The  new 
town  was  laid  out  accordingly  on  a  rather 
large  scale.  In  the  center  was  a  public  square. 
Main  street  which  was  the  road  from  Bucyrus 
to  Upper  Sandusky  was  ninety  feet  wide. 
South  of  it  was  Water  street  and  north  of  it 
High  street,  each  seventy  feet  wide.  Com- 
mencing on  the  west  the  streets  were  named 
First,  Second,  and  Third,  then  came  Broken- 
sword avenue,  which  crossed  the  public  square, 
then  came  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth  streets,  and 
the  river  was  reached  on  the  road  to  Bucyrus. 
All  these  streets  were  70  feet  wide.  In  all 
there  were  164  lots,  and  the  village  progressed 
from  the  start,  but  before  it  attained  sufficient 
headway  to  take  definite  measures  to  secure 
the  county  seat,  the  legislature  erected  the  new 
county  of  Wyandot,  and  Oceola  just  succeeded 
in  being  in  Crawford  county,  and  as  it  was  now 
en  the  extreme  western  border,  all  hopes  of 
county  seat  honors  were  a  thing  of  the  past. 

There  was  a  large  crowd  present  at  the  lot 
sale,  and  the  lots  brought  good  prices,  and 
many  were  sold;  prices  ranged  from  $25  up, 
some  of  the  corner  lots  bringing  $100,  the  pro- 
jectors of  the  town  had  so  impressed  the  peo- 
ple that  it  would  eventually  be  a  county  seat 
that  the  speculation  was  rife.  One  man  had 
some  swamp  land  in  Illinois  along  the  lake; 
this  he  traded  for  Oceola  property.  The  Il- 
linois land  is  now  a  part  of  Chicago,  worth 
far  more  today  than  the  valuation  real  and  per- 
sonal of  the  entire  village  of  Oceola. 

The  first  cabins  were  erected  in  the  town 
site  in  1838.  Daniel  Tuttle,  familiarly  known 
as  "Bishop"  Tuttle,  moved  to  Oceola  in  1840 
and  became  the  first  merchant  and  manufac- 
turer of  the  place.  He  had  prior  to  that  time 
for  some  13  years  been  a  traveling  representa- 
tive of  a  clock  manufacturer,  his  territory  ex- 
tending from  Maine  to  Louisiana,  and  was  a 
man  of  wide  experience  and  observation. 
While  at  Bucyrus  his  attention  was  attracted 
to  the  proposed  county  seat  of  Oceola  and  he 
-located  there.     He  thought  great  possibilities 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


335 


lay  in  the  manufacture  of  lime,  as  Bucyrus 
was  at  the  time  hauling  in  the  commodity  from 
a  distance  of  forty  miles  at  an  excessive  cost. 
He  started  a  rude  kiln  in  1841,  employing  Ly- 
man King  to  do  the  burning.  He  had  in  1840 
built  a  water  mill,  which  was  run  steadily  for 
a  few  years  when  power  was  available.  As 
travel  over  the  Perrysburg  Road  from  Bucyrus 
to  the  northwest  became  more  general  it  be- 
came apparent  a  tavern  was  needed  at  Oceola, 
and  Mr.  Tuttle  soon  supplied  the  need.  He 
built  an  addition  to  his  house,  and  as  his  busi- 
ness justified,  later  converted  it  into  a  two- 
story  tavern.  In  1842  he  embarked  in  the  fur 
trade  and  otherwise  dealt  with  the  Indians. 
He  was  the  first  postmaster  of  Oceola,  serving 
from  1840  to  1845.  In  fact  he  was  the  moving 
spirit  of  the  village.  John  Turner  conducted 
a  store  here  until  the  Mexican  War  broke  out, 
then  enlisted  in  the  army.  Jacob  Yost,  who 
built  the  first  frame  house  in  the  village,  con- 
tinued trading  with  the  Indians  for  many  years. 
G.  Leonard  conducted  a  hat  store;  in  1850,  he 
was  advertising  to  manufacture  corn  brooms 
on  shares  and  also  to  thresh  corn  with  a  ma- 
chine. In  1 85 1  R.  G.  Perry  &  Co.  conducted 
a  store  and  in  1858  he  started  the  manufacture 
of  carbonated  pearl  ash.  In  1854  a  water-' 
power  grist-mill  was  built  by  David  Neeley, 
but  the  dam  was  destroyed  in  i860.  He  sold 
out  in  1862  to  A.  N.  Stonebreaker,  and  later 
the  property  passed  into  the  hands  of  Judd  and 
Deck,  by  whom  it  was  sold  to  Garret  Ziegler 
in  1867.  It  was  on  an  island  near  the  west 
bank  of  the  Brokensword  just  below  the 
bridge.  While  originally  it  was  run  by  water 
power,  later  steam  was  introduced,  and  it 
was  known  as  the  Limestone  Island  Mills.  It 
finally  came  into  the  possession  of  A.  N.  Phil- 
lips about  1873,  a  large  three-story  frame 
building.  After  Lemert  secured  a  railroad 
this  large  structure  was  placed  on  rollers,  and 
moved  to  its  present  site  at  Lemert  a  distance 
of  over  three  mile^,  the  trip  taking  weeks. 
The  lime  industry  was  probably  the  most  pros- 
perous _  business  in  the  village.  Originally 
started  by  Daniel  Tuttle,  others  who  went  into 
the  business  were  William  Miller,  and  David, 
Joseph  and  Moses  Snavely,  and  more  than  half 
a  century  ago  there  were  about  200  kilns  in 
operation,  but  the  lack  of  transportation  facili- 
ties, gradually  made  the  lime  industry  less  and 


less  profitable,  and  by  degrees  it  was  aban- 
doned. 

Samuel  Swineford  started  a  chair  manufac- 
tory in  1 84 1,  which  he  conducted  for  about 
three  years.  G.  W.  J.  Willoughby  established  a 
factory  for  the  manufacture  of  wooden  bowls, 
and  built  up  an  extensive  business.  In  1847 
Amos  Souders  started  a  tannery,  and  contin- 
ued the  business  for  a  dozen  years  when  it 
was  discontinued.  William  Sigler  commenced 
the  manufacture  of  potash  in  1841,  continuing 
in  the  business  ten  or  twelve  years.  He  also 
bought  the  Tuttle  mill,  and  put  in  steam  power. 
He  had  a  saw-mill  in  connection,  and  manu- 
factured shoe  lasts,  butter  bowls  and  other 
wooden  articles,  including  tables  and  chairs. 
He  also  put  in  a  carding  machine,  but  this 
branch  was  soon  discontinued. 

Dr.  J.  N.  Richie  settled  in  the  village  as  a 
physician  in  1847;  he  took  an  active  hand  in 
township  affairs,  and  became  one  of  the  best 
known  physicians  in  the  county,  and  after  fol- 
lowing his  profession  in  Oceola  for  nearly  half 
a  century,  he  died  on  Dec.  17,  1895. 

Later  day  business  men  of  the  village  were 
Rodney  Poole,  J.  Grubb,  Richard  T.  Garrigues, 
Samuel  Teetrich,  and  William  T.  Kelly,  who 
established  the  first  drug  store  and  also  carried 
a  line  of  groceries.  In  1861,  Oceola  erected  a 
town  hall,  the  dimensions  being  30  by  40  feet. 

The  citizens  of  Oceola  met  November  25, 
1850,  to  take  action  toward  inducing  the  pro- 
jected Ohio  &  Indiana  Railroad  to  pass 
through  the  village.  G.  W.  J.  Willoughby  was 
chairman  of  the  meeting  and  J.  M.  Rickey, 
secretary.  Mr.  Willoughby,  James  Clingan 
and  J.  C.  Steen  were  appointed  a  committee 
to  wait  upon  the  directors  of  the  road.  Their 
efforts  availed  them  nothing  however,  and  the 
little  village  was  doomed  to  its  second  great 
disappointment  in  a  matter  of  vital  importance 
to  its  welfare. 

Losing  the  railroad,  the  citizens  took  an 
active  hand  in  sectiring  a  plank  road  from 
Oceola  to  Bucyrus.  The  road  was  built,  and 
proved  a  great  convenience  to  the  people  and 
the  business  of  the  village,  but  a  constant  loss 
to  the  stockholders,  and  it  was  finally  aban- 
doned. It  had  two  toll  gates,  one  at  the  out- 
skirts of  Oceola,  and  the  other  just  west  of 
Bucyrus.  It  was  the  only  plank  road  ever 
built  in  the  county. 


336 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


A  post  office  was  established  at  Oceola  April 
I,  1840,  with  Daniel  Tuttle  as  postmaster.  He 
continued  until  he  left  the  village  and  it  was 
discontinued  July  8,  1845,  ^^^  J^st  a  year  later 
it  was  re-established  on  July  8,  1846,  with  Wil- 
liam H.  Sigler  as  postmaster.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  James  C.  Steen  March  7,  1848;  Jo- 
siah  Morrison,  May  18,  1850;  Samuel  Pike, 
July  29,  1853;  John  N.  Richey,  Oct.  16,  1854; 
Joseph  Hildreth,  Dec.  13,  i860;  D.  D.  Martin, 
Feb.  14,  1861 ;  R.  T.  Garrigues,  April  12,  1866; 
Alfred  Owen,  Aug.  6,  1885;  S.  M.  Wilson, 
June  19,  1889;  W.  B.  Forrest,  June  30,  1893; 
J.  C.  Frost,  Sept.  18,  1897;  P.  H.  Heater, 
March  12,  1902.  Although  Oceola  is  not  on 
a  railroad,  the  importance  of  the  village  is  such 
that  a  post  office  is  still  continued  at  that  place. 

When  the  Toledo  and  Ohio  Central  Road 
was  built  a  station  was  established  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  township,  and  a  town  was 
laid  out  called  Lemert,  after  Col.  W.  C.  Lemert 
one  of  the  men  active  in  securing  the  road. 
The  Limestone  Mills  were  removed  overland 
from  Oceola  to  a  new  site  along  the  track  of 
the  road.  Two  stores  were  started  in  the  vil- 
lage, and  one  or  two  small  shops.  A  post  of- 
fice was  established  there  on  Feb.  8,  1881,  with 
Gust  Leonhart  as  postmaster;  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  F.  T.  Smith,  Sept.  13,  1882 ;  William 
Evans,  Nov.  23,  1897;  E.  L.  Mansfield,  April 

25.   1905- 

All  over  the  county,  in  the  larger  cemeteries 
and  in  the  little  country  graveyards  are  hun- 
dreds of  monuments  that  mark  the  last  resting 
place  of  those  who  fought  in  the  War  of  the 
rebellion.  But  just  north  of  Oceola  is  a  little 
monument  that  marks  the  spot  where  is  buried 
one  of  the  dumb  heroes  a  horse  who  carried 
his  soldier  rider  over  several  of  the  southern 
states.  The  horse  was  drawn  by  Abe  Conger 
of  the  Twelfth  Ohio  Cavalry,  at  Louisville 
Ky.,  and  in  one  of  Stoneman's  raids  the  men 
were  87  days  in  the  saddle,  covering  seven 
states  and  nearly  two  thousand  miles  of  riding. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  Conger  had  become  at- 
tached to  the  horse  and  brought  him  home; 
as  years  passed  the  horse  became  a  pet ;  he  was 
taken  to  reunions  where  he  appeared  to  recog- 
nize the  flag  and  pricked  up  his  ears  at  the  mar- 
tial music.  Finally  on  Sept.  4,  1886,  the  old 
war  horse,  Frank,  died,  being  then  about  26 
years  of  age.    The  veterans  the  next  day  took 


him  to  the  woods  of  Capt.  John  Harter,  just 
north  of  Oceola,  where  he  was  buried,  and  a 
little  monument  erected  to  mark  the  site  of  the 
old  war  horse. 

The  first  schoolhouse  was  built  on  the  banks 
of  the  Brokensword,  southwest  of  the  village, 
in  1839,  and  the  first  teacher  was  Jane  Snavely, 
who  received  ten  dollars  a  month,  but  when 
winter  came  her  brother  taught  the  school,  re- 
ceiving $15  per  month.  When  the  village  of 
Oceola  was  started,  the  arrival  of  settlers  made 
a  schoolhouse  necessary,  and  an  old  Indian 
cabin  was  fitted  up  as  well  as  possible  where 
the  children  were  taught,  but  the  new  village 
contained  a  schoolhouse  site,  and  on  this  the 
trees  were  chopped  down  and  a  log  building 
erected  in  1841 ;  this  was  replaced  in  1845  by 
a!  frame  building,  which  did  duty  for  ten  years, 
and  in  1855  it  was  purchased  by  the  Methodists 
and  removed  to  their  lot  to  be  used  for  church 
purposes,  and  a  two  story  frame  erected,  the 
growth  of  the  town  necessitating  more  than 
one  room  to  accommodate  the  pupils.  This 
frame  was  later  replaced  by  the  present  brick 
structure. 

The  township  has  five  schoolhouses.  District 
No.  I  is  at  Lemert.  No.  2  is  between  Lemert 
and  Oceola,  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 24,  the  Mary  E.  Doty  farm.  No.  3  is  in 
the  village  of  Oceola,  north  of  the  public 
square.  No.  4  is  nearly  two  miles  south  of 
Oceola,  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  2,  the 
farm  of  Daniel  Songer.  No.  5  is  two  miles 
south  of  this  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
II,  the  farm  of  A.  M.  Kinsey.  These  build- 
ings are  all  on  the  north  and  south  road  which 
runs  through  the  center  of  the  township.  And 
this  road  can  well  be  called  the  schoolhouse 
road  of  the  county.  From  the  Seneca  county 
line  to  Marion  county,  a  distance  of  twenty 
miles,  it  has  twelve  schoolhouses,  four  in 
Texas  township,  five  in  Tod  and  three  in. Dal- 
las, and  all  modern.  No  other  road  in  the 
county  comes  anywhere  near  this  record. 

The  township  of  Tod,  owing  to  its  smallness 
and  to  the  manner  in  which  it  is  scattered  out, 
has  been  somewhat  backward  in  the  matter  of 
building  churches.  That  does  not  mean  the 
citizens  were  lax  in  their  religious  duties.  Far 
from  it,  for  they  held  services  in  their  cabins 
sooif  after  the  township  was  organized.  As 
early  as  1838,  largely  through  the  efforts  of 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


337 


Z.  P.  Lea  and  his  family,  a  Methodist  Episco- 
pal congregation  was  organized  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  township,  which  subsequently 
built  the  first  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in 
Benton.  The  people  were  so  varied  in  their 
faiths  and  creeds,  no  single  congregation 
gained  strength  enough  to  build  a  church  of 
its  own  outside  of  the  village  of  Oceola.  For 
nearly  ten  years  the  Methodists,  Campbellites, 
United  Brethrens,  (Presbyterians,  Lutherans 
and  Universalists,  and  sometimes  the  Quakers, 
held  meetings  in  the  village  schoolhouse,  and  a 
great  part  of  the  time  these  were  union  meet- 
ings, sometimes  two  denominations  used  the 
building  on  Sunday,  the  one  in  the  morning 
and  the  other  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  also 
used  of  evenings,  by  some  denomination,  and 
there  was  scarcely  a  day  or  a  night  when  the 
building  was  not  in  use.  The  first  outside  as- 
sistance in  religious  devotion  came  from  Rev. 
George  Reid  and  J.  B.  Robinson,  of  Bucyrus, 
who  established  a  Bible  society  in  1840.  Rev. 
William  Matthews  the  Presbyterian  minister 
at  Bucyrus  was  the  first  to  receive  a  salary, 
he  holding  services  Sunday  afternoons  in  1845 
and  1846.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  denomi- 
nation became  organized  as  a  distinct  body 
about  the  same  time,  with  Rev.  B.  F.  Royce  as 
pastor,  it  coming  within  the  Melmore  Circuit, 
North  Ohio  Conference.  The  United  Breth- 
ren congregation  soon  followed  in  its  organi- 
zation. The  Campbellites,  who  were  numeri- 
cally strong  prior  to  the  Civil  War,  lost  so 
many  in  that  struggle  they  did  not  reorganize 
after  the  war.    Under  the  leadership  of  Capt. 


John  Wert,  a  Union  Sunday  School  was 
started  in  1846  and  conducted  in  the  school- 
house  until  1854,  then  in  the  United  Brethren 
church,  all  denominations  uniting  and  making 
it  a  union  Sunday  school.  As  churches  became 
stronger  they  organized  Sunday  Schools  of 
their  own,  the  Metbodists  being  first. 

In  the  graveyard  south  of  the  village  is 
buried  Benjamin  Maskey,  who  was  in  the  War 
of  1812,  enlisting  in  the  Pennsylvania  Militia; 
he  was  born  Nov.  2,  1789,  and  died  Jan.  21, 
1867.  Here  also  is  buried  Janies  C.  Steen,  who 
was  first  lieutenant  in  Capt.  Caldwell's  inde- 
pendent company  in  the  Mexican  War,  and 
died  June  20,  1885;  also  Cyrus  Peck,  of  the 
same  company,  who  died  June  18^  1870.  The 
oldest  stone  in  this  yard  is  that  of  Samuel 
Staley,  who  died  Jan.  15,  1848,  but  there 
were  burials  here  prior  to  this.  In  the  Oceola 
graveyard  is  buried  James  Forrest,  born  May 
17,  1799,  and  died  May  10,  1880.  He  was  with 
Commodore  Perry  at  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie 
in  the  War  of  181 2.  When  the  war  broke 
out  he  was  living  in  Huntingdon  county.  Pa., 
and  his  uncle  was  drafted,  but  having  a  large 
family  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  go,  so  his 
nephew,  James,  volunteered  to  go  in  his  place. 
He  was  but  13  years  of  age,  but  so  large  that 
he  was  easily  accepted.  In  1854  he  came  to 
Crawford  county  where  he  had  a  farm  north 
of  Oceola  on  which  he  lived  until  his  death. 
The  oldest  stone  here  is  a  child  of  John  W. 
Bates,  who  died  April  12,  1846,  but  there  were 
a  number  of  burials  prior  to  this. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


VERNON  TOWNSHIP 

The  Township  Created — At  First  a  Wilderness — Its  Swampy  Character  in  Early  Days — Wild 
Game — Boundaries — Geologic  Formation — Drainage — Indian  Occupation — First  Settlers — 
First  Deaths — Early  Mills — West  Liberty — A  Tentperance  Crusade  in  1838 — Postmasters 
— DeKalb — The  DeKalb  Seminary — A  Row  Over  Postmaster — Decline  of  DeKalb — The 
Underground  Railroad — Oil  Specidation — Schools  and  Churches — Justices  of  the  Peace. 


And  the  heavy  wains  creak  to  the  barns  large  and  gray, 

Where  the  treasure  securely  we  hold, 
Housed    safe    from    the    tempest,    dry-sheltered    away. 

Our   blessing   inore   precious   than    gold ! 
And   long  for  this   manna   that   springs    from   the   sod 

Shall  we  gratefully  give  him  the  praise. 
The  source  of  all  bounty,  our  Father  and  God, 

Who  sent  us  from  heaven  the  maize. 

— William  W.  Fosdick. 


Vernon  township  was  surveyed  by  Maxfield 
Ludlow  in  1807,  and  when  the  county  of  Rich- 
land was  erected  by  the  Legislature  it  was  a 
part  of  Madison  township,  Richland  county. 
After  Richland  county  was  organized  the  com- 
missioners of  that  county  in  1816  erected  the 
township  of  Bloominggrove,  from  Madison, 
and  in  181 8  divided  this  township  creating  the 
township  of  Sandusky,  six  miles  wide  and 
twelve  deep,  and  finally  in  1825,  created  the 
township  of  Vernon  from  the  northern  half  of 
Sandusky  township.  In  1845  it  became  a  part 
of  Crawford  county,  and  the  commissioners 
carried  it  under  its  original  name,  which  had 
been  given  it  after  the  home  of  Washington, 
Mount  Vernon.  When  it  was  surveyed  by 
Maxfield  Ludlow  in  1807  it  was  an  almost  im- 
passable wilderness,  the  congenial  home  of 
nearly  every  species  of  wild  game  common  to 
this  part  of  the  world,  including  such  fierce  and 
predatory  beasts  as  the  wolf,  bear,  panther  and 
catamount,  and  crossed  only  by  a  few  Indian 
trails.  In  the  southeastern  part  extensive 
swamps  afforded  an  almost  secure  retreat  for 
the  wild  animals  from  the  Indian  or  pioneer 
hunter,   who  with   difficulty  and   danger  fol- 


lowed them  into  the  treacherous  bogs  and 
tangled  thickets  and  into  an  atmosphere  im- 
pregnated with  malarial  vapors. 

The  township  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Auburn,  on  the  east  by  Richland  county  and 
a  part  of  Jackson,  on  the  south  by  Jefferson 
and  Jackson,  and  on  the  west  by  Sandusky 
township.  Its  geologic  foundation  consists  of 
the  Waverly  group  of  rocks,  which  is  overlaid 
by  drift  deposits  of  a  depth  of  from  ten  to  50 
feet.  In  the  northwest  corner,  in  the  channel 
of  Bear  Marsh,  where  the  drift  deposits  have 
been  washed  away,  a  slate  or  shale  is  exposed, 
which  apparently  forms  a  part  of  the  Huron 
shale.  West  of  De  Kalb  and  in  a  few  other 
places,  the  Berea  grit  outcrops  and  along  the 
Bear  Marsh  run  quarrying  was  done  on  the 
farms  now  owned  by  Ira  O.  Hilborn  and  J.  B. 
Carrothers  just  west  of  De  Kalb.  The  south 
and  east  portions  of  the  township  are  flat,  and 
the  southern  part  was  very  wet  and  marshy  in 
the  early  days,  but  modern  drainage  and  the 
clearing  away  of  the  forests  have  brought  the 
land  into  a  condition  to  richly  repay  the  labor 
of  cultivation.  In  the  southern  part  the  soil 
is  deep,  rich  and  black,  while  in  the  northern 
and  western  parts  it  consists  of  a  light  sandy 
loam,  mixed  with  clay. 

Lying  on  the  northern  slope  of  the  Ohio 
watershed,  the  township  is  drained  by  streams 
v,hich  flow  into  Lake  Erie.  The  principal  one 
of  these  is  known  as  Loss  Creek,  the  name  be- 
ing a  corruption  of  Lost  Creek,  it  being  thus 
denominated  because  of  the  difficulty  in  dis- 


338 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


339 


covering  its  source  among  the  many  marshes. 
It  originates,  however,  in  the  extensive  flat 
lands  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township,  and 
after  winding  first  in  a  northwesterly  direction 
till  it  reaches  the  center  of  the  township,  it 
then  turns  toward  the  southwest  and  joins  the 
Sandusky  river.  The  northwestern  corner  is 
drained  by  Brokensword  creek,  while  Honey 
Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Huron  river,  drains  the 
northeastern  part. 

An  Indian  trail  passed  through  the  township 
from  the  northeast  to  Wingenund's  village  on 
the  Sandusky  river,  near  Leesville.  There  was 
an  Indian  camp  southwest  the  present  site  of 
Vernon  Junction  for  many  years  after  the 
War  ofi8i2.  It  is  stated  that  about  a  dozen 
Indians,  under  the  lead  of  Johnnycake,  main- 
tained a  camp  there  until  1828.  Civilization 
has  blotted  out  all  external  evidences  of  In- 
dian occupation,  but  here  and  there  Indian 
relics  are  often  plowed  up.  Many  of  these 
relics  may  be  of  a  pre-historical  instead  of  an 
Indian  period. 

In  181 6  Andrew  Dickson  and  David  Cum- 
mins purchased  land  in  the  northern  part  of 
Vernon  township.  Cummins  was  born  in 
Rockingham  county,  Va.,  Feb.  28,  1788,  and 
was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812.  When  they 
first  came  to  look  over  this  section  they  assisted 
William  Green  in  erecting  the  first  log  house 
ever  erected  by  a  pioneer  in  this  county,  in  the 
southeast  part  of  what  is  now  Auburn  town- 
ship. William  Cummins  located  on  his  pur- 
chase in  1 81 8,  and  it  is  probable  his  companion, 
Andrew  Dickson,  came  at  the  same  time.  The 
records  show  that  on  April  26,  1822,  he  bought 
of  James  Given  a  quarter  section  northwest  of 
what  is  now  West  Liberty,  and  another  quarter 
section  near  the  same  day.  His  nearest  neigh- 
bor was  Charles  Morrow,  whose  heirs  prob- 
ably hold  the  oldest  known  deed  of  a  transfer 
of  property  in  the  county.  It  was  given  by 
William  Petti  John,  the  hunter  and  trapper  who 
roamed  over  Auburn  and  Vernon  as  early  as 
1814.  The  deed  bears  date  of  Aug.  25,  1819, 
and  is  for  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  34, 
township  22,  range  20  west;  section  34  is  the 
southeast  section  of  Auburn.  Another  resi- 
dent of  this  section  was  Jedediah  Moorehead, 
a  trapper  and  hunter,  who  like  Pettijohn  made 
his  living  by  securing  furs  and  game. 

A  settler  named  George  Byers  was  occupy- 


ing a  log  cabin  in  section  17,  (the  section  in 
which  West  Liberty  now  is)  as  early  as  1820, 
and  may  have  come  there  a  year  or  two  pre- 
viously, as  he  had  already  several  acres  cleared. 
It  is  not  unlikely,  however,  that  he  may  have 
bought  the  land  from  some  previous  settler, 
as  he  was  a  man  much  fonder  of  roaming  the 
forest  in  search  of  game  and  adventures  than 
of  performing  hard  manual  labor.  He  was  a 
most  skilful  hunter  and  trapper  and  is  said  to 
have  caught  more  than  a  hundred  mink  in  one 
winter,  together  with  quite  a  number  of  racoon, 
beaver,  otter  and  other  animals.  At  that  time 
a  mink  skin  was  worth  $4,  beaver  $5,  otter 
sometimes  as  high  as  $8,  while  a  fox  skin  sold 
at  from  75  cents  to  $3.  It  can  be  seen,  there- 
fore, that  Mr.  Byers  was  able  to  earn  a  pretty 
good  income  for  those  days.  He  resided  in  the 
township  for  many  years  and  finally  died  and 
was  buried  there. 

In  1 82 1  James  Richards,  a  blacksmith,  came 
to  Vernon,  and  after  erecting  his  cabin,  built 
a  small  round-log  shop.  He  was  kept  em- 
ployed much  of  the  time  in  repairing  the 
wagons  of  the  constantly  arriving  pioneers, 
which  were  seldom  in  good  condition  after 
making  the  long  journey  to  the  West.  In  ad- 
dition to  this  he  made  cow  bells,  tempered  axes, 
made  iron  points  for  the  wooden  plows  and  did 
considerable  other  work  in  keeping  the  settlers' 
tools  in  good  condition.  Two  roads,  if  such 
they  might  be  called,  had  already  been  cut 
through  the  township.  One,  running  north 
and  south,  was  the  Columbus  and  Sandusky, 
road,  known  as  the  Portland  road,  and  at  this 
time  was  simply  a  blazed  way  through  the 
forest,  from  which  the  fallen  logs  and  under- 
brush had  been  removed.  It  connected  the  cen- 
tral part  of  the  State  with  the  cities  on  Lake 
Erie,  and  soon  became  one  of  the  principal 
highways  in  the  state.  The  other  was  the 
Bucvrus  and  De  Kalb  road,  which  had  been 
started  in  1821.  These,  as  well  as  most  of  the 
other  principal  roads  in  the  state,  were  at  first 
only  Indian  trails  through  the  forest,  which 
had  been  adopted  by  the  pioneer  settlers  as  the 
most  desirable  routes,  and  afterwards  im- 
proved until  they  became  passable  for  the 
teams,  farmers'  wagons,  and  droves  of  cattle 
on  their  way  to  market,  evidences  of  a  rapidly 
increasing  and  enterprising  population.  They 
are  in  full  use  at  this  day,  though  the  old  Con- 


340 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


estoga  wagon  of  the  pioneer  settler  has  been 
replaced  by  the  swiftly-gliding  automobile  of 
the  pleasure  seeking  tourist,  and  the  cattle,  in- 
stead of  being  driven  lazily  to  market,  are  now 
drawn  there  over  a  steel  highway  at  a  rate  of 
20  to  30  miles  an  hour,  behind  a  puffing  loco- 
motive— to  witness  which  things  would  con- 
siderably surprise  the  pioneer  settler,  could  he 
come  back  to  earth  and  visit  the  wilderness 
where  he  first  settled. 

In  1822  George  Dickson,  a  young  unmarried 
man,  arrived  in  the  township  and  entered  land. 
After  clearing  a  few  acres,  he  went  back  to 
Pennsylvania,  married,  and  then  brought  his 
wife  to  their  new  home  in  the  wilderness.  He 
became  one  of  Vernon's  most  prominent  citi- 
zens and  resided  here  many  years,  and  died 
Aug.  23,  1880,  and  was  buried  in  the  grave- 
yard at  De  Kalb.  Conrad  Walters,  a  cooper, 
came  in  1824  and  began  work  at  his  trade. 
He  was  an  intelligent  and  well  educated  man, 
and  his  manners  were  superior  to  those  of  the 
ordinary  pioneer.  He  was  moreover  of  a 
manly  and  courageous  disposition  and  became 
a  skillful  hunter  and  trapper,  learning  much 
from  his  associations  with  Byers  and  the  In- 
dians. On  one  occasion  while  out  hunting,  he 
was  nearly  killed  by  a  wounded  buck,  which 
he  had  shot  in  a  swamp  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  township.  Thinking  it  dying,  he  was  about 
to  cut  its  throat,  when  the  animal  started  up  in 
a  desperate  struggle  for  existence.  Mr.  Wal- 
ters seized  it  by  the  antlers  to  prevent  it  from 
goring  him  and  clung  to  it  until  he  was  almost 
exhausted.  He  finally  succeeded  in  forcing  its 
head  into  the  mud  and  water  and  held  it  there 
until  it  suffocated.  His  body  was  covered 
with  wounds  and  bruises  and  his  clothing  was 
torn  to  shreds  by  the  sharp  horns  and  hoofs  of 
the  dying  animal.  He  learned  from  this  ex- 
perience, however,  to  always  avoid  a  hand-to- 
hand  struggle  with  a  wounded  deer. 

Besides  those  mentioned,  other  early  settlers 
were  Jonathan  Dickson  in  1825 ;  David  Hol- 
stein  and  Samuel  Tarr  in  1828;  Levi  Arnold, 
Thomas  Gill,  James  Dickson,  and  Charles 
Warner  in  1829;  David  Anderson,  Barnett 
Cole,  Samuel  Dean,  Dennis  Orton,  Rev. 
Thompson  and  William  Brown  in  1830. 
These  settlers  were  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  township,  and  through  their  exertions  the 
forests  in  this  section  began  to  disappear  and 


give  way  to  farming  land.  Levi  Arnold,  was 
a  carpenter,  and  the  first  to  work  at  his  trade 
in  the  township,  erecting  many  of  the  build- 
ings for  the  late  settlers.  The  first  orchard 
was  planted  by  James  Richards  in  1825.  Jon- 
athan Dickson  had  a  large  family  of  children, 
and  after  they  were  grown  and  had  homes 
for  themselves,  there  were  thirteen  settled 
around  the  family  homestead,  so  close  that 
when  his  dinner  bell  rang  it  could  be  heard 
by  the  entire  thirteen,  but  this  tradition  handed 
down  fails  to  state  whether  they  responded 
to  this  *call  for  refreshments"  at  the  family 
home.  But  on  Thanksgiving  Days  they  did 
repair  to  the  old  homestead  year  after  year, 
until  finally,  in  August,  1881,  the  children  and 
the  grandchildren  and  the  great  grandchildren 
paid  their  last  tribute  of  respect  to  their  an- 
cestral pioneer,  and  he  was  laid  to  rest  in  the 
Hanna  graveyard. 

The  first  known  birth  in  the  township  is 
disputed.  There  are  two  claimants,  and  it  has 
always  been  given  to  Arthur  Cleland,  a  son 
of  William  and  Rachel  Cleland,  who  was  born 
on  Feb.  6,  1826.  The  other  claimant  is  An- 
drew Dickson,  and  his  tombstone  in  the  Hanna 
graveyard  shows  he  was  born  Feb.  6,  1826, 
and  died  Dec.  9,  1893.  As  both  birth-dates 
are  the  same  there  is  abundant  reason  for  the 
double  claim. 

After  1830,  among  the  settlers  arriving 
were  George  Amspaugh,  Jacob  Klahn,  and 
Andrew  Dickson,  Sr.,  in  183 1 ;  Henry  Bilsing, 
Richard  Cahill,  Dr.  Peter  Carlton,  Conrad 
Ebner,  Jacob  Kemp  and  George  Tempy  in 
1832;  Philip  Ackerman,  John  Baumgartner, 
J.  J.  Bauer,  Leanderline  Gosser,  John  Heim- 
gartner,  Samuel  Hagarman,  Christian  Maker- 
ley,  Andrew  Miller,  John  J.  Rubly,  Jacob 
Reichlin,  John  B.  Yetzer,  Jacob  Scheibly, 
Gottleib  Schneider  and  John  Weaver  in  1833; 

Adam  Bach,  Adam  Feik  and  Reiter 

in  1834;  John  Fulton,  John  Farrell,  Thomas 
Mahan,  Samuel  Reed  and  Jefferson  Walters 
in  1835;  Dr.  A.  N.  Bee,  Charles  Gowan  and 
Samuel  Wiggins  in  1836. 

A  few  of  the  above  settled  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  township,  but  most  of  them  were 
Germans  who  came  with  their  families  and 
erected  cabins  among  the  swamps  and  marshes 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  township.  A  worse 
place  for  settlement  could  hardly  be  imagined. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


341 


as  the  marshes  were  filled  with  venomous 
snakes  and  other  reptiles,  some  of  large  size, 
the  rattlesnakes  being  especially  numerous  and 
deadly,  while  the  atmosphere  was  thickly 
charged  with  the  germs  of  fever  and  ague. 
The  Germans  had  selected  this  land,  or  rather 
had  been  obliged  to  take  it,  because  of  its 
cheapness,  as  their  finances  had  been  nearly 
exhausted  by  the  long  journey  from  their  na- 
tive land.  They  wasted  no  time  in  regrets, 
but  set  to  work  with  courage  and  energy  to 
improve  the  surrounding  conditions.  They 
drained  the  marshes,  made  clearings  and 
erected  cabins,  and  as  the  land  became  drier 
the  air  became  better  and  the  neighborhood 
more  healthy.  They  also  killed  off  the  snakes 
and  other  noxious  animals,  so  that  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years  a  great  improvement 
was  visible  in  the  locality  and  the  land  be- 
came more  valuable.  The  soil  was  naturally 
rich  and  when  the  water  was  drained  off, 
yielded  bountiful  crops.  The  first  of  these  set- 
tlers to  arrive  was  Mr.  Tempy,  who  came  in 
1 83 1.  Leanderline  Gosser  was  a  shoemaker  and 
cobbler  and  had  a  small  shop  in  one  end  of  his 
cabin,  and  he  also  tanned  the  leather  he  needed 
for  his  work.  In  1832  he  planted  the  first 
apple  trees  in  the  German  settlement.  Yetzer 
also  planted  a  small  orchard  two  years  later. 
The  latter  was  a  man  of  excellent  education 
and  soon  became  a  leader  among  the  Germans, 
being  active  in  all  public  enterprises  and  es- 
pecially in  promoting  the  cause  of  education. 
Beach  was  a  carpenter  and  erected  the  first 
frame  houses  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town- 
ship, beginning  in  1835.  Bauer  worked  at 
cabinet-making,  and  although  he  had  never 
learned  the  trade,  he  contrived  to  manufacture 
rough  articles  of  furniture,  such  as  stands, 
chairs,  tables,  and  also  made  coffins  for  the  set- 
tlers. As  these  Germans  could  not  speak  Eng- 
lish, they  had  for  some  time  but  little  commui- 
cation  with  the  English-speaking  settlements, 
and  were  thus  an  almost  independent  colony. 
Most  of  the  settlers  obtained  their  supplies 
of  flour,  powder  and  shot,  and  other  necessary 
articles  at  Mansfield,  whisky  being  usually 
procured  at  Monroeville,  where  there  were 
some  extensive  distilleries.  This  latter  article 
was  an  absolute  necessity  in  southern  Vernon, 
as  it  was  the  only  medicinal  remedy  for  the 
poison  of  the  rattlesnakes,  and  also  a  safe- 


guard from  the  chills  and  ague  which  infected 
this  miasmatic  region.  No  record  has  been 
handed  down  of  any  deaths  from  the  venomous 
rattlesnakes,  and  it  is  probable  that  none  oc- 
curred. Neither  is  there  any  record  handed 
down  of  the  deaths  of  the  little  children, 
brought  to  this  malarious  region,  with  its  im- 
pure water,  and  swampy  marshy  ground, 
where  only  the  strongest  constituiions  CLiuld 
survive  the  unhealthy  surroundings,  yet  these 
deaths  of  the  little  ones  did  occur,  and  it  is 
probable  that  in  southern  Vernon,  the  same 
as  in  the  southern  part  of  Bucyms  township, 
there  are  very  few  square  miles  where  there 
are  not  one  or  more  unknown  graves,  where 
the  sorrowing  parents  laid  to  rest  the  little 
one  whose  death  was  due  solely  to  a  want  of 
pure  air  and  water.  It  is  also  safe  to  say  that 
in  the  pioneer  days  these  early  graves  were 
marked  by  some  rudely  carved  stone,  or 
wooden  slab,  but  as  time  passed  and  the  farms 
passed  to  other  hands  these  markings  decayed, 
and  today  no  trace  remains.  Of  fifty  early 
graveyards  in  this  county  that  are  still  cared 
for  and  every  one  established  prior  to  1850, 
the  records  of  the  ancient  stones  that  are  yet 
legible  show  that  the  first  burial  in  twenty  of 
them  was  a  child,  in  twelve  a  woman,  and  in 
eighteen  a  man,  showing  again  the  survival  of 
the  strongest. 

Charles  and  Catherine  Warner  came  to  Ver- 
non township  in  1829,  settling  near  West  Lib- 
erty. His  son  John  helped  his  father  to  clear 
the  land  and  later  learned  the  carpenter's  trade, 
and  went  into  business  for  himself.  He  built 
a  little  shop,  but  soon  after  it  was  completed 
it  took  fire  and  was  totally  destroyed.  He  im- 
mediately rebuilt  and  was  in  the  business  a 
number  of  years. 

David  Anderson  came  to  Vernon  about 
1830  and  followed  farming  for  awhile.  He 
then  became  a  merchant  at  DeKalb  and  was 
thus  occupied  for  about  fifteen  years.  Later 
he  went  to  Mansfield  and  became  a  prominent 
banker.  Henry  and  Christina  Bilsing,  with 
their  son  Adam,  came  to  the  township  in  1832. 
He  built  the  first  house  in  that  vicinity — the 
old  Bilsing  home,  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
township. 

J.  G.  Stough  came  to  Crawford  county  in 
November,  1826,  settling  in  Liberty  township, 
where  his   father  joined  him  in   1829.     The 


342 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


latter  was  a  Lutheran  minister,  who,  entering 
the  ministry  in  1793,  preached  for  56  years. 
J.  G.  Stough's  maternal  grandfather,  Traur- 
man,  was  born  in  Maryland  and  while  very 
young,  Indians  killed  his  father  and  carried 
his  three  sisters  into  captivity.  When  Mr. 
Trautman  grew  older  he  came  to  Ohio  and 
finding  his  sisters  in  an  Indian  camp  on  the 
Kilbuck,  near  the  present  city  of  Wooster, 
he  rescued  them  and  took  them  home.  Mr. 
Stough  after  farming  in  Liberty  for  forty 
years,  moved  to  northeastern  Vernon. 

Peter  Linker  came  to  Ohio  in  1832.  He 
settled  on  a  farm  in  Vernon  township  and 
resided  there  until  his  death  on  Oct.  4,  1870. 
In  the  spring  of  1827,  George  M.  Keitch  came 
to  Crawford  county,  and  built  a  cabin  on  land 
now  owned  by  William  and  Albert  Bilsing  in 
Vernon.  .  He  died  Dec.  21,  1827,  one  of  the 
earliest  deaths  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
township,  and  was  the  first  known  burial  in 
the  Biddle  graveyard,  a  mile  east  of  his  home. 

The  first  known  death  in  northern  Vernon 
was  that  of  David  Holstein,  which  occurred 
in  1833.  Mrs.  Akerman  died  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  township  in  the  same  year. 

Like  all  the  early  settlers,  at  the  start,  the 
pioneers  were  compelled  to  go  long  distances 
to  have  their  grain  ground  or  do  the  work  by 
hand.  In  1833  Conrad  Walters  erected  a 
frame  grist-mill  near  West  Liberty,  and  did 
a  good  business,  but  later  in  1836  Samuel 
Reed  built  a  better  mill  two  miles  east,  and 
in  this  placed  two  sets  of  stones,  one  of 
roughly  cut  "nigger  heads"  for  the  corn,  the 
other  a  pair  of  first-class  French  buhrs  for 
grinding  the  wheat.  After  this  mill  started 
the  Walters  mill  was  discontinued.  The  Reed 
mill  continued  for  about  ten  years  and  was 
then  discontinued,  for  lack  of  custom.  These 
were  the  only  two  grist-mills  ever  in  the  town- 
ship. Samuel  Reed  also  ran  a  small  saw-mill 
in  connection  with  his  grist-mill.  In  1837 
Isaac  Vanhorn  had  a  large  saw-mill  on  the 
bank  of  the  Loss  Creek,  located  at  a  very 
favorable  point,  for  he  had  water  sufficient 
to  run  it  for  nine  months  in  the  year.  The 
mill  later  was  run  by  a  Mr.  Kilgore  who  in 
turn  sold  it  to  Conrad  Walters,  and  then  it 
passed  into  the  possession  of  Charles  Warner, 
and  was  abandoned.  In  1862  Nicholas  Fetter 
built  a  steam  saw-mill  in  the  eastern  part  of 


the  township.  As  early  as  1834  Conrad  Wal- 
ters started  an  ashery,  which  he  continued 
for  several  years,  and  in  1844  Dimmick  & 
Gibbs  began  the  manufacture  of  potash  on  a 
more  extensive  scale,  reaching  an  output  of 
seven  to  eight  tons  per  annum.  Jacob  Kemp 
started  a  brick  yard  in  1838,  and  a  few  brick 
buildings  were  erected  instead  of  frame. 

In  1825  Levi  Arnold  entered  80  acres  of 
government  land  in  section  No.  17  of  what  is 
now  Vernon  township.  He  was  a  carpenter 
and  house-builder  and  erected  his  shop  near 
his  cabin  in  the  woods  on  the  site  of  where 
is  now  the  village  of  West  Liberty.  Just 
south  of  him  lived  Conrad  Walters,  who  had 
moved  there  two  years  previously,  and  opened 
a  cooper  shop  following  that  occupation  in 
connection  with  his  farming  and  also  started 
a  tavern.  Charles  Warner,  a  cabinet-maker, 
located  north  of  Arnold  in  1829,  and  he  also 
did  business  at  his  trade  as  well  as  farming. 

By  183 1  the  section  had  become  so  thickly 
settled  that  a  schoolhouse  was  erected  near 
Conrad  Walter's  tavern,  and  in  1833  a  log 
church  was  erected  one  half  mile  south  of 
Arnold.  That  same  year  Walters  started  a 
grist-mill,  run  by  horse  power,  and  in  1834 
an  ashery.  About  that  time  Thomas  Dean 
bought  Arnold's  farm,  and  he  saw  that  with- 
out doubt  there  was  an  opening  for  a  town 
on  his  land.  It  was  at  the  crossing  of  the 
Portland  road  and  the  road  between  Bucyrus 
and  Shelby.  The  nearest  town  to  the  south 
was  Gallon,  about  nine  miles  away,  and  to 
the  northeast  was  Shelby,  nearly  the  same 
distance.  His  scheme  was  to  have  all  the  dif- 
ferent industries  centralized  at  the  one  point, 
and  it  would  form  the  nucleus  of  a  town  and 
be  more  convenient  for  the  settlers  and  better 
for  the  mechanics  themselves.  So  early  in 
the  spring  of  1835  he  had  John  Stewart,  the 
county  surveyor  of  Richland  county,  lay  out 
a  town  on  the  site  where  the  two  roads  crossed. 
The  plat  was  filed  in  the  office  of  the  county 
recorder  in  Richland  county  on  May  28,  1835, 
and  gave  the  location  as  on  "the  north"  cen- 
tral part  of  the  south  half  of  section  No.  17, 
Vernon  township,  Richland  county."  There 
were  only  two  streets  on  the  plat,  the  Port- 
land road  was  named  Columbus  street,  and 
the  other  road  was  called  Bucyrus  street. 
After  the  settlement  of  West  Liberty,  the  road 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


343 


from    Bucyrus   to    Shelby   became    generally 
known  as  the  Bucyrus  and  West  Liberty  road. 

There  were  28  lots  in  the  plat  of  which  20 
were  on  Columbus  street,  ten  on  each  side, 
and  eight  on  Bucyrus  street.  Some  of  the 
lots  in  the  new  town  sold  as  high  as  $25. 
There  were  several  buildings  in  the  town,  as 
early  as  1830,  Levi  Arnold  having  erected  a 
double  log-cabin  for  James  Gillespie.  Jacob 
Kemp  and  Andrew  Miller  both  built  log  cab- 
ins, but  they  were  very  small,  as  they  had  but 
one  window  each.  After  the  town  was  laid 
out,  Kemp  built  a  larger  building  and  ran  a 
hotel;  this  was  a  two-story  affair  and  was  a 
frame  structure,  the  first  frame  in  the  village. 
Charles  Warner  had  started  his  little  cabinet 
maker's  shop  in  1830,  and  continued  in  the 
business  for  18  years  when  he  sold  out  to 
Henry  Balsor.  Thomas  Gill  had  a  cooper 
shop,  Jefferson  Wallace  a  blacksmith  shop, 
John  Kaler  a  shoe  shop  and  Hiram  D.  Cross 
a  tailor  shop. 

In  1838,  the  town  boasted  of  a  few  little 
shops,  five  or  six  houses,  but  it  had  no  store. 
And  the  first  store  started  at  West  Liberty 
was  the  first  introduction  into  the  county  of 
the  shrewd  business  man  "gold  bricking"  the 
unsophisticated  citizen.  A  young  peddler 
who  drove  through  the  country  with  a  horse 
and  wagon,  furnishing  dry  goods  and  other 
necessaries  to  the  farmers  in  the  small  vil- 
lages, happened  to  drop  into  Kemp's  tavern. 
He  spoke  in  glowing  terms  of  the  thrift  and 
enterprise  of  the  place,  expanded  the  possibili- 
ties of  the  dinky  little  cooper  shop,  carpenter 
shop  and  shoe  shop,  and  let  his  brilliant  and 
vivid  imagination  wander  into  the  future  of 
what  the  town  would  be,  situated  as  it  was  at 
the  junction  of  the  two  most  important  roads 
in  the  state;  regretted  business  would  not  al- 
low him  to  remain  or  he  would  certainly  start 
a  store  in  the  little  village.  All  it  needed  was 
a  store,  and  the  man  who  started  one  was 
bound  to  make  a  fortune,  and  he  wiped  the 
tears  from  his  eyes  when  he  described  the 
opportunity  of  which  he  was  unable  to  take 
advantage.  He  only  expected  to  unload  his 
stock,  about  $600  worth,  on  one  man,  but  he 
had  three  offers.  It  never  phased  the  smooth 
young  man.  He  dealt  with  the  entire  three 
in  secret,  and  unloaded  a  third  of  his  goods 
on  each,  and  with  his  empty  wagon  quietly 


left  the  town,  and  Jacob  Kemp,  Andrew  Mil- 
ler and  Samuel  Dean  learned  with  astonish- 
ment that  each  one  of  the  three  had  purchased 
goods  and  intended  to  make  a  fortune  in  the 
dry  goods  business.  Neither  one  would  give 
way,  so  three  stores  were  started,  and  to 
crowd  out  the  others,  each  sent  to  Pittsburg 
and  added  largely  to  the  stock.  There  was 
not  sufficient  business  for  one  store,  and  all 
three  discontinued,  and  just  about  that  time 
young  Bailey  got  in  his  "double  cross"  by 
returning  to  the  village,  buying  all  three  stores 
at  his  own  price,  and  he  left  the  town  a  second 
time  but  this  time  with  a  loaded  wagon  in- 
stead of  an  empty  one.  The  transaction  broke 
up  Samuel  Dean. 

The  storekeepers  were  only  a  few  years 
ahead  of  their  time.  In  1845  I-  N.  Frye  and 
John  Kaler  started  a  store  with  $5,000  worth 
of  goods,  but  the  town  had  grown;  it  was 
now  the  centre  of  a  well  settled  region,  and 
was  the  second  most  important  business  centre 
of  the  county,  doing  then  more  business  than 
Gallon.  In  1850  the  goods  of  Frye  &  Kaler 
invoiced  $8,000,  but  then  as  now  the  invoice 
was  not  a  perfect  criterion,  as  later,  Frye  sold 
to  C.  G.  Malic;  and  the  business  of  Kaler  & 
Malic  demanded  all  the  time  of  the  proprietors 
and  Dr.  George  Keller  was  employed  to  keep 
the  books  of  the  firm,  and  he  stated  their  busi- 
ness reached,  one  year  at  least,  $100,000. 
Besides  a  general  store,  they  dealt  in  grain 
and  stock.  John  Kaler  came  to  Bucyrus  as 
county  treasurer,  and  C.  G.  Malic  ran  the 
business  alone;  after  a  few  years  he  sold  out 
to  Brown  &  Guiss  and  came  to  Bucyrus,  and 
went  into  the  dry  goods  business  with  his  old 
partner  under  the  old  name  of  Kaler  &  Malic. 
Their  bookkeeper  also  came,  but  no  longer  to 
keep  books,  as  his  practice  as  a  physician  in 
Bucyrus  required  all  his  time.  Guiss  sold  to 
James  Gloyd,  and  they  were  compelled  to 
make  an  assignment,  J.  J.  Bauer  securing  the 
stock.  William  Brown  went  to  Tiro  and  be- 
came one  of  the  prominent  men  of  that  rising 
young  town.  The  advent  of  railroads  had 
made  it  impossible  to  pay  the  high  charges 
for  the  handling  of  freight,  and  the  interior 
towns  could  not  compete  with  those  more 
favorably  located.  Gallon  in  1850,  which  was 
of  less  importance  than  West  Liberty  as  a 
commercial  centre,  from  the  time  of  its  rail- 


344 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


road  had  expanded  by  leaps  and  bounds  until 
it  became  the  largest  place  in  the  county; 
Crestline  in  1850  was  a  wilderness,  and  in 
i860  an  important  town,  and  from  the  time 
of  railroads  West  Liberty  was  on  the.  down- 
ward grade,  its  industries  quit  business  and 
finally  in  1902  its  post  office  was  discontinued 
and  with  it  the  little  notion  store  gave  up  the 
ghost,  while  the  last  saloon  made  a  feeble 
struggle  to  survive,  gave  up  the  hopeless  fight 
and  finally  closed  for  lack  of  patronage,  and 
what  was  once  the  most  thriving  village  of 
Northeastern  Crawford  is  today  a  short  street 
with  a  few  old  frame  houses  fast  crumbling  to 
decay. 

In  its  palmiest  days  several  physicians  lo- 
cated in  the  village,  the  first  was  Dr.  J.  C. 
Wood  in  1842,  but  he  died  in  1847.  Later 
Drs.  H.  B.  Hutchinson,  James  Aikens,  and 
George  Keller  and  Joseph  Bevier  located 
there.  At  one  time  it  also  boasted  of  a  dis- 
tillery, Gibbs  &  Main  starting  a  small  one  in 
1844,  with  a  capacity  of  about  fifteen  gallons 
a  day.  This  output  was  consumed  by  the 
local  trade  in  that  section,  but  notwithstand- 
ing this  the  firm  only  continued  in  business 
about  a  year.  About  1838  a  temperance  cru- 
sade was  started  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
township  and  a  Mr.  Kile  tried  the  experiment 
of  having  a  barn  raising  without  the  necessary 
lubricant  for  the  men,  but  the  affair  was  a 
failure  as  there  were  not  enough  men  present 
to  do  the  work.  The  temperance  movement 
was  an  equal  failure,  the  time  was  not  yet 
ripe  to  change  the  habits  of  the  early  pioneers. 

The  mail  is  now  supplied  by  rural  route. 
Commencing  March  24,  1868,  for  over  thirty 
years  Peter  Weller  was  the  postmaster,  and 
he  lived  in  Bucyrus  all  that  time  his  father 
running  the  office  as  deputy,  with  the  last  little 
store  in  the  village.  The  postmasters  of  the 
village  were  as  follows 

David  Anderson,  Aug.  12,  1841 ;  Isaac  N. 
Frye,  Dec.  30,  1845;  A.  N.  Miller,  May  23, 
1850;  Thomas  C.  Eakin,  July  15,  1851;  Sam- 
uel Gloyd,  Jan.  26,  1852;  George  Parsons, 
May  26,  1852;  George  C.  Brown,  March  3, 
1865;  Peter  Weller,  March  24,  1868;  Isaiah 
Mowen,  June  13,  1900.  The  office  was  dis- 
continued May  31,  1902,  and  is  now  supplied 
by  rural   route. 

In   1827  John  Nimmon  came  to  Bucyrus; 


he  was  accompanied  by  his  nephew,  Richard 
W.  Cahill,  a  young  man  24  years  of  age. 
Mr.  Nimmon  started  a  store  and  his  nephew 
was  his  assistant.  One  might  think  that  in 
a  little  country  store  in  those  early  days  the 
principal  job  would  be  to  "kill  time."  But  in 
those  days  nearly  all  business  was  on.  credit, 
little  cash  passed,  and  what  the  farmer  bought 
he  paid  for  in  the  products  he  raised.  Exten- 
sive credit  was  given.  And  one  of  the  duties 
of  Mr.  Cahill  was  the  collecting.  Starting 
on  his  rounds  he  made  his  trip  through  the 
surrounding  country,  being  gone  for  days,  and 
returning  with  very  little  cash,  but  with  what- 
ever farm  products  he  could  collect,  driving 
in  the  hogs  and  even  cattle.  This  stock  was 
assembled  at  Bucyrus,  and  when  a  drove  had 
been  secured  Cahill  started  on  his  long  tramp 
to  Pittsburg,  where  he  sold  the  cattle  and  hogs, 
and  in  exchange  brought  back  the  goods 
needed  in  the  store,  the  trip  taking  over  a 
month.  For  three  years  Cahill  was  clerk, 
bookkeeper,  collector,  and  driver  for  the  store, 
and  in  1831,  his  uncle  was  elected  to  the  Leg- 
islature, became  the  Hon.  John  Nimmon,  and 
disposed  of  his  store.  Young  Cahill  was  tired 
of  the  store  business  so  he  purchased  160 
acres  of  land  in  Vernon  township,  to  which  he 
removed.  His  father  was  Abram  Cahill,  who 
had  been  an  officer  in  the  militia  in  Westmore- 
land countv,  Pa.,  and  at  one  time  had  com- 
mand of  all  the  forces  in  western  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  came  with  his  family  to  Wayne 
county  in  181 7.  Mr.  R.  W.  Cahill  after  set- 
tling in  Vernon  in  1832,  devoted  his  attention 
to  farming,  his  land  being  south  of  the  pres- 
ent village  of  Tiro.  The  region  was  becom- 
ing rapidly  developed,  and  Mr.  Cahill  was 
easily  the  most  influential  man  in  Vernon 
township,  and  was  the  recognized  leader  of  his 
party  in  western  Richland  county.  Through 
his  influence  a  post  office  was  established  in 
that  section,  and  he  was  appointed  postmaster 
by  Andrew  Jackson,  the  post  office  being  in 
his  house.  It  was  named  DeKalb,  after  Baron 
DeKalb,  a  general  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 
He  continued  to  hold  this  office  until  the  elec- 
tion of  Gen.  William  Henry  Harrison,  when 
he  forwarded  his  resignation,  but  received  a 
letter  from  the  postmaster  general  suggesting 
that  there  would  be  no  change  in  the  postmas- 
tership  at  DeKalb.     Cahill  was  an  old  school 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


345 


Democrat;  he  believed  with  his  patron  saint, 
Andrevsr  Jackson,  that  "to  the  victor  belongs 
the  spoils,"  so  he  wrote  a  polite  letter  stating 
that  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  he  declined  to 
hold  office  under  a  Whig  administration,  and 
the  office  passed  to  David  Anderson,  the  lead- 
ing Whig,  and  when  he  left  DeKalb  it  was  con- 
solidated with  the  post  office  at  West  Liberty. 
In  the  October  election  of  1841,  Mr.  Cahill 
was  elected  as  a  member  of  the  Legislature  for 
Richland  county,  serving  two  years,  and  in 
1850  he  was  the  member  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  from  Crawford  county,  which 
gave  the  state  its  present  constitution,  without 
the  amendments  adopted  in  1912.  He  died 
Oct.  4,  1886,  and  was  buried  in  the  Hanna 
graveyard. 

The  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  DeKalb 
post  office  was  thickly  settled,  and  about  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  north  of  the  Cahill  farm 
Samuel  Hagarman  had  a  blacksmith  shop  and 
there  was  a  carpenter  and  cabinetmaker  shop 
near  it.  David  Anderson,  who  owned  the  land 
adjoining  these  two  shops,  concluded  that  it 
would  be  a  profitable  undertaking  to  lay  out 
a  town,  with  the  two  shops  and  the  post  office 
as  a  good  starter.  It  was  near  the  junction 
of  a  north  and  south  road  with  the  road  from 
Bucyrus  to  Plymouth.  He  accordingly  had 
Christian  Wise,  the  Richland  county  surveyor, 
lay  out  and  plat  the  town  around  the  two 
shops.  The  plat  was  filed  in  the  recorder's 
office  in  Richland  county,  on  Nov.  20,  1835, 
and  the  location  was  given  as  "the  southwest 
part  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  No.  5, 
Vernon  township,  Richland  county."  The 
only  street  in  the  town  was  the  old  Bucyrus 
and  Plymouth  road,  and  it  was  given  the  name 
of  Bucyrus  street.  There  were  sixteen  lots 
in  the  town,  eight  on  each  side  of  the  street. 
The  town  grew,  and  on  Oct.  15,  1838,  Ander- 
son filed  a  plat  for  an  addition  to  the  original 
town.  The  new  plat  consisted  of  12  more 
lots  and  two  large  outlots.  This  new  addi- 
tion was  west  of  the  original  town,  and 
brought  •fhe  village  to  the  road  running  north 
from  West  Liberty  into  Auburn  township, 
the  new  street  on  the  west  was  called  Colum- 
bus, as  just  north  of  West  Liberty  the  north 
and  south  road  joined  the  old  Portland  road 
running  to  Columbus. 

DeKalb  in  its  palmiest  days  between  1835 


and  i860,  attained  a  high  state  of  commercial 
and  industrial  standing  and  was  one  of  the 
successful  of  the  many  towns  projected  dur- 
ing the  era  of  town  building  which  had  such 
a  rage  in  the  county  from  1833  to  1840.  Dur- 
ing that  period  there  were  sixteen  towns*  laid 
out  and  platted  and  placed  on  the  market  in 
four  hundred  square  miles  of  what  is  now  the 
county  of  Crawford. 

Immediately  after  DeKalb  was  started  Dr. 
Peter  Carlton  opened  a  general  store,  with  a 
stock  of  about  $2,000,  carrying  a  line  of  drugs. 
In  1840  David  Anderson  started  a  store,  which 
he  ran  for  five  years  and  then  sold  to  Gabriel 
and  Cornelius  Fox,  who  disposed  of  the  goods 
and  retired  from  business.  George  Cummins 
started  a  store  in  1840,  and  in  1842,  Elias 
Cramer  started  with  a  supply  of  groceries, 
with  a  bar  attached,  the  only  saloon  ever  in 
the  village.  A  shoemaker's  shop  located  in 
the  village,  and  a  wagon-maker's  shop  fol- 
lowed. In  1835  John  Felton  started  a  tannery 
with  five  vats  and  Charles  Gowan  also  had  a 
small  tannery.  In  1837  Thomas  Mahan  and 
Samuel  Wiggins  erected  a  large  two  story 
frame,  and  here  they  started  a  wool-carding 
and  cloth-dressing  mill,  employing  several 
hands,  and  for  several  years  did  a  good  busi- 
ness, but  eventually  it  was  discontinued.  The 
DeKalb  Seminary  was  started,  a  Presbyterian 
Institution  of  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thompson 
was  president.  It  was  locally  known  as  the 
"Boys  and  Girls  Seminary,"  as  it  was  open  to 
both  sexes.  At  its  height  it  reached  an  en- 
rollment of  over  sixty  pupils,  but  it  gradually 
declined;  in  1858  it  had  an  enrollment  of  48 
pupils  when  the  September  term  started.  Mr, 
Thompson  was  then  principal;  Miss  Emma 
Irwin,  preceptress,  and  Dr.  George  Keller, 
secretary.  When  the  war  broke  out,  the  mem- 
bership was  still  less,  and  for  lack  of  patron- 
age it  was  discontinued. 

The  importance  of  Tiro  was  such  that  in 
1847  the  postoffice  was  re-established  there  in 
1847,  with  the  appointment  of  Charles  Webb 
as  postmaster  on  Feb.  23,  1847  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  George  Cummins  on  Jan.  28,  1848, 
the  postoffice  being  in  his  store,  and  when  he 

*  These  sixteen  towns  were  Annapolis,  Chatfield, 
Deckertown,  DeKalb,  East  Liberty,  Galion,  j'acksonville, 
Leesville,  Middletown,  New  Washington,  New  Win- 
chester, North  Liberty,  Olentangy,  Waynesburg,  Win- 
gerfs  Corners  and  West  Liberty. 


346 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


disposed  of  his  store  to  the  Fox  brothers,  Cor- 
nehus  Fox  was  appointed  postmaster  July  31, 
1849.  On  Sept.  6,  1854  Thomas  A.  Mitchell 
was  appointed.  During  the  incumbency  of 
Postmaster  Fox,  DeKalb  had  a  weekly  mail; 
it  started  at  Mt.  Gilead,  and  went  to  Iberia, 
Gallon,  West  Liberty,  DeKalb,  Tiro  and  Ply- 
mouth. 

In  1 85 1,  the  contract  for  carrying  the  mail, 
from  July  185 1  to  June  30,  1856,  contained 
the  following: 

"From  Shelby,  by  DeKalb,  to  Sulphur 
Springs,  to  Brokensword,  to  Bucyrus,  30 
miles  and  back.  Leave  Shelby  every  Friday 
6  a.  m.,  reach  Bucyrus  at  6  p.  m. ;  Leave  Bu- 
cyrus every  Saturday  at  6  a.  m.,  reach  Shelby 
6  p.  m. 

"From  Galion,  by  Leesville  Cross  Roads 
and  DeKalb  to  Tyro  and  back,  16  miles,  one 
time  a  week.  Leave  Galion  every  Tuesday 
at  6  a.  m.,  arrive  Tyro  12  m.  Leave  same 
date  at  2  p.  m.,  arrive  Galion  7  p.  m." 

In  June,  1858,  the  Dekalbians  learned  that 
H.  S.  Bevington  had  been  appointed  post- 
master on  June  10,  1858.  The  people  had  not 
asked  for  any  change  and  wanted  Mitchell, 
and  they  refused  to  accept  the  new  postmaster, 
who  was  the  choice  of  Congressman  Hall. 
They  raised  such  a  protest  that  Bevington  re- 
signed, and  the  Government,  to  harmonize  the 
matter,  appointed  Nancy  Hanna.  The  people 
accepted  this,  but  the  leaders  at  Bucyrus  in- 
sisted on  Bevington.  In  those  days  a  Congress- 
man was  all  powerful,  and  as  the  people  posi- 
tively refused  to  accept  Bevington,  Congress- 
man Hall  had  the  office  discontinued  on  March 
17,  1859,  and  for  two  years  the  entire  village 
was  compelled  to  go  nearly  three  miles  to  West 
Liberty  for  their  mail,  or  five  miles  to  Shelby. 
In  1 861,  the  administration  at  Washington 
changed  and  post  offices  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  new  party,  and  on  July  3,  1861,  George 
Cummins  was  appointed,  and  on  Oct.  2,  1865, 
he  was  succeeded  by  Thomas  A.  Mitchell,  the 
man  removed  ten  years  previously.  He  served 
this  time  for  seven  years,  and  was  succeeded 
on  Nov.  13,  1872,  by  B.  W.  McKee,  who  held 
the  office  until  the  appointment  of  William 
Raudabaugh  on  July  23,  1873.  On  Dec.  15, 
1882,  the  office  was  discontinued,  being  re- 
moved to  Tiro. 

About  1850  the  population  of  DeKalb  was 


in  the  neighborhood  of  250  people.  Some- 
what later  the  business  began  to  leave  the 
place  and  go  to  the  larger  towns  of  Shelby 
and  Plymouth,  which  had  become  better  ship- 
ping points  by  reason  of  the  Sandusky,  Mans- 
field and  Newark  railroad.  After  i860  the 
town's  retrogression  was  very  marked,  but  it 
hung  on,  and  finally  was  reduced  to  only  a 
few  houses  with  one  small  store  and  a  black- 
smith shop.  Then  the  Mansfield  and  Cold- 
water  road  was  built,'  piassing  less  than  a  mile 
north  and  here  the  railroad  established  a 
depot,  and  in  1874  the  village  of  Tiro  was  laid 
out  on  the  land  around  the  station.  Stores 
and  shops  were  started  there;  it  became  a 
centre  for  the  shipment  of  grain,  a  mill  was 
erected,  a  bank  started,  and  DeKalb  with  its 
patriotic  name  was  a  town  of  the  past.  To- 
day absolutely  nothing  remains  to  indicate  that 
it  was  once  an  important  business  centre. 

For  thirty  years  prior  to  the  Civil  War, 
several  stations  on  the  Underground  Railroad 
were  established  in  Vernon  township,  and 
many  runaway  slaves  were  thus  assisted  on 
their  way  to  Canada  and  freedom.  David  and 
Samuel  Anderson  were  among  those  who  took 
part  in  this  work.  As  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  made  it  a  crime  to  thus  assist  black 
fugitives  to  escape  from  their  masters,  the 
work  had  to  carried  on  with  great  caution. 
The  negroes  traveled  only  at  night,  and  dur- 
ing the  daytime  were  kept  closely  concealed 
in  the  so-called  "stations,"  where  they  were 
provided  with  food  and  other  necessaries. 

The  first  speculation  in  oil  was  in  Vernon 
township.  As  early  as  1851,  James  Seanor, 
living  in  the  northern  part  of  Jefferson  town- 
ship wanted  a  well,  and  at  a  depth  of  25  feet 
struck  a  stratum  of  rock;  he  went  through 
this  and  found  a  powerful  vein  of  water  which 
filled  the  well;  a  few  days  later  this  water 
was  covered  with  a  thick  oily  substance.  A 
short  distance  from  his  house  was  a  spring 
from  which  oil  flowed  in  large  quantities. 
No  one  knew  the  nature  of  the  oil,  or  its  quali- 
ties, but  a  quack  doctor  from  Sandusky  City 
gathered  it  for  several  years  and  retailed  it 
as  a  specific  for  burns,  bruises,  etc.  The  oil 
excitement  in  Pennsylvania  started,  and  in 
1 86 1  the  Seanor  well  was  recalled,  the  land 
was  leased  and  work  commenced  and  in  two 
days  without  the  aid  of  machinery  about  120 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


347 


gallons  of  oil  were  gathered,  but  machinery 
did  no  more ;  it  was  not  there  in  paying  quan- 
tities. The  swampy  region  of  southern  Ver- 
non and  Northern  Jackson  all  showed  symp- 
toms of  oil.  Just  south  of  the  Vernon  line 
on  the  farm  of  Hugh  Oldfield,  Pittsburg  par- 
ties put  in  a  well  lOO  feet  deep  from  which 
they  gathered  a  few  buckets  of  oil  a  day. 
They  put  in  pumps,  believing  the  well  would 
yield  15  barrels  a  day,  but  the  investment  was 
a  failure.  Other  wells  were  dug  but  all  proved 
failures.  Finally  in  1862  J.  J.  Bauer  struck 
oil  on  his  farm  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  28,  Vernon  township,  the  land  being 
today  still  in  the  possession  of  the  Bauers.  He 
had  dug  a  well  and  discovered  a  few  days 
later  that  the  surface  was  covered  with  oil; 
as  fast  as  he  skimmed  off  the  oil  it  gathered 
again,  and  the  supply  seemed  inexhaustible. 
The  excitement  in  Pennsylvania  was  at  its 
height,  and  the  citizens  flocked  to  the  farm  to 
see  the  well,  and  congratulate  the  owner.  A 
company  was  formed  with  a  capital  of  $10,000 
to  develop  the  well,  one  enthusiast  taking  $500 
in  stock.  Experts  were  sent  for,  and  $2,000 
of  the  stock  was  paid  in  and  also  paid  out, 
the  highest  yield  being  a  barrel  and  a  half  a 
day,  and  the  enterprise  was  abandoned,  but 
it  was  the  most  prolific  well  ever  found  in  the 
county,  a  county  too,  which  in  the  early  days 
had  more  surface  indications  than  any  other 
county  in  the  state,  indications  which  later 
cost  the  people  of  this  county  approximately 
$100,000  for  experimental  wells  with  abso- 
lutely no  returns. 

The  first  school  building  in  Vernon  town- 
ship was  erected  in  183 1  about  half  a  mile 
south  of  West  Liberty,  and  stood  a  short  dis- 
tance back  from  the  Columbus  and  Sandusky 
road.  It  was  built  of  round  logs,  was  16  feet 
square,  and  had  a  large  conspicuous  stone 
chimney.  The  first  teacher  was  Thomas  Gill, 
who  was  a  very  efficient  instructor,  anticipat- 
ing many  of  the  modern  methods  of  imparting 
knowledge,  and  in  connection  with  his  teach- 
ing ran  a  cooper  shop.  Miss  Richards,  who 
in  1844,  became  Mrs.  R.  W.  Cahill,  and  Mr. 
Orton,  were  also  early  teachers  in  this  school- 
house.  In  1835  a  hewed-log  schoolhouse  was 
built  about  a  mile  north  of  West  Liberty. 
Maria  Swan  taught  school  here  for  'three 
months  during  the  summer  of  that  year,  while 


John  Farrell  taught  the  following  winter. 
Another  cabin  was  built  for  educational  pur- 
poses about  a  mile  and  a  half  east  of  West 
Liberty  in  1838,  and  by  1845  there  were  as 
many  as  seven  or  eight  school  buildings  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  township.  The 
schools  in  the  southern  part  were  started  later, 
as  that  part  was  settled  several  years  after 
the  northern  part,  but  when  established  they 
were  well  taught  and  well  attended,  the  Ger- 
man language  at  first  being  given  preference 
over  the  English,  owing  to  the  general  mass 
of  the  settlers  being  of  that  nationality.  A 
frame  schoolhouse  was  built  in  DeKalb  in 
1 84 1,  a  Mr.  Phillips  being  the  first  teacher. 
This  building  was  afterwards  supplanted  by 
a  more  commodious  one. 

Vernon  township  has  today  six  school 
houses,  No.  i  being  in  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  6,  on  the  farm  of  Mary  and  G.  W. 
Johnson;  No.  2,  southwest  quarter  of  section 
17,  the  farm  of  F.  P.  Warner,  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  south  of  West  Liberty;  No.  3  the  south- 
east quarter  of  section  30,  the  farm  of  Wil- 
liam G.  Fisher;  No.  4,  the  southeast  quarter 
of  section  28,  the  farm  of  Thomas  McMahon ; 
No.  5,  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  16,  the 
farm  of  John  Richlin ;  No.  6,  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  4,  the  farm  of  Hollister 
Doll. 

The  first  religious  services  among  the  set- 
tlers were  held  in  the  cabins  by  those  faith- 
ful missionaries  of  all  denominations  who 
wandered  through  the  sparsely  settled  regions 
to  preach  to  the  people.  Even  before  settlers 
were  here,  a  young  priest.  Rev.  J.  M.  Henni, 
made  occasional  trips  through  this  region, 
making  converts  among  the  Indians.  About 
1824  he  was  in  what  is  now  known  as  the 
German  settlement,  in  the  eastern  part  of  Ver- 
non township.  Here  at  this  early  date  he 
found  a  few  Roman  Catholic  families,  and  he 
organized  them  into  a  parish.  He  or  others 
visited  them  occasionally,  holding  services  in 
the  cabins,  and  in  1836  they  built  a  little  log 
church,  which  was  used  until  1852,  when  it 
was  replaced  by  a  brick  building  on  the  same 
site,  40  by  80  feet  in  size.  The  church  had 
secured  a  40-acre  tract  on  which  to  build  the 
church  and  necessary  buildings.  This  church 
was  just  east  of  the  Vernon  township  line, 
in   Richland  county.     Later  in  life  the  first 


348 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


priest,  Rev.  Mr.  Henni,  rose  to  high  rank  in 
the  church  and  became  Archbishop  of  Mil- 
waukee. In  1890  to  1898  Rev.  F.  A.  Schreib- 
er  was  the  priest  in  charge  and  under  his  ad- 
ministration the  present  church  was  built.  The 
corner  stone  was  laid  by  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Horstman  on  May  29,  1892,  and  the  building 
was  dedicated  by  him  on  Sept.  25,  1895.  It  is 
called  the  Church  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of 
Jesus.  The  building  is  148  feet  in  length,  with 
a  width  of  48  feet,  with  the  handsomest  of  in- 
terior furnishings.  It  is  of  Berea  cut  stone, 
and  of  Gothic  architecture,  and  when  com- 
pleted was  the  largest  and  handsomest  church 
in  the  Cleveland  diocese.  Many  in  eastern 
Vernon  are  members  of  this  church. 

The  Methodists  organized  a  society  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  township  in  1832,  but 
they  were  not  strong  enough  to  build  a  church 
at  that  time.  Meetings  were  held  in  the  cab- 
ins and  later  in  the  schoolhouses,  most  of  the 
early  members  belonging  to  the  churches  in 
Auburn  township. 

About  1830  a  society  of  United  Presby- 
terians was  organized,  with  a  membership  of 
about  30,  and  after  holding  services  for  a  few 
years  in  the  cabins  and  schoolhouses,  a  church 
was  erected  near  DeKalb.  Rev.  Mr.  Thomp- 
son, a  very  zealous  and  highly  educated  man, 
was  the  first  pastor.  He  it  was  who  started 
the  DeKalb  seminary. 

It  was  in  the  early  thirties  that  there  were 
a  number  of  Germans  settled  in  the  southern 
part  of  Vernon,  and  by  1833  they  were  strong 
enough  to  build  a  church,  the  first  church  built 
in  the  township.  The  Germans  were  of  two 
denominations,  the  German  Lutherans  and  the 
German  Reformers.  The  two  congregations 
united  in  building  a  little  log  structure,  a  mile 
south  of  West  Liberty;  this  was  replaced 
later  by  a  frame  building,  but  for  forty  years 
the  two  sects  jointly  worshipped  in  the  same 
building,  when  both  organizations  became 
strong  enough  to  have  a  church  of  their  own. 


The  German  Lutheran  church  was  built  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Portland  road  about  two  miles 
south  of  West  Liberty,  and  the  German  Re- 
formed is  half  a  mile  south  of  this,  a  short 
distance  east  of  the  road. 

In  1850  Rev.  William  Adams  organized  a 
society  called  the  Church  of  God  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  the  township.  For  ten  years 
the  meetings  were  held  in  the  cabins  and  the 
schoolhouses,  and  then  a  little  church  was 
built  at  a  cost  of  about  $800.  Long  before 
the  church  was  built,  a  Sunday  school  was 
started  with  Samuel  Deam  as  superintendent. 

All  the  other  churches  established  Sunday 
schools  soon  after  the  churches  were  or- 
ganized. 

Until  Vernon  was  organized  as  a  township 
it  was  under  the  care  of  Auburn  township, 
and  in  1823,  when  Adam  Aumend  of  Auburn 
made  the  first  tax  returns,  he  found  but  three 
persons  in  Vernon  township  to  assess  for  tax- 
ation, and  in  1826  there  were  only  ten  votes 
cast  in  the  township.  In  its  earlier  years  the 
justices  of  Auburn  had  jurisdiction  over  Ver- 
non, and  as  in  Auburn,  Jacob  Coykendall  was 
the  first  justice,  commissioned  in  1821;  Isaac 
Hitchcock  and  George  Dickson  were  the  first 
justices  in  Vernon  in  1825  ;  Dennis  Orton  was 
elected  in  1826,  and  again  in  1828,  with  James 
Richards;  William  Cummins  in  1830.  Since 
Vernon  has  been  a  part  of  Crawford  county 
the  following  men  have  held  the  office : 

Emanuel  Warner — 1845. 

George  Cummins — 1845-48-49-52. 

Mathias  Tustison — 1848. 

John  Kaler— 1851-54-57. 

James  Dixon — 1855. 

James  Dixon,  Jr. — 1858-61. 

George  Parsons — 1859. 

John   Warner— 1862-65-68-71-74-77-80-83-86-89. 

Andrew  Dickson — 1864-68- 

George  Koch — 1871-74. 

Jacob  J.  Bauer — 1875. 

John  W.  Humphrey— 1879-80-83-86-89-92-96-99. 

J.  J.  Weaver — 1892-96-99-02-05. 

Bert  Fix — 1905. 

A.  A.  Dapper — 1911. 

David  Weaver — 1911. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

WHETSTONE  TOWNSHIP 


Topography — Survey  of  the  Township — Its  Erection — First  Election — The  Soil — Early 
Prevalence  of  Malaria — First  Settlers — Coming  of  Zalmon  Rowse — Enterprise  of 
James  Armstrong — First  Mills — Robbery  of  the  Albrights — Crawford's  March 
Through  the  Township — An  Indian  Village — The  "Green  Sea" — Early  Roads— A 
Peculiar  Marriage — The  First  Post  Office — Founding  of  New  Winchester,  Olentangy 
and  North  Robinson — The  Underground  Railroad — Postmasters — Early  Mills — Jus- 
tices of  the  Peace — Schools  and  Churches — Graveyards. 


Nor  heed  the  skeptic's  puny  hands. 
While  near  the  church  the  schoolhouse  stands; 
Nor  fear  the  stubborn  bigot's  rule. 
While  near  the  church-spire  stands  the  school. 
— John  G.  Whittier. 

This  township  is  the  largest  in  the  county, 
containing  40  full  sections  and  eight  fractional 
sections,  or  nearly  44  square  miles,  and  a  little 
east  of  the  centre  of  the  township  is  where  the 
forest  ended  and  the  famous  Sandusky  Plains 
began,  the  latter  extending  west  for  nearly  40 
miles,  with  only  an  occasional  clump  of  trees, 
called  an  "island,"  to  break  the  monotony  of 
the  landscape.  The  clearing  away  of  the  for- 
est has  long  since  obliterated  all  trace  of 
where  this  line  of  demarkation  between  for- 
est and  plain  once  existed.  The  township  was 
surveyed  by  Sylvanus  Bourne  in  181 9,  it  being 
a  part  of  the  land  obtained  by  treaty  from  the 
Indians  in  1817,  and  known  as  the  "New  Pur- 
chase." Originally  the  township  was  but  six 
miles  deep,  but  the  addition  of  two  miles  from 
Marion  county  in  1845  gave  it  its  present  depth 
of  eight  miles.  The  fractional  tier  of  sections 
on  the  east  was  a  part  of  Whetstone  township 
when  it  was  first  erected  in  1824;  in  1835  the 
three-mile  strip  east  of  it  was  the  southern  half 
of  Sandusky  township,  and  this  southern  half 
of  Sandusky  was  erected  into  a  new  township 
called  Jackson,  and  the  fractional  sections 
were  given  to  Jackson.  In  1845  on  the  re-or- 
ganization of  the  townships,  and  the  erection 
20 

349 


of  the  present  Crawford,  the  fractional  tier 
of  sections  was  again  given  to  Whetstone, 
where  they  have  since  remained. 

In  1820  all  of  the  present  Crawford  county 
was  two  townships  called  Sandusky,  the  east- 
ern four  miles  being  Sandusky  township  Rich- 
land county,  and  the  balance  being  Sandusky 
township,  Crawford  county,  and  from  the 
western  part  Bucyrus  township  was  erected 
in  1822.  The  second  township  to  be  erected 
in  this  county  was  Whetstone,  by  the  follow- 
ing resolution  passed  by  the  county  commis- 
sioners of  Delaware  county  on  March  2,  1824: 

"On  petition  of  sundry  inhabitants  of  town- 
ship 3  south,  range  1 7,  in  the  county  of  Craw- 
ford, said  township  was  ordered  by  the  board 
to  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  declared  to  be 
erected  into  a  separate  township,  by  the  name 
of  Whetstone.     Election  ordered." 

In  May,  1824,  Crawford  county  was  trans- 
ferred from  the  care  of  Delaware  county  to 
that  of  Marion  county,  and  at  the  elections 
that  fall  Whetstone  voted  with  Bucyrus  town- 
ship. The  Marion  commissioners  at  a  meet- 
ing held  on  Dec.  7,  1824  authorized  the  new 
township  to  organize.  The  first  election  was 
held  in  April,  1825,  when  George  Poe  and  He- 
man  Rowse  were  elected  justices,  their  com- 
missions bearing  date  of  June  18,  1825.  The 
township  was  named  after  the  Whetstone 
creek.     This  creek  and  the  Mud   Run  give 


350 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ample  drainage  to  the  southern  part  of  the 
township,  while  the  north  is  drained  by  sev- 
eral nameless  streams  which  had  their  rise  in 
the  swampy  ground  and  found  their  way  north 
to  the  Sandusky  river. 

The  soil  mainly  is  very  rich,  deep  and  well 
adapted  for  modern  diversified  farming.  The 
forests  in  the  eastern  and  northern  parts  of 
the  township  were  largely  of  dark  walnut  and 
oak,  beech  and  hickory,  and  were  almost  im- 
penetrable at  the  coming  of  the  early  settlers, 
and  the  choice  of  land  of  the  first  pioneers  was 
the  heavily  timbered  tracts  and  not  the  fertile 
prairie  which  was  ready  for  cultivation,  but 
was  too  wet,  swampy  and  unhealthy.  The  de- 
ciding factor  seemed  to  be  the  superior  supply 
of  spring  water  obtainable  in  the  woods;  the 
health  of  the  pioneer  and  his  family  being  a 
first  consideration  in  that  age  when  medical 
men  were  few  and  far  distant,  and  the  roads 
were  merely  trails.  Fortunate  indeed  was  the 
family  that  escaped  the  malaria  and  chills 
that  were  so  prevalent  for  many  years ;  and  few 
did,  notwithstanding  the  abundant  supply  of 
calomel  and  quinine  which  was  kept  on  hand 
at  all  times  and  used  most  extravagantly,  to- 
gether with  the  universal  antidote  for  every 
ill — whisky. 

In  the  early  days,  little  was  done  in  the  way 
of  raising  grain,  owing  to  the  absence  of  a 
market,  just  enough  for  family  use.  Horses, 
cattle  and  sheep  were  brought  in  from  the 
East,  and  their  sustenance  was  obtained  from 
the  prairie,  where  they  were  pastured  and 
from  which  they  obtained  hay  for  the  winter. 
The  meat  supply  was  largely  wild,  there  being 
an  abundance  of  ducks,  prairie  chickens,  squir- 
rels and  deer.  Honey  was  found  in  plenty. 
Hogs  were  brought  in  and  permitted  to  run 
at  large,  and  soon  they  were  in  a  wild  state 
and  were  a  dangerous  animal  when  brought  to 
bay,  the  males  in  particular  as  they  developed 
long  tusks.  They  were  long  legged  and  lank 
and  bore  little  resemblance  to  the  well  fed  hog 
of  later  days.  The  rapid  disappearance  of 
game  led  to  a  remarkable  change  in  hog  life; 
from  a  roaming  life  in  quest  of  food,  they 
were  brought  home  to  receive  careful  consider- 
ation and  live  in  fatted  opulence.  The  stock 
industry  developed  into  one  of  great  import- 
ance, and  with  it  the  greater  production  of 
grain. 


In  1816  Robert  Reid  came  with  his  family 
from  Ireland  to  America,  and  settled  near 
Newburg,  N.  Y.,  but  soon  afterward  removed 
to  Washington  county,  Pa.,  and  was  living 
there  when  the  New  Purchase  was  secured 
by  treaty  from  the  Indians.  Fabled  reports  of 
the  richness  of  this  new  land  affected  him  as 
it  did  others,  and  leaving  his  family  at  Wash- 
ington county  he  started  on  foot  to  investigate 
for  himself.  He  came  to  Whetstone  township 
and  made  his  selection,  before  the  land  was 
open  for  settlement.  In  this  trip  the  most  ex- 
treme western  pioneer  was  around  where  Ga- 
llon now  is,  and  from  the  last  pioneer  home 
he  followed  the  Indian  trail  across  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  plains  and  made  his  choice 
about  two  miles  southwest  of  Bucyrus.  He 
returned  home,  entered  the  land,  and  in  1824 
came  with  his  family  to  the  site  selected.  He 
was  not  the  first  settler,  but  he  was  probably 
the  first  pioneer  to  enter  the  new  purchase  and 
select  a  home.  This  pioneer  was  born  in 
1 77 1,  and  died  on  the  morning  of  July  4, 
1850,  and  the  morning  prior  to  his  death, 
with  others,  he  had  assisted  in  laying  out  the 
grounds  for  a  new  church  near  the  Stewart 
schoolhouse  on  the  Mansfield  road. 

The  first  settler  to  locate  in  the  township 
was  probably  John  Kent  in  18 19,  as  he  had 
an  acre  or  more  of  land  cleared  in  1820.  In 
1 819  Seth  Holmes  came  with  the  Nortons  and 
spent  the  winter  in  Bucyrus,  assisting  Norton 
and  Bucklin  in  the  earlier  work  of  making  a 
home;  but  in  1820,  he  removed  to  Whetstone 
township,  where  he  had  a  cabin  on  Kent's 
place,  did  a  little  farming  for  himself  and  as- 
sisted Kent  and  others  as  they  arrived  in  build- 
ing their  cabins  and  clearing  their  land,  for  all 
the  early  settlers  selected  their  land  in  the  for- 
est, with  the  plains  in  easy  reach  to  the  south 
of  them.  Holmes  sent  for  his  parents,  and 
after  their  arrival  they  made  their  home  with 
him,  he  being  an  old  batchelor.  The  faithful 
son  died  in  1825,  and  he  was  buried  in  the  Cary 
graveyard  just  south  of  the  present  Catholic 
cemetery.  In  1820  Martin  Bacon  arrived  and 
entered  land  in  both  Liberty  and  Whetstone 
townships,  but  his  home  was  in  Liberty.  Noble 
McKinstry,  John  Willoughby  and  Joseph 
Young  also  settled  in  Whetstone  in  1820,  the 
latter  on  April  15,  1821,  being  appointed  by 
the  Delaware  commissioners  as  one  of  the  two 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


351 


justices  of  Sandusky  township,  the  entire  coun- 
ty being  then  but  one  township.  Coming  with 
Bacon  in  1820,  was  Auer  Umberfield,  and 
after  assisting  Bacon  to  erect  a  cabin  the  next 
year  he  entered  land  for  himself  in  Whetstone 
township. 

Other  of  the  early  pioneers  in  Whetstone 
were  Zalmon  Rowse,  Asa  Howard,  Elias,  Phi- 
lander and  Jacob  Odell ;  George  Hancock,  Sam- 
uel Parcher,  Daniel  Jones,  Samuel  VanVoor- 
his,  Martin  Shaffner  and  John  King  in  1821; 
Heman  and  Abner  Rowse,  James  Armstrong, 
Archibald  and  George  Clark,  John  Beckwith, 
Benjamin  Camp,  William  Hamilton,  Chris- 
topher Bear,  Henry  Harriger,  Ralph  and  Adam 
Klinger,  Hugh  Stewart  and  five  sons,  all  young 
men,  William,  Joseph,  James,  John  and  Hugh ; 
and  Simeon,  Benjamin,  George,  Lyman  and 
John  Parcher  in  1822;  John  and  Edward 
Campbell,  Hugh  and  John  Trimble,  James 
Henderson,  Cornwallis  Reese  Daniel  Jones, 
George  Poe,  John  Stein,  in  1823;  John  Boyer, 
John  Lininger,  Charles  Chambers,  Robert 
Reid,  Casper  and  Isaac  Fichelberger,  and 
James  Falloon  in  1824;  J.  A.  Kiefer  and  Ben- 
jamin Warner  in  1825.  These  pioneers,  with 
hardly  an  exception,  settled  north  of  the  cen- 
tral portion  of  the  township.  Thomas  F. 
Johnson,  Andrew  Kerr,  Henry  Remsen,  Abra- 
ham Steen,  Valentine  and  Samuel  Shook,  An- 
drew Kerr,  John  Staley,  and  Robert  Walker 
in  1826;  David  Savage,  Frederick  Wise,  and 
Samuel  Winters  in  1827;  John  Brehman, 
Oliver  Jones,  Isaac  Boyer,  John  G.  Diebler, 
Jacob  Kester,  Benjamin  Hull,  Samuel  and 
John  Roberts,  John  L.  Heinlen  and  William 
Stuck  in  1828;  John  Albright  in  1829;  George 
Deam,  Samuel  and  John  Sherer,  Geo.  Gibson, 
Samuel  Ludwig,  and  Nicholas  Myers,  in  1830; 
Jacob  Sherer  in  1831;  William  Kerr  in  1832; 
Tobias  Kile  and  Martin  Kehrer  in  1833.  Still 
others  from  1826  to  1836  were  Nathaniel 
Plummer,  Edward  Norton,  Frederick  Garver, 
Moses  Dale,  John  Cone,  Charles  Gifford,  John 
Harland,  Wm.  Cooper,  Isaiah  Scott  and  three 
sons,  John  and  Peter  Weidner,  Christian  Null, 

Ketchum,  Jacob  Tupps,   Samuel  Crow, 

Wm.  Moderwell,  Henry  S.  Sheldon,  Jacob 
Hauck,  John  Kaun,  Adam  Bear,  John  Kehrer, 
and  John  N.  Rexroth,  the  latter  settlers  mostly 
entering  land  in  the  southern  portions  of  the 
township. 


The  northern  portion  of  the  township  first 
claimed  the  attention  of  the  settlers,  it  being 
a  number  of  years  later  before  settlement  be- 
gan in  the  southern  half.  The  present  south- 
ern two  miles  of  the  township  was  a  part  of 
Marion  county,  until  the  division  of  1845 
placed  those  two  miles  in  Crawford  county, 
which  was  more  convenient  to  the  people,  as 
their  trading  points  were  Bucyrus  and  Gallon. 
There  have  been  numerous  descendants  of 
many  of  those  early  pioneers  of  Whetstone 
whose  names  have  been  interwoven  with  the 
growth  and  development  of  the  township  and 
the  county.  Sons  have  succeeded  their  fath- 
ers in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  citizen- 
ship, and  these  in  turn  have  passed  away  to  be 
succeeded  by  grandsons.  Robert  Reid  was 
followed  by  his  son  George,  who  became  a 
minister,  preached  in  many  churches,  and  fre- 
quently in  the  old  Mission  church  at  Upper 
Sandusky  delivered  the  message  of  God  to  the 
Indians,  sometimes  making  the  journey  on 
foot;  several  sons  followed  him,  one,  William 
M.  Reid,  being  prominent  in  the  business  and 
moral  development  of  Bucyrus,  mayor  of  the 
village,  and  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century 
superintendent  of  the  Presbyterian  Sunday 
School.  He,  too  has  passed  to  his  reward,  and 
still  descendants  are  following  in  the  foot- 
step of  their  ancestors.  The  Rowse  family, 
with  Zalmon  Rowse  identified  with  every 
progressive  movement  in  Bucyrus,  and  sons 
following  and  taking  an  active  hand  in  the 
business  enterprises  of  the  city.  The  Stewarts, 
with  Hugh  the  father  coming  into  the  county 
with  five  stalwart  sons,  to  leave  their  impress 
for  good  on  the  generations  that  follow.  The 
Parchers  and  the  Trimbles  and  the  Camp- 
bells. And  men  of  the  type  of  the  Odells  and 
Peter  Wert,  who  conscientiously  believed  that 
the  institution  of  slavery  was  a  violation  of 
the  law  of  God,  and  no  human  law  protecting 
it  should  be  obeyed,  and  became  important 
cogs  in  that  "underground"  road  through 
which  many  a  slave  found  freedom  only  when 
he  reached  the  protecting  folds  of  the  British 
flag. 

Hugh  Stewart,  born  in  Ireland  in  1757, 
came  to  Whetstone  in  1822,  from  Cumberland 
county,  Pa.  With  his  family  he  left  the  latter 
place  in  1821,  making  the  trip  to  Mansfield, 
O.,  in  a  wagon  drawn  by  four  horses.     The 


352 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


reports  of  the  New  Purchase  were  so  favor- 
able that  Mr.  Stewart  left  his  family  and 
hastened  to  Whetstone  township,  where  he 
purchased  240  acres  in  section  8  for  $300,  con- 
tinuing his  trip  to  Delaware  to  enter  the  land. 
He  returned  to  Mansfield,  but  soon  again  left 
his  family,  with  the  exception  of  five  sons, 
William,  John,  James,  Hugh  and  Joseph,  and 
with  them  he  came  to  his  new  farm.  They 
built  a  round  log  cabin,  20  feet  square,  having 
one  door  and  one  window.  The  door  was 
hung  on  wooden  hinges,  but  the  window  con- 
tained four  squares  of  glass,  which  was  rather 
an  innovation  and  distinction  at  that  date. 
Mrs.  Stewart  came  on  in  the  spring  accom- 
panied by  a  widow,  Betsy  Anderson,  who  ser- 
ved as  their  housekeeper.  The  Stewarts 
brought  some  stock  with  them  from  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  sons,  all  of  whom  had  reached 
man's  estate  before  their  arrival,  all  married 
in  the  county,  and  with  the  exception  of  Wil- 
liam, continued  to  live  in  Crawford  county  and 
were  counted  among  the  most  substantial  citi- 
zens. James  Stewart  was  honored  with  nu- 
merous public  offices.  He  served  several 
years  as  associate  judge  with  R.  W.  Musgrave 
and  Samuel  Knisely,  Ozias  Bo  wen  of  Marion 
being  the  presiding  judge.  About  1861,  he 
moved  to  Mansfield,  where  he  remained  two 
or  three  years,  then  located  in  Bucyrus.  His 
death  occurred  Aug.  6,  1871,  aged  seventy- 
six  years,  three  months,  and  twenty-six  days, 
and  he  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  Stewart  Grave- 
yard. Mrs.  Hugh  Stewart,  the  mother  of  this 
family,  did  not  enjoy  good  health,  died  soon 
after  arrival,  and  hers  was  one  of  the  first 
deaths  recorded  in  the  township. 

John  Campbell  when  he  arrived  in  the  spring 
of  1823,  had  practically  nothing  except  a  fam- 
ily. He  had  only  money  enough  to  pay  for  80 
acres,  and  after  making  his  selection,  and 
building  a  log  cabin  with  one  window  which 
was  covered  with  greased  paper,  and  only  one 
room,  he  walked  to  Delaware,  paid  all  he  had 
for  the  land,  and  returned  to  his  farm.  He  had 
neither  an  ox  nor  a  horse,  and  was  compelled 
to  farm  entirely  by  hand.  He  not  only  pros- 
pered ,but  stood  high  in  the  estimation  of  his 
neighbors,  for  in  1827  they  elected  him  as 
justice  of  the  peace,  re-electing  him  for  eight 
consecutive  terms,  and  when  in  1834  they  sent 
him  to  the  Legislature  they  still  kept  him  in 


office  as  their  justice.  Soon  after  he  arrived, 
an  infant  son,  Samuel,  died  on  Aug.  16,  1825 ; 
a  little  plot  of  ground  was  set  aside,  and  this 
became  the  Campbell  graveyard,  the  first  bur- 
ial place  in  the  township. 

John  Boyer  came  to  Crawford  county  in 
1829.  He  was  married  to  Catherine  Hunsick- 
er  in  Schuylkill  county,  Pennsylvania  in  1815. 
In  1829  he  set  out  with  his  family,  crossing 
the  mountains,  and  located  on  what  became 
known  as  the  Boyer  farm,  southeast  of  Bu- 
cyrus on  the  Galion  road.  Here  he  kept  a 
house  of  entertainment  known  far  and  near 
in  that  early  day  as  "Boyer's"  or  "The  Blue 
Ball  Tavern."  The  building  still  stands,  an 
old  frame  with  its  weather  beaten  porch,  a 
few  rods  south  of  the  Middleton  road,  on  the 
land  now  owned  by  Samuel  Fouser.  For 
many  years  it  was  the  most  noted  and  popular 
tavern  in  this  section.  Strangers  were  al- 
ways hailed  with  a  cheerful  voice,  warm 
hearty  shake  of  the  hand,  and  treated  to  the 
best  that  could  be  afforded  in  those  days. 
Scenes  of  pioneer  life,  festivity  and  mirth  were 
many.  It  was  also  a  headguarters  for  political 
meetings.  Boyer  did  all  things  well,  whether 
rolling  logs  among  the  pioneer  settlers,  help- 
ing to  raise  a  house,  working  on  his  farm, 
entertaining  travelers  or  helping  to  build  a 
church.  He  was  the  first  man  to  take  hold  and 
the  last  man  to  quit.  He  was  a  powerful  man, 
and  with  his  bare  fist  could  drive  a  nail  into 
soft  lumber,  or  break  the  nail  between  his 
fingers. 

Zalmon  Rowse,  a  native  of  Massachusetts, 
came  in  1821  from  Wayne  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  northeastern  county  in  that  state, 
where  he  had  lived  from  his  sxteenth  year. 
He  walked  the  entire  distance  of  five  hundred 
miles,  and  after  entering  three  tracts  of  eighty 
acres  each,  in  Whetstone  township,  walked 
back  to  Pennsylvania.  In  October,  1821,  he 
set  out  for  his  new  possessions,  accompanied 
by  his  wife  and  six  children.  He  taught  one 
term  of  school  after  his  arrival,  and  served 
terms  as  county  commissioner,  county  recorder, 
clerk  of  the  court  of  Crawford  county,  and 
justice  of  the  peace.  He  also  bore  the  rank  of 
colonel  in  the  county  militia. 

James  Armstrong  came  in  1822 ;  like  all  the 
rest  of  the  early  settlers  he  built  his  cabin  of 
logs,  and  being  a  man  of  taste  he  took  his  time 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


353 


to  it  and  hewed  the  logs,  giving  it  a  more  at- 
tractive appearance.  He  built,  as  did  others, 
with  a  rough  clapboard  roof,  and  stick  and 
mud  chimney,  but  the  first  winter  he  occupied 
his  leisure  time  in  making  shingles,  and  re- 
placed the  clapboard  roof  with  the  first  shingle 
roof  in  the  county.  Not  content  with  this  he 
established  a  little  brickyard  on  his  place  and 
made  enough  brick  to  replace  his  mud  chimney 
with  a  brick  one,  the  first  brick  chimney  not 
only  in  the  township,  but  probably  in  the 
county.  He  only  made  these  modern  improve- 
ments for  his  own  personal  gratification,  but 
his  neighbors  not  only  admired  his  brick 
chimney  but  appreciated  how  much  more  ser- 
viceable it  was  and  induced  him  to  manufact- 
ure brick  for  them,  which  he  did,  the  first 
brickyard  in  the  county,  small  though  it  was. 
Mr.  Armstrong  soon  discontinued  the  manu- 
facture of  brick,  and  it  was  taken  up  by  John 
Boyer;  later  the  first  brick  house  built  in  the 
township  was  built  on  his  farm. 

Samuel  Parcher  came  with  Ralph  Bacon  in 
1 82 1,  being  employed  by  the  latter  to  drive 
an  ox  team  from  Painesville,  Ohio.  Parcher 
made  his  first  money  by  making  10,000  rails 
for  Bacon  for  which  he  received  $5  a  thousand, 
this  money  he  invested  in  land.  He  was  fol- 
lowed the  next  year  by  four  brothers,  and 
among  them  they  acquired  considerable  land. 
In  1828  they  built  a  horse-power  saw-mill 
on  their  farm,  and  also  started  a  still,  but  as 
they  did  not  meet  with  the  success  anticipated, 
they  were  early  discontinued. 

Peter  and  Elizabeth  Cook  came  to  the  town- 
ship in  1834,  and  all  the  money  the  husband 
had  was  only  sufficient  to  purchase  37  acres. 
He  was  a  tailor,  and  by  working  at  his  trade 
at  odd  hours  he  added  to  his  land. 

John  G.  Diebler  and  wife  came  to  Whetstone 
in  1828,  with  two  other  families.  Each  fam- 
ily owned  a  horse,  but  they  had  but  one  wagon, 
and  the  three  families  came  in  the  one  wagon 
drawn  by  three  horses ;  they  settled  in  the  cen- 
tral part  of  the  township.  Diebler  was  a  car- 
penter by  trade,  and  many  of  the  houses  In 
that  section  were  built  by  him. 

George  Fouser  was  a  shoemaker,  and  be- 
sides farming  put  in  his  time  making  and  re- 
pairing shoes  for  his  neighbors. 

John  Gibson  came  in  1835,  and  purchased 
80  acres  of  school  land  which  is  still  owned 


by  his  descendants.  He  married  Mary  A. 
Kerr,  a  daughter  of  Andrew  Kerr  who  came 
in  1826. 

Henry  Harriger  came  in  1822,  selected  his 
land  then  went  to  Delaware  where  he  entered 
it,  returned  to  Wayne  county  and  the  next 
year  came  with  his  wife.  He  was  a  soldier  in 
the  War  of  1812.  His  log  house  was  built  a 
mile  east  of  Bucyrus,  where  the  river  road 
branches  off  from  the  Mansfield  road. 

Valentine  Shook,  with  his  wife  Nancy, 
came  from  Wayne  county  in  1827.  They  had 
an  old  fashioned  covered  wagon,  which  was 
drawn  by  an  ox-team.  They  brought  with 
them  two  cows  and  six  sheep.  He  was  a  car- 
penter, and  the  family  slept  in  the  wagon  until 
their  first  house  was  built.  They  were  three 
weeks  coming  from  Wayne  county. 

Andrew  Schreck  came  in  1825  with  his  wife 
Elizabeth,  and  when  they  reached  Bucyrus 
their  cash  on  hand  was  just  $4,  not  enough 
to  buy  land.  He  settled  on  the  Annapolis 
road  east  of  Bucyrus.  His  wife  was  a  skill- 
ful weaver,  and  a  loom  was  put  up  in  their  little 
cabin,  and  in  a  few  years  they  were  able  to  buy 
a  farm  in  Whetstone,  and  later  they'  kept  a 
store  and  hotel  at  Olentangy  when  a  line  of 
stages  were  running  between  Bucyrus  and 
Mansfield. 

Daniel  Savage,  who  with  his  wife  Susan, 
came  in  1828  was  a  shoemaker. 

Hugh  Trimble  came  to  the  county  in  1822, 
and  entered  320  acres  in  the  northeastern  part 
of  Whetstone,  and  the  next  year  came  with 
his  wife  and  family  settling  on  his  purchase. 
His  son  John  came  with  him,  and  in  1827,  when 
he  was  22  years  of  age,  his  father  sent  him  to 
Delaware,  to  enter  another  80  acre  tract,  and 
the  young  man  walked  the  entire  distance  there 
and  back,  and  on  his  return  his  father  made 
him  a  present  of  20  acres  of  the  tract.  This 
started  him  in  life,  and  on  Jan.  31,  1828,  he 
married  Icy  Parcher,  who  had  come  to  the 
township  with  her  father  Daniel  in  1823. 
During  the  winter  the  young  man  had  built  a 
little  log  house  on  his  20  acres,  into  which  the 
young  couple  moved. 

John  Albright  and  his  wife,  came  to  Whet- 
stone township  in  1829.  They  came  from 
Pennsylvania  with  one  wagon  drawn  by  three 
horses,  and  were  nearly  a  month  on  the  way. 
He  settled  along  the  Gallon  road,  east  of  the 


354 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


township  hall  on  a  73  acre  tract.  He  was  a 
shoemaker  by  trade,  and  for  a  number  of  years 
carried  on  his  business  in  connection  with 
farming.  Mr.  Albright  prospered,  and  later 
moved  to  near  New  Winchester.  In  1866,  at 
2  a.  m.,  on  the  morning  of  May  i,  his  door  was 
broken  in  with  a  post  wrenched  from  the  gate, 
and  several  men,  all  disguised,  entered  the 
house  and  demanded  his  money,  as  it  was  gen- 
erally believed  he  kept  a  considerable  sum 
about  him.  He  refused  and  was  clubbed  into 
unconsciousness.  His  son  John  hurried  to  his 
father's  assistance,  knocked  down  two  of  the 
men,  before  he  himself  was  hit  with  a  club, 
and  pounded  into  unconsciousness.  As  the 
women  arrived  they  were  scared  into  submis- 
son,  and  the  robbers  ransacked  the  house,  and 
secured  $300  in  cash  and  what  jewelry  and 
other  valuables  they  could  lay  their  hands  on, 
and  left.  Both  father  and  son  were  badly 
bruised,  the  father  so  seriously  that  he  died  in 
August.  Mr.  Albright  was  living  near  New 
Winchester  at  the  time  of  the  robbery,  and 
suspicion  pointed  to  several  parties  who  had 
hurriedly  left  that  section  immediately  after 
the  robbery.  They  were  traced  to  Mt.  Ver- 
non, and  here  a  clue  was  obtained  to  the  per- 
petrators. A  girl,  who  had  left  about  the 
same  time,  had  been  arrested  for  stealing.  She 
had  stolen  some  meat  from  a  butcher  shop, 
and  not  being  accustomed  to  eating  raw  meat, 
had  broken  into  a  church,  and  stolen  suffi- 
cient of  the  Sunday  School  library  to  cook  the 
meat.  She  mentioned  the  names  of  several 
parties  who  had  been  guilty  of  a  number  of 
robberies  in  and  around  New  Winchester,  but 
no  trace  of  them  was  ever  found. 

Joseph  Albright  came  to  Whetstone  in  1830, 
and  settled  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
township,  where  he  started  the  first  brick  yard 
on  the  Ludwig  place,  and  here  he  manufact- 
ured the  brick  that  went  into  a  number  of  the 
early  buildings  in  Bucyrus. 

George  and  Mary  Beach,  came  from  Ger- 
many, settling  in  Whetstone  township,  where 
they  entered  forty-four  acres  of  land.  He  was 
a  cabinet  maker  by  trade.  John  and  Catherine 
Crissinger  came  to  Crawford  in  1832.  His 
grandfather,  Leonard  Crissinger,  was  one  of 
the  soldiers  of  the  revolutionary  war,  that 
were  compelled  to  walk  barefooted  a  part  of 
the  time  on  account  of  lack  of  shoes  for  the 


army.  Thomas  and  Nancy  Kennedy,  of  Irish 
descent,  came  to  Crawford  county  in  1832. 
John  McKinstry  was  born  in  County  Antrim, 
Ireland  in  1773;  came  with  his  parents  to 
America  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania.  He  was 
in  the  War  of  1812,  belonging  to  the  organiza- 
tion, known  as  Light  Horse  Brigade. 

Martin  Kehrer  came  to  Whetstone  in  1833, 
a  young  man  of  20,  where  he  purchased  his 
first  land  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township, 
between  the  Whetstone  and  Mud  Run.  He 
returnee^  to  Pennsylvania  and  the  next  year 
came  back  with  his  father  settling  on  his  pur- 
chase. The  father,  John  Kehrer,  came  from 
Germany  to  America  in  1805,  and  besides  his 
son  Martin,  several  other  of  his  children  came 
to  this  county.  In  1838,  Martin  Kehrer  made 
a  second  trip  to  Pennsylvania,  and  this  time 
returned  with  his  bride,  who  had  been  waiting 
until  he  could  prepare  a  home  for  her  in  the 
western  country. 

Henry  S.  Sheldon,  was  a  cooper  by  trade, 
and  after  clearing  a  piece  of  land  and  building 
a  little  log  cabin,  he  married  Nancy  Ridgley, 
one  of  the  four  daughters  of  Westell  Ridgely 
who  came  to  what  is  now  Jefferson  township 
in  1817. 

John  and  Frances  Brehman  came  to  Whet- 
stone township  in  1828;  he  was  a  wagon- 
maker,  and  besides  clearing  his  land  made 
wagons  for  his  neighbors. 

When  Ralph  Bacon  came  in  18 19  he  located 
his  land,  80  acres  in  Liberty  and  160  in  Whet- 
stone; he  then  went  to  Delaware  and  entered 
the  land.  The  next  year  he  brought  his  fam- 
ily, traveling  with  two  yoke  of  oxen  and  one 
horse.  They  came  on  through  to  Bucyrus, 
which  at  that  time  consisted  of  but  two  log 
cabins. 

It  was  through  Whetstone  township  that 
the  army  of  Crawford  marched  during  their 
unfortunate  expedition  of  1782.  They  en- 
tered the  township,  perhaps  a  mile  below  the 
present  village  of  north  Robinson;  they  went 
across  the  township  bearing  to  the  south, 
crossing  where  the  Gallon  road  now  is  at  some 
point  between  the  Township  Hall  and  Sec- 
caium  Park,  and  left  the  township  a  trifle  over 
three  miles  south  of  Bucyrus.  Their  return 
route  was  the  same,  and  it  was  when  they  had 
crossed  where  the  Gallon  road  now  is  they 
were  compelled  to  stop  to  protect  their  rear. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


355 


and  the  battle  of  the  Olentangy  followed.  But- 
terfield  places  this  battle  in  the  northeast  quar- 
ter of  section  22,  on  the  high  ground  north 
of  where  the  monument  stands.  The  east  half 
of  this  section  is  now  owned  by  Sarah  R.  Lust 
and  the  west  half  by  J.  B.  Campbell.  Along 
this  higher  ground,  north  of  the  Galion  road, 
is  where  a  hundred  years  ago  the  Indian  trail 
was  located  from  Galion  to  Upper  Sandusky, 
crossing  the  Sandusky  river  south  of  the 
Mansfield  street  bridge,  following  the  high 
ground  through  southern  Holmes  and  crossing 
the  Brokensword,  about  half  a  mile  southwest 
of  Oceola.  The  western  section  of  Whetstone 
was  a  part  of  the  Plains  which  the  Indians 
used  for  their  ring  hunts,  when  they  fired  the 
grass  and  drove  the  game  to  a  common  centre, 
shooting  the  animals  as  they  endeavored  to 
make  their  escape  through  the  ring  of  fire. 
When  the  earliest  settlers  arrived  there  was 
an  Indian  village  on  the  banks  of  the  Whet- 
stone, at  or  near  where  Seccaium  Park  now  is, 
and  in  this  section  many  Indian  relics  have 
been  plowed  up.  Another  camp  or  village  of 
the  Indians  was  between  the  Stewart  grave- 
yard and  the  river. 

In  the  centre  of  the  township,  along  the 
Mt.  Vernon  road  south  of  the  present  township 
hall,  two  brothers,  Philip  and  Adam  Clinger, 
had  settled.  Their  land  was  on  the  plains, 
perfectly  level,  and  here  the  militia  of  the 
county  would  assemble  to  go  through  their 
maneuvres,  and  the  place  became  known  as 
dinger's  Fields.  Philip  Clinger  dug  a  num- 
ber of  wells  for  his  neighbors,  and  eventually 
was  killed,  one  of  the  wells  caving  in  on  him. 

In  early  days  the  southern  portion  of  the 
township  was  covered  with  water,  which  some 
forty  years  ago  was  designated  as  the  "Green 
Sea,"  by  a  man  bearing  the  name  of  John 
James.  In  many  places  also  a  growth  of  wild 
grass,  and  a  species  of  cane,  called  maiden 
cane,  sprung  up,  and  were  of  very  luxuriant 
growth,  often  growing  to  a  height  of  from 
15  to  20  feet,  and  of  such  strength  and  thick- 
ness as  to  prevent  persons  from  passing 
through,  except  by  following  beaten  paths. 

In  1828  there  was  but  one  regularly  laid  out 
road  through  the  southern  part,  and  that  was 
a  road  from  Marion  to  Galion  and  Mansfield. 
It  was  by  no  means  then  opened  up  and  made 
traversable.     The  settlers  in  going  to  either 


point  mentioned,  whether  with  a  team  or  on 
horseback,  generally  abandoned  the  road  as 
they  found  better  traveling  by  following  a 
winding  track  cut  out  over  the  highest  ground 
available.  There  were  one  or  two  grist  mills 
at  hand — one  owned  and  operated  by  Benja- 
min Sharrock,  the  other  by  Jotham  Clark. 
But  both  of  these  were  very  small  and  very  in- 
ferior. Many  of  the  older  settlers  never  ex- 
pected to  see  this  country  settled,  cleared,  and 
put  under  cultivaton  and  some  of  them  even 
thought  it  would  never  become  properly  inhab- 
ited. A  man  named  Isaac  Dickson  came  west 
in  1832,  and  entered  land;  not  wishing  to  re- 
main himself  until  the  country  was  better 
cleared  and  more  thickly  settled  he '  induced 
one  of  his  Pennsylvania  neighbors,  a  man 
named  Tobin  to  take  the  land,  and  for  clearing 
a  few  acres  he  was  to  have  it  rent  free,  and 
also  have  all  of  the  crops.  Tobin  accepted  the 
offer,  Dickson  helped  move  Tobin  and  his  fam- 
ily to  their  new  home,  seeing  them  properly  lo- 
cated in  an  old  cabin  that  was  on  the  property. 
Dickson  then  returned  to  Pennsylvania  stop- 
ping to  visit  frends  for  a  few  days  in  Guern- 
sey county.  The  first  night  Tobin  spent  in  the 
cabin  a  violent  wind  storm  swept  through  that 
section,  tearing  up  trees  along  its  track,  hurling 
timber  in  every  direction,  and  shaking  the 
cabin  to  its  foundation.  The  day  before  the 
storm  the  land  was  tangled  forest,  much  of  it 
covered  with  water,  and  the  next  morning  the 
desolation  was  still  more  complete,  and  Tobin 
promptly  sold  all  his  goods  except  what  he 
could  take  in  the  one  wagon  he  had,  and 
started  back  to  Pennsylvania,  and  when  Dick- 
son arrived  the  first  man  to  greet  him  was  his 
disgusted  and  "busted"  tenant,  Tobin.  It  is 
reported  Tobin  died  in  Pennsylvania,  never 
again  being  permeated  with  the  western  fever ; 
others  of  his  neighbors  came  west,  and  sent  ac- 
counts home  of  their  prosperity,  but  they  never 
phased  Tobin. 

Philip  Hubbert  was  justice  of  the  peace  of 
Tully  township,  Marion  county  for  eight 
years,  the  township  south  of  Whetstone.  One 
day  in  June  a  young  man  called  to  solicit  him 
to  perform  the  ceremony  which  should  unite 
the  young  gentleman  to  his  lady  love  in  the 
holy  bands  of  matrimony.  The  time  was 
designated;  the  place  was  mentioned,  and 
after  receiving   the   promise   from  the  mag- 


356 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


istrate  that  he  would  be  on  hand,  the  young 
man  departed.  Time  sped,  no  doubt  slowly  for 
the  lovers,  but  the  day  arrived  for  the  con- 
summation of  the  nuptials,  and  Mr.  Hubbert 
drove  over  to  the  house  of  the  expectant  bride ; 
but  as  the  hour  for  the  marriage  drew  nigh, 
it  was  discovered  by  the  squire  that  the  bride's 
residence  was  in  Whetstone  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  and  it  would  be  illegal  for  him  to 
perform  the  ceremony  in  any  other  than  the 
county  in  which  he  held  his  commission,  and 
the  marriage  would  have  been  absolutely  void, 
To  obviate  all  difficulties,  and  to  have  the  mar- 
riage ceremony  performed  without  any  unnec- 
essary delay,  it  was  suggested  that,  as  only  a 
few  rods  intervened  between  the  bride's  home 
and  the  Marion  county  line,  in  fact,  only  the 
width  of  the  road,  the  young  couple  should  at 
the  proper  time  step  across  the  limits  into  the 
territory  of  Marion  county  and  there  be  united, 
which  was  accordingly  done.  The  ceremony 
was  performed  in  a  potato  patch,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  number  of  guests,  after  which  all  re- 
turned to  the  residence,  and  partook  of  the 
marriage  feast,  and  all  went  merry  as  a  mar- 
riage bell. 

The  first  postoffice  was  established  in  Whet- 
stone township  in  1833.  A  few  years  pre- 
viously William  Fitzsimmons  had  purchased 
nearly  20  acres  of  land  along  the  Gallon  road. 
It  was  the  west  half  of  the  southwest  quarter 
of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  16,  a  part 
of  the  land  that  is  now  the  site  of  the  Craw- 
ford County  Infirmary.  Here  he  built  a 
tavern  and  through  the  influence  of  the  set- 
tlers in  that  section  a  postoffice  was  secured 
and  William  Fitzsimmons  was  appointed 
postmaster  on  Aug.  8,  1833.  It  was  named 
Whetstone,  after  the  township.  In  October, 
1837,  Mr.  Fitzsimmons  was  elected  sur- 
veyor of  the  county  and  he  removed  to  Bu- 
cyrus  to  enter  on  his  new  duties,  and  no  suc- 
cessor was  appointed,  the  office  being  discon- 
tinued on  Feb.  20,  1838.  On  removing  to  Bu- 
cyrus  Mr.  Fitzsimmons  sold  his  tavern  and 
the  twenty  acres  to  Andrew  Failor  for  two 
hundred  dollars. 

In  1830  the  first  census  of  the  county  showed 
that  Whetstone  was  the  most  populous  town- 
ship in  the  county,  having  750  inhabitants, 
which  was  24  more  then  Bucyrus.  The  set- 
tlers in  the  northern  part  of  the  township  had 


a  convenient  trading  point  at  Bucyrus,  so 
there  was  no  demand  for  a  village  in  this  sec- 
tion, and  the  first  town  laid  out  was  in  the 
southern  part,  which  was  New  Winchester, 
and. at  the  time  it  was  started  it  was  in  Ma- 
rion county,  and  only  became  a  part  of  Craw- 
ford in  1845. 

Xew  Winchester  was  the  first  village  laid  out 
in  Whetstone  township,  and  was  followed  a 
few  years  later  by  Olentangy,  now  no  longer  in 
existence,  and  many  years  afterward  by  North 
Robinson.  New  Winchester  was  laid  out  by 
the  surveyor  of  Marion  county  in  1835,  on 
lands  belonging  to  Benjamin  Fisher,  Samuel 
Lechner,  William  Stuck  and  Henry  Wise.  It 
was  given  its  name  after  Winchester,  the  coun- 
ty seat  of  Frederick  county,  Virginia,  a  num- 
ber of  the  early  settlers  being  from  that  sec- 
tion. The  farms  of  the  four  proprietors  lay 
at  the  crossing  of  two  roads,  being  at  the  cor- 
ner of  sections  4,  5,  8  and  9,  township  4,  range 
17  east.  A  cabin  had  been  previously  built 
there  by  William  Stuck,  and  he  had  a  small 
blacksmith  shop  at  the  corners.  After  the 
town  was  laid  out  Israel  Wise  built  a  small 
cabin  of  hewed  logs,  and  Samuel  Winter  built 
a  cabin,  and  had  a  carpenter  shop  in  connec- 
tion. Soon  there  was  a  settlement  of  eight  or 
ten  houses,  and  Samuel  Crow  was  induced  to 
start  a  store,  and  he  built  a  little  log  store- 
room, and  opened  up  with  a  stock  of  about 
$300,  but  it  proved  unprofitable  and  was  soon 
discontinued.  Adam  Bear  built  a  grist-mill 
on  the  Whetstone  just  north  of  the  village, 
which  at  the  start  he  ran  by  horse-power,  and 
later  steam  was  used.  In  the  early  days  Peter 
Wert  had  charge  of  the  mill,  and  it  was  a  sta- 
tion on  the  Underground  Railroad  being  the 
first  point  north  of  the  Iberia  station.  About 
1838  another  store  was  started  by  Judge  E.  B. 
Merriman  of  Bucyrus.  He  started  with  a 
stock  of  $1,500,  did  a  good  business,  and  sold 
out  to  Henry  Clark,  who  also  prospered  and 
at  the  end  of  six  years  sold  to  Plodner  & 
Timson  who  eventually  disposed  of  the  stock 
and  went  into  other  business.  But  the  little 
village'  was  the  centre  of  a  prosperous  com- 
munity and  there  followed  other  stores  and 
shops.  John  J.  Rexroth  had  a  blacksmith 
shop  there  in  1838,  and  Henry  Aiker  was  also 
one  of  the  early  blacksmiths.  Abraham  Steen 
had  a  saw-mill  north  of  the  town  on  the  river 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


357 


which  he  ran  successfully  for  twenty  years. 
In   1835  John  Kaun  had  a  saw-mill  on  the 
river  west  of  the  town.     He  disposed  of  it  to 
other  parties,  and  the  business  increased  to  such 
an  extent  that  steam  was  introduced,  Jacob 
Cressinger  was  one  of  the  early  carpenters. 
George    Cox   opened   the   first  saloon  in   the 
village,  and  it  passed  into  other  hands,  gro- 
cery stores  being  run  in  connection,  and  both 
liquor  and  groceries  did  a  good  business,  but 
when  laws  were  introduced  taxing  saloons  the 
tax  became  too  excessive  for  the  custom,  and 
saloons   were   discontinued.      Soon  after  the 
village  was  started  the  people  asked  for  better 
postal  facilities  and  their  request  was  granted. 
Frederick  Wise  was  the  first  postmaster,  in 
1836,  and  was  succeeded  by  John  Highly,  Dec. 
29,  1848;  Robert  Park,  June  i,  1854,  and  he 
held  the  office  until  it  was  discontinued  on 
April  24,  1855.     It  was  finally  re-established 
on  Nov.  4,  1862  with  Charles  Hahn  as  post- 
master, when  he  ran  it  for  another  four  years 
and  it  was  again  discontinued  on  Dec.  5,  1866. 
It  was  not  until  after  the  T.  &  O.  C.  road  was 
nearing  completion,  that  the  office  was  again 
re-established  on   May  8,    1878,  with  Josiah 
Keiter  as  postmaster.     He  was  followed  by 
E.  B.  Gleason,  Aug.  12,  1889;  C.  W.  G.  Ott, 
May  6,  1890;  Josiah  Keter,  April  25,  1894; 
C.  W.  G.  Ott,  March  12,  1898;  William  Ma- 
son Oct.  29,  1900.     On  May  15,  1905  it  was 
again  discontinued.     Being  on  a  railroad,  sev- 
eral attempts  have  been  made  to  have  the  of- 
fice again  re-established,  but  all  efforts  have 
failed,   mail   being   delivered   by  rural   route 
from    Bucyrus    daily,    except   occasionally   in 
the  spring,  when  the  Whetstone  overflows  its 
banks  to  such  an  extent  that  the  carrier  is  un- 
able to  reach  the  village  until  the  flood  sub- 
sides. 

About  1830  Barney  and  David  Eberhardt 
built  a  saw  mill  on  the  Olentangy  southwest 
of  where  the  village  of  that  name  was  later 
located.  They  had  a  log  dam,  filled  in  with 
mud,  stones  and  brush,  and  the  mill  was  run  by 
water  power,  and  while  very  slow,  was  kept 
busy  by  the  demands  for  lumber.  Michael 
Nye  and  Abraham  Holmes  also  had  small 
saw-mills  along  the  stream.  About  1838  Paul 
I.  Hetieh  and  his  brother-in-law,  George  Swe- 
ney,  prominent  business  men  of  Bucyrus,  be- 
came owners  of  a  saw-mill   just  above  the 


Eberhardts  mill.     They  built  a  dam  and  a 
mill  race,  put  in  the  best  of  machinery  then 
available  and  it  became  one  of  the  largest  saw- 
mills in  the  county.     Several  men  were  em- 
ployed at  the  mill  and  in  hauling  the  lumber 
to   Bucyrus    and    Galion,    the    two    principal 
points  at  which  the  lumber  was  sold.     There 
were  no  facilities  at  the  mill  for  caring  for 
the  teamsters  and  horses.    The  man  who  came 
to  buy  lumber  had  difficulty  in  finding  sleeping 
quarters  or  even  a  place  for  meals,  while  the 
teamster  returning  during  the  night  had  to 
look  up  some  farm  house  where  he  could  re- 
ceive accomodation.     At  that  time  there  was 
no  building  near  the  mill  which  could  be  used 
to  accommodate  the  workmen  and  customers, 
and  many  slept  in  the  mill,  and  in  summer  in 
their  wagons  in  the  open  air.     One  thing  the 
proprietors  of  the  mill  did  have,  and  that  was 
lumber;  it  was  cheap  so  they  decided  ^hey 
would  erect  a  tavern  near  the  mill.     Having 
decided  upon  this  action  it  was  not  long  be- 
fore they  extended  their  ideas  and  decided  to 
lay  out  a  town.     The  location  was  good;  it 
was  on  the  Bucyrus  and  Galion  Road,  half 
way  between  the  two  towns.     The  road  was 
one  of  the  best  traveled  in  the  county,  a  line 
of  stages  going  through  to  Bucyrus  three  times 
a  week,  and  besides,  this  was  on  the  principal 
road    over    which    eastern    merchandise    was 
transported   from  Mansfield  to  Bucyrus  and 
farther  west.     So  Sweney  and  Hetieh  formed 
a  partnership  with  William  Snyder,  a  farmer 
and  blacksmith  living  near  the  cross  roads,  and 
had  a  town  laid  out  by  Thomas  C.  Sweney, 
the  county  surveyor.    The  new  town  consisted 
of  41  lots,  21  on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  and 
20  on  the  south  side.     The  plat  was  filed  in 
the  recorder's  office  at  Bucyrus,  on  Nov.  16, 
1840,  and  the  location  given  was  on  "the  north 
half  of  section  26,  Whetstone  township."    The 
principal  street  was  on  the  road  from  Galion 
to  Bucyrus  and  this  was  called  Main  street; 
the  north  and  south  road  was  named  Market 
street,  and  east  of  Market  was  a  street  which 
led  from  Main  south  to  the  mill  on  the  Olen- 
tangy, called  Mill  street.     The  name  of  the 
town  came  from  the  stream  Olentangy  which 
passed  south  of  the  new  place.     The  village 
started   off  well.     Hetieh  and   Sweney  built 
their  tavern  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Main 
and  Market;  William  Snyder  built  his  house 


358 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


and  blacksmith  shop  on  the  northwest  corner; 
Andrew  Schreck  put  up  a  building  on  the 
southeast  corner,  in  which  he  opened  a  gen- 
eral store  and  also  had  a  bar  for  the  sale  of 
liquor;  George  Seebler  had  a  carpenter  and 
cabinet  maker's  shop  on  the  northeast  corner. 
A  school  house  was  erected  the  first  year  the 
town  was  laid  out,  on  the  lot  on  which  Shreck 
built  his  store.  The  town  prospered  for  a 
time;  later  Schreck  took  charge  of  the  tavern 
and  did  a  prosperous  business,  with  his  hotel, 
store  and  liquor,  and  in  winter  it  was  head- 
quarters for  many  sleighing  parties  from  Bu- 
cyrus  and  Gallon,  where  the  belles  and  beaux 
had  a  bounteous  supper  and  danced  to  a  late, 
or  rather  early,  hour. 

Valentine  Smith  owned  a  store  there  in 
1852,  and  Robert  Cowden  was  running  it  for 
him,  and  one  morning  walked  from  Gallon, 
to  his  place  of  business  at  Olentangy,  five 
miles,  stopping  at  the  old  two-story  hotel  at 
"the  Corners,"  west  of  Gallon,  where  he  got 
a  box  of  cigars  made  by  the  hotel  proprietor, 
the  cigars  being  needed  at  the  store. 

The  growth  of  the  town  made  a  postoffice 
necessary  and  one  was  established  there.  Wil- 
liam Snyder  being  appointed  postmaster  on 
March  3,  1840.  He  ran  the  office  a  little  over 
two  years  when  it  was  discontinued  on  Dec. 
2,  1842.  It  was  re-established  on  May  11, 
1850,  with  Andrew  Schreck  as  postmaster, 
but  at  the  end  of  two  years  it  was  again  dis- 
continued on  May  28,  1852.  It  remained 
closed  for  ten  years  when  it  was  reopened  on 
Oct.  30,  1862,  with  Andrew  Schreck  again  as 
postmaster.  It  only  had  another  two  years' 
lease  of  life  and  was  finally  discontinued  on 
Dec.   5,    1864. 

After  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  road  passed  to 
the  north,  traffic  over  the  stage  road  ceased 
and  the  town  was  on  the  decline.  No  longer 
were  the  many  teams  passing  daily.  The  local 
settlers  were  not  sufficient  to  make  a  store 
and  tavern  profitable  and  the  few  business  en- 
terprises of  the  town  were  suspended.  When 
the  war  broke  out  little  remained  of  the  town 
except  the  school  house  and  saloon.  As  the 
years  passed,  even  the  saloon  discontinued  for 
want  of  business ;  the  school  house  had  crum- 
bled to  decay  and  in  its  place  had  been  erected 
a  brick  structure  a  few  rods  to  the  west. 
Nothing  is  on  the  four  corners  today;  of  the 


hotel  and  the  store  and  the  shops,  not  even  the 
ruins  are  left;  down  Mill  or  Market  street 
may  still  be  seen  the  old  decayed  beams  where 
the  saw-mill  once  stood,  and  in  the  village  it- 
self all  that  remains  is  the  schoolhouse  on  one 
side  the  road  and  across  old  Main  street  to  the 
north  is  the  handsome  modern  farm  house  of 
Francis  Shook,  with  its  spacious  outbuildings. 
And  the  original  owners  and  business  men, 
like  the  old  village  itself,  have  long  since 
crumbled  into  dust,  and,  prominent  though 
some  of  them  were,  are  only  faintly  recalled 
by  the  older  settlers. 

When  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  road  was  built 
J.  B.  Magers,  William  Brown  and  William 
Magee  started  a  steam  saw-mill  where  the 
railroad  crosses  the  boundary  line  road  be- 
tween Whetstone  and  Jefferson  townships. 
John  and  William  Burwell  had  a  blacksmith 
shop,  and  a  number  of  other  buildings  had 
been  erected.  J.  P.  ..Robinson  secured  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  postoffice  there  in  1854  and 
it  was  named  North  Robinson  after  himself. 
He  came  to  the  county  in  183 1,  was  one  of  the 
early  County  Commissioners,  and  when  the 
railroad  was  built  had  a  saw-mill  and  furnished 
ties  for  the  road.  When  he  came  in  1831,  he 
had  with  him  was  his  one  year  old  son,  Wil- 
liam Robinson,  now  living  at  Crestline,  and 
the  secretary  of  the  Crawford  County  Pioneer 
Association.  The  little  village  prospered,  but 
the  same  trouble  probably  arose  as  in  other 
places  in  the  county,  over  the  Douglas-Breck- 
enridge  fight  for  the  presidency,  for  in  i860 
the  postoffice  was  discontinued,  notwithstand- 
ing it  was  a  thriving  little  village  and  on  a 
railroad.  The  losing  of  the  postoffice  did  not 
suppress  the  enterprise  of  Mr.  Magers  for  on 
March,  1861,  he  had  the  county  surveyor, 
Horace  Martin,  plat  a  town  on  his  land  on 
which  there  were  already  a  number  of  build- 
ings. The  town  was  called  North  Robinson, 
and  the  boundary  road  was  Main  street.  There 
was  a  street  north  of  the  railroad  called  Bu- 
cyrus,  and  two  streets  south  called  Mill  and 
Walnut. 

After  many  lots  had  been  sold  and  residence 
and  business  houses  had  been  erected,  a  cloud 
on  their  title  was  discovered.  Thereupon  J.  P. 
Robinson  laid  out  a  plat  of  lots  on  the  east  side 
of  the  original  town,  in  Jefferson  township, 
and  the  people  moved  over  to  them.     Later 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


359 


when  the  cloud  was  removed,  the  people  largely 
returned  to  their  original  holdings.  The  first 
merchant  was  Frederick  Newman,  who  did 
well,  and  other  enterprises  followed,  including 
a  hotel,  dry  goods  and  drug  store,  blacksmith 
shops,  a  cooper  shop,  a  grocery  and  saloon,  and 
a  fine  steam  saw  mill  which  was  owned  and 
operated  by  Warden  &  Tracht,  and  the  flour- 
ishing steam  tile-factory  established  by  Sick- 
man,  Fate  &  Co.  of  Crestline. 

After  Magers  bought  out  his  partners  in  the 
saw  mill,  he  added  an  addition  in  which  he 
placed  two  sets  of  buhrs  and  modern  machin- 
ery for  the  grinding  of  grain.  The  mill  was 
the  center  of  a  grain  growing  and  populous 
region,  and  did  a  good  business  under  several 
owners,  but  was  finally  destroyed  by  fire  and 
never  rebuilt.  In  1873  Mr.  Magers  erected  a 
large  elevator,  which  has  continued  under  va- 
rious owners.  In  1862  John  L.  Caskey  and 
Lewis  Holker  built  a  large  factory,  and  went 
into  the  carriage  business  extensively,  employ- 
ing a  number  of  hands,  and  half  a  century  ago 
their  carriage  works  were  one  of  the  important 
industries  in  the  county.  The  first  physician 
in  the  village  was  Dr.  Frank  Duff.  On  July  26, 
1 86 1,  the  post  office  was  re-established  in  the 
Newman  store  with  Frederick  Newman  as 
postmaster,  and  has  continued  ever  since.  Mr. 
Newman  being  succeeded  by  A.  R.  Warden, 
Oct.  29,  1861 ;  James  G.  Patterson,  Aug.  5, 
1872;  George  Railing,  April  21,  1875;  George 
F.  Darr,  Feb.  10,  1881 ;  J.  W.  Littler,  April 
25,  1882;  E.  G.  Smith,  June  15,  1889;  J.  W. 
Littler,  June  27,  1893 ;  Wilmina  Warden, 
Sept.  14,  1897;  E.  R.  Boyer,  Sept.  26,  1901 ; 
Ida  R.  Frank,  May  15,  1907. 

North  Robinson  has  graded  schools,  their 
large  brick  having  four  rooms.  There  are 
two  churches,  the  Lutheran  and  the  United 
Brethren.  North  Robinson  was  the  home  of 
Rev.  John  V.  Potts,  who  wrote  several  relig- 
ious works.  He  was  active  not  only  in  the 
U.  B.  church  but  also  in  all  religious  work, 
and  in  some  respects  was  like  the  ministers  of 
half  a  century  previous; — on  horseback  or  on 
foot  he  traveled  miles  to  fill  some  vacant  pulpit. 

When  the  Marion  commissioners  erected 
Whetstone  township  in  1824,  Heman  Rowse 
and  George  Poe  were  the  first  justices  elected 
in  April,  1825,  and  their  commissions  were 
dated  June  18  of  that  year.    The  following  is 


the  list  of  Justices  of  the  Peace  of  Whetstone 
township : 

Heman  Rowse — 1825-28. 

George  Poe — 1825. 

John  Campbell— 1827-30-33-36-39-42-4S-48. 

James  Stewart — 1832-35-38-41-44-47. 

John  Highley — 1845-48-51. 

Peter  G.  Rice — 1850. 

Martin  Bacon — 1851-54. 

Nicholas  Failor — 1852. 

Joseph  Meer — 1853-56-59-62. 

John  Gibson — 1855. 

Josiah  Keiter — 1857-60-64. 

Isaac  VanVoorhis — 1858-61. 

Josiah  Koler — 1863-66-69. 

Charles  Myers— 1865-68-71. 

Benjamin  F.  Warden — 1872-75. 

Isaac  Snyder — 1874. 

William  L.  Ferrall— 1877-80-83. 

M.  T.  Mills— 1878. 

J.  R.  Stewart— 1880. 

D.  T.  Timson— 1882-85. 

W.     B.  Cummings — 1887-90-93-96-99-02-05-07-10. 

M.  G.  Nungesser — 1888-91-94. 

George  Goldsmith — 1897-1900-03-06-09. 

The  settlement  of  the  northern  part  of  the 
township  necessitated  schooling  for  the  chil- 
dren, and  the  first  school  was  held  in  the  cabin 
of  John  Beckwith.  The  cabin  was  of  logs  and 
consisted  of  but  one  room.  And  at  one  end 
of  this  room,  the  eating  and  sleeping  side  was 
given  up  to  the  school.  The  other  end  was 
the  kitchen  department  where  the  meals  were 
being  prepared.  The  school  teacher  is  un- 
known, but  the  fact  is  handed  down  that  a  defi- 
nite line  existed  in  the  cabin,  established  by 
Mrs.  Beckwith,  over  which  no  child  dared 
pass;  so  the  first  school  was  held  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1824,  with  mental  refreshments  being 
served  at  one  end  of  the  room  while  bodily 
refreshments  were  being  prepared  at  the  other. 
During  that  winter  no  school  was  held,  the 
larger  children  going  to  Bucyrus,  and  the 
smaller  ones  picking  up  what  knowledge  they 
could  at  home.  That  winter,  however,  the 
settlers,  cleared  a  place  and  erected  a  small 
schoolhouse  on  the  farm  of  Joseph  Young,  and 
the  first  winter  it  was  taught  by  Moses  Arden 
of  Bucyrus.  Two  years  later  a  log  school- 
house  was  built  east  of  this.  In  these  earlier 
schoolhouses  time  was  not  taken  to  square  the 
logs;  they  were  put  in  place,  round  as  when 
they  came  from  the  trees,  and  what  furniture 
they  had  was  made  by  the  settlers  themselves. 

Proceeding  southward,  the  center  of  the 
township  began  to  be  fairly  settled,  and  here 
in   1828,   a  log  schoolhouse  was  erected  on 


360 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


John  Campbell's  farm,  and  it  boasted  of  two 
windows,  and  these  windows  had  real  glass  to 
admit  the  light ;  the  first  two  schoolhouses  re- 
ceiving their  light  through  greased  paper. 
Elizabeth  Bair  taught  school  the  first  summer, 
having  15  to  20  pupils.  During  the  first  ses- 
sion one  June  day  a  hurricane  passed  through 
that  section  while  school  was  in  session;  trees 
were  uprooted,  and  hurled  against  the  build- 
ing, some  cabins  were  blown  down,  but  the 
little  schoolhouse  was  just  on  the  edge  of  the 
storm,  and  although  badly  shaken,  remained 
intact,  and  no  damage  done  except  the  severe 
fright  given  the  children.* 

The  winter  term  in  this  building  was  taught 
by  Henry  Remson.  The  attendance  increased 
and  so  crowded  the  little  schoolhouse  that  an 
abandoned  cabin  was  fitted  up  a  mile  and  a 
half  further  south,  which  was  attended  by  the 
scholars  living  in  that  section.  The  first  Camp- 
bell schoolhouse  was  used  about  12  years,  when 
a  large  frame  building  was  erected  east  of  the 
first  site.  This  was  used  not  only  for  school 
purposes,  but  for  religious  services,  and  on 
account  of  its  size  was  the  place  where  all 
important  public  meetings  were  held.  When 
Winchester  was  laid  out  a  log  schoolhouse 
was  erected  just  north  of  the  village  which  did 
duty  until  1850,  when  it  was  abandoned  and  a 
new  building  erected  west  of  the  village;  this 
was  succeeded  by  another,  and  in  1878  the 
present  brick  building  with  four  rooms  was 
erected  in  the  village. 

The  Olentangy  schoolhouse  was  first  erected 
about  1840  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  cal- 
lage, and  after  being  in  use  some  years  gave 
place  to  a  frame  structure  near  the  same  site, 
and  thirty  years  ago  the  present  brick  was 
erected.  It  was  about  the  time  that  New 
Winchester  was  laid  out  that  the  township  was 
divided  into  school  districts,  and  in  1845  when 
two  miles  were  added  from  Marion  county  it 
added  more  school  districts,  and  Whetstone 
today  has  fourteen  districts.     The  first  build- 

*  On  May  22,  1903  a  similar  hurricane  swept  across 
Holmes  township.  The  Holmes  Centre  school  house,  a 
brick  structure  was  in  the  track  of  the  storm.  School 
was  in  session  at  the  time.  Half  of  the  roof  was  car- 
ried several  rods,  and  the  other  half  with  the  north 
wall  thrown  into  the  school  room.  The  teacher  and 
some  children  were  struck  by  the  debris,  and  yet  noth- 
ing more  serious  occurred  than  a  few  slight  bruises. 
All  the  roof  and  one  wall  were  blown  down,  another 
wall  but  half  remained. 


ings  of  course  were  logs,  but  some  of  the  later 
districts  started  with  small  frame  buildings, 
until  today  all  are  of  brick,  the  buildings  at 
New  Winchester  and  North  Robinson  both  be- 
ing structures  that  would  be  creditable  to  vil- 
lages more  than  double  their  size.  The  North 
Robinson  building  was  erected  in  1873;  the 
first  schoolhouse  was  a  mile  northwest  of 
where  the  village  now  is;  later  a  schoolbuild- 
ing  was  erected  half  a  mile  south  of  the  pres- 
ent village ;  then  North  Robinson  was  laid  out, 
became  a  center  of  business,  and  its  importance 
demaftded  that  the  schoolhouse  be  in  the  vil- 
lage. The  present  building  is  of  brick.  Whet- 
stone exceeds  all  other  townships  in  the  number 
of  her  school  houses,  having  fourteen. 

The  early  settlers  of  Whetstone  in  the  north- 
ern part  could  attend  religious  services  at 
Bucyrus,  yet  many  meetings  were  held  in  their 
cabins,  ministers  coming  out  from  Bucyrus  on 
Sunday  afternoons  to  hold  services.  In  1823 
Rev.  John  O.  Blowers  and  his  brother  William 
had  been  licensed  as  ministers  in  the  M.  E. 
Church  and  they  held  frequent  services  at  the 
cabins  of  the  early  settlers,  and  after  the  large 
Campbell  schoolhouse  was  built  it  was  in  con- 
stant use  by  Methodists  and  the  ministers  of 
other  denominations.  At  the  start  the  Meth- 
odists were  attached  to  the  Mansfield  Circuit, 
and  Rev.  Solomon  Myneer  was  the  first  trav- 
eling missionary.  He  had  six  counties  in  his 
circuit,  and  it  took  him  six  weeks  to  make  the 
round,  so  they  could  depend  on  their  regular 
preacher  for  al^out  eight  visits  a  year.  He  had 
nothing  to  pay  for  fopd  and  lodging,  any  pio- 
neer whether  of  his  denomination  or  not  be- 
ing glad  to  entertain  him.  Some  years  he 
managed  to  collect  as  high  as  $40,  and  al- 
though this  was  net,  there  is  no  report  of  his 
having  left  any  fortune  beyond  an  honorable 
name  to  his  heirs,  and  like  hundreds  of  others 
of  these  faithful  and  self  sacrificing  spiritual 
teachers  in  the  early  days,  he  was  satisfied 
with  the  blessings  he  received  in  the  world  be- 
low from  those  to  whom  he  gave  cheer  and 
comfort,  and  consolation  and  hope,  and  reaped 
his  reward  in  the  eternity  beyond. 

As  early  as  1832  the  Methodists  built  a 
church  in  the  northern  part  of  the  township 
in  the  Stewart  neighborhood.  Here  Rev.  Rob- 
ert Reid  was  a  class-leader  for  a  number  of 
years,   and   was   one  of  the  early  preachers. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


361 


One  of  the  active  members  in  this  church  was 
Cornwallis  Reese.  Years  ago  this  church  was 
abandoned  the  members  uniting  with  the  M.  E. 
Church  at  Bucyrus.  Near  this  church  was  the 
Stewart  graveyard,  and  here  was  buried  James 
Scott,  who  died  June  29,  1829,  and  the  same 
year  in  August  was  the  second  burial  of  John 
Parcher,  one  of  the  five  Parcher  brothers  who 
came  to  the  county.  Samuel  and  Simeon 
Parcher  and  others  of  that  family  are  buried 
here.  Here  also  lies  Hugh  Stewart,  the  ven- 
erable father  of  the  Stewarts,  who  died  July 
29,  1854,  aged  97  years.  Another  M.  E. 
Church  was  built  in  the  western  part  of  the 
township,  and  later  replaced  by  the  present 
brick  structure  on  the  Winchester  road  on  the 
farm  of  John  W.  Sherer.  Another  is  on  the 
county  line  a  mile  southeast  of  New  Win- 
chester, known  as  the  Sixteen  M.  E. 

When  New  Winchester  was  laid  out  the 
German  Reformers  had  an  organization  with 
services  at  the  various  cabins,  and  these  con- 
tinued until  the  society  was  strong  enough  to 
build  a  church  which  they  did  in  1847  just 
west  of  the  village;  it  was  a  frame  structure 
and  cost  about  $900.  "  Rev.  James  Kellar  was 
the  first  minister,  and  preached  in  both  English 
and  German.  Later  the  church  was  repaired. 
In  1835  the  same  denomination  had  a  church 
a  mile  north  of  New  Winchester,  first  a  log 
structure,  then  followed  by  a  frame  building, 
and  a  few  years  ago  the  present  brick  struct- 
ure was  dedicated.  It  is  known  as  the  St. 
John's  Reformed  Church  and  includes  among 
its  membership  those  who  formerly  belonged 
to  the  church  west  of  New  Winchester.  A 
graveyard  was  started  here  before  the  church 
was  built.  Near  this  graveyard  on  the  farm 
of  John  Weirick  there  still  is  seen  a  little 
graveyard,  no  longer  used.  It  was  originally 
on  the  farm  of  Archibald  Clark,  and  in  it  is 
today  the  oldest  gravestone  in  the  county,  al- 
most illegible ;  crumbling  to  decay  it  still  marks 
the  last  resting  place  of  his  wife,  Rachel  Clark, 
who  died  Sept.  i,  1826.  Here  too  is  the  place 
where  rests  Judge  E.  B.  Merriman,  the  first 


business  man  in  Bucyrus,  and  with  Zalmon 
Rowse  its  most  influential  citizen  in  its  early 
days.  In  1822  he  ran  the  first  store  in  Bucy- 
rus ;  at  one  time  had  a  branch  store  at  Annapo- 
lis, and  in  1838  started  one  at  New  Winchester, 
and  died  there.  Today  no  mark  remains  to 
show  where  he  was  buried,  but  old  residents 
at  Winchester  stated  years  ago  he  was  buried 
in  the  graveyard  north  of  the  village.  There 
were  but  two,  the  Reformed  graveyard  and  the 
private  burial  ground  of  his  old  friend,  Archi- 
bald Clark,  who  had  been  with  him  in  many 
business  transactions. 

The  German  Lutherans  organized  later, 
holding  meetings  in  the  cabins  and  later  erect- 
ing churches.  They  have  two  churches  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  township,  one  a  mile 
south  of  Olentangy  on  the  bank  of  the  Whet- 
stone, and  the  other.  Holy  Trinity  Lutheran, 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  southwest  of  this. 

The  Salem  Evangelical  church  is  south  of 
Wagner's  Corners.  North  Robinson  has  a 
handsome  English  Lutheran  Church,  built  in 
1875,  located  on  Main  street,  but  on  the  Jef- 
ferson township  side  of  the  village  . 

The  United  Brethren  have  two  churches  in 
the  township,  one  at  New  Winchester  and  the 
other  at  North  Robinson. 

More  than  half  a  century  ago  a  church  was 
built  on  the  Gabon  road,  just  east  of  the  Battle 
Monument.  It  was  a  little  frame  built  by  the 
Disciples  and  was  generally  known  as  the 
Campbellite  Church.  Services  were  held  here 
for  many  years,  but  nearly  all  the  members 
transferred  to  the  church  at  Bucyrus,  and  serv- 
ices were  discontinued,  and  as  the  building  was 
falling  into  decay,  about  1875  ^t  was  purchased 
by  Elias  Lavely,  removed  to  his  farm,  and  used 
as  a  farm  building.  Half  a  mile  to  the  south 
of  where  this  church  stood  is  the  Campbell 
graveyard,  where  the  first  burial  was  Samuel, 
infant  son  of  John  Campbell,  who  died  Aug. 
16,  1825.  Here  are  buried  many  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Whetstone  township,  and  here  was 
buried  Daniel  Bender,  who  was  murdered  at 
Dead  Man's  Hollow,  Sept.  28,  1836. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

BUCYRUS,  THE  COUNTY  SEAT 

Origin  of  the  Name,  Bucyrus — Arrival  of  Samuel  Norton  and  Party,  i8ip — Cabins  Built 
and  Crops  Planted — First  White  Child  Born  in  Bucyrus — Expert  Spinners — Abund- 
ance of  Game  and  Fish — Shortage  of  Bread  Owing  to  Distance  of  Mills — Slow  Mill- 
ing— Arrival  of  Other  Settlers — Col.  James  Kilbourne — Norton's  Agreement  with  Kil- 
bourne — The  Survey  and  Platting  of  Bucyrus — Naming  of  Streets — Sale  of  Lots — 
Bucyrus  as  Described  in  the  Ohio  Gazetteer,  1826 — Early  Stores  and  Merchants — Prices 
of  Various  Products  in  the  Early  Twenties — Fever  and  Ague — Mrs.  Lucy  Rogers'  Ex- 
perience— Tanneries  and  Grist  Mills — The  Carys — Early  Industries — The  First  Tavern 
— Price  of  Whiskey — Mrs.  Rogers  Thrashes  an  Indian — Liquor  Selling  to  the  Indians — 
Law  AgairtrSt  It — How  Evaded — Adventure  of  a  Bibulous  Citizen — Bucyrus  Song. 


Then  here,  my  friend,  your  search  may  end; 

For  here's  a  country  to  your  mind; 
And  here's  a  town  your  hopes  may  crown, 

As  those  who  try  it  soon  shall  find. 
Here  fountains  flow,  mild  zephyrs  blow. 

While  health  and  pleasure  smile  each  morn 
For  all  around  Bucyrus  found, 

On  fair  Sandusky's  rural  bourn. 

— Kilbourne's  Song  of  Bucyrus. 

Bucyrus  is  an  Egyptian  word,  the  name  be- 
ing derived  from  Busiris,  a  city  of  ancient 
Egypt,  and  also  a  name  given  the  old  Egyptian 
kings.  It  was  named  by  Col.  James  Kilbourne, 
who  with  Samuel  Norton,  the  first  settler,  was 
the  founder  of  the  town.  The  poetical  lines 
relating  to  Bucyrus  are  found  in  Milton's 
Paradise  Lost,  book  first : 

.     .         "When  with  fierce  winds  Orion  arm'd. 

Hath  vexed  the  red  sea  coast,  whose  waves  o'erthrew 

Busiris  and  his  Memphian  chivalry." 

When  Samuel  Norton  reached  Bucyrus  in 
October,  1819,  the  party  consisted  of  the  fol- 
lowing eighteen  persons :  Samuel  Norton  and 
Mary  Norton,  his  wife;  three  daughters — 
Louisa,  Catharine  and  Elizabeth ;  three  sons — 
Rensselaer,  Warren  and  Waldo;  Albigence 
Bucklin,  (a  brother  of  Mrs.  Norton)  and  his 
wife  and  six  children — Esther,  Cynthia,  Aus- 
tin, Elizabeth,  Almeda  and  Pitt,  and  an 
adopted  daughter,  Polly.     The  eighteenth  per- 


son was  Seth  Holmes,  who  had  been  through 
this  region  in  1812,  as  a  teamster  in  the  war 
of  1812,  and  who  accompanied  the  Norton 
party  as  teamster  and  guide.  On  arriving  here 
an  old  wigwam  mide  of  small  saplings  was 
found  standing  in  the  woods  in  what  is  now 
the  court  house  yard.  This  the  pioneers  oc- 
cupied for  three  days,  while  the  three  men 
built  a  log  cabin.  It  was  of  round  logs,  un- 
hewed,  the  cracks  chinked  with  mud,  and  was 
built  on  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky,  just  west 
of  the  Sandusky  avenue  bridge,  on  the  land 
now  occupied  by  C.  H.  Shonert.  This  cabin, 
the  wigwam  and  the  wagons  accommodated 
them.  As  soon  as  it  was  completed,  a  site  was 
selected  for  the  Bucklin  cabin — also  on  the 
bluff  on  the  banks  of  the  river.  It  was  built 
north  of  Mansfield  street,  just  west  of  where 
the  T.  &  O.  C.  embankment  commences  on  its 
way  across  the  river.  At  that  tiine  the  river 
bed  was  at  the  foot  of  the  bluff,  passing  just 
north  of  the  brewery.  A  cabin  similar  to  the 
Norton  cabin  was  erected  here  for  Mr.  Buck- 
lin and  his  family  and  the  pioneers  were  as 
comfortably  situated  as  possible  for  their  first 
winter,  the  Nortons  and  Bucklins  in  their 
cabins,  and  Seth  Holmes  in  the  wigwam. 
Small  sheds  were  erected  for  the  stock,  the 
pioneers   having  brought   with   them   several 


362 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


363 


horses  and  cattle,  a  few  hogs  and  some  chick- 
ens. They  were  fairly  provided  with  cooking 
utensils,  and  the  farming  implements  of  those 
days.  Mr.  Norton  had  also  brought  with  him 
a  hand-mill  for  grinding  corn  or  wheat  in  case 
of  emergency.  These  pioneers  were  ten  miles 
from  the  nearest  settlement,  which  was  at  and 
near  where  Gallon  now  is. 

The  first  winter  was  passed  in  clearing  land 
around  their  cabins,  and  the  spring  of  1820 
being  a  very  early  one,  Norton  planted  his  first 
crop  in  February,  and  in  later  years  stated  it 
was  the  finest  crop  he  had  ever  produced. 
When  Norton  first  settled  on  the  land,  it  had 
been  surveyed  but  was  not  yet  entered  for  sale, 
and  as  soon  as  it  was  open  for  purchase,  Nor- 
ton went  to  Delaware  on  horseback,  after  leav- 
ing the  plains  being  compelled  to  pick  his  way 
th'rough  the  woods,  to  the  land  office  at  that 
place.  Here,  it  is  reported,  some  Quakers  en- 
deavored to  persuade  him  that  the  land  he  de- 
sired to  enter  was  not  the  land  he  wanted,  but 
Mr.  Norton  insisted  it  was  and  entered  400 
acres,  on  which  the  central  part  of  Bucyrus 
now  stands.  One  of  these  deeds  was  for  160 
acres,  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  i, 
township  3,  range  16,  of  the  district  of  Dela- 
ware, and  was  signed  by  James  Monroe,  Oct. 
5,  182 1.  It  was  one  of  the  earliest  deeds  for 
land  in  the  New  Purchase  as  it  was  recorded 
in  Vol.  I,  page  loi.  Returning  home  he  gave 
Albigence  Bucklin  the  80  acres  where  he  re- 
sided, he  having  promised  him  that  amount  of 
land,  if  he  would  accompany  him  to  Ohio,  as 
Mrs.  Norton  refused  to  come  unless  her 
brother  and  his  family  came  along. 

The  first  planting  of  the  settlers  was  prin- 
cipally wheat,  corn,  potatoes  and  flax,  the  lat- 
ter being  a  necessary  article,  from  which  Mrs. 
Norton  and  her  daughters  made  the  clothes 
for  the  family.  On  one  of  his  trips  to  the 
mills  on  the  Mohican,  at  Fredericktown  in 
Knox  County,  over  30  miles  away,  Mr.  Nor- 
ton stopped  at  the  Quaker  village  of  Friends- 
borough  in  what  is  now  Morrow  county,  and 
purchased  ten  pounds  of  wool,  the  wool  being 
spun  into  yarn,  the  yarn  made  into  cloth,  and 
the  cloth  into  clothing  by  Mrs.  Norton.  The 
Norton  cabin  had  one  window  which  let  in 
some  light;  this  window  was  a  hole  cut  near 
the  door  over  which  was  placed  greased  paper. 


As  the  cabin  was  surrounded  by  woods,  little 
or  no  rain  or  wind  reached  the  flimsy  window, 
yet  from  the  first  cotton  woven,  the  window 
was  covered  with  the  cloth,  which  was  a  step 
in  advance  in  house-building. 

The  most  important  event  which  occurred 
the  first  winter  was  on  Feb.  11,  1820,  when  in 
the  little  cabin  on  the  bank  of  the  Sandusky 
was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Norton,  a  daughter, 
Sophronia,  the  first  white  child  born  in  Bu- 
cyrus. The  Nortons  had  brought  from  Penn- 
sylvania both  a  loom  and  spinning  wheels,  and 
the  young  girls  soon  became  valued  assistants 
of  their  mother  in  the  manufacture  of  the 
goods  for  clothing.  Mrs.  A.  M.  Jones  (Eliza- 
beth Norton)  while  quite  young,  was  the  ex- 
pert spinner  of  the  family,  and  received  so 
many  compliments  that  she  became  a  very  zeal- 
ous spinner  from  pride.  She  was  so  small  that 
her  father  cut  the  legs  of  one  of  the  spinning- 
wheels  to  make  it  more  convenient  for  her. 
Each  of  the  girls  had  a  task  allotted  of  so  much 
spinning  per  day,  and  Elizabeth  soon  discov- 
ered that  her  expertness  and  her  skill  brought 
with  it  troubles,  as  on  her  the  larger  part  of 
the  spinning  devolved.  True,  all  girls  in  those 
days  were  expert  spinners,  some  of  them 
skilled  at  weaving;  all  good  cooks,  and  all  of 
great  assistance  in  the  family  work.  The 
clothing  they  wore  was  made  by  themselves. 
Game  was  abundant — deer  and  wild  turkeys, 
rabbits  and  squirrel — and  Mr.  Norton  re- 
ports killing  five  deer  in  one  day,  near  Buck- 
lin's  cabin,  about  where  the  T.  &  O.  C.  crosses 
the  Sandusky.  Here  there  was  in  those  days 
a  salt  lick,  where  the  deer  came.  The  skins 
were  used  for  clothing  and  the  meat  stored 
away  for  winter  use. 

In  those  early  days,  while  the  woods  pro- 
duced an  abundance  of  game  and  the  river 
yielded  fish  and  an  occasional  hog  was  killed, 
the  chief  difficulty  was  the  supply  of  bread, 
and  the  Norton  daughters  report  that  some- 
times for  days  they  were  without  bread,  their 
diet  being  game,  potatoes  and  honey,  for  there 
were  many  bee  trees,  and  at  one  time  Mr.  Nor- 
ton had  over  a  barrel  of  strained  honey  in  his 
cabin;  in  one  day  he  found  23  bee  trees,  and 
the  first  hive  of  bees  he  had  was  a  swarm  of 
wild  ones  he  secured  in  the  woods.  The  near- 
est mill  was  at  Lexington,  on  the  banks  of  the 


364 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Mohican  in  Richland  county.    The  largest  was 
the  Herron  mill  at  Fredericktown  on  the  Ver- 
non river  in  Knox  County.     Although  over 
thirty  miles  away,  it  was  the  safest  as  the 
pioneer  was  certain  of  having  his  grist  ground, 
the  water  being  sufficient  to  run  the  mill  at 
all  seasons  of  the  year.     An  Indian  trail  led 
to  that  settlement,  the  Indians  passing  through 
Bucyrus  and  Whetstone  township,  across  Mor- 
row County  and  to  Fredericktown  and  Mt.  Ver- 
non, the  latter  being  one  of  the  principal  points 
where  they  disposed  of  their  skins  and  cran- 
berries.    This  trail  was  well-marked  through 
the  forest,  and  over  this  long  route,  Norton  or 
Seth  Holmes  would  take  as  much  grain  as  the 
horse  could  carry,  and  return  about  a  week 
later  with  it  ground  into  meal.    Four  days  was 
a  quick  trip.     In  spring  the  route  was  almost 
impassable,    even   on   horseback,   and   then   it 
was  when  the  meal  was  low,  that  the  family 
were  thrown  on  their  own  resources,  and  the 
hand-mill  was  pressed  into  use  — a  very  crude 
sort  of  coffee-mill,  holding  half  a  pint  of  grain, 
which  was  ground  into  meal.     Then  the  mill 
was  filled  up  and  still  more  ground.    The  slow- 
ness of  the  process  prevented  a  supply  being 
gathered  ahead.     It  was  an  evening's  work  at 
the  mill,  to  secure  enough  meal  for  the  next 
day's  use.     Another  device  was  the  punching 
of  holes  with  a  nail  through  a  piece  of  tin,  the 
bottom  of  an  old  bucket;  and  on  the  rough 
edges  of  the  holes,  an  ear  of  corn  was  slowly 
and    industriously    rubbed,    the    meal    falling 
through  the  holes.     This  was  amusement  of 
a  winter  evening,  sitting  beside  the  large  fire- 
place.    In  a  few  hours  enough  meal  could  be 
ground  this  way  to  give  all  at  least  a  taste  of 
bread  for  breakfast.     When  the  roads  were 
bad  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  it  can  readily  be 
seen  why  bread  was  a  luxury,  and  potatoes 
and  game  the  staple  article  of  food. 

A  corrected  survey  of  the  land  showed  that 
the  Norton  land  did  not  extend  to  the  river,  but 
that  his  northern  line  was  Perry  street,  so  he 
built  himself  another  log  cabin  on  the  south- 
east comer  of  what  is  now  Galen  and  Spring 
streets.  This  was  a  much  larger  house,  known 
as  a  double  log  cabin.  There  were  neighbors 
then,  and  they  came  to  the  raising  and  the  new 
cabin  was  erected,  with  two  rooms  do\yn  stairs, 
two  windows  in  the  front,  and  a  spacious  loft. 
The  chimney  for  six  feet  was  actually  built 


of  stone,  and  above  this  was  the  balance  of 
sticks  and  mud.  Norton  now  had  the  palatial 
residence  of  the  county,  one  that  well  became 
the  future  founder  of  Bucyrus. 

In  the  spring  of  1820  some  settlers  arrived 
in  a  family  named  Sears,  who  lived  for  a  time 
just  west  of  the  present  site  of  Oakwood  Ceme- 
tery and  then  moved  away.  Then  followed  the 
Beadles — David  Beadle  and  two  sons,  Michael 
and  David,  Jr.,  and  Beadle's  son-in-law,  John 
Ensley.  Daniel  McMichael  followed  with  his 
family,  and  Joseph  Young  and  family  and 
others.  Michael  Beadle  built  a  cabin  on  West 
Mansfield  street,  about  where  the  property  of 
the  late  Silas  A.  Bowers  now  is ;  south  of  him 
his  father  had  80  acres,  his  cabin  being  just 
north  of  the  junction  of  Kaler  avenue  with 
Charles  street.  ^ 

It  was  during   1820  that  Col.  James  Kil- 
bourne  drifted  north  from  Columbus,  making 
a  preliminary  survey  for  a  road  from  Colum- 
bus to  the  Lake.    At  that  time  a  road  extended 
from  Columbus  through  Delaware,  and  as  far 
north  as  Norton  in  Delaware  county,  near  the 
Greenville  Treaty  line.  When  in  181 7  this  land, 
north  of  the  treaty  line,  was  opened  to  settle- 
ment, arrangements  were  made  to  extend  the 
road   to  the   Lake.      Kilboume,   with   a   sur- 
veyor's instinct,  saw  at  a  glance  the  excellent 
location  of  the  Norton  land  as  the  place  for  a 
town  on  this  new  road.     But  Mr.  Norton  did 
not  favor  it.     He  had  come  there  because  he 
liked  the  land;  he  had  a  good  farm,  it  was 
fast  being  cleared,  and  it  was  too  good  a  farm 
to  spoil  by  being  laid  out  into  town  lots.    Kil- 
bourne   continued   on   his   way  to   Sandusky 
City,  drew  up  his  plans  for  the  road,  and  in 
1 82 1  returned  to  Bucyrus.    He  had  established 
the  town  of  Claridon  in  Marion  County,  about 
16  miles  north  of  Delaware,  and  the  Sandusky 
river  sixteen  miles  further  north  was  excel- 
lently situated  for  his  next  town,  with  the  site 
of    (Caroline)    Attica    selected    still    further 
north.     The  neighbors    wisely    prevailed    on 
Norton  to  enter  into  an  agreement  with  Col. 
Kilbourne  and  as  a  result  the  following  con- 
tract was  drawn  up. 

To  All  Whom  it  May  Con'cern  : 

Know  ye,  that  James  Kilbourne,  of  Worthington,  in 
the  county  of  Franklin  and  State  of  Ohio,  and  Samuel 
Norton,  of  the  county  of  Crawford,  and  State  aforesaid, 
have  agreed,  and  do  agree  as  follows,  viz. :  The  said 
James  Kilboume  agrees  to  lay  off  a  town  for  said  Nor- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


365 


ton,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  the  first  section  of  the 
third  township  south,  and  sixteenth  range,  of  the  public 
lands  of  the  United  States,  the  west  line  of  which  shall 
be  forty-four  rods  from  the  west  line  of  said  quarter, 
and  parallel  thereto,  and  shall  extend  thence  east  one 
hundred  rods,  being  bounded  north  and  south  by  the 
quarter  lines,  so  as  to  contain  one  hundred  acres  in 
said  town  plat  of  in-lots,  out-lots  and  reserves.  In  lay- 
ing off  and  establishing  said  town,  the  said  Kilbourne 
shall  do,  or  cause  to  be  done  at  his  own  expense,  the 
following  particulars,  viz. :  He  shall  make,  or  cause  to 
be  made,  the  preparatory  survey  and  notes;  project  and 
make  the  plat ;  survey  the  town ;  cause  the  plat  to  be  re- 
corded; advertise,  and  attend  at  the  first  public  sale  of 
lots ;  draw  all  the  writings  for  the  sale ;  advertise  the  ap- 
plications for  such  State  and  county  roads  as  the  pro- 
prietors shall,  within  one  year  from  this  date,  agree  to 
be  necessary,  leading  to  and  from  said  town;  draw  peti- 
tions for  said  roads;  circulate  them  for  signers;  present 
them  to  proper  authorities,  and  attend  the  commis- 
sioners and  viewers  who  may  be  appointed  thereon,^  to 
assist  in  selecting  proper  routes  for  said  roads ;  and, 
when  the  town  shall  be  surveyed  as  aforesaid,  the  said 
Norton,  his  heirs  or  assigns,  as  principal  proprietors, 
shall  first  choose  and  reserve  one  lot;  the  said  Kil- 
bourne, as  projector,  surveyor  and  minor  proprietor,  his 
heirs  and  assigns,  shall  next  choose  and  reserve  one 
lot;  and  the  remainder  of  the  town  shall  be  the  joint 
property  of  the  said  Norton  and  Kilbourne,  their  heirs 
and  assigns,  forever,  in  the  proportion  of  three-fourths 
to  the  said  Norton,  and  one-fourth  to  the  said  Kil- 
bourne; Provided,  however,  that  the  said  Norton  may 
reserve  twelve  rods  in  width  of  the  west  side  of  said 
town  plat,  as  the  same  shall  be  platted,  surveyed  and 
recorded  as  above,  to  his  own  proper  use  and  disposal ; 
for  which  the  said  Kilbourne  shall  receive  and  hold, 
throughout  the  other  parts  of  the  town  plat,  in  addi- 
tion to  his  fourth  part  thereof,  an  interest  and  right 
equal  in  quantity  to  one-fourth  part  of  said  twelve-rod 
reservation;  so  that  the  said  Kilbourne's  interest  in  the 
eighty-eight  acres  east  of  said  twelve-rod  reserve  shall 
be  as  twenty-five  is  to  eighty-eight,  or,  twenty-five  acres 
in  the  whole ;  and  the  said  Samuel  Norton  doth  agree 
to  appropriate  the  said  tract  for  a  town  plat,  to  be  laid 
off  by  said  Kilbourne  as  above  written,  and  upon  the 
terms  aforesaid ;  and,  so  soon  as  the  said  Kilbourne 
shall  have  completed,  all  and  singular,  the  obligations  on 
his  part,  so  far  as  that  the  town  is  ready  for  the  public 
sale  as  aforesaid,  the  said  Norton  shall  make  and  de- 
liver to  the  said  Kilbourne,  his  heirs  or  assigns,  a  good 
and  sufficient  warrantee  deed  of  the  said  one-fourth 
part  of  the  town  plat  aforesaid,  provided  he  shall  so 
soon  receive  the  patent  from  the  President  for  the  tract 
of  which  the  said  town  plat  will  be  a  part;  and,  if  the 
patent  should  not  be  so  soon  received,  then  and  in  that 
case  the  deed  shall  be  made  and  delivered  as  soon  as 
the  said  patent  shall  be  received  as  aforesaid. 

In  witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunro  set  our  hands 
and  seals,  at  Crawford  county  the  fourth  day  of  Octo- 
ber, Anno  Domini  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
twenty-one. 

James  Kilbourne    (seal), 
Samuel  Norton   (seal). 
In  presence  of 

Seth  Holmes,  Jr. 

BiRON  Kilbourne. 

The  plat  of  the  within  described  town,  now  named 
Bucyrus,  is  so  changed  to  the  west  by  laying  off  by 
mutual  agreement  as  to  leave  but  twenty-four,  instead 
of  forty-four,  rods  between  said  plat  and  the  sectional 
line;  and  the  reserve  of  Samuel  Norton  is  extended  on 

21 


the  plat  to  twenty-four,  instead  of  twelve  rods;  there 
will,  of  course,  remain  but  seventy-six  instead  of  eighty- 
eight,  rods,  or  acres,  of  said  plat  east  of  Samuel  Nor- 
ton's reserve,  of  which  seventy  rods,  containing  seventy- 
six  acres,  James  Kilbourne  shall  receive  his  proportion 
of  the  town,  in  amount  twenty-five  acres,  instead  of  the 
eighty-eight  acres  as  within  contracted.  Said  Norton 
shall  have  to  his  own  use  all  the  mill  privileges,  with 
no  other  consideration  than  that  of  the  contents  of  the 
ground  contained  therein,  toward  his  part  of  the  out-lots 
of  the  plat;  and  the  ground  bought  of  Mr.  Holmes,  if 
retained,  shall  be  laid  out  into  lots  by  said  Kilbourne 
and  added  to  the  town,  on  the  same  principles  and  pro- 
portions of  mutual  advantage  as  the  hundred' acres  con- 
tained in  the  foregoing  contract. 
December  15,  1821. 

Samuel    Norton. 

James    Kilbourne. 

The  foregoing  contract  is  this  day  so  changed  by 
mutual  consent  that  the  part  of  the  town  of  Bucyrus 
which  is  laid  upon  the  lands  of  Samuel  Norton  is  con- 
fined to  such  limits  as  to  contain  only  the  numbered 
in-lots,  out-lots  and  public  grounds,  with  the  avenue, 
streets  and  alleys,  containing  fifty  acres  more  or  less ; 
and  the  projector  and  surveyor  of  the  town,  James  Kil- 
bourne, his  heirs  and  assigns,  shall  have  and  receive  the 
one  equal  half  part  thereof,  instead  of  the  one-fourth 
part  of  the  one  hundred  acres,  as  previously  stipulated 
in  this  contract. 
Witness  our  hands,  and  seals  at  Bucyrus,  this  12th  day 

of  February,  1822. 

Samuel   Norton    (seal). 
James   Kilbourne    (seal). 

This  contract,  with  the  amendments,  oc- 
cupied three  pages  of  foolscap,  and  it  will  be 
observed  that  the"  final  agreement  was  reached 
and  the  contract  signed  on  Lincoln's  birthday, 
that  later  distinguished  American  being  at  that 
-time  ragged  and  barefooted  in  his  log  cabin, 
probably  passing  the  day  without  any  presents 
to  remind  him  that  it  was  the  thirteenth  an- 
niversary of  his  birth.  On  the  same  sheet  of 
foolscap  is  written  the  final  words : 

"The  within  article  of  agreement,  with  the  two  modi- 
fications of  the  original  contract  herein  contained,  being 
complied  with  by  the  parties,  is  fully  canceled  and  of  no 
further  effect. 

Samuel    Norton. 
James  Kilbourne.'' 
Bucyrus,  April  22,  1830." 

The  plat  itself  that  was  filed  at  Delaware, 
Ohio,  in  the  Recorder's  office,  was  signed 
Feb.  II,  1822.  The  corrected  survey  showed 
Norton's  land  only  extended  as  far  north  as 
Perry  street.  East  of  Sandusky  avenue,  the 
land  between  Perry  street  and  the  river  was 
owned  by  Seth  Holmes  and  Daniel  McMichael. 
and  west  of  the  avenue  by  Abel  and  Lewis 
Gary.  The  sale  of  lots  later  shows  Seth 
Holmes'  land  was  bought,  and  certainly  some 


366 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


agreement  was  made  with  the  Carys  and  Mc- 
Michaels  as  the  town  extended  to  the  river 
The  amended  plat  as  filed  in  this  county  shows 
that  described  by  present  boundaries  the  town 
started  on  the  east  at  the  Sandusky  river,  just 
half  a  block  east  of  Walnut  street,  extending 
south  to  Middletown  street,  the  line  being  half 
way  between  Walnut  and  Lane  streets,  a  part 
of  this  line  having  an  alley,  notably  from  the 
Pennsylvania  road  to  Charles  street.  At  Mid- 
dletown street  it  ran  west  two  blocks  to  the 
alley  between  Sandusky  avenue  and  Poplar 
street ;  then  north  along  the  alley  until  it  came 
to  within  one  lot  of  Warren  street,  where  it 
went  west  to  Poplar  street,  including  in  the 
village  lot  176  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Pop- 
lar and  Warren,  now  owned  by  the  heirs  of  D. 
Picking.  It  went  north  on  Poplar  to  Rensse- 
laer street;  then  went  half  a  block  west,  then 
north,  along  the  west  line  of  the  present  Pres- 
byterian parsonage  until  within  one  lot  of 
Mansfield  street,  when  it  went  west  across 
Spring  street,  and  further  west  two  lots,  then 
north  across  Mansfield  street,  so  as  to  include 
one  row  of  lots  on  the  north  side  of  Mansfield. 
The  line  then  ran  east,  at  the  rear  of  two  lots 
on  Mansfield  street  west  of  Spring,  and  at  the 
rear  of  four  lots  between  Spring  and  Poplar. 
On  Poplar  it  went  north  to  Galen,  east  to  the 
alley  between  Poplar  and  Sandusky,  then  north 
to  the  river.  The  plat  contained  176  lots,  and 
of  these  lots  90  and  92  were  set  apart  for  a 
Court  House,  the  present  site;  and  lot  88  for 
the  jail,  and  north  of  this  lot  86  was  donated 
by  Norton  later  for  school  purposes,  the  lot 
adjoining  the  Pennsylvania  road  on  Walnut 
street. 

The  streets  were  named  mostly  by  Samuel 
Norton,  as  they  are  after  members  of  his  fam- 
ily, modestly  omitting  one  after  himself. 
Sandusky  avenue  was  laid  out  as  an  avenue, 
and  was  5  rods  wide  (82>4  fett)  called  after 
the  Columbus  and  Sandusky  turnpike,  but  al- 
ways popularly  known  and  called  "Mam 
street "  Mansfield  street  was  called  after  the 
road  leading  to  Mansfield.  Walnut  street  was 
probably  named  by  Col.  Kilbourne,  on  account 
of  a  number  of  Walnut  trees  at  the  north  end 
of  the  street.  Poplar  street  was  named  from 
the  number  of  Poplar  trees  on  its  northern  end. 
Mary  street  was  named  after  Mrs.  Norton: 
Rensselaer,   Warren   and   Charles,   after  the 


sons  of  Norton.  All  these  streets  were  not 
named  at  the  start,  as  Perry  street  was  named 
after  Perry  Garton,  the  eldest  grandchild  of 
Samuel  and  Mary  Norton,  son  of  Louisa  Nor- 
ton who  married  Harris  Garton  Feb.  15,  1824. 
Middletown  street  was  also  named  later,  after 
the  road  leading  from  Bucyrus  through  that 
village  to  Mansfield.  Galen  street  was  also 
named  later,  the  early  history  says,  probably 
after  some  member  of  the  Norton  family 
but  no  Galen  can  be  found  in  the  family,  and 
the  probabilities  are  it  was  named  by  Dr.  Mc- 
Comb,  the  first  disciple  of  Galen  who  came  in 
1822;  the  street  itself  was  partly  through  a 
swamp,  at  places  impassable  east  and  west, 
and  as  late  as  1851  was  in  such  a  condition  it 
was  probably  a  relief  to  the  citizens  when  the 
Ohio  and  Indiana  road  decided  to  use  it  for 
their  track.  Spring  alley  was  named  from  a 
spring  on  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky,  east  of 
the  avenue.  East  and  West  Alleys  were  named 
from  being  east  and  west  of  Sandusky  avenue. 
The  lot  sale  took  place  in  April,  but  prior  to 
this  parties  had  bought  lots.  When  the  sale 
took  place,  a  large  crowd  was  present,  people 
coming  from  the  country  and  from  neighboring 
towns,  and  Col.  Kilbourne  was  the  auctioneer, 
and  during  the  sale  sang  for  the  first  time  his 
Song  of  Bucyrus 

Ye  men  of  spirit,  ardent  souls. 

Whose  hearts  are  firm  and  hands  are  strong, 
Whom  generous  enterprise  controls, 

Attend !  and  truth  shall  guide  my  song. 
I'll  tell  you  how  Bucyrus,  now 

Just   rising,  like  the  star  of  morn, 
Surrounded  stands  by  fertile  lands, 

On  clear  Sandusky's  rural  bourn. 

In  these  wide  regions,  known  to  fame, 

Which  freedom  proudly  calls  her  own; 
Where  free-born  men  the  heathen  tame, 

And  spurning  kings — despise  a  throne. 
No  lands  more  blest  in  all  the  west, 

Are  seen  whichever  way  you  turn, 
Than  those  around  Bucyrus  found 

On  clear  Sandusky's  rural  bourn. 

The  river  valley,  rich  and  green. 

Far  as  the  power  of  sight  extends. 
Presents  a  splendid  rural  scene. 

Which  not  the  distant  landscape  ends. 
The  bordering  plain  spreads  like  the  main, 

Where  native  fruits  its  sides  adorn. 
And  nearly  join  the  margin  line 

Along  Sandusky's  rural  bourn. 

First  Norton  and  the  Beadles  came, 
With  friends,  (an  enterprising  band). 

Young  and  McMichael,  men  of  fame. 
Soon  joined  the  others,  hand  in  hand; 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


;-367 


By  various  plans  t'  improve  the  lands, 

They  early  rise  with  every  morn, 
Near  where  the  town  Bucyrus  stands, 

All  on  Sandusky's  rural  bourn. 

There,  teams  of  oxen  move  with  pride, 

Obedient  to  their  driver's  word; 
There  the  strong  yeomen  firmly  guide 

The  ploughs  which  cleave  and  turn  the  sward; 
The  dale  around,  with  herds  abound. 

The  fields  luxuriant  are  with  corn. 
Near  where  the  town  Bucyrus  stands, 

All  on  Sandusky's  rural  bourn. 

Rich  meadows  there,  extending  far. 

By  nature  for  the  scythe  prepared. 
And  boundless  pasture  everywhere. 

Is  free  for  all  and  ev'ry  herd. 
The  deep'ning  mold,  some  hundred  fold. 

Rewards  with  flax  and  wheat  and  corn, 
Those  who  with  toil  excite  the  soil. 

Along  Sandusky's  rural  bourn. 

In  seasons  mild  their  forests  wild. 

Through  hills  and  valleys  widely  spread. 
The  streamlets  glide  from  every  side. 

Concent' ring  to  their  common  bed; 
Thence,  fed  by  springs  which  nature  brings, 

O'erhung  by  plum-tree,  elm  and  thorn, 
Winds  on  the  stream  with  dazzling  gleam. 

Along  Sandusky's  rural  bourn. 

When  gathering  vapors  dim  the  sky. 

And  clouds  condensed  their  treasures  pour; 
When  showers  descend,  and  lightnings  rend 

The  heavens  above,  and  thunders  roar; 
When  growing  rills  the  valley  fills; 

When  gentle  brooks  to  rivers  turn; 
Then  moves  with  pride  the  swelling  tide 

Along  Sandusky's  rural  bourn. 

There,  youths  and  maids  along  the  glades 

Are  often  seen  in  walks  around. 
Where  flowers  in  prime,  in  vernal  time. 

And  where,  in  autumn,  fruits  are  found. 
With  manly  face,  with  dimpling  grace. 

Give,  and  receive  kind  words  in  turn — 
In  roseate  bowers,  where  fragrant  flowers 

O'erspread  Sandusky's  rural  bourn. 

Then,  here,  my  friend,  your  search  may  end. 

For  here's  a  country  to  your  mind ; 
And  here's  a  town  your  hopes  may  crown. 

As  those  who  try  it  soon  shall  find. 
Here  fountains  flow,  mild  zephyrs  blow. 

While  health  and  pleasure  smile  each  morn 
For  all  around  Bucyrus  found. 

On  fair  Sandusky's  rural  bourn. 

Many  times  in  after  years  when  Col.  Kil- 
bourne  visited  Bucyrusi  he  sang  this  song  and 
others  to  admiring  crowds.  He  was  a  great 
favorite  among  the  sturdy  pioneer  settlers, 
who  esteemed  him  for  his  many  social  qual- 
ities, and,  when  the  knowledge  that  the  Colonel 
was  at  the  village  spread  throughout  the 
neighborhood,  they  would  assemble  at  Bucyrus 
to  enjoy  the  rich  season  of  fun  which  the  old 
surveyor  always  planned  and  directed  when  he 


appeared.  He  had  a  few  old  cronies,  who 
were  seldom  absent  when  the  Colonel  was 
willing  to  "make  a  night"  of  it  with  his  boon 
companions.  Brandy  and  egg-nog  were  Kil- 
bourne's  favorite  beverages,  and  these  special 
friends  of  his  never  refused  to  indulge  when 
stray  glasses  containing  liquid  of  this  descrip- 
tion were  thrust  into  their  hands ;  consequently, 
when  Kilbourne  planned  a  good  social  time  at 
the  public  house  with  a  few  friends,  these  com- 
panions were  always  willing  and  anxious  to 
assist  in  disposing  of  the  various  liquors  fur- 
nished by  the  Colonel's  hospitality.  In  those 
days  when  whisky  was  supposed  to  be  a  ne- 
cessity in  every  household,  nearly  all  indulged 
in  strong  drink  and  for  a  man  to  be  under  the 
influence  of  liquor  was  not  so  serious  a  mat- 
ter as  it  is  regarded  at  the  present  time.  Even 
ministers  did  not  object  to  an  occasional 
glass ;  many  were  regular  drinkers.  But  in  the 
early  days  of  the  village,  when  ordained  min- 
isters appeared  at  irregular  intervals,  some  of 
the  early  settlers,  learning  that  Col.  Kilbourne 
had  formerly  been  an  Episcopalian  rector,  re- 
quested him  to  conduct  religious  services.  The 
Colonel  consented  in  order  that  Bucyrus  would 
obtain  some  credit  for  being  a  moral  and  re- 
ligious village,  and  arrangements  were  made 
for  him  to  preach  on  a  certain  Sabbath.  The 
night  previous,  however,  he  assembled  with 
his  usual  companions  at  the  public  house,  and 
until  after  midnight  the  jolly  crowd  had  a  fine 
time.  Many  songs  were  proposed  and  sung 
by  the  Colonel ;  the  bar-tender's  till  received 
numerous  contributions,  and  much  of  his 
liquid  ware  had  been  disposed  of ;  consequently, 
when  they  adjourned,  many  were  much  th( 
worse  for  liquor.  But  the  Reverend  Colone 
appeared  next  day  ready  for  the  religious  ex- 
ercises, and,  in  consequence  of  his  early  ex- 
perience as  rector,  he  conducted  a  very  satis- 
factory meeting;  the  eiTect  of  the  previous 
night  did  not  prevent  him  from  preaching  ar 
excellent  sermon.  Not  so,  however,  with  som« 
of  his  companions  who  took  part  in  the  revel- 
ries at  the  public  house;  one  of  these  mis- 
guided men,  having  learned  that  Kilbourne 
was  to  officiate  at  another  meeting,  seemed  tc 
consider  it  a  continuation  of  the  "good  time' 
started  the  night  previous,  and  made  haste  to 
assemble  with  the  religious  portion  of  the  com- 
munity.    The  poor  fellow  was  too  fat   gone 


368 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


to  notice  the  difference  in  the  assembly,  but 
he  heard  the  familiar  voice  of  Kilbourne  ask- 
ing some  one  to  propose  a  hymn  for  the  oc- 
casion, and  the  erring  man  not  knowing  the 
horrid  mistake  he  was  making,  arose  and 
startled  the  congregation  with  one  of  the  wild 
drinking  songs  of  the  night  previous. 

The  original  numbers  of  Bucyrus   on  the 
Delaware  plat,  and  on  the  Bucyrus  plat,  com- 
menced at  the  Sandusky  river,  the  odd  num- 
bers on  the  west  side  of  Sandusky  avenue  and 
the  even  numbers  on  the  east.    They  ran  i  to 
7,  Perry  street;  9  to  17,  Mary  street;  19  to 
27,  Galen  street;  29  to  35,  Public  Square;  37 
to  43,   Rensselaer  street;  45   to   53   Warren 
street.     This  was  as  far  as  the  original  plat 
of  the  town  filed  at  Delaware,  contemplated, 
and  south  of  this,  starting  two  blocks  wide  was 
a  triangular  park,  extending  to  a  point  at  San- 
dusky and  Charles  street.    On  the  east  side  of 
Sandusky  avenue,  commencing  at  the  river  are 
lots  2  to  8,  Perry  street;  10  to  18,  Mary  street; 
20  to  28,  Galen  street;  30  to  36,  Public  Square; 
38  to  44,  Rensselaer  street;  46  to  54,  Warren 
street.     On  the  east  side  of  Walnut  the  num- 
bers commenced  at  the  river  with  No.  56  and 
ran  to  95  and  97  on  Mansfield  street,  which 
were  the  present  Opera  Block  and  the  Hall 
property  adjoining;  on  the  west  side  they  ran 
from  57  to  91  and  93,  the  Adams  property  on 
Mansfield  street,  now  owned  by  Miss  Lizzie 
Ostermeyer.     The  plat  as  filed  at  Delaware 
was  signed  on  Feb.  11,  1822,  by  Samuel  Nor- 
ton, Abel  Gary,  Daniel  McMichael,  and  Seth 
Holmes.     It  was  witnessed  by  Joseph  Young 
and  Gibley   (Polly)   Bucklin,  and  was  sworn 
to  by  Joseph  Young,  as  Justice  of  the  Peace. 
Later  the  plat  was  changed  but  it  was  never 
corrected  on  the  Delaware  records.     On  this 
Delaware  plat  a  site  is  marked  on  the  river, 
half  a  block  east  of  the  present  Lane  street 
(now  out-lot  119)  and  marked  Norton's  Mill, 
showing    Norton    had    in    contemplation    the 
building  of  a  mill.     On  this  plat  the  town 
stopped  at  Warren  street,  which  was  called 
Cherry  alley.     Of  the  park  the  plat  says,  "to 
be  improved  for  parkage  gardening  as  the  cor- 
poration of  the  town  shall  direct,  and  until  the 
town  shall  be  incorporated  the  original  proprie- 
tors will  direct  and  dispose  thereof  at  discre- 
tion."   The  plat  further  says :   "The  marks  of 
the  figure  'o'  denote  the  springs  which  issue 


from  the  high  bank  within  the  town."  This 
spring  was  about  half  a  block  east  of  San- 
dusky avenue,  on  the  high  bank  of  the  river, 
and  a  distillery  was  started  there  on  account 
of  the  pure  water  that  could  be  secured.  There 
was  also  another  spring  on  the  river  bank,  be- 
tween the  railroad  bridge  and  the  Mary  street 
bridge.  On  April  22,  1830,  the  contract  was 
canceled  as  being  completed,  but  this  comple- 
tion was  made  by  Norton  and  Kilbourne  hav- 
ing a  division  of  the  lots  remaining  unsold  at 
that  tiqie.  The  lot  sale  took  place  in  the  spring 
of  1822,  and  there  were  many  came  from  the 
surrounding  country  and  from  a  distance,  the 
sale  having  been  well  worked  up  by  Col.  Kil- 
bourne. The  first  owners  on  record  of  each 
of  the  lots  of  the  original  plat  filed  at  Dela- 
ware, with  the  prices  paid,  and  date  of  giving 
the  deed,  are  as  follows : 

I — Abel  Gary  to  Lewis  Gary,  1825 . .   $50.00 
2 — Admr.  Daniel  McMichael  to  Icha- 

bod  Rogers,  1829 9S-oo 

3 — Abel  Gary  to  Lewis  Gary,  1825 . .      50.00 
4 — Robert  Moore  to  Ichabod  Rogers, 

1825 225.00 

5 — ^Abel  Gary  to  Lewis  Gary,  1825 . .     50.00 
6 — William  Young  to  Ichabod  Rog- 
ers, 1839  200.00 

7 — Conrad  Roth  to  E.  B.  Merriman, 

1828 600.00 

8 — Admr.     McMichael.    to     Ichabod 

Rogers,  1829 95-00 

9 — Samuel  Norton  to  Wm.  F.  Seiser, 

1853  500.00 

10 — Samuel  Norton  to  Charles  Mer- 
riman,  1826   50.00 

II — Samuel  Norton  to  Jefferson  Nor- 
ton, part,  1855 500.00 

12 — Samuel    Norton    to    Hugh    Mc- 
Cracken  &  French  &  Bowers, 

1824 40.00 

13 — Samuel  Norton  to  John  Moder- 

well,  1828   50.00 

14 — Samuel  Norton  to  Lewis  Stephen- 
son, 1823 40.00 

15 — Samuel  Norton  to  John  McGlure, 

Pennsylvania,   1824   40.00 

16 — Samuel  Norton  to  E.  B.  Merri- 
man, 1824 30.00 

17 — Samuel   Norton   to  John   Miller, 

1824    5000 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS  369 

1 8 — Samuel    Norton    to    Byron    Kil-  45 — Samuel   Norton   to   Joseph   Mc- 

boume,   1830    nominal  Cutchen,  1827 80.00 

19 — Samuel  Norton  to  J.  S.  Hughes,  46 — Byron  Kilbourne  to  Samuel  Jones, 

1825 50.00  1837 250.00 

20 — Samuel  Norton  to  Andrew  Failor,  47 — Byron  Kilbourne  to  James  Kelly, 

1826 40.00  north  half,   1833 80.00 

21 — Samuel  Norton  to  Henry  Miller,  47 — Byron  Kilbourne  to  Wm.  Early, 

1824 40.00  south  half,   1833    80.00 

22 — Samuel  Norton  to  Samuel  Myers,  48 — Byron    Kilbourne   to   Joseph   H. 

1827 60.00  Larwill,  half,  1834   50.00 

23 — Samuel    Norton    to    Joseph    Mc-  48 — Byron    Kilbourne    to     Abraham 

Comb,   1829   50.00  Hahn,  half,  1837 150.00 

24 — Samuel  Norton  to  Holm  &  Crone-  49 — Byron     Kilbourne     to     Madison 

baugh,  1830  nominal  Welsh,  1836  225.00 

25 — Samuel  Norton  to  John  Forbes,  50 — Samuel  Norton  to  Josiah  Boyce, 

1830    . 80.00  half,    1833 100.00 

26 — Samuel  Norton  to  Calvin  Squire,  50 — Samuel  Norton  to  Joseph  H.  Lar- 

1823 25.00  will,  half,  1834   150.00 

^'j — Samuel  Norton  to  James  Hous-  51 — Byron      Kilbourne     to     Zalmon 

ton,    1834    30.00  Rowse,  1835  180.00 

28 — Samuel     Norton    to    James     P.  52 — Samuel  Norton  to  Harris  Carton, 

Heath,  1823   ,  .  .  .     40.00  son-in-law,  1830 i.oo 

29 — Samuel  Norton  to  John  Yost,  1828  120.00     53 — Samuel  Norton  to  Russell  Peck, 

30 — Samuel     Norton    to    Johann     G.  1827    25.00 

Shultz,  1823   50.00     54 — Samuel   Norton  to   John   Miller, 

31 — Samuel    Norton    to    Samuel    W.  1827 40.00 

Smith,   1822 30.00     55 — Daniel  McMichael  to  Abel  Cary, 

32 — Samuel     Norton     to     Ebenezer  1824  .  .  .  . ' 30.00 

Dowd,   1822   60.00     56 — Daniel  McMichael  to  Abel  Cary, 

33 — Samuel  Norton  to  Edward  Bill-  1824 30.00 

ups,    1823    40.00     57 — Daniel    McMichael   to   Valentine 

34 — Samuel  Norton  to  Horace  Pratt,  Shultz,  1829  29.00 

1826 48.00     58^-Daniel  McMichael  to  Abel  Cary, 

35 — Samuel     Norton    to     Henry     St.  1824 30.00 

John,   1826    45-00     59 — Daniel   McMichael    to   Valentine 

36 — Samuel  Norton  to  Lewis  Stephen-  Shultz,    1824    10.00 

son,    1827    42.00     60 — Daniel    McMichael    to   Valentine 

ly — John  Miller  to  Jacob  Culler,  1828  100.00  Shultz,  1824  30.00 

38 — Samuel  Norton  to  Abraham  Hahn,  61 — Daniel  McMichael  to  Abel  Cary, 

1828 100.00  1824    30.00 

39 — Norton   &   Kilbourne   to   George  62 — Daniel     McMichael     to     Robert 

Sweney,  1831   170.00  Moore,  1825   30.00 

40 — Samuel    Norton   to   James   Mar-  63 — Admr.  Daniel  McMichael  to  An- 

shall,  1829 40-00  drew  Failor,  1826 60.00 

41 — Nicholas  Cronebaugh  to  Martha  64 — Samuel   Norton  to   John   Miller, 

Hetich,  1833 250.00  1828 120.00 

42 — Norton    &    Kilbourne    to    Jesse  65 — Samuel   Norton  to  John   Miller, 

George,   1835    160.00  1828 120.00 

43 — Samuel  Norton  to  Jacob  Drake,  66 — Samuel  Norton  to  John  Moder- 

1833 40.00  well,  1827  40.00 

44 — Samuel  Norton  to  John  McClure,  67 — Samuel  Norton  to  Zilisha  Buck- 
Pennsylvania,   1824   40.00                 lin,  1837   100.00 


370 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


68 — Samuel    Norton    to    Byron    Kil- 

bourne,  1830 nominal 

69 — Samuel  Norton  to  Harris  Garton, 

son-in-law,  1830 i.oo 

70 — Samuel  Norton  to  Adam  Kronen- 

berger,  185 1   200.00 

71 — A.  C.  Gilmore  to  John  Mills,  north 

half,  1834  115.00 

71 — Abraham   Yost  to  Edith   Smith, 

south  half,   1835    78.00 

72 — Samuel  Norton  to  George  Shaffer, 

1829 60.00 

73— Samuel  Norton  to  George  Shaffer, 

1829 60.00 

74 — Samuel  Norton  to  Holm  &  Cron- 

baugh,   1830   nominal 

75 — Samuel  Norton  to  Holm  &  Cron- 

baugh,   1830   nominal 

^6 — Samuel  Norton  to  Holm  &  Cron- 

baugh,  1830   nominal 

"]"/ — Samuel     Norton     to     Frederick 

Myers,  south  half,  1835   50.00 

yj — -Stephen     Brinkman    to     Ichabod 

Rogers,  north  half,  1836 100.00 

78 — Samuel  Norton  to  Holm  &  Cron- 

baugh,  1830 nominal 

79 — Samuel  Norton  to  Holm  &  Cron- 

baugh,  1830    ■ nominal 

80 — Samuel    Norton    to    Byron    Kil- 

bourne,  1830 nominal 

8r — -Samuel    Norton    to    Christopher 

Brinkman,  1836   125.00 

82 — Samuel  Norton  to  Trustees  Luth- 
eran Church,  1833   50.00 

83 — Samuel  Norton  to  Trustees  Lth. 

and  Ger.,  Ref.,  1830 45-00 

84 — Samuel    Norton    to    Byron    Kil- 

bourne,    1830    ■.  .nominal 

85 — Samuel  Norton  to  Barbara  Cron- 

baugh,  1833 50.00 

86 — Samuel  Norton  to  School  Direc- 
tors,  1834   donated 

87 — Samuel  Norton  to  Holm  &  Cron- 

baugh,   1830      nominal 

88 — Samuel  Norton  to  County  Com- 
missioners, 1828 donated 

89 — Lincoln  Kilbourne  to  County  Com- 
missioners, 1854 500.00 

90 — Samuel     Norton     to     Crawford 

County,   1832    donated 

91 — Norton  &  Kilbourne  to  William 

Sinclair,    1834    200.00 


92 — Byron  Kilbourne  to  County  Com- 
missioners, 1832 donated 

93 — Samuel    Norton    to    Rensselaer 

Norton,  son,  1830 i.oo 

94 — Samuel   Norton  to   Elihu   Doud, 

1826 36.00 

95 — Samuel  Norton  to  Trustees  M.  E. 

Church,   1831    125.00 

96 — Samuel  Norton  to  Trustees  M.  E. 

Church,  1831 125.00 

97 — Samuel  Norton  to  Byron  Kil- 
bourne,   1830    nominal 

Of  the  original  lots  sold  in  Bucyrus,  No.  36, 
where  the  Quinby  Block  now  stands,  was  sold 
to  Lewis  Stephenson  for  $42 ;  the  land  is  now 
on  the  tax  duplicate  at  $45,850,  and  the  build- 
ings were  about  $30,450  more,  giving  the  total 
valuation  of  this  $42  lot  at  about  $76,300.  It 
is  now  owned  by  several  different  parties. 
Commencing  at  the  east  No.  i  is  owned  by  the 
Hausleib  Brothers;  No.  2,  by  Judge  Charles 
F.  Schaber;  Nos.  3  and  6,  Fred  W.  Mader;  No. 
4,  the  heirs  of  L.  Mantle;  No.  5,  Charles  Lake; 
Nos.  7  and  8,  by  Mrs.  Millie  Geiger  and  Mrs. 
Mary  Sarles.  The  lot  has  a  frontage  on  the 
Square  of  159  feet,  with  a  depth  of  66  feet. 

Until  1828  nobody  wanted  the  Rowse  Block 
corner ;  it  was  too  far  up  town.  The  first  busi- 
ness on  the  lot  was  in  1827,  when  James  Mc- 
Lean, a  carpenter,  erected  a  one-story  build- 
ing on  the  lot  where  he  lived  and  made  shingles. 
It  was  sold  in  1828  to  Jacob  Culler  for 
$100.  Today  the  land  is  on  the  tax  dupli- 
cate at  $46,166,  and  the  buildings  at  $25,806, 
making  the  total  $71,972.  It  is  the  largest  of 
the  lots  on  the  Sc|uare,  being  165x67.2.  It  is 
now  owned  by  the  William  Rowse  heirs.  Sec- 
ond National  Bank,  H.  F.  Miller,  G.  K.  Zeigler, 
and  the  George  Mader  heirs. 

Lot  No.  35,  the  Bucyrus  City  Bank  corner, 
was  purchased  of  Norton  by  Henry  St.  John 
for  $45.  It  has  a  frontage  on  the  Scjuare  of 
165  feet,  with  a  depth  of  66  feet.  The  land 
is  now  on  the  tax  duplicate  at  $46,713,  with  the 
buildings  valued  at  $21,478,  making  a  total  of 
$68,191.  The  land  is  now  owned  by  the  Bucyrus 
City  Bank,  Judge  J.  C.  Tobias,  Fred  W.  Mader. 
the  Mader  heirs  and  Lewis  Mollenkopf. 

Lot  No.  38,  the  Deal  House  corner  was  sold 
to  Abraham  Hahn  in  1828  for  $100.  It  has  a 
frontage  on  the  Square  of  159  feet,  the  same 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CTiTZENS 


371 


as  the  Quinby  Block,  and  with  a  depth  of  67.2 
feet.  Ihe  land  is  now  on  the  tax  duplicate  at 
$44,846,  and  the  buildings  at  $10,931.  It  is 
now  owned  by  P.  J.  Carroll,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  22  feet  owned  by  W.  F.  Barth  and 
occupied  by  him  as  a  barber  shop.  The  Deal 
House  was  originally  a  two-story  brick  about 
45  feet  front  on  the  Square  and  about  the 
same  on  Sandusky  avenue.  In  1858  it  was 
extended  on  the  Square  as  it  is  at  present,  and 
made  three  stories,  the  corner  remaining  as 
originally  built,  a  third  story  being  added.  The 
Barth  barber  shop  and  the  Martinitz  bakery  are 
as  originally  built  over  70  years  ago,  no  change 
except  a  coat  of  paint  occasionally.  When 
McCoy  had  the  Deal  House  from  1853  to 
1858  he  owned  the  entire  frontage  on  the 
Square  from  Sandusky  avenue  around  to 
Mansfield  street.  Above  the  Martinitz  bakery 
up  to  i860  was  the  McCoy  Hall  which  you  en- 
tered by  the  same  outside  steps  that  are  there 
to  this  day,  the  only  change  being  they  are  now 
covered.  Here  the  elite  of  Bucyrus  assembled 
to  listen  to  lectures,  and  minstrel  shows  and 
theatrical  troupe  which  made  a  one  night  stop 
at  Bucyrus.  The  stage  was  a  platfonn  about  a 
foot  high  in  the  north  part  of  the  hall.  In 
front  were  two  or  three  rows  of  chairs,  which 
were  occupied  by  the  more  wealthy  citizens  as 
reserved  seats  at  some  select  entertainment, 
when  prices  ran  as  high  as  25  cents,  or  what 
was  called  a  shilling  in  those  days.  Behind 
these  chairs  were  benches  without  backs. 
Benches  about  12  feet  long  on  each  side  of  the 
hall,  with  the  aisle  down  the  centre.  Here 
the  price  was  uniform,  a  sixpence.  The  other 
hall  in  those  days  was  Denslow  Hall.  This 
was  the  third  story  of  the  brick,  north  of  the 
Bucyrus  City  Bank.  It  was  a  very  low  room, 
not  easy  of  access,  and  was  not  as  popular  as 
the  McCoy  Hall.  C.  D.  Ward  owned  the 
building,  and  the  hall  was  called  after  his 
middle  name  Denslow. 

Of  the  original  lot  owners  not  one  is  in  the 
hands  of  any  of  their  descendants.  In  1828 
Abraham  Yost  bought  lot  29  for  $120.  John 
Deardorff  had  originally  bought  the  lot  of 
Norton  and  erected  a  house  on  it ;  he  died  be- 
fore he  had  paid  for  the  lot;  so  the  first  deed 
was  from  Norton  to  Yost.  This  lot  remained 
in  the  possession  of  the  Yosts  until  1910,  when 
it  was  sold  to  Dobbins  and  Geiger.    The  oldest 


lot  owner  in  Bucyrus  (in  the  point  of  time)  is 
C.  J.  Scroggs,  his  grandfather,  John  Scroggs, 
purchasing  lot  104  southeast  corner  Walnut 
and  Rensselaer,  in  1839;  from  John  Scroggs. 
it  descended  to  his  son  Jacob,  and  from  him 
to  his  only  son  Charles,  who  still  resides  there. 
The  same  year  1839,  but  a  month  later,  John 
A.  Gormly  purchased  lot  6  in  Carothers'  ad- 
dition to  Bucyrus  southwest  corner  Poplar 
and  Warren ;  it  passed  from  John  A.  Gormly  to 
his  son  J.  B.  Gormly,  and  is  still  occupied  by 
the  latter  as  a  residence. 

John  E.  Kilbourne  in  his  Ohio  Gazetteer  for 
1826,  has  the  following: 

"Bucyrus — A  lively  post  town  laid  out  in  1822  on  the 
south  bank  of  Sandusky  river,  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Crawford  county.  It  is  the  seat  of  justice  for  the  county, 
has  two  stores  and  several  mechanics." 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  notice  that  in  these  early 
days  Bucyrus  had  a  reputation  of  being  a 
"hustling"  town.  The  fact  that  the  editor's 
uncle  laid  out  the  town,  and  was  financially  in- 
terested in  it,  may  have  made  it  advisable  in 
the  interest  of  peace  at  home  that  the  young 
man  give  the  town  a  good  "send  off." 

The  two  stores  were  those  of  E.  B.  Merriman 
and  Samuel  Bailey.  The  Merriman  store  was 
on  the  lot  just  south  of  the  Electric  Light 
Works,  and  was  probably  started  in  1822.  Mr. 
Merriman  was  known  as  "Judge"  Merriman 
and  "Bishop"  Merriman.  Of  this  store  John 
Moderwell,  who  came  in  1827,  wrote  in  his 
pioneer  reminiscences  published  in  the  Bucyrus 
Journal  in  1868:  "Judge  E.  B.  Merriman  had 
the  monopoly  for  some  time  of  exchanging 
goods  with  the  red  and  white  people  for  deer 
skins,  furs,  beeswax,  honey,  ginseng,  cranber- 
ries and  other  articles."  It  was  not  an  elab- 
orate establishment,  and  the  business  was 
mostly  trade,  very  little  cash.  Even  his  goods 
were  purchased  mostly  by  exchanging  the  skins 
and  farm  products  he  had  for  the  goods  he 
wanted.  James  Nail,  in  his  pioneer  letter  in 
the  Forum  of  1874,  writes  :  "I  now  remember 
that  the  first  Sfoods  I  bought  in  a  store  at 
Bucyrus  were  from  Bishop  Merriman  (1822 
or  1823).  As  I  was  getting  a  few  articles  a 
Mr.  Peter  dinger  took  his  pencil  and  paper 
and  commenced  writing.  Merriman  asked  him 
what  he  was  doing.  He  said  he  was  taking 
an  invoice  of  his  goods,  and  that  the  amount  of 
his  stock  was  $37.41.  Merriman  said  he  was 
not  far  out  of  the  way."     The  prices  current 


372 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


in  those  days  were  wheat,  40  to  50  cents  per 
bushel;  oats,  12  to  18  cents;  corn,  15  to  25 
cents;  potatoes,  12  to  25  cents;  cranberries,  50 
cents  per  bushel ;  pork  i  J4  to  2  cents  per  pound ; 
maple  sugar,  5  to  6  cents  per  pound;  butter  5 
to  6  cents  per  pound ;  eggs,  3  to  4  cents  a  dozen ; 
honey,  50  cents  per  gallon.  Coffee  was  50 
cents  per  pound ;  salt  $3  for  50  pounds ;  powder, 
50  cents  a  quarter,  lead  50  cents  a  pound,  chew- 
ing tobacco,  50  cents  a  pound,  and  whiskey  50 
cents  a  gallon. 

The  other  store  was  that  of  Samuel  Bailey, 
the  east  side  of  Sandusky  and  the  second  lot 
south  of  Perry  street.  Bailey  sold  about  1824  to 
French  &  Bowers  and  they  sold  to  John  Nim- 
mons  in  1827,  and  the  latter  built  the  frame 
on  the  northeast  corner  of  Sandusky  and  Rens- 
selaer, and  moved  into  it  in  1828,  the  first 
store  south  of  the  Square. 

The  several  mechanics  were  probably  Russell 
Peck  with  his  blacksmith  shop,  northwest  cor- 
ner Sandusky  and  Warren ;  Lewis  Stephenson, 
hatter,  on  Quinby  Block  lot ;  Joseph  Umpstead, 
cabinet  maker,  whose  shop  was  in  his  residence ; 
Aaron  Cary,  who  had  a  saddlery  on  his  lot 
just  west  of  the  bridge;  Adam  Bair  had  a  car- 
penter shop,  and  John  Billups  was  a  shoemaker. 
Besides  this,  Cary  had  a  mill,  Moore  and 
Rogers  each  had  a  hotel  and  there  were  two 
physicians,  Drs.  McComb  and  Hobbs. 

The  following  shows  the  early  settlers  in 
Bucyrus : 

1819 — Samuel  Norton;  founded  the  town  in 
1821 ;  kept  a  hotel  in  1835.  Albigence  Buck- 
lin;  ran  a  farm  and  made  mill-stones.  Seth 
Holmes,  came  with  Norton;  had  a  log  cabin 
southeast  corner  Galen  and  Sandusky,  where 
he  died  about  1825. 

1820 — A  man  named  Sears,  who  settled  near 
Oakwood  Cemetery,  but  left  soon  afterward. 
David  Beadle  entered  land  west  of  the  Nor- 
ton tract;  built  his  cabin  near  the  corner  of 
Spring  and  Charles ;  his  son  David  lived  with 
him  until  he  married  two  years  later  Mishael 
Beadle  son  of  David,  built  a  cabin  on  the  Bow- 
ers lot  on  West  Mansfield.  Amos  Clark,  a 
farmer,  who  bought  the  land  south  of  Norton, 
and  had  his  residence  near  the  W.  H.  Miller 
property  435  South  Sandusky. 

182 1 — Abel  Cary,  who  built  the  first  mill  a 
few  rods  below  the  Sandusky  avenue  bridge. 
1822 — Russell  Peck,  blacksmith,  shop,  north- 


west corner  Sandusky-  and  Warren.  Conrad 
Roth,  blacksmith.  Lewis  Stephenson,  hatter; 
first  shop,  centre  lot,  east  side  Sandusky  be- 
tween Perry  and  Mary;  in  1826  moved  to 
Quinby  Block  lot.  Joseph  Umpstead  cabinet 
maker,  north  Sandusky;  E.  B.  Merriman,  mer- 
chant ;  first  store  was  between  the  present  G.  K. 
Zeigler  residence  and  the  river ;  in  1824  moved 
to  southeast  corner  Sandusky  and  Perry;  with 
him  came  his  brother  Charles  as  clerk.  Zal- 
mon  Rowse,  who  came  to  Whetstone  township 
the  year  before;  Ichabod  Rogers,  who  started 
a  tavern  the  next  year;  Aaron  Cary  who  started 
a  tannery  and  saddlery  shop  on  the  Shonert 
lot.  Conrad  Rhodes,  who  the  next  year  ran 
a  tavern  on  the  Shonert  lot.  George  P.  Schultz, 
who  kept  a  boarding  house  on  north  Walnut; 
Joseph  McComb,  a  physician ;  Lewis  Cary,  who 
ran  the  first  tavern  on  the  Shonert  lot ;  Robert 
Moore  and  Joseph  Pearce,  who  later  ran  the 
tavern.  Harry  Burns,  a  friend  of  the  Nor- 
tons,  who  was  a  hunter.  John  Deardorff,  who 
built  a  cabin,  on  the  southwest  corner  of  San- 
dusky and  Galen  and  was  a  farmer;  Harris 
Garton  and  John  Kent  were  also  farmers. 
Others  that  year  were  Samuel  Carl,  John  Kel- 
logg and  Samuel  Roth. 

1823 — Adam  Bair,  carpenter;  John  Billups, 
shoemaker;  Matthew  McMichael,  teamster;  he 
came  to  the  county  in  1819,  and  in  1820  helped 
his  father  on  the  farm  east  of  Bucyrus,  and 
then  came  to  Bucyrus.  Moses  Arden,  William 
Blowers  and  James  Martin  taught  early 
schools,  the  latter  was  the  first  auditor  of  the 
county  in  1826.  William  Early,  the  first  real 
estate  dealer  and  an  early  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  Patrick  Height  and  William  Reeves. 

1824 — Samuel  Bailey,  merchant ;  John  Funk, 
tavern  keeper;  Henry  Miller,  cabinet  maker; 
John  Marshall,  surveyor;  John  T.  Hobbs, 
physician;  Thomas  Alsop  and  John  Blowers, 
who  taught  early  schools,  and  John  Huhr  and 
Daniel  Seal. 

1825 — ^John  Bowen  and  James  Marshall, 
blacksmiths ;  Hugh  McCracken,  John  Bowman, 
and  Andrew  Failor,  merchants ;  Adam  Bair, 
carpenter,  John  H.  Morrison,  lawyer;  Jonas 
Scott,  teacher;  George  Hawk,  shoemaker; 
Nicholas  Failor,  tailor;  Daniel  Miller,  farmer, 
and  James  Houston,  John  Kanzleiter,  and 
Hugh  Long. 

1826 — Edward  Billups,  carpenter;  William 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


373 


Bratton,  hatter;  James  McLain,  miller;  Jacob 
Bowers,  John  B.  French,  Henry  St.  John,  Mar- 
tin Barr  and  Henry  Babcock,  merchants ;  Isaac 
H.  Allen,  Michael  Flick  and  Charles  Stanberg, 
lawyers;  Abraham  Myers,  teacher;  Henry 
Minich,  tanner;  John  Caldwell,  contractor; 
Ebenezer  Dowd  and  Samuel  Myers,  tailors; 
George  Lauck  and  Capt.  John  Miller,  tavern 
keepers ;  Thomas  Johnston  and  James  C.  Steen, 
farmers,  and  Elihu  Dowd,  Jacob  Drake,  Wil- 
liam Hughey  and  son  William,  William  Marsh, 
Jacob  Sigler  and  Joy  Sperry. 

1827 — John  Moderwell,  cabinet  maker;  Eli 
Slagle,  miller;  Robert  W.  Musgrave,  James 
Ranney,  John  Nimmons,  merchants;  Richard 
W.  Cahill,  clerk;  Willis  Merriman,  physician; 
Horace  Pratt,  teacher;  Emanuel  Deardorff, 
tanner;  Jacob  G.  Gilmore,  tavern  keeper;  and 
William  Farley  and  William  Magers. 

1828 — Daniel  Holm,  brickmaker;  Adam 
Moderwell  and  Isaac  Ritter,  cabinet  makers; 
James  and  John  McCracken,  millwrights ;  John 
Yost,  gunsmith;  Rev.  David  Shuh;  Abraham 
Hahn,  jr.,  teacher;  David  and  Abraham  Holm, 
tanners ;  Henry  Couts  and  John  Heinlen,  team- 
sters; William  R.  Magill,  printer';  Abraham 
Hahn,  tavern  keeper;  Peter  Klinger,  well  dig- 
ger; Lewis  Heinlen,  farmer,  and  William  F. 
Ayres,  Thomas  Barnett,  Jacob  Forney,  Daniel 
and  John  Holm,  Christopher  Noacre. 

1829 — Matthew  Feree,  blacksmith;  Samuel 
Jones,  cabinet  maker;  Benjamin  Meeker,  mer- 
chant; Jonathan  Reeder,  printer;  Nicholas 
Cronebaugh  and  John  Shull,  carpenters ;  Josiah 
Scott,  lawyer,  Jacob  Bash. 

1830 — Joseph  Albright,  brickmaker;  John 
N.  Rexroth,  blacksmith;  Jacob  Hinnan,  team- 
ster; David  McLane,  weaver;  Eli  Cronebaugh, 
carpenter;  John  Forbes,  saddler;  George 
Sweney,  lawyer;  Dr.  Sinclair;  and  Dr.  Samuel 
Horton;  John  and  Jacob  Staley. 

183 1 — David  H.  Henthorn,  carpenter;  John 
Colerick,  merchant;  John  Moore,  shoemaker; 
William  Crosby,  printer;  Samuel  Ludwig, 
farmer;  William  Knous  and  James  Tate. 

1832 — Israel  Jones,  saddler;  Thomas 
Shawke,  blacksmith ;  J.  H.  Douglass,  J.  H.  and 
Jabez  B.  Larwill,  merchants ;  John  Smith,  law- 
yer; Rev.  F.  I.  Ruth,  Samuel  Peterman,  team- 
ster; Lorenzo  Andrews. 

1833 — George  Walter,  clerk;  Jesse  Quaint- 


ance,  miller;  Daniel  and  Owen  Williams,  mer- 
chants; David  R.  Lightner,  printer. 

1834 — Thomas  Gillespie,  registrar  land 
office;  Josiah  S.  Plants,  lawyer;  William  Wise, 
cabinet  maker;  Christian  Sexauer,  shoemaker; 
Charles  P.  West,  printer;  Rufus  Benson  and 
Jonathan  Timberline. 

1835 — George  McNeal,  carpenter;  Charles 
Kelly,  miller;  Peter  and  W.  W.  Miller,  mer- 
chants; Ludwig  Assenheimer,  weaver;  James 
W.  Armstrong,  lawyer;  Drs.  Andrew  and 
George  A.  Hetich  and  Dr.  A.  M.  Jones;  Rev. 
Frederick  Maschop;  William  White,  teacher; 
Samuel  Caldwell,  farmer. 

1836 — John  A.  Gormly,  and  James  P.  Bow- 
man, merchants. 

1837 — Charles  and  Paul  I.  Hetich,  saw  mill; 
Franklin  Adams,  lawyer;  Rev.  John  Pettitt. 

1838 — F.  G.  Hesche,  merchant;  Dr.  William 
Geller,  and  Revs.  William  Hutchinson,  and 
Seeley  Bloomer. 

1839 — ^John  Scroggs,  hatter  and  Henry 
Flock,  farmer. 

Other  early  business  men  were  John  Davis, 
hatter;  Christian  Howenstein  cabinet  maker; 
Chris  Brinkman,  millwright;  John  Anderson, 
James  Quinby,  J.  W.  Bener,  S.  A.  Magers,  M. 
Nigh  and  J.  Coleman,  merchants;  Frederick 
Schuler,  shoemaker;  Peter  Howenstein  and 
Lewis  Kuhn,  tailors;  Samuel  Picking,  tavern 
keeper;  Jesse  George,  wagon  maker;  and 
James  Goodel,  James  Gilson,  Jacob  Howen- 
stein and  John  Moody. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  summer  of  1824, 
James  Nail  had  finished  his  grist-mill  near 
Gallon,  and  in  his  letters  in  the  Forum  he  says : 
"At  this  time  went  to  Bucyrus  and  engaged 
mill  stones  of  a  Mr.  Bucklin,  who  was  making 
them  there  out  of  a  kind  of  nigger-head  stones. 
After  he  finished  them  he  gave  me  notice,  and 
I  went  there  for  them  with  a  wagon  and  two 
yoke  of  cattle.  Remained  one  night  at  Bucy- 
rus with  Mr.  B.,  and  as  I  could  get  no  en- 
closure or  stable  I  let  the  oxen  graze  on  the 
plains.  In  the  morning  when  I  went  for  them 
they  had  started  home,  and  it  was  about  10 
when  I  found  them  and  brought  them  back  to 
town.  In  the  street  I  met  a  man,  Mr.  Henry 
Smith.  He  asked  me  if  I  had  had  breakfast 
that  day.  I  said  no.  He  then  said:  'Nearly 
everybody  in  this  town  has  the  ague ;  go  with 


374 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ine  and  take  your  breakfast.'  He  further  said : 
'I  am  the  only  man  in  the  town  that  has  any 
pork.  You  may  fill  your  stomach  with  pork, 
then  keep  your  mouth  shut,  and  breathe 
through  your  nose,  or  you  will  have  a  shake  of 
ague  before  you  leave  town.'  After  break- 
fast my  mill-stones  were  loaded.  I  hauled 
them  home  and  had  the  mill  started  the  same 
fall.  I  had  been  partially  acquainted  with  some 
men  around  here  before  this  time,  for  instance, 
two  families  by  the  name  of  Gary,  Mr.  Rogers, 
I  think  two  families  by  the  name  of  Merriman, 
Col.  Rowse,  Mr.  Miller,  Dr.  McComb  and 
others.  East  of  Bucyrus  I  knew  several  fam- 
ilies by  the  name  of  Kent,  Holmes,  Bear,  Scott, 
Judge  Stewart,  the  Parchers,  and  others,  then 
settled  along  the  edge  of  the  Plains.  Another 
settlement  had  commenced  along  the  Plains 
near  the  Whetstone.  Among  them  I  knew 
Messrs.  Hancock,  Eyeman,  King,  Armstrong, 
Van  Voorhis,  Hamilton,  Campbell,  Poe,  Mears, 
Clark  and  others." 

Mrs.  Lucy  Rogers  tells  of  her  sad  experience 
with  the  ague  in  1822.  She  says :  "  My  hus- 
band took  sick  on  one  occasion  and  was  bed- 
fast. He  could  neither  eat  or  drink  a  part  of 
the  time.  Meanwhile  our  scanty  store  of  food 
was  consumed  until  not  a  particle  was  left  in 
the  house  for  our  subsistence.  The  last  crust 
was  gone.  My  prayer  to  God  was  that  all  of 
us,  my  young  babe,  my  helpless  husband,  and 
my  starving  self  might  all  die  together  before 
the  sun  should  set.  That  night  was  one  of 
sleepless  agony.  Next  morning  I  went  through 
an  Indian  trail,  unfit  as  I  was  to  go  through  the 
tall,  wet  grass,  which  was  then  as  high  as  a 
man's  head,  to  William  Langdon's,  near 
Young's  grist  mill,  and,  between  sobs,  told  my 
pitiful  story  to  him,  and  begged  for  some  flour 
to  keep  my  little  family  from  starving  to  death. 
He  did  not  know  me,  and  refused;  but  his 
wife — God  bless  her — spoke  up  and  said: 
'You  shall  not  starve  if  it  takes  all  there  is 
in  the  house.'  Her  husband  relented  and 
weighed  me  out  nineteen  pounds  oi  flour, 
and  then,  blessing  them  for  their  charity,  I  re- 
turned home  through  the  tall  grass  with  the 
'bird  of  hope'  again  singing  in  my  bosom. 
How  sweet  the  short  cake,  without  meat,  but- 
ter or  anything  else  tasted  that  day.  In  the 
afternoon.  Aunt  Lois  Kent,  learning  of  our 
destitution,  brought  us  a  pan  of  meal,  I  got 


some  milk  of  Mrs.  Shultz  and  then  made  some 
mush.  Believe  me,  the  tears  of  joy  and  sor- 
row rained  down  my  cheeks  when  this  meal 
was  eaten.  I  then  told  Louisa  Norton,  who 
afterward  married  Harris  Garton,  how  ter- 
ribly we  were  distressed  by  want  and  hunger. 
She  went  home  and  told  her  father,  Samuel 
Norton,  who  said:  'This  will  not  do;  these 
folks  have  come  to  a  new  country,  and  they 
must  be  helped;  they  shall  not  starve  in  Bucy- 
rus.' So  every  evening  he  sent  us  new  milk, 
fresh  from  the  cow,  and  as  we  needed  it  a  ham 
of  meat.  One  day  he  sent  Louisa  over  to  us 
with  a  dressed  pi^.  I  never  had  a  present  that 
did  me  so  much  good.  In  a  very  few  weeks 
my  husband  recovered  and  then  we  fared 
better." 

There  were  very  few  cases  like  this,  and  it 
is  to  the  credit  of  the  pioneers,  that  in  every 
case,  a  person  really  in  need,  found  help  and 
assistance,  and  Langdon,  himself  had  reason 
to  be  suspicious  when  a  woman  in  need  deliber- 
ately walked  a  mile  and  a  half  to  seek  assist- 
ance. 

When  Norton  first  came  he  started  a  little 
tannery  on  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky  to  tan 
enough  leather  for  the  family  shoes ;  it  was  on 
land  which  later  he  discovered  belonged  to 
Abel  and  Lewis  Gary,  Abel  Gary  came  in  182 1, 
and  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river  just  below 
Sandusky  avenue  he  built  a  small  dam,  and 
erected  a  grist-mill  in  1822,  and  the  long  jour- 
ney of  the  pioneers  through  the  forest  was  a 
thing  of  the  past.  His  brother,  Lewis  Gary, 
came  in  1822.  The  latter  had  learned  the 
tanning  business  in  New  Jersey,  and  came  west 
to  Jefferson  county,  where  he  went  into  the 
tanning  business.  Here  he  married  Rachel 
Kirk,  and  in  1822,  came  to  Bucyrus,  driving 
through  in  a  "schooner  wagon"  with  his  wife 
and  nine  children.  Arriving  here,  they  oc- 
cupied an  old  log  cabin,  until  a  cabin  of  his 
own  was  erected  by  him  and  the  early  settlers 
on  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky,  where  Norton 
had  first  resided.  This  cabin  was  the  first  one 
erected  in  Bucyrus  of  hewed  logs  with  a 
shingle  roof  and  grooved  floor.  The  others 
were  simply  the  logs  as  cut  from  the  trees,  and 
puncheon  floors  or  the  bare  ground.  His 
brother's  mill,  iust  west  of  him  was  not  yet 
completed,  and  he  was  compelled  to  go  through 
the  woods  the  forty  miles  to  Fredericktown 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


375 


for  flour,  and  stated  later,  that  sometimes  the 
supply  at  home  was  so  small  that  the  entire 
family  were  put  on  an  allowance.  Gary  made 
a  real  tannery  out  of  Norton  s  first  yard,  and 
for  years  he  conducted  the  business,  in  1839 
disposing  of  it  to  his  son  Aaron,  who  ran  it 
until  1855  when  he  sold  it  to  Richard  Plum- 
mer.  Chris  Shonert  had  learned  the  trade  of 
tanner  under  Aaron  Cary,  and  a  year  after 
Plummer  bought  the  yard,  it  was  purchased  by 
Chris  Shonert;  it  later  became  the  firm  of 
Shonert  and  Haller,  and  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago  was  abandoned.  Cary  made  his  vats  by 
sinking  large  troughs  in  the  ground,  and  pre- 
pared his  bark  by  pounding,  having  no  facili- 
ties for  grinding.  Later  regular  vats  were 
dug,  and  the  bark  was  ground. 

Lewis  Cary  only  ran  his  mill  a  short  time,  the 
little  dam  being  a  crude  affair  was  washed 
away  at  the  first  freshet,  so  it  was  moved  to  a 
better  site  up  the  river,  at  the  north  end  of 
Walnut  street,  and  was  run  by  Eli  Slagle.  La- 
ter it  passed  into  the  hands  of  James  Kelly,  and 
a  hurricane  came  and  took  away  the  roof;  this 
was  replaced  and  in  1843  it  was  destroyed  by 
fire.  A  company  was  formed  and  it  was  re- 
built, a  \ery  large  frame  mill.  A  strong,  ser\- 
iceable  dam  was  erected  by  John  Gilmore,  near 
the  north  end  of  Lane  street,  with  a  mill-race 
running  to  the  mill  which  furnished  the  power 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  Kelly  and  James 
McLean  became  the  proprietors,  and  later 
James  McLean,  who  ran  it  tintil  it  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  on  Saturday  night,  April  g, 
1870.  It  was  never  rebuilt,  and  nothing  now 
remains  to  show  where  this  large  mill  once 
stood;  even  the  old  mill  race  has  long  since 
been  filled  up.  The  Cary  mill,  west  of  San- 
dusky avenue,  was  the  second  business  enter- 
prise in  Bucyrus;  the  Cary  tannery  the  first. 
In  1823  Daniel  McMichael  and  Ichabod  Rogers 
started  a  small  distillery  on  the  land  now  oc- 
cupied by  the  Electric  Light  Works,  but  after 
running  a  year  or  two  it  was  abandoned. 

Henry  St.  John  bought  lot  3  s  northeast  cor- 
ner of  the  Square,  where  he  erected  a  two-story 
frame,  and  started  a  store  in  182s;  this  build- 
ing was  also  used  as  a  store  until  in  1890,  it 
was  moved  away  to  give  place  to  the  present 
brick  building  of  the  Bucyrus  City  Bank. 

In  connection  with  his  tannery,  Lewis  Cary 
had   a  work-bench   in   his  house,   and   made 


shoes,  of  an  evening,  after  working  at  his 
tannery  all  day.  ihe  Indians  frequently 
brought  skins  to  him  for  tanning,  which  they 
made  into  moccasins — or,  rather  their  squaws 
did.  They  occasionally  had  shoes  maae  for 
them  by  Cary  for  they  discovered  that  his 
shoes  "squeaked,"  and  they  were  always 
anxious  to  secure  a  pair  of  that  kind,  insisting 
with  the  order  that  he  must  make  a  pair  that 
"talked."  And  they  were  also  as  proud  of  a 
shoe  that  "talked,"  as  boys  of  a  later  genera- 
tion were  of  red-topped  boots. 

Cary  was  a  Quaker,  and  the  Indians  were 
great  admirers  of  him,  and  while  they  were 
insatiate  thieves,  laying  their  hands  on  every- 
thing lying  around  loose,  they  never  stole  from 
Cary. 

Aaron  Cary  settled  in  Bucyrus  soon  after  his 
brother  Lewis.  He  was  a  saddler  and  harness 
maker,  and  had  his  cabin  and  shop  near  his 
brother's  tannery.  It  was  a  two-story  log  house 
and  on  the  upper  floor  his  daughter  Sarah 
taught  school. 

Lewis  Cary  died  on  Jan.  9,  1866,  at  De- 
fiance, Ohio.  Of  his  nine  children,  only  one  re- 
mained in  Bucyrus,  his  daughter  Isabel  marry- 
ing Alexander  Caldwell,  who  had  their  homes 
for  years  three  miles  southwest  of  Bucyrus, 
near  the  Little  Sandusky  road. 

When  the  Sandusky  Pike  was  built,  Abel 
Cary  kept  the  toll  gate  a  mile  north  of  Bucy- 
rus, and  later  moved  to  Indiana. 

John  Bowen  had  a  brick  yard  near  the  south- 
west corner  of  East  and  Middletown  streets, 
in  1825  and  here  he  burned  the  brick,  and 
erected  for  himself  the  first  brick  building  in 
Bucyrus ;  it  was  on  the  site  of  the  present  Blair 
and  Picking  Blocks,  on  Sandusky  avenue,  and 
was  used  as  a  blacksmith  shop  by  him  and  later 
by  James  Marshall. 

The  first  frame  building,  was  about  15  feet 
square,  and  was  on  Sandusky  avenue,  about 
where  the  Myers  harness  shop  now  is.  It  was 
later  moved  to  West  Mapsfield  street,  and  still 
later  to  the  German  M.  E.  church  lot  at  the 
junction  of  Middletown  and  Gallon,  then  oc- 
cupied by  Hon.  A.  M.  Jackson,  and  on  his 
property  it  was  used  as  a  woodshed,  and  torn 
down  when  the  present  M.  E.  church  was 
built. 

In  1825  John  Miller  came  to  Bucyrus  and 
worked  at  his  trade  of  carpenter  and  cabinet- 


376 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


maker,  which  he  had  learned  in  his  early 
home  in  Pennsylvania.  He  was  followed 
in  1827  by  John  Moderwell,  in  the  same 
business,  and  Miller  soon  retired  from 
cabinet-making  and  built  a  carding-mill,  the 
first  erected  in  Bucyrus,  and  his  mill  was 
a  pronounced  success,  doing  a  large  business 
for  many  years.  He  kept  hotel  a  few  years,  and 
through  his  carding-mill  went  into  the  dry 
goods  business.  He  became  prosperous,  pur- 
chased 80  acres  of  land  of  Amos  Clark  on 
South  Sandusky  avenue,  and  commencing 
about  Narrow  street,  laid  out  a  part  of  it,  on 
both  sides  of  Sandusky  avenue,  in  town  lots 
as  an  addition  to  Bucyrus.  In  1830  he  was 
elected  sheriff  of  the  county,  serving  two  years, 
and  singularly  enough  his  successor  as  sheriff 
was  John  Moderwell,  the  other  cabinet-maker 
of  the  village. 

Besides  Miller's  carding-mill  a  similar  mill 
was  also  built  by  Jourdan  Jones;  this  was  on 
the  present  site  of  the  Vollrath  Mills,  and  was 
run  by  tramp-wheel  power.  A  man  named 
Kirk  also  had  a  carding-mill,  and  later  sold  it 
to  Samuel  Clapper,  who  with  Dr.  A.  M.  Jones 
went  into  the  business  on  a  large  scale,  and 
their  mill  later  became  the  Bucyrus  Woolen 
Mills. 

Jourdan  Jones  had  a  wagon  shop,  north  of 
Perry  street  and  east  of  Sandusky  avenue,  in 
1835,  after  he  disposed  of  his  carding-mill. 

The,  earliest  tannery  was  the  family  affair  of 
Norton,  followed  by  Lewis  Cary,  but  the  de- 
veloping of  the  country  and  the  plentitude  of 
bark  at  their  doors  made  the  tanning  business 
the  industry  of  Bucyrus.  One  of  the  early 
tanners  was  Emanuel  Deardorff,  who  came  to 
Bucyrus  in  1827  with  his  brother-in-law, 
George  Myers;  they  came  through  in  a  one- 
horse  wagon  from  Cumberland  County,  Penn- 
sylvania. The  farther  west  they  got,  the  worse 
became  the  roads,  and  at  Pittsburp-  they  found 
the  only  way  to  get  through  with  their  one 
horse  was  to  travel  light,  so"  they  left  all  their 
bedding,  and  whatever  they  thought  they  could 
get  along  without,  and  came  on  to  Bucyrus. 
Here  Emanuel  Deardorff  bought  38  acres  of 
land  at  $8  per  acre,  and  started  a  tan  yard  on 
the  river  bank  on  the  north  side  of  West  Mans- 
field street,  present  home  of  H.  F.  Miller.  Get- 
ting the  business  started  during  the  winter  and 
spring,  in  1828  he  returned  to  his  former  home 


in  Cumberland  county  to  fill  an  engagement 
he  had  probably  made  prior  to  leaving  for  Ohio, 
for  on  March  13,  1828,  he  married  Elizabeth 
Howenstein,  and  with  a  team  the  two  started 
for  their  new  home,  at  Pittsburg  taking  on 
board  the  bedding  and  household  goods  he  had 
previously  left  there.  The  bridal  trip  took 
fifteen  days,  and  they  took  up  their  residence 
at  their  new  home  on  West  Mansfield  street. 
He  ran  the  tannery  until  1852,  when  he  sold 
to  John  Engle.  It  burned  down,  was  rebuilt 
and  lat^r  was  abandoned.  When  Mr.  Dear- 
dorff retired  from  the  tanning  business  he  ran 
a  saw-mill  for  eight  years  across  the  river, 
where  the  Sandusky  Valley  Mills  were  later, 
then  disposed  of  it,  and  took. a  200-acre  farm 
in  Whetstone,  where  he  remained  until  1870, 
when  he  came  to  Bucyrus,  retiring  from  busi- 
ness. 

Other  early  tanners  were  David  Holm,  who 
had  a  tannery  in  1831,  just  north  of  Buffalo 
Run  which  crossed  Sandusky  avenue,  through 
the  present  lot  of  C.  Roehr.  Across  the  street 
the  creek  continued  its  way,  bearing  north 
through  the  lot  of  Dr.  Arthur  McCrory.  Here 
Henry  Minich  had  a  tannery.  The  Wieland 
tannery  was  on  west  Galen  street,  run  by  Wie- 
land and  Michael  Walters. 

In  1826  William  Bratton  made  hats  in  a 
little  log  cabin  on  the  present  site  of  the  Quin- 
by  Block. 

Lewis  Stephenson  built  the  second  house  in 
the  village  on  the  west  side  of  the  Sandusky 
the  centre  lot  between  Perry  and  Mary,  where 
he  ran  a  hatter  shop. 

George  P.  Shultz  was  the  first  German  in 
Bucyrus  and  he  built  a  house  on  Walnut  street 
north  of  Perry,  where  he  kept  a  boarding 
house  for  several  years;  he  had  an  adopted 
daughter  who  kept  house  for  him  until  she 
married  Henry  Miller,  one  of  the  early  cabinet 
makers  of  the  village. 

Dr.  J.  T.  Hobbs  came  in  1824,  and  had  his 
office  adjoining  the  hat  shop  of  Lewis  Stephen- 
son. Dr.  Joseph  McComb  came  in  1822  and 
had  his  office  near  Stephenson's  hat  shop,  and 
later  purchased  a  lot  on  the  east  side  of  San- 
dusky between  Mary  and  Galen,  the  centre  lot 
in  the  block,  and  in  April  1825  he  married  Re- 
becca Kimble;  later  he  neglected  his  practice 
and  about  1835  died  at  the  Fitzsimmons  tavern 
in  Whetstone  township. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


377 


Harry  Smith  in  1823  built  a  cabin  on  the 
southwest  corner  of  Perry  and  Walnut.  Wil- 
liam Reeves  built  a  cabin  between  Perry  and 
Mary  on  the  east  side  of  Sandusky  in  1823. 

Harris  Garton  came  in  1822,  and  two  years 
later  married  Louisa  Norton,  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  Norton,  and  about  1827,  bought  out 
Albigence  Bucklin,  his  wife's  uncle,  and  later 
moved  to  Chatfield  township  where  he  kept 
a  tavern  and  was  postmaster;  in  1853  he  re- 
moved to  his  farm  in  Tod  township  where  he 
died. 

Adam  Bair  came  in  1823,  and  a  cousin  Adam 
Bair  came  in  1825 ;  they  were  distinguished  by 
calling  the  first  Adam  the  bad  Bear,  and  the 
second  Adam  the  good  Bear;  these  two  built 
the  first  brick  school  house  on  Middletown 
street,  two  stories  with  a  tower  and  contained 
three  rooms,  built  about  1850,  and  torn  down 
in  1868  to  make  room  for  the  present  central 
building. 

Ebenezer  Dowd  was  the  first  tailor  and  pur- 
chased the  lot  where  the  Schaber-Volk  Block 
now  stands,  and  here  he  opened  his  shop.  He 
had  a  brother  and  sister  who  came  with  him, 
as  in  August,  1825  Elihu  Dowd  married  Polly 
Ketchum,  and  in  December  of  the  same  year 
Eunice  Dowd  married  James  Dor  land  of  Lib- 
erty township. 

Harry  Burns  came  about  1823,  a  former 
friend  of  the  Nortons  at  Elk  Hill,  Pa.,  he  de- 
voted his  time  to  hunting  and  after  settlers 
became  so  numerous  that  game  became  scarce 
he  removed  to  the  west. 

John  Yost  came  with  his  wife,  "Aunt  Chloe" 
and  three  sons,  Abraham,  Jacob  and  Jerry;  he 
bought  the  lot  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Galen 
and  Sandusky,  when  he  arrived,  for  which  he 
paid  $120,  and  it  remained  in  the  family  of 
the  Yosts  for  over  80  years.  On  this  corner 
he  lived  in  a  log  house,  which  had  previously 
been  built  by  John  Deardorff,  and  from  his 
doorway  frequently  shot  the  wild  ducks  that 
took  advantage  of  the  swamp. on  the  northeast 
comer  opposite. 

John  Moderwell  came  in  1827,  with  his  wife, 
Aunt  Betsy,  and  he  purchased  the  lot  on  the 
southwest  corner  of  Perry  and  Walnut  for 
$40;  he.  was  a  cabinet  maker  and  millwright; 
he  opened  his  first  shop  in  a  little  log  house 
about  where  the  Pickering  Block  now  is  on 


North  Sandusky;  later  moved  to  the  south 
side  of  the  Rowse  Block  lot;  here  he  continued 
in  business  until  1833,  when  he  moved  to  a 
larger  building  where  the  Hotel  Royal  now 
stands.  He  early  took  an  active  part  in  the 
affairs  of  the  village  and  county;  was  sheriff 
of  the  county  in  1833  and  mayor  of  the  village 
in  1837.  To  him  more  than  any  other  man 
have  historians  been  indebted  for  the  most  re- 
liable information  as  to  the  early  history  of 
Bucyrus.  He  was  a  resident  of  the  county  for 
over  fifty  years,  and  then  went  to  Genessee,  Il- 
linois, to  make  his  home  with  his  son,  and  died 
there. 

George  Lauck  came  in  1826  and  later  pur- 
chased the  lot  on  the  northwest  corner  of  San- 
dusky and  Mary,  where  he  ran  a  tavern  until 
he  was  elected  county  treasurer  in  1837  and 
again  in  1839,  later  serving  two  more  terms 
as  treasurer  from  1843  to  1847.  When  he  dis- 
posed of  his  tavern  he  bought  the  original 
Bucklin  land  of  Harris  Garton,  and  the  old 
brick  at  the  crossing  of  the  T.  &  O.  C.  and 
Mansfield  street  was  always  known  as  the 
Lauck  homestead;  he  owned  the  land  to  Mid- 
dletown street  on  the  south  and  Whetstone 
street  on  the  east. 

Hugh  McCracken  and  Bailey  came  in  1825 
and  in  April,  1826,  Hugh  McCracken  became 
the  first  sheriff,  on  the  organization  of  the 
county. 

James  and  John  McCracken,  cousins  of 
Hugh,  came  about  1828  and  had  a  carpenter 
and  wheelwright  shop  on  the  square  the  eastern 
part  of  the  Quinby  Block.  This  they  rented, 
but  they  were  compelled  to  move,  as  John 
Smith  took  the  site  and  built  a  frame  build- 
ing in  which  he  ran  a  store;  this  frame  was 
afterward  moved  to  the  northeast  corner  of 
Mansfield  and  Lane  and  used  as  a  residence. 
The  McCrackens  bought  of  Edward  Billups  the 
lot  where  the  Mader  Block  now  stands,  and 
here  they  built  another  shop.  James  McCrack- 
en had  a  residence  on  the  same  lot.  With  the 
McCrackens  was  their  sister,  Mrs.  Phillips,  a 
widow  with  two  daughters,  Samantha  and 
Susan,  the  latter  still  living,  the  widow  of  E. 
R.  Kearsley;  the  stage  in  those  days  from  the 
east  only  came  as  far  as  Mansfield,  so  James 
McCracken  had  to  take  two  days  to  go  to 
Mansfield  with  a  horse  and  wagon  and  bring 


378 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


them  to  Bucyrus.  On  the  same  lot  was  a  lit- 
tle old  unused  log  house;  this  was  fitted  up 
and  in  it  Sallie  Davis  taught  school. 

Samuel  Myers  came  in  1826  and  bought  the 
lot  just  south  of  the  J.  K.  Myers  corner  for 
which  he  paid  $60. 

Andrew  Failor  came  in  1825,  and  bought  the 
present  J.  K.  Myers  lot  on  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  Sandusky  and  Mary,  for  which  he  paid 
$40.  Here  he  started  his  first  store,  where  he 
remained  a  few  years  when  he  bought  the  lot 
on  the  corner  of  East  Mansfield  street  and  the 
Square,  and  built  the  frame  which  is  still  stand- 
ing, and  here  moved  his  store  which  he  ran  for 
many  years  with  his  brother  and  for  a  time 
with  George  Lauck.  Mr.  Failor  took  an  active 
interest  in  the  Ohio  &  Indiana  road,  devoted  all 
his  time  to  the  securing  of  the  road,  his  busi- 
ness being  a  secondary  consideration.  Bucyrus 
secured  the  road,  but  Mr.  Failor,  who  up  to 
1850  had  been  a  prosperous  merchant,  had 
very  little  capital  left.  He  started  branch 
stores  in  many  of  the  smaller  towns  in  the  days 
of  his  prosperiy;  he  finally  sold  out  and  went 
to  Iowa. 

Thomas  Johnston  came  in  1826.  He  had 
stopped  with  his  brother-in-law,  George  Wal- 
ton, in  Dallas  township,  and  was  a  skillful 
cabinet  maker,  and  after  a  short  visit  with  the 
Waltons,  came  on  to  Bucyrus  with  his  family. 
His  wife,  Martha  Johnston,  thus  gives  her 
description  of  Bucyrus  at  that  time,  it  was  in 
the  spring  of  the  year  1826:  As  they  neared 
the  Sandusky  river  they  saw  a  few  log  cabins 
surrounded  with  water  up  to  the  very  step's. 
Wild  ducks  were  running  at  large  within  the 
corporation  limits,  having  no  fear  of  the  few 
settlers.  They  approached  a  cabin,  looking 
from  its  situation  very  much  like  a  river  boat 
as  it  was  surrounded  with  water.  A  large  log 
reached  across  the  ditch  in  front  of  the  build- 
ing and  over  this  they  went  into  the  store  which 
proved  to  be  Bishop  Merriman's.  They  were 
from  the  east  and  made  a  humorous  remark 
about  the  limited  stock  of  goods  he  carried, 
and  Merriman  replied:  "  If  you  had  to  wheel 
all  this  stock  of  goods  in  a  wheelbarrow  a  dis- 
tance of  forty  miles,  as  I  did,  and  sleep  on 
them  at  night  to  keep  them  from  being  stolen, 
you  wouldn't  think  it  was  so  limited."  John- 
ston was  oiTered  the  use  of  an  abandoned  cabin 


by  Amos  Clark  on  what  is  now  South  San- 
dusky. Into  this  he  moved  with  his  family, 
and  from  the  cabin  door  could  see  the  deer  and 
prairie  chickens  wandering  where  they  pleased, 
and  frequently  wolves  sneaking  through  the 
woods  and  tall  grass.  He  found  plenty  of 
wood  for  his  cabinet  work,  but  there  was  no 
way  he  could  dry  it  suitable  for  fine  work  and 
he  decided  to  go  to  Columbus,  but  his  friends 
and  relatives  induced  him  to  remain  by  mak- 
ing him  a  present  of  80  acres  in  southern  Whet- 
stone.   . 

Babcock  &  Ranney  kept  store  on  the  sec- 
ond lot  north  of  Galen  street,  now  occupied  by 
the  Vollmer  restaurant;  Ranney  later  built  a 
small  brick  on  the  northwest  comer  of  Rens- 
selaer and  Sandusky,  which  was  torn  down 
when  the  present  brick  was  erected  now  oc- 
cupied by  the  First  National  Bank.  Musgrave 
&  Merriman  occupied  the  present  site  of  the 
Johnston  Pharmacy  Company  in  1835. 

Daniel  &  Owen  Williams  had  their  store  on 
the  corner  where  the  Rowse  Block  now  is. 

William  Reeves  in  1823  built  "  log  house 
on  the  east  side  of  Sanduskv  avenue  between 
Mary  and  Perry.  This  is  probably  where  Mer- 
riman had  his  store  in  1826,  and  that  year  he 
sold  the  lot  to  Dr.  Hobbs  for  $125,  throwing 
in  the  house. 

The  Rowse  Corner  wa's  originally  bought  by 
Henry  Miller  of  Samuel  Norton,  and  in  1828 
he  sold  it  to  Jacob  Culler  of  Mt.  Vernon,  who 
erected  a  small  frame  on  the  corner,  and  a 
store  was  started.  This  came  into  the  hands  of 
J.  W.  Bener  and  later  Nigh  &  Magers  became 
the  proprietors.  Josiah  Scott  bought  the  store 
and  placed  his  brother-in-law  John  Moderwell, 
in  charge.  Both  these  gentlemen  had  married 
sisters  of  James  McCracken.  While  running 
the  store  Mr.  Moderwell  lived  a  few  doors 
south.  Scott  sold  the  store  to  Daniel  and  Owen 
Williams. 

The  first  store  started  in  the  village  was  by 
E.  B.  Merriman.  Other  early  storekeepers 
were  French  &  Bowers,  John  Nimmons,  Henry 
St.  John,  Coleman  &  Kerns,  Caldwell  &  Mc- 
Farlan,  D.  S.  Norton  &  Co.,  Martin  Barr, 
Jones  &  Butler,  B.  Meeker,  O.  &  D.  Williams, 
James  Quinby,  Babcock  &  Ranney,  Sljnith  & 
Moderwell,  J.  A.  Gormley,  Musgrave  &  Mer- 
riman, John  Beaver,  Nye  &  Majors,  Quinby  & 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


379 


Grant,  Phillips  &  Anderson,  Henry  Converse, 
Loring  Converse  and  others. 

Beside  the  brick  yard  on  the  school  house 
grounds,  an  early  brick  yard  was  the  southwest 
corner  of  Sandusky  and  Warren,  about  where 
the  Diller  property  now  is,  and  just  south  of 
this  was  another  brick  yard ;  farther  south  on 
Sandusky  avenue  and  across  the  street,  just 
north  of  Holm's  tannery,  was  another. 

After  the  flour  mill  was  removed  to  the 
north  end  of  Walnut  street  it  was  run  for  a 
time  by  Elias  Slagle,  and  when  he  left  the 
milling  business  he  started  a  pottery  near  the 
mill,  at  the  north  end  of  Walnut  street  on 
the  east  side.  This  ran  for  years  under  various 
proprietors,  making  only  crocks  and  jugs  and 
the  coarser  articles  of  pottery,  and  was  dis- 
continued in  the  early  60s.  Elias  Slagle  also 
ran  an  oil  mill,  the  seed  being  ground  with  a 
large  circular  tramp-wheel. 

In  1826  Ebenezer  Dowd  had  a  tailor  shop 
just  south  of  the  southwest  corner  of  San- 
dusky and  Galen,  the  present  site  of  Dobbins 
&  Geiger's  meat  market. 

Jesse  Quaintance  built  a  mill  on  the  .San- 
dusky, near  where  the  Buffalo  run  that  passed 
through  Bucyrus  empties  into  the  Sandusky, 
south  of  the  extension  of  Rensselaer  street. 

The  first  tavern  in  Bucyrus  was  a  two-story 
log  building  on  the  Shonert  corner,  northwest 
corner  of  Sandusky  and  Perry,  and  when  Abel 
Gary  first  located  on  this  land  he  occupied  the 
cabin  built  by  Samuel  Norton  until  he  erected 
a  larger  structure  for  himself  and  family  on 
the  same  lot.  There  was  no  special  road  in 
those  days,  but  the  old  Indian  trail  going  north 
to  the  lake  was  followed  by  settlers ;  it  crossed 
the  river  at  Gary's  residence.  His  being  the 
nearest  house  to  the  ford,  travelers  stopped 
there.  No  one  was  turned  away  in  those  days, 
and  Gary's  place  became  known  as  the  tavern, 
even  if  many  of  his  guests  did  sleep  on  the 
floor  or  in  their  wagons.  He  increased  the 
size  of  his  log  house  and  eventually  it  was  a 
tavern.  In  1824  Robert  Moore  built  a  tavern 
of  logs  across  the  street  on  the  brow  of  the 
hill,  just  north  of  the  G.  K.  Zeigler  residence. 
This  was  a  regular  tavern,  and  in  the  oiifice  he 
had  a  bar  the  first  in  Bucyrus.  The  bar  con- 
sisted of  a  shelf  on  which  he  kept  the  liquor 
and  it  was  sold  to  customers  at  three  cents  a 


glass.  Prior  to  this  liquor  was  sold  at  the 
stores  by  the  quart  or  gallon,  the  price  being 
about  50  cents  a  gallon.  All  stores  kept  a  jug 
at  one  end  of  the  counter  and  beside  it  a  tin 
cup,  and  customers  on  entering  if  they  wanted 
a  drink  helped  themselves.  In  April,  1825, 
Hugh  McCracken  married  Martha  Moore,  a 
daughter  of  the  landlord.  Moore  did  a  good 
business,  until  he  sold  out  to  Ichabod  Rogers. 
Samuel  Roth  took  charge  of  the  Gary  tavern, 
which  had  been  discontinued  when  Moore  had 
his  tavern  completed.  He  ran  it  only  a  short 
time,  but  was  running  it  when  the  first  Fourth 
of  July  dinner  was  given  in  Bucyrus.  Ichabod 
Rogers  had  bought  out  Moore  and  was  running 
the  other  tavern  across  the  street,  and  Squire 
Roth  engaged  Mrs.  Rogers  to  prepare  the 
Fourth  of  July  meal  for  a  dozen  couples,  but 
when  the  day  came  there  were  fifty  to  sit  down 
to  the  table.  The  first  Fourth  of  July  oration 
was  delivered  by  James  Martin.  He  was  an 
Englishman,  but  his  address  was  patriotic 
enough  to  suit  the  early  pioneers,  for  a  year 
or  two  later  they  elected  him  as  the  first  auditor 
of  the  county. 

After  Roth,  Dr.  Joseph  Pearce  took  charge. 
The  doctor  in  January,  1825,  had  married 
Mary  Gary,  and  at  the  same  time  Charles 
Merriman  married  Susan  Gary,  both  licenses 
being  issued  on  Jan.  10.  Licenses  had  to  be 
procured  in  Marion,  and  the  early  records  of 
that  county  show  the  young  men  about  to  be 
married  must  have  made  the  trip  together 
either  on  horseback  or  on  foot,  as  in  several 
instances  two  licenses  were  isued  for  Crawford 
county  couples  the  same  day.  Dr.  Pearce  prac- 
ticed medicine  as  well  as  running  the  hotel.  A 
part  of  the  practice  of  all  early  physicians  was 
the  pulling  of  teeth,  but  for  this  no  charge  was 
made  for  many  years.  When  Ichabod  Rogers 
bought  out  Robert  Moore,  he  enlarged  the 
tavern;  later  built  a  large  frame  on  the  north- 
east corner  of  Main  and  Perry,  and  it  con- 
tinued as  a  tavern  for  fourteen  years,  until 
finally  the  business  drifting  south  to  the  Square, 
and  later  still  farther  south  the  tavern  was 
discontinued  and  used  as  a  residence. 

The  Indians  received  an  allowance  annually 
from  the  Government,  which  they  spent  oc- 
casionally for  absolute  necessities,  but  mostly 
for  liquor.    After  pay  day  the  money  was  soon 


380 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


gone,  but  in  the  cranberry  season  the  cran- 
berries  were  exchanged  for  necessaries  and 
hquor ;  in  the  winter  racoon  and  deer  skins  were 
the  articles  of  exchange.  At  one  time  Mr. 
Rogers  reports  fifty  bushels  of  cranberries  in 
the  house  and  hundreds  of  'coon  and  deer  skins. 
The  Indian  trade  was  profitable,  as  at  many 
places  they  could  get  no  liquor,  and  naturally, 
they  paid  any  price  asked  for  it  where  it  could 
be  obtained.  Two  or  three  other  places  later 
sold  to  the  Indians,  as  shown  by  the  court 
records,  where  they  were  fined  by  the  Court 
$5  and  costs  "for  selling  liquor  to  the  In- 
dians," and  after  paying  the  fine  their  tavern 
licenses  were  renewed  for  another  year.  But 
Rogers'  old  tavern  was  the  headquarters  for 
this  class  of  business,  and  when  some  of  the 
prominent  citizens  of  the  village  had  occasion- 
ally imbibed  so  freely  that  the  taverns  up  town 
declined  to  furnish  them  any  more,  they  wan- 
dered down  to  Rogers'  tavern,  where  their 
wants  were  supplied  ad  lib.  The  trip  to 
Rogers'  tavern  was  not  an  easy  matter  prior  to 
1835 ;  it  was  over  very  low  ground,  sometimes 
under  water,  and  the  sidewalk  was  only  a  long 
stretch  of  logs,  massive  fellows  18  inches 
square,  and  somtimes  so  wet  and  slippery  that 
even  a  sober  man  had  to  walk  with  care.  But 
our  pioneer  ancestors  were  careful,  for  at 
times  when  navigation  was  difficult,  partly  on 
account  of  the  sidewalk  and  partly  on  account 
of  their  condition,  they  used  to  send  for  Jede- 
diah  Scot,  the  well  digger  of  the  village.  He 
responded  promptly  with  his  large  wheelbar- 
row and  the  over- jubilant  distinguished  citi- 
zens, loaded  up  in  a  double  sense  and  singing 
their  bacchanalian  songs,  were  wheeled  down 
to  Rogers',  where  they  received  a  cordial  wel- 
come and  all  the  liquor  they  wanted.  There 
were  other  citizens  who  played  jokes  in  those 
days  even  as  is  done  today,  and  they 
once  put  up  a  job  on  one  of  these  distin- 
guished citizens.  The  aforesaid  citizen,  who 
had  put  in  an  afternoon  at  the  tavern  by  the 
riverside,  sent  for  his  private  wheelbarrow,  but 
the  sports  had  seen  the  charioteer  and  arranged 
with  him  for  a  good  joke,  and  on  the  way  up, 
just  in  front  of  where  the  Vollmer's  cafe  now 
is,  the  accident  happened.  Jedediah  stumbled 
— quite  accidentally,  of  course — the  wheelbar- 
row tipped  and  the  citizen  was  instantly  flound- 
ering in  two  feet  of  water.     He  was  not  in  a 


condition  to  extricate  himself ;  Jedediah  was  in 
almost  a  similar  condition,  and  the  jokers  were 
compelled  to  cross  the  muddy  street  and  wade 
into  the  swamp,  and  fish  out  the  unfortunate, 
and  thus  was  rescued  one  who  a  few  years 
later  became  a  pillar  of  the  Methodist  church. 

The  first  wedding  in  Bucyrus,  of  which  any 
report  is  handed  down,  doubtless  owes  its  pres- 
ervation to  the  incidents  connected  with  it. 
In  the  early  days  notice  of  a  marriage  had  to 
be  posted  for  fifteen  days  in  some  conspicuous 
place  prior  to  the  marriage.  In  this  wedding 
the  bride  was  Mary  Inman,  and  it  was  she 
herself  who  tacked  the  notice  to  a  tree  on  what 
is  now  North  Sandusky  avenue,  and  the  report 
further  says  that  some  one  through  jealousy 
or  from  meanness  tore  the  notice  down,  but 
the  day  of  the  wedding  came,  and  with  it  the 
justice  to  perform  the  ceremony.  The  bride 
was  there,  and  Samuel  Carl,  the  groom,  and 
while  the  Justice  was  also  there,  he  had  tarried 
too  long  with  boon  companions  before  the  hour 
for  the  wedding,  and  could  not  read  the  cere- 
mony. This  difficulty  was  obviated  by  an  ac- 
commodating school  teacher  (either  Moses  Ar- 
den  or  James  Martin)  who  read  the  ceremony 
to  the  Squire,  and  he  with  difficulty  repeated 
the  words  to  the  couple,  who  responded  prop- 
erly to  the  questions,  and  the  ceremony  was 
over. 

The  people  of  today  should  remember  that 
customs  change,  and  it  was  not  so  severely 
criticized  in  the  early  days  as  it  is  at  present 
if  citizens  sometimes  carried  their  convivial- 
ity to  excess.  This  was  not  alone  in  the  vil- 
lages but  in  the  country.  Attempts  were  some- 
times made  in  early  days  to  raise  a  cabin  or 
barn  without  the  inevitable  whiskey,  but  if  it 
became  known  that  there  would  be  no  liquor, 
the  raising  was  generally  a  failure  for  the  lack 
of  attenders.  Squirrels  were  a  nuisance  to  the 
farmers  on  account  of  their  depredations  on 
the  planted  grain,  and  squirrel  hunts  were  or- 
ganized, all  in  that  region  turning  out.  In  one 
of  these  reported  on  the  line  between  Craw- 
ford and  Marion,  it  lasted  two  days  and  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  second  day  the  scalps  were  to 
be  counted  and  the  prizes  awarded,  by  a  com- 
mittee. The  account  states:  "This  commit- 
tee, or  some  other  committee,  had  provided  a 
full  supply  of  whiskey,  maple  sugar  and  eggs ; 
whereupon  another  committee  was  appointed  to 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


381 


mix,  mingle  and  commingle  those  three  ingre- 
dients into  a  fluid  which  they  called  egg-nog. 
It  was  a  time  long  to  be  remembered ;  and  it 
has  often  been  said  that  there  was  but  one  man 
who  left  that  place  sober,  and  that  was  Daniel 
Parcell,  who  had  never  been  known  to  take 
a  dram."  This  second  Daniel  was  a  Marion 
county  man. 

George  Lauck  came  in  1826,  and  soon  after 
he  started  a  tavern  on  the  northwest  corner  of 
Sandusky  and  Mary,  which  he  ran  until 
elected  county  treasurer  in  1837. 

Samuel  Picking  started  a  tavern  north  of  the 
Square,  which  was  called  the  Spread  Eagle,  in 
front  being  a  tall  pole  on  top  of  which  was 
the  signboard  with  an  eagle  painted  with  wings 
outspread,  and  it  was  popularly  dubbed  "  The 
Buzzard."  This  was  a  resort  of  the  prominent 
local  citizens,  and  with  Lauck's  were  the 
taverns  of  the  village.  Neither  would  sell 
liquor  to  the  Indians,  running  strictly  law  abid- 
ing places,  the  Indian  custom  going  to  the 
Rogers  tavern. 

In  1828  Abraham  Hahn  came  to  Bucyrus, 
and  he  bought  the  lot  on  which  the  Deal  House 
now  stands  for  $100;  on  this  he  erected  a 
brick  hotel  of  two  stories  with  a  gable  front. 
The  building  was  about  40  feet  on  the  Square 
and  nearly  the  same  frontage  on  Sandusky 
avenue.  It  was  completed  in  1831,  and  the 
expense  of  its  building  must  have  been  beyond 
his  means  as  he  adorned  it  with  a  mortgage 
of  $1,000,  which  he  borrowed  of  Samuel  Lud- 
wig.  The  hotel  was  called  the  Pennsylvania 
Coat  of  Arms,  and  on  the  corner  was  the  post 
on  top  of  which  was  the  sign  on  which  was 
painted  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania. A  few  years  later  Samuel  Picking 
took  charge  of  the  hotel  and  changed  the  name 
to  the  National,  paying  $750  as  rent  from  1847 
to  1850,  $250  per  year.  When  McCoy  took 
charge  in  1854  it  became  the  McCoy  House; 
two  years  later  the  Johnson  House.  Under 
Mr.  Johnson  it  was  enlarged  to  three  stories 
and  the  addition  built  on  the  east.  Since  first 
transformed  from  vacant  ground  into  a  build- 
ing, this  corner  has  always  been  a  hotel. 

The  next  proprietor  was  John  J.  Boeman, 
who  had  a  son-in-law  who  had  always  been 
a  great  admirer  of  the  ladies  and  parted  both 
his  hair  and  his  name  in  the  middle.     Mr. 


Boeman  was  a  very  slow  and  methodical  man, 
very  neat,  and  the  last  man  in  the  world  to 
get  excited  over  anything.  He  made  his  son- 
in-law  manager  of  the  hotel,  and  he  was  as 
successful  a  failure  at  that,  as  he  had  been  at 
everything  else,  so  Mr.  Boeman  quietly  sold  the 
hotel  to  John  Sims  without  consulting  his  son- 
in-law.  When  the  young  man  learned  of  the 
sale,  he  rushed  across  the  street  to  his  father- 
in-law's  bakery  and  inquired  if  it  was  correct 
that  he  had  sold  the  hotel.  "  Yes,"  said  Mr. 
Boeman,  "  Mr.  Sims  offered  me  a  good  price, 
and  I  thought  it  best  to  let  it  go."  The  young 
man  reached  back  in  his  hip-pocket,  and  draw- 
ing a  revolver,  heroically  remarked,  "  Well, 
I  guess  there's  nothing  left  for  me  to  do  now 
except  blow  out  my  brains."  Mr.  Boeman 
looked  calmly  at  his  son-in-law,  and  slowly 
drawled  out :  "All  right.  Pierce,  but  don't  do  it 
here ;  go  out  in  the  barn ;  I  don't  want  my  clean 
store  all  littered  up,"  and  he  turned  coolly 
around  and  went  on  dusting  ofif  the  shelves. 
Mr.  Sims  ran  the  hotel  for  several  years,  call- 
ing it  the  Sims  House ;  for  a  while  it  was  Sapp's 
Exchange,  and  finally  it  was  bought  by  Horace 
M.  Deal  and  L.  W.  Hull,  and  became  the  Deal 
House,  a  name  it  has  since  retained  under  sev- 
eral proprietors. 

About  1829  Abraham  Holm  built  the  brick 
house  still  standing  on  the  northeast  corner  of 
Sandusky  and  Charles.  The  brick  were  made 
in  the  Holm  brick  yard  which  was  across  the 
street,  the  next  lot  to  the  Wingert  property. 
It  was  run  as  a  hotel  called  the  Oregon  House ; 
later  passed  into  the  hands  of  George  Mader, 
and  although  the  words  "Oregon  House"  were 
seen  painted  on  the  building  for  half  a  century 
it  became  known  as  Mader's  tavern,  and  under 
him  was  gradually  discontinued  as  a  hotel. 

In  1822  Samuel  Norton  sold  to  Russell  Peck 
the  lot  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Sandusky 
and  Warren  for  $25,  and  here  the  owner  had 
a  little  blacksmith  shop,  and  also  his  residence. 
In  1828  the  property  was  bought  by  Zalmon 
Rowse  for  $300.  He  lived  there  a  short  time 
and  then  concluded  to  build.  The  log  house 
was  removed  to  his  land,  the  old  Wm.  Mon- 
nett  farm  on  the  south  side  of  the  Galion  road ; 
later  this  house  was  hauled  to  town,  placed  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  Rensselaer  and  East 
street,    where    the    logs    were    covered    with 


23 


382 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


weather-boarding,  and  it  was  used  as  a  resi- 
dence until  it  was  torn  down  to  make  room  for 
the  present  home  of  Frank  P.  Donnenwirth. 

On  the  west  side  of  Sandusky,  across  War- 
ren street,  was  a  brick  yard  in  which  Mr. 
Rowse  had  an  interest  and  here  the  brick  were 
made  for  the  new  building.  While  it  was  build- 
ing Miss  Emily  Rowse  taught  school  in  the 
room  which  afterward  became  the  hotel  office. 
In  1836,  Mr.  Rowse  sold  the  building  and  the 
lot  north  to  Messrs.  Stone  &  Osborn  for  $2,- 
500,  but  in  1838  it  came  into  the  possession  of 
James  Anderson,  who  named  it  the  American 
House.  He  was  a  strong  abolitionist,  and  in 
1839  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Streeter,  a  Protestant 
Methodist  minister,  was  delivering  an  anti- 
slavery  address,  a  shower  of  stones  came 
through  the  window,  and  the  rougher  element 
rushed  in,  broke  up  the  meeting,  and  in  the 
confusion  the  minister  made  his  escape.  In 
1842  Jacob  Poundstone  went  into  partnership 
with  Anderson,  and  under  them  the  hotel 
reached  its  highest  prosperity.  It  was  the  stop- 
ping place  for  the  stages  from  Columbus  to 
Sandusky  and  also  the  line  that  ran  from 
Wooster  to  Bucyrus.  Anderson  built  a  small 
shop  just  north  of  the  hotel  and  in  this  he  ran 
a  tin  shop,  and  here  one  night  about  a  dozen 
of  the  Abolitionists  gathered  to  listen  to  a 
runaway  slave  give  an  account  of  his  experi- 
ences in  his  flight  for  freedom.  The  meeting 
was  unmolested.  Anderson  sold  the  hotel  to 
Thacker  and  went  into  the  stock  business,  but 
later  met  with  reverses,  and  rebought  the  hotel 
which  he  ran  until  he  sold  it  to  Jacob  Pound- 
stone  and  moved  to  Illinois. 

In  1847  Poundstone  leased  the  hotel  to 
Abram  Seitz  of  Seneca  county,  and  started  a 
boarding  house  in  the  building  which  stood 
where  the  Journal-Telegraph  block  now  stands, 
which  was  so  well  patronized  he  used  as  an 
annex  the  frame  building  still  standing  on  the 
north.  He  built  a  stable  at  the  rear  of  the  lot 
and  ran  a  livery.  The  Mexican  War  was  then 
in  progress  and  the  house  was  called  the  Vera 
Cruz,  after  the  battle  of  that  name.  Among 
his  boarders  was  a  young  law  student  in  Josiah 
Scott's  office.  He  wrote  a  poem  about  the 
house,  one  stanza  reading: 

He  who  in  comfort  here  would  snooze. 
Within  the  walls  of  Vera  Cruz, 


Or  dine  at  Jake's  luxurious  table, 
Or  have  a  horse  in  his  new  stable. 
Must  with  the  early  dawn  arise, 
And  sweep  the  cob-webs  from  his  eyes. 

The  young  law  student  was  N.  C.  McFarlan; 
and  later  he  went  to  Kansas,  and  in  spite  of  his 
"poem"  became  Commissioner  of  the  Land 
Office  of  the  United  States. 

Seitz  sold  the  American  to  Henry  Warner 
of  Marion,  and  as  that  gentleman  had  three 
daughters  it  became  a  strong  rival  of  the  Vera 
Cruz  for  parties  and  dances,  and  in  1853  Isaac 
Russell  leased  it,  and  he  was  followed  by 
Major  Diller,  who  ran  it  awhile  and  in  1855 
Poundstone  sold  it  to  John  Sims  for  $3,000 
and  in  1856  he  sold  the  hotel  part  of  the  lot 
to  J.  C.  and  H.  Anthony  for  $1,000.  When  the 
Anthonys  took  control  they  built  an  addition  at 
the  rear  in  which  they  started  a  brewery,  which 
they  ran  until  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  June  17, 
1857.  Mr.  Sims  rebought  the  hotel  in  i860, 
ran  it  for  a  year  as  the  Sims  House,  and  then 
sold  to  L.  D.  Johnson  and  it  became  the  John- 
son House ;  it  went  through  varions  hands,  was 
reduced  to  a  tenement  house,  and  in  1875  under 
sheriff's  sale  it  went  to  Benjamin  Sears  for 
$3,002.  It  was  refitted  and  William  R.  Shaw- 
took  possession  and  ran  a  hotel  restoring  the 
old  name  of  American.  But  its  days  as  a  hotel 
were  over;  N.  Steen  and  Thomas  Jones  tried 
it,  and  under  the  latter  it  was  discontinued. 
Old  age  and  ijrevious  neglect  had  done  its  work 
and  it  again  became  a  tenement  house  not  worth 
repair,  and  on  the  night  of  April  13,  1883,  the 
casings  of  the  stone  arch  over  the  front  door 
fell  in.  There  was  danger  of  the  old  building 
falling,  and  Mr.  Sears  ordered  it  torn  down, 
and  at  that  time  its  principal  tenant  was  Sing 
Lee  with  a  Chinese  laundry.  So  passed  away 
the  last  of  the  old  stage  taverns  in  Bucyrus, 
which  in  its  palmy  days  had  its  old  fashioned 
sign  post  on  top  of  which  its  creaking  sign 
swayed  slowly  in  the  breeze ;  its  covered  porch 
in  front,  where  in  chairs,  tilted  back,  idly  dis- 
cussing the  politics  of  the  Nation,  the  village 
loungers  would  sit  for  hours,  chewing  tobacco 
and  drowsily  passing  away  the  long  summer 
days,  with  nothing  in  sight  but  the  deserted 
and  dusty  road,  with  its  grass-grown  borders 
and  sidewalks  made  of  hewn  logs;  the  life- 
lessness   of  the  street  only  disturbed  by  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


383 


cackling  of  the  busy  bustling  hens  or  the  hogs 
wandering  lazily  to  their  favorite  spot  where 
they  could  grunt  their  complaints  of  the  heat 
in  some  comfortable  mud  hole,  of  which  there 
was  no  lack ;  and  the  cows  quietly  chewing  the 
cud  under  the  shade  of  some  neighboring  tree. 
And  when  the  cool  of  evening  came,  and  the 
tavern  loungers  were  brightened  up  by  the 
dropping  in  of  the  Squire  and  the  school  mas- 
ter and  the  prominent  men  of  the  village,  they 
could  see  far  down  the  road  a  cloud  of  dust, 
and  heads  looked  out  from  doors  and  windows 
along  the  street;  the  landlord  appears,  as  the 
stage  dashes  up  the  street  at  topmost  speed,  and 
the  skillful  driver  throws  the  horses  back  on 
their  haunches,  and  stops  the  coach  immedi- 
ately in  front  of  the  hotel  entrance  to  the  ad- 
miration of  all.  If  the  old  American  House 
could  have  left  its  written  history  behind,  what 
a  tale  it  could  tell  of  the  political  conclaves 
within  its  walls,  of  anxious  citizens  waiting 
for  the  latest  news  of  an  important  election, 
when  day  succeeded  day  and  week  followed 
week,  before  down  the  silent  street  comes  a 
dashing  rider,  and  as  his  horse  goes  by  at  full 
gallop,  shouting  the  news  that  "Harrison  is 
elected,"  and  continues  on  in  his  wild  race  an- 
nouncing the  result  of  a  presidential  election. 

Three-score  years  have  worked  wonders  in 
the  town.  The  lot  that  Russell  Peck  once 
bought  for  $25  is  worth  today  more  than  ten 
times  over  what  Samuel  Norton  paid  for  the 
entire  city.  Grass-grown  graves  in  many  states 
now  cover  nearly  all  of  those  who  knew  the 
house  in  its  youth  and  in  its  pride,  and  when  it 
was  torn  down  its  tenant  was  a  native  of  that 
race  to  whom  a  hundred  years  are  as  nothing; 
a  race  of  which  probably  neither  the  builder 
of  the  block  nor  any  inhabitant  of  the  village 
had  ever  seen  one  of  its  members,  and  who.se 
country  with  its  four  hundred  millions  of 
people  was  to  them  a  fabled  land; 

John  Moderwell  built  for  himself  a  shop 
and  residence  on  the  west  side  of  the  Square 
in  1833,  the  Hotel  Royal  corner,  which  he  sold 
to  Benjamin  Meeker.  In  1835  it  was  bought 
by  Peter  Miller  and  his  son  William  W.  Miller 
and  they  ran  a  general  store  and  a  hotel  called 
the  Western  House  which  was  burned  down  in 
1848.  Later  it  was  rebuilt  by  Jonathan  Kiss- 
inger, and  Frederick  Feiring  ran  a  hotel  there 
called  the  Western  House;  a  large  two  story 


porch  occupied  the  front ;  the  hotel  passed  into 
several  hands  and  under  the  Alcorns  became 
the  Alcorn  House;  finally  it  became  the  prop- 
erty of  John  Stoll,  who  built  the  present  brick 
addition  and  the  name  was  changed  to  the 
Stoll  House  and  later  to  the  Hotel  Royal.  In 
1840  William  W.  Miller  dug  the  sulphur  pump, 
in  front  of  the  building. 

The  pike  road  was  completed  about  1834, 
but  stage  coaches  had  been  running  for  several 
years  previous  between  Columbus  and  San- 
dusky. Samuel  Norton  had  built  a  large  frame 
residence  on  West  Perry  street  and  Kilbourne 
suggested  that  he  go  into  the  hotel  business. 
So  Mr.  Norton  built  a  two  story  brick  in  1834, 
the  building  still  standing,  and  now  a  part  of 
the  Main  street  mills.  This  was  opened  with 
a  house-warming.  Col.  Kilbourne  being  pres- 
ent to  assist  his  old  friend  at  the  opening. 
It  was  called  the  Union  Hotel.  Here  Franklin 
Adams  stopped  when  he  first  came  to  the  town 
in  1837;  here  also  Gen.  William  Henry  Har- 
rison stopped  when  he  spent  the  night  when 
he  was  a  candidate  for  President  in  1 840 ;  here 
also  was  Col  Kilbourne's  headquarters  when 
he  was  in  the  city.  When  it  was  first  started 
it  was  the  headquarters  for  the  Columbus  and 
Sandusky  Stage  line,  but  they  were  later  taken 
to  the  American.  The  latter  hotel  was  the 
Whig  headquarters  while  the  National  Hotel 
on  the  Square  was  the  Democratic  headquar- 
ters. After  a  few  years  Mr.  Norton  tired  of 
the  hotel  business  and  discontinued  it.  About 
1838  one  of  his  guests  one  night  was  Nicholas 
Longworth,  the  then  wealthy  Cincinnati  mer- 
chant who  was  going  through  northern  Ohio 
on  a  collecting  tour.  He  and  Mr.  Norton  were 
standing  on  the  front  steps  of  the  hotel,  where 
on  the  left  could  be  seen  the  pretty  river  (for 
it  was  pretty  in  those  days),  and  on  the  right 
the  little  street,  and  Mr.  Longworth  compli- 
mentarily  said,  "What  a  pretty  site  for  a  town." 
"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Norton,  and  he  looked  up  the 
street  with  a  sigh,  and  said  slowly,  "Yes,  but 
it  spoiled  a  good  farm." 

In  the  early  days  many  of  the  pioneers 
brewed  a  mild  beer  which  they  kept  for  their 
own  use.  Besides  this,  cider  was  barreled  an- 
nually for  winter  use.  The  first  establishment 
for  the  manufacture  of  liquor  in  Bucyrus  was 
a  small  distillery,  started  by  McMichael  and 
Rogers  on  the  land  of  the  former,  where  the 
Electric  Light  Works  are  now  located.     This 


384 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


only  ran  a  year  or  two  when  it  was  discon- 
tinued. 

About  1850  a  brewery  was  started  on  the 
Annapolis  rdad  by  John  Marcks,  just  west  of 
where  Lane  street  enters  that  road.     Henry 
Anthony  also  had  a  small  brewery  at  the  rear 
of  his  hotel,  the  American,  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  Sandusky  and  Warren.     About  3 
o'clock  on  Saturday  afternoon,  Feb.  28,  1857, 
the  brewery  on  the  Annapolis  road,  owned  by 
John  Marcks,  caught  fire,  and  all  efforts  to  save 
it  were  useless.     The  building  and  contents 
were  consumed.    The  fire  started  from  a  defect 
in  the  furnace.    A  part  of  the  loss  was  $2,000 
in  grain.    The  loss  to  the  owner  was  too  heavy, 
and  the  demand  for  beer  too  light  in  those 
days  to  make  it  profitable  to  rebuild.    It  was  a 
bad  year  for  breweries  for  on  the  night  of 
Wednesday   evening,   June   24   of   the   same 
year,  the  Anthony  brewery  at  the  rear  of  the 
American  House  caught  fire,  and  the  build- 
ing was  destroyed  with  a  loss  of  $1,500.    This 
brewery  was  owned  by  the  Anthony  Brothers. 
After  the  fire  one  of  the  brothers  saw  no  profit 
in  the  business,  and  declined  to  invest  further 
in  breweries.    But  Henry  Anthony  determined 
to  continue,  and  bought  of  the  Norton  heirs  the 
lot  where   the   present   brewery   now    stands. 
Here  he  erected  a  small  building.     He  under- 
stood the  brewing  business,  but  he  lacked  cap- 
ital.    He  had  with  him  as  clerk  at  the  Amer- 
ican, a  young  man,  George  Donnenwirth,  who 
had  come  from  New  Washington  and  was  his 
chief  assistant  at  the  hotel  and  brewery.    An- 
thony suggested  they  go  into  partnership,  and 
the  offer  was  accepted,  Anthony  to  put  in  his 
experience  and  Donnenwirth  the  money,  which 
consisted  of  $180  which  he  had  saved.     The 
two  young  men  went  to  work,  sleeping  at  the 
brewery  and  putting  in  about  20  hours  a  day 
to  make  experience  and  $180  run  a  brewery. 
Mr.  Anthony  made  the  beer  and  Mr.  Donnen- 
wirth sold  it,  delivered  it,  and  made  the  col- 
lections, was  the  purchasing  agent,  and  paid 
the  bills,  sometimes  in  cash  but  when  possible 
with  notes  and  promises. 

With  their  limited  capital,  bills  could  not  be 
met,  on  the  small  output,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  increase  the  plant  or  close  down.  In  this 
tmergency  Anthonv  sold  his  half  interest  to 
George  Donnenwirth,  the  father  of  his  part- 
ner,  for  $500,  and  the  firm  became  George 


Donnenwirth  &  Son.  One  fault  with  Anthony 
was  his  extravagance,  and  making  no  provision 
for  the  future,  buying  freely  on  time.  The  new 
firm  were  careful  and  provident,  and  kept 
within  their  means,  extending  the  plant  as  their 
increased  business  justified  it,  and  they  soon 
had  it  on  a  paying  basis.  In  1882  the  senior 
partner  sold  out  to  his  son  Frank  P.  Donnen- 
wirth and  the  plant  became  G.  Donnenwirtth  & 
Brother.  The  new  partner  had  had  three  years' 
experience  in  a  St.  Louis  brewery,  and  took 
entire  charge  of  the  brewing.  The  firm  con- 
tinued to  prosper  and  in  1894  they  sold  out  to 
Frank  Dick.  The  new  proprietor  further  in- 
creased the  plant,  added  an  ice  plant,  and  in 
1906  sold  to  the  Dostal  Brothers  for  $120,000. 

The  two-story  brick,  very  low,  still  stands  as 
originally  built  by  the  George  Donnenwirth  & 
Son,  covered  with  vines  from  top  to  bottom, 
while  around  it  and  added  to  it  are  many  large 
buildings  and  offices,  made  necessary  by  the 
increasing  business  each  year. 

About  1830  Cornelius  Gilmore  built  the  brick 
on  the  northeast  comer  of  Sandusky  and  War- 
ren, which  he  used  as  a  residence,  and  for  years 
he  had  the  handsomest  home  in  the  village. 
Later  this  building  was  used  by  Thomas  Gilles- 
pie who  was  the  registrar  of  the  land  office. 
Mr.  Gillespie  lived  at  the  northwest  corner  of 
Sandusky  and  Charles  in  a  two  story  frame 
built  by  him ;  he  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  Willis 
Merriman,  and  when  the  house  was  built  the 
Jones  and  the  Yost  brothers  assisted  at  the 
raising.  Gillespie  bought  the  land  of  Abra- 
ham Myers,  the  father  of  Gen.  Samuel  Myers, 
who  lived  in  a  small  frame  which  he  had 
erected  on  the  lot.  The  little  brick,  now  occu- 
pied by  the  Miller  bakery,  was  built  by  Mrs. 
Martha  Hetich  in  1838.  She  was  the  mother 
of  Charles  and  Paul  I.  Hetich,  and  Mrs. 
George  Sweney. 

Thomas  Shawke  built  the  brick,  the  old 
Trimble  house,  in  1838,  on  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  Mansfield  and  Walnut,  where  the  VoU- 
rath  Opera  House  now  stands.  He  had  his 
blacksmith  shop  on  the  same  lot ;  later  the  shop 
was  moved  across  the  street,  a  few  doors  east 
of  East  alley,  and  in  this  shop  did  the  black- 
smithing  for  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  road. 
When  Mr.  Shawke  built  his  brick  in  1838, 
Hugh  McCracken  lived  on  the  corner  where 
the  Library  now  is  and  there  were  but  three 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


385 


buildings  east  of  him  on  Manslield  street;  the 
Methodist  church  nearly  opposite;  George 
Lauck's  residence  near  where  the  T.  &  O.  C. 
crosses  the  street,  and  Samuel  Ludwig's  resi- 
dence east  of  Whetstone  street.  South  of  him 
on  Walnut  street  were  two  houses,  one  the 
northeast  corner  of  Charles  street,  occupied 
by  Thomas  Hagerman,  and  the  other  the  house 
and  blacksmith  shop  of  John  Rexroth,  near 
Middletown  street,  where  Mrs.  L.  C.  Doll  now 
lives.  The  old  Merriman  corner,  now  owned 
by  the  Eagles,  was  built  by  R.  T.  Johnston  in 
1840  for  Dr.  Willis  Merriman.  The  brick 
now  occupied  by  Berk  &  Hales  was  built  as  a 
residence  by  J.  P.  Bowman  in  the  early  '46s. 
It  was  two  stories  and  remained  as  the  Bow- 
man residence  for  many  years  when  it  became 
the  property  of  the  First  National  Bank  and 
was  converted  into  business  rooms,  and  re- 
cently came  into  the  possession  of  P.  J.  Car- 
roll, who  remodeled  it,  and  built  the  third 
story. 

The  south  end  of  the  Deal  House  was  orig- 
inally a  two  story  brick  built  about  1850  by 
Jerry  Yost  and  used  as  a  harness  shop.  Under 
John  Sims  it  became  a  part  of  the  Deal  House 
and  was  made  three  stories.  The  present 
Rowse  Block  was  built  in  1858.  Ten  years 
previous  a  severe  fire  had  swept  away  the 
buildings  in  this  section,  and  the  lot  had  re- 
mained vacant  until  the  present  building  was 
erected.  Not  only  were  the  brick  made  in 
Bucyrus  but  the  iron  pillars  and  cornices  were 
made  at  the  Kelly  &  Widgeon  foundry,  now 
the  American  Clay  Company. 

The  five  eastern  rooms  of  the  Quinby  Block 
were  built  in  1858  by  George  Quinby  and  the 
three  western  rooms  in  1859,  and  at  the  time 
of  its  completion  was  one  of  the  finest  busi- 
ness blocks  in  northern  Ohio.  The  iron  cor- 
nices and  pillars  were  made  at  the  Wingert 
foundry  which  was  at  the  northeast  corner  of 
Poplar  and  Charles  streets.  When  the  block 
was  completed  its  first  occupants  were.  No.  i, 
the  Exchange  Bank;  No.  2,  Hall  &  Juilliard, 
dry  goods;  No.  3,  Graham  &  Trauger,  dry 
goods;  No.  4,  Fulton  &  Qark,  drugs;  No.  5, 
Zwisler  &  Howbert,  dry  goods;  No.  6,  Jones 
&  Co.,  stoves  and  tinware;  No.  7,  Cuyken- 
dall  &  Weber,  groceries ;  No.  8,  Potter  &  Craig, 
hardware.  No.  i  was  the  west  room,  and 
No.  8  the  east. 


The  little  three-story  brick  north  of  the  Bu- 
cyrus City  Bank  was  built  by  C.  D.  Ward 
about  1848;  in  the  low  third  story  was  the  en- 
tertainment hall,  where  traveling  troops  gave 
entertainment  to  not  over-critical  citizens. 
The  other  hall  was  on  the  southwest  corner  of 
the  Square,  called  the  McCoy  Hall;  here  the 
entrance  was  on  the  outside  stairway,  the  same 
as  it  is  today,  and  here  as  many  as  a  hundred 
people  could  be  accommodated.  When  the 
Rowse  Block  was  completed  the  entire  third 
story  was  Concert  Hall,  where  all  the  prin- 
cipal entertainments  were  held  until  the  build- 
ing of  the  Vollrath  Opera  House,  when  Rowse 
Hall  was  given  over  to  secret  societies.  In  the 
centre  of  the  Quinby  Block  was  a  large  hall 
which  was  used  for  festivals -and  meeting  pur- 
poses, religious,  social  and  political. 

Sometime  in  the  '30s  the  first  public  library 
was  started  in  Bucyrus.  The  library  was  in 
the  tailor  shop  of  Peter  Worst,  which  was  in  a 
little  frame  where  the  Schaber  Block  now 
stands.  This  library  was  a  joint  stock  insti- 
tution and  was  known  as  the  Washington 
Library.  It  was  started  by  books  donated  by 
the  members.  On  Tuesday  evening,  Nov.  2, 
1869,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  Lutheran 
Church  and  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  organized,  with 
William  M.  Reid  as  president.  They  met  in 
the  Birk  frame,  southeast  corner  of  Sandusky 
and  Rensselaer,  until  they  secured  permanent 
headquarters  in  the  west  room,  second  floor 
of  the  Quinby  Block,  now  occupied  by  Leu- 
thold,  McCarren  and  Leuthold  law  office.  A 
library  was  started  and  eventually  reached  a 
thousand  volumes,  mostly  donated  by  the  mem- 
bers. Daily  papers  and  magazines  were  kept, 
and  such  mild  games  as  chess,  checkers,  and 
dominoes  allowed.  Later  the  reading  room 
and  library  were  moved  to  the  second  story  of 
the  Birk  Block  and  after  three  years  was  dis- 
banded. 

A  permanent  Y.  M.  C.  A.  was  established 
when  Mrs.  E.  R.  Kearsley  gave  the  building 
which  had  been  known  as  the  Deal  residence. 
Subscriptions  were  liberally  donated,  and  the 
building  fitted  up.  In  1810,  $17,000  was  raised 
by  the  citizens  and  an  addition  made  extending 
to  the  alley;  the  building  now  has  a  fine  gym- 
nasium, sleeping  and  bath  rooms,  and  is  on  a 
scale  equal  to  many  larger  cities. 

The  ladies  of  Bucyrus  started  a  movement 


386 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


for  a  public  library,  and  several  thousand  dol- 
lars were  secured  by  them.  The  matter  Avas 
brought  to  Mr.  Carnegie's  attention  and  he 
donated  $15,000  for  the  building.  The  city  do- 
nated the  lot,  and  the  present  structure  was" 
erected. 

As  the  village  grew  the  necessity  of  better 
fire  protection  was  apparent.  In  case  of  fire 
people  all  responded,  every  available  bucket 
was  secured  and  a  line  formed  to  the  nearest 
well  where  pumpers  filled  the  buckets  and  they 
were  passed  along  the  line  and  thrown  on  the 
fire,  another  line  returning  the  empty  buckets 
to  the  well.  The  citizens  deemed  it  best  that 
there  should  be  an  organized  company,  so  they 
held  a  meeting  at  which  J.  H.  Hutcinson  pre- 
sided, with  Jacob  Scroggs  as  secretary,  and 
they  selected  J.  E.  Jewett,  an  attorney,  as  cap- 
tain of  the  company;  so  on  Aug.  11,  1848,  the 
first  fire  department  in  Bucyrus  was  organized. 
The  people  breathed  easier,  and  as  for  the 
new  company  they  were  pining  for  a  fire.  It 
came  on  the  night  of  October  26,  1848,  when 
the  cabinet  shop  of  Howenstein  &  Sheckler 
at  the  southeast  corner  of  Sandusky  and  Galen 
was  discovered  to  be  in  flames.  The  people 
turned  out,  and  under  the  leadership  of  Capt. 
Jewett  the  people  were  shown  what  an  organ- 
ized company  could  do.  Unfortunately  be- 
fore the  fire  was  extinguished  several  other 
buildings  were  destroyed.  More  would  prob- 
ably have  gone  but  there  were  no  others  within 
reach.  However,  the  People's  Forum,  the  only 
paper  then  in  the  village,  demonstrated  its  loy- 
alty to  the  town,  and  to  the  new  fire  company, 
by  giving  an  account  of  the  fire,  and  closing 
with  the  highly  complimentary  remark :  "Much 
credit  is  due  the  firemen  and  other  citizens  for 
their  exertions  to  stop  the  progress  of  the 
flames."  This  read  very  nicely,  but  the  citizens 
privately  must  have  been  aware  that  some  bet- 
ter protection  than  "exertions"  was  needed, 
so  a  hand  engine  was  bought,  which  was  called 
"Rescue  No.  i."  In  case  of  a  fire,  lines  where 
still  formed  and  the  water  poured  into  the  lit- 
tle engine  and  then  a  crank  was  turned  and  the 
water  forced  through  the  hose  on  the  fire.  This 
was  much  better  protection,  and  the  little  en- 
gine gave  fairly  good  service,  but  something 
better  was  needed  and  in  March,  1858,  the 
town  council  purchased  the  Water  Cloud 
for  $1,282.50,  and  built  a  large  cistern  on  the 


Square,  and  several  others  in  the  most  impor- 
tant parts  of  the  town.  The  officers  of  the 
^Vater  Cloud  Company  were  F.  W.  Butterfield, 
foreman;  G.  M.  Lindsay,  assistant  foreman; 
M.  Buchman,  secretary,  and  J.  G.  Birk,  treas- 
urer. The  Water  Cloud  had  long  handles  on 
each  side;  in  case  of  fire  the  engine  was  sta- 
tioned at  one  of  the  cisterns ;  a  long  heavy  hose 
extended  from  the  rear  of  the  engine  into  the 
water ;  the  hose  was  attached  in  front,  and 
\\ith  a  dozen  strong  men  pumping  on  the 
handlea  on  each  side  the  water  could  be 
thrown  to  the  top  of  the  largest  buildings. 
On  July  4,  i860,  the  engine  threw  water  a 
distance  of  199^^  feet.  With  the  addition 
of  this  machine  the  Rescue  No.  i  was  turned 
over  to  the  young  men,  with  Gains  C.  Worst  as 
the  foreman;  it  was  rechristened  the  "Let  'er 
Rip,"  as  once  filled  with  water,  you  let  'er  rip. 
A  hose  cart  and. hook  and  ladder  were  added 
and  it  now  became  necessary  to  have  a  chief 
of  the  fire  department,  and  E.  R.  Kearsley  was 
the  first  man  selected  for  that  position. 

The  Buckeye  Hook  and  Ladder  company 
was  organized  with  A.  E.  Walker  as  fore- 
man. At  first  the  Rescue  No.  i  was  kept  in  a 
small  building,  at  the  rear  of  the  Hotel 
Royal  lot.  In  1854  the  County  Commissioners 
bought  the  rear  lot  of  the  present  court  house 
yard,  and  in  connection  with  the  city,  built  a 
house  for  the  fire  department  on  this  lot.  In 
1859  the  City  Council  decided  to  build  an  en- 
gine house,  and  the  present  city  building  on 
East  Rensselaer  street  was  erected,  and  dedi- 
cated on  April  30,  i860.  On  the  evening  of 
the  dedication.  Water  Cloud  No.  2  and  Ma- 
zeppa  Hose  No.  i  turned  out  in  uniform  with 
torches,  71  strong,  and  paraded  the  principal 
streets  of  the  village,  and  finally  drew  up  at 
the  engine  house,  where  S.  R.  Harris  presided, 
and  Jacob  Scroggs  as  mayor  presented  the  new 
company  the  keys  of  the  city,  the  response  be- 
ing made  by  F.  W.  Butterfield,  the  foreman. 
Every  citizen  who  could  talk  made  a  speech, 
but  the  success  of  the  evening  was  an  original 
song,  written  and  sung  by  Matthias  Buchman, 
the  secretary  of  the  company ;  one  of  the  verses 
was  as  follows : 

Please  gif  me  your  attention, 

I'll  sing  a  leedle  song; 
It  ees  about  our  engine. 

And  vont  be  very  long. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


387 


Vait  for  the  engine, 

The  Vassar  Cloud  our  engine; 

Vait  for  the  engine 

Vich  throws  the  vasser  high. 

There  were  six  other  verses,  and  the  song 
was  the  success  of  the  evening,  which  was  bad, 
as  Mr.  Buchman  later  wrote  other  poems  on 
the  Water  Cloud,  and  sang  them. 

A  fireman's  festival  was  also  held  at  the 
Concert  Hall  and  everybody  was  present  and 
everybody  made  more  speeches,  and  Miss  Mary 
Ellen  Moderwell  on  behalf  of  the  ladies  pre- 
sented the  company  with  a  handsome  flag,  and 
the  festival  netted  $ioo  for  the  Water  Cloud. 

In  1869  the  present  steam  fire  engine  was 
purchased  for  $5,100  and  hose  and  other  para- 
phernalia secured  amounting  to  $1,000  more. 
Prior  to  the  purchase  of  the  steamer  there  was 
a  craze  swept  over  the  country  for  firemen's 
tournaments,  and  the  city  was  behind  the  times 
that  failed  to  give  a  tournament.  Bucyrus 
gave  several  and  vast  crowds  assembled  to  wit- 
ness the  competitions.  Later  these  contests 
centered  on  the  hook  and  ladder  races,  and 
the  Buckeyes  of  Bucyrus  gained  a  state-wide 
reputation.  In  1871  they  tied  their  sporting 
truck  to  a  wagon  and  drove  across  the  coun- 
try to  Findlay  where  the  Northwestern  Ohio 
Volunteer  Firemen's  Association  held  the  an- 
nual meeting.  The  Buckeyes  took  first  prize 
and  the  news  was  flashed  home  by  wire  and 
when  the  company  returned  a  number  of  the 
factories  and  business  houses  were  closed,  and 
fully  500  people  met  the  company  at  the  edge 
of  the  town  and  escorted  them  to  the  public 
square  where  congratulatory  speeches  were 
made  by  Gen.  Finley  and  others.  In  the  years 
that  followed  the  Buckeyes  took  part  in  twenty- 
two  tournaments  winning  thirteen  first  prizes, 
four  seconds  and  one  third,  besides  three 
sweepstakes,  their  total  winnings  amounting 
to  $2,480  in  cash  besides  appropriate  prizes. 
The  race  consisted  of  a  run  of  40  rods  and 
placing  a  man  on  the  top  of  a  thirty-foot  lad- 
der. Their  best  time  was  at  Crestline  in  1883 
when  they  did  it  in  34J4  seconds,  a  record 
which  was  never  beaten.  About  this  time  the 
volunteer  fire  department  was  abandoned  and 
a  paid  department  took  its  place.  For  a  time 
this  was  under  the  control  of  Frank  Haman, 
but  later  the  city  again  took  charge  of  it  and 
the  present  quarters  erected  on  West  Mans- 


field street,  and  singularly  enough  the  depart- 
ment now  occupies  the  site  to  which  Christian 
Howenstein  moved  with  his  cabinet  shop,  after 
the  fire  which  caused  the  purchase  of  the  first 
fire  engine  by  the  village. 

When  the  water  works  were  built,  in  1883, 
nearly  ten  miles  of  pipe  were  laid  and  the  en- 
gine was  only  used  as  a  reserve,  hydrants  hav- 
ing been  erected  all  over  the  city,  to  which  the 
hose  is  attached  in  case  of  fire,  and  now  sev- 
eral streams  can  be  brought  into  play  at  the 
same  time  on  any  fire  in  the  central  part  of  the 
city.  The  department  has  a  fire  alarm  system 
with  seventeen  signal  boxes.  There  have  been 
one  or  two  humorous  incidents  in  connection 
with  the  fire  department,  but  with  a  serious 
ending. 

One  very  severe  winter  the  thermometer  had 
registered  below  zero  for  several  days  and 
some  expressed  a  fear  that  the  fire  hydrants 
might  be  frozen  up.  One  of  the  men  in  au- 
thority, who  knew  little  about  the  laws  of 
natural  philosophy,  but  did  not  forget  the 
duties  devolving  upon  him,  took  a  wrench,  and 
with  the  thermometer  below  zero  faithfully 
went  over  the  city  and  opened  the  hydrants 
to  see  if  the  water  was  running,  and  to  his 
great  delight  found  the  water  came  out  in  a 
copious  stream,  not  one  being  frozen  up;  un- 
fortunately that  night  a  severe  fire  broke  out, 
hose  was  attached  to  hydrant  after  hydrant  in 
the  neighborhood  and  all  were  frozen  up.  The 
engine  was  hurried  to  the  scene  and  finally 
succeeded  in  extinguishing  the  fire. 

At  another  time  the  city  advertised  for  sev- 
eral hundred  feet  of  new  hose.  There  were  a 
number  of  samples  sent,  the  Council  finally 
made  their  selection  and  took  the  hose  to  the 
Frey-Shekler  shops  where  they  were  attached 
to  the  engine  and  pressure  applied.  One  sec- 
tion burst,  when  the  pressure  reached  420 
pounds.  The  council  promptly  wired  the  firm : 
"Hose  refused ;  one  section  busted  at  420 
pounds  pressure.  What  shall  we  do  with  the 
hose  ?"  The  answer  came  back  promptly : 
"Keep  it;  we  only  guaranteed  350  pounds." 

During  the  fall  of  1859  a  company  was 
formed  to  organize  a  gas  company,  with  Hor- 
ace Rowse,  president,  S.  R.  Harris,  secretary, 
and  George  Quinby,  treasurer.  The  works 
were  built  in  i860,  by  B.  B.  McDanald  on 
their  present  site  on  North  Sandusky  avenue. 


388 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


and  the  streets  were  lighted  with  gas  for  the 
first  time  on  Tuesday  evening,  Oct.  23,  i860. 
The  buildings  were  32  by  68  feet  in  size,  slate- 
roofed.  The  gasometer  contained  9,000  cubic 
feet.  There  were  two  benches  of  retorts  capa- 
ble of  generating  20,000  cubic  feet  of  gas  per 
day,  with  extra  benches  to  provide  against 
accident.  The  company  started  with  100  metres. 
When  electricity  came  into  use  for  street  light- 
ing, a  company  was  organized  here,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  gas  works,  and  the  city  was  lit 
by  electricity  there  being  today  a  light  on  every 
other  corner.  The  discovery  of  natural  gas 
practically  put  an  end  to  the  gas  works,  and  the 
entire  plant  is  now  known  as  the  Electric  Light 
works,  the  Logan  Natural  Gas  Company  fur- 
nishing the  illumination  for  the  residences,  al- 
though very  many  houses  and  nearly  all  busi- 
ness stores  have  introduced  electricity. 

In  October,  1819,  Samuel  Norton  and  his 
party,  reached  Bucyrus,  and  it  is  reported  the 
first  religious  services  to  be  held  were  as  early 
as  1 82 1,  when  a  Rev.  Mr.  Bacon  made  occa- 
sional visits,  preaching  to  the  settlers  in  the 
cabins  of  Mr.  Norton  and  others.  It  is  known 
that  in  the  fall  of  1821,  the  Rev.  Jacob 
Hooper  was  preaching  occasionally  in  Bucyrus, 
and  he  stated  that  he  delivered  the  first  sermon 
ever  preached  in  the  village,  and  that  the  ser- 
vices were  held  under  a  large  oak  tree  that  ■ 
stood  where  the  Pennsylvania  station  now 
stands.  He  was  appointed  by  the  Methodist 
Conference  to  take  charge  of  the  Bucyrus  sta- 
tion, which  was  attached  to  the  Scioto  circuit. 
His  circuit  was  seven  hundred  miles,  and  he 
managed  to  get  around  about  once  in  eight 
weeks.  Of  course  other  missionaries  came 
around,  and  the  people  being  notified  turned  out 
to  the  grove,  or  to  a  cabin,  or  any  large  build- 
ing, and  it  is  probable  there  were  services  as 
often  as  every  two  weeks.  After  1826,  the  little 
brick  schoolhouse  was  used  by  all  denomina- 
tions, and  after  1832,  the  court  house  was  at 
the  disposal  of  the  people.  About  1830  a 
large  revival  occurred  under  the  Methodists, 
the  services  being  held  in  the  unfinished  hotel 
under  process  of  erection  by  Abraham  Hahn. 
In  summer  camp  meetings  were  held,  the  large 
barn  of  Martin  Shaflfner  being  used,  situated 
on  what  is  now  the  new  Fair  Ground.  In  1822, 
Rev.  Thomas  McCleary  had  charge  of  this  cir- 
cuit and  the  increasing  population  reduced  the  - 


circuit  in  size,  so  the  only  territory  the  new 
minister  had  to  cover  was  Delaware  to  Mans- 
field, to  Plymouth,  to  Bucyrus,  to  Marion,  then 
back  to  Delaware,  where  if  he  had  a  family  he 
could  make  them  a  ten  minutes'  visit  and  start 
on  his  round  again. 

His  route  was  mostly  through  an  unbroken 
forest,  following  Indian  trails,  with  an  oc- 
casional crude  road  made  by  the  settlers  for 
their  convenience.  He  traveled  on  horseback, 
and  forded  all  streams,  as  there  were  practic- 
ally no  bridges.  Each  night  found  him  a 
weldbme  guest  at  some  cabin,  and  the  neigh- 
bors were  hurriedly  summoned,  and  when  a 
few  were  gathered  together,  services  were  held 
so  the  early  minister  had  no  idle  time  on  his 
hands,  and  plenty  of  exercise.  Among  the 
earliest  ministers  of  whom  any  account  is  given 
was  a  Presbyterian  named  Matthews.  A  pi- 
oneer states  that  "he  stopped  at  Daniel  Coop- 
er's to  stay  all  night,  and  proposed  to  preach  to 
the  people  of  that  place  that  night  if  they  could 
get  together.  Mr.  Cooper  immediately  sent 
out  word  and  by  early  candle-light  had  gath- 
ered in  some  fifteen  or  twenty  men,  women  and 
children  to  hear  the  glad  tidings  from  the  man 
of  God,  as  he  was  the  first  of  the  kind  that  had 
ever  been  through  on  that  errand.  The  old 
minister  made  an  appointment  for  four  weeks 
later,  and  agreed  to  preach  once  a  month  dur- 
ing the  year  for  $15.  Even  this  small  pittance 
he  took  out  in  dressed  deer  skins,  which  he 
said  his  good  lady  could  use  to  'face  the  boys' 
pantaloons,'  as  seems  to  have  been  a  common 
custom  in  those  days  in  the  backwoods." 

Goldsmith  very  beautifully  describes  in  his 
deserted  village  the  country  clergyman  and  his 
home: 

Near  yonder  copse  where  once  the  garden  smiled, 
And  still  where  many  a  garden  flower  grows  wild, 
There,  where  a  few  torn  shrubs  the  place  disclose. 
The  village  preacher's  modest  mansion  rose. 
A  man  he  was  to  all  the  country  dear, 
And  passing  rich  with  forty  pounds  a  year. 

The  faithful  Matthews  had  four  stations, 
in  such  an  unsettled  wild  region  that  he  could 
only  visit  them  once  a  month,<  and  for  this  he 
received,  if  they  paid,  $60  a  year,  one-fifth 
the  amount  of  his  English  brother,  and  no 
poetry  to  beautifully  record  his  zeal  and  de- 
votion to  the  Master's  work. 

In  those  days,  the  hymns  were  found  in  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


391 


old  "Missouri  Harmony,"  and  among  them  the 
favorites  were  "Rock  of  Ages,"  "God  Moves 
in  a  Mysterious  Way,"  "Jesus  I  My  Cross 
Have  Taken,"  "Come  Thou  Fount  of  Every 
Blessing,"  "On  Jordan's  Stormy  Banks  I 
Stand,"  "Jesus  My  All  to  Heaven  Has  Gone." 
Unfortunately  at  that  time  "The  Lord  Will 
Provide,"  had  not  been  written.  It  would  have 
been  most  appropriate. 

People  today  little  appreciate  the  hardships 
and  privations,  the  faithfulness  and  self-sacri- 
fice of  these  servants  of  God  who  dared  all  and 
suffered  all  that  a  grtat  nation  might  be  kept 
true  to  the  Christian  faith. 

Revs.  John  O.  and  William  Blowers  were 
two  early  ministers  in  the  Methodist  church, 
they  were  brothers,  the  former  coming  to  the 
county  in  1821,  and  the  latter  a  year  later,  and 
were  soon  licensed  to  preach,  being  the  first 
persons  in  the  county  licensed. 

Another  early  preacher  was  John  Davis; 
he  was  a  hatter,  and  his  hat  shop  was  first  on 
the  J.  K.  Myers  corner,  and  in  1833  he  re- 
moved to  the  present  Shonert  lot.  He  was  of 
the  United  Brethren  persuasion,  and  once  he 
was  delivering  a  sermon  at  the  court  house, 
and  was  vividly  picturing  the  punishment  that 
was  certain  to  be  meted  out  to  the  wicked. 
When  he  reached  his  peroration  he  drew  him- 
self up,  and  solemnly  thundered  forth :  "Yes, 
sinners,  you  must  all  repent  or  you  will  all  go 
to  hell  just  as  sure  as  I  made  that  hat" 
(pointing  to  his  well-worn  beaver)  "and  I  have 
plenty  more  at  my  shop  which  I  will  sell  at  two 
dollars  apiece." 

In  1 83 1  Samuel  Norton  sold  to  the  trustees 
of  the  M.  E.  Church  for  $125',  lot  No.  96, 
Here  a  small  brick  church  was  erected,  which 
was  used  by  them  until  1851,  when  on  the  same 
site  the  present  building,  was  erected,  now  oc- 
cupied by  the  News-Forum.  This  church  was 
dedicated  on  Oct.  29,  1851,  Elder  Poe,  a  son 
of  the  great  Indian  fighter,  preaching  the  dedi- 
catory sermon;  in  the  first  building  a  Sunday 
School  was  started  in  1834.  In  1822  Bucyrus 
belonged  to  the  Delaware  Circuit,  and  in  1832 
to  the  Marion  Circuit,  but  in  1840  it  became  a 
circuit  of  its  own,  and  the  parsonage  was  built 
in  1 84 1.  The  residence  adjoined  the  church  a 
story  and  a  half  brick  on  the  lot  now  occupied 
by  tlie  post  office,  this  and  the  church  site  being 
the  original  lot  96.    The  church  of  185 1  was 


used  until  the  present  handsome  church  was 
dedicated  in  1890,  the  first  year  of  its  use 
being  marked  by  the  holding  of  the  Methodist 
conference  within  its  walls. 

Prior  to  1825  the  Presbyterians  held  ser- 
vices at  the  homes  of  the  various  members  of 
that  denomination.  Rev.  William  Matthews 
frequently  addressing  them.  A  congregation 
was  formed,  but  the  services  continued  to  be 
held  in  the  grove  where  now  stands  the  Penn- 
sylvania station ;  in  the  little  brick  schoolhouse, 
where  the  Park  House  now  stands,  and  later 
in  the  court  house.  Among  the  ministers, 
were  Rev.  Shab  Jenks,  and  Rev.  Robert  Lee, 
the  father  of  Robert  Lee,  probate  judge  of  the 
county  half  a  century  later.  The  elder  Lee  is 
reported  as  being  the  first  stated  minister  as- 
signed to  Bucyrus.  Services  were  irregular, 
and  the  Presbyterians  increasing  a  congrega- 
tion was  again  organized  in  1833  and  the  Co- 
lumbus Presbytery  enrolled  Bucyrus  on  its  list 
of  established  churches,  the  request  having  been 
made  by  thirty-three  petitioners.  Their  first 
building  was  a  little  frame  erected  in  1839, 
on  the  present  site  of  the  church,  lot  No.  170, 
which  was  deeded  to  the  trustees  by  Samuel 
Norton  in  1843,  this  lot  and  the  court  house 
being  the  only  lots  in  Bucyrus,  transferred 
from  the  first  owner,  and  never  used  for  any 
other  purpose  than  that  for  which  it  was  do- 
nated or  purchased.  In  the  first  church  Rev. 
Wm.  Hutchinson  was  pastor  from  1839  to 
1848.  In  i860  a  new  church  of  brick  was 
built  at  a  cost  of  $8,000  to  $10,000.  and  April 
7,  1907,  this  gave  way  to  the  present  hand- 
some structure.  The  Presbyterians  started  a 
Sunday  School  in  1835,  and  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury ago  William  M.  Reid  became  its  superin- 
tendent filling  the  position  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  Among  the  ministers  was  John  H. 
Sherrard,  who  occupied  the  pulpit  from  1867 
to  1878.  He  was  a  grandson  of  John  Sher- 
rard, who  was  on  the  ill-fated  expedition  of 
Col.  Crawford  through  this  county  in  1782. 

In  1829,  the  Evangelical  Lutherans  met  at 
the  little  brick  schoolhouse  and  organized  a 
congregation  with  the  Rev.  David  Shuh  as 
pastor.  They,  too,  had  previously  held  ser- 
vices occasionally  at  the  houses  of  those  of  that 
faith  and  in  other  places  in  the  village  as  op- 
portunity offered.  For  two  years  he  acted  as 
their  pastor,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  John 


392 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Stough,  and  he  retired  on  account  of  his  age 
and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  F.  I.  Ruth  of 
Ashland,  who  for  three  years  filled  the  pulpit 
while  his  home  was  in  that  village,  but  in  1835 
he  removed  to  Bucyrus.  The  congregation 
continued  to  hold  services  in  the  schoolhouse 
and  later  in  the  court  house,  until  in  1835  they 
bought  the  lot  on  W'alnut  and  Mansfield  streets, 
kno«n  as  the  Adams  residence,  and  now  the 
property  of  Aliss  Lizzie  Ostermeier.  Abra- 
ham Alyers  had  purchased  the  lot  in  1830  of 
Samuel  Norton  for  $275.  The  corner  stone 
was  laid  with  appropriate  ceremonies  on  Aug. 
-'o,  1836,  but  it  was  not  completed  until  more 
than  a  year  later.  Both  the  German  and  Eng- 
lish Lutherans  occupied  the  church,  being  one 
congregation,  and  services  being  held  in  both 
languages.  In  1842  the  German  members  sold 
their  interest  in  the  church  to  their  English 
brethren,  but  both  continued  to  occupy  the 
building  until  1857,  when  the  German  portion 
bought  the  lot  on  Poplar  street,  and  erected  a 
church  of  their  ov^rn,  which  is  still  standing, 
and  best  known  as  the  armory.  It  was  dedi- 
cated Sunday,  June  20,  1858.  For  over  forty 
years  this  building  was  used,  and  the  Lutherans 
built  their  present  large  structure,  Good  Hope 
Lutheran,  with  the  highest  spire  in  the  city, 
at  the  comer  of  Poplar  and  Charles,  which 
was  dedicated  Oct.  29,  1893,  and  all  the  work 
of  the  building  was  done  in  Bucyrus.  During 
the  erection  of  their  building  in  1857,  the  Ger- 
mans held  their  services  at  the  Baptist  church, 
the  lot  now  occupied  by  Frank  T.  Johnston  on 
Walnut  street.  At  the  same  time  the  Germans 
were  building  the  English  portion  of  the  con- 
gregation also  secured  a  new  home.  Their 
new  structure  was  erected  at  the  corner  of  Wal- 
nut and  Rensselaer,  the  corner  stone  being  laid 
July  2,  1857,  and  the  church  dedicated  May  16. 
1858.  This  served  as  a  place  of  worship  for 
fifty  years,  when  the  present  structure  was 
dedicated  in  September,  1903. 

The  Lutheran  Sunday  School  was  organized 
April  5,  1828,  and  after  the  separation  both 
churches  kept  up  their  schools,  the  German 
Lutherans  being  the  first  church  in  Bucyrus  to 
have  a  Christmas  tree  for  their  scholars,  and 
fifty  years  ago  there  was  never  a  Christmas 
eve  when  the  church  was  not  crowded  with  the 
members  of  all  denominations  to  see  the  pretty 
sparkling  tree,  and  sometimes  two  trees.   All 


schools  now  make  the  glad  holiday  season  a 
time  of  entertainment  for  the  children. 

The  German  Reformed  congregation  was 
organized  about  1829,  and  for  some  years  was 
a  part  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  being  members 
of  that  denomination,  and  in  1835  they  were 
with  the  Lutherans  in  the  purchase  of  the 
church  site  opposite  the  court  house.  But 
that  same  year  they  secured  the  services  of  Rev. 
Gottleib  Maschop,  a  minister  of  the  Reformed 
church,  and  held  services  in  the  little  brick 
schoolhouse.  In  1840  he  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  J.  J.  ]Miller,  and  dtiring  his  pastorate  of 
three  years  the  court  house  was  used.  The 
pulpit  was  vacant  until  1845,  when  Rev.  Was- 
nich  came  for  three  years,  resigning  in  1848 
to  be  succeeded  by  Rev.  Abraham  Keller,  and 
during  his  pastorate  they  erected  their  first 
church,  a  one-story  frame  on  the  northeast 
corner  of  Rensselaer  and  Lane,  the  first  church 
to  be  erected  on  land  that  was  not  a  part  of  the 
original  Bucyrus.  On  the  resignation  of  Mr. 
Wasnich  in  1848  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Abraham  Keller,  who  died  in  the  parsonage  ad- 
joining the  church  in  the  fall  of  1852,  from 
cholera,  that  scourge  taking  away  two  of  the 
Keller  family  and  a  number  of  others  before 
its  ravages  were  stopped.  During  his  ministry 
a  Sunday  School  \\as  organized,  although  the 
proposition  was  bitterly  opposed  by  some  of  the 
more  conservative  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion. It  was  a  year  before  the  congregation 
secured  another  pastor  in  the  person  of  Rev. 
Max  Stern,  who  served  until  the  spring  of 
1856  when  he  resigned  and  was  succeeded 
April  13,  1856,  by  Rev.  Eli  Keller.  Twenty 
years  ago  the  congregation  had  so  increased 
as  to  necessitate  larger  quarters  and  the  pres- 
ent brick  structure,  St.  John's  Reformed,  was 
built  and  dedicated  Oct.  12,  1890.  The  Keller's 
have  had  a  number  of  Reformed  Ministers  all 
over  the  county,  and  the  present  pastor.  Rev. 
F.  H.  Keller,  is  of  the  same  family. 

The  first  meeting  to  organize  a  Baptist 
church  was  held  at  the  home  of  William  Kelly 
on  Feb.  i,  1838,  and  later  meetings  were  held 
once  a  month  at  the  homes  of  William  Kelly 
and  ^\'^illiam  White  and  on  July  29,  1838, 
the  first  sermon  was  preached  to  the  new  con- 
gregation by  Elder  William  Stevens,  and  at  its 
conclusion  all  repaired  to  the  Sandusky  river, 
where  the  ordinance  of  baptism  was  admin- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


393 


istered  to  William  Magefs  and  his  wife,  Mar- 
garet   Magers,    and    Sovena    Norton.      The 
church  was  not  strong  in  numbers,  but  meet- 
ings were  held  once  a  month  at  the  court  house, 
schoolhouse  or  some  private  residence,  and  the 
organization  was  kept  up.    In  August,  1839,  an 
attempt  was  made  to  secure  a  regular  pastor. 
Rev.  Thomas  Stevens  being  the  choice  of  the 
congregation,    but   as    only   $54.50   could    be 
raised,   it   was   not   sufficient  to   pay   his   ex- 
penses for  coming  once  a  month.     But  services 
continued  with  occasional  volunteer  ministers, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1842,  the  church  purchased 
lot  No.  107,  on  Walnut  street,  of  David  Ar- 
thur  for   $100,   now   owned  by   Col.    C.    W. 
Fisher,  and  during  the  years  1840  and  1841 
the  church  was  served  by  Revs.  Newton  and 
Samuel  Wadsworth,  and  in  1849,  one  of  the 
members  added  to  the  church  was  Sophronia 
Norton,  the  first  white  child  born  in  Bucyrus. 
The  first  regular  pastor  was  Rev.  Jacob  Thorp, 
who  received  a  call  on  Oct.  2,  1841,  which  he 
accepted.     A  one-story  frame  was  built  on  the 
church  lot,  and  the  Baptists  now  had  a  home  of 
their  own.      On   Dec.    2,    1843,    Rev.    Edwin 
Eaton  was  called  as  pastor,  and  the  church  be- 
came one  of  the  strongest  in  Bucyrus,  but  July 
5,  1845,  he  resigned  and  went  to  Illinois,  where 
he  became  one  of  the  prominent  churchmen 
of  the  west.     Under  Eaton,  on  April  6,  1844, 
a  Sunday  school  was  started,  and  a  library  pur- 
chased.    Unfortunately  for  the  church,  James 
Quinby  died,  but  in  his  death  he  released  the 
church  of  debt  due  him  amounting  to  $250, 
but  he  had  been  a  tower  of  strength  to  the 
struggling  congregation.     Many  of  the  mem- 
bers   were    from   the    country,   notably   from 
Whetstone  township,   and  when  Elder  J.   G. 
Tunison  became  pastor  in   September,    1845, 
differences  arose,  and  on  Dec.  6,  the  pastor 
retired  and  organized  the  Olentangy  Baptist 
Church,  near  Parcher's  Corners,  of  which  he 
was  pastor  for  several  years.     Many  members 
withdrew    and    united    with    the    Whetstone 
church.    For  ten  years  only  occasional  services 
were  held,  an  occasional  minister  visiting  the 
place,  but  the  few  remaining  members  were  al- 
ways  striving  to   hold   the   church   together. 
Finally,  in  1858,  the  weekly  prayer  meetings 
were  revived,  services  held  at  irregular  inter- 
vals and  on  Feb.  5,  1859,  eight  members  met 
and  decided  to  reorganize  their  church.     And 


while  they  failed  at  that  time,  the  work  was 
kept  up  and  on  June  4,  1864,  regular  services 
were  resumed  at  Quinby  Hall,  with  Rev.  S.  D. 
Bowker  as  pastor.  The  Sabbath  school  was 
again  started.  During  the  three  years'  pastor- 
ate of  Mr.  Bowker  the  church  was  again  built 
up  to  nearly  100  members,  baptisms  being  had 
in  the  Sandusky  and  also  in  the  old  Buffalo 
run  back  of  the  residence  of  George  Quinby, 
the  latter  having  been  one  of  the  leaders  of 
the  church  since  the  death  of  his  brother,  35 
years  previous.  Mr.  Bowker  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Jay  Huntington,  and  under  this  pas- 
torate the  Baptists  bought  the  old  Congrega- 
tional church  for  $2,750,  and  removed  to  their 
present  location.  The  new  building  was  fitted 
up  with  a  font  for  immersion,  and  the  ordi- 
nance of  baptism  was  administered  within  the 
church.  The  dedicatory  service  was  held  Sept. 
27,  1868,  conducted  by  Rev.  J.  R.  Stone,  of 
Springfield.  In  this  church  Dr.  L.  G.  Leonard 
was  one  of  the  later  pastors,  and  Rev.  T.  J. 
Sheppard,  known  throughout  the  nation  as  the 
"Andersonville  Chaplain,"  having  preached 
while  a  prisoner  for  nine  months  in  that  prison 
pen.  Several  years  ago  the  present  handsome 
stone  structure  was  dedicated  July,  1906. 

The  first  German  Methodist  minister  to  visit 
Bucyrus  was  Dr.  William  Nast.  In  1837  he 
was  appointed  to  the  first  circuit  laid  out  in 
this  section  of  Ohio,  a  circuit  so  large  that  it 
took  him  five  weeks  to  cover  it.  He  would 
preach  at  Columbus,  then  start  on  horseback 
and  hold  services  at  Basil,  and  on  to  Thornville, 
where  services  were  held  on  the  second  Sun- 
day; then  to  Newark  and  Mt.  Vernon,  reach- 
ing Danville  for  the  third  Sunday;  then  to 
Loudonville,  Mansfield  and  Gallon,  and  to  Bu- 
cyrus for  the  fourth  Sunday;  then  to  Marion 
and  a  German  settlement  near  Delaware  for 
the  fifth  Sunday,  then  to  Worthington  and  Co- 
lumbus, where  he  held  Sunday  services,  and 
started  again  on  his  long  round.  In  Bucyrus 
the  services  were  held  in  the  English  Methodist 
church.  This  first  minister  was  a  man  of  high 
education,  a  zealous  worker  and  of  great  force, 
and  he  was  selected  to  take  charge  of  the  Ger- 
man Methodist  paper  in  Cincinnati.  In  after 
years  his  biographer  wrote  of  him :  "Dr.  Wil- 
liam Nast  is  looked  upon  as  the  great  head 
and  leader  of  the  German  Methodists  in  the 
United  States ;  he  has  frequently  surprised  the 


394 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


country  with  his  erudition,  his  ripe  scholar- 
ship, and  the  vast  extent  of  his  knowledge." 

After  Dr.  Nast  left  Bucyrus,  services  were 
held  every  four  weeks,  in  the  M.  E.  Church, 
until  1850,  the  church  constantly  increasing 
in  membership,  and  in  1854  the  lot  was  pur- 
chased on  Warren  street,  where  the  American 
Clay  Works  now  are,  and  a  frame  building 
erected,  which  served  for  nearly  50  years  when 
they  removed  to  their  present  site,  at  the  junc- 
tion of  Middletown  and  Gallon  streets,  erect- 
ing a  large  brick  structure,  with  the  parsonage 
adjoining.  The  first  church  was  dedicated  on 
Sunday,  Jan.  14,  1855,  Dr.  Warner  of  Colum- 
bus delivering  the  dedicatory  sermon  in  Eng- 
lish, and  in  the  afternoon.  Dr.  Nast,  who  had 
preached  the  first  sermon  in  Bucyrus  to  the 
congregation,  delivering  an  address  in  Ger- 
man. The  first  parsonage  was  built  on  the 
church  lot  in  1863. 

About  1837,  the  first  Roman  Catholic  ser- 
vices were  held  in  Bucyrus,  when  Rev.  F.  X. 
Tschenhous  celebrated  mass  at  the  residence 
of  Dr.  Joseph  Boehler,  at  the  southwest  corner 
of  Plymouth  and  Lane  streets.  Services  were 
continued  every  month  or  two  for  several 
years  at  the  Doctor's  residence,  until  about  1842 
the  Doctor  removed  to  Tiffin.  This  discon- 
tinued services  until  about  1849,  when  Catho- 
lic families  became  more  numerous,  and  the 
church  found  it  necessary  to  make  Bucyrus 
one  of  their  missions,  and  for  ten  years  ser- 
vices were  held  at  irregular  intervals  at  the 
homes  of  various  members  of  the  church, 
priests  from  adjoining  churches  conducting  the 
services,  the  most  convenient  points  being  Nor- 
walk,  New  Riegel  and  Mansfield.  In  i860, 
the  old  frame  Presbyterian  church  was  pur- 
chased from  the  Presbyterians  and  the  build- 
ing removed  to  the  present  lot  on  Mary  street, 
which  was  purchased  for  $350.  The  building 
was  dedicated  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Rappe  on 
May  26,  1 86 1,  and  the  Rev.  Uerhart.  Kleck 
celebrated  the  first  mass  and  preached  the  first 
sermon  in  the  new  church.  The  church  was  not 
regularly  supplied  with  a  minister  and  was  at- 
tached to  the  Upper  Sandusky  mission,  but 
monthly  service  and  sometimes  semi-monthly 
were  held  until  1869. 

Among  the  ministers  supplying  the  church 
was  Rev.  Joseph  Reinhard,  who  was  sta- 
tioned at  Upper  Sandusky.    On  Sunday,  Feb. 


2,  1868,  he  was  riding  on  a  freight  train  be- 
tween here  and  Upper  Sandusky  and  just  west 
of  Nevada,  he  was  later  found  lying  dead  be- 
side the  track,  and  all  particulars  as  to  his 
death  have  ever  remained  a  mystery. 

In  1869  differences  arose  between  the  Ger- 
man and  Irish  members  of  the  Congregation, 
and  it  resulted  in  services  being  temporarily  dis- 
continued. Matters  were  finally  adjusted,  and 
on  May  5,  1871,  Rev.  D.  Zinsmayer  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  Bucyrus  church,  the  first  resident 
pastor.  •  The  church,  with  a  resident  priest  of 
its  own,  grew  rapidly,  and  a  parsonage  was 
built  on  the  lot  adjoining  the  church  on  the 
east.  In  1877,  Rev.  Zinsmayer  resigned  to  take 
charge  of  the  church  at  Shelby,  and  he  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  H.  Best,  and  one  of  his  first 
acts  in  May,  1878,  was  to  purchase  nearly  two 
acres  of  land  on  Tiffin  street,  for  $200,  to  be 
used  as  a  cemetery.  The  first  interment  was 
that  of  Mrs.  Martha  Doerfler,  who  died  Aug. 
17,  1878.  The  cemetery  was  consecrated  by 
Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Gilmore  on  Oct.  19,  1880. 
When  the  present  large  brick  church  was 
erected.  Rev.  J.  H.  Kleekamp  was  the  priest 
in  charge;  it  was  dedicated  by  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Bishop  Gilmore,  May  28,  1888,  and  at  its 
completion  was  the  largest  church  in  Bucyrus. 
In  1866,  Rev.  A.  Spierings  started  a  parochial 
school,  but  it  was  discontinued.  The  attempt 
was  again  made  under  Rev.  Mr.  Zinsmayer, 
but  the  expense  was  too  heavy  for  the  church 
to  undertake  at  that  time.  When  the  present 
building  was  erected,  the  old  frame  was  moved 
back  and  transformed  into  a  schoolhouse.  The 
church  was  now  strong  and  prosperous,  and  a 
parochial  school  was  started,  which  has  con- 
tinued ever  since.  As  years  passed  the  attend- 
ance became  too  large  for  the  little  frame  and 
in  1 9 10  lot  No.  70,  on  Walnut  street,  was  pur- 
chased and  the  present  structure  was  erected, 
the  only  school  building  of  stone  in  the  city, 
and  the  only  school  building  erected  on  land 
which  was  a  part  of  the  original  plat  of  Bu- 
cyrus. The  corner  stone  was  laid  July  17, 
1910,  and  that  date  was  the  "Ruby  Jubilee"  of 
the  pastor.  Rev.  Charles  Braschler,  and  it  was 
also  the  25th  anniversary  of  the  Catholic  Be- 
nevolent Society.  The  school  was  dedicated  by 
the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Schrambs  of  Toledo,  Nov. 
14,  1911. 

In   December,    1875,   eight-  persons  met  at 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


395 


the  home  of  Jeremiah  C.  Correll  and  decided  to 
organize  a  Disciple  church.  The  lot  was  pur- 
chased at  the  southeast  corner  of  Warren  and 
Lane,  and  by  November,  1876,  the  basement 
was  completed  and  services  in  the  new  church 
commenced.  The  second  story  was  completed 
the  following  year,  and  the  building  dedicated 
Sept.  2,  1877,  Elder  Isaac  Errett  having  charge 
of  the  services.  Elder  George  T.  Smith  was 
the  first  pastor.  A  Sunday  school  was  organ- 
ized immediately,  and  like  the  church  has  pros- 
pered; The  cost  of  the  building  was  $11,000, 
and  the  entire  amount  was  paid  before  the 
church  was  dedicated. 

The  United  Brethren  Church  was  organized 
in  Bucyrus  in  1892,  by  Rev.  C.  E.  HiU  with 
eleven  members.  They  bought  the  lot  at  the 
corner  of  Middletown  and  East  streets.  This 
county  has  a  large  number  of  U.  B.  Churches, 
and  many  coming  to  the  city  from  the  country 
were  of  that  faith,  and  the  eleven  members 
were  rapidly  added  to.  The  frame  church  was 
bought  when  the  Reformed  Church  built  their 
new  brick  and  it  was  moved  to  their  lot,  and 
regular  services  held,  a  Sunday  school  organ- 
ized, and  in  1901  the  old  frame  was  replaced 
by  the  present  brick  building,  the  frame  being 
moved  out  Middletown  street  where  it  is  still 
in  use  as  a  warehouse  at  the  Smith  &  Fitzer 
coal  yards.  A  few  years  later  the  parsonage 
was  bought  east  of  the  church. 

In  the  past  dozen  years  a  number  of  citi- 
zens have  removed  to  Bucyrus  from  the  coun- 
try, and  among  them  many  from  Whetstone 
township,  who  were  prominent  in  the  Evangeli- 
cal churches  in  that  section.  Some  united  with 
other  churches  while  waiting  a  church  of  their 
own.  In  March,  1902,  a  number  of  the  Evan- 
gelical faith  met  at  the  G.  A.  R.  Post  Room, 
and  organized.  The  old  German  Lutheran 
church  building  on  Poplar  street  was  rented, 
and  here  services  were  held  by  Rev.  W.  H. 
Munk.  The  first  Quarterly  Conference  was 
held  June  I,  1902,  Rev.  W.  H.  Bucks  was  the 
presiding  elder,  now  editor  of  the  Evangelical 
Messenger.  A  Sunday  school  was  started. 
The  church  increased  rapidly  in  membership, 
and  in  September,  1903,  Rev.  B.  E.  Reams 
became  pastor  of  the  congregation.  He  re- 
mained four  years,  and  under  his  pastorate  the 
present  church  was  built  on  Gallon  street.  It 
was  dedicated  in  April,  1906. 


The  First  Church  of  Christ  Scientists  was 
organized  in  1900.  The  first  public  lecture  was 
given  at  the  Opera  House  in  March,  1901.  In 
the  fall  of  that  year  they  opened  their  rooms 
on  the  second  floor  of  the  First  National  Bank 
building,  where  they  hold  regular  meetings 
every  Sunday. 

As  early  as  1874,  an  attempt  was  made  to 
start  an  Episcopal  Church  at  Bucyrus,  Rev. 
J.  M.  Hillyar  of  Mansfield,  who  was  the  rec- 
tor at  Gallon,  coming  over  on  alternate  Sun- 
days, and  holding  services  at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
rooms.  An  organization  was  effected,  but  the 
membership  was  not  strong  enough  to  support 
a  church,  and  the  movement  was  dropped. 
Still  the  organization  kept  together,  and  serv- 
ices were  occasionally  held,  later  developing 
into  services  every  two  weeks.  Church  prop- 
erty was  bought  on  South  Lane  street,  and  a 
building  fund  started.  No  regular  services 
are  at  present  held,  but  the  Church — St.  John's 
Episcopal — still  keeps  up  its  organization,  and 
services  are  frequently  held  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
assembly  room,  and  eventually  a  church  will 
be  erected. 

The  present  site  of  the  Baptist  church  was 
once  occupied  by  a  two-story  brick,  which  was 
built  by  the  Congregationalists  in  1855.  For 
the  previous  15  years  Rev.  John  Pettitt  had 
been  holding  services,  and  finally  organized  a 
congregation.  The  new  church  was  dedicated 
on  Sept.  28,  1855,  and  services  continued  un- 
der various  pastors  until  1864,  when  services 
became  very  irregular,  and  two  years  later  the 
building  was  sold  to  the  Board  of  Education, 
who  used  it  for  school  purposes  while  the  new 
school  building  was  being  erected.  After  the 
completion  of  the  new  school  building  it  was 
sold  to  the  Baptist  church.  In  1859  the  Con- 
gregationalists installed  the  first  pipe  organ 
ever  brought  to  Bucyrus.  When  the  church 
was  discontinued  the  organ  was  removed  to 
the  Methodist  church.  Rev.  John  Pettitt,  the 
founder  of  the  church,  became  a  resident  of 
Bucyrus  about  1840,  and  filled  many  of  the  Bu- 
cyrus pulpits.  He  went  to  Benzie  county, 
northern  Michigan,  in  1866,  and  in  this 
sparsely  settled  region  had  several  appoint- 
ments which  he  filled  winter  and  summer.  On 
Sunday,  May  11,  1879,  he  went  on  horseback 
to  fill  one  of  these  appointments,  and  on  his 
return  was  taken  suddenly  ill,  and  in  half  an 


396 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


hour  had  gone  to  his  reward,  dying  in  the 
harness  in  the  8oth  year  of  his  age,  after  half 
a  century  of  faithful  service. 

About  1830,  Rev.  Seeley  Bloomer  visited 
Bucyrus  and  delivered  a  sermon  to  the  Protest- 
tant  Methodists.  He  made  several  visits  and 
was  followed  by  other  ministers  of  that  de- 
nomination. In  1845  under  Rev.  Mr.  Dalby, 
a  meeting  was  held  at  the  residence  of  John 
Morfoot  on  South  Walnut  street,  the  house 
now  occupied  by  Mrs.  L.  C.  Doll,  now  412 
South  Walnut.  A  church  was  organized,  the 
lot  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Walnut  and 
Rensselaer  was  purchased  and  a  church  build- 
ing erected,  a  small  frame.  The  first  pastor 
was  Rev.  Mr.  Bamford,  who  held  services 
every  two  weeks,  filling  stations  at  the  same 
time  at  Wingert's  Corners,  Bear  Marsh  and 
Grass  Run.  Other  pastors  followed,  the  last, 
Rev.  I.  C.  Thrapp,  in  1856,  and  when  he  left 
services  were  discontinued.  Later  the  building 
was  removed  to  the  present  site  of  the  Ameri- 
can Clay  Co.,  where  it  was  a  part  of  the  ma- 
chine shops  of  Frey  &  Sheckler,  and  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  on  the  night  of  Aug.  19,  1867, 
when  the  entire  plant  was  burned,  with  a  loss  of 
$13,000. 

On  Oct.  31,  1869,  Rev.  Alexander  M. 
Cowan,  a  minister  of  the  Southern  Presby- 
terian church  preached  a  sermon  in  the  Court 
House,  and  organized  a  church  of  that  denom- 
ination, the  membership  being  composed  almost 
exclusively  of  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  The  Quinby  Hall  was  secured  and 
services  were  held  for  several  months,  but 
interest  in  the  new  church  became  less  and 
less  and  it  was  finally  abandoned,  the  members 
again   uniting  with  the   Presbyterian   church. 

About  1873  a  number  of  the  members  of  the 
Methodist  church  started  what  \\as  known  as 
the  Christian  Holiness  movement,  the  doctrine 
being  that  once  experiencing  holiness,  the  con- 
vert could  do  no  wrong,  the  minister  himself 
being  an  advocate  of  the  new  doctrine.  The 
next  Conference  quietly  replaced  him,  and  sent 
to  Bucyrus,  Dr.  A.  Nelson,  one  of  their  ablest 
men,  and  although  the  first  meetings  of  the 
holiness  believers  were  held  in  the  basement  of 
the  church,  later  the  church  was  denied  them. 
They  were  still  Methodists,  and  Dr.  Leonard 
with  Christian  patience  faithfully  attended 
many  of  their  meetings,  endeavoring  to  give 


them  counsel  and  advice  and  lead  them  to  more 
rational  views.  On  his  departure,  they  became 
more  zealous  in  their  belief  than  ever,  were 
generally  known  as  "Sanctificationists,"  and 
with  difficulty  secured  rooms  for  their  meet- 
ings. They  held  tent  meetings,  on  East  Rens- 
selaer street  and  really  developed  into  martyrs 
for  their  belief,  as  the  unruly  element  in  the 
community  disgraced  the  town  by  disturbing 
their  meetings  and  eventually  stopped  the  serv- 
ices by  cutting  down  the  tent.  This  left  them 
no  place  to  meet  but  at  the  homes  of  the  mem- 
bers, and  although  they  bought  ground  for  the 
erection  of  a  church,  the  members  were  poor 
in  everything  except  religion,  and  the  project 
was  abandoned,  and  most  of  them  gradually 
drifted  into  other  churches,  principally  the 
United  Brethren. 

The  Salvation  Army  has  established  a  head- 
quarters here  on  several  different  occasions, 
their  principal  one  being  in  1894,  when  they 
used  the  basement  of  the  vacant  M.  E.  Church 
on  East  Mansfield  street.  This  was  during  the 
time  when  the  financial  depression  left  hun- 
dreds of  unemployed  in  every  community,  to 
be  cared  for  by  the  citizens.  They  frequently 
met  in  winter  at  that  time  with  little  or  no  fire 
to  warm  the  building,  and  although  their  food 
allowance  was  meagre,  it  is  to  their  credit  that 
they  shared  the  little  they  had  with  any  wan- 
dering tramp  who  applied  to  them  for  relief. 

It  was  in  October,  181 9  that  the  Nortons 
came,  and  in  the  spring  of  the  following  year 
came  the  Beadles,  and  in  December,  182 1  the 
town  of  Bucyrus  was  laid  out.  On  September 
I,  1822,  the  first  death  occurred,  and  the  four- 
year-old  son  of  Mishael  Beadle  was  taken 
away.  There  was,  as  yet,  no  graveyard  in  the 
village,  so  a  site  was  selected  on  the  extreme 
south  line  of  Mr.  Norton's  land  at  the  junction 
of  Walnut  and  Middletown  streets  and  here 
the  little  boy  was  buried.  Three  months  later, 
on  Dec.  30,  1822,  as  the  old  year  was  passing 
away,  another  little  life  was  ended,  and  Jacob, 
the  five-year-old  son  of  John  Kellogg  was  laid 
beneath  the  second  mound  in  the  graveyard. 
The  next  year  John  Deardorff,  the  first  adult 
to  pass  away,  was  laid  beside  his  little  son,  and 
the  same  year  his  daughter  Margaret  was 
buried  there,  and  the  next  year  her  brother 
William.  In  1824,  a  daughter  of  Rachel  Kel- 
logg died,  and  the  year  following  John  Kellogg 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


397 


himself  passed  away.  There  are  many  others, 
as  years  after,  the  remains  of  many  of  these 
early  burials  were  discovered  here  as  improve- 
ments were  made  in  the  town,  and  all  were 
transferred  to  the  city  graveyard  on  Tiilfin 
street. 

Lewis  Cary  came  to  Bucyrus  in  1822,  and 
two  years  later  his  wife  Rachel,  died.  The 
graveyard  south  of  the  town  was  on  the  edge 
of  the  plains,  covered  with  wild  grass,  and  was 
bare  of  trees,  and  anything  but  a  site  that 
would  be  selected  by  the  pioneers  for  the  burial 
of  their  loved  ones,  and  it  was  probably  only 
taken  when  the  emergency  arose,  making  some 
burial  spot  necessary.  When  Mrs.  Cary  died 
her  husband  selected  a  pretty  site  on  his  land 
north  of  the  river  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  over- 
looking the  Sandusky,  and  surrounded  by  trees. 
It  was  just  south  of  the  present  Holy  Trinity 
cemetery,  and  here  Mrs."  Cary  was  laid  to  rest. 
It  had  been  partly  cleared  away,  and  in  the 
little  clearing  Johnny  Appleseed  had  planted 
a  few  of  his  apple  trees.  The  same  year  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Bucklin  died,  the  mother  of  Mrs. 
Samuel  Norton  and  Albigence  Bucklin  who 
had  joined  her  children  in  the  west  in  1822. 
She  was  buried  on  this  burial  site.  In  1825  the 
burials  were  Daniel  McMichael,  who  came  in 
1820,  built  a  mill  up  the  river,  and  disposing 
of  it  had  his  home  in  a  log  cabin  on  the  lot 
where  the  Finley  residence  now  stands ;  Seth 
Holmes,  who  came  with  the  Nortons  in  1819. 
Other  burials  there  were  the  father  and  mother 
of  Seth  Holmes,  Timothy  Kirk  and  wife,  and 
a  colored  servant  of  Lewis  Cary.  Not  many 
years  ago,  some  of  the  stones  were  still  stand- 
ing in  what  was  known  as  the  Henry  orchard, 
marking  the  site  of  the  last  resting  place  of 
these  early  pioneers. 

In  1828  Amos  Clark  donated  about  an  acre 
of  ground  north  of  the  city  to  be  used  for 
burial  purposes.  It  was  across  the  road  and 
a  little  north  of  the  Cary  graveyard.  It  was  a 
pretty  location,  on  high  ground,  overlooking 
the  river.  The  graveyard  was  still  in  existence, 
owned  and  cared  for  by  the  city,  and  many  of 
the  tombstones  can  still  be  read  that  mark  the 
last  resting  place  of  many  of  the  first  pioneers. 
Here  Samuel  Yost,  a  little  boy  of  four  and  a 
half  years  was  the  first  burial  in  May,  1827. 

In  this  graveyard  is  buried  the  founder  of 
the  city,  Samuel  Norton,  who  died  April  18, 


1856,  and  from  an  obituary  notice  in  the 
Bucyrus  Journal  the  following  is  taken: 

"The  death  of  Mr.  Norton  has  left  a  vacancy 
among  our  citizens  as  well  as  in  his  family, 
which  cannot  be  filled.  Being  the  first  settler, 
he  was  justly  entitled  to  the  name  of  the  "Fa- 
ther of  Bucyrus."  In  the  autumn  of  1819, 
when  the  country  around  was  in  a  state  of  na- 
ture, and  the  dark  glens  of  the  forest  re- 
echoed the  hoarse  bowlings  of  the  wild  beasts 
and  the  dread  war-whoop  of  the  Indians,  this 
hardy  pioneer  left  his  quiet  home  in  Pennsyl- 
vania to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  West.  Attracted 
by  the  beauty  of  the  surrounding  country,  he 
erected  a  tent  of  poles  in  which  he  spent  the 
winter.  His  life  for  many  years  afterward 
was  but  a  series  of  severe  toil  and  exposure, 
which  none  but  the  most  hardy  and  persevering 
could  endure.  For  fifty  years  he  was  an 
exemplary  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and 
through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  his  pioneer  life, 
his  spirits  were  kept  buoyant  by  the  hope  of  a 
future  reward  in  the  mansions  of  eternal  glory. 
A  large  concourse  of  citizens  attended  his 
funeral  and  all  expressed  their  regret  for  their 
much  esteemed  citizen,  and  sympathy  for  their 
afflicted  relatives."  Mary  Norton,  his  wife, 
died  April  29,  '59,  and  was  laid  beside  her 
companion  of  52  years  of  wedded  life. 

There  resides  today  in  Bucyrus,  Mrs.  Mary 
Jones  Lemert,  a  granddaughter  of  the  founder 
of  the  city;  her  mother  was  Elizabeth  Norton 
Jones,  daughter  of  Samuel  Norton,  who  came 
to  Bucyrus  with  her  father  in  1819.  Alonzo 
M.  Jones,  great-grandson  of  the  pioneer,  son 
of  Lorenzo  Jones,  and  grandson  of  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Norton  Jones.  Fernando  J.  Norton,  a 
grandson  of  Samuel  Norton;  his  father  was 
Jefferson  Norton,  who  was  born  in  Bucyrus. 
These  descendants  all  live  on  land  that  was 
purchased  of  the  Government  by  their  ancestor 
in  1819. 

In  1830  the  Southern  graveyard  was  laid 
out  at  the  southwest  corner  of  what  is  now 
Rensselaer  and  Spring  streets,  but  then  out- 
side the  village  limits.  This  later  became  known 
as  the  Lutheran  graveyard,  and  for  thirty 
years  the  graveyard  on  the  Tififin  road  and  the 
Southern  graveyard  were  the  burial  sites  of 
the  city,  but  thirty  years  had  crowded  these 
silent  cities  of  the  dead,  and  a  larger  burial 


398 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ground  was  needed.  A  private  corporation 
was  formed  composed  of  twenty  citizens  on 
Aug.  30,  1858,  and  it  was  called  the  Oak- 
wood  Cemetery  Association.  Grounds  along 
the  river,  southwest  of  the  city  were  pur- 
chased of  William  Rowse,  nearly  44  acres  at 
$74  per  acre,  and  the  association  organized  with 
the  following  as  their  first  trustees :  John  A. 
Gormly,  president;  S.  R.  Harris,  secretary; 
C.  W.  Fisher,  treasurer;  A.  M.  Jones,  J.  H. 
Keller,  George  Quinby,  R.  T.  Johnston,  Hiram 
Fenner.  Later  additions  were  purchased,  so  that 
Oakwood  Cemetery  now  comprises  65  acres, 
although  all  this  land  is  not  used  for  burial 
purposes,  but  will  be  added  as  necessity  de- 
mands. The  services  of  B.  F.  Hathaway,  a 
landcape  gardener,  were  secured  and  the 
grounds  artistically  laid  out  with  the  paths 
and  drives,  winding  their  way  among  the  trees. 
The  grounds  were  purchased  in  September, 
1858,  but  before  they  were  laid  out,  the  first 
burial  took  place,  a  little  grave  was  dug,  and 
on  Sunday,  Nov.  21,  1858,  a  funeral  proces- 
sion made  the  first  solemn  march  to  the  new 
cemetery,  and  Lillie  Annie  Craig,  in  all  the 
innocence  of  childhood,  consecrated  the  hal- 
lowed ground. 

The  grounds  were  dedicated  on  Tuesday, 
June  19,  1859,  with  appropriate  e.<ercises.  On 
March  6,  1882,  the  original  owners  of  the  cem- 
etery incorporated  the  association,  and  gave 
the  entire  cemetery  in  charge  of  the  Oakwood 
Cemetery  Association,  there  being  btit  two  con- 
siderations, one  that  the  graves  of  the  original 
members  should  always  be  kept  in  repair,  and 
the  second  was  $3,000  in  cash,  the  money  how- 
ever to  be  expended  in  building  a  receiving 
vault,  and  the  following  year  the  vault  was 
finished.  During  the  time  the  association  was 
a  private  company,  all  moneys  received  were 
devoted  to  the  improving  of  the  grounds,  and 
the  payment  of  the  sums  advanced  for  the  pur- 
chase of  the  land,  and  when  this  was  paid, 
without  any  interest,  Oakwood  Cemetery  was 
donated  to  the  public  for  their  use,  and  it  is 
now  an  association  in  which  all  moneys  re- 
ceived must  be  used  exclusively  for  running 
expenses  and  improvements. 

In  1888  the  Lutheran  graveyard  was  aban- 
doned ;  and  the  remains  of  over  three  hundred 
who  had  ben  buried  there  were  taken  up  and 
transferred  to  Oakwood  Cemetery. 


Bucyrus  was  organized  as  a  village  in  1833 
and  James  McCracken  was  the  first  mayor. 
He  was  followed  by  John  Moderwell  in  1837. 
Peter  Worst  in  1840.  Nicholas  Failor,  1841. 
David  R.  Lightner  1842.  James  Marshall 
1844.  James  McCracken  1846.  James  H. 
Hutchinson  1847.  William  M.  Scroggs  1850. 
Stephen  R.  Harris  1852.  George  P.  Seal  1853. 
Jacob  Scroggs  1855.  S.  J.  Elliott  1858 
Jacob  Scroggs  1858,  Elliott  having  resigned  to 
become  probate  judge.  Henry  C.  Rowse  i860 
S.  R.  Harris  1861.  Wm.  M.  Scroggs  1862. 
E.  B.  Finley  1863.  C  D.  Ward  1865.  Wil- 
son Stewart  1866.  George  Donnenwirth  1868. 
In  1870  at  the  April  election  the  count  showed 
the  election  of  William  M.  Reid  as  mayor  by 
23  majority.  Several  days  later  a  second  count 
was  held  and  this  showed  the  election  of  George 
Donnenwirth  by  a  small  majority  and  he  was 
sworn  into  office.  The  matter  was  carried  to 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  that  body,  in  March 
of  1872  rendered  their  decision,  that  when  the 
votes  had  once  been  counted  and  the  result 
declared,  and  the  ballot  box  remained  un- 
guarded in  the  hands  of  the  clerk  for  several 
days,  a  second  count  was  not  to  be  relied  upon, 
and  gave  the  certificate  of  election  to  Mr.  Reid 
and  he  served  as  mayor  for  about  two  weeks. 
At  the  time  of  the  election  the  opinion  was  so 
general  that  the  second  count  was  fraudulent 
that  Gen.  Samuel  Myers,  C.  G  Malic  and 
William  Rowland,  three  members  of  the  council 
elected  on  the  same  ticket  with  Mr.  Donnen- 
wirth, denounced  the  entire  transaction  as  un- 
just and  declined  to  serve  as  councilmen. 
After  Mr.  Reid  had  served  his  two  weeks  the 
spring  election  of  1872  came  on  and  James  M. 
Van  Voorhis  was  elected  mayor.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  C.  D.  Ward  in  1876.  Allen  Camp- 
bell in  1880,  C.  D.  Ward  in  1884,  M.  H.  Ful- 
ton, 1886;  C.  D.  Ward,  1888:  Charles  Donnen- 
wirth, 1894;  David  E.  Fisher,  1896;'  C.  F. 
Birk,  1898;  H.  E.  Valentine,  1902 ;  and  E.  J. 
Songer,  1907. 

In  1886  Bucyrus  became  a  city,  and  was 
divided  into  wards.  W^hen  Bucyrus  was 
laid  out  as  a  village  in  1822,  it  was  re- 
ceiving its  mail  at  Delaware.  Any  respons- 
ible citizen  having  business  there  went  to 
the  postoffice  and  brought  up  the  mail  for 
people  living  within  a  radius  of  eight  or 
ten  miles  of  Bucyrus.    Occasionally,  one  of  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


399 


settler's  lent  his  horse  to  one  of  his  neighbors 
to  make  the  trip  to  Delaware  and  bring  the 
mail.  After  the  town  was  laid  out  the  saddler's 
shop  of  Lewis  Carey  was  the  recognized  head- 
quarters for  the  mail.  After  several  small 
shops  had  located  in  Bucyrus  a  petition  was 
sent  to  the  postmaster  general  requesting  the 
establishment  of  a  postoffice  at  Bucyrus,  with 
Lewis  Carey  as  postmaster.  He  was  appointed 
on  Feb.  2,  1824,  and  served  for  over  five  years, 
and  during  those  five  years  the  name  of  the 
office  appears  on  the  records  at  Washington  as 
"Bucyrus"  alias  "Busiris".  On  March  4,  1828, 
Andrew  Jackson  became  president  and  com- 
menced his  wholesale  removal  of  public  officials, 
giving  as  his  only  reason  "to  the  victor  belongs 
the  spoils,"  and  this  principle  laid  down  by 
Andrew  Jackson  has  been  followed  ever  since 
with  Bucyrus  postoffice  appointments.  Dur- 
ing Mr.  Gary's  term  of  service  the  postoffice 
was  in  his  building  on  what  is  now  the  Shonert 
property,  adjoining  the  bridge  on  North  San- 
dusky avenue.  He  was  succeeded  on  July  20, 
1829  by  Henry  St.  John,  who  kept  the  office 
in  his  store,  a  two-story  frame  erected  by  him 
in  1825,  on  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Public 
Square,  which  was  torn  down  to  make  room 
for  the  present  Bucyrus  City  Bank  building. 

Henry  St.  John  held  the  office  for  eight 
years,  and  on  the  election  of  Martin  VanBuren 
John  Forbes  was  appointed  on  June  26,  1837. 
Mr.  Forbes  was  a  harness  maker  and  of  the 
same  political  faith  as  Mr.  St.  John,  but  the 
latter  was  disposing  of  his  store  and  removed 
to  Tiffin.  His  harness  shop  was  in  a  little  frame 
on  the  west  side  of  Sandusky  avenue,  the  sec- 
ond lot  north  of  the  railroad.  When  the  first 
postoffice  was  established  in  1824,  mail  was 
brought  by  carrier  on  horseback  once  a  week, 
and  in  the  winter  when  the  ground  was  not 
sufficiently  frozen  to  bear  a  horse  it  was  de- 
livered on  foot.  In  1827  the  line  of  stages  be- 
gan between  Columbus  and  Sandusky,  and  mail 
was  delivered  three  times  a  week.  In  1834  a 
stage  route  was  commenced  from  Bucyrus  to 
Mansfield.  The  following  was  the  mail  facil- 
ities under  Postmaster  Forbes.  The  Tiffin 
mail  left  every  Friday  morning  at  7  o'clock 
and  arrived  Saturday  at  5  p.  m.  The  Mt. 
Vernon  mail  left  every  Friday  morning  at 
6:00  and  arrived  on  Saturday  evening  at 
7:00.     The  Fredericktown  mail  arrived  every 

23 


Wednesday  evening  at  6:00  and  left  every 
Thursday  morning  at  5  :oo.  The  Perrysburg 
mail  left  every  Monday  morning  at  5  :oo  and 
arrived  on  Tuesday  evenings  at  6:00.  The 
Kenton  mail  arrived  every  Wednesday  noon 
and  left  the  same  day  at  i  :oo  P.  M.  The  New 
Haven  mail  arrived  every  Tuesday  at  noon  and 
left  at  I  :oo  P.  M.  the  same  day.  The  eastern 
mail  from  Pittsburg,  through  Mansfield,  ar- 
rived every  other  evening  at  6:00  and  left  the 
following  morning  at  4  :oo  o'clock.  The  north- 
ern mail  arrived  every  other  day  between  i  :oo 
and  4  :oo  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  departed 
in  twenty  minutes  for  Columbus.  The  great 
southern  mail  arrived  every  other  day  (the 
same  day  as  the  northern)  betwen  g  and  12 
P.  M.  and  departed  in  about  30  minutes  for 
Sandusky  City.  It  will  be  seen  the  last  mail 
to  arrive  was  about  midnight  and  the  first  mail 
to  leave  was  at  four  in  the  morning,  so  it  must 
not  have  been  the  duty  of  the  postmaster  to 
keep  as  close  a  scrutiny  of  the  mail  as  is  done  at 
the  present  day.  He  probably  closed  the  sack 
and  either  hung  it  on  the  outside  of  the  build- 
ing, or  the  mail  carrier  had  a  key  by  which  he 
could  enter  the  office  and  get  his  own  mail, 
while  the  postmaster  was  soundly  sleeping,  and 
dreaming  of  the  emoluments  of  his  office.  The 
salary  of  Forbes  in  1840,  was  $293.47.  Up 
to  this  date  Bucyrus  was  still  the  office  of  de- 
livery for  a  large  part  of  the  county.  The  only 
postoffices  in  the  county  at  that  time  being  at 
Brokensword,  Poplar,  and  one  in  Sandusky 
township.  There  were  offices  at  Gallon,  Lees- 
ville,  and  Tiro  in  the  Richland  county  part, 
and  two  or  three  in  what  is  now  Wyandot 
county. 

There  was  a  change  of  parties  by  the  election 
of  William  Henry  Harrison  in  1840  and  on 
July  13,  1841  James  McCracken,  a  Whig,  was 
appointed  postmaster,  and  his  office  was  in  his 
shop  where  the  Mader  Block  now  stands.  The 
Democrats  again  came  into  power  at  the  next 
election  and  Alexander  P.  Widman  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  in  May  6,  1845,  ^"d  con- 
tinued the  office  at  the  same  place,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  Dr.  R.  T.  Johnston,  Dec.  8,  1847, 
and  the  office  was  in  his  drug  store  where  the 
Majestic  picture  show  is  now  located.  When 
Zachary  Taylor  was  elected  president  the 
Whigs  again  secured  the  postoffice,  and  Henry 
Converse  was  appointed,  April  4,  1849.     The 


400 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


fire  of  1848  had  destroyed  nearly  all  the  build- 
ings on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  square, 
and  on  the  lot  west  of  the  Rowse  block  Henry 
Converse  had  erected  a  frame  building  where 
with  his  brother  he  ran  a  drygoods  store.     In 

1852,  there  was  another  change  of  administra- 
tion and  there  were  several  Democrats  aspired 
for  the  office,  so  an  election  was  held  on  Feb. 
26,  1853,  and  A.  A.  Ruhl  received  160  votes, 
John  Picking  100,  and  Geo.  P.  Seal  50.  Mr. 
Ruhl  was  appointed  to  the  office  on  July  14, 

1853,  and  the  office  was  on  the  present  site  of 
the  Picking  Block,  and  later  removed  to  a 
small  frame  building  on  the  square  west  of  the 
Bucyrus  City  Bank.  Under  Air.  Ruhl  the  post- 
office  had  a  room  of  its  own  and  from  that  time 
on  it  was  not  run  in  connection  with  the  post- 
master's business.  Mr.  Ruhl  was  succeeded 
on  Sept.  I,  1857,  by  C.  D.  Ward,  and  under 
him  the  office  was  in  the  same  building  on  the 
northwest  side  of  the  square. 

Another  change  of  administration  came  in 
i860,   and  with  it  came  the  appointment  of 
James  G.  Robinson  as  postmaster  on  March 
12,    1 86 1,    the   quickest   appointment   after   a 
change  of  administration  ever  made  in  Bucy- 
rus.   Lincoln  became  president,  March  4.    Air. 
Robinson  was  editor  of  the  Journal  at  the  time, 
and  his  printing  office  was  in  the  second  story 
of  the  Rowse  building,  and  Air.  Robinson  re- 
moved the  office  to  the  rear  room  of  the  block 
on  the  first  floor.     He  was  succeeded  by  Isaac 
Z.  Bryant  on  October  5,  1866,  who  held  the 
office  only  six  months,  and  on  March  19,  1867 
W.   C.  Lemert  was  appointed.     He  held  the 
office  only  two  months  and  on  July  19,  1867 
James  P.   Rader  became  postmaster,  and  the 
office  was  removed  to  the  Swigart  building,  op- 
posite the  Court  House,  the  room  now  occupied 
by  Alader  and  Crawford.     On  July  12,  1870, 
John  Hopley  editor  of  the  Journal,  was  ap- 
pointed and  held  the  office  over  eight  years, 
being  succeeded  on  Jan.   14,   1879  by  C.  W. 
Fisher.    Air.  Fisher  died  in  the  spring  of  1882, 
and  until  his  successor  was  appointed  the  of- 
fice was  in  charge  of  one  of  his  bondsmen, 
Martin  Deal.    AI.  H.  Fulton  was  appointed  on 
March  29,  1882,  and  sensed  four  years,  when 
another  change  of  administration  in  the  elec- 
tion of  President  Cleveland  occurred  and  Shan- 
non Clements  was  appointed  on  Alay  28,  1886, 
and  the  office  was  removed  to  the  east  room  of 


the  Vollrath  Block.    Mr.  Clements  served  four 
years  when  the  policy  of  the  administration 
again  changed  and  John  Hopley  was  appointed 
on  July  9,  1890,  and  the  office  was  removed 
to  the  south  room  of  the  Vollrath  Block  on 
Walnut  street.     President  Cleveland  came  in 
for  his  second  term  in  1893,  ^"d  on  July  9, 
1894,  A.  M.  Ensminger  was  appointed  post- 
master, and  served  four  years,  when  the  ad- 
ministration again  changed,  and  on  August  8, 
1898  Joseph  E.  Hall  was  appointed  postmaster,' 
and  the  office  was  removed  to  its  present  lo- 
cation,   the   building  being  erected   by   Chas. 
Roehr  expressly  for  the  purpose.    On  Jan.  27,, 
191 1,  James  R.  Hopley,  manager  of  the  Tele- 
graph and  Journal  was  appointed  to  the  office. 
In  the  early  days  the  postage  on  letters  was 
25  cents  but  was  gradually  reduced.     On  July 
I,  1850  the  law  went  into  effect  making  a  rate 
of  three  cents  on  all  letters  not  over  one-half 
ounce,  if  paid  in  advance,  and  five  cents  when 
marked  collect.    \\'eekly  newspapers  were  free 
in  every  county;  within  a  radius  of  50  miles 
the  postage  was  20  cents  per  year;  300  miles 
40  cents  per  year;  and  1,000  miles  60  cents 
per  year. 

In  August  1865,  under  Postmaster  Robin- 
son, Bucyrus  was  made  a  money  order  office. 
In  1893  under  Postmaster  John  Hopley  free 
delivery  was  secured,  with  three  carriers, 
Joseph  Fisher,  \N .  C.  Lybarger  and  ^^^alter 
Sheckler,  the  latter  still  being  one  of  the  car- 
riers. 

On   Oct.    I,    1903,    under   Postmaster  Hall 
rural  routes  were  established  from  Bucyrus. 

On  April  11,  1851,  the  Bucyrus  Journal 
contained  the  following  item,  it  was  at  a  time 
when  the  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  road  was 
being  built  west  toward  Crestline:  "Bucyrus 
has  a  daily  mail.  On  Tuesday,  April  8th,  the 
first  four-horse  coach  made  its  appearance  in 
our  streets  with  a  daily  mail  from  the  east. 
The  intention  of  the  stage  company  is  to  keep 
up  a  daily  line  of  coaches  from  this  place  to 
\\^ooster,  if  it  can  be  sustained.  Heretofore 
persons  coming  to  this  place  ha\e  been  obliged 
to  lay  over  one  or  two  days  before  they  could 
get  away  by  any  public  conveyance.  This  dif- 
ficulty is  now  remedied,  and  travelers  can  take 
a  coach  from  Bucyrus  to  the  railroad  every 
morning." 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZ-ENS 


401 


The  following  item,  published  Nov.  3,  1853, 
shows  the  introduction  of  the  telegraph : 

"Our  town  has  been  wheeled  into  instantaneous  com- 
munication with  the  balance  oi  the  world  and  the  rest  of 
mankind.  Bucyrus  is  now  hitched  onto  the  telegraph 
and  ready  at  any  moment  to  receive  the  latest  streak. 
The  establishment  of  a  telegraph  office  here  will  prove 
of  great  importance  to  our  town  and  we  trust  its  advan- 
tages will  be  duly  appreciated  by  our  citizens.  The 
office  is  in  charge  of  Mr.  Eckert." 

Nearly  thirty  years  later,  in  November,  1881, 
George  T.  Ristine,  of  Gallon,  established  the 
telephone  in  Bucyrus  and  today  the  Bucyrus 
Telephone  Company  has  nearly  2,000  phones. 

On  Sept.  22,  1845,  six  men  met  in  the  sec- 
ond story  of  the  old  frame  which  stood  on  the 
corner  where  the  Bucyrus  City  Bank  now  is. 
They  had  leased  the  room  for  $44  a  year,  and 
they  organized  La  Salle  Lodge  No.  51,  L  O. 
O.  F.  The  men  present  were  John  Clark, 
George  P.  Seal,  James  R.  Knapp,  James  M. 
Albert,  Oren  Siser,  of  Bucyrus,  and  District 
Deputy  Grand  Master  Joseph  Whitmore,  who 
gave  them  their  charter;  the  first  officers  were 
John  Clark,  Noble  Grand;  George  P  Seal, 
Vice  Grand;  James  R.  Knapp,  secretary; 
James  M.  Albert,  treasurer.  The  officers  were 
immediately  installed  and  the  following  mem- 
bers initiated:  J.  B.  Lawill,  Franklin  Adams, 
Hiram  Fenner,  Alec  Howenstein  and  Frederick 
Bickle. 

On  Sept.  5,  1854  the  lodge  surrendered 
their  charter,  but  on  Feb.  26,  1856  it  was  re- 
stored on  the  petition  of  Franklin  Adams, 
W.  R.  S.  Clark,  William  M.  Scroggs,  Benja- 
min Failor,  C.  W.  Butterfield,  Hiram  Fenner, 
and  J.  E.  Zook.  They  elected  officers,  installed 
them,  and  initiated  E.  Smith,  W.  Bair,  W.  A. 
Chambers  and  Pinkney  Lewis,  the  latter  being 
the  only  man  still  livinj:  of  the  above  names, 
his  home  being  now  in  Mansfield.  On  the  re- 
organization they  met  in  the  Anderson  building 
on  South  Sandusky  avenue,  and  in  July  i860 
they  removed  to  the  west  end  of  the  third  story 
of  the  Quinby  Block,  where  they  remained  un- 
til April,  1886  when  they  removed  to  the 
Vollrath  Block. 

In  August,  1848,  the  Lodge  moved  to  the 
third  floor  of  the  Anderson  building,  the  room 
being  occupied  in  the  day  time  as  the  high 
school  room,  Israel  Booth  being  the  teacher, 
and  later  the  first  superintendent  of  the  Bucy- 


rus Union  Schools.  They  paid  $40  a  year 
rent. 

In  connection  with  La  Salle  Lodge  is  Kears- 
ley  Encampment  No.  234,  and  Bucyrus  Lodge 
No.  139  Daughters  of  Rebecca,  both  of  which 
meet  in  the  Odd  Fellow's  room  in  the  Opera 
Block. 

The  first  society  funeral  in  Bucyrus  was  con- 
ducted by  the  Odd  Fellows.  On  the  night  of 
organization,  Sept.  22,  1845,  Frederick  Bickle 
was  initiated  into  the  order.  He  was  a  sad- 
dler and  harness  maker,  and  lived  at  the  south- 
west corner  of  Walnut  and  Warren,  in  the 
story  and  a  half  frame  now  being  torn  down 
to  make  room  for  the  brick  residence  of  Dr. 
W.  A.  Koch.  He  died  on  Feb.  2,  1848,  and  on 
the  evening  of  that  day  the  Odd  Fellows  met 
and  passed  resolutions  of  respect  to  his  mem- 
ory, and  the  next  day  attended  the  funeral, 
which  was  conducted  by  that  Order,  Hiram 
Fenner  being  then  Noble  Grand.  Both  the 
Masons  and  the  Sons  of  Temperance  attended 
the  funeral  officially,  and  he  was  buried  in  the 
Lutheran  graveyard. 

On  Oct.  20,  1846  a  charter  was  granted  to 
Bucyrus  Lodge  No.  139  F  and  A.  M.,  the 
charter  members  being  Col.  Zalmon  Rowse, 
Rev.  Hibbard  P.  Ward,  Joseph  E.  Jewett,  Ben- 
jamin Warner,  Madison  W.  Welsh,  Amos  L. 
Westover,  John  Caldwell  and  Jonas  Stough. 
The  first  officers  were  Joseph  E.  Jewett,  W. 
M. ;  Amos  L.  Westover,  S.  W. ;  Benjamin  War- 
ner, J.  W.  On  May  4,  1870  the  Masons  organ- 
ized Crawford  Lodge  No.  443,  giving  Bucy- 
rus two  Masonic  lodges.  At  the  start  Bucy- 
rus Lodge  met  in  the  Anderson  room,  and  in 
i860  joined  with  the  Odd  Fellows  in  fitting  up 
the  hall  in  the  Quinby  Block.  Later  the 
Masons  selected  quarters  of  their  own  meeting 
in  the  Blair  Hall,  the  Picking  Hall  and  the 
Miller  Hall,  until  in  1886  they  removed  to  the 
third  floor  of  the  Opera  House  Block,  where 
they  were  located  when  their  charter  was  ar- 
rested, in  1889.  Of  Bucyrus  lodge,  Lewis 
Stremmel  was  secretary  for  twenty-one  years. 
Ivanhoe  Chapter  No.  117,  R.  A.  M.  was  in- 
stituted Jan.  13,  1869,  and  Bucyrus  Council, 
No.  57,  R.  &  S.  M.,  on  Feb.  10,  1870.  On 
Feb.  3,  1887  Bucyrus  Chapter  No.  3,  order  of 
the  Eastern  Star  was  instituted,  and  the  next 


402 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


year  it  was  one  of  the  five  Chapters  in  the 
State  that  organized  the  Grand  Chapter. 

After  the  charters  were  arrested  there  were 
no  Masonic  organizations  in  Bucyrus.  On 
Oct.  19,  1892,  a  charter  was  granted  to  Trinity 
Lodge  No.  556  on  petition  of  18  members  and 
a  new  lodge  was  organized  which  has  con- 
tinued ever  since,  holding  its  first  meetings  on 
the  third  floor  of  the  First  National  Bank 
building,  and  later  removing  to  their  present 
quarters  in  the  Blair  Hall.  Bucyrus  Chapter 
No.  160  received  its  charter  Sept.  23,  1893, 
and  Gwynn  Council  No.  83  R.  &  S.  M.  on 
Sept.  17,  i8g8.  These  bodies  together  with  the 
Eastern  Star  meet  in  the  same  rooms  in  the 
Blair  Hall.  During  the  three  years  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity  were  without  a  home  the  Stars 
kept  up  their  organization  by  meeting  at  pri- 
vate residences  of  the  members. 

The  next  lodge  to  form  an  organization  in 
Bucyrus  was  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  who  or- 
ganized Demas  Lodge  No.  108  being  instituted 
Sept.  II,  1877,  with  24  charter  members.  On 
March  6,  1878,  Section  No.  119  Endowment 
Rank  was  instituted  with  16  charter  members. 

Feb.  19,  1890  Bucyrus  Lodge  No.  156  B.  P. 
O.  E.  was  instituted  with  thirty-three  charter 
members,  but  after  a  year  it  was  discontinued 
but  was  reorganized  in  1892,  and  met  in  the 
third  story  of  the  Rowse  Block,  later  it  moved 
to  the  third  story  of  the  Hausleib  Block,  when 
they  fitted  up  the  second  and  third  floors  of  the 
Sens  Block,  which  is  their  present  home,  where 
they  have  the  finest  club  rooms  in  the  city. 

Bucyrus  Aerie  of  Eagles  No.  501  was  or- 
ganized Oct.  3,  1903  with  75  charter  members. 
In  1905  they  purchased  the  Merriman  comer 
for  $11,000,  the  lot  that  in  1827  was  sold  for 
$80.  The  growth  of  the  order  has  been  so 
rapid  that  their  lot  is  paid  for  and  they  are 
now  arranging  to  build,  and  one  of  the  young- 
est orders  will  be  the  first  to  own  their  own 
home.  Their  present  meeting  place  is  the  third 
floor  of  the  Hausleib  Block. 

The  last  society  to  organize  Avas  the  Bucy- 
rus Nest  No.  121 1,  Order  of  Owls,  which  was 
instituted  on  Aug.  20,  1909,  with  112  charter 
members.  Their  rooms  are  in  the  third  floor 
of  the  Fisher  Block. 

Of  other  fraternal  organizations  the  first 
to  organize  was  Howard  Lodge  No.  109  of  the 
Knights  of  Honor  on  May  3,  1875,  with  16 


members.  Their  first  meeting  was  in  the  Birk 
Block,  then  for  two  years  in  the  third  floor 
of  the  Bowman  Block,  and  in  May,  1877,  they 
removed  across  the  street  to  the  Fisher  Block, 
their  present  quarters. 

Following  them  came  Crawford  Council  No. 
15  Royal  Arcanum  instituted  Sept.  12,  1877, 
with  22  charter  members.  Their  meeting  place 
has  always  been  the  third  floor  of  the  Fisher 
Block. 

Bucyrus  Tent  No.  135  Knights  of  the  Mac- 
cabees and  Gold  Leaf  Hive,  L.  O.  T.  M.,  meet 
in  the  Picking  Block. 

Court  Bucyrus  Lodge  No.  loio  Foresters 
of  America,  and  Court  Concord  No.  107  Com- 
panion Foresters  meet  in  the  Opera  House 
Block. 

Bucyrus  Council  No.  184  Jr.  O.  U.  A.  M. 
and  Bucyrus  Council  No.  113  D.  of  A.  have 
their  rooms  in  the  Fisher  Block. 

The  Royal  Home  Lodge  is  in  the  Opera 
Block. 

The  Royal  Templars  Lodge  is  in  the  Opera 
Block. 

The  Home  -Guards  of  America  meet  in  the 
Fisher  Block. 

Crawford  Lodge  No.  loi  Ancient  Order 
United  ^^'orkingmen  meet  in  the  Rowse  Block. 

Bucyrus  Council  No.  27,  National  Union 
meet  in  the  Opera  House  Block. 

Crawford  County  Lodge  No.  175  Threshers 
National  Protective  Association,  Rowse  Block. 

Knights  of  Equity  Lodge  No.  153,  Rowse 
Block. 

Modern  \\^oodmen  of  America  No.  3664 
Opera  House  Block. 

American  Insurance  Union  No.  193,  Fisher 
Block. 

Bucyrus  Circle  No.  391  of  the  Protective 
Home  Circle  Fisher  Block. 

Order  of  the  Red  Cross,  Rowse  Block. 

Patrons  of  Husbandry  No.  705,  Rowse 
Block. 

Bucyrus  Lodge  No.  11 78  National  Protec- 
tive Legion,  Rowse  Block. 

Bucyrus  Council  No.  27  National  Union, 
Rowse  Block. 

Knights  of  Columbus,  City  Bank  Build- 
ing. 

United  Commercial  Travelers. 

The  Deutsche  Gessellschaft,  was  organized 
March  23,  1874,  with  120  members,  and  has 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


403 


been  in  existence  ever  since ;  their  rooms  are  the 
third  story  of  the  Mader  Block. 

Keller  Post  No.  128  G.  A.  R.,  and  Keller 
Women's  Relief  Corps  meet  at  the  G.  A.  R. 
Hall  on  South  Poplar  street. 

Thoman  Camp  No.  69  Spanish  American 
War  Veterans  have  their  headquarters  at  No. 
129!/^  North  Sandusky  avenue. 

Bucyrus  being  a  central  point  on  the  T.  & 
O.  C.  railroad,  the  engineers  and  conductors, 
firemen  and  brakemen,  all  have  organizations 
with  a  large  membership,  and  there  are  unions 
covering  nearly  every  trade  and  occupation. 

The  first  secret  society  ever  organized  in 
Bucyrus  was  in  1823.  All  that  is  known  of 
it  is  the  following  document: 

"We,  whose  names  are  undersigned,  having  conferred 
together  on  the  objects  proposed  and  designed  by  the 
True  American  Society,  and  believing  the  same  to  be  of 
great  importance,  and  worthy  the  aid  and  support  of 
every  true  American  citizen,  we  have  resolved,  and  do 
resolve,  ourselves  into  a  branch  of  said  society,  to  meet 
monthly,  in  the  town  of  Bucyrus,  on  the  Saturday  next 
before  every  full  moon  in  the  year,  and  have  therefore 
hereunto  subscribed  our  names,  in  the  presence  of  each 
other.     First  signed  at  Bucyrus,  July  31,  1823." 

This  was  a  political  organization,  and  the 
probability  is  its  object  was  opposition  to  the 
naturalization  of  citizens.  In  the  '50s  a  similar 
organization  existed  in  Bucyrus,  known  as  the 
Know  Nothings,  their  object  being  to  pre- 
clude foreigners  from  voting.  In  1862  an 
order  of  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle  met 
in  the  Ritz  Block  in  Bucyrus.  In  1876  there 
was  an  organization  in  Bucyrus  to  oppose  the 
election  of  any  Catholic  to  office.  Its  meeting 
place  was  in  the  Bowman  Block.  No  one 
cared  to  have  his  name  associated  with  any  of 
these  orders,  and  they  died  natural  deaths  for 
want  of  followers. 

Another  Lodge  which  was  founded  in  1859, 
was  the  Sons  of  Malta.  One  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  the  order  was  that  every 
initiation  ceremony  should  be  different,  and 
as  the  order  rapidly  gained  in  membership  it 
took  the  combined  ability  of  the  brightest 
members  to  devise  more  humorous  and  sensa- 
tional features  in  the  ceremonies.  They  had  a 
benevolent  feature  also,  and  frequently  made 
a  midnight  parade,  the  members  being  masked 
and  clothed  in  various  disguises,  they  marched 
through  the  streets,  leaving  provisions  at  the 
homes  of  needy  and  worthy  families.     The 


breaking  out  of  the  war  left  no  heart  in  any 
one  for  levity,  and  the  order  ceased  to  exist. 
Their  meeting  place  was  in  the  Quinby  Block. 

Thirty  years  later  a  similar  organization  was 
started  with  sport  as  the  foundation  of  the 
order,  but  it  disbanded  on  account  of  the  ac- 
cidental injury  of  one  of  the  candidates  during 
the  ceremony  of  initiation. 

The  first  school  taught  in  Bucyrus  was  in 
the  winter  of  1822,  a  little  log  cabin  which 
stood  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  near  the  east 
end  of  the  railroad  bridge.  It  was  taught  by 
William  Blowers  who  later  became  a  min- 
ister in  the  M.  E.  Church.  Among  those 
known  to  have  attended  this  school,  were  Eliza- 
beth Norton,  who  later  married  Dr.  A.  M. 
Jones,  and  Horace  Rowse,  one  of  the  builders 
of  the  Rowse  Block.  The  charges  of  Mr. 
Blowers  were  $1.50  per  pupil  for  a  term  of 
three  months  and  he  boarded  round.  In  the 
summer  of  1823,  Miss  Alta  Kent  taught  a 
school  east  of  Bucyrus.  Before  a  school  build- 
ing was  erected  expressly  for  educational  pur- 
poses, the  location  of  the  school  was  not  so 
important  as  was  the  question  as  to  where  the 
teacher  could  secure  a  building.  Hence  both 
these  early  schools  were  outside  of  the  village 
as  originally  laid  out  by  Norton,  but  inside  the 
present  corporation.  Moses  Arden  and  Joseph 
Newell  later  taught  in  the  log  school  east  of 
Bucyrus,  Miss  Alta  Kent,  the  first  teacher  in 
that  log  cabin,  marrying  Asa  Hosford  of  Ga- 
lion  in  1825. 

The  first  school  in  the  original  village  of 
Bucyrus  was  taught  by  Sarah  Gary  in  1824. 
Aaron  Gary  removed  to  Bucyrus  in  1822,  and 
built  a  two-story  log  cabin  near  the  tannery  of 
his  brother  Lewis.  Here  he  had  his  saddlery 
and  harness  shop,  and  in  the  second  story  his 
daughter  Sarah  had  a  number  of  pupils,  and 
taught  a  small  school. 

In  1824  the  law  was  pased  which  enabled 
public  schools  to  be  established,  and  allow- 
ing a  certain  amount  to  be  appropriated  for 
their  support,  tuition  to  be  free.  Under  this 
law  the  residents  of  Bucyrus  had  a  schoolhouse 
constructed.  It  was  of  logs,  and  20  feet  square, 
and  the  site  selected  was  in  a  grove  of  oak  and 
walnut  trees  owned  by  Samuel  Norton.  It  was 
along  the  Indian  trail  which  passed  through 
Bucyrus  a  few  rods  north  of  the  river,  between 


404 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


the  Norton  and  Bucklin  log  cabins.     It  was 
about  where  the  Shunk  Plow  Works  now  are. 
It  was  built  in  1824,  and  the  first  teacher  was 
Zalmon  Rowse,  at  $15  per  month.    There  was 
not  sufficient  money  in  the  school  fund  to  run 
the  school  more  than  a  few  months,  but  some 
of  the  citizens  subscribed  money  so  that  the 
school  term  could  be  extended  and  one  sum- 
mer the  neighbors  did  his  farm  work  while  he 
taught  the  school,  but  generally  in  summer  it 
was  used  for  the  smaller  children  only,  people 
paying  a  small  tuition.     In  summer  the  larger 
children  were  needed  to  work  and  could  only 
be  spared  to  attend  school   in   winter.     The 
growth  of  the  town  soon  left  the  little  school- 
house  far  too  small  to  accommodate  the  pu- 
pils ;  added  to  this  was  the  fact  that  the  country 
was  being  settled  up  rapidly  near  Bucyrus,  and 
in  winter  many  scholars  walked  in  three  and 
four  miles  to  attend,  there  being  no  schools 
in  their  neighborhood,  so  it  was  determined 
to  build  a  larger  schoolhouse.     A   one-story 
brick  building  was  erected  18x36  feet  in  size 
near    the    southeast    corner    of    Walnut    and 
Galen.     The  brick  were  made  by  Albigence 
Bucklin,  his  brickyard  being  at  the  rear  of  his 
lot  where  the  T.  &  O.  C.  railroad  crosses  Mans- 
field street.     This  building  was  not  only  used 
for  a  schoolhouse  but  later  for  the  court  house 
and  public  meetings,  and  there  was  hardly  a 
Sunday    but    what    some    denomination    held 
services  in  the  building.     Only  the  common 
branches  were  taught,  reading,  writing,  arith- 
metic, geography  and  history,  but  occasionally 
some  of  the  teachers  gave  instructions  in  gram- 
mar.    Among  the  teachers  in  this  early  build- 
ing were  Horace  Pratt,  Sallie  Davis,  Dr.  Sam- 
uel Horton,  William  White,  Mrs.   Espy  and 
her  two  daughters,  Maggie  and  Elmira. 

In  1832,  Bucyrus  was  selected  as  the  county 
seat,  and  the  citizens  decided  that  the  village 
ought  to  own  their  own  schoolhouse.  Mr. 
Norton  donated  the  lot,  southwest  corner  of 
Galen  and  Walnut  for  school  purposes.  The 
following  is  the  record  of  the  start  of  the 
present  Bucyrus  schools: 

"Agreeably  to  public  notice  given  by  the  school  direct- 
ors of  the  school  district  in  Bucyrus  township  a  meet- 
ing of  the  house  holders  was  held  at  the  school  house  in 
said  district  on  Thursday,  Feb.  21,  1833,  and  John  Smith 
was  called  to  the  chair,  and  the  object  of  the  meetmg 
made  known  by  Z.  Rowse. 

"When  on  motion  of  Henry  St.  John,  it  was  resolved 


unanimously  that  the  school  directors  be  and  are  hereby 
empowered  to  purchase  the  school  house  from  the 
owners  at  any  price  not  exceeding  two  hundred  dollars. 
"Resolved,  2d,  That  a  tax  levy  for  the  aforesaid  pur- 
pose be  levied  and  collected  within  one  year  from  and 
after  that  date. 

"Attest  John  Caldwell,  District  Clerk." 

The  building  must  have  been  purchased  as 
on  Oct.  15,  1833,  the  minutes  show: 

"Agreeably  to  public  notice,  the  householders  met  at 
the  schoolhouse  in  said  district  on  Tuesday,  Oct.  15, 
and  elected  George  Sweney,  James  Marshall  and  Nicho- 
las Failor,  directors;  Lewis  Cary,  treasurer;  and  James 
McCracken,  clerk  of  said  district. 

"Attest  John   Caldwell,   District  Clerk." 

Bucyrus  now  had  a  schoolhouse,  owned  by 
the  village.  But  it  was  soon  too  small  to  ac- 
commodate the  increasing  number  of  pupils. 
From  the  time  of  building  the  first  log  school- 
house  in  1824  and  previous  to  that,  schools  had 
been  held  in  several  buildings,  teachers  miaking 
a  canvass  of  the  village  and  securing  as  many 
pupils  as  possible  at  so  much  per  term.  Be- 
sides the  school  of  Sarah  Cary  over  her  fa- 
ther's harness  store,  there  was  a  vacant  log 
house  on  the  McCracken  property,  now  the 
Mader  Block,  and  here  in  1829  or  1830  Sallie 
Davis  taught  a  school.  The  old  log  building 
built  by  Samuel  Myers,  south  of  the  J.  K. 
Myers  corner  was  used  for  school  purposes, 
and  in  an  abandoned  frame  building  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  Walnut  and  Perry  a  private 
school  was  taught.  In  the  old  log  building 
built  as  a  district  schoolhouse,  on  the  corner  of 
W^arren  and  Spring  schools  were  held.  When 
the  American  House  was  building  Miss  Emily 
Rowse  taught  school  in  what  was  later  the  hotel 
office. 

In  1838  the  four  square  miles  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  Bucyrus  township  was  the  Bu- 
cyrus school  district.  This  was  divided  in  four 
districts.  No.  i  being  the  southwest  district; 
No.  6  the  northwest.  No.  7  the  northeast,  and 
No.  8  the  southeast.  The  school  children  at 
that  time,  with  the  directors  were  as  follows. 

District  Directors  Boys     Girls     Total 

I — Abraham  Myers,  Samuel  A. 

Magers,  John   Anderson....         41        41        82 
6 — Samuel  Norton,  James  C. 

Steen,   James   McCracken...         32        19        51 
7 — David  Saylor,  Peter  Worst 

Nicholas    Failor 51         56      107 

8 — John  Davis,  John  A  Gormly 

George    Sinn 2P        38        75 

Total  pupils 161       154      31S 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


405 


At  that  time  the  total  number  of  school  chil- 
dren in  Bucyrus  township  was  529,  which  left 
214  in  the  township  outside  of  Bucyrus.  Of 
these  108  were  boys  and  106  were  girls. 

In  1839  a  larger  schoolhouse  was  built;  it 
was  a  frame  building,  and  on  the  lot  donated 
by  Mr.  Norton;  it  was  30  by  50  feet,  two 
stories  high,  with  a  tower.  The  building  is 
still  in  use,  being  the  front  of  the  present  Park 
House.  In  front  it  had  five  windows  on  the 
second  floor  with  four  on  the  rirst  floor  with 
the  door  in  the  centre.  There  were  two  rooms 
on  each  floor,  a  hall  running  east  and  west  on 
both  floors  separating  the  rooms.  The  furni- 
ture was  made  by  the  workmen  of  the  village, 
and  was  mostly  of  walnut,  and  for  that  day  the 
interior  as  well  as  the  building  itself  was  one 
of  the  finest  village  schoolhouses  in  the  State. 
At  the  rear  and  on  the  north  were  oak  and 
walnut  trees.  The  house  was  painted  white, 
with  green  shutters.  In  the  belfry  a  bell  was 
placed,  the  first  schoolhouse  bell  in  Bucyrus. 
The  first  school  was  opened  in  October, 
1840.  There  were  five  teachers.  In  these 
days  boys  and  girls  were  in  separate  rooms.  S. 
Fry  taught  the  more  advanced  boys,  and  J.  B. 
Squier,  afterwards  one  of  the  leading  physi- 
cians of  the  county  at  Sulphur  Springs,  taught 
the  smaller  boys.  Miss  Marshall  taught  the 
more  advanced  girls,  and  the  smaller  girls  were 
taught  by  Miss  Gary  and  Miss  Espy.  Owing 
to  boys  being  needed  at  home,  there  were  many 
more  girls  than  boys  in  attendance,  and  two 
teachers  were  needed  for  the  younger  girls, 
both  being  in  the  same  room. 

Only  the  common  branches  were  taught,  the 
highest  instruction  reached  being  grammar 
and  natural  philosophy.  During  the  winter  of 
1847,  Joseph  R.  Whitum  taught  the  higher 
branches  in  a  private  school.  He  was  a  grad- 
uate of  Jefl^erson  College,  Pa.  The  session  of 
his  school  commenced  on  Nov.  15,  and  was  to 
continue  for  five  months,  his  prices  for  the 
term  being  $6  for  the  lower  English  branches, 
including  geography,  arithmetic  and  the  lower 
English  branches;  $8  for  natural  philosophy, 
chemistry,  history,  &c. ;  and  $10  for  the  Latin 
and  Greek  languages,  including  algebra,  geom- 
etry and  surveying.  E.  G.  Chambers  the  next 
year  had  a  private  school  for  the  higher 
branches. 

In  1849  the  Legislature  passed  a  law  for  the 


better  regulation  of  schools  in  cities,  towns  and 
villages  which  permitted  the  organization  of 
graded  or  union  schools.  Prior  to  this  among 
the  early  teachers  were  William  Blowers,  1822, 
James  Martin,  Moses  Arden,  John  Blowers, 
Zalmon  Rowse,  Jonas  Scott,  Dr.  Samuel  Hor- 
ton,  Joseph  Newell,  John  Davis,  William  Y. 
McGill,  Horace  Rowse,  Abraham  Myers,  jr., 
Abraham  Holm,  jr.,  William  White,  S.  Fry, 
J.  B.  Squier,  John  D.  Sears,  J.  S.  Plant,  Jo- 
seph R.  Whitum,  E.  G.  Chambers,  Jacob  Hof- 
man,  and  Messrs.  Camp,  Everson,  Kiskaden, 
Lee,  McMullen,  Needham,  Wallace  and  Yost, 
date  of  teaching  unknown.  The  lady  teachers 
were  Alta  Kent,  1823;  Sarah  Gary  and  her 
sister,  Sallie  Davis  and  her  sister,  Emily 
Rowse,  Margaretta  Williams,  Mrs.  Espy  and 
her  two  daughters  Maggie  and  Elmira,  Miss 
Marshall,  Ann  McCracken,  and  Hannah  J. 
Dunn. 

Bucyrus  determined  to  take  advantage  of 
this  new  system,  and  the  question  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  voters  of  the  village  in  April, 
1849,  and  it  was  voted  down.  Jacob  Scroggs 
in  a  history  of  the  schools  written  by  him  in 
1876,  says  the  friends  of  the  new  system  were 
Josiah  Scott,  Lawrence  W.  Hall,  Dr.  Willis 
Merriman,  Aaron  Gary,  Dr.  Jacob  Augustein, 
Rev.  John  Pettitt,  J.  B.  Larwih,  John  Ander- 
son, John  Moderwell,  M.  P.  Bean,  editor  of 
the  Forum,  (the  only  paper  in  the  village,) 
Col.  Zalmon  Rowse,  and  others.  Mr. 
Scroggs,  speaking  of  the  opposition  says: 
"  The  most  serious  and  obstinate  opposition 
came  from  a  few  men  of  wealth,  who  had  no 
children  to  educate,  or  who  cared  little  for 
any  education  beyond  what  was  necessary  to 
compute  interest  at  12  per  cent."  The  friends 
of  the  system  had  a  special  election  called  on 
July  of  1849,  three  months  after  its  defeat, 
and  this  time  they  succeeded  in  carrying  it. 
The  citizens  shortly  after  assembled  and 
elected  the  first  board  of  education  in  Bucy- 
rus ;  Rev.  John  Pettitt,  John  Anderson,  Aaron 
Gary,  Dr.  Jacob  Augustein,  Dr.  Willis  Mer- 
riman, and  John  Moderwell,  all  active  and 
zealous  friends  of  the  new  school  system.  The 
first  board  organized  by  electing  Dr.  Willis 
Merriman,  president;  Aaron  Cary,  secretary; 
Dr.  Jacob  Augustein,  treasurer.  The  first 
school  opened  on  the  first  Monday  in  May, 
1850,  with  Israel  Booth  as  superintendent  at 


406 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


a  salary  of  $600  per  year;  Miss  Diana  Taylor 
of  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  was  the  first  high  school 
teacher,  her  salary  being  $25  a  month;  T.  C. 
Bowles  of  Ashland  taught  the  senior  grammar 
at  $25  per  month ;  N.  P.  Tarr  taught  the  junior 
grammar  at  $20  per  month,  but  before  the 
term  expired  he  was  compelled  to  resign  on 
account  of  ill  health  and  Jacob  Scroggs  suc- 
ceeded him.  Miss  Ann  McCracken  and  Miss 
Myra  Fitzsimmons  had  charge  of  the  second- 
ary and  primary  departments  at  $13  per  month. 
The  board  levied  a  special  tax,  which  in  addi- 
tion to  the  sum  allowed  by  the  State  under  the 
new  law,  would  be  sufficient  to  maintain  the 
schools.  The  board  adopted  rules  to  govern 
the  schools,  eight  to  guide  the  superintendent, 
nine  for  the  teachers,  and  six  special  and 
twenty-five  general  rules  for  the  pupils. 
Here  are  some  of  the  rules : 
"  School  week  five  and  one-half  days ;  five 
days  one  week,  six  days  the  next." 

"  Use  of  tobacco  prohibited  in  the  schools." 
"  Teachers  will  be  admonished,  reproved,  or 
expelled  for  drinking  intoxicating  liquors  or 
using  profane  language." 

"A  chapter  from  the  Bible  must  be  read  once 
a  day." 

"Teachers  will  be  sustained  in  opening  school 
with  prayer,  and  with  a  reasonable  time  de- 
voted to  devotional  exercises." 

"Teachers  must  be  at  their  room  at  the 
ringing  of  the  first  bell.  In  winter  they  must 
see  that  their  rooms  are  heated  and  swept  be- 
fore the  pupils  arrive." 

The  text  books  were  McGufifey's  readers  and 
spelling  book ;  Ray's  arithmetic  with  Colburn's 
mental;  Mitchell's  geography,  Pineo's  gram- 
mar, and  such  others  as  the  board  selects. 

The  frame  schoolhouse  could  not  contain 
all  the  departments,  so  the  high  school,  taught 
by  Mr.  Booth,  was  in  the  third  story  of  the  An- 
derson building,  opposite  the  present  office  of 
the  Journal  and  Telegraph. 

Before  the  schools  started  the  people  saw  the 
benefits  of  the  new  system,  as  on  March  15, 
1850,  an  election  was  held  to  levy  a  tax  of 
$4,000  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  new 
schoolhouse.  The  proposition  carried  by  a 
vote  of  146  to  71.  This  building  was  erected 
on  the  west  half  of  the  lots  now  occupied  by 
the  central  building,  and  was  a  two-story  brick 
with  a  cupola,  and  when  completed  the  entire 


second  floor  was  occupied  by  the  high  school, 
with  two  small  rooms  at  the  rear  for  the  school 
library  and   for  recitation  rooms.     The  two 
rooms  on  the  lower  floor  were  the  grammar 
departments,  the  old  frame  being  used  for  the 
intermediate  and  primary  departments.    Prof. 
Booth   remained   as    superintendent   for   two 
years,  and  was  devoted  to  his  work,  and  as  the 
first   superintendent   did  much  to  place  the 
schools  on  a  substantial  basis.     He  was  prob- 
ably like  many  literary  men  a  trifle  absent 
minded.     He  was  married  while  teaching  at 
Bucyrus.    The  lady  of  his  choice  lived  at  Nor- 
walk  and  a  day  being  set  by  her  for  the  wed- 
ding he  obtained  permission  of  the  board  to 
dismiss   the   high   school  on   the   day  of  the 
wedding.    The  permission  was  readily  granted, 
but  at  noon  on  the  day  set  for  the  wedding,  one 
of  the  school  board  met  the  Professor  and 
expressed    his    astonishment    at    seeing   him. 
The  Professor  failed  to  see  why  there  need  be 
any  astonishment  at  his  attending  to  his  duties. 
"  No  reason   at  all,"   said  the   man,   "but  I 
thought  it  was  today  we  had  given  you  a  day 
off  to  go  to  Norwalk  and  get  married."    The 
Professor  turned  pale.     He  had  a  date  to  get 
married  at  two  o'clock,  and  his  bride  was  at 
Norwalk  over  thirty  miles  away.     There  was 
no  railroad  to  Norwalk,  and  no  telegraph  in 
those  days.    Mr.  Booth  never  waited  to  tell  his 
pupils  there  would  be  no  school  that  afternoon ; 
he  hurried  to  the  livery  stable,  secured  the  best 
team  available  and  started  on  his  long  journey 
across  the  country ;  a  rain  came  up,  and  through 
the  wet  and  mud  he  urged  the  team,  and  at 
midnight  reached  Norwalk.     In  the  meantime, 
while  he  was  driving   frantically  across  the 
country   the    friends    had    assembled    at   the 
bride's  residence,  the  time  passed,  and  the  bride 
dressed  for  the  ceremony  waited  in  her  room 
for  her  expected  husband,  at  first  patiently  and 
then  impatiently ;  the  people  waited  in  the  room 
below  and  the  minister  waited,  and  still  the 
time  wore  on,  until  satisfied  it  was  useless  to 
wait  any  longer,  about  six  o'clock  the  people 
left.     The  evening  passed  away  and  still  no 
word  from  the  groom,  and  the  bride  and  her 
family  were  justly  indignant  that  no  message 
had  been  sent  by  him  explaining  the  delay,  and 
all  retired.     About  midnight  there  was  a  ter- 
rific pounding  at  the  door  and  the  girl's  fa- 
ther responded  and  found  at  the  doorway  his 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


407 


prospective  son-in-law  covered  with  mud  from 
head  to  foot.  The  interview  did  not  start  har- 
moniously, but  Mr.  Booth  finally  succeeded  in 
explaining  how  he  had  forgotten  the  day, 
which  made  the  old  man  madder  than  ever, 
but  later  he  listened  to  the  earnest  protestations 
of  the  young  man,  began  to  see  the  humor  of 
the  situation,  and  agreed  to  let  him  make  his 
explanations  to  his  daughter,  if  she  would 
consent  to  see  him.  Then  came  another  hitch; 
she  wouldn't.  Finally,  she  consented,  and  Mr. 
Booth  again  explained  the  matter,  but  the 
young  lady  filled  with  the  disappointment  of 
her  postponed  ceremony,  expressed  her  opinion 
in  a  way  not  very  complimentary  to  her  un- 
fortunate lover.  He  explained  and  entreated, 
and  finally  as  Tennyson  puts  it, 

"Like  torrents  from  a  mountain  source 
They  rushed  into  each  other's  arms." 

The  next  morning  the  minister  was  sent  for ; 
there  was  a  quiet,  private  wedding,  and  Mr. 
Booth  brought  his  bride  to  Bucyrus.  When 
Mr.  Booth  left  here  he  went  to  Sullivan,  Ind., 
where  he  died  in  the  fall  of  i860. 

Succeeding  Mr.  Booth  as  superintendent, 
was  H.  S.  Martin  in  the  spring  of  1852,  with 
a  salary  of  $500,  but  he  remained  but  one  term 
and  was  succeeded  by  M.  Hill  on  Nov.  8,  1852, 
the  salary  being  $600.  The  new  school  build- 
ing was  now  completed,  the  last  term  of  the 
high  school  having  been  held  in  the  Methodist 
church.  In  the  fall  of  1853  David  Kerr  was 
superintendent  and  remained  two  years  at  $600 
a  year.  '  In  the  fall  of  1855  J.  K.  Mason  be- 
came superintendent  at  the  same  salary,  but 
only  remained  six  months,  and  on  Monday 
April  14,  John  Hopley  became  superintendent 
with  a  salary  of  $700.  The  schools  now  had 
seven  teachers.  In  December  of  1856,  the 
Bucyrus  Journal  published  an  account  of  a 
spelling  school  written  by  Dr.  W.  R.  S.  Clark 
in  which  50  pupils  took  part,  divided  into  two 
sides,  and  spelling  and  defining  the  words  in 
McGuffey's  Fourth  Reader.  The  article  says : 
"After  three  hours,  twelve  of  the  two  contend- 
ing parties  retained  their  position  on  the  floor, 
having  neither  spelled  nor  defined  a  single  word 
incorrectly,  although  600  had  been  given  to 
them.  The  finale  was  exceedingly  spirited. 
One  young  lady  maintained  her  position  against 
an  opposition  of  ten,  spelling  down  in  succes- 


sion nine  of  them,  when  the  exercises  were 
closed  from  the  simple  fact  that  the  book  had 
been  exhausted."  The  young  lady  who  spelled 
down  the  nine  was  Miss  Virginia  Swingly, 
still  living,  the  wife  of  James  B.  Gormly.  The 
tenth  who  retained  the  floor  for  the  other  side, 
was  her  sister  Miss  Marcella  Swingly,  later 
superintendent  of  the  schools,  and  afterward 
marrying  Major  E.  C.  Moderwell. 

The  next  December  another  spelling  school 
was  held  with  a  crowded  house,  and  the  report 
of  this  gives  the  names  of  those  who  spelled 
through  a  book  of  a  thousand  words  without 
an  error  several  of  whom  are  still  living :  "In 
the  High  School,  Misses  Mary  E.  Moderwell, 
Georgianna  Merriman,  Elizabeth  Moderwell, 
Amanda  Kimmel,  Jane  Sims,  Melinda  Light- 
ner,  Ophelia  Didie,  Elizabeth  Rexroth,  Sarah 
Rexroth,  and  Master  Hiram  Moderwell ;  in  the 
Senior  Grammar  School,  Misses  Helen  Van 
Tyne,  Fidelia  Howenstein,  Mary  Gormly, 
Lydia  Rexroth,  Elizabeth  Rowse,  Margaret 
Fulton,  Anna  T.  Fulton,  Elizabeth  Bradley, 
Masters  Albert  Van  Tyne,  David  Hall,  John 
Moderwell,  Eugene  Sims,  Daniel  Kanzleiter, 
Rufus  Kuhn  and  Leroy  Henthorn.  Miss 
Emma  Shaw  from  the  junior  grammar  school, 
retained  her  place  on  the  floor  during  the  pro- 
nunciation of  over  900  words,  Miss  Mary 
Howenstein,  from  the  same  department,  kept 
up  until  after  800  words  had  been  spelled  and 
defined."  Of  those  mentioned  two  are  still  liv- 
ing in  Bucyrus,  Miss  Sarah  Rexroth,  the  widow 
of  Rev.  T.  J.  Monnett,  and  Eugene  Sims.  Of 
the  others,  nearly  all  have  descendants  whose 
homes  are  in.  and  around  Bucyrus. 

Mr.  Hopley  remained  for  two  years,  and 
under  him  the  schools  were  developed  into  sys- 
tem, and  graded  schools  were  for  the  first  time 
really  started,  and  have  continued  ever  since. 
He  was  succeeded  in  the  spring  of  1858  by 
Alexander  Miller,  who  had  charge  for  three 
years  at  a  salary  of  $800.  The  pupils  in- 
creased in  such  numbers  that  additional  room 
was  needed,  and  at  different  times  the  M.  E. 
Church,  the  old  Baptist  Church  on  Walnut 
street,  and  the  Congregational  Church  had  to 
be  used  for  school  purposes.  In  September, 
1 861,  B.  B.  McVey  became  superintendent  at 
a  salary  of  $800,  and  remained  three  years, 
and  in  September,  1864  was  succeeded  by  S.  J. 
Kirkwood,  the  salary  being  increased  to  $1,- 


408 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ooo.  He  only  remained  one  year  and  in  Sep- 
tember, 1865,  J.  C.  Harper  became  superin- 
tendent and  remained  five  years,  his  salary  be- 
ing several  times  increased  until  his  last  year  it 
was  $1,600.  Under  Air.  Harper  the  grading 
was  still  further  systematized,  the  new  school- 
house  was  built  and  the  first  class  was  grad- 
uated. 

The  crowded  condition  of  the  schools  was 
such  that  in  1863  the  board  took  the  first  steps 
toward  securing  better  accommodations.  On 
May  18,  1863,  three  propositions  were  sub- 
mitted to  the  people: 

I — For  the  sale  of  the  old  schoolhouse.  This 
resulted,  Yes  83 ;  Xo  i .  2 — For  the  purchase 
of  the  Gormly  grove;  Yes  84;  Xo  o.  3 — For 
a  tax  to  improve  said  lot,  Yes  84,  X'o  o.  Every- 
body appeared  to  favor  the  proposition  so  a 
light  vote  was  cast.  The  Gormly  grove  a  lit- 
tle over  two  acres  adjoining  the  school  build- 
ing on  the  east  was  purchased  for  $1,600.  In 
June  they  voted  unanimously,  but  only  2"] 
votes  were  cast,  to  build  an  addition  to  the 
brick  schoolhouse,  and  to  levy  a  tax  of  $9,000 
for  that  purpose.  Xothing  was  done  about 
building  the  addition,  and  two  years  later  the 
Congregational  Church  was  bought  for  S3 .000, 
and  fitted  up  into  school  rooms ;  the  old  frame 
schoolhouse  on  West  ^^'arren  was  now  a  part 
of  the  Bucyrus  School  district,  and  here  the 
senior  grammar  had  quarters.  There  was  a 
wa^e  throughout  the  state  for  large  school 
buildings,  and  on  Feb.  24,  1866,  a  proposition 
was  submitted  to  the  people  to  levy  a  tax  of 
840,000  to  build  a  handsome  new  structure. 
The  vote  was  yes  160,  no  275.  a  majority  of 
106  against  a  large  building.  ]More  room  was 
absolutely  necessary  and  the  board  submitted 
another  proposition  on  April  13,  1867,  asking 
for  Si 0,000  or  S20,ooo  for  a  new  building. 
The  vote  resulted,  For  a  820,000  levy,  102 ;  for 
a  Sio,ooo  levy,  7;  against  any  levy  44.  The 
820,000  proposition  carried,  and  with  this  as 
a  starter  the  board  commenced  the  present 
building.  A.  Koehler  of  Cleveland  was  the 
architect  who  drew  the  designs,  and  when  he 
presented  them  to  the  board,  they  were  all  so 
pleased  that  they  later  let  the  contract  to  the 
Bucyrus  Machine  Works  to  construct  the 
building  for  $46,900.  In  the  fall  of  1867  the 
work  commenced,  and  in  April  1868,  the  old 
building  was  torn  down,  and  the  corner  stone 


of  the  new  one  laid  by  the  Masonic  fraternity 
on  July  30,  1868,  in  the  presence  of  5,000  peo- 
ple. Rev.  Joshua  Crouse  and  John  R.  Cljnuer, 
editor  of  the  Forum,  delivering  addresses  in 
English,  and  Rev.  Jacob  Graessle,  in  German. 
The  foundation  was  completed  and  the  walls 
were  up,  when  money  ran  short,  and  an  addi- 
tional $20,000  was  asked  for.  Many  were  in- 
dignant at  the  manner  in  which  so  large  a 
structure  tiad  been  contracted  for  against  their 
wishes,  yet  the  people  had  such  a  pride  in  the 
handso(ne  structure,  that  the  levy  was  author- 
ized, the  vote  standing  for  the  tax  195; 
against  144. 

From  April  i,  1868,  until  Jan.  i,  1869, 
schools  were  discontinued  to  save  money  to 
complete  the  building.  It  was  useless  to  ask 
for  more  money;  the  Congregational  Church 
was  sold  to  the  Baptists  for  $2,750  and  every- 
thing salable  was  turned  into  cash,  and  by  Feb. 
I,  1869,  the  building  was  under  roof.  On  Jan. 
I,  1869  the  schools  had  started,  the  high 
school  in  the  Blair  Hall,  the  senior  grammar 
in  the  District  schoolhouse  on  Warren  street, 
and  the  Intermediate  and  Primaries  in  the  old 
frame.  On  Sept.  18,  1869  the  building  was 
dedicated,  Chapel  Hall  being  crowded,  and 
many  unable  to  gain  admittance  A  dedicatory 
poem  written  by  William  Hubbard  was  read  by 
John  R.  Clymer;  addresses  were  delivered  by 
State  School  Commissioner  D.  W.  Hinkle, 
Rev.  A.  S.  :^Iillholland,  C.  \\\  Butterfield  Prof. 
J.  C.  Hartzler  of  the  Gallon  schools.  Miss  Sarah 
Franz  and  others,  and  the  affair  closed  with  a 
dance.  The  board  was  heavily  in  debt,  and 
812,000  was  asked  for.  An  accounting  was  de- 
manded. The  board  made  a  coinplete  state- 
ment, showing  the  two  levies  voted  had  brought 
in  840,000;  from  the  sale  of  old  buildings, 
&c.,  they  had  raised  85,000.  The  amount  paid 
the  Bucyrus  Machine  Company  on  their  con- 
tract was  850,415.69;  the  furniture,  heating 
outbuildings  and  other  necessary  expenses 
amounted  to  825,000  more.  With  receipts 
from  the  regular  school  levies  and  the  bond 
sales  the  board  had  spent  8120,000  in  the  past 
four  years  in  running  the  schools  and  on  the 
building.  The  report  showed  that  while 
there  were  some  expenses  that  might  have  been 
a\oided,  there  Avas  nothing  dishonest  and 
nothing  to  reflect  on  the  business  integrity  of 
any  member  of  the  board.    Yet  the  people  were 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


409 


indignant  at  the  manner  in  which  an  expensive 
building  had  been  forced  upon  them  against 
their  wishes,  several  times  expressed  by  their 
vote,  and  the  money  was  refused,  the  vote 
standing.  Yes  151 ;  No,  292.  The  debts  had  to 
be  paid  and  a  friendly  Legislature  was  appealed 
to  and  they  authorized  the  Board  of  Education 
to  make  the  levy,  and  it  was  done.  The  people, 
however,  at  the  first  election  voted  out  of  of- 
fice every  member  of  the  board  when  he  came 
up  for  reelection.  Yet  inside  of  ten  years  all 
took  such  a  just  and  natural  pride  in  what  was 
then  the  largest  and  handsomest  school  build- 
ing of  any  town  in  the  state,  that  opinion 
changed,  and  they  gave  credit  to  the  men  who, 
exercising  their  own  judgment  against  the 
wishes  of  the  people,  had  seen  fit  to  build  the 
handsome  structure  believing  that  the  people 
would  later  recognize  they  were  acting  for 
the  best  interests  of  Bucyrus  and  its  school 
children,  and  while  not  one  of  the  members  of 
that  board  is  alive  today,  every  one  lived  long 
enough  to  see  his  act  approved  by  the  large 
majority  of  his  fellow  citizen ;.  The  board 
who  built  the  present  schoolhouse  was  made  up 
as  follows  :  Dr.  C.  Fulton,  president ;  John  R. 
Clymer,  secretary;  John  Franz,  treasurer; 
Judge  James  Clements,  George  Donnenwirth, 
and  Samuel  Hoyt. 

In  the  summer  of  1870,  Miss  Marcella 
Swingly  became  superintendent  of  the  schools 
with  a  salary  of  $1,100;  she  was  succeeded 
three  years  later  by  F.  M.  Hamilton,  who 
served  the  longest  term  of  any  superintendent. 
He  commenced  in  1873,  his  salary  being  $1,700. 
After  22  years  he  was  succeeded  in  1895,  by  J. 
J.  Bliss,  who  remained  12  years,  and  in  Sep- 
tember, 1907,  W.  N.  Beetham  became  the  su- 
perintendent. 

When  the  new  building  was  first  used  as  a 
schoolhouse  in  1870,  the  enrollment  was  785 ; 
of  these  38  were  in  the  High  School,  182  in  the 
four  grammar  schools,  266  in  the  five  inter- 
mediate, and  299  in  the  four  primary.  In  1887 
the  enrollment  had  increased  to  1,065,  ^"^^ 
across  the  river,  were  several  hundred  people, 
and  more  school  accommodations  being  neces- 
sary, the  North  Side  schoolhouse  was  built; 
and  as  the  occasion  demanded  other  school 
buildings  were  erected,  the  West  Side  build- 
ing in  189s,  when  the  enrollment  showed  1,325, 
and  the  East  Side  building  in  1903,  and  the 


South  Side  building  in  1912,  and  arrange- 
ments are  being  made  for  the  building  of  a 
Central  High  School  building.  The  High 
School,  which  in  1870  had  an  enrollment  of 
38  and  occupied  one  room  in  the  new  building 
today  has  an  enrollment  of  295,  and  occupies 
the  entire  third  floor  and  a  pan  of  the  second 
of  the  large  Central  building.  The  one  teacher 
then  has  increased  to  a  principal  with  nine  in- 
structors of  the  various  branches.  The  total 
school  force  is  now  41,  the  superintendent,  38 
teachers,  and  two  special  instructors. 

The  veteran  teachers  of  the  past  were  Mrs. 
Caroline  P.  Wiley,  widow  of  George  Wiley, 
who  was  the  second  probate  judge  of  the 
county,  elected  in  1854,  and  died  in  August, 
1855.  In  1857  Mrs.  Wiley  commenced  teach- 
ing in  the  public  schools,  and  resigned  in  1892, 
after  a  service  of  35  years,  filling  her  position 
in  the  primary  grade  under  seven  superintend- 
ents. The  other  veteran  teacher  was  Miss 
Sarah  Sheckler,  who  commenced  in  1865,  and 
taught  in  various  departments  until  1897,  a 
period  of  32  years.  Of  the  present  teachers, 
Miss  Emily  Sheckler  began  in  1873  and  Miss 
Lizzie  Stauffer  in  1874. 

The  first  class  was  graduated  in  1870,  and 
numbered  six,  all  young  ladies,  Sarah  Franz, 
Mary  Howenstein,  Anna  Sears,  Sallie  Sims. 
Emma  Summers  and  Kate  Swingley.  The  next 
class  had  but  three  and  the  class  of  '72  had 
nine,  when  the  first  young  men  were  gradu- 
ated, Thomas  P.  Hopley  and  Charles  Picking, 
the  former  being  the  first  president  of  the 
Alumni  Association,  which  was  organized  in 
1878.  The  youngest  graduate  was  Charles  J. 
Scroggs,  who  completed  the  school  course  be- 
fore he  had  reached  his  fourteenth  birthday. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  class  of  'jj. 

In  i860  the  Ohio  State  Normal  School  was 
organized  at  Bucyrus  with  Martain  Deal  as 
president,  the  first  term  started  on  Aug.  13  of 
that  year;  the  rooms  were  in  the  third  story  of 
the  Quinby  Block  and  over  each  window  in 
large  letters  was  painted  the  name  of  the  in- 
stitution. There  were  24  windows  in  the 
building,  and  the  singularity  was  the  name  al- 
lowed a  letter  over  each  window  with  a  window 
intervening  between  each  word.  Isaac  F. 
Bangs  was  the  principal  of  the  school,  with 
Miss  Harriet  M.  Angel  as  assistant.  The  first 
term  had  an  enrollment  of  54.     This  was  in- 


410 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


creased  the  next  year  to  70,  but  war  times 
came  on,  limiting  the  attendance,  and  on  Feb. 
13,  1863  the  school  was  discontinued. 

The  first  teachers'  institute  was  held  in  1850, 
commencing  on  March  18,  and  continuing  one 
week,  and  there  was  an  attendance  of  30.  A 
second  was  held  in  October  of  the  same  year 
with  35  present,  and  the  third  in  April,  1861. 

In  the  early  days  nearly  all  business  was 
done  by  exchange  of  commodities,  what  one 
man  had  he  exchanged  with  his  neighbor  for 
what  he  might  want  that  the  neighbor  had. 
And  even  merchants  purchased  their  supplies 
more  with  an  exchange  of  commodities  than 
with  cash.  The  farmer  brought  in  his  12 
dozen  eggs  or  more,  and  exchanged  them  for 
a  yard  of  calico  or  less.  If  any  man  accumu- 
lated too  much  money,  he  secreted  it  about  the 
house,  or  buried  it  in  his  yard.  That  is,  if  it 
was  real  money,  gold  or  silver.  For  the  money 
in  those  early  days  was  mostly  paper  issued 
by  banks  in  the  larger  cities.  If  he  had  these, 
he  promptly  paid  them  out  for  more  land  or 
something  tangible,  as  they  were  of  such  fluct- 
uating value  that  their  purchasing  power  varied 
from  nothing  up  to  few  cents  below  par.  No 
man  was  so  wise,  but  he  frequently  found  his 
stock  disposed  of  for  currency  which  had  little 
or  no  value.  Leading  merchants  had  a  bank  de- 
tector which  they  received  weekly  which  gave 
the  value  of  all  notes  issued  by  the  different 
banks  in  the  United  States,  so  they  might  know 
the  value  of  all  currency,  and  also  keep  posted 
on  the  counterfeit  notes  in  circulation,  for  the 
money  was  cheaply  printed  and  easily  imi- 
tated. 

Business  men  kept  their  own  money,  and  in 
1848  Dr.  R.  T.  Johnston  had  a  drug  store,  and 
one  night  was  aroused  by  the  cry  of  "fire,"  and 
hurried  to  the  scene  and  found  that  his  own 
store  was  in  danger.  He  knew  that  in  his  desk 
was  a  wallet  containing  a  large  sum  of  money. 
The  building  was  filled  with  smoke,  but  he 
found  his  way  to  his  desk  which  he  unlocked, 
took  out  the  wallet  and  made  his  exit  by  the 
back  door,  and  here  half  suffocated,  he  stag- 
gered into  purer  air  and  falling,  dropped  the 
pocket  book  among  the  debris  in  the  backyard. 
There  was  no  time  for  further  search  and  he 
was  compelled  to  abandon  the  wallet.  The 
next  morning  after  a  two  hours'  search  he 
found  the  wallet  in  the  ruins  at  the  back  of  the 


building  with  several  hundred  dollars  safe  in- 
side. 

The  town  was  increasing  in  business,  and  in 
1849  William  W.  Miller  and  Paul  I.  Hetich 
started  a  broker's  office  in  the  Hetich  Block, 
now  1 19  South  Sandusky.  Mr.  Miller  came  to 
Bucyrus  with  his  father  Peter  Miller  in  1835, 
and  their  first  work  was  to  haul  dirt  from  over 
the  river  to  fill  up  the  Public  Square,  which 
was  under  water  about  half  the  year.  With 
his  father,  in  December  of  that  year,  they 
purchased  the  Moderwell  building  where  the 
Hotel  Royal  now  stands  for  $850  and  started 
a  store.  The  firm  was  Peter  Miller  &  Son  un- 
til the  father  died  in  1839,  when  Mr.  Miller 
conducted  the  business  alone,  until  the  building 
was  destroyed  by  the  fire  in  1848,  which 
burned  a  dozen  buildings  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  Square.  Mr.  Miller  had  pros- 
pered. Paul  I.  Hetich  came  from  Pennsylva- 
nia -in  1837,  was  interested  in  a  saw  mill  at 
Olentangy,  and  he  too  had  prospered.  So  they 
started  the  first  bank  in  Bucyrus. 

They  put  out  a  sign  with  only  the  words 
"Hetich  &  Miller,  Exchange  Brokers."  Their 
business  was  the  exchanging  of  the  notes  of 
different  States;  a  merchant  going  east,  went 
to  the  office,  and  exchanged  what  western  bank 
notes  he  had  for  notes  on  eastern  banks,  as 
western  notes  were  only  taken  in  the  east  at  a 
very  heavy  discount.  Similarly  people  coming 
from  the  east,  had  their  money  exchanged  for 
western  notes,  a  per  cent  being  charged  for  the 
exchange.  Another  line  was  the  buying  of 
"uncurrent  funds," — the  notes  of  broken  or 
badly  demoralized  banks.  Still  another  was 
the  lending  of  the  money,  the  interest  being 
only  limited  by  the  emergency  of  the  bor- 
rower and  what  he  would  stand.  In  the 
thirties,  E.  B.  Merriman  had  need  of  money  as 
he  had  a  bargain  in  some  cattle  to  take  east. 
Money  was  not  to  be  had  in  Bucyrus,  so  he 
rode  across  the  country  to  Norwalk  and  se- 
cured of  John  Gardiner  who  ran  a  bank  there, 
$1,000,  bought  his  cattle,  took  them  east  and 
sold  them.  After  the  sale  he  discovered  a  bar- 
gain in  a  large  line  of  mercantile  goods  and  he 
purchased  the  entire  lot  which  he  brought  to 
Bucyrus,  and  when  pay  day  came  he  had  plenty 
of  merchandise,  but  no  money;  Gardiner  wrote, 
and  Merriman  explained  the  situation  and 
stated  that  when  the  goods  were  sold,  he  would 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


411 


meet  the  note;  time  passed  until  three  years 
rolled  by,  when  Mr.  Merriman  wrote  that  at 
the  next  payment  of  the  Indians  of  their  an- 
nuities allowed  by  the  Government  he  would 
have  the  money  ready.  Gardiner  drove  across 
with  his  wagon;  the  Government  paid  the  In- 
dians in  silver,  and  as  fast  as  they  were  paid 
off  they  paid  the  accounts  they  owed  Mr.  Mer- 
riman, and  when  Mr.  Gardiner  returned  he 
took  with  him  over  $2,700  in  silver,  the  interest 
having  been  40  per  cent  compounded  annually. 
The  Gardiner  Bank  is  still  running,  and  is  now 
the  Norwalk  National,  with  John  Gardiner  as 
president,  over  90  years  of  age,  and  at  the  of- 
fice nearly  every  day.  Hetich  &  Miller  were 
probably  more  modest  in  their  interest  charges, 
but  still  their  only  limit  was  what  the  customer 
would  stand. 

The  exchange  office  was  so  successful,  that 
one  of  the  proprietors  was  known  as  the  "rich 
Miller."  On  April  18,  they  started  the  Bucy- 
rus  Bank,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $20,000.  It 
was  located  in  the  old  Ward  building,  then  the 
Miller  Block,  where  the  Flohr  shoe  store  now 
is.  The  owners  of  the  bank  were  Paul  I. 
Hetich,  William  W.  Miller,  George  Quinby, 
Franklin  Adams  of  Bucyrus ;  David  Anderson 
of  DeKalb,  R.  W.  Musgrave  of  Sulphur 
Springs,  Abraham  Momnett  of  Crawford 
County,  John  Sherman,  James  Purdy  and 
William  S.  Granger  of  Mansfield.  Paul  I. 
Hetich  was  president  and  David  Anderson,  jr., 
cashier.  In  1856  the  bank  reorganized,  He- 
tich, Miller,  Adams  and  Musgrave  becoming 
the  proprietors.  Paul  I.  Hetich  was  president, 
with  George  Quinby  as  cashier,  succeeded  by 
Gerard  Reynolds  and  later  in  1856  by  Frank 
Patterson  who  held  the  position  until  Janu- 
ary I,  1861,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  David 
L.  Fullerton,  and  on  July  i,  1861,  the  bank 
discontinued  business. 

On  Monday,  April  21,  1856,  the  Exchange 
Bank  commenced  business  in  a  frame  building 
at  the  west  end  of  the  Quinby  Block,  with 
George  Quinby  as  president  and  Gerard  Rey- 
nolds as  cashier.  James  B.  Gormly  had  just 
completed  a  business  course  at  the  Cincinnati 
Commercial  College,  and  entered  the  bank  as 
teller.  Mr.  Quinby  was  at  that  time  treasurer 
of  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  road  and  the  bank  was 
a  depository  for  the  railroad  funds.  The  stock 
of  the  road  was  very  low,  and  the  bank  fre- 


quently bought  up  the  road's  certificates  at  5 
cents  on  the  dollar.  The  bank  once  bought  of 
James  McLean  $2,000  of  stock  for  $100.  Later 
that  same  year  the  road  was  consolidated  with 
the  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania,  and  stock  went  up 
rapidly.  The  bank  removed  to  No.  2  Quinby 
Block  until  Mr.  Quinby  could  erect  the  three 
western  rooms  of  his  building  and  when  these 
were  completed  the  bank  returned  to  the  old 
corner.  The  bank  discontinued  business  in 
the  spring  of  1861,  Mr.  Quinby  went  into  other 
business  and  Mr.  Reynolds  entered  the  army, 
became  major  in  the  cavalry  service  and  was 
killed  while  leading  a  charge  at  the  battle  of 
Roanoke,  on  June  25,  1864. 

The  Peoples  Deposit  Bank  commenced  busi- 
ness on  Aug.  I,  1859,  and  has  been  in  business 
ever  since,  the  oldest  bank  in  Bucyrus.  It  was 
organized  by  John  A.  Gormly  and  his  son  James 
B.  Their  room  was  the  west  room  of  the 
Rowse  Block.  John  A.  Gormly  was  president 
and  James  B.  Gormly,  cashier.  One  impor- 
tant affair  occurred  in  this  room.  One  day  in 
cashing  up  they  found  the  funds  an  even  one 
thousand  dollars  short.  There  was  no  way  to 
account  for  the  loss  except  from  an  overpay- 
ment; there  was  but  one  transaction  in  which 
they  believed  the  error  could  possibly  have  oc- 
cured;  the  man  was  seen,  but  he  assured  them 
there  was  no  overpayment  in  the  transaction. 
There  was  no  proof  and  the  bank  fathered  the 
loss.  The  father  and  son  were  both  satisfied 
as  to  who  had  the  money,  but  like  the  bankers 
they  were,  the  soul  of  honor  and  integrity,  they 
never  hinted  the  name  to  any  one,  and  the 
identity  of  the  guilty  person  is'  known  to  but 
one  man,  the  present  president  of  the  bank, 
who  has  carried  the  secret  for  over  50  years. 
In  i860  James  P.  Bowman  built  his  block  at 
the  corner  of  Sandusky  and  Rensselear;  the 
north  room  was  fitted  up  expressly  for  the 
bank,  and  here  it  was  moved  to  its  new  quar- 
ters in  August,  1 861.  In  August,  1862,  the 
bank  had  $20,000  in  gold,  and  the  war  had 
sent  gold  to  a  premium.  Starting  at  a  small 
per  cent  it  had  gone  up  to  6  and  8,  and  was 
constantly  advancing.  Finally  the  president 
wrote  to  a  personal  friend,  the  president  of  the 
Nassau  Bank,  in  New  York,  asking  advice,  and 
he  said  they  had  better  sell  as  "he  did  not  see 
how  it  could  possibly  go  any  higher."  In  Au- 
gust of  that  year  it  had  reached  14  per  cent 


412 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


premium,  and  ^Ir.  John  A.  Gormly  went  east 
to  personally  look  over  the  situation,  and  while 
there  sold  at  15  per  cent,  premium,  clearing 
$3,000.     (Later  gold  reached  $3.85.) 

On  ^lay  28,  1864,  the  bank  was  reorganized 
as  the  First  National  Bank  \\ith  a  capital  stock 
of  $100,000,  its  number  being  443.  There 
were  a  thousand  shares  of  $100  each,  and  there 
were  34  stockholders,  and  of  these  but  two  are 
still  living,  James  B.  Gormly  and  Benjamin 
Sears.  They  met  on  April  18,  1864,  to  organ- 
ize, and  a  committee  of  three  consisting  of 
John  A.  Gormly,  James  P.  Bowman,  and 
W^illiam  M.  Reid  were  appointed  to  report 
the  names  of  seven  directors.  When  the 
committee  retired,  Mr.  Gormly  regretted  be- 
ing on  the  committee  as  he  expected  to  be 
one  of  the  new  directors;  Mr.  Bowman  ex- 
pressed a  similar  view,  Mr.  Reid  said  they  cer- 
tainly ought  to  be  on,  and  wrote  the  names  of 
the  seven  directors,  naming  everyone  himself; 
they  were  reported  to  the  stockholders  and 
promptly  elected.  These  first  directors  were 
John  A.  Gormly,  James  P.  Bowman,  James  S. 
Kerr,  John  Kaler,  Horace  Rowse,  Benjamin 
Sears  and  John  Monnett,  Mr.  Sears  being 
the  only  one  still  living.  The  directors  organ- 
ized by  electing  John  A.  Gormly  president,  and 
James  B.  Gormly  cashier.  By  Jan.  2,  1865, 
there  was  another  accumulation  of  gold, 
amounting  to  $1,500,  and  this  was  sold  at  $2.25 
amounting  to  $3,375.  In  June,  1864,  George 
C.  Gormly  entered  the  bank  as  assistant  cashier. 
On  May  8,  1868,  John  A.  Gormly  died  and 
James  B.  Gormly  became  president  with  George 
C.  Gormly  as'  cashier.  The  charter  was  re- 
newed in  1884  and  again  in  1904.  In  1893, 
the  bank  ^^•as  officered  by  the  Gormlys,  James 
B.  Gormly  being  president ;  his  brother  George 
C.,  vice-president;  John  Clark  Gormly,  son  of 
the  vice-president,  cashier,  and  James  B.,  jr., 
son  of  the  president,  assistant  cashier.  Clark 
Gormly  went  into  business  at  Cleveland,  and 
was  succeeded  as  cashier  by  James  B.  Gormly, 
jr.,  and  on  his  death  H.  E.  Valentine  was 
cashier  with  Edwin  G.  Beal  as  assistant  cashier. 
On  the  retiring  of  Air.  Valentine,  Edwin  G. 
Beal  was  elected  cashier.  \\'^hile  Mr.  James 
B.  Gormly  is  president  the  active  duties  of  the 
office  are  cared  for  by  his  son-in-law,  W  H. 
Picking,  one  of  the  vice-presidents. 

In  1867,  John  Scott,  J.  N.  Biddle  and  R.  W. 


Alusgrave,  organized  the  banking  house  of 
Scott  Biddle  &  Co.,  their  bank  being  what  is 
now  the  south  room  of  the  Deal  House,  the 
present  office  of  the  Bucyrus  and  Alarion  elec- 
tric. May  18,  1868,  on  the  death  of  Air.  Mus- 
grave,  his  interest  was  transferred  to  Franklin 
Adams  as  trustee.  In  1873  the  bank  was  re- 
organized as  the  Scott  &  Adams  Bank  and  so 
continued  until  Jan.  i,  1879,  when  the  bank 
was  discontinued,  Mr.  Scott  going  to  Cleve- 
land. 

Orf  Dec.  12,  1881,  the  Alonnett  Bank  was  or- 
ganized, with  a  capital  stock  of  $50,000,  the 
following  being  the  organizers:  E.  B.,  J.  T., 
A.  E.,  M.  H.,  and  M.  W.  Alonnett,  J.  H. 
Malcolm,  J.  C.  Tobias,  L.  H.  Ross,  and  George 
Donnenwirth,  every  one  being  a  son  or  son-in- 
law  of  Abraham  Monnett,  excepting  Mr.  Don- 
nenwirth. The  bank  was  opened  in  the  Miller 
Block,  now  the  Flohr  shoe  stoie,  and  its  first 
officers  were  E.  B.  Monnett,  president ;  George 
Donnenwirth  ^ice-president ;  M.  \A'.  Monnett 
cashier,  W.  A.  Blicke  assistant  cashier.  In 
1892  it  was  reorganized  as  the  Bucyrus  City 
Bank  with  a  capital  stock  of  $60,000.  By  de- 
grees the  Monnetts  all  disposed  of  their  stock 
with  the  exception  of  J.  C.  Tobias,  and  George 
Donnenwirth  became  president,  J.  H.  Robin- 
son, cashier,  and  W.  A.  Blicke  as  assistant 
cashier.  In  1897  they  bought  the  corner  they 
now  occupy  and  built  the  three-story  brick. 
Mr.  Donnenwirth  has  remained  as  president 
ever  since  his  first  election.  Air.  Robinson  be- 
came vice-president  and  W.  A.  Blicke,  cashier. 
It  is  the  only  private  bank  in  the  city,  and  has 
resources  of  over  a  million  dollars. 

On  Jan.  i,  1878,  the  Crawford  County  bank 
commenced  business  in  the  old  Boeman  Block, 
which  stood  where  the  present  Second  National 
Bank  building  is  located.  It  was  organized 
with  a  capital  stock  of  $50,000  by  Abraham 
Alonnett,  George  \\^  Hull,  L.  W.  Hull,  E. 
Blair,  and  Lovell  B.  Harris  of  Upper  Sandusky. 
Abraham  Alonnett  was  president ;  G.  W.  Hull, 
vice-president;  L.  W.  Hull,  cashier,  and  M. 
W.  Monnett,  assistant  cashier.  On  March  19, 
1 88 1,  Abraham  Alonnett  died,  and  George  W. 
Hull  became  president.  On  Jan.  i,  1885  it  was 
reorganized  as  the  Second  National  Bank,  with 
G.  ^V.  Hull  as  president,  M.  J.  Monnett,  vice- 
president  ;  J.  C.  F.  Hull  as  cashier ;  \\\  P.  Row- 
land, assistant  cashier;  J.  H.  Robinson,  teller. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


413 


On  the  deatli  of  G.  VV.  Hull  in  1890,  II.  J. 
Monnett  became  president,  filling  the  position 
until  he  went  west  when  E.  Blair  became  presi- 
dent, a  position  he  held  until  his  death  in  June 
of  this  year,  when  G.  K.  Zeigler  was  elected. 
J.  C.  F  Hull  continued  as  cashier  until  he 
joined  his  brother-in-law  M.  J.  Monnett,  in  the 
west,  in  1907,  when  A.  G.  Stoltz  became 
cashier. 

The  Farmers  and  Citizens  Banking  and  Sav- 
ings Company  was  organized  as  a  State  bank- 
on  Oct.  5,  1907.  The  first  board  of  directors 
was  C.  R.  Rowe,  R.  O.  Perrott,  F  C.  Heinlen, 
Fred  Schiefer,  D.  B.  Eichelberger,  Henry  H. 


Heiser,  Samuel  Fouser,  James  Decker,  Jacob 
Bach,  W    H.  Angene,  A.  S.  Leuthold. 

The  directors  organized  by  electing  G.  W 
Miller,  president;  Amos  Keller  and  T.  M. 
Kennedy,  vice-presidents ;  H.  E.  Kiess,  cashier. 
They  opened  in  the  Lake  room  in  the  Quinby 
Block  on  Jan.  6,  1908,  and  removed  to  their 
present  room  on  May  9  of  the  same  year. 

Bucyrus  has  also  two  flourishing  Building 
and  Loan  Associations  which  have  been  in  e.x- 
istence  twenty  years.  The  Bucyrus  Building 
and  Loan  Association,  with  James  W.  Miller 
as  secretary,  and  the  People's  Savings,  Loan 
and  Building  Company,  A.  J.  Richards,  sec- 
retary. 


CENTRAL  PART  OF  BUCYRUS,  1846 


CHAPTER  XXV 

CITY  OF  GALION. 

First  House  in  Galion — Pioneers  of  Galion — Arrival  of  Asa  Hosford — His  Enterprise — 
The  Part  Played  by  Col.  Kilbourne  in  Locating  Site  of  Galion — Various  Names  of  the 
Early  Settlement — Agreement  Between  Samuel  Brown  and  John  Ruhl — The  Two  Ga- 
lions — First  Business  Industry — Post  OfUce  Established — Postmasters — Coming  of  the 
Railroad  and  Subsequent  Prosperity — Visit  of  Kossuth — The  Part  Played  by  German 
Settlers  in  Gallon's  Upbuilding — John  Kraft — Population — Incorporation  as  a  City — 
Public  Buildings — Opera  House — First  Theatrical  Entertainment — Religious  Develop- 
ment— Schools — Societies — Graveyards  and  Cemeteries — Fire  Department — Lighting 
System — Street  and  Sewer  Improvements — Banks — Building  and  Loan  Associations — 
Hotels — Public  Library — Police  Department — Telephone  Service — Honor  to  Gallon's 
Founders. 


Who'll  press  for  gold  this  crowded  street, 

A  hundred  years  to  come? 
Who'll  tread  yon  church  with  willing  feet, 

A  hundred  years  to  come  ? 

— Anonymous. 

The  first  known  house  erected  on  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Galion  was  on  the  south  bank  of 
the  Whetstone  on  Union  street.  It  was  of 
poles  and  bark  and  was  built  by  the  Indians, 
they  having  a  village  on  that  stream,  and  a 
few  of  their  houses  and  wigwams  were  there 
when  the  first  pioneers  arrived.  The  first 
settlers  came  in  1817,  and  were  Benjamin 
Leveridge  and  his  two  sons,  Nathaniel  and 
James.  At  that  time  there  were  a  number  of 
springs  southwest  of  where  the  large  central 
school  building  is,  and  here  Benjamin  Lever- 
idge and  his  sons  cut  down  the  trees  and  built 
a  small  log  cabin,  with  one  window  and  no 
floor,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  under  cover,  an- 
other was  built  for  James  a  short  distance 
south,  on  what  is  now  Grove  avenue.  The 
third  was  built  for  Nathaniel  on  what  is  now 
the  public  square,  and  he  dug  the  first  well. 
He  had  selected  the  high  ground,  and  was  com- 
pelled to  carry  his  water  at  the  start  from 
the  springs  near  his  father's  place ;  water  was 
easily  obtainable  at  a  very  little  depth  so  he 
put  in  a  well  of  his  own. 


The  next  year  saw  several  more  arrivals, 
David  Gill  and  his  brother-in-law,  George 
Wood,  John  Sturgis,  John  Williamson,  Na- 
thaniel and  Nehemiah  Story,  and  John  Kit- 
teridge.  In  erecting  a  cabin  for  John  Wil- 
liamson, southeast  of  the  square,  while  raising 
one  of  the  logs- into  position,  John  Leveridge 
was  killed,  an  unmarried  son  of  Benjamin 
Leveridge.  He  was  buried  on  the  northeast 
corner  of  his  father's  land,  where  Boston 
street  joins  Main,  and  the  first  graveyard  was 
started.  Gill  and  Wood  entered  land  north 
of  the  Whetstone,  where  they  built  their 
cabins.  Sturgis  built  a  small  log  cabin  west 
of  the  Whetstone  and  north  of  the  Galion  road. 
When  young  Leveridge  was  killed,  William- 
son left  his  cabin  unfinished,  returned  to  the 
Williamson  settlement  east  of  Galion,  and 
later  came  back  and  built  a  new  cabin.  The 
Storys  and  John  Kitteridge  arrived  late  in  the 
year,  and  took  possession  of  the  abandoned 
Williamson  cabin,  which  they  completed  and 
here  they  spent  the  winter,  the  next  spring 
building  a  cabin,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Whet- 
stone where  the  Galion  road  now  crosses  the 
river,  Benjamin  Sharrock  came  the  same  year, 
built  a  cabin  near  the  Storys,  where  his  family 
made  their  home  until  he  could  build  on  his 


414 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


415 


land  further  down  the  rivet,  and  when  his  log 
cabin  was  completed  moved  there  with  his 
family. 

Benjamin  Leveridge  was  the  headquarters 
of  the  little  settlement.  The  year  1820  saw 
the  arrival  of  William  Hosford,  and  his  two 
sons,  Asa  and  Horace;  also,  John  Atwood, 
John  Bashford,  James  Dickerson,  Samuel 
Brown,  Samuel  Doney,  John  Dunmeier.  Of 
these  Brown,  Dunmeier  and  Doney  entered 
land  outside  of  what  is  now  Gallon. 

Settlers  at  a  distance  were  now  speaking  of 
the  settlement  as  Leveridge's,  although  it  was 
only  half  a  dozen  log  houses  scattered  over 
three  or  four  square  miles.  Of  these  first 
settlers  the  Storys  and  Kitteridge  devoted 
their  time  to  hunting  and  trapping;  George 
Wood  was  a  carpenter  and  David  Gill  was  a 
man  of  good  education,  but  as  there  was  as  yet 
no  use  to  which  he  could  put  his  knowledge,  he 
assisted  his  brother-in-law  at  carpentering. 

James  Kilbourne  had  surveyed  a  road  from 
Columbus  to  Lake  Erie  known  as  the  Colum- 
bus and  Portland  road,  and  when  the  survey 
reached  what  is  now  Gabon  he  made  overtures 
to  the  Leveridges  to  run  the  road  over  their 
land  and  lay  out  a  town,  but  Leveridge  did 
not  take  kindly  to  the  giving  of  half  the  re- 
ceipts for  the  sale  of  the  lots  to  Kilbourne, 
and  besides  he  objected  to  cutting  up  his  good 
farm  land.  Kilbourne  stopped  with  Benja- 
min Leveridge  for  several  days  while  survey- 
ing the  road,  and  there  was  a  dispute  over 
the  prices  charged,  so  when  the  road  was 
finally  laid  out  it  passed  west  of  Benjamin 
Leveridge's  land,  along  the  east  bank  of  the 
Whetstone,  where  the  ground  was  low,  and 
overflowed  in  the  spring. 

It  was  the  idea  of  Col.  Kilbourne  to  lay 
out  a  town  half  way  between  Columbus  and 
the  Lakes,  and  the  ideal  spot  he  found  was  on 
the  high  ground  on  the  Leveridge  land.  Be- 
ing unable  to  make  any  arrangement  with 
Leveridge,  he  continued  north  with  his  survey 
and  he  met  Asa  and  Horace  Hosford,  who  had 
come  from  the  east  and  were  looking  for  a 
location.  He  told  them  of  an  excellent  site 
for  a  town,  where  the  land  was  good,  and  if 
a  part  of  the  Leveridge  land  could  be  secured 
the  town  would  be  laid  out  there;  if  not  the 
road  would  be  changed  so  as  to  pass  just  west 
of  that  land.     Asa  Hosford  was  at  that  time 


a  young  man  of  20,  and  already  showed  signs 
of  that  strong  force  of  character  and  shrewd 
business  ability  which  were  his  predominating 
characteristics  later  in  life.  He  and  his 
1:)rother  went  to  the  Leveridge  settlement  to 
look  over  the  location.  It  was  on  Saturday, 
Sept.  19,  1819,  that  Asa  Hosford  and  his 
brother  Horace  walked  into  what  is  now 
Gabon,  and  went  direct  to  the  cabin  of  Ben- 
jamin Leveridge.  Here  they  spent  Sunday, 
and  while  Leveridge  urged  the  young  men  to 
settle  in  that  locality,  he  absolutely  refused  to 
give  up  any  of  his  own  land,  but  showed  them 
other  available  sites.  The  Hos  fords  returned 
to  Norwalk  and  spent  the  winter  writing  their 
father  of  the  location  they  had  selected;  and 
in  the  spring  of  1820  William  Hosford,  with 
his  family,  joined  his  two  sons  at  Norwalk 
and  they  settled  on  the  half  section  west  of 
Leveridge,  where  later  the  Portland  road  was 
located,  as  stated  it  would  be  by  Col.  Kil- 
bourne. What  is  now  Main  street,  Gabon  was 
a  half  section  line,  and  where  this  line  crosses 
the  Portland  road  it  was  originally  an  old 
Indian  trail  that  led  to  the  Indian  village  at 
Upper  Sandusky.  This  trail  was  developing 
into  a  road  by  being  used  by  settlers  going 
west  to  the  new  lands.  At  the  junction  of 
the  Portland  road  and  this  pioneer  road  the 
Hos  fords  settled.  William  Hosford  erected 
a  double  log  cabin  on  the  south  side  of  the 
road  a  few  rods  east  of  the  crossing,  which 
he  used  for  a  dwelling  and  also  for  the  enter- 
tainment of  travelers. 

Horace,  one  of  the  sons  of  William,  erected 
a  blacksmith  shop  on  the  southeast  comer  of 
the  crossing  just  east  of  his  father's,  where 
he  followed  his  trade.  George  Wood  estab- 
lished a  wagon  and  cabinet-maker's  shop  on 
the  northeast  corner;  John  Kitteridge  a  shoe 
shop  and  tannery  on  the  northwest  corner, 
and  a  little  later  William  Hosford  started  a 
general  store  on  the  southwest  corner.  When 
William  Hosford  sold  his  double  log  cabin 
to  his  son  Asa,  he  built  another  log  cabin  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Portland  road,  just  south 
of  the  crossing,  and  in  this  he  lived  until  he 
built  his  store  at  the  crossing,  which  was 
known  by  the  various  names  of  "Moccasin," 
"Horseshoe,"  "Hard  Scrabble,"  "Spang 
Town,"  "Hosfords"  and  "Goshen."  It  was 
called  "The  Corners"  from  its  location  at  the 


416 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


crossing  of  the  two  roads;  "Hosford's  Settle- 
ment," as  there  were  three  Hosfords  there  in 
business.  These  names  were  the  popular 
names  among  the  residents  in  that  section. 
"Moccasin"  and  "Horseshoe"  were  names 
given  it  by  the  Indians,  and  referred  to  John 
Kitteridge's  shoe  shop  and  Horace  Hosford's 
blacksmith  shop,  both  largely  patronized  by 
the  Indians.  Spang  Town  and  Hard  Scrabble 
were  names  bestowed  upon  it  by  the  residents 
of  the  settlement,  or  those  who  had  land  near 
the  Leveridges,  half  a  mile  east,  and  were 
jealous  of  the  town.  The  Leveridge  settle- 
ment referred  to  it  as  a  place  where  it  was 
hard  scrabbling  to  make  a  living,  while  those 
proud  of  the  little  cluster  of  houses  spoke  of 
it  as  a  spang  town  in  which  to  live.  The  name 
Goshen  was  given  it  by  William  Hosford  in 
honor  of  his  native  village,  which  was  Goshen, 
Litchfield  county.  Conn. 

As  the  adjoining  lands  were  entered  and 
settled  upon  by  the  early  pioneers,  and  the 
surrounding  country  became  more  thickly  in- 
habited, the  necessity  of  a  post  office  became 
more  and  more  apparent.  Accordingly  a  peti- 
tion was  signed  by  the  citizens  in  1824,  and 
forwarded  to  the  Post  Office  Department  at 
Washington  requesting  that  a  post  office  be 
established  at  the  "Corners,"  and  that  it  be 
named  Goshen,  and  that  Horace  Hosford  be 
appointed  postmaster. 

John  McLean  of  Cincinnati  was  postmaster 
general,  and  when  he  took  that  office  in  1823 
the  department  was  in  a  very  disordered  and 
inefficient  condition,  and  under  him  it  was 
reduced  to  some  system.  In  the  early  days 
post  offices  were  always  established  near  some 
section  where  there  were  a  number  of  settlers, 
and  long  before  a  town  or  village  was  started, 
and  the  post  office  was  given  the  name  of  the 
township  in  which  it  was  located.  In  this 
county,  the  offices  of  Auburn,  Chatfield, 
Lykens,  and  W^hetstone  were'  started  for  the 
convenience  of  settlers  living  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  were  named  after  the  township  in 
which  they  were  located.  At  the  time  the  re- 
quest Avas  made  for  the  name  of  Goshen, 
there  were  already  six  townships  of  that  name 
in  the  state,  and  a  post  office  of  the  same 
name  in  Clermont  county-  So  the  postmaster 
general  wrote  them  it  would  only  add  to  the 
confusion    existing    by    establishing    another 


Goshen  and  suggested  the  name  of  Galion. 
And  on  June  24,  1825,  the  Galion  post  office 
was  established  with  Horace  Hosford  as  post- 
master. Just  as  the  settlement  was  known  by 
several  names,  so  was  the  post  office  given 
several  spellings,  and  in  the  files  of  the  papers 
the  records  of  the  court  house,  and  even  the 
gazeteers  prior  to  1840,  it  is  spelled  sometimes 
with  an  "e"  and  sometimes  with  a  double  "1," 
but  these  spellings  were  all  erroneous,  as  the 
post  office  department  states  the  name  has 
always  been  carried  on  their  records  as  Galion, 
the  same  spelling  as  today.  Where  the  Post- 
master General  found  the  name,  it  is  impossible 
to  say;  he  objected  to  Goshen,  on  the  ground 
of  duplication,  and  now  nearly  a  century  has 
passed  since  he  gave  it  its  name,  and  nowhere 
in  the  United  States  is  there  a  town  of  the 
same  name;  the  nearest  approach  to  it  is  a 
place  called  Galleon,  about  twenty  miles  from 
Paris,  France.  Even  in  the  early  days  it  was 
impossible  to  find  a  reason  for  the  name. 
John  Kilbourne,  who  published  the  first 
gazeteers  in  the  State,  and  tried  to  give  the 
origin  of  all  names,  in  his  Gazeteer  of  1831, 
published  the  following:  "Galion— the  name 
of  a  post  office  in  Richland  county,  supposed 
to  be  that  in  Sandusky  township.  It  is  one  of 
that  numerous  class  of  worse  than  useless  and 
insignificant  names,  which  confound  the 
nomenclature  of  towns  and  post  offices  in  the 
western  country." 

The  permanent  arrival  of  Asa  Hosford 
with  his  father  and  brother,  in  1820  was  the 
commencement  of  Galion,  and  for  more  than 
sixty  years  practically  every  interest  and  every 
improvement  in  that  city  found  as  its  warmest 
supporter,  and  its  recognized  head,  Asa  Hos- 
ford. In  times  of  emergency,  and  in  times 
of  depression  all  looked  to  him,  and  he  re- 
sponded with  all  his  vigor  and  his  genius,  and 
practicallv  all  that  Galion  is  today  it  owes  tc 
Asa  Hosford.  And  when  the  time  comes,  as 
come  it  will,  that  the  city  he  builded  lavs  out 
some  park,  it  would  be  only  a  just  and  fitting 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  Gallon's  most  pro- 
gressive citizens  that  it  should  be  called  Hos- 
ford. 

In  the  next  few  years  there  was  quite  a 
settlement  in  that  section;  John  Cracroft  and 
Tacob  Miller  came  in  1821 :  Rev.  Tames  Dun- 
lap,    William    Murray,    John  Eysman,    John 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


417 


Hauck,  John  Jeffrey,  Wm.  Murray,  Alexander 
McGrew  and  Rev.  John  Rhinehart  in  1822; 
Owen  Tuttle  in  1823;  James  Auten  and  Na- 
than Merriman  in  1824;  William  Neal,  George 
Row,  James  Reeves,  and  John  Schawber  in 
1825 ;  John  Ashcroft,  Jonathan  Ayres,  Thomas 
Harding,  Phares  Jackson,  and  John  Sedous 
in  1826;  Francis  Clymer  and  Rev.  John  Smith 
in  1828  and  Samuel  Gerbrecht  in  1829.  Many 
of  these  settled  at  the  corners;  others  in  the 
Leveridge  part,  and  still  others  on  farms  near 
the  two  settlements. 

When  Asa  Hosford,  at  the  suggestion  of 
Col.  Kilbourne,  endeavored  to  secure  a  part  of 
the  Leveridge  land,  a  friendship  was  formed 
between  the  two  which  existed  through  life. 
Hosford  had  confidence  the  section  was  a  site 
for  a  thriving  town,  but  like  Kilbourne  he  was 
satisfied  the  place  was  on  the  higher  ground. 
But  Hosford  had  no  money,  and  Col.  Kil- 
bourne had  surveyed  a  new  road  from  Colum- 
bus to  Sandusky,  eleven  miles  further  west, 
and  had  laid  out  the  town  of  Bucyrus.  Hos- 
ford in  the  meantime  assisted  his  brother  in 
the  blacksmith  shop,  and  helped  Wood  at  the 
carpentering  business,  and  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  whatever  odd  jobs  he  could  secure. 
His  father's  double  log  cabin  at  the  Corners 
was  the  largest  building,  and  here  travelers 
were  given  meals  and  lodging,  but  William 
Hosford  had  no  desire  to  run  a  tavern,  only 
caring  for  travelers  as  an  accommodation,  and 
in  1824,  Asa  Hosford  took  charge  of  the 
tavern,  and  his  father  built  and  opened  a  store. 
Asa  Hosford  ran  a  regular  tavern,  and  being 
single  his  sister  assisted  him  as  the  landlady. 
In  1825  he  secured  a  permanent  landlady  by 
marrying  Miss  Alta  Kent  of  Bucyrvis,  and  he 
ran  the  tavern  for  several  years.  In  the 
meantime  he  had  saved  $100,  and  with  this 
he  bought  43  acres  on  the  higher  ground  to  the 
east,  on  the  advice  of  Col.  Kilbourne,  as  both 
agreed  this  was  the  proper  place  for  the  town. 
He  built  a  frame  barn  at  the  Corners,  and  later 
the  first  frame  house  in  Galion,  on  the  north- 
east corner  of  the  Square.  He  did  fairly  well 
with  his  hotel,  and  in  1829  entered  into  rieeo- 
tiations  with  Samuel  Brown  to  join  with  him 
and  lay  out  a  town. 

In  1830  Tohn  Ruhl  arrived  with  his  family, 
a  wife  and  five  sons,  Michael,  Jacob.  Levy, 
Henry  and   Peter,  and  a  daughter  Rebecca. 


who  later  married  Isaac  Criley.  When  they 
arrived  the  Ruhls  made  their  home  at  the  Cor- 
ners in  a  log  cabin  without  a  floor.  John 
Ruhl  came  from  York  county.  Pa.,  where  he 
had  prospered,  and  for  those  days  was  wealthy. 
He  was  a  man  of  good  judgment  and  the 
strictest  business  integrity.  He  had  the 
means,  arid  purchased  much  of  the  land  where 
the  city  of  Galion  now  stands.  The  centre  of 
section  31  is  two  blocks  west  of  the  Scpare,  at 
the  junction  of  Boston  and  Main  street.  The 
northeast  quarter  of  this  section  he  sold  to 
his  son  Jacob,  aiid  the  southeast  quarter  of 
the  same  section  he  sojd  to  his  son  Michael. 
This  land  extended  frMi  Boston  street  east  to 
South  street.  Near  this  land  was  the  43  acres 
owned  by  Asa  Hosford.  The  northeast  quar- 
ter was  bought  from  Samuel  Brown,  and  the 
contract  between  Ruhl  and  Brown  for  this 
quarter  section  is  interesting: 

"Article  of  Agreement,  made  an  entered 
into  this  first  day  of  August,  A.  D.  1831,  be- 
tween Samuel  Brown,  of  Sandusky  Township, 
Richland  County,  Ohio,  yeoman,  of  the  one 
part,  and  John  Ruhl,  of  Sandusky  Township, 
and  Crawford  County  and  State  aforesaid, 
yeoman,  of  the  other  part : 

"Witnesseth,  That  the  said  Samuel  Brown, 
for  the  consideration  hereinafter  mentioned, 
doth  grant,  bargain  and  sell  unto  the  said 
John  Ruhl,  a  certain  tract  of  land,  with  all 
thereonto  belonging  (excepting  one  acre  in 
the  southeast*  corner  of  it,  which  being  sold 
for  a  churchyard),  situated  in  Sandusky 
Township,  Richland  County,  aforesaid,  being 
the  northeast  quarter  of  Section  31,  Town- 
ship 20,  Range  20,  and  containing — acres, 
and  adjoining  the  public  road  leading  from 
Mansfield  to  Bucyrus,  Frederick  Dickson  and 
others,  for  which  the  said  John  Ruhl  is  to  pay 
unto  the  said  Samuel  Brown,  the  sum  of  fif- 
teen hundred  dollars,  in  the  manner  following, 
viz:  Eight  hundred  dollars  in  hand  on  the 
first  dav  of  September  next,  and  seven  hundred 
dollars  on  the  first  day  of  September,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord,  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty- 
three.  The  said  John  Ruhl  is  to  have  six 
geese,  six  hens  and  one  rooster,  to  be  delivered 
up  to  the  said  Ruhl  when  said  Brown  gives 
full  possession,  and  the  said  Ruhl  is  to  have 


*This   should  be   soutliwest.     The  graveyard  was   in 
the   southwest  comer   of  section   31. 


418 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


liberty  to  cut  timber,  dig,  etc.,  on  said  land 
from  the  date  hereof,  and  the  said  Brown  is  to 
give  the  said  Ruhl  a  good  right  and  title  for 
said  tract  of  land  when  he  pays  the  hand 
money.  But  the  said  Brown  is  to  have  the 
crops  now  on  the  ground,  and  have  privilege 
to  live  on  the  said  land  until  the  first  day  of 
April  next;  then  he  is  to  deliver  up  all  onto 
the  said  John  Ruhl,  excepting  the  house  now 
on  the  State  road  (now  occupied  as  a  school- 
house),  which,  in  case  said  Brown  would  not 
move  on  the  first  day  of  April  next,  he  is  to 
have  the  privilege  of  living  in  two  months 
after,  and  Sarah  Brown  is  to  have  stuff  for  a 
new  frock  when  she  signs  the  writing.*  The 
said  Brown  is  to  have  the  privilege  of  sugar 
camp  next  to  the  house,  and  all  the  pasture  on 
the  farm,  excepting  the  six-acre  meadow.  But 
Ruhl  is  to  have  privilege  to  plow  the  fields. 
For  the  true  performance  of  the  above  agree- 
ment, both  parties  bind  themselves,  their  heirs, 
executors  or  administrators,  one  to  each  other, 
in  the  sum  of  thirty  hundred  dollars.  In  wit- 
ness whereof,  both  have  hereunto  set  their 
hands  and  seals,  the  day  and  the  year  first 
above  written. 

"Witnesses  Samuel  Brown,     (seal) 

"John  Ruhl.  (seal) 

"Asa  Hosford, 

"Benj.  Grove. 

This  sale  of  land  by  Brown  to  John  Ruhl 
was  an  astonishment  to  Mr.  Hosford,  when 
he  was  called  upon  to  witness  the  agreement, 
as  it  prevented  the  carrying  out  of  his  expec- 
tations of  laying  out  a  town  in  partnership 
with  Mr.  Brown.  It  appears  the  Ruhls  also 
had  an  idea  that  the  high  ground  was  the 
proper  place  for  the  town,  and  Jacob  and 
Michael  Ruhl  who  now  owned  the  east  half 
of  section  thirty-one,  went  to  Hosford  and 
asked  what  price  he  would  take  for  his  land. 
Mr.  Hosford  saw  that  it  was  useless  to  at- 
tempt to  lay  out  a  town  in  competition  with 
the  Ruhls,  and  to  have  at  least  some  compen- 
sation for  his  disappointment  he  asked  what 
was  then  quite  a  high  price,  which  the  Ruhls 
paid  cheerfully  and  without  demur.  In  fact, 
it  can  be  said  of  the  Ruhls,  father  and  sons, 
that  while  they  were  shrewd  business  men  they 


*In  early  days  it  was  a  frequent  habit  that  the  wife 
should   receive   some   present   for   signing;   a   deed. 


paid  the  very  highest  price  for  any  land  they 
wanted. 

Having  now  secured  the  land  they  sent  for 
the  surveyor  of  Richland  county,  the  land 
being  then  in  Sandusky  township  of  that 
county,  and  on  September  lo,  183 1,  the  pres- 
ent town  of  Gallon  was  laid  out  by  Michael 
and  Jacob  Ruhl.  The  original  plat  com- 
menced at  the  alley,  half  way  between  Liberty 
and  Columbus  streets,  and  extended  west  to 
the  alley,  half  way  between  Union  and  Boston 
streets.  The  only  east  and  west  street  was 
Main,  the  north  and  south  streets  were  Colum- 
bus, Market  and  Union.  There  were  but 
thirty-five  lots,  and  every  one  fronted  on  Main 
street,  eighteen  on  the  south  side  of  the  street 
and  seventeen  on  the  north.  About  the  centre 
was  the  public  square.  In  1833  the  Ruhls  laid 
out  a  second  edition,  east  of  their  original 
plat,  extending  to  South  street,  including  where 
the  Big  Four  station  now  is.  These  lots  were 
still  all  on  Main  street,  with  the  exception  of 
eight  lots  south  of  their  original  plat,  five  on 
the  west  side  of  Market  street  and  three  on 
the  east.  Two  of  these  lots  on  the  west  side 
were  south  of  Walnut  street,  and  the  town  now 
had  two  east  and  west  streets.  John  Kraft 
became  the  owner  of  lots  i  and  3  of  the  original 
plat,  the  extreme  eastern  lots  of  the  original 
plat  on  the  south  side  of  Main  street.  An 
ancient  tax  receipt  shows  these  two  lots  were 
valued  at  $14,  and  were  taxed  at  $1.40.  The 
receipt  further  shows  taxes  of  $1.57  for  chat- 
tel property,  making  Mr.  Kraft's  entire  taxes 

$3-97- 

It  was  now  a  rivalry  between  the  Gallon  at 
the  Corners  and  the  Gallon  laid  out  by  the 
Ruhls.  When  they  had  bought  out  Hosford, 
Jacob  Ruhl  started  a  hotel  in  the  building  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  square  originally 
erected  by  Hosford.  On  the  south  side  they 
built  a  frame  building  in  which  Michael  Ruhl 
started  a  store,  carrying  goods  of  all  descrip- 
tions necessary  for  the  settlers  in  those  early 
days.  In  connection  with  this  general  assort- 
ment, he  carried  quite  a  stock  of  medicine  and 
although  he  was  not  a  physician  he  advised 
and  prescribed  for  the  settlers.  The  town 
grew  slowly.  It  was  the  recognized  site  for  a 
village,  but  it  was  discouraging  to  look  half 
a  mile  to  the  west,  and  there  on  the  low  and 
sickly  ground  to  see  the  busy  cross  roads  set- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


419 


tiement  with  teams  passing  and  repassing  on 
the  two  roads,  and  the  half  dozen  little  shops 
patronized  by  the  neighboring  settlers.  Even 
the  store  of  William  Hosford  at  the  Corners 
did  double  the  business  of  the  store  of  Michael 
Ruhl,  which  carried  twice  the  stock,  but  as 
time  went  on  a  gradual  change  took  place,  and 
the  little  shops  drifted  from  the  Corners  to 
the  new  town,  and  soon  afterwards  the  post 
office  was  removed,  and  from  that  time  on  the 
Corners  became  less  and  less,  and  today  there 
is  not  a  house  on  any  one  of  the  four  corners, 
which  was  once  the  centre  of  business  for  that 
section  and  a  hive  of  industry,  but  it  has  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  start  of  Gallon,  the 
place  where  the  present  city  originated.  And 
now  the  Corners  will  undergo  another  change, 
for  the  land  around  the  cross-roads  which  for 
more  than  forty  years  has  been  bare  of  build- 
ings was  laid  out  into  town  lots  in  191 1,  and 
will  become  one  of  the  residence  sections  of 
the  city,  the  improved  sewerage  system  of 
Gallon  making  this  once  unhealthy  site  a  de- 
sirable residence  section. 

Near  this  section  on  the  south  side  of  West 
Main  street,  there  still  stands  the  first  brick 
house  ever  erected  in  Galion,  known  as  the 
Clymer  residence  which  was  built  over  seventy 
years  ago,  by  Jacob  Ruhl,  and  is  still  used  as 
a  residence  and  is  in  a  fair  state  of  preserva- 
tion. 

The  first  business  industry  ever  established 
in  Galion  was  a  distillery.  It  was  built  near 
the  springs  between  Atwood  and  Cherry  street 
by  Nathan  Merriman,  in  1824.  Here  the  set- 
tlers disposed  of  their  surplus  grain  and  were 
enabled  to  buy  whiskey  for  from  18  to  25  cents 
per  gallon.  Owing  to  the  pureness  of  the 
water,  Merriman  made  a  very  good  brand  of 
whiskey.  Prior  to  the  establishment  of  the 
distillery  John  Hibner  had  a  grist-mill,  but  this 
was  a  mile  east  of  Galion.  James  Nail  also 
had  a  grist-mill  southwest  of  Galion,  on  the 
Whetstone,  and  still  further  down  the  stream 
was  the  Benjamin  Sharrock  mill.  Another 
mill  was  the  Snyder  mill  near  Middletown, 
and  at  one  of  these  the  early  settlers  went  to 
have  their  grain  ground  into  flour,  for  in  those 
early  days  what  is  now  Galion  was  farming 
land,  and  on  this  land  the  settlers  raised  their 
crops,  which  they  must  use  to  exchange  for 
necessaries. 


Mr.  Dunlap  thus  speaks  of  the  condition  of 
that  section  m  the  early  days:  "In  1825  we 
had  a  manufacturing  establishment  in  Galion 
erected  by  Nathan  Merriman,  of  Bucyrus,  to 
make  whiskey  of  our  spare  corn  and  rye. 
About  the  same  time  there  was  a  horse-mill 
put  up  by  Mr.  Snyder  at  Middletown,  where 
we  could  get  grinding  done.  The  farmers  for 
miles  around  would  put  a  bag  of  corn  or  wheat 
on  a  horse,  with  harness  on,  take  another,  if 
he  had  it,  and  go  to  the  mill.  If  his  turn  came 
before  night  all  right.  If  not,  he  would  hitch 
up  in  the  night  and  keep  himself  awake  by 
traveling  around  after  his  horse,  and  thus 
grinding  his  own  grain.  If  it  were  wheat  he 
could  turn  a  crank  attached  to  a.  bolting  cloth, 
and  get  his  flour  bolted  by  hand,  and  when  his 
flour  was  ground  would  come  home  whistling 
and  singing  as  happy  as  a  lark." 

The  Nail  and  Sharrock  mills  were  run  by 
water  power,  large  mill  races  having  been  con- 
structed. When  Nail  built  his  mill  about  1823 
he  contracted  with  Albigence  Bucklin  at  Bucy- 
rus to  make  the  mill  stones,  and  when  they 
were  completed  went  to  Bucyrus  with  an  ox  - 
team  and  hauled  the  stones  back  to  Galion. 

When  Asa  Hosford  disposed  of  his  prop- 
erty to  the  Ruhls  he  purchased  land  on  the 
Whetstone  a  half  mile  west  of  Galion  and 
here  he  erected  a  water-mill,  which  is  still 
standing.  It  was  built  in  1832.  The  buhrs 
were  made  in  the  east  and  were  shipped  by 
water  to  Sandusky  and  he  drove  to  that  place 
and  brought  them  overland,  and  they  are  still 
in  use  in  the  mill.  While  some  things  about 
the  original  mill  have  been  changed,  the  orig- 
inal leather  belts  are  still  in  use  to  convey  the 
flour  in  the  elevator  cups  to  be  bolted  and 
sacked.  Some  of  the  large  logs  are  of  walnut 
and  poplar,  the  heavier  ones  being  nearly  two 
feet  square,  and  are  as  solid,  and  substantial, 
today  as  when  first  put  in.  The  liberal  use  of 
walnut  in  the  construction  of  the  mill  can 
easily  be  seen.  In  the  early  days  more  flour 
was  made  than  the  local  trade  could  consume 
and  this  excess  had  to  be  hauled  for  forty 
miles  over  the  old  Portland  road  to  Sandusky 
where  it  was  either  sold  or  shipped  to  the  east. 
Upon  one  of  the  posts  in  the  mill  is  an  inscrip- 
tion which  was  written  shortly  after  the  news 
came  of  the  election  of  William  Henry  Har- 
rison as  president,  in  1840,  and  the  language 


420 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


indicates  it  was  written  by  a  friend  of  Van 
Buren,  the  defeated  candidate.  The  words  are 
"i^ook  out  for  a  storm — Harrison  is  elected 
president  of  the  United  States  of  America." 
Another  inscription  is  the  rallying  cry  of  the 
Whigs  in  that  campaign  "Tippecanoe  and 
Tyler  too."  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
Hosford  was  a  miller  with  his  business  a  short 
distance  from  Galion  he  was  yet  the  active  man 
in  all  important  affairs  relating  to  that  place. 

Isaac  Criley,  who  married  John  Ruhl's 
daughter,  lived  on  a  farm  which  is  now  the 
southeast  portion  of  the  city.  The  west  line 
of  his  farm  was  what  is  now  South  street.  On 
his  land  he  built  the  second  brick  residence  at 
the  corner  of  Main  and  Pierce  streets.  The 
first  brick  business  block  was  on  the  north- 
east corner  of  the  square  where  the  Commer- 
cial Savings  Bank  now  is.  The  brick  was 
made  by  Dr.  Beard,  who  had  a  brick  yard  just 
west  of  the  Big  Four  station.  When  com- 
pleted the  building  was  occupied  as  a  store  by 
Davis  &  Bloomer. 

Isaac  Criley  had  a  carding-machirie  and  full- 
ing-mill and  for  a  time  did  a  good  business. 
The  machinery  was  run  by  steam  and  his  was 
the  first  steam  engine  ever  introduced  into 
Galion. 

In  1836  Jacob  Ruhl  started  a  saw-mill  on 
the  Whetstone  on  North  Market  street,  and 
this  old  mill  was  used  for  picnic  parties  and 
Fourth  of  July  celebrations,  at  which  large 
crowds  were  present  from  the  surrounditig 
country,  people  sitting  on  the  logs  to  listen  to 
the  reading  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, and  the  logs  being  of  further  use  as 
tables,  on  which  to  serve  the  meals  which  the 
patriotic  citizens  brought  with  them. 

When  the  first  post  ofifice  was  established  on 
June  4,  1825,  Horace  Hosford  was  appointed 
postmaster,  and  the  office  was  in  his  blacksmith 
shop  at  the  Corners.  He  was  succeeded  on 
May  2,  1829  by  Calvin  T.  Dorwin.  the  office 
still  beine  at  the  Corners.  But  when  the  town 
of  Galion  was  laid  out  by  the  Ruhls  in  1831, 
it  so  rapidly  increased  in  business  that  on 
January  12,  1837,  Michael  Ruhl  was  appointed 
postmaster  with  the  office  in  his  store  on  the 
south  side  of  the  square.  When  Hosford  was 
postmaster,  in  his  four  years  of  service  the 
letters  received  at  the  office  during  his  entire 
time  did  not  amount  to  more  than  one  a  day. 


Letters  at  that  time  were  delivered  by  the  mail 
carrier  commg  on  horse  back  and  some  times 
on  foot  from  Mansheld.  In  those  days  letters 
did  not  need  to  be  prepaid,  and  it  tell  upon 
the  recipient  to  raise  the  money  or  go  without 
the  letter.  Postage  at  that  time  was  25  cents 
per  letter.  It  was  about  1834  that  a  line  of 
stages  which  had  been  runnmg  from  Pitts- 
burgh to  Mansfield  was  continued  through  Gal- 
ion to  Bucyrus. 

Jenkins'  Gazeteer  of  1841  thus  speaks  of 
Galion ;  "The  name  of  a  post  office  and  town 
in  Sandusky  township,  Richland  county,  about 
sixty  miles  northeasterly  from  Columbus  and 
on  the  state  road  leading  from  Mansfield  to 
Bucyrus,  fifteen  miles  from  the  former  and 
eleven  from  the  latter  place.  It  contains  about 
25  dwelling  houses,  three  stores,  two  taverns, 
seven  mechanics  shops,  etc.  The  first  build- 
ings were  erected  here  in  1831.  The  post 
office  is  supplied  by  a  tri- weekly  mail  in  two 
horse  coaches  running  from  Wooster  to  Bucy- 
rus." In  bad  weather  it  took  four  horses  to 
draw  the  coach.  Michael  Ruhl  was  post- 
master for  two  years  and  was  succeeded  on 
Nov.  5,  1839,  by  Solomon  P.  Nave,  and  the 
office  was  east  of  the  square  on  the  south  side 
of  Main  street,  near  the  corner  of  Columbus 
street.  He  held  the  office  for  nine  years,  and 
on  Feb.  3,  1848,  Daniel  Hoover  was  appointed. 
He  was  a  cabinet  maker  and  wheelwright,  and 
had  a  little  shop  built  of  hewed  logs,  on  the 
south  side  of  edst  Main  street,  west  of  the 
Big  Four  Road,  and  the  post  office  was  re- 
moved to  this  building.  Here  it  remained 
nearly  a  year,  when,  on  Sept.  5,  1849,  Jacob 
Bryfogle  was  appointed  postmaster  and  the 
office  was  taken  back  to  the  room  it  formerly 
occupied  under  Nave.  On  June  21,  1853, 
John  S.  Davis  was  appointed  postmaster,  and 
the  office  was  in  the  Davis  &  Bloomer  store  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  Square.  Daniel 
Riblet  became  postmaster  on  Jan.  15,  1855,  and 
the  office  was  in  the  Riblet  dry  goods  store 
the  frame  building  west  of  the  First  National 
Bank,  now  occupied  by  the  grocery  store  of 
Frank  Snyder.  During  his  term  of  office  Mr. 
Riblet  erected  a  small  frame  building  across  the 
street,  just  west  of  the  Central  Hotel.  On 
April  22,  1861,  H.  C.  Carhart  was  appointed 
postmaster.  He  was  a  lawyer  and  one  of 
the   leading  workers   in  the   new   Republican 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


421 


party  at  Galion,  and  secured  the  office,  and 
then  placed  his  brother,  Ehnore  Y.  Smith,  in 
charge  as  deputy,  and  on  Nov.  i6,  1864,  Mr. 
Smith  received  the  appointment  of  postmaster, 
serving  for  13  years.  During  Mr.  Smith's 
sixteen  and  a  half  years  in  charge  of  the  office 
he  started  in  in  the  Kesselmeier  building,  half 
a  block  east  of  the  square,  then  to  the  Mackey 
block  on  South  Market,  and  the  Howard  block 
and  finally  to  a  little  frame  on  Market  street, 
half  a  block  north  of  the  Square.  On  Nov. 
29,  1877,  Robert  A.  Cowden  was  appointed 
and  there  being  a  mistake  in  the  name  by  the 
accidental  insertion  of  the  initial  "A,"  a  new 
appointment  was  made  on  Jan.  29,  1878,  this 
time  the  commission  being  made  out  correctly 
for  Robert  Cowden,  and  the  post  office  was  re- 
moved to  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Square, 
north  of  the  Commercial  Savings  Bank,  the 
same  site  it  occupies  today.  Following  Rob- 
ert Cowden  were  T.  C.  Davis,  Feb.  6,  1882; 
William  H.  Raymond,  April  6,  1886;  Morris 
Burns,  March  29,  1890;  John  W.  Alsop,  April 
17,  1894;  John  W.  Cupp,  Feb.  16,  i8g8; 
George  W.  Nickels,  June  14,  1905. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  post  office  rec- 
ords at  Washington  give  the  post  office  as 
Galion,  Richland  county,  up  to  1845,  when  the 
eastern  four  miles  of  this  county  was  trans- 
ferred from  Richland  to  Crawford;  yet  when 
the  post  office  was  at  the  Corners  it  was  in 
Crawford  county,  the  dividing  line  between 
Richland  and  Crawford  being  about  200  feet 
east  of  the  Portland  road. 

For  a  number  of  years  much  of  the  trade  of 
Polk  township  followed  the  line  of  the  Colum- 
bus and  Sandusky  City  road,  the  farmers  using 
that  highway  to  the  Lake  markets  and  bringing 
back  with  them  such  produce  as  they  needed, 
such  as  groceries,  salt,  etc. ;  but  the  stores 
mostly  brought  their  stock  over  the  mountains 
from  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  freight  being 
$5  to  $6  a  hundred  pounds.  A  strap  railroad 
being  built  in  1840  from  Sandusky  to  Monroe- 
ville,  over  which  the  cars  were  drawn  by 
horses,  the  farmers  after  that  year  took  their 
produce  to  Monroeville,  as  they  thus  saved 
three  or  four  days  of  time,  and  secured  a 
better  price.  After  the  construction  of  the 
Sandusky,  Mansfield  &  Newark  road  as  far 
as  Mansfield  and  Shelby,  the  latter  places  be- 
came the  principal  market  for  the  township, 


and  continued  to  be  so  until  the  Cleveland, 
Columbus  &  Cincinnati  Railroad  was  brought 
to  Galion.  This  ended  the  era  of  taverns  on 
the  old  highway,  'ihe  building  of  this  latter 
road  was  a  great  stimulus  both  to  Galion  and 
to  the  township  outside  of  it,  the  population 
increased  until  in  a  few  years  it  exceeded  that 
of  Bucyrus  and  its  township.  The  interests 
of  the  township,  outside  of  the  city,  have 
always  remained  agricultural,  aside  from  the 
stone  quarries,  tile  works,  and  the  saw  and 
grist  mills  of  early  days. 

Notwithstanding  the  success  which  attended 
the  efforts  of  the  founders  of  Galion,  and  their 
immediate  helpers  and  successors,  and  the 
healthy  growth  which  the  place  put  on,  it  re- 
mained up  to  1850  merely  a  country  village— a 
convenient  center  for  agricultural  interests. 
There  were  no  mines  or  valuable  water  priv- 
ileges to  stimulate  it  to  a  more  rapid  growth, 
and  there  was  no  railroad.  Galion  and  Polk 
township  went  abroad  with  their  products  in 
search  of  a  market,  selling  their  produce  at 
Mansfield  and  Shelby,  both  of  which  were  on 
the  railroad.  But  a  change  was  now  at  hand. 
The  project  of  a  railroad  through  the  town- 
ship and  city  began  to  be  agitated  and  Asa 
Hosford  was  entrusted  with  the  responsibility 
of  putting  it  through  during  the  winter  legis- 
lative session  of  1844-45.  -^s  first  proposed, 
it  was  to  end  on  the  south  at  Columbus  and 
strike  the  old  Sandusky,  Mansfield  and  New- 
ark Railroad  at  some  point  near  Shelby.  Mr. 
Hosford  had  to  encounter,  however,  both  oppo- 
sition and  indifference.  The  Richland  county 
people  were  well  aware  that  with  the  construc- 
tion through  Galion,  Mansfield  people  would 
lose  much  of  the  trade  which  they  derived  from 
this  section,  and  they  had  brilliant  and  able 
men  to  protect  their  interests  in  the  courts 
and  in  the  Legislature — such  men  as  Gov. 
Bartley,  Thomas  Ford,  Judge  Brinkerhoof, 
Judge  Stuart,  Barnabas  Burns  and  others. 
The  people  at  Bucyrus,  also,  were  not  much  in 
sympathy-  with  the  proposition,  as  they  were 
engaged  in  a  desperate  contest  with  Galion  to 
secure  the  county  seat.  At  that  time  Thomas 
Bartlev,  the  president  of  the  Senate,  was  from 
Richland.  Mr.  Hosford  succeeded  in  shelv- 
ing the  county  seat  question  for  two  years, 
though  it  is  said  that  Galion  came  within  one 
vote  of  securing  the  location.     The  represen- 


422 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


tatives  of  the  two  north  and  south  extremes  of 
the  State  were  for  some  time  indifferent  about 
the  road,  as  they  could  not  see  that  the  inter- 
ests of  their  constituents  were  affected;  but 
suddenly  Cleveland  and  Cincinnati  conceived 
the  idea  of  extending  the  road  so  as  to  directly 
unite  their  respective  cities,  thus  throwing  a 
steel  highway  across  the  Stafe  from  the  Lake 
to  the  Ohio  river.  This  changed  the  attitude 
of  their  representatives  on  the  question  from 
one  of  indifference  to  one  of  active  co-opera- 
tion with  Mr.  Hosford.  On  March  15,  1845, 
they  exhumed  an  old  charter  granted  for  some 
similar  project  in  1836,  and  armed  with  this 
went  to  work.  The  road  was  completed  in 
185 1  and  was  known  as  the  Cleveland,  Colum- 
bus &  Cincinnati  Railroad.  No  greater  good 
fortune  could  have  happened  to  Gallon.  The 
road  gave  her  a  highway  to  the  markets  of  the 
world;  she  was  now  herself  a  market  and 
others  came  to  her  to  trade.  The  prosperity 
of  the  place  was  immediately  advanced,  new 
buildings  were  erected,  of  a  more  modern  type, 
new  interests  arose,  many  of  the  citizens  en- 
gaged in  new  and  more  promising  occupations, 
and  from  a  country  town  Gallon  rapidly  as- 
sumed the  habits  and  manners  of  a  railroad 
center.  Previous  to  1852  there  were  no  houses 
on  Market  street  south  of  Walnut,  and  where 
the  Erie  depot  now  stands  was  where  the  citi- 
zens took  a  Sunday  stroll  when  they  wanted 
to  take  a  walk  into  the  country. 

In  1840  Gallon  became  a  borough  and 
elected  Joel  Todd  as  the  first  mayor.  The 
population  at  this  time  must  have  been  small, 
as  nine  years  later  it  was  only  379.  In  1859 
the  Bellefontaine  &  Indiana  Railroad,  which 
had  secured  a  charter  in  February,  1848,  com- 
pleted its  road  and  it  was  consolidated  with  the 
Bellefontaine  &  Indianapolis  Railroad,  form- 
ing the  Indianapolis  Division  of  the  Cleveland, 
Columbus  &  Cincinnati  Railroad.  Some  strips 
of  land  had  been  donated  to  the  company  by 
Alpheus  Atwood.  The  Bellefontaine  &  Indian- 
apolis shops  were  finished  in  1854.  In  1863 
the  Atlantic  &  Great  Western  was  finished 
through  Gallon  and  shops  were  built  shortly 
after.  In  1871-72  large  brick  shops  were 
erected;  and  these  important  works,  with  the 
large  number  of  men  which  came  in,  gave  an 
additional  stimulus  to  the  growth  of  the  city. 

On  the  6th  of  January,  1880,  the  Atlantic 


&  Great  Western  road  was  sold  by  the  fore- 
closure of  mortgages  and  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  Ohio  &  Pennsylvania  Company.  This 
company  carried  out  some  important  improve- 
ments, one  of  which  was  the  narrowing  of 
the  gauge  to  the  standard  width.  This  work 
was  accomplished  on  June  22,  i88a,  and  all 
preparations  having  been  carefully  made  be- 
forehand, down  to  the  smallest  detail,  was  ac- 
complished in  less  than  half  a  day.  The  work 
of  narrowing  the  trucks  of  engines  and  rolling 
stock  tpok  longer  to  complete  and  was  more 
expensive,  the  work  on  the  engines  costing  on 
an  average  about  $1,600  each,  nearly  all  of 
this  work  being  done  at  Gallon.  The  shops 
were  enlarged  from  time  to  time  and  new  ma- 
chinery put  in. 

On  August  14,  1899,  the  first  car  of  the 
Ohio  Central  Traction  line  was  run  between 
Galion  and  Seccaium  park.  The  construction 
of  the  road  was  commenced  in  Galion  in  the 
early  spring  of  1899  and  pushed  rapidly,  and 
two  weeks  after  running  to  the  park  the  serv- 
ive  was  extended  to  Bucyrus.  Two  years  later 
the  line  was  extended  eastward  to  Crestnne. 
A  rival  line  started  to  build  into  Crestline,  also, 
which  resulted  in  the  new  company  buying  out 
the  Ohio  Central  holdings.  The  line  was  later 
extended  to  Mansfield,  and  is  now  a  part  of 
the  Cleveland,  Southwestern  &  Columbus  sys- 
tem. This  traction  line,  besides  giving  service 
to  Cleveland  and  Columbus  and  intermediate 
points  on  its  own  line  and  their  numerous 
ramifications,  gives  Galion  easy  connection  with 
the  Pensnylvania  lines  and  the  B.  &  O.  at  Mans- 
field, the  Pennsylvania  at  Crestline,  the  T.  &  O. 
C.  and  the  Short  Line  at  Bucyrus,  and  the 
Hocking  Valley  at  Marion.  Several'  other 
traction  lines  are  being  proposed;  ultimately 
some  of  these,  at  least,  will  be  built,  and  when 
this  is  done  it  can  only  add  to  the  material  ad- 
vantage of  Galion  and  her  prestige  as  a  railroad 
center. 

In  January,  1852,  Louis  Kossuth,  the  Hun- 
garian patriot,  passed  through  Galion,  the  first 
prominent  man  to  pass  through  the  county  on 
a  railroad,  and  J.  A.  Crever,  of  the  Journal, 
thus  describes  the  event: 

"Learning  that  Kossuth  would  pass  down 
the  railroad  from  Cleveland  to  Columbus  on 
Wednesday,  February  4th,  we  with  a  goodly 
number  of  our  citizens  from  Bucyrus  went  to 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


423 


Galion  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  him.  We  found 
assembled  several  hundred  persons,  who  were 
anxious  to  see  the  great  man  of  the  age.  The 
cars  arrived  some  minutes  after  one  'oclock 
with  the  great  Magyar  on  board.  He  made 
his  appearance  on  the  platform  of  the  car  and 
was  greeted  with  enthusiastic  cheers  of  those 
assembled.  He  did  not  attempt  to  make  a 
speech,  but  talked  to  those  around  him.  The 
cars  stopped  but  a  few  minutes,  but  we  believe 
that  all  present  saw  Kossuth.  He  appeared 
very  much  worn  down..  He  was  alseep  when 
the  cars  stopped,  but  was  awakened  by  some 
of  his  suite." 

The  editor  then  writes  of  the  town:  "The 
village  of  Galion,  near  the  eastern  border,  is 
advancing  with  rapid  strides.  Many  fine  build- 
ings have  been  erected  during  the  past  year, 
and  quite  a  number  of  business  houses  and 
private  residences  are  in  course  of  construc- 
tion. At  this  place  the  Bellefontaine  &  Indi- 
ana Railroad  unites  with  the  C.  C.  &  C,  which 
passes  along  the  eastern  side  of  the  town." 

Much  credit  is  due  to  the  early  German 
settlers  in  and  around  Galion  for  the  part  they 
took  in  building  up  the  community.  Most  of 
them  came  to  this  locality  direct  from  Ger- 
many, and  came  with  money  to  buy  their  land. 
There  was,  indeed,  little  else  to  buy  at  the  time, 
but  they  settled  down  to  hard  work,  and  today 
many  of  their  descendants,  inheriting  the 
sturdy  virtues  and  thrift  of  their  fathers  and 
grandfathers,  are  among  the  most  prosperous 
and  respected  residents  of  the  city  and  its  en- 
virons Among  them  may  be  mentioned  the 
Rensches,  the  Sebers,  the  Eichorns,  the  Zim- 
mermans,  the  Cronenwetts,  the  Bohls,  the 
Krafts,  the  Rickers,  and  others.  Most  of  these 
Germans  arrived  from  1832  to  1835.  Daniel 
Eichorn,  a  widower,  with  four  sons  and  three 
daughters,  arrived  in  1835.  He  possessed 
considerable  wealth  and  bought  a  farm  south 
of  Galion. 

John  Kraft,  Sr.,  came  to  the  country  in  1833, 
landing  at  Baltimore, where  he  worked  at  his 
trade  of  cooper  until  the  next  year,  when  he 
walked  to  Ohio,  working  a  short  time  at  Gam- 
bier,  and  then  came  to  Galion.  He  erected  a 
one-room  log  cabin,  the  present  site  of  the 
city  building,  which  he  used  as  a  residence  and 
cooper  shop.     He  made  buckets,  tubs,  barrels. 


butter-tubs,  etc.     One  of  his  receipts  shows 
prices  in  those  days : 

"Sept.   3,    1835— Received   of   John   Kraft 

"Six   wooden  buckets   at  62j^c $3  75 

Two    wooden    buckets    at    see i  00 


$4  75 
'To  be  sold  or  returned  &  paid  for  when  sold. 

"Michael  Ruhl." 

In  1836,  John  Kraft  married  Margarethe 
Eichorn,  and  from  this  union  there  were  eight 
children,  and  of  these  the  five  older  were  born 
on  what  is  now  the  city  hall  lot,  the  others  on 
the  southwest  comer  of  Columbus  and  Main. 
It  is  a  singular  fact  that  four  of  these  children 
are  still  living,,  all  daughters:  Mrs.  Sophia 
Remy,  Fremont,  aged  74.  Mrs.  Catherine 
Euler,  Washington,  D.  C,  73 ;  Mrs.  Lena  Hof- 
stetter,  Galion,  72 ;  Mrs.  Mary  Franks,  Mans- 
field, 70.  In  1837  Kraft  erected  a  larger  shop 
on  the  same  lot,  and  in  1845  he  bought  a  tav- 
ern from  Jacob  Bryfogle,  which  was  on  the 
southeast  corner  of  Main  and  Columbus  streets. 
This  he  conducted  until  he  erected  a  brewery 
on  east  Main  street,  where  later  was  the  block 
owned  by  Henry  Row.  In  1852  he  started  a 
brickyard  on  his  farm  just  west  of  Galion, 
and  here  made  the  brick  from  which  the  pres- 
ent brewery  was  erected,  the  old  part  of  which 
is  still  standing,  with  the  new  addition  added. 
Here  also  was  made  the  brick  for  the  old  "Bee 
Line"  round  house  and  shops,  and  he  shipped 
the  bricks  for  the  shops  at  Marion.  He  con- 
tinued in  the  brewery  business  until  1868, 
when  he  retired  living  on  Church  street,  Galion, 
where  he  died  in  February,  1888,  in  his  80th 
year,  his  wife  dying  February  13,  1891. 

In  1840  Galion  had  a  population  of  nearly 
200  people.  A  line  of  stages  passed  through 
the  city,  and  they  had  two  taverns,  three  stores 
and  several  small  shops,  and  the  enterprising 
citizens  decided  they  were  large  enough  to 
become  a  village.  lu  1840  they  elected  Joel 
Todd  as  mayor,  and  he  was  succeeded  by 
George  Downer  in  1845,  Daniel  Hoover  in 
1847,  Andrew  Poe  in  1858,  W.  C.  Parsons  in 
i860,  Charles  Quigley  in  1864,  Peter  Cress  in 
1866,  M.  V.  Crane  in  1868,  O.  T.  Hart  in  1870, 
M.  Burns  in  1872,  who  resigned  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Samuel  Myers;  Jacob  Meuser  in 
1874,  who  resigned,  having  been  elected  to  the 


424 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


legislature,  and  was  succeeded  by  Wilson  Arm- 
strong; Abraham  Underwood  m  1878. 

Ihe  town  had  grown  and  was  now  on  the 
high  road  to  prosperity;  railroads  and  manu- 
factories had  added  to  the  population.  The 
little  village  of  less  than  200  under  its  first 
mayor  was  about  400  when  William  C.  Par- 
sons became  its  fourth  mayor,  and  then  came 
the  first  railroad,  and  it  was  followed  by  an- 
other, and  in  i860  it  was  a  busy  place  with  a 
population  of  1,966  people;  another  road  and 
still  more  factories  followed,  and  in  1870  it 
had  nearly  doubled  its  population,  and  had 
3,523,  passing  Bucyrus,  and  becoming  the  larg- 
est place  in  the  county,  a  position  it  held  for 
forty  years.  After  1870  its  marvelous  growth 
continued,  and  by  1878  the  citizens  decided 
that  they  had  the  5,000  people  necessary  to 
incorporate  as  a  city.  A  census  was  taken, 
showing  more  than  the  requisite  number,  and 
the  city  of  Gallon  was  incorporated,  divided 
into  four  wards,  and  in  1879  James  R.  Homer 
was  elected  the  first  mayor;  he  was  followed 
by  Abraham  Underwood,  1881 ;  Robert  W. 
Johnston,  1883;  Charles  B.  Shumaker,  1885; 
Hugh  Ross,  1887;  A.  C.  Squier,  1889;  Albe 
Moe,  1893 ;  C.  H.  Briggs,  1895 ;  J.  R.  Homer, 
1899;  D.  O.  Castle,  1903;  W.  J.  Geer,  1906; 
W.  H.  Hartman,  1908  and  1910.  The  United 
States  census  in  1880  showed  Galion  was  a 
city,  as  it  gave  the  population  as  5,635 ;  in  1890 
this  was  increased  to  6,326,  and  in  1900  to 
7,282.  The  next  census  was  taken  in  May 
of  19 10,  and  was  not  reported  until  the  follow- 
ing January;  it  gave  Galion  a  population  of 
7,214.  This  return  was  so  apparently  erro- 
neous that  a  new  enumeration 'was  requested 
by  Galion,  but  the  request  was  not  granted. 
It  was  difficult  to  locate  the  error  until  the 
enumeration  by  wards  was  published  later, 
when  it  was  found  the  serious  error  had  oc- 
curred in  the  first  ward,  where  only  985  names 
had  been  returned,  the  ward  having  over  1,500 
people.  The  city  council  in  the  spring  of  191 1 
ordered  an  enumeration  of  the  entire  city,  and 
the  official  report  to  the  council  showed  a  pop- 
ulation of  8,175,  an  enumeration  officially  rec- 
ognized bv  the  state  but  not  by  the  government 
census.  The  first  ward,  as  anticipated,  showed 
that  errors  had  occurred  somewhere  or  some- 
how amounting  to  over  qoo. 

In  1873  it  was  agreed  by  the  authorities  of 


Polk  township  and  those  of  the  corporation  of 
Galion  to  erect  a  building  for  a  court  room  and 
other  public  offices,  and,  after  much  discussion 
in  regard  to  the  location,  lot  48  of  Michael  and 
Jacob  Ruhl's  second  addition  to  Galion  was 
selected.  The  building  was  to  be  66  x  75  feet 
in  ground  dimensions,  three  stories  in  height, 
and  to  be  built  of  brick  and  stone.  In  1875  the 
contract  was  awarded  to  George  Wimmie  and 
in  the  following  year  the  building  was  com- 
pleted. The  lower  story  contained  one  store- 
roorn,  two  election  rooms  (one  for  city  and  one 
for  township),  one  room  for  Star  steamer 
and  hose-cart  and  one  jail  room.  The  second 
story  had  six  rooms,  among  them  being  the 
mayor's  and  justice's  court  room,  the  council 
room,  fireman's  room,  and  a  room  to  be  used 
temporarily  as  an  infirmary.  In  the  third  story 
was  the  opera  hall,  with  stage  and  other  acces- 
sories. It  was  arranged  that  the  township 
should  receive  two-thirds  from  opera  house 
and  one-third  from  the  rents  below.  The  site 
of  the  building  cost  $3,500  and  the  cost  of  the 
building  was  $26,336.22,  which  was  generally 
considered  a  reasonable  price. 

Many  of  the  citizens,  however,  remained 
dissatisfied  with  the  location,  especially  with 
that  of  the  opera  house,  and  about  1880  Dr. 
H.  R.  Kelly,  Davis  Stout  and  John  Riblet 
fitted  up  for  stage  purposes  the  hall  in  the  up- 
per story  of  the  Sponhauer  block,  enlarging 
the  stage  and  providing  new  scenery. 

The  first  theatrical  performance  given  in 
public  in  Galion  was  about  1840  by  a  barn- 
storming company  in  the  dining-room  of 
the  old  tavern  run  by  John  Kraft.  The 
dining-room  was  cleared,  and  planks  resting  at 
the  ends  and  middle  on  chairs,  were  used  for 
seats.  The  children  had  to  sit  on  the  floor  in 
front,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  seats.  The  play 
given  was  "The  Babes  in  the  \\'^ood." 

The  City  Hall  Opera  House  was  the  prin- 
cipal place  for  entertainments  and  public  meet- 
ings for  thirty  years,  when  the  opera  hall  was 
condemned  by  the  state  board,  so  that  now  the 
building  is  used  exclusively  for  city  purposes, 
and  for  the  township  offices. 

The  first  religious  services  of  which  there 
is  any  record  in  Galion,  were  held  at  the  cabin 
of  Benjamin  Leveridge,  on  Sunday,  September 
20,  1820.  Asa  and  Horace  Hosford  had  come 
from  Norwalk  the  day  before  to  see  about  lo- 


AND  R]fePRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


425 


eating  in  that  section,  ar.d  there  being  no  hotel, 
Mr.  Leveridge's  was  the  stopping  place  for  all 
travelers.    Ihe  Leveridge  caDin  was  the  larg- 
est of  the  three  or  four  that  had  been  built, 
and   on   the    Sunday   morning   the    Hosfords 
were  there  ten  or  twelve  men  and  a  few  women 
came  to  the  cabin  and  took  their  seats,  and  Asa 
Hosford  talked  with  them  concerning  the  local- 
ity and  advisability  of  locating  in  that  section. 
Finally  a  tall,  raw-boned  man  appeared,  sun- 
browned  and  hardy  in  appearance.     He  was 
dressed  in  a  linsey-woolsey  shirt,  wore  a  belt, 
and  leather  pantaloons,  had  moccasins  on  his 
feet,  and  over  his  shoulder  a  powder  horn  and 
bullet  pouch.    In  the  belt  around  his  waist  was 
a  large  hunting  knife,  while  across  his  arm  he 
carried  a  rifle.    The  tall  man  entered  and  with- 
out a  word  or  nod  of  recognition  to  anybody, 
deposited  his  accoutrements  in  one  corner  and 
took  a  seat.    All  sat  silent  for  a  few  moments, 
when  the  hunter  arose  and  sang  an  old  hymn, 
the  audience  joining  in.     Then  he  knelt  and 
prayed,    all  kneeling  with    him.     After    thv; 
prayer  he  talked  for  over  half  an  hour,  deliv- 
ered a   sermon   and  the   servives   were  over. 
Then  he  talked  with  those  present  and  they 
soon  departed  for  their  homes,  the  man  re- 
maining to  dinner.    This  preacher  was  Benja- 
min Sharrock,  who  lived  about  a  mile  or  two 
southwest,  where  he  later  ran  a  saw-mill,  and 
this  was  the  first  meeting  between  Asa  Hos- 
ford and  Benjamin  Sharrock,  both  of  whom 
did  so  much  for  the  developing  of  that  sec- 
tion,   Sharrock  in  the  country  and   Hosford 
in  the  city.     He  was  a  Methodist  but  not  an 
ordained  minister,  but  in  the  early  days  ex- 
pounded the  gospel  to  his  neighbors. 

As  settlers  arrived  services  were  held  in 
the  cabins  whenever  any  traveling  missionary 
passed  that  way.  A  year  or  two  after  the 
Hosfords  arrived,  George  Wood  and  Asa 
Hosfor4  built  a  frame  barn  near  the  Coriiers 
and  this,  being  the  largest  building,  was  fre- 
quently used  as  the  place  for  holding  services. 
One  of  the  early  traveling  preachers  here  was 
Russell  Bigelow,  who  traveled  this  circuit  for 
the  Methodists,  and  for  a  time  was  located  on 
a  fann  near  Gallon ;  also  Mr.  Matthews,  a  Pres- 
byterian, who  was  the  first  man  to  receive  any 
pay  for  his  services,  the  Presbyterians  in  that 
section  raising  a  subscription  of  fifteen  dollars 
a  year  to  reimburse  him  for  his  expenses  in 


making  Gallon  one  of  the  points  on  his  rounds. 
Rev.  John  Rhinehard  came  in  1822  and  also 
preached  in  the  barn.  Later  a  log  school  house 
was  built  on  West  Main  street  and  here  serv- 
ices were  held,  and  in  other  barns  when  they 
were  first  erected.  These  buildings  were  used 
until  the  settlement  was  large  enough  to  erect 
churches.  In  summer  services  were  frequently 
held  in  the  open  air,  the  principal  places  being 
the  grove  northwest  of  the  square  and  also  an- 
other grove  south  of  the  square.  Here,  in  the 
open  air,  camp  meetings  were  held,  and  at 
one  of  these  Bishop  Harris,  when  a  young  man, 
was  in  attendance  and  became  converted.  He 
later  became  a  professor  at  Delaware  Univer- 
sity an  ordained  minister,  and  eventually  the 
celebrated  and  prominent  Bishop  Harris,  of 
the  M.  E.  church. 

For  fifty  years  Rev.  F.  J.  Ruth  was  one  of 
the  prominent  ministers  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  not  only  in  Gallon  but  all  over  the 
county.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the 
Lutheran  Synod  of  Maryland  in  1830,  and 
came  to  Gallon  in  183 1;  in  1835  he  organized 
the  church  at  Bucyrus,  caring  for  charges  at 
Sulphur  Springs  and  Gallon  at  the  same  time. 
In  1 83 1  he  left  Mansfield,  and  reaching  Shelby 
inquired  the  way  to  Gallon,  but  no  one  there 
knew  of  any  such  place.  He  continued  his 
journey  south  and  at  West  Liberty  was  in- 
formed the  place  they  thought  he  wished  to 
reach  was.  called  Horse  Shoe.  He  continued 
his  trip  through  Leesville  and  eventually 
reached  the  Corners.  It  was  late  and  he  put 
up  at  a  hotel,  which  was  then  on  the  north 
side  of  Main  street  about  two  blocks  west  of 
the  square.  Here  he  found  a  rough  crowd, 
who  gave  him  to  understand  there  was  no 
opening  for  a  German  Lutheran  minister  in 
that  section,  and  the  next  morning,  discour- 
aged, he  returned  to  Mansfield.  A  few  days 
later  the  Ruhls  heard  that  a  German  Lutheran 
minister  had  been  in  the  village  and  they  went 
to  Mansfield  to  hear  him  preach  and  prevailed 
upon  him  to  return  to  Gallon.  The  Ruhls 
were  zealous  and  earnest  Lutherans  and  the 
first  church  of  that  faith  was  on  land  donated 
by  Jacob  Ruhl.  The  first  Sunday-school  was 
started  by  Mrs.  Sarah  Ruhl  and  Mrs.  Dr. 
Johnson.  Revs.  John  Stough,  Francis  Clymer, 
Ludwig  Gerth  and  John  Smith  were  active  in 
early  religious  work. 


426 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


The  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  of  Galion 
was  organized  by  Rev.  John  Stough  in  1831, 
and  the  early  meetings  were  held  in  the  cabins 
of  the  settlers  and  in  the  school  houses.  Short- 
ly after  the  church  was  organized  the  Sunday- 
school  was  started  by  Mrs.  Sarah  Ruhl  and 
Mrs.  Dr.  Johnson,  but  it  was  undenominational 
and  largely  attended.  It  was  held  in  the  old 
schoolhouse  on  North  Market  street.  In  1840 
a  brick  church  was  built  at  the  corner  of  Union 
and  Church  streets,  being  very  prettily  located 
in  a  handsome  grove.  The  corner  stone  was 
laid  by  Rev.  F.  J.  Ruth,  and  Rev.  John  Stough 
was  the  first  pastor.  Both  English  and  German 
Lutherans  used  the  church  at  the  start,  but  the 
Germans  withdrew  in  1843.  They  were  so 
strong  numerically  that  their  witjidrawal 
weakened  the  English  part  of  the  congrega- 
tion, but  under  Mr.  Ruth  and  others  they  finally 
prospered.  In  1867  they  moved  to  their  pres- 
ent site  on  South  Market  street. 

The  German  Evangelical  Lutherans  were 
much  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of.  so  many 
of  their  denomination  among  the  Germans, 
and  although  they  assisted  in  building  the  first 
Lutheran  church,  in  1843,  they  sold  their  in- 
terest to  the  English-speaking  members,  and 
united  with  the  German  Reform  in  building  a 
church  on  South  Market  street,  where  services 
were  held  in  their  own  language.  There  was 
no  union  of  the  two  churches.  It  was  a  joint 
ownership  of  the  building,  both  denominations 
using  it  and  both  adhering  strictly  to  their  own 
doctrines.  The  Lutherans  finally  bought  out 
the  Reformers  and  in  1874  enlarged  the  church 
by  erecting  a  handsome  new  addition  at  the 
front. 

The  German  Reformed  church  started  prior 
to  1840  with  services  in  the  houses,  and  in  1843 
united  with  the  German  Lutherans  in  the  build- 
ing of  a  brick  church  which  was  used  in  com- 
mon, until  in  1858  the  Lutherans  bought  out 
their  interests,  and  they  in  turn  bought  an  acre 
of  ground  on  West  Main  street,  just  west  of 
the  old  burying  ground,  and  here  they  remained 
until  1868,  when  they  removed  further  west  on 
Main  near  Boston  street.  One  of  their  minis- 
ters was  Rev.  Abraham  Keller,  who  died  of 
cholera  in  Bucyrus  in   1852. 

About  1827  Galion  was  placed  on  the  Meth- 
odist circuit,  and  Rev.  Russell  Bigelow  was 


the  first  minister  to  visit  the  Methodists,  Serv- 
ices were  held  in  whatever  new  barn  had  been 
erected,  and  in  the  cabins.  Their  first  building 
was  a  small  frame  on  West  Main  street  and 
donated  by  Jonathan  Fellows.  It  was  land 
originally  owned  by  Benjamin  Leveridge,  the, 
first  settler  in  Galion.  Here  they  remained 
until  in  1859  they  moved  to  their  present  lo- 
cation on  the  corner  of  Walnut  and  Columbus. 
Prior  to  1840,  Christian  Nast,  later  one 
of  the  most  prominent  men  in  the  German 
M.  E. 'church,  visited  Galion  and  sowed  the 
seed  for  a  German  church.  He  preached  in 
the  old  log  school  house,  and  later  Rev.  Nuh- 
fer,  who  followed  Mr.  Nast,  organized  the 
church,  and  the  first  regular  minister  was  Rev. 
John  Bier.  They  held  meetings  in  the  school 
house  and  in  the  other  churches,  and  when 
the  English  Methodist  church  was  built  in  i860 
they  held  services  in  the  basement  of  that 
church  and  finally  bought  the  old  frame  build- 
ing erected  by  the  Methodists,  and  here  they 
remained  until  1873,  when  they  sold  the  build- 
ing, and  it  was  transformed  into  a  residence, 
and  they  erected  a  fine  large  brick  at  the  corner 
of  Atwood  and  Market. 

It  was  in  185 1,  at  the  time  of  the  coming  of 
the  railroad,  that  the  first  steps  were  taken  to- 
ward the  organization  of  a  Presbyterian  church 
at  Galion.  For  several  years  meetings  and 
occasional  services  were  held  at  the  home  of 
John  McClelland,  and  occasional  services  in 
one  of  the  sister  churches,  and  in  i860  a  site 
was  secured  on  South  Market  street,  but  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war,  and  the  weakness  nu- 
merically of  the  members  made  the  building 
of  the  church  very  slow,  but  it  was  finally  fin- 
ished in  1863,  and  the  congregation  heavily  in 
debt,  after  many  discouragements,  but  ever 
faithful  and  hopeful,  had  the  satisfaction  of 
wiping  out  the  debt,  and  placing  the  church  on 
a  solid  foundation. 

The  Baptist  church  was  organized  in  Jan- 
uary, 1859.  In  the  spring  of  1862  they  began 
the  erection  of  their  building  on  Walnut  street, 
west  of  Market,  and  in  its  erection  Elder  J.  B. 
Sutton,  the  pastor,  as  soon  as  the  foundation 
was  laid,  worked  as  a  mason  in  the  laying  of 
the  brick  until  the  walls  were  completed. 
The  building  was  dedicated  August  3,  1862, 
by  Rev.  J.  W.  Osborn,  of  Mansfield.    For  two 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


427 


years  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sutton  filled  the  pulpit  of 
the  church  his  own  hands  had  assisted  in  erect- 
ing. 

The  United  Brethren  in  Christ  commenced 
the  holding  of  services  early  in  the  40s,  the 
first  sermon  being  preached  by  the  Rev.  Fran- 
cis Clymer  in  the  German  Lutheran  church  at 
the  corner  of  Union  and  Church  streets.  Other 
early  preachers  were  Rev.  W.  R.  Rhinehart 
and  Rev.  Peter  Flack.  This  church  held  sev- 
eral camp  meetings  in  which  there  were  many 
conversions.  The  church  was  finally  organized 
in  1852,  and  their  church  erected  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Walnut  and  Market  streets,  and  this  was 
the  first  church  erected  after  the  completion  of 
the  Cleveland,  Columbus  and  Cincinnati  road, 
and  was  then  on  the  edge  of  town. 

The  coming  of  the  railroad  brought  with 
it  a  number  of  Catholics,  and  in  1854  they 
were  organized  into  a  congregation  by  Rev. 
Matthias  Kreusch.  Services  were  first  held  in 
the  home  of  Mr.  Rudiger,  near  the  C.  C.  &  C. 
depot,  and  in  1855  they  built  a  small  frame  on 
Main  street,  east  of  the  railroad  track.  This 
they  used  until  they  bought  the  property  and 
erected  a  church  north  of  the  Union  School 
building  in  1865,  and  at  the  same  time  started 
a  parochial  school.  The  priest  in  charge  at  the 
time  was  Rev.  John  P.  Pitts  and, a  part  of  his 
parochial  duties  was  the  teaching  of  the  school. 
The  membership  of  the  congregation  was  Ger- 
man and  Irish  and  in  1867  the  two  separated 
and  both  had  parochial  schools.  In  1873  St. 
Patrick's  church  was  erected  at  the  corner  of 
Washington  street  and  Payne  avenue  and  in 
1877  St.  Joseph  church  bought  three  lots  on  the 
corner  of  Liberty  and  Church  streets.  On 
these  lots  was  the  first  brick  school  house  built 
in  Gabon,  and  this  was  remodeled  and  used  by 
the  church  until  they  built  their  present  struct- 
ure. 

In  1869  Rev.  George  S.  Davis  visited  Galion 
for  the  purpose  of  forming  an  Episcopal 
church,  and  in  December  of  that  year  an  or- 
ganization was  perfected,  known  as  Grace 
Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Davis  remained  with 
the  church  about  six  months  and  was  followed 
by  other  ministers,  efforts  being  made  to  have 
services  at  least  as  often  as  every  alternate 
Sunday,  the  Baptist  church  being  used.  But 
the  church  was  not  yet  strong  enough  and  al- 
though the  organization  was  kept  up  services 


were  discontinued.  In  1873  the  work  was  re- 
sumed by  Rev.  Mr.  Hilyar,  and  the  hall  of 
the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers 
secured  for  their  meetings.  In  1874  they  pur- 
chased a  site  on  South  Union  street.  Here 
a  very  neat  chapel  was  built  and  the  first  ser- 
mon was  delivered  in  it  on  December  19,  1875. 
The  congregation  was  in  debt  $1,100,  but  $800 
was  paid  through  the  work  of  the  ladies  of  the 
church  and  the  other  $300  was  assumed  by  T. 
A.  Phillips,  division  superintendent  of  the 
A.  &  G.  W.,  and  the  church  was  dedicated  on 
Ascension  Day,  May  25,  1876.  Among  those 
who  filled  the  pulpit  in  Grace  church  was  Rev. 
William  M.  Brown,  who  after  leaving  Galion 
served  as  archdeacon  at  Cleveland,  and  later 
became  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Brown  of  Arkan- 
sas. He  has  written  several  valuable  works 
on  the  history  of  the  church. 

The  Church  of  Christ  first  held  services  in 
the  old  frame  church  on  West  Main  street,  and 
later  bought  their  present  site  on  East  Payne 
avenue,  where  they  erected  their  present  church 
about  I 90 I. 

The  Christian  Scientist  church  are  organized 
and  hold  regular  services  at  their  rooms  in  the 
First  National  Bank  building. 

The  Free  Methodists  have  established  a 
church  and  hold  services  in  the  extreme  eastern 
part  of  the  city  on  Second  avenue. 

The  first  schoolhouse  erected  in  Galion  was 
in  1822.  George  Wood  was  the  carpenter,  and 
on  the  day  selected  the  settlers  all  attended 
and  united  in  the  erection  of  the  building.  It 
was  of  round  logs  with  a  clapboard  roof.  This 
roof  and  the  sides  of  the  building  were  stuifed 
with  moss  and  plastered  with  clay  to  keep  out 
the  rain.  It  was  built  on  West  Main  street, 
where  the  Crim  residence  now  stands.  It  was 
a  well  lighted  building  for  those  days  as  three 
windows  were  placed  in  it,  and  Wood  being 
a  carpenter  and  desiring  to  show  what  he  really 
could  do,  when  the  logs  were  cut  out  for  the 
windows,  placed  window  frames  in  the  build- 
ing. The  seats  were  split  logs  with  the  flat 
sides  up,  and  were  made  by  the  settlers  them- 
selves. David  Gill  was  the  first  school  teacher. 
Other  early  teachers  in  Galion  were  Phares 
Jackson,  John  Morrison,  Joel  Todd  and  James 
Dunlap.  In  the  early  days  schools  were  taught 
by  subscription,  the  teacher  securing  \\'hat 
pupils  he  could  at  a  certain  amount  per  month. 


428 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Of  course,  the  more  pupils  he  secured  the  high- 
er his  wages,  but  it  was  seldom  in  those  sparsely 
settled  regions  a  teacher  could  secure  enough 
pupils  to  make  his  salary  more  than  eight  or 
ten  dollars  a  month.  Many  settlers  had  large 
families,  so  large  in  fact  that  only  one  or  two 
of  the  children  could  be  sent  to  school,  the 
parents  being  unable  to  pay  the  tuition  fees 
for  all.  It  occasionally  happened  that  some 
child  who  was  attending  school  was  sick,  or 
detained  at  home  for  some  cause.  This  matter 
was  easily  adjusted  as  the  parents  sent  one 
of  the  other  children  to  take  the  absentee's 
place.  The  rule  was  he  had  paid  for  a  certain 
number  of  days'  schooling  and  he  was  entitled 
to  that  number  of  days  for  whatever  children 
he  might  send  and  sometimes  each  child  was 
given  a  week  alternately.  It  was  not  until 
1847  that  a  regular  school  system  was  intro- 
duced in  Gallon.  Preparing  for  this  new  sys- 
tem^ the  officers  of  school  district  No.  9,  which 
was  the  Gallon  district,  made  some  improve- 
ments in  their  schoolhouse.  The  contract  was 
with  George  Rensch,  and  he  was  to  make  15 
seats  and  15  desks  four  feet  long.  The  desks 
were  to  be  18  inches  wide  and  the  seats  ten 
inches  broad.  He  was  to  make  a  double  desk 
and  two  seats  eight  feet  long.  He  was  to  build 
a  platform  four  feet  square,  raised  six  inches 
from  the  floor,  with  a  desk  on  it  four  feet  long 
and  18  inches  wide,  and  build  a  seat  behind  the 
desk.  He  was  also  to  build  a  door,  put  glass 
in  the  windows,  patch  the  plastering  and  fur- 
nish all  the  material.  The  contract  was  made 
on  October  20,  1846,  and  the  work  was  to  be 
completed  in  a  good  and  workmanlike  manner 
by  November  iq,  and  for  all  this  work  he  was 
to  receive  20  dollars. 

The  old  grave-yard  was  selected  as  the  site 
of  the  second  schoolhouse.  but  this  building 
was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1834  and-  was  never 
rebuilt.  The  third  schoolhouse  was  built  of 
hewn  logs  on  the  east  side  of  Market  street, 
the  first  block  north  of  the  square.  It  was  pro- 
vided with  slab  seats  and  "Jim"  Mason  was 
one  of  the  teachers.  W.  C.  Parsons  taua;ht 
a  school  in  a  room  of  the  Bickler  house,  across 
the  street  from  the  above  schoolhouse.  Ludwig 
Gerth  also  taueht  German  school  in  the  old  loe 
buildine  on  the  site  of  St.  Tosenh's  church.  It 
was  used  as  a  primary  department  after  the 
first  brick  building  was  erected.     School  was 


also  held  in  the  United  Brethren  church  on 
Walnut  street,  also  in  the  old  M.  E.  church 
frame  building  on  West  Main  street. 

The  first  brick  school  was  erected  in  1847  on 
the  corner  of  Church  and  Liberty,  and  was  used 
as  a  school  house  until  the  erection  of  the  large 
central  building  in  1868,  when  it  was  used  as  a 
woolen  mill,  and  in  1877  purchased  by  St. 
Joseph  church,  who  remodeled  it  and  used  it 
as  a  church,  and  today  it  is  the  parochial  school. 
It  was  in  this  brick  public  schools  were  first 
taught.  At  the  start  the  tax  levy  failed  to  keep 
the  schools  running  more  than  a  few  months, 
and  subscriptions  were  made  to  continue  the 
schools  the  balance  of  the  year.  There  were 
four  schools  in  the  building,  No.  i,  the  pri- 
mary, was  so  crowded  that  it  had  two  teachers, 
Mrs  Crim  and  Mrs.  Hackadorn;  No.  2  was 
taught  by  Hugh  Williams ;  No.  3  by  John  R. 
Clymer,  who  afterward  became  county  clerk 
and  editor  of  the  Bucyrus  Forum;  No.  4  by 
David  Kerr,  who  was  the  first  superintendent 
of  the  Gallon  schools. 

Between  1830  and  1840  a  wave  swept  over 
the  state  for  the  laying  out  of  towns.  A  gen- 
eration had  passed  and  another  wave  swept 
the  state,  which  was  the  erection  of  large,  hand- 
some, central  school  houses.  Gallon  was  not 
behind  her  sister  towns,  and  in  1867  it  was  de- 
cided to  build  a  spacious  and  commodious  cen- 
tral building.  Prof.  J.  C.  Hartzler  was  super- 
intendent of  the  schools,  and  the  Board  of  Ed- 
ucation was  composed  of  P.  W.  Weber,  presi- 
dent; F.  A.  Keen,  secretary;  Samuel  Shunk,' 
treasurer;  Dr.  N.  E.  Hackedorn,  Jacob  Riblet 
and  Charles  Quigley.  The  site  selected  was  the 
north  half  of  the  block  that  extended  from 
Walnut  to  Atwood,  and  from  Union  to  Boston 
streets.  It  contained  four  full  lots,  and  cost 
$9,000.  The  architect  was  J.  W.  Thomas, 
and  the  principal  contractors  were  Bird  & 
Woodward,  of  Mt.  Gilead,  whose  bid  was  $31,- 
000.  The  cornerstone  was  laid  on  June  ig, 
1868,  but  the  building  was  slow  in  completion, 
owing  to  many  changes  made  in  the  original 
plans  as  it  progressed,  and  also  the  lack  of 
funds.  More  bonds  had  to  be  issued,  until 
finally  an  investigation  was  demanded  on  Janu- 
ary, 1872,  and  J.  G.  Meuser  and  S.  G.  Cum- 
mings  were  appointed  to  investigate  and  report. 
They  found  that  up  to  that  time  the  cost  had 
reached  $87,571.    The  building  has  a  frontage 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


429 


of  144  feet  and  a  depth  of  70  feet.  It  is  three 
stories  in  height,  the  first  and  second  meas- 
uring 13  feet  and  the  third  16  feet.  The  whole 
is  surmounted  by  two  handsome  towers,  the 
height  from  the  basement  to  the  top  of  the  tow- 
ers being  loi  ft.  3  in.  On  the  the  first  floor  are 
five  schoolrooms  and  an  office  for  the  superin- 
tendent; on  the  second  floor  six  rooms,  and  on 
the  third  floor  four  rooms  and  the  assembly 
hall,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  600.  Prof.  I. 
C.  Guinther  has  been  the  superintendent  for  the 
past  15  years;  the  high  school  is  in  charge  of 
Prof.  Frank  C.  Honnold  with  a  corps  of  eight 
teachers,  while  in  the  other  departments  there 
are  twenty-eight  teachers.  Out  of  a  school 
enumeration  of  1910  there  is  an  attendance  of 
1,495.  The  first  class  was  graduated  in  1871, 
and  numbered  two,  Willis  Stentz,  who  became 
a  banker  in  Gallon,  and  Samuel  S.  Pague,  who 
later  was  appointed  a  cadet  at  West  Point,  and 
became  an  officer  in  the  army.  The  graduating 
class  today  frequently  numbers  fifty,  and  a 
standard  oratorio  is  the  feature  generally  given 
each  year. 

The  growth  of  the  population  has  far  ex- 
ceeded the  capacities  of  the  handsome  central 
building,  and  ward  schools  have  been  erected 
as  needed,  the  first  being  made  necessary  as 
early  as  1S79. 

The  city  of  Galion  is  provided  with  the  usual 
number  of  fraternal  and  secret  societies.  The 
Odd  Fellows  were  the  first  in  the  field,  the 
charter  of  Galion  Lodge,  No.  215,  I.  O.  O.  F. 
being  dated  March  9,  1853.  None  of  its  char- 
ter members  are  known  to  be  living  today.  This 
lodge  met  in  various  rooms  until  it  leased  the 
third  floor  of  the  Hofstetter  block,  situated 
near  the  public  square.  Here  it  stayed  until 
it  built  the  third  floor  of  the  Kesselmeier  block, 
where  it  has  since  maintained  its  quarters.  To- 
day the  lodge  is  in  a  prosperous  condition, 
owning  its  own  hall  and  its  room  being  richly 
and  invitingly  furnished.  A  German  lodge  of 
Odd  Fellows  was  at  one  time  organized  and 
continued  for  some  years,  but  finally  the  char- 
ter was  surrendered  and  the  members  joined 
Galion  Lodee.  No.  215.  Lebonah  Encamp- 
ment of  Odd  Fellows  was  formed  here  a  num- 
ber of  vears  ago  and  is  still  in  existence,  while 
the  ladies'  auxiliary,  known  as  Cassandra 
Lodge,  Daughters  of  Rebekah,  instituted  many 
years  ago,  is  also  in  a  flourishing  condition. 


Masonry  attained  a  permanent  footing  in 
Galion  when  Fidelity  Lodge,  No.  327,  F.  &  A. 
M.  was  granted  a  charter  on  OctoDer  17,  i860. 
Un  October  i,  1868,  a  second  Blue  Lodge  was 
instituted  and  was  known  as  Galion  Lodge,  No. 
414,  many  of  the  original  members  of  which 
are  still  living.  Fidelity  Lodge — of  whom  the 
only  living  charter  member  is  Peter  W. 
Weber,  met  on  the  third  floor  of  the  Hacke- 
dorn  block,  while  Galion  Lodge  occupied  the 
third  floor  of  the  Mackey  block.  A  few  years 
ago  the  two  lodges  were  merged  under  the 
name  of  Galion  Lodge,  No.  414.  They  have 
commodious  quarters  in  the  Mackey  block, 
but  plans  are  on  foot  whereby  they  will  soon 
own  their  own  building  and  hall.  The  Royal 
Arch  Masons  received  their  charter  October 
II,  1878,  as  Crawford  Chapter,  No.  142.  The 
ladies  are  represented  by  membership  in  Naomi 
Chapter,  No.  47,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 

A  lodge  of  Red  Men  was  at  one  time  organ- 
ized in  Galion  but  has  long  since  ceased  to  exist. 
The  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows  held  sway  for  a 
number  of  years  until  Galion  Lodge,  No.  186, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  was  instituted.  It  was 
composed  mainly  of  young  men  and  many  of 
its  original  members  are  still  living.  It  first 
met  in  Howard's  Hall,  but  some  years  ago 
leased  the  entire  third  floor  of  the  Hackedorn 
block,  which  was  remodeled  into  lodge  and 
banquet  rooms  and  richly  furnished.  This 
organization  is  prospering  and  is  increasing  its 
membership. 

In  iqo8  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Or- 
der of  Elks  organized  Galion  Lodge,  No.  1 191, 
and  two  years  ago  they  purchased  their  own 
building  on  East  Main  street.  Other  orders 
are  Galion  Aerie,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles, 
No.  630,  who  meet  at  the  Eagles  Home,  west 
Main  street;  Galion  Nest,  No.  11. S4,  Order  of 
Owls,  130  East  Main  street ;  Galion  Lodge,  No. 
303,  Loyal  Order  of  Moose,  who  meet  in  the 
Howard  Block. 

The  first  of  the  so-called  insurance  fraterni- 
ties was  the  railway  men's  organization  known 
as  Division  No.  16.  Brotherhood  of  Locomo- 
tive Engineers,  which  first  met  in  a  part  of  the 
third  floor  now  occupied  by  the  armory.  This 
lodge  is  still  in  existence  and  continues  to  pros- 
per. Later  on  the  Order  of  Raihvay  Con- 
ductors, the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Fire- 
men, and  the  Brotherhood  of  Railway  Train- 


430 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


men,  all  fraternal  railway  organizations,  were 
organized  and  continue  to  exist,  wielding  much 
power  for  the  good  of  their  members,  as  well 
as  the  national  organizations.  Auxiliaries  to 
these  organizations  are  the  Grand  International 
Auxiliary  to  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive 
Engineers,  Eclipse  Favorite,  Ladies'  Auxiliary 
to  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Firemen 
and  Enginemen,  and  Pride  of  35  Lodge  79, 
Ladies'  Auxiliary  to  the  Brotherhood  of  Rail- 
way Trainmen. 

In  addition  to  the  above  fraternities,  the 
Royal  Arcanum  is  represented  by  Crawford 
Council,  No.  20.  The  Independent  Order  of 
Foresters  has  three  lodges — Court  Gallon, 
1360,  Court  Daisy,  74  and  Court  Mohawk, 
4755-  The  Royal  Foresters,  No.  102,  also 
maintain  an  organization  here  and  all  Forester 
Courts  meet  in  the  Howard  Block.  Camp  No. 
3766,  Modern  Woodmen  of  America;  Gallon 
Tent,  No.  407,  Knights  of  the  Maccabees; 
Gallon  Hive,  No.  230,  Ladies  of  the  Macca- 
bees ;  Peace  Home,  No.  14,  and  Galion  Home, 
No.  178,  Home  Guards  of  America,  are  some 
of  the  insurance  lodges  which  are  doing  an 
active  and  progressive  work  in  this  city  and 
its  environs. 

The  first  patriotic  organization  in  this  city, 
having  its  origin  in  the  Civil  war,  was  Dick 
Morris  Post,  No.  130,  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, which  today  has  about  60  members. 
Its  Ladies'  Auxiliary  is  known  as  Dick  Morris 
Corps. 

Star  Council,  No.  106,  Junior  Order  of 
United  American  Mechanics,  has  been  in  exist- 
ence for  21  years  and  has  the  third  floor  of  the 
Dennig  block  under  long  lease,  sub-renting  its 
handsomely  appointed  lodge  rooms  to  other 
lodges. 

Hope  Council,  Daughters  of  Liberty  and 
Bell  of  Liberty  Council,  Davighters  of  America, 
are  ladies'  lodges  of  a  patriotic  character,  the 
latter  being  closely  allied  with  the  Junior  Order 
and  the  former  with  the  order  of  United  Amer- 
ican Mechanics,  which  has  no  lodge  here  at 
present. 

There  are  several  fraternal  organizations  in 
Galion  fostered  by  the  Roman  Catholic  church, 
all  of  a  beneficiary  character.  The  Catholic 
Knights  of  America  were  the  first  to  organize 
a  branch  here,  but  the  members  afterwasd  be- 
came affiliated  with  the  Catholic  Knights  of 


Ohio,  maintaining  St.  Joseph's  branch,  No.  7, 
and  Branch  No.  92.  St.  Francis  Council,  No. 
1234,  Knights  of  Columbus,  was  organized 
about  four  years  ago  and  is  a  flourishing  insti- 
tution. 

The  Catholic  Ladies  of  Columbia  maintain  a 
strong  organization.  Other  fraternal  organi- 
zations are  Galion  Council,  No.  476,  United 
CoQimercial  Travelers;  Galion  Tribe  of  Ben 
Hur,  Knights  of  Honor,  D.  K.  U.  V.,  and 
Galion  Lodge,  No.  1226,  National  Protective 
Legioif. 

The  first  burial  ground  in  what  is  now  the 
city  limits  of  Galion,  was  there  long  before 
the  first  settlers  had  set  a  foot  in  this  hunting 
region  of  the  Indians.  On  the  south  bank  of 
the  Whetstone,  west  of  Market  street,  was  an 
Indian  village  occupied  by  members  of  the 
Wyandot  tribe,  while  across  the  river  was  an 
Indian  burial  ground.  Many  interments  had 
been  made  there  long  prior  to  the  arrival  of 
the  first  settlers,  but  with  the  incoming  of  the 
white  man  the  Indian  village  was  abandoned 
and  the  graveyard  was  seldom  if  ever  used. 
The  graves  were  generally  quite  shallow,  and 
whether  it  was  their  aversion  to  work  or  an 
Indian  custom,  when  one  of  their  number  died 
in  winter,  the  bodies  were  placed  on  posts  driv- 
en into  the  ground,  and  properly  protected  left 
to  remain  there  until  spring,  when  a  very  shal- 
low grave  was  dug  and  the  Indian  buried. 
After  the  Indians  left  many  of  the  graves  were 
opened  by  the  younger  men  among  the  settlers 
in  the  hope  of  finding  something  of  value,  but 
in  no  case  was  anything  found  beyond  the 
weapons  of  some  warrier.  Still  the  desecra- 
tion of  these  graves  enabled  some  of  the  early 
physicians  to  secure  skeletons,  which  they 
transferred  to  their  offices. 

After  the  pioneers  arrived  it  was  the  custom 
there,  as  all  over  the  country,  for  the  settlers 
to  bury  their  dead  in  some  favorable  a'nd  pretty 
locality  on  their  own  land,  but  John  William- 
son and  James  Nail  conceived  the  idea  of  estab- 
lishing a  graveyard  in  some  central  locality. 
The  site  selected  was  in  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  31,  on  the  north  side  of  Main  street 
jus<3  east  of  where  the  German  Reformed 
church  stood  20  years  ago.  This  land  belonged 
to  Samuel  Brown.  It  was  a  dense  forest  cov- 
ered with  sugar  trees  and  underbrush  and  they 
bought  one  acre  for  $5.00.    The  cash  was  paid 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


431 


and  Mr.  Nail  states  that  a  deed  was  made  out 
in  the  name  of  John  WilUamson  and  others, 
dedicating  the  site  for  burial  purposes,  but  the 
deed  was  never  recorded.  After  securing  the 
ground,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Frederick  Se- 
dorus  was  employed  for  $14.00  to  chop  down 
a  number  of  the  trees,  clear  away  the  under- 
brush, and  make  the  ground  fit  for  use.  This 
was  probably  in  1825,  several  years  before 
Gallon  was  laid  out.  Nail  states  that  in  every 
transfer  of  the  farm  from  that  day  to  this  the 
acre  was  consecrated  to  the  dead.  The  first 
or  second  grave  dug  in  this  ground  was  for  a 
child  of  James  Nail,  and  he  has  eight  members 
of  his  family  buried  there;  two  wives,  and  six 
children.  The  last  burial  was  that  of  John 
Williamson.  The  graveyard  had  long  since 
been  abandoned,  but  he  desired  to  be  buried 
by  the  rest  of  his  family.  During  all  of  Mr. 
Nail's  life  the  ground  was  kept  in  repair  by  him 
and  his  last  payment  for  that  purpose  was  in 
1866,  when  a  payment  of  $25.00  was  made  to 
H.  C.  Carhart  and  James  W.  Gill  for  the  last 
fence  that  was  ever  placed  around  the  lot.  At 
the  time  the  graveyard  was  started,  just  south 
of  it  were  several  graves  that  had  been  dug  on 
the  Leveridge  farm,  the  first  burial  there  being 
that  of  John  Leveridge,  who  was  killed  by  a 
falling  log  while  erecting  the  Williamson 
cabin  in  1819;  this  was  undoubtedly  the  first 
burial  in  Polk  township.  Several  of  the  Lev- 
eridges  were  buried  on  this  site,  which  is  now 
Main  street.  The  ruthless  march  of  time 
made  the  ground  where  this  first  graveyard 
was  located  too  valuable  and  the  remains  of 
the  dead  were  carefully  taken  up  and  removed 
to  Union  Green  Cemetery,  one  block  north, 
which  many  years  previous  had  been  laid  out 
as  the  cemetery  of  the  city  of  Gallon.  In  this 
cemetery  rests  Disberry  Johnston,  the  pioneer 
who  came  to  this  county  in  181 7  with  a  wife 
and  17  children. 

The  Union  Green  cemetery  was  located  on 
land  donated  by  Jacob  Ruhl.  Prior  to  this  the 
Nail-Williamson  cemetery  was  used.  Just 
north  of  this  cemetery  is  the  Catholic  cemetery. 
After  the  Lutheran  church  was  built  near  the 
cemetery  in  1840  that  church  added  more  land, 
and  in  1861  a  final  addition  was  made  to  it  on 
the  south  side  by  Daniel  Riblet.  This  addition 
brought  the  cemetery  ground  up  to  Church 
street  and  made  it  a  block  in  size,  about  five 


acres.  The  rapid  growth  of  the  town  after 
1850  led  to  several  propositions  for  a  new  and 
larger  cemetery,  but  it  was  not  until  thirty 
years  later  that  definite  action  was  taken,  and 
the  site  of  the  present  Fairview  Cemetery  se- 
cured, a  tract  of  80  acres  near  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  city.  It  was  appropriately  named 
Fairview,  being  on  high  ground,  overlooking 
the  city.  It  was  laid  out  in  fine  drives,  addi- 
tional trees  planted,  and  Gallon's  city  of  the 
dead  demonstrates  the  taste  and  progress  of 
that  enterprising  city,  and  reflects  credit  on 
the  management  of  the  Fairview  Cemetery  As- 
sociation. 

As  in  the  early  history  of  most  towns.  Gallon 
had  no  regular  fire  department.  When  a  fire 
broke  out  it  was  extinguished — if,  indeed,  it 
was  extinguished  before  it  had  burned  itself 
out — by  the  voluntary  efforts  of  all  the  able 
bodied  citizens  who  could  handle  a  pail,  two 
lines  being  formed  and  the  full  pails  or  buckets 
of  water  being  passed  along  one  line  to  be 
emptied  onto  the  fire,  and  then  returned  along 
the  other  line  to  be  refilled.  This  plan,  how- 
ever, was  adopted  and  a  regular  brigade 
formed  only  after  the  futility  of  unconcerted 
action  had  been  several  times  demonstrated. 
Later  a  crude  engine  came  into  use,  which  con- 
sisted of  small  rectangular  boxes  supplied  with 
pumps.  The  boxes  held  from  one  to  three  bar- 
rels of  water  and  were  set  on  low  trucks.  From 
four  to  six  men  could  work  at  the  levers.  There 
was  no  suction  and  the  lid  of  the  box  had  to 
be  kept  shut  while  pumping.  It  was  soon  dis- 
covered, however,  that  it  was  just  as  effective 
to  throw  the  water  on  the  fire  directly  from 
the  pails  as  to  use  this  clumsy  apparatus,  and 
therefore  it  was  soon  abandoned  and  finished 
its  career  as  a  garden  sprinkler.  It  had  cost  the 
village  $100,  the  money  being  lent  by  Jacob 
Riblet.  This  inefficient  machine  was  named 
the  "Protection,"  which  at  this  day  seems 
rather  humorous. 

About  1853  the  council  purchased  a  more 
efficient  apparatus  in  the  Phoenix  hand-engine 
— that  is,  it  was  more  efficient  whenever  a  fire 
happened  to  break  out  in  the  immediate  vicinitv 
of  where  it  happened  to  be  located,  for  being 
low  built  and  tremendously  heavy  it  was  not 
an  uncommon  thing  to  see  it  hopelessly  stuck 
in  the  mud,  with  the  foreman  and  crew  making 
desperate  efforts  to  extricate  it,  while  the  exul- 


26 


432 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


tant  fire  fiend  was  making  havoc  with  property, 
perhaps  only  a  block  or  two  distant.  This  ma- 
chine had  been  built  for  use  on  the  better 
streets  of  Cleveland,  but  as  steam  fire-engines 
were  just  then  coming  into  vogue,  that  city 
did  not  want  it,  and  Gallon  secured  it  at  a  bar- 
gain. The  engine  could  throw  a  considerable 
volume  of  water  to  a  good  height.  Jacob  Rib- 
let,  however,  had  opposed  the  purchase  of  the 
Phoenix  engine,  on  account  of  its  heaviness, 
thereby  proving  himself  to  be  a  man  of  con- 
siderable perspicacity,  and  after  it  had  been 
purchased  in  the  face  of  his  opposition,  he  bet 
the  company  a  keg  of  beer  that  the  engine  could 
not  throw  a  stream  of  water  to  the  top  of 
Wimmie's  block,  and  on  the  occasion  of  the 
trial  ascended  to  the  roof  of  the  building  so 
that  he  might  be  in  a  suitable  position  to  ren- 
der an  accurate  judgment.  But  apparently  hav- 
ing some  latent  consciousness  that  he  might 
have  made  a  rash  bet,  he  took  the  precaution 
to  provide  himself  with  an  umbrella.  In  so 
doing  he  again  justified  his  reputation  for  sa- 
gacity, as  he  had  abundant  occasion  to  use 
his  weapon  of  defense  against  the  copious 
stream  that  the  triumphant  fire  fighters  hurled 
over  the  building,  paying  particular  attention 
to  the  spot  where  he  stood  in  vain  defiance. 
Even  the  umbrella  was  no  protection,  and  he 
was  compelled  to  seek  safety  in  flight.  The 
deluge  of  water  was  promptly  succeeded  by 
a  deluge  of  beer,  Mr.  Riblet  doubtless  partici- 
pating in  the  festivities.  Thus  was  the  honor 
of  the  Phoenix  vindicated.  But  such  triumphs 
were  not  exactly  of  the  sort  for  which  the  city 
had  purchased  the  engine,  so  in  the  year  1856, 
the  Phoenix  was  traded  to  Button  &  Blake  of 
Cincinnati,  for  the  "Niagara,"  the  authorities 
paying  to  the  Cincinnati  firm  $800,  as  the  dif- 
ference in  value  between  the  two  engines.  The 
new  machine  was  housed  in  a  new  and  substan- 
tial brick  building,  which  had  been  built  the 
year  previous  on  Atwood  street,  a  tax  of  6 
mills  being  levied.  A  dozen  cisterns  were  also 
built.  As  one  hose-cart  was  found  inadequate 
to  carry  all  the  hose  needed,  a  second  was  pur- 
chased. 

In  October,  1872,  the  corporation  purchased 
the  Star  steam  fire  engine  of  Ahrens  &  Co., 
Cincinnati,  at  a  cost  of  $4,599-  Another  hose- 
cart  was  also  purchased  at  Akron,  Ohio.    This 


engine  and  hose-cart  were  housed  in  the  City 
Hall  building. 

The  fire  alarm  system  is  used,  twenty- four 
signal  boxes  being  erected  throughout  the  city. 
The  department  now  has  an  abundance  of  hose, 
hook  and  ladder  trucks,  and  the  water  supply 
is  ample. 

Previous  to  the  year  1859  Gallon  was  with- 
out any  system  of  illumination,  which,  taken 
with  the  intolerably  bad  condition  of  the  streets, 
made  getting  around  town  after  dark  a  decid- 
edly hazardous  undertaking.  Lanterns  were 
necessarily  used  to  a  large  extent,  but  at  best 
could  only  prove  a  very  imperfect  substitute 
for  a  good  lighting  plant.  About  the  year 
mentioned  a  gas  manufactory  was  established 
near  the  railroad  on  Main  street,  the  works 
being  constructed  by  William  Stephenson. 
About  two  miles  of  wooden  pipe  were  put 
down  and  answered  their  purpose  for  about 
twelve  years.  Among  the  principal  stockhold- 
ers of  the  company  were  Dr.  John  Reisinger, 
William,  Hays,  Martin  Sponhauer,  Joel, 
David  and  Jacob  Riblet  and  others.  Assess- 
ments were  frequent  but  no  dividend  was  ever 
declared,  and  the  stockholders  lost  all  they 
put  into  it,  but  they  had  the  satisfaction  of 
having  the  first  gas  in  the  county  for  illumina- 
ting purposes.  The  old  factory  was  sold  at 
sheriff's  sale  and  bid  in  by  Wm.  Hays,  who  sold 
to  Miller  &  Kuhn,  of  Pennsylvania.  They  en- 
larged the  works,  replaced  the  wooden  pipe 
with  iron,  and  put  down  considerable  more 
pipes.  In  1872  they  changed  the  location  of 
the  plant,  building  new  works  on  East  Church 
street.  A  few  years  later  the  concern  was 
made  a  stock  company.  Miller  &  Kuhn,  how- 
ever, retaining  a  controlling  interest.  The  city 
is  today  lit  by  electric  lights. 

One  of  the  greatest  drawbacks  of  Gallon  in 
its  earlier  history  was  the  lack  of  paved  streets 
and  good  sidewalks.  The  roads  in  the  vicinity 
were  as  bad  as  they  could  be  and  during  mild 
winters  and  in  the  spring  were  in  a  semi-liquid 
condition.  About  the  first  sidewalk  put  down, 
of  which  there  is  any  record,  consisted  of  a 
double  row  of  logs,  slightly  raised  from  the 
ground,  which  extended  around  the  square,  the 
upper  surfaces  of  the  logs  being  hewn  flat. 
As  the  town  spread  out  board  walks  were  put 
down  and  an  occasional  brick,  but  little  done 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


433 


with  the  streets.  In  the  spring  of  1880  a  pe- 
tition, signed  by  a  majority  of  the  resident 
property  holders,  was  sent  to  the  city  council, 
demanding  that  Main  and  Market  streets  be 
graded  and  paved  in  some  manner.  Plans  were 
drawn  up  under  the  direction  of  F.  L.  Krause 
who  had  been  elected  city  engineer,  and  it  was 
decided  to  pike  both  streets,  the  improvements 
on  Main  street  to  extend  from  about  one  and 
a  half  blocks  west  of  the  square,  over  the  C, 
C,  C.  &  I.  Railroad  on  the  east,  and  those  on 
Market  street  from  the  square  on  the  south  to 
the  depot  on  that  street.  The  cost  was  esti- 
mated at  $30,000  and  the  contract  was  awarded 
to  Gray  &  Co.,  of  Cleveland.  Thus  was  in- 
augurated a  much  needed  improvement,  which 
has  since  been  extended  to  other  streets. 

The  following  report  of  City  Civil  Engineer 
A.  O.  Theobald,  published  last  year,  shows 
Gallon's  present  condition  with  respect  to  the 
important  question  of  public  improvements : 

"Gallon  has  invested  $153,632.00  in  public 
improvements  in  the  last  year  and  expended 
$69,164.00  for  similar  purposes  in  the  two 
years  prior.  This  grand  total  of  $222,000.00 
invested  by  the  city  of  Galion  and  its  tax  payers 
to  better  the  condition  of  our  city  is  a  record 
of  which  perhaps  no  town  of  equal  size  can 
boast.  It  naturally  follows  how  and  where 
have  these  improvements  been  made.  In  the 
years  1908  and  1909  Galion  was  roused  from 
her  comatose  condition  by  the  paving  of  West 
Main  street,  and  the  taking  of  the  first  and 
greatest  step  the  city  has  even  taken  in  the 
path  of  modern  sanitation.  The  Trunk  Line 
sewer  or  out-fall  sewer  was  constructed,  giv- 
ing the  city  an  outlet  for  all  future  sanitary 
sewer  construction  for  the  east  and  west  ex- 
tremes of  the  city,  as  well  as  the  north  and 
south  sides.  The  three  miles  of  out-fall  sewer 
constructed  at  the  cost  of  approximately  $22,- 
000,  carries  the  sewage  of  the  entire  city  to 
a  point  approximately  one  mile  west  of  t"he  city, 
where  it  will  be  purified  and  disposed  of  in  one 
of  the  most  modern  of  Sewage  Disposal  Plants, 
the  construction  of  which  is  now  nearing  com- 
pletion. 

"Following  the  paving  of  West  Main  street 
and  the  construction  of  the  Trunk  Line  Sewer 
came  the  improvement  of  South  Columbus 
street,  an  improvement  that  adds  much  to  the 
beauty  of  that  thoroughfare. 


"The  question  of  a  disposal  site  for  the  antic- 
ipated sewage  and  the  necessary  sewer  laterals 
now  confronted  the  authorities.  The  site  was 
purchased  and  the  work  was  started  on  the 
construction  of  the  Sewage  Disposal  Plant  in 
the  month  of  May,  1910. 

"In  the  following  months  plans  were  pre- 
pared for  districting  the  city,  and  districts 
Nos.  I,  2,  3,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  and  11,  covering  al- 
most the  entire  city,  were  prepared  by  the  en- 
gineering department.  In  the  fall  of  the  same 
year  actual  work  was  started  on  the  laying  of 
all  the  mentioned  district  sewers,  aggregating 
17  3/10  miles  of  pipe. 

"In  the  spring  of  the  year  191 1  all  laterals 
under  construction  were  finished  and  again 
the  authorities  followed  the  wishes  of  the  citi- 
zens, and  the  spirit  of  public  improvement  was 
not  allowed  to  become  idle.  The  city  having 
been  provided  with  the  proper  sanitations  and 
safeguarded,  our  attention  was  again  turned 
to  the  matter  of  street  improvements.  East 
Main  and  North  Market,  Atwood  and  Railroad 
streets  being  prepared  and  the  former  two 
streets  are  at  the  present  time  under  construc- 
tion. With  the  above  named  streets  improved 
the  city  of  Galion  can  boast  of  a  record  of  three 
and  a  half  miles  of  paved  streets  in  three  years. 

"The  city  is  being  rapidly  provided  with 
storm  sewers  and  at  the  present  time  the 
Eleventh  District  relief  sewer  is  being  con- 
structed at  a  cost  approximating  $7,000. 

"This  unparalleled  record  of  public  improve- 
ment during  the  past  few  years  has  transformed 
the  city  of  Galion.  But  a  few  years  ago  she 
had  only  a  meager  amount  of  public  improve- 
ments, whereas  today,  with  her  rapid  strides 
forward  during  the  past  few  years,  she  stands 
head  and  shoulders  above  her  sister  cities  and 
today  she  can  justly  point  with  pride  to  the 
wonderful  progress  made.  The  result  of  this 
forward  movement  is  already  reaping  a  har- 
vest, for  on  every  side  may  be  seen  the  con- 
struction of  fine  modern  homes  and  the  erec- 
tion of  substantial  business  blocks.  With  her 
excellent  improved  streets,  her  efficient  sewer- 
age system  and  fine  water  supply,  Galion  is  rap- 
idly becoming  a  city  of  beautiful  homes,  as  well 
as  marching  forward  in  mercantile  and  indus- 
trial lines." 

The  first  bank  in  Gallon  was  a  private  insti- 
tution conducted  by  John  S.  Davis  and  John 


434 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


U.  Bloomer.  This  was  established  in  1852, 
their  office  being  the  first  block  east  of  the 
square,  and  the  bank  was  successful  from  the 
start.  It  was  reorganized  in  1863  and  moved 
to  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Square  and 
Main  street,  Davis  and  Bloomer  both  remain- 
ing as  members*  of  the  new  bank.  On  Febru- 
ary 22,  1864,  it  became  the  First  National 
Bank,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $50,000,  C.  S. 
Crim  being  president  and  J.  U.  Bl'oomer,  cash- 
ier. E.  M.  Freese  is  president  and  H.  L.  Bod- 
ley  cashier  at  the  present  time. 

The  Citizens'  Bank  was  organized  in  1866 
by  Mt.  Gilead  and  Gallon  parties,  Gen.  John 
Beatty  being  the  first  president  and  J.  H.  Green 
cashier.  Their  office  was  on  South  Market 
street,  but  in  1875  they  bought  their  present 
location  on  the  corner  of  the  square  and  South 
Market  street.  In  1872,  they  became  the  Citi- 
zens National,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $60,000. 
In  1878  J.  H.  Green  became  president,  and 
A.  H.  Lowe  cashier,  a  position  he  has  held 
ever  since;  D.  Bachelder  succeeded  J.  H.  Green 
as  president  in  1895. 

Another  bank  was  the  Hays  bank,  started 
by  Gallon  capital,  with  William  Hays  as  presi- 
dent, and  O.  L.  Hays  as  cashier.  It  be- 
came The  Gallon  National,  and  O.  L. 
Hays  succeeded  his  father  as  president,  and 
some  years  ago  it  was  compelled  to  sus- 
pend. The  bank  was  located  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  Square  and  Main  street. 

On  May  15,  1905,  the  Commercial  Savings 
Bank  Co.  was  organized  with  Mark  Cook  as 
president,  and  J.  W.  Cupp,  as  cashier.  The 
capital  stock  was  $50,000.  On  February  i, 
1907,  A.  H.  Laughbaum  succeeded  J.  W.  Cupp 
as  cashier.  Their  bank  has  always  been  at  their 
present  site,  northeast  corner  of  the  Square 
and  Main  street. 

The  Citizens'  Building  Association  of  Galion 
was  organized  August  2,  1872,  with  David 
Mackey,  president;  J.  G.  Meuser,  secretary; 
Citizens  National  Bank,  treasurer,  and  with 
David  Mackey,  C.  E.  Klopp,  F.  A.  Keen,  S. 
G.  Cummings,  A.  M.  Brown,  James  Marsh- 
mann  and  J.  J.  Schaefer  as  directors. 

The  present  building  and  loan  companies 
are  the  Home  Savings  and  Loan  Co.,  of  which 
A.  W.  Monroe  is  secretary,  and  the  Galion 
Building  and  Loan  Association,  J.  W.  Geer, 
secretary. 


Travelers  were  first  cared  for  as  early  as 
1817  by  Benjamin  Leveridge  m  his  little  log 
cabm,  and  then  followed  William  Hostord 
with  his  double  log  cabin,  and  finally  in  1824 
this  was  run  as  a  regular  tavern  by  Asa  Hos- 
ford.  Later  Jacob  Ruhl  had  his  tavern  on  the 
Square  and  John  Kroft  a  tavern  a  block  east 
of  the  Square,  about  where  the  road  to  Mans- 
field bore  to  the  north,  afterward  abandoned, 
and  the  road  run  straight  east  as  it  is  at  present. 
The  Jacob  Ruhl  tavern  later  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Michael  Matthias,  and  in  1848  it  was 
run  by  David  and  Joel  Riblet,  the  latter  having 
been  a  driver  on  the  stage  line  between  Mans- 
field and  Bucyrus.  In  185 1,  David  and  Joel 
Riblet  put  up  a  brick  building  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  Square  and  Main  street,  and 
here  they  started  a  store,  but  the  next  year  the 
building  was  rented  by  Brown  &  McMillan 
and  they  started  the  Western  House,  and  it 
has  been  run  as  a  hotel  ever  since,  the  name 
being  changed  later  to  the  Central  Hotel. 
While  Brown  &  McMillan  were  in  charge,  an 
addition  was  built  by  the  Riblets,  and  in  1856 
Smith  Ferris  took  charge  of  it,  and  a  third  story 
was  added. 

The  Cleveland,  Columbus  and  Cincmnati 
railroad  having  their  depot  on  east  Main 
street,  John  Tracy  built  a  hotel  there  in  1850 
which  was  called  the  American  House,  and  in 
1854  he  sold  out  to  A.  Reeve  who  refitted  and 
refurnished  it  throughout.  It  passed  into 
various  hands,  became  the  brick  structure  that 
was  destroyed  by  fire  a  dozen  years  ago,  since 
which  time  it  has  no  longer  been  used  as  a; 
hotel,  but  the  eastern  part  of  the  building  is 
the  large  restaurant  of  Bland  and  Irwin,  which 
has  a  state  reputation  as  "The  Big  Store/' 

On  East  Main  street  a  hotel  was  started 
years  ago.  It  came  into  the  hands  of  Gust 
Keen,  who  ran  it  as  a  regular  hotel;  it  under- 
went many  changes  under  the  hands  of  differ- 
ent managers,  and  the  present  brick  building 
was  erected,  and  it  is  today  the  Phoenix  Hotel. 

On  Main  street,  east  of  the  Big  Four  tracks 
is  the  Stevens  Hotel,  named  after  the  pro- 
prietor, John  Stevens. 

To  the  ladies  of  Galion  is  due  the  present 
public  library.  The  Current  News  Club,  one 
of  the  Women's  Clubs  of  Galion,  began  to 
agitate  the  subject  of  establishing  a  public 
library  and  their  efforts  met  with  a  hearty 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


435 


approval  by  a  large  number  of  citizens  who 
were  in  sympathy  with  the  enterprise.  The 
club  started  a  library  fund,  which  was  con- 
tributed to  by  other  clubs  and  associations 
until  several  hundred  dollars  were  gathered 
for  the  purpose.  In  1898  a  state  law  was 
passed  whereby  it  was  made  mandatory  upon 
boards  of  education  in  cities  the  size  of  Gallon 
to  make  a  tax  levy  to  support  public  libraries 
under  certain  conditions.  With  the  assurance 
of  support  as  guaranteed  by  this  law,  the  ladies 
of  the  Current  News  Club,  on  March  26,  1901, 
incorporated  the  Gabon  Public  Library  Asso- 
ciation, with  the  declared  purpose  of  building 
and  maintaining  a  public  library  free  to  all 
the  citizens  of  the  Gallon  public  school  dis- 
trict. The  organization  being  perfected,  a  de- 
mand in  accordance  with  the  law  was  made 
upon  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  city  for 
the  necessary  tax  levy,  which  was  cheerfully 
granted  by  the  board,  and  the  new  library  asso- 
ciation started  upon  its  career  with  bright  pros- 
pects of  making  a  success  of  its  undertaking. 

As  a  first  step  in  their  establishment  of  a 
public  library  the  association,  then  composed 
of  ladies  only,  purchased  In-lot  No.  56,  on  the 
east  side  of  North  Market  street  for  a  consid- 
eration of  $2,850.  This  lot  had  an  old  log 
residence  on  it,  one  of  the  oldest  buildings  in 
the  city,  and  was  one  of  the  early  school  houses 
half  a  century  previous.  This  was  converted 
into  a  comfortable  library  and  reading  room 
and  promised  to  become  the  pride  and  glory  of 
the -infant  library  association,  if  not  the  fullest 
satisfaction  of  the  city's  ambition  in  the  direc- 
tion of  library  building.  But  no  sooner  had 
the  library  taken  form  and  the  public  began  to 
lend  its  influence  and  support,  than  a  new  and 
higher  ambition  took  possession  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  association  and  they  began  to  as- 
pire to  better  and  more  permanent  library 
buildings  and  facilities. 

Andrew  Carnegie  was  helping  other 
libraries ;  would  he  not  also  help  them  to  secure 
a  better  library  home?  An  application  was 
made  to  Mr.  Carnegie  in  August,  1901,  for  a 
building  fund,  but  as  nothing  came  of  this 
effort,  the  association  sent  a  committee  of  two 
citizens  to  New  York,  in  February  of  1902, 
to  present  the  matter  personally.  The  com- 
mittee was  successful  and  in  March  of  that 


year  Mr.  Carnegie  made  an  appropriation  of 
$15,000,  conditioned  upon  his  customary  de- 
mand of  a  guarantee  of  an  annual  support  for 
the  library  of  not  less  than  ten  per  cent  of  that 
amount.  The  Association  then  asked  the  city 
council  to  give  Mr.  Carnegie  the  required  guar- 
antee of  support,  which  was  done  by  resolu- 
tion passed  April  18,  1902. 

The  fund  for  a  library  building  being  now 
secured,  the  plans  of  the  present  building  were 
approved,  and  the  contract  for  the  building 
was  let  for  the  sum  of  $13,578,  and  with  the 
heating  and  other  appliances,  together  with 
the  walks  and  curbs,  brought  the  total  cost 
of  the  improvement,  exclusive  of  books  and 
furnishings,  up  to  $16,559.50.  To  these  im- 
provements should  be  added  the  cost  of  the 
lot,  which  makes  an  aggregate  cost  for  the 
library,  exclusive  of  contents,  of  $19,409.50. 

The  Gallon  Public  Library  was  formally 
dedicated  Thursday  evening,  April  28,  1904. 
Following  the  exercises,  which  were  held  at 
the  City  Opera  House,  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  was  raised  to  meet  the  cost  of  the  build- 
ing. At  the  present  time  (July  25,  1912)  the 
library  contains  5,014  books  for  circulation, 
exclusive  of  about  700  government  documents. 
Miss  Estella  Coyle  is  librarian  and  Miss  Doris 
John,  assistant  librarian.  The  Board  of 
Directors  is  composed  exclusively  of  ladies,  as 
follows:  Mrs.  M.  R.  Crim,  president;  Mrs. 
Elmer  Stout,  vice  president;  Mrs.  David  G. 
Bryfogle,  secretary;  Mrs.  H.  A.  House,  treas- 
urer; Mrs.  A.  W.  Lewis,  Mrs.  A.  W.  Monroe, 
Mrs.  H.  E.  Smith,  Mrs.  J.  J  Schaefer  and  Miss 
Nettie  Kinsey. 

The  Police  Department  is  under  charge  of 
L.  E.  Christian,  who  is  now  serving  in  his 
third  year  as  chief.  Under  him  are  Capt.  C. 
D.  Riblet  and  five  patrolmen.  The  department 
holds  communications  through  its  own  tele- 
phone system,  which  is  independent  of  the 
city  exchange,  there  being  14  box  or  patrol 
phones.  The  jail  is  immediately  back  of  the 
station,  in  the  same  building,  and  contains  four 
cells,  strongly  constructed,  while  upstairs  there 
is  a  hospital  room,  which  is  used  also  for 
female  prisoners. 

The  Logan  Natural  Gas  and  Fuel  Company, 
operating  in  Bucyrus  and  Gallon,  installed 
their  system  in  both  towns  at  about  the  same 


436 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


time,  Gallon  being  slightly  in  advance  In  get- 
ting supply,  which  was  turned  on  December  2, 
1902. 

The  telephone  company  was  started  by 
George  Ristine  about  1885,  and  today  the 
public  are  served  by  the  Central  Union  Tele- 
phone Company  and  the  Gallon  Telephone 
Company. 

As  nearly  as  can  be  estimated,  the  popu- 
lation of  Gallon  in  1850  was  about  421,  so  In 
those  early  days,  outside  of  little  stores  and 
small  shops,  there  were  no  important  indus- 
tries. Robert  Cowden  writes  that  as  late  as 
1848-9  he  has  seen  as  many  as  a  hundred 
covered  wagons  a  day  passing  north  from 
Morrow  county  along  the  Portland  road  to 
Sandusky  and  Milan.  But  now,  after  more 
than  half  a  century  has  passed.  Gallon  no 
longer  looks   with  jealous   eye  at  the  aban- 


doned crossing,  but  points  with  pride  to  the 
prosperous  city  with  its  many  shops  and  fac- 
tories giving  employment  to  hundreds  of  men ; 
its  handsome  residences  and  improved  streets; 
its  advanced  schools  and  stately  churches;  its 
important  railroads  and  solid  financial  insti- 
tutions; and  its  citizens  enjoying  all  the  ad- 
vantages of  every  modern  public  improvement. 
And  taking  a  just  pride  In  all  this,  the  citizens 
should  sometimes  recall  the  names  of  those 
early  pioneers  who  went  through  the  hard- 
ships necessary  to  level  the  forest  into  a  settle- 
ment, have  a  kindly  remembrance  for  Michael 
and  Jacob  Ruhl,  who  from  that  settlement 
founded  a  village,  and  drop  an  occasional 
flower  on  the  grave  of  Asa  Hosford,  whose 
energy  and  perseverance  transformed  that  vil- 
lage and  made  possible  the  city  of  today. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

MANUFACTURES 

Introductory — The  Eagle  Machine  Works — The  American  Clay  Machinery  Co. — The 
Carroll  Foundry  and  Bucyrus  Steel  Castings  Co. — The  Hall  Gas  Engine  Co.  and  Ohio 
Locomotive  Crane  Co. — The  Skunk  Plow  Works — The  Bucyrus  Machine  Works — The 
Bucyrus  Knitting  Machine  Co. — The  Vollrath  Planing  Mill — A.  M.  Jones  &  Co. — The 
C.  Roehr  Co. — The  Deal  Smutter  Factory — The  Pinyerd  Bros.  Mill — The  Dostal  Brew- 
ery— The  Main  St.  Mills — The  Van  Loozen  Multi-Colored  Press  Co. — The  Blair  Pig 
Ring  Factory — The  Bucyrus  Husking  Glove  Co. — The  Sommer  Motor  Co. — The  Craig 
Foundry  Co. — The  Kelly  Manufacturing  Co. — The  Ryder  Brass  Foundry — D.  Picking 
&  Co. — The  Crooks-Uhl  Mfg.  Co. — The  Bucyrus  Copper  Kettle  Works — The  Keel 
Monument  Works — The  Colter  Mill — The  Brokensword  Stone  Co. — Wine  Manufac- 
ture—Patterson Mfg.  Co. — The  Ruhl  Carriage  Works — Other  Bucyrus  Enterprises — 
Galion — The  Tyler  Organ  Co. — The  Kunkel  Carriage  Works — The  Galion  Buggy  Co. — 
The  Sandusky  Cooperage  and  Lumber  Co. — The  Buckeye  Wheel  Co. — The  Weaver 
Bending  Co. — The  Plack  Carriage  Works — The  Galion  Lumber  Co. — The  Gledhill  Lum- 
ber Yards  and  Mill — The  New  York  Racket  Store — The  Ohio  Mausoleum  Co. — The 
Detweiler  Mfg.  Co. — The  Galion  Iron  Works  Co. — The  Galion  Handle  &  Mfg.  Co. — 
The  Galion  Metallic  Grave  Vault  Co. — The  American  Steel  Grave  Vault  Co.- — E.  M. 
Freese  &  Co. — The  Galion  Brewing  Co. — The  Longstreth  Monument  Works — The 
Sponhauer  Boiler  &  Machine  Works — The  Perfection  Road  Machinery  Co. — The  Cleve- 
land-Galion  Motor  Truck  Co. — The  Telephone  Improvement  Co. — The  Market  St.  Mills 
— The  Galion  Monument  Co.- — The  Galion  Machine  Works — The  Farmers'  Mfg.  & 
Milling  Co. — The  Burch  Plow  Works — Phoenix  Milling  Co. — Gledhill  &  Kime  Lumber 
Co. — The  Weaver  Bros.  Co. — H.  E.  Bormuth  Cement  Block  Co. — The  Holcker  Bros. 
Buggy  Co. — The  Schill  Bros.  Co. — New  Washington — The  New  Washington  Flouring 
Mill — The  New  Washington  Lumber  &■  Mfg.  Co. — Seitter  &  Brown's  Brick  &  Tile 
Works — The  Kibler  Tannery — The  Crawford  County  Nursery. 

Clang!  clang!  the  massive  anvils  ring;  same  as  those  which  were  pursued  when  the 

Sre^Lft"ht/e'"a"rofTTopir'^^^^^^^  Pyramids  were  building,  and  it  owes  a  large 

The  mighty  blows   still  multiply,—  part  of  the  enhanced  dignity  to  which  it  has 

Clang!  clang! attained  in  comparatively  recent  years  to  the 

Say,  brothers  of  the  dusky  brow,  .  j    •        i  ^  j  t  •  .^     , 

What  are  your  strong  arms  forging  now?  improved  implements  and  rnachinery  that  are 

—Anonymous.  the  direct  product  of  inventive  brains  working 

In  this  progressive  age  the  general  intelli-  out  through  the  channels  of  manufacturing 

gence  of  a  people  may  be  gauged  by  the  extent  enterprise.       Manufactures    represent,    there- 

and  variety  of  their  manufactures.     Agricul-  fore,  the  activity  and  power  of  the  human  mind 

ture,  though  in  modern  times  elevated  to  the  when  applied  to  practical  subjects — to  those 

dignity  of  a  science,  makes  no  extraordinary  things,  aside  from  food,  with  which  humanity 

demands  upon  the  intellect.     Its  methods,  de-  is  daily  and  directly  concerned.    They  have  to 

pending  on  Nature's  laws,  are  essentially  the  do  with   almost   everything  that   we   use   or 

437 


438 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


handle.  Perhaps  no  other  branch  of  human  ac- 
tivity covers  so  wide  a  field,  and  each  individ- 
ual product  in  all  the  wondrous  variety  rep- 
resents in  high  or  low  degree,  the  victory  of 
mind  over  matter — the  ultimate  fruition  of  a 
thought. 

In  this  department  of  human  enterprise  the 
United  States  occupies  a  leading  place  among 
the  nations  of  the  world.  From  the  wooden 
nutmeg  of  the  enterprising  Connecticut  Yan- 
kee to  the  latest  type  of  aeroplane,  American 
products  are  known  the  world  over  and  all  the 
world  pays  tribute  to  American  brain  and  en- 
terprise ;  and  among  the  states  that  have  helped 
to  win  this  renown  there  are  few  that  hold  a 
higher  rank  than  Ohio.  As  an  integral  part 
of  this  commonwealth  Crawford  county  can 
hold  her  own  in  business  and  manufacturing 
enterprise. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  middle  west  man 
was  engaged  in  the  task  of  subduing  the  wil- 
derness and  rendering  it  fit  for  human  habita- 
tion. The  work  was  chiefly  one  of  laborious 
application,  the  axe,  the  saw  and  the  plow  be- 
ing almost  the  only  tools  employed.  But  with 
the  advent  of  settlers  other  demands  arose. 
Man  must  have  bread,  and  so  corn  and  wheat 
must  be  ground  into  flour.  He  must,  or  will 
as  soon  as  practicable,  have  comfortable 
dwellings,  to  erect  which  he  requires  lumber. 
Hence  in  the  early  saw  and  grist  mills  of  pio- 
neer days  we  behold  the  beginnings  of  that 
manufacturing  enterprise  which  forms  so  con- 
spicuous a  feature  of  our  life  today. 

Such  initial  enterprises  as  they  relate  to 
Crawford  county,  may  be  found  touched  on 
in  other  chapters  of  this  volume  dealing  with 
the  various  townships  and  villages,  and  need 
not  be  recapitulated  here.  As  in  every  com- 
munity of  people  belonging  to  the  great  Cau- 
casian race,  improvement  was  the  daily 
motto  and  perfection  the  ultimate  goal  for 
which  our  pioneer  manufacturers  strove.  Thus 
they  could  hardly  help  but  make  progress. 
Spurred  on  by  necessity,  in  no  few  instances 
they  struck  out  original  lines  of  thought, 
which  bore  fruition  in  various  improved  and 
labor-saving  devices  calculated  to  lighten  the 
work  of  the  farmer,  the  merchant,  the  me- 
chanic, or  the  busy  housewife ;  and  later  on,  in 
the  times  in  which  we  live,  this  same  intellec- 
tual energy,  has  produced  yet  greater  results 


in  many  wonderful  inventions  that  our  fore- 
fathers never  dreamed  of,  but  which  we  of  to- 
day could  hardly  do  without.  To  illustrate 
this  marvellous  enterprise  as  connected  with 
the  growth  and  prosperity  of  Crawford  county, 
it  is  only  necessary  to  glance  briefly  at  the 
principal  business  and  manufacturing  enter- 
prises which  are  now  flourishing  in  the  county, 
or  which  have  existed  therein  in  former  days. 

The  first  business  enterprise  established  in 
Bucyrus  was  Abel  Cary's  grist-mill,  which  was 
erected  in  1822,  or  perhaps  earlier,  on  the 
river  bank,  just  west  of  the  north  end  of  Main 
street.  A  dam  was  constructed  across  the 
river  at  this  point.  Subsequently,  however,  the 
machinery  and  mill  were  removed  to  the  north 
end  of  Walnut  street,  and  it  was  operated  there 
for  some  years,  until  it  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
Its  proprietor,  James  Kelly,  erected  another 
mill  on  the  same  site  in  1844,  and  this  latter 
mill  was  in  operation  for  twenty-six  years, 
during  the  greater  part  of  this  period  being 
the  property  of  James  McLean.  This  mill 
also  was  burned,  on  April  9,  1870.  In  1822 
Lewis  Cary  started  a  tannery,  which  after- 
wards, passed  into  the  hands  of  his  son,  Aaron, 
by  whom  it  was  sold  to  Richard  Plummer, 
about  1855.  In  the  following  year  Plummer 
sold  it  to  Christian  Shonert,  who  had  learned 
the  trade  under  Aaron  Cary.  David  Holm 
and  Henry  Minich  also  had  tanneries  about 
1 83 1,  and  several  other  small  industries  were 
then  carried  on  in  or  near  the  village,  among 
which  was  a  pottery  conducted  by  Elias 
Slagle,  who  also,  after  1830,  ran  an  oil-mill, 
with  a  large  circular  tramp  wheel  on  the  same 
lot,  near  the  site  of  the  old  Cary  mill.  Jesse 
Quaintance  also  put  up  a  mill  on  the  river 
bank,  southwest  of  the  village  after  1830. 

Several  carding-mills  were  also  established 
at  this  early  day  in  Bucyrus.  One  of  these, 
operated  by  tramp-wheel  power,  was  conduc- 
ted by  Jourdan  Jones,  and  afterward  sold  to 
Mr.  Lautenheiser,  who  furnished  it  with  a 
steam  engine.  Another  carding-mill  was  run 
by  Mr.  Kirk.  The  latter  was  bought  out  by 
Dr.  A.  M.  Jones,  who  established  Samuel 
Clapper  in  the  business,  which  was  conducted 
for  several  years  near  the  southwest  corner  of 
Walnut  and  Perry  streets,  by  the  firm  of 
Jones  &  Clapper.  In  1843  a  steam-engine  was 
installed  and  the  mill  was  run  night  and  day 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


439 


on  account  of  the  great  increase  in  the  busi- 
ness. This  engine  is  said  to  have  been  the  sec- 
ond one  introduced  into  Crawford  county,  the 
first  having  been  used  in  the  old  flouring  mill 
run  by  James  Kelly. 

The  Eagle  Machine  Works — Sometime 
in  the  early  fifties  a  small  machine  shop 
was  started  in  Bucyrus,  which  subsequently 
obtained  considerable  local  importance  as  a 
manufacturing  enterprise.  The  concern  was 
purchased  in  1862  by  two  of  the  workmen 
therein  employed — Messrs.  Frey  &  Sheckler, 
who  continued  and  improved  the  business.  In 
1867  the  entire  works  were  destroyed  by  fire, 
but  in  the  following  year  the  two  proprietors 
took  in  as  a  third  partner  Mr.  George  Quinby, 
and  the  works  were  rebuilt  on  a  much  larger 
scale  and  furnished  with  improved  machinery. 
Subsequent  to  1872  other  buildings  were  ad- 
ded until  the  plant  included  a  foundry,  ma- 
chine shops,  blacksmith  shops,  engine-house, 
coke  and  sand-house,  office  and  patternroom, 
etc.  By  1880  there  were  eighteen  or  more 
hands  employed  and  among  the  firm's  products 
were  engines,  horse-powers,  saw-mills,  brick 
machines,  etc.  The  Eagle  Portable  Engine 
was  especially  noted,  and  their  brick  machines 
were  among  the  best  in  the  country  and  were 
sold  as  fai-  west  as  Wyoming  and  Indian  Ter- 
ritory. Mr.  Sheckler  retired  in  1875,  and  in 
1877  William  Hoover  purchased  an  interest, 
but  later  Mr.  Sheckler  reentered  the  firm, 
which  then  became  Frey,  Sheckler  &  Hoover, 
and  was  so  conducted  for  a  number  of  years 
when  Mr.  Sheckler  again  retired  and  the  Frey- 
Sheckler  Company  was  incorporated  under  the 
management  of  Col.  W.  C.  Lemert  and  so 
continued  until  1896  when  the  Frey-Sheckler 
Company  was  combined  with  J.  W.  Penfield 
&  Son  Company  of  Willoughby  and  the  com- 
pany incorporated  under  the  name  of  The 
American  Clay  Working  Machinery  Company, 
with  principal  offices  at  Bucyrus,  Ohio,  though 
the  Willoughby  plant  was  and  is  still  run  by 
the  company.  In  1906  the  company  name  was 
changed  to  The  American  Clay  Machinery 
Company  and  it  is  the  largest  plant  manufac- 
turing clay  working  machinery  in  the  world. 
R.  C.  Penfield  is  the  head  of  the  company. 

In  1909  the  American  Equipment  Company 
was  organized  by  Mr.   Penfield  with  general 


offices  at  Bucyrus  but  their  operations  are  en- 
tirely in  Chicago. 

In  1888  George  Campbell  started  the  Camp- 
bell Frog  Works,  to  manufacture  an  improved 
railroad  frog.  The  business  moved  along 
slowly  and  soon  Mr.  Campbell  included 
foundry  work,  doing  a  large  business  in 
foundry  jobbing.  In  1891  Mr.  Campbell  died 
and  in  December  of  1891  P.  J.  Carroll  pur- 
chased the  business  of  the  Campbell  heirs  and 
operated  the  business  on  East  Warren  street. 
Under  his  management  the  business  grew  from 
one  employing  half  a  dozen  men  to  one  with 
probably  fifty,  when  Mr.  Carroll  deemed  it 
advisable  to  enlarge  his  facilities. 

In  1897  Bucyrus  voted  to  issue  bonds  to  es- 
tablish the  McGibery  Radiator  Works  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  city,  but  the  venture  did 
not  prove  a  success  and  the  city  had  an  empty 
building  on  its  hands.  P.  J.  Carroll  acquired 
this  and  moved  his  foundry  to  the  old  Radia- 
tor building  in  1899,  calling  his  plant  the  Car- 
roll Foundry  and  Machine  Works.  Here  the 
business  developed  to  great  proportions  and 
the  present  plant  is  very  extensive,  employing 
several  hundred  men.  In  1906  Mr.  Carroll 
organized  the  Bucyrus  Steel  Castings  Com- 
pany, and  immense  new  buildings  were  erected 
and  business  started  in  1907.  This  business 
has  also  grown  until  now  hundreds  of  men  are 
employed. 

The  Hall  Gas  Engine  Co.  and  the  Ohio 
Locomotive  Crane  Co.  are  both  Bucyrus  com- 
panies, closely  allied  with  the  Carroll  plants 
and  both  doing  splendid  business  and  with  ex- 
cellent prospects. 

The  Shunk  Plow  Works — This  concern 
had  its  origin  a  few  years  previous  to  the 
Civil  War,  when  A.  Shunk,  Sr.,  began  the 
making  of  plows  on  a  small  scale,  employing 
but  four  men  and  doing  all  the  work  by  hand. 
His  factory  was  known  as  the  Bucyrus  Plow 
Works.  As  the  years  went  by  the  business 
increased,  steam  power  was  introduced  and 
several  large  buildings  erected.  In  May,  1870 
a  firm  was  formed  consisting  of  A.  Shunk,  Jr., 
F.  R.  and  N.  T.  Shunk,  all  brothers.  Later 
some  changes  took  place  and  the  firm  became 
A.  Shunk  Sr.,  alone.  By  1880  the  works  had 
a  capacity  of  1,000  plows  per  year,  of  nine 
different  varieties,  they  being  sold  chiefly  in 


440 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Ohio  and  the  Western  states.  Further  changes 
caused  the  ownership  to  become  vested  in 
Nelson  F.,  John  Q.  and  Isaac  Shunk,  of  whom 
the  two  first  mentioned  are  now  proprietors, 
Isaac  having  died  about  ten  years  ago.  The 
business  has  branched  out  in  other  directions, 
and  plows  are  no  longer  among  the  chief  pro- 
duct of  the  factory,  which  now  include  steel 
plow  parts,  mould  boards  and  cutting  edges 
for  wheeled  road  scrapers,  and  steel  wheel 
farm  wagons.  About  500  tons  of  plate  steel 
are  used  per  year.  The  plows  are  sold  chiefly 
in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Michigan,  while 
the  other  products  are  shipped  to  all  parts  of 
the  country.  In  recent  years  some  improved 
heavy  machinery  has  been  installed.  About  35 
men  are  now  employed. 

The  Bucyrus  Machine  Works,  at  one  time 
an  important  Bucyrus  industry,  originated 
previous  to  1861,  when  William  Burkhart, 
James  Throupe  and  J.  Moultrop  commenced 
work  together  in  a  little  blacksmith  shop, 
and  made  a  few  "Excelsior"  machines.  Mr. 
Burkhart  invented  the  Bucyrus  Machine, 
and  about  1861  the  concern  became  known  as 
the  Bucyrus  Machine  Works.  In  January, 
1869,  the  firm  became  a  stock  company,  with 
a  capital  stock  of  $100,000,  B.  B.  McDonald 
being  superintendent  and  AV.  T.  McDonald, 
treasurer.  A  fire  in  May  of  the  following 
year  caused  a  loss  of  about  $21,000,  but  these 
parts  of  the  plant  that  had  been  destroyed 
were  rebuilt  and  the  entire  plant  improved. 
About  100  men  were  employed  and  as  high 
as  700  machines  in  one  year  were  manufac- 
tured. A  large  part  of  their  output  went  to 
the  western  states,  where  the  Bucyrus  machine 
was  very  popular.  At  one  time  preparations 
were  made  for  the  building  of  railway  cars 
and  a  switch  was  built  from  the  works  to  the 
railroad,  but  about  this  time  the  business  be- 
gan to  decline  and  the  concern  subsequently 
passed  into  the  hands  of  J.  N.  Biddle.  In  a 
few  years  another  assignment  was  made,  A. 
Monnett  &  Co.,  becoming  the  proprietors. 
After  operating  the  plant  for  a  time  they  leased 
it  to  Stuckey  &  Diller,  who  carried  on  the  bus- 
iness for  a  number  of  years. 

In  1868  William  Franz  and  Dr.  William 
Pope  began  to  perfect  a  knitting  machine  for 
both  domestic  and  manufacturing  purposes. 
They  succeeded  and  obtained  a  patent,   and 


subsequently  patented  eight  improvements,  be- 
sides purchasing  six  others,  making  fourteen 
improvements,  in  addition  to  the  original  pat- 
ent. A  company  was  formed  in  1870  called 
the  Bucyrus  Knitting  Machine  Company,  and 
commenced  operations.  It  was  disbanded, 
however,  in  1871  and  a  joint  stock  company 
formed  composed  of  Dr.  William  Pope,  Dr. 
C.  Fulton,  James  Clements,  John  Franz, 
Thomas  Beer,  George  Quinby,  George  Don- 
nenwirth  and  William  Franz.  George  Quinby 
was  president,  William  Franz  secretary  and 
Dr.  W.  Pope  general  agent.  The  style 
of  the  company  was  changed  to  The  Franz 
&  Pope  Knitting  Machine  Company.  The 
machine  was  capable  of  producing  a  large 
variety  of  work,  being  adapted  to  all  manner 
of  crocheting,  making  tidies  or  afghans,  as 
well  as  common  hosiery.  It  knit  a  stocking, 
heel  and  toe  combined  in  seven  minutes,  with 
but  little  hand  finishing  required.  In  1878  a 
hosiery  department  was  added  to  the  estab- 
lishment, in  which  about  thirty  girls  were  em- 
ployed. 

In  iSss  Gottlieb  Vollrath  started  a  planing- 
mill  in  Bucyrus  under  the  firm  name  of  G. 
Vollrath  &  Co.,  the  firm  comprising  Mr.  Voll- 
rath and  two  sons — Albert  and  Charles.  In 
1867  William,  another  son,  bought  out  his 
father  and  the  firm  became  Vollrath  Brothers. 
In  1868  a  large  brick  building  was  erected, 
three  stories  high,  with  ground  dimensions  of 
78x45  feet;  also  a  boiler  and  engine-room 
measuring  19x54  feet.  This  building  was  in- 
stalled with  the  most  up-to-date  machinery 
for  the  manufacture  of  sash,  doors,  blinds, 
moldings,  etc.,  and  a  large  business  was  done, 
giving  employment  to  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
men.  A  large  business  was  also  done  in 
dressed  and  undressed  lumber. 

In  1870  the  Vollrath  Brothers  fitted  up  a 
part  of  their  planing-mill  building  for  the  pur- 
pose of  a  flour  mill  and  commenced  this  line 
of  industry.  In  1872  this  part  of  the  business 
\A-as  bought  by  F.  A.  Vollrath,  another  brother, 
who  subsequently  conducted  it. 

The  Buckeye  State  Wood  Works  were  es- 
tablished in  1866  by  A.  M.  Jones  &  Company 
for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  spokes, 
hubs,  and  bent  work.  The  members  of  the 
firm  were  A.  M.  Jones,  W.  C.  Lemert,  Lyman 
Parcher  and  John  Jones.     Nicholas  Reehl  was 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


441 


afterward  admitted  and  shortly  after  John 
Jones  and  Lyman  Parcher  sold  out  to  the 
other  three  partners,  the  firm  still  being  known 
as  A.  M.  Jones  &  Co.  About  thirty  men  were 
employed.  The  business  was  quite  pretentious 
and  would  have  grown  to  still  greater  pro- 
portions but  that  other  interests  of  the  owners 
made  it  seem  advisable  to  close  up  the  old 
Wood  Works,  which  was  done. 

In  1859  a  planing-mill  was  erected  by  Kel- 
ler, Stoll  &  Co.  The  firm  later  became  Stoll 
&  Brother,  and  in  1869  the  style  was  changed 
to  Stoll  Brothers  &  Company.  The  main 
building  was  70x40  feet,  with  engine  room 
40x18  feet  and  the  establishment  was  supplied 
with  the  best  machinery.  Subsequently 
Charles  Roehr  became  a  member  of  the  firm. 
A  large  number  of  men  were  employed  and  an 
extensive  business  done  in  the  line  of  sash, 
doors,  blinds  and  in  lumber,  rough  and  dressed 
of  all  kinds. 

Under  the  management  of  Charles  Roehr 
the  company  developed  a  great  business.  The 
C.  Roehr  Company  was  organized  being  owned 
by  Mr.  Roehr  and  his  three  sons,  Edward  C. 
William  and  Carl  F.  Extensive  contracts  were 
obtained,  the  firm  being  especially  successful 
in  interior  trim  for  large  buildings  in  all  parts 
of  the  country.  Some  of  the  early  big  con- 
tracts were  the  complete  interior  trim  for  large 
office  buildings  in  Pittsburgh.  Later  they  had 
the  contracts  for  the  Pope  Buildings  at  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  and  in  Boston.  Their  work  in- 
cluded the  complete  finishing  of  the  Philadel- 
phia Mint,  the  Chicago  Post  Office,  a  modern 
building  at  the  Annapolis  Naval  Academy, 
office  buildings  in  New  York  and  other  great 
cities.  All  three  of  the  sons  died,  and  follow- 
ing this  his  own  health  failed,  so  that  Charles 
Roehr  retired  from  business  and  the  company 
was  re-organized  under  the  name  of  the  New 
Roehr  Company,  of  which  A.  S.  Leuthold  is 
president  and  Samuel  Leuthold  secretary. 

The  Smutter  Factory  of  M.  Deal  originated 
in  1868,  when  Mr.  Deal  began  the  manufac- 
ture of  the  "California  Smutter,"  a  machine 
for  taking  smut  out  of  wheat,  a  most  valuable 
invention  for  wheat  growers  and  dealers.  Mr. 
Deal  subsequently  made  a  number  of  improve- 
ments to  the  original  patent  and  manufactured 
the  machine  in  36  different  styles.  The  factory 
employed  some  25  men  and  had  a  capacity  of 


500  machines  per  year.  Over  600  local  agen- 
cies were  established  in  the  United  States, 
Canada,  South  America,  and  England,  and 
from  $60,000  to  $75,000  worth  of  machines 
were  shipped  annually. 

In  i860  S.  A.  Bowers  and  J.  W.  Delancy 
erected  flour  mills  near  the  site  of  the  Dear- 
dorf  steam  saw-mill,  and  they  were  known  as 
the  Sandusky  Valley  Mills.  Mr.  Delancy  re- 
tired in  1 86 1  and  the  mills  were  carried  on  by 
Mr.  Bowers  until  1872,  when  he  sold  out  to 
C.  T.  Miller.  The  latter  failing  shortly  after, 
Mr.  Bowers  took  them  back,  and  being  subse- 
quently joined  by  Mr.  Delancy,  the  old  firm 
of  Bowers  &  Delancy,  continued  their  opera- 
tion for  many  years. 

Mr.  Delancy  managed  the  mill  after  Mr. 
Bowers  had  retired  but  later  sold  out  and  the 
plant  is  at  present  owned  and  operated  by  Pin- 
yerd  Brothers. 

The  Dostal  Brothers'  Brewery  was  origi- 
nally established  in  1858  by  Henry  Anthony. 
In  the  following  spring  G.  Donnenwirth,  Jr., 
became  a  partner,  and  in  the  fall  the  firm  be- 
came G.  Donnenwirth  &  Son,  his  father  taking 
an  interest  in  the  business  with  him.  The  bus- 
iness subsequently  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Frank  Dick,  and  was  bought  in  September, 
1902  by  the  Dostal  Brothers — John  M.  and 
George  A.  Dostal — who  have  made  the  busi- 
ness a  prosperous  one,  introducing  new  meth- 
ods and  installing  modern  machinery.  The 
present  plant  covers  about  six  acres  and  the 
output  amounts  to  about  20,000  barrels  an- 
nually, which  is  all  sold  in  Ohio. 

The  Main  Street  Mills,  a  prominent  indus- 
try of  Bucyrus,  were  established  by  Zeigler, 
Gross  &  Co.,  and  in  October,  1871,  the  firm 
of  F.  &  J.  Gross  was  formed,  succeeding  the 
old  one.  The  present  mills  were  built  in  the 
following  May.  In  1876  Mr.  Zeigler,  who 
had  returned  to  Bucyrus  after  an  absence  of 
several  years,  became  the  proprietor  of  these 
mills.  He  has  made  improvements  in  the  prop- 
erty from  time  to  time,  installing  the  most 
modern  machinery  and  the  plant  is  now  thor- 
oughly up-to-date  and  turns  out  about  150 
barrels  of  flour  per  day.  Since  1877  these 
mills  have  been  one  of  the  standard  industries 
of  the  city. 

The  Van  Loozen  Multi-Colored  Press  Com- 
pany was  incorporated  in  April,  1909  with  a 


442 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


capital  of  $150,000,  and  in  the  fall  of  that 
year  a  large  modern  building  was  erected  at 
the  corner  of  East  Warren  and  Failor  streets, 
40x120  feet.  The  press  manufactured  by  this 
company  is  the  invention  of  Mr.  Fred  H.  Van 
Loozen  and  is  designed  to  print  six  or  seven 
different  colors  simultaneously.  It  is  radically 
different  in  construction  from  any  other  print- 
ing press,  possessing  many  points  of  superior- 
ity, and  the  press  has  bright  prospects  for  the 
future.  The  ofificers  are  Fred  H.  Van  Loozen, 
president;  M.  A.  Van  Loozen,  vice  president; 
M.  C.  Harhaus,  secretary,  and  W.  H.  Pick- 
ing, treasurer. 

The  Blair  Pig  Ring  Factory — The  useful 
contrivances  which  form  the  product  of  this 
factory  were  invented  many -years  ago  by  Elias 
Blair  and  consist  of  the  hog  anti-rooter  device 
and  the  hog  snout  ring.  The  business  has  al- 
ways been  a  prosperous  one  and  the  Blair  de- 
vices fill  a  place  that  has  not  been  usurped  by 
any  other  article  on  the  market. 

The  Bucyrus  Husking  Glove  Company,  of 
Bucyrus,  whose  place  of  business  is  near  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  Public  Square,  was 
started  by  Mr.  H.  S.  Blair,  about  twenty-five 
years  ago,  on  the  third  floor  of  the  E.  Blair 
Block,  on  Sandusky  street.  The  business  was 
later  moved  to  the  old  German  Lutheran 
church  (afterward  used  as  an  Armory),  and 
still  later — about  twelve  years  ago — removal 
was  made  to  the  present  location.  The  con- 
cern is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  husking 
gloves,  husking  pins,  hook  buskers,  mittens, 
wrist  supporters,  motorman's  palms,  etc.,  and 
is  the  oldest  firm  making  husking  gloves  to- 
day. The  product  is  sold  to  jobbers  from  New 
York  to  the  Pacific  coast.  From  25  to  75  peo- 
ple are  employed.  Mr.  Blair  is  still  proprietor 
of  the  business. 

The  Sommer  Motor  Company,  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  motors  for  trucks  of  pleas- 
ure auto-cars,  was  incorporated  in  1907,  at 
Aurora,  111.,  by  L.  A.  Sommer,  W.  N.  Baker, 
Albert  Russom  and  W.  H.  Reedy,  who  are  its 
present  officers.  Through  the  efforts  of  the 
Bucyrus  Industrial  Association,  the  concern 
was  induced  to  move  to  Bucyrus,  coming  here 
in  December,  19 10.  They  have  a  seven-acre 
site  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  city,  on  the  line 
of  the  Pennsylvania  tracks.  Their  factory 
building  is  a  large  modern  structure,  200x100 


feet,  and  is  thoroughly  equipped  with  the  most 
modern  machinery.  The  company  is  doing  an 
excellent  business — all,  in  fact,  that  they  can 
handle — and  is  turning  out  from  1800  to  2000 
motors  a  year.  As  they  are  adding  to  their 
equipment,  they  will  have  an  increased  output 
next  year.  They  employ  from  70  to  75  men 
and  have  been  working  overtime  since  Jan- 
uary 1st,  to  the  present  time  (July,  19 12). 

The  Craig  Foundry  Company  of  Buc)a-us 
was  incorporated  in  191 1  by  W.  H.  Craig  and 
Walter  Kline,  with  a  capital  of  $30,000.  This 
concern  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  light 
and  heavy  castings,  cold  air  faces,  wall  regis- 
ters, automobile  castings,  etc.  They  have  an 
up-to-date  plant,  covering  three  acres  of 
ground  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  with 
good  railroad  facilities.  They  also  have  a 
large  plating  plant — probably  the  most  com- 
plete in  the  state — for  nickel,  silver  and  other 
plating,  and  turn  out  fine  oxidized  copper 
work.  About  fifty  men  on  an  average  are 
given  employment.  Mr.  W.  H.  Craig  is  pres- 
ident of  the  company,  with  Walter  Kline,  sec- 
retary and  treasurer,  and  the  board  of  direc- 
tors includes  also  Mr.  A.  T.  Dennis. 

The  Kelly  Manufacturing  Company,  lo- 
cated in  the  south  end  of  Bucyrus,  on  Gallon 
street,  was  established  about  three  years  ago 
by  T.  F.  Kelly,  its  present  proprietor,  and  is 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  pneumatic 
water  supply  systems  for  irrigation  or  house- 
hold purposes,  steel  burial  cases  and  all  kinds 
of  sheet  iron  work,  their  product  being  sold 
all  over  the  United  States.  About  twelve  men 
are  usually  employed  and  the  firm  is  doing  a 
prosperous  business. 

The  Ryder  Brass  Foundry  Company  was 
established  in  July,  19 10,  and  was  incorporated 
in  October  of  the  same  year  at  $10,000.  The 
concern  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
brass,  bronze  and  aluminum  castings,  mangan- 
ese bronze,  phosphor  bronze  and  special  al- 
loys, turning  out  castings  for  all  purposes. 
The  president  is  W.  H.  Whitmore,  of  Akron, 
Ohio;  Elizabeth  W.  Ryder  is  vice  president, 
and  P.  H.  Ryder,  secretary,  treasurer  and  man- 
ager. The  company's  factory  is  located  in  the 
northern  end  of  the  town  just  east  of  North 
Sandusky  street. 

D.  Picking  &  Co. — This  firm  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  copper  kettles,  was  estab- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


443 


lished  in  1874  by  D.  Picking,  who  is  now  de- 
ceased. The  business  is  now  carried  on  by 
his  sons,  C.  F.  and  W.  H.  Picking,  and  is  in 
a  prosperous  condition.  From  3000  to  4000 
kettles  a  year  are  manufactured. 

The  Crooks-Uhle  Manufacturing  Company, 
located  at  No.  113  E.  Charles  street,  Bucyrus, 
was  founded  in  1908,  the  partners  being  Fred- 
erick E.  Uhle  and  his  son-in-law,  Earl  G. 
Crooks.  They  are  general  machinists  and  are 
specially  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  chil- 
dren's folding  sulkeys,  the  "go-cart  runner" 
being  an  invention  of  Mr.  Crooks.  The  busi- 
ness is  increasingly  prosperous,  a  large  demand 
having  been  created  for  the  firm's  special  pro- 
duct. 

The  Bucyrus  Copper  Kettle  Works — This 
industry  was  practically  started  in  1873,  when 
Jacob  Geiger  and  Daniel  Picking,  then  en- 
gaged in  the  hardware  business,  began  the 
manufacture  of  copper  kettles  for  boiling  ap- 
ple butter,  an  important  industry  in  those  days. 
Later  Mr.  Geiger  sold  his  hardware  interests 
to  Mr.  Picking  and  in  partnership  with 
Phillip  E.  Bush  established  a  manufactory  on 
the  corner  of  N.  Railroad  and  Lane  streets. 
Subsequent  improvements  have  given  this  fac- 
tory dimensions  of  85x90  feet.  The  business 
was  conducted  under  the  style  of  Geiger  & 
Bush  from  1889  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Bush  in 
1907,  since  which  time  Mr.  Geiger  has  been 
sole  proprietor.  The  plant  is  well  equipped  and 
the  business  is  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

The  Monument  and  Marble  Works  of  Wil- 
liam H.  Keel  were  started  by  him  at  No.  220 
So.  Walnut  street,  Bucyrus,  in  1878,  and  at 
one  time,  before  the  introduction  of  machinery, 
he  was  able  to  give  steady  employment  to  24 
people.  He  is  a  skillful  workman  in  marble 
and  granite  and  makes  his  own  designs.  His 
business  is  one  of  the  old  established  ones  of 
Bucyrus. 

Colter  &  Co. — In  1902  Mr.  Jacob  Colter 
came  to  Bucyrus  and  started  a  saw-mill;  a 
planing-mill  was  added  to  this  in  1906  and  a 
large  business  has  since  been  built  up  in  all 
kinds  of  house  and  building  material.  Since 
1905  Mr.  Peter  Conkle  has  been  a  partner  in 
the  concern.  The  plant  of  this  firm  covers  nine 
acres  of  land,  and  an  average  of  400,000  feet 
of  lumber  is  kept  on  hand. 

The    Brokensword    Stone    Company,    capi- 


talized at  $10,000,  is  engaged  in  quarrying 
stone  six  miles  northwest  of  Bucyrus,  and  has 
an  office  in  the  city.  About  sixty-five  men  are 
employed.  Dr.  John  A.  Chesney  is  president 
of  the  company,  P.  J.  Carroll,  vice  president 
and  general  manager ;  and  William  H.  Picker- 
ington,  treasurer. 

Charles  Arnold  is  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  native  wines  in  Bucyrus,  having  been 
engaged  in  this  business  since  about  1895.  His 
specialties  are  Delaware,  Catawba  and  Claret 
and  he  has  specially  constructed  cellars  for  the 
storing  of  his  product.  He  has  built  up  a 
prosperous  business. 

The  Patterson  Manufacturing  Company  is 
a  recently  established  concern  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  fire-escapes  and  structural  steel 
work  and  bids  fair  to  become  one  of  the  city's 
important  industries. 

The  Ruhl  Carriage  Works,  located  at  No. 
428  E.  Mansfield  street,  are  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  buggies,  carriages,  wagons  and 
the  "Ruhl"  storm-tops.  George  S.  Ruhl  is  the 
proprietor. 

The  Seegar  Brothers  have  carriage  shops  at 
No.  425-427  S.  Walnut  street. 

In  addition  to  the  industries  already  men- 
tioned, Charles  Breisinger  &  Son  have  a  brick 
manufacturing  plant  on  Jump  street;  C.  F. 
Bonebrake  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
cement  blocks  on  South  Jones  street.  The 
Bucyrus  Hydraulic  Cement  Block  Company, 
manufacturers  of  cement  blocks,  have  office 
and  works  on  E.  Middletown  street ;  The  Chat- 
field  Bending  Works  are  located  south  of  the 
town,  and  are  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
wheels,  rims  and  other  bent  wood  stock;  The 
New  York  Blower  Company,  manufacturers 
of  heating,  ventilating  and  drying  apparatus, 
blowers,  fans,  etc.,  are  located  on  W.  Warren 
street. 

The  Tyler  Organ  Company  was  established 
in  Gallon  in  1879,  its  location  being  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  Square.  It  was  sub- 
sequently removed  to  the  old  planing-mill  on 
So.  Market  street,  near  the  P.  &  O.  Railroad 
depot.  The  proprietors  were  Messrs.  Tyler 
and  Whitney,  both  fine  musicians.  The  com- 
pany did  a  fairly  good  business  for  some  years. 

The  Kunkel  Carriage  Works,  of  Galion, 
were  established  many  years  ago,  by  L.  K. 
Kunkel.    Subsequently — about  1876 — the  firm 


444 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


became  Kunkel,  Schupp  &  Helfrich,  and  so  re- 
mained up  to  1884.  Mr.  Kunkel  died  in  1893, 
and  the  business  is  now  controlled  by  the  heirs, 
with  W.  H.  Kunkel  as  general  manager.  It 
was  removed  to  its  present  location  on  No. 
Market  street  in  1886.  The  Kunkel  Carriage 
Works  are  specialty  builders  of  custom-made 
vehicles,  and  vehicles  requiring  special  con- 
struction, manufacturing  also  buggies,  car- 
riages, wagons,  ambulances,  pall  buggies, 
casket  wagons,  etc.  They  are  doing  a  pros- 
perous business  and  are  among  the  leading 
business  enterprises  of  Gallon. 

The  Gallon  Buggy  Company,  a  large  and 
prosperous  concern,  was  established  by  Mr.  A. 
Howard,  in  November,  1885,  at  a  location  on 
So.  Market  street,  near  the  Public  Square. 
Four  additional  buildings  were  erected  about 
1889  on  Church  street — all  up-to-date  and  one 
being  especially  large.  The  company  manu- 
factures all  kinds  of  buggies,  phaetons,  car- 
riages, surreys,  etc.,  and  has  a  large  wholesale 
trade  throughout  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri 
and  other  western  states.  About  2500  to  3500 
jobs  are  turned  out  yearly  and  the  average 
number  of  employees  is  about  ninety.  The  old 
factory  on  So.  Market  street  is  still  made  use 
of  and  the  office  is  situated  at  the  same  loca- 
tion. 

The  Sandusky  Cooperage  and  Lumber  Com- 
pany was  established  in  Gallon  in  January, 
1909,  by  H.  R.  Huntington.  The  plant  is  lo- 
cated on  a  9  1-2  acre  site  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  city,  near  the  Erie  tracks,  and  includes 
four  modern  buildings  with  up-to-date  equip- 
ment. When  working  full  force  about  50  men 
are  employed.  This  company  has  twenty-one 
cooper  shops  distributed  through  the  different 
states  of  Ohio,  Michigan,  Indiana,  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Virginia,  the  principal  part  of  the 
business  being  the  manufacture  of  barrels.  No 
barrels  are  made  in  the  Gallon  plant,  the  local 
operations  being  limited  chiefly  to  staves  and 
hoops.  The  works  have  a  capacity  of  10,000,- 
000  barrel  staves  and  15,000,000  hoops  a  year. 

The  Buckeye  Wheel  Company  of  Gallon 
was  incorporated  December  21,  1904,  with  a 
capital  stock  of  $150,000.  The  organizers  and 
original  officers  were  J.  W.  White,  of  Ft. 
Wayne,  president ;  J.  S.  Morris,  of  Ft.  Wayne, 
vice  president;  E.  Flickinger  of  Gallon,  secre- 
tary and  general  manager ;  Jacob  Keene,  treas- 


urer; and  Frank  Flickinger,  superintendent. 
The  few  changes  made  in  the  official  board 
are  as  follows :  Frank  Flickinger  is  now  secre- 
tary and  manager,  in  place  of  E.  Flickinger; 
Edward  Flickinger  is  treasurer  and  George 
Schelb,  superintendent.  The  product  of  the 
company  consists  of  buggy,  carriage  and  light 
wagon  wheels,  and  light  automobile  wheels. 
The  output  averages  about  250  sets  per  day  of 
wheels  for  horse-drawn  vehicles,  and  100  sets 
of  automobile  wheels.  The  plant  of  this  con- 
cern is  located  on  East  Main  street,  close  to 
the  Big  Four  tracks,  the  site  covering  four 
acres,  while  the  buildings  have  about  200,000 
square  feet  of  -floor  space.  The  product  is 
sold  mostly  to  manufacturers  in  Ohio,  New 
York,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Iowa  and 
Missouri. 

The  Weaver  Bending  Company  was  incor- 
porated in  1892  by  Charles  Ness,  John  Weaver, 
Abe  Jenkinson  and  H.  E.  Smith,  with  a  capi- 
tal stock  of  $15,000.  After  the  first  year  Mr. 
Smith  bought  out  the  other  members  of  the 
company  and  has  since  remained  the  sole  pro- 
prietor. The  plant  covers  two  acres,  the  build- 
ings having  10,000  feet  of  floor  space,  and  are 
located  in  the  south  end  of  Gallon,  near  the 
Erie  depot  and  on  a  siding  of  the  Big  Four 
Railroad.  The  concern  manufacturers  bent 
felloes,  spokes,  and  hardwood  lumber.  The 
product  is  sold  by  wholesale,  in  carload  lots. 
About.  40  men  are  usually  employed. 

The  Plack  Carriage  Works  was  established 
about  1892,  by  Andrew  Plack,  in  a  location 
just  off  Main  street.  He  retired  in  1898,  the 
business  being  purchased  by  his  son,  H.  L. 
Plack,  who  is  now  the  sole  proprietor.  A 
change  of  location  was  made  to  the  Central 
Livery  barn,  but,  after  continuing  there  for 
some  time,  the  works  were  burned,  about  eight 
years  ago,  and  the  factory  was  then  established 
m  its  present  location  on  East  Atwood  street, 
with  a  repository  on  South  Market  street.  A 
large  part  of  the  business  consists  of  repair- 
ing, and  custom  work  is  carried  on  in  addition, 
the  concern  manufacturing  any  kind  of  horse- 
drawn  vehicle  to  order.  The  principal  spe- 
cialty is  the  manufacture  of  storm  tops,  of 
which  a  large  number  are  made  yearly. 

The  Gallon  Lumber  Company — The  busi- 
ness carried  on  by  this  company  had  its  origin 
in   1865,  when  F.  W.  Johnson  and  William 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


445 


Patrick  entered  into  the  lumber  and  coal  busi- 
ness. Subsequently  the  firm  of  Johnson  Lins- 
ley  &  Co.,  became  proprietors  and  in  1881 
were  doing  a  business  of  $150,000  annually 
and  employing  forty  men.  They  were  suc- 
ceeded by  Armstrong,  Daily  &  Co.,  who  con- 
ducted the  plant  for  a  while.  Then  the  Galion 
Lumber  Company,  a  partnership,  was  formed, 
consisting  of  D.  Mackey,  P.  M.  Daily  and  G. 
A.  Daily,  Mr.  C.  C.  Coyle  buying  out  the 
Dailys  in  1897.  The  company  was  incorpo- 
rated under  its  present  style  in  1902,  being 
capitalized  at  $20,000,  with  $30,000  surplus. 
They  are  engaged  in  general  lumber  and  mill 
work  and  in  the  manufacture  of  bank  and 
store  fixtures.  They  are  also  contractors  on 
building  work  and  are  engaged  in  the  erection 
of  the  buildings  for  the  Telephone-Improve- 
ment plant,  a  mammoth  concern  now  being 
established  in  Galion.  The  plant  of  the  Galion 
Lumber  Company  covers  about  eight  acres. 
The  vice  president  is  H.  Pounder,  with  C.  C. 
Coyle,  secretary  and  treasurer. 

The  Gledhill  Lumber  Yards  and  Mill,  lo- 
cated on  Bloomer  street,  Galion,  near  the  Big 
Four  tracks,  cover  about  two  and  a  half  acres 
of  ground  and  give  employment  usually  to 
twelve  or  more  men.  This  concern  was 
founded  about  40  years  ago  by  Joseph  King, 
who  conducted  the  business  for  many  years. 
It  was  purchased  in  1906  by  A.  C.  Gledhill, 
who  is  now  sole  proprietor,  who  is  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  lumber,  sash,  doors,  and 
in  general  mill  work.  Lately  an  additional 
factory  has  been  built  for  the  manufacture  of 
concrete  blocks.  About  twelve  men  are  em- 
ployed. Mr.  Gledhill  has  also  recently — July 
10,  191 1 — leased  a  plant  in  Crestline  for  the 
manufacture  of  lumber  and  mill  work,  which 
employs  about  eight  men. 

The  Ohio  Mausoleum  Company,  the  main 
office  of  which  was  established  in  Galion,  O., 
in  March,  19 12,  was  organized  in  Shelby, 
Ohio,  in  1910,  to  exploit  the  patents  of  Grover 
C.  Hunter  on  mortuary  chapels  and  compart- 
ment mausoleums.  These  sanitary  mausoleums 
contain  from  50  to  1000  or  more  compart- 
ments, or  small  rooms,  designed  for  the  final 
occupancy  of  the  members  of  several  dififerent 
families  in  a  community.  The  rooms  or  com- 
partments are  arranged  in  tiers,  one  above 
another,  with  a  corridor  and  chapel,  and  means 


provided  for  abundance  of  light  and  ventila- 
tion. Funeral  services  can  be  conducted  within 
the  mausoleum,  those  taking  part  being  pro- 
tected from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather. 
The  entire  plan  has  many  interesting  features 
and  obvious  advantages.  The  company  con- 
trols the  Hunter  patents,  which  have  been  in- 
dorsed by  noted  health  authorities  and  boards 
of  health  throughout  the  country,  and  license 
others  to  construct  and  erect  these  community 
mausoleums  or  above-ground  tombs.  The  en- 
terprise is  one  of  great  possibilities,  and,  while 
the  cost  of  such  interment  is  less  than  ground 
burial,  it  offers  a  wide  margin  of  profit,  at- 
tractive to  investors.  The  officers  and  board 
of  directors  are  as  follows :  G.  C.  Hunter, 
president;  O.  J.  Zeigler,  of  Richwood,  O., 
vice  president;  John  K.  Weiser,  of  Shelby, 
secretary.  The  board  of  directors  consists  of 
the  above  officers  together  with  Messrs.  J.  W. 
McCarron,  B.  E.  Place  and  J.  W.  Weiser. 

The  Detweiler  Manufacturing  Company, 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  automobile 
stearing  gears,  was  incorporated  in  1909  by 
H.  B.  Detweiler,  F.  S.  Wisterman,  H.  Gott- 
diener,  A.  W.  Monroe  and  L.  M.  Liggett. 
The  capital  stock  was  $50,000,  which  was  in- 
creased to  $100,000  in  September,  191 1.  L. 
M.  Liggett  is  president  and  treasurer;  A.  W. 
Monroe,  secretary  and  W.  E.  Dunston,  general 
manager.  The  company's  factory  is  located 
on  Primrose  street  near  the  Big  Four  tracks, 
and  the  business  is  in  a  prosperous  condition. 

The  Galion  Iron  Works  Company,  an  ex- 
tensive concern  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  culvert  pipe,  road  machinery,  contractors' 
and  road  makers'  supplies,  was  incorporated 
in  February,  1907  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$100,000,  which  was  increased  in  1912  to 
$250,000.  The  company  started  with  a  small 
building,  100x60  feet,  which  was  enlarged  the 
second  year  by  an  addition  of  50  feet  more. 
The  third  year  another  addition  of  100  feet 
was  added,  and  this  was  followed  in  191 1  by 
an  extension  of  108  feet,  these  buildings  being 
all  two  stories  high,  with  fire-proof  out-shops 
for  oils,  paints,  etc.  Another  larger  building 
is  now  used  for  a  pattern  storage  house.  Among 
the  other  products  of  the  company  is  an  im- 
proved culvert  or  sluice-pipe  device,  the  in- 
vention of  Mr.  D.  C.  Boyd,  secretary  and  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  company,  who  has  also  in- 


446 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


vented  and  patented  other  useful  contrivances. 
1  he  company's  road  machines  are  sold  all  over 
America.  About  200  people  are  employed, 
with  ten  salaried  men  on  the  road,  and  there 
are  branch  offices  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  Memphis, 
Tenn.,  and  Atlanta,  Ga.  The  other  officers 
of  the  company  are  H.  Gottdiener,  president; 
Frank  W.  Faber,  vice  president,  and  G.  L. 
Steefel,  treasurer. 

The  Gallon  Handle  and  Manufacturing 
Company  was  established  at  Gallon  in  1907. 
It  is  an  incorporated  concern  capitalized  at 
$15,000,  its  officers  being  Anton  Kahn,  presi- 
dent; Allen  Miller,  J.  S.  Winemiller,  secretary, 
treasurer  and  general  manager,  and  M.  A. 
Miller,  with  a  board  of  fitve  directors.  The 
company  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
handles  and  woodwork,  and  the  output  of 
farm  tool  handles — about  three  car  loads  a 
month — are  sold  in  England  and  Germany. 
Employment  is  given  to  about  thirty  people. 

The  Golden  Metallic  Grave  Vault  Company, 
of  Gallon,  was  incorporated  in  January,  1905, 
with  a  capital  stock  of  $25,000,  which  in  Jan- 
uary, 1909,  was  increased  to  $100,000.  The 
original  officers  were:  J.  W.  Cupp,  president; 
W.  F.  L.  Block,  vice  president;  A.  W.  Mon- 
roe, secretary  and  treasurer;  A.  A.  Arnold, 
general  manager,  and  T.  F.  Kelley,  superin- 
tendent. The  works  of  this  concern  are  lo- 
cated in  the  northeastern  part  of  Gallon,  near 
the  Big  Four  tracks.  This  company  is  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  steel  grave  vaults 
and  shipping  cases  and  was  the  first  company 
to  construct  an  open  end  grave  vault.  The 
vaults  range  in  size  from  that  required  for  a 
child's  body  to  the  "Mammoth,"  weighing  as 
much  as  500  pounds.  About  fifty  people  are 
employed  and  sales  are  pushed  all  over  the 
country.  The  present  officers  are :  L.  M.  Leg- 
gett,  president ;  W.  F.  L.  Block,  vice  president ; 
A.  W.  Monroe,  secretary  and  treasurer,  and 
A.  A.  Arnold,  superintendent.  E.  P.  Monroe 
is  sales  manager  and  the  company  has  an  of- 
fice on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  Public 
Square. 

The  American  Steel  Grave  Vault  Company 
of  Gallon  was  incorporated  in  April,  1908,  by 
F.  Unckrich,  Jos.  King,  M.  A.  Curtiss  and 
J.  Petri,  being  capitalized  at  $25,000,  which 
was  increased  two  years  ago  to  $50,000,  since 
which  time  the  volume  of  business  has  been 


doubled.  The  concern  manufactures  the  burg- 
lar, water  and  vermin-proof  "American 
Vault,"  for  burial  purposes,  the  product  be- 
ing sold  to  undertakers  all  over  the  United 
States.  The  works  are  located  on  Bloomer 
street,  close  to  the  Big  Four  freight  depot,  the 
main  building  being  75x100  feet.  Another 
building,  40x80  feet,  has  just  been  erected. 
The  present  board  of  directors  consists  of  the 
officers  previously  mentioned,  with  the  addition 
of  Messrs.  B.  Place  and  C.  Bittner.  About 
thirty  men  are  employed,  and  the  company  is 
doing  a  good  business,  with  bright  prospects 
for  the  future. 

E.  M.  Freese  &  Co.,  of  Gallon,  O.,  manu- 
facturers  of  clay  working  machinery.     This 
business  was  established  at  Plymouth,  Ohio, 
in  1 88 1  and  has  had  a  steady  and  substantial 
growth  since  that  time.    An  increase  in  their 
facilities  was  rendered  necessary  by  the  ex- 
pansion of  their  trade  and  in  the  fall  of  1891 
the  works  were  removed  to  their  present  quar- 
ters in  Gallon.    From  time  to  time  new  build- 
ings have  been  erected  to  provide  additional 
space.    These  works  are  among  the  finest,  most 
extensive  and  best  equipped   for  the  manu- 
facture   of    this    class    of    machinery.      The 
buildings  are  of  brick,  elegant  in  appearance 
and    of   substantial   construction,   containing 
more  than  46,000   feet  of   floor  space,   are 
equipped     with     improved     machinery,     and 
lighted,  warmed  and  ventilated  in  accordance 
with  the  most  modern  practice.     A  few  years 
ago  the  company  thought  it  advisable  to  make 
their  own  castings,  and  so  took  over  the  old 
Homer    foundry,    adjacent    to    their    factory 
buildings.     This  is  now  operated  as  one  de- 
partment of  the  business  and  turns  out  several 
tons  of  castings  every  day,  which  are  used  in 
making  the  various  clay-working  machines.  A 
railway  siding  runs   into  the   grounds,   from 
which  the  raw  material  is  unloaded  and  the 
finished  product  loaded  on  cars  direct.     The 
machinery  built  by  E.   M.   Freese  &  Co..   is 
found  in  all  parts  of  this  country,  from  Cali- 
fornia to  New  Brunswick  and  from  British 
Columbia  to  Florida,  and  also  in  some  foreign 
countries.     It  is  used  in  a  large  proportion  of 
the  most  extensive  and  progressive  works  for 
the  manufacture  of  building,  paving  and  fire- 
brick,  hollow   ware,    fireproofing,    drain   tile, 
etc.    The  office  of  these  works  is  equipped  with 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


447 


the  most  modern  office  appliances  and  is  di- 
vided into  several  departments,  conducted 
under  a  well  organized  system.  From  this  of- 
fice a  large  amount  of  correspondence  and  ad- 
vertising is  sent  out  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 
The  manager  and  sole  owner  of  the  business 
is  Mr.  E.  M.  Freese,  who  has  been  intimately 
connected  with  it  from  the  beginning.  He  is 
a  practical  mechanic  of  many  years'  expe- 
rience and  has  invented  and  designed  all  of  the 
variety  of  improved  and  patented  machinery 
that  the  works  manufacture,  and  also  made  the 
plans  from  which  the  present  works  were 
erected.  Beginning  this  business  on  a  very 
small  scale,  his  struggle  for  success  was  long 
and  severe,  but  persistent  efifort  and  careful  at- 
tention to  the  wants  of  the  trade,  have  estab- 
lished it  on  a  permanent  foundation. 

The  Gallon  Brewing  Company  represents 
the  development  of  a  business  that  was  estab- 
lished just  west  of  the  city  as  far  back  as  1854 
by  John  Kraft,  a  German,  who  conducted  the 
business  for  some  time  with  fair  success.  He 
was  succeeded  in  1866  by  his  son,  John  Kraft, 
Jr.,  who  enlarged  and  improved  the  plant,  but 
was  unsuccessful  in  making  the  business  jDay. 
It  subsequently  passed  through  other  hands, 
for  a  time — ^about  1880 — being  conducted  by 
Daniel  Roth.  It  was  purchased  in  1896  by 
Henry  Alstaetter,  who  operated  the  brewery 
until  his  death  in  May,  1900.  He  made  many 
irriprovements  and  under  his  management  the 
enterprise  proved  a  lucrative  business  concern. 
In  1 90 1  the  plant  was  purchased  by  the  Galion 
Brewing  Company  and  is  now  owned  by  Mr. 
Frederick  K.  Berry,  his  wife,  and  a  sister  of 
the  latter.  Miss  Emma  Altstaetter,  of  Waynes- 
ville,  N.  C.  A  large  force  of  men  are  employed 
and  the  output  amounts  to  about  15,000  bar- 
rels a  year. 

One  of  the  best  known  among  the  smaller 
manufacturing  industries  of  Galion  are  the 
monument  works  of  Thomas  W.  Longstreth, 
who  has  carried  on  the  business  at  his  present 
quarters.  No.  134  West  Main  street,  for  the 
last  43  years,  commencing  in  1869.  In  1880 
Mr.  Longstreth  introduced  the  first  granite 
monuments  into  Galion  and  he  is  a  man  who 
has  always  kept  up  with  the  demands  of  his 
trade.  His  stand  is  one  of  the  landmarks  of 
the  city. 

The  Henry  C.  Sponhauer  Boiler  and  Ma- 


chine Works,  located  at  No.  316  E.  Main 
street,  were  established  in  1882  by  Henry  C. 
Sponhauer,  who  carried  on  the  business  suc- 
cessfully for  almost  thirty  years,  during  this 
period  frequently  expanding  and  improving 
the  works.  In  191 1  he  retired  in  favor  of  his 
son  William,  who  is  the  present  manager  of  the 
business.  In  addition  to  boiler  and  machine 
manufacturing,  a  general  tinning  business  is 
carried  on,  and  about  a  dozen  skilled  workmen 
are  employed. 

The  Perfection  Road  Machinery  Company, 
one  of  the  successful  industries  of  Galion,  was 
organized  in  January,  1898,  being  incorpo- 
rated with  a  capitalization  of  $200,000.  The 
officers  were  Ernest  Klopp,  president;  J.  A. 
Petrie,  vice  president;  W.  T.  Resch,  treasurer, 
and  E.  G.  Hartle,  general  manager  and  secre- 
tary, all  Galion  business  men.  The  concern  is 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  road-working 
machinery  including  three  styles  of  road  scrap- 
ers, seven  styles  of  roof  drags  and  several 
styles  of  road  dump  boxes  and  land  pulver- 
isers. Mr.  Hartle  is  the  draughtsman  and 
chief  engineer  of  all  the  machines  of  this 
company.  Employment  is  given  to  about  30 
people,  and  the  business  is  in  a  prosperous  and 
flourishing  condition. 

The  Cleveland-Gallon  Motor  Truck  Com- 
pany, recently  established  in  Galion,  controls 
an  important  industry  in  the  manufacture  -of 
the  Dynamic  Motor  Truck,  the  invention  of 
John  McGeorge,  chief  engineer  of  Cleveland. 
This  truck  is  a  powerful  warehouse  truck,  in- 
tended for  general  use  in  railway  freight 
houses,  express  depots,  warehouses,  terminals, 
factories,  foundries,  mines,  stores,  mail  ser- 
vice, etc.,  and  is  manufactured  only  by  this 
company.  The  company  is  a  merger  of  the 
Howard  Motor  Company,  of  Galion  and  the 
Cleveland  Motor  Truck  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  the  present  company 
buying  the  business  of  the  other  two.  It  was 
incorporated  under  the  laws  of  Ohio  in  the 
present  year,  19 12,  with  a  capitalization  of 
$100,000,  and  took  up  its  present  quarters  on 
Primrose  street,  Galion  in  May,  19 12.  The 
company  owns  fourteen  acres  in  the  southwest 
part  of  Galion,  near  the  Big  Four  and  Erie 
tracks  and  will  soon  begin  the  erection  of  a 
modern  plant  there.  Their  factory  on  Prim- 
rose street,  near  the  Big  Four  tracks  has  been 


448 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


put  in  good  condition  for  present  use,  several 
improvements  having  been  made.  The  pros- 
pects of  this  company  are  exceedingly  bright 
and  they  expect  to  build  looo  warehouse  trucks 
by  July,  1913.  The  company  has  offices  at 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  The  following  are  its  offi- 
cers:  H.  W.  Woodward,  president;  A.  W. 
Johnston,  vice  president;  H.  Gottdiener,  vice 
president;  W.  H.  Hager,  secretary  and  treas- 
urer, and  F.  W.  Biehl,  assistant  secretary.  J. 
W.  Wilson  is  production  manager  and  H.  B. 
Greig,  superintendent,  in  Gallon. 

This  truck  is  built  in  general,^  after  the  style 
of  the  present  hand-power  express  truck,  with 


State  of  New  York  and  capitalized  at  $3,000,- 
000,  the  stock  being  divided  as  follows :  First 
preferred,  $500,000;  second  preferred,  $550,- 
000;  common,  $1,950,000.  The  president  is  F. 
C.  Stevens,  of  Washington,  D.  C. ;  vice  presi- 
dent, Merton  E.  Lewis;  secretary,  V.  B.  Dey- 
ber,  of  Washington,  D.  C.  This  company,  the 
establishment  of  which  in  Gallon  is  one  of  the 
best  advertisements  the  city  could  receive,  is 
organized  for  the  purpose  of  absorbing,  tak- 
ing over  and  developing  various  companies 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  telephones, 
call-meters,  switchboards,  automatic  and  semi- 
automatic equipment  and  all  other  appliances 


/ 
_  / 


*£  II1Z 


HOME  OF  THE    AUTOMANUAL,  MANUFACTURED  BY  THE  NORTH  ELECTRIC  COMPANY  FOR  THE 

TELEPHONE  IMPROVEMENT  COMPANY 


a  low  loading  platform,  for  heavy  or  light 
loads,  and  is  power-driven.  It  may  be  run  in 
either  direction,  and  the  mechanism  permits  of 
steering  either  front  or  rear  wheels — or  both — 
at  the  will  of  the  operator,  enabling  him  to 
control  the  truck  absolutely  in  any  position,  no 
matter  how  closely  confined  the  space,  since 
either  pair  of  wheels  may  be  set  at  a  sixty- 
degree  angle.  The  truck  may  be  driven,  fully 
loaded,  up  a  steep  platform  grade  right  into  a 
car  and  to  any  point  in  that  car.  The  com- 
pany appears  to  have  in  their  hands  an  enter- 
prise bound  to  achieve  success. 

The  Telephone-Improvement  Company,  soon 
to  be  established  in  Gallon,  Ohio,  is  a  corpora- 
tion organized  in  1910  under  the  laws  of  the 


incident  to  the  telephone  business.  The  com- 
pany has  up  to  the  present  time  taken  over  and 
absorbed  the  following  companies:  The 
North  Electric  Company,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
capitalized  at  $2,250,000;  The  Telechrono- 
meter  Company,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  capital- 
ized at  $600,000,  and  The  National  Engineer- 
ing Company,  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  previously 
taken  over  by  the  North  Electric  Company. 
This  merger  is  effected  for  the  purpose  of 
economy  by  centralizing  the  output  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  one  large  manufacturing  plant. 
The  Telephone-Improvement  Company  owns 
the  patents  covering  the  Automanual  System, 
which  system  is  a  wide  departure  from  its 
predecessors    and    possesses    advantages     in 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


449 


economical  operation  and  service  quality  that 
have  been  heretofore  unattainable  in  telephone 
operation.  This  system  received  the  official 
stamp  of  approval  of  The  Bell  Telephone 
Company,  which  stamp  was  placed  only  after 
a  most  exhaustive  examination  upon  the  part 
of  their  most  competent  engineers,  and  nego- 
tiations between  the  two  companies  resulted 
in  the  Bell  Company  paying  the  Telephone- 
Improvement  Company  a  consideration  of 
many  hundreds  o,f  thousands  of  dollars  for  a 
non-exclusive  license  to  use  the  Automanual 
System,  the  possibility  of  any  future  patent- 
interference  war  being  thus  obviated  before- 
hand. The  Telephone-Improvement  Com- 
pany has  a  license  to  use  all  patents  and  pat- 
ent applications  owned  by  The  Western  Elec- 
tric Company,  which  is  the  manufacturing 
plant  of  the  Bell  Telephone  Company. 

The  Telephone-Improvement  Company  con- 
templates the  immediate  erection  of  a  most 
modem  manufacturing  building,  having  30,000 
square  feet  of  floor  space,  and  when  running 
at  its  full  capacity,  will  employ  from  300. to 
500  hands.  It  will  also  give  employment  to 
young  men  desirous  of  fitting  themselves  for  a 
mechanical  or  technical  career  and  also  to  stud- 
ents from  the  commercial  department  of  the 
public  schools.  It  is  estimated  from  past  busi- 
ness and  prospects  in  view  that  the  company 
will  do  not  less  than  one  and  one-half  million 
dollars  gross  business  per  annum  and  that 
within  from  six  months  to  one  year  it  will  be 
found  necessary  to  build  additions  to  and  en- 
large the  capacity  of  the  plant.  The  location 
of  this  plant  in  Gallon  will  stimulate  industry 
in  various  directions  and  will  bring  visitors  to 
the  city  from  all  parts  of  the  world  represent- 
ing telephone  interests,  to  investigate  and  in- 
spect the  Automanual  system,  thus  advertising 
the  city  in  a  manner  that  cannot  but  redound 
to  its  future  benefit. 

The  Market  Street  Mills,  Gallon,  were  es-' 
tablished  about  sixteen  years  ago,  and  are  do- 
ing a  general  milling  business  in  the  manu- 
facture of  flour  and  feed,  etc.  For  the  last 
six  or  seven  years  they  have  been  conducted 
by  C.  H.  Evans,  a  practical  miller,  who  keeps 
his  plant  up-to-date  and  turns  out  a  first-class 
product,  with  the  result  that  he  is  doing  a  pros- 
perous business.    This  is  a  modern  steam  mill 


and  turns  out  about  65  barrels  of  flour  per 
day. 

In  addition  to  the  industries  already  men- 
tioned as  existing  in  Gallon,  and  aside  from 
stores  and  the  ordinary  commercial  houses,  of 
which  there  are  a  large  number,  there  are  some 
others  doing  a  prosperous  business,  among 
which  we  may  mention  the  following: 

The  Gabon  Monument  Company,  conducted 
by  Gwinner  &  Sons,  with  location  at  203  So. 
Columbus  street,  are  manufacturers  of  and 
dealers  in  artistic  monumental  work.  The 
Galion  Cement  Block  Company,  Henry  Monat, 
proprietor,  is  located  on  the  Hosford  road, 
southwest  of  the  city.  The  Galion  Creamery 
Company,  makers  of  creamery  butter,  is  con- 
ducted by  Hugh  Lisse,  with  location  on  W. 
Church  street.  The  Peoples'  Pure  Ice  Com- 
pany, ice  manufacturers;  W.  H.  Bessinger, 
125  So.  Market  and  F.  Kuhn,  217  So.  Market, 
harness  manufacturing;  J.  W.  Dukeman,  bug- 
gies and  carriages;  The  Weavers  Bros.  Com- 
pany, drain  tile;  the  H.  F.  Kile  Mills,  on  So. 
Market  street;  and  the  Unckrich  Knife  Com- 
pany, makers  of  knives  to  order  and  also  en- 
gaged in  general  repairing  business. 

An  important  industry  of  Galion  for  many 
years  were  the  Galion  Machine  Works,  which 
were  established  in  1854,  on  a  small  scale,  the 
original  factory  consisting  of  one  frame  build- 
ing, which  was  devoted  to  the  casting  of  small 
articles  used  by  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Rail- 
road. The  building  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1856,  but  the  proprietors,  Messrs.  Squier  & 
Homer,  soon  rebuilt.  In  1858  another  ma- 
chine shop  was  erected  continuous  to  the  works, 
of  which  William  Holmes  was  proprietor  for 
eight  years,  being  succeeded  by  J.  B.  McClin- 
ton,  and  later,  on  the  latter' s  brother  becom- 
ing a  partner  in  the  concern,  the  style  was 
changed  to  McClinton  &  Co.  Afterwards  this 
shop,  with  the  original  plant,  was  conducted 
as  one  institution  by  Squier  &  Homer.  Henry 
Lanius  was  connected  with  the  plant  for  a 
time,  running  the  machine  shop  established  by 
Mr.  Holmes,  but  he  later  removed  his  plant  to 
South  Market  street.  Squier  &  Homer  con- 
tinued the  original  business  for  many  years, 
until  Mr.  Squier's  death,  which  took  place 
about  seven  years  ago.  The  factory  was  then 
continued  by  Mr.  Homer  until  two  or  three 


450 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


years  ago,. when  it  was  taken  over  by  the  E.  M. 
Freese  &  Co.,  as  an  adjunct  to  their  Clay 
Working  Machinery  plant.  .Mr.  Homer  died 
in  May  of  the  present  year  (1912). 

The  Farmers  Manufacturing  and  Milling 
Company,  of  Crestline,  is  the  outcome  of  a 
milling  industry  which  was  established  in 
1856-57  by  Matthew  Reed,  and  which  was 
originally  known  as  the  Continental  Mills. 
After  a  number  of  improvements  they  finally 
came  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  in  the 
state.  In  June,  1880  they  were  burned  to 
the  ground,  the  proprietors,  L.  G.  Russell  & 
Co.  losing  heavily.  They  were  rebuilt  by  Sam 
Robinson  and  subsequently  passed  through 
several  other  hands,  for  about  ten  years  being 
conducted  as  an  incorporated  concern,  among 
the  officials  at  that  time  being  J.  W.  Pond 
and  son  and  F.  D.  Lewis.  In  1903  Messrs. 
Musselman,  Brandt,  C.  R.  Coon  and  R.  M. 
Taylor  organized  the  present  company,  which 
is  a  co-partnership  concern,  the  business  being 
owned  by  farmer-s  in  Crestline  and  vicinity, 
among  whom  are  some  Richland  county  resid- 
ents. Carl  L.  Otto,  a  practical  miller,  for- 
merly of  Michigan,  has  general  charge  of  the 
plant,  which  gives  employment  to  about  six 
men.  A  general  milling  business  is  carried 
on,  the  special  products  "Sweet  Home" 
flour,  which  has  attained  a  wide  reputation 
for  quality.  Under  its  present  management 
the  concern  has  been  very  successful. 

The  large  and  flourishing  Crestline  industry 
known  as  the  Burch  Plow  Works  is  the  out- 
come of  a  business  established  many  years 
ago  by  Nicholas  Burch,  who  sold  to  the  Burch 
Plow  Company  in  December,  1897.  The 
concern  was  then  incorporated  with  a  capital- 
ization of  $50,000,  the  original  officers  being 
Jacob  Babst,  president;  C.  P.  Frank,  vice 
president;  J.  M.  Carlisle,  secretary,  and 
Charles  E.  Stine,  treasurer.  Since  that  time 
but  one  change  has  been  made  in  the  official 
board,  J.  L.  Morrow  being  now  secretary.  In 
1907  the  capitalization  of  the  company  was 
increased  to  $75,000  and  in  1910  to  $100,000. 
Since  the  original  invention  by  Nicholas 
Burch,  the  Burch  plows  have  been  improved 
from  time  to  time  and  today  rank  among  the 
best  in  the  market,  and  to  this  cause  may  be 
ascribed  their  wide  popularity.  As  shown  by 
the   company's   catalogue,  they   are  made   in 


various  styles,  including  the  New  Burch  Sulky 
and  wood  and  steel  beam  walking  plows. 
They  also  manufacture  several  styles  of  har- 
rows, pulverizers  and  crushers,  and  the  New 
Burch  Steel  Roller,  the  New  Burch  All  Steel 
Cultivator,  in  several  styles ;  single  and  double 
shovel  plows,  etc.  Another  important  branch 
of  the  business  is  the  manufacture  of  sewer 
inlets,  of  which  they  make  a  large  variety, 
together  with  manhole  covers,  and  the  Burch 
Expansion  Cast  Iron  Culvert  Pipe.  About 
40  men  are  employed  in  this  industry  and  the 
plant  is  large  and  thoroughly  up-to-date. 

The  Phoenix  Milling  Company,  of  Crest- 
line, was  established  about  a  year  ago,  by  W. 
H.  Heath,  of  Shelby.  The  mill  is  located  at 
the  corner  of  Bucyrus  and  Pierce  streets.  A 
general  milling  business  is  done  in  flour,  feed 
and  grain. 

The  Gledhill  and  Kime  Lumber  Company 
of  Crestline,  is  engaged  in  the  production  of 
lumber  and  building  material.  The  present 
company  purchased  the  business  three  or  four 
years  ago  from  John  W.  Ross,  its  founder. 
The  office  and  yards  are  located  at  215  Pierce 
street. 

The  Weaver  Bros.  Company,  dealers  in  hay, 
grain  and  stock,  was  incorporated  in  1900  with 
a  capitalization  of  $100,000,  and  with  officers 
as  follows:  Charles  Kindinger,  president; 
William  H.  Weaver,  secretary,  treasurer  and 
manager ;  and  Peter  Hutt,  vice  president.  The 
main  plant  of  the  company  is  located  at  Crest- 
line, and  they  have  also  two  others — one  of 
good  size  at  Gallon,  with  J.  J.  Patterson  as 
manager,  and  one  — the  original  plant — at 
Vernon,  which  is  managed  by  John  B. 
Weaver.  The  company  does  a  large  business, 
their  buying  extending  over  both  Crawford 
and  Richland  counties. 

The  Crestline  Manufacturing  Company 
now  known  as  the  Crestline  Pump  Works, 
was  incorporated  about  seven  or  eight  years 
ago  by  George  A.  Musselman,  Jacob  Flowers, 
R.  M.  Taylor,  C.  E.  Stetter,  and  Jacob  Babst, 
with  a  capital  stock  of  $62,000.  It  is  engaged 
chiefly  in  the  manufacture  of  pumps,  making 
as  many  as  250  different  kinds  for  all  sorts 
of  purposes.  Judge  Daniel  Babst  is  president 
of  the  company,  the  other  officials  being  James 
Sowash,  mgr.,  John  Warden,  secy. ;  and  Jacob 
Babst,  treasurer  and  managing  director.    The 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


451 


company  is  in  a  very  prosperous  condition  and 
the  concern  is  one  of  the  important  business 
enterprises  of  Crestline. 

A  few  years  ago  H.  E.  Bonnuth  estab- 
Hshed  himself  in  business  in  Crestline  as  a 
manufacturer  of  cement  blocks  and  as  general 
cement  contractor,  and  dealer  in  building  ma- 
terial. His  business  has  gradually  increased 
and  is  now  in  a  prosperous  condition,  with 
good  prospects  for  the  future.  His  location 
is  on  So.  Pierce  street,  near  the  Pennsylvania 
tracks. 

The  Holcker  Bros.  Buggy  Company,  of 
Crestline,  one  of  that  city's  most  important 
and  prosperous  business  enterprises,  had  its 
origin  many  years  ago,  when  Lewis  Holcker 
established  a  factory  at  New  Washington,  this 
county.  He  was  later  joined  by  his  two 
brothers,  Charles  and  Jacob,  who  came  here 
from  Germany,  and  the  three  brothers  became 
associated  together  in  the  enterprise.  In  1873 
the  concern  removed  to  Crestline,  starting  here 
in  a  small  way.  The  business  gradually  in- 
creased and  it  was  soon  found  necessary  to  en- 
large and  improve  the  plant,  the  original  frame 
building  being  replaced  by  a  substantial  one 
of  brick.  In  September,  1902,  they  incorpo- 
rated as  The  Holcker  Buggy  Company,  with 
a  capital  stock  of  $50,000,  and  since  that  time 
the  capacity  of  their  plant  has  been  doubled, 
their  present  plant  on  Seltzer  street  comprising 
half  a  block  of  brick  buildings,  thoroughly 
equipped  with  all  modern  appliances.  They 
turn  out  about  1200  jobs  a  year  in  buggies  and 
carriages,  and  give  employment  to  about  65 
people.  Their  product,  the  quality  of  which 
has  always  been  kept  up  to  the  highest  degree 
of  perfection,  is  sold  all  over  the  country,  their 
largest  trade  being  in  the  states  of  Ohio,  In- 
diana and  Pennsylvania,  with  large  sales 
throughout  the  South  and  West.  The  present 
officers  are :  Charles  Holcker,  president  and 
treasurer;  Jacob  Holcker,  vice  president; 
William  Monteith,  secretary,  and  B.  C.  Vog- 
ler,  superintendent. 

The  Schill  Bros.  Company,  of  Crestline, 
manufacturers  of  ranges,  stoves,  heaters  and 
laundry  stoves,  was  established  in  1892,  as  a 
partnership  concern,  the  partners  being  John, 
Joseph  and  Peter  Schill.  In  1900  they  incor- 
porated with  a  capital  stock  of  $250,000.  The 
business  has  grown  to  large  proportions,  the 


plant  now  covering  five  and  a  quarter  acres, 
and  about  150  men  are  employed  on  an  aver- 
age. The  business  done  per  year  amounts  to 
$200,000.  Starting  with  the  "New  Idea," 
they  have  advanced  until  they  now  make  six 
different  styles  of  furnace,  besides  quite  a 
large  variety  of  ranges,  heaters  and  laundry 
stoves.  The  officers  of  the  company  are  as 
follows:  William  H.  Weaver,  president; 
Frank  Miller,  vice-pres.  and  treasurer;  W.  D. 
Cover,  secretary  and  manager;  E.  E.  Meister, 
assistant  secretary,  and  C.  A.  Simonton,  super- 
intendent. The  directors  are  C.  F.  Frank, 
John  Schill,  W.  H.  Weaver,  C.  A.  Simonton, 
J.  M.  Martin,  J.  A.  McCallum  and  Frank 
Miller. 

The  New  Washington  Flouring  Mill,  at 
New  Washington,  now  owned  and  operated 
by  George  Siefert,  is  the  outcome  of  an  old 
established  industry.  The  mill  was  erected 
in  1859  by  Johnston  &  Crouder,  who  subse- 
quently sold  it  to  Joseph  Galancie.  The  latter, 
after  running  it  awhile,  sold  to  Robert  Hill- 
borne  and  J.  H.  Miller.  Later  Mr.  Hillborne 
sold  his  interest  to  A.  W.  Dennis,  the  firm 
taking  the  style  of  Miller  &  Dennis.  In  the 
fall  of  1873  new  machinery  was  installed,  and 
in  the  following  year  Mr.  Dennis  sold  to  T. 
B.  Endslow,  the  firm  becoming  Miller  &  End- 
slow.  Two  years  later  Mr.  Miller  retired  and 
Mr.  Endslow  managed  the  business  alone 
until  1879,  then  taking  as  partner  C.  K.  Heb- 
ler.  Subsequently  Endslow  &  Hebler  sold  to 
John  Scott  of  Cleveland,  and  the  latter  rented 
the  property  to  Rhinehart  &  Meyers  for  two 
years,  after  which  the  mill  stood  idle  for  a 
year.  Mr.  Endslow  then  returned  to  the  busi- 
ness and  purchasing  the  mill  of  Mr.  Scott, 
remodeled  it  in  1890,  and  conducted  it  till 
March  11,  1911,  at  which  time  it  was  pur- 
chased by  Mr.  Siefert.  This  mill  turns  out 
a  high  grade  of  flour  and  has  a  capacity  of 
60  barrels  a  day. 

The  New  Washington  Lumber  &  Manufac- 
turing Company,  manufacturers  of  and  deal- 
ers in  lumber  and  mill  work,  was  organized 
in  1905,  the  original  founder  having  been  A. 
G.  Eckstein.  The  officers  of  the  company  are : 
S.  J.  Kibler,  president ;  J.  W.  Derr,  vice  presi- 
dent; J.  H.  Sheetz,  treasurer;  J.  H.  Donald- 
son, secretary  and  general  manager.  The 
board  of  directors,  in  addition  to  the  above 


452 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


officials,  include  J.  W.  Kibler,  Jefferson  Mar- 
quart  and  Frank  Derr.  Twelve  people  are 
employed,  all  the  men  being  residents  of  New 
Washington. 

The  firm  of  Seitter  &  Brown  of  New  Wash- 
ington, manufacturers  of  brick  and  tile,  build- 
ing blocks,  etc.,  was  established  in  March,  1907, 
by  C.  T.  Seitter  and  H.  L.  Brown.  A  two- 
story  building,  40x130  feet,  was  erected,  and 
in  1909  an  additional  two-story  building,  30X 
50  feet  was  built.  The  entire  plant  covers 
about  eight  acres  of  ground.  The  value  of  the 
yearly  output  amounts  to  about  $10,000,  and 
employment  is  given  to  from  four  to  six  men. 
A  specialty  is  made  of  drain  tile,  which  is  made 
in  various  sizes. 

The  Kibler  Tannery,  New  Washington — 
This  concern  was  originally  about  1834,  when 
Robert  Robinson,  a  shoemaker  and  tanner,  be- 
gan the  manufacture  of  shoes  here.  He  pre- 
pared his  own  leather,  and  for  this  purpose 
sunk  five  or  six  vats,  making  more  leather  than 
he  required  for  his  own  use,  sold  the  surplus 
in  Bucyrus.  His  tannery  was  purchased  about 
1845  t>y  Matthias  Kibler,  who  had  started  in 
the  same  business  about  ten  years  before  in 
a  small  log  building  a  mile  or  two  south  of 
New  Washington,  where  he  had  sunk  four 
vats.  Mr.  Kibler  was  a  first  class  tanner  and 
gradually  enlarged  his  business  into  an  im- 
portant enterprise.  His  leather  was  of  the 
best  quality  and  commanded  a  ready  market  in 
Bucyrus  and  other  places.  The  old  tannery 
was  subsequently  torn  down  and  removed  to 
its  present  site  in  the  southeast  part  of  the 
town  corporation,  between  the  Northern  Ohio 
and  Pennsylvania  Railroad  tracks.  S.  J.  Kib- 
ler, who  succeeded  Matthias  later  took  in  J. 
W.  Kibler  as  partner,  the  firm  then  becoming 
S.  J.  Kibler  &  Brother,  and  it  was  thus  con- 
ducted until  May  2,  1902,  when  the  style  was 
changed  to  S.  J.  Kibler,  Bro.  &  Co.     It  was 


then  incorporated  with  a  capitalization  of 
$5,000,  all  paid  in,  the  officers  being:  S.  J. 
Kibler,  president;  A.  G.  Kibler,  secretary;  L. 
M.  Kibler,  treasurer.  The  tannery  consists  of 
four  buildings,  160x100  feet,  60x45  feet,  Sox 
50  and  45x30  feet.  Twelve  men  are  employed 
in  the  tannery,  and  seven  traveling  salesmen, 
with  a  bookkeeper  and  stenographer  in  the 
office.  In  1902  Mr.  J.  W.  Kibler  retired  from 
active  service  with  the  company. 

The  concern  now  deals  also  in  hides,  tal- 
low and  sheep,  skins,  wool  and  furs,  wholesale. 
The  company  owns  90  per  cent  of  the  Lake 
Erie  Hide  and  Leather  Co.,  of  Sandusky,  O. 
Their  annual  sales  ending  in  May,  1912, 
amounted  to  $2,000,000. 

The  Crawford  County  Nursery,  at  New 
Washington,  is  an  infant  industry  which  gives 
promise  to  develop  into  one  of  the  county's 
most  important  commercial  enterprises.  The 
prime  mover  in  its  establishment  is  Mr.  W.  H. 
McCormick,  who  has  devoted  the  greater  part 
of  his  life  to  the  study  of  horticulture.  This 
nursery,  although  covering  only  5  3-4  acres  of 
ground  contains  no  less  than  32,000  young 
apple  trees,  16,500  plum  trees,  4,000  cherry, 
1,000  pear,  15,000  strawberry  plants,  1,000,- 
000  catalpa.  4.000  peach,  4,000  currant,  and 
4,000  gooseberry  plants,  besides  1260  ever- 
greens. The  soil  of  this  nursery  is  ideal  and 
the  greatest  care  is  exercised  in  planting  and 
caring  for  the  young  trees,  shrubs  and  plants. 
No  person  is  allowed  to  buy  more  than  $25 
worth  of  stock  in  the  company,  the  directors 
wishing  to  distribute  the  stock  widely  among 
fruit  growers.  The  official  board  and  direc- 
torate are  as  follows:  E.  F.  Ulmer,  presi- 
ident ;  John  Donnersbach,  vice  president ;  H.  L. 
Hammer,  secretary;  W.  H.  McCormick,  man- 
ager. Directors — A.  P.  Miller,  secretary,  G. 
H.  Kichline,  secretary,  John  Willacker,  W.  J. 
Harris,  J.  E.  Wells  and  I.  P.  Spillette. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  PRESS. 

The  Modern  Newspaper — Scarcity  of  Newspapers  in  Early  Part  of  ipth  Century — The  News- 
papers of  Today  the  Reflection  of  Contemporary  Life  and  History — The  Rural  Press — 
Character  of  Crawford  County's  Newspapers — Early  Specimens — Lack  of  Local  News  in 
Early  Papers — The  Scissors  Succeeded  by  Stereotype  Plate — A  Case  of  Mixed  Fiction — 
The  First  Printing  Press  in  Crawford  County — The  County's  First  Newspaper — The 
Western  Journal  and  Bucyrus  Advertiser — Specimen  Advertisements — The  People's  Press 
— The  Ohio  Intelligencer — The  Crawford  Republican — The  Bucyrus  Democrat — Dem- 
ocratic-Republican and  Its  Regular  Publication — The  People's  Forum — Journalistic  Success 
in  Crawford  County  in  Early  Days  Dependent  on  Politics — The  DemocraticPioneer  and  Its 
Peculiar  Origin — Editorial  Amenities — Career  of  Tom  Orr — First  Steam  Newspaper 
Plant  in  Bucyrus — The  Crawford  County  News — The  News  Forum — The  Daily  Critic — 
The  Daily  Forum — Establishment  of  the  Bucyrus  Journal  and  Its  Career — The  P.  V. 
Nasby  Articles — Carriers'  Addresses — The  Journal  Under  the  Hopleys — The  Evening 
Telegraph — Consolidation  of  Journal  and  Telegraph — The  Temperance  Ballot  or  Craw- 
ford County  News — German  Papers — The  Crawford  County  Demokrat — The  Deutsche 
Courier — The  Bucyrus  Evening  Times — The  Daily  Critic — Other  Journalistic  Enterprises 
of  Bucyrus- — Galion  Newspapers — The  Galion  Weekly  Train,  Later  "Times"  now  the  Ga- 
lion  District  Democrat — The  Ribletts  and  Matthias  Brothers — The  Weekly  Revifw — The 
Galion  Sun — The  Public  Spirit  or  Leader — The  Sun-Review — The  Galion  Inquirer — 
The  Crestline  Express — The  Crestline  Advocate — The  Crawford  County  Democrat — The 
Crestline  Democrat  and  Crestline  Vidette — The  New  Washington  Herald — The  Tiro 
World — Old  Time  Part  Spirit — A  Change  for  the  Better. 

THE  PRESS  it  appears  with  such  regularity  and  is  usually 

And  'tis  thus  with  our  noble  profession,  and  thus  it  ^°  creditable  a  publication  that  people  accept  it 

will  ever  be  still;  Without  giving  especial  thought  to  its  prepara- 

There  are  some  who  appreciate  its  labors,  and  some  tion.     Naturally,  in  the  publishine  of  a  news- 

who  perhaps  never  will,  •        n  j.        r  •■  s  ^'-  "■  "<=w3 

But  in  the  great  time  that  is  coming,  when  loudly  the  P'^Per,  as  in  all  sorts  Ot  work  where  movable 

trumpet  shall  sound,  .  types  or  fallible  humanity  is  in  evidence  there 

'^the^'^quiv'ring'' groundT'''  '"'^  """'"^  ''''"  '°"'  ''°"'  ^'^  ^''°'^  i"  Public  prints,  but  these  errors  are 

When  they  who  have  striven  and  suffered  to  teach  and  reduced  to  the  minimum,  and  few  people  real- 
ennoble  the  race,                                                .  ize  the  care  with  which  a  staff  of  conscientious 

Shall  march  at  the  front  of  the  column,  each  one  m  r.orvi-i1/>    ,„^rl,;»,„    •       u                       .    ■          ^^"-'""^ 

his  God-given  place,  people,  working   in   harmony,   strive   for   ac- 

As  they  pass  through  the  gates  of  The  City  with  proud  curacy  of  information  and  clearness  of  expres- 

ThT'ed^^r,"printrtnd  "devil."  will  travel  not  far  ^'°"  ^'^  ^^e  presentation  of  matter  in  the  ordi- 

from  the  head.  "^-ry  newspapers  of  the  day. 

—Will  Carleton.  When  Crawford  county  was  erected  early  in 

.  1820  there  were  few   papers    in    the    United 

The  modern  newspaper  is  really  entitled  to  a  States  and  the  number  in  Ohio  was  extremelv 

place  as  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world,  but  limited.     The  larger  cities  had  indifferent  pa- 

453 


454 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


pers  and  even  the  best  of  them  in  1820  would 
not  compare  with  any  degree  of  credit  with  the 
hundreds  of  newspapers  pubHshed  all  over  Ohio 
today,  the  improved  methods  of  collecting  and 
handling  news  giving  to  our  local  papers  today 
a  quality  and  completeness  which  could  not 
have  been  attained  in  even  the  largest  cities  a 
hundred  years  ago.  Ohio  has  progressed  in 
the  past  century  to  a  degree  far  exceeding  the 
roseate  dreams  of  the  most  sanguine  enthus- 
iast in  his  brightest  optimism.  And  going 
along  with  the  advance  of  Ohio,  but  usually 
leading  that  advance,  were  the  splendid  papers 
of  the  state.  The  small  cities  have  long  enjoyed 
their  daily  papers  and  scarcely  a  community  of 
size  and  importance  is  now  without  a  newspa- 
per, usually  a  daily  and  often  two  dailies,  speak- 
ing with  enthusiasm  for  the  town  or  city,  and 
pointing  the  way  to  improvement  in  local  af- 
fairs, whether  in  politics,  sanitary  conditions, 
manufacturing  or  commercial  advantages;  or 
boasting  of  the  financial  reliability  of  its  in- 
stitutions and  the  progressive  principles  of  its 
people. 

The  measure  of  social  advancement  is  re- 
flected in  the  papers  of  the  state  and  each 
community  smiles  to  the  world  at  large  through 
the  pages  of  its  favorite  paper.  Always  anx- 
ious to  command  the  respect  and  esteem  of  the 
community,  usually  fighting  its  way  to  a  high- 
er character  and  broader  view  of  life  and  re- 
sponsibilities, the  modern  newspaper  aims  to  be 
at  the  front  in  all  good  work;  aims  to  give  to 
the  people  inspiration  and  encouragement,  and 
strives  to  be  worthy  of  that  community  and  its 
people. 

The  faithful  newspaper  of  today  becomes  the 
reliable  history  of  tomorrow,  and  the  paper 
striving  to  make  its  columns  reflect  that  which 
will  be  reliable  history  naturally  has  a  standing 
which  cannot  be  weakened.  The  power  of  the 
press  has  been  the  subject  of  song  and  story, 
but  that  power  only  comes  when  it  reflects 
the  conscientious  ideas  of  the  locality  and  in 
leading  with  good  thoughts  and  good  deeds  the 
community  where  it  is  published.  The  desire 
for  helping  in  the  general  advancement  of  the 
community  has  stimulated  many  papers  to  in- 
stitutional efforts,  and  today  newspapers  are 
doing  more  than  their  share  to  help  in  public 
enterprises ;  more  than  their  share  of  care  and 


thought  to  the  making  of  bigger  and  better 
communities. 

And  while  the  press  in  general  has  advanced 
to  a  remarkable  degree  the  press  of  the  rural 
sections  has  come  to  be  more  and  ijiore  a  reflex 
of  the  substantial  thought  and  careful  intelli- 
gence of  the  average  American  community. 
The  larger  cities  reflect  a  condition  which  is 
restless  and  dangerous.  Their  newspapers  are 
frequently  given  over  to  large  headlines  and 
sensations.  This  in  itself  is  disturbing.  The 
newspapers  of  the  smaller  communities  are  pre- 
pared with  greater  care,  and  show  the  anxiety 
to  reflect  the  people  with  whom  the  paper  is  an 
institution  and  to  give  to  the  readers  of  that 
paper  the  best  possible  ideals. 

Crawford  county  is  especially  indebted  to  its 
newspapers  for  their  cleanness,  their  progres- 
sive character,  their  tireless  desire  to  assemble 
news  and  present  it  in  readable  and  creditable 
shape,  and  their  unceasing  efforts  to  build  up 
their  respective  sections.  To  compare  a  coun- 
ty newspaper  of  1800  of  any  county  in  the  state, 
with  the  newspapers  of  Crawford  county  of 
today  is  certainly  a  comparison  which  reflects 
credit  on  the  present  Crawford  county  papers. 
The  oldest  papers  in  the  county  are  on  exhibi- 
tion at  the  office  of  the  Hopley  Printing  Com- 
pany in  Bucyrus.  There  are  two  papers  framed 
on  their  walls,  one  of  1833  and  the  other  of 
1834,  which  give  a  good  idea  of  the  newspapers 
of  that  day.  The  older  of  these  two  framed 
copies  is  of  the  Western  Journal  and  Bucyrus 
Advertiser  and  is  dated  November  30,  1833. 
The  other  copy  is  of  The  Bucyrus  Journal  and 
is  dated  February  i,  1834.  They  are  both  in  a 
remarkable  state  of  preservation  and  are  so 
framed  that  the  interested  person  can  examine 
both  sides  of  the  print.  There  was  no  local 
news  at  that  time  and  no  effort  to  assemble  local 
news.  Occasionally  a  death  would  be  recorded 
but  in  the  main  the  papers  contained  items  of 
national  or  international  importance,  clipped 
from  some  of  the  exchanges  that  had  come  to 
the  editor. 

Seventy-five  years  ago  the  editor  of  a  Bucy- 
rus paper  had,  seemingly  no  use  for  a  pen.  The 
scissors  did  the  work  for  him.  This  was  not- 
able in  all  the  papers  up  to  about  i860,  when 
the  use  of  local  news  became  of  some  impor- 
tance.    The  great  frost  of  1858  which  in  July 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


455 


of  that  year  destroyed  the  corn  and  wheat, 
and  other  crops  and  entailed  a  loss  of  half  a 
million  dollars  on  this  county,  was  given  merely 
a  few  lines.  Such  an  item  today  would  be 
treated  with  a  full  account,  with  details  secured 
at  first  hand  from  as  many  farmers  as  could 
be  reached.  The  advancement  of  newspaper 
work  has  been  remarkable,  and  it  is  compara- 
tively easy  to  gather  the  items  of  the  world 
and  place  them  on  the  tea  tables  of  the  small 
city;  organization  and  improved  facilities  mak- 
ing the  work  a  pleasure  where  in  the  old  days  it 
was  a  hardship. 

The  general  use  of  the  stereotype  plate  has 
come  within  the  past  forty  years.  The  use  of 
this  plate  in  local  newspapers  enables  the 
smaller  publications  to  use  "syndicate"  matter 
simultaneously  with  the  larger  papers  of  the 
country,  and  deliver  to  the  rural  community 
each  day  from  the  county  seat,  as  complete  a 
paper  as  would  be  possible  in  the  great  cities  of 
the  country.  Some  years  ago  Major  A.  W. 
Diller  was  watching  the  operation  of  the  plac- 
ing of  stereotype  plates  in  a  newspaper  form 
and  remarked  "it  used  to  be  that  you  edited 
a  newspaper  with  a  paste-pot  and  pair  of  scis- 
sors, but  now,  by  heck,  you  do  it  with  a  saw." 

Occasionally  in  the  early  days  a  three  or  four 
line  mention  was  made  of  the  death  of  a  prom- 
inent citizen,  and  the  political  meeting  of  a 
party  escaped  with  only  a  bare  mention,  if 
indeed  it  obtained  any  place  in  the  paper  at  all, 
and  certainly  none  if  it  were  the  opposition 
party.  However,  from  the  early  files  accessable 
at  the  office  of  the  Bucyrus  Journal  and  the 
Evening  Telegraph  it  is  possible  to  get  much 
historical  knowledge  from  the  advertising  col- 
ums.  The  changes  in  firms  or  locations,  the 
new  stores  started,  the  erection  of  new  build- 
ings, etc.,  are  only  learned  by  the  advertise- 
ments. After  the  year  1840  political  editorials 
became  frequent.  It  is  doubtful  if  the  entire 
amount  of  local  news  published  in  all  the  Bucy- 
rus papers  previous  to  the  year  1850  exceeded 
what  can  be  found  in  the  leading  papers  of  the 
county  in  any  one  month. 

The  use  of  stereotype  plates  has  helped  make 
newspapers  possible  in  many  small  towns  and 
in  these  later  days  the  cost  is  not  expensive  and 
the  value  is  very  great.  In  one  of  the  southern 
Ohio  counties  an  eccentric  character  named 
Tony  Barleyon  owned  a  small  newspaper.    He 


bought  a  page  of  two-column  short  stories  and 
for  six  months  ran  them  in  his  paper.  The 
page  contained  three  of  the  two-column  stories 
and  he  would  publish  first  one  then  the  other 
of  them,  occasionally  forgetting  to  change  the 
stories  from  one  week  to  the  other,  and  this 
brought  some  comment  from  his  friends.  To 
vary  the  matter  Barleyon  mixed  the  stories  up, 
running  them  in  combination  so  that  the  first 
column  of  one  story  would  be  published  with 
the  second  column  of  another. 

John  Moderwell  is  the  authority  for  the  fact 
that  the  first  printing  press  brought  to  Craw- 
ford county  was  the  property  of  William  Y. 
McGill.  It  was  an  old  Ramage  press,  and 
about  1829  he  contemplated  publishing  a  Jack- 
son paper,  at  Bucyrus,  but  after  the  first  num- 
ber appeared  the  publication  was  discontinued. 
McGill  must  have  been  a  man  of  excellent  fi- 
nancial judgment,  for  he  had  discretion  enough 
to  foresee  that,  even  in  that  day,  running  a 
newspaper  in  Crawford  county  would  not  be  an 
easy  road  to  financial  prosperity,  and  he 
promptly  suspended  the  new  enterprise.  He 
continued  a  resident  of  Bucyrus  and  vicinity 
for  many  years,  occasionally  teaching  school 
in  the  village  and  surrounding  country.  April 
I,  1833,  he  acted  as  election  clerk  in  Liberty 
township,  and  at  the  same  time,  his  fellow  cit- 
izens having  implicit  faith  in  him,  elected  him 
to  the  lucrative  office  of  "fence  viewer"  of  that 
township.  This  is,  so  far  as  known,  the  only 
honor  or  political  preferment  given  to  the  man 
who  introduced  the  printing  press  into  Craw- 
ford county.  When  war  was  declared  with 
Mexico,  McGill  left  for  the  scene  of  hostili- 
ties, feeling,  no  doubt  that  the  success  he  had 
failed  to  achieve  with  the  pen  might  be  attained 
by  the  sword,  but  misfortune  was  his  lot,  for 
while  on  his  way  home  he  took  sick  and  died 
at  Newport,  Kentucky.  It  is  doubtful  if  any 
copies  of  this  first  paper  published  in  Crawford 
county  were  preserved. 

The  second  attempt  at  journalism  was  made 
by  William  Crosby,  who  obtained  possession 
of  the  McGill  press  and  materials,  and  about 
September  i,  1831,  commenced  the  publication 
of  a  newspaper  advocating  democratic  princi- 
ples. This  was  called  the  Western  Journal 
and  Bucyrus  Advertiser  above  spoken  of  and 
was  printed  and  published  on  Sandusky  avenue, 
a  few  doors  north  of  the  post  office.    The  post 


456 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


office  was  at  Henry  St.  John's  store  where 
the  Bucyrus  City  Bank  is  now  located,  and  it 
is  likely  the  few  doors  north  was  about  where 
Englehard's  clothing  store  is  at  present.  If 
this  paper  appeared  regularly,  counting  from 
the  numbers  of  the  issues  preserved  and  framed 
as  above  mentioned,  which  was  No.  105,  it 
must  have  been  started  in  November,  1831,  but 
it  is  doubtful  if  the  paper  was  issued  regularly 
each  week,  so  it  is  possible  the  first  number  of 
the  Western  Journal  might  have  been  several 
months  prior  to  this  date.  The  paper  changed 
names  between  November  30,  1833  and  Febru- 
ary I,  1834,  for  on  the  latter  date  it  was  known 
as  the  Bucyrus  Journal. 

The  Western  Journal  and  Bucyrus  Advertis- 
er was  a  four-page  paper  of  four  columns  to 
the  page,  and  the  issue  of  Nov.  30,  1833,  is  No. 
105.  In  this  paper  George  Sweney  offers  for 
sale  half  a  lot  which  is  situated  a  short  dis- 
tance north  of  Henry  St.  John's  store,  on  which 
there  is  a  comfortable  two-story  dwelling.  It 
is  probable  this  is  the  building  which  was  the 
home  of  the  paper,  as  it  was  expected  in  those 
days  a  party  leader  should  furnish  a  home  for 
his  political  paper,  and  as  two  years  had  elapsed 
with  little  or  no  rent  coming  in,  and  it  would 
be  political  heresy  to  close  up  the  concern, 
the  smoothest  and  easiest  way  out  of  the  dif- 
ficulty was  to  unload  the  burden  on  some  one 
else.  Crosby,  however,  was  doing  his  best.  He 
was  offering  for  sale  lot  No.  151  in  Bucyrus, 
which  was  the  west  82  feet  of  the  lot  on  which 
the  Hotel  Royal  now  stands,  and  ran  south  on 
Poplar  street  132  feet.  The  advertisement 
states  the  lot  "is  in  a  healthy  and  flourishing 
part  of  the  town."  He  further  announces  he 
wants  some  wheat  on  subscription,  and  that  he 
will  take  lumber  in  payment  for  debts  due  him, 
specializing:  "Oak,  Ash,  Poplar,  Black  and 
White  Walnut,  and  Cherry  boards;  shingle 
and  Plastering  Lath — Scantling  and  Shingles." 

Three  other  advertisements,  all  in  the  same 
issue,  should  be  read  in  connection: 

First — ^John  Davis  and  Joseph  Kirk  an- 
nounce a  dissolution  of  partnership  in  the  hat- 
ting business. 

Second — John  Davis  announces  that  he  is  in 
the  hatting  business  at  Gary's  old  stand,  and 
has  hats  at  wholesale  and  retail,  and  "war- 
ranted as  good  as  any  made  in  the  western 
country." 


Third — "All  persons  are  cautioned  against 
a  promissory  note  given  by  me,  payable  to  Jos. 
Kirk,  for  the  sum  of  $175,  twelve  months  after 
date,  dated  about  the  first  day  of  October,  1833, 
as  I  shall  not  feel  myself  bound  to  pay  the 
same  unless  compelled  by  law.    John  Davis." 

Zalmon  Rowse,  as  administrator  of  his 
brother,  announces  he  will  sell  a  part  of  the 
east  half  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  35, 
Holmes  township.  [This  was  the  land  in  North 
Bucyrus  extending  from  the  Tiffin  road  half 
way  to'  Sandusky  avenue] ;  also  land  on  the 
turnpike  road  south  of  Bucyrus.  [This  is  now 
in  the  corporation.] 

Elizabeth  and  William  M'Curdy  announce 
their  appointment  as  administratrix  and  admin- 
istrator of  James  M'Curdy,  of  Liberty  town- 
ship, deceased. 

John  Moderwell  announces  the  removal  of 
his  cabinet  shop  to  the  new  building  on  the  west 
side  of  the  square.  [This  was  the  lot  on  which 
the  Hotel  Royal  now  stands.  Previous  to  this 
his  building  had  been  on  the  Rowse  Block  cor- 
ner.] 

James  McCracken,  as  J.  P.,  publishes  an  at- 
tachment in  a  suit  of  Abraham  Yost  against  an 
absent  debtor. 

R.  W.  Musgrave  and  Henry  St.  John,  mer- 
chants, also  publish  an  attachment  against  Hen- 
ry Flack,  an  absconding  debtor;  amount  $100. 

Advertisements  are  also  published  announc- 
ing that  a  petition  will  be  presented  to  the  next 
Legislature  to  form  a  new  county.  The  new 
county  was  to  take  from  what  is  now  Craw- 
ford, all  of  Auburn  and  Vernon,  the  northern 
three  miles  of  Sandusky  and  the  eastern  three 
miles  of  Cranberry,  Auburn  and  Vernon  being 
then  in  Richland  county. 

Another  county  petitioned  for  was  to  take 
in  Auburn  in  Richland  county  and  Cranberry 
in  Crawford. 

Other  petitions  to  be  presented  to  the  Legis- 
lature was  for  the  establishment  of  a  graded 
state  board  from  Mamsfield  in  Richland  county 
to  Bucyrus  in  Crawford  county;  also  a  state 
road  "beginning  at  the  Public  Square  in  Ga- 
llon, in  the  county  of  Richland,  from  thence  on 
the  nearest  and  best  ground  to  the  town  of 
Bucyrus." 

An  item  in  the  paper  states  that  the  Ohio 
State  Journal  announces  that  if  it  receives  suf- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


457 


ficient  encouragement  it  will  publish  a  daily 
during  the  session  of  the  Legislature. 

In  1830  Columbus  was  a  town  of  2437  peo- 
ple, and  it  is  a  pleasure  to  state  sufficient  en- 
couragement was  given,  for  the  daily  was  pub- 
lished. 

Here  is  the  only  local  item  in  the  paper : 

"We  have  been  requested  to  state  that  Rev.  Mr. 
Dickey  of  the  Associate  Church  will  preach  at  the 
Court  House  in  the  village  on  Sunday  next  to  com- 
mence at  II  o'clock  a.  m." 

Two  things  are  observable  in  the  only  local 
item ;  first,  his  declining  to  assume  responsibil- 
ity for  the  item,  and  second  the  statement 
that  the  reverend  gentlemen  would  commence 
preaching  an  o^  clock.  It  was  a  correct  state- 
ment to  make,  as  it  gave  no  indication  as  to 
when  he  would  finish,  as  in  those  early  days  it 
was  nothing  unusual  for  a  minister  to  preach 
two  and  three  hours. 

The  next  number  in  existence  was  called  the 
Bucyrus  Journal,  and  is  dated  Feb.  i,  1834,  and 
is  No.  114,  showing  by  the  date  and  number 
that  it  was  being  published  regularly  each 
week.     It  again  has  been  but  one  news  item: 

"Died — In  this  vicinity  on  Wednesday  morning  last, 
Mr.  Simeon  Parcher,  leaving  a  wife  and  a  large  family 
of  children  to  mourn  his  loss." 

This  next  number  shows  that  when  an  ad- 
vertisement once  got  into  the  paper  it  stayed 
there.  The  legal  notices  of  Musgrave  &  St. 
John  of  Abraham  Yost  for  their  absent 
debtors,  and  the  administrator's  notice,  get 
their  tenth  publication,  when  the  law  called  for 
but  four. 

John  Moderwell  as  sheriff  advertises  six 
properties  for  sale,  all  in  what  is  now  Wyandot 
county. 

Jacob  Bryant  and  John  Mitchell  advertise  a 
dissolution  of  partnership  in  the  merchandising 
business. 

Crosby's  lot  "in  a  healthy  and  flourishing 
part  of  the  town"  is  still  for  sale. 

Here  are  two  advertisements,  which  show 
the  manners  and  customs  of  those  days : 

"Six  Cents  Reward — Ran  away  from  the  sub- 
scriber living  in  Bucyrus,  on  the  20th  inst.,  a  boy  named 
Peter  Werth,  an  indentured  apprentice  in  the  Wagon 
and  Ploughmaking  business.  All  persons  are  hereby 
count,  as  I  will  prosecute  all  who  do  so.  Said  boy  is 
about  18  years  old,  dark  complected,  is  fond  of  talking 
cautioned  against  harboring  or  trusting  him  on  my  ac- 


with  his  superiors,  and  occasionally  tries  to  play  the 
fiddle;  had  on  when  he  went  away  a  dark  sattinet  coat- 
tee,  white  hat,  and  striped  sattined  pantaloons  of  a 
snuff  color.  The  above  reward  will  be  given  but  no 
charges  paid. 

"P.  S. — An  additional  reward  of  a  bundle  of  shav- 
ings will  be  given  to  any  person  •  returning  said  boy  to 
the  subscriber. 

"George  Myers. 

"Bucyrus,  Dec.  20,  1833 — w3.'' 

Here  is  Chapter  Two. 

"To  THE  Public. — Mr.  Editor :  Sir :  In  your 
paper  of  the  21st  inst.  I  perceive  an  advertisement 
signed  by  George  ^  Myers,  concerning  my  son,  Peter 
Werth.  Now  I  wish  to  correct  an  error  in  said  adver- 
tisement. My  son  did  not  run  away  as  Mr.  Myers 
states;  he  came  home  on  account  of  some  ill  treatment 
on  Saturday  last.  I,  as  his  rightful  guardian,  com- 
menced a  suit  against  Mr.  Myers  on  Monday  last  (for 
a  non-performance  of  the  indenture)  the  result  of  which 
has  been  a  verdict  in  my  favor  of  thirty  dollars. 

"P.  S. — Mr.  Myers  had  better  keep  his  shavings  for 
the  purpose  of  lighting  candles  to  play  cards,  dice,  and 
roulette  by,  and  save  his  money  also.* 

"Joseph  Werth,  Sr., 

"Bucyrus,  Dec.  24,  1833 — W4." 

Sweney  has  probably  sold  his  building,  as  the 
advertisement  does  not  appear;  still  the  editor 
is  struggling  heroically  to  meet  expenses  as  wit- 
ness the  following : 

"The  Printer — Wants  the  following  articles  of 
Country  Produce  in  payment  on  subscription  debts, 
viz. :  Wheat,  Rye,  Corn,  Oats,  Buckwheat,  Potatoes, 
Pork,  Beef,  Veal,  Cheese,  Butter,  Sugar,  Flax,  Linnen, 
Linsey,  Wool,  Tallow,  Candles,  Feathers,  Hay,  &c.,  &c., 
or  anything  else  which  we  can  eat,  drink,  wear,  or  sell 
again.  He  would  be  glad  to  get  lumber  and  building 
material  of  all  kinds  (if  delivered  soon) ;  also  a  few 
cords  of  Fire  Wood;  for  all  of  which  the  highest  mar- 
ket price  will  be  given.  And  moreover,  he  would  not 
take  it  amiss  if  he  could  occasionally  get  (it  would  be 
a  mighty  pleasant  thing)  from  his  patrons  some 
MONEY,  for  which  they  should  most  assuredly  receive 
his   hearty  thanks." 

While  these  early  issues  of  the  Bucyrus 
Journal  and  the  Western  Journal  are  not  as 
well  printed  as  is  done  today,  it  is  a  conspicuous 
fact  that  the  paper  holds  together  and  the  type 
is  clear  and  distinct,  a  feature  which  will  prob- 
ably not  be  noted  about  the  average  paper  print- 
ed today  which  might  be  preserved  for  eighty 
years.  Crosby  sold  the  printing  plant  to 
Charles  P.  West,  who  published  for  about  one 
year  the  Peoples  Press  and  the  Peoples  Ad- 
vocate, both  of  which  aimed  to  be  neutral  in 

*At  the  March  term  of  court  in  1834,  the  following 
indictment  was  found.  "George  Myers,  for  suffering 
gaming  in  his  outhouse." 


458 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


politics.  In  1845  President  Polk  appointed 
Crosby  Consul  to  the  port  of  Talcahuano, 
Chili,  in  South  America.  Moderwell  says  in 
regard  to  Crosby's  later  history  "Finding  the 
office  was  not  very  lucrative  he  resigned  and 
engaged  in  whale  fishery,  which  proved  to  be 
much  more  profitable,  and  in  which  he  was  en- 
gaged for  many  years.  He  visited  Bucyrus  in 
October,  1867." 

David  R.  Lightner  was  employed  in  the  Peo- 
ple's Press  office  before  the  publication  was  dis- 
continued, and,  when  West  sold  the  establish- 
ment to  Joseph  Newell  arrangements  were 
made  for  a  new  paper,  to  be  published  by 
Newell  &  Lightner.  Mrs.  Newell,  however,  op- 
posed this  move  on  her  husband's  part,  and,  in 
order  to  "keep  peace  in  the  family,"  Newell 
turned  the  enterprise  over  to  John  Reeder,  and 
is  said  to  have  given  him  ten  bushels  of  wheat 
for  "taking  the  bargain  off  his  hands."  Reeder 
and  his  son  Jonathan,  and  his  nephew  Lightner, 
then  started  the  Ohio  Intelligencer.  The  first 
number  appeared  about  1836,  for  the  21st 
number  of  it  was  issued  July  23,  and  the  42d 
number  December  30,  1836.  This  paper  was 
neutral  in  politics,  the  issue  of  July  23  pub- 
lishing both  Presidential  electoral  tickets.  The 
name  of  the  firm  was  then  D.  R.  Lightner  & 
Co.,  but  after  fifty-two  numbers  had  been  is- 
sued John  Reeder  retired  and  his  son  Jonathan 
continued  in  partnership  with  his  cousin  Light- 
ner for  several  more  numbers  of  Volume  2. 
Young  Reeder  also  became  discouraged  and 
sold  his  interest  to  John  Caldwell.  The  Ohio 
Intelligencer  was  then  discontinued  and  Cald- 
well &  Lightner  started  the  Crawford  Repub- 
lican about  August  i,  1837,  with  Caldwell  as 
editor  and  Lightner  as  publisher.  The  office 
was  then  on  the  corner  now  occupied  by  the  J. 
K.  Myers  store.  In  the  eighth  number,  dated 
November  4,  1837,  on  the  first  page,  and  No- 
vember 28,  on  the  third,  the  proprietors  make 
the  following  announcement : 

"The  experiment  we  have  commenced  in  the  pub- 
lishing of  a  Democratic  paper  is  now  in  full  tide  of 
operation,  and  with  the  result  so  far  we  have  no  reason 
to  complain.  In  addition  to  the  old  list  of  subscribers 
we  have  obtained  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  new 
ones,  and  are  daily  receiving  more.  We  want  two  hun- 
dred more  immediately  and  no  labor  or  expense  will 
be  spared  to  make  our  paper  interesting.  An  interesting 
and  important  crisis  is  now  approaching  in  our  national 
and  state  affairs,  with  which  every  man  in  the  county 
should  make  himself  acquainted,  and  which  we  will  en- 
deavor to  lay  before  our  readers  as  they  transpire." 


This  number  was  issued  during  the  panic  of 
1837,  and,  money  being  very  scarce,  the  pro- 
prietors, in  order  to  secure  patronage,  pub- 
lished on  the  fourth  page,  in  sale-bill  type  the 
following  notice:  "Wheat,  corn,  buckwheat, 
oats,  pork,  beef,  butter  and  candles  will  be  re- 
received  on  subscription  at  this  office."  After 
52  numbers  of  the  Crawford  County  Republi- 
can had  been  published  Caldwell  retired  from 
the  firm,  and  Lightner  continued  the  paper  for 
another  year,'  or  rather  for  another  volume  of 
fifty-tv^o  numbers,  the  last  appearing  January 
I,  1840.  The  Democratic  brethren  were  not 
satisfied  with  the  manageemnt  of  the  paper  un- 
der Lightner,  who  said  "some  declared  I  was 
not  a  good  Democrat  for  publishing  a  com- 
munication from  Bishop  Tuttle,  in  which  the 
people  were  advised  to  examine  both  sides." 
Lightner  was  not  sorry  to  be  relieved,  and  the 
office  was  transferred  to  Caldwell,  and  the  pa- 
per discontinued  for  about  three  months.  Mr. 
Lightner  was  afterward  elected  Mayor  of 
Bucyrus  in  1842  and  re-elected  in  1843.  Cald- 
well, for  many  years  a  resident  of  Crawford 
county,  removed  to  California,  and  was  mur-  . 
dered  while  carrying  mail. 

In  the  summer  or  fall  of  1838  a  new  Whig 
paper,  the  Bucyrus  Democrat,  was  established 
by  John  Shrenck.  No.  52  of  volume  i  was 
issued  October  2,  1839.  An  examination  of 
this  issue  shows  that  the  character  of  Bucy- 
rus newspapers  has  improved  very  much  dur- 
ing these  75  years.  It  would  seem  the  sole 
idea  for  which  Shrenck  published  the  Democrat 
was  to  abuse  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
prosecuting  attorney,  Franklin  Adams.  This 
gentleman  was  elected  by  a  large  majority,  re- 
elected two  terms  and  continued  for  years  an 
honored  and  respected  citizen  of  the  town, 
while  the  Democrat  "yielded  up  the  ghost"  70 
years  ago.  Shrenck  continued  the  paper  sev- 
eral years;  No.  47,  of  Volume  3  was  issued 
May  4,  1842,  and  it  was  published  during  the 
political  campaign  of  that  year.  After  a  pre- 
carious existence  of  three  or  four  years  he  re- 
moved the  press  and  material  to  Kenton  and  in 
1845  to  Upper  Sandusky.  The  Bucyrus  Dem- 
ocrat was  the  first  paper  published  in  Craw- 
ford county  in  opposition  to  the  Democratic 
party. 

The  Democrats  of  Crawford   county   were 
anxious  to  have  an  organ  at  Bucyrus  and  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


459 


publishers  of  the  Ohio  Statesman,  at  Colum- 
bus, recommended  Thomas  J.  Orr  and  John 
White  as  two  printers  who  could  conduct  a 
paper  to  suit  the  party.  About  April  23,  1840, 
these  young  men  having  obtained  possession  of 
the  printing  material  formerly  owned  by  Cald- 
well &  Lightner,  started  the  Democratic  Repub- 
lican, the  fourth  number  of  which  appeared 
May  14,  1840.  White  then  retired  from  the 
establishment;  it  is  generally  reported  that  the 
partnership  was  dissolved  by  Orr  kicking  White 
out  of  the  office  for  being  intoxicated.  Con- 
sidering the  present  partisan  meaning  of  the 
words  Democratic  and  Republican,  it  appears 
strange  that  in  1840  the  organ  of  the  Crawford 
county  Democracy  should  by  the  Democratic 
Republican,  while  the  Whig  paper,  opposed  to 
the  Democracy  should  be  known  as  the  Bucy- 
rus  Democrat.  Orr  continued  in  the  newspaper 
business  at  Bucyrus  for  several  years  and  at 
the  start  was  supported  by  the  Democratic 
party.  The  first  volume  of  his  Democrat  Re- 
publican was  completed  May  28,  1841,  and 
shortly  after  this  Orr  commenced  issuing  the 
paper  very  irregularly,  for  although  the  second 
volume  was  started  June  4,  1841,  it  had  only 
reached  the  28th  number  bv  July  23,  1842.  It 
had  taken  him  eight  months  to  issue  the  last 
fourteen  numbers  of  the  second  volume.  Orr 
was  a  brilliant  writer,  and  a  genial,  social, 
whole-souled  man,  but  could  do  nothing  with 
more  ease  and  grace  than  any  man  in  the  vil- 
lage. Everybody  liked  him,  but  the  leading 
Democrats  so  seriously  objected  to  this  shift- 
less way  of  conducting  a  party  organ,  that  he 
did  better  the  second  year,  and  starting  Vol.  3 
on  April  6,  1843,  he  managed  to  get  it  com- 
pleted by  June  8,  1844,  publishing  the  52  num- 
bers in  a  year  and  a  record  breaker  for  Orr. 
He  managed  to  do  fairly  well  in  the  summer  of 
1844  as  it  was  a  Presidential  campaign,  and  he 
took  a  natural  interest  in  politics,  but  after  the 
campaign  was  over,  and  his  party  had  won,  he 
dropped  back  farther  than  ever  in  the  irregular- 
ity of  the  issues.  The  patrons  of  the  paper 
in  disgust,  secured  another  man  and  the  Peo- 
ple's Forum  was  started  in  the  spring  of  1845, 
and  after  publishing  a  few  more  irregular  num- 
bers, the  last  about  July,  with  the  fourth  vol- 
ume lacking  several  numbers  of  completion, 
Orr  gave  his  paper  to  William  T.  Giles,  the 
only  man  about  the  establishment  who  did  any 


work,  and  Giles  loaded  it  on  a  wagon  and 
started  the  first  Democratic  paper  at  Upper 
Sandusky. 

In  the  earliest  settlement  of  the  counties  it 
was  a  difficult  matter  for  papers  to  exist,  and 
there  was  generally  but  one  in  a  county,  and 
that  depended  for  its  support  not  so  much  on 
its  patrons  as  on  the  county  printing.  Craw- 
ford was  a  Democratic  county,  and  when  Orr 
started  a  real  Democratic  paper  he  secured  the 
county  printing  and  the  Whig  paper  went  to  the 
wall.  Two  papers  could  not  be  sustained  in 
Bucyrus,  and  about  1843  Shrenck  moved  his 
plant  to  Kenton  and  on  Feb.  3,  1845,  the  act 
was  passed  creating  Wyandot  county  from 
Crawford,  and  Shrenck  loaded  his  plant  into 
a  wagon  and  started  it  across  the  country  and 
on  Feb.  15,  1845,  issued  the  first  paper  at  Up- 
per Sandusky,  which  was  called  the  Wyandott 
Telegraph,  with  two  "tt's."  His  office  was  the 
old  Council  House,  but  the  county  bought  the 
building  and  he  was  compelled  to  move,  and 
while  waiting  to  secure  a  new  location  pub- 
lished one  number  under  an  apple-tree  in  the 
open  air.  His  paper  was  Whig  in  politics,  to 
the  great  satisfaction  of  his  former  subscrib- 
ers in  that  portion  of  Crawford  county,  which 
was  now  Wyandot.  That  fall  was  the  first 
election  for  the  county  officials  in  Wyandot 
county,  and  the  editor  poured  his  weekly  ti- 
rade of  abuse  on  the  iniquities  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  eulogized  every  candidate  and 
every  doctrine  of  the  Whigs.  The  Democrats 
were  wild,  and  they  hurried  to  Bucyrus  for  re- 
lief. Good  natured,  genial  Tom  Orr  had  been 
publishing  a  Democratic  paper  at  Bucyrus  at 
such  irregular  intervals  that  the  Democrats  had 
induced  another  man  to  establish  a  paper  in 
their  city.  While  Orr  talked  politics  and  told 
stories  at  every  loafing  place  in  the  village,  his 
paper  was  being  gotten  out,  such  as  it  was,  by 
a  young  man  named  William  T.  Giles,  not  an 
editor,  but  a  printer,  about  22  years  of  age. 
When  the  Upper  Sandusky  delegation  reached 
Bucyrus  they  met  Orr.  He  was  not  only  ready 
to  quit,  but  as  usual  would  do  anything  to  ac- 
commodate his  friends,  so  he  suggested  that 
Giles  could  buy  his  plant  and  take  it  to  Upper 
Sandusky.  Giles  only  paid  $1.25  per  week  for 
board,  but  was  unable  to  collect  enough  money 
from  Orr  to  keep  this  paid  up,  so  he  was  finan- 
cially insolvent.  He  also  doubted  his  ability  to 


460 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


run  a  paper,  but  his  democracy  was  unques- 
tioned; and,  persuaded  by  Orr  and  the  Upper 
Sandusky  Democrats,  he  agreed  to  look  over 
the  field.  In  company  with  William  M.  Scroggs, 
afterward  his  brother-in-law,  he  visited  Upper 
Sandusky,  and  agreed  to  undertake  the  job.  Orr 
had  said  there  would  be  no  difficulty  on  terms. 
And  there  wasn't.  Orr  was  to  receive  Giles' 
individual  note  for  the  property,  due  in  eight 
months,  the  amount  due  Giles  from  Orr  being 
deducted.  When  the  note  was  due,  if  Giles 
could  not  pay  it,  he  was  to  return  the  property, 
and  Orr  was  to  pay  him  in  cash  the  balance  due 
him  for  wages.  The  contract  and  note  were 
drawn  up  by  Josiah  Scott.  Giles  was  an  in- 
dustrious and  hard  worker.  His  Democratic 
friends  bought  him  an  old  house  in  Upper  San- 
dusky, and  this  he  fitted  up  for  a  printing  of- 
fice. Everything  being  ready,  Giles  borrowed 
a  horse  of  one  of  the  staunch  Democrats,  of 
Upper  Sandusky,  Col.  Robt  McKelly;  started 
early  in  the  morning,  drove  to  Bucyrus,  got 
Fred  Feiring  to  assist  him,  and  the  plant  was 
loaded  on  the  wagon,  and  by  evening  in  its  new 
home,  and  he  issued  his  first  paper,  the  Dem- 
ocratic Pioneer,  on  Aug.  29,  1845.  So  the 
first  papers  of  both  parties  were  started  in  Up- 
per Sandusky  by  Bucyrus  men.  Giles  poured 
hot  shot  and  bad  grammar  into  the  Whigs,  and 
when  the  election  was  over  the  county  was 
Democratic,  Giles  had  the  county  printing,  and 
the  week  after  the  October  election  Schrenck 
left  with  his  plant  for  a  new  field  in  Henry 
county,  receiving  the  following  complimentary 
notice  from  his  successful  rival : 

"The  thing  that  decamped  from  this  place,  and  took 
up  his  abode  in  Napoleon,  Henry  county,  and  is  issuing 
a  little  filthy  sheet,  is  said  to  be  doing  great  service  to 
the  Democracy  of  that  county,  and  the  Democrats  are 
returning  their  thanks  to  him.  Good!  We  hope  our 
friends  in  those  regions  will  give  him  plenty  of  rope,  and 
the  consequence  will  be  seen." 

When  the  note  became  due  Giles  wrote  Orr 
of  his  impossibility  to  pay,  and  said  he  would 
return  the  plant,  and  collect  his  back  wages,  as 
per  contract.  Orr  was  in  worse  financial  con- 
dition than  ever,  and  being  unable  to  pay  the 
wages,  finally  succeeded  in  coaxing  Giles  to 
go  ahead  with  the  plant  and  pay  when  he  could. 
Giles  made  a  success  of  it  and  later  became  one 
of  the  prominent  newspaper  men  of  the  west, 
and  althought  later  in  life  he  may  have  been 


able  to  explain  just  what  he  meant  in  his  first 
announcement  in  the  Pioneer,  he  certainly 
never  found  any  grammar  which  would  suc- 
cessfully cover  the  paragraph  in  its  entirety. 
Here  is  his  entry  into  journalism : 

"It  is  the  intention  of  the  editor  to  be  perfectly 
free  and  uncontrolled  by  any  man  or  set  of  men,  and 
always  willing  to  receive  the  counsel  of  such  as  are 
desirous  of  promoting  the  good  cause,  for  which  it  is 
published  to  vindicate,  as  the  advice  of  many  is  likely 
to  be  more  correct  than  the  few." 

As  for  Tom  Orr,  he  was  more  popular  with- 
out his  paper  than  with  it,  so  his  party  elected 
him  Clerk  of  the  Court,  a  position  he  held  for 
six  years,  proving  a  most  efficient  and  popular 
official. 

In  1859  he  was  chosen  to  represent  Seneca, 
Crawford  and  Wyandot  counties  in  the  state 
senate.  During  the  second  session  the  war 
broke  out  and  Orr  supported  the  measures 
adopted  by  the  legislature  for  the  preservation 
of  the  Union.  For  doing  this  he  was  bitterly 
denounced  by  some  of  the  leaders  of  his  party 
at  home,  and  when  he  sought  a  renomination  at 
the  next  primary  election,  received  only  782 
votes  in  Crawford  county,  while  Judge  Lang 
of  Tiffin  received  760,  and  the  latter  was  nom- 
inated at  the  Senatorial  Convention.  Orr  aft- 
erward remove  to  Calhoun  county,  Iowa, 
where  he  died  July  2,  1874. 

When  the  Democrats  of  Crawford  became 
dissatisfied  with  Orr's  irregularly  issued  pub- 
lication, they  induced  J.  R.  Knapp.,  Jr.,  who 
had  for  several  years  been  connected  with  the 
Marion  Mirror,  to  establish  another  Democrat- 
ic paper  at  Bucyrus.  The  first  number  of  this, 
the  People's  Forum,  appeared  April  12,  1845, 
and  three  months  later  Orr  sold  his  plant  to 
Giles.  The  Forum  has  been  regularly  pub- 
lished since,  under  different  proprietors.  John 
R.  Knapp  learned  his  trade  as  a  printer  in  New 
York,  and  in  1842  with  his  brother  started  the 
Marion  Mirror.  In  1845  he  sold  out  to  his 
brother  in  order  to  come  to  Bucyrus  and  start 
the  People's  Forum,  which  he  ran  until  1847 
and  sold  to  Mordecai  P.  Bean.  In  1846  while 
at  Bucyrus  Mr.  Knapp  was  appointed  by  John 
G.  Breslin,  then  clerk  of  the  senate,  as  his  as- 
sistant clerk.  In  1848  he  was  elected  Senate 
Clerk.  The  Senate  stood  Democrats  18,  Whigs 
15,  Free  Soil  3;  the  Free  Soilers  were  "Pro- 
gressive W^higs"  so  the  Senate  was  a  tie  po- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


461 


litically.  In  those  days  the  Clerk  of  the  Sen- 
ate had  the  giving  out  of  the  publication  of 
laws,  (worth  about  $50,000  to  some  paper,) 
so  when  opportunity  offered  there  was  a  fight. 
Balloting  lasted  four  days.  Knapp  got  his  18 
Democratic  votes  all  right  on  every  ballot,  Dut 
lacked  one  of  a  majority,  and  on  the  121st 
ballot  he  received  nineteen  votes  and  was 
elected,  and  Sam  Medary,  of  the  Ohio  States- 
man, secured  the  publication  of  the  laws.  The 
next  session  was  also  close  as  it  took  300  bal- 
lots to  agree  on  the  speaker,  but  Knapp  got  the 
clerkship  on  the  second  ballot,  showing  he  had 
made  a  good  clerk. 

Knapp's  office  for  a  few  weeks  after  he 
came  here  was  opposite  the  Court  House ;  then 
it  was  moved  a  few  doors  east,  near  the  old 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  In  April  1848  the 
printing  material  was  moved  to  a  room  over 
Lauck  &  Failor's  store;  the  frame  still  standing 
on  the  corner  of  the  Square  and  East  Mansfield 
street;  in  April,  1850  it  was  moved  to  the  An- 
derson block,  long  known  as  the  Ward-Gorm- 
ley  residence,  opposite  the  present  office  of  the 
Bucyrus  Journal  and  the  Evening  Telegraph. 
In  the  spring  of  1855  it  was  moved  to  the  Deal 
House  corner.  Bean  had  bought  the  People's 
Forum  in  1847  and  was  proprietor  for  about 
ten  years.  During  the  latter  part  of  that  dec- 
ade Philip  Dombaugh  was  associated  with  him 
but  never  owned  an  interest,  although  consid- 
ered the  publisher  for  several  years.  They  fi- 
nally dissolved  business  relations  April  24, 
1857,  and  shortly  after  Bean  sold  the  Forum 
to  J.  A.  Estill,  who  was  later  editor  of  the 
Holmes  County  Farmer.  The  office  was  re- 
moved to  the  Quinby  block  April  i,  1859,  and 
in  a  few  weeks  passed  into  the  hands  of  A.  Mc- 
Greggor  who,  after  he  left  here  was  editor  of 
the  Stark  County  Democrat,  at  Canton,  and 
died  there  in  November,  1901.  When  Mr.  Mc- 
Greggor  left  he  transferred  the  paper  to  the 
late  Judge  Thomas  Beer,  and  the  office  was 
removed  to  the  Burkhart  block,  now  known  as 
the  Mader  block,  on  January  i,  1862.  On 
April  25,  Henry  Barnes  and  Thomas  Coughlin 
purchased  Beer's  interest  in  the  paper.  After 
five  months  Barnes  retired  from  the  partner- 
ship, but  Coughlin  continued  as  proprietor  un- 
til April,  1868,  and  the  office  was  removed  to 
the  Blair  block.  In  October,  1867,  he  was 
elected   County  Clerk  and  was  re-elected   in 


1870.  Before  entering  on  the  duties  of  this  po- 
sition he  sold  the  paper  to  John  R.  Clymer,  who 
had  been  the  Clerk  of  the  Court  for  the  previ- 
ous seven  years.  About  this  time  the  office, 
which  had  been  improved  by  the  addition  of  a 
fine  Cincinnati  cylinder  press  and  other  new 
printing  material,  was  removed  from  Blair's 
hall  to  the  second  story  of  No.  8  Quinby  block. 
In  August,  1867,  Mr.  Coughlin  employed  as  as- 
sociate editor  of  his  paper  William  Hubbard, 
who  continued  with  the  Forum  until  April, 
1869.  This  gentleman  was  an  unusually 
earnest  and  forcible  writer,  and  had  a  national 
reputation  on  account  of  the  fearlessness  of 
his  writings  in  opposition  to  the  war.  During 
the  war  he  was  publishing  a  paper  at  Dayton, 
and  the  citizens  believing  his  vigorous  expres- 
sions were  disloyal,  visited  his  office  one  night 
without  waiting  for  the  formality  of  an  invita- 
tion, and  destroyed  the  plant.  With  a  praise- 
worthy tenderness  of  heart,  to  prevent  the  ed- 
itor seeing  his  property  ruined,  they  consider- 
ately threw  him  out  of  the  window  before  they 
commenced  their  work  of  destruction.  Noth- 
ing was  done,  as  public  opinion  in  that  city  was 
against  the  editor.  He  went  to  Bellefontaine 
where  he  edited  the  Logan  County  Gazette, 
with  his  pen  a  trifle  sharpened  by  his  experi- 
ences, and  then  came  to  Bucyrus.  When  he  re- 
tired from  the  Forum  the  partnership  of  Hub- 
bard &  Coughlin  was  formed  and  they  bought 
the  Democratic  Northwest  at  Napoleon,  Ohio, 
which  Mr.  Hubbard  edited  until  he  died,  May 
II,  1872. 

In  1874,  Mr.  Coughlin  was  elected  clerk  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  at  Columbus, 
serving  one  term;  he  went  from  there  to  Cin- 
cinnati and  eventually  returned  to  the  print- 
ing business.  Advanced  in  years,  he  is  still 
living  at  Colorado  Springs,  Col.,  a  member  of 
the  Printers'  Home. 

Under  the  ownership  of  Mr.  Clymer,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1 87 1,  a  steam  engine  was  added  to  the 
plant  and  the  first  paper  was  printed  by  steam 
in  Bucyrus.  For  over  27  years  the  paper  had 
been  folio  in  form,  but  in  October,  1871,  it 
was  changed  to  a  quarto,  and  subscribers  who 
desired  it  semi-weekly  were  furnished  four 
pages  on  Tuesday  and  four  on  Friday.  This 
system  was  continued  until  the  four  page  form 
was  resumed,  November  17,  1876.  During 
the  nine  years  Mr.  Clymer  was  publisher  the 


462 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


office  occupied  at  different  times  each  floor  of 
No.  8  Quinby  block.  On  April  20,  1877,  Ma- 
jor J.  H.  Williston,  one  of  the  owners  of  the 
Marion  Mirror,  bought  the  paper,  and  in  De- 
cember, 1878,  the  establishment  was  removed 
to  the  basement  of  the  Deal  block,  were  it  con- 
tinued for  a  number  of  years  and  then  moved  to 
the  south  room  of  the  Vollrath  block  where  Jo- 
seph Ulmer  now  has  his  store,  and  from  there 
it  was  moved  to  the  old  Methodist  church  build- 
ing where  it  is  at  present  located.  In  1883  Mr. 
Williston,  was  elected  State  Senator  from  the 
district  and  re-elected  in  1885,  and  during  the 
time  he  was  in  the  Ohio  Senate,  A.  R.  Bell  was 
the  associate  editor,  and  manager,  a  part  of  the 
time  being  assisted  by  Walter  E.  Wright,  an 
unusually  clever  writer.  Major  Williston  sold 
an  interest  in  the  Forum  to  Frank  Holbrook 
and  later  the  Holbrook  Brothers  bought  the 
other  interest.  Grant  A.  McNutt,  a  brother-in- 
law  of  the  Holbrooks  became  a  member  of  the 
firm.  He  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  ver- 
satile local  writers  ever  in  the  newspaper  busi- 
ness at  Bucyrus.  When  the  Spanish-American 
War  broke  out  he  accepted  a  Government  posi- 
tion at  Washington  where  he  remained  several 
years,  when  he  returned  to  Bucyrus,  filling  va- 
rious positions,  and  died  in  191 1.  Under  the 
Holbrooks,  A.  M.  Ensminger  was  editor  of  the 
paper,  a  position  he  filled  until  he  was  appointed 
postmaster  in  July,  1894,  when  Horace  Hol- 
brook assumed  the  editorial  management  and 
Frank  Holbrook  the  business  department.  In 
Oct.,  1901,  the  Bucyrus  Publishing  Company 
was  incorporated,  and  the  new  company  bought 
the  Forum  and  the  Crawford  County  News, 
changing  the  name  to  the  News  Forum,  L.  M. 
Smith  being  president  and  general  manager  of 
the  new  company,  as  well  as  the  principal  stock- 
holder ;  W.  H.  lams  editor.  Under  this  editor- 
ship and  management  the  paper  has  continued 
ever  since,  its  business  constantly  increasing 
and  in  October  of  this  year  they  added  a  per- 
fecting press  to  their  plant. 

An  attempt  was  made  by  Major  Williston  to 
establish  a  daily  paper  in  1880,  the  first  num- 
ber having  appeared  July  13  of  that  year.  But 
it  was  discontinued  Nov.  3,  after  an  existence 
of  four  months.  About  1886  the  Holbrooks 
took  charge  of  the  Daily  Critic,  which  they  ran 
for  a  few  years  and  then  discontinued  it.  On 
March  2,  1891.  the  Daily  Forum  was  started 


by  them,  and  it  has  had  a  prosperous  existence 
ever  since.  In  1907  a  linotype  machine  was  in- 
stalled, the  first  in  the  county. 

When  Major  J.  H.  Williston  left  here  he 
went  to  Fostoria,  where  he  engaged  in  other 
business  and  died  in  that  city,  March  20,  1891. 
Frank  and  Horace  Holbrook  went  to  Califor- 
nia where  they  continued  in  the  newspaper 
business,  later  returning  to  Ohio,  Horace  Hol- 
brook being  the  present  proprietor  of  the  War- 
ren Democrat,  in  Trumbull  county. 

After  Shrenck's  Bucyrus  Democrat  had  been 
discontinued  the  Whigs  of  Crawford  county 
were  without  an  organ  for  nearly  ten  years. 
From  1845  to  Jan.  i,  1853,  the  Forum  was 
the  only  paper  in  the  county.  Near  the  close  of 
1852  subscription  papers  were  circulated 
throughout  the  county,  by  Henry  Converse,  D. 
W.  Swigart  and  James  McLain,  the  Whig  lead- 
ers, and  enough  subscribers  were  guaranteed  to 
warrant  J.  A.  Crevier  in  publishing  a  Whig  pa- 
per, and  the  first  number  of  the  present  Bucy- 
rus Journal  was  issued  January  i,  1853.     In 

1855  the  Republican  party  was  organized,  and 
the  Journal,  under  Crevier,  warmly  espoused 
the  doctrines  advocated  by  that  party.  Since 
then,  under  different  proprietors  the  paper  has 
advocated  the  interests  of  the  Republican 
party  and  its  principles.  With  the  exception  of 
eleven  eight-page  numbers  printed  during  three 
months  of  1856,  The  Journal  was  always  a 
folio  until  1890  when  it  became  an  eight-page 
paper.  For  two  years  the  office  was  located  at 
the  corner  of  Sandusky  avenue  and  "Pill"  alley, 
that  alley  being  the  name  given  the  driveway 
south  of  the  Wynn  millinery  store.  From 
there  the  office  was  moved  in  1854  to  the  sec- 
ond story  of  the  old  frame  building  which  stood 
on  the  Bucyrus  City  Bank  corner.     May  i, 

1856  it  was  removed  to  the  lot  where  the  busi- 
ness of  J.  Herskowitz  is  at  present  located,  just 
west  of  the  City  Bank  Building.  February  22, 
1858  the  office  was  removed  to  the  McCoy 
building  just  opposite  the  court  house,  the 
building  where  the  People's  Forum  published 
its  first  number.  On  Jan.  i,  1859  the  Journal 
office  was  removed  to  the  second  story  of  the 
Rowse  block,  which  had  just  been  completed, 
and  here  the  paper  was  published  for  seventeen 
years.  In  1853  a  strike  occurred  among  the 
printers  at  work  on  the  daily  papers  at  Pitts- 
burgh ;  two  of  them,  David  R.  Locke  and  James 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


463 


G.  Robinbon,  started  on  a  western  trip.  They 
reached  Plymouth,  Richland  county,  and  were 
induced  by  citizens  there  to  revive  the  Adver- 
tiser, which  they  ran  until  1855,  when  they  sold 
out  and  with  Roeliff  Brinkerhoff  purchased  the 
Mansfield  Herald.  Soon  after  Locke  sold  his 
interest  in  that  paper  and  March  20,  1856,  pur- 
chased the  Bucyrus  Journal  of  Mr.  Crevier. 
After  Mr.  Crevier  left  Bucyrus  he  went  to  Cin- 
cinnati where  he  was  prominent  in  local  affairs. 
He  died  there  December  27,  1867,  aged  47 
years.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  chief 
clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Hamilton  county  treas- 
urer. For  several  months  after  D.  R.  Locke 
purchased  the  Journal  his  brother  D.  W.  Locke, 
was  associated  with  him,  but  they  dissolved 
partnership  July  15.  Shortly  afterward  Locke 
persuaded  his  former  partner  James  G.  Robin- 
son, to  take  an  interest  in  the  Journal  with  him, 
and  in  April,  1857,  the  two  friends  were  again 
united  in  their  business  interests.  The  office 
was  improved  by  the  addition  of  a  Robinson 
Princeton  power  press,  which  was  the  first 
cylindrical  press  brought  to  Bucyrus.  These 
two  enterprising  men  worked  together,  cor- 
dially, and  advocated  in  their  paper  many  new 
enterprises  needed  in  the  community.  Among 
the  many  public  and  private  improvements 
which  were  the  result  of  their  persistent  agita- 
tion are  the  gas  works,  Oakwood  cemetery,  the 
many  beautiful  shade  trees,  better  streets,  and 
the  excellent  sidewalks  and  many  buildings.  In 
April,  1 861,  J.  G.  Robinson  was  appointed  post- 
master of  Bucyrus  by  President  Lincoln,  which 
position  he  held  until  removed  for  political  rea- 
sons by  President  Johnson  in  1866.  Mr.  Locke 
retired  from  the  Journal  November  13,  1861, 
and  purchased  the  Findlay  Jeffersonian  and 
afterward  purchased  an  interest  in  the  Toledo 
Blade,  with  which  he  connected  the  balance  of 
his  life.  His  death  occurred  there  February 
15,  1888.  The  first  of  the  Nasby  satirical  ar- 
ticles were  written  by  Mr.  Locke  during  his 
connection  with  the  Bucyrus  Journal  and  were 
first  published  in  that  paper  December  13,  i860 
and  the  first  of  Locke's  letters  signed  "P  V. 
Nasby"  was  published  in  the  Journal  during 
1861.  In  1862  Ralph  Robinson  became  asso- 
ciated with  his  brother  in  the  ownership  of  the 
Journal. 

One  of  the  old  customs  of  newspapers  was 
the  issuing  of  a  Carrier's  Address  each  New 


Year's  Day,  in  which  the  names  of  the  more 
prominent  business  men  were  given  compli- 
mentary notices  in  verse.  These  addresses 
were  delivered  by  the  carrier  to  the  subscribers, 
and  various  sums  were  given  him  according  to 
the  generosity  of  the  subscriber.  In  these  ad- 
dresses Mr.  Locke  was  an  adept,  and  his  light, 
satirical  style  shows  to  advantage ;  the  one  writ- 
ten by  him  for  Jan.  i,  1858,  praises  and  crit- 
icizes Bucyrus  in  the  following  bright  style  : 

Here  seven  tall  churches  rear  their  towers  in  air; 
Here  thirty  grog-shops  on  the  thirsty  stare; 
Sinner  and  saint  may  both  be  happy  here — 
Seven  founts  of  grace  and  thirty  odd  of  beer. 
City  of  Mud !  'tis  true  that  every  street 
Runs  liquid  nastiness  about  our  feet. 
What  though  a  spaniel  dog  can  scarcely  make 
His  way  along  our  streets,  or  through  that  lake 
We  call  the  square ;   none  hope  to  find 
A  place  with  more  good  qualities  combined. 
Look   at   our  women ! — tell,  oh  tell   me  where, 
Nature  made  others  that  are  half  as  fair. 
Look  at  our  men !  and  show  me  if  you  can. 
An  equal  number  and  each  one  a  man. 

Sept.  2,  1867,  James  G.  Robinson  sold  his 
interest  in  the  Bucyrus  Journal  to  John  Hopley 
for  $1500  and  the  paper  was  run  by  Hopley 
&  Robinson  until  May  20,  1868,  when  Mr. 
Hopley  purchased  Ralph  Robinson's  interest 
for  $1500  and  was  thereafter  its  sole  owner. 
After  leaving  the  printing  office  James  G.  Rob- 
inson embarked  in  the  drug  busines  with  Dr. 
M.  C.  Cuykendall,  and  continued  at  this  until 
he  died  April  14,  1872.  Ralph  Robinson  re- 
moved to  Iowa  and  was  connected  with  the 
Fairfield  Ledger,  Clarinda  Herald,  and  ended 
his  life  as  editor  and  owner  of  the  Newton 
Journal,  a  paper  which  he  did  much  to  bring  to 
a  high  standard  of  excellence.  He  died  in  1909. 
In  October,  1875  a  new  Cottrell  &  Babcock 
cylinder  press  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Hopley 
for  the  Journal,  and  shortly  after  it  was  in- 
stalled it  was  found  to  be  too  heavy  a  piece  of 
machinery  to  be  operated  on  the  second  floor 
and  the  office  was  moved  to  the  Converse  build- 
ing, 230  South  Sandusky  avenue,  December  30, 
1875.  This  building  was  later  owned  by  Ma- 
jor Williston,  of  the  Forum,  and  in  1888  the 
building  was  purchased  by  F.  L.  Hopley,  in 
the  name  of  the  Journal  Block  Company,  of 
which  he  was  the  ruling  spirit.  Upon  moving 
into  its  new  quarters  the  Journal  office  was 
equipped  with  steam.  Two  additions  to  the 
building  have  been  made  since  removing  to  the 
present  location  and  now  the  Journal  block  is 


464 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


excellently  appointed  and  equipped  for  news- 
paper and  general  printing.  In  August,  1907, 
a  Duplex  Perfecting  press  was  installed  for 
newspaper  work,  and  the  first  paper  in  the 
county  was  printed  from  a  roll. 

John  Hopley  continued  at  the  head  of  the 
Journal  until  his  death.  In  1876  John  E.  Hop- 
ley  was  associated  with  him  under  the  name 
of  John  Hopley  &  Son  an  arrangment  which 
continued  only  a  short  time  when  John  E.  Hop- 
ley  went  to  New  York  and  engaged  in  news- 
paper work.  Returning  in  1883  the  firm  of 
John  Hopley  &  Son  was  resumed  and  the  Jour- 
nal made  many  advances  under  the  joint  own- 
ership. 

On  October  17,  1887,  the  Evening  Telegraph 
was  started,  enterprising  Republicans  raising  a 
subscription  list  of  297,  as  the  "organ  of  the 
Young  Men's  Republican  Club"  and  was  in 
charge  of  John  E.  Hopley  with  M.  V.  Long- 
worth  as  city  editor.  After  the  election  John 
E.  Hopley  decided  to  make  the  venture  a  per- 
manent one  and  the  Telegraph  grew  rapidly 
in  public  favor.  John  Hopley  was  appointed 
postmaster  at  Bucyrus  in  1872  by  President 
Grant,  a  position  he  held  for  seven  years.  He 
was  again  appointed  postmaster  in  1890  by 
President  Harrison.  After  his  appointment  by 
President  Harrison  he  organized  the  Hopley 
Printing  Co.,  and  incorporated  it,  being  him- 
self the  chief  holder  of  stock  but  his  sons  each 
had  blocks  of  the  stock  in  their  own  names. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  The  Telegraph  and  the 
Journal  became  one  property.  In  1898  John  E. 
Hopley  was  appointed  United  States  Consul 
at  Southampton,  England,  and  after  that  the 
Senior  Mr.  Hopley,  advanced  in  years  operated 
the  newspaper  properties  single  handed.  In 
March,  1902,  James  R.  Hopley  became  associ- 
ated with  the  plant  as  manager  and  continued  in 
that  position  until  he  was  appointed  postmaster 
by  President  Taft  December  13,  1910.  J.  W. 
Hopley  was  manager  of  the  plant  for  a  year 
when  George  A.  Knapp  of  Marion  took  charge 
of  it  as  business  manager.  John  Hopley  died 
June  3,  1904  at  the  age  of  83  years.  During 
his  connection  with  the  Journal  he  obtained 
a  national  reputation  for  the  soundness  of  his 
views  on  great  questions  and  often  was  able  to 
help  his  political  party  associates  by  his  con- 
tribution of  planks  in  party  platforms.     He 


was  for  years  President  of  the  Ohio  Republican 
Editorial  Association. 

In  1 88 1  Thomas  P.  Hopley  started  a  small 
paper  which  he  called  The  Temperance  Ballot. 
He  was  an  ardent  prohibitionist  and  started 
this  paper  during  the  campaign.  After  the  elec- 
tion of  that  year  he  found  his  little  paper  had 
made  such  a  host  of  friends  that  he  decided  to 
continue  to  publish  it.  He  added  a  local  news 
feature  and  assisted  by  his  sisters,  headed  by 
Miss  M.  C.  C.  Hopley,  made  the  paper  one  of 
brightftess  and  character.  He  concluded  the 
title  of  his  paper  did  not  give  a  good  and  proper 
conception  of  its  real  character  and  perhaps 
hindered  the  good  it  could  do.  He  therefore 
changed  the  name  to  the  Crawford  County 
News.  He  continued  to  run  it  successfully 
until  1893  when  he  sold  it  to  A.  J.  Hazlett  and 
went  to  Oklahoma,  where  he  started  the  Enid 
Daily  News,  and  where  he  still  lives,  though 
not  now  publishing  a  regular  daily  newspaper, 
being  the  present  treasurer  of  the  Enid 
schools.  A.  J.  Hazlett  had  as  a  business  asso- 
ciate his  brother,  Scott  Hazlett,  who  later  sold 
his  interest  to  M.  A.  Charlton.  In  1895  Hiram 
B.  Sears  bought  the  Charlton  interest  and  con- 
tinued in  the  business  until  1898  when  he  sold 
his  interest  to  L.  M.  Smith.  In  October,  1901, 
the  Crawford  County  News  was  consolidated 
with  the  Crawford  County  Forum,  the  daily 
paper  retaining  the  name  of  the  Daily  Forum 
and  the  semi-weekly  being  called  the  News- 
Forum. 

Two  German  papers  have  been  published  in 
Bucyrus.  The  first  number  of  the  Crawford 
County  Demokrat  was  issued  September  15, 
1855,  by  Mordecai  P.  Bean,  proprietor  of  the 
Forum.  This  German  paper  was  continued 
several  years,  a  portion  of  the  time  being  in 
charge  of  Bernhardt  Roth,  who  was  killed  by 
the  cars  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  April  10,  1863,  and 
shortly  after  the  Demokrat  was  discontinued. 
The  first  number  of  the  Deutsche  Courier  was 
published  in  January,  1875,  by  Joseph  KiUian, 
proprietor  of  the  Mansfield  Courier.  About  a 
year  later  the  office  was  removed  to  Mansfield 
but  continued  to  publish  a  Bucyrus  edition. 
Later  it  was  returned  to  Bucyrus  and  now  oc- 
cupies quarters  in  the  building  on  Sandusky 
avenue  just  north  of  the  river.  August  Broe- 
mel  is  the  owner  and  editor  and  conducts  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


465 


paper  on  a  high  plane,  giving  it  intelhgent  su- 
pervision and  directing  its  editorial  policy  with 
keen  judgment  and  its  business  affairs  with 
rare  ability.  He  has  been  city  clerk  for  several 
years. 

The  Bucyrus  Evening  Times  was  established 
in  1884  by  six  young  men  and  was  managed 
by  James  R.  Hopley.  The  paper  was  published 
during  the  summer  and  quit  early  in  the  fall. 

The  Daily  Critic  was  probably  the  out- 
growth of  the  Times,  but  had  no  connection 
with  it.  It  was  established  by  Orvis  &  Mc- 
Kelvy,  job  printers,  and  had  many  owners  and 
managers  before  it  came  into  the  hands  of  the 
Holbrooks  and  was  discontinued  early  in  1888. 

Since  the  first  printing  press  was  brought  to 
Bucyrus  several  attempts  have  been  made  by 
different  parties  to  establish  other  miscellane- 
ous publications.  In  1838  William  Robbins 
issued  the  first  number  of  a  semi-monthly  pub- 
lication called  the  Buckeye.  It  was  printed  at 
the  Republican  office,  and  the  articles  contained 
in  it  were  of  a  class  intended  to  amuse  rather 
than  instruct;  no  efforts  were  made  to  publish 
local  news.  The  Buckeye  was  continued  for 
several  months.  No.  9,  Volume  I,  appeared 
April  27,  1839,  but  shortly  after  this  the  paper 
\\as  discontinued. 

In  May,  1855,  the  first  number  of  an  agri- 
cultural paper,  the  Crawford  County  Farmer, 
was  printed  at  the  Journal  office.  Robert  N. 
Patterson  was  publisher;  J.  A.  Crevier  and  C. 
Elliott  were  editors.  It  was  a  monthly  paper, 
four  pages  in  size,  and  was  "devoted  to  agri- 
culture, horticulture,  gardening,  mechanics  and 
domestic  industry,"  but  it  was  discontinued 
after  several  numbers. 

May  I,  1861,  No.  i.  Vol.  I,  of  the  Millers 
Journal  was  published  by  Raub  &  Butterfield. 
It  was  a  small  four-page  monthly  "devoted  to 
the  interests  of  millers — terms  50  cents  per  an- 
num." Although  it  was  issued  in  the  interest 
of  the  Ingham  California  Wheat  Cleaner,  it 
was  a  bona  fide  publication,  but  the  second 
number  never  appeared.  Martin  Deal,  who  had 
the  only  copies  in  existence  when  he  lived 
here,  says  this  was  the  first  milling  journal 
ever  published  in  the  United  States. 

In  1867  Henry  J.  Deal  published  the  first 
number  of  the  Bucyrus  Chronicle,  a  paper  for 
boys.  The  next  year  the  name  was  changed  to 
the  Bucyrus  Budget,  and  the  second  number 


appeared,  which  was  followed  by  several  others 
during  the  next  six  months.    Another  amateur 
publication  was  started  January  i,  1869,  by  J. 
E.  Hopley  &  Co.    This  little  sheet,  the  Acorn, 
was  issued  semi-monthly;  after  the  first  three 
months  the  senior  partner  gave  his  brother, 
Thomas  P.,  an  old  shot-gun  if  he  would  assume 
the  financial  responsibilities  of  the  paper.     An 
entire  volume  of  26  numbers  was  published  and 
then  the  Acorn  was  planted  but  never  sprouted. 
In  July,  1879,  Daniel  Kanzleiter  issued  the  first 
number  of  the  Sunbeam,  an  illustrated  sheet 
printed  "semi-occasionally."     The  wood  cuts 
were  designed  and  engraved  by  the  publisher 
and  four  copies  of  the  Sunbeam  appeared  be- 
fore it  "ceased  to  shine  for  25  cents  a  year." 
Outside  of  county  seats,  j^apers  were  only 
started  when  the  size  of  the  village  or  its  pros- 
pects justified  the  venture.    When  the  railroad 
was  completed  to  Gallon  that  village  started 
on  an  era  of  prosperity.     In   1855  John  W. 
Putnam,  who  for  many  years  had  been  the  able 
editor  of  the  Ohio  Statesman,  looked  on  Gallon 
as  a  promising  field  for  a  paper.     In  the  five 
years  after  the  arrival  of  the  railroad  it  had 
more  than  doubled  in  size.     He  had  a  printing^ 
plant  at.  Union  City,  the  western  terminus  of 
the    Bellefontaine    and    Indiana    Road.      He 
moved  this  office  to  Gallon,  and  in  connection 
with  Dr.  D.  Abger  issued  the  first  paper  in  Ga- 
llon,   which    was    called   the    Gallon    Weekly 
Train.     The  office  was  on  Main  street  in  the 
building  owned  by  P.  D.  Weber.    Later  it  was 
changed  to  the  Gallon  Weekly  Times.    A  copy 
of  the  first  issue  of  the  Train  is  still  in  exist- 
ence, in  the  possession  of  J.  C.  Euler  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.     These  papers  were  necessarily 
independent  in  politics,  as  there  was  no  county 
patronage  to  assist  in  their  support,   and  if 
they  succeeded  it  must  be  from  merit  and  the 
support  of  the  entire  village.    Dr.  Abger  soon 
retired  from  the  partnership  and  went  to  Crest- 
line to  run  a  paper  of  his  own.    When  he  left, 
J.  V.  D.  Moore  came  from  Union  City,  Ind.^ 
and  took  the  management  of  the  paper  for  Mr. 
Putnam.    When  the  campaign  of  1856  was  on, 
political  excitement  ran  high,  and  Jacob  Riblet 
purchased  the  paper,  and  changed  it  into  a  po- 
litical organ,  supporting  the  principles  of  the 
Democratic  party,  and  it  was  now  the  Gallon 
District  Democrat.    It  was  not  a  success  finan- 
cially, and  Mr.   Riblet  sold  the  paper  to  An- 


466 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


drew  Poe,  who  was  one  of  the  Democratic 
leaders  at  Galion.  While  Mr.  Poe  ran  a  redhot 
Democratic  paper  as  long  as  he  had  it,  there 
were  too  many  in  the  opposition  party,  who  re- 
fused to  support  it,  and  his  editorial  experience 
was  a  financial  failure,  and  the  paper  came 
again  into  the  hands  of  the  Riblets. 

In  1864  the  District  Democrat  was  pur- 
chased by  the  Matthias  Brothers,  and  Peter 
Schum  was  the  editor.  He  soon  after  removed 
to  Joplin,  Mo.,  and  later  published  the  Morn- 
ing News  in  that  city.  When  he  left,  H.  S;  Z. 
Matthias  took  the  editorial  charge  and  dropped 
the  word  "District,"  calling  it  the  Galion  Dem- 
ocrat, and  supporting  the  Democratic  party.  In 
November,  1864,  with  the  defeat  of  McClellan 
for  the  presidency,  the  Democrat  decided  life 
was  no  longer  worth  living  and  ceased  to  exist, 
the  editor  announcing  that  the  support  he  was 
receiving  did  not  justify  him  in  continuing, 
especially  as  printing  paper  was  28  cents  a 
pound.  The  Matthias  Brothers  turned  the  en- 
tire plant  into  a  job  office.  Lew  Matthias  being 
one  of  the  finest  and  most  artistic  job  printers 
ever  in  the  county.  But  H.  S.  Z.  Matthias  had 
had  a  taste  of  newspaper  work  and  enjoyed  it 
so  much  that  in  July,  1865,  he  re-entered  the 
field  and  commenced  publishing  a  paper  called 
the  Weekly  Review,  and  this  time  independ- 
ent in  politics.  In  September  1871  the  Mat- 
thias brothers  sold  out  to  John  C.  Covert 
of  the  Cleveland  Leader,  who  changed  its 
name  back  to  the  Galion  Democrat,  but  ran 
it  as  a  Republican  paper,  believing  there 
was  nothing  in  a  name.  In  the  fall  of  1872 
G.  W.  DeCamp,  of  Mansfield,  edited  it  under 
the  same  political  color,  but  changed  the  name 
back  to  the  Review,  and  so  continued  it 
until  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  .F.  E.  Coonrod 
and  A.  D.  Rowe  in  July,  1874.  These  gentle- 
men made  it  once  more  Democratic  in  politics 
and  conducted  it  in  that  faith  until  February  i , 
1877,  when  it  flopped  again  and  became  Repub- 
lican in  sentiment  though  still  owned  by  Rowe 
and  Coonrod,  and  retaining  the  name  of  the 
Review. 

George  T.  Ristine  was  editor  and  owner  of 
the  Galion  Sun,  which -he  established  October 
31,  1872,  as  an  independent  weekly  newspaper. 
Success  followed  his  enterprising  management- 
and  he  enlarged  and  improved  the  paper.  The 
Public  Spirit  was  established  by  Ed.  G.  Slough 


about  1888  and  it,  too,  was  operated  as  an  in- 
dependent paper.  Later  its  name  was  changed 
to  the  Leader.  This  publication  was  issued 
daily,  the  first  daily  to  be  published  in  Galion. 
It  had  a  precarious  existence.  The  Review  and 
the  Sun  were  combined  as  the  Sun-Review,  and 
the  Leader  was  taken  over  by  the  same  com- 
pany, the  Sun-Review  being  the  weekly  edition, 
and  the  Leader  the  daily,  both  being  Republi- 
can in  politics.  J.  W.  Cupp  was  the  owner  of 
the  plant,  and  after  he  was  appointed  postmas- 
ter in  1897,  it  was  managed  by  Charles  F.  Mon- 
roe who  had  an  interest  in  the  company.  Mr. 
Cupp,  after  retiring  from  the  post  office,  be- 
came cashier  of  the  Commercial  Savings  Bank, 
and  later  removed  to  Washington,  and  sold  the 
plant  to  a  company  organized  by  J.  W.  Hopley 
of  Bucyrus,  who  took  charge  of  the  manage- 
ment for  only  a  month,  when  he  sold  to  the 
Crestline  Publishing  Company,  and  James  Mc- 
Mahan  became  the  manager  of  that  office  as 
well  as  the  Crestline  Advocate.  The  Sun-Re- 
view was  discontinued,  subscribers  being  fur- 
nished with  the  Daily  Leader.  The  office, 
which  had  been  for  years  in  the  northwest  cor- 
ner of  the  Square,  was  removed  to  a  new  site, 
one  door  west  of  the  Central  Hotel.  It  was 
completely  refitted  with  new  type,  presses  and 
engines.  Mr.  Monroe,  on  retiring  from  the  pa- 
per, started  the  Commercial  Printing  Company. 
In  August,  1876,  a  campaign  paper  was  es- 
tablished at  Galion  under  the  name  of  the  Re- 
publican Free  Press.  As  such  it  was  run  for 
one  year  and  seven  months.  On  the  28th  of 
September,  1877,  it  was  purchased  by  S.  G. 
Cummings  &  Co.,  which  company  changed  the 
name  to  the  Galion  Inquirer,  and  ever  since  it 
has  been  a  Democratic  paper.  For  a  time  J.  G. 
Meuser  was  its  political  editor  but  it  was  best 
known  as  the  paper  of  H.  S.  Z.  Matthias.  Mr. 
Matthias  was  elected  county  recorder  but  lost 
none  of  his  interest  in  Democratic  principles 
and  continued  to  boost  the  paper  for  the  benefit 
of  the  party.  The  Inquirer  was  sold  to  W.  V. 
Goshorn  and  R.  W.  Noyer,  who  are  the  present 
proprietors,  their  office  being  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  Main  and  Union  streets.  They  have 
purchased  ground  and  erected  a  block  especial- 
ly for  their  office  half  a  block  east  of  their  pres- 
ent site  and  will  occupy  it  yet  this  year.  The 
paper  is  Democratic  in  politics,  the  senior  pro- 
prietor, Mr.  Goshorn,  being  the  present  clerk 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


467 


of  the  Ohio  Senate.  Several  years  ago  the 
Weekly  Inquirer  was  discontinued  and  all 
patrons  are  supplied  with  the  daily. 

On  Dec.  21,  1852,  the  plat  was  filed  for  the 
village  of  Crestline;  its  marvelous  early  growth 
is  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that,  in  1853,  C.  M. 
Kenton  started  a  paper  there  called  the  Ex- 
press. He  was  a  practical  printer  and  did  his 
own  work,  but  he  lacked  sufficient  capital  to 
keep  the  paper  on  its  feet  until  the  town  was 
large  enough  to  support  it,  and  after  issuing 
the  Express  for  six  months,  he  moved  away 
with  his  plant.  A  year  or  two  later  Dr.  D. 
Abger  tried  the  experiment  and  started  the 
Watchman  and  Reflector  but  he,  too  scored  a 
failure. 

While  Crestline  holds  the  record  in  this 
county  of  having  had  a  paper  started  in  the 
shortest  time  after  the  town  was  laid  out,  it 
also  holds  the  other  record  of  being  the  largest 
town  to  be  without  a  paper.  The  village  had 
over  2,000  population  when  Adam  Billow  in 
July,  1869,  issued  his  first  number  of  the  Crest- 
line Advocate.  It  was  four  pages,  16x20  in 
size,  and  was  published  at  the  residence  of 
the  owner.  Mr.  Billow  was  not  a  printer ;  he 
had  been  in  business  at  Leesville,  and  after 
removing  to  Crestline,  started  his  paper,  learn- 
ing the  printing  business  in  his  own  office. 
How  well  he  did  this  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  in  a  few  years  it  was  one  of  the  neatest 
and  most  attractive  mechanically  of  any  paper 
in  Ohio.  He  made  the  Advocate  a  success 
from  the  start,  and  at  the  end  of  six  months 
it  was  enlarged  to  a  six-column  paper  and  later 
to  eight  columns.  Business  increased  beyond 
the  capacity  of  his  residence,  and  the  office  was 
removed  to  the  Masonic  building,  where  he 
conducted  the  paper  until  his  death  on  May  20, 
1876.  His  son,  D.  C.  Billow,  had  learned  the 
business  in  his  father's  office  and  took  charge 
of  the  paper,  and  like  his  father  made  a  success 
of  it.  It  has  always  been  the  paper  of  Crest- 
line, and  several  attempts  to  share  that  popu- 
larity haye  resulted  in  failures.  Some  years 
ago  it  was  incorporated  as  the  Crestline  Pub- 
lishing Co.,  with  James  McMahon  as  manager, 
and  its  financial  success  continued  under  the 
new  owners.  It  was  this  company  that  pur- 
chased the  Gallon  Leader,  and  both  papers  are 
today  under  the  management  of  Mr.  McMahon. 

The  Independent  Democrat  was  started  by 


Dr.  A.  E.  Jenner  at  Crestline,  in  February, 
1873.  He  was  at  that  time  State  Senator, 
having  been  elected  in  1870  and  1872.  The 
paper  was  folio  in  form  until  May,  1875,  when 
it  was  made  eight  pages  and  the  name  changed 
to  the  Crawford  County  Democrat.  For  two 
years  it  was  in  charge  of  A.  N.  Jenner,  son  of 
the  proprietor,  who  continued  in  the  office 
until  July  15,  1875.  Some  months  previous 
to  his  retirement  J.  E.  D.  Ward  purchased  an 
interest  in  the  office  and  when  young  Jenner 
left,  continued  sole  proprietor ,  until  Charles 
Wright  became  associated  with  him  in  1876. 
About  this  time  the  office  was  removed  to 
Bucyrus  but  some  months  previous  to  this 
change  a  Bucyrus  edition  had  been  printed  at 
Crestline.  Wright  retired  after  several  weeks' 
experience,  and  Frank  Plants  took  his  place. 
When  Major  Williston  purchased  the  Forum 
in  1877  the  publishers  of  the  Democrat  soon 
found  they  could  not  successfully  compete  with 
him  for  the  patronage  of  Crawford  county 
democracy,  and  their  paper  wis  discontinued 
about  July  i,  1877. 

The  Crestline  Democrat,  and  the  Crestline  . 
Vidette,  owned  by  Will  W.  Pope,  were  papers 
which  during  their  lives  made  quite  an  im- 
pression on  the  community,  but  the  Advocate 
had  such  a  hold  in  Crestline  that  they  could 
not  last,  perhaps  not  even  receiving  the  support 
they  merited. 

The  New  Washington  Herald  was  estab- 
lished many  years  ago  by  Mr.  Wheeler.  Later 
J.  E.  Cory  was  associated  with  the  paper  and 
he  sold  out  to  J.  I.  Smith  and  J.  F.  Kimmer- 
line.  L.  M.  Smith  bought  an  interest  in  the 
paper  in  189 1.  J.  I.  Smith  was  elected  county 
auditor  and  L.  M.  Smith  located  in  Bucyrus, 
and  they  sold  the  paper  to  the  present  owners, 
Lantz  &  Wheeler,  Percy  Lantz  now  having, 
entire  management  of  the  plant.  Some  years 
ago  a  paper  was  started  in  Tiro  called  the 
American,  but  the  village  was  not  then  large 
enough  to  support  it,  and  it  was  discontinued. 
In  191 1,  W.  Z.  Davis  began  the  publication 
of  the  Tiro  World,  the  mechanical  work  being 
done  at  Bloomville,  but  as  soon  as  the  business 
justifies  it,  he  will  open  an  office  at  Tiro. 

In  the  early  days,  owing  to  excessive  post- 
age, newspapers  were  delivered  in  the  places 
of  publication  by  carrier,  and  it  was  the  duty 
of  the  "devil"  on  the  day  of  publication  to  go 


468 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


over  the  entire  town  serving  the  patrons  with 
their  favorite  paper,  and  if  it  so  happened 
that  the  carriers  of  the  rival  papers  met,  there 
was  a  battle  royal  to  the  finish,  for  in  those 
days  every  employe  in  the  office  was  intense 
in  his  loyalty  to  the  paper,  and  not  even  a  wan- 
dering tramp  printer  given  employment  for 
a  day  or  two,  but  what  spoke,  as  a  man  of  ex- 
perience who  had  traveled  over  many  states, 
of  the  wonderful  ability  of  his  employer  and 
of  his  able  and  convincing  editorials,  at  the 
same  time  speaking  equally  positively  of  the 
vapid  utterances  and  meaningless  nonsense  of 
the  childish  efforts  of  the  editor  of  the  other 
"sheet."  It  was  so,  too,  with  the  readers. 
What  the  editor  said  politically  was  indisput- 
able, and  what  the  opposition  editor  said  was 
absolutely  false.  Not  that  they  saw  what  the 
opposition  said ;  God  forbid ;  they  would  not 
be  caught  reading  the  dirty  and  villainous 
"sheet."  More  than  half  a  century  ago  there 
were  very  many  honest,  conscientious  God- 
fearing men,  any  one  of  whom  would  have 
had  a  spirited  interview  with  his  son  in  the 
'woodshed  if  he  had  discovered  he  had  hap- 
pened to  read  a  copy  of  the  Forum  at  the 
home  of  some  Democratic  neighbor,  and  there 
were  equally  as  many  good  and  substantial  men 
and  respected  citizens,  that  would  have  had  a 
similar  interview  with  the  misguided  son  who 
in  an  unguarded  moment  might  mention  some 
item  he  had  seen  in  the  Journal.  Still  the 
editors  thundered  away  to  the  intense  delight 
of  their  readers,  who  only  had  an  idea  what 
the  other  paper  said  by  the  garbled  extracts 
their  own  editor  copied  for  the  purpose  of 
attacking  the  statement. 

It  was  in  1862,  when  party  spirit  over  the 
war  was  beginning  to  be  very  bitter,  and  Rev. 
John  Walcott  was  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
church   at    Bucyrus,    that  his   pastoral    duties 


called  upon  him  to  visit  one  of  his  elders  in 
the  country.  They  talked  of  church  matters, 
the  old  man  being  as  loyal  to  the  Presbyterian 
faith  as  he  was  to  the  Democratic  party. 
Finally  the  conversation  drifted  to  the  war, 
which  each  had  striven  to  avoid,  knowing  their 
views  were  not  in  accord,  and  as  the  danger 
point  was  reached,  the  gray-haired  old  elder, 
knowing  the  minister  was  his  guest,  quietly 
rose  and  said :  "Waal,  Mr.  Walcott,  while  the 
womenfolks  are  getting  supper,  I'd  better  go 
out  and  do  the  chores.  On  the  centre  table 
there,  you'll  find  the  Bible  and  the  Forum — 
both  sides  of  the  question." 

If  some  may  doubt  the  intensity  of  party 
spirit  in  the  era  prior  to  the  Civil  War,  one 
incident  among  many  may  convince.  Col. 
Robert  Cowden  was  brought  up  in  a  Christian 
home,  was  a  leader  in  church  work,  and  a 
minister,  and  yet  he  writes  of  that  boyhood 
home  in  southwestern  Vernon,  under  date  of 
Oct.  15,  191 1 :  "The  people  were  generally 
Pennsylvania  Dutch,  with  some  Germans,  and 
a  few  others.  Of  school  books  there  were 
but  few.  The  only  book  in  our  home  was  a 
small  Bible  and  that  was  my  first  text  book  in 
school  at  the  age  of  six  years.  I  had  been 
taught  in  the  home  to  read  and  spell.  As  late 
as  1848  there  were  two  Whigs,  three  Abolition- 
ists, and  all  other  voters  were  Democrats.  I 
could  not  myself  understand  how  any  but  a 
Democrat  could  ever  be  saved." 

Times  have  indeed  changed,  and  for  the 
better.  And  the  change  has  been  brought 
about,  not  alone  by  a  more  intelligent  people, 
but  by  a  fairer  press,  especially  in  the  towns 
and  smaller  cities,  where  both  press  and  people 
are  rising  to  that  highest  principle  of  self- 
government — that  every  right  a  man  claims 
for  himself  that  same  right  he  must  concede 
to  his  neighbor. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

MILITARY  HISTORY  OF  THE  COUNTY 


The  Revolutionary  War — Tivo  Battlefields  in  Crawford  County — Revolutionary  Soldiers 
Who  Lived  in  Crawford  County — Ancestral  Data — The  War  of  1812-1815 — The  Mex- 
ican War — The  Great  Civil  War;  Historical  Sketches  of  the  Principal  Regifuents  Which 
Contained  Crawford  County  Men — Decoration  Day — Formation  of  G.  A.  R.  Posts — 
Relief  Corps — The  Oldest  Soldier — Crawford  County  Heroes — Southern  Prisons — 
Tribute  to  Sergeant  D.  W.  Young — The  JJ^ar  With  Spain — Record  of  Company  A,  8th 
Regiment,  O.   V.  I. 


On  Fame's  eternal  camping-ground 

Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 
And  glory  guards  with  solemn  round 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead. 

— Theodore  O'Hara. 


Crawford  county  was  not  in  exjstence  until 
half  a  century  after  the  Revolutionary  War, 
but  Col.  Crawford's  campaign  of  1782,  to  put 
a  stop  to  the  attacks  of  the  British  and  In- 
dians on  the  American  frontier,  led  to  the  only 
two  battles  of  the  Revolution  that  occurred 
in  Ohio  being  fought  on  Crawford  county  soil, 
the  one  at  Battle  Island,  northwest  of  Upper 
Sandusky  on  June  4,  1782,  and  the  Battle  of 
the  Plains,  half  way  between  Bucyrus  and  Ga- 
llon two  days  later,  on  June  6;  this  latter  bat- 
tle-field being  marked  by  a  monument  erected 
by  the  Pioneer  Association  of  Crawford 
county. 

After  the  county  was  opened  to  settlement 
in  1820  several  soldiers  of  the  revolution  made 
their  home  in  this  county  as  follows : 

Robert  Carson,  in  Cranberry  township. 
Among  his  descendants  are  Tarlton  B.  Car- 
son, for  many  years  postmaster  at  New  Wash- 
ington. Robert  Carson  is  buried  about  three 
miles  north  of  New  Washington. 

Christian  Couts  came  to  Liberty  township 
in  1821  and  is  buried  in  the  Crall  graveyard, 
Liberty  township.  His  son  Henry  came  to  the 
county  with  him,  and  when  a  young  man 
moved  to  Bucyrus,  where  he  resided  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death. 


Adam  Link  came  to  Liberty  township  from 
Maryland.  He  died  at  the  home  of  his  daugh- 
ter, Mrs.  Horatio  Markley,  on  August  15, 
1864,  aged  103  years,  and  was  buried  in  the 
Union  graveyard  northeast  of  Sulphur 
Springs.  Another  daughter  was  Mrs.  George 
W  Teel.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  one 
of  half  a  dozen  veterans  of  the  Revolutionary 
War  living  at  that  time  in  Ohio. 

David  McKinley  came  to  Chatfield  township 
in  1835.  He  died  in  1840  and  was  buried 
in  the  German  Lutheran  graveyard  south  of 
Chatfield.  He  was  the  great-grandfather  of 
President  McKinley.  One  grand-daughter, 
Martha,  married  Stephen  Waller  of  Lykens 
township.  Another  grand-daughter,  Hannah, 
married  T.  J.  Tilford,  and  still  another,  Ellen, 
married  James  Winters,  all  these  marriages 
being  in  Lykens  township. 

There  are  quite  a  number  in  the  county  who 
are  descendants  of  soldiers  of  the  Revolution. 

Thomas  Beer  was  in  the  Revolutionary 
War.  He  was  the  great-grandfather  of  Judge 
Thomas  Beer  who  came  to  Bucyrus  in  i860 
and  of  Capt.  William  Nevins  Beer,  who  came 
to  Bucyrus  in  1861. 

Clendenin  was  in  the  Revolutionary 

war;  his  daughter  Margaret  married  James 
Andrews,  who  came  to  Texas  township  in 
1832. 

Benjamin  Coe  was  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  his  great-granddaughter,  Mrs. 
George  Whysall,  is  a  resident  of  Bucyrus. 


469 


470 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


James  Cole.     See  Samuel  McDonald. 

John  Coon  was  in  the  Revolutionary  War, 
and  also  the  War  of  1812.  His  son,  Adam, 
came  to  Crawford  county  about  1822,  and 
died  March  19,  1877.  He  had  land  in  Texas 
township. 

Leonard  Crissinger  was  in  the  Revolutionary 
War  and  one  of  those  who  for  a  time  went 
barefooted  for  lack  of  shoes.  His  grandson, 
John  Crissinger  came  to  Crawford  county  in 
1832,  settling  in  Whetstone  township. 

Robert  Cunning  was  in  the  Revolutionary 
War.  He  was  the  grandfather  of  Jacob  H. 
Stevens  who  came  to  Cranberry  township  in 

1834. 

Jacob  Ferree  \\'as  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 
His  great-grandson  William  Ferree  came  to 
Crawford  county  in  1873,  residing  in  Gallon, 
and  in  1881  removed  to  Bucyrus. 

Harris  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  the 

Revolution.  He  was  the  grandfather  of  Ste- 
phen R.  Harris,  who  came  to  Bucyrus  in  1849. 

Hise  came  from  Hesse,  Germany  with 

a  comrade  named  Kuncle  as  British  soldiers. 
They  were  in  one  engagement,  after  which 
both  joined  the  Revolutionary  cause,  and 
fought  with  the  patriots  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  John  Hise  married  Eve  Kuncle,  and 
came  to  Jackson  township  in  1824;  their  son 
Wm.  H.  Hise  being  for  many  years  justice  of 
the  peace  in  Liberty  township. 

Simon  and  John  Hopple  enlisted  in  the 
Revolutionary  War  at  its  commencement,  but 
both  were  lost  and  no  trace  of  them  ever  found. 
Their  nephew,  Reuben  Hopple,  came  to  Lib- 
erty township  in  1856. 

Samuel  Kearsley  was  a  captain  in  the  Con- 
tinental Army,  and  a  favorite  officer  of  Gen. 
Washington,  the  latter  presenting  him  with 
the  sword  he  wore  at  Braddock's  defeat  in 
1755.  His  grandson,  Edmund  R.  Kearsley 
came  to  Bucyrus  in  1851. 

Philip  Keller  and  two  of  his  brothers  were 
in  the  Revolutionary  War.  Philip  Keller,  a 
grandson  of  the  Revolutionary  Philip,  came  to 
Sandusky  township  in  1856. 

Kuncle.     See  Hise. 

Joseph  Lochbaum  was  in  the  Revolutionary 
war;  his  son  Solomon  came  in  1830,  settling  in 
what  is  now  Jefiferson  township. 

Livingston  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary War.    His  grandson  Rensselaer  Liv- 


ingston, came  to  Crestline  in  1848,  and  in  1851 
laid  out  the  village  of  Livingston,  afterward 
Crestline. 

John  Marshall  and  two  brothers  were  in  the 
Revolutionary  War.  James  Marshall,  a  grand- 
son of  John,  came  to  Bucyrus  in  1826.  John 
Marshall  reached  the  rank  of  Colonel,  and  was 
presented  with  a  sword  by  Gen.  Washington. 

Samuel  McDonald  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revo- 
lution. James  Cole  was  a  Nova  Scotian  and 
entered  the  Revolutionary  army,  and  for  this 
was  disinherited  by  his  wealthy  English  rela- 
tives. He  was  with  Washington  at  Valley 
Forge.  Later  he  was  wounded  in  battle,  and 
confined  in  one  of  the  prison  ships  in  Boston 
Harbor  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Reuben 
McDonald,  a  son  of  Samuel,  married  Matilda 
Cole,  a  daughter  of  James  Cole.  They  came 
to  Liberty  township  in  1832,  and  with  them 
their  son  George,  four  years  old.  Another  son, 
Hiram  W.  McDonald,  was  born  in  1846.  Both 
sons  were  later  in  business  in  Bucyrus. 

Frederick  W.  McMichael  was  a  soldier 
of  the  Revolutionary  war.  His  great-grand- 
daughter Mrs.  C.  F.  May  is  a  resident  of  Tiro. 

Abraham  Monnett  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  His  son  Isaac  came  to  Craw- 
ford county  in  1825  ;  his  son  Jeremiah  came  in 
1835,  both  settling  in  Bucyrus  township. 

Henry  Nail  came  to  America  in  1777  and 
entered  the  Revolutionary  Army.  In  1818 
he  came  to  Richland  county,  where  he  died  and 
was  buried  at  Mansfield.  His  son  James  Nail 
came  to  Jefferson  township  in  1821. 

Capt.  Patton  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution- 
ary War  and  a  brother-in-law  of  Major  Andre. 
His  grandson,  Noble  McKinstry,  came  to 
Whetstone  township  in  1820;  another  grand- 
son, James  McKinstry,  came  to  this  section  in 
1833,  settling  near  Caledonia,  and  in  1863 
moved  to  Bucyrus. 

Christian  Riblet  entered  the  Continental 
Army  at  Philadelphia  in  1779,  at  the  age  of 
18.  He  died  April  6,  1844,  and  was  buried  in 
the  graveyard  on  the  Gallon  and  Mansfield 
road,  just  east  of  the  Crawford  county  line. 
His  grandson,  Daniel  Riblet,  came  to  Polk 
township  in  185 1. 

Benjamin  Sears  was  in  the  Revolutionary 
War.  His  son  Elkanah  Sears  came  to  Bucyrus 
township  in  1837. 

James  Sharrock  came  to  America  from  Ger- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


471 


many  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  as  one 
of  the  hired  soldiers  to  fight  on  the  side  of  the 
British.  His  sympathies  were  with  the  Ameri- 
cans and  he  promptly  deserted  and  joined  the 
Revolutionists,  fighting  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  His  son,  Benjamin  Sharrock,  came  to 
Polk  township  in  1818. 

Jacob  Shawke  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  His  son  Thomas  Shawke  came 
to  Bucyrus  in  1833. 

Simon  Shunk  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  serving  under  Washington.  His 
son  Adam  Shunk  came  to  Bucyrus  in  1854. 

James  Sims  was  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 
His  grandson,  John  Sims,  came  to  Bucyrus  in 
1845. 

William  Ward  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier. 
His  sons,  Clark  K.  and  "C.  D.  Ward,  came  to 
Bucyrus  in  1847. 

Charles  White  enlisted  in  the  Revolutionary 
War  at  the  age  of  18.  His  son  Charles  White, 
came  to  this  section  about  1820,  settling  later 
in  Dallas  township. 

Eli  Widger  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution- 
ary War.  His  daughter,  Mrs.  Lucy  Rogers, 
came  to  Bucyrus  in  1822. 

Henry  Wolf  enlisted  in  the  Continental 
Army  in  Pennsylvania.  His  son  Michael  came 
to  Liberty  township  in  1834. 

ANCESTRAL    DATA 

In  looking  at  ancient  ancestors  the  follow- 
ing were  also  found: 

J.  H.  Williston,  two  terms  state  senator  and 
for  many  years  editor  of  the  Forum,  was  a 
descendant  of  one  of  the  Pilgrims  who  came 
over  in  the  Mayflower. 

Resolved  White,  Auburn  township,  was  a 
descendant  of  William  White  who  came  over 
in  the  Mayflower. 

John  R.  Clymer,  who  edited  the  Forum  for 
many  years  was  a  descendant  of  the  Clymers  of 
Pennsylvania,  George  Clymer  being  one  of  the 
signers  of  the  Declaration  of   Independence. 

Theodore  Shotwell,  who  married  a  daughter 
of  James  McKinstry,  was  a  descendant  of 
Theodore  Shotwell,  who  in  1665  with  65 
others  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  Charles 
II,  at  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  this  was  at  the 
time  when  England  secured  New  Jersey  from 
the  Dutch. 


El;  Adams,  of  Sulphur  Springs,  was  a  great 
grandson  of  John  Adams,  of  Revolutionary 
fame. 

Giles  Cory  was  executed  at  Salem  for  witch- 
craft, on  Sept.  I,  1692,  aged  'j'j  years.  Several 
generations  later  his  descendants,  Aaron  and 
Thomas  Cory,  came  to  Cranberry  township. 

John  Hopley,  who  came  to  Bucyrus  in  1856, 
was  a  descendant,  seventh  generation,  of  Sam- 
uel Pratt,  an  English  Bishop,  chaplain  to  Queen 
Anne  in  1703,  and  buried  in  St.  George's 
chapel,  Windsor. 

Richard  Sears  was  one  of  the  early  Puri- 
tans; in  1632  he  was  a  tax-payer  at  Plymouth, 
Mass. 

William  Ward  settled  at  Sudbury,  Mass., 
in  1639,  and  held  several  offices  in  the  early 
Colonial  days.  Among  his  descendants  were 
Clark  K.  and  C.  D.  Ward  who  came  to  Bu- 
cyrus in  1847. 

When  the  second  war  with  England  broke 
out  in  1812,  Crawford  county  was  a  wilder- 
ness, and  not  even  the  cabin  or  shack  of  a  white 
hunter  existed  within  its  borders;  it  was  a 
hunting  ground  for  the  Indians.  The  eastern 
seven  miles  of  the  county,  had  been  open  for 
settlement  for  a  few  years,  but  no  pioneer  had 
as  yet  drifted  so  far  to  the  westward,  Rich- 
land county  being  the  extreme  edge  of  civili- 
zation. The  western  thirteen  miles  was  only 
traversed  by  the  roving  bands  of  Indians.  But 
it  was  during  this  war  that  Crawford  county 
was  crossed  and  recrossed  by  the  militia  on 
their  way  to  and  from  the  battle  grounds  along 
the  Maumee.  Many  of  the  soldiers  were  im- 
pressed by  the  country,  and  when,  two  years 
after  the  war  closed,  the  land  was  opened  to 
settlement,  it  is  not  strange  that  some  of  these 
soldiers  in  seeking  a  new  home,  found  it  in  the 
region  which  they  had  first  traversed  when 
bearing  arms  in  defense  of  their  country. 

Among  those  who  served  in  the  War  of 
1812-15,  and  later  found  homes  in  Crawford 
county,  some  records  have  been  obtained. 

James  Andrews  was  a  member  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania militia.  He  came  to  Crawford  county 
in  1832,  settling  in  what  is  now  Texas  town- 
ship. He  died  April  25,  1840,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Andrews  graveyard,  Texas  township. 

Jacob  Bankert  came  to  Bucyrus,  date  un- 
known, and  was  buried  in  the  graveyard  on 
the  Tiffin  road. 


472 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


James  P.  Beall  was  a  member  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania militia;  he  came  to  Bucyrus  township 
in  1854;  died  Feb.  24,  1869,  and  was  buried 
in  Oakwood  cemetery. 

David  Brown  came  to  Bucyrus,  date  un- 
known, and  died  Aug.  4,  1883,  and  was  buried 
in  Oakwood  cemetery. 

Joseph  Baker,  Virginia  militia,  came  to  Au- 
burn township  in  1825 ;  died  in  that  township, 
and  was  buried  about  four  miles  east  of  New 
A\'ashington. 

John  Blair,  Xew  York  militia,  came  to  Au- 
burn township  in  1821;  died  Sept.  19,  1847, 
and  is  buried  in  the  Planna  graveyard,  near 
Tiro. 

Elisha  Castle,  Maryland  militia,  came  to  Jef- 
ferson township  in  1840;  died  at  Leesville  May 
8,  1864,  and  is  buried  in  the  Leesville  grave- 
yard. 

Samuel  Carson,  Virginia  militia,  came  to 
this  section  in  1835,  settling  just  across  the 
line  in  Venice  township,  Seneca  county,  hav- 
ing land  in  both  counties.  He  died  in  Seneca 
county. 

John  Caris  came  to  Liberty  township,  date 
unknown,  and  died  there  Dec.  14,  1862,  and 
was  buried  in  the  Union  graveyard  east  of 
Sulphur  Springs. 

Harvey  Close,  Xew  York  militia,  came  to 
Texas  township  in  1869;  died  in  that  township, 
and  w  as  buried  in  the  Benton  graveyard. 

John  Coon,  Ohio  militia,  came  to  Texas 
township  in  1825  ;  died  in  that  township  March 
22,  1856,  and  was  buried  in  the  Benton  grave- 
yard. 

Joshua  Chilcote.  Xew  York  militia,  came  to 
Cranberry  township  in  1818;  died  in  Auburn 
township  July  3,  1837,  and  was  buried  in  the 
Hanna  graveyard  near  Tiro. 

James  Ferguson  was  in  the  War  of  1812. 
He  was  expert  in  woodcraft  and  was  fre- 
quently employed  as  the  bearer  of  dispatches 
between  the  different  commanders.  After  the 
war  he  settled  in  Sandusky  township  and  in 
1828  removed  to  Lykens  township. 

James  Forrest  was  with  Perry's  fleet  at  the 
Battle  of  Lake  Erie ;  he  came  to  Tod  township 
in  1854,  died  at  Oceola  ]\Iay  10,  1880,  and  was 
buried  in  the  Oceola  graveyard. 

John  B.  French,  Virginia  militia,  came  to 
Sandusky  township  in  182 1,  died  there  in  1830. 


William  Green,  New  York  militia,  came  to 
Auburn  township  in  1815 ;  died  April  21,  1862, 
on  the  farm  on  which  he  first  settled,  and  was 
buried  in  the  Hanna  graveyard,  near  Tiro. 

E.  W.  Brown  came  to  Auburn  township  in 
1842,  where  he  died  in  June,  1871. 

John  Eaton  was  in  the  War  of  1812;  he 
came  to  Holmes  township  in  1830  and  died 
there  Aug.  23,  1850,  and  was  buried  in  the 
Brokensword  graveyard. 

Henry  Harriger,  Pennsylvania  militia,  came 
to  Whetstone  township  in  1823,  where  he  died 
in  1878,  and  was  buried  in  the  Stewart  grave- 
yard two  miles  east  of  Bucyrus. 

Seth  Holmes,  New  York  militia,  was  a 
teamster  in  the  supply  train  which  passed 
through  Bucyrus  in  1812;  he  came  to  Bucyrus 
with  Samuel  Norton  in  1819;  died  in  1825, 
and  was  buried*  in  the  Cary  graveyard  on  the 
Tiffin  road. 

Christian  Hoover,  Ohio  militia,  came  to  Dal- 
las township  in  1822;  he  died  in  that  township 
Aug.  II,  1849,  and  was  buried  in  the  White 
graveyard,  Dallas  township. 

Seth  Hawks,  New  York  militia,  came  to 
Auburn  township  in  1819;  he  died  there  July 
20,  1824,  and  was  buried  in  the  Hanna  grave- 
yard near  Tiro. 

Jacob  Holmes,  Pennsylvania  militia,  came 
to  Whetstone  township  in  1833 ;  he  died  there 
Feb.  6,  1882,  and  was  buried  in  Oakwood 
cemetery. 

Samuel  Hanna,  New  York  militia,  came  to 
Auburn  township  in  1819;  he  died  there  June 
2,  1862,  and  was  buried  in  the  Hanna  grave- 
yard near  Tiro. 

Elijah  Jump,  New  York  Volunteer  Infantry, 
came  to  Tod  township  in  1843 !  he  died  there 
Dec.  5,  1871,  and  was  buried  in  the  Benton 
graveyard. 

James  Alagee,  Pennsylvania  militia,  came  to 
Sandusky  township  in  1824;  he  died  there 
April  14,  1850,  and  was  buried  in  the  Sandusky 
graveyard,  centre  of  Sandusky  township. 

James  ^Marshall,  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812, 
came  to  Bucyrus  in  1826;  died  Aug.  12,  1850. 

Benjamin  Maskey,  Pennsylvania  militia, 
came  to  Crawford  county,  date  unknown: 
died  in  Tod  township,  Jan.  21,  1867,  and  was 
buried  at  Oceola. 

Rodolphus  Morse,  X"ew  York  militia,  came 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


473 


to  Auburn  township  in  1820;  died  there  Oct. 
II,  1872,  and  was  buried  in  the  Hanna  grave- 
yard near  Tiro. 

Jeremiah  Morris,  Ohio  miHtia,,  came  to  Bu- 
cyrus  township  in  1834;  died  Oct.  19,  1874, 
and  Was  buried  in  Oakwood  cemetery. 

Isaac  Monnett,  officer  in  the  Ohio  miHtia, 
came  to  Bucyrus  township  in  1828;  died  July 
6,  1864,  and  was  buried  in  Oakwood  ceme- 
tery. 

Charles  Morrow,  Pennsylvania  militia,  came 
to  Auburn  township  in  1817;  died  Dec.  4,  1845, 
and  was  buried  in  the  Hanna  graveyard  near 
Tiro. 

Rev.  E.  O'Flyng,  New  York  militia,  came 
to  Bucyrus  about  1862 ;  died  May  it,,  1873,  and 
was  buried  in  Oakwood  ceretery.  , 

Christopher  Perky,  with  Harrison  at  Fort 
Meigs,  came  to  Crawford  covmty  in  1827 ;  died 
in  Seneca  county  Aug.  28,  1833. 

Moses  Pugh,  Virginia  militia,  came  to  Ly- 
kins  township  in  1838;  died  there  Sept.  2j 
1 848,  and  was .  buried  in  the  Andrews  grave- 
yard near  Benton. 

John  Pettigon  was  in  the  War  of  181 2,  and 
came  to  Auburn  township  in  181 5,  later  mov- 
ing further  west. 

William  Robinson,  colonel  in  the  Pennsyl- 
\ania  militia,  came  to  Jefferson  township  in 
1830 ;  died  there  Aug.  30,  1847,  and  was  buried 
in  the  graveyard  on  the  Tiffin  road. 

Henry  C.  Snyder,  Maryland  Regulars,  came 
to  Liberty  township  in  1844;  died  Sept.  24, 
1870,  and  was  buried  in  the  Roop  graveyard. 
Liberty  township. 

John  Scroggs,  Maryland  militia,  came  to 
Bucyrus  in  1839;  died  Aug.  31,  1861,  and  was 
buried  in  Oakwood  Cemetery. 

George  ■  Sinn,  Pennsylvania  militia,  came 
to  Bucyrus  township  in  1826;  died  Jan.  2, 
1870,  and  was  buried  in  Oakwood  cemetery. 

Valentine  Shook,  ensign  in  the  War  of  1812, 
came  to  Whetstone  township  in  1828;  died 
there  in  1843. 

Andrew  Schreck,  Pennsylvania  militia,  came 
to  Liberty  township  in  1835;  died  in  Whet- 
stone township  in  1872. 

John  Sherer,  Pennsylvania  militia,  came  to 
Whetstone  township  in  1830;  died  there  Sept. 
.30,  1871. 

Joseph  Smith,  captain  in  the  Pennsylvania 


militia,  came  to  Sandusky  township  in  1825 ; 
died  in  1843. 

Thomas  Towers,  Maryland  militia,  came  to 
Whetstone  township  in  1835,  and  died  there. 

Benjamin  Sharrock,  New  York  militia,  came 
to  Polk  township  in  18 18,  and  died  Nov.  16, 
1879. 

Zachariah  Welsh,  colonel  in  Ohio  militia, 
came  to  Dallas  township  in  1822 ;  died  in  Bu- 
cyrus township  Aug.  16,  1843,  and  was  buried 
in  the  White  gra\'eyard,  Dallas  township. 

David  Wickham,  New  York  militia,  came  to 
Texas  township  in  1837;  died  there  Sept.  15, 
1848,  and  was  buried  in  the  Benton  graveyard. 

James  Woodside,  Pennsylvania  militia,  came 
to  Holmes  township  in  1830;  died  in  Bucyrus, 
Feb.  21,  1867,  and  was  buried  in  Oakwood 
cemetery. 

Jacob  Walcutt,  Virginia  militia,  served  in 
the  War  of  18 12,  entered  land  in  Texas  town- 
ship, soon  after  died  and  his  widow  and  seven 
children  settled  on  the  land. 

When  the  Mexican  -War  broke  out,  John 
Caldwell,  who  had  been  auditor  of  the  county 
from  1830  to  1836,  and  sheriff  from  1843  to 

1845,  organized  an  independent  company  in 
this  county.    They  entered  the  service  May  30, 

1846,  and  went  as  far  as  Cincinnati,  but  Ohio's 
quota  was  more  than  filled.  Some,  however, 
went  to  Mexico.  The  company  was  mustered 
out  at  Bucyrus  on  Oct.  26,  1846.  The  follow- 
ing was  the  roster  of  the  company : 

Captain — John  Caldwell. 

First  Lieutenant — James  C.  Steen. 

Second  Lieutenant — David  Nicholls. 

Sergeants — Henry  Miller,  Jacob  Yost,  John 
M.  Stouffer,  Thomas  Wynn. 

Corporals — Thomas  G.  Pillars,  John  Blake, 
Horace  Potter,  W.  L.  Beard. 

Privates — A.  Adams,  E.  Aurandt,  William 
Bailey,  Samuel  Bair,  P.  Bollinger,  C.  Caldwell, 
William  Chambaugh,  John  Clapper,  Lake 
Clark,  A.  W.  Coleman,  J.  Curtis,  J.  Decker, 
William  Decker,  D.  S.  Fuller,  John  Grant, 
Lewis  Greenick,  J.  F.  W.  Gressen,  Lewis 
High,  Franklin  Hill,  Jacob  Himman,  H.  W 
Johns,  Levi  Lehman,  Jacob  Leiby,  C.  J.  Love, 
Mordecai  McCauly,  William  T.  McGill,  Wil- 
liam McNickle,  Thomas  Maize,  E.  R.  Merri- 
man,  B.  C.  Miller,  E.  C.  Miller,  F.  L.  Miller, 
P.  Miller,  W.  Minor,  William  Mizner,  C.  H. 


474 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Murphy,  Benjamin  Myers,  H.  Orpt,  W.  Os- 
burn,  Cyrus  Peck,  John  Pfleminger,  Franklin 
Poppins,  Richard  Reed,  Robert  M.  Reed,  Caleb 
Scholes,  Thomas  Scott,  Thomas  D.  Shewy, 
William  Slagle,  W.  L.  Stearns,  William  Sweet, 
John  Trick,  John  C.  Trick,  John  Turner,  James 
Warren,  G.  Wells,  Chauncey  West,  F.  Wil- 
liams, N.  B.  Williams,  James  Wilson,  John 
Wilson,  J.  N.  Yost. 

John  J.  Bebout  was  also  in  the  Mexican  War, 
and  George  W.  Fenner,  the  latter  in  the  Sec- 
ond Pennsylvania  Cavalry. 

The  next  war  in  which  the  United  States 
engaged  was  a  far  more  serious  and  deadly 
struggle.  It  was  one  of  State  against  State, 
brother  against  brother,  the  North  against  the 
South,  a  war  from  which  the  Nation  as  a  whole 
has  not  yet  fully  recovered,  though  the  sec- 
tional bitterness  and  animosity  it  engendered 
have  now,  happily,  almost  entirely  passed  away. 
The  causes  of  the  War  of  1861-65  are  so  well 
known  and  understood  by  all  that  no  more  than 
a  brief  reference  to  them  is  necessary.  It 
originated  in  the  institution  of  slavery — an  in- 
stitution which  in  colonial  times  and  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Republic,  was  common  to 
both  northern  and  southern  territory,  but  which 
had  been  gradually  abandoned  at  the  north, 
chiefly  because  it  was  no  longer  profitable. 
The  South,  depending  upon  unpaid  negro  la- 
bor for  the  cultivation  of  its  cotton,  sugar  and 
other  crops,  naturally  desired  the  retention  of 
this  institution,  and  its  extension  to  the  west- 
ern and  southwestern  territories.  It  was 
chiefly  around  this  question  of  extension  that 
the  struggle  arose  which  for  a  time  split  the 
Nation  in  twain,  and  carried  bereavement  into 
thousands  of  homes  on  both  sides  of  Mason 
and  Dixon's  line.  The  election  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  who  had  expressed  himself  strongly 
against  the  further  extension  of  slavery,  but 
who  was  no  "abolitionist,"  in  the  sense  in 
which  the  term  was  then  used,  decided  the 
Southern  States  to  sever  those  political  bonds 
which  had  hitherto  united  them  with  the  rest 
of  the  nation,  and  which,  as  expressed  in  the 
Federal  constitution,  they  regarded  as  a  con- 
tract assumed  for  mutual  advantage,  similar 
to  a  business  partnership,  to  be  cancelled  by 
any  state  or  aggregation  of  states,  when  they 
should  find  it  to  their  advantage  to  do  so.  This 
States'   Rights   doctrine,  was  opposed  to  the 


ideas  of  a  great  majority  of  the  northern  peo- 
ple, who  regarded  the  Constitution  as  an  in- 
dissoluble contract,  and  when,  therefore.  South 
Carolina  took  the  initiative  by  firing  on  Ft. 
Sumter  all  knew  that  the  struggle  was  on; 
that  the  burning  question  which  had  agitated 
men's  minds  for  more  than  a  generation,  and 
had  found  expression  in  the  eloquent  outbursts 
of  the  greatest  American  orators  on  either 
side — such  men  as  Webster  and  Clay  against 
Calhoun  arid  Benton,  Sumner  and  Chase 
againSt  Hayne  and  Stevens,  could  now  be  set- 
tled in  only  one  way — by  the  sword.  And  by 
the  sword  it  was  settled,  completely  and  finally. 
The  Union  was  preserved,  but  only  at  the  cost 
of  precious  blood  and  untold  treasure. 

After  two  years  of  war,  the  victories  of 
Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg  in  1863,  marked  the 
turning-point,  and  from  that  time  the  question 
was  simply  how  long  the  South  could  hold  out. 
This  question  was  answered  in  April,  1865,  at 
Appomattox,  with  the  surrender  of  General 
Lee. 

Men  in  the  flower  of  youth,  the  strength  of 
manhood  or  the  ripeness  of  age,  left  family, 
home  and  friends  in  answer  to  their  country's 
call,  and  many  there  were  who  never  returned. 
Their  bones  rest  beneath  the  sod  at  Fredericks- 
burg and  Antietam,  at  Gettysburg  and  Stone 
River,  at  Vicksburg  and  the  Wilderness,  or 
fill  some  unknown  grave  that  marks  the  site  of 
a  deadly  prison  pen  that  was  more  fatal  than 
the  field  of  battle.  Many  a  one  who  said  good- 
bye to  the  departing  soldier,  with  smiling  eyes 
and  sorrowing  hearts — the  mother  or  the  fa- 
ther, the  sister  or  the  brother  or  she  who 
"was  a  nearer  one,  still  and  a  dearer  one,  yet 
than  all  other" — little  dreamed  that  the  part- 
ing was  forever,  and  the  bruised  and  bleeding 
heart  could  find  its  only  consolation  in  treas- 
uring up  the  hero-death  their  loved  one  died. 
War  has  its  glories  and  its  heroes,  but  who  can 
fathom  the  cost? — that  unceasing,  never-end- 
ing sorrow  that  palsies  the  heart  of  the  mother 
and  the  sister,  the  wife  and  the  sweetheart ;  and 
although  time  may  soften  and  soothe,  the  grief 
is  always  there;  there  to  ever  remain  until 
their  mission  on  earth  is  ended,  and  they  again 
meet  their  loved  one  in  the  world  beyond. 

Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon  April  12, 
1 86 1,  and  two  days  later  President  Lincoln 
called  for  75,000  volunteers. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


475 


No  sooner  had  the  news  of  Fort  Sumter 
reached  Bucyrus  than  the  most  intense  excite- 
ment pervaded  the  entire  community.  Men, 
women  and  children,  old  and  young,  of  all 
professions  and  calling  were  aroused.  Never 
was  there  such  an  excitement  in  the  village. 
Business  was  suspended  almost  entirely.  Work- 
men left  their  shops  unquestioned  by  their  em- 
ployers. Clerks  quit  their  counters.  Merchants, 
mechanics,  professional  men,  everybody  rushed 
to  the  streets  while  everybody  from  the  coun- 
try came  in,  all  actuated  by  one  spirit,  the 
preservation  of  the  Union.  Reports  from  Ga- 
llon and  Crestline  showed  the  same  enthusias- 
tic loyalty  had  caused  the  suspension  of  prac- 
tically all  business  in  those  places. 

On  April  17  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  Rowse 
Hall  at  which  Jacob  Scroggs  presided,  with 
Frank  Patterson  as  secretary.  Speeches  were 
made  by  Jacob  Scroggs,  Judge  J.  S.  Plants, 
C.  W.  Butterfield,  J.  R.  Swigart  and  F.  W. 
Butterfield  and  a  committee  on  resolutions  ap- 
pointed consisting  of  John  Hopley,  F.  W.  But- 
terfield, William  M.  Scroggs,  B.  B.  McDanald 
and  Geo.  Donnenworth,  Jr.  The  resolutions 
were  loyal  to  the  core  and  closed  with  the  ring- 
ing declaration  in  capital  letters  that  "The 
Union  Must  and  Shall  Be  Preserved,"  and  all 
the  resolutions  as  read  were  received  with  the 
most  deafening  cheers,  especially  the  latter. 
At  the  conclusion  of  F.  W.  Butterfield's  speech 
he  called  for  volunteers  and  seventeen  signed 
the  muster  roll.  A  committee  consisting  of  F 
W.  Butterfield,  W.  R.  S.  Clark,  and  Nicholas 
Buler  was  appointed  to  circulate  the  roll  and 
obtain  additional  volunteers.  Cheers  were 
given  to  Senator  Orr  for  his  vote  in  the  State 
Senate  on  the  War  Bill.  The  Star  Spangled 
Banner  was  sung  amid  great  excitement,  and 
the  meeting  adjourned  to  meet  on  Friday,  the 
19th.  The  papers  said  "The  patriotic  senti- 
ments of  all  the  speakers  was  received  with 
the  most  unbounded  applause."  This  meeting 
was  held  on  Wednesday  evening.  On  Thurs- 
day evening  the  enlistments  numbered  34  and 
on  Friday  45,  and  on  Saturday  drilling  com- 
menced on  the  Public  Square,  Jacob  P.  Hysung 
being  the  drill  master.  Practically  the  entire 
town,  crowded  the  square  to  watch  the  evolu- 
tions of  the  soldiers. 

On  Sunday,  April  21,  just  one  week  from 
the  call  of  the  president  for  troops,  sixty  of 


the  company  attended  the  Lutheran  Church 
to  listen  to  a  sermon  of  Rev.  J.  Crouse.  His 
text  was,  "And  the  children  of  Ephraim  being 
armed  and  carrying  bows,  turned  back  in  the 
day  of  battle."— Psalm  LXXVIII,  9. 

Monday  the  excitement  continued.  The 
people  from  the  country  coming  in  and  re- 
maining all  day.  No  work  was  done  and  1  the 
only  discussion  on  the  street  corners  was  the 
coming  war.  During  the  day  one  or  two  ex- 
pressed doubts  as  to  the  right  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  coerce  another  state,  but  the  indigna- 
tion of  the  crowd  was  so  universally  mani- 
fested that  any  doubter  found  it  safest  to  keep 
his  opinion  to  himself. 

On  Monday  evening  the  square  was  jammed 
by  a  crowd  of  excited  and  enthusiastic  citizens 
who  assembled  to  take  a  final  leave  of  the  vol- 
unteers, who  had  received  orders  to  march  the 
made  by  A.M.  Jackson,  Judge  J.  S.  Plants, 
next  morning.  'Enthusiastic  speeches  were 
Hon.  L.  W.  Hall,  J.  R.  Swigart,  and  Rev.  J. 
Crouse  and  Rev.  L.  B.  Gurley. 

A  special  train  was  to  take  the  company  to 
Crestline  the  next  morning  at  5  o'clock,  but 
early  hours  were  nothing  to  the  thoroughly 
aroused  people  Tuesday  morning  by  4  o'clock 
the  town  was  awake  and  were  out  in  force 
thronging  to  the  square.  The  fire  department 
was  out  in  full  uniform  to  escort  the  company 
to  the  station  as  F.  W.  Butterfield,  A.  W.  Oil- 
ier, J.  H.  Simon,  Thomas  Lommison,  John 
Kanzleiter  and  John  McKillipp  were  members 
of  the  fire  department,  and  they  were  presented 
with  a  series  of  resolutions  commending  their 
actions  signed  by  B.  F.  Lauck,  J.  G.  Stoll,  Jr., 
J.  G.  Frayer  and  John  G.  Birk.  At  the  station 
Jacob  Scroggs  made  the  farewell  speech  and 
the  train  arrived,  and  the  first  company  from 
Crawford  County  left  for  the  war,  followed 
by  the  enthusiastic  cheers  of  the  entire  town. 
The  ladies  had  ordered  a  beautiful  flag,  but  it 
failed  to  arrive  in  time  and  was  forwarded 
to  the  Company  at  Cleveland  later.  The  mem- 
bers of  this  company  which  later  became  Co. 
C  in  the  Eighth  Ohio,  who  left  Bucyrus  on 
Wednesday  morning  April  24th,  ten  days  after 
the  president's  call  for  troops,  were  as  follows  • 

Captain— F.  W.  Butterfield  . 

First  Lieut. — E.  W.  Merriman. 

2nd  Lieut. — David  Lewis. 

3rd  Lieut. — Resin  Graham. 


476 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Sergeants — Alec  Diller,  Orderly;  John 
Stough,  second;  A.  G.  Hoffman,  third;  A.  G. 
Bacon,  fourth. 

Corporals — Henry  Hayes,  first;  N.  B. 
Roberts,  second;  Oliver  H.  P.  Mallory,  third; 
Geo.  W.  Neff,  fourth. 

Drummers — D.  \V.  Bair  and  J.  Hysung, 
bass;  Fred  Nichols  and  Gus.  Machold,  snare. 

Privates — S.  Andrews,  M.  Andrews,  Wil- 
liam Anderson,  C.  R.  Boram,  J.  A.  Brooks,  G. 
W  Bair,  R.  J.  Bevins,  John  K.  Barclay, 
Nicholas  Bader,  John  Couts,  Jacob  Couts,  W. 
Cronenberger,  Samuel.  Clark,  John  W.  Doll, 
William  Dutot,  James  E.  Davis,  M.  R.  Dubois, 
John  Donnan,  F.  M.  Diller,  John  J.  Forney, 
Augustus  Fortney,  Jacob  Gibbens,  Geo.  Gay, 
Charles  Graaft,  Peter  Griffen,  N.  Haggerman, 
Aden  Hill,  George  C.  Howenstein,  Giles  Has- 
kell, J.  P.  Hysung,  Isaac  Irey,  Oregon  John- 
son, James  S.  Kelley,  John  Kantzleiter,  Stephen 
J.  Kester,  William  F.  Kimmell,  Fred  Klein- 
dienst,  David  M.  Long,  Thomas  Lommason, 
Francis  Leasure,  Jacob  Mowery,  Christian 
Marie,  Alfred  Minster,  John  McKellip,  James 
McKellip,  Charles  McKellip,  Terry  ]\IcMann, 
Henry  Marsh,  James  Martin,  J.  C.  Miller, 
John  Mulligan,  James  McNickle,  Andrew  J. 
Raub,  Philip  Ruseman,  Henry  Snider,  L.  G. 
Snowden,  James  M.  Shay,  David  Sherrock, 
William  Stewart,  William  Shrader,  John  H. 
Simons,  John  Strawbridge,  Philip  Saylor, 
J.  W^aterhouse,  Frank  W^illiams,  John  War- 
ner, Louis  Youngman. 

At  Gallon,  the  same  enthusiastic  feeling  pre- 
vailed. A  meeting  was  held  and  a  company 
organized.  And  on  Thursday,  April  25th,  the 
entire  town  assembled  at  the  Cleveland,  Col- 
umbus and  Cincinnati  depot  where  enthusiastic 
speeches  were  made  and  the  second  company 
left  the  county  for  war,  the  "Gallon  Guards," 
later  Co.  C  of  the  23rd  Ohio.  There  were  84 
men,  many  of  them  from  the  B.  &  I  and  C.  C. 
&  C.  roads.  They  were  officered  by  J.  W. 
Skiles,  who  was  a  veteran  of  the  Mexican  war; 
J.  R.  McMillan  was  the  first  Lieutenant  and 
C.  P.  Harding,  second  lieutenant. 

At  Crestline  an  enthusiastic  meeting  was 
held  at  Livingston  Hall  as  early  as  April  19, 
with  Robert  Lee  as  president  and  William  Reed 
as  secretary.  Patriotic  speeches  were  made  by 
Rev.  J.  P  Loyd,  Dr.  Covert,  Robert  Lee,  and 
Prof.   A.   Miller.      Patriotic  resolutions  were 


passed,  the  committee  being  A.  Patterson,  Ja- 
cob Staley,  J.  P.  Davis,  David  Ogden,  D.  S. 
Keplinger,  M.  A.  Archer,  J.  S.  Smith,  S.  R.  C. 
Clark. 

At  Sulphur  Springs,  a  company  was  organ- 
ized with  fifty  volunteers  to  be  held  in  readi- 
ness and  they  were  drilled  every  week.  Amos 
Keller  was  the  captain,  with  J.  H.  Kemmis 
I  st  lieutenant,  and  J.  N.  Biddle,  2nd  lieutenant. 
In  Bucyrus,  Aaron  H.  Keller,  B.  F.  Lauck  and 
John  Jones  organized  a  reserve  company,  to 
be  in -readiness  if  their  services  were  needed. 

Their  services  were  needed,  as  the  later  calls 
demanded  more  and  more  men,  and  for  four 
long  years  there  was  a  constant  drain  on  this 
county  and  the  other  counties  in  the  State  and 
Nation,  for  men  to  save  the  Union,  and  it  is 
probable  that  in  that  four  years  of  war  at  least 
2,000  men  were  furnished  from  Crawford 
County.  From  the  time  the  first  company 
had  left  Bucyrus  and  gone  into  Virginia  in 
July  of  1861,  there  were  probably  but  few 
battles  or  skirmishes  in  which  one  or  more 
soldiers  from  Crawford  County  had  no  part, 
and  as  time  passed  and  the  seemingly  never- 
ending  struggle  went  on,  and  the  news  came 
of  the  death  of  loved  ones  on  the  battle  field,  is 
it  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  all  the  patriotism 
of  a  loyal  people  was  needed  to  save  the  na- 
tion from  disunion.  On  two  occasions  drafts 
were  necessary  to  fill  out  the  quota,  drafts 
which  called  for  300  and  400  men  from  the  lit- 
tle county  of  Crawford,  who  already  had  1,000 
men  in  the  field,  and  yet  when  the  draft  arrived, 
most  of  the  volunteers  had  been  secured  and  in 
some  townships  the  entire  quota  had  been  fur- 
nished. A  brief  history  is  given  of  the  principal 
regiments  in  which  Crawford  County  had  en- 
tire or  almost  entire  companies.  Yet  there 
were  few  regiments  of  the  more  than  two  hun- 
dred in  the  state  but  what  had  one  or  more 
men  at  some  time  from  this  county,  and  a 
history  of  Crawford  County  in  the  war  is 
nothing  more  or  less  than  a  history  of  the 
war  itself. 

The  Eighth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry — The 
first  company  organized  in  Crawford  county 
under  the  President's  call  for  75,000  men  be- 
came a  part  of  the  8th  Ohio  Infantry,  and 
was  known  as  Company  C,  which  was.  raised 
in  and  around  Bucyrus.  It  was  officered  as 
follows:     F.  W.  Butterfield,  captain;  E.  W. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


477 


Merriman,  first  lieutenant  and  David  Lewis, 
second  lieutenant.  Capt.  Butterfield  served 
faithfully  until  the  expiration  of  the  term  of 
service  of  the  regiment,  after  which  he  assisted 
m  raising  the  I92d  Infantry,  for  one  year's 
service  and  was  made  its  colonel.  After  af- 
fecting leave-takings,  public  services  being  held 
in  the  church,  the  company  started  for  Camp 
Taylor,  Cleveland,  where,  by  April  29th,  all 
the  other  companies  had  assembled.  In  May 
the  regimental  organization  was  completed  at 
Camp  Dennison  and  instruction  in  drill  begun. 
It  soon  becoming  apparent  that  the  regiment 
could  not  be  sent  into  the  field  as  three  months 
men,  proposals  were  made  to  reenlist  the  men 
for  three  years.  Nine  companies — Company 
I  alone  excepted — responded  favorably  and  in 
the  latter  part  of  June  were  mustered  into  the 
service  for  three  years.  In  September  Com- 
pany I,  having  re-considered  its  determination, 
decided  to  reenlist  and  joined  the  regiment  at 
Grafton,  Va.,  to  which  point  the  rest  of  the 
regiment  had  proceeded  after  leaving  Camp 
Dennison  on  July  9th. 

During  their  first  few  weeks  of  actual  ser- 
vice the  regiment  was  stationed  at  various 
places  in  the  mountains  and  along  the  line  of 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad.  Here  they 
suffered  severelv  from  sickness,  some  thirty- 
four  deaths  resulting  from  typhoid  fever, 
while  at  one  time  over  three  hundred  were  in 
the  hospital.  On  the,  24th  of  September  the 
regiment  took  part  in  an  attack  on  Romney, 
and  on  Oct.  24th  in  a  second  attack  on  the 
same  place,  which  the  enemy  finally  evacuated. 
Next  came  a  successful  attack  on  Blue's  Gap. 
The  next  fight  was  at  Bloomey  Gap,  on  Feb- 
ruary 14th,  where  Colonel  Baldwin,  with  his 
staff  and  a  part  of  his  command,  were  cap- 
tured. In  March  the  division  to  which  the  8th 
belonged,  was  ordered  to  the  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley, and,  under  command  of  Gen.  Shields, 
drove  the  enemy  up  the  Valley,  fighting  bat- 
tles at  Cedar  Creek  and  Strasburg.  In  these 
movements  the  8th  was  engaged  in  skirmish 
duty,  which  they  accomplished  so  successfully 
as  to  gain  a  reputation  for  themselves,  which 
they  subsequently  maintained  throughout  the 
rest  of  its  term  of  service.  On  March  23d 
was  fought  the  battle  of  Winchester,  one  of  the 
most  severe  of  the  war.  Colonel  Kimball  com- 
manded and  here  the  enemy,  under  the  able 


and  gallant  Jackson  were  repulsed  and  driven 
from  the  field.  In  this  battle  the  8th  main- 
tained its  reputation  both  for  skirmish  duty 
and  in  the  charge  on  the  enemy's  right  flank. 
The  losses  of  the  companies  engaged — C,  D, 
E,  and  H — amounted  to  one- fourth  of  their 
entire  number. 

■  \\'hile  following  the  rebels  up  the  Valley, 
skirmishes  took  place  at  Woodstock,  Mt.  Jack- 
son, Edinburg  and  New  Market.  At  the  latter 
place  Colonel  Kimball  received  his  commission 
as  brigadier  general  taking  command  of  the 
brigade  to  which  the  8th  belonged.  On  May 
22d  the  regiment  joined  McDowell's  Corps  at 
Fredericksburg.  General  Banks  having  been 
driven  out  of  the  Valley  by  Jackson,  the  8th 
was  ordered  back,  and  on  the  30th  reached  and 
recaptured  Front  Royal.  The  distance  of 
eighteen  miles  from  Rectortown  was  covered 
in  skirmish  order,  a  number  of  prisoners  be- 
ing captured,  among  whom  was  the  famous 
rebel  spy.  Belle  Boyd. 

After  marching  from  Front  Royal  up  the 
south  branch  of  the  Shenandoah,  the  division 
was  broken  up  and  Kimball's  and  Terry's 
brigades  ordered  to  the  Peninsula.  Some 
severe  skirmishing  occurred  on  the  3d  and  4th 
of  July  at  the  Chickahominy  swamps,  where 
seven  members  of  the  8th  were  badly  wounded. 
At  Harrison's  Landing  the  regiment  was 
united  to  the  Second  Corps,  then  commanded 
by  Sumner,  and,  with  Kimball's  brigade  be- 
longed to  French's  division.  On  the  retreat 
from  the  Peninsula  and  until  the  army  crossed 
the  Chickahominy  the  8th  acted  as  rear  guard. 
It  then  went  by  way  of  Yorktown  and  New- 
port News,  to  Alexandria,  where  it  arrived 
on  the  28th.  The  armies  of  Lee  and  Pope  be- 
ing engaged  in  battle  on  the  30th,  the  corps 
was  ordered  to  the  front,  and  marched  to 
Centerville,  near  the  position  of  Pope's  army, 
but  took  no  part  in  the  fight.  On  the  march 
of  the  army  to  Chain  Bridge,  the  2d  Corps 
was  on  the  left  flank,  and  for  a  short  time  was 
under  fire  at  Germantown,  north  of  Fairfax 
Court  House.  Crossing  the  Potomac,  the  army 
entered  Maryland,  and  soon  after  was  engaged 
in  the  battles  of  South  Mountain  and  Antie- 
tam.  The  corps  acted  as  a  supporting  line  at 
South  Mountain,  and  later  crossed  the  moun- 
tain and  skirmished  with  the  enemy  at  Boons- 
boro  and  Reedyville.     Near  this  place  ar  fu- 


478 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


rious  artillery  duel  took  place  on  September 
i6th,  during  which  \V.  W.  Farmer,  a  color- 
sergeant  of  the  8th  was  killed.  The  next  day 
occurred  the  battle  of  Antietam.  Having 
crossed  the  river,  the  2d  Corps  occupied  the 
center  of  the  line.  Says  Mr.  Reid  ("Ohio  in 
the  War"),  "Hooker  had  been  engaged  on  the 
right  for  several  hours,  when  French's  and 
Sedgwick's  divisions  advanced— Sedgwick  on 
the  right — and  met  the  enemy  in  strong  posi- 
tion on  a  ridge.  In  the  advance  Kimball's 
brigade  formed  the  third  line,  Morris  and  Max 
Weber's  preceding.  They  struck  the  Rebel  line 
and  were  driven  back ;  when  Kimball  advanced 
at  a  double  quick,  carrying  the  line  handsomely, 
and  holding  it  for  four  hours  and  until  firing 
ceased  in  front.  During  this  time  Sedgwick 
was  driven  back  on  the  right,  which  made  it 
necessary  for  the  14th  Indiana  and  8th  Ohio  to 
charge  front ;  which  was  done  most  gallantly, 
and  saved  the  brigade  from  rout.  General 
Sumner  pronounced  Kimball's  the  "Gibraltar 
Brigade." 

After  some  minor  movements,  consisting 
mainly  of  marching,  with  some  skirmishing, 
the  8th  found  themselves  in  action  in  the  ter- 
rible battle  of  Fredericksburg,  December  13th, 
they  forming  the  right  wing  of  the  forlorn 
hope.  In  the  streets  of  the  town  the  enemy's 
fire  struck  the  head  of  the  column,  killing 
and  wounding  28 ;  but,  with  the  other  regiments 
a  line  was  formed  and  the  enemy's  outposts 
driven  to  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  were 
his  main  works.  In  this  battle  the  regiment 
lost  37  in  killed  and  wounded. 

The  army  remained  in  camp  until  April  28, 
1863,  when  it  crossed  the  river  and  fought  the 
battle  of  Chancellorsville,  General  Hooker 
commanding.  Though  almost  constantly  un- 
der fire  for  four  days  the  regiment  lost  only 
two  killed  and  eleven  wounded.  At  this  time 
and  subsequently  the  brigade  was  under  com- 
mand of  General  Carroll. 

The  next  active  sendee  of  the  8th  was  at  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg  in  which  it  took  a  con- 
spicuous part.  On  July  2d  it  drove  the  Rebel 
sharpshooters  from  a  knoll  beyond  the  Em- 
metsburg  road,  and  held  the  position  until  the 
close  of  the  battle,  a  period  of  twenty-six 
hours.  During  this  time  it  repulsed  three  sev- 
eral attacks  by  superior  numbers,  one  being 
made   by   three    regiments,    which    were   gal- 


lantly repelled,  broken,  and  nearly  all,  with 
three  stands  of  colors  captured.  A  change  of 
front  was  then  made  and  the  regiment  threw 
an  effective  fire  into  the  flank  of  the  large  mass 
of  troops  marching  upon  General  Hay's  di- 
vision. The  8th's  losses  in  this  battle  were 
102  killed  and  wounded.  Some  skirmishing 
followed  with  the  retreating  enemy,  and  then 
on  the  15th  of  August  the  regiment  was  sent 
to  New  York  city  to  help  quell  the  draft  riots 
then  threatening  the  city. 

This  duty,  which  the  men  looked  on  almost 
as  a  pleasure  jaunt,  having  been  performed, 
they  joined  the  army  at  Culpepper,  and,  after 
some  manoeuvring,  the  battles  of  Auburn  and 
Bristow  were  fought,  October  14,  the  8th  hav- 
ing t\\o  men  wounded.  In  the  battles  of  Rob- 
inson's Cross  Roads,  Locust  Grove  and  Mine 
Run,  on  the  27th,  28th  and  29th  of  November, 
the  regiment  mainly  performed  skirmish  duty, 
losing  several  in  killed  and  wounded.  Several 
officers  and  men  were  woimded  also  in  the 
battle  of  Morton's  Ford,  February  6,  1864. 

The  Wilderness  campaign,  under  Grant, 
opened  on  the  3d  of  May.  The  2d  Corps, 
crossing  the  Rapidan  at  Germania  Ford, 
marched  quickly  to  Todd's  Tavern,  occupy- 
ing the  extreme  left  of  the  line.  On  the  even- 
ing of  the  5th,  it  moved  to  the  support  of  the 
right,  which  was  hotly  engaged  with  the 
enemy.  At  the  "Cross  Roads"  the  14th  In- 
diana, 8th  Ohio  and  7th  Virginia,  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  Coons,  of  the  14th  In- 
diana, retook  a  section  of  a  battery,  which  had 
been  lost  by  the  6th  Corps.  Heavy  losses  were 
sustained  on  the  6th  during  the  fighting  in  the 
dense  undergrowth.  The  7th,  8th  and  9th  were 
spent  in  skirmishing,  the  enemy  being  closely 
followed  to  Spottsylvania  Court  House.  In  a 
charge  on  a  Rebel  work,  on  the  loth,  another 
severe  loss  was  sustained  and  Sergeant  Conlan, 
color  bearer,  was  wounded.  On  the  12th,  in 
Hancock's  gallant  charge  on  the  enemy's  right, 
the  regiment  again  lost  heavily.  The  losses  in 
these  several  engagements  were  over  60  in 
killed  and  wounded. 

The  regiment  maintained  its  reputation  in 
the  skirmishing  w  hich  occurred  from  Spottsyl- 
\-ania  to  Petersburg,  and  in  the  battles  of 
North  Anna,  Cold  Harbor  and  in  front  of 
Petersburg.  While  in  the  trenches  before 
Petersburg,  on  the  25th  of  June,  its  term  of 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


479 


service  expired  and  it  was  ordered  to  Ohio  to 
be  mustered  out  of  service.  It  had  then  but 
72  officers  and  men  fit  for  duty.  On  the  re- 
turn home  it  received  a  cordial  reception, 
reaching  Cleveland  July  3d,  where  it  was  cor- 
dially greeted  by  the  mayor  and  military  com- 
mittee. It  was  formally  mustered  out  July 
13,  1864  by  Capt.  Douglass. 

The  15th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was  one 
of  the  first  to  respond  to  the  President's  call 
for  75,000  men  for  three  months'  service.  Its 
organization  was  completed  on  May  4,  1861 
at  Camp  Jackson,  Columbus,  Ohio,  Company 
D  of  this  regiment  being  composed  in  part 
of  Crawford  county  men,  mostly  from  the" 
northeastern  part  of  the  county.  The  15th 
prepared  for  the  field  at  Camp  Goddard,  near 
Zanesville,  Ohio  and  then,  about  May  18,  was 
ordered  to  West  Virginia,  where  it  was  em- 
ployed for  some  time  in  guard  duty  on  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad.  It  fought  against 
the  enemy  at  Philippi,  June  13,  and  afterwards 
at  Laurel  Hill  and  Carrick's  Ford.  At  the 
end  of  its  term  of  enlistment  it  returned  to 
Columbus,  Ohio  and  was  discharged  about 
the  1st  of  August,  having  lost  but  two  men — 
one  killed  and  one  who  died  of  disease. 

On  the  President's  call  for  300,000  men  to 
serve  for  three  years,  the  men  of  the  15th 
almost  unanimously  resolved  to  reenlist,  and 
the  regiment  was  accordingly  reorganized  at 
Camp  Mordecai  Bartley,  near  Mansfield,  Ohio, 
and  left  for  Camp  Dennison  on  Sept.  26,  1861. 
Here  they  were  armed  and  equipped  for  the 
field.  Early  in  October  they  reached  Lexing- 
ton, Ky.,  and  soon  after,  at  Camp  Nevin,  near 
NoUin's  Station,  Ky.,  the  regiment  was  as- 
signed to  the  6th  Brigade  (Gen.  R.  W.  John- 
ston, commanding),  2d  Division  (Gen.  A. 
McD.  McCook,  commanding),  of  the  Army 
of  the  Ohio,  then  commanded  by  Gen.  W.  T. 
Sherman,  and  subsequently  by  Gen.  Buell. 
After  marches  to  Bacon  Creek  and  Mumfords- 
ville,  on  Dec.  14,  the  division  was  set  in  mo- 
tion for  Fort  Donelson,  but  before  arriving 
there  news  was  received  of  the  capture  of  the 
fort  and  the  division  was  marched  to  Bowling 
Green.  From  the  2d  to  the  i6th  of  March 
the  command  lay  at  Nashville,  Tenn. ;  then 
the  march  to  Savannah  began.  The  enemy 
was  encountered  at  that  place  April  7th  and  in 


the  engagement  the  regiment  lost  six  men 
killed  and  62  wounded. 

The  2d  Division  subsequently  formed  part 
of  the  reserve  in  the  march  upon  Corinth  and 
in  the  latter  part  of  May  was  engaged  in 
skirmishing  with  the  enemy,  having  been  or- 
dered to  the  front  on  the  27th.  From  the  i8th 
of  July  until  the  20th  of  August  the  15th  was 
engaged  in  building  a  fort  and  in  camp  duties 
at  Battle  Creek,  Tenn.  The  regiment  then 
accompanied  Gen.  McCook's  command  in  a 
movement  to  head  off  Gen.  Bragg,  marching 
by  way  of  Altemonte,  Manchester  and  Mur- 
freesboro  to  Nashville,  which  place  was 
reached  Sept.  8th.  After  a  halt  of  a  few 
days  the  march  was  resumed  to  Bowling 
Green  and  thence  to  Louisville,  which  was 
.  reached  ori  the  25th.  Thence  the  command 
moved  to  Shelbyville  and  Lawrenceburg, 
where  a  skirmish  took  place  with  the  enemy. 
The  main  army  was  reached  at  Perryville  and 
Bragg's  army  pursued  as  far  as  Crab  Orchard. 
The  command  then  returned  to  Nashville. 

Here  the  army  was  reorganized  and  drilled 
and  on  the  26th  of  December  advanced  against 
the  enemy  at  Murfreesboro.  In  the  battle  of 
Stone  River  the  15th  lost  18  killed  and  89 
wounded.  After  the  occupation  of  Mur- 
freesboro by  Rosecran's  army  the  regiment 
was  mainly  occupied  in  drilling,  foraging  and 
other  routine  duties,  until  July  24th,  when 
an  advance  was  ordered  on  Tullahoma  and 
Shelbyville.  The  enemy  was  dislodged  from 
his  position  at  Golner's  and  Liberty  Gaps,  the 
latter  being  carried  by  the  2d  Division,  the 
15th  taking  a  very  prominent  part  throughout. 
In  this  engagement  one  officer  and  seven  men 
were  killed  and  23  wounded. 

The  2d  Division  remained  at  Tullahoma 
until  the  i6th  of  August,  after  which  it  was 
ordered  to  various  points  in  Alabama  and 
Georgia,  crossing  Lookout  Mountain  and 
camping  near  Alpine  on  Sept.  loth.  Two  days 
later  it  recrossed  the  mountain  to  Winson's 
Valley  and  thence  moved  to  a  position  in 
connection  with  the  main  army  in  Lookout 
Valley.  On  the  19th  it  marched  13  miles  to 
the  battlefield  of  Chickamauga,  where  it  was 
engaged  soon  after  its  arrival,  losing  one  of- 
ficer and  nine  men  killed,  69  wounded  and  40 
missing.     Later  it  took  part  in  the  seige  of 


ss 


480 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Chattanooga  and  on  November  25th  particip- 
ated in  the  storming  of  Mission  Ridge,  cap- 
turing a  number  of  prisoners  and  some  artil- 
lery. On  the  28th,  the  regiment  then  belong- 
ing to  the  1st  Brigade,  3d  Division,  4th  Army- 
Corps,  marched  to  the  relief  of  Knoxville, 
arriving  Dec.  8th;  on  the  20th  the  command 
moved  to  Strawberry  Plains. 

On  the  14th  of  January,  1864,  most  of  the 
members  having  re-enlisted  as  veterans,  the 
regiment  started  for  Columbus,  Ohio,  arriving 
there  with  350  veterans  on  Feb.  loth.  On  the 
expiration  of  the  furlough,  March  14th  the 
regiment,  having  been  recruited  to  upward 
of  900  men,  reassembled  at  Camp  Chase,  and 
were  ordered  to  Nashville,  and  thence  to  Chat- 
tanooga, where  they  arrived  April  5th.  On 
the  8th  while  moving  by  rail  to  Cleveland, 
Tenn.  some  20  of  the  men  were  more  or  less 
injured  in  a  railway  accident. 

Moving  to  McDonald's  Station  on  the  20th 
the  regiment  remained  there  until  the  opening 
of  the  spring  campaign.  The  regiment  then 
accompanied  Sherman's  army,  skirmishing  at 
Tunnel  Hill,  fighting  at  Resaca  and  Dallas, 
at  which  latter  place  the  1 5th  suffered  severely, 
having  19  men  killed,  three  officers  and  61 
men  wounded,  and  19  men  missing.  The 
army  then  moved  to  the  vicinity  of  Acworth 
and  on  the  loth  advanced  toward  Kenesaw 
Mountain.  While  skirmishing  on  the  14th  of 
June  one  officer  and  one  man  were  killed  and 
five  men  wounded.  On  June  i8th,  the  enemy 
having  withdrawn,  and  accidentally  left  one 
of  their  outposts  behind  them,  the  outpost  com- 
prising two  officers  and  16  men,  were  discov- 
ered by  Private  Cupp,  of  Company  H,  who 
was  reconnoitering  with  three  or  four  privates 
under  his  command.  The  Rebels,  when  in- 
formed of  their  isolated  position  surrendered 
and  were  taken  into  camp  as  prisoners.  A 
number  of  other  prisoners  were  also  captured 
in  this  vicinity.  The  regiment  subsequently 
reached  Atlanta  with  the  army  and  later  had 
a  skirmish  with  the  enemy  at  Lovejoy's  Sta- 
tion. They  left  there  Sept.  5th  and  took  camp 
at  Decatur,  near  Atlanta^ 

When  Hood  began  his  raid  on  our  com- 
munications, the  15th  marched  to  the  relief 
of  Resaca,  and  then  to  Columbia,  where  it 
had  a  slight  skirmish.  It  did  not  participate 
in   the   battle   of   Franklin,   but   at   Nashville 


captured  a  battery  of  four  brass  guns  and  some 
30  prisoners.  Later  in  the  action  at  Franklin 
Pike  it  captured  two  commissioned  officers 
and  i(X)  men.  Its  own  loss  in  two  days'  fight 
was  two  officers  and  one  man  killed  and  two 
officers  and  24  men  wounded.  After  follow- 
ing the  enemy  to  Lexington,  Ala.,  the  corps 
moved  in  the  direction  of  Huntsville  and  went 
into  camp  at  Bird  Springs,  where  it  remained 
until  March  15th,  when  it  was  ordered  to  East 
Tennessee. 

It^  subsequently  moved  to  New  Market, 
Tenn.  and  then  to  Greenville,  to  aid  in  prevent- 
ing the  escape  of  Lee  and  Johnston,  being 
ordered  back  to  Nashville,  April  22d.  Here 
it  remained  until  June  i6th  at  which  time  it 
was  ordered  to  Texas,  proceeding  thence  by 
way  of  New  Orleans.  It  arrived  at  Indianola, 
Texas,  July  9th,  disembarked,  and  marched 
the  same  night  to  Green  Lake,  a  distance  of 
about  20  miles.  Here  it  remained  one  month  ■ 
and  then,  on  August  loth  began  a  march  of 
150  miles  to  San  Antonio,  reaching  the  Salada, 
a  small  stream  near  that  place  on  the  21st. 
Owing  to  the  extreme  heat  and  the  scarcity 
of  water,  this  was  one  of  the  most  severe 
marches  the  regiment  ever  endured.  It  re- 
mained on  the  Salada  till  October  20th  and 
then  ordered  to  do  post  duty  in  the  city.  On 
November  21st,  it  was  mustered  out  and  or- 
dered to  Columbus,  Ohio  for  its  final  dis- 
charge. It  was  mustered  out  at  Columbus  on 
Dec.  27,  1865,  having  been  in  the  service  as 
an  organization  about  four  years  and  eight 
months. 

The  23d  Ohio  Infantry, — Crawford  county 
was  represented  in  this  regiment  by  Company 
C,  which  was  raised  in  and  around  Gallon, 
the  members  being  mostly  railroad  men.  The 
commissioned  officers  of  the  company  were: 
John  W.  Skiles,  captain;  J.  R.  McMullin,  first 
lieutenant ;  and  T.  P.  Harding,  second  lieuten- 
ant. Captain  Skiles  was  a  veteran  of  the 
Mexican  War  and  an  efficient  officer.  He  was 
wounded  at  Middletown,  Md.,  which  resulted 
in  the  loss  of  an  arm  at  the  elbow.  On  July 
29,  1863  he  was  promoted  to  major  of  the 
88th  Ohio  Infantry  and  served  in  that  capacity 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  Lieutenant  Mc- 
Mullin, who  was  originally  captain  of  the  old 
"Mansfield  Artillery  Company,"  was  early 
promoted  to  captain  of  the  23d.     So  many  of 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


481 


the  leading  officers  of  the  23d  achieved  dis- 
tinction and  were  promoted  to  high  rank  that 
the  regiment  became  known  as  the  "regiment 
of  brigadier  generals."  Among  the  most 
noted  were  W.  S.  Rosecrans,  E.  Parker  Scam- 
mon  and  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  afterward 
president  of  the  United  States.  Stanley  Ma- 
thews, afterwards  promoted  to  colonel  of  the 
51st  regiment,  was  also  a  gallant  and  efficient 
officer. 

The  23d  regiment  was  organized  at  Camp 
Chase,  in  June,  1861,  under  Col.  William  S. 
Rosecrans  and  was  mustered  into  the  United 
States'  service  for  three  years,  on  the  iith  of 
the  same  month.  Before  leaving  for  the  field 
Col.  Rosecrans  received  a  commission  as  briga- 
dier general  in  the  United  States'  regular 
army,  and  Col.  E.  P.  Scammon  succeeded 
to  the  command  of  the  regiment.  On  July 
25th  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Clarksburg, 
West  Virginia,  where  it  arrived  on  the  27th. 
The  next  day  it  was  ordered  to  Weston,  from 
which  point  it  operated  against  the  guerilla 
forces  of  the  enemy,  performing  excessively 
hard  duty  among  the  rugged  spurs  of  the 
Rich  Mountain  range.  While  in  this  region 
the  regiment  was  divided,  five  companies,  un- 
der command  of  Lieut.  Col.  Stanley  Mathews 
operating  as  a  movable  force  against  the 
guerillas,  and  constituting  the  right  wing; 
while  the  left  wing  remained  at  Weston,  send- 
ing out  occasional  expeditions  against  the 
enemy.  On  Sept.  ist  the  regiment  re-united 
at  Bulltown,  and  thence,  as  a  part  of  General 
Rosecran's  army,  marched  against  the  Rebels, 
who,  under  General  Floyd,  were  strongly 
posted  at  Carnifex  Ferry.  On  the  loth  some 
skirmishing  occurred  with  the  enemy,  in  which 
the  23d  took  an  efficient  part.  In  the  night 
General  Floyd  retreated  across  the  Gauley 
river,  and  in  the  pursuit  a  number  of  prison- 
ers were  captured,  the  enemy  being  followed 
to  his  entrenchment  at  the  foot  of  Big  Sewell 
Mountain.  A  few  days  later  the  regiment  was 
ordered  to  Camp  Ewing,  where,  the  location 
proving  unhealthy,  it  lost  a  number  of  men 
from  disease. 

The  winter  of  1861-62  was  devoted  to  re- 
cruiting, drill  and  discipline.  Companies  F 
and  G  joined  a  detachment,  under  Major  Com- 
ly,  which,  on  Dec.  31,  1861,  occupied  Raleigh 
Court  House  without  opposition.     A  quantity 


of  arms  and  supplies,  with-  27  prisoners  were 
captured.  Being  reinforced  by  Companies  A 
and  B,  Major  Comly,  on  the  loth  of  Feb- 
ruary, marched  28  miles  through  a  snow 
storm  at  the  mouth  of  Blue  Stone  river,  driv- 
ing a  regiment  of  the  enemy's  infantry,  and  a 
small  force  of  cavalry,  with  considerable  loss, 
across  the  river.  On  April  17,  1862  orders 
were  received  to  go  into  camp,  and  on  the 
22d  the  command  moved  toward  Princeton, 
the  23d,  under  command  of  Lieut.  Col.  Hayes, 
being  in  the  advance.  On  the  approach  of  the 
Federal  forces  the  enemy  fired  the  town  and 
fled. 

On  the  8th  nine  companies  of  the  23d,  with 
three  small  companies  of  cavalry,  were  at- 
tacked by  four  regiments  of  Confederate  In- 
fantry, and  six  pieces  of  artillery,  under  com- 
mand of  General  Heth.  Though  most  of  our 
cavalry  disappeared  after  the  first  fire,  the 
regiment  made  a  determined  stand,  but  was 
finally  obliged  to  retire,  which  it  did  in  good 
order,  the  enemy  following  to  the  narrows 
of  New  River.  Meeting  reinforcements,  the 
command  returned  by  way  of  Princeton  to 
Flat  Top  Mountain,  having  endured  great 
hardships,  and  losing  tents  and  other  equipage, 
which  had  to  be  destroyed. 

On  the  13th  of  July  the  regiment  was  or- 
dered to  Green  Meadows,  on  New  River,  the 
next  move  being  to  Camp  Piatt,  on  the  Great 
Kanawha,  where  the  regiment  arrived  on  the 
i8th,  having  made  the  record  march  of  104 
miles  in  a  little  more  than  three  days.  Here 
the  23d  boarded  transports  for  Parkersburg, 
going  thence  by  rail  to  Washington  City, 
where  they  arrived  August  24th.  Soon  after 
they  moved  with  McClellan's  army  toward 
Frederick  City,  driving  the  enemy  before  them 
and  reaching  Middletown  on  the  13th. 

Here  began  the  battle  of  South  Mountain, 
culminating,  Sept.  17th,  in  that  of  Antietam, 
in  both  of  which  the  23d  participated,  being 
under  command  of  Lieut.  Col.  Hayes  (Gen. 
J.  D.  Cox  commanding  the  division). 

Being  in  the  advance  of  the  column,  it  took 
an  unfrequented  path  up  the  mountain,  and 
being  met  by  a  heavy  fire  of  musketry,  grape 
and  cannister  from  the  enemy,  who  were 
posted  behind  stone  walls,  it  sustained  severe 
losses,  Lieut.  Col.  Hayes,  Captain  Skiles  and 
Lieutenants    Hood,    Ritter   and    Smith   being 


482 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


badly  wounded,  and  over  lOO  dead  and 
wounded  lay  on  the  field  out  of  the  350  that 
went  into  action.  Major  Comly  succeeded 
to  the  command,  which  he  henceforth  retained. 
Soon  after,  the  remainder  of  the  brigade  com- 
ing up,  a  charge  was  made  up  the  hill  and 
enemy  driven  into  the  woods  beyond,  losing 
many  men  killed  with  the  bayonet.  During 
the  remainder  of  the  day  the  regiment  fought 
with  its  division.  During  the  da,y  the  23d 
lost  nearly  200.  Only  seven  were  unaccounted 
for  at  roll-call  after  the  action. 

At  Antietam  the  regiment  fought  with  the 
Kanawha  division,  occupying  the  right  of 
the  first  brigade.  Near  the  close  of  the  day 
a  charge  was  made  by  the  division  by  which 
the  left  was  exposed  to  a  large  force  of  the 
enemy,  who  suddenly  emerged  from  a  corn 
field  in  the  rear  of  the  left.  The  colors  of 
the  regiment  were  instantly  shot  down..  At 
the  same  time  a  feint  was  made  in  front.  A 
Fereral  battery  in  the  rear  opened  a  fire  on 
the  advancing  Confederates,  by  which,  how- 
ever, our  forces  suffered  more  than  the  enemy. 
Major  Comly  now  planted  the  colors  on  a 
new  line,  at  right  angles  with  the  former  front 
and  the  regiment  promptly  formed  on  the  new 
line  and  opened  fire  on  the  enemy,  who  re- 
tired, having  done  little  damage,  except  to 
make  a  few  captures.  A  little  later  the  regi- 
ment was  ordered  to  the  rear.  During  the- 
night  the  regiment  supported  a  battery  of  Gen- 
eral Sturgis's  division  and  was  not  relieved 
until  the  following  afternoon. 

Ordered  back,  Oct.  8th,  to  West  Virginia, 
with  the  Kanawha  division,  the  regiment 
reached  Hagerstown  on  the  loth,  whence  they 
made  a  quick  dash  into  Pennsylvania  to  in- 
tercept Stuart's  cavalry,  who  were  reported 
to  be  operating  in  that  direction ;  but  no  enemy 
was  discovered.  The  regiment  then  returned 
to  Virginia,  arriving  at  Clarksburg  October 
15th.  Here  Colonel  Scammon  was  appointed 
brigadier  general  and  Lieut.  Col.  Hayes  ap- 
pointed colonel;  Major  Comly  was  promoted 
to  lieutenant  colonel,  and  Capt.  Mcllrath  to 
major.  On  November  loth  the  23d  reached 
the  Kanawha  Valley  and  on  the  i8th  went 
into  winter  quarters  at  the  Falls  of  the  Great 
Kanawha. 

On  March  15,  1863  the  regiment  was  or- 
dered to  Charleston,  W.  Va.,  where  it  lay  in 


camp  during  March,  April,  May,  June  and 
part  of  July,  performing  only  light  duties, 
except  an  advance  to  Raleigh,  Va.  and  par- 
ticipation in  the  movement  against  Morgan's 
raid. 

Returning  to  Charleston,  they  lay  in  camp 
during  the  remainder  of  the  year  and  up  to 
April  29,  1864,  when  a  movement  was  made 
to  a  point  near  Brownstown,  on  the  Kanawha, 
preparatory  to  joining  General  Crook's  forces 
in  a  raid  on  the  Virginia  &  Tennessee  Rail- 
road. .  In  this  expedition  they  performed  hard 
duty,  but  had  little  fighting  until  the  battle 
of  Cloyd's  Mountain  on  May  9,  1864.  Here 
the  23d  was  on  the  right  of  the  First  brigade. 
A  gallant  charge  was  made  up  the  mountain 
under  a  heavy  fire,  and  the  enemy  driven  from 
the  first  ridge,  two  pieces  of  artillery  being 
captured  and  brought  off  the  field  by  Lieut. 
Austin.  The  enemy  then  attempted  to  form 
a  line  of  the  second  ridge  or  crest,  but  after 
a  short  struggle,  was  driven  back  in  full  re- 
treat. Receiving  reinforcements,  he  made 
another  attempt  to  stand  but  was  unsuccessful. 
The  fighting  here  was  desperate.  Captain 
Hunter,  Company  K,  and  Lieut.  Seaman, 
Company  D,  were  both  killed.  Captain  Rice, 
Company  A,  was  wounded,  but  rejoined  his 
company  before  the  action  was  over.  Lieut. 
Abbott,  Company  I,  was  severely  wounded  and 
left  in  hospital  at  Dublin  Depot. 

On  May  loth  there  was  more  fighting  at  New 
River  Bridge,  artillery  being  mostly  used.  The 
enemy  were  driven  and  the  bridge  destroyed. 
At  Pepper's  Ferry  a  slow  and  tedious  cross- 
ing was  made  with  one  small  ferry  boat,  the 
rain  pouring  down  all  night  and  thoroughly 
drenching  the  men.  Skirmishing  occurred  on 
the  way  to  Blacksburg,  the  regiment  having 
two  men  wounded  and  losing  four  by  cap- 
ture. Salt  Pond  Mountain  was  crossed  on  the 
1 2th,  the  23d  acting  as  train  guard.  Owing 
to  heavy  rains  the  roads  were  in  wretched 
condition  and  the  command  was  hampered  by 
large  numbers  of  "contrabands,"  who  with 
their  women  and  children,  were  accompanying 
it  in  all  sorts  of  conveyances,  which,  becoming 
stuck  in  the  mud,  tended  further  to  impede  the 
operations  of  the  force.  Camp  was  reached 
on  the  13th,  with  all  the  men  greatly  ex- 
hausted and  in  a  state  of  semi-starvation. 

At  Staunton,  June  8th  the  23d  joined  Gen. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


483 


Hunter's  command.  The  first  term  of  serv- 
ice expiring  on  the  nth,  those  not  re-enlisting 
as  veterans  were  sent  home.  The  depot,  rail- 
road, and  other  public  works  likely  to  be  use- 
ful to  the  enemy  were  destroyed.  On  the 
loth  a  march  of  23  miles  was  made  to  Browns- 
.town  and  the  enemy  driven.  Lexington  was 
reached  on  the  nth,  where  some  artillery 
fighting  took  place.  The  Confederates  burn- 
ing the  bridge.  White's  brigade  effected  a 
crossing  about  two  miles  above  the  town,  when 
the  enemy  retired.  General  Hunter's  column 
came  up  just  as  the  town  was  captured,  and 
by  his  orders  the  Military  Academy,  Washing- 
ton College  and  Governor  Letcher's  residence 
were  burned,  an  order  the  execution  of  which 
was  distasteful  to  nearly  every  officer  and  man 
of  the  command,  and  was  protested  against 
by  Generals  Crook  and  Averill. 

Starting  on  the  14th  the  23d  marched  by 
way  of  Buckhannon  to  within  two  miles  of 
Lynchburg,  driving  the  enemy  along  the  Vir- 
ginia and  Tennessee  Railroad  and  capturing 
four  pieces  of  artillery.  While  encamped 
close  to  the  enemy  a  slight  skirmish  took  place 
with  Gordon's  brigade,  but  was  stopped  by 
the  forces  mutually  withdrawing  a  little  far- 
ther from  each  other. 

Early  on  the  i8th  A.  M.  Crook's  command 
was  ordered  on  a  flanking  expedition  to  the 
right,  but,  owing  to  news  that  the  enemy  had 
received  heavy  reinfocements  and  was  pre- 
paring to  attack  the  center  of  our  lines,  it 
marched  rapidly  back  to  the  exposed  point, 
where  the  attack  was  repulsed  with  trifling 
loss.  After  dark  a  retreat  was  commenced 
toward  Liberty,  the  men  marching  two  days 
and  nights  without  sleep  and  with  scarcely 
anything  to  eat.  On  reaching  Liberty  shortly 
after  dark  on  the  19th  some  fighting  occurred, 
and  at  ten  A.  M.  of  the  20th  Buford's  Gap  was 
reached.  A  night  march  was  then  made  to 
overtake  the  command  in  advance,  Salem  be- 
ing reached  at  9  A.  M.  While  passing  through 
this  town  Hunter  had  been  attacked  by  the 
enemy's  cavalry  and  a  large  part  of  his  artil- 
lery captured.  At  the  same  time  Crook  was 
attacked  in  front  and  rear,  but  pushed  through 
without  loss.  At  ten  P.  M.  North  Mountain 
was  reached,  where  the  command  halted  and 
the  men  were  given  a  few  hours'  sleep.     The 


diary  of  one  of  the  officers  contains  the  fol- 
lowing in  regard  to  the  rest  of  this  march : 

"At  four  A.  M.  next  morning  (22d)  left 
in  the  advance,  the  first  time  since  the  retreat 
commenced.  By  a  mistake  a  march  of  eight 
miles  was  made  for  nothing.  Thus  we  toiled 
on,  suffering  intensely  with  exhaustion,  want 
of  food,  clothing,  etc.  On  the  27th  a  supply 
train  was  met  on  Big  Sewell  Mountain.  Men 
all  crazy.  Stopped  and  ate ;  marched  and  ate ; 
camped  about  dark,  and  ate  all  night. 
Marched  180  miles  in  the  last  nine  days,  fight- 
ing nearly  all  the  time,  and  with  very  little  to 
eat." 

The  column  reached  Charleston  July  ist 
and  remained  there  refitting  until  the  loth, 
when  Gen.  Crook's  command  having  been  or- 
dered east  to  meet  Early,  who  had  invaded 
Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  the  23d  set  out 
for  Martinsburg,  which  was  reached  on  the 
14th.  On  the  1 8th  they  marched  to  Cables- 
town,  ten  miles  beyond  Harper's  Ferry,  driv- 
ing in  the  enemy's  pickets.  Still  under  the 
immediate  command  of  Gen.  Hunter,  Gen. 
Crook  being  at  Snicker's  Gap,  Hayes's  brigade 
(including  the  23d)  was  sent,  without  cavalry 
and  with  scarcely  any  artillery,  to  attack 
Early's  army  of  20,000  or  more  in  flank,  and 
with  no  other  force  on  this  side  of  the  Shenan- 
doah and  no  possibility  of  communicating.  The 
enemy,  who  lay  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river  at  Snicker's  Ferry,  had  already  beaten 
the  First  Division,  with  the  whole  Sixth  Corps 
to  back  them.  After  some  heavy  skirmishing, 
the  23d,  with  the  36th  Ohio,  were  surrounded 
by  two  divisions  of  the  enemy's  cavalry,  but 
cut  their  way  out  and  on  the  22d  of  July 
joined  General  Crook  at  Winchester.  In  the 
battle  of  Winchester,  which  occurred  on  the 
24th,  and  in  which  the  National  forces  were 
defeated,  the  23d  Ohio  lost  153  men,  ten  of 
whom  were  commissioned  officers.  At  Mar- 
tinsburg next  day.  General  Crook  repelled  a 
charge  of  the  enemy's  cavalry,  capturing  a 
number  of  prisoners.  He  then  took  position 
near  the  ford  at  Williamsburg,  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Potomac. 

From  the  26th  of  July  to  the  14th  of  August 
the  time  was  spent  in  marches  and  counter- 
marches, on  the  latter  date  Duvall's  brigade 
having  an  encounter  with  a  Rebel  force  and 


484 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


finally  capturing  some  prisoners  and  cattle. 
Afterwards  came  movements  up  and  down 
the  Valley  advancing  and  retreating,  with 
plenty  of  fighting.  At  Front  Royal  Sheridan's 
cavalry  captured  260  of  the  enemy. 

An  attack  was  made  by  the  enemy  at  Hall- 
town,  August  23d.  In  the  evening  Hayes's 
Brigade,  the  23d  and  36th  Ohio,  with  part  of 
the  5th  West  Virginia,  sallied  out  and  drove 
in  the  enemy's  skirmish  line,  capturing  a  lot 
of  prisoners  from  Kershaw's  Division,  the 
brilliancy  of  the  charge  causing  much  astonish- 
ment among  the  Rebels,  who  inquired  "Who 
the  hell  are  'uns?"  In  another  sortie  on  the 
23d  six  officers  and  100  prisoners  were  taken. 

The  next  engagement  took  place  at  Berry- 
ville,  Sept.  3d,  the  23d  being  sent  out  on  picket. 
Here  there  was  desperate  fighting,  the  most 
of  it  after  dark.  At  ten  o'clock  both  parties 
retired.  In  this  affair  the  regiment  lost  two 
good   officers   in  Captains  Austin  and   Gillis. 

The  battle  of  Opequan  was  fought  on  the 
19th.  General  Crook's  command  was  in  re- 
serve but  was  soon  called  upon  to  make  a  flank 
attack  on  the  right.  Hayes's  Brigade  had  the 
extreme  left  of  the  infantry.  After  crossing 
some  difficult  ground  the  division  was  halted 
and  formed,  with  Hayes's  Brigade  in  front 
and  the  2d  (Johnson's)  in  the  rear.  The  brig- 
ade advanced  rapidly,  driving  the  enemy's  cav- 
alry. The  Union  cavalry  at  the  same  time  ad- 
vanced out  of  the  woods  on  the  right.  On 
reaching  a  slight  elevation  the  enemy's  infan- 
try line  came  into  view,  off  diagonally  to  the 
left  front  and  he  opened  a  brisk  artillery  fire. 
After  passing  through  some  thick  underbrush 
a  deep  slough  was  reached,  40  or  50  yards 
wide  and  waist  deep,  with  soft  mud  at  the  bot- 
tom, the  surface  being  covered  with  a  thick 
bed  of  moss.  This  obstacle  seemed  impassible 
but  Colonel  Hayes,  after  a  moment's  pause, 
jumped  in  with  his  horse  and  struggled 
through,  the  first  man  over;  the  men  of  the 
23d  plunged  in  after  him,  and  crossed  under  a 
heavy  fire,  some  of  them  being  drowned  or 
suffocated  in  the  slime.  Pausing  only  long 
enough  on  the  other  side  to  reform  the  line, 
the  regiment  dashed  on  driving  the  enemy, 
Sheridan's  cavalry,  having  passed  around  the 
slough,  kept  up  on  the  right,  capturing  a  large 
number  of  prisoners.  Colonel  Duvall,  the  di- 
vision  commander,   being   wounded,    Colonel 


Hayes  succeeded .  to  the  command,  and 
throughout  displayed  the  most  daring  bravery 
and  skill. 

No  reinforcements  appearing  and  the  en- 
emy's fire  becoming  every  moment  more  mur- 
derous. Lieutenant  McBride  of  the  23d  was 
ordered  forward  with  a  small  party  to  kill  the 
enemy's  artillery  horses.  Some  Saxony  rifles 
of  long  range  and  71-caliber,  are  taken  and  sev- 
eral horses  drop.  A  panic  seizes  the  artillery 
and  they  commence  limbering  up.  The  infantry 
also  takes  the  alarm  and  begin  leaving  the 
trenches,  soon  the  whole  line  rises  and  run  for 
the  breastworks  in  confusion,  our  cavalry  pur- 
suing and  taking  prisoners  by  regiments. 
Eight  battle  flags  are  captured,  the  Rebel  ar- 
tillery stops  firing  and  falls  back  and  the  battle 
is  at  an  end.  About  the  same  time  the  6th 
Corps  emerged  from  the  woods  in  the  rear. 
The  result  was  a  complete  and  decisive  victory. 
The  regiment  captured  about  200  men,  the  ar- 
tillery being  captured  by  the  combined  force. 

On  September  24,  1864,  occurred  the  battle 
of  North  Mountain,  which  was  more  in  the 
nature  of  a  brilliant  charge  than  a  battle.  On 
Crook's  command  gaining  their  rear  the  enemy 
fled  in  utter  rout  abandoning  many  guns.  The 
regiment  lost  only  two  men.  Nothing  more  of 
importance  occurred  until  the  battle  of  Cedar 
Creek. 

In  this  battle  the  19th  and  6th  Corps  oc- 
cupied positions  nearly  parallel  with  the 
enemy's  front.  General  Crook's  First  Divi- 
sion (Thoburn's)  occupied  works  about  a 
mile  further  to  the  front  and  on  the  left  of  the 
main  line,  the  works  from  their  right  flank 
rearward  being  guarded  only  by  the  9th  Vir- 
ginia regiment,  from  the  Second  Division. 
Crook's  Second  Division  (Duvall's,  com- 
manded by  Hayes),  or  a  portion  of  it,  occu- 
pied a  camp  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  in  rear 
of  the  First  Division  and  in  rear  of  the  Man- 
chester Pike.  An  independent  brigade  (Kitch- 
ing's  )  occupied  a  camp  to  the  left  and  rear  of 
that.  The  enemy's  attacking  column  crossed 
the  North  Fork  of  the  Shenandoah  from  the 
left  of  Fisher's  Hill,  passed  down  near  the 
base  of  the  Massanutten  Mountain,  beyond  the 
picket  line,  and  recrossed  the  river  at  Buxton's 
Ford,  well  to  the  rear  of  Crcjok's  command. 
From  there  they  passed  again  to  the  front, 
just  outside  the   National  lines,  through  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


485 


darkness  and  fog,  forming  a  line  of  battle  ex- 
tending from  Thoburn's  right  to  a  point  about 
opposite  Middletown,  beyond  the  extreme  left. 
The  nearest  force  of  National  cavalry  on  the 
left  was  at  Front  Royal,  eight  miles  distant. 

Owing  to  General  Sheridan's  absence  in 
Washington,  the  command  devolved  upon  Ma- 
jor-general Wright,  commanding  the  6th 
Corps.  Discovering  a  weak  point  on  the  left, 
a  ford  across  the  North  Fork  of  the  Shenan- 
doah, accessible  from  the  Massanutten  Moun- 
tain, General  Crook  applied  for  a  division  of 
cavalry  to  cover  this  ford  and  picket  the  front 
of  the  mountain.  His  request  was  granted, 
but  for  some  reason  the  cavalry  had  not  yet 
been  placed  there  on  the  nights  of  the  i8th  and 
19th,  though  a  report  was  made  that  it  was 
there.  Taking  advantage  of  this  oversight  on 
the  part  of  the  Federals,  nearly  the  whole  flank- 
ing force  of  the  enemy  crossed  at  this  ford, 
under  cover  of  the  darkness  and  fog,  their  line, 
when  the  attack  opened,  extending  from  the 
front  of  Crook's  First  Division  all  the  way 
around  to  a  point  about  opposite  Middletown. 
Here  they  waited  for  the  signal,  which  was  to 
be  a  feint  on  the  right  of  the  line.  To  meet 
this  attack  General  Crook  had  about  4,000  men. 
When  the  attack  came,  at  4:30  a.  m.,  the 
enemy  had  it  all  their  own  way.  Crook's  com- 
mand, overpowered,  were  driven  from  their 
advanced  position  and  formed  on  the  left  of 
the  19th  Corps,  the  left  also  being  hotly  en- 
gaged. The  right  of  the  line  was  not  engaged 
for  some  time  after.  A  desperate  and  success- 
ful stand  was  made  by  the  shattered  lines  of 
Crook's  command  to  save  the  headquarters 
train  of  the  army,  in  which  many  brave  men 
lost  their  lives,  among  them  Colonel  Thoburn, 
Captain  Bier  and  Lieut.  Colonel  Hall,  of  the 
13th  Virginia.  Colonel  Hayes  had  his  horse 
shot  under  him,  but  escaped  with  his  life.  The 
line  then  slowly  fell  back,  the  enemy  seeming 
content  with  shelling  us. 

While  things  were  at  this  pass,  suddenly 
a  great  shout  went  up  as  General  Sheridan, 
riding  a  magnificent  black  horse,  dashed  up  at 
full  speed  and,  dismounting,  engaged  in  a  short 
but  rapid  conversation  with  General  Crook. 
In  a  moment  the  members  of  the  staff  are  fly- 
ing off  in  different  directions.  After  awhile 
Col.  Forsyth  comes  down  in  front  and  shouts 
to  the  General :    "The  19th  Corps  is  closed  up, 


sir."  General  Sheridan  jumps  on  his  horse 
and  calling  out,  "We're  going  to  have  a  good 
time  on' them  now,  boys,"  rides  up  the  line. 
The  men  took  their  posts,  the  line  moved  for- 
ward, and  ere  long,  as  all  the  world  knows, 
the  enemy  was  fleeing  in  utter  rout  and  con- 
fusion. 

On  Oct.  7th  the  regiment  was  detailed  as 
rear  guard  to  Martinsburg,  marching  by  way 
of  Winchester,  where-  some  of  the  enemy's 
cavalry  were  said  to  be.  On  this  march  the 
men  voted  for  the  Presidential  election,  but 
seven  anti-war  votes  being  cast,  principally 
among  the  teamsters.  November  13th  it  re- 
turned to  Winchester,  guarding  a  supply  train 
of  700  wagons.  It  was  engaged  in  drill  and 
camp  routine  duties  until  the  middle  of  Decem- 
ber, when  it  was  transferred  from  the  extreme 
left  to  the  extreme  right  of  the  line.  About 
December  20th  Hayes's  Brigade  was  ordered 
to  Stephen's  Depot,  remaining  there  until  the 
29th  when  it  went  into  camp  at  Martinsburg. 
On  January  i,  1865,  it  embarked  for  Cumber- 
land. Colonel  Hayes  was  promoted  to  a  brig- 
adier generalship  and  Lieut-Colonel  Comly  to 
Colonel.  The  regiment  reached  Grafton  Jan- 
uary r2th,  where  it  lay  till  the  i8th,  without 
tents  and  insufificient  bedding,  the  weather  be- 
ing very  cold.  From  the  19th  to  March  ist  it 
lay  at  Cumberland  engaged  in  drill  and  camp 
routine.  Soon  the  news  arrived  of  the  col- 
lapse of  the  Southern  Confederacy  and  the 
boys  anticipated  an  early  return  home.  It  was 
not,  however,  until  the  latter  part  of  July  that 
the  wished-for  order  came,  and  on  the  26th 
they  were  mustered  out  -at  Cumberland,  and 
took  cars  for  Camp  Taylor,  where  the  men 
were  paid  and  discharged. 

The  34th  Infantry,  O.  V.  I,  contained  one 
company — Company  E — which  was  from 
Crawford  county.  This  company  was  organ- 
ized with  the  following  officers:  J.  W.  Shaw, 
captain ;  F.  B.  Helwig,  first  lieutenant,  and  W. 
H.  Carpenter,  second  lieutenant.  Captain 
Shaw  was  promoted  to  major,  Oct.  10,  1862; 
to  lieutenant  colonel,  July  18,  1863,  and  was 
killed  July  24,  1864  at  the  battle  of  Winches- 
ter. First  Lieutenant  Helwig  was  promoted 
to  captain,  July  17,  1862  and  mustered  out 
with  the  regiment.  Second  Lieutenant  Car- 
penter was  discharged,  Aug.  i,  1863.  Isaac 
P.  Grover  was  promoted  to  second  lieutenant. 


486 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Dec.  3,  1862 ;  to  first  lieutenant,  March  2,  1864, 
and  to  captain,  Sept.  30,  1864.  Isaiah  C.  Lind- 
sey  was  promoted  to  second  lieutenant  March 
16,  1864  ^nd  mustered  out  as  such.  N.  P. 
Marvell  was  promoted  to  second  lieutenant 
Sept.  30,  1864,  to  first  lieutenant  Nov.  26, 
1864  and  mustered  out  April  4,  1865. 

The  34th  was  organized  at  Camp  Lucas, 
Clermont  county,  Ohio  in  July  and  August, 
1 86 1  and  on  Sept.  ist  moved  to  Camp  Denni- 
son.  As  at  that  early  period  of  the  war  much 
license  prevailed  with  respect  to  uniforms,  it 
adopted  a  light  blue  Zouave  dress,  and  in  com- 
pliment to  their  colonel,  Abraham  S.  Piatt,  the 
name  of  "Piatt  Zouaves"  was  adopted.  In 
September  the  regiment  started  for  Camp  En- 
yart,  on  the  Kanawha  river,  W.  Va.,  where  it 
arrived  on  the  20th.  On  the  25th  it  fought 
,its  first  battle  near  Chapmanville,  whipping 
a  Virginia  regiment  and  badly  wounding  its 
colonel.  Its  own  loss  was  one  killed  and  eight 
wounded.  During  the  remaining  of  the  au- 
tumn and  winter  the  regiment  was  engaged 
chiefly  in  guarding  the  rear  of  General  Rose- 
cran's  army  and  in  scouting  expeditions  after 
the  enemy's  guerillas.  In  March,  1862  it 
joined  General  Cox's  forces  at  Gauley  Bridge 
and  on  the  17th  and  i8th  of  May,  participated 
in  the  battle  of  Princeton,  losing  several  men. 

General  Cox  being  ordered  to  join  General 
McClellan,  in  August,  1862,  six  regiments  were 
left  to  guard  the  Kanawha  Valley.  The  34th 
and  37th  held  the  outpost  at  Fayetteville,  where 
they  were  attacked,  Sept.  loth,  by  General  Lor- 
ing,  with  10,000  men.  By  the  aid  of  breast- 
works, the  position  was  held  till  midnight, 
when  the  place  was  evacuated.  During  the 
attack  the  34th  repeatedly  charged  on  the 
enemy.  The  losses  of  the  six  companies  en- 
gaged (the  others  being  on  scouting  duty) 
amounted  to  130  men.  One-half  of  the  offi- 
cers were  either  killed  or  wounded.  Falling 
back  under  a  heavy  fire,  the  National  forces 
made  a  stand  at  Cotton  Mountain  the  next  day, 
and  at  Charleston  on  the  12th,  where  a  severe 
engagement  took  place.  From  this  point  a 
further  retrograde  movement  was  -made  to  Mt. 
Pleasant.  In  October,  on  the  return  of  Gen- 
eral Cox,  with  his  command,  another  advance 
was  made  and  the  valley  regained.  During 
Mav  the  regiment  was  furnished  with  horses 
and  transferred  into  "Mounted  Rifles." 


In  July,  1863  the  34th  participated  in  a  dem- 
onstration against  Wytheville,  on  the  Virginia 
and  Tennessee  Railroad,  under  command  of 
Colonel  Toland.  A  desperate  fight  ensued, 
but  about  dark  the  National  forces  succeeded 
in  capturing  the  enemy's  artillery,  when  they 
fled  in  all  directions,  'i  he  34th  lost  four  killed, 
including  Colonel  Toland,  13  wounded  and  33 
missing.  The  brigade  left  Camp  Piatt  with 
nearly  1000  men,  marched  652  miles  in  eleven 
days,  through  a  very  mountainous  country, 
and  captured  over  250  horses,  360  prisoners, 
two  pieces  of  artillery  and  a  large  amount  of 
stores ;  destroyed  between  3000  and  5000  stand 
of  arms,  an  important  bridge,  and  partially 
burned  one  of  the  wealthiest  cities  in  Virginia. 

The  command  devolving  on  Lieut.  Colonel 
Franklin,  he  commenced  a  retrograde  move- 
ment, which  was  effected  with  difficulty,  the 
roads  being  blockaded  by  a  Confederate  force 
under  General  McCausland.  The  year's  cam- 
paign was  completed  by  several  expeditions  to 
Lewisburg  and  vicinity.  General  Duffie,  of  the 
Kanawha  Cavalry,  commanding. 

In  January,  1864  about  two-thirds  of  the 
regiment  re-enlisted  as  veterans,  and  in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  April  the  regiment  was  divided  into 
two  detachments.  The  mounted  portion  was 
to  operate  with  the  cavalry,  under  General 
Averhill ;  the  dismounted,  with  the  36th  O.  V. 
I.,  in  General  Crook's  division  of  infantry.  On 
the  ist  of  May,  1864  a  second  expedition  left 
Charleston  for  the  destruction  of  the  Virginia 
and  Tennessee  Railroad.  On  the  9th  the  cav- 
alry were  repulsed  at  Wjrtheville  by  General 
Morgan  and  fell  back  with  considerable  loss. 
The  infantry  under  Crook,  however,  defeated 
the  enemy  the  same  day  at  Cloyd  Mountain, 
capturing  Dublin  Depot  in  the  evening.  An- 
other victory  was  gained  the  next  day  and  the 
railroad  bridge  over  New  River  destroyed. 
From  this  point  the  command  returned  to 
Meadow  Bluffs,  whence  they  started  to  join 
General  Hunter  at  Staunton,  in  the  Shenan- 
doah Valley,  having  a  skirmish  at  Panther  Gap 
Mountain.  Reaching  Goshen,  on  the  Central 
Virginia  Railroad  on  June  5th,  another  skirm- 
ish took  place  with  some  of  the  enemy's  cav- 
alry at  Cow  Pasture  River.  The  day  after  the 
Rebels  were  driven  out  of  Buffalo  Gap  by 
General  Hayes's  Brigade. 

Staunton  was  reached  June  8th,  and  on  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


487 


9th,  General  Hunter,  now  reinforced  by  Gen- 
erals Crook,  Averill  and  Duffie,  left  this  point 
going  by  way  of  Brownsville  to  Lexington, 
which  was  reached  on  the  nth.  Some  shots 
were  exchanged  with  the  enemy  at  Buckhan- 
non  on  the  14th,  and  then  the  force  crossed  the 
Blue  Ridge,  the  town  of  Liberty  being  reached 
on  the  1 6th,  where  another  skirmish  occurred. 
From  this  point  General  Crook's  command, 
with  which  the .  dismounted  members  of  the 
34th  were  serving,  was  sent  on  a  flanking  ex- 
pedition across  the  James  river,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  attacking  Lynchburg.  The  attack  was 
made  on  the  i8th  and  was  partially  successful, 
but  the  enemy  being  re-inforced  that  night  by 
20,000  men  under  Early,  further  operations 
against  that  city  were  impossible.  The  next 
morning  the  opposing  armies  engaged  in  a 
fierce  cannonade,  and  in  the  afternoon  an  en- 
gagement took  place  in  which  the  34th  suf- 
fered severely.  At  dark  on  the  19th  the  Na- 
tional forces  began  a  retreat,  being  closely  pur- 
sued by  the  enemy,  another  skirmish  occurring 
at  Liberty.  At  Salem,  on  the  21st,  Hunter's 
artillery  was  attacked  in  a  narrow  defile  by  a 
large  force  of  the  enemy,  who  made  a  sudden 
descent  from  the  hills,  and  the  guns  were  cap- 
tured. The  mounted  portion  of  the  34th,  be- 
ing a  few  miles  in  the  rear,  dashed  up  to  the 
rescue,  dismounted,  and,  under  command  of 
Lieut.  Colonel  Shaw,  after  a  sharp  fight,  drove 
off  the  enemy  and  recaptured  the  guns.  After 
enduring  great  hardships  on  the  retreat,  the 
command  reached  Charleston  on  July  ist, 
where  the  men  were  enabled  to  obtain  a  much 
needed  rest.  About  this  time  the  34th  was  dis- 
mounted, the  horses  being  turned  over  to  the 
cavalry.  On  the  loth  of  July  the  34th  em- 
barked on  transports  for  Parkersburg,  thence 
moving  by  rail  to  Martinsburg,  in  the  Shen- 
andoah Valley,  where  they  arrived  on  the  14th. 
On  July  20,  while  General  Crook,  with  his 
main  force  and  the  6th  and  19th  Corps,  was 
pressing  Early  back  on  Winchester,  General 
Duvall's  Brigade  (including  the  34th)  at- 
tempted to  occupy  the  place  in  advance  of  the 
Confederates.  Only  1200  strong,  they  met  the 
enemy  two  miles  from  Winchester  and  com- 
pletely routed  them,  capturing  their  artillery 
and  killing  and  wounding  all  their  brigade 
commanders.  The  34th  lost  10  killed  and  20 
wounded.     Four  days  later  the  fourth  battle 


of  Winchester  took  place,  in  which  General 
Crook,  being  weakened  by  the  absence  of  the 
6th  and  19th  Corps,  was  obliged  to  retreat, 
losing  only  a  few  wagons.  The  losses  of  the 
34th  in  this  battle  were  severe  and  included 
Lieut.  Colonel  Shaw.  Capt.  G.  W.  McKay 
also  received  a  mortal  wound.  The  command 
then  devolved  on  Captain  S.  R.  S.  West,  a 
brave  and  gallant  officer.  On  the  25th  another 
stand  was  made  at  Martinsburg,  the  34th  be- 
ing the  last  regiment  to  leave  the  field.  From 
the  25th  of  July  to  the  i  ith  of  August  the  reg- 
iment was  occupied  chiefly  in  marching  and 
countermarching,  there  being  heavy  skirmish- 
ing on  the  nth  with  Early,  who  was  falling 
back  on  Fisher's  Hill.  Between  the  12th  and 
17th  more  skirmishing  occurred  at  Cedar 
Creek.  The  regiment  then  fell  back  through 
Winchester  to  Berry ville,  and  on  the  20th  of 
August  was  at  Charleston,  with  the  enemy 
close  in  its  rear.  Expecting  an  attack,  breast- 
works were  thrown  up,  but  none  occurring,  an- 
other retrograde  movement  took  place  to  Hall- 
town.  Some  skirmishing  occurred  up  to  the 
27th  when  the  enemy  withdrew  to  the  upper 
Potomac.  On  the  next  day  the  regiment  again 
occupied  Charleston.  Here  the  non-veterans 
were  discharged  and  on  Sept.  3d  proceeded  to 
Columbus,  Ohio,  in  charge  of  Captain  West. 
During  the  few  months  previous  to  this  the 
34th  had  been  largely  strengthened  by  new  re- 
cruits, and  now  numbered  between  400  and  500 
men,  present  and  absent. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  the 
non- veterans  left  the  regiment  participated  in 
the  battle  of  Berryville.  The  enemy  fell  back 
to  Winchester  and  Bunker  Hill.  The  34th 
marched  to  Summit  Point,  where  they  lay  en- 
camped until  Sheridan's  victorious  battle  of 
Winchester.  On  that  day  it  lost  no  less  than 
six  color  bearers  in  quick  succession.  The  flag 
was  finally  brought  through  safe  by  George 
Rynals,  of  Company  A.  At  Fisher's  Hill,  on 
the  22d,  the  enemy  were  successfully  flanked, 
and  fled,  losing  his  artillery.  In  the  last  two 
engagements  the  34th  lost  61  killed. 

The  demoralized  enemy  was  followed  to 
Harrisburg,  where  the  National  forces  lay  un- 
til the  6th  of  October.  In  the  meanwhile  the 
cavalry  was  desolating  the  Valley,  in  accord- 
ance with  General  Sheridan's  order.  The  work 
of  devastation  being  now  completed,  the  Na- 


488 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


tional  army  fell  back  to  Cedar  Creek,  while 
the  enemy  resumed  his  old  position  at  Fisher's 
Hill.  On  the  19th  General  Early  made  his 
desperate  attempt  to  regain  his  lost  laurels,  and 
had  almost  succeeded,  when  the  opportune  ar- 
rival of  General  Sheridan,  so  celebrated  in 
song  and  story,  turned  the  tables,  and  ended 
in  the  utter  rout  of  the  Confederates.  The 
brunt  of  the  morning's  surprise  and  attack  fell 
on  the  left  flank,  composed  of  General  Crook's 
Corps,  which,  with  the  19th  Corps  occupying 
the  center  of  the  line,  was  badly  shattered. 
The  6th  Corps  on  the  right  had  time  to  fall 
back  in  good  order.  The  troops  were  rallied 
near  Middletown,  from  whence  the  final  and 
successful  advance  was  made. 

On  the  evening  before  the  battle,  the  regi- 
ment was  on  picket  duty,  under  command  of 
Lieut.  Colonel  Furney.  Before  dawn  the  next 
morning,  when  the  surprise  occurred,  the  Col- 
onel and  18  of  his  men,  were  taken  prisoners. 
He,  however,  escaped  at  Mt.  Jackson  and  re- 
joined his  command  a  few  days  later.  The 
loss  of  the  34th  in  this  affair  was  two  killed, 
12  wounded  and  18  prisoners.  From  this  time 
until  the  latter  part  of  December,  1864  the 
regiment  lay  near  Kernstown,  when  it 
marched  to  Opequan  Crossing,  and  thence  to 
Martinsburg.  On  the  evening  of  December  22d, 
while  enroute  by  rail  to  Webster,  a  collision 
occurred,  whereby  two  men  of  the  regiment 
were  killed  and  fourteen  wounded. 

On  January  11,  1865,  while  the  34th  were  in 
garrison  at  Beverly,  with  the  dismounted  por- 
tion of  the  8th  Ohio  Cavalry — being  at  this 
time  reduced  to  300  men  present  for  duty — 
a  sudden  and  unexpected  attack  was  made  on 
the  post  by  the  enemy  under  General  Rosser, 
and  almost  the  entire  regiment  captured, 
though  many,  favored  by  the  darkness  and  ex- 
citement, subsequently  escaped.  Colonel  You- 
art,  of  the  8th,  commanding  the  post,  and  Col- 
onel Furney,  were  both  captured  but  afterward 
escaped.  The  survivors  of  this  unfortunate 
affair  fell  back  to  Phillipi,  and  thence  were 
ordered  to  Cumberland,  Md.,  where  on  Feb. 
22d,  they  were  consolidated  with  the  36th  Ohio 
CGeneral  Crook's  old  regiment),  commanded 
l)y  Colonel  H.  F  Duval.  Thus  the  old  34th 
lost  its  identity,  the  coalition  being  known  as 
the  36th  Ohio  Veteran  Volunteer  Infantry. 

The  45th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was  or- 


ganized at  Camp  Chase  in  August,  1862,  be- 
ing mustered  in  on  the  19th  of  that  month. 
It  was  immediately  ordered  to  Cynthiana,  Ky., 
where  it  remained  until  the  advance  of  Greneral 
Kirby  Smith  compelled  it,  with  the  99th  Ohio, 
to  fall  back  to  Cbvington.  After  aiding  in  the 
defense  of  Cincinnati,  it  took  post  at  Lexing- 
ton, and  was  engaged  for  some  time  in  build- 
ing bridges  on  the  Kentucky  Central  Railroad. 
While  at  Lexington  it  was  brigaded  with  the 
i8th  and  22d  Michigan  regiments  and  112th 
Illinois,  under  the  command  of  General  G.  C. 
Smith. 

While  at  Danville,  about  the  middle  of  Feb- 
ruary, the  regiment  was  mounted  and  brigaded 
with  the  7th  Ohio  and  loth  Kentucky  regi- 
ments of  cavalry,  all  under  command  of  Col- 
onel Benj.  P.  Runkle,  of  the  45th.  Soon  after 
it  took-  part  in  the  pursuit  of  a  body  of  the 
enemy's  cavalry  under  command  of  Colonel 
Cluke,  and  on  the  30th  of  March  was  engaged 
for  the  first  time,  at  Dutton's  Hill,  near  Som- 
erset, with  the  enemy's  forces  under  Generals 
Gillmore  and  Pegram.  In  this  affair  the  regi- 
ment lost  one  man,  mortally  wounded. 

From  this  time  and  until  the  early  part  of 
July  the  45th  was  stationed  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Somerset,  picketing  the  line  of  the 
Cumberland  river  and  occasionally  reconnoit- 
ring beyond.  During  the  performance  of  this 
duty  the  regiment  lost  two  killed  and  several 
wounded,  two  of  the  latter  mortally.  In  the 
pursuit  after  Morgan  in  July,  1863,  it  had  one 
man  killed  and  several  wounded.  Subse- 
quently returning  to  Kentucky,  it  took  part 
in  the  pursuit  of  Colonel  Scott's  force,  which 
had  advanced  as  far  as  Winchester,  that  state. 
Upon  the  reorganization  of  Burnside's  army 
in  August,  1863,  the  45th  was  included  in 
Byrd's  Brigade  of  General  Carter's  Division 
with  the  1st  Tennessee  and  the  112th  Illinois 
Mounted  Infantry  and  the  8th  Michigan  Cav- 
alrv. 

Early  in  September  it  was  detached  and  sent 
to  Loudon,  and,  after  crossing  the  Tennessee 
River  before  all  the  rest  of  the  army,  was  soon 
after  transferred  to  the  cavalry  brigade  of 
Colonel  Wolford,  which,  with  that  of  Colonel 
Byrd,  constituted  the  extreme  right  of  Burn- 
side's  army.  While  stationed  at  Philadelphia, 
Oct.  20th,  Wolford's  Brigade  was  surprised 
and  routed  losing  all  its  trains,  a  battery  of 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


489 


artillery  and  many  prisoners.  In  this  affair 
the  45th  had  three  men  killed,  four  mortally 
wounded  and  more  than  100  captured. 

On  the  15th  of  the  following  month,  as  the 
mounted  division  of  General  Saunders,  to 
which  the  45th  belonged,  was  falling  back  be- 
fore the  enemy's  cavalry,  the  regiment  was  dis- 
mounted, and  left  without  any  immediate  sup- 
port. While  in  this  position,  with  its  horses 
in  the  rear,  it  was  thrown  into  confusion  by  a 
very  sudden  and  spirited  attack  and  lost  five 
killed,  several  wounded,  and  about  100  men 
and  officers  taken  prisoners. 

On  the  1 8th  of  November,  during  Long- 
street's  advance  on  Knoxville,  Saunders'  Di- 
vision was  hotly  engaged.  Brigadier  General 
Saunders  and  Adjutant  Fearns,  of  the  45th 
being  mortally  wounded.  The  regiment  lost 
five  men  killed  and  six  mortally  wounded,  in- 
cluding the  Adjutant.  The  regiment  was  next 
engaged  in  action  at  Bean's  Station,  Dec.  14th, 
but  without  loss. 

After  Longstreet  retired  toward.  Virginia, 
the  45th,  with  the  nth  and  27th  Kentucky 
Mounted  Infantry,  were  sent  to  Cumberland 
Gap  and  remained  in  that  neighborhood  until 
the  8th  of  February,  1864,  when  the  brigade 
was  marched  to  Mt.  Sterling,  Ky.,  to  be  re- 
mounted. This  design,  however,  was  never 
carried  out,  and  the  regiment  ever  after  served 
as  infantry  proper. 

Leaving  Mt.  Sterling  April  6th,  and  Camp 
Nelson  on  the  19th,  the  45th,  with  several  other 
regiments,  marched  across  the  mountains  to 
East  Tennessee,  reaching  Knoxville  May  3d. 
A  few  days  later  it  went  by  rail  to  Cleveland, 
Tenn.,  and  thence  to  Tunnel  Hill,  Ga.,  where 
it  was  attached  to  the  2d  Brigade,  2d  Division, 
23d  Army  Corps,  on  the  nth.  Three  days 
later  it  had  two  men  killed  and  three  mortally 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Resaca,  and  afterward 
participated  in  many  of  the  actions  during  the 
Atlanta  campaign.  Toward  the  end  of  June 
the  regiment  was  transferred  to  the  2d  Brigade 
of  the  1st  Division,  4th  Corps.  With  the  4th 
Corps  the  regiment  afterward  participated  in 
the  battle  of  Franklin  and  in  the  fighting  be- 
fore Nashville,  when  Hood's  army  was  totally 
routed  and  dispersed.  In  the  spring  of  1865 
the  45th  accompanied  the  4th  Corps  to  East 
Tennessee,  returned  with  it  to  Nashville  to- 
ward the  end  of  April,  and  was  mustered  out 


of  the  service  on  the  15th  of  the  following 
June,  having  at  that  time  two  months  to  serve 
to  complete  its  term  of  enlistment. 

The  49th  Regiment,  O.  V.  I.,  contained  a 
company  of  Crawford  county  men,  namely. 
Company  B.  Its  commissioned  officers  at  its 
organization  were  as  follows :  Amos  Keller, 
captain;  A.  H.  Keller,  first  lieutenant;  and  J. 
N.  Biddle,  second  lieutenant.  Captain  and 
Lieutenant  Keller  were  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Stone  River,  and  their  funeral  which  subse- 
quently took  place  at  Bucyrus,  was  one  of  the 
largest  ever  held  in  the  town. 

The  49th  Ohio  regiment  was  organized  at 
Tiffin,  Seneca  county,  under  special  authority 
of  the  Secretary  of  War.  On  the  19th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1 861,  it  started  from  Camp  Noble, 
near  Tiffin,  to  Camp  Dennison  and,  receiving 
its  equipment  on  the  21st,  moved  for  Louisville, 
Ky.,  where  it  reported  next  day  to  Brig.  Gen- 
eral Robert  Anderson.  It  was  the  first  or- 
ganized regiment  to  enter  Kentucky,  and 
was  given  a  very  cordial  reception,,  re- 
ceiving an  address  of  welcome  from  Gen- 
eral Anderson,  to  which  its  colonel,  Wil- 
liam H.  Gibson,  responded.  After  further 
ceremonies  and  a '  magnificent  banquet,  in 
the  evening  the  regiment  took  cars  for  Leb- 
anon Junction,  with  orders  to  report  to  Gen- 
eral W.  T.  Sherman,  who  commanded  troops 
at  that  point. "  The  next  morning  it  departed 
for  Elizabethtown  and  went  ihtoi  camp  at 
Muldraugh's  Hill.  From  this  place  on  the 
loth  of  October,  it  moved  to  Nolin  Creek  and 
went  into  Camp  Nevin. 

In  the  subsequent  organization  of  the  2d 
Division  of  the  Army  of  Ohio,  the  49th  was 
assigned  to  the  6th  Brigade,  General  R.  W. 
Johnson  commanding.  December  loth,  the 
division  moved  to  Munfordsville,  on  Green 
River  and,  driving  the  Rebels  to  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  established  Camp  Wood.  On 
the  17th  the  National  Pickets,  from  the  32d 
Indiana  Infantry,  on  the  south  side  of  Green 
River,  were  attacked  by  the  enemy,  and  the 
49th  Ohio  and  39th  Indiana  were  sent  to  their 
relief,  the  enemy  being  repulsed,  and  Colonel 
Terry,  one  of  their  commanders,  being  killed. 
From  December  17th  to  February  14th  the 
regiment  lay  in  camp,  being  occupied  in  drill 
and  discipline. 

On  the  14th  it  moved  on  Bowling  Green  and, 


490 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


after  crossing  the  river  marched  on  Nashville, 
where,  on  March  3d  it  established  Camp  An- 
drew Jackson.  On  March  i6th  it  moved  with 
Buell's  army  to  join  Grant's  forces  at  Pitts- 
burgh Landing,  arriving  there  on  the  6th. 
Here,  at  eleven  o'clock  it  went  into  battle  on 
the  left  of  its  brigade,  the  latter  being  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Gibson,  who  left  his  regi- 
ment in  charge  of  Lieut.  Colonel  A.  M.  Black- 
man.  It  maintained  its  position  under  a  hot 
fire  until  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and 
twice  performed  the  hazardous  movement  of 
changing  front  under  fire.  The  49th,  after 
some  fighting  at  Bridge's  Creek  and  other 
points,  entered  Corinth  with  the  army  on  May 
30th,  1862.  It  then  joined  in  pursuit  of  the 
enemy,  proceeding  as  far  as  Tuscumbia  and 
Florence,  Alabama,  and  thence  marching  to 
Battle  Creek,  Tenn.  From  here  it  took  part 
in  the  movement  after  Bragg's  army,  which 
was  entering  Kentucky,  threatening  Louisville 
and  Cincinnati.  The  troops  suffered  severely 
on  this  march  from  intense  heat,  want  of  water 
and  short  rations.  At  Louisville,  which  point 
they  reached  on  the  29th  of  September,  the 
troops  rested  for  a  few  days,  and  then  resumed 
their  march  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  whom 
they  drove  before  them  through  Shelbyville, 
and  reaching  Frankfort,  where  they  dispersed 
the  Rebel  troops  gathered  to  guard  the  inaug- 
eration  of  Capt.  Dick  Hawes  'as  Confederate 
governor  of  Kentucky.  The  march  was  re- 
sumed on  the  7th  and  a  junction  made  with 
the  main  army  on  the  day  following  the  battle 
of  Perryville.  During  all  this  time  there  was 
daily  skirmishing.  At  Lawrenceburg  and  Dog 
Walk  sharp  engagements  took  place,  in  which 
the  49th  took  a  conspicuous  part  under  com- 
mand of  Lieut.  Colonel  Levi  Drake.  With  the 
enemy  retreating  before  them  the  49th,  with 
its  brigade  and  division,  marched  to  Crab  Or- 
chard, and  thence  through  Bowling  Green  to 
Nashville,  being  with  the  advance  that  raised 
the  siege  of  that  city  on  October  5th.  It  sub- 
sequently remained  in  camp  at  Millcreek  until 
the  26th  of  December. 

On  that  date  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland, 
under  command  of  General  Rosecrans,  began 
its  movement  on  Murfreesboro.  The  49th, 
forming  a  part  of  the  right  wing,  under  Major 
General  McCook,  after  considerable  skirmish- 
ing, became  engaged  in  battle,  on  the  extreme 


right  of  the  National  army,  before  Murfrees- 
boro, on  the  evening  of  the  30th.  At  six  o'clock 
next  morning.  Kirk's  Brigade,  being  furiously 
assailed  by  the  enemy,  was  thrown  back  on 
the  49th,  which  also  became  engaged,  and  was 
borne  back  by  overwhelming  numbers  a  mile 
and  a  half  to  the  Nashville  Turnpike,  which  it 
reached  after  an  incessant  conflict  of  nine 
hours.  The  next  morning  it  was  sent  to  recon- 
noitre on  the  right  and  rear  of  main  army,  and 
operated  on  the  extreme  right  in  connection 
with  Stanley's  cavalry.  On  January  2d  it  oc- 
cupied a  position  in  reserve,  to  the  center,  and 
late  in  the  afternoon,  upon  the  repulse  of  Van 
Cleeves  Division,  to  the  left,  it  joined  with 
its  brigade  in  a  magnificent  bayonet  charge, 
retreiving  the  fortunes  of  the  day  in  that  part 
of  the  field  and  inflicting  a  severe  defeat  on 
the  enemy  By  the  capture  of  General  Willich, 
Colonel  Gibson,  of  the  49th  succeeded  to  the 
command  of  the  brigade.  Lieut.  Colonel 
Drake  was  killed  during  the  battle.  Major 
Porter  wounded,  and  all  the  senior  captains 
present  either  killed  or  wounded,  the  command 
of  the  regiment  at  the  close  of  the  day  devolv- 
ing on  the  junior  Captain,  S.  F.  Gray. 

After  losing  some  men  in  various  foraging 
expeditions,  the  regiment  moved  with  the 
army  on  the  24th  of  June,  from  Murfrees- 
boro, and,  finding  the  enemy  strongly  posted 
at  Liberty  Gap,  an  encounter  took  place,  the 
49th  assaulting  the  enemy's  right,  which  was 
posted  on  a  hill.  It  drove  him  from  the  heights 
and  compelled  him  to  fall  back  to  another 
strong  position  about  a  mile  in  his  rear. 

On  the  next  day  the  advance  was  resumed 
and  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the  40th 
was  brought  into  action  of  the  enemy's  center, 
which  covered  the  valley,  his  flanks  resting  on 
the  hills.  Advancing  briskly  in  four  ranks, 
according  to  a  newly  introduced  drill,  the  regi- 
ment opened  fire  and  soon  broke  the  enemy's 
center,  the  position  being  maintained  by  the 
co-operation  of  other  troops.  Tullahoma  was 
reached  July  ist,  without  further  engagement, 
and  the  regiment  went  into  camp. 

In  the  movement  of  the  National  army  on 
Chattanooga  in  August,  the  49th  crossed  the 
Tennessee  river  on  the  31st  near  Belief onte. 
In  the  battle  of  Chicamauga  the  regiment,  un- 
der command  of  Major  S.  F.  Gray,  held  a 
position  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day,  on 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


491 


the  extreme  right  of  the  National  forces,  form- 
ing a  part  of  General  R.  W.  Johnson's  Di- 
vision. Before  being  engaged  the  brigade  and 
division  were  shifted  to  the  extreme  left  of 
the  army  and  united  with  Thomas's  Corps. 
Between  three  and  four  o'clock  P.  M.  the  reg- 
iment made  a  charge  against  the  enemy's  right, 
which  was  posted  in  dense  woods  and  drove 
them  back,  capturing  two  guns.  Three  guns 
were  captured  in  all  by  the  brigade.  ■  At  dusk 
the  enemy  made  a  sudden  and  furious  charge 
with  the  bayonet,  which  after  some  ground  had 
been  lost,  was  repelled  and  the  Confederates 
driven  back. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  battle  the  49th 
Ohio  performed  gallant  and  important  service 
on  various  parts  of  the  field,  and  took  part  in 
an  exploit  which,  it  is  claimed,  saved  Thomas's 
Corps  from  being  swept  from  the  field.  Hav- 
ing broken  through  the  National  left,  the  enemy 
were  charging  fiercely  on  the  center,  when  the 
49th  faced  to  the  rear  and  poured  a  destructive 
fire  into  them,  which  being  backed  by  Good- 
speed's  Battery,  and  a  hot  fire  from  the  15th 
Ohio,  checked  the  Rebels  and  drove  them  back 
on  their  main  body.  At  evening,  the  49th, 
with  its  brigade,  was  the  last  to  retire  from  the 
field.  At  Rossville  some  temporary  fieldworks 
were  thrown  up,  in  expectation  of  an  attack, 
and  on  the  following  night  the  brigade  reached 
Chattanooga. 

On  November  24th  the  49th,  with  its  brig- 
ade, joined  in  the  movement  against  Mission 
Ridge,  under  Grant,  where,  with  conspicuous 
gallantry  it  was  one  of  the  first  regiments  to 
plant  its  colors  on  the  summit.  Soon  after  this 
it  moved  with  Granger's  Corps  to  the  relief 
of  Burnside  at  Knoxville.  This  was  one  of 
the  severest  marches  made  during  the  war. 
The  weather  was  intensely  cold  and  the  ground 
covered  with  snow,  while  the  men  were  almost 
naked,  without  shoes  and  the  rations  exhausted. 
Hearing  at  Strawberry  Plains  that  Burnside 
had  repulsed  Longstreet,  the  National  forces 
returned  to  Chattanooga.  While  engaged  in 
this  severe  campaign  the  men  were  called  upon 
to  re-enlist  for  the  war,  to  which  call  a  hearty 
response  was  given.  The  regiment  now  re- 
turned to  Ohio  to  enjoy  its  veteran  furlough 
of  30  days  and  was  warmly  greeted  at  Ttffin, 
the  place  of  its  organization. 

On   the  expiration   of   its   furlough   it   re- 


ported at  the  headquarters  of  the  Fourth 
Corps  at  Cleveland,  Tennessee,  where  the  Na- 
tional forces  were  preparing  for  the  campaign 
against  Atlanta.  In  this  campaign  its  history 
fornied  a  part  of  that  of  the  Fourth  Army 
Corps.  It  participated  in  the  engagements  at 
Dalton,  Resaca,  Dallas,  Kenesaw  Mountain, 
Chattahoochie  River  and  Atlanta,  exhibiting 
its  usual  gallantry  and  discipline  and  sustain- 
ing severe  losses.  In  the  movement  that  forced 
the  enemy  from  Atlanta,  it  participated  in  the 
battle  at  Jonesboro  and  Love  joy  Station,  and 
after  abandoning  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  went 
into  camp  at  Atlanta. 

On  the  division  of  the  grand  army,  when 
Sherman  commenced  his  march  to  the  sea,  the 
army  of  the  Cumberland,  under  General 
Thomas,  was  left  to  attend  to  General  Hood, 
who  was  rashly  moving  on  Nashville.  In  the 
movements  of  Thomas's  forces  and  in  the  sub- 
sequent battles  of  Franklin  and  Nashville,  the 
49th  Ohio,  under  command  of  Lieut.  Colonel 
Strong,  fully  sustained  its  reputation  in  gal- 
lantry and  efficiency.  In  the  battle  before 
Nashville,  December  15-16,  1864,  the  regiment 
participated  in  the  brilliant  charges  made  by 
the  4th  Army  Corps,  suffering  severely  in  killed 
and  wounded.  After  the  battle  it  took  part  in 
the  pursuit  after  the  flying  enemy,  subsequently 
going  into  camp  at  Huntsville,  Alabama,  where 
it  remained  until  about  the  middle  of  March, 
1865.  It  then  formed  part  of  an  expedition 
to  East  Tennessee,  going  into  camp  at  Green- 
ville. On  its  return  to  Nashville,  it  was 
embarked  on  transports,  June  15th,  and  taken 
to  Texas,  by  way  of  New  Orleans.  It  reached 
Victoria,  Texas  in  July,  and  advanced  into 
the  interior  as  far  as  San  Antonio.  After 
four  months  service  in  this  field  it  returned 
to  Victoria,  where  it  was  mustered  out  of  ser- 
vice on  the  30th  of  November,  1865. 

The  number  of  names  upon  the  rolls  of  this 
regiment  was  1,552,  nineteen  of  the  men  were 
born  in  Europe,  and  760  in  Ohio,  440  being 
from  Seneca  county.  Eight  officers  were  killed 
in  battle,  and  20  wounded,  six  of  these  mor- 
tally. Of  the  privates  127  were  killed  in  bat- 
tle, 71  were  mortally  wounded,  165  died  from 
hardships  or  disease,  and  seven  perished  in 
Southern  prisons.  During  two-thirds  of  his 
service  Colonel  Gibson  commanded  a  brigade 
by  virtue  of  his  rank. 


492 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


The  55th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  went  into 
camp  at  Norwalk,  Ohio,  on  the  17th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1 86 1.  Maj.  John  C.  Lee  was  made  colonel 
Nov.  25th,  receiving  his  commission  on  Jan- 
uary 20,  1862.  The  lieut. -colonel  was  George- 
H.  Safford;  Major  Lee,  on  being  promoted  to 
colonel,  was  succeeded  by  Daniel  F.  DeWolf ; 
Jay  Kling  was  surgeon.  During  the  three 
years'  service  of  the  regiment  various  changes 
took  place  in  officers,  caused  by  death,  resig- 
nation or  promotion.  A  number  of  the  men 
in  Company  H  were  from  Crawford  county. 

On  January  25th,  1862  the  regiment  left  for 
Grafton,  Western  Virginia,  where  it  was  sta- 
tioned until  the  latter  part  of  March.  While 
here  it  suffered  greatly  from  measles  and  other 
diseases,  having  at  one  time  as  many  as  400 
men  on  the  sick  list,  20  of  whom  died.  When 
ready  for  service  again  it  joined  General 
Schenck's  Brigade  at  Romney,  subsequently 
going  into  camp  near  Moorefield  on  the  Po- 
tomac. In  the  latter  part  of  April  seven  com- 
panies moved  with  the  brigade  to  Petersburg 
and  on  through  Franklin  to  McDowell,  leaving 
companies  D,  E  and  G  at  Moorefield.  After 
taking  part  in  the  action  at  McDowell,  the 
troops  fell  back  to  Franklin,  during  this  march 
and  later  suffering  severely  from  the  scarcity 
of  rations.  In  the  later  part  of  May  a  move- 
ment was  made  toward  Strasburg,  threatening 
the  communications  of  "Stonewall"  Jackson, 
who  was  moving  for  the  B.  &  O.  Railroad. 
Jackson  now  began  a  retreat  and  the  National 
troops  followed  in  pursuit,  there  being  fre- 
quent skirmishing  between  the  National  ad- 
vance and  the  Confederate  rear.  Jackson  hav- 
ing destroyed  the  bridge  across  the  Shenandoah 
at  Fort  Republic,  further  pursuit  was  found 
impracticable. 

About  the  20th  of  June  the  army  arrived  at 
Middletown,  near  Winchester,  and  here  the 
Army  of  Virginia  was  organized.  The  55th 
was  brigaded  with  the  25th,  73d  and  75th  Ohio 
regiments,  and  was  attached  to  General 
Schenck's  Division.  The  regiment  left  Mid- 
dletown July  7th  for  Sperryville,  where  it  re- 
remained  until  the  8th  of  August,  and  then 
moved  toward  Culpepper  Court  House. 
While  encamped  on  Robertson's  river,  near 
Rapidan,  the  regimental  band  was  mustered 
out  and  a  detail  of  officers  returned  to  Ohio 
on  recruiting  service.     On  the  19th  the  army 


commenced  a  retrograde  movement,  the  55th, 
with  its  brigade  covering  the  retreat.  The 
Rappahannock  was  crossed  at  White  Sulphur 
Springs,  and  for  several  days  the  regiment 
was  employed  in  guarding  the  various  fords 
of  the  river  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  cross- 
ing. On  the  25th  the  regiment  moved  toward 
Warrenton  and  thence  northward  to  intercept 
Jackson  in  his  attempt  to  join  Lee's  army. 
An  engagement  took  place  on  the  29th  on  the 
old  Bull  Run  battleground.  At  night  the  regi- 
ment,- with  its  brigade,  gradually  moved  to- 
the  rear  and,  after  dark,  fell  back  to  Center- 
ville.  From  this  point  several  marches  and 
expeditions  were  made,  there  being,  however,, 
little  or  no  fighting.  The  column  being  re- 
enforced,  proceeded  as  far  south  as  Catlett's- 
Station,  where  a  small  skirmish  took  place. 
A  return  was  then  made  to  Centerville,  where 
the  regiment  remained  until  the  2d  of  Novem- 
ber. The  rest  of  the  month  was  taken  up  by^ 
a  series  of  marches  and  encampments,  the 
regiment  then  going  into  camp  near  Chantilly. 
On  December  loth  the  regiment  marched  for 
Stafford  Court  House,  which  was  reached  on 
the  17th.  The  55th  was  next  sent  to  defend 
Belle  Plain  Landing  in  view  of  Burnside's- 
contemplated  attack  on  Fredericksburg,  but 
heavy  rains  and  bad  roads  interfering  with; 
that  movement,  it  went  into  winter  quarters 
at  Brook's  Station. 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac  beginning  its 
movement  on  Fredericksburg  in  the  latter  part 
of  April,  the  55th  participated  in  the  move- 
ments of  the  nth  Corps,  and  on  the  2d  of 
May,  when  the  enemy  executed  a  successful 
flank  movement  on  our  right,  the  regiment, 
with  others  was  compelled  to  fall  back,  losing 
153  men  killed,  wounded  and  missing. 

About  the  middle  of  May  the  55th  regiment 
was  transferred  to  the  2d  Brigade  of  the  2d 
Division,  and  it  remained  in  this  brigade  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  its  service.  It  took  part 
in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  being  first  posted 
with  its  division  on  Cemetery  Hill  but  moved 
subsequently  to  the  left  of  the  Baltimore  Pike. 
The  battle  line  of  the  regiment  was  not  en- 
gaged, but  the  skirmish  line  was  subjected  to- 
a  severe  fire,  and  the  regiment  lost  in  this  bat- 
tle about  50  men.  Having  pursued  the  re- 
treating enemy,  the  55th  went  into  camp,  July- 
25th,  near  Catlett's  Station. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


493 


On  the  30th  of  September  the  55th,  with 
the  nth  and  12th  Corps,  arrived  at  Bridge- 
port, Ala.,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  October 
moved  for  Lookout  Mountain.  The  regiment 
moved  to  Chattanooga  November  22d  and 
later  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Mission  Ridge, 
being  posted  on  the  extreme  left  to  guard  the 
flank.  Immediately  after  the  I'egiment  took 
part  in  the  Knoxville  campaign,  returning  to 
Lookout  Valley  on  the  17th  of  December.  On 
the  1st  of  January,  1864,  319  men  of  the  55th 
re-enlisted  and  went  to  Ohio  for  their  fur- 
lough. On  the  4th  of  March  it  was  again  en- 
camped in  Lookout  Valley.  About  this  time 
the  nth  and  12th  Corps  were  consolidated 
and  denominated  the  20th,  and  the  regiment 
formed  a  part  of  the  3d  Brigade  of  the  3d 
Division. 

The  regiment  started  on  the  Atlanta  cam- 
paign on  the  2d  of  May,  and  participated  in 
all  the  battles  in  which  the  20th  Corps  was  en- 
gaged. At  Resaca  it  lost  upwards  of  90  men. 
It  took  part  in  the  fighting  before  Atlanta, 
and  during  the  siege  of  that  city,  occupied  its 
place  in  the  lines,  assisting  in  the  advance- 
ment of  the  parallels  toward  the  city.  Dur- 
ing the  Atlanta  campaign  the  55th  lost  over 
200  men.  About  the  ist  of  November  the 
regiment  received  200  drafted  men  and  sub- 
stitutes, and  about  the  same  time  those  who 
were  not  veterans  were  mustered  out. 

Subsequently  the  regiment  took  part  in 
Sherman's  march  to  the  sea,  entering  Savan- 
nah December  21st.  Here  it  remained  until 
early  in  January,  1865,  when  it  was  thrown 
across  the  Savannah  river,  and  on  the  29th 
of  January  started  fairly  on  the  march  through 
the  Carolinas.  It  took  part  in  the  fighting  at 
Smith's  Farm,  on  March  i6th,  where  it  lost 
two  men  killed,  one  officer  and  23  men 
wounded,  and  seven  men  missing.  On  the 
24th  of  March  it  took  part  in  the  review  be- 
fore General  Sherman  at  Goldsboro.  From 
this  place  it  marched  to  Raleigh,  and  on  April 
30th  commenced  the  march  to  Washington, 
where  it  subsequently  participated  in  the  grand 
review.  Upon  the  disbanding  of  the  20th 
Corps  the  Ohio  regiments  were  organized  into 
a  Provisional  brigade  and  were  assigned  to 
the  14th  Corps.  The  regiment  was  mustered 
out  of  the  service  at  Louisville.  Ky.,  on  July 
I  rth,  being  paid  and  discharged  at  Cleveland, 


Ohio  on  the  19th.  During  its  term  of  service 
the  55th  enrolled  about  1,350  men,  of  whom 
750  were  either  killed  or  wounded  in  battle. 
Ten  officers  were  wounded  once  or  more  and 
eight  officers  either  died  of  wounds  or  were 
killed  in  battle. 

The  57th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry. — This 
regiment  was  partially  organized  at  Camp 
Vance,  Findlay,  Hancock  county,  Ohio,  its 
organization  being  completed  at  Camp  Chase, 
on  the  loth  of  February,  1862.  Company  I 
was  partially  recruited  in  Crawford  county, 
the  other  members  coming  from  Shelby  and 
Sandusky.  William  Mungen  was  commis- 
sioned colonel  Feb.  17,  1862;  resigned  April 
16,  1863  and  was  succeeded  by  A.  V.  Rice. 
The  latter  being  made  brigadier  general,  was 
succeeded  by  Samuel  R.  Mott,  who  was  mus- 
tered out  with  the  regiment. 

The  regiment  started  for  Fort  Donelson,  on 
the  i8th  of  February,  1862,  but  an  order  re- 
ceived at  Smithfield,  Ky.  diverted  its  course 
to  Paducah,  that  state.  Here  it  was  assigned 
to  the  3d  Brigade,  5th  Division  of  the  Army 
of  the  Tennessee.  On  the  8th  of  March  it 
took  boat  for  Ft.  Henry  on  the  Ten- 
nessee, and  thence  proceeded  to  Savan- 
nah, where  it  arrived  on  the  nth.  On 
the  14th  it  accompanied  a  gunboat  expedition 
to  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Creek,  and  then  re- 
turning, went  to  Pittsburg  Landing.  On  the 
17th  the  5th  Division  made  a  reconnoisance 
to  Pea  Ridge,  and  on  the  19th  went  into  camp 
at  Shiloh  Chapel,  three  miles  southwest  of  the 
Landing.  In  the  latter  part  of  March  recon- 
noisances  were  made  in  the  direction  of  Cor- 
inth, and  on  April  ist  the  regiment  accom- 
panied another  gunboat  expedition  to  East- 
port,  Miss.,  the  gunboats  throwing  a  few  shells 
into  the  town.  They  then  moved  up  the  river 
and  shelled  the  enemy's  works  at  Chickasaw, 
Ala.  A  few  prisoners  were  made  in  this 
vicinity. 

About  this  time  the  regiment  suffered  much 
from  sickness,  on  April  6th  there  being  but 
450  men  fit  for  duty.  On  this  day  the  enemy 
was  encountered  near  Shiloh  Church,  where 
the  57th  withstood  three  Rebel  regiments  from 
6  until  ID  o'clock  A.  M.  These  regiments  left 
78  dead  on  front  of  the  57th.  The  regiment 
was  then  ordered  to  fall  back  on  the  Hamburg 
and  Purdy  road,  the  line  being  subsequently 


494 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


pressed  back  three-quarters  of  a  mile  further. 
On  the  next  day  the  enemy  being  driven  back, 
the  57th  recovered  its  old  position,  having 
lain  under  arms  all  night  in  a  drenching  rain. 
After  another  night  in  the  rain  and  mud, 
without  tents,  the  command  moved  on  the 
8th  about  seven  miles  toward  Corinth,  and 
near  Pea  Ridge  had  an  encounter  with  For- 
rest's cavalry  and  about  1500  Confederate 
infantry.  Here  the  National  cavalry  gave 
way  before  that  of  the  enemy,  and  two  com- 
panies of  the  57th,  who  had  been  thrown  out 
as  skirmishers,  were  captured,  along  with  two 
companies  of  the  -77th  Ohio.  The  57th  then 
fixed  bayonets  and  charged  the  cavalry,  which 
gave  way,  and  the  captured  companies  rushed 
to  their  comrades  or  laid  down.  'The  regi- 
ment then  poured  a  volley  into  the  retreating 
enemy.  In  three  days  the  57th  had  lost  27 
killed,  150  wounded  (16  mortally)  and  ten 
captured. 

The  regiment  then  took  part  in  the  advance 
on  Corinth,  being  employed  largely  in  march- 
ing, picketing  and  building  breastworks,  with 
an  occasional  engagement.  During  this  time 
it  was  assigned  to  the  ist  Brigade  of  the  5th 
Division.  After  the  evacuation  it  was  oc- 
cupied in  repairing  the  Memphis  &  Charles- 
ton Railroad  and  in  making  reconnoisances. 
While  at  Moscow  a  detachment  of  250  men 
was  sent  to  accompany  a  train  to  Memphis 
to  procure  supplies.  Near  Morning  Sun,  on 
the  Memphis  &  Nashville  road,  the  train  was 
attacked  by  600  of  the  enemy's  cavalry,  who 
charged  three  times,  but  were  finally  repulsed 
with  heavy  loss  in  killed,  wounded  and  pris- 
oners. The  detachment  lost  four  men 
wounded.  The  regiment  moved  to  Memphis 
on  the  1 8th  of  July  and  on  the  29th  of  August 
was  ordered  to  Raleigh  to  look  after  Bur- 
row's Rebel  cavalry.  The  cavalry  fled  after 
exchanging  a  few  shots  and  the  regiment  cap- 
tured a  number  of  horses.  Early  in  Septem- 
ber the  57th  was  sent  on  a  four  days'  scout 
into  Mississippi  during  which  it  was  en- 
gaged with  the  enemy  six  different  times.  It 
was  then  assigned  to  guard  the  Randolph 
road,  north  of  Memphis  and  also  the  bridge 
over  Wolf  Creek,  and  while  engaged  in  this 
duty,  was  attacked  by  Burrows'  cavalry,  Sept. 
23d.  The  enemy  were  repulsed  without  loss 
to  the  regiment.     On  November  12th  it  was 


assigned  to  the  ist  Brigade,  ist  Division,  15th 
Army  Corps. 

On  the  26th  the  regiment,  with  quite  a 
large  force,  moved  against  General  Price,  on 
the  Tallahatchie  river,  near  Wyaft,  Miss. 
The  enemy  evacuated  the  place  and  the 
march  was  continued  to  Grenada.  The  Corps 
returned  to  Memphis  on  the  15th  of  Decem- 
ber, and  here  the  57th  now  received  an  addi- 
tion of  118  volunteers  and  205  drafted  men, 
which  made  its  aggregate  force  650  men. 
Soon*  after,  with  the  15th  Corps,  it  moved 
down  the  Mississippi  to  Young's  point,  where 
the  troops  proceeded  up  the  Yazoo,  disem- 
barking on  Sydney  Johnston's  plantation. 
The  next  day,  when  attempting  to  cross 
Chickasaw  Bayou  the  15  th  Corps  encountered 
the  enemy  and  fighting  took  place,  which 
lasted  for  five  days,  the  troops  finally  return- 
ing to  the  transports.  In  this  action  the  regi- 
ment lost  37  in  killed  and  wounded.  Early  in 
January  the  Corps  moved  down  the  Yazoo 
to  the  Mississippi,  up  the  Mississippi  to  White 
river,  thence,  through  the  "cut-off,"  into  the 
Arkansas  and  up  the  Arkansas  to  within  two 
miles  of  Arkansas  Post,  disembarking  on  the 
loth.  Here  the  ist  Brigade  attacked  the 
Rebel  pickets  and  drove  them  to  within  600 
yards  of  Fort  Hindman,  and  subsequently, 
with  the  6th  Missouri,  drove  the  enemy  from 
their  barracks,  in  front  of  their  lines,  and 
about  half  a  mile  further  to  the  west.  In  an 
assault  against  the  works  on  the  next  day  the 
57th  led  the  charge  and  after  a  desperate  bat- 
tle of  three  hours,  the  enemy  surrendered.  In 
this  action  the  regiment  lost  37  in  killed  and 
wounded. 

Ordered  to  Clay  Plantation  on  the  13th, 
the  57th  here  defeated  some  of  the  enemy's 
cavalry  and  destroyed  a  large  amount  of 
stores,  and  then  moved  with  the  fleet  for 
Vicksburg.  In  the  operation  against  this 
place  under  Grant,  the  regiment  took  a  very 
active  part,  being  frequently  engaged  with 
the  enemy,  marching,  digging,  fighting  and 
capturing  large  quantities  of  supplies.  In  the 
advance  upon  the  city  the  regiment  participr 
ated  in  the  actions  at  Raymond,  Champion 
Hills,  where  it  lost  heavily,  and  Black  River. 
It  took  part  in  the  general  assault  on  the  19th 
of  May,  advancing  to  within  70  yards  of  the 
enemy's  line,  and  holding  its  position  under 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


495 


a  terrific  fire  until  two  o'clock  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  20th,  when  the  brigade  was  with- 
drawn to  a  position  in  the  rear.  In  the  ad- 
vance on  the  22d  it  was  in  the  front  line  and 
suffered  more  than  in  the  previous  assault. 
On  the  26th  of  May  it  accompanied  the  divi- 
sion in  a  reconnoisance  between  the  Big  Black 
and  Yazoo  rivers  and  engaged  successfully 
with  the  enemy  at  Mechanicsburg.  From  the 
time  until  the  surrender  it  was  continually 
engaged,  either  on  the  picket  line  or  in  the 
trenches. 

It  then  took  part  in  the  movement  against 
Jackson,  where  Johnston's  army  lay,  and 
after  the  evacuation  of  the  place  aided  in  the 
pursuit  of  the  enemy  to  Pearl  River,  losing 
several  men.  Subsequently  returning  to 
Vicksburg,  it  went  into  camp  at  Camp  Sher- 
man, four  miles  west  of  Big  Black  River, 
where  it  remained  until  the  27th  of  Septem- 
ber. In  the  latter  part  of  September  it  started 
by  steamer  for  Memphis,  arriving  there  Oc- 
tober 4th,  and  thence  on  the  8th  marched  for 
Chattanooga,  arriving  November  22d  at  the 
mouth  of  North  Chickamauga  Creek,  ten 
miles  northeast  of  Chattanooga.  During  this 
march,  which  was  long  and  fatiguing,  there 
was  frequent  skirmishing  with  the  enemy's 
cavalry.  The  regiment  now  formed  a  part 
of  the  I  St  Brigade,  2d  Division,  15th  Corps. 
After  some  further  operations  the  regiment 
participated  in  the  battle  at  Mission  Ridge, 
sustaining  heavy  loss.  After  pursuing  the 
enemy  to  Ringgold,  it  started  with  the  Corps 
to  the  relief  of  Burnside  at  Knoxville,  march- 
ing 104  miles  in  four  days.  Returning,  it 
arrived  again  at  Chattanooga  on  December 
i8th  and  drew  "hardtack"  for  the  first  time 
in  15  days.  On  the  following  day  it  started 
for  Bellefonte,  Ala.,  where  it  arrived  on  the 
29th,  the  men  being  by  this  time  almost  ex- 
hausted by  fatigue,  hunger  and  privation,  be- 
sides being  hatless,  shoeless  and  half  naked. 
In  spite  of  this  experience,  however,  the  men 
of  the  i;7th  were  the  first  to  reenlist  as  vet- 
erans on  the  1st  of  January,  1864. 

After  the  usual  furlough  the  regiment,  with 
207  recruits,  rendezvoused  at  Camp  Chase  on 
March  i6th.  On  April  17th  it  rejoined  its 
brigade  at  Larkinsville,  Ala.,  and  on  the  ist 
of  May  moved  on  the  Atlanta  campaign.  It 
participated  in  the  battle  of  Resaca  on  May 


13th  and  14th,  holding  its  ground  on  the  14th 
against  three  successive  charges  of  the  enemy. 
Its  loss  in  this  battle  was  57  killed  and  wound- 
ed. The  enemy  were  again  encountered  at 
Dallas,  the  regiment  losing  15-  men  in  three 
days"  fighting.  Accompanying  the  army  in 
the  pursuit  of  the  retreating  enemy,  the  57th 
took  part  in  the  actions  at  New  Hope  Church, 
Kenesaw  Mountain,  where  it  lost  57  killed 
and  wounded,  and  skirmished  almost  inces- 
santly both  before  and  after  crossing  the 
Chattahoochie.  Atlanta  was  reached  on  the 
20th  and  two  days  later  the  enemy  made  a 
furious  assault.  The  works  in  front  of  the 
57th  were  captured  by  the  enemy  and  recap- 
tured by  the  regiment  three  separate  times, 
the  regiment  finally  holding  its  position.  In 
this  engagement  the  regiment  lost  92  men. 
The  57th  was  then  moved  to  the  extreme  right 
of  the  army  and  on  the  28th  again  encoun- 
tered the  enemy,  the  Rebels  being  repulsed 
after  a  seven  hours'  fight.  The  regiment  had 
12  men  killed  and  55  wounded,  the  enemy 
leaving  458  of  their  number  dead  in  front  of 
the  brigade.  The  enemy  was  also  repulsed 
with  fearful  slaughter  at  the  battle  of  Jones- 
boro,  the  National  troops  occupying  that 
place  after  its  evacuation  by  the  Rebels.  On 
the  7th  of  September  the  57th  went  into  camp 
at  Eastport. 

Here  it  remained  until  the  4th  of  October, 
when  it  started  after  Hood,  having  an  en- 
counter with  the  enemy  at  Snake  Creek  Gap. 
At  Taylor's  Ridge  another  fight  occurred,  the 
enemy  being  repulsed.  The  time  after  this 
was  spent  in  marching,  countermarching, 
skirmishing  and  fighting  until  Atlanta  was 
reached  again  on  November   13th. 

On  the  15th  the  57th  left  with  Sherman's 
army  on  the  march  to  the  sea.  On  the  21st 
it  encountered  Rebel  cavalry  near  Clinton, 
and  on  the  28th  had  quite  a  fight  at  the  cross- 
ing of  the  Oconee  river.  On  December  3d 
some  of  the  regiment's  foragers  were  cap- 
tured and  on  the  4th  it  lost  heavily  in  an  en- 
gagement at  Statesboro.  It  engaged  in  the 
assault  on  Ft.  McAllister  on  the  13th,  losing 
ten  killed  and  80  wounded.  On  the  17th  it 
moved  with  its  expedition  on  an  expedition  to 
the  Gulf  Railroad  and,  after  destroying  about 
50  miles  of  track,  returned  to  camp. 

On  the  ist  of  January  the  57th  moved  two 


496 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


miles  southeast  of  Savannah,  and  on  the  14th 
left  camp  for  Beaufort,  South  Carolina,  where 
it  o\'ertook  the  remainder  of  the  force.  On 
the  30th  it  started  on  the  campaign  through 
the  Carolinas,  and  reached  Columbia,  after 
heavy  skirmishing  on  the  17th.  When  with- 
in z'^  miles  of  Goldsboro,  it  was  ordered  back 
to  re-enforce  the  left  wing  of  the  army,  then 
menaced  by  Johnston.  It  was  engaged  se- 
verely on  the  19th  and  was  engaged  in  sharp 
skirmishing  for  two  days  after.  Later  it 
moved  by  way  of  Goldsboro  to  Raleigh,  and 
after  the  surrender  of  Johnston,  the  march 
was  continued  through  Petersburg  and  Rich- 
mond to  Washington  City. 

The  57th  participated  in  the  grand  review 
on  May  24th  and  was  then  ordered  to  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  where  it  arrived  June  7th.  On 
the  25th  it  started  for  Little  Rock,  Arkansas, 
arriving  there  August  6th.  On  the  14th  it 
^^'as  mustered  out  of  the  service  and  on  the 
25th  was  paid  and  discharged  at  Camp  Chase, 
Ohio.  The  57th  tra^-eled  by  railroad,  steam- 
boat and  on  foot  more  than  28,000  miles. 
The  names  of  1,584  men  had  been  on  its  mus- 
ter rolls  and  of  that  number  only  481  were 
alive  at  its  muster  out. 

The  64th  Infantry,  O.  V.  I.,  drew  from 
Crawford  county.  Company  H,  and  furnished 
also  recruits  to  Company  K.  Company  H 
was  organized  with  E.  B.  Finley,  captain; 
\\'illiam  Starr,  of  Crestline,  first  lieutenant, 
and  Pinkney  Lewis,  second  lieutenant. 

The  regiment  was  recruited  and  organized 
at  Mansfield,  Ohio,  and  went  into  Camp  Buck- 
ingham, at  that  place,  Xov.  9,  1861.  Ordered 
to  Cincinnati  about  the  middle  of  December, 
it  went  thence  by  steamer  to  Louisville,  Ky., 
marching  from  Louisville,  Dec.  26th,  to 
Bardstown,  Ky.  It  was  then  btigaded  and 
then  moved  to  Danville  and  Hall's  Gap.  Here 
it  engaged  in  road  building  to  facilitate  the 
movement  of  supplies  to  Thomas's  army. 
Soon  after  the  battle  of  :Mill  Springs,  it  joined 
the  National  forces  at  ^lunfordsville  and 
moved  with  them  to  Nashville,  Tenn.  A 
week  later  it  accompanied  General  T.  J. 
Wood's  Division  to  Pittsburg  Landing,  by 
way  of  Columbia.  Taking  steamer  at  Savan- 
nah, it  arrived  at  the  battlefield  of  Shiloh  at 
II  A.  M.  on  the  7th  of  April,  and  was  hur- 
ried to  the  scene  of  conflict.     The  battle  was 


nearly  over,  however,  and  only  Company  A, 
Capt.  Alex.  Mcllvaine,  succeeded  in  getting 
into  action.  It  took  part  in  the  subsequent 
movement  on  Corinth  and  was  afterward  sent 
to  luka,  Tuscumbia,  Decatur,  Huntsville  and 
Stevenson.  Here  it  erected  Fort  Harker,  in 
honor  of  its  brigade  commander. 

About  the  first  of  August  the  regiment  with 
its  brigade  moved  with  the  National  forces 
toward  Nashville,  and  from  there  engaged 
in  a  race  with  Bragg's  forces  to  Louisville, 
Ky.,'  on  the  way  driving  the  enemy  out  of 
Munfordsville  and  across  Green  river. 

About  ten  days  after  arriving  at  Louisville 
the  regiment  moved  out  with  National  forces 
to  the  vicinity  of  Perryville,  and  had  the  mor- 
tification of  witnessing  the  battle  at  that  place, 
without  the  permission  to  help  their  hard- 
pressed  comrades.  After  taking  part  in  the 
retrograde  movement  of  the  National  forces, 
the  regiment  with  its  brigade,  marched 
through  Stamford,  Scottsville  and  Gallatin  to 
the  vicinity  of  Nashville,  going  into  camp 
on  the   Nolinsville   Turnpike. 

In  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  the  64th  was 
in  Crittenden's  Corps,  Wood's  Division,  on 
the  left  wing.  At  dusk,  on  Tuesday  e\-ening, 
it  crossed  the  river,  but  meeting  overwhelm- 
ing forces,  was  recalled  and  withdrew  with 
slight  loss.  At  seven  o'clock  the  next  morn- 
ing it  was  hurried  to  the  relief  of  the  right 
wing.  General  R.  ^^"  Johnson's  line  having 
been  forced.  On  its  arrival  it  held  the  enemy 
in  check  until  the  scattered  National  forces 
were  rallied.  It  then  fell  back  on  the  main 
line,  drawing  the  Rebels  until  within  reach 
of  a  strong  force  of  Nationals,  who  were 
lying  in  wait  for  them,  and  who  poured  into 
them  a  murderous  fire,  which  dro\'e  them 
staggering  back  to  the  point  they  had  started 
from.  The  regiment  then  returned  to  its 
former  position  on  the  left.  On  the  last  day 
of  the  battle,  Friday,  Jan.  2,  1863,  the  regi- 
ment participated  in  all  the  movements'  of  its 
brigade.  It  lost  in  this  battle  75  men  killed 
and  wounded,  out  of  about  300  engaged. 

The  64th  was  then  located  at  Murfrees- 
boro  until  June  7,  1863,  when  it  moved  with 
the  National  army  under  Rosecrans  on  the 
TuUahoma  campaign,  stopping  at  Chattanoo- 
ga over  night  and  proceeding  on  to  Chicka- 
mauga    Creek.      On    September    there    was 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


497 


skirmishing  at  Lee  &  Gordon's  Mills,  the 
enemy  being  driven,  and  on  the  i8th  another 
skirmish  took  place.  The  bloody  battle  of 
Chickamauga  opened  on  the  19th,  the  64th 
being  closely  engaged  during  the  whole  day, 
also  on  Sunday,  the  20th,  until  after  dark. 
They  lost  in  this  battle  over  100  men  in  killed, 
wounded  and  missing.  Subsequently  the  regi- 
ment was  employed  in  building  fortifications 
and  in  picket  duty  at  Chattanooga,  until  the 
arrival  of  Hooker's  Corps  and  the  relief  of 
the  National  forces.  On  November  2Sth  the 
regiment,  with  its  brigade  participated  in  the 
taking  of  Mission  Ridge,  losing  but  few  men. 
Captain  King  and  a  private  were  killed.  After 
the  battle  of  Chickamauga  the  regiment 
moved  with  the  expedition  for  the  relief  of 
Knoxville,  marching  as  far  as  Strawberry 
Plains,  but  the  siege  of  that  place  being  raised 
it  returned  to  Chattanooga.  About  January, 
1864,  the  subject  of  re-enlistment  came  up, 
and  most  of  the  men  consenting  to  re-enlist 
for  three  years,  they  were  granted  a  furlough 
for  thirty  days,  being  warmly  received  at 
Mansfield  by  the  citizens,  and  honored  with 
a  grand  supper. 

On  March  14th  they  left  again  for  the  front 
and  arrived  at  Chattanooga  April  ist,  having 
marched  from  Nashville  to  Cleveland,  Tenn. 

Accompanying  Sherman  in  his  march  on 
Atlanta,  which  began  May  3d,  the  regiment 
with  its  brigade  participated  in  the  charge  on 
Rocky  Face  Ridge.  Colonel  Alexander  Mc- 
Ilvaine,  then  in  command,  and  Lieutenant 
Thomas  H.  Ehlers  were  killed  with  nineteen 
men,  sixty-five  being  wounded.  Captain 
Chamberlain,  commanding  Company  C,  was 
severely  wounded. 

At  Resaca,  June  14th  the  64th  lost  several 
men  killed  and  wounded.  It  sustained  a  slight 
loss  at  Muddy  Creek  on  the  i8th.  During 
this  time  it  was  daily  skirmishing  with  the 
enemy,  and  on  July  20th  it  lost  Sergeant  Ma- 
rion Trage,  of  Company  H,  in  the  battle  of 
Peachtree  Creek.  On  June  21st  it  moved  to 
the  front  of  Atlanta  and  from  this  time  until 
August  26th  was  almost  constantly  under  fire. 
General  Sherman  then  began  his  flanking 
movement  on  Jonesboro,  and  on  September 
3d  the  fight  at  Jonesboro  took  place,  where  the 
64th  sustained  but  slight  loss.  In  the  evening 
of   the   6th   the   regiment  was   engaged   in  a 


skirmish  at  Lovejoy's  Station,  losing  one  man. 
Sergeant  Towsley,  of  Company  G. 

After  the  taking  of  Atlanta  the  regiment, 
with  its  brigade  and  division,  returned  to  that 
place  and  went  into  camp,  remaining  two 
weeks.  It  then  moved  with  the  4th  Army 
Corps  in  the  pursuit  of  Hood  to  Chatta- 
nooga. It  also  received  400  new  recruits 
from  Ohio  and  was  then  sent  on  a  reconnois- 
ance  in  pursuit  of  Hoods'  forces  to  Alpine, 
Georgia,  50  miles  south  of  Chattanooga. 

Returning  to  Chattanooga  the  regiment 
was  sent  by  rail  to  Athens,  Alabama,  and 
from  that  point  marched  to  Pulaski,  Tenn., 
and  to  Spring  Hill,  passing  through  Colum- 
bia. In  an  engagement  at  Spring  Hill  the 
regiment  lost  a  few  men  killed  and  wounded. 
At  the  battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn.,  it  sustained 
a  severe  loss  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing. 
It  was  subsequently  engaged  in  the  fighting 
before  Nashville,  where,  however,  its  losses 
were  slight. 

It  then  joined  in  the  pursuit  of  Hood's  scat- 
tered and  demoralized  forces  across  the  Ten- 
nessee river,  subsequently  going  into  camp 
at  Huntsville.  From  there  it  moved  to  De- 
catur and  Athens,  where  it  remained  two 
months  and  then  returned  to  Huntsville.  It 
was  next  sent  into  East  Tennessee,  going  as 
far  as  Strawberry  Plains,  where  it  remained 
a  week  and  then  returned  to  Nashville. 

From  Nashville  the  regiment  was  sent  on 
board  transports  to  New  Orleans,  where  it 
lay  three  months  and  suffered  severely  from 
sickness.  From  the  middle  of  September  un- 
til the  3d  of  December,  1865,  it  was  stationed 
at  Victoria,  Texas.  It  was  then  mustered  out 
at  Victoria  and  was  sent  to  Camp  Chase,  Ohio, 
where  the  men  were  paid  off  and  discharged. 

The  8 1  St  Regiment,  O.  V.  I.,  had  one  com- 
pany from  Crawford  county — Company  K. 
By  order  of  the  War  Department,  during  the 
summer  of  1861  it  was  permissable  for  any- 
one to  enlist  men,  either  singly,  in  squads  or 
in  companies,  fo  recruit  General  Fremont's 
command,  and  to  have  them  forwarded  to  his 
headquarters  at  St.  Louis.  Thomas  Morton, 
formerly  colonel  of  the  20th  Ohio,  set  out  to 
raise  a  full  regiment  under  this  order,  which 
was  to  be  known  as  "Morton's  Independent 
Rifle  Regiment."  One  company,  having  been 
raised,  was  sent  to  St.  Louis,  and  by  mistake 


498 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


or  mismanagement,  was  incorporated  into  an- 
other regiment,  while  one  or  two  other  com- 
panies, which  it  was  expected  would  join  this 
regiment  were  prevailed  upon  to  become  a 
part  of  other  organizations,  thus  greatly  de- 
laying the  formation  of  the  regiment.  But 
at  last  the  state  came  to  the  rescue  by  taking 
the  independent  regiment  into  its  fold.  It 
was  denominated  the  8ist  O.  V.  I.,  the  state 
imdertook  the  work  of  recruiting  and  it  was 
agreed  that  the  officers  already  appointed 
should  be  commissioned  by  the  governor. 

The  regiment  rendezvoused  at  Benton  Bar- 
racks and  there  entered  upon  its  first  military 
duties,  which  it  continued  susbequently  at 
Franklin  and  Herman,  Missouri.  It  now 
numbered  eight  companies  with  an  aggregate 
of  nearly  600  men,  which  was  as  high  a  num- 
ber as  it  seemed  possible  to  attain.  In  No- 
vember it  moved  against  the  enemy  in  Callo- 
way county,  but  failed  to  find  him.  In  the 
following  month  it  chased  a  force  of  rebels 
who  were  destroying  a  portion  of  the  North- 
ern Missouri  Railroad,  but  the  enemy,  being 
mounted,  escaped.  During  the  winter  it  oc- 
cupied various  places  on  the  Northern  Mis- 
souri Railroad,  with  headquarters  at  Danville, 
and  accomplished  a  great  amount  of  useful 
work  in  protecting  the  railroad,  pursuing 
guerilla  bands  and  arresting  Rebels  engaged  in 
the  work  of  destruction. 

About  the  ist  of  March  it  was  ordered  to 
St.  Louis.  It  was  armed  with  short  Enfield 
rifles,  and  on  the  17th  disembarked  from  the 
steamboat  at  Pittsburg  Landing.  Soon  after 
it  was  assigned  to  the  2d  Brigade,  2d  Divi- 
sion, Army  of  the  Tennessee.  The  brigade 
was  commanded  by  Colonel  McArthur  and 
the  division  by  General  C.  F.  Smith.  The 
regiment  soon  made  great  proficiency  in  drill. 
When  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing  (or 
Shiloh)  opened  Sunday  morning,  April  6th, 
it  was  ordered  across  Snake  Creek,  and  re- 
mained in  position  until  nearly  noon  when  it 
was  withdrawn  to  its  own  color  line.  A  small 
cavalry  force  of  the  enemy  approached  about 
one  o'clock,  but  was  driven  off  by  two  com- 
panies. After  two  o'clock  General  Grant  or- 
dered Colonel  Morton  to  take  position  near 
the  center  of  the  line  and  then  move  forward 
until  he  found  the  enemy.  Advancing  toward 
the  front  and  left  the  colonel  soon  found  his 


little  regiment  alone,  far  ahead  of  the  main 
line  and  out  of  sight  of  it.  While  marching 
by  the  flank,  left  in  front,  it  emerged  into  a 
clear  piece  of  ground  and  was  suddenly 
greeted  with  a  discharge  of  cannister  from  a 
battery  not  more  than  200  yards  away.  Form- 
ing line,  the  regiment  faced  to  the  rear  and, 
lying  down,  delivered  a  volley  or  two  which 
silenced  the  enemy's  fire.  A  movement  was 
then  made  to  a  ravine  a  little  further  to  the 
left.  In  making  this  movement  a  road  had  to 
be  crossed  which  was  commanded  by  the  en- 
emy's battery.  The  regiment  ran  the  gauntlet 
a  company  at  a  time  and  got  safely  across. 
Soon  after,  being  threatened  by  some  Rebel 
cavalry,  it  was  ordered  back  to  the  main  lines, 
and  just  as  the  order  was  given.  Captain  Arm- 
strong, who  commanded  the  right  company, 
was  killed  by  a  grape  shot.  During  the  des- 
perate fighting  on  the  6th,  some  of  the  bri- 
gades and  divisions  had  become  broken  up 
and  the  regiments  scattered,  and  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  7th  when  Grant  took  the  initiative, 
there  was  no  time  for  reorganization.  Pro- 
visional brigades  were  hastily  appointed,  to 
one  of  which  the  8ist  was  assigned.  The 
regiment  advanced  and  after  crossing  an  open 
field,  were  met  by  a  heavy  fire  from  the  en- 
emy who  were  posted  behind  a  breastwork 
of  logs,  while  at  the  same  time  the  shot  and 
shell  from  two  opposite  batteries  plowed 
through  the  ranks.  The  regiment  therefore 
withdrew  to  a  less  exposed  situation,  and 
after  taking  up  their  new  ground,  found  them- 
selves without  support  and  confronting  a 
Rebel  force.  A  furious  fire  ensued,  in  which 
the  8 1st  boys  had  the  best  of  it  and  the  enemy 
broke  and  fled.  Encouraged  by  this  success 
they  started  up  and  dashed  after  the  flying 
foe,  not  halting  until  they  found  themselves 
far  in  advance  of  any  supports  and  flanked 
both  by  infantry  and  artillery.  Such  was 
their  enthusiasm  that  even  then  they  were 
withdrawn  with  difficulty.  In  this  charge  the 
regiment  captured  a  number  of  prisoners  and 
also  a  battery. 

The  8 1st  took  part  in  the  subsequent  slow 
advance  on  Corinth,  having  several  men 
wounded  in  a  skirmish  on  the  31st  of  May. 
After  finding  the  place  evacuated  the  regiment 
joined  in  the  pursuit  as  far  as  Boonville,  this 
service  being  severe  on  account  of  the  intense 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


499 


heat.  In  July  means  were  taken  to  recruit 
the  regiment.  Companies  H  and  G  were  con- 
soHdated  with  other  companies,  and  this  made 
five  minimum  companies  in  the  regiment. 
From  the  middle  of  August  to  the  middle  of 
September  the  8ist  was  engaged  in  protecting 
public  stores  and  performing  post  duty  at 
Hamburg,  on  the  Tennessee  river,  subse- 
quently returning  to  Corinth.  A  few  days 
later  it  marched  under  General  Ord  against 
luka,  which  point  General  Rosecrans  was  also 
approaching  from  the  rear.  Ord  waited  at 
Burnsville,  to  allow  time  for  Rosecrans  to 
come  up,  but  the  latter  pressed  on  and  made 
the  attack  alone,  after  which  Ord's  column 
returned  to  Corinth,  the  brigade  taking  up  po- 
sition two  miles  south  on  the  Mobile  railroad. 
On  the  3d  of  October  the  regiment  moved 
toward  Corinth,  the  brigade  commanded  by 
General  Oglesby,  and  the  division  by  General 
Davis.  This  division  was  marched  out  a  short 
distance  into  the  woods  where  it  was  halted. 
The  Third  Brigade  occupied  the  old  Confed- 
erate works  on  the  left,  while  the  2d  (Ogles- 
by's)  took  position  half  a  mile  further  to  the 
right,  with  the  ist  Brigade  on  its  right.  The 
8ist  was  widely  extended  on  the  left  of  its 
brigade.  This  weak  line  was  hardly  in  posi- 
tion ere  it  was  attacked  by  the  enemy.  It 
gave  way  at  first,  but  being  rallied  it  assumed 
a  more  compact  formation  and  held  its  posi- 
tion during  the  remainder  of  the  day.  The 
brunt  of  the  battle  fell  upon  Davis's  Division 
and  ifeoon  the  hospital  was  filled  with  the 
wounded.  Among  them  were  Gen.  Davis's 
three  brigade  commanders — Col.  Baldwin. 
Gen.  Oglesby  and  Gen.  Heckelman,  the  last 
mentioned  being  in  a  dying  condition.  Dur- 
ing the  night  the  division  changed  position  and 
in  the  morning  was  stretched  out  in  a  single 
line,  without  intrenchments  or  reserves,  with 
its  left  resting  on  Battery  Powell  and  its  right 
covering  Battery  Richardson.  About  nine 
or  ten  o'clock  it  was  again  attacked  by  the 
enemy,  and  at  first  gave  way,  but  being  sup- 
ported by  Hamilton's  artillery  and  Batteries 
Williams  and  Robinett,  the  division  rallied 
and  killed  or  captured  most  of  the  assaulting 
column.  The  loss  of  the  8ist  in  this  battle 
was  1 1  men  killed,  44  wounded  and  three  miss- 
ing.    Among    those    to   fall    was    Sergeant 


David  McCall,  the  color  bearer,  who  had  left 
a  sick  bed  to  join  his  comrades  in  the  fight. 

The  regiment  joined  in  pursuit  of  the 
enemy  to  a  point  near  Chewalla,  on  the  Tus- 
cumbia  river,  where  it  remained  a  week,  then 
returning  to  Corinth.  The  remainder  of  Oc- 
tober and  some  time  after  were  spent  in 
garrison  duty.  On  the  19th  of  October 
the  regiment  was  strengthened  by  the  arrival 
of  five  newly  recruited  companies,  and  on  the 
1st  of  December  they  took  up  winter  quarters 
within  the  defenses  of  Corinth.  For  a  num- 
ber of  weeks  they  had  little  to  do  except  to 
engage  in  reconnoisance  and  foraging  duties, 
during  which  time  they  brought  in  a  large 
amount  of  supplies.  In  December,  owing  to 
Forrest's  raid,  which  had  cut  communications, 
the  garrison  was  placed  on  half  rations,  but 
successful  foraging  parties  obtained  a  quan- 
tity of  supplies  and  no  great  amount  of  suffer- 
ing was  experienced.  This  state  of  things 
lasted  about  three  weeks.  After  the  battle  of 
Parker's  Cross  Roads,  the  81  st,  with  other 
troops,  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  in- 
tercept Forrest  at  Clifton.  In  the  latter  part 
of  January,  1863,  the  81  st,  with  three  other 
regiments  and  a  battery,  went  to  Hamburg 
to  procure  supplies,  and  also  to  capture  a  force 
of  the  enemy  encamped  near  Florence,  but 
owing  to  an  injury  to  one  of  the  boats  the  ex- 
pedition was  obliged  to  return  without  meet- 
ing the  enemy. 

On  April  15th  the  regiment  joined  in  an 
expedition  to  Tuscumbia,  under  General 
Dodge,  its  object  being  to  co-operate  with 
Colonel  Streight  in  his  movement  on  the 
Southern  Railroads.  On  the  28th  there  was 
a  sharp  skirmish  at  Town  Creek,  in  which 
the  regiment  had  a  few  men  wounded.  Af- 
ter keeping  the  enemy  engaged  for  two  days 
and  nights  General  Dodge  returned  to  Cor- 
inth. This  march,  which  lasted  18  days,  re- 
flected credit  on  the  regiment,  every  man 
being  found  in  his  place  when  it  reached  Cor- 
inth. From  early  in  June  until  the  latter  part 
of  October  the  81  st  was  engaged  in  gfarrison 
duty  at  Pocahontas,  and  subsequently  per- 
formed similar  duty  at  Wales,  Pulaski,  Sam's 
Mills  and  Nance's  Mills  being  divided  up  for 
that  purpose.  At  Pulaski,  which  was  made 
the  headquarters.  Major  Evans  had  a  few  of 


500 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


his  men  mounted  for  service  against  the  en- 
emy's guerrillas,  who  infested  the  country. 

In  January,  1864,  the  question  of  re-enlist- 
meiit  came  up,  three- fourths  of  the  men  being 
ready  to  respond  favorably,  but  the  Secretary 
of  War  deciding  that  the  five  companies  lately 
recruited  were  not  entitled  to  the  privilege  of 
re-enlisting,  the  regiment  was  thus  prevented 
from  going  North  as  a  veteran  organization. 
A  number  of  veterans  from  the  old  companies 
were  granted  a  furlough  and  went  home  in 
two  squads,  each  in  charge  of  a  sergeant.  On 
April  26th  the  regiment  concentrated  at  Pu- 
laski and  on  the  29th  set  out  for  Chattanooga, 
on  its  arrival  going  into  bivouac  at  the  foot  of 
Lookout  Mountain.  In  May  the  8ist  started 
southward  on  the  Atlanta  campaign  under 
Sherman.  Though  brought  into  line  at  Re- 
saca,  it  was  not  engaged,  and  on  the  14th  was 
withdrawn  from  the  main  battlefield  and  or- 
dered to  Lay's  Ferry  to  lay  a  pontoon  bridge 
across  the  Costenaula.  Crossing  the  river 
they  dispersed  a  force  of  the  enemy  on  the 
other  side,  taking  some  prisoners,  including  a 
captain  and  two  lieutenants.  The  order  for 
laying  the  pontoon  was  countermanded  the 
work  being  deferred  until  after  the  evacuation 
of  Atlanta,  when  the  regiment  crossed  and 
had  a  slight  engagement  with  the  Rebels.  It 
also  fought  May  i6th  in  the  battle  of  Rome 
Cross  Roads.  It  then  moved  by  way  of  Kings- 
ton and  Van  Wert  to  Dallas,  where  while 
General  McPherson's  Corps  was  being  with- 
drawn to  the  left  the  enemy  made  seven  as- 
saults, but  were  every  time  repulsed. 

From  this  point  there  was  continual  skir- 
mishing to  Kenesaw.  At  the  latter  place  it  was 
in  the  front  line  most  of  the  time,  and  often 
on  picket  duty,  but  was  not  called  on  to  make 
an  assault.  In  the  battle  July  22d  in  front  of 
Atlanta,  the  81st,  with  three  companies  in  re- 
serve, the  command  stood  like  a  rock  and 
made  an  effective  resistance,  and  subsequently 
with  the  1 2th  Illinois  executed  a  splendid 
charge,  carrying  everything  before  them. 
The  8 1st  captured  a  number  of  prisoners  and 
three  battle  flags.  Later  in  the  day,  in  re- 
sponse to  an  order  from  General  Logan,  Gen- 
eral Dodge  sent  Mersey's  Brigade,  of  which 
the  8 1  St  formed  a  part,  to  assist  the  15th 
Corps  in  recovering  its  works,  a  duty  which 
was   successfully  performed.     Late   at   night 


the  8ist  and  12th  Illinois  went  with  the  bri-- 
gade  to  Bald  Hill  where  they  constructed  some 
extensive  works.  On  July  28th,  while  a  por- 
tion of  the  army  was  moving  to  the  right, 
Hood  made  another  assault.  The  8ist,  with 
other  regiments,  was  called  upon  to  assist  the 
1 5th  Corps  and  took  an  active  part  in  repelling 
the  enemy. 

Later  it  took  part  in  the  engagement  at 
Jonesboro  and  in  the  skirmish  at  Lovejoy, 
subsequently  returning  to  the  vicinity  of  At- 
lanta.* Here  the  few  men  of  the  five  old  com- 
panies who  had  served  three  years  and  had 
not  re-enlisted — about  150  in  all — were 
mustered  out.  The  official  notice  of  their 
muster-out  was  not  received  until  late  in  De- 
cember, and  then  only  two  companies  (B  and 
C)  lost  their  existence.  The  remaining  mem- 
bers of  those  companies  were  assigned  to  other 
companies  of  the  regiment. 

In  September,  at  Rome,  Ga.,  the  81  st  was 
assigned  to  the  4th  Division  of  the  15th  Corps. 
It  arrived  at  Atlanta  on  the  15  th  and  the 
next  day  joined  in  the  march  toward  Savan- 
nah, which  place  it  entered  on  the  21st,  being 
subsequently  camped  near  the  city.  January 
28th  it  crossed  the  Savannah  at  Sisters'  Ferry 
and  subsequently  participated  in  the  campaign 
in  the  Carolinas,  being  engaged  with  the  en- 
emy at  Bentonville.  At  Goldsboro  they  par- 
ticipated in  the  review  of  the  army,  those  in 
tattered  uniforms  and  without  shoes  and  hats 
being  massed  into  one  company.  Soon  after 
a  number  of  absentees  and  recruits  joined  the 
regiment,  so  many  of  the  latter  being  received 
that  two  new  companies  were  formed — com- 
panies B  and  C.  The  regiment  now  marched 
through  Raleigh  to  Morrisville,  where  it  lay 
until  after  Sherman's  negotiations  with  John- 
ston, when  it  returned  to  Raleigh. 

On  the  26th  of  April  it  started  home,  reach- 
ing Washington  May  20,  and  joining  in  the 
review  on  the  24th.  Early  in  June  it  started 
to  Louisville,  near  which  city  it  was  encamped 
until  on  July  13th  the  welcome  order  to  muster 
out  was  received  and  the  regiment  immedi- 
ately started  for  Camp  Dennison,  Ohio,  where 
it  was  paid  and  discharged  July  21,  1865. 
During  its  term  of  service  34  men  were  killed 
in  action,  24  died  of  wounds,  121  died  of  dis- 
ease, and  136  were  discharged  for  disability. 

The  86th  O.   V    I. — There  were  two  or- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


501 


ganizations  of  this  number,  one  of  three  and 
the  other  of  six  months'  enhstment.  The  first 
was  called  out  by  Governor  Tod  in  response 
to  the  President's  call,  for  75,000  men,  in 
May,  1862,  there  being  at  that  time  some  ap- 
parent danger  of  an  invasion  of  the  Northern 
States  by  the  forces  under  "Stonewall"  Jack- 
son. The  regiment  was  organized  at  Camp 
Chase  on  June  11,  1862,  and  on  the  i6th  left 
for  Clarksburg,  Va.  Company  K  of  this  reg- 
iment was  from  Crawford  county,  as  were 
also  some  of  the  field  officers,  of  whom  W.  C. 
Lemert  was  major,  afterward,  on  the  reor- 
ganization of  the  regiment,  becoming  its  col- 
onel. Company  K  was  officered  as  follows: 
E.  C.  Moderwell,  captain;  Samuel  Smalley, 
first  lieutenant;  Horace  Potter,  second  lieu- 
tenant; J.  M.  McCracken,  orderly  sergeant; 
J.  B.  Scroggs,  sergeant  major;  B.  F.  Lauck. 
quarteraiaster's  sergeant;  and  H.  V.  Potter, 
regimental  postmaster. 

Arriving  at  Clarksburg  on  the  17th  the  reg- 
iment took  up  the  work  of  guarding  the  rail- 
road and  protecting  Grafton,  that  place  being 
the  base  of  supplies  for  the  troops  at  several 
points.  On  July  27th  Companies  A,  C,  H  and 
I,  under  command  of  Lieut.  Colonel  Hunter, 
were  sent  to  Parkersburg,  in  anticipation  of 
a  Rebel  raid  on  that  town,  their  arrival  allay- 
ing the  fears  of  the  inhabitants. 

On  August  21  this  detachment  was  ordered 
back  to  Clarksburg  to  rejoin  the  regiment  and 
take  part  in  a  movement  against  a  Confed- 
erate force  under  Jenkins,  which  it  was  re- 
ported was  getting  ready  to  make  a  raid  on 
the  railroad  and  invade  Ohio.  The  86th  went 
as  far  as  Huttonsville,  when,  the  enemy  not 
appearing,  the  regiment  was  ordered  back  to 
Clarksburg,  the  87th  Pennsylvania  being  sent 
on  to  Beverly,  to  be  ready  in  case  the  enemy 
should  appear  before  that  place.  Jenkins 
made  his  raid  in  an  unexpected  direction  and 
captured  the  town  of  Buckhannon,  after  meet- 
ing with  a  gallant  resistance.  He  destroyed 
a  large  amount  of  Government  stores,  both  in 
that  place  and  at  Weston,  and,  crossing  the 
Ohio  river,  stole  a  few  horses  and  then  re- 
turned to  the  mountains  of  West  Virginia. 

As  he  was  expected  to  attack  Clarksburg, 
the  stores  at  that  place  were  transferred  to 
Fairmount  and  Wheeling.  Learning  proba- 
bly through  his  spies  that  the  town  was  well 


guarded  by  the  86th  Ohio  and  a  detachment 
of  the  6th  Virginia,  he  made  no  attack  on  the 
place.  On  the  expiration  of  the  86th  term  of 
enlistment,  the  regiment  started  for  Camp 
Delaware,  Ohio,  where  it  arrived  September 
iSth,  and  on  the  25th  was  paid  and  mustered 
out  of  the  service. 

The  86th  O.  V.  I.  (six  months'  organiza- 
tion). As  the  Confederates  still  showed  an 
inclination  to  invade  the  Northern  border 
states,  measures  were  taken  by  the  authorities 
to  enlist  troops  for  defense,  the  same  to  serve 
for  six  months.  Wilson  C.  Lemert,  of  Bucy- 
rus,  who  had  been  major  of  the  three  months' 
organization,  was  authorized  by  Governor 
Tod  to  reorganize  the  86th  regiment.  On  the 
completion  of  this  work  the  regiment  rendez- 
voused at  Camp  Cleveland.  About  this  time 
Morgan  was  making  his  raid  through  south- 
ern Ohio,  and  the  86th  was  ordered  to  Zanes- 
ville,  where  a  detachment  of  200  men,  under 
Lieut.  Colonel  McFarland,  took  boat  for 
Eagleport,  on  the  Muskingum  river,  where  it 
was  supposed  Morgan  would  attempt  to  cross. 
They  arrived  in  time  to  witness  the  crossing 
of  the  enemy's  rear  guard,  but,  not  being 
strong  enough  to  attack,  endeavored  by  skir- 
mishing as  long  as  possible,  until  the  pursu- 
ing force  should  come  up ;  having  done  which 
the  detachment  returned  to  Zanesville.  In  the 
meanwhile.  Major  Krauss,  with  the  remainder 
of  the  regiment  had  been  ordered  to  Cam- 
bridge, Ohio,  to  intercept  Morgan  at  that 
point,  but,  being  delayed,  reached  Washing- 
ton, eight  miles  from  Cambridge,  a  few  min- 
utes after  Morgan  had  passed  through  the 
latter  town.  Pursuit  was  continued,  however, 
in  conjunction  with  the  force  under  Colonel 
Shackleford,  and  finally  resulted  in  the  capture 
of  Morgan's  force  at  Salineville,  Ohio. 

The  86th  returned  to  Camp  Tod  and  soon 
after,  on  August  8th,  was  ordered  to  Camp 
Nelson,  Kentucky,  to  join  an  expedition  or- 
ganizing for  the  capture  of  Cumberland  Gap, 
East  Tennessee.  This  expedition  was  under 
command  of'  Colonel  John  De  Courcv  and 
consisted  of  the  86th  and  129th  Ohio  detach- 
ments of  the  9th  and  nth  East  Tennessee 
cavalry  and  Capt.  Neil's  22d  Ohio  Battery — 
in  all  about  3,000  men.  It  arrived  in  front  of 
Cumberland  Gap  on  the  8th  of  September, 
and  at  the  same  time  General  Burnside  arrived 


502 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


with  his  forces  on  the  opposite  or  Tennessee 
side,  thus  completely  investing  the  Rebel  gar- 
rison, under  General  Frazier.  By  a  ruse  of 
Colonel  De  Courcy's  in  dividing  his  regiments 
the  Confederates  were  deceived  into  believing 
his  force  much  greater  than  it  really  was.  On 
the  9th  of_  September,  the  troops  having  been 
placed  in  position  for  an  attack,  a  formal  de- 
mand was  made  on  the  enemy  for  surrender, 
which  was  acceded  to  by  General  Frazier,  a 
great  loss  of  life  being  thereby  avoided,  as 
the  place  might  have  been  stoutly  defended. 
Two  thousand  eight  hundred  prisoners  were 
made  and  5,000  stand  of  arms,  13  pieces  of  ar- 
tillery and  large  quantities  of  ammunition  and 
other  stores  were  captured  in  this  affair.  The 
86th  remained  at'  the  Gap  doing  garrison  duty 
until  its  term  of  service  had  expired,  and  dur- 
ing this  time  was  engaged  in  foraging  expedi- 
tions, having  many  encounters  with  the  en- 
emy's guerrillas.  On  January  16,  1864,  it 
started  for  Ohio  and  arrived  in  Cleveland  on 
the  26th.  The  six  months'  organization  was 
mustered  out  of  the  service  February  10,  1864. 
The  loist  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was 
one  of  the  patriotic  organizations  raised  in 
1862,  after  a  series  of  reverses  to  the  North- 
ern arms  had  seemed  to  presage  the  final  tri- 
umph of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  It  was 
recruited  from  the  counties  of  Erie,  Huron, 
Crawford  and  Wyandotte,  and  was  mustered 
into  service  at  Monroeville,  Ohio,  August  30, 
1862.  Companies  C  and  E  of  this  regiment 
were  from  Crawford  county.  The  first  was 
organized  with  the  following  officers :  B.  B. 
McDanald,  captain;  Isaac  Anderson,  first  lieu- 
tenant, and  J.  B.  Biddle,  second  lieutenant. 
Capt.  McDanald  was  promoted  to  major,  De- 
cember 26,  1863,  and  to  lieut.-colonel,  Febru- 
ary 18,  1864,  with  which  rank  he  was  mus- 
tered out  with  the  regiment.  Lieut.  Anderson 
resigned  January  2,  1863,  on  account  of  dis- 
ability. Second  Lieutenant  Biddle  was  killed 
December  31,  1862.  W.  N.  Beer  was  pro- 
moted from  sergeant  major  to  first  lieuten- 
ant on  the  2d  of  January,  1863,  and  to  cap- 
tain, March  19,  1864,  and  as  such  was  mus- 
tered out  with  the  regiment.  J.  M.  Roberts 
was  promoted  to  second  lieutenant  for  bravery 
at  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro,  December  31, 
1862;  to  first  lieutenant,  March  19,  1864,  and 


to  captain,  February  10,  1865,  and  was  trans- 
ferred to  Company  K. 

The  story  of  Capt.  McDanald's  escape  from 
Libby  prison  is  well  known  to  the  people  of 
Crawford  county.  He,  with  a  number  of  his 
comrades,  _was  captured  by  the  enemy  Septem- 
ber 20,  1863,  during  the  Chattanooga  cam- 
paign, and  remained  in  Libby,  suffering  all 
the  horrors  of  confinement  there,  until  the 
spring  of  1864,  when,  with  a  few  fellow  of- 
ficers he  escaped  by  tunneling  underneath  the 
prison  walls. 

Company  E  was  organized  with  the  follow- 
ing commissioned  officers :  William  P.  Parsons, 
captain;  Lyman  Parcher,  first  lieutenant;  and 
Robert  D.  Lord,  second  lieutenant.  Capt. 
Parsons  died  November  15,  1862;  Lieut. 
Parcher  was  promoted  to  captain,  November 
15,  1862,  and  resigned  February  26,  1863. 
Second  Lieutenant  Lord  was  promoted  to 
first  lieutenant,  N^ovember  15,  1862 ;  to  captain 
February  26,  1863,  and  was  honorably  dis- 
charged August  12,  1863.  Samuel  S.  Blowers 
was  promoted  to  second  lieutenant,  and  re- 
signed January  9,  1864. 

The  loist  regiment  was  organized  with 
Leander  Stem,  colonel;  John  Trautz,  lieut.- 
colonel;  Moses  F.  Wooster,  major  and 
Thomas  M.  Cook,  surgeon.  It  first  saw  serv- 
ice at  Covington,  Ky.,  to  which  place  it  was 
ordered  to  assist  in  repelling  a  threatened  raid 
on  Covington,  Ky.,  by  Kirby  Smith.  After 
remaining  near  Covington  until  late  in  Sep- 
tember, it  was  ord'ered  to  Louisville,  Ky., 
and  there  incorporated  into  General  Buell's 
army,  being  placed  in  the  brigade  commanded 
by  Gen.  William  P.  Carlin  and  the  division  of 
Gen.  Robert  B.  Mitchel.  Marching  in  pursuit 
of  Bragg,  the  regiment  had  its  first  encounter 
with  the  enemy  at  the  battle  of  Perry ville  on 
the  8th  of  October,  where  it  bore  itself  bravely, 
losing  several  men.  In  the  subsequent  pur- 
suit after  the  enemy  it  had  a  severe  skirmish 
at  Lancaster,  Ky.,  with  their  rear  guard.  At 
Nashville  Gen.  Jeff.  C.  Davis  took  command 
of  the  division,  and  on  December  26th  it 
marched  with  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland, 
under  General  Rosecrans.  The  enemy  were 
met  the  same  day  and  a  battle  ensued,  in  which 
the  regiment  distinguished  itsdf,  the  men  be- 
having like  veterans.     One  of  the  guns  cap- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


503 


tured  by  it  belonged  to  Georgia  troops  and 
had  on  it  the  word  "Shiloh." 

On  December  30th  this  brigade  was  the 
first  to  arrive  on  the  battlefield  of  Stone  River, 
at  night  becoming  briskly  engaged.  The  loist 
was  in  the  hottest  of  the  fight  on  the  following 
day,  taking  up  six  different  positions  and  stub- 
bornly maintaining  them.  Col.  Leander  Stem 
and  Lieut.  Col.  Wooster  were  both  killed.  The 
regiment  was  held  on  the  front  line  of  the 
right  of  the  army  until  January  2d,  when  it 
was  one  of  the  many  regiments  ordered  to 
support  the  left,  and  with  the  bayonet  helped 
to  turn  the  tide  of  battle.  It  lost  seven  officers 
and  112  men  killed  and  wounded. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  winter  the 
regiment  was  constantly  engaged  in  expedi- 
tions through  the  country  surrounding  Mur- 
freesboro,  this  service,  which  was  very  ardu- 
ous, lasting  until  April,  1863,  at  which  time 
it  went  into  camp  at  Murfreesboro  for  rest 
and  drill. 

In  the  Tullahoma  campaign,  which  opened 
June  24th,  the  loist  was  with  that  portion  of 
the  army  which  moved  toward  Liberty  Gap 
and  was  there  engaged  with  Cleburne's  Rebel 
troops.  It  accompanied  the  army  to  Chatta- 
nooga and  at  the  close  of  that  campaign  was 
with  Davis's  Division  at  Winchester,  Tenn. 
About  the  middle  of  August  the  regiment 
marched  on  the  Chattanooga  campaign,  and 
on  the  19th  and  20th  participated  in  the  battle 
of  Chickamauga,  displaying  great  coolness  and 
gallantry,  retaking  a  National  battery  from 
the  enemy.  On  the  subsequent  reorganization 
of  the  army,  the  loist  became  a  part  of  the 
1st  Brigade,  ist  Division,  4th  Army  Corps, 
and  on  October  28th  marched  to  Bridgeport, 
Ala.,  where  it  remained  in  camp  until  Janu- 
ary 16,  1864,  when  it  marched  to  Oldtawah, 
Tenn. 

Later  it  accompanied  Sherman  on  the  At- 
lanta campaign,  taking  part  in  heavy  fighting 
at  various  places.  It  moved  with  the  army 
around  Atlanta,  fighting  at  Jonesboro  and 
Lovejoy,  and  back  to  Atlanta.  It  subse- 
quently aided  in  the  pursuit  of  Hood,  march- 
ing from  Atlanta  to  Pulaski,  Tenn.,  and  thence 
on  to  Nashville.  At  nightfall,  at  the  battle 
of  Franklin,  it  was  ordered  to  take  an  angle 
of  the  works  held  by  the  enemy,  which  it  did 
with  the  bayonet,   and  held  the  position  till 


9  o'clock  P.  M.,  although  the  Rebels  were  al- 
most within  bayonet  reach  during  all  that  time. 

The  loist  fought  in  the  battle  of  Nashville, 
December  15th  and  i6th,  and  subsequently 
followed  in  pursuit  of  Hood  to  Lexington, 
Ala.,  later  going  into  camp  at  Huntsville. 
While  lying  at  this  place  it  was  mustered  out 
of  the  service,  on  June  12th,  1865,  and  sent  to 
Camp  Taylor,  near  Cleveland,  where  it  was 
paid  off  and  discharged. 

The  123d  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  con- 
tained one  full  company  (Company  H)  of 
Crawford  county  men,  besides  a  number 
scattered  through  the  other  companies  of  the 
regiment.  The  county  had  received  permis- 
sion to  recruit  three  of  the  ten  companies  of 
the  regiment,  but  only  succeeded  in  raising 
one,  with  the  exception  of  the  additional  re- 
cruits mentioned.  Company  H  was  officered 
as  follows :  John  Newman,  captain ;  David 
S.  Caldwell,  first  lieutenant ;  and  H.  S.  Beving- 
ton,  second  lieutenant.  Capt.  Newman  re- 
signed February  3,  1863.  Lieut.  Caldwell 
was  promoted  to  captain,  February  3,  1863, 
and  honorably  discharged  July  24,  1864.  Lieut. 
Bevington  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant. 
February  3,  1863;  to  captain,  January  6,  1865, 
and  honorably  discharged  February  i,  1865. 
William  A.  Williams  was  promoted  from  or- 
derly sergeant  to  second  lieutenant,  February 
3,  1863,  and  honorably  discharged  July  29, 
1864. 

The  123  d  was  organized  at  Camp  Monroe- 
ville,  in  Huron  county,  Ohio.  William  T. 
Wilson  was  commissioned  colonel  and  was 
subsequently  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 
Henry  B.  Hunter  was  lieutenant  colonel;  A. 
B.  Norton,  major;  and  O.  Ferris,  surgeon. 
The  regiment  reached  Clarksburg,  Va.,  Octo- 
ber 20th,  and  a  week  later  marched  to  Buck- 
hannon.  It  then  went  to  Beverly,  Va.,  left 
there  November  8th,  then  camped  eight  days 
at  'Huttonsville,  then  marched  to  Webster, 
thus  returning  to  within  10  miles  from  the 
point  from  which  it  started. 

From  November  i8th  to  December  i^th  it 
lay  in  camp  at  New  Creek,  and  while  here 
Capt.  Kellogg,  of  Company  B,  was  sent  on 
detached  service  to  assess  the  Rebel  citizens  of 
that  place  for  outrages  committed  by  Imbo- 
den's  guerrillas  on  Union  men.  Five  thousand 
dollars   was   collected   under  this   order   and 


504 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


turned  over  to  the  sufferers.  On  January 
3d,  1863,  the  regiment  was  sent  to  reheve  the 
1 1 6th  Ohio,  which  was  surrounded  and  in 
danger  of  being  captured  by  Confederate  cav- 
alry, in  which  service  it  was  successful,  the 
enemy  being  driven  off.  Lieut.  E.  H.  Brown, 
who  had  been  left  behind  at  Petersburg,  hav- 
ing destroyed  some  stores,  attempted  to  rejoin 
his  regiment,  with  the  sick  and  a  few  cavalry- 
men, but  was  captured,  by  a  body  of  the  en- 
emy's cavalry,  being,  however,  paroled  the 
next  morning.  For  about  six  weeks  from  the 
I2th  of  January  the  regiment  was  engaged  in 
scouting  duty  in  the  vicinity  of  Romney,  and 
while  at  this  place  a  company  of  the  ii6th 
Ohio  (in  the  brigade)  and  a  small  detail  from 
the  123d  was  captured  by  McNeil's  Confed- 
erate cavalry,  and  the  train  in  their  charge 
burned.  The  men  were  paroled  and  sent  back 
into  the  National  lines.  The  regiment  arrived 
at  Winchester  on  March  4th  and  from  that 
point  made  several  raids  up  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  going  as  far  as  Newmarket. 

On  the  13th  of  June  Lee's  whole  army,  then 
on  its  way  to  Pennsylvania,  passed  through 
and  surrounded  Winchester.  In  the  afternoon 
of  the  same  day  the  123d,  with  its  brigade 
under  Brigadier-General  Elliott,  lost  nearly 
100  men  in  an  engagement  with  General 
Early's  Corps.  On  the  14th  the  National 
forces  were  driven  into  their  fortifications, 
and  subjected  to  a  heavy  artillery  fire,  the 
outworks  being  later  carried  by  the  enemy. 
At  a  council  of  war  it  was  decided  to  evacu- 
ate the  place.  Spiking  the  artillery,  which  had 
to  be  left  behind,  the  troops  were  marched 
out  silently  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but 
after  marching  four  miles  along  the  IMartins- 
burg  Road,  the  enemy  was  found  strongly 
posted  along  the  road  and  retreat  was  cut  off. 
In  an  attempt  to  cut  a  way  out,  the  123d  made 
three  distinct  charges,  losing  in  killed  and 
wounded  about  50  men.  A\'hile  the  regiment 
was  forming  for  the  fourth  charge,  Colonel 
Ely,  of  the  i8th  Connecticut,  temporarily  in 
command  of  the  brigade,  surrendered  to  the 
enemy,  and  the  whole  brigade,  except  Com- 
pany D  of  the  123d,  were  made  prisoners 
of  war  and  sent  to  Richmond,  where  the  of- 
ficers of  the  123d  remained  in  Libby  prison  for 
about  eleven  months.  Lieut.  W.  A.  Williams 
and  Capt.  D.  S.  Caldwell  made  their  escape. 


as  subsequently  did  several  other  officers. 
Some  were  exchanged  and  sent  home,  while 
the  remainder  of  those  confined  in  Libby  were 
transferred  to  other  prisons,  where  one  or  two 
of  them  died  of  disease.  The  privates  of  the 
regiment  were  exchanged  within  a  few 
months. 

The  stragglers  of  the  regiment  were  col- 
lected by  Major  Horace  Kellogg,  who  had 
escaped  from  the  enemy  at  Winchester,  and 
were  joined  by  the  paroled  men  at  Martins- 
burg,  about  September  ist,  1863.  Here  they 
were  newly  armed  and  equipped,  and  as  the 
regiment  was  deficient  in  officers,  it  was  en- 
gaged mainly  in  provost  and  picket  duty  un- 
til March  ist,  1864,  and  was  then  used  to 
guard  the  B.  &  O.  Railroad  between  Harper's 
Ferry  and  Monocacy  Junction.  In  April  the 
123d  accompanied  the  forces  of  General  Sigel 
in  a  raid  up  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and  in  a 
fight  with  the  enemy  under  Breckinridge  on 
the  15th  of  May,  lost  79  in  killed  and 
wounded,  Sigel  being  compelled  to  fall  back 
to  Cedar  Creek. 

Sigel  being  replaced  by  General  Hunter, 
the  latter  prepared  for  a  raid  on  Lynchburg, 
and  at  Port  Republic,  on  June  4th,  the  enemy 
was  encountered  and  whipped,  2,000  prison- 
ers being  taken.  The  regiment  was  not  act- 
ively engaged  in  this  fight  but  performed  val- 
uable service  in  guarding  trains.  At  Staun- 
ton General  Crook's  column  joined  the  army, 
which  then  proceeded  toward  Lynchburg,  the 
skirmishing  becoming  hotter  each  day.  A 
battle  took  place  on  the  14th  near  Lynchburg, 
in  which  the  123d  lost  a  number  of  men.  Find- 
ing that  the  enemy  had  been  largely  reinforced 
and  lay  between  him  and  the  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley, Hunter  drew  off  his  forces  and  began  his 
retreat  to  the  Kanawha  Valley.  This  retreat 
was  almost  a  continual  fight  until  the  army 
reached  Salem,  at  which  place  two  batteries 
were  captured  by  the  enemy,  but  aftenvard 
captured  and  spiked.  On  crossing  another 
spur  of  mountains  the  enemy  drew  off  from 
the  pursuit.  On  this  retreat  the  men  suffered 
severely  from  exhaustion  and  starvation 
and  numbers  lay  down  by  the  roadside 
and  died.  The  army  finally  reached  Gauley 
Bridge,  in  the  Kanawha  Valley,  where  the 
army  obtained  rest  and  refreshment.  Early 
in   July  the    123d   returned  to   Martinsburg, 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


505 


having  250  men  left  out  of  the  700  with  which 
it  had  started.  Soon  after  an  unsuccessful 
attempt  was  made  to  intercept  Early  in  his 
retreat  from  Washington.  On  July  i8th  the 
Army  of  West  Virginia,  of  which  the  123d 
formed  part,  had  a  fight  with  Early  at  Snick- 
er's Ferry,  on  the  Shenandoah  River,  in  which 
the  regiment  lost  a  number  of  men,  including 
Lieut.  C.  D.  Williams,  of  Company  B.  That 
night   the   enemy   retreated   up  the   valley. 

The  National  troops  moved  after  them  and 
a  sharp  skirmish  took  place  on  the  23d.  The 
two  armies  fought  up  and  down  the  valley 
for  several  days,  with  alternate  success,  the 
National  troops  finally  being  ordered  back  to 
Monocacy  Junction. 

The  command  of  the  National  forces  was 
now  placed  in  the  hands  of  General  Phil  Sher- 
idan, and  a  new  era  dawned  upon  the  Shenan- 
doah Valley.  In  the  fighting  at  Berryville 
the  123d  lost  25  men  killed  and  wounded.  On 
the  19th  of  September,  near  Winchester,  an- 
other battle  was  fought.  In  this  affair  the 
123d  was  engaged  on  the  right  in  Colonel 
Thoburn's  Brigade,  and  formed  part  of  the 
grand  flanking  column  which  changed  the 
fortunes  of  the  day.  The  regiment  took  part 
in  the  final  charge  and  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  the  enemy  in  full  retreat,  ending  in  a 
perfect  rout.  The  loss  of  the  123d  in  this  bat- 
tle was  five  officers  and  about  50  men. 

The  enemy  taking  refuge  behind  strong 
works  at  Strasburg,  General  Crook,  in  whose 
command  was  the  123d,  executed  a  secret 
movement  on  the  left  flank  of  the  Confederate 
army,  and  reached  the  side  of  a  hill  imme- 
diately overlooking  the  Rebel  position  before 
he  was  discovered.  A  sudden  charge  scat- 
tered the  enemy  like  chaff.  In  this  action  the 
regiment  lost  six  men. 

The  next  day,  September  23d,  the  National 
forces  moved  up  the  valley  to  Harrisonburg, 
the  123d  being  left  behind  at  Fisher's  Hill  to 
bury  the  dead  and  collect  the  arms  thrown 
down  by  the  enemy;  this  done  it  joined  the 
main  army. 

Some  days  later  the  National  forces  began 
a  retrograde  movement  down  the  valley  for 
the  purpose  of  drawing  the  enemy  after  them, 
and  finally  took  up  a  position  at  Cedar  Creek, 
where  they  threw  up  fortifications.  The  en- 
emy followed  and  resumed  their  strong  posi- 


tion at  Fisher's  Hill,  which  they  further 
strengthened.  During  this  time  the  123d,  in 
repelling  a  reconnoisance  made  by  the  Rebels, 
lost  their  gallant  brigade  commander,  Colonel 
Thoburn,  of  the  4th  Virginia. 

On  the  19th  of  October,  the  enemy,  under 
cover  of  a  dense  fog,  crept  up  through  a  gap 
unfortunately  left  in  the  National  line  of 
pickets,  and  turned  the  left  flank  of  the  army, 
held  by  General  Crook's  Corps,  pushing  the 
army  back  five  or  six  miles  and  capturing  the 
works  and  all  that  were  in  them.  In  this  rout 
the  6th  Corps  acted  as  a  breakwater  against 
the  Rebels,  holding  them  in  check  until  the 
National  lines  were  re-formed.  While  matters 
were  at  this  pass.  General  Sheridan  suddenly 
appeared,  having  made  his  famous  ride  from 
Winchester.  He  at  once  infused  new  life  into 
the  demoralized  forces,  and  having  made  some 
slight  changes  in  the  order  of  battle,  gave  the 
word  for  a  general  advance.  The  enemy  were 
swept  from  the  field,  losing  all  their  own  ar- 
tillery and  that  which  they  had  captured  in 
the  morning.  This  victory  was  so  thorough 
that  thereafter  there  was  no  opposition  to  the 
National  forces  worth  mentioning  in  the  val- 
ley. 

After  going  into  camp  for  about  ten  days 
with  the  rest  of  the  troops,  the  123d  was  as- 
signed to  guard  the  line  of  the  Harper's  Ferry 
&  Winchester  Railroad.  A  month  later  it 
was  ordered  to  report  to  General  Butler,  com- 
manding on  the  north  side  of  the  James  river, 
near  Bermuda  Hundred,  and  attached  to  the 
24th  Army  Corps,  General  Ord  commanding. 
The  regiment  lay  in  camp  near  Deep  Bottom 
until  March  25,  1865,  when  it  moved  to  the 
Chickahominy  to  aid  Sheridan  across  that 
river.  On  April  2d  a  charge  was  made  on 
the  Rebel  works  at  Hatcher's  Run,  the  works 
being  carried.  For  three  days  and  nights  pre- 
viously the  123d  had  been  on  the  skirmish 
line  without  relief,  and  during  this  time  their 
losses  were  quite  severe.  The  regiment  cap- 
tured two  battle  flags  and  a  number  of  prison- 
ers. During  the  pursuit  of  Lee's  army  toward 
Danville  the  123d  was  included  in  a  force  sent 
out  from  Burke's  Junction  to  burn  High 
Bridge  15  miles  in  advance  on  the  South  Side 
Railroad.  When  about  half  a  mile  from  the 
bridge  they  were  taken  in  the  rear  by  the  cav- 
alry in  advance  of  Lee's  army  and,  after  sev- 


506 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


eral  hours'  fight,  the  whole  National  force,  in- 
cluding the  123d,  was  captured.  General 
Reed,  the  commander  of  the  expedition,  was 
killed,  the  regiment  was  carried  with  the 
Confederate  army  to  Appomattox  Court 
House,  where,  on  the  surrender  of  Lee,  the 
prisoners  were  released.  The  regiment  was 
mustered  out  at  Camp  Chase,  Ohio,  on  the 
I2th  of  June,  1865. 

The  136th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was 
organized  for  the  loo-days'  service,  with  W. 
Smith  Irwin,  colonel;  David  A.  Williams, 
lient. -colonel ;  A.  W  Diller,  major,  and  Wil- 
liam F.  Brown,  surgeon.  Companies  C  and 
E  A\ere  composed,  in  part,  at  least,  of  men 
from  Crawford  county.  The  regiment  ar- 
rived at  Camp  Chase  on  May  12,  1864,  and, 
having  been  mustered,  uniformed  and 
equipped,  left  the  next  day  for  ^^"ashington 
City.  On  ^lay  20th  the  regiment  was  placed 
on  garrison  duty  in  Forts  Ellsworth,  A\'^illiams 
and  North,  a  part  of  the  defenses  of  ^^'ash- 
ington,  south  of  the  Potomac,  and  was  as- 
signed to  the  3d  Brigade,  DeRussy's  Division. 
It  remained  on  garrison  duty  during  the  re- 
mainder of  its  term  of  service,  which  expired 
August  20th.  It  was  mustered  out  August 
30th,  1864,  having  lost,  from  disease,  two 
officers  and  23  men. 

The  144th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  Na- 
tional Guard. — The  19th  Battalion,  O.  N.  G., 
of  \\''yandotte  county,  and  the  64th  Battalion 
O.  N.  G.,  of  Wood  county,  were  consolidated 
at  Camp  Chase  on  the  nth  of  ^lay,  1864, 
forming  the  144th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry. 
A  number  of  Crawford  county  men  were 
among  its  members. 

Its  organization  being  completed,  the  regi- 
ment was  ordered  to  report  to  General  ^^'al- 
lace  at  Baltimore.  Upon  its  arrival  there 
Companies  G  and  K  were  detached  for  duty 
on  the  fortifications,  the  remainder  of  the  reg- 
iment reporting  to  General  Morris,  at  Fort 
McHenry,  and  from  there  Company  E  was 
ordered  to  Wilmington,  Delaware;  Company 
B  to  Camp  Parole,  near  Annapolis,  and  Com- 
pany I  to  Fort  Dix,  at  the  Relay  House.  At 
the  time  of  Early's  attempt  against  Washing- 
ton, Companies  B,  G.  and  I  were  in  the  en- 
gagement at  Monocacy  Junction  and  suffered 
severely,  losing  in  all  about  50  men  in  killed, 
wounded   and   prisoners.      On  July   13th  the 


regiment  was  ordered  to  Washington  and 
from  there  moved  toward  Winchester,  Va.  It 
was  halted  at  Snicker's  Gap,  and  after  a  day's 
delay  was  moved  back  toward  Washington, 
but  soon  after  set  out  again  for  the  Shenan- 
doah Valley,  moving  via  Harper's  Ferry,  un- 
der command  of  Major-General  Wright.  On 
August  13th  a  portion  of  the  regiment,  while 
guarding  a  train  near  Berryville,  Va.,  was  at- 
tacked by  Moseby's  command,  with  two  pieces 
of  artillery,  but,  after  some  slight  confusion, 
the  men  rallied  and  drove  off  the  enemy,  sav- 
ing the  train.  In  this  action  the  detachment 
lost  five  killed,  six  wounded  and  60  captured. 
The  regiment  was  mustered  out  on  the  31st 
of  August,  1864,  having  lost  about  125  men 
killed,  wounded  and  captured.  Most  of  those 
captured  died  from  starvation  in  Southern 
prisons. 

The  179th  Regiment,  O.  V.  I.,  contained 
some  men  from  Crawford  county,  who  were 
attached  to  Company  B.  The  regiment  was 
organized  at  Camp  Chase,  in  September,  1864, 
and  mustered  in  for  one  year  September  27th. 
It  was  ordered  to  Nashville,  where  it  was  as- 
signed to  guard  and  provost  dut}-.  Picket  and 
guard  duty  was  always  irksome  to  the  soldiers, 
who  would  have  greatly  preferred  to  be  at  the 
front  or  on  the  "firing  line,"  in  modern  war 
parlance.  But  there  had  to  be  troops  to  per- 
form these  routine  duties,  and  the  boys  of  the 
176th  and  179th,  which  had  been  brigaded  to- 
gether, submitted  as  gracefully  as  possible. 
However  50  men  were  detailed  from  the  176th 
and  179th,  after  the  battle  of  Nashville  in  De- 
cember, 1864,  and  assigned  to  the  First  U.  S. 
Engineers,  to  assist  the  latter  organization  in 
building  block-houses  along  the  Nashville  & 
Chattanooga  and  other  Southern  railroads 
vised  by  the  Federal  forces  in  transporting 
troops  and  supplies.  The  179th  was  in  the  re- 
ser^e  at  the  time  of  the  battle  in  Nashville, 
but  not  actively  engaged.  The  regiment  was 
mustered  out  at  Nashville  June  17th,  and  paid 
off  and  discharged  at  Columbus  June  21,  1865. 

The  1 86th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was 
one  of  the  regiments  raised  under  the  last  call 
of  the  President  to  serve  for  one  year,  and 
was  composed  of  men  gathered  from  ?'!  parts 
of  the  state,  most  of  whom  had  already  seen 
service.  The  last  company  was  mustered  in 
at  Camp  Chase,  ]\Iarch  2,  1865.    Company  C 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


507 


of  this  regiment  contained  a  number  of  men 
from  Crawford  county.  The  regiment  was 
organized  with  Thomas  F.  Wildes,  colonel; 
George  Wilhelm,  lieut.-colonel ;  W.  L.  Pat- 
terson, major;  and  W.  H.  Matchett,  surgeon. 
On  the  2d  of  March,  without  arms  or  sup- 
plies, the  regiment  started  for  Nashville,  leav- 
ing there  on  the  8th  for  Murfreesboro.  The 
latter  part  of  this  journey  was  made  in  in- 
tensely cold  weather.  The  regiment  went  into 
camp  at  Cleveland,  Tenn.,  where  Colonel 
Wildes  received  a  commission  as  brigadier- 
general  by  brevet  for  gallantry  in  the  Shenan- 
doah Valley,  while  lieut.-colonel  of  the  ii6th 
Ohio.  On  May  2d  the  regiment  moved  to 
Dalton,  where  it  remained  a  few  days.  Gen- 
eral Wildes  had  in  the  meanwhile  been  as- 
signed to  the  command  of  a  brigade  at  Chat- 
tanooga, and  at  his  request  the  i86th  was 
transferred  to  his  command.  During  its  stay 
in  Chattanooga  the  regiment,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Lieut.-Colonel  Wilhelm,  became  very 
proficient  in  drill.  On  the  20th  of  July  the 
i86th  was  relieved  from  duty  at  Chattanooga 
and  ordered  to  Nashville.  This  order  re- 
turned General  Wildes  to  the  command  of  his 
regiment,  as  it  did  all  other  officers  on  de- 
tached duty.  Orders  were  received  Septem- 
ber 13th  to  prepare  rolls  for  the  muster-out  of 
the  regiment.  It  was  paid  off  and  disbanded 
at  Columbus,  Ohio,  September  25,  1865.  The 
regiment  was  never  in  an  •  engagement,  but 
would  doubtless  have  performed  every  duty 
rec]uired  of  it  had  it  been  called  into  action. 

The  197th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was 
the  last  regiment  which  Ohio  sent  to  the  field 
and  also  the  last  complete  organization  which 
the  state  raised  for  service  during  the  Civil 
War.  Most  of  its  officers  had  seen  service  in 
other  commands  and  nearly  one-half  of  the 
men  were  experienced  soldiers.  Some  Craw- 
ford county  men  were  members  of  Company 
C.  The  first  company  was  mustered  in  at 
Camp  Chase  on  the  28th  of  March,  1865,  the 
regimental  organization  being  completed  on 
the  1 2th  of  April.  Benton  Halstead  was  col- 
onel ;  G.  M.  Barber,  lieut.-colonel ;  Robert  Hill, 
major,  and  W.  G.  Bryant,  surgeon.  This  reg- 
iment never  saw  active  service  in  the  field,  as 
on  its  arrival  in  Washington  in  the  latter  part 
of  April,  news  was  received  of  the  surrender 
of  General  Johnston's  army.     The  197th  was 


temporarily  assigned  to  the  9th  Corps  and  was 
camped  for  some  time  near  Alexandria.  On 
May  9th  it  was  incorporated  in  the  Provi- 
sional Brigade,  Ninth  Army  Corps.  Subse- 
quently it  was  sent  to  Dover,  Delaware  and 
encamped  at  Camp  Harrington,  where  it  spent 
four  weeks.  Ordered  to  Havre  de  Grace  May 
31st,  it  performed  guard  duty  along  the  rail- 
road southward  to  Baltimore,  being  broken 
into  detachments  for  that  purpose.  At  that 
time  it  became  part  of  the  3d  "Separate  Bri- 
gade," 8th  Army  Corps.  The  regimental 
headquarters  were  removed  to  Fort  Worth- 
ington,  near  Baltimore,  on  the  3d  of  July, 
where  the  different  companies  were  engaged 
in  guard  duty.  The  regiment  reassembled  at 
Camp  Bradford,  near  Baltimore,  and  on  the 
31st  of  July  was  mustered  out  of  the  service. 
It  was  disbanded  August  6,  1865. 

The  3d  and  loth  cavalry  regiments  also 
contained  some  men  from  Crawford  county. 
Capt.  E.  R.  Brink,  of  the  3d,  was  from  this 
county.  He  entered  the  organization  as  first 
lieutenant,  was  promoted  to  captain,  and  re- 
signed May  9,  1865. 

The  3d  Ohio  Volunteer  Cavalry  was  or- 
ganized at  Monroeville,  Ohio,  in  September, 
1 861.  Lewis  Zahm  was  its  first  colonel,  with 
D.  A.  Murray,  lieutenant  colonel;  John  H. 
Foster,  major,  and  M.  C.  Cuykendall,  surgeon. 
During  the  first  year  of  its  service  it  was  at- 
tached to  Gen.  T.  J.  Wood's  Division,  during 
the  most  of  the  time  being  under  his  immedi- 
ate command.  It  saw  active  service  in  many 
battles  and  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  its 
operations  would  fill  a  small  volume.  It  took 
part  in  some  brisk  fighting  at  Corinth,  in  May, 
1862;  at  Munfordsville,  in  September,  where 
it  drove  a  Rebel  force  three  times  its  own 
number;  also  at  Bardstown,  in  October,  where 
it  lost  six  men  killed,  20  wounded  and  17  cap- 
tured; fought  Kirby  Smith's  cavalry  at  Shel- 
byville,  Ky.,  and  was  engaged  with  the  enemy 
at  the  battle  of  Perryville.  In  the  latter  part 
of  October,  a  detachment  of  the  3d  Cavalry, 
with  a  portion  of  the  4th,  numbering  250  men, 
were  surprised  at  Ashland,  Ky.,  by  Morgan's 
forces,  and  forced  to  surrender.  Subsequent- 
ly the  2d  brigade  of  cavalry,  under  Colonel 
Lewis  Zahm,  to  which  the  2d  and  3d  battal- 
ions were  attached,  attacked  Morgan  near 
Gallatin,  capturing  his  camp  equipage  and  a 


508 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


large  number  of  prisoners.  Soon  after  they 
struck  another  blow  at  Morgan,  attacking  an 
escort  from  his  forces,  killing  three  and  cap- 
turmg  17  prisoners  and  146  mules.  In  De- 
cember they  took  \'aliant  part  in  the  opera- 
tions around  Franklin  and  Nashville,  Tenn., 
killing  a  number  of  the  enemy  and  taking 
many  prisoners.  In  January,  1863,  they  re- 
pulsed an  attack  on  a  supply  train  at  Stewart's 
Creek,  by  Wheeler's  Rebel  Cavalry,  and  later 
in  the  same  day,  with  the  15th  Pennsylvania 
Ca\alry,  repulsed  a  second  attack,  the  train 
being  safely  escorted  to  Nashville.  They  took 
l^art  in  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy  after  the  bat- 
tle of  Stone  River,  and  near  Middleton,  Tenn., 
captured  one  of  his  trains.  Later,  in  a  skir- 
mish with  Morgan's  guerillas,  near  Wood- 
bury, they  suffered  a  severe  loss  in  killed, 
wounded  and  prisoners.  Their  subsequent 
actions  in  the  vicinity  of  Murfreesboro  are 
too  numerous  to  mention.  At  the  battle  of 
Chickamauga  they  fought  on  the  extreme  left 
of  the  National  lines,  and  subsequently  pur- 
sued Wheeler's  cavalry  through  Tennessee, 
winning  a  decisive  victory  at  Farmington. 

In  January,  1864,  at  Pulaski,  Tenn.,  the 
3d  Cavalry  re-enlisted,  there  being  at  this  date 
only  400  effective  men  left  out  of  the  original 
1,300.  During  the  usual  furlough  they  met 
with  a  hearty  greeting  from  the  citizens  of 
their  native  state.  At  this  time,  through  the 
efforts  of  Major  C.  W.  Skinner  and  Capt.  E. 
AI.  Clover,  nearly  1,000  recruits  were  enlisted, 
and  on  its  return  to  the  front  at  Nashville  the 
regiment  numbered  over  1,500  strong.  They 
subsequently  marched  with  Sherman  through 
Georgia,  participating  in  the  engagements  at 
Etowah,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Noonday  Creek 
and  at  the  Chattahoochie  River,  Peach  Tree 
Creek  and  Decatur  and  in  the  raids  to  Coving- 
ton and  Stone  Mountain ;  also  in  the  Stoneman 
raid  under  General  Garrard,  and  in  the  Kil- 
patrick  raid.  In  each  of  these  raids  the  regi- 
ment suffered  severely.  It  subsequently  fought 
at  Lovejoy's  station,  took  part  in  the  pursuit 
of  Hood,  and  occupied  a  position  on  the  left 
of  General  Thomas's  forces  in  the  first  battle 
of  Franklin.  It  was  also  engaged  in  the  bat- 
tle before  Nashville.  After  Hood's  defeat, 
it  followed  his  army  into  Alabama,  and  was 
then  engaged  in  the  W^ilson  raid  through  Ala- 
bama,  and   Georgia,   losing  heavily  in   killed 


and  wounded  at  Selma.  Subsequently,  as  a 
part  of  Wilson's  command  it  engaged  in  the 
chase  after  Jefferson  Davis.  The  regiment 
finished  its  long  career  of  arduous  and  brave 
service  at  Macon,  Georgia,  and  was  mustered 
out  at  Camp  Chase,  Ohio,  August  14,  1865, 
having  served  four  years,  lacking  20  days. 

The  loth  Ohio  Volunteer  Cavalry. — Craw- 
ford county  was  represented  in  this  regiment 
by  a  number  of  men  in  Company  L.  The  reg- 
iment was  organized  at  Camp  Taylor  in  Octo- 
ber, 1862,  by  Charles  C.  Smith,  under  a  com- 
mission from  Governor  Tod,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1863  it  left  for  Nashville,  Tenn.  Its  first 
services  in  the  field  were  in  the  neighborhood 
of  ^lurfreesboro,  and  during  the  subsequent 
campaign  against  Bragg  it  performed  a  vast 
amount  of  marching,  with  no  little  fighting, 
being  usually  successful  in  its  bouts  with  the 
enemy.  At  Chickamauga  the  main  portion  of 
the  regiment  was  used  to  guard  communica- 
tions in  the  rear.  After  that  battle  it  did  duty 
in  the  Sequatchie  Valley  against  the  Rebel 
guerrillas.  During  this  time  a  portion  of  the 
regiment,  with  the  15th  Pennsylvania  Cav- 
alry, was  sent  on  a  scouting  expedition  into 
East  Tennessee,  and  was  absent  from  the 
regiment  about  three  months,  having  almost 
daily  fights  with  the  enemy  belonging  to  Long- 
street's  command.  While  on  this  raid  they 
met  and  defeated  a  force  of  300  Indians  and 
200  white  soldiers  led  by  Governor  Vance,  of 
North  Carolina,  who  was  captured.  On  its 
return  the  detachment  found  its  regiment  sta- 
tion at  Bridgeport,  Ala.,  and  dismounted,  the 
horses  having  starved  to  death  from  scarcity 
of  forage.  In  the  spring  of  1864,  while  at 
Lavergne,  Tenn.,  the  command  was  again 
equipped  for  the  field. 

At  Ringgold,  Ga.,  the  regiment  was  at- 
tached to  the  2d  Brigade,  3d  Division,  Cav- 
alry Corps,  Colonel  Chas.  C.  Smith,  of  the 
loth,  being  assigned  as  brigade  commander, 
and  acting  as  such  until  the  army  arrived  be- 
fore ^Marietta.  In  this  march  the  command 
was  repeatedly  engaged  with  the  enemy,  and 
in  the  battle  of  Resaca  the  loth  under  Col. 
Smith,  led  the  charge  which  opened  the  bat- 
tle. 

The  lOth  took  part  in  Kilpatrick's  move- 
ments during  Sherman's  Atlanta  campaign 
and   subsequently  accorhpanied  the  army  on 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


509 


the  "March  to  the  Sea."  During  the  greater 
part  of  this  march  the  regiment  had  almost 
daily  encounters  with  the  foe,  in  particular 
with  Wheeler's  cavalry,  being  usually  success- 
ful. In  the  campaign  through  the  Carolinas 
also  the  loth  was  actively  engaged,  meeting 
the  enemy  frequently  and  almost  invariably 
repulsing  their  attacks.  General  Kilpatrick 
more  than  once  expressed  the  opinion  that  the 
loth  Ohio  Cavalry  was  the  best  charging  reg- 
iment he  had  in  his  command.  Colonel  Smith, 
the  commander  of  the  loth,  during  the 
majority  of  the  time  the  regiment  was  in 
service,  was  on  duty  as  brigade  commander, 
and  although  enfeebled  by  ill  health,  re- 
mained with  his  command  until  it  reached 
Carter sville,  Ga.,  when  he  was  obliged  to  leave 
for  home,  and  subsequently,  by  the  advice  of 
his  medical  attendant,  resigned  his  commis- 
sion. He  was  honorably  discharged  January 
13,  1865.  His  second  in  command,  Col. 
Thomas  W.  Sanderson,  was  mustered  out 
with  the  regiment. 

The  1 2th  Regiment  Ohio  Volunteer  Cav- 
alry.— This  organization  contained  quite  a 
number  of  Crawford  county  men,  most  of 
whom  belonged  to  Company  A.  Capt.  E.  C. 
Moderwell  and  Lieut.  D.  A.  Newell,  of  this 
company,  were  from  this  county.  Capt.  Mo- 
derwell was  promoted  to  major  and  was  mus- 
tered out  as  such  with  the  regiment.  Lieut. 
Newell  was  promoted  from  second  to  first 
lieutenant,  November  24,  1863  and  was  hon- 
orably discharged  May  20,  1865. 

This  regiment  was  recruited  during  the 
months  of  August,  September  and  October, 
1863,  in  accordance  with  an  order  from  the 
War  Department  to  Governor  Tod.  Lieut.- 
Col.  Robert  W.  Hatlifif,  of  the  2d  Ohio  Vol- 
unteer Cavalry,  was  commissioned  colonel, 
and  the  first  company  reported  at  Camp  Tay- 
lor, October  2,  1863.  Most  of  the  officers  of 
the  regiment  were  trained  soldiers  and  the  reg- 
iment in  consequence  was  soon  prepared  for 
the  field. 

On  November  29th  the  regiment  moved 
from  Camp  Dennison  to  Mount  Sterling, 
Kentucky.  The  regiment  was  a  portion  of 
General  Burbridge's  command  in  the  first 
Saltville  raid.  Arrived  in  the  vicinity  of 
Pound  Gap,  after  eight  days'  forced  march, 
the  command  started  in  pursuit  of  John  Mor- 


gan, who  with  his  force  had  just  entered  Ken- 
tucky. The  command,  after  severe  marching, 
reached  Mount  Sterling  June  9,  1863,  there 
engaging  the  Rebel  raiders.  The  12th  again 
overtook  Morgan  at  Cynthiana,  scattering  his 
forces,  and  continuing  the  pursuit  for  three 
days.  The  regiment  had  hard  fighting  at 
Saltville,  September  20th.  The  12th  with  its 
brigade  charged  up  a  hill  occupied  by  the 
enemy  from  his  works.  The  regiment  did 
good  service  under  Stoneman  at  Bristol, 
Abingdon  and  Marion,  and  as  a  support  to 
General  Gillman  in  pursuit  of  Vaughn.  Un- 
der Stoneman,  Breckenridge  was  engaged  and 
defeated  after  40  hours  of  fighting.  In  this 
engagement  all  the  members  of  the  12th  bear- 
ing sabers  participated  in  a  grand  charge, 
driving  back  the  enemy's  cavalry.  After  the 
capture  of  Saltville  on  December  21st,  they 
returned  to  Richmond,  Kentucky.  As  a  re- 
sult of  this  raid  four  boats  were  captured, 
150  miles  of  railroad,  13  trains  and  locomo- 
tives, lead  mines,  iron  foundries  and  im- 
mense quantities  of  stores  of  all  kinds  were 
destroyed.  The  regiment  moved  to  Nash- 
ville March  6th,  and  thence  to  Knoxville. 
From  this  point,  under  Stoneman,  the  regi- 
ment penetrated  North  Carolina,  attacked  the 
Lynchburg  &  East  Tennessee  Railroad  at 
Christianburg,  Virginia,  which  was  destroyed 
for  30  miles.  They  also  cut  the  Danville  & 
Charlotte  Railroad  at  Greensboro,  North  Car- 
olina, which  drew  the  garrison  to  Salisbury; 
and  cutting  the  railroad  between  them  and 
Salisbury,  that  place,  with  stores  and  many 
federal  prisoners,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Union  forces  April  12th.  The  command  as- 
sisted in  the  capture  of  Jefiferson  Davis;  then 
moving  through  South  Carolina  and  Alaba- 
ma, they  captured  Generals  Bragg  and  Wheel- 
er and  their  escorts  and  finally  reached 
Bridgeport,  Alabama,  having  been  in  saddle 
67  days.  The  12th  finally  rendezvoused  at 
Nashville,  and  was  mustered  out  November 
14,  1865. 

During  the  wftr  Crawford  county  was  twice 
drafted.  The  first  draft  took  place  the  last 
of  September,  1862,  and  was  for  the  follow- 
ing numbers  of  men,  by  townships :  Auburn, 
22;  Bucyrus,  22;  Chatfield,  59;  Cranberry, 
42;  Dallas,  o;  Holmes,  55;  Jackson,  102; 
Liberty,  56;  Lykens,  40;  Polk,  69;  Sandusky, 


510 


HISTORY  OF  CILWVFORD  COUNTY 


^i;  Texas,  2;  \emon,  30;  Whetstone,  45. 
Dallas,  it  will  be  seen  had  filled  its  quota  and 
was  not  drafted.  Some  of  the  drafted  men 
resisted  and  being  supported  by  a  numerous 
part)-  in  the  county  that  was  opposed  to  the 
war,  it  looked  for  a  time  as  though  the  resist- 
ance might  develop  into  a  riot,  but  this  con- 
tingenc)'  was  avoided,  although  several  ex- 
citing scenes  occurred. 

The  second  draft  was  on  the  i6th  of  April, 
1864,  and  was  for  a  smaller  number  of  men. 
By  townships  it  was  as  follows:  Auburn,  9; 
Bucyrus,  16;  Chatfield,  2;  Cranberry,  i; 
Holmes,  1 1 ;  Jackson,  5 ;  Libertj',  8 :  Polk, 
24;  Texas,  2.  The  quota  of  most  of  the 
townships  was  filled,  however,  by  voltmtary 
enlistment  before  the  day  set  for  the  drafted 
men  to  report  at  headquarters. 

^\'hile  the  men  of  the  county,  state  and  na- 
tion were  in  the  field,  fighting  their  coimtry's 
battles,  the  women  at  home  were  not  idle. 
Though  not  exposed  to  danger  or  hardships 
in  the  field,  they  suttered  not  less  acutely  in 
saying  farewell — in  many  cases  forever — ^to 
those  who  were  near  and  dear  to  them,  and 
many  a  tender  heart  was  wnmg  as  they  fear- 
fully read  the  news  columns  and  war  bulle- 
tins after  a  battle,  dreading  to  see  the  name 
for  which  they  sought  in  the  lists  of  killed, 
wounded  or  missing.  ^lany  of  these  women, 
anxious  to  minister  to  the  suffering  soldiers, 
left  their  comfortable  homes  to  sene  as 
nurses  in  the  militan.-  hospitals,  performing 
their  hard  dut\-  bravely  and  patiently  amid 
scenes  of  blood  and  suffering,  enough  to  chill 
the  stoutest  hearts. 

And  those  who  remained  at  home  per- 
formed a  useful  and  noble  service,  through 
the  numerous  Ladies"  Aid  Societies,  sending 
to  the  soldiers  both  in  the  field  and  in  the 
hospitals  all  sorts  of  useful  and  necessary 
articles  of  clothing,  provisions  and  other 
things  that  were  heartih-  appreciated  by  the 
boys  at  the  front,  and  greatly  helped  to  al- 
leviate their   hardships. 

The  Soldiers'  Ladies  Aid  Society-  was  or- 
ganized in  Buc}xus.  Oct.  14,  1861,  IMrs.  Dr. 
^lerriman  being  elected  president,  [Mrs.  Wil- 
liam Rowse.  secretar)-,  and  Mrs.  Howbert, 
treasurer.  A  membership  fee  of  ten  cents 
was  charged  and  meetings  were  held  for  some 
time  in  the  Ouincy  Block.     After  awhile  the 


enthusiasm  waned  to  some  extent,  but  in  the 
fall  of  1862  the  society  was  reorganized,  with 
ilrs.  J.  Scroggs  as  president  and  ^Irs.  How- 
bert,   secretary.     A  third   reorganization  oc- 
curred in  June,  1863,  when  Mrs.  I.  C.  Kings- 
ley  became  president;  [Mrs.   R.  T.  Johnston, 
vice  president,  [Mrs.  J.  G.  Robinson,  secretan-, 
and    [Mrs.    H.    [M.    Rowse,    treasurer.      With 
these  officers  in  charge  it  continued  in  opera- 
tion until  the  close  of  the  war.     [Many  boxes 
of  clothing,  provisions  for  the  sick,  and  other 
useful  supplies,  were  fonvarded  to  the  front 
by  the  society,  and  were  doubtless  appreciated 
by  the  soldiers  into  whose  hands-— or  stom- 
achs— ^they  fell. 

At  one  time  during  the  progress  of  the 
war,  a  movement  was  set  on  foot  to  erect 
a  monument  to  the  soldiers  of  Crawford 
county  who  had  fallen  or  might  fall  in  battle. 
In  January,  1863  the  Oakvvood  Cemetery  .As- 
sociation offered  to  donate  a  lot,  valued  at 
S125,  provided  the  citizens  of  the  county 
would  subscribe  enough  to  erect  a  suitable 
monument.  An  organization,  known  as  the 
'"Crawford  Coimtj-,  Ohio,  [Monumental  Asso- 
ciation," was  accordingly  formed,  but  before 
a  sufficient  amount  was  subscribed  the  en- 
thusiasm of  most  of  those  concerned  died  out 
and  the  soldiers'  only  monument  lies  in  the 
record  of  their  own  heroic  deeds  and  in  the 
hearts  of  those  to  whom  they  were  dear. 

After  the  war  was  over  Decoration  Day, 
later  called  Memorial  Day,  was  made  a  na- 
tional holiday  in  most  states,  and  on  that  day, 
annually  on  [May  30,  the  soldiers  accompanied 
by  the  citizens  in  every  communitj-  in  the  north 
and  south  assembled  at  the  cemeteries  and  lit- 
tle grave-yards  to  place  memorial  wreaths  and 
beautiful  flowers  on  the  graves  of  those  who 
had  given  their  lives  that  the  nation  might  live. 
The  soldiers  organization  at  Bucjtus  is  Keller 
Post.  It  was  named  after  the  Keller  Brothers 
who  were  kiUed  at  the  battle  of  Stone  River. 
Amos  Keller  was  captain  of  Company  B,  of 
the  49th  O.  V.  I.,  and  his  brother  Aaron  H. 
Keller  was  first  lieutenant  of  the  same  com- 
pany. They  were  both  wounded  at  the  battle 
of  Stone  River,  on  December  31,  1862,  and 
Capt  Amos  Keller  died  the  next  day.  New 
Year's  Day.  1863.  while  his  brother  Lieut 
Aaron  H.,  died  on  January-  25th.  They  were 
brought    to    Bucyrus,    and   on    February    15, 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


511 


1863,  their  funeral  took  place  with  their  burial 
in  the  same  grave  at  Oakwood.  Of  these 
brothers,  W.  H.  Wortman,  when  he  was  Ad- 
jutant of  the  Post,  wrote :  "They  were  both 
born  in  the  same  month;  they  served  in  the 
same  company;  they  endured  the  same  hard- 
ships; they  fell  in  the  same  battle,  received 
their  death  wounds  in  the  same  hour;  they 
were  both  single,  they  never  separated  in  life, 
and  sleep  together  in  death.  In  our  beautiful 
Oakwood  cemetery,  in  a  quiet  spot,  guarded 
by  the  beautiful  stars  of  heaven  they  both 
rest  in  one  grave." 

The  charter  members  of  Keller  Post  No. 
128  were  A.  E.  Hummiston,  A.  H.  Wortman, 
N.  Steen,  W.  H.  Wortman,  W.  H.  Sheckler, 
J.  H.  Williston,  H.  E.  Rosina,  Henry  Rupers- 
berger,  George  Q.  Mallory,  John  Jones,  G.  A. 
Lauck,  E.  D.  Randall,  B.  F.  Lauck,  P.  E. 
Bush,  D.  O.  Castle,  G.  W.  Harris,  James  Fin- 
ley,  S.  D.  Welsh,  J.  F.  Fitzsimmons,  Wm.  Mc- 
Cutcheon,  G.  H.  Stewart,  Geo.  L.  Deardorff, 
Alexander  McLaughlin,  G.  H.  Binkerhoff, 
Solomon  Benson,  Wm.  Sharpenack,  Geo. 
Wagerly,  Joseph  Walker,  G.  H.  Terry,  F. 
Hufnagel,  O.  E.  Gravelle,  Albert  Wentz,  H. 
H.  Elliott,  S.  S.  Blowers,  G.  W.  Myers,  J.  N. 
McCurdy,  John  Strawbridge,  Mitch  Bryant, 
John  Scheidegger,  F.  R.  Shunk,  A.  M.  Boyer, 
Joseph  Hunt,  Jerry  Niman,  H.  G.  Lane,  Con- 
rad Bauman,  C.  F.  Kanzleiter,  Daniel  Kanz- 
leiter. 

Peter  Snyder  Post  No.  129  was  organized 
at  Crestline  and  named  after  Peter  Snyder  of 
Company  E,  loist  O.  V.  I.  He  was  wounded 
on  December  30,  1862,  the  first  day  of  the 
battle  of  Stone  River  and  died  three  days  later, 
on  January  2,  1863.  He  was  buried  on  the 
field  of  battle.  The  charter  members  were  T. 
P.  Kerr,  David  Snodgrass,  James  Dunmire, 
J.  S.  Cole,  W.  Shumaker,  Gaylord  Ozier,  Theo. 
Rinkard,  J.  A.  Smith,  John  Cook,  David 
Grubb,  Samuel  Zink,  J.  C.  Channell,  John  C. 
Williams,  P.  B.  Young,  John  A.  Mcjunkin,  J. 
L.  Booth,  G.  W.  Thompson,  Jacob  Lewis,  C. 
Hoke,  Geo.  Herr,  Mathew  Jaques,  E.  Pampel. 

The  post  at  Galion  was  Dick  Morris  Post 
No.  130,  named  after  G.  A.  Morris,  who  en- 
listed in  Co.  K,  Fourth  O.  V.  I.  He  was 
wounded  in  the  thigh  at  the  Battle  of  the 
Wilderness  but  he  remained  in  the  service  until 
they  discharged  his  regiment  in  1864.     He  re- 


30 


turned  to  his  home  in  Galion  with  his  health 
badly  impaired.  He  never  recovered  and  died 
at  Colorado  Springs  in  1880,  where  he  had 
gone  for  his  health.  His  remains  were  brought 
to  Ohio,  and  buried  at  his  old  family  home  at 
Delhi,  Marion  County.  The  charter  members 
of  this  post  were  J.  R.  Homer,  J.  W.  Holmes, 
Julius  Brascher,  W.  R.  Davis,  T.  C.  Davis,  Ab- 
ner  G.  Bryan,  H.  Bachelder,  W.  B.  Osborn,  M. 
Manley,  E.  A.  Johnson,  Morris  Burns,  J.  S. 
Nace,  Geo.  M.  Zigler,  D.  R.  Gorman,  E.  S. 
Boalt,  W.  H.  Davis,  W.  F.  Haney,  John  Eng- 
lish, J.  W.  Conklin,  J.  H.  Green,  M.  Rigby,  J. 
H.  Ashbaugh,  S.  M.  Reese,  Chas.  Webber, 
Wm.  Riley,  S.  B.  Nute,  Theo.  Wooley,  A. 
Wild,  Geo.  Snyder,  S.  E.  Conrad,  Wm.  Black- 
sen,  W.  H.  W.  Nichols,  Andrew  Schneider, 
Chas.  Obtz,  John  Diday,  B.  W.  Hosford,  L. 
M.  Beck. 

Biddle  Post  No.  522  was  organized  at  Sul- 
phur Springs  and  was  named  after  John  B. 
Biddle  of  Company  C,  loist  O.  V.  I.  He  was 
a  lieutenant  in  Company  C,  and  was  killed  at 
the  Battle  of  Stone  River  while  repelling  a 
charge.  The  charter  members  were  Peter 
Rutan,  N.  S!  Boardman,  A.  Fry,  John  K. 
Zerbe,  Jeremiah  Tressler,  Hiram  Smith, 
George  Howell,  George  Haislett,  H.  S.  Bev- 
ington,  Hiram  Orewiler,  John  Caris,  Oliver 
Flohr,  John  Weston,  Andrew  Depler,  Jacob 
Rice,  Harvey  McCullough,  Samuel  Smalley, 
Thomas  Loux,  O.  I.  Keller,  M.  M.  Carruthers, 
D.  L.  Felters,  Caleb  Ackerman,  Geo.  B.  Mc- 
Intyre,  Geo.  E.  Gowing,  S.  B.  Koons,  R.  B. 
McCammon,  Jacob  Waters,  Isaac  Grouse, 
Reuben  Finch,  David  Hites. 

A  Post  was  organized  at  Tiro,  with  the  fol- 
lowing charter  members.  John  O.  Davis, 
John  McConnell,  Wm.  M.  Waid,  Samuel  B. 
Raudabaugh,  Martin  V.  Wood,  T.  S.  Bur- 
roughs, John  Vamtilburg,  G.  M.  Jeffrey, 
Frederick  Bloom,  Eli  Rininger,  John  Hilborn, 
Chas.  McConnell,  Thomas  C.  Bear,  Robt.  De- 
gray,  Hiram  McDougle,  James  Miller,  D.  W. 
Daugherty,  H.  H.  Sanderson,  S.  W.  Trago, 
S.  W.  Jeffrey,  W.  W.  Ashley,  James  Scheck- 
ler,  E.  T.  Devoe. 

Connected  with  the  several  posts.  Relief 
Corps  were  also  organized  among  them  Bu- 
cyrus  Keller  Relief  Corps  No.  68  was  organ- 
ized with  20  charter  members.  Galion  Relief 
Corps  No.   130,  and  Crestline  Relief   Corps. 


512 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


At  Sulphur  Springs  Biddle  Relief  Corps  No. 
88  was  organized  with  i8  charter  members. 

Probably  the  oldest  soldier  who  enlisted  from 
Crawford  county  was  William  Blowers.  He 
knew  he  would  not  be  taken  where  known,  so 
in  the  Fall  of  1882,  he  enlisted  in  the  151st 
New  York  Infantry  as  a  private.  He  was  62 
years  of  age,  and  as  soon  as  his  enlistment  was 
known,  and  it  was  found  he  insisted  on  serv- 
ing his  country  he  was  transferred  to  hospital 
duty.  He  died  Jan.  28,  1868,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Blowers  graveyard  in  Liberty  township. 
The  youngest  soldier  was  probably  George  W. 
Harris,  who  was  but  13  years  of  age  when  in 
1862  he  enlisted  in  Co.  B  of  the  6ist  O.  V.  I., 
and  served  for  three  years.  For  several  years 
he  has  been  Commander  of  Keller  Post. 

Among  more  than  two  thousand  soldiers 
from  Crawford  county  who  took  part  in  that 
war  there  were  many  acts  of  heroism,  and 
many  brave  deeds  the  memory  of  which  is 
treasured  by  their  descendants.  Three  Grand 
Army  Posts  in  this  county  are  named  after  men 
who  lost  their  lives  at  Stone  River;  died  that 
a  Nation  might  live.  But  there  are  three  in- 
stances that  are,  perhaps,  more  prominent  than 
others : 

B.  B.  McDanald  was  major  of  the  loist 
Ohio,  and  was  captured  Sept.  20,  1863,  dur- 
ing the  Chattanooga  campaign.  He  was  sent 
to  Richmond  and  confined  in  Libby  Prison. 
He  with  Col.  A.  Streight  of  an  Indiana  regi- 
ment, organized  the  most  daring  escape  of  the 
war.  Major  McDanald  was  the  superintendent 
in  the  construction  of  a  tunnel.  It  commenced 
in  the  basement  of  the  prison,  extended  under 
the  street  a  distance  of  over  sixty  feet.  Their 
principal  implement  used  in  the  construction 
was  a  chisel  about  nine  inches  long.  With  this 
they  worked  by  relays  storing  the  exca- 
vated earth  beneath  the  straw  on  which  they 
slept.  The  work  was  all  done  after  night  and 
it  took  them  a  month  to  complete  the  small 
hole  through  which  they  crawled  to  liberty. 
On  Feb.  9,  1864,  109  officers  made  their  es- 
cape; emerging  from  the  tunnel  they  separ- 
ated into  small  groups  to  make  their  way  north, 
and  55  succeeded  in  reaching  the  Union  line, 
and  Major  McDanald  was  among  the  num- 
ber, and  the  faithful  chisel  was  brought  home 
by  him  as  a  souvenir  of  his  daring  escape. 

Libby  was  a  prison  for  the  officers.     There 


was  a  prison  for  the  privates.  It  was  Ander- 
sonville,  and  perhaps  two  dozen  of  Crawford's 
soldiers  were  in  that  living  hell.  It  was  23 
acres  in  size.  On  June  17,  1864,  Sergeant 
Thomas  J.  Sheppard  was  captured  in  a  night 
attack  on  Kenesaw  Mountain,  and  was  sent  to 
Andersonville.  During  July  there  were  31,- 
648  prisoners  there,  and  1742  died  that  month; 
in  August  out  of  31,693  prisoners  3,076  died. 
In  July  one  in  every  18  died;  in  August  one  in 
every  eleven ;  in  September  one  in  every  three ; 
and  "in  October  every  other  man  died  from 
starvation  and  exposure,  for  there  was  no  pro- 
tection except  holes  burrowed  in  the  ground. 
In  this  prison  pen,  Sergeant  Sheppard  who  had 
studied  for  the  ministry,  for  ten  months 
preached  to  his  comrades,  and  gave  what  com- 
fort and  consolation  he  could  to  the  sick  and 
the  dying.  His  comrades  drew  up  a  petition 
telling  of  his  services,  and  the  paper,  dis- 
colored by  age,  its  edges  frayed  and  torn,  is 
still  in  the  possession  of  his  children.  He  lived 
through  all  the  horrors  of  Andersonville,  and 
when  the  war  ended  was  released  and  returned 
to  Ohio  to  finish  his  ministerial  studies,  and 
filled  several  pulpits  in  this  State,  among  them 
the  Baptist  church  at  Bucyrus.  He  was  known 
throughout  the  State  and  Nation  as  "The  An- 
dersonville Chaplain."  He  died  at  the  home  of 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  James  R.  Hopley,  in  Bucy- 
rus, on  Aug.  14,  1912. 

\Vhen  the  troops  were  getting  closer  and 
closer  to  fated  Richmond,  Gen.  Grant  received 
from  patriotic  citizens  a  purse  of  $460  to  be 
presented  to  the  soldier  who  should  first  plant 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  in  the  captured  city. 
Richmond  was  not  taken  by  assault,  but  was 
abandoned  in  consequence  of  the  successful  at- 
tack on  Petersburg,  on  April  2,  1865.  So  the 
commanders  of  the  three  corps  who  made  the 
successful  assault  were  each  requested  to  select 
the  man  most  distinguished  for  bravery  on  that 
occasion,  and  Gen.  Wright  selected  Sergeant 
David  W.  Young,  of  Co>  E,  139th  Pa.,  and  he 
received  the  following  letter: 

Washington,  July  22,  1865. 
Sergeant  David  W.  Young, 

Co.  E,  139th  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers : 
The  sum  of  four  hundred  and  sixty  dollars  was  sent 
to  me  by  patriotic  Citizens  to  be  presented  as  a  reward 
for  gallantry  to  the  soldier  who  should  first  raise  our 
flag  over  Richmond.  As  Richmond  was  not  taken  by 
assault,  I  have  concluded  that  the  donors'  wishes  will 
be  best  carried  out  by  dividing  the  sum  between  three 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


513 


soldiers  most  conspicuous  for  gallantry  in  the  final  and 
successful  assault  on  Petersburg. 

You  have  been  selected  by  Major  General  H.  G. 
Wright,  commanding  the  Sixth  Army  Corps,  as  entitled 
to  this  honor  on  behalf  of  that  command,  and  I  herewith 
present  to  you  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  dollars  and 
thirty-three  cents  as  one  third  of  the  original  sum. 

It  affords  me  great  satisfaction  to  receive  from  your 
Commanding  General  such  unqualified  testimony  of 
your  gallantry  and  heroism  in  battle,  and  to  be  the  me- 
dium of  transmitting  to  you  this  recognition  of  the 
worth  of  your  services  in  defense  of  our  common 
country. 

U.  S.  Grant. 
Lieutenant  General. 

This  brave  soldier  died  on  Dec.  1 1,  191 1,  and 
was  buried  by  Keller  Post,  of  which  he  was  a 
member,  with  all  the  honors  of  war. 

On  April  23,  1898,  President  McKinley  is- 
sued his  proclamation  calling  for  125,000  vol- 
unteers, war  against  Spain  having  been  de- 
clared. 

The  first  call  of  the  President  was  received 
by  the  Governor  at  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
of  April  25.  Telegraphic  orders  were  immedi- 
ately sent  to  the  commanding  officers  of  the 
Ohio  National  Guard.  Company  A  at  that 
time  was  a  part  of  the  8th  Regiment,  the  sen- 
ior major  of  which  was  Edward  Vollrath  of 
Bucyrus.  On  the  26th  of  April,  within  24 
hours  of  the  receipt  of  the  orders  Company  A 
was  at  Akron  and  two  days  later  proceeded  to 
Camp  Bushnell,  Columbus,  Ohio,  where  on 
May  13,  1898,  they  were  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service  as  the  8th  Regiment, 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry. 

The  company  and  regiment  were  mustered 
out  of  service  at  Wooster,  Ohio,  Nov.  21,  1898. 

During  the  war  Company  A  was  stationed  at 
the  following  points : 


Station 

Camp  Bushnell.  O. 
Camp  Alger,  Va., 
Camp  Siboney,  Cuba 
Camp  Sevilla  Hill,  Cuba 


Camp  San  Juan  Hill,  Cuba    Aug.  11,  i 
Camp  Montauk  Point,  Aug.  26,  i 


Arrival  Departure 

April  28,  1898    May  18,  i8g 
May  20,  1898    July  5,  185 
July  II,  1898    July  16,  i8g 
July  16,  1898     Aug.ll,  lE 


Aug.  17,      _ 
Sept.  6,  1898 


8TH  REGIMENT,  O.  V.  I. 

The  following  were  the  members  of  the  company : 

Field  and  Staff — Maj.  Edward  Vollrath,  Bucyrus, 
Batt.  Adjt.,  Charles  F.  Schaber,  Bucyrus,  Batt.  Ser- 
geant Major,  Edward  G.  Reid,  Bucyrus. 

Captain — Marcus  A.  Charlton,  1st.  Lieut. — John  W. 
Birk,  2nd.  Lieut. — Guy  D.  Swingly. 

Sergeants — 1st..  Edward  Rodey,  Q.  M.,  Joseph  E. 
Wert,  Alva  S.  Humiston,  *  Charles  Thoman,  John  C. 
Cramer,  Milton  W.  Stailey,  Lewis  S.  Nedele. 

Corporals — William    F.    Reber,    Frederick    T.    Beer, 


George  E.  Kinninger,  Robert  W.  Kerr,  Henry  E.  Volk, 
Fred  W.  Bacon,  Samuel  Raymond,  Frank  H.  Hill, 
Ephriam  G.  MonneUe,  John  B.  Crim,  Christopher 
Dinkel,  Edward  M.  Wise,  William  M.  Burwell,  Daniel 
Spade. 

Musicians— C.  W.  Deardorff  and  Charles  W.  Raub. 

Artisans— E.  A.  Burroughs  and  William  C.  Beer. 

Wagoner — Lucian  Anthony. 

Privates— Rufus  Altaffer,  Harry  T.  Beelman,  Charles 
F,  Belzner,  WilHam  J.  Breymaier,  John  B.  Brown,  Fay 
W.  Brown,  Charles  F.  Bryant,  Charles  L.  Bittikofer, 
Ulrich  Bauer,  *  Ebbie  N.  Bland,  Arthur  C  Bloodhart, 
Arthur  Becker,  Thomas  Berry,  Robert  L.  Christie, 
George  O.  Coleman,  Jay  E.  Coulter,  Wilbur  J.  Charlton, 
Chris  Carle,  Harry  Couts,  Peter  Callaghan,  Wm.  M. 
Cummins,  William  C.  Deam,  C.  F.  Donnenwirth,  Guy  P. 
Emerson,  Cyrus  H.  Fisher,  Charles  W.  Foreman,  Homer 
A.  Foreman,  Charles  Ferrall,  Charles  Fidler,  James  P. 
Hill,  William  D.  Hillis,  E.  G.  Hillis,  Roy  H.  Hayman, 
Harry  H.  Holland,  Walter  M.  Hubbell,  Jacob  Huber, 
Michael  Hipp,  Joseph  J.  Hieronimus,  Luther  Haffner, 
Albert  Heintz,  Charles  V.  Jones,  Samuel  Kahler, 
*  Charles  C.  Keplinger,  Glenn  H.  Koons,  E.  Harry  Kerr, 
George  Kehrer,  Harry  W.  Leitz,  Jay  C.  McCracken, 
Jesse  H.  Minich,  Jay  Moore,  Harry  W.  Morrow,  Gilbert 
McKeehen,  Frank  Munz,  Louis  Mollenkopf,  Samuel  H. 
Nelson,  Charles  Nail,  William  R.  Orr,  Benjamin  L.  Orr, 
Thomas  Plummer,  Edward  Rettig,  John  Rettig,  Or- 
lando C.  Rice,  Birt  Rogers,  Frank  Reynolds,  Theodore 
Reminger,  T.  P.  Rayel,  Frederick  Stahl,  Edgar  A.  Stan- 
ley, Charles  E.  Shanks,  Sherman  Sampsel,  *  Otto  Sand- 
hammer,  Ralph  J.  Stewart,  Roscoe  A.  Taylor,  Roscoe 
A.  Trumbull,  Frank  Trautman,  Albert  Teetrick,  Bert 
UUam,  Albert  Warden,  Harry  R.  Winner. 

*  Died  in  Service. 

The  8th  Regiment  of  Infantry,  O.  N.  G., 
popularly  known  as  "The  President's  Own," 
was  the  only  Ohio  regiment  that  went  to  Cuba. 
The  order  to  start  for  Cuba  came  on  the 
Fourth  of  July  and  on  the  6th  the  regiment 
embarked  at  New  York  city  on  the  U.  S. 
Steamer  St.  Paul,  arriving  off  Siboney,  sev- 
eral miles  below  Santiago,  on  July  loth.  The 
troops  being  urgently  needed  at  this  time,  the 
regiment  was  immediately  disembarked,  some 
companies  being  landed  that  night  and  the 
remainder  on  the  following  morning.  On  their 
march  to  the  front,  over  the  mountain  trail, 
they  met  numerous  wagons  loaded  with  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers.  The  regiment  marched 
part  way  under  a  furious  tropical  storm  and 
camped  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Aguadores 
river.  So  heavy  was  the  downpour  of  rain 
that  the  camp  was  completely  flooded  and  none 
were  able  to  sleep.  In  the  morning  it  was 
found  that  the  streams  were  so  swollen  that 
an  immediate  advance  of  the  regiment  was  im- 
practicable and  they  were  obliged  for  some  time 
to  remain  at  this  camp,  which  was  named  by 
the  soldiers  "Camp  Mud." 


514 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


On  the  13th  of  July  the  Third  Batallion, 
consisting  of  Companies  B,  E,  G  and  K,  were 
detailed  as  guard  to  General  Shafter  and  the 
headquarters  of  the  Fifth  Army  Corps.  After 
the  surrender  of  Santiago,  a  few  days  later, 
the  headquarters  were  moved  into  the  city  and 
the  batallion  acted  as  guard  of  the  Ammuni- 
tion Reserve  and  Small  Arm  Park  until  Au- 
gust loth,  besides  perfonning  various  other 
duties. 

On  July  15th  Colonel  Hard  obtained  per- 
mission of  General  Miles  to  change  the  loca- 
tion of  the  camp,  which  was  an  unhealthy  one, 
and  accordingly  the  First  and  Second  Batal- 
lions  took  camp  on  Sevilla  Hill,  the  Third  re- 
maining at  headquarters.  At  this  time  the 
regiment  suffered  greatly  from  sickness,  prin- 
cipally malarial  fever,  the  companies  being 
obliged  to  furnish"  details  to  assist  the  hospital 
corps.  The  health  of  the  army  generally  con- 
tinued so  bad  and  the  deaths  were  so  numerous 
that  it  was  found  impracticable  to  send  the 
troops  to  take  part  in  the  Porto  Rico  cam- 
paign, as  had  been  intended,  and  representa- 
tions having  been  made  by  the  chief  officers 


to  General  Shafter  and  submitted  by  him  to 
Washington,  the  army  was  ordered  north  im- 
mediately. 

On  August  1 8th  the  8th  regiment  left  San- 
tiago on  the  steamer  Mohawk,  some  of  the 
men,  however,  being  unable  to  embark  on  ac- 
count of  sickness.  On  the  way  home  two 
deaths  occurred  at  sea.  On  the  26th  the  troops 
were  landed  at  Montauk  Point,  Long  Island 
and  were  immediately  placed  in  quarantine  un- 
til danger  of  infection  was  over.  On  Septem- 
ber 6th,  a  60-days'  furlough  having  been 
granted,  the  various  companies  took  the  train 
for  Ohio,  to  reassemble  for  muster  out  at 
Wooster,  Ohio  on  November  loth.  They  re- 
mained in  camp  at  Wooster  until  November 
21,  1898,  when  they  were  discharged.  While 
in  the  United  States'  service  the  8th  Regiment 
lost  72  men,  a  number  of  others  dying  subse- 
quently as  the  result  of  disease  or  hardships 
encountered. 

The  soldiers  of  the  Spanish  American  War 
have  organized  Thoman  Camp  No.  69,  United 
Spanish  War  Veterans,  named  after  Sergeant 
Charles  Thoman  who  died  in  Cuba. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 


BENCH  AND  BAR 

The  Ordinance  of  1/8/ — Formation  of  the  Courts — President  and   Associate  Judges — Jus- 
tices of  the  Peace — Crawford  County  Laivyers — Some  Interesting  Cases. 


"The  hope  of  all  who  suffer, 
The  dread  of  all  who  wrong." 

John  G.  Whittier. 

Sixteen  years  before  the  admission  of  Ohio 
into  the  Federal  Union  the  foundations  of 
law  and  order  throughout  the  great  North- 
western Territory,  of  which  it  formed  a  part, 
were  laid  by  the  passage  in  Congress  of  the 
"Ordinance  of  1787."  The  author  of  this  com- 
pact, who  was  also  chiefly  responsible  for  its 
passage,  was  the  Rev.  Mannasseh  Cutler,  one  of 
the  leading  directors  of  the  Ohio  Company, 
formed  for  the  development  of  lands  and  the 
planting  of  settlements  along  the  valleys  of 
the  Ohio,  Muskingum  and  Scioto  rivers.  This 
compact,  which  has  been  called  the  true  cor- 
ner-stone of  the  northwest,  declared  that  "re- 
ligion, morality  and  knowledge  being  neces- 
sary to  good  government  and  the  happiness  of 
mankind,  schools  and  the  means  of  education 
shall  always  be  encouraged."  It  also  forever 
prohibited '  slavery  within  the  territory  and, 
strange  to  say,  was  passed  by  the  aid  of  the 
southern  members  of  Congress,  every  one  of 
whom  voted  for  it.  This  result  was  accom- 
plished through  Dr.  Cutler's  ability  and  adroit- 
ness as  a  politician.  Ample  provision  was 
made  for  education,  Section  16  of  each  town- 
ship being  set  apart  for  school  purposes.  When 
the  State  Constitution  was  adopted  in  1803  it 
was  based  in  its  essential  parts  of  the  Ordi- 
nance of  1787.  The  Judicial  powers  of  the 
state  were  a  Supreme  Court  of  Common-Pleas 
and  Justices  of  the  Peace.  The  Supreme 
Court  was  composed  of  three  members,  in  1807 
increased  to  four,  and  two  members  constituted 


a  quorum  and  were  to  meet  once  a  year  in 
every  county  in  the  State. 

The  Common  Pleas  Court  consisted  of  a 
president  judge  elected  by  the  Legislature,  and 
in  each  county  two  or  three  associate  judges 
were  elected  by  the  Legislature  to  sit  with  the 
president  judge  when  he  visited  that  county 
and  form  the  court.  Each  court  appointed  its 
own  clerk  to  serve  for  seven  years,  but  the 
clerk  must  have  a  certificate  signed  by  a  ma- 
jority of  the  Supreme  Court  certifying  as  to 
his  cjualifications  for  the  position. 

A  competent  number  of  justices  were  elected 
in  each  township  their  term  of  service  being 
three  years. 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  county, 
Bucyrus  was  selected  as  the  county  seat,  and 
in  July,  1826,  the  first  term  of  the  Common 
Pleas  Court  was  held  at  the  residence  of  Lewis 
Cary,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Sandiisky  river, 
on  the  site  of  the  present  residence  of  C.  H. 
Shonert. 

The  presiding  judge  on  this  occasion  was 
Ebenezer  Lane,  of  Norwalk,  who  had  been 
appointed  in  1824.  This  circuit  was  No.  2,. 
and  included  all  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
state,  Crawford  County  having  been  attached 
to,  this  circuit  on  its  organization.  Judge 
Lane  was  a  native  of  Northampton,  Mass., 
and  a  graduate  of  Harvard  University  in  the 
class  of  1 8 1 1 .  He  had  studied  law  under  Judge 
Matthew  Griswold,  at  Lyme,  Conn.,  had  been 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1814,  and  commenced 
practice  at  Norwich,  Conn.  In  the  spring  of 
1 81 7  he  came  to  Ohio,  settling  first  at  Elyria. 
In  May,   18 19  he  was  appointed  prosecuting 


515 


516 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


attorney  of  Huron  County  and  in  October  of 
the  same  year  removed  to  Norwalk.  After  his 
election  by  the  Legislature  in  1824  as  presiding 
judge  of  the  Second  Circuit  he  continued  to 
discharge  the  functions  of  that  office  until  the 
fall  of  1830,  at  which  time  he  was  elected  judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio,  a  position  he 
held  until  the  winter  of  1844-45,  ^vhen  he  re- 
signed. He  then  accepted  the  presidency  of  the 
J\iad  River  &  Lake  Erie  Railroad  Company 
and  for  ten  years  after  was  engaged  in-  the 
management  of  railroads  in  Ohio.  In  the  fall 
of  1855  he  became  counsel  and  resident  direc- 
tor of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company, 
with  his  residence  at  Chicago,  and  was  thus 
occupied  until  March,  1859,  when  he  resigned 
and  retired  to  private  life.  He  was  a  scholarly 
man,  a  close  student,  not  only  of  his  profes- 
sion, but  also  of  science  and  general  literature, 
and  was  prompt  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty. 
His  legal  ability  is  evidenced  in  his  opinions 
contained  in  the  Ohio  Supreme  Court  Reports 
and  he  possessed  in  a  high  degree  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  his  fellow  members  of  the 
bench  and  bar  and  the  confidence  of  the  peo- 
ple generally.  He  died  at  Sandusky,  Ohio 
June  12,  1866. 

Judge  Lane  was  succeeded  on  the  bench  of 
the  Common  Pleas  Court  by  Da\id  Higgins, 
also  of  Norwalk,  who  held  the  office  of  presi- 
dent judge  for  the  full  term  of  seven  years, 
from  1830  to  1837.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  per- 
sonal appearance  and  of  good  ability,  a  firm  be- 
liever in  a  strict  construction  of  the  law,  and 
would  brook  no  opposition,  and  as  a  result  his 
relations  with  his  legal  brethren  and  the  people 
were  not  so  harmonious  as  those  of  his  prede- 
cessor. His  ability  and  integrity,  however, 
were  unquestioned.  In  the  winter  of  1837-38 
his  term  came  to  a  close  and  he  retired  to  pri- 
vate life. 

Ozias  Bowen  of  Marion  was  the  successor  of 
Judge  Higgins,  and  held  the  office  of  president 
judge  for  two  terms,  or  fourteen  years,  until 
the  judicial  system  under  the  Constitution  of 
1802  was  superseded  by  that  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  185 1.  Judge  Bowen  was  born  at  Au- 
gusta, X.  Y.,  July  I,  1805.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  at  Canton,  Ohio,  in  September,  1828 
and  soon  after  began  practice  at  Marion.  In 
1856  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Chase  a 
judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  to  fill  a  vacancy 


caused  by  the  resignation  of  Judge  C.  C.  Con- 
verse. 

The  Associate  Judges  were  generally  of  the 
same  political  party  as  the  majority  in  the 
Legislature  at  the  time  of  their  election.  Yet 
the  names  of  the  judges  in  Crawford  County 
show  that  it  was  an  indispensable  qualification 
that  the  men  selected  should  be  of  such  high 
standing  and  character  that  the  people  would 
ha\'e  confidence  in  the  court  and  respect  its 
decisions.  These  men,  although  none  of  them 
were  lawyers,  received  the  title  of  judge. 

The  first  associate  judge  in  this  county  was 
E.  B.  Merriman,  elected  in  1825,  when  Craw- 
ford was  under  the  judicial  supervision  of 
Marion,  the  Legislature  electing  two  Marion 
men  and  one  from  Crawford.  The  next  year 
Crawford  was  organized  and  its  first  three 
associate  judges  were  elected  on  Jan.  26,  1826, 
five  days  before  the  act  was  passed  organizing 
the  county.  The  following  were  the  associate 
judges  in  Crawford  County  with  the  dates  of 
their  election.  The  office  was  abolished  in  1851 
by  the  adoption  of  the  present  Constitution. 

Enoch  B.  Merriman — 1825-26. 

John  Cary — 1826. 

John  B.  French — 1826. 

Jacob  Smith — 1827. 

Abel  Cary — 1829. 

Josiah  Robertson — 1830. 

George  Poe — 1833. 

Hugh  Welsh — 1835-42. 

Samuel  Knisely — 1836-43. 

Andrew  Failor — 1836-43. 

Robert  W.  ^Nlusgrave — 1845. 

Robert  Lee — 1849. 

James  Stewart — 1850. 

In  the  early  days  there  were  few  lawyers  in 
the  little  towns,  and  when  court  met  and  the 
judge  arrived,  he  was  followed  by  a  retinue  of 
attorneys,  who  accompanied  the  court  from 
town  to  town.  Judge  Lane's  circuit  at  that  time 
included  all  of  northwestern  Ohio;  the  roads 
were  bad,  sometimes  only  trails ;  many  streams 
had  to  be  forded,  and  the  lawyers  carried  their 
books  from  town  to  town;  once  it  is  of  record 
that  in  the  fording  of  a  heavily  swollen  stream 
the  law  library  of  the  party  was  swept  away. 
They  entered  towns  sometimes  covered  with 
rain  and  mud,  but  with  the  fire  and  internal  re- 
freshments promptly  served  by  the  jovial  land- 
lord, were  soon  made  comfortable.    Court  days 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


517 


were  great  days  for  the  little  towns  in  those 
early  times.  It  brought  the  citizens  in  touch 
with  the  outside  world,  and  every  evening  the 
tavern  was  crowded  to  listen  to  the  latest  stories 
and  hear  the  inside  of  all  political  develop- 
ments. 

The  first  court  was  held  in  the  lower  front 
room  of  Lewis  Gary's  residence,  and  upstairs 
the  jury  was  sent;  if  Sarah  Gary's  school  was 
in  session  at  the  time  education  was  suspended 
to  let  justice  hold  sway.  Among  the  lawyers 
who  followed  Judge  Lane  on  his  rounds  were 
Andrew  Goffinberry  of  Mansfield,  known  as 
"Gount"  Goffinberry  on  account  of  his  dignity 
and  faultless  apparel.  Then  there  was  John 
Spink,  the  wit  of  the  northwestern  Ohio  bar 
and  a  favorite  with  everybody;  James  Purdy 
and  John  M.  May  of  Mansfield;  Gharles  L. 
Boalt  of  Norwalk;  Orris  Parish  of  Delaware, 
and  a  few  years  later  Gharles  Switzer  of  the 
same  place,  as  fastidious  in  dress  as  "Gount" 
Goffinberry,  apd  there  being  then  a  semblance 
of  roads  he  used  to  arrive  in  state  with  a  car- 
riage drawn  by  two  white  horses.  From 
Marion  came  Ozias  Bowen  and  James  S.  God- 
man. 

When  the  first  court  was  held  David  H. 
Beardsley  came  over  from  Marion  to  act  as 
temporary  clerk  on  the  organization  of  the 
court.  Zalmon  Rowse  was  selected  as  clerk 
and  on  the  first  meeting  of  the  Supreme  Gourt 
at  Bucyrus  his  C[ualifications  were  certified  to 
and  he  became  the  first  clerk  of  the  court  of 
the  county.  At  that  time  the  attorneys  in  the 
place  were  John  H.  Morrison,  who  was  county 
treasurer;  Isaac  H.  Allen,  appointed  the  first 
prosecuting  attorney,  Michael  Flick  and 
Gharles  Stanberg. 

No  records  are  in  existence  of  these  early 
courts,  as  they  were  probably  destroyed  in  the 
fire  of  183 1. 

The  first  record  found  in  this  county  is  of 
the  July  term  of  1832,  when  the  supreme 
judges  coming  to  Bucyrus  were  Joshua  Collett 
and  Ebenezer  Lane,  the  latter  having  been 
elected  a  supreme  judge  by  the  Legislature  in 
1830.  They  heard  eight  cases.  The  first  court 
house  had  been  completed,  as  the  record  states 
the  court  met  in  the  court  house.  July  was  the 
month  for  meeting  in  Bucyrus  and  in  1833  the 
judges  attending  were  Joshua  Gollett  and 
Reuben  Wood,  who  heard  nine  cases.    In  1834 


Joshua  Gollett  and  Ebenezer  Lane  were  the 
judges  hearing  eight  cases;  1835,  Joshua  Gol- 
lett and  Ebenezer  Lane;  1836,  Ebenezer  Lane 
and  Reuben  Wood;  1837,  the  same  judges; 
1838,  Peter  Hitchcock  and  Frederick  Grimkie. 
Zalmon  Rowse  was  Supreme  Gourt  clerk,  with 
his  bond  fixed  at  $10,000. 

The  justices  of  the  peace  were  an  important 
court  in  those  days.  The  custom  appears  to 
have  prevailed  for  the  citizens  to  pick  out 
some  man  or  men  in  each  township,  whose 
common  sense,  honor  and  integrity  were  un- 
questioned. This  man  was  selected  justice  of 
the  peace  and  was  kept  in  office,  and  when  he 
was  an  exceptionally  good  man  the  only  way 
he  could  escape  the  position  was  by  running 
for  some  county  office  or  dying,  the  latter  being 
the  only  safe  course,  as  John  Gampbell  was 
elected  justice  in  Whetstone,  and  tried  to  es- 
cape the  job  by  being  elected  to  the  Legislature, 
but  his  neighbors  wouldn't  have  it,  and  for  a 
while  he  held  both  offices.  No  one  appeared  to 
mind  his  double  salary,  for  the  reason  his  legis- 
lative pay  was  very  little,  and  the  emoluments 
received  from  the  office  of  justice  were  still 
less.  More  than  half  a  century  ago  the  citizens 
of  Ghatfield  commenced  electing  John  Burg- 
bacher  as  justice,  and  when  he  became  county 
commissioner  they  let  him  off  for  two  terms, 
but  when  he  returned  in  1871,  they  again 
pressed  him  into  the  service  as  justice  and  he 
was  holding  the  office  when  he  died  30  years 
later.  Mr.  Burgbacher  has  the  record,  having 
been  elected  justice  for  13  terms  of  three  years 
each.  His  partner,  Frederick  Hipp  had  only 
eighteen  years,  but  after  he  was  elected  to 
the  county  office  he  never  went  back  to  Ghat- 
field. The  other  veteran  justices  were  Amos 
Morse  of  Auburn,  David  Ogden  of  Jackson, 
William  Hise  of  Liberty  and  John  Warner  of 
Vernon  with  thirty  years  each ;  S.  A.  Mc- 
Keehen  of  Liberty,  Abraham  Underwood  of 
Polk,  Harvey  Glose  of  Texas  and  W.  B.  Gum- 
mins  of  Whetstone,  with  27  years  each,  the 
last  two  persons  being  modern,  as  they  still 
hold  the  position.  Mr.  Glose  inherited  the  of- 
fice, as  his  father,  Nelson  Glose  was  justice 
from  1852  to  1873;  C.  D.  Ward,  of  Bucyrus, 
John  Holman  of  Holmes,  Gharles  B.  Shumaker 
of  Polk,  Solomon  Harley  of  Sandusky,  J.  F. 
Goder  of  Tod,  and  John  W.  Humphrey  of 
Vernon  have  a  record  of  24  years,  with  Messrs. 


51.8 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Harley  and  Coder  still  in  office.  Frederick 
Hipp  of  Chatfield  and  Matthias  Kibbler  of 
Cranberry  had  21  years,  making  17  men  who 
averaged  27  years  each.  Another  gentleman 
with  a  record  of  eight  terms  in  this  county  can 
well  be  called  the  movable  justice.  In  1873 
and  1876  Rufus  Aurend  was  elected  justice  by 
the  citizens  of  Tod  township,  but  he  left  there 
and  moved  across  the  line  into  Holmes  town- 
ship and  in  1880  the  citizens  there  elected  him 
to  the  same  office.  After  being  elected  for  four 
terms  in  Holmes  he  moved  over  into  Liberty 
as  the  only  way  to  escape  being  a  justice,  as 
Mr.  Hise  and  Mr.  McKeehen  were  serving  so 
faithfully  in  that  township  there  was  no  dan- 
ger of  any  justiceship  being  thrust  upon  him. 
Misfortune  followed  him,  as  he  reached  Lib- 
erty just  as  Mr.  Hise,  ripe  in  years,  was  called 
to  his  reward,  and  Mr.  Aurend  in  1900  was 
elected  to  the  office.  He  served  one  term  and 
came  to  Bucyrus,  where  aspirants  for  every 
office  were  so  numerous  that  he  would  be  al- 
lowed to  pass  his  declining  days  in  peace.  But 
in  1 91 2  a  vacancy  occurred  in  the  office  and 
the  township  trustees  looking  around  for  some 
suitable  and  competent  man  to  place  in  the 
position,  selected  Mr.  Aurend,  He  accepted, 
and  commenced  business ;  his  first  case  came 
on,  and  after  what  was  no  doubt  a  correct  de- 
cision, the  attorney  who  had  lost  found  that 
the  new  justice  had  omitted  some  formality 
in  the  securing  of  his  commission;  he  therefore 
appealed  the  case,  averring  that  Mr.  Aurend 
"was  not  qualified  to  act  as  justice."  This  was 
the  final' blow;  a  riian  who  had  served  in  three 
townships,  and  who  had  given  satisfaction  for 
more  than  twenty  years,  to  have  his  qualifica- 
tions doubted  by  a  young  attorney.  The  at- 
torney explained,  the  friends  argued,  but  it 
was  useless,  and  he  threw  up  the  job,  but  had 
established-  the  record  of  having  served  as 
justice  of  the  peace  in  four  townships. 

The  people  of  today  little  know  what  sound 
sense  and  what  absolute  justice  was  dealt  out 
by  these  officers  more  than  half  a  century  ago, 
and  the  court  records  show  what  townships 
had  these  practical  men  and  kept  them  in  office, 
for  from  those  townships  few  law  suits  came 
up  to  the  county  court;  they  had  a  way  of 
settling  their  cases,  and  settling  them  right, 
believing  what  was  just  and  right  was  law.    A 


few  incidents  have  been  gathered  of  early  jus- 
tice— not  law,  but  justice : 

About  1830  Robert  Mays  was  justice  of  the 
peace  of  Lykens  township.    Settlers  were  few 
and  far  between  and  hogs  ran  at  large,  the 
honesty  of  the  few  settlers  being  the  only  as- 
surance that  stray  pork  would  be  returned  to 
the  rightful  owner.     But  one  shiftless  settler 
named  Pratt  found  it  easier  to  kill  stray  pork- 
:ers  than  to  raise  his  own.     He  had  been  ar- 
rested and  fined  several  times  for  his  petty 
stealing,  but  stray  hogs  continued  to  disappear 
and  the  pork  was  frequently  traced  to  Pratt's 
shanty.     Finally,  he  was  caught  in  the  act  of 
stealing  one  of  his  neighbor's  hogs,  and  Robert 
Mays,  decided  to  try  a  new  method  for  putting 
a  stop  to  his  depradations.    Pratt  was  illiterate, 
and  like  all  petty  thieves  an  arrant  coward. 
Squire   Mays  had  him  arrested  by  the  con- 
stable and  brought  to  his  cabin  for  trial,  and 
the  neighbors  were  notified  to  appear  as  wit- 
nesses.    The  evidence  was  clear,  there  being 
no  question  of  the  man's  guilt,  but  the  squire 
went  further,  and  many  other  cases  were  traced 
to  Pratt.     Finally  the  justice,  putting  on  his 
most  solemn  look,  reviewed  the  man's  many 
cases  of  stealing,  called  his  attention  to  the 
fact  that  he  had  been  several  times  fined  for 
similar    offenses;    that    in    a    new    country, 
remote   from  courts,  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
justice  to  protect  innocent  citizens  from  such 
outrages ;  that  the  right  of  property  must  be 
held  sacred;  that  warnings  and  fines  had  all 
been  useless,  and  much  as  he  regretted  it,  he 
saw  no  other  way  of  protecting  the  people 
than  by  sentencing  the  man  to  death.     It  was 
therefore  the  judgment  of  the  court,  that  the 
constable  procure  a  rope  immediately,  and  the 
man  be  taken  to  some  convenient  tree  and  there 
hanged  by  the  neck  until  he  was  dead.     The 
man  begged  and  pleaded  for  his  life,  but  the 
justice  was  firm,  and  dispatched  the  constable 
for  a  rope,  and  instructed  the  settlers  to  look 
up  some  suitable  tree  on  \\hich  the  man  could 
pay  the  penalty  for  his  crimes.     This  left  no 
one  in  the  cabin  but  the  justice  and  the  terror- 
stricken  wretch.    The  justice  took  advantage  of 
the  occasion  to  depict  in  the  most  gruesome 
terms    the    disgraceful    death    the    man    had 
brought  on  himself  by  his  acts,  and  the  scared 
man  finding  all  hope  gone  did  exactly  what  was 


RESOLVED  WHITE 
Settled  in  Auburn  Township,  1819. 
Descendant  of  Peregrine  White,  who 
Came  Over  in  the  Mayflower. 


COL.  WILLIAM  CRAWFORD 
(At   the   age   of   35    years) 


LUCY  SEARL  WHITE 
Wife   of   Resolved   White 


BUCYRUS  BAR,  1863 
Upper  Row,  Left   to   Right — Franklin   Adams,  David   Cahill,  S.  R.  Harris,  John  Hoplcy,  William   Scroges 
Matthias  Buchman.  '  ' 

Lower  Row,  Left  to  Right — Jacob  Scroggs,  Thomas  Beer,  A.  M.  Jackson,  C.  W.  Butterfield,  E.  B.  Finley. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


,519 


anticipated.  He  made  a  dash  from  the  cabin, 
one  of  the  early  pioneers  said  he  went  through 
the  window.  The  alarm  was  given,  and  the 
man's  speed  was  accelerated  by  shots  being 
fired  in  his  direction,  care  being  taken  not  to 
hit  him  as  he  fled  through  the  woods.  The 
squire,  the  constable  and  the  witnesses  followed 
in  hot  haste,  yelling  and  screaming,  and  skill- 
fully managing  to  keep  just  close  enough  to 
the  fleeing  man  to  spur  him  to  renewed  exer- 
tions, and  finally  after  an  hour's  chase  the 
pursuing  party  returned  to  the  cabin.  Noth- 
ing was  ever  heard  or  seen  of  him  again,  and 
no  report  ever  reached  the  settlers  as  to  where 
or  when  he  stopped  running. 

One  of  the  first  law  suits  in  Liberty  township 
was  before  Ichabod  Smith,  justice  of  the  peace, 
on  a  complaint  against  Isaac  Weatherby  for 
running  his  saw-mill  on  the  Sabbath  Day. 
The  defendant  brought  in  testimony  showing 
the  uncertain  nature  of  the  stream;  that  the 
water-power  was  an  important  item  of  his 
property;  that  when  the  water  was  sufficient 
to  run  the  mill  it  must  be  utilized,  otherwise 
there  would  be  great  loss  to  him,  and  delays 
and  inconvenience  to  his  customers.  The  jus- 
tice held  that  when  the  water  was  there  the 
mill  ought  to  be  allowed  to  run,  even  if  it  was 
Sunday,  whereupon  he  discharged  \Veatherby 
md  taxed  the  costs  against  the  complainant. 
Of  course  the  law  of  the  state  prohibited  labor 
on  the  Sabbath,  and  the  complainant  appealed 
to  the  court  above,  when  the  judgment  for 
costs  against  him  was  set  aside.  The  com- 
plainant was  conscientious  in  his  protest  against 
labor  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  the  only  way  to 
stop  the  mill  was  to  buy  it,  which  he  did,  and 
leased  it  to  his  brother-in-law,  who  was  as  re- 
ligious as  himself,  and  the  mill  did  not  run  on 
Sunday. 

Another  case  was  before  Squire  Elias  Mark- 
ley.  A  man  named  Smith  sued  Charles  Dony 
for  pay  for  grain.  The  account  had  stood 
for  months,  and  there  were  counter  accounts, 
and  in  the  mix-up  Dony  was  given  a  judg- 
ment against  Smith  for  $8,  and  when  the 
judgment  was  announced  Dony  refused  to  take 
it,  saying  Smith  owed  him  only  $2. 

John  Slifer  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  in 
Liberty  township  from  183  s  to  1841.  He  was 
the  man  who  laid  out  the  village  of  Annapolis. 
He  was  a  fine  scholar,  and  an  excellent  pen- 


man, but  at  times  exceedingly  careless  in  his 
writing.  One  time  he  sent  a  transcript  to  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  so  illegible  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  read  it,  and  Judge  Ozias 
Bowen,  who  was  puzzled  over  the  document, 
expressed  his  disgust  with  the  remark,  "The 
people  must  be  fools  to  elect  such  ignorant  men 
as  justices  of  the  peace."  Josiah  Scott  was 
present,  and  was  well  acquainted  with  Slifer, 
.and  he  remarked  to  the  judge:  "How  would 
it  be,  j.udge,  if  this  ignorant  justice  could  write 
a  better  hand  than  either  of  us !"  Slifer  hap- 
pened to  be  present  in  the  court  room,  and  he 
came  forward  and  asked  the  clerk,  Zalmon 
Rowse,  for  a  pen  and  sheet  of  paper,  which 
were  given,  and  which  he  paid  for.  He  took 
the  transcript,  and  made  a  copy  in  a  neat  and 
faultless  hand,  the  most  perfect  of  writing, 
and  handed  it  to  the  judge.  Bowen  looked  at 
it  with  astonishment,  and  turning  to  Slifer, 
exclaimed,  "Why  didn't  you  write  in  that  way 
before?"  Slifer  looked  at  the  judge,  and  then 
quietly  replied,  "Because,  sir,  I  supposed  I  was 
writing  it  for  the  perusal  of  men,  and  not  of 
boys,"  and  then  turned  and  stalked  out  of  the 
court  room. 

Squire  Peter  Worst  was  a  justice  in  Bucyrus 
township  in  the  thirties.  He  was  a  tailor  by 
trade,  and  had  his  shop  about  where  the  Kehrer 
Block  now  is.  A  case  came  before  him,  and 
with  his  docket  by  his  side,  he  sat  on  his  bench, 
cross-legged,  and  sewing  while  the  trial  was 
going  on.  The  plaintiff  argued  the  case,  and 
the  squire  laid  down  the  cloth  on  which  he  was 
working,  picked  up  the  docket,  and  was  making 
his  entries.  The  lawyer  for  the  defense  was 
on  his  feet  to  reply,  and  waited  patiently  for 
the  attention  of  the  court.  Becoming  impa- 
tient, he  finally  inquired:  "Doesn't  the  court 
wish  to  hear  any  evidence  on  the  other  side?" 
The  squire,  having  finished  his  entries,  picked 
up  his  cloth  and  resumed  his  work,  and  gazing 
calmly  at  the  attorney  through  his  glasses,  said  : 
"Oh  yes,  you  can  talk  just  as  much  as  you 
please,  but  I  have  decided  the  case  in  favor  of 
the  plaintiff."  It  was  this  same  honest  old  jus- 
tice of  whom  Judge  Hall  remarked,  "When  I 
die,  I  want  Peter  Worst  to  settle  my  estate !" 
The  judge  did  die  in  1863,  and  like  the  bright 
and  careless,  intellectual  and  brilliant  man  he 
was,  he  left  no  will,  but  Peter  Worst  was  his 
administrator,  and  the  neat  and  exact  accounts 


520 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


of  that  settlement  are  on  file  in  the  Probate 
office. 

One  of  the  pioneer  justices  in  an  adjoining 
township  was  Robert  Newall,  who  sometimes 
decided  cases  according  to  his  own  views  of 
equity,  without  regard  to  either  law  or  prec- 
edent. A  man  named  Andrew  Clark  wished 
to  bring  suit  against  Martin  Mason  for  a  bal- 
ance claimed  for  work  performed  on  a  mill- 
race.  It  was  against  pioneer  ethics  for  a  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  to  encourage  litigation,  and 
Squire  Newall  endeavored  to  effect  a  settle- 
ment between  the  parties  without  resorting  to 
the  law,  but,  being  unable  to  do  so,  he  issued 
a  summons  to  Constable  Kline  against  the  said 
Martin  Mason,  the  writ  being  a  verbal  one, 
and  the  constable's  mace  of  authority  was  a 
buckeye  club,  with  which  he  was  instructed  to 
belabor  the  said  defendant  over  the  "head  and 
shoulders"  until  he  would  consent  to  accom- 
pany the  officer  to  the  court  room  of  the  jus- 
tice. Force,  however,  was  not  required  in  this 
case,  as  Martin  recognized  the  potent  power 
of  the  constable's  club,  and  he  obeyed  the  sum- 
mons promptly  and  was  soon  arraigned  before 
His  Honor,  who  required  that  plaintiff  and 
defendant  each  make  a  statement  of  his  side 
of  the  case,  and  after  this  was  done  the  court 
decided  that  Mason  should  pay  to  Clark  two 
bushels  of  corn,  and  continuing  said :  "Clark 
being  a  poor  man  and  having  no  horse,  you, 
Mason,  shall  deliver  the  corn  at  Clark's  house. 
Forever  after  this  you  are  to  be  good  friends 
and  neighbors,  and  if  either  shall  ever  fail  in 
the  least  particular  to  obey  this  order,  I  will 
have  the  offender  before  me  and  whip  him 
within  an  inch  of  his  life.  As  for  myself,  I 
charge  no  fees.  Not  so  with  Constable  Kline ; 
his  charge  being  a  quart  of  whisky,  which  plain- 
tiff and  defendant  will  see  is  brought  into  court 
as  promptly  as  possible  for  the  use  of  all 
present." 

Another  case,  and  although  at  a  much  later 
date  was  nearly  fifty  years  ago,  occurred  in 
Bucyrus.  George  Donnenwirth  was  the  justice 
and  a  man  was  brought  before  him  for  petty 
stealing.  He  had  as  his  attorney  Alfred  C. 
Cattley,  who  was  reading  law  in  the  office  of 
S.  R.  Harris.  It  was  a  clear  case,  but  in  the 
course  of  the  examination,  Cattley  asked  that 
the  prisoner  be  sworn.  The  justice  was  in- 
dignant at  the  idea  of  a  thief  being  allowed 


to  give  testimony,  and  promptly  refused  to  let 
him  testify.  Cattley  stated  that  by  a  recent 
law  the  man  could  testify,  and  the  justice 
insisted  on  seeing  the  law,  so  the  student  went 
over  to  the  office  of  Mr.  Harris,  and  returned 
with  the  printed  slip.  The  Legislature  was  in 
session,  and  had  just  passed  the  law  allowing 
a  criminal  to  testify  in  his  own  behalf.  The 
squire  put  on  his  glasses,  read  the  law  over 
carefully,  and  after  some  reflection,  said: 
"Well,  it  appears  to  be  the  law,  and  this  court 
will  always  obey  the  laws  of  the  state,  what- 
ever they  are."  He  studied  over  the  matter 
again,  and  finally  turned  to  the  attorney  and 
said  very  disgustedly,  "The  man  can  testify," 
and  voiced  his  indignation  with  the  remark, 
"but  I  want  to  tell  you  before  hand  I  shan't . 
believe  a  d — n  word  he  says."  And  he  didn't, 
for  the  man  got  thirty  days. 

When  the  second  term  of  court  was  held  in 
Bucyrus,  the  brick  schoolhouse  had  been  built 
and  this  was  used  for  court  purposes,  and  if 
the  case  was  to  a  jury,  these  gentlemen  were 
escorted  to  some  convenient  room  in  the  vil- 
lage where  they  were  locked  up  until  they 
reached  a  decision,  and  in  fine  weather  some- 
times held  their  consultation  in  the  woods  back 
of  the  schoolhouse,  the  sheriff  sitting  on  a 
stump  at  some  distance  keeping  his  eye  on 
them. 

The  first  early  records  of  the  court  are  in 
1834,  Hon.  David  Higgins  was  the  presiding 
judge,  and  his  associates  were  Abel  Cary, 
Josiah  Robertson  and  George  Foe.  The  first 
grand  jury  of  which  there  is  any  record  was 
composed  of  the  following  persons :  David 
Ellis,  foreman;  John  Burwell,  Emanuel  Dear- 
dorff,  David  Marquis,  Joseph  Hart,  William 
Arnold,  Adam  Beck,  Isaac  Cornell,  James 
Higbee,  William  Scott,  Robert  Foster,  Isaac 
Rice,  Joseph  S.  Smith,  William  Cooper,  Wil- 
liam Robinson. 

At  this  term  several  cases  were  called,  and 
the  papers  were  reported  missing,  and  it  is 
probable  Judge  Higgins,  who  was  a  trifle  irri- 
tated, made  some  reflections  on  the  clerk  for 
the  next  day  the  following  appears  on  the  court 
docket : 

"Personally  appeai-ed  in  open  court  Zalmon 
Rowse,  who  being  duly  sworn,  doth  depose 
and  say  that  he  is  clerk  of  the  court,  and  that 
on  the  night  of  the  i6th  day  of  March,  1834, 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


521 


some  person  or  persons  entered  the  clerk's  of- 
fice of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  and  took 
from  the  proper  place  of  deposit  the  files  and 
papers  belonging  to  the  causes  pending  in 
court,  that  the  same  have  been  taken  beyond 
the  reach  or  knowledge  of  the  deponent  and  he 
knows  not  whether  said  papers  have  been  de- 
stroyed or  what  has  become  of  them." 

Further  Zalmon  Rowse  tendered  his  resig- 
nation as  clerk  of  the  court,  and  the  judge  ac- 
cepted it,  and  turned  around  and  reappointed 
him  for  another  term  of  seven  years,  showing 
if  he  was  irritable  at  times,  he  was  just.  The 
record  shows  that  thirteen  cases  were  called  and 
had  to  be  continued  on  account  of  the  records 
being  stolen,  so  minor  business  was  mostly 
transacted.  A  wave  had  swept  over  the  town 
against  gambling  so  a  special  grand  jury  was 
called  to  investigate  the  matter,  and  Samuel 
Norton  was  made  the  foreman,  and  true  bills 
were  returned  against  six  of  the  most  promi- 
nent men  in  the  village  for  gambling,  and  the 
next  day  they  found  six  more,  and  followed  it 
up  with  a  batch  of  fourteen.  A  few  were  fined 
but  most  of  them  acquitted,  some  of  the  cases 
being  carried  over  for  several  terms.  Several 
tavern  keepers  were  fined  $5  and  costs  for 
selling  liquor  to  the  Indians,  after  which  their 
licenses  were  renewed  for  another  year. 

The  court  held  three  terms  a  year,  and  the 
prosecutor  was  allowed  $100  a  year  for  his 
services,  the  sheriff  and  clerk  each  being 
allowed  $60  a  year. 

At  this  term  of  court,  a  case  was  heard  and 
damages  of  $25  were  allowed  the  plaintiff  by 
the  presiding  judge.  It  is  probable  the  law  was 
very  strongly  in  favor  of  the  plaintiff,  but  the 
three  associate  justices  had  an  idea  that  real 
justice  was  on  the  side  of  the  defendant,  and 
they  reversed  the  verdict  and  found  for  the 
defendant,  and  further  ordered  that  the  plain- 
tiff should  pay  the  costs. 

It  is  probable  that  Judge  Higgins  was  in- 
dignant, as  the  next  term  of  court  shows  the 
following  entries : 

"Sept.  8,  1834 — No  quorum ;  George  Poe 
adjourned  court  until  next  day  at  noon. 

John  Moderwell,  Sherifif." 

"Tuesday,  Sept.  q — Gary  and  Poe  present 
and  adjourned  until  Wednesday  at  10,  when  no 
quorum  appearing  court  adjourned  without 
day." 


When  the  next  term  arrived,  the  sheriff  must 
have  had  his  doubts  as  to  whether  the  judge 
had  recovered  from  his  anger,  as  he  sum- 
moned no  jury.  The  court  met  on  Monday, 
Feb.  10,  and  there  being  no  quorum  they  ad- 
journed until  Tuesday.  The  next  day  Asso- 
ciates George  Poe,  Abel  Gary  and  Hugh  Welsh 
were  there,  and  they  granted  a  few  administra- 
tion papers,  and  adjourned  until  Wednesday, 
and  that  day  the  Hon.  David  Higgins  showed 
up,  and  proceeded  to  business  by  ordering  the 
sheriff  to  secure  a  jury  immediately,  which  he 
did,  most  of  them  Bucyrus  men. 

The  securing  of  a  jury  was  no  easy  matter 
in  those  days,  and  the  records  show  instances 
of  men  being  fined  for  ignoring  the  summons. 
A  story  is  told  of  the  county  west  of  Crawford 
in  1835.  The  country  was  sparsely  settled,  the 
farmers  were  busy,  and  the  sheriff  had  great 
difficulty  in  securing  a  jury.  On  the  morning 
of  the  second  day,  the  judge' opened  the  court 
and  asked  the  sheriff  if  the  jury  was  full.  The 
sheriff  replied :  "Not  quite  full  yet,  judge.  I 
have  eleven  men  locked  up  in  the  jail,  and  my 
dogs  and  deputies  are  after  the  twelfth  man." 

Courts  in  those  days  granted  licenses  author- 
izing ministers  to  solemnize  marriages.  Among 
those  early  ministers  are : 

March,  1834 — Harrison  Jones,  Church  of 
Christ. 

February,  1835 — John  Davis,  United  Breth- 
ren in  Christ;  John  Smith,  United  Brethren 
in  Christ. 

June,  1836 — Charles  Edward  Van  Voorhis, 
Church  of  Christ;  Frederick  G.  Maschkop, 
German  Reformed. 

September,  1837 — Peter  Gatz,  Church  of  the 
Evangelical  Association. 

July,  1838 — George  Sagear,  Evangelical  As- 
sociation. 

Other  duties  of  the  court  were  the  issuance 
of  naturalization  papers.  The  first  found  are 
as  follows : 

1836 — Robert  Reid,  March  18;  Stephen 
Brinkman,  Sept..  13. 

1837 — Ehregott  Hesse,  March  13;  Samuel 
Roth,  March  13;  Garnett  Sheets,  March  15; 
Lewis  Heinlen,  March  16;  Jacob  Scherer,  Sept. 
1 1 ;  George  Fouser,  Sept.  1 1 ;  Jacob  Genther, 
Sept.  11;  Frederick  Stoll,  Sept.  12. 

1838 — Frederick  Myers,  March  i ;  John 
Adam  Gcssman,  March  i ;  John  H.  Fry,  March 


522 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


2;  Adam  High,  Conrad  Haas,  George  Resler, 
John  George  Strawhucker,  Frederick  Weaver, 
Conrad  Beaver,  Joseph  Boehler,  July  i6; 
Christian  Widman,  July  20;  Andrew  Wingert, 
George  Donnenwirth,  Christian  Pfleiderer,  Ja- 
cob Wingert,  Sept.  29;  Michael  and  Anthony 
Brackley. 

In  1834  David  Chute  was  granted  a  license 
to  keep  a  tavern  in  Chatfield  township  for  $8; 
Aaron  M.  Decker,  tavern  in  Liberty  township, 
$5;  John  Luke,  tavern,  Liberty  township,  $5; 
Abraham  Hahn,  Bucyrus,  tavern  license  re- 
newed he  to  pay  $10  and  all  arrearages. 

At  the  July  term  in  1836,  the  docket  con- 
tains the  entry  "Franklin  Adams  admitted  to 
the  Bar."  Below  is  written  in  pencil,  "Came 
from  Mansfield,  August,  1837."  For  seventy 
years  he  was  a  practitioner  at  the  Crawford 
County  bar. 

Several  parties  were  tried  for  minor  of- 
fenses, and  given  five  days'  confinement  in  the 
county  jail  on  bread  and  water.  The  same  term 
when  the  spasm  of  reform  swept  over  the  city 
in  regard  to  gambling,  three  men  were  brought 
before  the  court  charged  with  horse  stealing 
and  were  discharged. 

The  first  penitentiary  case  of  which  record 
is  found  was  on  Sept.  29,  1838,  when  Ephraim 
Eaton  admitted  he  was  guilty  of  stealing  a 
horse,  and  was  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  at 
hard  labor  for  three  years,  and  to  pay  the 
costs  of  the  prosecution,  amounting  to  $30.88. 

\\'hen  practicing  law  in  Bucyrus  in  the  early 
days  Josiah  Scott  commenced  a  suit  with  the 
following  lines : 

"Suit  for  trespass.     Sent  to  justice ; 

This  is  to  cause  you  for  to  summon 

Linsey  woolsey,  \\hat  you  call  'em? 

The  crazy  son  of  old  Spitzholm, 

To  answer  for  his  devilish  tricks 

Of  cutting  sundry  sticks — 

Of  timber,  on  Sam  ]\Iyer's  land." 

Another  case  of  ]\Ir.  Scott's  was  against 
John  Luke.  Seventy  years  ago  ^Ir.  Luke  kept 
a  tavern  where  the  boundary  road  crosses  the 
Sandusky  river  in  Sandusky  township.  It  was 
a  popular  resort,  and  in  the  early  days  did  a 
large  business.  In  front  of  the  tavern  was  the 
usual  post,  and  on  top  of  it  was  the  signboard 
on  which  was  painted  a  black  horse,  so  it  was 
known  as  the  Black  Horse  tavern.  One  of 
the  neighbors  had  some  trouble  with  Mr.  Luke, 


and  he  hired  Scott  to  conduct  the  case  for  him. 
The  trial  came  off,  and  it  was  to  a  jury.  One 
of  the  jurymen  was  Resolved  White  of  Au- 
burn township  who  has  handed  down  the  story. 
In  the  course  of  his  speech,  Mr.  Scott  warmed 
to  his  subject,  with  the  following  very  far  from 
flattering  reference  to  the  defendant: 

"  In  six  days  God  made  the  heavens  and  the 
earth,  and  on  the  seventh  he  rested;  and  then 
he  took  the  scraps  which  he  could  not  use  in 
the  formation  of  the  earth  or  the  animals  that 
walked  on  the  earth,  or  in  the  fishes  of  the  sea 
or  the  reptiles  that  crawled  upon  the  earth ;  he 
rnoulded  this  refuse  into  human  form,  and  with 
his  fist  he  punched  in  two  eyes,  and  put  on  a 
nose,  and  he  called  it  John  Luke." 

Another  similar  case  was  in  1844,  when  a 
hog  case  was  being  tried  in  the  court  house ;  the 
attorney  for  the  prosecution  was  Jude  Hall  of 
Upper  Sandusky,  the  stealing  having  occurred 
in  the  Wyandot  part  of  Crawford.  In  his 
speech  to  the  jury  he  said :  "Why,  gentlemen 
of  the  jury,  you  may  put  one  foot  upon  Her- 
cules, and  the  other  upon  Jupiter,  and  lay  your 
telescope,  straddle  of  the  sun,  and  gaze  over 
this  wide  creation,  and  you  can't  find  as  mean 
a  man  as  John  Smith." 

This  same  gentleman  in  a  case  at  Bucyrus, 
thus  alluded  to  the  opposing  counsel :  "Why, 
your  honor,  he's  a  mere  circumstance,  a  fabric, 
a  ruta  baga." 

A  similar  illustration  occurred  at  Bucyrus, 
years  later.  An  important  case  was  on,  and 
John  R.  Clymer  was  one  of  the  attorneys,  and 
speaking  of  one  of  the  young  attorneys  of  the 
opposition,  with  a  wave  of  the  hand  he  brushed 
him  aside,  with  the  remark:  "He  amounts  to 
no  morein  this  case  than  a  fly  on  the  periphery 
of  a  wheel." 

Josiah  Scott  once  went  to  Osceola  to  try  a 
case  before  Squire  Tuttle,  and  after  he  had 
made  his  eloquent  and  convincing  argument, 
as  he  thought,  to  the  jury,  the  opposing  counsel 
spoke  of  the  effort  of  the  future  Supreme 
Judge  in  the  following  vigorous  style:  "The 
gentleman  may  roar  like  a  salamander,  but  my 
positions  are  adamantine,  and  must  prevail." 

Of  the  early  lawyers,  Isaac  H.  Allen  died  in 
Bucyrus  in  1828. 

John  H.  Morrison,  soon  after  he  left  the 
Treasurer's  office  went  to  Findlay.  He  had 
but  one  arm.     He  was  a  very  fair  lawyer,  not 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


523 


ne  of  the  ablest  in  those  early  days,  but  had  a 
een  tongue.  At  one  time  he  was  conducting 
case  in  which  he  became  very  much  interested, 
nd  after  the  evidence  was  all  in  he  was  sat- 
sfied  he  would  lose,  so  he  opened  his  remarks 
0  the  jury,  about  as  follows :  "May  it  please 
he  court:  By  the  perjury  of  witnesses,  the 
^norance  of  the  jury,  and  the  corruption  of 
he  court,  I  expect  to  be  beaten  in  this  case." 
iere,  the  judge,  who  was  Patrick  G.  Goode, 
nterrupted  him  with  the  remark :  "What  is 
hat  you  say,  Mr.  Morrison?"  The  latter 
oolly  replied:  "That  is  all  I  have  to  say  on 
hat  point,"  and  commenced  his  address  to  his 
'ignorant"  jury.  At  another  time  he  had  a 
eparation  case,  where  the  wife  had  taken  the 
hild,  and  the  husband  wanted  it,  so  Morrison 
or  the  husband,  got  out  a  writ  of  replevin,  and 
he  sheriff  seized  the  child,  and  two  disinter- 
ested parties  were  appointed  to  appraise  the 
'alue  of  it.  They  failed  to  agree,  and  two 
nore  were  appointed  with  a  like  result;  while 
he  third  set  of  appraisers  were  at  work,  a 
)rother  of  the  mother  of  the  child  grabbed  the 
nfant  and  mounting  his  horse,  started  away  at 
ull  speed.  Morrison  gazed  after  the  vanishing 
lorseman,  and  remarked :  "There  goes  my 
ase.     I  could  replevin  the  devil  out  of  hell,  if 

could  only  get  appraisers  to  put  a  value  on 
lim." 

Charles  Stanberg  was  known  as  the  "linsey 
voolsey"  lawyer,  as  he  appeared  in  court  wear- 
ag  a  suit  of  that  material.  Both  he  and 
klichael  Flick  left  at  an  early  date. 

Josiah  Scott  arrived  in  June,  1829.  One  of 
lis  first  cases  was  before  Squire  Jas.  Stewart, 
wo  miles  east  of  Bucyrus.  He  walked  out  and 
lack.  His  client  was  Charles  Bacon,  and 
icott  asked  him  if  he  thought  $1.50  was  too 
luch  to  charge  for  his  services.  Bacon  thought 
ot,  and  the  charge  was  made,  but  Scott  over- 
Doked  the  collecting  of  the  bill  for  years, 
le  was  a  great  student,  and  at  times  very  ab- 
ent  minded.  In  1840  he  was  a  member  of 
he  Legislature,  and  on  one  of  his  trips  to 
Tolumbus,  George  Lauck,  who  was  county 
reasurer,  gave  him  a  package  containing  the 
noney  for  his  semi-annual  settlement  with 
be  state  treasurer.  Reaching  Columbus  he 
Dok  the  package  from  his  saddle-bags  and 
ut  it  in  his  pocket  before  going  in  to  break- 
ast.    After  he  left  the  dining-room  he  found 


the  money  was  gone,  he  hurried  back  and  for- 
tunately found  the  package  under  the  table, 
it  having  slipped  from  his  pocket.  At  another 
time  he  had  business  at  Marion,  and  he  hung 
up  his  coat  in  the  hotel  office,  and  went  to  bed. 
The  next  morning  the  coat  was  still  there,  but 
the  pocket-book  containing  $500  was  gone. 
Scott  was  a  great  friend  of  the  Indians  who 
called  him  "Big  Head,"  as  he  wore  a  number 
8  hat.  He  used  to  take  part  in  their  sports, 
and  in  all  their  cases  he  was  the  attorney  for 
the  Indians.  One  of  the  Indians  named  a  son 
Josiah  Scott,  and  when  the  Wyandots  went 
west  in  1843,  Josiah  accompanied  them.  Mr. 
Scott  was  born  in  Washington  county.  Pa.,  in 
1803,  and  graduated  with  high  honors  from 
Jefferson  college,  Pa.,  in  1821.  He  taught  in 
that  college,  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.    Located  at  Bucyrus,  in  1829. 

When  the  war  was  over  the  Michigan  bound- 
ary came  up  in  1835.  Mr.  Scott  raised  a  com- 
pany but  the  matter  was  settled  by  the  courts 
and  the  company  was  not  needed.  In  1840 
he  represented  the  county  in  the  Legislature 
and  about  185 1  went  to  Hamilton,  Butler 
County,  Ohio,  where  he  continued  the  practice 
of  his  profession. 

In  1856  he  was  appointed,  by  Governor 
Chase,  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  to  fill 
the  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of  Judge 
Ranney,  and  in  October  of  the  same  year  he 
was  elected  to  serve  the  full  term  of  five  years, 
being  subsequently  re-elected  in  1861  and  1866. 
He  returned  to  Bucyrus  in  1870  and  at  the  close 
of  his  last  term  as  judge  resumed  practice  at 
the  bar.  In  1876  he  was  appointed,  by  Gover- 
nor Hayes,  as  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Court 
Commission,  a  body  composed  of  five  judges, 
created  in  1875,  to  dispose  of  a  part  of  the 
accumulated  business  then  on  the  docket  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  having  the  same  jurisdic- 
tion and  power  in  respect  to  such  business  as 
the  Supreme  Court  itself.  Elected  chief  judge 
for  one  year  by  his  associate  members  of  the 
commission,  he  served  ably  in  that  capacity, 
and  subsequently  remained  a  member  of  the 
commission  until  February  i,  1879,  the  close 
of  its  term. 

Judge  Scott  was  an  eloquent  advocate  and 
an  able  and  learned  lawyer  and  jurist.  He 
was  a  man  of  excellent  education,  a  fine  math- 
ematician and  well  read  in  the  classics.     He 


524 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


was  moreover  a  Christian  gentleman,  an  elder 
for  years  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  of  genial 
disposition,  sparkling  wit  and  endowed  by 
nature  with  a  fine  presence.  His  active  pro- 
fessional career  covered  a  period  of  half  a 
century,  the  great  part  of  which  time  was  spent 
in  this  community  and  no  man  was  better  un- 
derstood and  more  highly  appreciated  and 
esteemed.    He  died  June  15,  1879. 

George  Sweney  was  born  near  Gettysburg, 
Pa.,  in  1796.  After  graduating  at  Dickinson 
college,  he  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.  Beginning  about  1820,  he  practiced 
his  profession  for  ten  years  at  Gettysburg. 
In  1830  he  came  to  Bucyrus,  where  he  con- 
tinued in  his  profession.  He  was  elected  pros- 
ecuting attorney,  and  while  holding  that  office, 
in  1838,  was  elected  a  member  of  Congress 
from  the  Fourteenth  Ohio  district,  being  re- 
elected in  1840.  In  1853  he  removed  to 
Geneseo,  III,  but,  after  an  absence  of  three 
years,  returned  and  was  again  elected  prose- 
cuting attorney.  After  his  term  in  this  office 
he  retired  from  the  bar.  He  died  in  Bucyrus, 
Ohio,  Oct.  ID,  1877.  Mr.  Sweney  was  a  man 
of  fine  appearance,  honorable  character  and 
amiable  manners.  He  was  a  good  lawyer  but 
his  tastes  inclined  him  more  to  the  study  of 
science  and  literature  than  to  the  practice  of  his 
profession,  which  was  always  more  or  less  dis- 
tasteful to  him.  He  was  plain  and  domestic 
in  his  habits  and  was  never  so  well  contented 
as  when  engaged  in  his  favorite  studies  in  the 
quiet  and  retirement  of  his  own  home. 

John  Smith  came  in  1832,  but  did  not  prac- 
tice law  until  later.  At  first  he  kept  a  dry  goods 
store  on  the  west  lot  of  where  the  Quinby 
Block  now  is.  He  later  was  elected  justice  of 
the  peace,  and  had  his  office  in  a  frame  just 
west  of  the  Rowse  Block.  He  was  an  office 
lawyer,  and  did  much  in  the  way  of  conveyanc- 
ing, writing  wills,  and  settling  estates.  He 
was  an  exceedingly  conscious  and  upright  citi- 
zen. He  was  a  widower  and  his  daughter 
kept  house  for  him.  He  died  in  his  office  forty 
years  ag®  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was 
about  eighty  years  of  age. 

In  August,  1837,  Franklin  Adams  located  m 
Bucyrus.' and  had  his  office  opposite  the  court 
house,  boarding  when  he  first  arrived  with 
Samuel  Norton,  and  when  the  Lutherans  sold 
their  property  opposite  the  court  house  in  1858, 


he  bought  the  balance  of  the  corner  and  built 
the  brick  which  was  his  office  for  so  many 
years.  In  1838  he  was  appointed  prosecut- 
ing attorney,  succeeding  George  Sweney  who 
had  been  elected  to  Congress  that  year,  and 
in  1839  he  was  elected  to  that  office,  and  re- 
elected for  two  more  terms.  He  died  in  1908, 
having  been  a  member  of  the  Bucyrus  bar  for 
over  seventy  years. 

John  M.  Armstrong  practiced  law  in  Bucy- 
rus from  1838  to  1843.  He  was  a  graduate 
of  Norwalk  Seminary  and  had  studied  his 
profession  under  Judge  James  Stewart,  of 
Mansfield,  graduating  at  the  Cincinnati  law 
school.  He  was  a  well  educated  and  accom- 
plished man,  but  was  partly  of  Indian  blood, 
his  father,  Robert  Armstrong,  who  had  been 
taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians,  having  married 
a  quarter-blood  Wyandot  woman.  In  1839 
he  was  the  Whig  candidate  for  prosecuting  at- 
torney against  Franklin  Adams,  but  was  de- 
feated. He  moved  west  in  1843  with  the 
Wyandot  Indians  to  where  the  town  of  Wyan- 
dot, Kansas,  now  stands.  A  few  years  later  he 
died  at  Mansfield  where  he  had  stopped  for  a 
visit,  \\hile  on  his  way  back  from  Washington, 
having  gone  there  on  business  connected  with 
the  Indians.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of 
Rev.  Russell  Bigelow,  a  prominent  Methodist 
preacher  in  the  early  days. 

In  the  spring  of  1844  the  Bucyrus  bar  was 
strengthened  by  the  accession  of  Lawrence  W. 
Hall,  who  came  here  from  Cuyahoga  county. 
Elected  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  county, 
he  held  that  position  by  successive  elections 
from  October,  1845,  to  October,  1851.  At  the 
fall  election  of  1851,  the  first  under  the  new 
constitution,  he  was  elected  a  judge  of  the 
Common  Pleas  Court,  and  served  in  that  of- 
fice until  February,  1857.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  National  House  of  Representatives,  be- 
ing elected  in  1856.  He  subsequently  con- 
tinued the  practice  of  law  in  Bucyrus  until  his 
death,  which  took  place  January  18,  1863. 
Judge  Hall  was  a  successful  practitioner,  and 
was  a  politician  as  well  as  a  lawyer.  He  was 
kind  and  genial  in  disposition,  was  very  pop- 
ular and  was  noted  for  his  urbane  manners 
while  on  the  bench.  Being  associated  with 
that  party  that  was  opposed  to  the  prosecution 
of  the  War  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union, 
he  was  arrested  in  1862  and  for  a  number  of 


AND  REPRESENT A.TIVE  CITIZENS 


525 


weeks  was  nominally  held  as  a  political  pris- 
oner at  Camp  Mansfield,  but  allowed  to  go 
about  on  parole. 

Josiah  S.  Plants  came  from  his  father's  farm 
in  Liberty  township  to  Bucyrus  and  worked  at 
the  trade  of  shoemaker,  and  while  at  work 
kept  a  law  book  beside  him  from  which  he 
studied.  Later  he  was  taken  from  his'  shoe- 
maker's bench  to  teach  in  the  schools.  He 
then  read  law  under  Josiah  Scott,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  in  1844  began  the 
practice  of  law  in  Bucyrus. 

In  the  fall  of  1858  he  was  elected  a  judge  of 
the  Common  Pleas  Court  for  a  five  years'  term, 
beginning  in  February,  1859.  He  was  dis- 
tinguished for  industry,  honesty  of  purpose, 
devotion  to  his  friends,  fidelity  to  his  clients, 
and  earnestness  and  force  as  a  public  speaker. 
His  promising  career  was  unfortunately  cut 
short,  his  death  taking  place  August  23,  1863, 
as  the  result  of  wounds  received  by  the  ac- 
cidental discharge  of  a  gun  while  hunting  in 
Indiana. 

E.  A.  Wood  and  William  Fisher  practiced 
law  in  Bucyrus  early  in  the  forties,  but  after 
a  short  stay  here  removed  to  other  locations. 

Joseph  E.  Jewett,  who  came  from  Wayne 
county,  conducted  a  law  office  in  Bucyrus  from 
1844  until  the  fall  of  1848,  whn  he  removed  to 
Des  Moines,  Iowa.  While  here  he  assisted 
in  organizing  a  Masonic  lodge,  and  was  the 
first  master.  He  was  also  the  first  captain  of 
the  fire  department. 

Enoch  W.  Merriman,  born  in  Bucyrus  in 
1830,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1853  and 
practiced  until  the  spring  of  1861,  when  he 
responded  to  President  Lincoln's  first  call  for 
troops,  and  was  lieutenant  of  the  first  com- 
pany that  left  the  county,  Co.  C  of  the  Eighth 
Ohio.  He  died  in  camp  at  Grafton,  W.  Va., 
August  12,  1 861. 

Burr  Morris,  born  in  Stark  county  in  1829, 
was  educated  at  Findlay  Academy,  read  law 
with  Henry  Brown  of  Findlay,  Ohio,  and  was 
graduated  at  the  Cincinnati  Law  School  in 
185.S.  In  the  following  year  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  and  began  practice  in  Bucyrus.  He 
was  twice  elected  prosecuting  attorney,  first 
in  October,  1861,  and  again  in  1863.  Sub- 
sequently removed  to  Albany,  Linn  county, 
Oregon ;  he  was  there  elected  county  judge  and 
died  while  in  office  in  November,  1866. 


Henry  C.  Rowse,  son  of  Zalmon  Rowse, 
born  in  Bucyrus  in  1835,  practiced  law  here 
for  about  three  years,  beginning  in  1857.  He 
was  mayor  of  Bucyrus  in  i860.  He  died  at 
Rockford,  111.^  in  October,  1862,  at  the  time  of 
his  death  holding  a  position  as  clerk  in  the 
Interior  Department  at  Washington. 

Samuel  J.  Elliott  began  law  practice  at 
Bucyrus  in  August,  1857.  In  August  of  the 
following  year  he  was  appointed  probate  judge 
of  Crawford  county  by  Gov.  Chase,  to  fill  the 
vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of  P.  S. 
Marshall.  Mr.  Elliott  was  the  only  Republican 
that  ever  held  office  in  the  court  house  since 
the  Republican  party  was  formed.  He  held 
the  office  until  October  18,  1858,  when  his  suc- 
cessor was  elected  and  qualified.  In  1859  he 
removed  to  Wapakoneta,  where  he  subse- 
quently died. 

William  S.  Fitzsimmons,  born  in  Crawford 
County  in  1841,  read  law  under  D.  W.  Swigart 
at  Bucyrus  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
March,  1868.  In  March  1861  he  enlisted  in 
the  8th  Regiment,  O.  V.  I.,  with  which  he 
saw  much  hard  service.  He  was  severely 
wounded  at  Antietam,  and  finally  died  from 
the  effects  of  his  wounds,  at  Bucyrus,  on  July 
II,  1870. 

Robert  McKelley  was  born  in  Lancaster 
county,  Pa.,  in  181 5,  and  removed  to  Knox 
county,  Ohio  in  1834.  Subsequently  coming  to 
Bucyrus,  he  commenced  law  practice  here  Au- 
gust I,  1842.  In  1845  he  was  appointed  by 
President  Polk  registrar  of  the  land  office  at 
Upper  Sandusky.  Here  he  had  charge  of  the 
sales  of  the  lands  of  the  Wyandot  reservation, 
holding  the  office  until  its  removal  from  Upper 
Sandusky.  From  January  to  October,  1852,  he 
was  probate  judge  of  Wyandot  county,  being 
the  first  to  hold  that  office.  In  January,  1854, 
he  was  elected  a  director  of  the  Ohio  &  Indiana 
Railroad  Company  and  was  its  president  the 
last  year  of  its  separate  organization.  While 
serving  on  its  board  of  directors  he  originated 
the  movement  for  the  consolidation  of  the 
three  companies  owning  the  continuous  line  of 
railroad  between  Pittsburg  and  Chicago,  re- 
sulting in  the  organization  of  the  Pittsburg, 
Ft.  Wayne  &  Chicago  Railway  Company.  He 
was  also  for  several  years  a  director  and  so- 
licitor of  the  latter  company.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Ohio  senate  for  Crawford,  Seneca 


526 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


and  Wyandot  counties  from  January  i,  1858, 
to  January  i,  i860. 

Abraham  Summers  commenced  the  practice 
of  law  in  Bucyrus  in  1850.  He  was  elected 
prosecuting  attorney  for  Crawford  county  in 
1855  and  was  re-elected  in  1857.  He  was  sub- 
sequently twice  elected  probate  judge,  in  i860 
and  1863.  He  afterwards  removed  to  Hicks- 
ville,  Ohio,  where  he  died. 

William  M.  Scroggs  came  to  Bucyrus  with 
his  father  in  1839.  He  was  conductor  on  the 
first  passenger  train  that  came  to  Bucyrus. 
Was  admitted  to  the  Bar,  but  practiced  very 
little,  becoming  Mayor  of  the  village  and 
county  auditor. 

Conrad  W.  Butterfield  opened  a  law  office  in 
Bucyrus  in  1853  ^^'^  practiced  here  until  i860, 
when  he  removed  to  Lima,  Ohio.  Returning 
to  Bucyrus  in  1863  he  resumed  practice  here 
and  remained  until  1870,  when  he  removed  to 
Madison,  Wis.  He  was  a  man  of  literary  tastes 
and  was  the  author  of  several  works,  including 
a  "History  of  Seneca  County,  Ohio,"  and  a 
"History  of  Col.  Crawford's  Expedition 
Against  the  Indians  in  1782,"  which  latter  work 
has  had  a  wide  circulation,  and  is  the  stand- 
ard authority  on  that  campaign.  He  died  at 
Madison,  Wis. 

Abner  j\I.  Jackson,  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
September,  1854,  began  practice  in  Bucyrus. 
From  185 1  to  1855  he  served  as  auditor  of 
Crawford  county  and  was  elected  prosecuting 
attorney  of  the  county  in  October,  1859.  In 
1 87 1  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  Fourth  Sub- 
division of  the  3rd  district  of  the  Common 
Pleas  Court,  composed  of  Crawford,  Hancock, 
Marion,  Seneca,  Wood  and  W^yandot  coun- 
ties. In  1874  he  resigned  and  removed  to 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  from  there  he  went  to  Silver- 
ton,  Col.,  where  he  died. 

Cyrus  Linn,  James  W.  Smith,  John  D.  Sears 
and  I.  F.  Price  all  practiced  law  in  Bucyrus 
for  short  periods  in  the  forties  and  early  fifties, 
subsequently  removing  to  other  localities,  J. 
D.  Sears  removing  to  Wyandot  county  when 
it  was  organized  in  1845,  and  becoming  the 
leader  of  the  bar  in  that  county.  In  1873  he 
was  elected  without  opposition  to  represent 
\\''yandot  county  at  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention. Some  years  ago  he  retired  from  prac- 
tice and  made  his  home  in  California  where 
he  died  in  September,  191 2. 


Cyrus  Sears,  born  in  Delaware  county  in 
1832,  came  to  Crawford  county  with  his  par- 
ents in  1836.  Graduated  at  the  Cincinnati 
Law  School  in  1856  he  began  practice  in  June 
of  that  year  at  Upper  Sandusky.  From  April 
I,  1857,  to  June  15,  1859,  he  practiced  his  pro- 
fession in  Bucyrus,  when  he  removed  to  Upper 
Sandusky.  In  August,  1861,  he  enlisted  in  the 
nth  Ohio  Independent  Battery  of  Light  Ar- 
tillery, and  subsequently  made  a  brilliant  rec- 
ord as  a  soldier,  being  several  times  promoted, 
and  in  April,  1863,  becoming  Lieut.  Colonel 
of  the  nth  Louisiana  Volunteers,  afterward 
named  as  the  49th  U.  S.  Colored  Infantry. 
He  behaved  with  great  gallantry  in  various 
battles  and  was  recommended  for  promotion 
by  Generals  Hamilton,  Rosecrans  and  Grant. 

Matthias  Buchman,  A\ho  read  law  with 
Judge  A.  M.  Jackson,  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  i860.  He  was  prosecuting  attorney  of 
Crawford  county  from  April,  1864  (succeed- 
ing Burr  Alorris,  who  resigned),  until  October, 
1865.     Later  he  removed  to  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Among  the  other  lawyers  who  practiced  in 
Bucyrus  in  the  later  fifties  and  early  sixties, 
but  who  remained  only  a.  short  time,  were 
Christopher  Elliott,  1858;  C  M.  Dodson,  1860- 
1862;  Archibald  McGregor,  1858-60;  J.  A.  Es- 
till, 1858-59;  John  B.  Scroggs,  1861-63;  and 
Joseph  R.  Swigart,  1859.  Mr.  McGregor  dur- 
ing his  residence  here,  in  addition  to  his  law 
practice,  engaged  in  the  publication  of  the 
Crawford  County  Forum.  He  subsequently 
returned  to  Canton,  from  which  place  he  had 
come.  Stephen  D.  Young  practiced  two  years 
in  Bucyrus,  from  1875  to  1877,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Norwalk,  Ohio,  and  is  now  judge  in 
that  district.  Walter  B.  Richie,  who  came 
from  Lima,  practiced  in  Bucyrus  as  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Richie  &  Eaton  from  1876  to 
1879,  when  he  returned  to  Lima,  became  prom- 
inent in  his  profession  and  Grand  Chancellor 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  of  the  United  States. 

Robert  Lee,  born  1805  in  Butler  county.  Pa., 
in  1823,  removed  with  his  father's  family  to 
Leesville,  then  in  Richland  county.  In  early 
manhood  he  was  engaged  in  various  business 
enterprises.  In  1836  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Ohio  legislature  for  Richland  county 
and  was  re-elected  in  1837.  For  ten  years,  be- 
ginning with  1839,  he  held  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace.  In  1849  he  was  elected  by  the 
Legislature  an  associate  judge  of  the  Court  of 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


527 


Common  Pleas  of  Crawford  county,  and  held 
that  office  until  February,  1852,  when  it  was 
abolished  by  the  new  constitution  of  the  state. 
In  1853  he  was  elected  state  senator  for  Craw- 
ford, Seneca  and  Wyandot  counties,  and  was 
chosen  president  pro  tern  of  the  senate.  May 
I,  1854,  serving  during  the  illness  of  Lieut. 
Governor  Myers.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
by  the  Supreme  Court  May  3,  1854,  but  he 
devoted  very  little  time  to  the  profession  of  the 
law.  For  one  term  he  served  as  mayor  of 
Crestline.  In  1869  he  was  elected  probate 
judge  of  Crawford  county,  being  re-elected  in 
1872,  and  made  his  home  at  Bucyrus  until  his 
death. 

John  Hopley  came  to  Bucyrus  in  1856  as 
superintendent  of  the  Union  Schools.  Admit- 
ted to  the  bar  in  1858,  he  began  practice  in 
partnership  witth  A.  M.  Jackson.  In  1862  he 
visited  England  on  professional  business.  On 
his  return  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  ac- 
cepted a  clerkship  in  the  Treasury  Department 
at  Washington,  became  secretary  in  the  office 
of  Secretary  Chase,  giving  especially  attention 
to  the  subject  of  finance.  He  was  afterward 
transferred  to  the  Currency  Bureau,  and  had 
charge  of  the  statistical  division.  In  1864  he 
resigned  and  engaged  in  a  New  York  City 
banking  establishment.  In  1866  he  was  ap- 
pointed examiner  of  National  banks  for  the 
southern  states  and  Kansas.  In  September, 
1867,  he  purchased  an  interest  in  the  Bucyrus 
Journal  and  became  its  editor,  in  the  following 
May  becoming  sole  proprietor  of  the  office.  He 
was  appointed  postmaster  at  Bucyrus  in  Au- 
gust, 1870  and  held  the  position  until  Jan- 
uary, 1879,  and  was  reappointed  in  1890,  serv- 
ing another  four  years.  He  died  at  his  home 
in  Bucyrus  June  3,  1904. 

Daniel  W.  Swigart,  born  in  Franklin  county. 
Pa.,  in  1824,  came  to 'Crawford  county  in  the 
fall  of  1846.  He  was  appointed  deputy  clerk 
of  the  court,  in  which  position  he  served  until 
April,  1848,  when  he  became  clerk  and  held 
the  office  until  January,  1852,  when  it  became 
an  elective  office  under  the  new  constitution. 
Having  graduated  from  the  Cincinnati  Law 
School,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  June, 
1852,  and  at  once  opened  an  office  in  Bucyrus. 
During  the  Civil  War  he  served  in  the  Quar- 
termaster's Department,  with  headquarters  at 
Cincinnati,  and  was  president  of  the  Atlantic 


&  Lake  Erie  Railway  Company  from  Septem- 
ber, 1869,  to  August,  1873.  He  died  very  sud- 
denly on  November  25,  1880. 

Jacob  Scroggs  was  born  at  Canton,  Ohio, 
in  1827  and  came  to  Bucyrus  with  his  father's 
family  in  1839.  He  was  variously  occupied 
for  several  years  and  in  the  meanwhile  studied 
law,  being  graduated  from  the  Cincinnati  Law 
School  in  1854.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  Hamilton  county  and  in  1855  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Bucyrus.  He  was 
several  times  elected  mayor  of  the  village.  He 
served  during  the  greater  part  of  the  Civil 
War  as  chairman  of  the  Crawford  County 
Military  Committee,  and  in  1864  and  in  1880 
was  Presidential  elector  for  this  district. 

Stephen  R.  Harris  was  born  in  Stark 
County,  Ohio,  in  1824.  He  finished  his  col- 
legiate education  at  Western  Reserve  College 
in  1846,  and,  having  read  law  with  his  uncle, 
John  Harris,  at  Canton,  Ohio,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1849.  In  the  same  year  he  opened 
an  office  in  Bucyrus,  being  in  partnership  with 
Josiah  Scott,  their  association  being  continued 
up  to  the  time  of  the  latter's  death,  except  dur- 
ing the  time  that  Judge'  Scott  was  on  the  bench 
of  the  Supreme  Court  and  a  member  of  the 
Supreme  Court  Commission.  In  1895  Mr. 
Harris  was  elected  to  Congress  from  this  dis- 
trict, serving  one  tenn.  He  died  at  his  home 
in  Bucyrus,  Jan.  15,  1905. 

James  Clements  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
August,  1854.  He  had  previously  held  the 
office  of  county  sheriff,  having  been  elected  in 
1845  ^"d  re-elected  in  1847.  He  was  probate 
judge  of  Crawford  county  from  February, 
1864,  to  February,  1870. 

Thomas  Beer  began  the  practice  of  law  in 
Bucyrus  in  1862,  coming  to  the  county  as  the 
editor  of  the  Forum.  In  1863  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Legislature  and  was  re- 
elected in  1865.  He  represented  Crawford 
county  in  the  Constitutional  Convention  of 
1873,  and,  as  a  member  of  the  Committees  on 
Judiciary  and  Municipal  Corporations  showed 
his  great  legal  ability.  In  August,  1874,  he  was 
appointed  by  Gov.  Allen  a  judge  of  the  Fourth 
Subdivision  of  the  third  district  of  the  Com- 
mon Pleas  Court,  composed  of  Crawford,  Han- 
cock, Marion,  Seneca,  Wood  and  Wyandot 
counties,  to  fill  a  vacancy  caused  by  the  resig- 
nation of  Judge  A.  M.  Jackson.     In  October 


528 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


of  the  same  year  he  was  elected  by  the  people 
to  fill  the  remainder  of  the  term  expiring  in 
February,  1877.  In  the  fall  of  1876  he  was 
elected  to  a  full  term  of  five  years  and  re- 
elected in  1881.  In  1885  he  was  elected  to  the 
circuit  bench  and  re-elected,  serving  until  1893. 

John  A.  Eaton,  born  in  Crawford  county, 
Ohio,  in  1853,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  in  October,  1876.  iJntil  May, 
1879,  he  practiced  his  profession  in  Bucyrus  as 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Richie  &  Eaton.  He 
then  went  to  Kansas  where  he  engaged  in  the 
banking  business,  in  connection  with  his  law 
practice. 

Isaac  Cahill,  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1877, 
and  served  for  four  years  as  prosecuting  at- 
torney. 

John  R.  Clymer,  born  in  Franklin  county, 
Ohio,  in  1834,  acquired  both  a  commercial  and 
university  education,  and  for  two  or  three 
years  in  the  later  fifties  was  engaged  in  educa- 
tional work.  He  was  clerk  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  of  Crawford  county  from  i860 
to  1868,  when  he  took  charge  of  the  Forum 
which  he  conducted  for  ten  years.  He  \\as  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  at  Tiffin,  Ohio,  in  1878,  and 
practiced  law  in  Bucyrus  until  his  death.  He 
was  noted  as  one  of  the  most  finished  speakers 
in  the  county.  " 

Frank  S.  Monnett  was  a  graduate  of  the 
Delaware  University,  read  law  in  Bucyrus,  and 
was  elected  city  solicitor.  In  1896  he  was 
elected  attorney-general  of  the  state,  and  re- 
elected in  1898,  and  after  his  term  of  office 
expired  has  made  his  home  in  Columbus. 

Smith  W.  Bennett  read  law  in  Bucyrus,  was 
admitted  to  the  Bar,  and  in  1897  went  to  Co- 
lumbus as  Assistant  Attorney  General  and 
chief  counsel  in  that  office,  and  after  ten  years' 
service  made  his  home  in  Columbus. 

W.  C.  Lemert  was  born  in  Texas  township, 
March  4,  1837.  He  attended  the  academy  at 
Republic  for  one  year,  then  Heidelberg  College, 
finishing  his  education  at  the  Ohio  Wesleyan 
University  where  he  graduated  in  the  class  of 
'58.  He  read  law  with  Franklin  Adams  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1859.  He  practiced 
for  two  years  when  the  war  broke  out,  and  he 
entered  the  army,  becoming  colonel  of  the  86th 
Ohio ;  after  four  years'  service  he  was  mustered 
out,  and  devoted  his  time  to  railroad  building. 


and  manufacturing,  until  he  retired  from  active 
business,  hi?  home  still  being  in  Bucyrus. 

Among  tne  present  practitioners  in  Bucyrus, 
are  David  C.  Cahill  who  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  December,  i860,  and  practiced  law  in 
Bucyrus  until  April,  1865.  He  then  went 
West,  spending  two  years  in  California  and 
Oregon.  Subsequently  returning  to  Bucyrus, 
he  resumed  practice  here  in  June,  1867.  In 
the  fall  of  1873  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Crawford  county, 
and  held  that  position  from  February,  1874, 
until  February,  1880,  after  which  he  returned 
to  the  practice  of  law. 

Ebenezer  B.  Finley  was  born  at  Orville, 
Wa)me  county,  Ohio,  in  1833.  Some  years 
of  his  earlier  life  were  spent  in  the  West.  In 
1859  he  located  in  Bucyrus  and,  having  studied 
law  under  his  uncle,  Stephen  R.  Harris,  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  June,  1861.  In  the  fall 
of  that  year  he  recruited  a  military  company, 
was  elected  first  lieutenant,  the  company  be- 
coming a  part  of  the  64th  Regiment,  O.  V.  I. 
The  regiment  was  present  at  the  battle  of 
Shiloh.  Disabled  by  an  accident,  Mr.  Finley 
retired  from  the  service  in  September,  1862, 
and  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in  Bucyrus, 
and  was  mayor  of  the  village  for  two  years. 
He  was  twice  elected  to  Congress,  in  1876 
and  1878,  and  as  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  distinguished  himself  by 
speeches  on  various  public  questions,  during 
his  second  term  serving  as  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Public  Expenditures.  In  1884 
he  was  appointed  adjutant-general  of  the 
state  under  Gov.  Hoadly  and  had  charge  of 
the  Ohio  troops  at  Cincinnati  when  the  rioters 
burned  the  Hamilton  county  court  house.  In 
1896  he  was  elected  circuit  judge  to  fill  the 
\acancy  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of 
Judge  Henry  \Y.  Seney.  \^'ith  David  C.  Cahill 
he  is  the  ^■eteran  practitioner  in  the  county. 
Besides  a  \'ast  amount  of  legal  work,  he  has 
devoted  much  time  to  historical  research,  be- 
ing an  authority  on  the  Mound  Builders. 

Judge  J.  C.  Tobias  read  law  in  Bucyrus,  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  in  1887  was  elected 
probate  judge  of  the  county,  serving  for  six 
years.  In  1897  he  was  elected  Common  Pleas 
judge,  serving  two  terms  of  five  years  each. 

Anson  \A'^ickham  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


:>29 


Kenton,  Ohio,  in  September,  1875,  and  was 
for  tour  years  prosecuting  attorney  of  the 
county;  Charles  GalUnger,  of  the  hrm  of  Fin- 
ley  &  Gallinger,  was  also  prosecuting  attorney 
for  two  terms.  Judge  Edward  Voilrath  was 
appointed  circuit  judge  by  Gov.  Herrick  in 
1905.  Judge  C.  F.  Schaber  was  elected  pro- 
bate judge  in  1905  and  re-elected  in  1908. 
Wallace  L,.  Monnett,  of  the  firm  of  Scroggs  & 
Monnett  was  referee  in  bankruptcy  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  W.  J.  Schwenck  is  the  present 
prosecuting  attorney.  William  C.  Beer  is  the 
present  referee  in  bankruptcy,  and  also  served 
as  city  solicitor.  O.  W.  Kennedy  is  the  present 
city  solicitor.  Other  attorneys  are  L.  C. 
Feighner,  R.  V.  Sears,  Charles  J.  Scroggs,  Al- 
fred S.,  Samuel  and  Godfrey  Leuthold,  James 
W.  Miller,  J.  W.  Wright,  Edward  J.  Myers, 
and  Benjamin  Meek,  who  was  one  of  the  lead- 
ing attorneys  in  Wyandot  county,  before  his 
removal  to  Bucyrus  a  few  years  ago. 

Among  the  early  members  of  the  Galion 
bar  were  Andrew  Poe,  M.  V.  Payne,  George 
Crawford,  Lewis  Bartow  and  VV.  A.  Hall. 

Abraham  Underwood  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1855.  He  was  twice  elected  mayor  of 
Galion  in  1878  and  1871.  He  served  as  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  for  twenty-seven  years. 

Henry  C.  Carhart  read  law  under  Judges 
Brinkerhoff  and  Geddes,  at  Mansfield,  Ohio, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  July,  1852. 
After  practicing  a  year  at  Mansfield  he  re- 
moved, in  October,  1853,  to  Galion.  He  was 
mayor  of  Galion  for  three  years,  from  April, 
1854;  postmaster  from  May,  1861,  until  Au- 
gust, 1864.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Ga- 
lion Union  school  board,  and  a  delegate  to  the 
Republican  National  Convention  in  1876. 

James  W.  Coulter,  born  in  1846,  in  Coshoc- 
ton county,  Ohio,  read  law  with  Judge  Thomas 
Beer,  at  Bucyrus,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  August,  1865.  He  immediately  began 
the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Galion.  He 
was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Crawford 
county  in  1869  and  re-elected  in  1871.  He 
served  as  a  member  of  the  county  board  of 
school  examiners  and  of  the  board  of  education 
of  the  Galion  Union  schools. 

Jacob  Meuser  was  admitted  to  the  bar  about 
1874.  He  was  a  member  of  the  legislature 
from  January,  1876,  to  January,  1880,  and  was 


chairman  of  the  House  Judiciary  committee, 
and  was  one  of  the  brightest  men  of  the  Craw- 
ford county  bar. 

Seth  G.  Cummings  was  prosecuting  attorney 
of  Crawford  county  from  1873  to  1877.  He 
moved  to  Mansfield  where  he  continued  the 
practice  of  his  profession. 

John  DeGoUey  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at 
Chambersburg,  Pa.,  in  187 1.  He  removed  to 
Galion  in  1874  and  commenced  practice  in 
1876.  In  1879  he  was  elected  corporation  at- 
torney, being  the  first  to  serve  under  the  city 
charter.    He  later  removed  to  Marion. 

George  W.  Ziegler  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1876.  He  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney 
of  Crawford  county  in  1877  and  re-elected  in 
1879,  ^"d  later  represented  the  county  for  two 
years  in  the  legislature. 

Alexander  F.  Anderson  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1869,  and  after  practicing  at  Findlay 
and  at  Carey,  removed  to  Galion  in  October, 
1878,  where  he  remained  but  a  few  years. 

The  present  members  of  the  bar  in  Galion 
are  R.  W.  Johnston,  who  also  has  an  office  at 
Columbus,  where  he  devotes  most  of  his  time ; 
he  has  been  both  mayor  and  city  solicitor  of  the 
city.  W.  J.  Geer,  who  has  also  served  as  mayor 
and  city  solicitor.  Carl  H.  Henkel,  who  was 
four  years  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  county. 
Carl  J.  Gugler,  the  present  city  solicitor.  H. 
R.  Shuler  who  has  been  city  solicitor.  A.  W. 
Lewis,  Frank  Pigman,  J.  W.  McCarron,  F.  M. 
Shumaker,  Dean  C.  and  J.  M.  Talbott,  and 
R.  C.  Tracht. 

The  early  members  of  the  bar  at  Crestline 
were  Lemuel  R.  Moss,  from  1852  to  1854; 
James  W.  Paramore,  John  W.  Jenner,  Samuel 
E.  Jenner  and  O.  B.  Cruzen,  the  latter  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  at  Bucyrus  in  1869.  Nathan 
Jones  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Norwalk, 
O.,  in  1855,  began  practice  at  Crestline  in 
1856.  He  was  twice  elected  prosecuting  at- 
torney of  Crawford  county,  in  1866  and  1868. 

Of  the  present  members  of  the  bar,  at 
Crestline,  the  oldest  is  P.  W.  Poole,  who  was 
admitted  to  practice  at  Bucyrus  in  1865.  He 
has  been  several  times  elected  mayor  of  Crest- 
line, and  served  two  terms  as  prosecuting  at- 
torney of  the  county,  from  1893  to  1899. 

Frederick  Newman  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
at  Mt.  Gilead  in  1867. 


530 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Judge  Daniel  Babst  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  at  Columbus  in  1871.  He  has  been  several 
times  mayor  of  the  village,  and  in  1907  was 
elected  common  pleas  judge,  a  position  he  still 
holds. 

The  other  members  of  the  bar  at  Crestline 


are  Carl  M.   Babst,  B.  J.  Cattey  and  C.  F. 
Dewald. 

_The  only  member  of  the  bar  in  the  county 
outside  of  the  three  cities  is  John  H.  Sheets  of 
New  \\^ashington. 


CHAPTER  XXX 


MEDICAL 

The  Pioneer  Doctor — Empirical  Treatment  in  Early  Days— The  "Regular"  Treatment  Of- 
ten Inefficient — Various  "isms" — Credulity  of  the  Laity — Hardships  Endured  by  the 
Pioneer  Doctors — Their  Devotion — Fever  and  Ague — Physicians  of  Bucyrus,  Galion, 
Crestline  and  Other  Towns  in  Crazvford  Cotmty  Since  Early  Days. 


The  wise  old  doctor  went  his  round, 

Just  pausing  at  our  door  to  say, 

In  the  brief  autocratic  way 

Of  one  who,  prompt  at  duty's  call, 

Was  free  to  urge  her  claims  on  all. 

That  some  poor  neighbor  sick  abed 

At  night'  our  mother's   aid  would  need. 

John   G.  Whittier. 

Perhaps  no  type  of  pioneer  followed  his 
avocation  under  greater  discouragements,  or 
with  scantier  rewards,  than  did  the  pioneer 
physician,  particularly  if  he  were  a  man  hav- 
ing a  reasonably  good  knowledge  of  his  pro- 
fession. No  doctor,  of  course,  could  make  a 
living  at  the  time  of  the  earliest  settlements. 
The  country  was  too  thinly  populated  and  the 
inhabitants  too  widely  scattered  and  isolated 
from  each  other  by  natural  obstacles  in  the  way 
of  forest  and  stream  and  swamp,  with  lack  of 
roads  or  bridges,  with  occasional  dangers  in 
the  shape  of  drunken  Indians,  to  make  the  doc- 
tor's calling  an  easy  or  remunerative  one.  The 
lonely  trails  through  the  forest  were  almost  im- 
passable during  the  greater  part  of  the  year, 
being  covered  with  mud  and  water,  and,  in  any 
event,  led  merely  from  one  lonely  cabin  to  an- 
other. In  some  places,  particularly  in  the 
region  south  of  Bucyrus,  the  plains  were 
thickly  covered  with  monstrous  grasses  which 
attained  a  height  of  from  six  to  eight  feet  and 
through  which  the  pioneer  doctor,  traveling  on 
some  errand  of  mercy  or  urgent  need,  had  to 
force  his  way  on  horseback,  his  clothes  being 
drenched  with  the  copious  dews  and  moisture 
from  the  rank  vegetation.  His  patrons,  also, 
had  little  or  no  money— never  enough  to  pro- 


vide for  themselves  such  ordinary  comforts  as 
would  nowadays  be  regarded  as  absolute  neces- 
sities, and  hence,  when  medical  aid  was  un- 
avoidably sought,  the  ministering  physician 
had  in  most  cases  to  be  content  with  the  prom- 
ise of  future  payment — a  promise  that  in  many 
cases  was  never  fulfilled.  Under  such  discour- 
aging circumstances,  therefore,  the  pioneer 
doctor  pursued  his  calling,  and  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  few  of  those  who  came  first 
to  this  region  remained  long  in  the  community, 
most  of  them  leaving  to  locate  in  the  larger  set- 
tlements. If  any  remained  they  usually  found 
it  necessary  to  unite  some  other  vocation  to 
that  of  medicine. 

Some  of  the  early  doctors  were  mere  em- 
pirics. Not  having  gone  to  the  expense  or 
taken  the  trotible  to  acquire  such  knowledge  of 
their  profession  as  was  then  obtainable  in  the 
eastern  cities,  or  in  Europe,  they  adopted  some 
peculiar  system  of  treatment,  which  they  ap- 
plied in  general  to  all  cases  which  came  before 
them  and  which  was  not  only  useless  but 
absurd;  yet,  owing  to  the  general  credulity 
of  mankind  with  respect  to  matters  of  which 
they  are  the  most  ignorant,  and  also  in  large 
part,  to  the  self-assertive  impudence  of  the 
practitioner,  the  latter  was  often  able  to  usurp 
the  functions  of  the  more  reputable  doctor 
and  reap  the  greater  financial  reward. 

Perhaps  the  members  of  the  regular  school 
were  to  blame,  to  some  extent,  for  this  state 
of  things,  through  their  own  lack  of  progres- 
siveness,  their  reliance  on  such  old  time  meth- 
ods of  treatment  as  bleeding  and  blisters,  ap- 


531 


532 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


plied  in  cases  where  they  often  proved  useless 
and  sometimes  injurious  to  the  patient,  and 
the  dependence  on  such  drugs  as  mercury,  an- 
timony, arsenic,  opium,  and  others,  which  the 
modern  physician  uses  with  great  caution,  if 
at  all,  but  which  were  then  given  almost  indis- 
criminately. Their  frequent  inefficacy,  and 
the  injurious  effects  they  often  produced,  led 
to  much  general  distrust  of  the  old  school  treat- 
ment and  paved  the  way  for  the  introduction 
of  homeopathy,  hydropathy,  physiopathy, 
Thomsonianism,  chrothermalism,  and  many 
other  "pathies"  and  "isms,"  some  of  which,  by 
virtue  of  whatever  good  they  may  contain,  are 
in  more  or  less  use  today,  together  with  others 
of  later  birth. 

The  general  credulity  of  the  uneducated  lay- 
man was  also  manifested  in  the  support  given 
to  that  class  of  practitioners,  known  as  "In- 
dian doctors,"  the  red  man  being  supposed  to 
have  some  wonderful  secret  knowledge  of  the 
mysterious  virtues  of  various  roots  and  herbs 
far  superior  to  that  gained  by  study  and  ex- 
periment in  the  laboratories  of  civilization,  or 
by  the  Caucasian  mind  under  any  circum- 
stances, except  when  derived  from  Indian 
sources.  This  superstition  has  not  yet  died 
out,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  medical  advertise- 
ments in  the  daily  journals  and  in  the  names 
of  some  of  the  best  advertised  patent  medi- 
cines. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  describe  all  the  va- 
rious forms  of  quackery  which  flourished  at 
one  time  or  another  owing  to  the  various 
causes  referred  to,  or  which,  under  the  same  or 
other  names  are  in  vogue  to  some  extent  to- 
day. Most  of  them  were  based  upon  an  utter 
lack  of  anything  like  scientific  knowledge, 
while  others  were  doubtless  simply  deliberate 
attempts  on  the  part  of  unscrupulous  men  to 
fleece  a  gullible  public.  A  brief  reference  to 
the  Thomsonian  system  may  suffice.  This  so- 
•  called  system  of  medicine  was  actually  patented 
in  1823  by  Dr.  Samuel  Thomson  'and  was 
based  on  the  simple  proposition  that  "heat  is 
life  and  cold  is  death."  Consequently  whatever 
agencies  were  capable  of  producirig  heat  in  the 
patient .  were  supposed  to  constitute  an  effi- 
cacious mode  of  treatment,  in  almost  any  form 
of  disease.  Such  vegetable  substances  as  lo- 
belia, cayenne  pepper,  bayberry  root  bark,  etc., 
Avere  among  the  medicines  most  m  use  by  this 


school,  while  sometimes  steam  was  resorted  to 
in  order  to  keep  up  the  patient's  temperature. 
The  "doctor"  and  his  confreres  published  a 
book  of  24mo,  168  pages  of  texts,  with  a  sup- 
plement of  28  more,  "which  was  supposed  to 
contain  all  that  it  was  necessary  to  know  in 
the  departments  of  anatomy,  physiology,  ma- 
teria medica,  practice,  surgery,  midwifery  and 
chemistry."  It  appears  that  students  of  this 
system  were  sometimes  graduated  within  six 
weeks,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  particular  rea- 
son why  they  should  not  have  been  graduated 
within  as  many  days.  It  may  be  said  with  re- 
spect to  all  such  systems  and  also  with  respect  to 
many  cases  in  which  "regular"  treatment  was 
employed  in  those  days,  that  if  the  patient  re- 
covered it  was  entirely  owing  to  the  strength 
of  his  own  constitution  or  the  comparatively 
innocuous  nature  of  the  disease  by  which  he 
was  attacked. 

As  soon  as  some  little  hamlet  advanced  to  a 
dozen  or  more  log  houses  a  physician  could  be 
expected  in  that  locality.  And  they  were  men 
who  took  a  personal  interest  in  their  patients, 
and  in  the  town  to  which  they  had  come  to 
make  their  home.  There  was  little  or  no 
money  to  be  had,  but  to  them  it  mattered  not ; 
they  took  the  long  and  lonely  rides  day  after 
day  and  night  after  night  through  the  tangled 
woods,  and  over  the  swampy  grounds,  in  an- 
swer to  the  call  of  those  in  distress.  Their 
mission  was  to  heal  the  sick,  and  among  all  the 
pioneers  in  every  community  none  are  entitled 
to  more  credit  than  these  faithful  doctors  who 
endured  every  hardship  to  give  relief  to  the 
suffering.  The  swampy,  marshy  nature  of  the 
ground  made  the  fever  and  ague  one  of  the 
serious  complaints,  and  from  this  but  few  es- 
caped, even  if  they  did  take  40  grains  of  calo- 
mel twice  a  day. 

Owing  to  the  swampy  lands,  everybod)'  was 
annually  afflicted  with  the  dread  ague.  As  it 
existed  then,  it  is  thus  described  by  one  of  the 
pioneers :  "One  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  the 
early  settlement  and  prosperity  of  the  West, 
was  the  ague,  'fever  and  ague,'  or  'chills  and 
fever'  as  it  was  variously  termed.  In  the  fall 
almost  everybody  was  afflicted  with  it.  It  was 
no  respecter  of  persons.  Everybody  looked 
pale  and  sallow,  as  though  he  were  frost-bitten. 
It  was  not  contagious,  but  was  derived  from 
impure  water  and  malaria,  such  as  is  abun- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


533 


dant  in  a  new  country.  The  impurities  from 
them,  combined  with  those  which  come  from 
bad  dietetics,  engorged  the  Hver  and  deranged 
the  whole  vital  machinery.  By  and  by,  the 
shock  would  come,  and  come  in  the  fonn  of  a 
'shake,'  followed  by  a  fever.  These  would 
be  regular  on  certain  hours  every  alternate  day, 
sometimes  every  day,  or  every  third  day. 
When  you  had  the  chill  you  couldn't  get  warm, 
.  and  when  you  had  the  fever  you  couldn't  get 
cool.  It  was  exceedingly  awkward  in  this  re- 
spect, indeed  it  was !  Nor  would  it  stop  for 
any  sort  of  contingency;  not  even  a  wedding 
in  the  family  would  stop  it.  It  was  tyrannical. 
When  the  appointed  time  came  around,  every- 
thing else  had  to  be  stopped  to  attend  to  its  de- 
mands. It  didn't  have  any  Sundays  or  holi- 
days." 

The  first  physician  to  locate  in  Bucyrus  was 
in  all  probability  a  Dr.  Rhodes,  who  came  here 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1822,  a  few 
months  after  the  laying  out  of  the  village.  He 
remained,  however,  but  a  short  time.  After 
him,  in  the  following  year,  1823,  came  Dr. 
McComb,  an  experienced  and  well  read  man, 
who  was  much  liked,  though  in  his  latter  years 
he  showed  too  great  a  partiality  for  liquor. 
His  death,  which  took  place  about  1836,  was 
due  to  a  fall  from  a  horse.  In  1824  or  1825 
came  Dr.  Hobbs,  who  remained  until  about 
1832,  when  he  went  to  Indiana.  At  a  later 
period  he  returned  to  Ohio,  settling  in  Mt.  Ver- 
non, where  he  died  in  the  late  seventies,  at  the 
age  of  82  or  83  years.  His  wife  was  one  of 
the  earliest  school  teachers  in  Bucyrus. 

About  1822,  Samuel  Norton  went  to  his  old 
home  in  the  east  and  on  his  return  he  was  ac- 
companied by  his  wife's  mother,  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Bucklin,  who  understood  medicine,  and 
prescribed  for  some  of  the  neighbors.  She 
died  in  1824. 

Dr.  Pierce,  a  widower  with  two  children, 
came  here  from  the  state  of  New  York  about 
1825.  Soon  after  his  arrival  he  married  Miss 
Mary  Gary.  In  addition  to  practicing  medi- 
cine, he  kept  a  tavern.  After  a  residence  here 
of  seven  or  eight  years  he  went  West. 

Dr.  Willis  Merriman,  born  in  Cayuga 
county,  N.  Y.,  in  1801,  came  to  Ohio  in  1817. 
He  studied  medicine  in  Norwalk,  Ohio,  be- 
fore coming  to  Bucyrus  in  1827.  He  continued 
practice  here  until  the  death  of  his  first  wife 


in  1834.  In  the  following  year  he  entered  into 
mercantile  business,  which  he  continued  until 
1853.  He  was  for  several  years  one  of  the 
directors  of  the  Ohio  &  Indiana  Railroad  Com- 
pany and  was  its  first  president.  In  January, 
1855,  on  the  consolidation  of  the  several  com- 
panies operating  between  Pittsburg  and  Chi- 
cago into  the  Pittsburg,  Ft.  Wayne  &  Chicago 
Railroad  Company,  he  resigned  as  president 
and  became  one  of  the  directors  of  the  new  or- 
ganization, holding  that  position  until  1868. 
He  was  a  man  of  vigorous  mental  powers,  well 
educated,  kind  of  heart  and  in  all  things  a 
thorough  gentleman.  He  died  in  Bucyrus, 
August  30,  1873. 

Dr.  Sinclair,  who  practiced  in  Bucyrus  from 
1830  to  1836;  and  Dr.  Douglas,  1835  to  1850, 
were  also  successful  and  popular  physicians, 
the  latter  being  especially  noted  for  his  refined 
and  gentlemanly  manners. 

Dr.  Andrew  Hetich,  who  came  from  Cham- 
bersburg.  Pa.,  first  located  in  Bucyrus  in  1835, 
but  returned  to  Chambersburg  after  a  short 
residence  here.  In  1839  he  settled  again  in 
Bucyrus  and  practiced  his  profession  here  until 
a  short  time  before  his  death  in  i860.  He  was 
a  man  of  good  attainments  and  popular  as  a 
physician. 

Dr.  A.  M.  Jones,  a  native  of  Massachusetts, 
settled  with  his  parents  in  Lorain  county,  Ohio, 
in  18 1 7.  He  came  to  Bucyrus  in  1835  and  prac- 
ticed medicine  here  for  about  ten  years,  after 
which  he  engaged  in  the  woolen  manufacturing 
business  with  Samuel  Clapper,  and  later  in  the 
real  estate  business,  giving  up  his  medical  prac- 
tice. 

Dr.  Frederick  Swingley,  a  native  of  Mary- 
land, came  to  Bucyrus  from  Chesterville,  Ohio, 
in  1844,  and  practiced  medicine  and  surgery 
here  for  many  years.  He  served  several  years 
as  surgeon  during  the  Civil  War. 

Dr.  Cochran  Fulton,  born  in  Westmoreland 
county.  Pa.,  in  1819,  came  to  Ohio  when  a 
young  man  and  began  practice  in  Bucyrus  in 
1845.  In  1S4S  he  graduated  at  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute  in  Cincinnati  and  practiced 
his  profession  here  for  many  years  sub- 
sequently. In  1 86 1  he  opened  a  drug  and  book 
store,  which  became  one  of  the  best  known 
mercantile  establishments  in  the  county. 

Dr.  Robert  T.  Johnson  who  came  in  1845, 
also  engaged  in  the  drug  and  book  business. 


534 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


giving  up  his  medical  practice  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

Dr.  Francis  Meyer  came  to  Bucyrus  in  185 1 
and  practiced  medicine  here  until  about  1875, 
when  he  gave  up  his  profession  on  account  of 
ill  health.  He  was  a  native  of  Frankfort,  Ger- 
many and  a  very  cultured  man,  having  studied 
in  the  universities  of  Tubingen,  Heidelberg 
and  Halle.  He  was  highly  esteemed,  both  by 
his  professional  brethren  and  by  the  citizens 
generally  of  Bucyrus  and  the  vicinity. 

Dr.  M.  C.  Cuykendall,  a  native  of  Cayuga 
county,  N.  Y.,  read  medicine  in  Plymouth, 
Ohio,  and  subsequently  began  practice  in 
Ganges,  this  state.  He  came  to  Bucyrus  in 
1857  and  practiced  here  until  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Civil  War,  when  he  entered  the  military 
service  as  surgeon,  and  before  the  close  of  the 
war  reached  the  position  of  medical  director. 
After  the  war  he  gave  his  attention  largely  to 
the  practice  of  surgery,  in  which  department 
of  the  profession  he  attained  quite  a  reputa- 
tion. He  was  one  of  the  first  presidents  of  the 
Northwestern  Ohio  INIedical  Association.  For 
several  years  in  the  late  seventies  he  was  pro- 
fessor of  gynecology  in  the  IMedical  College  of 
Columbus,  being  obliged  to  give  up  general 
practice  about  this  time  owing  to  failing  health, 
the  result  of  hardships  experienced  during  the 
war. 

Dr.  Byron  Carson,  married  the  only  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  Cuykendall,  and  was  associated  with 
him  in  the  latter  years  of  his  practice. 

Dr.  John  A.  Chesney  studied  medicine  with 
Drs.  Cuykendall  and  Carson,  and  first  entered 
into  practice  with  Dr.  J.  B.  Richie  of  Oceola. 
Later  he  returned  to  Bucyrus,  and  succeeded 
Dr.  Cuykendall  as  the  surgeon  of  the  city,  and 
at  the  time  of  his  death  in  Aug.  31  of  this  year 
was  the  recognized  head  of  his  profession,  and 
one  of  the  prominent  physicians  of  northern 
Ohio. 

Dr.  J.  S.  Fitzsimmons  was  a  soldier  in  the 
war  of  the  rebellion  and  after  he  was  dis- 
charged from  the  service,  graduated  in  medi- 
cine, and  began  practicing  in  Bucyrus  in  1871 
and  for  forty  years  was  one  of  the  leading 
physicians  of  the  city. 

Dr.  Boehler  came  to  Bucyrus  in  1837,  and 
remained  about  four  years  when  he  removed 
to  Tiffin. 


Dr.  William  Geller  came  in  1840,  and  re- 
mained about  four  years,  when  he  removed  to 
Mt.  Gilead  and  later  went  to  California. 

Dr.  Jacob  Augustein  read  medicine  with  Dr. 
Boehler,  and  when  that  gentleman  left  suc- 
ceeded to  his  practice.  Besides  his  medical 
work  he  took  an  active  hand  in  the  affairs  of 
the  village,  and  about  1862  went  to  Napoleon, 
Ohio. 

Dr.  Hauck  came  to  Bucyrus  in  1843,  but. 
died  a  few  years  after  his  arrival. 

Df.  Robert  L.  Sweney  came  with  his  father 
to  Whetstone  township  in  1828.  He  read  med- 
icine w  ith  Drs.  Douglas  and  Swingley  at  Bucy- 
rus, and  practiced  here  from  1849  to  1851, 
when  he  went  to  Marion. 

Dr.  George  Keller  commenced  the  study  of 
medicine  in  1846,  graduated  from  the  Cincin- 
nati Medical  College  in  1853,  and  located  at 
West  Liberty,  where  he  remained  until  1861, 
when  he  came  to  Bucyrus,  and  built  up  an  ex- 
tensive practice.  He  was  a  wonderfully  well- 
read  man  on  every  conceivable  subject,  and  was 
a  recognized  authority  on  practically  every- 
thing. He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1876, 
but  never  practiced  at  that  profession. 

Dr.  Georgia  Merriman,  the  first  lady  physi- 
cian, commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  in 
Bucyrus  in  1879,  but  after  a  dozen  years  re- 
moved to  Columbus. 

Dr.  Jerome  Bland  began  the  practice  of  med- 
icine at  Benton  in  1868,  where  he  built  up  an 
extensive  practice,  when  he  removed  to  Bucy- 
rus. Some  years  ago  he  retired  from  active 
business  on  account  of  the  breaking  down  of 
his  system,  and  is  now  living  in  retirement 
at  his  home  on  East  Mansfield  street. 

The  first  homeopathist  to  come  to  Bucyrus 
was  Dr.  Barsham  in  1850  but  he  only  remained 
two  years.  He  was  followed  by  Dr.  E.  P. 
Penfield  of  the  same  school  in  1871,  who  built 
up  an  extensive  practice  and  later _  moved  to 
Spokane,  Wash. 

Dr.  McNutt  came  about  1872,  but  is  now 
retired  living  at  his  home  on  West  Mansfield 
street. 

Other  early  physicians  were  Dr.  Haas  in 
1845,  Dr.  Potter  in  1847,  Dr.  Samuel  Long  in 
1849,  Dr.  Tames  Milott  in  185 1,  Dr.  Rogers  in 
1853,  Dr.T.  J.  Kisner  in  1871,  Dr.  John  M. 
Chesney  in  1876,  Dr.  Kreider  in   1877,  Dr. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


535 


Bonar  in  1880,  Dr.  John  Atwood  in  1880,  Dr. 
E.  A.  Thoman,  Dr.  L.  A.  Perce,  Dr.  L.  W. 
Jordan. 

Dr.  Price,  who  was  a  botanic  physician,  lo- 
cated south  of  Bucyrus,  fn  1837,  and  practiced 
there  about  fifteen  years  when  he  removed  to 
IlHnois. 

Those  now  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine and  surgery  in  Buc)tus  are  as  follows :  P. 
R.  Brubaker,  W.  C.  Gates,  F.  W.  Kehrer,  Lucia 
Kemp,  C.  H.  King,  W.  A.  Koch,  J.  B.  Lewis, 
Claude  A.  Lingenfelter,  A.  H.  McCrory,  J.  J. 
Martin,  E.  R.  Schoolfield,  Howard  H.  Smith, 
Charles  A.  Ulmer  and  W.  L.  Yeomans,  and 
L.  J.  Dellinger,  osteopath.  Dr.  Ulmer  is  the 
present  coroner  and  Dr.  Kemp  is  the  only  lady 
physician  in  the  city. 

One  of  the  first  physicians  in  Gallon  was  a 
Dr.  Johnson,  who  came  sometime  in  the 
thirties  and  remained  a  few  years.  His  wife, 
assisted  by  Mrs.  Jacob  Ruhl,  was  instrumental 
in  establishing  the  first  Sundayschool  in  Galion. 
Shortly  after  he  came,  Dr.  Bleymeyer  ar- 
rived, and  in  1838  he  sold  out  to  Dr.  Reisinger. 
The  latter  resided  in  Galion  for  nearly  thirty 
years,  and  perhaps  it  may  not  be  too  much  to 
say  that  the  town  never  had  a  citizen  more 
highly  or  more  deservedly  esteemed.  It  has 
been  said  of  him  that  he  practiced  his  profes- 
sion more  "for  the  sake  of  suffering  humanity 
than  for  the  money  he  might  obtain  for  his 
services."  During  the  building  of  the  Cleve- 
land, Columbus  &  Cincinnati  Railroad,  when 
many  of  the  workmen  were  stricken  down  with 
cholera,  he  attended  them  during  their  sickness, 
freely  risking  his  own  life,  and,  as  they  were 
poorly  supplied  with  comforts  or  necessaries, 
he  personally  supplied  their  wants  so  far  as  he 
was  able,  and,  at  their  death,  dug  their  graves 
and  buried  them.  In  1866,  learning  that  his 
son,  a  student  of  medicine  at  Cincinnati,  had 
been  attacked  with  cholera,  he  hastened  there 
to  care  for  him,  and  on  his  arrival  was  him- 
self attacked  by  the  disease  and  died  eight 
hours  before  his  son.  Their  bodies  were 
brought  to  Galion  and  interred  in  the  village 
cemetery. 

Among  the  early  physicians  of  Galion  were 
Dr.  John  Atwood  in  1849,  J.  Stiefel  who  came 
in  1852,  N.  E.  Hackedorn,  who  came  in  1854 
and  ran  a  drug  store  for  thirty  years,  and  was 
one  of  the  active  business  men  of  Galion,  H.  S. 


Barbour  in  1864,  C.  L.  Coyle  in  1865,  H.  M. 
and  Frank  Duff  in  1858,  H.  R.  Kelly  in  1868, 
J.  C.  Campbell  in  1872,  J.  C.  McUvaine  in  1878, 
who  wrote  the  history  of  Galion  thirty  years 
ago;  H.  and  F.  Mannhart,  Brown,  Chase, 
Griffin,  J.  Webb  Kelly  and  Ridgeway. 

Those  now  practicing  in  Galion  are  T.  L. 
Brown,  D.  W.  Brickley,  H.  H.  Hartman,  E. 
D.  Helfrich,  O.  L.  Huffman,  C.  C.  Mandeville, 
J.  G.  Mannhardt,  Guy  C.  Marsh,  C.  D.  Mor- 
gan, L.  H.  Neville,  Katheryn  Rayl,  A.  A. 
Starner  and  Herbert  W.  Todd  and  B.  R.  Mans- 
field, osteopath,  Katheryn  Rayl  being  the  only 
lady  physician. 

One  of  the  earliest  physicians  in  Crestline 
was  Dr.  W.  P.  Carnyham,  who  located  here 
in  1852  and  practiced  until  his  death,  which 
took  place  about  ten  years  later.  Dr.  Wm. 
Pope  came  to  Crestline  in  1855  and  practiced 
until  about  1870,  when  he  became  connected 
with  the  Franz  &  Pope  Knitting  Machine 
Works,  and  removed  to  Bucyrus.  Among 
those  who  came  later  were  the  following,  the 
dates  indicating  the  year  of  their  arrival :  Drs. 
Edward  Booth,  i860;  Alex  Jenner,  1854;  P.  B. 
Young,  1865  ;  John  McKean,  1867;  Charles  W. 
Jenner,  about  1870;  still  later,  Drs.  Gibson,  G. 
A.  Emery,  James  Booth,  Z.  P.  Harris,  J.  T. 
Robinson,  and  Dr.  Bennett,  a  homeopathist. 
The  physicians  and  surgeons  now  located  here 
are  J.  A.  Agriew,  T.  H.  B.  Clutter,  R.  R.  Har- 
ris, D.  D.  McCallum,  C.  A.  Marquardt,  J.  B. 
Moses  and  Charles  E.  Trimble 

Several  physicians  settled  at  an  early  day 
in  Sulphur  Springs,  or  Annapolis,  but  most  of 
them  remained  but  a  short  time.  Dr.  George 
Zeigler,  who  settled  there  in  1840,  remained 
until  his  death  in  1872.  He  was  a  hard  worker 
and  established  a  large  practice,  but  the  circum- 
stance of  his  patients  being  widely  scattered 
obliged  him  to  make  long  professional  rides. 
He  finally  died  in  the  harness,  bemg  overtaken 
by  a  severe  attack  of  lung  disease  when  about 
two  miles  from  home.  Compelled  to  stop  at 
the  nearest  farm-house,  he  remained  there  until 
his  death  two  or  three  days  later.  Another 
hard-working  physician  at  this  place  was  Dr. 
John  B.  Squiers,  who  began  the  study  of  his 
profession  under  Dr.  Zeigler  and  commenced 
practice  with  him  in  1848,  subsequently  grad- 
uating from  a  medical  college  in  Cincinnati  in 
1853.     He  was  largely  self-educated,  but  was 


536 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


a  hard  student  and  won  the  coiilidence  of  the 
people.  He  also  has  long  since  passed  away. 
There  was  also  a  Dr.  Turley  who  practiced  in 
Annapolis  in  the  forties,  but  he  was  not  pop- 
ular. Dr.  H.  S.  Bevington  commenced  prac- 
tice at  Sulphur  Springs  in  1872,  coming  here 
from  DeKalb.  Dr.  M.  M.  Carrothers  came  the 
same.  year. 

The  present  physician  in  the  village  is  Dr. 
F.  M.  Virtue.  « 

Dr.  J.  N.  Richie  read  medicine  with  Dr. 
Leonard  Firestone  of  Wayne  county,  Ohio, 
and  Dr.  Henry  Houtz  of  Canal  Fulton,  Stark 
county;  graduated  at  Willoughby  Medical  Col- 
lege and  began  the  practice  of  medicine  at 
Oceola  in  1847  continuing  in  active  practice 
for  many  years.  He  was  a  gentleman  pleasant 
in  address,  affable  at  all  times  and  to  all  per- 
sons, familiar  with  the  details  of  his  profes- 
sion, energetic  in  business,  and  obtained  and 
retained  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  persons 
of  Oceola  and  for  miles  around  that  village. 

During  his  practice  of  medicine  in  this  field 
many  physicians,  at  different  times,  located 
there,  but  soon  finding  the  field  unprofitable 
sought  locations  elsewhere.  In  the  spring  of 
1874  he  entered  into  a  partnership  with  Dr. 
William  O.  Hanby,  a  young  man  of  great 
promise,  but  the  partnership  was  broken  by 
the  untimely  death  of  Dr.  Hanby  in  October, 
1879.  A  year  later  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  Dr.  John  A.  Chesney,  a  physician  who 
afterward  became  one  of  the  leading  physicians 
and  surgeons  of  the  state.  After  he  had  prac- 
ticed with  Dr.  Richie  for  two  years  Dr.  Ches- 
ney resumed  his  studies  and  later  located  at 
Bucyrus,  where  his  practice  was  extensive  and 
where  he  died  August  31,  1912. 

Dr.  Richie  received  a  kick  from  a  horse 
about  1880  which  caused  the  loss  of  one  eye, 
and  which  otherwise  much  affected  his  health, 
so  that  toward  the  end  of  his  active  life  he 
was  unable  to  gi\e  his  practice  the  attention  he 
desired,  suffering  from  fatigue  in  the  rounds 
of  his  country  practice. 

Dr.  Hahn,  later  of  Three  Locusts,  began 
practicing  medicine  at  Oceola  in  1852,  but  re- 
mained only  eight  months,  going  then  to  New 
\\'inchester,  where  he  remained  until  1867. 

Dr.  Fruth  located  at  Oceola  in  the  autumn 
of  1879  and  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  re- 
spect of  the  people  of  the  vicinity. 


Oceola  was  always  a  good  field  for  a  physi- 
cian since  that  portion  of  the  county  west  of  it 
\yas  settled,  many  years  after  the  other  por- 
tion, on  account  of  its  being  a  part  of  the 
Wyandot  Reservation. 

Oceola  does  not  now  (in  1 912)  have  a  physi- 
cian, none  having  been  located  here  for  a  num- 
ber of  years. 

The  first  physician  to  locate  in  Chatfield  was 
Dr.  A.  B.  Fairbanks,  about  1847;  he  was  post- 
master for  two  years  from  1848  to  1850;  he  re- 
maifted  about  ten  years.  He  was  succeeded  by 
D.  J.  Pitezel  who  came  in  1858  and  was  also 
postmaster;  he  left  about  1863  for  Missouri, 
where  he  died  in  the  seventies.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Dr.  Urias  Tubbs,  who  died  there 
in  1873.  He  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Zeigler. 
The  present  physician  is  C.  D.  McLeod. 

At  West  Liberty,  Dr.  Wood  was  the  first 
physician,  commencing  there  about  1843  and 
he  died  of  typhoid  fever  about  1847.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Thomas  C.  Aiken,  who  remained 
until  the  summer  of  185 1.  That  year  Dr. 
Keller  located  at  West  Liberty  where  he  prac- 
ticed until  his  removal  to  Bucyrus  in  1861, 
and  after  his  departure  few  physicians  located 
there  but  only  remained  a  few  months,  and 
for  fifty  years  there  has  been  no  physician  at 
West  Liberty. 

Dr.  Carleton  came  to  DeKalb  in  1831  or 
1832,  and  remained  for  several  years.  In  ad- 
dition to  practicing  medicine  he  sold  dry  goods 
in  a  log  building  standing  on  the  lot  afterward 
occupied  by  David  Anderson  and  others,  at  the 
junction  of  the  Plymouth  road  and  the  one 
running  north  through  Vernon  township. 
Early  settlers  spoke  of  him  as  a  man  of  con- 
siderable ability. 

Dr.  R.  A.  N.  Be  was  born  in  the  state  of 
Rhode  Island  about  the  year  1798.  He  re- 
ceived a  tolerably  liberal  education,  and  grad- 
uated at  one  of  the  Philadelphia  medical  col- 
leges. He  came  west  about  1830  and  at  first 
located  in  southeastern  Indiana,  but,  not  being 
satisfied  with  the  country,  came  back  to  Ohio 
and  located  at  DeKalb  in  the  year  1836.  He 
continued  to  practice  here  until  1854,  when  he 
went  to  Van  Wert  county,  Ohio,  and  remained 
there  about  ten  years,  coming  back  to  DeKalb 
in  1864.  In  December,  1865,  he  had  an  apo- 
plectic attack,  which  very  considerably  im- 
paired his  mental  powers  and  he  resided  with 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


537 


Dr.  Keller  from  February,  1866,  to  July,  1867, 
when  he  visited  his  brother  at  Galesburg,  111., 
dying  there  the  following  December.  Al- 
though quite  eccentric  in  many  particulars,  and 
particularly  reticent  in  everything  pertaining 
to  his  early  life,  he  was  a  man  of  much  more 
than  ordinary  ability  and  attainments. 

He  devoted  his  time,  when  not  profession- 
ally engaged,  to  reading,  both  professionally 
and  otherwise,  and  in  his  office  there  might  al- 
ways be  found  rare  medical  works  not  usually 
found  in  the  office  of  a  country  practitioner, 
with  the  best  serial  medical  and  other  litera- 
ture. He  was  a  good  practitioner,  a  reliable 
friend  and  a  strictly  honest  man.  The  follow- 
ing points  connected  with  his  early  history, 
not  known  during  his  life  at  DeKalb,  will  ex- 
plain many  things  in  his  private  life,  which 
were  regarded,  generally,  as  eccentricities. 
When  reading  medicine  he  was  thrown  from  a 
horse,  fracturing  his  skull  and  otherwise  in- 
juring him,  the  result  of  which  was  the  im- 
pairment of  his  intellectual  faculties  to  a 
considerable  extent  and  for  some  length  of 
time.  While  in  this  state  he  was  sent  by  his 
preceptor  to  visit  a  patient.  The  mother  was 
highly  incensed  at  the  doctor  for  sending  a 
crazy  man  (as  she  expressed  herself)  to  visit 
her  daughter,  and  so  informed  the  young  man. 
The  doctor,  on  hearing  himself  thus  spoken 
of,  determined  to  leave  the  country  at  once, 
go  west,  change  his  name,  and  forever  cut 
loose  from  his  then  friends  and  relatives,  ar- 
guing that  if  he  kept  up  any  correspondence 
with  them  that  his  history  would  soon  follow 
him  wherever  he  would  go,  and  destroy  his 
future  prospects.  He  accordingly  went  to  In- 
diana, as  we  have  stated,  changed  his  name 
from  Roman  Babcock  to  Rom  A.  N.  Be,  by 
which  name  he  was  known  until  his  death. 
During  the  long  weary  years  from  1830  to 
1866,  he  never  once  communicated  directly  or 
indirectly  with  mother,  brothers,  sisters,  or 
other  relatives — completely  dead  to  every 
friend  and  associate  of  his  youthful  days.  His 
many  surviving  friends  at  his  death  understood 
why  he  was  always  so  reticent  in  reference  to 
his  early  life  and  family.* 

Dr.  R.  Cahill,  from  Wayne  county,  Ohio, 
practiced  here  from  April,  1846  to  April,  1848, 
after  which  he  returned  to  his  old  home  and 
*  Dr.  George  Keller. 


from  there  went  to  Bluffton,   Allen  county, 
Ohio,  at  which  place  he  died. 

Dr.  Henry  Mack  came  in  1846;  remaining 
for  nearly  a  year. 

Dr.  Thos.  A.  Mitchell  jjracticed  here  from 
1856  to  1872,  and  for  a  time  was  postmaster. 

Dr.  H.  S.  Bevington  practiced  at  DeKalb 
from  1855  to  1 86 1  and  was  very  successful, 
and  later  he  entered  the  army  and  fought 
through  the  war,  and  after  it  was  over  moved 
to  Sulphur  Springs  where  he  practiced  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death. 

Dr.  Benjamin  McKee  came  in  the  early  sev- 
enties and  practiced  for  a  number  of  years, 
being  the  last  physician  in  DeKalb. 

Soon  after  the  village  of  Leesville  was 
started.  Dr.  John  McKean  located  there,  about 
1834.  The  town  was  on  the  old  Portland 
Road  from  Columbus  to  Sandusky.  Dr.  Mc- 
Kean had  the  field  to  himself  until  about  1847, 
when  Dr.  Peter  Rupp  commenced  practice 
there,  and  remained  about  six  years  when  he 
went  into  the  drug  business  at  South  Bend, 
Ind.  Dr.  Adrian  came  in  1853  and  remained 
about  a  year.  In  1857  Dr.  McNutt  practiced 
at  Leesville  for  two  years,  from  there  he  went 
to  New  Washington,  and  later  was  a  surgeon 
in  the  army,  and  has  now  retired  from  jiractice 
and  is  living  at  Bucyrus.  In  1872  Dr.  T.  H. 
B.  Clutter  located  there  and  after  remaining 
a  number  of  years  removed  to  Crestline.  Lees- 
ville has  no  physician  at  the  present  time. 

The  first  physician  was  perhaps  Dr.  J.  Pite- 
zel,  who  located  at  Benton  about  1844,  and  re- 
mained until  he  removed  to  Chatfield  in  1858. 
Dr.  Bissell  also  practiced  there  about  the  same 
time.  Dr.  J.  Atwood  came  in  1846  remained 
about  three  years  and  then  went  to  Gallon. 
About  that  time  Dr.  Yates  and  Dr.  D.  Alvord 
located  there,  the  latter  removing  to  Bloom- 
ville  in  1873.  Between  i860  and  1870  were 
Drs.  Jones,  Porter,  Beiler  and  Jacob.  In  1868 
Dr.  Jerome  Bland  located  in  Benton,  where  he 
remained  for  twenty  years  and  then  moved  to 
Bucyrus.  Dr.  Schwan  came  in  1877  remaining 
several  years.  One  of  the  last  physicians  was 
Dr.  M.  O.  Wirt,  who  was  there  a  dozen  years, 
but  retired  from  practice  several  years  ago. 
One  or  two  physicians  have  located  there  since, 
but  only  remained  a  short  time,  and  there  is 
today  no  physician  at  Benton. 


538 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Dr.  Andrews  located  at  New  Washington 
in  1840,  the  village  then  having  but  a  few 
houses.  During  his  first  year  two  of  his  chil- 
dren died,  and  he  became  discouraged  and  re- 
turned to  his  eastern  home.  In  1842  Dr.  Main 
located  there  and  remained  two  years,  and  he 
too,  left.  Following  him  was  Dr.  Stoutenour, 
who  came  in  1845  and  remained  for  six  years. 
Dr.  Wandt  was  the  next  physician,  but  shortly 
after  his  arrival  he  committed  suicide. 

Dr.  A.  B.  Hashizer  came  in  1855  and  re- 
mained for  two  years.  In  1867  Dr.  John  S. 
Heshizer  located  at  New  Washington,  and 
was  there  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
having  a  very  extensive  practice. 

Dr.  McNutt  practiced  at  New  Washington 


for  two  years  from  i860  to  1862  Dr.  I^einz 
and  Dr.  Benner  came  in  1878,  the  former  soon 
leaving. 

New  Washington  has  today  three  physicians, 
Drs.  Charles  F.  Kimmerline,  A.  E.  Loyer  and 
W.  W.  Lucas. 

Tiro  has  two  physicians  today,  Drs.  G.  O. 
Blair  and  W.  H.  Guiss. 

C.  R.  Sheckler  is  practicing  at  Broken- 
sword,  Dr.  H.  L.  VanNata  at  Lemert,  Dr.  A. 
D.  Traul  at  North  Robinson  and  Dr.  C.  W. 
G.  Ott  at  New  Winchester. 

In  many  of  the  townships  much  relating  to 
the  early  physicians  is  given  in  the  general  his- 
tory. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 


THE  UNDERGROUND  RAILROAD 


The  Ordinance  of  1787  and  Its  Provisions  hi  Regard  to  Slavery — Popular  Feeling  in  the 
North — The  Fugitive  Slave  Act — The  Underground  Road — Escape  of  Slaves  Through 
Crawford  County — The  Penalty — Interesting  Anecdotes — Underground  Stations  in 
Crawford  County  and  Those  Connected  with  Them — How  the  Aspect  of  the  Civil 
War  Might  Have  Been  Changed. ' 


O,  goodly  and  grand  is  our  hunting  to  see, 

In  this  "land  of  the  brave  and  this  home  of  the  free." 

Priest,  warrior,  and  statesman,  from  Georgia  to  Maine, 

All  mounting  the  saddle,  all  grasping  the  rein, — 

Right  merrily  hunting  the  black  man,  whose  sin 

Is  the  curl  of  his  hair  and  the  hue  of  his  skin. 

— John   G.   Whittier. 

The  Ordinance  of  1787  prohibited  slavery  in 
the  Northwest  territory,  but  added  further: 
"Any  persons  escaping  into  the  same  from 
whom  any  labor  or  service  is  lawfully  claimed 
in  any  one  of  the  original  states,  such  fugitive 
may  be  lawfully  reclaimed  and  conveyed  to  the 
person  claiming  his  or  her  labor  or  service 
aforesaid."  On  Feb.  12,  1793,  (Lincoln's  birth- 
day to  be  15  years  later)  the  first  fugitive  slave 
act'was  passed,  which  was  that  when  a  fugitive 
slave  had  crossed  the  Ohio  river  the  owner 
of  the  slave  can  produce  oral  testimony  or  make 
affidavit  before  any  magistrate  that  he  is  the 
owner  and  the  fugitive  shall  be  given  to  him. 
Any  person  obstructing  or  hindering  the  owner 
or  secreting  the  fugitive  was  subject  to  a  fine 
of  five  hundred  dollars. 

Later,  the  feeling  of  the  North  had  become 
so  pronounced  against  slavery  that  the  question 
was  beginning  to  take  form  as  a  party  issue, 
and  through  the  influence  of  the  South,  Con- 
gress was  forced  into  the  passage  of  laws  in 
the  interest  of  the  slave-holders.  On  Sept.  18, 
1850,  Congress  passed  the  notorious  "Fugitive 
Slave  Act,"  which  allowed  the  owner  to  go  be- 
fore any  magistrate,  swear  to  his  ownership 
of  the  slave,  and  take  possession  of  him.     The 


officer  who  failed  to  arrest  the  man  on  this 
affidavit  was  liable  to  a  fine  of  $1,000,  and  if 
he  failed  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  .slave 
after  his  arrest,  the  officer's  bondsmen  were 
liable  to  the  slave-owner  for  the  value  of  the 
slave.  Further,  any  officer  with  a  writ,  had 
the  right  to  call  on  any  citizen  to  assist  him 
in  the  capture  of  the  slave.  The  slave  could  not 
testify  in  his  own  behalf,  neither  was  he  al- 
lowed trial  by  jury.  Any  person  rescuing  or 
secreting  an  escaping  slave  was  liable  to  a  fine 
of  $1,000  and  six  months'  imprisonment,  and 
civil  damages  to  the  owner  for  the  value  of 
the  slave. 

Of  this  law,  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  a  member 
of  Congress  at  the  time,  truly  said,  "The  free- 
men of  Ohio  will  never  turn  out  to  chase  the 
panting  fugitive.  They  will  never  be  metamor- 
phosed into  bloodhounds  to  track  him  to  his 
hiding-place  and  seize  and  drag  him  out,  and 
deliver -him  to  his  tormentors.  Rely  upon  it, 
they  will  die  first.  Let  no  man  tell  me  there 
is  no  higher  law  than  this  fugitive  bill.  We 
feel  there  is  a  law  of  right,  of  justice,  of  free- 
dom, implanted  in  the  breast  of  every  intelli- 
gent human  being,  that  bids  him  look  with 
scorn  upon  this  libel  on  all  that  is  called  law." 

From  earliest  time  the  general  sentiment  of 
the  people  of  Ohio  was  against  slavery,  and 
there  was  great  anxiety  among  the  early  set- 
tlers as  to  whether  the  constitution  of  1802, 
which  followed  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  would 
make  Ohio  a  state  where  slavery  would  never 


539 


540 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


exist.  Col.  Kilbourne,  \vho  laid  out  the  town 
of  Bucyrus  in  1821,  had  in  1802  organized 
a  company  and  selected  the  land  where  Worth- 
ington  now  stands,  north  of  Columbus,  with 
the  intention  of  bringing  mechanics  and  farm- 
ers to  that  section  from  Connecticut.  All  ar- 
rangements had  been  made.  Then  he  returned 
home  and  patiently  waited  to  see  whether  Con- 
gress would  accept  the  Constitution  of  Ohio 
and  admit  it  into  the  Union  as  a  free  state. 

The  Constitution  was  drawn  up  and  submit- 
ted to  Congress,  was  accepted,  and  slavery  was 
forever  barred  in  the  state  of  Ohio.  As  is 
known,  south  of  the  Ohio  river  were  the  slave 
states;  north  of  Ohio  was  Canada  where 
slavery  did  not  exist,  and  as  time  ran  on,  the 
state  of  Ohio  became  traversed  by  routes  over 
which  slaves  sought  freedom  in  Canada  after 
escaping  from  their  masters  south  of  the  Ohio 
river.  At  the  start  the  few  w^ho  escaped  were 
not  sufficient  to  cause  any  special  worry  to  the 
slave  owners.  The  United  States  had  passed 
a  law^  giving  the  slave  owners  the  right  to 
come  into  Ohio  and  seize  their  property  wher- 
ever found.  The  people  in  this  State  did  not 
favor  so  radical  an  action,  and  the  result  was 
laws  were  passed  if  not  anntdling  at  least  crip- 
pling the  rights  of  the  slave  owners. 

The  first  case  of  an  escaping  slave  in  which 
this  county  is  in  any  way  interested,  was  in 
1812  in  which  Col.  Kilbourne,  who  laid  out 
Bucyrus,  cut  a  prominent  figure.  The  town  of 
W'orthington  was  about  half-way  between  Del- 
aware and  Columbus,  the  latter  being  then 
known  as  Franklinton.  An  alleged  runaway 
slave  had  been  seized  by  the  owner  at  Delaware 
and  he  had  started  south  with  his  property.  The 
Delaware  citizens  sent  a  rider  ahead  to  notify 
the  people  at  W'orthington  of  the  arrest,  well 
knowing  they  were  from  Connecticut  and  were 
opposed  to  the  return  of  any  sla\-e.  As  soon 
as  word  reached  Worthington,  Col.  Kilbourne 
took  prompt  measures  for  the  release  of  the 
slave.  He  was  at  that  time  justice  of  the  peace. 
The  slave  owner  arrived  on  horse-back,  and 
the  negro  was  on  foot,  a  strong  rope  being 
around  him  which  was  attached  to  the  pummel 
of  the  saddle  and  the  tired  wretch  was  com- 
pelled to  keep  up  as  best  he  could.  When  thej 
reached  Worthington  the  villagers  surrounded 
the  horse  and  rider  and  in  the  confusion,  the 
rope  was  cut  and  the  negro  released,  but  Col. 


Kilbourne  was  a  law-abiding  citizen  and  when 
the  slave  owner  appealed  to  him  for  redress, 
the  justice  coincided  with  him,  and  the  negro 
and  his  owner  were  both  taken  before  Squire 
Kilbourne.  The  owner  claimed  the  slave  was 
his  property,  but  the  justice  had  grave  doubts 
as  to  whether  his  affidavit  was  sufficient  proof 
of  ownership  and  released  the  slave  to  await 
further  proof,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  cit- 
izens of  Worthington.  The  owner  of  the  slave 
went  to  Franklinton,  the  next  nearest  justice, 
wherd  he  secured  legal  papers,  and  two  days 
later  he  returned,  and  Mr.  Kilbourne  promptly 
gave  him  another  hearing,  and  decided  the 
slave  was  his.  But  when  they  came  to  look 
for  the•sla^•e  he  was  not  to  be  found,  and  al- 
though nearly  everyone  in  the  village  was 
examined,  no  one  appeared  to  know  what  had 
become  of  him  until  after  the  disgusted  owner 
had  left.  The  facts  are  that  the  day  after  the 
slave  had  been  released.  Col.  Kilbourne  had 
himself  placed  him  in  charge  of  the  driver  of  a 
wagon  train  that  was  carrying  supplies  to  Gen. 
Harrison  at  Ft.  Feree,  now  Upper  Sandusky. 
By  1825  the  escape  of  slaves  through  Ohio 
was  becoming  so  serious  a  matter  to  the  slave 
owners  that  the  secretary  of  state  wrote  the 
British  Government  that  it  was  a  growing  e\  il 
and  might  endanger  the  peaceful  relations  ex- 
isting between  the  United  States  and  the  Brit- 
ish Government,  and  suggested  that  something 
be  done  so  that  owners  might  seciu-e  their  prop- 
erty in  Canada.  England  steadfastly  refused, 
on  the  ground  that  the  British  Government 
"could  not  with  respect  to  the  British  posses- 
sions where  slavery  is  not  admitted,  depart 
from  the  principal  recognized  by  the  British 
laws,  that  e\er}-  man  is  free  who  reaches  Brit- 
ish ground."  The  next  3"ear,  in  1826.  the 
United  States  endeavored  to  make  an  extradi- 
tion treaty  with  England  for  the  return  of  the 
fugitive  slaves.  The  English  Government 
again  refused,  holding  a  fugitive  slave  was  not 
subject  to  extradition,  on  account  of  the  Eng- 
lish principle  that  when  any  man  sat  his  foot 
on  British  soil,  he  was  free.  So  Canada  at  all 
times,  remained  the  haven  of  refuge  to  the  es- 
caping slaves,  and  for  thirty  years  Fourth  of 
July  orators  were  rewarded  with  thunders  of 
applause  as  they  boasted  of  the  freedom  of 
America  and  denounced  the  despotism  of  Eng- 
land. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


541 


The  Quakers,  the  Free  Presbyterians  and 
the  Wesleyan  Methodists  had  among  them 
many  members  who  looked  upon  slavery  as  a 
crime,  and  these  gave  assistance  to  slaves  who 
were  making  their  escape  through  Ohio  to 
freedom  in  Canada;  they  later  sent  emissaries 
into  the  Southern  States  to  induce  slaves  to  flee 
from  their  masters,  all  information  as  to  their 
route  through  Ohio  being  given  them  before 
they  started.  From  the  Ohio  river  to  the  lake, 
Ohio  had  become  honeycombed  with  routes 
taken  by  these  fugitives,  and  these  became 
known  as  Underground  Roads.  When  an 
owner  started  in  pursuit  of  his  slave,  it  was 
easy  following  him  to  the  Ohio  river,  but  once 
across  the  river  all  trace  appeared  to  vanish, 
and  one  slave  owner  after  losing  track  of  his 
property  when  he  had  reached  Ohio,  made  the 
remark  that  he  must  have  gotten  away  by  some 
"underground  road,"  and  that  remark  gave 
these  routes  their  name. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  aiding  of 
a  fugitive  slave  to  escape,  or  the  giving  of  suc- 
cor or  support  to  him  was  an  offense  punish- 
able by  fine  and  imprisonment.  Therefore  it  was 
seldom  that  any  record  \vas  kept  by  the  men 
who  ran  the  underground  stations,  from  which 
any  absolute  and  definite  information  could  be 
obtained,  and  yet,  any  number  of  these  stations 
existed  in  Crawford  county.  There  were  two 
principal  routes  through  this  county,  one  the 
pike  road  which  goes  through  Bucyrus,  and 
the  other  the  old  Portland  road  which  passes 
through  Galion,  Leesville,  and  West  Liberty. 
Professor  Wm.  H.  Seibert  in  his  work,  the 
"Underground  Railroad,"  gives  two  towns 
that  were  stations  in  Crawford  county,  Lees- 
ville and  Tiro;  in  the  list  of  those  connected 
\vith  the  underground  road  he  gives  but  two 
names,  Fisher  Quaintance  and  Joseph  Roe. 
No  trace  can  be  found  of  Tiro  being  a  station, 
nor  is  there  any  trace  of  Joseph  Roe. 

In  1839  a  slave  case  occurred  at  Marion,  in 
which  a  negro  known  as  Black  Bill  was  seized 
by  his  owner.  Black  Bill  had  been  a  resident  of 
Marion  for  about  a  year  when  one  day  a  man 
named  McClanahan  came  to  Marion  and 
claimed  the  slave.  Public  opinion  was  against 
the  slave  being  spirited  out  of  the  community, 
so  the  owner  returned  to  Virginia,  secured 
what  he  thought  was  the  necessary  papers  and 
came  on  to  Marion,  where  with  half  a  dozen 


of  his  marshals,  the  slave  was  seized  and  the 
case  came  on  for  a  hearing  before  Judge  Ozias 
Bow  en  and  his  three  associate  justices,  one  of 
them  being  1  homas  K.  Anderson.  At  the  trial, 
the  court  found  the  owner's  case  had  not  been 
proven  and  the  negro  was  released.  No  sooner 
had  the  judgment  of  the  court  been  pronounced 
than  the  marshals,  who  were  assisting  the 
owner,  promptly  seized  the  slave,  and  notwith- 
standing the  opi^osition  of  the  court  officials 
and  some  of  the  citizens,  the  negro  was  hustled 
and  dragged  from  the  court  room  and  taken 
before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  where  the  owner 
made  the  usual  oath  that  the  slave  was  his. 
Naturally  Judge  Bowen  and  his  associates 
were  indignant  at  the  outrageous  act  of  the 
slave  owner  in  seizing  in  the  court  room  a  man 
whom  they  had  declared  to  be  free.  Judge 
Anderson  went  to  the  squire's  office,  where 
he  secured  an  entrance,  and  opening  the  back 
door  of  the  building  he  told  the  negro  to  make 
his  escape,  and  before  the  friends  of  the  owner 
realized  what  was  going  on.  Black  Bill  was 
out  the  back  door,  fleeing  down  the  street.  His 
pursuers  followed  and  there  was  shooting  and 
stone  throwing  on  both  sides.  Generally  the 
friends  of  freedom  contented  themselves  with 
getting  in  the  road  of  the  pursuing  party,  and 
sometimes  tripping  them  up.  Fear  lent  the 
negro  wings,  and  as  it  was  evening  and  dark- 
ness coming  on,  he  eluded  his  pursuers.  That 
night,  he  slept  in  a  swamp  north  of  Marion. 

While  in  Crawford  county  there  were  prob- 
ably 20  to  30  people  at  that  time  who  were 
more  or  less  engaged  in  assisting  slaves  to  es- 
cape, there  were  many  others  who  took  no 
hand  in  the  matter  but  favored  the  escaping 
slave.  But  it  is  also  probable  that  while  there 
were  a  number  who  would  gladly  have  assisted 
in  capturing  an  escaped  slave,  to  secure  the 
reward,  yet  the  large  majority  at  the  start 
treated  the  matter  with  indifference  and  in  the 
thirty  years  from  1830  to  i860  no  record  can 
be  found  of  any  slave  that  was  ever  captured  in 
this  county  and  returned  to  hib  master.  And 
yet,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  in  those  same  years  at 
least  500  men  found  their  way  to  freedom 
through  Crawford  county.  Nothing  is  known 
of  the  exact  route  of  Black  Bill  after  he  left  his 
hiding  place  in  the  swamp  near  Marion.  He 
may  have  gone  north  at  night  over  the  San- 
dusky pike,  and  found  refuge  during  the  day 


542 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


at  Benjamin  Warner's,  who  kept  a  tavern  four 
miles  south  of  Bucyrus.  He  was  a  Quaker, 
and  this  sect  were  the  strongest  in  the  state  on 
the  side  of  the  fleeing  negroes.  He  may  have 
reached  New  VVinchester,  where  at  that  time 
Peter  Wert  had  a  mill  just  north  of  the  town 
which  was  a  station  on  the  Underground  Road. 
At  any  rate,  McClanahan,  his  master,  never  saw 
him  again.  In  October,  1839,  the  Bucyrus 
Democrat  published  a  full  account  of  the  trial 
and  escape  of  Black  Bill. 

The  escaping  slaves  entered  this  county  in 
the  eastern  part  from  Iberia  where  there  was 
a  prominent  underground  station,  this  little 
village  being  filled  with  sympathizers  of  the 
fleeing  fugitives.  It  was  this  town  which 
furnished  almost  the  last  incident  in  regard 
to  punishment  of  men  for  assisting  slaves 
in  making  their  escape.  A  professor  in  the 
college  at  Iberia  had  been  arrested  for  assist- 
ing an  escaping  slave  and  had  been  sentenced 
to  a  term  of  imprisonment  and  one  of  the  first 
acts  of  President  Lincoln  was  the  pardon  of 
this  man.  The  most  prominent  man  in  this 
county  connected  with  the  Underground  Road 
was  perhaps  Peter  Wert,  first  of  Leesville  and 
later  of  New  Winchester.  He  was  known  as 
Black  Pete,  not  on  account  of  his  friendship 
for  the  slaves,  but  on  account  of  his  com- 
plexion, as  he  was  very  dark.  He  was  a  man 
of  strong  determination.  He  had  a  wheel 
shop  at  Leesville  and  here  the  slaves  came  to 
him  after  night.  They  generally  arrived  just 
before  daylight,  a  signal  was  given  by  them 
which  was  recognized  by  him  and  they  were 
brought  into  the  house,  given  food  and  a  place 
of  shelter  during  the  next  day,  and  when  night 
again  came,  they  were  given  explicit  directions 
to  their  next  stopping-place  which  was  prob- 
ably the  Robinson  mill  on  the  Sandusky  river, 
near  the  old  Luke  tavern.  Near  the  mill  was 
the  residence  of  James  Robinson,  and  just  back 
of  the  house  was  a  small  building  known  as 
the  "mill  house."  The  building  had  only  one 
door,  and  was  originally  but  one  room.  A  par- 
tition was  built  across  one  end,  the  only  en- 
trance to  this  closet  being  a  low  door,  which 
was  concealed  by  piling  sacks  of  grain  and 
meal  in  front  of  it.  In  case  pursuing  masters 
were  in  the  neighborhood  the  escaping  slaves 
were  hidden  in  this  closet  until  all  danger  was 
over. 


George  Dean  who  still  lives  in  Bucyrus  and 
is  today  an  old  man,  states  that  in  his  boyhood 
days  (1840  to  1850)  he  has  gone  over  to 
the  mill  which  was  owned  by  his  uncles,  James 
and  William  Robinson,  and  has  seen  negroes 
in  the  yard,  men,  women  and  children  and  a 
few  days  afterward  they  were  gone.  Of  course, 
the  neighbors  knew  of  this,  and  while  they 
would  not  assist  an  escaping  negro,  they  were 
not  so  bitter  at  that  time  as  to  prevent  anyone 
else  from  doing  so.  About  three  miles  north 
of  the  Robinson  Mill  was  Henry  Kaler's  resi- 
dence in  Sandusky  township.  He  was  a  shoe- 
maker and  to  his  house  the  negroes  were 
piloted.  Occasionally  when  the  people  showed 
symptoms  of  objection  to  this  violation  of  the 
law,  Robinson  himself  took  the  men  to  the 
next  station.  He  had  a  spring  wagon  used  for 
hauling  grain,  and  on  this  he  had  a  covered 
top  so  that  nobody  could  see  the  contents  of  the 
wagon,  but  it  was  generally  known  that  when 
this  wagon  went  north  after  night,  there  were 
escaping  slaves  inside.  This  wagon  was  mostly 
used  when  there  were  women  and  children  in 
the  party.  The  men  generally  walked.  The 
wagon  held  from  six  to  eight  people.  Kaler, 
the  shoemaker,  in  the  early  days  traveled  over 
the  country  making  shoes  for  the  settlers.  He 
was  not  well  to  do  and  made  his  rounds  from 
house  to  house  on  foot,  and  knew  every  hiding 
place,in  that  section.  For  while,  as  previously 
stated,  no  slaves  were  ever  known  to  be  re- 
captured in  this  county,  yet  there  were  fre- 
quently men  watching  all  roads  to  the  north  to 
capture  an  escaping  slave  in  order  to  secure  the 
reward.  It  was  therefore  necessary  for  the 
slave  to  be  hurriedly  hid,  sometimes  in  a  well, 
sometimes  in  an  old  hollow  tree,  or  in  some 
abandoned  outbuildings  or  barn.  Frequently 
thev  were  placed  in  some  barn  with  hay  loosely 
sprinkled  over  them,  and  here  they  remained 
two  or  three  days,  fed  by  the  keeper  of  the 
station  until  all  danger  of  pursuit  had  shifted 
to  some  other  locality.  North  of  Kaler,  was 
the  celebrated  Bear  marsh,  which  was  an  ex- 
cellent hiding  place,  and  near  this  lived  John 
Mclntyre  another  station  on  the  Underground 
Road.  He  was  an  old  Scotch  Presbyterian. 
From  here  it  is  difficult  to  trace  the  route. 
Seibert  in  his  book  states  that  Tiro  was  an 
important  station  on  the  Underground  Road. 
It  no  doubt  was,  as  the  settlers  there  were  New 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


543 


Englanders  and  such  men  as  Rudolphus  Morse, 
Resolved  White,  Samuel  Hanna,  and  others 
were  the  men  who  would  be  stiongly  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  underground  movement,  but 
no  record  can  be  found  of  anyone  in  Auburn 
township  who  kept  a  station  on  the  road  and 
it  is  absolutely  certain  there  were  a  dozen. 
The  objective  point  was  Sandusky  on  the  lake. 
Five  or  six  routes  passing  through  the  state 
converged  at  that  point,  and,  as  stated,  two 
of  these  were  through  Crawford  county. 

Near  the  Portland  road,  running  north  and 
south  through  Vernon  township,  were  several 
houses  where  the  fugitives  were  oared  for.  The 
house  of  John  McCaskey  was  supposed  to  be 
one.  The  road  was  traveled  by  dark  men  on 
dark  nights,  and  many  a  happy  African  who 
reached  Canada,  remembered  with  gratitude 
until  the  day  of  his  death  the  hospitality  and 
humanity  of  several  citizens  of  Vernon.  David 
and  Samuel  Anderson  often  entertained  ebony 
runaways  aiming  for  the  north  star.  These  were 
guided  to  the  dwellings  under  cover  of  the 
night,  and  if  brought  there  near  morning,  were 
kept  concealed,  and  fed  during  the  day  and 
then  conveyed  to  some  station  near  Canada  and 
freedom.  Concealment  was  necessary,  because 
in  harboring  runaway  slaves,  the  law  was  vio- 
lated, and  after  1850  there  were  many  whose 
sympathies  were  with  the  slaveholder,  and  they 
would  not  have  scrupled  to  reveal  the  name  of 
the  law-breaker.  This  resulted  in  concealment 
and  the  nocturnal  pilgrimages  of  the  runaways. 

William  Robinson  who  still  lives  in  Crestline 
lived  with  his  father  when  a  boy  at  North 
Robinson  (1840  to  1850),  and  remembers 
times  when  colored  people  after  night  stopped 
at  their  door  and  asked  to  be  cared  for.  Rob- 
inson's place  was  not  an  underground  station 
but  like  most  others  in  the  county  at  that  time 
he  would  not  interfere  with  any  one  else  as- 
sisting them,  and  the  fugitive  was  directed  to 
the  proper  Robinson  at  the  mill  several  miles 
north.  Both  Peter  Wert  and  William  and 
James  Robinson  were  Scotch  Presbyterians,  in 
fact  Covenanters,  and  these  with  the  Quakers 
were  the  most  open  opponents  of  human 
slavery. 

Along  the  Sandusky  pike  four  miles  south 
of  Bucyrus,  was  the  tavern  of  Benjamin  War- 
ner, one  of  those  worthy  men  who  was 
raised  in  the  society  of  Friends  and  like  that 


taciturn  and  sagacious  sect,  kept  his  own  coun- 
sel, but  his  neighbors  were  certain  that  his  hos- 
pitable home  was  one  of  the  stations  on  the 
Underground  Road.  In  keeping  his  tavern,  all 
people  were  welcome,  and  the  poorer  settlers 
coming  into  the  country  looking  for  land  were 
entertained  over  night,  given  their  breakfast 
in  the  morning  and  sent  on  their  way  rejoic- 
ing. And  if  they  were  very  poor,  never 
charged  for  their  accommodation.  To  the  op- 
pressed and  fleeing  slave,  seeking  a  haven  of 
freedom  in  Canada  his  lines  were  cast  in  pleas- 
ant places  when  he  reached  the  tavern  of  that 
good  old  Quaker,  Benjamin  Warner.  North 
of  Bucyrus  was  the  Quaker  settlement  and  it 
is  astonishing  the  number  of  visits  that  Warner 
made  to  his  friends  living  there.  And  it  is 
certain  many  of  his  friends  must  have  been 
aware  when  he  drove  through  the  streets  of 
Bucyrus  with  a  large  wagon  drawn  by  two 
horses  and  containing  nothing  but  loose  straw, 
that  many  a  trembling  slave  was  concealed  be- 
neath the  straw,  and  yet  he  made  these  trips 
in  broad  daylight.  Here  is  an  extract  from 
his  obituary  notice,  published  after  his  death 
which  occurred  May  8,  1870.  After  speaking 
of  his  generosity  to  poor  travelers,  it  said: 
"Nor  is  this  all.  The  worthy  man  was  raised 
as  one  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  like  that 
sagacious  sect  kept  his  own  counsel,  and  it  was 
more  than  surmised  that  his  hospitable  home 
was  one  of  the  safest  stations  for  those  op- 
pressed victims  who  were  seeking  the  north 
star;  and  many  a  time  has  he,  on  pretense  of 
visiting  his  brethren  north  of  Bucyrus,  hauled 
trembling  chattels,  concealed  in  his  wagon, 
boldly  and  bravely  in  open  daylight  through 
Bucyrus." 

On  the  Tiffin  road  Fisher  Quaintance  set- 
tled about  1829  and  his  home  was  a  station  on 
the  Underground  Road:  Here  the  escaping 
slave  sometimes  worked  about  the  farm,  and 
in  case  anyone  was  seen  coming  along  the 
road  he  was  hidden  in  some  secret  place  until 
all  danger  was  passed.  Joseph  Quaintance, 
still  living,  remembers  that  at  one  time  one  of 
the  slaves  who  stopped  at  the  farm  had  learned 
the  carpenter  business,  and  while  hiding  on 
his  father's  place  built  a  cradle  for  the  cutting 
of  grain.  Mr.  Quaintance  remembered  the 
incident,  although  he  was  a  boy,  from  the  fact 
that  they  had  a  very  savage  dog  who  became 


o44 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


very  friendly  with  the  colored  man  and  when 
he  left,  the  dog  followed  him,  much  to  the  sat- 
isfaction of  the  family.  Just  west  of  the  Tiffin 
road  was  a  family  by  the  name  of  Jackson,  a 
father  and  several  sons,  Stephen,  Isaac  and 
Abraham.  This  house  was  back  in  the  woods 
and  a  slave  once  reaching  there  was  safe.  The 
slaves  were  always  brought  to  Jackson's  cabin 
during  the  night,  usually  after  lo  o'clock.  The 
Columbus  and  Sandusky  pike  was  extensively 
traveled  by  slaves  \\'ithout  guides,  as  the  road 
was  so  plain  that  no  mistake  could  be  made. 
But  the  traveling  was  usually  done  between  ten 
o'clock  at  night  and  daylight  the  next  morning. 
Isaac  Jackson  and  his  son  Stephen  have  been 
seen  to  carry  sled-loads  of  them  north  into 
Seneca  county.  At  one  time,  about  1853,  they 
were  seen  to  hare  six  or  eight  negro  women 
and  children  in  a  sled,  which  was  driven  rapidly 
north,  while  five  or  six  negro  men,  unable  to 
get  into  the  sled,  ran  at  the  side  or  behind, 
and  the  smoothness  of  the  snow-covered  road 
enabled  him  to  get  them  far  on  their  way  be- 
fore daylight  to  some  station  much  nearer  Can- 
ada and  freedom  under  the  British  flag.  The 
night  was  bitterly  cold,  though  the  moon  shone 
brightly  on  the  scene,  revealing  the  runaways 
to  the  people  along  the  road,  who  were  willing 
to  jump  from  their  beds  in  the  cold,  and  look 
from  the  window  or  door. 

Almost  every  citizen  who  lived  on  the  Colum- 
bus and  Sandusky  pike  half  a  century  ago 
could  remember  of  seeing  many  a  dusky  run- 
away skulking  along  the  road  under  the  cover 
of  the  night,  or  being  driven  rapidly  north  by 
some  assisting  friend.  It  occasionally  hap- 
pened that  pursuing  masters  traveled  over  the 
road;  but  none  of  these  residents  remembered 
that  any  runaway  slave  was  ever  captured  by 
his  master  while  escaping  through  the  county. 
It  was  not  customary  for  slaves  to  stop  at 
houses  directly  on  the  road,  even  though  the 
owner  was  a  known  friend.  As  morning  ap- 
proached they  left  the  road,  and  stopped  at 
dwellings  several  miles  from  its  course.  It 
thus  occurred  that  Quaintance  on  the  Tiffin 
road  and  the  Jacksons  were  used  as  hiding 
places,  and  several  citizens  in  and  near  the 
village  of  Lykens  were  known  to  harbor  the 
black  man,  and  to  convey  him  farther  on  his 
way  to  Canada  and  freedom.  On  one  occa- 
sion one  of  the  citizens  was  seen  with  a  wagon 


load  of  dusky  women  and  children,  heading 
for  the  house  of  some  friend  in  southern  Sen- 
eca county.  And,  at  another  time,  a  half-dozen 
or  more  of  half-starved,  half-clothed  negro 
men  were  seen  in  a  barn  in  Lykens  township. 

Another  station  was  that  of  Eli  Odell.  He 
was  a  cabinet-maker  and  at  one  time  a  miller. 
He  lived  at  what  was  afterwards  known  as 
Odell's  Corners  four  miles  east  of  Bucyrus. 
He  was  very  pronounced  in  his  views  on 
slavery  and  held  that  it  was  a  moral  duty  of 
every  man  to  assist  the  runa\\ay  slaves,  and 
that  he  would  pay  no  attention  to  any  iniqui- 
tous law  which  required  a  citizen  to  assist  in 
capturing  the  slave  and  returning  him  to  his 
owner ;  that  no  law  could  give  to  one  man  the 
right  to  own  another  human  being,  and  there- 
fore it  was  no  crime  to  break  any  law  which 
in  itself  was  against  the  law  of  God.  Slaves 
were  brought  to  him  by  Peter  Wert  and  from 
his  place  they  were  either  piloted  across  to 
Kaler  or  Mclntyre  in  Sandusky  township,  or 
more  directly  north,  for  there  must  have  been 
some  station  at  or  around  Sulphur  Springs, 
although  no  trace  can  be  found  of  one  there. 
The  fact  is,  the  danger  that  some  neighbor, 
through  vindictiveness  or  for  the  greed  of 
gain,  might  give  evidence  against  them  made 
them  cautious,  and  many  of  these  places  that 
were  underground  stations  can  never  be 
known;  and  toward  the  last,  after  1850,  this 
county  became  more  bitter  against  those  as- 
sisting escaping  slaves,  and  the  greatest  caution 
was  necessary,  slaves  being  transferred  from 
station  to  station  after  night,  without  being 
seen  by  anyone  except  those  belonging  to  the 
underground  road. 

No  record  can  be  found  of  those  in  Bucyrus 
who  kept  stations  on  the  Underground  Road 
with  the  exception  of  Capt.  John  Wert.  That 
Rev.  John  Pettitt  kept  a  station  there  is  no 
doubt,  but  there  is  no  proof.  Neither  do  older 
inhabitants  who  knew  him  remember  of  any 
word  he  ever  let  drop  to  indicate  that  his  house 
was  a  haven  of  refuge  for  the  fleeing  slaves. 
He  lived  for  a  while  on  what  is  now  the 
^lagee  farm  south  of  Oakwood  cemetery.  He 
was  always  opposed  to  slavery  and  said  so  at 
any  and  all  times.  Yet  there  is  no  proof  that 
he  was  connected  with  the  Underground  Road. 
Neither  is  there  any  proof  that  John  Anderson 
kept  a  station  on  the  road.     Yet  he  kept  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


545 


American  house,  and  in  the  upstairs  room  was 
where  an  aboHtion  speech  was  made  and  an 
anti-abohtion  demonstration  occurred  in  Bucy- 
rus  in  1839.  The  meeting  was  being  held  on 
the  second  floor  southeast  room,  the  corner 
room  fronting  on  Warren  and  Sandusky.  It 
was  addressed  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Streater  a 
Protestant  Methodist  minister,  and  it  became 
known  that  he  would  deliver  an  abolition  ad- 
dress. During  the  evening  a  crowd  collected 
in  front  of  the  hotel  and  for  a  time  contented 
itself  with  hooting  and  jeering,  but  later  stones 
and  brick  bats  were  thrown  and  the  windows 
broken  in,  and  a  rush  was  made  inside  the 
building,  the  crowd  demanding  the  speaker, 
but  he  was  secretly  removed  from  the  house, 
and  made  his  escape.  Daniel  Fralic  of  Brok- 
ensword  was  present  at  the  time  and  said  that 
for  a  while  things  were  pretty  lively.  He 
crowded  himself  into  a  corner  until  the  storm 
was  over  and  then  quietly  left  the  building. 
After  the  mob  reached  the  room  stones  and 
brick  bats  were  still  freely  thrown  and  some 
of  the  furniture  broken. 

After  Anderson  had  quit  the  hotel  business 
he  had  a  frame  building  just  north  where  he 
ran  a  tin  shop,  and  here  the  anti-slavery  men 
held  frequent  meetings,  but  as  far  as  can  be 
learned  they  were  never  disturbed.  In  the  rear 
room  of  the  tin  shop  one  night  some  15  per- 
sons gathered  to  hear  a  colored  slave  give  an 
account  of  his  flight  to  freedom.  The  slave 
was  a  carpenter  and  lived  in  one  of  the  Gulf 
states.  By  some  means  he  had  learned  to  read 
and  write.  He  made  his  escape  to  New  Or- 
leans, where  he  forged  his  master's  name  to  a 
pass  and  secured  a  job  on  a  steamboat  as  a  car- 
penter and  thus  worked  his  passage  up  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Ohio,  and  on  reaching 
Cincinnati  he  had  been  piloted  over  the  under- 
ground road  and  had  now  reached  Bucyrus. 
A  collection  was  taken  up  and  he  was  cared 
for  that  night  and  the  next  day,  and  after  dark 
the  next  evening  he  was  directed  to  the  farm 
of  Jesse  Quaintance  in  Holmes  township. 
The  meeting  was  very  quiet  and.  orderly,  and 
although  he  was  in  the  town  24  hours,  no  at- 
tempt was  made  to  prevent  his  escape. 

About  this  same  time  Capt.  John  Wert  lived 
near  the  southeast  corner  of  Mansfield  and 
Spring  streets.  He  had  a  wheel-wright  shop 
on  the  same  lot  and  did  work  at  this  and  car- 


pentering. He  had  several  sons  and  all  were 
strong  abolitionists.  One  night  a  slave  owner 
came  to  Bucyrus  with  two  of  his  followers, 
having  been  given  private  information  that 
his  slave  would  be  found  secreted  at  the  house 
of  Capt.  Wert.  He  had  closely  followed  him 
from  the  Ohio  river,  and  he  went  immediately 
to  the  house  of  Captain  Wert  and  demanded 
the  slave.  Being  refused  he  threatened  to 
enter  the  place  by  force  and  make  a  search. 
Mr.  Wert  seized  a  gun  and  stated  that  his  house 
could  not  be  searched  without  the  proper  pa- 
pers, issued  by  the  proper  authorities  in  Bucy- 
rus. The  sons  also  had  their  guns,  and  the 
man  with  his  two  slave-catchers  came  back  up 
town  to  secure  the  necessary  papers.  The  news 
soon  spread,  and  in  half  an  hour  when  the 
slave  owner  returned  there  was  quite  an  ex- 
cited crowd  with  them.  The  captain  still 
warned  them  off  with  his  gun  and  parlied  with 
the  officials.  Stones  were  thrown  and  brick 
bats,  some  of  the  windows  were  broken,  but 
the  grim  old  man,  gun  in  hand,  stood  firmly 
by  his  position,  but  after  half  an  hour  he 
yielded  and  the  house  was  searched  but  no 
slave  found.  It  was  freely  stated  by  some  in 
the  crowd  that  a  negro  had  been  seen  there 
early  in  the  evening.  He  may  or  may  not  have 
been  seen,  but  whether  he  had  or  not,  two  of 
the  sons  were  missing  when  the  house  was 
searched,  and  later  it  was  learned  that  while 
the  man  had  gone  up  street  to  secure  his  papers 
the  sons  had  taken  the  slave  to  a  safer  abiding 
place  farther  north,  and  the  parley  of  the  old 
man  had  been  simply  a  pretense  to  gain  time. 
After  the  C.  C.  &  C.  road  was  built  through 
Gabon,  it  was  sometimes  used  to  send  slaves 
north  to  Cleveland.  On  one  occasion  an  es- 
caping slave  who  was  on  the  train,  happened 
to  look  out  of  the  window  and  saw  his  master 
get  on  the  rear  car.  He  sat  with  fear  and 
trembling  until  the  conducter  came  by;  he 
had  been  told  beforehand  that  in  case  of 
emergency  the  conductor  would  do  what  he 
could  to  protect  him,  for  only  those  trains 
were  generally  used  where  the  conductor  was 
in  sympathy  with  the  movement.  The  con- 
ductor, hearing  his  story,  pulled  the  bell  cord, 
and  the  train  slackened  speed,  and  the  negro 
jumped  off,  and  the  signal  was  given  to  go 
ahead.  The  master  was  also  looking  out  of 
the  window,  and  .saw  bis  property  in  full  flight 


546 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


across  the  field.  He  appealed  to  the  conductor, 
but  he  refused  to  slacken  the  speed  of  the  train, 
and  the  man  was  compelled  to  stay  on  board 
until  Galion  was  reached.  The  negro  got  in 
touch  with  the  underground  road,  was  piloted 
through  Crawford  county,  and  found  freedom 
in  Canada. 

Bucyrus,  through  Judge  Scott,  was  con- 
nected with  one  of  the  important  slave  cases 
which  made  history.  Two  slave-owners  with  a 
United  States  Marshal  and  his  deputy,  on 
Sept.  13,  1858,  seized  John  Price  a  fugitive 
slave,  at  Oberlin,  and  drove  across  the  coun- 
try eight  miles  to  Wellington,  to  take  the  train 
south.  A  crowd  from  Oberlin  followed  and 
joined  by  Wellington  people,  the  negro  was 
rescued.  The  United  States  Court  indicted 
37  of  the  rescuers,  and  they  were  mostly  given 
small  fines  and  a  day  in  jail.  Two  from  Oberlin, 
Simon  Bushnell  and  Charles  H.  Langston, 
were  given  60  days  and  20  days'  imprisonment. 
Writs  of  habeas  corpus  were  gotten  out  and 
the  case  came  before  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Ohio.  On  the  bench  were  Joseph  R.  Swan, 
chief  justice;  Josiah  Scott,  William  V.  Peck, 
Jacob  Brinkerhofif,  Milton  Sutliff.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  people  of  Ohio  believed  the  fu- 
gitive slave  act  was  so  utterly  at  variance  with 
the  law  of  God  as  to  be  unconstitutional,  and 
the  true  doctrine  was  the  British  one  that  Ohio 
being  a  free  State,  a  slave  once  setting  his  foot 
on  Ohio  soil  was  free.    This  was  the  view  of 


Gov.  Chase  and  every  member  of  the  court. 
But  the  question  at  issue  was :  "Shall  a  United 
States  law  be  enforced  when  contrary  to  the 
views  of  the  people  and  laws  of  a  state  ?"  On 
this  question  Joseph  R.  Swan,  Josiah  Scott,  and 
William  V.  Peck  held  the  United  States  law 
was  superior  to  the  State  and  refused  the  writ 
of  habeas  corpus,  Brinkerhoff  and  Sutliflf  dis- 
senting. Justice  Swan  was  a  candidate  for  re- 
nomination  for  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
but  he  was  defeated  on  account  of  his  decision. 
In  his  "Swan's  Treatise,"  compiled  by  him,  he 
states  that  it  is  idle  to  speculate  upon  the  pos- 
sible results  if  a  single  judge  had  held  a  dif- 
ferent opinion.  Salmon  P.  Chase  was  gov- 
ernor at  that  time  and  it  was  well  understood 
that  he  would  sustain  a  decision  releasing  the 
prisoners  by  all  the  power  at  his  command; 
and  the  United  States  government  was  as 
fully  committed  to  the  execution  of  the  fugi- 
tive slave  law.  This  would  have  placed  Ohio 
in  conflict  with  the  General  Government  in  de- 
fense of  state  rights,  and  if  the  party  of  free- 
dom throughout  the  north  had  rallied,  as 
seemed  probable,  the  war  might  have  come  in 
1859,  instead  of  1861,  with  a  secession  of 
the  northern  instead  of  the  southern  states. 
A  single  vote  apparently  turned  the  scale,  and 
after  a -little  delay  the  party  of  freedom  took 
possession  of  the  government,  and  the  party  of 
slavery  became  the  seceders. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 


MISCELLANEOUS 

Dead  Man's  Hollow — Ancient  Land  Marks— Hidden  Treasure — The  Bucyrus  Mastodon — 
Johnny  Appleseed — The  Bad  Indian — Population  Statistics — The  Hermits — Agricul- 
tural Fairs — The  Canal  Crawford  Did  Not  Get — The  Name  of  Bucyrus — Early  Valu- 
ation and  Expenses — Early  Marriage  Licenses. 


A  chiel's  amang  you  taking  notes, 
And,  faith,  he'll  prent  it. 

— Robert  Burns. 

DEAD    man's    hollow. 

Near  Olentangy  along  the  Galion  road  a 
place   has   been  pointed   out   as   Dead   Man's 
Hollow,  a  site  where  a  murder  was  committed 
many  years  ago.     In  the  summer  of  1836,  two 
men,  named  Bender  and  Hammer  from  the  east 
came  west  to  buy  land.    At  Wooster  they  were 
observed    when    they    changed    their    eastern 
money  for  western,  and  were  followed.    After 
leaving  Mansfield  they  were  joined  by  two  men, 
who  stated  they  were  also  coming  west  look- 
ing up  land.    The  four  traveled  together  to  Ga- 
lion, and  at  the  latter  place  spent  the  night. 
The  next  morning  the  four  started  for  Bucy- 
rus,  Hammer  and   Bender  walking  in  front, 
and  the  two  strangers  behind.     All  had  canes 
cut  from  the  woods  to  assist  them  in  walking. 
Soon  after  leaving  Galion,  the  strangers  cut 
themselves  still  heavier  canes ;  in  fact,  so  heavy, 
as  to  be  clubs.     Being  questioned  as  to  the 
reason  for  such  heavy  canes,  they  turned  it  off 
by  remarking  their  other  canes  were  too  light 
and  they  threw  them  away,  but  perhaps  •  the 
new  ones  were  a  little  large,  but  if  so,  later 
they  would  get  smaller.     The  four  proceeded 
until  they  reached  where  Olentangv  now  is, 
when  they  came  to  a  little  stream  that  emptied 
into  the  Whetstone.-    Over  this  was  a  log,  ne- 
cessitating crossing  single  file.     As  the  men 
separated   to   cross   the   stream,    one   drew   a 
pistol  and  shot  Bender,  while  the  other  with 


his  heavy  club  brought  it  down  with  all  its 
force  on  the  head  of  Hammer,  knocking  him 
to  the  ground  unconscious.  An  eighth  of  a 
mile  south  of  where  the  attack  was  made  was 
the  Eberhardt  saw-mill,  and  the  robbers  hear- 
ing the  sound  of  voices,  and  believing  some 
one  was  approaching,  hurriedly  sought  safety 
in  flight,  without  stopping  to  rob  their  victims, 
which  would  have  taken  time,  as  the  men  car- 
ried their  money  in  a  leather  belt,  around  their 
waist,  underneath  their  clothing.  Some  time 
passed  before  Hammer  regained  consciousness, 
and  when  he  did  he  was  horrified  to  find  the 
dead  body  of  his  brother-in-law.  He  screamed 
for  help,  but  received  no  answer.  He  was  in 
a  dazed  condition,  but  managed  to  stagger  to 
the  saw  mill  where  he  appeared  covered  with 
blood,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  Eberhardts. 
He  had  difficulty  in  explaining  to  them  what 
was  the  matter,  but  they  were  finally  convinced 
something  serious  had  occurred,  and  they  fol- 
lowed him  to  the  scene  of  the  murder,  where 
they  found  the  dead  body  of  Bender.  What 
few  neighbors  there  were  were  aroused  and 
Hammer  explained  in  detail  what  had  occurred 
and  the  woods  were  searched  but  no  trace  of 
the  murderers  was  found.  The  absence  of 
any  cluc,  pomted  suspicion  to  Hammer,  but  a 
thorough  examination  showed  his  story  was 
true,  as  it  was  easily  shown  two  suspicious 
characters  had  been  with  them  at  Galion,  and 
further  that  the  proprietor  of  the  tavern  at 
Galion  had  told  the  men  they  did  not  like  the 
looks  or  the  actions  of  their  companions,  and 


547 


548 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


they  had  better  not  trust  them  too  far.  Bender 
was  buried  in  the  Campbell  graveyard,  and 
his  relatives  in  the  east  were  notified,  and  they 
sent  money  for  the  erection  of  a  tombstone. 
This  stone  contains  his  name,  and  the  further 
inscription : 

"Born  Dec.  6,  1811 ;  died  Sept.  28,  1836." 
Hammer  came  on  to  Bucyrus,  stopping  at 
the  Blue  Ball  tavern,  where  he  gave  John  Boyer 
an  account  of  the  murder,  and  later  repeated 
his  story  at  Bucyrus.  He  remained  at  Bucyrus 
several  days  until  the  authorities  became  as- 
sured of  his  innocence.  He  had  $300  with 
which  he  purchased  land.  Years  afterward  a 
report  was  current  in  the  county  of  a  man  dy- 
ing in  the  west  who  previous  to  his  death  con- 
fessed to  the  Bender  murder,  but  the  story 
was  never  authenticated.  Besides  erecting  a 
tombstone,  the  eastern  relatives  for  half  a 
century  sent  a  small  sum  annually  to  the  Camp- 
bells to  be  used  in  keeping  the  grave  in  repair, 
and  the  trust  was  faithfully  performecl  by  John 
Campbell  and  later  by  his  son.  But  years  ago 
the  descendants  of  the  murdered  man's  fam- 
ily had  become  such  distant  relatives  that  the 
remittances  ceased,  and  the  grave  is  cared  for 
the  same  as  the  others. 

ANCIENT     LAND     MARKS. 

In  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  15,  Au- 
burn township  the  land  now  owned  by  the 
Faulkner  heirs,  there  is  an  inclosure  of  nearly 
four  acres,  a  well  defined  gateway  at  the  east- 
ern side,  and  near  it  a  walled  well.  This  well 
was  dug  out  to  a  depth  of  about  fifteen  feet, 
but  nothing  of  special  interest  was  found. 
Numerous  stone  relics  have  been  found  in  and 
about  the  inclosure. 

About  one  and  a  half  miles  southwest  of 
Gabon  there  is  an  inclosure  of  about  an  acre. 
It  is  shaped  like  a  horse-shoe,  which  would 
bring  it  under  the  head  of  symbolical  mounds. 
This  inclosure  has  never  been  thoroughly  ex- 
plored. Relics  of  stone  have  been  found  in  it 
indicating  that  at  one  time  it  was  the  resort  of 
those  who  erected  it. 

The  Delaware  Indians  had  a  village  north- 
east of  Leesville,  long  before  the  advent  of 
the  first  white  man ;  definite  record  is  given  of 
this  in  the  Crawford  expedition. 

Another  village  was  at  the  Knisely's  Sprmg.^. 
It  was  there  before  the  war  of  181 2,  and  was 


then  occupied  by  the  Miamis.  There  was  a 
spring  there  highly  prized  by  the  Indians  for 
its  medical  qualities.  The  spring  was  highly 
impregnated  with  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  it 
tarnished  the  silver  ornaments  of  the  Indian, 
and  deposited  a  sulphurous  precipitate  a  short 
distance  from  it.  The  Indians  placed  great 
confidence  in  the  healing  equalities  of  the  water 
and  mud;  the  beneficial  effects  of  which  they 
could  perceive.  Another  healing  spring  much 
trequented  by  them  ^^■as  about  two  miles  west 
of  Oceola. 

HIDDEN    TREASURES 

When  the  first  settlers  arrived  an  Indian 
village   was   in  existence   on   the   Whetstone, 
southwest  of   Seccaium   Park.     In  searching 
among  the  old  records  at  Pittsburg  to  locate 
the  ancient  Indian  village  of  Seccaium,  Hon. 
E.  B.  Finley  ran  across  some  papers  indicating 
that  a  few  feet  from  a  large  tree  which  stood 
near  a  spring  some  treasure  had  once  been 
buried.      It   appears   that   in  the   seventeenth 
century  the  French  traders  in  going  through 
this  region  were  attacked  by  a  band  of  hostile 
Indians,    and   hurriedly   buried   what   money 
they  had.     The  tree  was  a  monarch  of  the 
plains,  standing  alone  a  short  distance  west  of 
where  the  vast  forest  commenced  that  extended 
unbroken  to  the  Ohio  river.     In  looking  up 
the  ancient  village  of  Seccaium  over  a  quarter 
of  a  century  ago,  Mr.  Finley  thoroughly  ex- 
plored  the   surface   in  that   section,   and   re- 
membering the  reference  to  the  buried  treas- 
ure,   found  the  place  where  every  indication 
showed   there   had   once  been   a  good   sized 
spring,  although  long  since  dried  up  by  the 
modern  drainage.     No  tree  remained,  but  he 
made   inquiries   of   the  oldest   settler   in   the 
neighborhood,  Edward  Campbell,  who,  when 
a  boy  of  seven,  came  with  his  father  in  1823, 
to  the  farm  on  which  the  spring  was  located. 
The  two  gentlemen  went  over  the  ground  to- 
gether, Mr.  Campbell  very  promptly  pointing 
out  the  location  of  the  spring — the  site  pre- 
viously selected  by  Mr.  Finley.    Mr.  Campbell 
stated  that  in  his  younger  days   the  spring 
furnished  a  constant  flow  of  water.    He  also 
stated  that  a  short  distance  from  the  spring, 
once  stood  a  large  oak  tree,  the  only  large 
tree  in  that  section.     It  stood  there  for  many 
years  after  his  arrival,  the  cattle  seeking  shel- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


549 


ter  beneath  its  broad  foliage  in  the  summer 
days  from  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun,  and 
finding  abundant  water  in  the  spring.  The 
spring  gradually  became  less  and  less,  and 
finally  dried  up,  and  the  tree,  with  its  ex- 
tensive roots,  interfering  with  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil,  was  cut  down.  Mr.  Finley  was 
in  search  of  an  Indian  village  and  not  of  hid- 
den treasure,  so  he  pursued  his  investigations 
no  further,  and  the  buried  treasure  is  still  there 
— somewhere. 

THE  BUCYRUS  MASTODON 

Among  the  many  interesting  historical  events 
which  have  occurred  in  Bucyrus  was  the  dis- 


near  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  old  fair- 
ground; then  extended  nearly  due  north  along 
the  east  side  of  the  Ohio  Central,  making  a 
slight  bend,  and  jDassing  east  of  the  round- 
house and  machine  shops ;  then  nearly  due  west 
to  S.  R.  Harris'  land;  then  northwest  through 
the  northeastern  corner  of  the  schoolhouse 
yard,  and,  after  continuing  in  the  same  direc- 
tion for  a  short  distance,  changed  to  nearly  due 
west,  crossing  Walnut  street,  near  the  present 
Frank  Johnston  residence;  crossing  Main 
street,  on  the  south  part  of  Dr.  Lewis'  lot; 
Poplar  street,  near  the  German  Lutheran 
church.  While  making  the  excavations  for 
this  mill-race,  the  skeleton  was  found  in  the 


SKELETON    OF    MASTODON 
Found  near  Bucyrus 


covery,  by  Abraham  Hahn,  of  the  perfect  skel- 
eton of  a  mastodon,  during  the  year  1838.  Mr. 
Hahn,  having  built  a  saw-mill  on  Buffalo  Run 
at  the  rear  of  the  lot  on  the  northwest  corner 
of  Warren  and  Poplar  streets,  conceived  the 
idea  of  constructing  a  mill-race  which  would 
furnish  sufficient  water-power  to  run  the  es- 
tablishment, and  this  water-course  was  finished 
by  a  considerable  outlay  of  time  and  money. 
The  source  of  this  race  was  the  swamps  in  Col. 
Zalmon  Rowse's  fields,  later  owned  by  Wil- 
liam Monnett,  and  the  line  it  followed  to  the 
mill  would  be,  at  the  present  time,  about  the 
following  route:     It  crossed  the  Galion  road 


swamp,  just  east  of  the  present  site  of  the 
Ohio  Central  shops.  This  land  for  many  years 
afterward  was  very  low  and  swampy;  a  con- 
siderable portion  in  this  immediate  neigh- 
borhood was  covered  by  Mr.  Hahn's  mill- 
pond.  A  full  account  of  this  discovery  was 
printed  in  the  Crawford  Republican  extra,  of 
Augu.st  14,  1838. 

Bucyrus,  August  14,  1838. 
Mr.  Abraham  Hahn,  while  engaged  with  his 
work  hands  in  excavating  a  mill-race,  about 
three-fourths  of  a  mile  east  of  Bucyrus,  on 
yesterday,  at  a  distance  of  from  five  to  seven 
feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  discov- 


550 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ered  the  skeleton  of  a  mastodon,  in  a  reclined 
position.  The  history  of  this  genus  of  animals 
is  involved  in  «iystery.  Xo  tradition  or  human 
record  ftirnishes  evidence  of  its  existence  at 
any  period.  But  that  it  once  lived  and  walked 
upon  the  earth,  the  prince  of  the  quadruped 
kingdom,  is  abundantly  proven  by  the  numer- 
ous and  almost  entire  specimens  of  its  organic 
remains,  that  have  been  discovered  in  various 
parts  of  Xorth  America;  and  which  have  ex- 
cited the  wonder  and  astonishment  of  the  nat- 
uralist and  antiquarian.  From  the  peculiar 
structure,  and  the  immense  size  of  its  bones,  it 
must  have  been  an  animal  far  exceeding  in 
size  and  strength  any  species  of  the  quadruped 
races  now  in  existence.  The  place  where  the 
skeleton  was  found  is  very  near  the  dividing 
ridge  between  the  northern  and  southern 
waters  of  the  state,  in  a  wet,  spongy  soil. 
The  bones,  so  far  as  discovered,  are  in  a  fine 
state  of  preservation.  The  upper  jaw  and  skull 
are  perfect  in  all  their  parts,  as  formed  by 
nature.  The  under  jaw  was  accidentally  di- 
vided in  removing  it  from  the  earth.  This  is 
the  only  instance  in  which  the  skull  of  the 
mastodon  has  been  found  in  a  state  of  pres- 
ervation; and  it  furnishes  the  only  specimen 
from  which  correct  ideas  can  be  obtained  re- 
specting that  massive  and  singularly  shaped 
organ. 

Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  rank  this 
monster  held  among  the  beasts  of  the  forest, 
when  clothed  with  skin  and  flesh,  and  nerved 
with  life,  from  the  following  dimensions  ot 
some  portions  of  it,  which  have  been  rescued 
from  oblivion : 

The  Skull  and  Upper  Jaw 

Horizontal  length 39        inches 

Length    following   curvature    of 

skull = 42^ 

Breadth  across  the  eyes 26^ 


Breadth  back  of  head. 


251/3 


nches 
nches 
nches 
nches 
nches 
nches 


Vertical  height 22 

Height  occipital  bone 16 

Diameter  of  both  nostrils ii>4 

Diameter  of  each  measuring  the 

other  way   5        inches 

Diameter  of  tusk  sockets . .  5  J4  to     6        inches 

Depth  of  tusk  sockets 22        inches 

Diameter  of  eye  sockets 6        inches 

M^eight  of  skull  and  upper  jaw.  .  160      pounds 


The  Under  Jaw 
Horizontal  length  following  out- 
side curvature 31^    inches 

Height  to  junction   with  upper 

jaw    i6y2    inche,s 

Weight 69      pounds 

Front  molars,  apart 6%    inches 

Back  molars,  apart 5^    inches 

Length  of  back  molar 714    inches 

Breadth  of  back  molar .'     4        inches 

Length  of  front  molar 41/$    inches 

*.  Femur  or  Thigh  Bone 

Length  . 37    inches 

Largest  circumference 30    inches 

Smallest  circumference   15^4    inches 

Tibia 
(Largest  Bone  Between  Thigh  and  Hoof) 

Length 22^^    inches 

Largest  circumference 24^4    inches 

Smallest  circumference 11        inches 

Fibula 
(Smaller  Bone  Between  Thigh  and  Hoof) 

Length 203^    inches 

Largest  circumference i2j^    inches 

Smallest  circumference     4^    inches 

Humerus  (Bone  from  Shoulder  to  Knee) 

Length 30        inches 

Largest  circumference 34)^    inches 

Smallest  circumference 14}^    inches 

Rib 

Length  of  outer  curve 43/^2    inches 

Smallest  circumference 5)4    inches 

Hahn  soon  found  the  enterprise  in  which  he 
had  become  involved  would  not  be  a  financial 
success,  and  after  several  years  the  business 
was  abandoned.  \\'hen  the  town  was  extended 
and  improved  toward  the  southeast,  the  mill- 
pond  was  drained  and  the  water-course  grad- 
ually filled  up  with  earth,  but  years  after  in 
making  exca\'ations  for  sewers  and  cellars,  the 
remains  of  this  race  have  frequently  been 
found.  At  first  Mr.  Hahn  exhibited  the  bones 
of  this  mastodon,  but  finally  sold  them,  and  the 
proceeds  derived  from  the  same  served  to  pay 
him  for  the  immense  financial  outlay  he  had 
made  in  building  the  race.  He  died  at  Mt. 
Gilead,  Ohio,  January  19,  1867,  and  in  his 
obituary  notice  the  following  was  published  in 
regard  to  the  latter  history  of  the  skeleton: 
"He  afterward  sold  the  mastodon  to  a  man 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


551 


in  Columbus  for  $i,ooo,  and  it  was  again  re- 
sold to  a  Cincinnati  man  for  $2,800 ;  was  after- 
ward taken  to  New  York  and  put  in  Barnum's 
museum,  and  was  consumed  by  the  fire  which 
destroyed  Barnum's  Museum  on  lower  Broad- 
way half  a  century  ago. 

''johnny  appleseed" 

A  history  of  Crawford  county — in  fact  the 
history  of  many  another  county  in  northern 
Ohio — would  be  incomplete  without  mention 
of  the  eccentric  personage  known  far  and  wide 
in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century  by  the 
name  of  "Johnny  Appleseed."  His  real  name 
was  John  Chapman,  and  he  was  born  in  Spring- 
field, Mass.,  in  the  year  1775.  From  a  half 
sister  of  his,  who  came  west  at  a  later  period  it 
was  learned  that  in  boyhood  he  evinced  a  great 
fondness  for  nature,  and  used  to  wander  far 
from  home  in  quest  of  plants  and  flowers,  and 
that  he  liked  to  listen  to  the  birds  singing  and 
to  gaze  at  the  stars.  These  tastes  were  little, 
if  at  all,  altered  in  his  later  years. 

At  what  precise  time  he  started  out  on  his 
self-appointed  mission  has  not  been  definitely 
ascertained,  and  as  little  is  known  as  to  the 
causes  which  led  him  to  adopt  his  peculiar  vo- 
cation, Avhich  was  to  plant  appleseeds  in  well 
located  nurseries  in  advance  of  civilization, 
and  have  apple  trees  ready  for  planting  when 
the  pioneers  should  appear.  He  also  scattered 
through  the  forest  the  seeds  of  medicinal 
plants,  such  as  dog-fennel,  catnip,  pennyroyal, 
hoarhound,  rattlesnake  root,  and  the  like.  As 
early  as  the  year  1806  he  appeared  on  the  Ohio 
river  with  two  canoe  loads  of  appleseeds  ob- 
tained at  the  cider  presses  of  western  Penn- 
sylvania, and  with  these  he  planted  nurseries 
along  the  Muskingum  river  and  its  tributaries. 

His  first,  or  one  of  his  first  nurseries,  was 
planted  about  nine  miles  below  Steubenville, 
up  a  narrow  valley  from  the  Ohio  river,  at 
Brilliant  (formerly  called  LaGrange),  oppo- 
site Wellsburg,  W.  Va.  From  this  point  he 
subsequently  extended  his  operations  into  the 
interior  of  the  state.  For  a  number  of  years 
he  made  his  home  in  a  little  cabin  near  Perrys- 
ville  (then  in  Richland  county),  but  later  he 
went  to  live  with  his  half  sister,  Mrs.  Broome, 
who  resided  in  Mansfield.  He  usually  located 
his  nurseries  along  the  banks  of  streams  and, 
after  planting  his  seeds,  surrounded  the  patch 
with  a  brush  fence.     He  was  then  accustomed 


to  visit  them  yearly  to  care  for  the  young  trees 
and  repair  the  fences,  which  obliged  him  to 
travel  hundreds  of  miles  during  the  year. 
When  the  pioneers  subsequently  arrived  from 
Western  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  they 
found  the  little  nurseries  of  seedling  apple 
trees  on  many  of  the  streams  in  the  Ohio  Val- 
ley. He  extended  his  operations  into  north- 
western Ohio,  and  finally  into  Indiana,  where 
the  last  years  of  his  life  were  spent. 

His  apple  trees  were  nearly  all  planted  near 
the  banks  of  the  streams;  one  of  his  orchards 
was  along  the  Whetstone  where  Gallon  now  is ; 
on  the  Sandusky  there  were  some  trees  planted 
by  him  near  the  Luke  tavern;  at  Bucyrus,  an 
orchard  was  where  the  home  of  Gen.  Finley 
now  is,  and  this  orchard  was  bearing  fruit 
when  Samuel  Norton  came  or  soon  after,  as 
Norton  brought  seed  with  him  and  planted  an 
orchard  himself  on  the  south  bank  of  the  San- 
dusky and  stated  that  he  secured  apples  from 
the  orchard  across  the  river.  One  of  the  trees 
is-  still  bearing  fruit.  There  was  a  spring  in 
front  of  the  Finley  residence,  but  across  the 
street  in  front  of  what  is  now  the  Memorial 
Hospital  was  a  larger  spring,  which  was  a  fa- 
vorite resort  of  Johnny  Appleseed  when  he 
went  through  this  section.  Here  he  would  lay 
on  his  back  in  the  grass,  under  the  shade  of  the 
trees,  and  with  his  bare  feet  in  the  air  talk  re- 
ligion to  any  from  Bucyrus  who  from  curios- 
ity crossed  the  river  to  see  the  eccentric  char- 
acter. Another  apple  orchard  planted  by  him 
was  down  the  river.  On  the  Daniel  McMichael 
farm  on  the  river  above  Bucyrus,  is  an  apple 
tree  which  was  planted  by  Johnny  Appleseed 
in  182 1.  The  tree  is  now  91  years  old.  The 
eccentric  character  came  along  and  put  up  at 
the  log  cabin,  sleeping  on  the  floor  in  front  of 
the  fire-place,  his  regular  sleeping  place.  The 
next  morning  he  and  Margaret  Anderson 
planted  the  tree.  She  was  a  daughter  of  John 
Anderson,  and  later  married  David  Mc- 
Michael, the  father  of  Daniel  L.  McMichael. 
Margaret  Anderson  was  only  a  little  girl  at  the 
time  of  the  planting. 

One  who  saw  Johnny  Appleseed  at  Mans- 
field thus  describes  his  appearance : 

"John  Chapman  was  a  small  man,  wiry  and 
thin  in  habit.  His  cheeks  were  hollow  and  his 
face  and  neck  dark  and  skinny  from  exposure 
to  the  weather.  His  mouth  was  small;  his 
nose  small,  and  turned  up  so  much  as  appar- 


DOZ 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ently  to  raise  his  upper  lip.  His  eyes  were  dark 
and  deeply  set  in  his  head,  but  searching  and 
penetrating.  His  hair  black  and  straight,  \vas 
parted  in  the  middle  and  permitted  to  fall 
about  his  neck.  His  hair,  withal,  was  thin, 
fine  and  glossy.  He  never  wore  a  full  beard 
but  shaved  all  clean,  except  a  thin  roach  at  the 
bottom  of  his  throat.  His  beard  was  lightly 
set  and  very  black." 

Chapman's  nature  was  deeply  religious.  He 
was  a  regularly  constituted  minister  of  the 
Church  of  the  Xew  Jerusalem,  according  to 
the  revelations  of  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  and 
was  also  a  missionary  of  that  faith.  He  was 
a  beautiful  reader  and  never  traveled  without 
several  of  the  Swedenborgian  pamphlets  with 
him,  which  he  generally  carried  in  his  bosom, 
and  which  he  was  ever  ready  to  produce  and 
read  on  request.  He  never  attempted  to  preach 
or  address  public  audiences,  but  in  private 
consultations  would  often  become  enthusiastic 
and  arise  to  expound  the  philosophy  of  his 
faith.  On  these  occasions,  as  though  inspired, 
he  would  often  soar  to  flights  of  real  eloquence, 
his  ideas  being  clearly  and  forcibly  expressed, 
illustrated  with  chaste  figures,  and  replete  \\  itli 
argumentative  deductions. 

His  life  was  blameless  among  his  fellow 
men.  He  was  of  a  kind  and  generous  dispo- 
sition, and  polite  and  attentive  in  manner.  So 
gentle  was  his  nature  that  he  was  ne\'er  known 
to  kill  any  living  thing,  ever  for  food.  He  is 
said,  on  one  occasion  to  have  put  out  his  camp- 
fire,  because  he  noticed  that  the  flies  and  moths, 
attracted  by  the  blaze,  fell  into  it  and  were  con- 
sumed. He  was  known  to  pay  the  full  value 
for  old  horses,  take  them  from  the  harness, 
and,  with  a  blessing,  turn  them  loose  to  the 
luxurious  pastures  of  the  wilderness,  to  be- 
come their  own  masters.  This  almost  abnor- 
mal tenderness  was  indeed  a  leading  trait  in 
his  character.  He  seemed  to  bear  a  charmed 
life.  Savage  beasts  never  hurt  him,  nor  did 
the  still  more  savage  Indian  warrior.  By  the 
latter  he  was  regarded  as  a  great  INIedicine 
Alan,  to  injure  whom  would  bring  misfortune 
on  the  tribe,  or  individual,  guilty  of  the  of- 
fense. 

When  on  his  journeys  he  usually  camped 
out.  He  carried  a  kit  of  cooking  utensils  with 
him,  among  which  was  a  mush-pan,  which  he 
sometimes  wore  as  a  hat.  \\^hen  he  spent  the 
night  at  a  house,  it  was  his  custom  to  lie  upon 


the  floor,  with  his  kit  for  a  pillow.  He  de- 
clined to  lie  in  a  soft  bed,  as,  being  naturally, 
he  claimed,  of  an  indolent  disposition,  he 
feared  that  such  self-indulgence  might  beget  a 
desire  which  he  could  not  hope  often  to  gratify 
in  his  wandering  mode  of  life.  As  an  illustra- 
tion of  his  natural  indolence,  it  is  said  that  he 
was  once  seen  working  in  his  nursery  near 
Mansfield,  and  that,  lying  on  his  side,  he 
reached  out  with  his  hoe  and  extirpated  only 
such  weeds  as  were  within  reach. 

He  was  never  without  money,  which  he  ob- 
tained from  the  sale  of  his  trees,  his  usual 
price  for  a  tree  being  a  "fip-penny  bit,"  but  if 
the  settler  hadn't  money,  Johnny  would  either 
give  him  credit  or  accept  old  clothes  in  pay- 
ment. Yet,  though  he,  himself,  cared  nothing 
for  luxuries,  and  nothing  for  the  ordinary 
comforts  of  life,  he  would  often  spend  his 
money  freely  to  benefit  others.  Frequently  he 
would  furnish  the  housewives  with  a  pound  or 
two  of  tea — a  high-priced  luxury  at  that  time, 
and  the  use  of  which  he  regarded  almost  as  a 
sort  of  dissipation.  On  one  occasion  he  was 
seen  with  a  number  of  plates,  which  he  had  pur- 
chased at  a  village  store.  Being  asked  what 
he  wanted  them  for,  he  replied  that  if  he  had  a 
number  he  would  not  have  to  wash  dishes  so 
often;  but  he  had  really  purchased  them  to 
present  to  a  poor  family  who  had  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  break  their  crockery. 

He  was  often  oddly  dressed  and  sometimes 
clothed  in  rags  and  tatters,  yet  was  always  per- 
sonally clean.  He  seldom  wore  shoes  or  stock- 
ings, except  in  the  coldest  winter  weather,  and 
the  soles  of  his  feet  in  consequence,  were  of  a 
hard  and  almost  homy  consistence.  He  usu- 
ally wore  a  broad-brimmed  hat.  Some  have 
said  that  at  times  he  was  seen  clothed  with  a 
coat  or  garment  made  out  of  a  coffee-sack, 
with  holes  cut  in  it  for  the  neck  and  arms,  but 
this  story  has  been  doubted  by  others.  -It 
seems  clear  that,  if  he  ever  wore  it,  it  was  not 
his  usual  dress.  He  was,  however,  frequently 
seen  with  shirt,  pantaloons,  and  a  long-tailed 
coat  of  the  tow-linen  then  much  worn  by  the 
farmers.  This  coat  was  an  invention  of  his 
own  and  was  in  itself  a  curiosity.  It  con- 
sisted of  one  width  of  the  coarse  fabric,  which 
descended  from  his  neck  to  his  heels.  It  was 
without  collar.  In  this  robe  were  cut  two  arm- 
holes,  into  which  were  placed  two  straight 
sleeves. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


553 


His  immunity  from  molestation  by  the  In- 
dians enabled  him  on  more  than  one  occasion 
to  warn  settlers  of  impending  Indian  attacks, 
his  services  in  this  direction  saving  a  number 
of  lives  during  the  war  of  1812.  On  one  such 
occasion,  when  the  settlers  at  Mansfield  were 
threatened,  there  being  no  troops  in  the  block- 
house at  the  time,  Johnny  volunteered  to  act  as 
messenger  to  Captain  Douglas  at  Mt.  Vernon, 
thirty  miles  away.  Setting  out  in  the  evening, 
as  the  stars  were  beginning  to  shine  in  the 
darkening  sky,  bare-headed  and  bare-footed, 
he  made  the  trip,  over  a  newly-cut  road, 
through  a  forest  infested  by  wild  beasts  and 
hostile  Indians,  and,  having  aroused  the  gar- 
rison at  Mt.  Vernon,  accompanied  the  troops 
back  the  next  morning,  having  made  the  round 
trip  of  60  miles  between  sunset  and  sunrise. 
One  writing  about  30  years  ago  of  the  massacre 
of  the  Seymour  family,  on  the  Black  Fork, 
near  Mansfield,  penned  the  following  lines : 
"Although  I  was  then  but  a  mere  child,  I  can 
remember,  as  if  it  were  yesterday,  the  warning 
cry  of  Johnny  Appleseed,  as  he  stood  before 
my  father's  log  cabin  door  on  that  night.  I 
remember  the  precise  language,  the  clear  loud 
voice,  the  deliberate  exclamation,  and  the  fear- 
ful thrill  it  awakened  in  my  bosom.  'Fly!  fly 
for  your  lives !  the  Indians  are  murdering  and 
scalping  Seymours  and  Copuses  !*  My  father 
sprang  to  the  door,  but  the  messenger  was  gone, 
and  midnight  silence  reigned  without." 

Johnny's  intellectual  acuteness  in  matters  of 
religion,  and  his  acquaintance  with  the  scrip- 
tures is  well  illustrated  in  the  following  anec- 
dote : 

"The  year  of  the  erecton  of  the  old  court 
house  in  Mansfield,  while  the  blocks  of  foun- 
dation stone  and  the  timber  lay  scattered  about 
the  public  square,  a  wandering  street  preacher 
of  the  name  of  Paine,  a  man  with  a  long  white 
beard,  who  called  himself  'the  Pilgrim,'  en- 
tered the  town.  After  blowing  a  long  tin  horn, 
which  he  carried  with  him,  he  assembled  an 
audience  on  the  stone  and  timbers  of  the  court 
house.  In  the  course  of  his  sermon  he  pointed 
to  where  Johnny  Appleseed  lay  on  the  ground, 
with  his  feet  resting  upon  the  top  of  one  of 
the  stones,  and  exclaimed:  'See  yon  ragged, 
old,  bare-footed  sinner,  and  be  warned  of  the 
paths  of  sin  by  his  example.'  Johnny  rose  to 
his  feet,  folded  his  hands  behind  him,  under 


his  tow-linen  coat,  and  slowly  approached  the 
speaker.  As  the  speaker  paused  a  space 
Johnny  commenced  in  this  wise:  'I  presume 
you  thank  God  that  you  are  not  as  other  men  ?' 
'I  thank  God  that  I  am  not  as  you  are,'  returned 
Paine.  'I  am  not  a  hypocrite,  nor  am  I  of  the 
generation  of  vipers.  I  am  a  regularly  ap- 
pointed minister,  whether  you  are  or  not.' 
'Lord  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sinner,'  said  Chap- 
man, and  walked  away." 

"In  1838,  thirty-seven  years  after  his  ap- 
pearance on  Licking  Creek,"  says  a  former 
writer,  "Johnny  noticed  that  civilization, 
wealth  and  population  were  pressing  into  the 
wilderness  of  Ohio.  Hitherto  he  had  easily 
kept  just  in  advance  of  the  wave  of  settlement; 
but  now  towns  and  churches  were  making  their 
appearance,  and,  at  long  intervals,  the  stage- 
driver's  horn  broke  the  silence  of  the  grand  old 
forest,  and  he  felt  that  his  work  was  done  in 
the  region  in  which  he  had  labored  so  long. 
In  1840  he  resided  near  Fort  Wayne,  in  the 
state  of  Indiana,  where  he  had  a  sister  living, 
and  probably  made  that  his  headquarters  dur- 
ing the  nine  years  that  he  pursued  his  eccen- 
tric avocation  on  the  western  border  of  Ohio 
and  in  Indiana."  Here  he  resided  until  the 
summer  of  1847,  his  labors  by  that  time  having 
borne  fruit  over  a  hundred  thousand  miles  of 
territory.  One  day  he  heard  that  cattle  had 
broken  into  his  nursery  at  St.  Joseph's  town- 
ship, and  were  destroying  his  trees,  and  he 
started  out  on  foot  to  look  after  his  property. 
The  journey  proved  too  much  for  one  of  his 
age  and  feeble  condition,  and  at  even-tide  he 
applied  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Worth  for  lodging 
for  the  night.  Mr.  Worth  was  a  native  Buck- 
eye and  had  lived  in  Richland  county  when  a 
boy,  and  when  he  heard  that  his  oddly  dressed 
caller  was  Johnny  Appleseed,  gave  him  a  cor- 
dial welcome.  Johnny  declined  going  to  the 
supper  table,  but  partook  of  a  bowl  of  bread 
and  milk. 

Says  Mr.  Baughman,  from  whose  "History 
of  Richland  County"  we  quote,  "The  day  had 
been  cold  and  raw,  with  occasional  flurries  of 
snow,  but  in  the  evening  the  clouds  cleared 
away  and  the  sun  shone  warm  and  bright  as 
it  sank  in  the  western  sky.  Johnny  noticed  this 
beautiful  sunset,  an  augury  of  the  spring  and 
flowers  so  soon  to  come,  and  sat  on  the  door- 
step and  gazed  with  wistful  eyes  toward  the 


554 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


West.  Perhaps  this  herald  of  the  spring-time, 
the  season  in  \\hich  nature  is  resurrected  from 
the  death  of  winter,  caused  him  to  look  with 
prophetic  eyes  to  the  future  and  contemplate 
that  glorious  event  of  which  Christ  is  the  res- 
urrection and  the  life.  Upon  re-entering  the 
house  Johnny  declined  the  bed  offered  him  for 
the  night,  preferring  a  quilt  and  pillow  on  the. 
floor,  but  asked  permission  to  hold  family  wor- 
ship, and  read  'Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit, 
for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,'  'Blessed 
are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God,'  " 
etc. 

After  he  had  finished  the  lesson  he  prayed, 
and  both  the  words  of  the  prayer  and  the 
pathos  of  his  voice  made  a  deep  impression 
upon  those  present.  In  the  morning  he  was 
found  in  a  high  state  of  fever,  pneumonia  hav- 
ing developed  during  the  night.  A  physician 
who  was  called  gave  no  hope  for  his  recovery, 
but  said  that  he  had  never  seen  a  dying  man 
so  perfectly  calm,  for  "upon  his  wan  face  there 
was  an  expression  of  happiness  and  upon  his 
pale  lips  there  was  a  smile  of  joy,  as  though 
he  were  communing  with  loved  ones  who  had 
come  to  meet  him  and  to  soothe  his  weary 
spirit  in  his  dying  moments.  And  as  his  eye 
shone  with  the  beautiful  light  supernal,  God 
touched  him  with  his  finger  and  beckoned  him 
home." 

In  the  Sherman-Heineman  park  at  IMans- 
field,  Ohio,  there  stands  a  monument  to  his 
memory,  which  was  dedicated  in  November, 
1900,  and  which  bears  a  simple  and  appro- 
priate inscription;  yet  his  best  and  most  en- 
during monument  lies  in  the  memory  of  his 
kind  and  lovable  character,  his  simple  faith, 
his  pure  and  blameless  life,  and  the  useful  work 
he  accomplished  for  the  good  of  his  fellow- 
men. 

THE  BAD  IXDIAXS 

Benjamin  Sharrock  thus  describes  one  of  the 
"bad  Indians,"  and  his  ultimate  death,  probably 
the  last  one  killed  by  a  settler  in  this  county: 

"About  the  year  182 1  or  1822,  there  were 
several  Indians  who  frequently  camped  and 
hunted  on  the  waters  of  the  west  and  middle 
forks  of  the  Whetstone,  to-wit :  Capt.  Dowdee, 
his  son  Tom,  and  Capt.  Dowdee's  son-in-law. 
Nickels,  the  bad  Indian,  the  subject  of  this 
narrative.     He  was  regarded  as  a  dangerous 


man  among  his  own  companions.  He  had  be- 
come embittered  against  Benjamin  Sharrock, 
his  brother  Everard  Sharrock,  and  Jacob 
Stateler,  who  had  three  sons,  Andrew,  James 
and  John  (the  two  latter  were  twins). 

The  Dowdees  had  frequently  shared  the  hos- 
pitalities of.  our  cabin,  and  we  regarded  them 
as  peaceful  and  well-disposed  citizens. 

'Sir.  Sharrock  says:  "This  Indian,  Nickels, 
had  been  skulking  around  and  watching  my 
house,  trying  to  get  a  chance  to  shoot  me.  I 
have'seen  him  dodge  from  tree  to  tree  when 
trying  to  get  a  shot  at  me.  He  also  made 
threats  of  killing  my  stock.  About  this  time, 
he  and  the  two  Dowdees  were  camped  on  the 
boundary  north  of  where  Iberia  now  is.  Mr. 
Catrell,  my  brother  and  myself  held  a  consul- 
tation, whereupon  we  resolved  that  this  state 
of  things  should  no  longer  be  tolerated,  and 
the  next  morning  was  the  time  agreed  upon  to 
bring  this  matter  to  a  test.  They  were  to  be 
at  my  house  fully  armed  for  any  emergency. 
They  were  promptly  on  time,  and  as  Catrell 
had  no  gun  he  took  my  tomaha^^•k,  sheath- 
knife,  etc. 

"In  this  plight,  we  went  directly  to  their 
camp,  called  Tom  Dowdee  out,  and  ordered 
him  to  take  those  coon-skins  out  of  their 
frames.  (They  are  stretched  in  frames  to  keep 
them  dry  and  in  shape. )  Wt  next  went  to  the 
tent  of  Tom's  father,  old  Capt.  Dowdee,  told 
him  how  Nickels  had  been  watching  my  house, 
and  that  he  threatened  to  kill  me  and  my  stock. 
I  told  him  to  call  Nickels  out,  but  he  would 
not  leave  his  hut.  We  told  them  we  would  not 
endure  such  treatment  any  longer,  and  that 
we  had  come  to  settle  it  right  then  and  there, 
and  were  ready  to  fight  it  out.  The  Dowdees 
seemed  to  be  peaceably  inclined,  and  as  Nickels 
did  not  show  himself  the  matter  was  dropped 
for  a  short  time.  Some  time  after  this,  as  I 
was  returning  from  AA'^ooster,  where  I  had  been 
to  enter  a  piece  of  land,  I  saw  quite  a  number 
of  moccasin  tracks  in  the  snow  near  Hosfords. 
I  thought  there  would  be  trouble,  as  it  ap- 
peared from  the  tracks  that  there  were  about 
thirty  persons,  and  by  the  way  they  had  tum- 
bled about,  concluded  they  were  on  a  big  drunk. 
I  followed  the  tracks  from  Hosford's  down  the 
road  leading  to  our  cabin.  They  had  not  pro- 
ceeded far  before  they  left  their  tracks  in  the 
snow   somewhat   besprinkled   with   blood.     I 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


555 


afterward  learned  that  Tom  Dowdee  had 
stabbed  another  Indian,  inflicting  two  danger- 
ous wounds.  They  were  camped  north  of  my 
house  on  the  land  now  owned  by  James  Dun- 
lap.  The  excitement  among  the  settlers  now 
became  intense,  and  soon  a  number  of  us  re- 
paired to  their  camp  but  we  had  not  been  there 
long  before  Tom  Dowdee  rushed  upon  me  and 
grasped  me  by  the  collar  perhaps  intending  to 
retaliate  for  the  visit  we  had  made  to  their 
camp  a  few  days  before.  I  was  not  slow  in 
returning  the  compliment  by  taking  him  by 
the  throat,  and  my  arms  being  the  longest,  I 
could  easily  hold  him  at  bay.  At  this  moment 
we  saw  an  Indian  boy  loading  a  gun.  I  told 
Dowdee  several  times  to  let  me  alone,  but  he 
still  persisted  in  fighting  me.  I  then  attempted 
to  give  him  a  severe  thrust  with  my  gun  bar- 
rel; he  sprang  and  grasped  the  gun  which  the 
boy  had  just  loaded,  when  several  of  the 
squaws  also  grasped  it  to  prevent  him  from 
shooting  me.  All  this  time  I  kept  my  rifle 
up  with  a  steady  aim  upon  the  Indian,  ready 
to  fire  before  he  should  be  able  to  fire  at  me. 
At  this  crisis  Joel  Leverick*  interfered,  and 
the  Indians  allowed  him  to  take  possession  of 
the  gun,  so  the  quarrel  was  then  settled  without 
bloodshed.  But  what  grieves  me  to  this  day  is 
that  Bashford  and  Leverick  both  knew  that 
my  rifle  was  not  primed  all  the  time  and  I  was 
aiming  it  at  the  Indian,  and  they  did  not  tell 
me.  The  next  day  I  was  out  in  the  woods  with 
my  gun,  and  came  upon  Dowdee  before  he  dis- 
covered me.  He  had  no  gun  with  him,  and  he 
begged  and  implored  me  not  to  kill  him,  prom- 
ising over  and  over  that  if  I  would  not  he 
would  never  molest  me,  but  would  be  my  fast 
friend  as  long  as  he  lived.  I  gladly  agreed  to 
his  proposal,  and  to  his  credit  be  it  said,  I  never 
saw  him  after  that  time  but  that  he  met  me 
with  the  kindest  greetings. 

"About  the  same  time  some  of  the  Indians 
told  Stateler,  'Nickels  bad  Indian;  by  and  by 
he  go  to  Stony  Creek;  before  he  go  he  kill 
Stateler  and  two  Sharrocks,  and  we  'fraid  that 
big  fight.  We  want  white  man  to  kill  Nickels, 
then  we  say  Nickels  gone  to  Stony  Creek" 

"We  never  saw  Nickels  after  about  that  time, 
but  did  not  know  at  what  moment  he  would 
come  down  upon  us.    I  often  asked  the  Indians 

*  Leveridge. 


whether  they  knew  where  Nickels  was,  and 
they  usually  replied  that  he  had  gone  to  Stony 
Creek.  We  had  often  seen  a  gun  in  the  set- 
tlement, first  owned  by  one,  then  by  another, 
that  I  believed  was  Nickels'  gun.  Jake  State- 
ler often  stayed  with  us  several  weeks  at  a  time, 
and  many  times  when  he  spoke  about  those  In- 
dians, Jake  would  say,  'Nickels  will  never  do 
you  any  harm,  but  made  no  further  disclo- 
sures till  a  long  time  afterward ;  when  the  sub- 
ject came  up,  he  said : 

"Ben,  Nickels  will  never  hurt  you  nor  your 
brother." 

"How  do  you  know,  Uncle  Jake?" 

"I  know  very  well  how  I  know,  Uncle  Ben. 
Did  you  never  know  what  became  of  Nickels  ?" 

"No,  Jake,  I  never  knew  what  became  of 
him  any  more  than  what  the  Indians  told  me, 
that  he  had  gone  to  Stony  Creek." 

"I  thought  my  boys  had  told  you  long  ago, 
as  they  always  thought  so  much  of  you.  I  will 
then  tell  you  what  I  know  of  what  became  of 
Nickels.  After  he  was  about  ready  to  start  for 
Stony  Creek,  he  had  only  one  more  job  to  do 
before  he  could  leave  Pipetown,  and  that  was 
to  kill  Stateler,  and  you  and  your  brother,  if 
possible.  No  sooner  had  Nickels  left  Pipetown 
than  the  Indians  sent  another  Indian  by  a  dif- 
ferent route  to  give  us  notice  of  his  coming, 
and  of  his  intentions,  desiring  us  to  kill  him 
and  they  would  say  he  had  gone  to  Stony 
Creek.  The  messenger  arrived  in  time  and  de- 
parted. I  loaded  my  rifle,  put  it  in  good  order, 
and  went  up  to  Coss'  cabin  to  watch  the  Pipe- 
town  trail,  on  which  I  expected  him  to  come.  I 
did  not  wait  long  before  I  saw  him  coming,  and 
stepping  behind  a  tree,  closely  watched  his 
movements.  After  he  had  come  within  easy 
range  of  my  rifle,  he  stopped  and  commenced 
looking  all  around,  which  enabled  me  to  take 
a  steady  aim  at  him :  I  fired,  and  he  sprang  sev- 
eral feet  from  the  ground  with  a  terrific 
scream  and  fell  dead,  and  that  was  the  last  of 
'Bad  Indian.'  We  took  his  gun,  shot-pouch, 
tomahawk,  butcher-knife,  etc.,  and  laid  them 
by  a  log,  and  buried  him  under  the  roots  of  a 
large  tree  that  had  blown  near  the  foot  of  the 
blufif  bank  of  the  Whetstone,  nearly  opposite 
the  old  Coss  cabin.  Now,  Uncle  Ben,  that  is 
the  reason  why  I  know  Nickels  will  never  do 
you  or  me  or  your  brother  any  harm." 


556 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


POPULATION  FROM  1850  TO  1910  184S,  the  population  at  each  succeeding  census 

Since   the  present   county   was    formed   in  has  been  as  follows : 

1850  i860      1870      1880       1890      1900       1910 

Auburn    951  1,072        910     1,176      1,244     i,i74     1,161 

Bucyrus   2,315  3,543     4,184     5,073     6,988     7,587     9,032 

Chatfield    1,351  1,430     1,247      1,266     1,201      1,304     1,129 

Cranberry    1,042  i,339      1,281      1,824     1,662     1,819      1,819 

Dallas    406  406        370        500        430        465        469 

Holmes    1,238  1,639     i,57o     1,660     1,423     1,500     1,233 

Jackson    1,711  3,290     4,021     3,216     3,248     3,670     4,236 

Jefferson    ^ 1,224     1,009        9^3        802 

Liberty 1,782  1,788     1,597     1,679     i,59i      1,566     1,342 

Lykens 1,185  1,265      1,140      1,225      1,058        930        883 

Polk 1,318  2,911      4,369     6,518     7,200     8,433     8,019 

Sandusky 822  792         665         658        615         569        510 

Texas 545  566        566        587        539        516        476 

Tod    578  1,093      1,156     1,099        974        882        774 

Vernon      1,276  1,224        980      1,038        952         926        722 

Whetstone 1,657  1,524      1,490      1,840      1,793      1,661      1,429 

18,177  23,881   25,556  30,583   31,927   33,915    34,036 

Bucyrus      1,365  2,180     3,066     3,835      5,974     6,560     8,122 

Galion    421  1,966     3,523     5,635     6,326     7,282      7,214 

Crestline    1,487     2,279     2,848     2,911     3,282     3,807 

New  Washington  76  221         273         675         704        824        889 

Tiro 293         321 

Chatfield    ' 52  106        198        216        326        298        270 

North  Robinson 157        182        257        200        155 

Leesville    I97  235         320        213        203         178         115 

THE  HERMITS  of  the  European  armies,  possibly  in  that  of 
The  Crawford  County  History  of  1880  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  His  language  and  man- 
contains  the  following  account  of  two  hermits  ners  indicated  that  he  was  familiar  with  mili- 
in  Auburn  township :  tary  tactics,  and  his  inabilty  to  speak  English 
"Among  the  early  residents  of  the  township  proved  that  he  had  not  resided  long  in  America, 
were  two  singular  old  bachelors  named  Var-  Although  he  lived  in  poverty  and  went  dressed 
nica  and  Wadsworth.  They  were  hermits  and  in  insufficient  and  even  ragged  clothing,  he 
lived  lonely  and  solitary  lives,  in  rude  caves  seemed  to  have  an  abundance  of  money,  which 
dug  by  themselves  in  the  side  of  embankments,  he  kept  hid  in  out-of-the-way  places.  He  en- 
the  roof  being  supported  by  upright  posts,  tered  a  quarter-section  of  land,  upon  which  he 
standing  at  intervals  within  the  caves.  People  resided  until  his  death.  But  little  money  was 
called  them  crazy,  and  the  eccentricity  of  the  found  after  this  event,  until  a  will  was  found 
two  gave  abundant  credence  to  the  report,  among  his  papers,  bequeathing  his  land,  and  a 
They  shunned  all  associates  except  their  faith-  few  hundred  dollars  in  money,  to  a  young  man 
ful  dogs,  and  were  never  seen  in  the  neighbor-  named  James  W^ilson,  with  whom  he  had 
ing  settlements,  unless  they  were  there  for  sup-  lived  at  the  time  of  his  death.  The  secret  of 
plies  or  to  dispose  of  provisions.  Varnica  was  this  strange  man's  life  was  buried  with  him. 
a  German  and  could  handle  the  glib  idioms  of  He  was  always  silent  and  melancholy,  and 
his  native  language  with  a  grace  and  fluency  seemed  to  have  a  deep-rooted  sorrow  preying 
that  proved  his  education  to  be  of  unusual  ex-  upon  his  mind,  robbing  it  of  joys  that  make  life 
cellence.  It  became  current,  and  was  univers-  endurable.  By  the  provisions  of  the  will  James 
ally  believed,  that  he  had  been  an  officer  in  one  Wilson  was  made  executor,  and  was  enjoined 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


557 


to  distribute  the  balance  of  the  money  among 
poor  and  friendless  females.  This  provision 
was  a  surprise  to  some,  who  had  noticed  that 
Varnica  shunned  the  opposite  sex  as  he  would 
the  plagues  of  Egy^Dt,  his  conduct  giving  rise 
to  the  report  that  his  life  had  been  blighted  by 
a  woman.  The  will  disclosed  the  hiding-place 
of  $2,000  in  gold,  which  had  been  concealed  in 
a  gate-post,  into  which  a  hole  had  been  bored 
and  the  gold  dropped  in,  after  which  the  hole 
had  been  closed  with  a  pin  of  the  same  wood 
as  the  post .  He  died  in  1840,  and  Wilson  faith- 
fully executed  the  provisions  of  the  will. 
Wadsworth  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College, 
and  had  evidently  fitted  himself  for  the  min- 
isterial profession.  He  lived  in  a  cave  on  his 
land  and,  though  bent  almost  double  from  un- 
known circumstances,  was  possessed  of  enor- 
mous strength.  He  carried  his  melons,  pota- 
toes, and  other  provisions,  in  a  sack  on  his  back 
from  house  to  house,  or  to  some  of  the  sur- 
rounding villages.  He  was  a  recluse  and 
seemed  contented  only  when  he  could  brood 
without  molestation  over  .'his  (mysterious 
life.  He  had  rich  relatives  living  in  Boston, 
who  occasionally  visited  him  and  tried  to  in- 
duce him  to  abandon  his  life  of  poverty  and 
loneleiness,  but  to  no  avail.  A  happy  smile  was 
never  seen  upon  his  sad  face,  and  when  he  at 
last  died,  in  about  1838,  his  property  was 
claimed  by  his  Eastern  relatives." 

James  Wadsworth  came  to  Auburn  township 
in  18 1 7,  and  Andrew  Varnica  in  181 8.  Var- 
nica died  March  23,  1847,  and  left  two  execu- 
tors, both  of  whom  died  before  the  estate  was 
settled.  He  left  notes  and  money  amounting 
to  about  $4,000,  and  under  the  provisions  of 
the  will  his  executors  gave  sums  of  money  to 
over  a  hundred  people  who  were  deserving  and 
needy.  Both  men  were  buried  in  the  Hanna 
graveyard. 

AGRICULTURAL  FAIRS 

In  1846,  a  law  was  passed  authorizing  coun- 
ties to  make  donations  for  Agricultural  Fairs, 
and  in  1848  the  first  fair  was  held  in  Crawford 
county.  Among  those  who  organized  the  first 
society  were  the  first  officers,  and  Stephen 
Kelley,  Samuel  Caldwell,  Gen.  Samuel 
Myers,  Judge  R.  W.  Musgrave,  George  and 
William  Cummings,  William  Cox  and  Abel 
Dewalt.      The    first    officers    were    Col.    Zal- 


mon  Rowse,  president;  Jacob  Mollenkopf, 
vice  president;  J.  B.  Larwill,  secretary;  An- 
drew Failor,  treasurer.  The  first  fair  was  held 
in  the  Court  House  yard,  the  building  itself 
being  used  for  the  domestic  articles,  which 
were  few.  The  horses  and  cattle  were  tied  to 
the  fence;  and  there  were  not  many  of  them. 
There  were  some  sheep  and  hogs,  which  were 
shown  in  wagons  in  which  they  had  been  hauled 
in;  there  were  about  five  exhibits  of  sheep  and 
the  same  number  of  hogs.  The  Fair  was  held 
on  Oct.  19,  1848.  The  award  of  premiums 
was  published  in  the  People's  Forum,  of  March 
24,  1849,  five  months  after  the  fair  was  held. 
In  his  letter  asking  for  the  publication  of  the 
premiums  awarded,  the  secretary,  J.  B.  Larwill, 
writes  that  he  should  have  furnished  the  list 
earlier  but  he  was  prevented  by  other  engage- 
ments. He  states  further :  "I  was  confined  by 
sickness  at  the  time  of  the  fair,  and  therefore 
cannot  speak  from  personal  observation;  but 
have  understood  that  the  fair  was  much  more 
numerously  attended  than  was  expected,  ow- 
ing to  the  bad  state  of  the  roads,  the  unfa- 
vorableness  of  the  weather,  and  the  fact  that 
this  was  merely  an  experiment,  being  the  first 
held  in  the  county;  and  from  the  fact  that  but 
very  little  interest  has  heretofore  been  mani- 
fested by  the  farmers  and  others  in  relation  to 
the  affairs  of  the  society.  Those  who  were 
present  state  that,  although  but  few  articles 
were  presented,  and  in  several  cases  where  pre- 
miums were  awarded  there  was  no  competition. 
yet  there  was  much  spirit  manifested  by  those 
present,  in  reference  to  the  importance  of  such 
exhibitions  and  a  determination  to  have  a  much 
more  interesting  fair  next  year." 

The  following  were  the  premiums  awarded 
at  the  first  annual  fair : 

Horses 
To     Frederick     Wadhams,     for     best 

blooded  stallion  .  s $500 

To    David    Decker,     for    second    best 

blooded  stallion 3.00 

To  David  Decker,  for  best  two  year  old 

colt 1. 00 

To    Zalmon    Rowse,    for    best   blooded 

mare  (not  brood)  3.00 

To  John  Moderwell,  for  best  gelding. .  .      2.00 

Cattle 
To  Andrew  Worling,  for  best  blooded 

bull '.  .     4.00 


558 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


To  Zalmon  Rowse,  for  best  cow 

To  Alfred  Magers,  for  best  calf 

Sheep 
To  Samuel  Andrews,  for  best  buck .... 
To  Samuel  Andrews,   for  second  best 

buck  

To   Samuel  Andrews,   for  best  lot  of 

ewes 

Swine 

To  John  Moderwell,  for  best  sow 

Agricultural  Implements 
To  David  P.  Norton,  for  best  wind-mill 

Manufactured  Articles 
To  Samuel  Andrews,  for  best  flannel .  . 
To  John  Mollenkopf,  for  best  thread  .  . 
To  John  Sims,  for  best  single  harness .  . 
To  William  Mallory,  for  best  sample  of 

butter    

To  William  Mallory,  for  best  sample  of 

cheese 

Fruits 
To  J.  B.  Larwill,  for  best  grapes 


3.00 
2.00 

3.00 

2.00 

3.00 

2.00 

3.00 

2.00 
1. 00 
2.00 

2.00 

1. 00 

I. GO 


Total    $45.00 

The  Second  Annual  Fair  was  also  held  in 
the  Court  House  yard,  pens  being  erected  at 
the  east  end  of  the  Quinby  Block  lot  for  the 
cattle.  Fancy  articles  ,  are  shown  in  the 
court  room.  In  the  report  of  the  fair  to  the 
state  board,  the  officers  say :  The  best  mode  for 
the  culture  of  corn  "is  to  plow  deep  and  keep 
the  weeds  out;"  rye  and  barley  are  35  cents 
per  bushel ;  apple  crop  nearly  a  failure ;  peaches 
this  year  in  abundance;  10,000  bushels  clover- 
seed  exported;  amount  of  timothy  unknown, 
but  large ;  clover  seed  $3  a  bushel ;  timothy  seed 
$1  a  bushel;  150,000  pounds  butter  exported; 
150,000  pounds  wool  exported  at  about  26 
cents  per  pound ;  many  good,  sheep  have  been 
brought  into  the  county,  and  lately  Gen.  S. 
Myers  purchased  10,  one  buck  and  nine  ewes 
of  the  "Bingham"  flock  lately  brought  from 
Vermont;  number  of  hogs  assessed  20,922, 
valued  at  $17,046,  "which  is  about  their  true 
value  previous  to  fattening;"  12,000  to  13,000 
head  of  cattle  exported,  value  here  when  sold 
about  $12  to  $15;  "all  threshing  is  done  now 
by  machines;  one  or  more  wheat  drills  have 
been  introduced  into  the  county:  much  more 
improvement  is  wanted;"  "no  regular  system 
of  drainage  adopted;  nothing  more  than  the 


ordinary  modes  of  farming  have  been  tried." 
The  treasurer's  report  of  the  Second  Annual 
Fair  was  as  follows,  Nov.  5,  1849: — 

Amount  on  hand  from  last  year $12.00 

Amount    received    from    members    on 

subscription 67.00 

Amount    received    from    the    county 

treasury  50.00 


$129.00 
By  amount  paid  out  for  premiums  Oct. 

24,   1849    78.50 


Balance  remaining  in  treasury $50.50 

Third  fair  was  held  in  the  Norton  Grove  be- 
tween Walnut  and  Lane  streets  and  north  of 
the  Pennsylvania  track.  The  fair  was  becom- 
ing a  success.  The  fair  this  year  was  adver- 
tised as  a  cattle  show.  Pens  were  erected  in 
and  near  the  grove  for  the  stock.  Tents  were 
erected  on  Walnut  street  for  the  exhibition  of 
the  fami  products,  and  domestic  articles.  The 
fair  was  to  be  held  on  Oct.  17  and  18,  but  ow- 
ing to  bad  weather  it  was  abandoned  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  first  day.  The  report  to  the 
state  showed  wheat  that  year  averaged  25  to 
30  bushels  to  the  acre;  corn  averaged  30  to  35, 
and  sold  at  20  to  25  cents ;  barley  and  rye  sold 
at  35  to  40  cents  per  bushel;  oats  crop  a  fail- 
ure, and  price  20  to  25  cents  a  bushel;  tim- 
othy and  clover,  the  crop  short  and  sold  at  $4 
to  $5  per  ton ;  large  yield  of  apples  and  peaches 
a  failure;  200,000  pounds  of  butter  exported; 
an  increase  in  wool,  and  a  better  quality,  at  28 
to  29  cents  for  common,  and  30  to  33  cents  for 
fine;  cattle  $10  to  $35  per  head,  and  large 
amounts  sold  to  drovers.  "There  is  a  steady 
improvement  in  the  quantity  and  number  of 
farming  implements  used.  Some  wheat  drills 
are  in  use,  also  mowing  machines;  how  they 
answer  the  purpose  is  not  known  as  yet." 

The  following  is  the  report  of  Treasurer 
Myers  of  the  third  annual  fair : 
Dec.  2,  1850 — 

On  hand   from  last  year   $  50.50 

Received  from  members  on  subscrip- 
tion         58.00 

Received  from  the  county  treasury  .  .     50.00 


Amount  paid   for  premiums, 

Oct.  7,  1850 $54.50    $158.50 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


559 


Amount   paid    for   cultivator 
for  award  premium 12.75 


67.25 


Balance  in  treasury $  91.25 

On  Jan.  4,  1851,  the  board  of  managers 
met  at  Bucyrus  to  arrange  for  the  fourth 
annual  fair.  The  board  was  Judge  R.  W. 
Musgrave,  president;  Zalmon  Rowse,  vice 
president;  Andrew  Failor,  secretary;  Gen. 
Samuel  Myers,  treasurer;  Isaac  Rice,  Jacob 
Mollenkopf,  William  Robinson,  Samuel  S. 
Caldwell,  John  Campbell.  The  board  decided 
to  hold  the  next  fair  at  Bucyrus  provided  the 
citizens  would  raise  $40.  The  money  was 
raised,  and  to  secure  the  future  fairs  at  Bucy- 
rus, grounds  were  secured  at  the  southwest 
corner  of  Kaler  avenue  and  Wise  streets.  The 
grounds  six  to  eight  acres,  were  furnished  rent 
free  by  Henry  Minich,  but  the  society  were 
to  put  a  fence  around  them.  There  were  not 
sufficient  funds  to  build  the  fence  the  first 
year,  but  later  the  entire  fence  was  completed. 
In  front  on  Kaler  avenue  was  the  ring,  for 
the  exhibition  of  stock.  At  the  rear  of  the  ring 
were  the  domestic  and  floral  halls,  the  former 
being  open  on  the  sides,  the  clapboard  roof 
being  supported  by  poles;  the  floral  hall,  con- 
taining more  delicate  exhibits,  was  made  of 
rough  boards,  and  had  a  canvas  which  was 
taken  off  at  the  close  of  the  fair  and  laid 
carefully  away  until  the  next  year.  Back  of 
the  halls  was  a  grove.  The  track  was  enlarged 
to  a  third  of  a  mile  in  1857,  and  was  inclosed 
during  the  fair  with  a  rope  fence,  which  was 
taken  down  after  the  fair.  In  1859  a  third  day 
was  added  to  give  opportunity  for  the  races. 
The  last  fair  was  held  in  1861,  and  the  next 
year  all  arrangements  were  made  for  a  fair, 
but  about  June  it  was  abandoned  on  account 
of  the  war. 

At  the  fair  in  1853,  one  of  the  curiosities 
was  a  pumpkin  vine  exhibited  by  Jacob  Mollen- 
kopf. The  vine  contained  nine  pumpkins, 
and  they  were  exhibited  all  attached  to  the 
vine,  just  as  they  had  grown.  The  largest 
pumpkins  weighed  no,  92,  and  92  pounds. 
The  smallest  weighed  48  pounds;  the  total 
weight  of  the  nine  pumpkins  on  the  one  vine 
was  595  pounds. 

In  1867,  D.  C.  Boyer,  Josiah  Kohler,  Barber 
Robinson,  James  Robinson,  C.  S.  Crim,  Wil- 


liam Cox,  Adam  Klink,  John  Brehman,  E.  R. 
Kearsley,  James  Orr,  H.  J.  Thompson  and 
Luther  Myers  organized  the  Crawford  County 
Agricultural  Association  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $7,000,  and  they  bought  nineteen  acres  of 
land,  on  the  Gallon  Road,  east  of  where  the  T. 
&  O.  C.  track  now  is ;  this  was  added  to  later, 
until  it  contained  nearly  33  acres.  A  half  mile 
track  was  built,  and  two  halls  erected  with 
pens  for  the  stock;  on  the  west  side  of  the 
ground  was  a  grove  of  about  three  acres.  The 
total  cost  of  the  ground  and  buildings  was 
about  $13,000,  and  here  the  first  fair  was  held 
in  October,  1867.  It  was  not  a  profitable  in- 
vestment, the  stock  varying  from  fifty  to  sev- 
enty cents  on  the  dollar,  and  in  1882  the  county 
took  charge  of  the  fair. 

At  these  grounds  fairs  were  held  annually, 
the  last  being  in  191 1.  A  part  of  the  land  was 
needed  by  the  T.  &  O.  C.  road,  so  a  company 
of  citizens  organized  and  bought  the  Fair 
Grounds  for  a  thousand  dollars  an  acre,  the  T. 
&  O.  C.  being  given  the  nine  acres  they  needed 
at  about  $400  an  acre,  and  the  balance  laid  out 
as  an  addition  to  Bucyrus.  The  Agricultural 
Society  purchased  of  Edward  Yaussey,  70 
acres  east  of  the  old  grounds  for  $17,500, 
which  were  laid  out,  the  buildings  moved,  a 
new  track  built,  and  the  first  fair  held  in  Sep- 
tember, 19 12. 

The  early  officers  of  the  Agricultural  So- 
ciety and  the  dates  holding  the  fair  were  as 
follows  : 

1848,  October  19 — Zalmon  Rowse,  presi- 
dent, Jacob  Mollenkoff,  vice  president,  J.  B. 
Larwill,  secretary,  Andrew  Failor,  treasurer. 

1849,  October  24 — Abraham  Monnett,  presi- 
dent, Jacob  Mollenkoff,  vice  president,  J.  B. 
Larwill,  secretary,  Samuel  Myers,  treasurer. 

1850,  October  17,  18 — Abraham  Monnett, 
president,  Jacob  Mollenkoff,  vice  president,  J. 
B.  Larwill,  secretary,  Samuel  Myers,  treasurer. 

185 1,  October  23,  24 — R.  W.  Musgrave, 
president,  Zalmon  Rowse,  vice  president,  An- 
drew Failor,  secretary,  Samuel  Myers,  treas- 
urer. 

1852,  October  14,  15 — R.  W.  Musgrave, 
president,  Samuel  S.  Caldwell,  vice  president, 
Andrew  Failor,  secretary,  Samuel  Myers, 
treasurer. 

1853,  October   13,    14 — R.   W.   Musgrave, 


560 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


president,  S.  S.  Caldwell,  vice  president,  An- 
drew! Failor,  secretary,  Samuel  Myers,  treas- 
urer. 

1854,  October  13,  14 — Samuel  S.  Caldwell, 
president,  Samuel  Myers,  vice  president,  P.  S. 
Marshall,  secretary,  H.  Failor,  treasurer. 

1855,  October  11,  12 — Samuel  S.  Caldwell, 
president,  James  Lewis,  vice  president,  H. 
Failor,  secretary,  Henry  Minich,  treasurer. 

1856,  October  16,  17 — Samuel  Myers,  presi- 
dent, James  Lewis,  vice  president,  Pinckney 
Lewis,  secretary,  P.  S.  Marshall,  treasurer. 

1857,  October  15,  16 — Samuel  S.  Caldwell, 
president,  Henry  Minich,  vice  president,  B.  M. 
Failor,  secretary,  F.  W.  Butterfield,  treasurer. 

1858,  September  29,  30 — Samuel  S.  Cald- 
well, president^  Henry  Minich,  vice  president, 
H.  M.  Locke,  secretary,  F.  W.  Butterfield, 
treasurer. 

1859,  October  12,  13,  14 — C.  K.  Ward, 
president,  James  Lewis,  vice  president,  Pinck- 
ney Lewis,  secretary,  George  Quinby,  treas- 
urer. 

i860,  October  3,  4,  5 — C.  K.  Ward,  presi- 
dent, James  Lewis,  vice  president,  Pinckney 
Lewis,  secretary,  George  Quinby,  treasurer. 

1 86 1,  September  18,  19,  20 — Samuel  Myers, 
president,  D.  C.  Boyer,  vice  president,  John 
Hopley,  secretary,  George  Quinby,  treasurer. 

Same  officers  were  elected  but  fair  discon- 
tinued; in  1867  met  and  organized. 

1867,  October  15,  16,  17,  18 — D.  C.  Boyer, 
president,  Josiah  Kohler,  vice  president,  C.  El- 
liott, secretary,  J.  B.  Gormly,  treasurer. 

1868,  October  6,  7,  8,  9 — ^Josiah  Kohler, 
president,  John  Monnett,  vice  president,  John 
R.  Clymer,  secretary, '  J.  B.  Gormly,  treas- 
urer. 

1869,  September  28,  29,  30,  October  i,  2 — 
Josiah  Kohler,  president,  John  Monnett,  vice 
president,  George  Keller,  secretary,  J.  B. 
Gormly,  treasurer. 

1870,  October  4,  5,  6,  7,  8 — ^Josiah  Kohler, 
president,  James  Orr,  vice  president,  George 
Keller,  secretary,  J.  B.  Gormly,  treasurer. 

1871,  October  3,  4,  5,  6— Josiah  Kohler, 
president,  G.  H.  Wright,  vice  president,  George 
Keller,  secretary,  J.  B.  Gormly,  treasurer. 

1872,  September  17,  18,  19,  20,  21— James 
Orr,  president,  E.  B.  Monnett,  vice  president ; 
George  Keller,  secretary,  J.  B.  Gormly  treas- 
urer. 


THE    CANAL    CRAWFORD    DID     NOT    GET 

In  1818,  the  subject  of  a  canal  came  up  in 
Ohio,  and  the  Legislature  incorporated  the 
Little  Miami  Canal  and  Banking  Company. 
Other  canal  companies  desired  to  incorporate, 
and  in  1821  Gov.  Brown  in  a  message  to  the 
Legislature  said  the  state  ought  to  build  and 
own  the  canals.  In  1822  .Thomas  Worthing- 
ton,  Benjamin  Tappan,  Jeremiah  Morrow, 
Isaac  Minor  and  Alfred  Kelley  were  appointed 
a  commission  to  report  on  a  route.  One  of 
the  routes  surveyed  was  through  Crawford 
county,  following  along  the  Sandusky  and  the 
Scioto.  In  regard  to  this  route  Col.  Kilbourne 
published  the  following  article  in  the  Columbus 
Gazette  on  Jan.  23,  1823: 

"The  summit  of  level  of  these  rivers  is  as- 
certained to  be  (354)  three  hundred  and  fifty- 
four  feet  above  the  level  of  Lake  Erie,  and 
(455)  four  hundred  and  fifty-five  feet  above 
low  water  marks  in  the  Ohio  river  at  Ports- 
mouth. 

"The  engineer  represents  that  the  main 
branch  of  the  Great  Miami  with  several  other 
durable  streams  which  fall  into  it  may  be 
brought  by  a  short  feeder  to  the  Scioto  at 
Round  Head's  town.  He  states  that  it  is  prob- 
able that  the  feeder  from  the  Sandusky  will  not 
exceed  six  or  eight  miles  in  length,  and  that 
from  the  sources  already  mentioned,  including 
the  two  branches  of  the  Whetstone  and  others 
which  may  be  obtained,  it  is  highly  probable 
that  there  will  be  an  ample  sufficiency  for  the 
summit  pond  of  this  canal.  The  engineer  states 
that  the  Sandusky  and  Scioto  valleys  may  be 
pronounced  favorable  for  the  conducting  of  a 
canal  along  them  when  compared  with  the  val- 
leys of  most  other  rivers,  and  very  favorable 
when  compared  with  the  Mohawk  in  the  state 
of  New  York.  The  particular  advantages 
possessed  by  said  valleys  is  the  facility  with 
which  the  canal  (in  most  places),  may  be  led 
along  on  a  level  altogether  above  the  alluvial 
bottoms  of  the  margin  of  the  rivers,  entirely 
secure  from  floods,  so  menacing  to  canal 
works.  The  total  absence  of  lateral  rivers  is 
an  advantage  on  this  route  worthy  of  note. 
The  Big  Belly,  Little  Walnut  and  Salt  Creeks 
being  the  most  formidable,  each  of  which 
drains,  comparatively,  but  a  small  tract  of 
country." 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


561 


The  Colonel  was  fighting  and  working  for 
this  route,  and  at  the  same  time  was  running 
for  Congress,  and  his  opponents  propounded 
the  inquiry  as  to  whether,  if  he  could  not  secure 
the  Sandusky-Scioto  canal,  he  would  support 
one  of  the  other  routes.  The  Colonel's  reply 
was  that  he  was  in  favor  of  a  canal,  but  "it 
was  not  good  judgment  to  tell  your  opponents 
you  might  later  support  them."  He  was  elected 
to  Congress,  but  the  Legislature  decided  on 
two  canals,  one  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
state,  along  the  Cuyahoga  and  the  Muskingum, 
with  a  branch  to  Columbus;  the  other  in  the 
western  part  from  what  is  now  Toledo  to 
Cincinnati.  Kilbourne  promptly  published  a 
four-column  protest  in  the  Columbus  Gazette, 
showing  the  Sandusky  and  Scioto  route  was 
the  cheapest  and  best,  and  followed  it  up  with 
several  more  articles,  but  the  matter  was  set- 
tled, and  in  1825,  Gov.  DeWitt  Clinton,  of 
New  York  came  to  Ohio,  and  dug  the  first 
spade  full  of  earth.  ■ 

It  appears  Col.  Kilbourne  never  gave  up  his 
idea  of  a  central  canal,  until  after  the  building 
of  railroads  commenced  and  the  demand  for 
canals  ceased. 

In  1839,  he  was  in  Bucyrus  consulting  the 
engineer,  who  was  looking  over  this  route, 
and  on  his  return  inclosed  the  following  letter 
to  Samuel  Norton,  to  be  handed  to  the  engi- 
neer. In  his  letter  to  Norton  he  says :  "En- 
closed you  will  find  the  ten  dollars  I  borrowed 
of  you,  for  which  accommodation  please  accept 
my  thanks.  My  hand  is  still  giving  me  trou- 
ble, no  better  than  when  I  left  you,  if  so  well. 
Please  hand  the  last  half  sheet  of  this  letter 
to  Major  Norton  at  first  opportunity.  If  he 
has  left  you  for  headquarters  when  this  comes 
to  hand,  please  send  it  to  him  by  special  car- 
rier. It  is  of  importance  that  he  should  have 
it  immediately." 

The  following  is  the  letter : 
"An  idea  has  occurred  to  me  since  we  parted 
which  may  be  of  some  value.     I  hasten  to 
communicate. 

"I  have  remarked  to  you  already  that 
Brokensword  Creek,  of  itself,  is  of  no  value 
as  a  feeder  to  the  summit,  for  in  the  time  when 
foreign  supplies  are  necessary,  it  has  but  lit- 
tle of  running  water.  Its  value  is  therefore 
mainly  or  wholly  as  a  conduit  from  the  res- 
ervoir in  Cranberry  marsh;  and  it  is  only  a 


few  miles  that  it  could  be  so  used;  and  would 
fall  in  below  the  regulating  reservoir  on  the 
Sandusky,  crossing  the  valley  of  Grassey  Run, 
and  a  branch  of  Brokensword  above  that  run, 
where  those  waters  are  deep.  Therefore,  for 
the  thought  on  the  subject,  has  presented  this 
view,  viz. :  That  you  take  the  water  from  the 
reservoir  in  Cranberry  marsh,  by  the  shortest 
outlet,  at  Mr.  Borland's,  to  Brokensword,  and 
immediately  crossing  the  valley  of  that  creek, 
keep  as  high  a  level  as  practicable,  on  the  left 
of  the  creek,  descending,  so  as  to  discharge  the 
water  into  the  regulating  reservoir  at  the  sum- 
mit level.  In  doing  this  you  will  have  no 
deep  cuttings  or  large  embankments  in  con- 
structing the  feeder,  but  nearly  a  regular  plain 
all  the  way.  The  more  I  have  considered  this 
improvement  in  the  plan,  the  better  it  appears, 
and  I  have  now  no  doubt  of  its  superior  ad- 
vantages in  every  point  of  view." 

The  building  of  railroads  put  an  end  to 
canals  and  the  one  through  Crawford  county 
was  abandoned. 

THE    CHOLERA 

In  August  of  1852,  cholera  broke  out  in 
Bucyrus.  It  was  at  that  time  raging  at  San- 
dusky City,  where  the  death  rate  reached  as 
high  as  sixteen  a  day  for  several  days.  On 
Saturday,  Aug.  20,  a  German  woman  arrived 
and  went  to  the  home  of  friends  on  East  Rens- 
selaer street.  The  next  evening  she  died  sud- 
denly and  the  attending  physician  pronounced 
it  cholera.  An  investigation  of  the  case 
showed  she  had  arrived  the  day  before  from 
Sandusky  City.  The  physicians  hurredly  took 
the  matter  into  consideration  and  differed  as 
to  the  cause  of  her  death,  but  the  majority  pro- 
nounced it  cholera.  No  special  alarm  was 
felt  by  the  citizens.  But  in  the  next  day  or 
two  several  similar  cases  were  reported  in  the 
same  neighborhood;  on  Thursday,  Aug.  26th, 
Margaret,  the  daughter  of  E.  F.  Sheckler, 
aged  18  months,  died.  And  two  days  later, 
Mary,  the  daughter  of  Abraham  and  Ann  Kel- 
ler, aged  14  years,  made  the  third  death.  Fol- 
lowing these  within  the  next  two  days,  were  the 
deaths  of  Elizabeth  Sheckler,  wife  of  E.  F. 
Sheckler ;  Isaac  Didie,  a  young  man  of  twenty, 
and  on  Sept.  i,  Abraham  Rever  and  Abraham 
Keller,  the  German  reformed  minister,  and 
there  were  several  other  cases  in  that  neighbor- 


562 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


hood.  For  the  past  few  days  the  physicians 
and  the  authorities  had  taken  the  most  active 
measures  in  purifying  the  city.  The  infected 
district  was  closely  guarded  and  the  cholera 
was  confined  exclusively  to  that  section.  There 
were  several  other  deaths,  but  the  disease  was 
finally  brought  under  control.  But  it  was  by 
far  the  most  severe  epidemic  ever  in  Bucyrus. 

EARLY    VALUATION    AND    EXPENSES 

In  1830  the  valuation  of  the  property  in 
Crawford  county.  In  Bucyrus,  $5,518  were 
the  values  of  the  lots  in  that  village ;  $753  were 
values  of  lots  in  Holmes  township,  and  $6y 
in  Antrim  township.  The  last  five  townships 
in  1 845. became  a  part  of  Wyandot  county. 


Townships 

Acres  Tax. 

Value 

Pers'l  Prop 

'y    Total 

Bucyrus     . . 

■  •  ■       7,913 

$17,637 

$11,841 

$29,478 

Holmes    .  . . 

2,066 

3,980 

1,124 

5,104 

Liberty     . . . 

...       7,017 

10,455 

4,872 

15,327 

Whetstone 

. . . .       7,897 

11,283 

9,896 

21,179 

Cranberry    , 

■  •■■       1,513 

i,8iS 

1,000 

2,8is 

Sandusky 

. . . .     12,091 

13,751 

6,280 

20,031 

Chatfield    . 

288 

288 

Sycamore 

. . . .       6,250 

9,312 

3,152 

12,464 

Tymochtee 

■  •      8,729 

15,386 

12,096 

27,482 

Crawford 

• .  ■  ■       5,509 

6,309 

3,584 

9,893 

Pitt 

. ...      2.1 '^6 

•?.^02 

AJAA 

7.=;  16 

Antrim    . . . 

■  ■  •       1,556 
. . .      62,697 

2,156 

1,744 

3„900 

Totals    . . . . 

$95,476 

$60,021 

$155,497 

Here  is  the  commissioners'  report  for  the 
year  ending  June  4,  1834,  showing  what  they 
paid  out  to  run  the  county : 

Paid  for  wolf  scalps   $  18.00 

James  L.   Harper,  commissioner    .  .  28.00 

Isaac  Sweeney,  commissioner 24.00 

Daniel  Williams,  commissioner    .  .  .  22.00 

William  Earley,  commissioner  ...    .  6.00 

Isaac  Robertson,  associate  judge   .  .  17-59 

Abel  Carey,  associate  judge i5-00 

George  Poe,  associate  judge 15  00 

Josiah  Scott,  prosecuting  attorney  .  32.50 

Zalmon  Rowse,  clerk,  his  salary  .  .  57-50 

Location  of  county  roads 79-75 

Location  of  State  roads 23.00 

Justices,  constables  and  witnesses  in 

criminal  cases 69.20 

For  blank  books 5.62 

Constables  attending  court 13-25 

Grand  and  petit  jurors   208.70 

Judges  and  clerks  of  elections 96.44 

Nicholas    Cronbaugh,    making   win- 
dow shutters  for  court  house.  .  .  .  12.59 


John  Caldwell,  William  Early  and 
others,  superintending  appropria- 
tions of  3  per  cent  bond  25.00 

Tax,  improperly  charged 11.07 

Interest  on  county  orders   ^39-7^ 

Zalmon  Rowse,  for  copying  old  deed 

records    250.00 

John  Tingler,  assessor 67.50 

Peter  Hesser,  Sr.,  and  Peter  Hesser, 
Jr.,  for  keeping  Andrew  Hesser,  a 

county  pauper   39-oo 

Furniture  for  auditor's  office iS-oo 

Meeker   &    Rowse,    for   stoves    for 

clerk's   and   auditor's   offices    . . .        28.00 
T.  T.   Sweney,  expenses  to  Cincin- 
nati, procuring  field  notes   18.75 

Joseph    Paske,    for    medicines    and 

attendance  on  Andrew  Hesser  . .  4.81 

Fuel  10.50 

One  copy  of  the   Revised   Statutes 

of  Ohio    6.00 

Z.  Rowse,  opening  poll  books  of  elec- 
tions, making  abstracts  of  votes, 

&c    8.80 

Sheriff,      for     boarding     criminals, 

guarding  and  repairing  jail 23.27 

Sheriff,  summoning  jury  and  adver- 
tising elections,  stationery 8.43 

J.  Turnbull  for  blank  deed  book  ...  10.12 
John  Caldwell,  county  auditor  ....  247.50 
Abraham  Myers,  damages  by  locating 

State  road 50.00 

Bowen   and   Smith   special    fees   as 

prosecuting  attorneys     7 27.00 

William  Crosby,  printing 48.50 

Total    amount      expended      for 

county  purposes    $1,853.12 

EARLY    MARRIAGE    LICENSES 

Searching  among  the  old  records  in  adjoin- 
ing counties  before  Crawford  was  organized 
in  1826,  a  number  of  marriage  licenses  were 
discovered,  where  the  names  indicate  that  one 
or  both  of  the  parties  were  residents  of  Craw- 
ford county.  The  following  were  found  in 
Huron  county: 

March  3,  18 19 — Mathias  Cummins  and 
Mary  Morgan.     Wm.  Ritchey,  J.  P. 

May  I,  1820 — Arabel  C.  Caldwell  and  Lu- 
cinda  Cummins,  married  at  Bloomingville, 
Samuel  B.  Caldwell,  J.  P. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS  563 

Oct.  21,  1 82 1 — Elijah  Sanderson  and  Soph-  Feb.    26,    1825 — Geo.    Garrett   and   Nancy 

ronia  Blair.    Josiah  Traverse,  J.  P.  Walker. 

April  20,  1822 — Elijah  Collins  and  Esther  March  9,  1825 — Antony  Comines  and  Rachel 

Kellogg,  Alvan  Cox,  minister.  Rodgers. 

June  27,  1822— James  Kellogg  and  Nancy  March  10,   1825— Asa  Howard  and  Polly 

Wood,  Thomas  Stevens,  J.  P.  Garver. 

Here  are  two  from  Delaware  County :  March  11,  182;— John  Cory  and  Peggy  Mc- 

1822— Auer  Umberfield  and  —  intyre.         '        ^     •>              ^             ^^^ 

^'^?*'              o         -n,  •,      1      ^,1,       ,0      ,  March    11,     1825 — Abraham    Brown    and 

Sept.  — ,  1822-Philander  Odell  and  Sarah  ^^^^-^^  ^^^^ 

^^S^^-                    r         ,^    .              .  March  25,    1825— Isaac   Fickle   and   Eliza 

Here  are  some  from  Marion  county :  Tinton 

May   7,    1824-Seldon   Feldon   and   Lydia  J^^^^j^    ^^     1825-Joseph    Winslow    and 

Ketchum.  p,      .     Smth          -^     •>      t- 

W^dl  '^'  '^^4-Joshua  Bearss  and  Susannah  ^J^^  ^^^  ;825-Joseph  Harper  and  Mary 

^^  May  16,  1824-David  Allen  and  Polly  Haz-  ^°PP'^f  °^^-   ,825-Hugh     McCracken     and 

^  June   7,    1824— Alanson   Pack   and   Nancy  ^^''^^  Moore. 

Pickle.  April  5,  1825 — Joseph  McComb  and  Re- 
June  13,  1824— James  Stewart  and  Elizabeth  becca  Kimball. 

Steen.  April  5,  1825 — Joseph  Whitherd  and  Clar- 

Sept.  4,  1824 — Geo.  M.  Fickle  and  Margaret  inda  Beadle. 

Beckley.  April  9,  1825 — Jacob  Shafer  and  Mary  Ann 

Sept.    7,    1824 — Joseph    Stewart   and    Jane  Smith. 

Steen.  April   9,    1825 — Dexter   Baker   and   Sarah 

Sept.  — ,  1824 — Peter  Long  and  Hiley  Dar-  Kimball. 

ls"d-  April  25,  1825 — Joel  Lee  and  Jane  Parker. 

Dec    16    1824-Henry  Miller  and  Magda-  ^    jj    ^g     ,825-Eli    Odell    and    Asenath 

lenaWolf.  Parcher 

Dec.  28,  1824 — Zachariah  Barrett  and  Han-  -        ,      .,'         „         ^,  .  ^    ,       ,       ,  „,. 

u  T)    y  „                             ■  April  29,  1825 — Phineas  Packard  and  Eliza- 
Dec.  28,  1824— Isaac  Longwell  and  Sarah  ^eth  Fickle. 
Winslow  J""^  7'  ^^^5 — ^^°-  Pi^P^""  ^"d  Laura  Glea- 

Dec.  29,  1824 — Robert  Rice  and  Eliza  Ann  son. 

Caldwell.  June   22,    1825 — James   Hughey   and   Ann 

Dec.  29,  1824 — Joseph  Leonard  and  Nancy  Maria  Drake. 

Longwell.  Aug.    8,     1825 — Elihu    Dowd    and    Polly 

Jan.  5,  1825 — George  W.  Baker  and  Louisa  Ketcham. 

Davis.  Sept.  3,  1825 — Dowd  Kellogg  and  Amelia 

Jan.  10,  1825 — Chas.  Merriman  and  Susan  Eaton. 

Carey.  Sept.   14,   1825 — Horace  Pratt  and  Esther 

Jan.    10,    1825 — Joseph    Pierce    and    Mary  g^gyin. 

Carey.  ttj     1  j  td  Oct.  is,  182=5 — Samuel  Wilkins  and 

Jan.   16,   1825— Andrew  Ridgeley  and  Re-  ^clntyre. 

^Tan.^S°"825-Simon   Smith  and   Louisa  ^,  O^t.   24,   1825-Samuel  Holmes  and  Eliza 

^.■'           ^'          -^  W.  Conklin. 

Jan  30   1825— Benjamin  Meeker  and  Susan  Nov.    i,    1825— Samuel  Hazlett  and  Zella 

Smith.      '  Spurgeon. 

Feb.    5,     1825 — Israel    Clark    and    Laura  Nov.  28,  1825 — Isaac  H.  Fickle  and  Nancy 

Bearss.      '  Young. 


564 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Nov.  20,  1825 — Abraham  Synus  and  Su- 
sanna Bair. 

Nov.  29,  1825 — David  Tipton  and  Sally 
Kent. 

Dec.  19,  1825 — John  Walters  and  Lilian 
Ridgley. 

Dec.  29,  1825 — ^James  Dor  land  and  Eunice 
Dowd. 

Here  are  some  from  Richland  county;  it 
should  be  remembered  that  up  to  1845  the  four 
eastern  miles  of  the  present  Crawford  county 
was  in  Richland  county : 

Feb.  27,  1823 — ^Josiah  M.  Dove  and  Mary 
Ann  Green.  Levi  Shepherd,  J.  P. 

April  10,  1823 — Charles  Gardiner  and  Lucy 
Ammersman.    Timothy  Taylor,  J.  P. 

Oct.  5,  1823 — Jacob  Baker  and  Polly  De- 
Witt.     Ransom  B.  Ellsworth,  J.  P. 

Aug.  19,  1824 — Simmons  Palmer  and 
Jamima  Palmer.    Rundel  Palmer,  J.  P. 

Oct.  31,  1824 — Charles  Myers  and  Hulda  M. 
Kellogg.    James  Mclntyre,  M.  E. 

Jan.  19,  1825 — Daniel  Higgins  and  Hannah 
Corey.    John  Rigdon,  M.  G.* 

Nov.  16,  1826— -Nicholas  Chilcoat  and  Eliz- 
abeth Inscho.    Caleb  Palmer,  J.  P. 

Oct.  2,  1826 — Richard  Gardner  and  Maria 
Lawrence.    Zebediah  Morse,  J.  P. 

July  13,  1826 — ^Jacob  Simson  and  Margaret 
Chilcoat.    Christian  Culp,  J.  P. 

March  8,  1827 — Theodore  Baker  and  Al- 
mira  Morse.    Zebediah  Morse,  J.  P. 

Sept.  21,  1827 — Silas  S.  Green  and  Betsy 
How.     M.  G.  Shellhouse,  J.  P. 

Nov.  19,  1827 — George  Wheeler  and  Eliza 
Kellogg.     Martin  G.  Shellhouse,  J.  P. 

Oct.  17,  1827 — Joseph  Darling  and  Eliza- 
beth A.  Edwards.    Enoch  Conger,  M.  G. 

Dec.  27,  1827 — George  Kellogg  and  Lydia 
Isham.    E.  Andrews,  J.  P. 

Jan.  6,  1828 — Asher  Cole  and  Narcissa 
Lawrence.    John  Beach,  M.  G. 

The  following  is  taken  from  the  Richland 
county  records : 

"This  is  to  certify  that  John  Steward  and 
Polly  Carter,  both  of  Upper  Sandusky,  were 
joined  together  in  holy  matrimony,  Dec.  25, 
1818,  by  me. 

Henry  Georg,  Baptist  Minister." 

This  is  probably  John  Stewart,  the  colored 
missionary,  who  preached  the  first  Protestant 

*  M.  G.— Minister  of  the  Gospel. 


sermon  in  this  section  in  181 6,  four  years  be- 
fore the  county  was  formed.  James  Finley  in 
his  history  of  the  Wyandot  mission  places  the 
marriage  in  1820. 

In  Crawford  county  the  records  were  all 
destroyed  by  fire  some  time  the  latter  part  of 
1 83 1,  some  time  in  October;  but  four  returns 
were  made  of  licenses  that  were  issued  before 
the  fire  and  these  are  pinned  on  the  fly  leaf  of 
the  record  book.    These  four  licenses  are : 

June  12,  1831 — Rufus  L.  Blowers  and 
Susan  Smith. 

Sept.  25,  183 1 — Daniel  Bair  and  Sarah 
Jewell. 

Oct.  9,  1 83 1 — Peter  Eby  and  Rebecca  Guis- 
inger. 

Nov.  14,  1 83 1 — David  Shay  and  Sarah  M. 
Warden. 

Then  comes  the  marriage  record  of  Craw- 
ford county,  Ohio,  since  October  nth,  1831. 
At  this  time  Zalmon  Rowse  was  clerk  and 
Willis  Merriman  Deputy.  The  licenses  were 
issued  in  the  following  order;  with  date  of 
marriage,  when  returns  were  made : 

1.  Oct.  17 — George  Reid  and  Mary  Ann 
Foster,  October  18. 

2.  Oct.  19 — John  Cline  and  Rachael  Casto, 
Oct.  20. 

3.  Oct.  27 — Samuel  Whetstone  and  Eliza- 
beth Patterson,  Nov.  3. 

4.  Nov.  I — John  Stuckman  and  Betsey 
Slichg,  Nov.  3. 

5.  Nov.  7 — David  Gibson  and  Harriet 
White,   Nov.   8. 

6.  Nov.  15 — Chester  Smally  and  Esther 
Scott,  Nov.  16. 

7.  Nov.  19 — John  Ragon  and  Sarah  Curtis, 
No  return. 

8.  Nov.  19 — David  Sockrider  and  Sarah 
Hodge,  No  return. 

9.  Dec.  7 — John  Noacre  and  Sarah  Yaw- 
key,  Dec.  8. 

10.  Dec.  15 — Alexander  Johnson  and  Polly 
Adams,  Dec.  15. 

11.  Dec.  31 — Horace  Smalley  and  Hannah 
Chandler,  Jan.  5. 

In  1832  the  following  were  issued: 

12.  Jan.  12 — ^Jacob  Foy,  Jr.,  and  Mercy 
Lupton,  Jan.  26. 

13.  Nov.  25 — Joseph  M.  Hill  and  Fanny 
Chatfield,  Dec.  i,  1831. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


565 


14.  Jan.    27 — John    Perka    and    Elizabeth 
Whetstone,  Jan.  27. 

15.  Feb.  9 — John  Erret  and  Nancy  Berlene, 
Feb.  14. 

16.  Feb.  10 — Samuel  O.  Brundage  and  Ann- 
geline  Lish,  Feb.  12. 

17.  Feb.   24 — Thomas  Hitchcock  and  Na- 
omey  Corey,  March  i. 

18.  Feb.     27 — Benjamin     Clemmens     and 
Susan  Stuckman,  March  i. 

19.  Feb.  28 — Wm.  Henry  and  Jane  Morgan, 
Feb.  28. 

20.  March  6 — Peter  Whetstone  and  Mary 
Stinebaugh,  March  6. 

21.  March  9 — David  R.  King  and  Sarah  B. 
Sweet,  March  9. 

22.  March    15 — Jacob  Flemming  and  Kit- 
tery  Hesser. 

23.  March    19 — Daniel   Wright   and   Eliza 
Gibson.  i 

24.  April   15 — William  Wallace  and  Ellen 
Davis. 

25.  April  12 — Michael  Petterman  and  Sarah 
Ridgley. 

26.  April  24 — Samuel  Ducher  and  Catherine 
Duddleston. 

27.  May  3 — ^Joshua  Chilcote  and  Mary  Mix. 


41.  Sept.  30 — Adam  Shoemaker  and  Cath- 
arine Staffer. 

42.  Sept.   18 — Anthony  Walters  and  Eliz- 
abeth Henry. 

43.  Sept.    23 — Thomas    S.    Anderson    and 
Eliza  Ritchey. 

44.  Oct.    II — Thomas    Conley   and    Sarah 
S^warts. 

45.  Oct.  4 — John  Snyder  and  Mary  Aubert- 
son. 

46.  Oct.  7 — Joseph  Rockwell  and  Rachael 
Gumer. 

47.  Oct.    9 — Silas    Armstrong   and    Sarah 
Preston. 

48.  Oct.      13 — David    Thomas    and    Jane 
Farmer. 

49.  Oct.  25 — Wm.  Davis  and  Lucy  Bray- 
ton. 

50.  Oct.   18 — Daniel  Williams  and  Jerusha 
Switzer. 

51.  Oct.    21 — Daniel   Albright   and   Judith 
Lashley. 

52.  Oct.  23 — Wm.  Magers  and  Mary  An- 
drews. 

53.  Oct.   20 — Archibold   Flora   and   Sarah 
Kroft. 

54.  Nov.    8 — Thomas    Miller    and    Betsey 


28.  May    12— Wm.    Sproat   and   Elizabeth     Mariah  Miner. 
Cooper.  55-  Nov.   6 — Stephen  Dukeman  and  Mar- 

29.  May  8— Samuel  Shaffner  and  Frances     S^^^^  Deeds, 


Shultz. 

30.  June  6 — James  Gibson  and   Emmiline 
Dunn. 

31.  June   14 — Martin  Shaffner  and   Susan 
Aurandt. 

32.  July  2 — ^Jacob  Yost  and  Julia  Crosby. 

33.  July  9 — Charles  Edward  Van  Voorhis 
and  Susan  Jones. 

34.  July   ,12 — Joseph    Rush    and    Phoebe 
Casto. 

35.  July  26 — Amos  Garton  and  Nancy  Bib- 
ler. 

36.  Aug.  6 — Sebastian  Lay  and  Magdalene 
Benton. 

37.  Aug.  II — Edward  Porter  and  Rachael 
Schupp. 

38.  Sept.    17 — Michael    Fishel    and    Anna 
Hammond. 


56.  Nov.  15 — Daniel  Wright  and  Elizabeth 
Woolsey. 

57.  Nov.    18 — Gabriel  Langdon  and  Eliza 
Bovee. 

58.  Nov.  22 — John  S.  Crandall  and  Eliza- 
beth Bibler. 

59.  Nov.    21 — Wm.    Sinclair    and    Laura 
Barney. 

60.  Nov.  25 — Frederick  Green  and  Rakina 
Moyer. 

61.  Dec.   4 — ^James   McCracken   and    Ruth 
Marquis. 

62.  Dec.  6 — Jacob  Beck  and  Mary  Berlene. 

63.  Dec.  4 — Hugh  Long  and  Sarah  Hinkle. 

64.  Dec.   9 — ^John   Schultz  and   Mary  Mc- 
Michael. 

65.  Dec.  9 — John  Duncan  and  Mary  Mc- 
Michael. 

66.  Dec.      20 — Benjamin     VanPloet     and 


39.  Aug.   30 — Daniel   Ball   and   Katharine     Sarah  Ann  Champion. 
Ziegeler.  67.  Dec.  19 — William  Bevington  and  Sarah 

40.  Sept.  6 — Geo.  Reed  and  Catherine  Bash.     Jane  Wolsey. 


566 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


68.  Dec.  25 — Daniel  Metcalf  and  Lena 
Stauffer. 

From  the  time  of  the  commencement 
of  the  marriage  record  on  October  17,  1831, 
until  Jan.  i,  1832,  there  were  12  licenses  is- 
sued. During  the  year  1832  there  were  56 
issued.  In  1833  there  were  80  issued.  In 
1834  there  were  72.  In  1835  there  were  95. 
In  1836  there  were  117.  In  1837  there  were 
103.  In  1838  there  were  104.  In  1839  there 
were  135  and  in  1840  there  were  102. 

THE    NAME    OF    BUCYRUS 

For  over  half  a  century  the  name  Bucyrus 
has  been  the  subject  of  much  research  and 
earnest,  honest  endeavor  to  discover  why  it 
was  so  named.  In  the  History  of  Crawford 
county  of  1880  the  historian  of  Bucyrus, 
Thomas  P.  Hopley,  goes  into  the  matter  very 
fully,  as  follows: 

"The  new  town  was  christened  Bucyrus 
by  Col.  Kilbourne.  There  has  been  much  spec- 
ulation in  regard  to  the  origin  of  the  word, 
and  many  persons  have  wondered  why  the 
town  received  this  name.  The  word  is  so 
classical  in  sound  that  it  is  not  surprising  its 
meaning  should  not  be  universally  understood 
unless  its  true  origin  is  known.  Doubtless 
many  a  classical  scholar  has  examined  his 
Latin  dictionary  and  Greek  lexicon  to  obtain  a 
satisfactory  derivation  of  the  word,  and  dur- 
ing the  past  sixty  years  many  plausible  theories 
have  been  advanced.  An  examination  of  the 
original  contract  between  Messrs.  Norton  and 
Kilbourne  will  prove  that  the  town  was  named 
Bucyrus  betwen  the  time  the  agreement  was 
made  (Oct.  4,  1821)  and  the  date  it  was  first 
altered,  (Dec.  15,  1821);  it  also  proves  that 
the  name  of  the  town  was  spelled  in  the  first 
legal  papers  of  the  village,  as  at  the  present 
time.  Of  all  the  theories  advanced  in  regard 
to  the  origin  of  this  word  Bucyrus,  only  two 
refer  to.  Col.  Kilbourne  as  authority,  and,  as  it 
is  beyond  a  doubt  that  this  gentleman  created 
and  then  adopted  this  name,  these  theories 
are  both  given.  It  is  claimed  by  both  author- 
ities that  Kilbourne  desired  to  have  a  name 
for  this  town  different  from  that  of  any  burg 
ever  inhabited  by  man  since  the  world  was 
created.  He  succeeded.  The  daughters  of 
Samuel  Norton,  the  original  proprietor  of  the 
land,  assert  that  one  of  Col.  Kilbourne's  fav- 


orite historical  characters  was  *Cyrus,  the  Per- 
sian general,  who  conquered  the  city  of  Baby- 
lon, and  the  town  was  named  by  the  Colonel 
in  honor  of  this  distinguished  soldier.  The 
country  in  the  vicinity  of  this  town  was  very 
beautiful  at  an  early  day,  and  the  name  Cyrus 
being  rather  short,  (possibly  too  much  so  to  suit 
the  metre  of  his  early  songs),  Kilbourne  pre- 
fixed to  the  celebrated  Persian's  name  the 
syllable  "bu",  the  sound  of  the  first  part  of 
the  word  beautiful,  and  the  old  surveyor  de- 
clared the  name  should  always  mean  "beautiful 
Cyrus."  This  theory  is  a  very  plausible  one, 
and  will  be  satisfactory  to  many  citizens  whose 
knowledge  of  the  classics  is  even  more  limited 
than  some  who  have  prepared  historical 
sketches  for  this  work.  But  there  are  those 
who  solemnly  assert  that  a  classical  scholar 
would  smile  at  the  formation  of  a  word  in 
this  manner;  these  persons  declare  that,  as 
Col.  Kilbourne  was  a  very  highly  educated 
man,  he  would  never  attempt  to  coin  a  word 
in  defiance  of  the  rules  laid  down  by  Noah 
Webster  and  other  distinguished  men  of  letters 
who  preceded  him. 

"The  other  authority,  however  is  also  based 
upon  Col.  Kilbourne's  statement.  F.  Adams, 
Esq.,  of  Bucyrus,  who  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  old  surveyor,  says  that  Mr.  Kilbourne 
told  him  in  after  years  that  it  was  his  desire 
the  town  should  have  a  name  of  its  own,  and  be 
the  only  town  of  that  name — that  the  African 
town  "Busiris"  (in  ancient  Egypt,  near  the 
river  Nile)  pleased  his  fancy,  and  he  changed 
it  into  Bucyrus  as  a  good  sounding  name. 
These  two  statements  are  both  from  responsible 
and  reliable  sources;  it  may  be  the  duty  of 
an  unbiased  historian  to  draw  conclusions 
from  these  facts  presented,  and  endeavor  "to 
settle  the  disputed  point,  but  in  this  case  we 
will  not  undertake  the  task,  but  will  refer 
the  matter  to  the  patrons  of  this  work.  How- 
ever, this  name  Bucyrus  did  not  suit  some  of 
the  early  settlers  in  the  village,  who  were  ill- 
natured  enough  to  object  to  the  Colonel's  ideas 
about  a  queer  name ;  it  has  frequently  been,  in 
later  years,  a  stumbling  block  to  many  non- 
residents who  invariably  mispronounce  the 
word.  But  these  early  residents  who  objected 
to  the  name  are  nearly  all  dead,  and  those  who 
fail  to  speak  the  word  like  a  native  of  the 

*  Cyrus  was  a  King  as  well  as  "general." 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


567 


city  are  not  firm  believers  in  the  future  des- 
tiny of  the  place,  and  consequently  should  not 
be  consulted  in  regard  to  the  name;  undoubt- 
edly all  of  the  present  inhabitants  are  satisfied, 
and  many  are  proud  of  the  name  Bucyrus." 

The  following  is  taken  from  the  Bucyrus 
Journal  of  Nov.  28,  1862 : 

"Rev.  W.  M.  Ferguson,  one  of  the  ministers 
in  attendance  at  the  recent  Synod  of  the  Pres- 
b)d:erian  Church,  writes  to  the  Philadelphia 
Presbyterian  as  follows,  in  regard  to  Bucyrus : 

"Here  we  all  are!  All  who?  Members  of 
the  Synod  of  Ohio,  in  session  in  Bucyrus,  the 
shire  town  of  Crawford  county,  situated  on 
the  head  waters  of  Sandusky  river,  and  named 
after  a  boy  whom  his  father  was  wont  to  call 
the  'Beautiful  Cyrus,'  a  convenient  name  for  a 
real  nice  town — one  far  more  euphonious  than 
Cyrusville  or  burg,  or  some  similar  or  wretch- 
edly commonplace  appellative.  It  is  the  only 
town  of  the  name  in  the  world,  and,  therefore, 
its  legibly  written  mail  matter  is  seldom  'mis- 
sent.'  How  unlike  is  the  postal  experience  of 
many  unfortunates'  who  live  in  some  of  the 
numerous  'Johnstowns'  and  'Washingtons'  of 
the  west." 

The  writer  of  this  History  in  the  chapter  on 
Bucyrus  has  given  his  opinion  without  hesita- 
tion that  the  town  was  called  after  the  Egyp- 
tan  name  of  Busiris.  In  thus  differing  from 
the  children  of  Samuel  Norton,  who  met  Col. 
Kilbourne  many  times,  it  is  perhaps  proper 
that  the  facts  on  which  this  opinion  is  based 
should  be  laid  before  the  reader : 

That  Mr.  Kilbourne  was  a  classical  scholar 
is  true,  but  the  inference  drawn  by  Josiali 
Scott  and  Franklin  Adams,  who  were  com- 
•  panions  of  his,  that  he  would  never  "attempt 
to  coin  a  word  in  defiance  of  the  rules  laid 
down  by  Noah  Webster,"  is  hardly  correct. 
Mr.  Kilbourne  laid  out  thirteen  towns  in  Ohio. 
One  of  these  is  Claridon,  in  Marion  county,  and 
both  Marion  historians  say  it  was  "given  the 
beautiful  and  historic  name  of  Claridon  by 
Col.  Kilbourne."  There  is  no  such  name  in 
ancient  or  modern  history,  nor  can  it  be  found 
in  Grecian  mythology.  It  was  probably  named 
after  a  distinguished  family  named  Clarendon 
who  founded  a  colony  with  advanced  ideas  in 
South  Carolina.  The  Colonel  changed  the 
spelling  because  it  suited  him,  and  sounded 
pretty.     He  laid  out  the  town  of  Melmore  in 


Seneca  county.  He  named  it  after  the  Latin 
word  "mel,"  honey,  and  added  the  word 
"more"  to  it.  He  did  the  same  thing  in  regard 
to  Bucyrus;  he  changed  the  spelling,  because 
it  suited  his  fancy. 

He  did  undoubtedly  say,  at  Bucyrus,  that 
he  had  named  it  after  Cyrus,  prefixing  the  first 
syllable  of  the  word  beautiful.  Col.  Kilbourne 
was  one  of  the  most  sociable  of  men,  very 
entertaining,  and  given  to  light  and  joking 
remarks.  He  was  twice  married.  His  second 
wife  was  Mrs.  Barnes,  whom  he  married  in 
1808,  and  she  had  three  little  daughters,  and 
they  were  brought  up  in  the  Kilbourne  home 
and  were  great  favorites  of  the  Colonel.  One 
of  these  daughters,  Mira,  in  1818,  married 
Cyrus  Fay.  Can  any  one  doubt  that  the  little 
Cyrus  would  be  called  by  all  sorts  of  pet 
names  and  before  he  could  more  than  prattle, 
unable  to  master  the  "beautiful"  would  content 
himself  by  lisping  "Boo-Cyrus."  Can  any  one 
doubt  that  the  happy  Colonel  gleefully  told  the 
story,  and  assured  his  friends  he  positively 
named  the  town  after  his  little  favorite.  Later, 
when  the  infant  had  grown  the  story  was 
flat,  and  the  natural  tendency  was  for  the 
Colonel  to  transfer  the  story  to  Cyrus  the 
Great.  That  is  how  Beautiful  Cyrus  probably 
originated. 

When  the  Journal  published  the  communi- 
cation of  Mr.  Ferguson,  it  published  at  the 
same  time  the  following  reply: 

"Bucyrus  is  not,  as  many  suppose,  an  Indian 
name,  neither  was  it  named  after  a  boy  whom 
his  father  was  wont  to  call  'the  Beautiful  Cy- 
rus,' as  a  correspondent  in  the  Philadelpliia 
Presbyterian  suggests. 

"Col.  Kilbourne,  the  founder  of  the  town, 
derived  the  name  from  that  passage  in  the 
first  chapter  of  Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  which 
reads  thus: 

■'The  red  sea  coast  whose  waves  o'enhrew 
Busiris  and  his   Memphian  chivalry." 

"The  present  orthography  was  the  invention 
of  Col.  K." 

As  late  as  1895  Major  E.  C.  Moderv^ell 
wrote  the  Evening  Telegraph  a  long  letter  on 
this  subject,  from  which  the  following  is  taken: 

"When  in  Bucyrus  a  few  months  ago,  I 
heard  one  of  the  High  School  pupils  say  that 
one  of  the  teachers  had  recently  stated  the 
origin  of  the  name  Bucyrus.     Said  it  was  so 


568 


HISTORY  OF  CR-\\\FORD  COUNTY 


named  by  Col.  James  Kilbourne  because  he  was 
a  great  admirer  of  Cyrus  the  Great,  and  as 
he  knew  the  town  was  to  be  a  beautiful  one,  he 
thought  "Beautiful  Cyrus"  would  be  an  ap- 
propriate name.  As  the  name  would  be  rather 
long  he  concluded  to  abbreviate  'beautiful' 
down  to  'bu,'  and  called  it  Bu-cyrus. 

"About  20  years  ago  J.  W^ard  in  his  historical 
sketch  of  Crawford  county  made  a  similar 
statement,  and  in  the  history  of  Crawford 
county  the  same  was  given  as  the  probable 
origin  of  the  name  Bucyrus. 

"Now  with  all  due  deference  to  the  authors 
of  these  sayings,  allow  one  of  the  oldest  na- 
tives bom  in  Buc)n:Tis  now  living  to  enter  a 
protest  against  such  ridiculous  statements. 

"I  remember  well,  when  about  12  years  of 
age,*  going  with  several  schoolmates  to  attend 
a  meeting  of  the  board  of  the  Buc)rrus  Library 
Association.  Josiah  Scott,  president ;  George 
Quinby,  librarian;  Jabez  Larwill,  James  Mc- 
Cracken,  John  Smith,  and  several  other  old 
citizens,  all  of  whom  knew  Col.  Kilbourne, 
were  present. 

"After  the  meeting  adjourned.  Judge  Scott 
said  to  us:  'Young  men,  if  you  ever  want  to 
know  the  origin  of  the  name  of  the  town,  look 
in  Milton's  Paradise  Lost.'  He  took  the  book 
out  of  the  library  and  quoted  therefrom: 

*Major  E.  C.  Moderwell  was  born,  March  6,  1838. 


"The  Red  Sea  coast,  whose  waves  o'erthrew 
Busiris  and  his  Memphian  chivalry." 

"Judge  Scott  was  intimately  acquainted  with 
Col.  Kilbourne,  and  used  to  play  chess  with 
him  at  Columbus  and  when  he  visited  Bucy- 
rus." 

A\'eighing  all  of  the  above  and  much  more 
on  both  sides  which  has  been  gone  over  care- 
fully, it  might  be  difficult  to  form  a  definite 
opinion.  But  the  convincing  proofs  are  cer- 
taip  records  which  are  not  handed  down,  but 
appeared  in  black  and  white  when  the  town 
first  sprang  into  existence.  It  is  impossible  to 
figure  any  way  by  which  "Busiris"  could  have 
crept  into  these  records,  except  the  fact  that 
it  was  the  foundation  for  the  name. 

I — In  1829,  John  Kilbourne,  a  nephew  of 
Col.  Kilbourne,  published  his  ninth  Ohio 
Gazeteer,  giving  the  names  of  all  the  towns 
and  postoffices  in  Ohio.  On  page  251  of  that 
book  the  last  "B"  on  the  list  is  "Busiris,"  see 
Bucyrus."  And  under  '.'Bucyrus"  he  gives  the 
statistics  relating  to  the  village. 

II — ^The  Postoffice  Department  at  \\^ashing- 
ton  writes:  "Bucyrus  or  Busirus  was  estab- 
lished Feb.  2,  1824,  with  Lewis  Cary  as  P.  M., 
who  served  until  Henry  St.  John  was  appointed 
July  20,  1829.  During  these  five  years  the 
name  of  the  office  appears  on  the  records  as 
'Bucvrus.'  alias  'Busiris.'  " 


HON.  DANIEL  BABST 


Representative  Citizens 


HON.  DANIEL  BABST.  Among  the  con- 
ditions which  determine  the  characters  of  men, 
their  mental  and  physical  qualities  and  their 
ultimate  destiny  in  life,  none  are  more  power- 
ful than  environment  and  heredity.  The  Babst 
family  was  nurtured  beneath  the  shadows  of 
the  blue  Alsatian  Mountains.  Living  near  the 
city  of  Strasburg,  in  that  Rhinish  borderland 
so  many  centuries  the  scene  of  contest  between 
the  Germans  and  the  French,  they  were  of 
necessity  lovers  of  liberty,  strong  of  limb  and 
sturdy  of  body,  keen  of  intellect,  haters  of 
oppression,  upright  in  character,  and  ready  and 
willing  at  all  times  to  fight  their  own  battles  in 
life. 

Of  such  parentage  and  country  was  Daniel 
Babst,  St.,  who  was  born  in  1810.  His  father 
was  an  officer  in  the  French  army,  and  the  son 
retained  until  his  death  vivid  recollections  of 
Napoleon's  last  campaign,  and  especially  of 
the  straggling  army  returning  from  the  disas- 
trous battle  of  Waterloo.  He  remained  in  his' 
native  country  until  1832,  when  he  came  to 
America.  He  spent  three  years  in  New  York 
city  and  then  came  to  Ohio,  locating  in  Stark 
county,  first  at  Massillon  and  later  at  Canal 
Fulton.  At  the  latter  place  in  1841  he  was 
married  to  Margaret  Yost,  whose  family  were 
also  natives  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  and  shared 
the  sturdy  characteristics  of  her  husband's 
family. 

It  was  at  Canal  Fulton  that  Daniel  Babst 
was  born,  on  Oct.  19,  1847.  ^^  was  still  but 
a  lad  when,  in  1852,  his  father  removed  with 
his  family  to  Crestline,  a  town  brought  into 
existence  by  the  building  of  new  railroads,  and 
having  the  promise  of  a  brilliant  future.  He 
received  his  public  school  training  in  the  Crest- 


line schools,  and  from  1864  to  1867  was  a 
student  in  Oberlin  College.  Leaving  college 
he  began  the  study  of  law  under  the  tutelage  of 
Nathan  Jones,  Esq.,  of  Crestline,  and  in  1872 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  His  practice  from  that 
time  was  uninterrupted  until  his  election  to  the 
Common  Pleas  bench  in  1906. 

During  his  career  in  the  legal  profession,  in 
which  Judge  Babst  soon  attained  a  leading 
rank  his  services  have  always  been  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  poor  and  needy,  the  altruistic 
spirit  being  among  the  most  marked  traits  of 
the  man.  The  native  talent  which  he  inherited 
was  accompanied  by  the  genius  for  hard  work 
which  is  at  the  bottom  of  every  great  success 
in  life.  To  whatever  task  he  applies  himself 
is  given  the  best  effort  of  which  he  is  capable. 

A  natural  leader  of  men,  he  has  been  called 
to  many  positions  of  usefulness  and  honor. 
His  antecedents  made  him  naturally  a  Repub- 
lican, but  he  was  appointed  solicitor  by  a  Dem- 
ocratic council,  serving  from  1877  to  1879, 
when  he  was  appointed  mayor  by  the  same 
body.  Later  he  was  elected  to  that  office,  serv- 
ing for  seven  years  at  that  time.  He  was 
again  elected  mayor  in  1894  and  served  two 
terms.  His  service  to  his  home  town  also  in- 
cluded ten  years  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Education  and  Board  of  School  Examiners,  a 
service  which  he  justly  regarded  as  the  most 
useful  and  important  that  a  man  can  give.  To 
it  he  brought  the  benefit  of  his  legal  knowledge 
and  his  literary  training,  making  it  a  service 
of  rare  value. 

In  1884  Mr.  Babst  was  the  Republican 
nominee  for  Congress  in  this  district,  and  al- 
though his  opponent  was  elected  it  was  by  so 
greatly  reduced  a  majority  as  to  be  really  a 


571 


572 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


defeat.  Three  years  later  he  made  the  race 
for  attorney-general  of  the  State,  losing  out 
by  a  very  narrow  margin. 

Always  an  independent  thinker,  Mr.  Babst 
left  his  party  in  1896,  supporting  Hon.  Wil- 
liam P.  Bryan  on  the  financial  issues  that  then 
became  uppermost  in  American  politics.  He 
has  since  acted  with  the  Democratic  party.  In 
1906  he  was  nominated  and  elected  to  the 
Common  Pleas  bench  of  the  Second  Sub-divi- 
sion of  the  Tenth  District,  an  office  which  he 
still  holds.  In  accepting  the  position  of  judge, 
Mr.  Babst  had  but  one  ambition.  This  was 
to  merit  the  reputation  of  a  just  judge.  Though 
a  man  of  strong  feelings,  of  ardent  likes  and 
dislikes,  on  the  bench  he  knows  neither  friend 
nor  foe.  His  knowledge  of  the  law  is  broad 
and  profound,  and  in  practice  he  was  brilliant 
and  able.  On  the  bench  all  of  this  talent  is 
given  to  careful  and  just  interpretation  of  the 
law,  always  bearing  in  mind  also  that  a  Court 
is  a  seat  of  equity  as  well  as  law.  While,  like 
all  judges,  he  is  compelled  at  times  to  render 
decisions  which  some  of  the  parties  do  not 
like,  they  are  almost  uniformly  sustained  by  the 
higher  courts,  thus  demonstrating  that  the  law 
has  been  faithfully  and  impartially  applied. 
Judge  Babst  from  his  long  practice  realized  the 
many  evils  that  had  crept  into  court  procedure, 
and  these  he  has  striven  to  correct,  with  ad- 
mirable success.  The  rules  have  been  simpli- 
fied and  so  arranged  that  all  could  understand 
and  conform  to  them.  Promptness  has  char- 
acterized the  work  of  the  court  and  the  docket 
has  been  more  nearly  cleaned  up  than  for  many 
years.  The  great  work  that  Judge  Babst  has 
accomplished  is  recognized  by  those  most  com- 
petent to  pronounce  an  opinion,  and  he  bids  fair 
to  realize  his  ambition  of  making  a  record  as 
a  model  judge  of  a  trial  court,  the  most  diffi- 
cult position  in  our  judicial  system. 

But  it  is  not  alone  in  his  professional  and 
official  work  that  Judge  Babst  has  achieved 
success  in  life.  As  a  citizen  he  has  been  al- 
ways active  and  public  spirited.  Without  en- 
tering into  elaborate  details  it  may  be  noted 
that  he  was  a  leading  factor  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Schill  Bros.'  factory  at  Crestline. 
He  promoted  and  established  the  works  now  oc- 
cupied by  the  Burch  Plow  Company.  He 
drafted  and  procured  the  passage  of  the  law 
which   made   possible   the  beginning  of   road 


improvement  in  Jackson  township,  and  which 
has  since  been  of  inestimable  value  to  commu- 
nities throughout  the  state.  He  was  a  pro- 
moter of  the  Crestline  Building  and  Loan  As- 
sociation, and  promoted  and  established  the 
First  National  Bank  of  that  city.  It  was  he 
also  who  promoted  and  brought  to  Crestline 
the  interurban  electric  road,  now  the  C.  &  S.  W. 

Judge  Babst's  experience  in  business  affairs 
has  been  wide  and  his  judgment  sound.  He 
was  a  partner  in  the  Babst  Banking  House  with 
his  Brother  Jacob  for  a  number  of  years,  and 
was  his  father's  assistant  in  many  important 
matters.  He  was  a  few  years  ago  appointed 
receiver  of  the  N.  Y.  &  P.  &  O.  Railway  by 
Judge  Caleb  H.  Norris  and  has  had  many 
other  trusts  confided  to  his  hands,  vital  in  im- 
portance, and  always  executed  with  the  most 
scrupulous  and  painstaking  fidelity.  His  ac- 
quaintance with  public  men  is  broad  and  his 
knowledge  of  affairs  is  of  wide  scope.  His 
erudition  and  culture,  his  experience  and 
travels  at  home  and  abroad,  combined  with  a 
genial  nature  and  broad  and  catholic  s)mi- 
pathies,  make  him  a  welcome  addition  to  every 
circle  into  which  he  can  be  induced  to  enter. 
He  is  a  Mason  of  high  degree  and  an  Elk. 

It  is  in  his  home  that  Judge  Babst  finds  his 
greatest  happiness  and  is  at  his  best.  His 
spacious  residence  on  Pearl  Street  in  Crestline 
is  a  center  of  whole-souled  hospitality,  and  is 
admirably  arranged  for  every  purpose.  The 
library  is  his  favorite  lounging  place.  In  it  he 
has  a  collection  of  relics  and  curios  rarely  to  be 
equaled  and  almost  never  surpassed  in  a  pri- 
vate collection.  There  too  is  his  magnificent 
private  library,  the  finest  collection  in  Central 
Ohio.  It  is,  indeed,  many  libraries  in  one. 
His  law  library  is  superb  and  includes  many 
rare  and  valuable  volumes  seldom  available  to 
either  legal  practitioner  or  judge.  The  clas- 
sics, history,  especially  American,  French  and 
English,  fiction,  biography  and  other  depart- 
ments, each  reach  to  the  dimensions  of  a  li- 
brary, and  each  contains  many  volumes  secured 
only  by  the  true  book  lover  and  collector. 
Here,  among  his  beloved  books.  Judge  Babst 
enjoys  his  leisure  hours.  Here  he  receives 
and  entertains  his  friends  and  here  he  does  the 
work  which  his  judicial  service  imposes  upon 
the  midnight  hours.  Here  he  produces  the 
occasional  addresses  which  never  fail  to  charm 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


573 


his  hearers,  whether  of  the  bar  or  laity,  in  so- 
cial gathering  or  before  the  general  public. 
Sincerity,  eloquence  and  literary  polish  mark 
legal  opinions  as  well  as  public  speech,  and 
have  helped  to  give  him  the  good  will  as  well 
as  the  confidence  of  all. 

Judge  Babst  has  been  twice  married.  His 
first  wife  was  Miss  Alice  Martin  of  Crestline. 
After  a  brief  married  life,  Mrs.  Babst  died, 
leaving  two  children,  both  of  whom  are  still 
living.  They  are:  Lora  May,  now  the  wife  of 
Prof.  E.  P.  Wiles,  of  Evansville,  Ind. ;  and 
Carl  M:  Babst,  who  is  an  attorney  located  at 
Crestline,  and  also  a  well  known  civil  engi- 
neer. His  second  wife  was  Miss  Lou  Ella 
Carlisle,  of  Cambridge,  Guernsey  county,  O. 
They  have  two  children:  Clara  Eleanore  and 
Guy  M.  Babst.  Miss  Clara  is  at  home  and  has 
recently  completed  a  course  in  Oberlin  College. 
Guy  M.  Babst  is  interested  in  the  manufacture 
of  Aluminum  Cast  Ware  at  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Happy  in  his  home  and  family,  honoring  the 
work  in  which  he  engages  and  honored  by  his 
fellow  men,  Judge  Babst  pursues  the  even 
tenor  of  his  way  through  the  afternoon  of 
life — a  life  whose  activities  and  usefulness  will 
not  cease  until  the  lengthening  twilight  shad- 
ows have  been  merged  into  the  night,  to  be 
the  herald  of  a  new  dawn  upon  a  brighter  day. 

HON.  CHARLES  F.  SCHABER,  probate 
judge  in  Crawford  county,  Ohio,  and  for  many 
years  a  leading  member  of  the  bar  at  Bucyrus, 
is  a  native  ojf  said  city,  born  July  30,  1873, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  A.  and  Bertha  W.  (Mar- 
graff)  Schaber. 

John  A.  Schaber  was  born  in  Germany  and 
accompanied  his  parents  John  George  and 
Fredrica  Schaber,  to  Crawford  county,  Ohio, 
in  1854.  He  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade  but 
was  engaged  during  the  larger  part  of  his  ac- 
tive life  in  merchandising.  In  1877  he  was 
elected  sheriff  of  Crawford  county  and  served 
with  efficiency  in  that  office  for  two  terms.  To 
John  A.  Schaber  and  wife  three  children  were 
born :  Charles  F.,  Sophia  M.,  and  a  son  that 
died  in  childhood. 

Charles  F  Schaber  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Bucyrus.  In  January,  1892,  he 
accepted  a  position  as  clerk  in  the  office  of 
Hon.  J.  C.  Tobias,  judge  of  the  probate  court, 
and  later  was  made  deputy  clerk  of  said  court 


and  served  in  that  position  for  six  years.  He 
chose  law  as  his  profession  and  pursued  his 
studies  in  the  office  of  Finley  &  Gallinger,  at 
Bucyrus,  and  in  December,  1900,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar.  He  immediately  opened  a  law  of- 
fice and  entered  upon  the  labors  of  his  pro- 
fession, showing  the  c[ualities  as  he  rapidly 
made  headway  that  aroused  attention.  His 
legal  qualifications  placed  him  early  among 
the  able  members  of  the  Bucyrus  bar,  while 
his  years  of  close  connection  with  the  probate 
court  seemed  to  especially  fit  him  for  the  re- 
sponsible duties  of  a  judge  of  the  same  and  in 
1905  he  was  elected  to  his  present  office  on  the 
democratic  ticket. 

Judge  Schaber  is  identified  with  numerous 
social  organizations,  belongs  fraternally  to  the 
Elks  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  has  al- 
ways taken  an  active  interest  in  public  matters 
as  becomes  the  reliable  and  earnest  citizen,  and 
both  personally  and  professionally  is  held  in 
high  esteem.  During  the  Spanish-American 
war  he  served  as  a  lieutenant  and  adjutant  in 
the  Eighth  Ohio  Vol.  Inf.,  which  was  attached 
to  the  Fifth  Army  Corps,  and  was  present  at 
the  surrender  of  Santiago,  Cuba.  Judge 
Schaber  was  married  September  8,  1904,  to 
Miss  Ida  Blanche  Johnston,  a  native  of  this 
county ;  they  have  three  children,  Bertha  Mary, 
Virginia  May  and  Ruth  Marion.  The  pleas- 
ant family  home  is  situated  on  West  Warren 
street,  Bucyrus.  He  was  reared  in  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church. 

WILLIAM  ULMER,  general  farmer,  and 
well  known  and  respected  citizen  of  Crawford 
county,  was  born  in  Crawford  county,  Jan.  22, 
185 1,  and  is  a  son  of  Adam  and  Catherine 
(Bahler)  Ulmer. 

The  father  and  mother  of  William  Ulmer 
were  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany.  They 
were  the  parents  of  the  following  children: 
John,  William  and  Minnie  (twins),  Israel, 
and  Mary.  The  father  of  this  family  died  in 
1856.  The  family  then  moved  to  Henry 
county,  Ohio.  William  Ulmer  attended  the 
country  schools  and  afterward  worked  on  the 
farm  and  also  learned  the  carpenter's  trade, 
which  he  followed  for  some  time  and  was  con- 
sidered a  skillful  workman.  Then,  in  part- 
nership with  his  brother  Israel,  he  purchased 
the   present   farm   of    113   acres,   only   30   of 


574 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


which  had  been  cleared  when  they  purchased 
it.  Since  then  the  farm  has  been  much  im- 
proved. It  is  located  in  Bucyrus  township, 
three  and  a  half  miles  west  of  Bucyrus,  on 
the  Nevada  road. 

In  1882  William  Ulmer  was  married  to 
Miss  Sarah  Seibert,  the  youngest  daughter  of 
Peter  and  Catherine  (Smith)  Seibert.  Two 
this  union  eight  children  were  born:  Edith 
May,  wife  of  Clarence  Briggs;  Bessie  Belle; 
William  Calvin;  Elsie  Anna,  wife  of  Harri- 
son Henry;  Frank  Adam;  Katheryn  Frances; 
James  Monroe;  and  Howard  Hamilton. 

William  Ulmer  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church  and  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  is  a 
very  active  party  man,  having  held  the  office 
of  trustee  of  Bncyrus  township  for  two  terms. 

THOMAS  J.  GRISELL,  one  of  Galion's 
highly  respected  citizens,  was  born  in  Morrow 
county,  O.,  in  October,  185 1,  and  is  a  son  of 
Thomas  and  Susanna  (Benedict)  (Shaw)  Gri- 
sell.  They  spent  many  years  of  happy  mar- 
ried life  on  their  farm  near  Cardington,  O., 
and  died  there  when  aged  about  seventy  years. 

Thomas  J.  Grisell  attended  the  country 
schools  in  boyhood  but  as  soon  as  old  enough 
to  look  out  for  himself,  began  railroad  work 
with  the  Erie  and  Big  Four  lines  and  when 
he  was  promoted  to  be  local  freight  conduct- 
or, settled  at  Findlay,  O.  In  1890  he  came 
to  Galion  and  since  then  has  been  engaged  at 
carpentering  and  is  known  as  a  skillful  work- 
man, apt  with  his  tools  and  accurate  in  his 
estimates,  and  as  such  has  been  connected 
with  a  great  deal  of  the  recent  building  which 
has  made  Galion  a  very  beautiful  city. 

Mr.  Grisell  was  married  at  Findlay,  O.,  to 
Miss  Mary  Jane  Merrit,  who  died  in  1882,  at 
the  age  of  38  years,  survived  by  two  daugh- 
ters :  Lulu,  who  married  Fred  Lamb,  resides  at 
Cleveland,  O.,  and  has  two  sons;  and  Olive, 
who  is  the  wife  of  \\^alter  Cristie,  who  is  a 
clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Erie  Railway  Com- 
pany at  Marion,  O.  Mr.  Grisell  was  married 
(second)  at  Galion,  to  Miss  Mary  Gerth,  who 
was  born  in  .this  city,  April  23,  1861,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Peter  and  Amy  (Baker)  Gerth.  The 
father  of  Mrs.  Grisell  was  born  in  Germany 
and  was  six  years  old  when  his  parents,  Louis 
and  Margaret  Gerth,  brought  him  to  Galion. 
Grandfather  Gerth  was  a  well  educated  man 


and  taught  in  the  early  schools  of  Galion  and 
lived  to  be  seventy  years  of  age.    Peter  Gerth 
learned  the  trade  of  custom  boot  and  shoe- 
maker and  for  many  years  carried  on  business 
at  Galion.     He  survives,  being  now  78  years 
of  age  and  for  the  past  six  years  has  lived  re- 
tired.    He  takes  an  active  interest  in  public 
affairs  notwithstanding  his  years,  and  has  al- 
ways voted  the  democratic  ticket.    The  moth- 
er of  Mrs.  Grisell  died  in  1892.    Both  parents 
were    members    of    the    English    Methodist 
church.    One  daughter  has  been  born  to  Mr. 
and    Mrs.    Grisell,    Amy   Louise,    August  3, 
1895,  who  is  a  bright  student  as  well  as  attrac- 
tive young  lady  and  is  a  member  of  the  class  of 
1914,  in  the  Galion  High  school.    Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Grisell  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  with  which  she  has  been  united 
since  she  was  twelve  years  of  age  and  in  which 
she  has  always  since  been  an  active  worker, 
belonging  to  the  benevolent  organizations  in 
which    this    church    is    especially    prominent 
among  religious  bodies.     She  is  a  member  also 
of  the  Eastern  Star. 

FREDERICK  W.  HIEBER,  one  of  the 
highly  respected  citizens  of  Liberty  township, 
and  one  of  its  leading  agriculturists,  lives  on 
his  excellent  farm  of  120  acres  which  is  situ- 
ated six  and  one-half  miles  northeast  of  Bu- 
cyrus. He  was  born  in  Liberty  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  April  27,  1868,  and  is 
a  son  of  Frederick  and  Lydia  (Lust)  Hieber. 

Frederick  Hieber  was  born  in  Germany  and 
was  brought  to  Crawford  county  when  a  child 
of  five  years;  he  grew  to  manhood  here  and 
followed  farming  all  his  life,  and  through  in- 
dustry and  good  management  became  the 
owner  of  372  acres.  His  death  occurred  in 
1894,  when  he  was  aged  but  fifty-two  years. 
He  married  Lydia  Lust,  who  was  born  in 
Crawford  county,  a  daughter  of  one  of  the 
old  settlers,  Frederick  Lust,  and  the  following 
children  were  born  to  them:  Frederick  W., 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Luidhardt,  Samuel,  Benjamin, 
Joseph,  Jacob,  Sarah,  Isaac,  Sophia  and 
Reuben. 

Frederick  W.  Hieber  has  been  a  farmer  and 
stock  raiser  ever  since  his  school  days,  spend- 
ing eight  years  in  Lykens  township  prior  to 
1894,  when  he  came  to  his  present  valuable 
farm  in  Liberty  township,  where  he  has  made 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


575 


improvements  and  enjoys  a  comfortable  home. 

In  1 89 1  Mr.  Hieber  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Mary  Schieber,  a  daughter  of  Ja- 
cob Schieber.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Hieber 
came  from  Germany  to  Ohio  and  engaged  in 
farming  in  Crawford  county,  owning  180 
acres  in  Liberty  township  and  200  acres  in 
Whetstone  township,  at  time  of  his  death,  at 
the  age  of  fifty-two  years.  He  married  Eve 
Mauer,  who  was  born  in  Stark  county,  O., 
and  they  had  nine  children,  namely:  John, 
Louisa,  Henry,  David,  Emanuel,  Mary,  Lizzie, 
Abraham  and  Jay,  all  now  surviving  except 
Louisa  and  Jay. 

Six  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hieber,  namely:  Eva,  Carrie,  Gladys, 
Lulu  and  Lela  (twins),  and  Naomi.  Of  this 
family  all  are  living  except  Carrie.  They  at- 
tend the  Evangelical  church  of  which  they  are 
liberal  supporters.  In  politics  Mr.  Hieber  is  a 
Democrat. 

WILLIAM  H.  KEEL.  There  are  few 
business  men  in  the  city  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  who 
can  claim  a  longer  continuous  business  record 
than  can  William  H.  Keel,  who  established 
his  monument  and  marble  works  here  33  years 
ago.  He  has  been  a  witness  of  wonderful  de- 
velopment and  has  borne  a  part  in  advancing 
the  general  welfare.  He  was  born  in  Somer- 
set county,  Pa.,  in  April,  1854,  and  is  a  son  of 
Henry  and  Harriet  (Sailor)  Keel. 

Henry  Keel  was  born  also  in  Somerset 
county  and  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
there,  engaged  in  business  as  a  shoemaker. 
He  came  to  Ohio  after  his  son  had  established 
himself  here,  but  four  years  later  returned  to 
Somerset  county  and  died  there  at  the  home 
of  a  daughter,  when  aged  69  years.  He  was 
a  Democrat  in  politics  and  was  a  member  of 
the  Christian  church,  to  which  his  wife  also 
belonged.  She  died  when  her  son,  William 
H.,  was  eight  years  old.  Three  sons  and  two 
daughters  yet  live  and  one  son  and  two 
daughters  came  to  Ohio,  namely:  William  H., 
Mrs.  John  Auman,  who  lives  at  Ashland,  O. ; 
and  Mrs.  William  Houpt,  who  died  in  Shel- 
by, O.  Another  daughter,  Mrs.  Harriet 
Woolley,  died  in  Somerset,  Somerset  county. 
Pa. ;  and  still  another,  Mrs.  Lewis,  lives  at 
Barre,  Vt. ;  another  daughter,  Mrs.  Ruby,  died 
at  Braddock,  Pa. 


William  H.  Keel  started  to  learn  his  trade 
in  Somerset  county.  Pa.,  in  April,  1867,  after- 
ward coming  to  Ohio  and  working  for  nine 
years  as  a  journeyman  in  Shelby,  O.  In 
1878  he  came  to  Bucyrus  and  started  into 
business,  establishing  his  shops  at  No.  220 
South  Walnut  street.  He  soon  built  up  a 
large  trade  being  able  to  make  his  own  de- 
signs and  to  work  in  any  kind  of  stone  being 
particularly  skillful  in  cutting  marble  and 
granite.  At  one  time,  before  machinery  had 
been  introduced  to  do  a  part  of  stone  cutting 
work,  he  gave  employment  to  twenty- four 
workmen  and  kept  them  busy.  Mr.  Keel  is  a 
well  known  and  highly  respected  citizen  and 
can  look  back  over  many  worthy  achievements 
of  his  industrious  life. 

Mr.  Keel  was  married  first  at  Bucyrus,  to 
Miss  Tena  Hipp,  who  died  in  this  city  August 
15,  1894.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Judge  Fred- 
erick Hipp.  One  son  survived,  Claude  D. 
After  graduating  from  the  Bucyrus  High 
school,  he  graduated  in  the  class  of  1897,  from 
the  Ohio  State  college,  at  Columbus,  as  a  drug- 
gist and  chemist  and  since  then  has  been  en- 
gaged in  the  business  at  Bucyrus.  He  mar- 
ried Minnie  Leifer.  Mr.  Keel  was  married, 
secondly,  to  Miss  Catherine  Haas,  who  was 
born,  reared  and  educated  in  Holmes  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  a  daughter  of  Henry 
Haas,  who  carries  on  a  blacksmith  business 
there.  The  mother  of  Mrs.  Keel  died  some 
eight  ears  ago,  leaving  one  son  and  four  daugh- 
ters. Mr.  Keel  is  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He 
belongs  to  La  Salle  lodge.  No.  51,  Odd  Fel- 
lows, of  which  he  is  an  ex-official. 

J.  WALTER  WRIGHT,  attorney  and 
counsellor  at  law,  with  offices  in  the  Rouse 
Block,  Bucyrus,  O.,  was  born  at  West  Liberty, 
Logan  county,  O.,  July  14,  1874,  a  son  of 
James  W.  and  Margaret  S.  (Secrist)  Wright. 
James  W.  Wright  was  born  at  Frostburg,  Md., 
in  1 83 1,  and  came  to  Ohio  in  1838  with  his 
father,  James  Wright,  the  family  settling  in 
Champaign  county,  O.  Henry  Wright,  father 
of  James  Wright  the  elder,  came  from  Ireland, 
being  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry,  settling  in 
Maryland.  James  W.  Wright  married  Mar- 
garet S.  Secrist  in  i860,  and  they  have  lived 
continuously  at  West  Liberty,  O.  She  was 
born  near  West  Liberty  in  1840,  a  daughter  of 


576 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


George  Sacrist,  a  farmer,  who  came  from  Vir- 
ginia and  settled  in  Logan  county. 

J.  Walter  Wright  attended  the  public 
schools  of  West  Liberty  and  was  graduated 
from  the  High  school  and  afterwards  was  a 
student  at  Oberlin  college,  Oberlin,  O.,  for  one 
year.  He  then  began  the  study  of  law  and  en- 
tered the  law  school  of  the  Ohio  Northern 
university,  where  he  graduated  with  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Laws  in  the  spring  of  i8g8, 
when  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Columbus. 
In  January,  1899,  he  came  to  Bucyrus  and 
with  the  exception  of  a  part  of  the  year  of 
1903,  when  he  was  practicing  law  at  Belling- 
ham.  Wash.,  he  has  continued  his  professional 
activities  in  this  city  for  the  past  twelve  years. 
In  politics  Mr.  Wright  is  a  Republican.  He  is 
identified  with  the  Masonic  fraternity. 

ALVIN  G.  FLICKINGER,  deputy  county 
auditor  of  Crawford  county,  belongs  to  one  of 
the  old  county  families  and  was  reared  on  the 
home  farm  in  Holmes  township.  He  was  born 
there  in  July,  1872,  and  is  a  son  of  Horace  H. 
and  Catherine  (Fralick)  Flickinger,  and  a 
grandson  of  Samuel  Flickinger,  who  was  the 
first  of  the  family  to  settle  in  Crawford  county. 

Samuel  Flickinger  was  born  in  Lancaster 
county,  Pa.,  May  29,  1792,  and  accompanied 
his  parents  to  McConnellstown  in  1796  and 
from  there  came  to  Stark  county,  O.,  in  181 1. 
He  engaged  in  farming  in  that  county  until 
1833  when  he  came  to  Crawford  county  and 
purchased  a  farm  in  Holmes  township,  which 
is  yet  known  as  the  Flickinger  farm  although 
now  owned  by  Reuben  Hershberger.  He  died 
here  June  20,  1871.  In  1820  he  married  Phy- 
linda  Healy,  who  was  born  at  Jamaica,  Ver- 
mont, and  died  in  Crawford  county  in  1873. 
Of  their  ten  children  two  died  in  infancy  and 
all  have  now  passed  away,  with  one  exception, 
Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  Horace  Austin,  a 
merchant  in  Portage  county,  O.  They  have 
three  sons  and  one  daughter. 

Horace  H.  Flickinger  was  the  seventh  born 
in  his  parents'  family.  His  birth  took  place  in 
Holmes  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  April 
22,  1833,  and  he  continued  to  reside  in  his  na- 
tive township  until  1876,  being  in  the  lumber 
and  saw  mill  business.  He  then  moved  to 
Bucyrus  township,  where  he  followed  an  agri- 
cultural life  until  his  death,  which  occurred 


May  28,  1898.  He  was  an  honorable  business 
man  and  a  respected  citizen.  For  many  years 
he  had  been  a  member  of  the  Albright  Meth- 
odist church.  He  married  Catherine  Fralick, 
who  was  born  in  Holmes  township,  Aug.  31, 
1 84 1,  and  died  at  her  home  in  Bucyrus  town- 
ship, Nov.  30,  1909.  Five  children  were  born 
to  the  above  marriage,  namely:  Herschel  V., 
who  is  deputy  county  surveyor  and  formerly 
was  county  surveyor;  Delia  A.,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Lincoln  Havey,  of  Bucyrus,  and  has  four 
children — Carry,  Harrison,  Cecil  and  Maude; 
Clement  L.,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Bucyrus  town- 
ship; Alvin  G. ;  and  Carry  B.,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Albert  L.  Shoemaker. 

Alvin  G.  Flickinger  was  educated  in  the 
country  schools  and  at  Bucyrus  and  assisted  his 
father  on  the  home  farm.  Since  early  man- 
hood he  has  been  to  some  degree  connected 
with  political  offices  and  in  1903  was  first  ap- 
pointed deputy  county  auditor  and  through  re- 
appointment has  served  in  this  capacity  ever 
since.  He  is  very  active  in  Democratic  circles 
and  frequently  has  been  sent  as  a  delegate  to 
important  conventions. 

Mr.  Flickinger  was  married  in  Bucyrus 
township  to  Miss  Effie  V.  Foulk,  who  was  born 
at  Bucyrus,  Nov.  30,  1870,  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Susana  A.  (Ort)  Foulk.  John  Foulk  was 
born  Aug.  17,  1830,  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  and 
died  Feb.  12,  1874,  at  Bucyrus,  O.  His 
wife,  Susan  A.  Ort,  was  born  Nov.  19,  1835, 
at  York,  Pa.,  and  died  at  Bucyrus,  Aug.  28, 
1906.  They  were  married  at  York,  Pa.,  Dec. 
28,  1 85 1,  and  to  them  thirteen  children  were 
born,  four  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Foulk  followed  the  trade  of  a  butcher  during 
his  residence  in  Bucyrus.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Flick- 
inger attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
The  only  fraternal  organization  with  which  he 
is  identified  is  the  order  of  Eagles. 

CHRISTIAN  F.  BIRK,  of  the  well  known 
drug  firm  of  Birk  Bros.,  operating  at  Bucyrus, 
O.,  and  made  up  of  George  M.  and  Christian 
F.  Birk,  was  born  at  Bucyrus,  April  29,  1852, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  G.  and  Joanna  (Kuhn) 
Birk. 

The  Birk  family  is  of  German  extraction 
and  the  grandfather,  John  G.  Birk,  Sr.,  was 
born  in  Wurtemberg,  in  the  village  of  Kri- 
cheim,   where  the  -old   family  residence  still 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


577 


stands.  He  was  one  of  the  patriots  of  1848 
who,  on  account  of  his  courage  in  advocating 
freedom  of  speech  and  action,  was  threatened 
with  persecution  and  in  order  to  avoid  it,  in 
1849,  followed  other  members  of  his  family  to 
America,  deeding  his  estate  in  his  native  land 
to  a  daughter,  but  later  it  was  confiscated  by 
the  government.  Mr.  Birk  and  wife  found  a 
safe  and  pleasant  home  in  Liberty  township, 
Crawford  county,  he  following  agricultural 
pursuits  until  his  death  in  1876.  He  became  an 
American  citizen  and  identified  himself  with 
the  Democratic  party,  but  never  severed  his 
connection  with  the  German  Lutheran  church. 
In  his  own  neighborhood  he  had  married  a 
Miss  Schmidt,  who  died  in  1862.  They  had 
the  following  children :  Louis,  who  died  at  Fort 
Plain,  N.  Y.,  in  1865;  J.  Christian,  who  died 
unmarried  in  the  Soldiers'  Home  at  Dayton, 
O.,  at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years,  having  served 
in  the  Civil  war  from  1861  until  1865;  John 
G. ;  Salome,  who  married  William  Carle,  a 
farmer  in  Holmes  township ;  Wilhelmina,  who 
married  Jacob  Bower,  and  lived  and  died  in 
Liberty  township;  and  Rosanna,  who  married 
Jacob  Donnenwirth,  and  lived  and  died  at 
Bucyrus. 

John  G.  Birk,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Germany, 
July  22,  1823,  and  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1847,  locating  first  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  but  in 
1849  reached  Bucyrus  and  here  established  him- 
self in  the  harness  making  business  and  con- 
tinued in  this  line  until  the  close  of  his  life,  his 
death  occurring  October  10,  1888.  He  was 
active  in  the  Democratic  party  and  served  four 
years  as  county  treasurer  of  Crawford  county. 
On  April  24,  1851,  he  married  Joanna  Kuhn, 
who  was  born  also  in  Germany,  June  6,  1831. 
Her  parents  came  to  America  in  1832  and  dur- 
ing the  long  voyage  she  learned  to  walk,  al- 
though, it  may  well  be  supposed  that  the  ship's 
floor  was  unsteady  for  little  feet.  Her  people 
remained  in  New  York  until  1837  and  then 
came  to  Bucyrus,  where  she  died  October  9, 
1893.  Both  she  and  husband  were  members  of 
the  Lutheran  church.  The  following  children 
were  born  to  them :  Christian  F. ;  Louis  C,  born 
in  1854,  who  is  in  the  harness  business  at  Bucy- 
rus, and  who  married  Caroline  Kircus;  Eliza- 
beth, born  in  1857,  who  is  the  wife  of  Frank  P. 
Donnenwirth  of  Bucyrus  and  has  two  children 

— Louis   and   Gertrude;   Helen  and   Matilda, 
34 


both  of  whom  died  in  infancy;  Emanuel,  born 
in  1866,  who  is  proprietor  of  the  harness  store 
which  his  father  founded  in  1849,  and  who 
married  Theresa  Vollworth;  and  George  M., 
who  is  associated  with  his  larother.  Christian 
F.  Birk,  in  the  drug  business  at  Bucyrus. 

Christian  F.  Birk  attended  school  at  Bucy- 
rus and  then  learned  the  harnessmaking  trade 
with  his  father  and  for  eighteen  years  worked 
in  the  shop.  In  1892,  associated  with  his 
brother,  George  M.  Birk,  a  licensed  pharma- 
cist, he  became  part  proprietor  of  the  present 
drug  business,  this  being  the  third  oldest  drug 
store  in  the  city.  Mr.  Birk  has  not  only  been 
a  successful  business  man  but  he  has  been  a 
useful,  reliable  and  active  citizen.  In  1877  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  city  council  for 
a  period  of  four  years;  in  1884  was  elected 
city  marshal,  serving  until  1890,  when  he  was 
elected  sheriff  of  Crawford  county  and  served 
in  that  capacity  for  four  years  and  nine 
months.  In  1898  he  was  elected  mayor  of 
Bucyrus  and  served  as  such  for  two  terms.  In 
many  ways  his  fellow  citizens,  at  times,  en- 
deavored to  show  their  appreciation  of  his 
public-spirited  and  faithful  efforts  and  on  one 
occasion  presented  him  with  a  handsome  ring, 
properly  engraved.  On  numerous  occasions  he 
has  been  sent  as  a  delegate  to  Democratic  con- 
ventions where  matters  of  vital  party  interest 
have  been  under  consideration. 

Mr.  Birk  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Bertha  S.  Volk,  who  was  born  at  Bucyrus, 
March  3,  1851,  and  died  August  10,  1898. 
They  had  three  children  born  to  them :  John 
W.,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  School  of  Phar- 
macy, at  Columbus,  O.,  and  of  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons,  at  Chicago,  of  which 
he  is  a  member  of  the  faculty,  who  served  as 
first  lieutenant  in  Co.  A,  in  what  was  known  as 
McKinley's  Own,  in  the  Spanish-American 
war,  and  who  married  Margaret  Curtis  and 
has  one  daughter,  Helen;  Caroline  Elizabeth, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Glenn  W.  Kerr,  who  is  pri- 
vate secretary  to  the  president  of  the  Good 
Roads  Machinery  company,  at  Kennett  Square, 
Pa.,  and  has  two  children — Virginia  and  Caro- 
line; and  Edna  T.,  who  is  the  wife  of  O.  VV". 
Kennedy.  Mr.  Birk  is  a  member  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church.  He  is  identified  with 
the  Elks  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 


578 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


C.  H.  AHLEFELD,  general  farmer  and  a 
mason  by  trade,  resides  on  his  valuable  prop- 
erty located  eight  and  one-half  miles  north- 
west of  Bucyrus,  where  he  has  60  acres.  He 
was  born  in  Wyandot  county,  O.,  Jan.  7,  1868, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  C.  and  Susanna  (Paulin) 
Ahlefeld. 

John  C.  Ahlefeld  was  of  German  extraction 
but  he  was  born  at  Mansfield,  O.,  and  in  child- 
hood accompanied  his  parents  to  Wyandot 
county,  where  he  followed  farming  until  his 
death,  when  aged  46  years.  He  married  Su- 
sanna Paulin  who  still  lives  on  the  old  home 
place  in  W^yandot  county.  They  had  four  chil- 
dren :  C.  H. ;  Melinda,  who  married  Christ- 
opher Shengler;  William;  and  Bessie,  who 
married  William  Grove. 

C.  H.  Ahlefeld  attended  school  in  Wyandot 
county  and  worked  on  the  home  farm  until 
1 89 1,  when  he  came  to  Holmes  township  and 
located  on  his  present  place.  Here  he  has  made 
many  excellent  improvements,  including  the 
building  of  a  substantial  barn.  By  trade  Mr. 
Ahlefeld  is  a  mason  and  his  sons  mainly  carry 
on  the  farm  industries. 

Mr.  Ahlefeld  married  Miss  Amanda  Schie- 
fer,  a  daughter  of  C.  G.  Schiefer,  and  they 
have  five  children,  namely :  Christopher,  Zearl, 
Hattie,  Fred  and  Harland.  The  family  attend 
the  Evangelical  church.  Mr.  Ahlefeld  is  a 
Democrat  in  politics.  He  takes  much  interest 
in  educational  matters  and  is  serving  as  school 
director  and  has  also  been  township  constable. 

ORRA  H.  LINN,  the  owner  of  160  acres  of 
land  in  Dallas  township,  operates  also  200  acres 
which  belong  to  his  father,  80  acres  belonging 
to  Gertrude  Linn  Hilty  and  80  acres  belong- 
ing to  Helen  A.  Linn.  He  was  born  in  this 
township  Jan.  10,  1886,  a  son  of  Henry  and 
Alice  (Martin)  Linn,  who  are  now  living  re- 
tired at  Bucyrus.  Their  children  were  named 
as  follows:  Grace,  who  is  now  deceased;  Ger- 
trude, the  wife  of  Elmer  Hilty;  Helen,  who 
lives  with  her  parents ;  and  Orra  H.,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  article  and  the  youngest  child. 

Orra  H.  Linn  attended  the  common  schools 
and  after  completing  his  education  took  up 
farming  and  has  since  made  this  his  occupa- 
tion, having  been  very  successful.  His  land  is 
devoted  to  general  farming  and  he  has  to  have 
the  services  of  two  men  the  year  around. 


In  1910  Mr.  Linn  was  married  to  Miss  Edna 
Winch. 

Orra  H.  Linn  and  his  father  are  both  Demo- 
crats in  political  views.  The  family  belongs 
to  the  Methodist  church. 

JACOB  L.  DAY,  who  now  lives  in  com- 
fortable retirement  at  Gallon,  Ohio,  is  a  citi- 
zen well  known  throughout  both  Crawford  and 
Richland  counties,  and  is  a  member  of  one  of 
the  old  pioneer  families  of  the  latter.  He  was 
born  in  Sandusky  township,  Richland  county, 
Ohio,  February  i,  1838,  and  is  a  son  of  Ezra 
and  Nancy  (Wolf)  Day. 

Ezra  Day  was  born  October  19,  181 1,  in 
\\"ashington  county,  Morris  township.  Pa.,  and 
died  at  Tecumseh,  Mich.,  June  2,  1896.  His 
wife  Nancy  was  born  in  Richland  county, 
Ohio,  June  20,  1812,  and  died  in  Sandiisky 
township,  Richland  county,  Ohio,  March  28, 
1840. 

Amos  Day,  grandfather  of  Ezra  Day,  was 
born  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  is  of 
Scotch  birth.  He  was  born  Sept.  15,  1754. 
His  wife  was  of  Irish  descent.  They  emi- 
grated to  America  and  settled  in  Maryland  and 
from  there  to  Richland  county,  O.,  where  he 
died  Feb.  4,  1830,  and  was  buried  in  the  fam- 
ily burying  ground  on  the  place  of  his  son 
Lewis  Day.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of 
the  Revolution  and  lost  one  of  his  legs  in  the 
service.  His  wife  bore  the  name  of  Jane,  and 
was  born  Sept.  2,  1759,  and  died  Sept.  9,  1833, 
and  was  buried  beside  her  husband. 

Lewis  Day,  son  of  Amos,  and  grandfather 
of  Jacob  L.  Day,  was  born  in  Washington 
county,  Pa.,  April  26,  1785,  and  died  July  5, 
1863,  in  Sandusky  township,  Richland  county, 
Ohio.  In  his  native  county  he  married  Mary 
Hull,  who  was  born  there  Sept.  4,  1790,  and 
died  November  14,  1862.  In  early  days  the 
Days  were  Scotch  Covenanters,  and  the  later 
generations  have  been,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, Presbyterians.  The  family  has  been 
largely  an  agricultural  one. 

Jacob  L.  Day  is  the  only  living  child  of  his 
parents.  He  was  reared  on  the  home  farm  and 
remained  with  his  father  until  he  became  of 
age,  and  then  accepted  a  position  as  clerk  in  a 
store  in  Ontario  village,  and  while  engaged 
there  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  war,  in 
answer  to  the  second  call  of  President  Lincoln 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


579 


for  troops.  On  Sept.  9,  1861,  he  became  a 
private  in  Co.  G,  15th  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  in  the 
Fourth  Army  corps,  and  was  honorably  dis- 
charged Sept.  19,  1864,  after  dangers  innu- 
merable and  many  escapes  with  his  life.  At 
Resaca,  Ga.,  his  cap,  that  had  been  presented 
him  by  a  young  lady  sympathizer,  at  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  was  shot  from  his  head  by  a  murderous 
minie  ball;  at  Pickett's  Mills,  he  was  thrown 
several  feet  in  the  air  by  a  shell ;  before  Atlanta 
he  received  a  flesh  wound  in  the  pit  of  the 
stomach,  and  sun  stroke,  this  so  disabled  him 
as  to  require  attention  in  a  hospital  for  some 
time.  On  March  9,  1862,  he  was  sent  from  his 
regiment  to  Nashville  for  special  service,  where 
he  served  as  clerk  and  manager  of  the  U.  S. 
Hospital  bakery  and  assistant  and  chief  stew- 
ard of  hospitals.  Later  he  was  acting  orderly 
sergeant  in  charge  of  commissary  and  details 
at  Camp  Louden,  Tenn.,  and  chief  clerk  and 
second  officer  in  command  at  Camp  Remington, 
Knoxville,  Tenn.  In  all  Mr.  Day  took  part  in 
13  battles  and  36  skirmishes,  and  more  than 
once  just  escaped  being  captured  by  the  enemy. 
He  with  the  teamster  alone,  with  the  country 
filled  with  rebels  and  guerilla  bands,  took  the 
15th  O.  V.  I.  hospital  wagon  through  from 
Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  84 
miles,  without  arms,  rations  or  guards,  and  en- 
route  three  days  did  not  see  an  officer  or  sol- 
dier of  Uncle  Sam.  This  was  March  2-3-4, 
1862.  On  arriving  at  Camp,  south  of  Nash- 
ville, they  received  three  rousing  cheers  as  they 
had  been  given  up  as  captured. 

Among  his  treasured  army  relics  are  testi- 
monials from  his  superior  officers  of  service 
satisfactorily  rendered  and  recommendations 
for  promotion  and  commission. 

In  Richland  county,  Ohio,  March  8,  1865, 
Mr.  Day  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Jane  Mc- 
Connell,  who  was  born  in  Franklin  county.  Pa.. 
Feb.  27,  1838,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Jane 
(Barr)  McConnell.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Day 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  of  Irish  parents, 
later  participated  in  the  War  of  1812,  married 
in  Pennsylvania  and  in  1839  moved  to  Ohio. 
Later  in  life  they  came  to  the  home  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Day  in  Blooming  Grove,  where  the  fa- 
ther died  when  aged  eighty-seven  years,  and 
the  mother  in  her  seventy-third  year.  They 
were  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 


To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Day,  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born:  Homer  B.,  who  is  widely 
known  in  the  theatrical  business  as  manager 
and  playwright;  M.  Ollie,  who  is  the  wife  of 
James  Hugo,  an  engineer  with  the  Big  Four 
railroad,  with  home-  at  Galion;  Nettie  Ora, 
who  married  John  E.  Rayl,  a  resident  of 
Galion;  Harry  J.,  born  Apr.  26,  1881,  who 
maintains  his  home  at  Galion,  a  commercial 
traveler,  and  has  one  son  Robert  W.,  born 
Aug.  20,  1903,  and  Mattie,  Cora  and  Nettie, 
all  three  of  whom  are  deceased. 

After  his  return  from  the  army  and  period 
of  rest,  Mr.  Day  embarked  in  the  mercantile 
business  at  Blooming  Grove,  Morrow  county, 
Ohio,  and  in  1876  transferred  it  to  Galion, 
Ohio,  and  continued  in  business  until  1898. 
Then,  on  account  of  ill  health,  he  retired,  and 
in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  moved  to  Tecum- 
seh,  Mich.,  where  he  lived  one  year,  and  then 
moved  back  to  Galion,  and  engaged  for  a  short 
time  in  the  news  business,  previous  to  his  re- 
tirement on  a  little  farm  west  of  the  city.  He 
is  now  a  resident  of  Galion,  and  member  of 
Dick  Morris  Post,  No.  130,  G.  A.  R.,  and 
Chaplain  of  the  Post,  year  1912. 

JAMES  J.  MARTIN,  M.  D.,  physician  and 
surgeon  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  to  which  city  he  came 
in  1898,  following  his  graduation  from  medi- 
cal college,  is  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  satisfac- 
tory practice  and  is  recognized  professionally 
and  otherwise  as  a  worthy  citizen.  Dr.  Martin 
was  born  in  Marion  county,  O.,  March  20, 
1866,  and  is  the  only  child  of  James  H.  and 
Catherine  (Mack)  Martin. 

James  J.  Martin  spent  his  boyhood  on  his 
father's  farm  and  attended  the  public  schools 
and  afterward,  for  some  fifteen  years,  was  a 
teacher  in  Marion  county.  In  the  meanwhile 
he  devoted  much  time  to  medical  study  and 
research,  his  natural  inclinations  being  in 
this  direction,  and  later  entered  the  Eclectic 
Medical  College  of  Cincinnati,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1898.  Dr.  Martin  has  al- 
ways kept  in  close  touch  with  the  advances 
made  by  his  profession  and  belongs  to  the 
leading  medical  organizations  of  the  country 
including  the  American  Medical  Association, 
the  Ohio  state  and  the  county  bodies,  the 
Northwestern  Ohio  Eclectic  Medical  Asso- 
ciation and  the  National  Medical  Association. 


580 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Dr.  Martin  married  Miss  Dora  Ruth,  a 
daughter  of  John  G.  Ruth,  of  Marion  county, 
0.,  and  they  have  one  son,  RoUa  U.  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Martin  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  He  is  identified  fraternally 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Modern 
Woodmen  and  the  Home  Guards  of  America. 
He  maintains  his  office  at  114  S.  Walnut 
Street,  and  his  residence  is  at  No.  116  S.  Wal- 
nut Street,  Bucyrus. 

S.  J.  KIBLER,  one  of  the  representative 
citizens  of  New  Washington,  O.,  who  is  known 
all  over  Crawford  county  through  his  many 
important  business  enterprises,  was  born  at 
New  Washington,  March  9,  185 1,  and  is  a  son 
of  Mathias  and  Frederika  (Pfahler)  Kibler. 

Mathias  Kibler  was  born  in  Wurtemberg, 
Germany,  and  when  two  years  of  age  came  to 
the  United  States  and  was  one  of  the  early 
school  teachers  on  the  frontier  of  the  Western 
Reserve.  He  became  a  prominent  man  at 
New  Washington,  C,  both  in  public  life  and 
in  business.  For  many  years  he  operated  a 
tannery  and  was  otherwise  engaged.  He  was 
a  Democrat  in  politics,  served  on  the  school 
board  and  for  many  years  was  a  justice  of  the 
peace  and  was  the  first  mayor  of  New  Wash- 
ington. He  lived  a  long,  busy  and  honorable 
life  and  died  in  September,  1876.  He  mar- 
ried Frederika  Pfahler,  who  was  also  born  in 
Germany  and  died  at  New  Washington,  O.,  in 
October,  1902.  Of  their  eight  children,  three 
are  deceased,  the  five  survivors  all  living  at 
New  Washington. 

S.  J.  Kibler  obtained  his  education  in  the 
New  Washington  schools.  He  began  his  busi- 
ness career  by  assisting  his  father  in  the  tan- 
nery and  in  this  way  became  interested  in  the 
hide  and  leather  business,  which  has  partic- 
ularly claimed  his  attention  for  many  years 
and  which  is  one  of  the  important  business 
enterprises  of  many  parts  of  Ohio.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  firm  which  operates  under  the 
style  of  The  S.  J.  Kibler  &  Brother  Company, 
which  was  incorporated  in  1901  under  the 
name  of  S.  J.  Kibler  &  Brother.  Later  the 
brother  retired  and  S.  J.  Kibler  then  admit- 
ted his  sons,  A.  G.,  M.  M.  and  A.  S.  Kibler, 
to  partnership,  when  the  present  firm  name  was 
adopted.  The  firm  deals  in  hides,  tallow  and 
sheep,  skins  and  wool  and  furs,  wholesale,  and 


maintains  its  offices  at  New  Washington,  but 
it  owns  90  per  cent  of  the  Lake  Erie  Hide  & 
Leather  Company,  of  Sandusky,  O.  A  vast 
volume  of  business  is  done  by  this  firm,  its 
annual  sales  ending  in  May,  1912,  amounting 
to  over  two  million  dollars.  Mr.  Kibler's  ad- 
ditional business  connections  include  equally 
important  enterprises.  He  is  president  of  the 
New  Washington  Lumber  &  Manufacturing 
Company,  which  was  established 'in  1903.  His 
beautiful  home,  one  of  the  handsomest  resi- 
deifces  in  the  city,  stands  on  the  corner  of  Main 
and  Center  Streets,  New  Washington. 

Mr.  Kibler  was  married  at  New  Washington, 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Herr,  who  was  born  in  Sen- 
eca county,  O.,  a  daughter  of  George  Herr,  and 
the  following  children  have  been  bom  to  them : 
A.  G.,  who,  after  attending  the  local  schools 
and  taking  a  commercial  course  at  Toledo,  O., 
went  into  business  and  is  now  vice  president 
of  the  local  firm  above  mentioned  and  presi- 
dent of  the  Lake  Erie  Hide  &  Leather  Com- 
pany, and  is  married  to  Mildred  Donnenwirth 
and  lives  at  New  Washington  having  three 
children — Alfred  Leo,  Beatrice  Elizabeth  and 
Emma  Winnifred;  Clara  T.,  who  is  the  wife 
of  A.  F.  Cronenberger,  manager  of  the  Lake 
Erie  Hide  &  Leather  Company,  and  a  resi- 
dent of'  Sandusky,  O.,  and  has  three  sons — 
Marshall  Kibler,  Harold  Frederick  and  Cecil 
Paul;  M.  M.,  secretary  and  director  in  the  firm 
of  S.  J.  Kibler  &  Brother  Company,  who  mar- 
ried Elsie  Michaelfelder,  and  has  three  chil- 
dren— Harold  Weldon,  deceased,  Marian 
Geraldine  and  Donald  Orville;  A.  S.,  who  is 
connected  also  with  the  above  named  company, 
and  looks  after  its  interests  at  Toledo,  O. ; 
Ida  P.,  who  is  a  stenographer  for  her  father; 
and  Florence  Edith,  who  is  a  member  of  the 
class  of  1913  in  a  musical  college  in  Ohio.  Mr. 
Kibler  and  family  are  members  of  the  Luth- 
eran church.  In  his  political  views  he  is  a 
Democrat  and  has  always  been  somewhat  active 
in  public  affairs,  believing  in  business  men  as- 
suming the  responsibilities  of  citizenship  and 
public  office  when  tendered  them.  For  15 
years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  school 
board  and  also  of  the  city  council  and  for  four 
years  was  treasurer  of  Cranberry  township. 
He  is  a  man  of  ripe  business  experience  and  in 
managing  his  many  interests,  has  displayed 
exceptional  foresight  and  good  judgment. 


COL.  CYRUS  W.  FISHER 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


583 


JOHN  SHEALY,  a  well-known  farmer 
and  citizen  of  Liberty  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  resides  on  the  old  Shealy  home- 
stead, of  which  he  owns  a  part,  has  60  acres 
of  well  improved  land,  situated  eight  and  one- 
half  miles  northeast  of  Bucyrus,  O.  His 
parents.  Christian  Shealy  and  wife,  were  born 
in  Germany  and  were  brought  to  Ohio  in 
childhood.  Christian  Shealy  was  a  farmer 
during  his  active  years  but  had  practically  re- 
tired when  his  death  occurred  in  his  seventieth 
year.  His  widow  survives  and  is  now  aged 
82  years. 

The  following  children  were  born  to  Chris- 
tian Shealy  and  wife :  Michael,  who  married 
Lidy  Luidhardt  and- lives  in  Cranberry  town- 
ship ;  Henry,  a  resident  of  Bucyrus,  who  mar- 
ried Esther  Nagle;  John;  Lena,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Jacob  S.  Kafer,  living  near  Sulphur 
Springs;  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  John 
Feichtner,  living  near  Sulphur  Springs;  Cath- 
erine, who  married  George  Luidhardt  and 
lives  in  Liberty  township;  Elizabeth,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Henry  Green,  of  Liberty  town- 
ship; Matilda,  who  is  the  wife  of  H.  J. 
Rowe,  and  lives  at  Sandusky  City,  O. ;  and 
Anna,  who  died  at  the  age  of  23  years. 

John  Shealy  obtained  his  education  in  the 
township  schools  and  is  an  intelligent,  well  in- 
formed man  and  practical  farmer.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Matilda  Hildebrand  and  while  he 
had  two  brothers  and  six  sisters,  his  wife  had 
six  brothers  and  two  sisters  and  each  have  one 
sister  deceased,  who  died  after  reaching 
womanhood.  Mrs.  Shealy's  sister,  Mary  A., 
died  when  aged  25  years.  Her  one  other  sister, 
Sophia,  is  the  wife  of  T.  T.  Tupps  and  they 
live  in  Liberty  township.  Her  brothers  are  as 
follows:  Solomon,  who  lives  at  New  Castle, 
Pa.,  and  who  married  Sue  McFarland; 
George,  who  lives  at  New  Washington,  O., 
and  who  married  Rika  Michelf elder ;  Jacob,  a 
farmer  in  Bucyrus  township,  who  married 
Maria  Utz;  Christian,  living  at  Brandywine, 
O.,  who  married  a  Miss  Mary  Heiby;  and 
John,  a  resident  of  Liberty  township,  who 
married  Ida  Shell. 

Eight  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Shealy,  namely:  Christian  W.,  who  re- 
sides at  home,  and  who  married  Laura  Myers 
and  has  one  daughter,  Gwendoline  E. ;  Ella 
M.,  who  married  O.  L.  Green,  of  New  Wash- 


ington, O.,  and  has  two  children — Russell 
and  Virgil ;  Albert,  who  resides  at  New  Wash- 
ington, O.,  and  who  married  Matilda  Feicht- 
ner, whose  one  child  died  in  infancy;  Hattie, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Clarence  Miller,  and  re- 
sides at  home ;  Emanuel,  who  is  deceased ;  and 
Emma  M.,  Edna  May  and  Mildred  Marie,  all 
three  living  with  their  parents.  Mr.  Shealy 
and  faniily  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  ex- 
erts considerable  influence  in  this  section,  be- 
ing considered  a  man  of  excellent  judgment 
and  of  sterling  character.  He  has  served  as 
township  trustee  and  as  school  director. 

SAMUEL  RORICK,  a  retired  farmer, 
who,  for  twenty  years  has  occupied  his  com- 
fortable residence  at  No.  523  South  Sandusky 
Street,  Bucyrus,  O.,  was  born  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  April  28,1839, 
and  is  a  son  of  Augustus  Rorick  and  his  wife, 
Elizabeth   (Ream)   Rorick. 

Augustus  Rorick  was  born  in  Hanover, 
Germany,  in  1800,  where  he  grew  to  man- 
hood and  married  Elizabeth  Ream.  In  1832, 
after  the  birth  of  their  third  child,  Augustus 
Rorick  and  wife  took  passage  on  a  sailing  ves- 
sel for  America  and  after  a  voyage  of  ninety 
days,  were  safely  landed  at  Baltimore,  Md. 
Their  objective  point  was  Crawford  county, 
O.,  and  they  made  the  overland  journey  as 
rapidly  as  they  were  able  and  finally  reached 
this  section,  which,  at  that  time  was  almost  a 
wilderness.  Augustus  Rorick  secured  eighty 
acres  of  Government  land  and  later  added  to 
this  tract  and  continued  to  live  here  until  the 
time  of  his  death,  in  September,  1873,  when 
he  was  aged  75  years,  his  wife  having  died 
in  the  previous  year.  They  attended  the  Ger- 
man Reformed  church.  They  had  four  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  Henry,  who  was  83  years 
of  age  at  time  of  death,  was  a  retired  farmer, 
married  Katie  Bremen  and  they  left  descend- 
ants; August,  who  died  in  Marion  county,  O., 
at  the  age  of  69  years,  married  Rosanna  Gold- 
smith, also  now  deceased,  and  they  left  chil- 
dren; William,  who  died  in  Whetstone  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  at  the  age  of  55 
years,  was  married  twice  but  left  no  children ; 
Samuel,  who  was  born  after  the  family  came 
to  Ohio,  is  the  only  survivor. 

Samuel  Rorick  for  many  years  was  a  very 


584 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


successful  farmer  and  stock  raiser  and  owned 
250  acres  of  valuable  land.  Politically  he  is  a 
Democrat  and  for  a  long  period  served  more 
or  less  continuously  in  township  offices,  his  fel- 
low citizens  regarding  him  as  a  man  of  un- 
usual good  judgment  and  knowing  him  to  be 
of  sterling  integrity.  In  1862  he  was  married 
in  Whetstone  township  to  Miss  Mary  Jane 
Heinlen,  who  was  born  there  May  26,  1846,  a 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Eliza  (Deebler)  Hein- 
len. In  the  thirties  the  Heinlen  family  came 
from  Pennsylvania  to  Crawford  county,  driv- 
ing their  ox-teams  the  whole  distance.  They 
were  true  pioneers  and  at  first  lived  in  a  log 
cabin  that  had  only  an  earth  floor ;  quilts  served 
ed  to  cover  the  ^^'indow  spaces,  as  they  had  no 
glass.  Not  only  did  Indians  visit  them  but  al- 
so wolves  came  out  of  the  near-by  forest  and 
often  endangered  their  lives.  Later  in  life 
Jacob  Heinlen  and  wife  retired  to  Bucyrus, 
being  then  able  to  live  in  comfort,  and  there 
his  sudden  death  occurred  in  December,- 1889. 
He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  both  he 
and  wife  belonged  to  the  Reformed  church. 
Mrs.  Heinlen,  who  on  June  24,  1912,  became 
90  years  of  age,  remains  active  in  body  and 
enjoys  a  social  visit  with  her  many  friends  in 
Bucyrus.  Mrs.  Rorick  was  an  only  daughter 
and  the  only  member  of  her  family  now  alive 
except  the  aged  mother.  Eleven  children 
were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rorick,  as  fol- 
lows :  Mary  E.,  born  in  1862,  died  in  1904, 
the  wife  of  J.  D.  Snyder;  William  M.,  born  in 
1864,  died  in  1888,  unmarried;  Charles  A., 
born  in  1866,  who  follows  the  trade  of  paper 
hanger  at  New  Chester,  Crawford  county, 
married  Carrie  Kern  and  they  have  children; 
Elma  D.,  born  in  1869,  is  the  wife  of  H.  J. 
Stump,  of  Whetstone  township  and  they  have 
two  children;  George  L.,  born  in  187 1,  died  in 
1887;  Sarah  A.,  born  in  1873,  is  the  wife  of 
D.  M.  Roberts,  of  Lorain,  O.,  and  they  have 
two  children;  Henry  J.,  born  in  1875,  lives  at 
home  and  is  unmarried;  Anna  C.,  born  in 
1879,  is  the  wife  of  J.  C.  Bauman,  lives  at 
Mansfield,  O.,  and  has  two  children;  Samuel 
0.,  born  in  1879,  died  in  1888;  Rosa  Alice, 
born  in  1887,  died  at  the  age  of  eleven 
months ;  Urban  Paul,  the  remaining  child,  was 
born  May  25,  1889.  The  latter  is  a  well  edu- 
cated young  man  and  has  become  a  skilled 
machinist.      He    continues    to   live    with    his 


parents.     The  Roricks  are  all  members  of  the 
Reformed  church. 

HARRY  J.  MARTIN,  an  enterprising 
agriculturist  of  Dallas  township  and  the  own- 
er of  40  acres  of  land,  was  born  December  10, 
1875,  ori  this  farm.  His  parents,  Henry  and 
Elizabeth  (Miller)  Martin,  were  early  settlers 
in  this  township  and  industrious  farming  peo- 
ple. The  father  was  a  Democrat  and  with  his 
family  attended  the  Methodist  church.  Both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  Martin  are  now  deceased 
and  buried  in  Bucyrus.  They  were  the 
parents  of  a  number  of  children,  namely: 
George;  Alice,  the  wife  of  Henry  Linn;  Mary 
Jane,  the  wife  of  Jacob  Linn;  Anna,  the  wife 
of  Horace  Munsen;  Ella,  deceased,  who  was 
the  wife  of  Ira  E.  Quaintance;  Ida,  the  wife 
of  William  Booze;  Viola,  the  wife  of  John 
Bone;  Charles,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  and 
Blanche,  the  wife  of  Ed.  Harvey. 

Harry  J.  Martin  in  his  boyhood  attended 
the  common  schools  of  his  r locality  and  since 
then  has  devoted  his  attention  to  general 
farming  and  stock  raising,  though  he  does  not 
make  a  specialty  of  the  latter,  merely  raising 
enough  stock  for  his  own  needs.  His  farm  is 
a  part  of  the  old  Martin  homestead  and  was 
purchased  by  Mr.  Martin  from  the  other 
heirs.  He  has  made  a  success  of  his  agricul- 
tural operations  and  does  some  farming  on 
land  besides  that  which  he  owns. 

]\Ir.  Martin  was  united  in  marriage  on  Feb. 
22,  1905,  with  Miss  Mary  J.  Turney,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Eugene  and  Catherine  (Brown)  Tur- 
ney. Mr.  Turney  is  a  well  known  farmer  of 
Wyandot  county.  The  brothers  and  sisters  of 
^Nlrs.  Martin  were  named :  Harry,  who  is  de- 
ceased; Claude;  and  Florence,  the  wife  of 
William  Cochran.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harry  J. 
Martin  have  been  born  the  following  children : 
IMildred,  Blanche,  Eugene  and  Elizabeth. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Martin  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat but  votes  according  to  his  judgment.  He 
has  been  road  supervisor  for  two  years  and  is 
now  serving  his  second  term  as  school  direc- 
tor. Religiously,  the  Martin  family  is  affiliat- 
ed with  the  Methodist  church. 

ALBERT  G.  STOLTZ,  cashier  of  the  Sec- 
ond National  Bank  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  with 
which   institution  he  has  been  identified  for 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


585 


the  past  thirteen  years,  is  a  native  of  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  to  which  section  his  family 
came  in  1836,  from  Pennsylvania. 

Michael  Stoltz,  the  paternal  grandfather, 
was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  July  9, 
1809,  and  was  eight  years  old  when  his  parents 
emigrated  to  the  United  States,  locating  in  Ly- 
coming county,  Pa.  He  grew  to  manhood 
there  and  married  Mary  Kober  in  1833.  A 
part  of  their  family  of  children  were  born  be- 
fore they  started  westward  and  finally  located 
in  Whetstone  township,  Crawford  county,  of 
which  section  they  became  worthy  and  sub- 
stantial residents.  Michael  Stoltz  died  in  this 
township  in  his  eighty-eighth  year,  his  entire 
family  of  nine  children  passing  away  with  the 
death  of  the  last  son,  which  occurred  October 
19,  1911. 

George  Stoltz,  father  of  Albert  G.,  was  born 
in  Lycoming  county.  Pa.,  in  1835,  and  died 
on  his  farm  in  Whetstone  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  September  10,  1888.  He 
spent  a  long  and  busy  life  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits.  He  was  never  active  in  politics 
but  voted  with  the  Democratic  party  and  al- 
ways lent  his  influence  in  support  of  law,  tem- 
perance and  religion.  On  January  18,  1867, 
he  was  married  to  Susan  Stump,  who  was 
born  March  25,  1839,  in  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford  county,  where  she  continued  to  live 
until  a  few  years  since.  She  then  came  to 
Bucyrus,  where  she  has  since  made  her  home. 
She  was  reared  a  Methodist  but  later  united 
with  the  German  Reformed  church  and  at- 
tended it  with  her  husband.  She  has  a  wide 
social  circle  and  is  active  in  neighborhood 
benevolence.  Five  children  were  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Stoltz :  Laura,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  nine  years;  Samuel,  who  died  when  three 
years  old;  Emma,  who  is  the  wife  of  S.  D. 
Beal,  at  Bucyrus;  a  daughter  that  died  un- 
named; and  Albert  G. 

Albert  G.  Stoltz  was  graduated  from  the 
Bucyrus  High  School  in  the  class  of  1897,  af- 
ter which  he  took  a  commercial  course  in  the 
Ohio  Normal  University  at  Ada,  Ohio.  He 
then  entered  a  business  house  as  a  bookkeeper, 
afterward  becoming  teller  in  a  bank,  but  re- 
signed that  position  in  order  to  go  to  New 
York,  there  becoming  bookkeeper  in  an  office 
connected  with  the  Government  Navy  Yard. 
On  February  i,  1903,  he  accepted  a  position  as 


assistant  teller  in  the  sub-treasury,  where  he 
remained  until  January  i,  1904,  at  which  time 
he  came  back  to  Bucyrus.  At  this  time  Mr. 
Stoltz  accepted  the  position  of  assistant 
cashier  in  the  Second  National  Bank  and  so 
continued  until  1907,  when  he  was  elected 
cashier.  For  the  duties  of  this  position,  as 
will  be  seen  above,  he  has  had  an  excellent 
training  and  among  the  great  assets  of  this 
bank  his  name,  as  an  important  official,  car- 
ries considerable  weight. 

Mr.  Stoltz  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to  Miss 
Laura  Hurr,  who  was  born  in  Whetstone 
township,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Catherine 
(Sherer)  Hurr.  They  were  natives  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  in  youth  accompanied  their  par- 
ents to  Crawford  county,  later  married  and 
lived  on  a  farm  in  Whetstone  township  until 
somewhat  advanced  in  years,  when  they  re- 
tired to  Bucyrus,  where  the  father  of  Mrs. 
Stoltz  died  in  1904  and  the  mother  in  1907. 
They  were  Methodists  in  religious  faith.  Of 
their  children  Mrs.  Stoltz  was  the  youngest 
born.  Of  the  five  members  of  the  Hurr  fam- 
ily yet  living,  all  are  married  and  all  but  one 
are  residents  of  Bucyrus.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Stoltz  have  two  children :  Albert  George, 
who  was  born  November  18,  1906;  and 
Dorothy  Virginia,  born  February  21,  1908. 
They  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  Mr.  Stoltz  being  one  of  the  church 
officials.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  is 
identified  fraternally  with  the  Masons,  the 
Elks  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

WILLIAM  CAMERON  BEER  was  born 
in  Bucyrus,  O.,  on  June  i6th,  1874.  He  was 
the  second  son  of  Capt.  William  Nevin  Beer 
and  his  wife  Mary,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Mary  Denman  Swingly.  His  father  was  the 
sixth  son  of  Rev.  Thomas  Beer  and  Margaret 
Cameron,  the  former  being  of  Irish  and  the 
latter  of  Scotch  parentage.  His  mother  was 
the  daughter  of  Dr.  Frederick  Swingly  and 
Mary  Denman;  she  was  born  and  reared  in 
Bucyrus,  O.,  where  she  still  resides. 

The  ancestors  of  Mr.  Beer  were  among  the 
early  settlers  of  this  country,  and  they  endured 
the  trials  and  privations  that  fell  to  the  lot 
of  the  hardy  pioneers  who  developed  the 
American  commonwealth.  William  Beer,  the 
first  of  the  family  to  emigrate  to  this  country, 


586 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


left  his  home  in  Derry  county,  Ireland,  in 
1764  and  took  up  his  abode  in  Pennsylvania. 
His  son  Thomas,  who  accompanied  him, 
served  throughout  the  War  for  Independence. 

The  Denmans,  Mr.  Beer's  maternal  ances- 
tors, were  among  the  very  early  settlers  in 
New  England ;  authentic  records  on  file  in  the 
Connecticut  State  Library  show  them  to  have 
been  residents  of  that  colony  as  far  back  as 
1650. 

In  the  early  Indian  wars,  in  the  War  for 
Independence,  in  the  War  of  181 2  and  in  the 
Civil  War,  the  ancestors  of  Air.  Beer  rendered 
valuable  service  to  the  colonies  and  to  the 
United  States.  William  N.  Beer,  as  captain 
in  the  loist  O.  V.  I.,  and  four  brothers,  fol- 
lowed the  fortunes  of  the  flag  in  the  great 
Civil  War.  Mr.  Beer's  grandfather.  Dr. 
Frederick  Swingly,  and  his  uncle,  Frederick 
Swingly,  were  soldiers  in  the  army  of  the 
North — the  former  a  surgeon  with  the  rank 
of  captain,  and  the  latter  a  hospital  steward. 
When  the  war  with  Spain  was  declared,  Mr. 
Beer  and  his  brother,  Frederick  T.,  followed 
the  traditions  of  the  family  by  enlisting  and 
serving  with  Company  A,  Eighth  Ohio  Vol- 
unteer Infantry  during  the  war.  They  saw 
active  military  service  in  the  Santiago  cam- 
paign in  July,  1898. 

William  Cameron  Beer  began  his  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  Bucyrus.  In  1896  he 
graduated  from  Nelson's  Business  College  at 
Springfield,  Ohio.  For  a  short  time  thereaf- 
ter he  was  engaged  in  newspaper  work.  On 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war  with  Spain,  as 
above  narrated,  he  became  a  member  of  Com- 
pany A,  Eighth  O.  V.  L,  and  served  during 
hostilities.  Upon  his  muster-out  he  went  to 
Belle  Plaine,  la.,  where  he  entered  the  service 
of  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railway  Co. 
as  a  stenographer.  June  30,  1900,  he  mar- 
ried Jessie  Blanche  Hutchison  at  Lake  City, 
la. 

In  June,  1901,  Mr.  Beer  entered  the  law  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  Michigan,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of 
LL.  B.  in  1903.  He  was  admitted  to  the  prac- 
tice of  law  in  Ohio  in  December,  1903,  and  in 
April  of  the  following  year  he  began  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  in  Bucyrus,  Ohio,  as  a 
partner  of  the  late  Judge  Thomas  Beer.  Upon 
the  death  of  Judge  Beer  in  19 10  he  formed 


a  partnership  for  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion with  J.  W.  Wright,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Beer  &  Wright;  this  firm  was  dissolved  in 
January,  1912.  Mr.  Beer  was  elected  city 
solicitor  of  Bucyrus  in  November,  1905,  and 
held  the  office  for  two  years.  He  is  a  member 
of  Bucyrus  Lodge  No.  156,  B.  P.  O.  Elks; 
Camp  Thoman  No.  33  United  Spanish  War 
Veterans,  and  the  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal 
Legion  of  the  United  States.  In  politics  he  is 
a  Republican,  being  the  chairman  of  the  Re- 
publican Executive  Committee  of  Crawford 
county,  Ohio. 

C.  E.  HILDEBRAND,  druggist,  who  is 
the  leader  in  his  line  at  New  Washington,  O., 
is  sole  proprietor  and  successor  of  J.  F.  Hilde- 
brand  &  Bro.,  which  firm  succeeded  J.  F.  To- 
bin.  Mr.  Hildebrand  was  born  at  New  Wash- 
ington, June  29,  1875,  and  is  a  son  of  George 
and  Frederica  ( Michel f elder)  Hildebrand. 

George  Hildebrand  was  born  at  Broken- 
sword,  O.,  and  after  an  agricultural  life,  lives 
retired  at  New  Washington.  He  is  a  strong 
supporter  of  the  Democratic  party  and  a  faith- 
ful member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  In  this 
city  he  was  married  to  Frederica  Michelfelder, 
a  daughter  of  John  and  Frederica  (Utz) 
Michelfelder,  and  they  had  two  sons — J.  F., 
who  is  deceased,  and  C.  E. 

C.  E.  Hildebrand  attended  school  at  New 
Washington  and  then  entered  the  Ohio  Nor- 
mal University  at  Ada,  O.,  where  he  com- 
pleted his  course  in  pharmacy.  In  1896  he 
purchased  his  interest  in  the  present  store, 
from  his  brother,  and  the  firm  was  known  as 
J.  F.  Hildebrand  &  Bro.,  until  1899,  on  the 
death  of  the  senior  partner,  C.  E.  Hildebrand 
becoming  the  sole  owner.  He  carries  every- 
thing usually  fotmd  in  a  modern  drug  store, 
including  a  complete  line  of  drugs,  w^all  pa- 
per, paints,  china,  books,  novelties  and  fancy 
and  toilet  articles,  perfumes  and  choice  con- 
fectionery, occupying  a  double  room  44x76 
ft.  in  dimensions. 

Mr.  Hildebrand  married  Miss  Henrietta 
Heinmiller,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Margaret 
Heinmiller  of  New  W^ashington,  and  they 
have  three  children;  John,  Harold  and  Eve- 
lyn. Air.  Hildebrand  and  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Lutheran  church.  Politically  he 
is  a  Democrat  and  at  times  has  served  in  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


587 


town  council  and  on  the  school  board.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Ohio  State  Drug  Association. 
Mr.  Hildebrand  occupiees  well  appointed  flats 
above  his  drug  store  on  Mansfield  Street. 

BENJAMIN  MECK,  who  has  been  estab- 
lished in  the  practice  of  law  at  Bucyrus,  O., 
since  1907,  and  is  a  member  of  the  able  law 
finn  of  Meek  &  Stalter,  of  this  city,  is  also  a 
prominent  Democratic  politician  and  a  man  of 
good  report  along  every  line.  He  was  born 
March  i,  i860,  in  Lykens  township  Crawford 
county,  O.,  a  son  of  John  Frederick  Meek. 

The  ancestors  of  Mr.  Meek  came  to  Amer- 
ica from  Germany  and  the  paternal  grand- 
father brought  the  family  to  Ohio  and  settled 
in  Lykens  township,  Crawford  county.  He 
and  his  wife  were  among  the  early  members 
of  the  German  Evangelical  church  in  that 
section.  In  1831,  when  the  family  came  to 
America,  the  father  of  Benjamin  Meek  was 
about  fifteen  years  of  age.  He  became  a 
farmer  in  Lykens  township  and  lived  there 
during  all  his  active  life,  then  retired  to  Chat- 
field,  where  he  died  in  1899.  He  married  and 
his  widow  still  survives,  being  now  eighty-one 
years  old.  In  her  girlhood  days  she  united 
with  the  Methodist  church  but  later  attended 
the  German  Evangelical  with  her  husband.  All 
of  their  eleven  children  grew  to  maturity  ex- 
cept one,  and  all  live  in  Ohio  and  are  mar- 
ried except  two. 

Benjamin  Meek  was  the  fifth  born  in  the 
above  family.  His  boyhood  was  spent  on  the 
home  farm  and  he  attended  the  country 
schools  but  later  enjoyed  other  advantages,  in 
1883  graduating  from  the  Ohio  Normal  uni- 
versity. He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  June, 
1889,  and  located  at  Upper  Sandusky,  where 
he  resided  for  twenty  years.  He  was  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  ablest  members  of  the  Wy- 
andot county  bar  and  for  six  years  was  prose- 
cuting attorney.  It  was  during  his  term  that 
Wyandot  county  erected  its  present  handsome 
court  house,  which  was  built  under  the  careful 
scrutiny  of  Prosecuting  Attorney  Meek,  with 
the  happy  result  that  was  appreciated  by  the 
taxpayers,  of  moderate  taxation  and  reason- 
able cost  of  erection.  There  was  no  opportu- 
nity for  false  representations  when  every  item 
went  through  the  office  of  the  prosecuting  at- 
torney as  well  as  the  auditor's  and  treasurer's. 


His  first  election  was  in  1896  and  his  second 
in  1899,  following  the  close  of  which  he  de- 
clined a  third  nomination.  Since  then  he  has 
attended  closely  to  an  ever  increasing  practice, 
both  in  Wyandot  county  and  since  coming  to 
Bucyrus,  and  is  known  as  a  learned,  accurate, 
high-minded  lawyer. 

Mr.  Meek  was  married  in  Wyandot  county, 
to  Miss  Mary  McLaughlin,  who  was  born  and 
reared  there,  and  they  have  five  children,  as 
follows :  Henry  Lehr,  who  is  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  medicine  at  Petersburg,  Mich.,  is 
a  graduate  of  the  Detroit  Medical  college,  in 
the  class  of  1909;  he  married  Clara  Lynch,  of 
Sycamore,  O.  Abraham  K.,  who  is  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law  at  Denver,  Colo.,  is  a 
graduate  of  the  Chicago  university;  he  mar- 
ried Maria  Chenowith.  Chester  Allen,  who  is 
a  graduate  of  the  Bucyrus  High  school,  is  a 
student  in  the  class  of  1914  in  the  law  depart- 
ment of  the  Ohio  Northern  university  at  Ada, 
O.  Nina  Augusta  is  the  wife  of  Dorsey 
Wirth,  who  is  a  merchant  at  Bucyrus.  Calvin 
Benjamin  attends  the  public  schools.  Mrs. 
Meek  is  a  member  of  the  German  Reformed 
church.  Mr.  Meek  is  identified  with  Walpole 
lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Upper  Sandusky. 

RUFUS  V.  SEARS,  a  foremost  member 
of  the  Bucyrus  bar  and  a  representative  citi- 
zen along  every  line  of  intelligent  effort,  be- 
longs to  one  of  the  old  settled  families  of 
Crawford  county,  O.  He  was  born  on  the 
Sears  homestead,  within  a  few  miles  of  Bucy- 
rus, and  was  principally  educated  in  this  city. 
He  is  of  Revolutionary  stock  in  both 
branches  of  his  ancestry.  His  parents  were 
Benjamin  and  Melissa  (Minich)  Sears,  names 
well  known  in  the  early  settlement  of  Mary- 
land and  Ohio. 

After  being  creditably  graduated  from  the 
Bucyrus  High  school,  he  entered  upon  the 
study  of  the  law  and  in  1886  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.  He  opened  an  office  at  Bucyrus  and 
practiced  alone  until  1893,  when  he  entered 
into  partnership  with  the  late  Hon.  S.  R.  Har- 
ris, his  father-in-law.  This  law  firm,  collect- 
ively and  individually,  was  a  strong  one  in 
Crawford  county  for  many  years.  Since  the 
death  of  Judge  Harris,  Mr.  Sears  has  con- 
tinued without  a  partner.  He  is  additionally 
interested  in  numerous  successful  enterprises 


588 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


of  city  and  section,  and  is  officially  connected 
with  several,  and  is  one  of  the  directing  board 
of  the  First  National  bank  of  Bucyrus.  In 
his  political  views  Mr.  Sears  is  a  Republican 
and  is  loyal  to  party  and  friends  but  has  sel- 
dom consented  to  accept  political  preferment 
for  himself.  He  has  always  identified  himself 
vitally  with  the  best  interests  of  the  city,  and 
belongs  to  that  class  of  useful  and  construct- 
ive citizens  that  maintain  order  and  encourage 
progress,  thereby  establishing  the  good  name 
of  their  section  abroad. 

Mr.  Sears  was  married  in  1888  to  Miss 
Sallie  J.  Harris,  and  their  family  consists  of 
three  sons :  Paul  Bigelow,  Demas  Lindley  and 
John  Dudley. 

ALBERT  L.  BRIGGS,  a  general  farmer 
and  highly  respected  citizen  of  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  operates  a 
farm  of  eighty  acres  and  is  considered  one  of 
the  successful  agriculturists  of  this  section. 
Mr.  Briggs  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  Febru- 
ary 12,  i860,  and  is  a  son  of  Alexander  and 
Sarah  (Shearer)  Briggs. 

Alexander  Briggs  was  born  also  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, a  son  of  Jonathan  Briggs,  who  was 
probably  of  English  ancestry.  Alexander 
Briggs  carried  on  farming  in  Pennsylvania 
and  is  now  deceased.  He  was  somewhat  active 
in  the  Democratic  party  in  his  locality  and  was 
a  man  who  was  well  thought  of  by  his  neigh- 
bors. He  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  He  married  Sarah  Shearer, 
a  daughter  of  Michael  Shearer,  and  they  had 
the  following  children:  Albert  L.;  Harry; 
W^ade;  Charles;  ^^lary,  wife  of  Samuel  Lou- 
den; Edna,  wife  of  Thomas  Guinn;  Catherine, 
wife  of  Frank  Brown ;  Matilda,  now  deceased, 
who  was  the  wife  of  a  Mr.  Young;  and 
Bertha,  wife  of  \Mlliam  Bell.  The  mother  of 
this  family  survives  and  lives  in  Iowa.  She 
is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

Albert  L.  Briggs  attended  the  public  schools 
in  Huntingdon  county.  Pa.,  and  assisted  his 
father  on  the  home  place  until  he  was  twenty 
years  of  age.  He  then  came  to  Crawford 
county,  O.,  where  he  soon  found  employment 
in  the  agricultural  districts,  and  thus  it  hap- 
pened that  he  was  engaged  by  George  Breh- 
man  as  a  farm  assistant  and  worked  for  two 
years  on  the  present  place  prior  to  his  marriage 


with  his  employer's  daughter.    This  marriage 
was   celebrated  January    17,   1888,  the  lady 
being  Miss  Matilda  Brehman,  a  daughter  of 
George  and  Hettie  (Reiter)  Brehman.  and  a 
granddaughter  of  John   Brehman  and  John 
Reiter.    It  was  Grandfather  Brehman  who  en- 
tered the  present  farm  from  the  Government 
and  the  deed,  which  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Briggs  pre- 
serve, bears  the  signature  of  Andrew  Jackson 
as  President  of  the  United  States.    The  Briggs 
farm  belongs  to  Mrs.  Briggs,  it  having  de- 
scended to  her  when  her  parents  died,  and  she 
is  also  one  of  the  heirs  interested  in  another 
eighty  acres.    George  Brehman  and  wife  were 
well  known  and  much  esteemed  people  and 
were     faithful    members    of    the    Lutheran 
church.      They  had   the    following   children: 
Martha,,  wife    of    William    Vail;    Emmeline 
wife  of  Marion  Smith;  George;  Matilda,  wife 
of  Albert  L.  Briggs;  Malinda;  Amanda;  and 
Elias,  deceased.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Briggs  have 
three  children.  May,  Carl  and  Kenneth,  all  of 
whom  have  been  given  excellent  school  ad- 
vantages.    ]Mr.  Briggs  has  served  as  school 
director  and  also  as  road  supervisor,  and  is 
known  to  be  a  sensible,  honest,  practical  man. 
The  family  attends  the  Lutheran  church. 

CHARLES  R.  RO\\'E,  of  The  Rowe  Bros. 
Co.,  proprietors  of  the  leading  mercantile  es- 
tablishment at  Bucyrus,  O.,  has  been  a  part- 
ner in  the  above  mentioned  business  since 
1897,  having  had  previous  mercantile  experi- 
ence. He  was  born  in  ^ledina  coimty,  O.,  and 
is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  (Grant) 
Rowe. 

Dr.  Thomas  Rowe,  the  grandfather  of  the 
Rowe  Brothers  of  Bucyrus,  was  bom  in  New 
Hampshire  and  came  to  the  Western  Reserve 
with  his  family  in  1840,  locating  in  Medina 
county.  He  had  much  pioneering  experience, 
as  the  country  at  that  date  was  but  sparsely 
settled  and  his  practice  called  him  long  dis- 
tances from  home  and  his  visits  were  neces- 
sarily made  in  primitive  style,  carrying  his 
saddle  bags  of  medicine  and  instruments  on 
horseback.  Of  his  children,  his  son  Thomas 
was  a  small  boy  when  the  family  came  to 
Medina  county,  which  section  continued  to 
be  his  home  through  life.  He  acquired  a  large 
amount  of  valuable  farm  land.  His  death  oc- 
curred in  1897,  when  he  was  aged  sixty-four 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


589 


years.  He  married  Elizabeth  Grant,  who  was 
born  in  Connecticut,  from  which  state  she 
came  to  Medina  county  as  a  school  teacher 
and  subsequently  was  married  to  Thomas 
Rowe.  She  still  survives  and  resides  in  Me- 
dina county  and  has  many  pleasant  recollec- 
tions of  earlier  times  there.  She  is  a  member 
of  the  Congregational  church.  To  Thomas 
and  Elizabeth  Rowe  five  children  were  born, 
four  sons  and  one  daughter,  the  last,  Emma, 
being  the  wife  of  G.  W.  Thompson,  of^Lex- 
ington,  Idaho,  and  the  mother  of  four  sons  and 
one  daughter.  The  sons,  Charles  R.,  Thomas 
G.,  George  S.  and  H.  G.,  are  all  business  men, 
the  two  older  brothers  being  associated  to- 
gether at  Bucyrus,  while  George  S.  is  with 
the  Putnam  Publishing  Company,  at  New 
York  City,  and  H.  G.  is  owner  and  proprietor 
of  the  Medina  County  Gazette  and  a  promi- 
nent resident  of  the  city  of  Medina. 

Charles  R.  Rowe  was  reared  and  educated 
at  Medina  and  after  his  school  days  were  over 
entered  a  mercantile  establishment  as  a  clerk. 
Five  years  later  he  came  to  Bucyrus,  entered 
into  business  here  and  in  1897  became  a  part- 
ner in  the  Rowe  Bros.  Co.,  as  above  men- 
tioned. The  business  was  started  under  the 
firm  name  of  Lauck  &  Rowe,  the  junior  part- 
ner being  Thomas  G.  Rowe,  who,  in  1897  pur- 
chased the  entire  interest  and  in  the  same  year 
took  his  brother,  Charles  R.,  as  a  partner. 
The  business  was  conducted  at  No.  130  South 
Sandusky  avenue  but  accommodations  soon 
proved  too  limited  and  additional  space  was 
secured  and  the  present  frontage  of  their  es- 
tablishment, which  includes  Nos.  130-132 
South  Sandusky  avenue,  is  160  feet.  In  1907 
the  firm  became  a  close  corporation  and  in 
1911  a  branch  store  was  established  at  Cleve- 
land. The  business  at  Bucyrus  is  conducted 
under  the  corporation  style  of  The  Rowe  Bros. 
Co.,  while  the  firm  name  at  Cleveland  is  Rowe 
Bros.  They  give  employment  to  a  large  force 
and  cater  to  the  best  trade,  carrying  a  complete 
stock  of  fine  merchandise,  carpets  and  ladies' 
wearing  apparel.  They  are  enterprising  and 
reputable  business  men  and  enjoy  a  large  de- 
gree of  well  merited  prosperity.  Both  mem- 
bers of  the  firm  are  identified  with  the  Masonic 
fraternity. 

In  1899  Mr.  Rowe  was  married  to  Miss 
Pauline  Erichman,  who  was  born  at  Bucyrus 


and  they  have  two  children,  Richard  Grant  and 
Virginia.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rowe  are  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  church. 

ARTHUR  J.  BEALL,  whose  excellent 
farm  of  112  acres  is  favorably  situated  half  a 
mile  west  of  Bucyrus,  Ohio,  in  Bucyrus  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  was  born  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  this  county,  March  7,  1883,  and  is 
one  of  the  modern,  progressive  and  successful 
young  agriculturists  of  this  section.  His  par- 
ents were  John  W.  and  Annetta  (Wentz) 
Beall. 

John  W.  Beall  was  a  lifelong  resident  of 
Crawford  county  and  was  a  well-known 
farmer  and  stock-raiser.  His  death  occurred 
in  his  37th  year.  He  married  Annetta  Wentz, 
a  daughter  of  John  Wentz  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  four  children,  as  follows:  Arthur 
J.;  Mabel  E.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Alfred  C. 
George,  who  owns  and  successfully  operates 
148  acres  of  land  in  Dallas  township,  Craw- 
ford county;  they  have  one  daughter,  Eliza- 
beth Annetta .  Walter  R.,  who  owns  a  splendid 
farm  of  100  acres  in  Dallas  township,  Craw- 
ford county;  and  Edgar  B.,  who  is  assistant 
cashier  in  the  Commercial  Savings  bank  at  Ga- 
lion,  Ohio. 

A.  J.  Beall  obtained  a  public  school  educa- 
tion, afterward  spending  one  year  at  the  Ohio 
Northern  university.  He  then  taught  school 
for  five  years  in  Holmes  and  Bucyrus  town- 
ships and  then  came  to  his  present  home  which 
he  purchased  in  191  o.  He  carries  on  general 
farming  and  stock-raising  in  a  scientific  way, 
having  a  complete  equipment  of  the  most  im- 
proved farm  machinery  and  keeping  in  touch 
with  the  Ohio  Agricultural  Experiment  Sta- 
tion and  modern  methods,  and  is  one  of  the 
model  farmers  of  the  county. 

He  belongs  to  the  local  grange  and  formerly 
was  president  of  the  Farmers'  Institute. 

On  March  2^,  19 10,  Mr.  Beall  was  married 
to  Miss  Rebecca  A.  Conkle,  only  daughter  of 
Peter  and  Mary  E.  (Foulke)  Conkle,  the  for- 
mer of  whom  is  a  partner  and  manager  of  the 
Colter  &  Co.  lumber  mills  of  Bucyrus,  Ohio. 
Mrs.  Beall  was  born  October  7,  1886,  and  re- 
ceived her  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
Bucyrus,  being  graduated  in  the  class  of  1907. 
She  later  studied  in  elocution  and  is  a  very  ac- 
complished reader.    Mrs.  Beall  has  one  broth- 


590 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


er.  Dr.  G.  C.  Conkle,  who  is  a  physician  at 
Boyne  Falls,  Alich.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beall  at- 
tend the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Bucy- 
rus.    In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 

JULIUS  J.  BLISS,  Avhose  long  and  able  as- 
sociation with  the  public  schools  of  Crawford 
county  and  the  city  of  Bucyrus,  made  his  name 
a  prominent  one  among  the  educators  of  his 
native  state,  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  con- 
structive and  valuable  citizens  of  this  city.  He 
was  born  May  i6,  1854,  in  Bainbridge  town- 
ship, Geauga  county,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  Ol- 
ney  R.  and  Wahala  J.  (McFarland)  Bliss. 

The  Bliss  family  traces  its  ancestry  to  Eng- 
land, Thomas  Bliss,  of  Devonshire  being  re- 
cortied  as  a  member  of  the  Plymouth  Colony 
in  1635.  In  the  War  of  the  Revolution  the 
unusual  spectacle  was  presented  of  three  gen- 
erations participating  together  in  that  strug- 
gle, Ephraim  Bliss,  his  son  Ephraim,  and  his 
grandson,  Benjamin  Bliss,  the  last  named  be- 
ing but  a  boy  in  years.  Col.  Otis  B.  Bliss,  son 
of  the  above  Benjamin  Bliss,  was  born  at 
North  Adams,  Berkshire  county,  Mass.,  and 
in  1833  moved  from  there  to  Geauga  county, 
O.,  establishing  the  family  home  in  Bainbridge 
township,  where  many  of  his  descendants  may 
yet  be  found  among  the  people  of  substantial 
character.  In  1831  he  had  married  Julia  Elma 
Maria  Potter,  who  was  born  at  Gloucester,  R. 
I.,  a  daughter  of  Olney  Potter,  and  a  grand- 
daughter of  James  Potter,  and  a  great-grand- 
daughter of  Samuel  Potter,  both  grandfather 
and  great-grandfather  being  soldiers  in  the 
Revolutionary  war  and  descendants  of  Roger 
Williams. 

Olney  R.  Bliss,  father  of  Julius  J.  Bliss  and 
son  of  Otis  B.  Bliss,  was  born  in  Geauga 
county  O. ;  in  the  first  year  the  family  settled 
there.  He  was  reared  in  Bainbridge  township 
and  married  the  daughter  of  a  neighbor,  ]\Ia- 
hala  y.  McFarland,  whose  father,  John  Wes- 
lev  McFarland,  had  moved  from  Berkshire, 
^fass.,  in  1816,  to  that  township.  In  1883  the 
parents  of  Mr.  Bliss  removed  to  Brook\ille, 
Kans.,  where  they  survived  into  old  age. 

Julius  J.  Bliss  attended  the  public  schools  in 
Geauga  county  and  then  entered  Hiram  col- 
lege, and  during  the  period  passed  there  he 
came  under  the  influence  of  Prof.  James  A. 
Garfield,  who  later  became  president  of  the 
United  States.    From  Hiram  college  Mr.  Bliss 


went  to  Oberlin  college,  where  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  1881,  receiving  his  B.  A.  degree,  and 
five  years  later  his  degree  of  M.  A.,  was  con- 
ferred. At  the  age  of  sixteen  Mr.  Bliss  went 
into  educational  work  and  by  this  means  sent 
himself  through  college.  The  exceptional  suc- 
cess which  he  achieved  in  the  succeeding  years 
gave  abundant  proof  of  his  qualifications  as  a 
teacher.  In  January,  1883,  he  became  one  of 
the  instructors  at  the  Bucyrus  High  school, 
where  he  continued  for  two  and  one-half 
years,  and  then  accepted  the  superintendency 
of  the  public  schools  of  Crestline.  For  ten 
years  Mr.  Bliss  remained  in  that  city,  where 
his  professional  and  executive  ability  were 
thoroughly  tested  and  recognized.  In  1895  he 
came  to  Bucyrus,  accepting  the  superintend- 
ency of  the  public  schools  of  this  city,  and 
continued  in  charge  until  1907.  During  this 
long  period  many  changes  were  brought  about 
in  almost  every  department  of  the  school  sys- 
tem, r^Ir.  Bliss  giving  his  entire  attention  to 
the  advancement  and  upbuilding  of  the  city's 
educational  institutions.  Largely  increased  at- 
tendance, a  higher  curriculum,  and  a  more  pro- 
nounced enthusiasm  for  more  advanced  op- 
portunities, were  some  of  the  results  of  his 
long  superintendency.  In  1907  Mr.  Bliss 
turned  his  attention  to  banking  and  is  at  pres- 
ent identified  with  the  Bucyrus  City  bank.  He 
has  ever  been  an  interested  citizen,  is  secre- 
tary of  the  Bucyrus  City  Library  board  and  a 
leader  in  all  movements  looking  toward  the 
educational  and  moral  advancement  of  the 
community.  He  was  the  leading  factor  in  se- 
curing the  establishment  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
in  this  city,  and  has  always  taken  a  deep  in- 
terest in  its  work. 

Mr.  Bliss  was  married  in  1886,  at  Bucyrus, 
to  Miss  Ella  [May  Fuhrman,  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Adeline  (Kirby)  Fuhrman,  and 
they  have  two  children:  INIarion  George  and 
Mary  Mahala.  The  family  are  all  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  church.  He  has  been  af- 
filiated with  many  educational  bodies,  but  the 
only  fraternal  organization  with  which  he  is 
connected  is  the  order  of  Knights  of  Pythias. 
The  hospitable  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bliss  is 
at  No.  512  E.  Rensselaer  street,  Bucyrus. 

HENRY  WITTER,  a  highly  respected  citi- 
zen of  Bucyrus.  O.,  who  now  lives  retired  after 
many  years  of  successful  agricultural  effort. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


591 


enjoys  the  comforts  of  a  beautiful  home  at 
No.  412  South  Sandusky  street.  He  was  born 
August  14,  1844,  in  Chatfield  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  WilHam 
Witter. 

William  Witter  was  born  in  North  Carolina 
and  for  some  years  after  reaching  manhood 
was  overseer  on  plantations  where  many 
slaves  were  owned.  He  was  married  in  Rock- 
ingham county,  N.  C,  to  C.  Barbara  Fitz,  who 
was  born  in  Germany  and  came  to  America 
when  young.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Witter  remained 
in  North  Caroline  until  after  the  birth  of  four 
children  and  then  decided  to  come  north,  mak- 
ing a  choice  of  Crawford  county,  O.  With 
wagon  and  one  horse  and  bringing  along  all 
their  household  effects,  the  family  started  for 
the  new  home.  It  took  quite  a  long  time  in 
those  days  to  cover  such  a  distance,  as  the 
roads  were  poor  and  many  of  the  streams 
were  unbridged,  but  they  had  expected  to  en- 
counter hardships  as  pioneers  and  kept  perse- 
veringly  on.  They  reached  Chatfield  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  in  1836,  and  their  first 
purchase  of  land  was  forty-five  acres,  none  of 
which  had  yet  been  cleared  or  improved.  La- 
ter Mr.  Witter  bought  additional  land  and 
about  this  time  the  father  of  Mrs.  Witter, 
Christian  Fritz,  joined  the  other  pioneers  and 
together  they  acquired  still  more  land  and 
cleared  and  improved  it.  Mr.  Fritz  died  on 
that  place  in  his  eighty-fifth  year.  William 
Witter  died  there  in  1891,  aged  ninety-one 
years,  having  survived  his  wife  since  Febru- 
ary, 1883.  He  was  a  Whig  in  early  life  and 
later  became  a  Republican.  His  wife  belonged 
to  the  German  Lutheran  church  but  he  was 
identified  with  the  Campbellite  church.  The 
following  children  were  born  to  them :  Wil- 
liam, who  was  accidentally  killed  by  a  run- 
away team  of  horses  when  aged  eighteen 
years;  Thomas,  who  died  at  Vicksburg,  Miss., 
while  serving  in  the  Federal  army  during  the 
Civil  war;  John,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Western 
Ohio;  Elizabeth,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife 
of  Christian  Baldosser;  Caroline,  deceased, 
who  was  twice  married ;  Alexander,  who  died 
in  1895 ;  Charles,  who  died  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen years ;  and  Henry,  now  of  Bucyrus. 

Henry  Witter  assisted  in  clearing  and  im- 
proving the  home  farm  and  lived  there  until 


one  year  after  his  marriage.  He  then  moved 
five  miles  south  of  Bucyrus,  remaining  in  that 
locality  one  year,  after  which  he  bought  80 
acres  in  Holmes  township,  where  he  resided 
three  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  sold 
his  place  and  bought  in  Bucyrus  township  a 
farm  of  85  acres  and  shortly  afterwards  24 
acres  more,  and  lived  there  until  1905,  when 
he  returned  to  Bucyrus.  He  has  never  been 
greatly  interested  in  politics  and  for  some 
years  has  maintained  an  independent  attitude. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church. 

Mr.  Witter  was  married  in  Seneca  county, 
to  Fredericka  Louise  Bauer,  who  was  born  in 
Saxony,  Germany,  November  7,  1844,  and 
died  at  her  home  in  Bucyrus,  May  5,  1910. 
She  was  six  years  old  when  her  parents,  Fred- 
erick and  Henriette  O.  Bauer,  brought  her  to 
the  United  States.  For  some  years  they 
lived  in  Massachusetts  and  then  came  to  Craw- 
ford county  and  Mr.  Bauer  purchased  a  large 
farm  in  Lykens  township,  on  which  his  wife 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years.  After- 
ward he  came  to  Bucyrus  and  here  his  death 
occurred  in  his  eighty-sixth  year.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Witter  the  following  children  were  born : 
Frederick,  who  is  a  resident  of  Bucyrus,  mar- 
ried Nora  Ruch  and  they  have  three  children — 
Henry,  Ruth  and  May;  William,  who  is  a 
prominent  physician  at  Detroit,  Mich.,  was 
graduated  from  the  Bucyrus  High  school  in 
the  class  of  1892,  the  medical  department  of 
the  University  of  Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor, 
in  the  class  of  1898,  was  married  at  West 
Branch,  Mich.,  to  Caroline  B.  Cline,  and  they 
have  two  children— Caroline  I.  and  Lelia  M. ; 
Charles  A.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  nine  years ; 
Louis,  who  is  in  the  transportation  business  at 
Bucyrus,  married  Emanda  Pfleider,  and  they 
have  three  children — J.  Edwin,  Henry  H.  and 
Caroline  Anna ;  Thomas,  who  died  in  infancy ; 
Mary  Ann  Isabel,  who  is  her  father's  compe- 
tent housekeeper;  James,  who  resides  on  a 
farm  in  Sandusky  township,  has  four  children 
— James,  Ardis,  William  and  Robert ;  Alberta, 
who  died  when  aged  ten  years ;  Elsie,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  eight  years ;  and  Roy,  who  lived 
but  five  years.  The  surviving  members  of  Mr. 
Witter's  family  are  all  well  established  in  life 
and  all  are  respected  members  of  society. 


592 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


COL.  CYRUS  W.  FISHER,  who  has  been 
a  man  of  influence  and  more  or  less  prominence 
in  different  sections  of  the  country  for  very 
many  years,  and  who  is  now  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  citizens  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  was 
born  Sept.  22,  1835,  at  Waynesville,  Warren 
county,  O.  After  several  family  changes  of 
residence  in  his  boyhood,  Cyrus  W.  Fisher  was 
sent  in  1846,  by  his  father.  Dr.  Fisher,  from 
the  pioneer  home  in  Rock  county.  Wis.,  to  at- 
tend school  at  his  birthplace  in  Ohio.  In  1849 
Dr.  Fisher  with  the  rest  of  his  family  also  re- 
turned to  Ohio  and  the  son  joined  his  father 
at  Lebanon  in  Warren  county,  and  continued 
his  studies  while  living  at  home  until  about 
1 85 1.  In  the  above  mentioned  year  he  accom- 
panied a  corps  of  railroad  engineers  and  as- 
sisted in  making  surveys  through  Ohio,  being 
thus  occupied  until  1854,  in  which  year  he  en- 
tered the  employ  of  the  Ohio  &  Indiana  Rail- 
road Company,  remaining  with  that  corpora- 
tion for  two  years.  His  next  railroad  connec- 
tion was  with  the  Bee  Line  road,  with  which 
he  was  identified  until  1857,  being  a  passenger 
conductor  on  the  line  between  Crestline  and  In- 
dianapolis. He  then  accepted  a  position  in 
the  office  of  the  superintendent  of  that  road, 
at  Bellefontaine,  Ohio,  and  remained  there 
until  President  Lincoln's  first  call  for  troops 
in  1861. 

He  then  entered  the  service  of  the  Federal 
Government  as  first  lieutenant  of  Co.  F,  23rd 
O.  V.  I.  His  brother  officers  were  men  of 
high  character  and  ability  and  several  of  them 
later  achieved  national  distinction.  His  col- 
onel was  W.  S.  Rosecrans,  his  lieutenant 
colonel,  Stanley  Matthews,  and  his  major, 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes.  In  July,  1861,  the  reg- 
iment was  sent  to  western  Virginia,  and  in 
the  succeeding  November  Lieut.  Fisher  be- 
came major  of  the  S4th  Ohio  Infantry,  which 
regiment,  in  February,  1862  became  a  part 
of  the  army  division  that  first  came  under 
the  command  of  General  Sherman,  who  was 
then  a  brigadier.  In  November,  1862  Major 
Fisher  was  again  promoted,  becoming  lieu- 
tenant-colonel of  the  54th  regiment,  and  as 
such  he  was  a  participant  in  all  the  operations 
of  the  15th  Army  Corps,  his  valor,  coolness 
and  military  ability  serving  well  his  command 
on  many  a  battle-field.  His  faithful  service 
to  his  cause  and  country  ended  only  with  the 


close  of  the  war,  when  he  returned  to  Belle- 
fontaine, where  his  family  then  resided. 

Immediately  after  the  termination  of  his 
military  career.  Col.  Fisher  removed  to  Oska- 
loosa,  Iowa,  with  the  idea  of  entering  upon 
the  practice  of  law,  having  been  admitted  to 
the  Ohio  bar  in  1864.  He  first,  however, 
went  into  journalism,  purchasing  the  Oska- 
loosa  Herald,  which  he  conducted  until  1868, 
when  he  disposed  of  it  and  opened  a  law  of- 
fice. His  prospects  were  encouraging,  but  by 
this  lime  he  had  found  the  climate  not  favor- 
able to  his  health,  and  when  it  became  a  mat- 
ter of  necessity  for  him  to  find  a  less  trying 
one,  his  thoughts  again  turned  to  railroading, 
in  which  field  he  felt  at  home.  Accordingly 
he  shortly  afterward  accepted  the  position  of 
superintendent  and  general  freight  and  ticket 
agent  in  the  more  congenial  climate  of  Col- 
orado, being  the  first  incumbent  of  that  office 
for  the  Denver  Pacific  line  in  that  state. 

Col.  Fisher's  identification  with  the  Denver 
Pacific,  the  Kansas  Pacific,  and  the  Colorado 
Central  railroads  continued  until  the  summer 
of  1878,  when  he  was  made  superintendent  of 
the  Mountain  Division  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad.  He  held  this  latter  position  until 
1879,  when  he  resigned  in  order  to  become 
general  superintendent  of  the  Denver,  South 
Park  &  Pacific  Railroad,  of  which  he  was  also 
a  director  and  second  vice  president.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1882,  he  became  general  manager  of 
the  New  Orleans  &  Denver  Railroad  Com- 
pany, of  which  in  1883  he  was  elected  general 
manager  and  president.  In  1884-5  he  was 
general  manager  and  lessee  of  this  road,  but 
resigned  in  March,  1886,  in  order  to  accept 
the  position  of  general  manager  of  the  Rock 
Island  Railroad  lines  west  of  the  Missouri 
river. 

From  1886  to  1888  his  time  was  completely 
taken  up  in  the  construction  and  putting  into 
operation  of  thirteen  hundred  miles  of  track- 
age. Family  affliction  in  the  death  of  his 
wife,  which  took  place  in  this  year,  induced 
his  resignation,  his  need  of  rest  and  recrea- 
tion being  apparent  to  all  his  friends.  These 
he  found  in  a  trip  to  Europe,  where,  during 
a  stay  of  six  months,  he  visited  many  points 
of  interest.  The  year  1889  found  him  once 
more  in  his  native  state  and  subsequently  he 
became  a  settled  citizen  of  Buc)^us,  where  he 


COL.  CYRUS  W.  FISHER 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


595 


made  investments  and  purchased  a  comfort- 
able and  attractive  residence  at  No.  125  Rens- 
salaer  street.  After  locating  in  this  city  he 
became  connected  with  the  Frey-Sheckler  Clay 
Working  Company,  later  known  as  the 
American  Clay  Machinery  Company.  At 
the  present  writing  he  is  president  of  the 
Bucyrus  Public  Library,  also  of  the  Bucyrus 
Hospital  Association,  and  of  the  Fairbanks 
Steam  Shovel  Company,  of  Marion,  Ohio. 
He  has  been  very  active  in  Grand  Army  cir- 
cles and  has  served  for  several  years  as  com- 
mander of  the  post  at  Bucyrus. 

For  many  years  Col.  Fisher  has  been  a  lead- 
ing factor  in  Republican  politics,  and  was  a 
hearty  and  effective  worker  for  the  late  Presi- 
dent William  McKinley,  who  was  an  old  army 
comrade  and  a  personal  friend.  In  1896  Col. 
Fisher  visited  Denver,  Colo,  in  a  political 
capacity,  just  at  the  time  that  the  Denver, 
Cripple  Creek  &  Southwestern  Railroad  was 
being  organized,  and  the  presidency  of  this 
company  being  tendered  him,  he  accepted  it 
and  held  the  office  for  two  years.  Other  in- 
terests, however,  soon  claimed  his  attention 
and  he  retired  permanently  from  participation 
in  railroad  affairs. 

Col.  Fisher  was  first  married  at  Bellefon- 
taine,  O.,  in  1859,  to  Miss  Sallie  M.  Dunham. 
She  died  Sept.  25,  i860,  being  survived  for 
a  few  weeks  by  an  infant  son.  The  Colonel's 
.second  marriage  was  contracted  in  1864  with 
Miss  Martha  I.  Hetich,  who  was  born  in 
Crawford  county,  O.  Her  death  took  place 
in  1888,  at  Hot  Springs,  Ark.  In  1891  Col. 
Fisher  married  Mrs.  Mary  D.  Beer,  a  lady 
well  known  in  Bucyrus.  To  his  second  mar- 
riage ten  children  were  bom,  two  of  whom 
survive — Cyrus  H.  and  Sallie.  Col.  Fisher  is 
a  thirty-second  degree  Mason,  having  been 
identified  with  the  fraternity  for  the  past  54 
years.  He  manifests  a  thorough  interest  in 
all  that  concerns  the  welfare  of  Bucyrus, 
which  he  has  shown  by  action  whenever  a 
good  example  was  needed  or  when  called  upon 
to  aid  in  a  worthy  cause.  Every  practical 
movement  for  the  moral  and  material  better- 
ment of  the  community  has  had  his  cordial 
support.  The  extent  of  his  private  charities 
will  never  be  fully  known,  for,  like  every  true 
gentleman,  he  dislikes  ostentation,  satisfied 
with  the  approval  of  his  own  conscience  in 
whatever  he  may  do  for  his  fellow  man. 


JOHN  H.  LIGHT,  who  has  made  a  success 
his  chosen  line  of  business — agriculture — re- 
sides on  his  well  improved  farm  of  seventy- 
one  acres,  located  five  miles  northeast  of  Bucy- 
rus, was  born  in  Liberty  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  in  1872,  and  has  always  lived  here. 
He  is  a  son  of  William  and  Sarah  (Hay) 
Light. 

William  Light  and  wife  were  both  born  in 
Pennsylvania  and  they  came  to  Ohio  in  1857. 
Both  died  in  Liberty  township,  aged  respec- 
tively seventy-three  and  seventy-two  years. 
They  had  seven  children:  Swingly,  who  re- 
sides in  Liberty  township,  married  Caroline 
Pfluderer;  Scyanthia,  who  resides  at  Bucyrus, 
married  G.  W.  Sprow ;  William;  who  is  a  busi- 
ness man  of  Bucyrus,  married  Rebecca  Charl- 
ton; Ida,  residing  in  Liberty  township,  is  the 
widow  of  H.  J.  Sprow,  who  died  July  27, 
191 1 ;  Daniel  died  in  1895;  Mary,  the  wife  of 
G.  B.  Kelly — they  live  in  Liberty  township; 
and  John  H.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

John  H.  Light  had  public  school  advantages 
and  grew  to  manhood  well  trained  in  farm 
work  and  has  made  farming  his  sole  business. 
As  his  property  has  needed  improving  he  has 
attended  to  this  matter  and  recently  has  com- 
pleted a  very  fine  barn.  He  raises  the  usual 
crops  of  this  section  and  enough  stock  for  his 
own  use. 

Mr.  Light  was  married  to  Miss  Anna  'Bitte- 
kofer,  who  was  born  in  1881,  a  daughter  of 
Jacob  and  Christiana  (Auckerman)  Bitte- 
kofer.  Mrs.  Light's  brothers  and  sisters  are 
Fred,  Jesse,  John,  Harve,  Earl,  Albert,  Mary, 
and  Cora;  one  brother,  Irvin,  is  deceased. 
Fred  is  a  teacher  in  the  Tiffin,  O.,  High 
school;  Jesse  lives  in  Lykens  township;  John 
lives  at  New  Washington,  and  the  others  re- 
main at  home. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Light  have  five  children, 
namely:  Ruth  I.,  Mabel  M.,  Fairy  M.,  Walter 
B.  and  Ethel  O.  Mr.  Light  and  family  belong 
to  the  Reformed  church.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican. 

OTHO  W.  KENNEDY,  who  is  serving  in 
his  third  term  as  city  solicitor  of  Bucyrus,  O., 
is  a  well  known  member  of  the  Crawford 
county  bar  and  belongs  to  one  of  the  old  fam- 
ilies of  the  county.  He  was  born  May  25, 
1878,  one  of  a  family  of  twelve  children  born 


596 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


to  his  parents,  Thomas  S.  and  Hester  F. 
(Monnett)  Kennedy. 

Otho  W.  Kennedy  began  his  education  in 
the  pubHc  schools  and  later  continued  it  at  the 
Ohio  Normal  university,  at  Ada,  O.,  during 
this  latter  period  also  teaching  school.  He 
then  entered  the  Western  Reserve  college  at 
Cleveland,  O.,  which  he  attended  for  a  time, 
being  afterward  graduated  from  the  Ohio 
Normal  university  at  Ada.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  December,  1902.  and  began  prac- 
tice in  Marion  county,  O.  Believing  that  Bucy- 
rus  offered  a  wider  field  for  professional  ef- 
fort, in  1903  he  came  to  this  city,  where  he 
has  had  no  reason  to  feel  that  his  judgment 
was  in  any  way  deficient  in  making  a  choice 
of  home.  He  has  thoroughly  identified  him- 
self with  the  activities  and  interests  which  go 
to  build  up  a  city  and  is  widely  and  favorably 
known  both  in  his  profession  and  otherwise. 
He  was  first  elected  to  the  office  of  city  solici- 
tor in  1907  and  was  reelected  in  1909  and 
191 1.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  views 
and  heartily  supports  his  party's  candidates. 
During  1906  and  1907  he  was  a  member  of 
the  board  of  deputy  state  _  supervisors  of 
elections. 

Mr.  Kennedy  married  Miss  Edna  T.  Birk,  a 
daughter  of  C.  F.  Birk.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ken- 
nedy are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church. 
Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Elks  and 
the  Eagles. 

DANIEL  J.  STRICKER,  a  government 
railway  mail  clerk,  for  the  past  eleven  years 
has  been  detailed  on  the  service  between  Pitts- 
burg, Pa.,  and  Chicago,  111.,  a  route  of  great 
importance,  the  handling  and  safety  of  the 
mail  between  these  points  being  a  matter  of 
extreme  responsibility.  He  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  the  United  States  since  he  was  five 
years  old,  but  was  born  at  Vienna,  Austria, 
April  13,  1869.  His  parents  were  Anton  and 
Cecelia  (Waller)  Strieker. 

The  early  history  of  the  family  has  not 
been  preserved  to  a  great  extent  but  a  coat  of 
arms  is  in  the  possession  of  its  present  repre- 
sentative which  shows  connection  with  the  no- 
bility in  1 162.  Anton  Strieker  was  born  also 
in  Austria  and  served  in  the  army  in  1848,  re- 
ceiving wounds.  He  later  carried  on  the  busi- 
ness of  manufacturing  meerschaum  pipes  at 


Vienna.  In  1874  he  came  with  his  family  to 
the  United  States  and  shortly  afterward  set- 
tled at  Bucyrus,  where  his  death  occurred  Feb- 
ruary 25,  191 1,  within  four  months  of  his  be- 
ing ninety-two  years  of  age.  In  Austria  he 
married  Cecelia  Waller,  who  was  born  in  Bo- 
hemia and  died  March  2,  191 1,  in  her  seventy- 
eighth  year.  In  Austria  they  were  Catholics 
but  in  Ohio  affiliated  themselves  with  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church.  They  had  five  children, 
one  son  having  died  in  infancy  in  Vienna. 
The  other  four  were :  August,  who  is  a  tele- 
graph operator  for  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company,  at  Dunkirk,  O.,  married  Elizabeth 
Wakefield;  Daniel  J.;  Charles,  who  is  a  ma- 
chinist at  Bucyrus,  married  Anna  Scheib; 
and  John,  who  was  accidentally  killed  on  the 
T.  &  O.  Railroad,  of  which  he  was  an  em- 
ploye. 

Daniel  J.  Strieker  obtained  his  education 
at  Bucyrus  and  after  a  number  of  years  as 
telegraph  operator  for  the  Pennsylvania  rail- 
road company,  specially  prepared  himself  for 
his  present  work.  October  14,  1896,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Katheryn  L.  Uhl,  who  was 
born  at  Gallon,  O.,  where  she  was  reared  and 
educated  and  for  several  years  previous  to  the 
marriage  was  an  acceptable  teacher.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  John  F.  and  Anna  Barbara 
(Tracht)  Uhl,  both  of  German  parentage. 
Mr.  Uhl  was  a  cabinetmaker  and  interior  fin- 
isher by  trade,  which  he  followed  at  Gallon 
until  his  death  in  1875.  His  widow  survived 
him  until  1894.  They  were  German  Luther- 
ans in  their  religious  belief. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Strieker  have  one  son,  Harold 
Eugene,  who  was  born  April  16,  1905.  He  is 
a  child  of  great  promise  and  possesses  artistic 
talents  that  may  make  him  famous  in  after 
life.  When  but  four  years  old  he  could  use  a 
pencil  artistically  and  by  the  next  birthday 
could  produce  landscapes  and  correctly  draw 
engines  in  motion.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Strieker  are 
members  of  the  English  Lutheran  church.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  He  is  a  Knight  of 
Pythias.  The  family  residence,  a  fine  one  re- 
cently completed  by  Mr.  Strieker,  is  located  at 
Xo.  420  Middletown  street,  Bucyrus. 

ABRAHAM  J.  LUST,  a  well  known  citi- 
zen of  Holmes  township  and  a  successful  gen- 
eral farmer  and  stock  raiser,  resides  on  a  valu- 


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597 


able  farm  of  eighty  acres,  which  Hes  one  mile 
east  of  Brokensword,  O.  Mr.  Lust  belongs  to 
one  of  the  representative  families  of  this  sec- 
tion. He  was  born  on  the  old  Lust  homestead, 
August  28,  1872,  and  is  a  son  of  David  Lust. 

Abraham  J.  Lust  obtained  a  district  school 
education  and  then  chose  farming  as  his  life 
business,  following  it  first  in  Lykens  township 
but  retaining  his  residence  always  in  Holmes 
township.  His  well  cultivated  and  comfort- 
ably improved  farm  is  numbered  with  the 
good  properties  of  this  part  of  the  county. 

Mr.  Lust  was  married  in  1894,  to  Miss 
Emma  Haas,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Henry 
Hass,  a  blacksmith  in  business  at  Broken- 
sword, and  they  have  one  daughter,  Edith, 
who  resides  with  her  parents.  Mr.  Lust  and 
family  attend  Emanuel  church  at  Broken- 
sword. He  belongs  to  a  Democratic  family, 
he  and  his  brothers  having  followed  the  ex- 
ample of  their  father  in  public  matters. 

REV.  CHARLES  BRASCHLER,  pastor 
of  the  Holy  Trinity  Catholic  church,  at  Bucy- 
rus,  O.,  came  to  this  charge  in  May,  1899,  and 
for  fourteen  years  has  zealously  devoted  him- 
self to  the  spiritual  upbuilding  of  this  congre- 
gation and  has  also  been  in  no  wise  neglect- 
ful in  regard  to  the  material  advancement  of 
his  parish.  Rev.  Father  Braschler  was  born 
in  Switzerland,  October  29,  1842,  a  son  of 
Jacob  Braschler.  His  parents  were  also  na- 
tives of  Switzerland,  most  worthy  people,  who 
gave  their  eleven  children  every  advantage 
within  their  power. 

Father  Braschler  attended  the  parochial 
schools  in  boyhood  and  after  deciding  to  be- 
come a  priest,  he  entered  a  Catholic  college  in 
Switzerland,  where  he  was  graduated.  After 
coming  to  the  United  States  he  still  further 
prosecuted  his  theological  studies  and  at  Cleve- 
land, O.,  on  July  17,  1870,  was  ordained  by 
Right  Reverend  Bishop  Mullin,  of  the  Erie 
diocese.  During  the  first  three  years  of  ser- 
vice in  the  church.  Father  Braschler  minis- 
tered to  eight  missions  distributed  in  three 
counties,  after  which  he  was  stationed  at  Up- 
per Sandusky,  where  he  remained  in  charge 
for  sixteen  years.  His  next  parish  was  in 
Putnam  county,  O.,  where  he  continued  for 
ten  years  and  then  was  called  to  Bacyrus  to  be- 
come pastor  of  Holy  Trinity.     His  congrega- 


tion includes  150  families  and  his  influence  has 
been  markedly  beneficial.  The  church  school 
attached  to  Holy  Trinity  has  120  pupils  and  is 
in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Dominic  and 
Father  Braschler  erected  the  present  commodi- 
ous school  building  in  1910.  He  is  well  known 
to  all  circles  at  Bucyrus  and  is  held  in  the  high- 
est regard  by  his  own  people  and  respected  by 
those  of  every  denomination. 

ANCHEL  EDELSTEIN,  a  well  known 
business  man  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  who  has  been 
engaged  in  stock  buying  and  dealing  in  Craw- 
ford county  for  the  past  thirty  years,  is  a 
prominent  man  in  this  industry,  in  connection 
with  which  he  is  widely  known  in  other  sec- 
tions. He  was  born  in  Germany,  May  3,  1850, 
and  is  a  son  of  Joseph  Edelstein,  who  was  born 
in  Germany  in  1800  and  died  in  1876.  He 
was  a  butcher  by  trade  and  he  dealt  extensively 
for  the  times,  in  horses  and  cattle. 

Anchel  Edelstein  was  practically  reared  in 
his  present  business  and  early  learned  the 
values  of  stock  and  the  alertness  necessary  to 
make  a  success  along  this  line.  He  was  but 
fourteen  years  of  age  when  he  completed  his 
first  purchase,  buying  a  cow  that  he  immedi- 
ately sold  at  an  advance  and  this  has  been  a 
business  policy  of  soundness  that  he  has  fol- 
lowed ever  since.  In  July,  1880,  Mr.  Edel- 
stein came  to  Bucyrus  and  soon  afterward  be- 
came interested  in  the  stock  business  here  and 
operated  in  a  small  way  from  1882  until  1888. 
At  that  time  he  became  connected  with  M. 
Goldsmith,  one  of  the  largest  exporters  of  cat- 
tle at  that  time  in  New  York  city  and  con- 
tinued a  purchasing  agent  for  Mr.  Goldsmith 
until  the  latter's  death  in  1891.  Later  he  ac- 
cepted a  similar  position  with  another  large 
importing  house  and  for  eight  years  bought 
cattle  for  them,  terminating  that  connection 
when  his  firm  was  dissolved  on  account  of  the 
death  of  the  senior  member.  In  1903  Mr. 
Edelstein  became  purchasing  agent  for  E.  J. 
Joyce  &  Co.,  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  remained 
with  this  house  until  the  death  of  E.  J.  Joyce 
of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  in  March,  19 12,  when  the 
firm  was  dissolved  and  Mr.  Edelstein  at  once 
became  associated  with  S.  B.  Hedges  &  Co., 
of  Pittsburg,  with  whom  he  is  at  present.  His 
experiences  have  been  wide  and  varied.  He 
has  purchased  cattle  in  a  number  of  counties 


598 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


in  Ohio,  in  \^'est  A'irginia  and  other  cattle 
growing  sections  and  his  expert  knowledge 
and  thorough  experience  make  him  very  valu- 
able along  this  line.  Besides  being  engaged 
in  the  live  stock  business  ]\Ir.  Edelstein  is  also 
a  well  known  wool  buyer  in  Crawford  county. 
'Sir.  Edelstein  was  married  in  1878  at  Un- 
terredenberg,  Germany,  to  ^liss  Reka  Sitz- 
man,  who  was  born  at  that  place,  September 
2^.  1854,  a  daughter  of  ^Nleyer  and  Leah 
(Strauss)  Sitzman.  They  were  members  of 
the  Hebrew  congregation,  in  their  nati\e  land. 
In  1800  ;Mr.  Edelstein  came  to  Ohio  and  two 
years  later  was  joined  by  his  wife.  They  are 
active  in  the  Manon  Jewish  congragation  at 
Clarion,  O.  Five  sons  and  two  daughters 
have  been  born  to  them,  as  follows:  Hattie; 
Clara,  who  is  the  wife  of  Lester  ^Nlitchel,  a 
business  man  of  Cincinnati ;  Joseph,  who  is  a 
business  man  of  Toledo;  Carl,  who  is  associ- 
ated with  his  father ;  Xathan  and  Victor,  both 
of  whom  are  High  school  students;  and  My- 
ron, who  attends  the  public  schools.  Politic- 
ally ;Mr.  Edelstein  is  a  Republican.  He  be- 
longs to  the  National  Union  and  is  identified 
also  with  the  Elks. 

FREDERICK  E.  SHIFLEY,  who  culti- 
vates with  much  success  his  valuable  farm  of 
eighty  acres,  which  lies  in  \\'hetstone  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  not  far  from  Bucy- 
rus,  is  a  well  known  resident  of  this  section 
and  was  born  in  this  county,  ^ilarch  25,  1867. 
His  parents  were  Daniel  and  Louisa  (^Motz) 
Shifley. 

Daniel  Shifley  was  born  in  Xew  York,  while 
his  wife  was  a  native  of  France.  He  engaged 
in  farming  for  a  number  of  years  in  Holmes 
township,  Crawford  county,  and  was  some- 
what active  in  Democratic  politics.  Both  he 
and  wife  are  now  deceased,  their  burial  being 
in  the  Oakwood  cemeter}'.  They  had  the  fol- 
lowing children :  Daniel,  Samuel,  John,  Benja- 
min. Addie,  Frederick  E.,  Henry,  Amelia. 
Effie.  Charles  and  Andrew.  Of  the  above  all 
survive  except  John.  Addie  and  Amelia.  Ad- 
die was  the  wife  of  Frank  Bare,  and  Amelia 
the  wife  of  Ark  Kimble.  Effie  is  the  wife  of 
Charles  ^Melchor. 

Frederick  E.  Shifley  obtained  his  education 
in  the  public  schools  and  assisted  on  the  home 
farm  until  he  was  twenty-four  years  of  age. 


He  then  bought  a  general  store  business  at 
Xew  Winchester,  which  he  conducted  for 
eighteen  years.  Mr.  Shifley  then  decided  to 
return  to  an  agricultural  life  and  after  dispos- 
ing of  his  store,  bought  from  the  county  court 
what  was  known  as  the  old  Joseph  Albright 
place.  He  found  the  property  needed  improv- 
ing and  the  land  enriching,  and  was  not  long  in 
making  these  improvements  including  the 
building  of  a  new  house  and  barn.  The  prop- 
erty known  as  Block  Farm,  is  now  one  of  the 
best  improved  farms  in  the  county.  Mr.  Shif- 
ley makes  a  specialty  of  pure  bred  Poland 
China  hogs.  In  his  activities  he  is  greatly  as- 
sisted by  his  son,  Russell  Valentine,  who 
promises  to  be  as  good  a  farmer  as  his  father. 
In  December,  1891,  'Sir.  Shifley  was  married 
to  Aliss  ]^Iary  Ellen  Keiter,  who  is  a  daughter 
of  Josiah  and  Sarah  Ann  (Darger)  Keiter. 
The  father  of  Mrs.  Shifley  was  a  well  known 
blacksmith  and  a  highh-  respected  man.  The 
mother  ser^ives  and  resides  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Shifley.  the  latter  being  the  only  survivors 
of  three  children.  ]Mr.  and  ^Mrs.  Shifley  have 
eight  children,  namely :  Claudius  Alvah,  who  is 
a  creditable  member  of  the  class  of  1912,  in 
the  Bucyrus  High  school ;  Ida  Alethea ;  Russell 
A'^alentine:  and  r\Iildred  Cleo,  Ruia  .\rvella. 
Hazel  Floy,  Carl  Milford  and  Harold  Eugene. 
'Sir.  Shifley  and  family  are  members  of  the 
German  Reformed  church.  'Sir.  Shifley  is  an 
active  citizen  in  all  that  pertains  to  public  mat- 
ters in  his  township  but  has  neither  time  nor 
inclination  for  public  office.  He  gives  political 
support  to  the  Democratic  party. 

:\IARTIX  SIDXER,  a  respected  and  well 
known  citizen  of  Bucyrus.  O.,  residing  at  Xo. 
463  South  A\'^alnut  street,  for  some  years  has 
been  retired  from  active  pursuits  but  remains 
fully  alive  to  all  that  concerns  his  country,  city 
and  social  circle.  He  was  born  September  12, 
1 83 1,  in  Clear  Creek  township,  Fairfield 
county,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  X'icholas  and  Sarah 
(^^'inters)  Sidner. 

Martin  Sidner.  the  grandfather,  came  to 
America  from  Germany  and  was  a  young  man 
when  he  settled  near  Fredericksburg,  \^a.  He 
served  under  General  A\'ashington,  in  the  Rev- 
olutionary war,  and  afterward  moved  with  his 
family  to  Bourbon  county,  Ky..  where  he  died 
at  the  age  of  eight  years.     He  owned  large 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


599 


antations  and  many  slaves  and  at  the  time 
■  death  left  the  sum  of  $20,000  to  be  divided 
nong  his  children,  all  sharing  except  his  son 
icholas,  who  had  displeased  him  through 
s  marriage.  To  this  son  one  slave  and  one 
Drse  was  willed  and  it  is  not  recorded  that 
le  son  protested  at  this  unjust  discrimination, 
it,  that,  on  the  other  hand,  he  gave  the  slave 
,s  liberty  and  with  the  horse  made  his  way 
I  another  section  of  the  country. 
Nicholas  Sidner  was  born  in  1774,  near 
redericksburg,  Va.,  and  at  the  usual  age  of 
arriage  was  united  to  Mary  Cline,  who,  for 
)me  reason,  was  objectionable  to  his  father, 
here  is  nothing  to  show  that  she  was  not  an 
imirable  wife  and  she  bore  her  husband 
ght  children,  all  of  whom  survived  to  rear 
imilies  of  their  own  but  are  now  deceased, 
iter  being  practically  disinherited  by  his 
ither,  Nicholas  Sidner,  accompanied  by  his 
ife,  came  to  Ohio,  in  1798,  where  he  settled 
n  a  tract  of  land  as  a  squatter.  Before  he 
)st  this  first  tract,  by  pre-emption,  he  had  im- 
roved  the  same,  but  afterward  secured  forty 
:res  and  in  1809  secured  a  deed  for  160  acres 
1  Clear  Creek  township,  Fairfield  county, 
his  valuable  piece  of  parchment  is  in  the  pos- 
;ssion  of  his  son  Martin  Sidner,  bearing  the 
gnature  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  president  of 
le  United  States,  and  James  Madison,  secre- 
,ry  of  state.  On  this  farm  Nicholas  Sidner 
;acefully  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life,  his 
;ath  occurring  in  1845.  His  second  marriage 
as  to  Sarah  Winters,  who  was  born  near 
^agerstown,  Md.,  in  1799.  She  survived  her 
.tsband  and  died  in  Clear  Creek  township, 
hen  aged  seventy-five  years.  To  the  second 
arriage  five  children  were  born  and  four  of 
ese  still  survive :  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Coldren,  a 
idow,  who  lives  in  Pickaway  county,  O.,  and 
ho  is  now  aged  eighty-six  years;  Mrs.  Eliza 
ond,  who  is  the  wife  of  Thomas  Bond,  of 
hiarleston,  Coles  county,  111. ;  Mrs.  Sarah  Jane 
oner  and  Martin,  twins,  the  former  of  whom 
'es  at  Farmer  City,  111.  When  the  last 
imed  children  were  born  the  father  was  fifty- 
ne  years  of  age. 

Martin  Sidner  remained  at  home  with  his 
.rents  and  through  interest  and  practical  ex- 
rience  became  a  successful  farmer.  His 
ucational  opportunities  were  somewhat 
eager  but  he  has  always  been  intelligently 


interested  in  people  and  events  and  has  kept 
well  informed  not  only  along  his  own  line  of 
work  but  regarding  the  other  activities  and  in- 
dustries that  go  to  make  a  contented  and  pros- 
perous community.  His  home  has  been  main- 
tained at  Bucyrus  since  1861  and  until  he  re- 
tired he  was  engaged  as  a  farmer  and  trucker. 
His  first  presidential  vote  was  cast  for  Gen- 
eral Winfield  Scott  and  his  second  one  for 
General  John  C.  Fremont  and  since  then  he  has 
given  his  political  support  to  candidates  of  the 
Republican  party. 

In  Pickaway  county,  O.,  Mr.  Sidner  was 
married  to  Miss  Lydia  Raymond,  who  was 
born  there  in  1830,  and  died  at  Bucyrus,  in 
1886.  They  had  three  children:  Chauncy, 
Charles  and  Delia.  Chauncy  Sidner,  who  was 
accidentally  killed  by  the  premature  explosion 
of  a  cannon  during  the  honorary  saluting  of 
high  French  officials  when  on  a  visit  to  the 
United  States,  had  been  in  the  U.  S.  regular 
army  for  a  number  of  years.  He  had  served 
with  honor  for  five  years  in  Texas  as  a  caval- 
ryman, and  one  year  as  an  artilleryman  at  Fort 
Columbus,  N.  Y.  and  at  the  time  of  death, 
when  aged  twenty-eight  years,  was  holding  the 
position  of  commissary  sergeant.  The  second 
son,  Charles,  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years, 
while  engaged  with  a  business  house  at  Chi- 
cago, 111.  The  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Goodman.  Mr.  Sidner  and  daughter  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Lutheran  church. 

WILLIAM  L.  PETERMAN  represents  the 
fourth  generation  of  one  of  the  old  pioneer 
families  of  Liberty  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.  His  great  grandfather,  John  Pe- 
terman,  coming  to  Liberty  township  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  19th  century  from  New  York 
county,  Pennsylvania,  his  grandfather,  Mi- 
chael, entered  the  present  homestead  from  the 
government.  William  L.  resides  in  one  of  the 
two  fine  residences  which  stand  on  the  valu- 
able farm  of  215  acres,  belonging  to  his  father, 
which  is  situated  six  miles  northeast  of  Bucy- 
rus, O.  He  was  born  on  this  farm  on  Feb. 
22,  1873,  and  is  a  son  of  Michael  A.  and 
Amelia  (Stremmel)  Peterman. 

Michael  A.  Peterman  was  born  on  the  same 
farm  on  the  23rd  of  September,  1837,  and  was 
married  to  Amelia  Stremmel,  who  was  bom 
in  Maryland,  Mar.  11,  1849.     Three  children 


600 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


were  born  to  them :  William  L. ;  Cora,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Sidney  McCurdy,  who  lives  in 
Whetstone  township  and  has  three  children 
— Harry,  Jessie  and  Ethel;  and  Amanda,  who 
is  the  wife  of  John  A.  Blackford,  and  lives 
in  Sandusky  township  and  has  one  son,  Ralph. 
Michael  A.  Peterman  is  a  veteran  of  the  Civil 
war.  He  served  in  Co.  C,  49th  O.  Vol.  Inf., 
under  the  command  of  General  Gibson  until  he 
was  honorably  discharged,  and  during  his 
period  of  service  participated  in  numerous  bat- 
tles but  escaped  without  injury. 

W  illiam  L.  Peterman  was  afforded  excellent 
educational  advantages  and  after  graduating 
creditably  from  the  Bucyrus  High  school  en- 
tered the  Spencerian  Business  college,  at  Cleve- 
land and  after  graduation  was  coimected  with 
Cleveland  business  houses  for  seven  years  as 
a  stenographer.  He  then  returned  to  his  fa- 
ther's farm,  which  has  been  tmder  his  manage- 
ment ever  since,  general  fanning  and  stock 
raising  being  the  industries  carried  on. 

On  Nov.  17,  i8g8,  Mr.  Peterman  married 
Miss  Ida  May  Patterson  and  they  have  three 
children,  Ruth  V.,  Helen  C.  and  Millie  A. 
Mrs.  Peterman  has  two  brothers  and  one  sis- 
ter: James  L. ;  Wilbur,  who  is  a  resident  of 
Bucyrus,  married  Pearl  Xickler  and  they  have 
three  children — Eveline,  Marguerite  and  Ha- 
zel; and  Elizabeth,  who  married  Charles  D. 
Nickler,  and  has  three  children,  Olive,  George 
and  Florence.  Mr.  Peterman  is  a  Democrat 
in  politics  and  has  frequently  been  tendered 
public  offices  which  he  is  well  qualified  to  fiU 
but  has  accepted  none  outside  of  membership 
on  the  school  board,  of  which  he  was  presi- 
dent. 

JAAIES  McCRACKEX,  deceased,  for 
many  years  was  a  prominent  and  useful  man 
in  Crawford  coimty,  O.  He  was  bom  in 
\\'ayhe  county,  O.,  July  16,  1800,  and  died  in 
Crawford  county,  December  2,  1875.  He  was 
the  only  son  of  James  McCracken,  who  came 
from  Ireland  to  Wayne  county,  among  the 
early  settlers. 

The  late  James  ]\IcCracken  came  to  Bucyrus 
about  1830  and  established  himself  as  a  manu- 
facturer of  spring  wheels,  being  a  wheel- 
wright by  trade.  He  became  a  leading  citizen 
as  was  evidenced  by  his  appointment,  in  1840, 
as   postmaster,    under   the   administration   of 


President  William  Henry  Harrison.  At  that 
time  he  was  a  strong  Whig  and  until  the  close 
of  his  life  continued  to  be  deeply  interested  in 
public  matters,  becoming  identified  with  the 
Republican  party  about  the  time  of  the  Civil 
war.  In  the  meanwhile  he  asquired  land,  first 
a  tract  two  miles  south  of  Bucyrus  and  three 
years  later  bought  eighty  acres  three  miles 
west  of  the  growing  city.  This  land  he 
cleared  and  developed  into  a  valuable  farm. 
The  closing  years  of  his  life  were  spent  on  this 
farm  and  were  peaceful  and  happy  ones.  He 
was  public  spirited  to  a  large  degree  and  do- 
nated the  land  on  which  the  ^IcCracken  school 
building  stands  on  the  Nevada  road.  He  was 
reared  in  the  Presbyterian  church  and  never 
failed  to  give  it  liberal  support  and  to  live  ac- 
cording to  its  teachings,  and  helped  organize 
the  first  Presbyterian  church  here. 

On  December  4,  1832,  Mr.  McCracken  was 
married  in  Bucyrus  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  to  ]\Iiss  Ruth  Marquis,  who  was 
bom  May  26,  1813,  in  Belmont  county,  O., 
but  was  reared  in  Crawford  coimty.  She  sur- 
vived to  the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  The 
following  children  were  bom  to  them:  Portia; 
\\  illiam  Vance,  deceased,  who  was  survived 
by  his  widow  and  one  son,  the  latter  being  now 
deceased;  James  Kelly,  who  was  in  the  insur- 
ance business  at  Fort  \\^ayne,  Ind.,  and  has  one 
son  and  two  daughters;  .\lexander  McB.,  de- 
ceased, who  was  married  but  left  no  children; 
Augusta  ^L,  who  is  the  city  librarian,  at  Bucy- 
rus; Harvey  Marquis,  who  is  in  business  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  and  has  one  son,  James  T.; 
Charles  W. ;  Harriet,  who  is  matron  of  a 
Girls'  school,  at  Honolulu;  and  Rachel  and 
Elizabeth,  who  died  in  childhood. 

^Nliss  Portia  ^^IcCracken  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  Crawford  coimty.  For  many  years 
she  was  a  successful  teacher,  beginning  at  the 
age  of  twenty  years,  and  her  pupils  may  be 
found  among  the  leading  residents  of  Bucyrus 
and  other  parts  of  the  county.  Of  the  ma- 
jority of  these  she  preserves  affectionate  recol- 
lections and  counts  them  among  her  warmest 
friends.  Miss  ^McCracken  has  kept  alive  her 
interest  in  all  that  goes  on  in  the  world  and  it 
is  difficult  to  believe,  when  conversing  with 
her,  that  she  has  seen  and  lived  through  so 
much  of  the  developing  period  of  this  city. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


601 


J.  L.  HEINLE,  whose  well  improved  farm 
of  eighty  acres  is  reputed  to  be  one  of  the  best 
properties  in  Holmes  township,  resides  two 
miles  west  of  Brokensword,  O.  and  is  well 
known  all  over  Crawford  county,  in  which  he 
has  spent  his  life.  He  was  born  in  Bucyrus 
township,  January  23,  1879,  and  his  father  G. 
W.  Heinle,  still  carries  on  his  farm  industries 
there.  The  Heinle  family  is  one  of  the  old- 
est and  most  substantial  in  this  county. 

J.  L.  Heinle  obtained  his  education  in  the 
schools  of  Bucyrus  township.  He  comes  of 
an  agricultural  family  and  naturally  became  a 
farmer  when  the  time  came  for  him  to  make 
choice  of  a  career.  He  received  excellent 
training  on  the  old  home  farm  and  continued 
there  until  April  i,  1909,  when  he  sold  his 
sixty  acre  farm  in  Bucyrus  township  and  came 
to  his  present  farm  in  Holmes  township.  His 
operations  are  carried  on  along  practical  lines, 
with  due  regard  for  improved  methods,  and 
the  interest  he  takes  in  his  property  is  shown 
by  its  fine  condition,  together  with  that  of  the 
valuable  stock  produced  on  his  farm. 

Mr.  Heinle  was  married  March  20,  1909,  to 
Miss  Rufena  Miller,  a  daughter  of  Lewis 
Miller,  whose  farm  lies  one  mile  west  of  the 
home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Heinle.  In  politics  Mr. 
Heinle  is  a  Democrat.  He  served  as  school 
director  in  Bucyrus  township,  being  elected  to 
that  office  when  only  twenty-one  years  of  age. 

CLARK  T.  LUDWIG,  a  retired  capitalist 
residing  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  belongs  to  an  old 
French  Huguenot  family  that  found  refuge  in 
the  American  colonies  prior  to  the  War  of  the 
Revolution.  Record  is  preserved  of  two 
brothers,  Captain  John  and  Michael  Ludwig, 
the  former  of  whom  saw  military  service  in 
the  French  army  before  he  came  to  America 
and  later  became  an  officer  under  General 
Washington.  His  home  was  at  Germantown, 
Pennsylvania. 

Michael  Ludwig,  the  direct  ancestor  of 
Clark  T.  Ludwig,  married  in  Pennsylvania  and 
died  there,  being  survived  by  children,  among 
whom  was  one  son,  Samuel  Ludwig.  After 
the  death  of  Michael  Ludwig,  his  widow  mar- 
ried a  Mr.  Yokum,  whose  sons  became  promi- 
nent iron  men  and  also  leaders  in  political  life. 

Samuel  Ludwig  was  born  in  the  vicinity  of 
Germantown,  Pa.,  in  1786  and  probably  re- 


mained there  until  183 1,  when  he  came  to 
Crawford  county,  O.,  making  the  trip  on 
horseback  and  carrying  in  his  saddle-bags  the 
sum  of  $10,000,  for  the  purchase  of  land. 
He  acquired  3,000  acres,  in  different  sections. 
In  1832,  having  been  joined  by  his  family 
in  the  meanwhile,  he  ordered  the  building  of  a 
brick  house,  on  a  site  near  the  present  limits  of 
Bucyrus,  in  Whetstone  township.  The  bricks 
for  the  same  were  burned  by  Daniel  Albright 
and  so  stanchly  was  the  house  constructed  that 
it  still  is  utilized  as  a  dwelling,  although  un- 
doubtedly it  is  the  oldest  brick  house  in  Craw- 
ford county.  Here  Samuel  Ludwig  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  life  until  extreme  old  age, 
when  he  went  to  the  home  of  a  daughter,  in  an 
adjoining  township,  where  his  death  occurred 
in  1876,  when  he  was  within  one  month  of 
ninety  years.  He  married  Elizabeth  Redky, 
who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  died  on  the 
family  homestead  east  of  Bucyrus.  For  some 
years  her  father  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Pennsylvania  General  Assembly.  She  was 
reared  a  Quaker  but  later  in  life  united  with 
the  Reform  church  body.  They  had  eleven 
children  born  to  them,  the  last  survivor  having 
been  the  late  Mrs.  James  L.  Monnett,  who 
died  at  Bucyrus,  December  29,  191 1. 

Samuel  Ludwig  (2),  son  of  Samuel  Lud- 
wig, and  father  of  Clark  T.  Ludwig,  was  born 
near  Reading,  in  Berks  county,  Pa.,  May  21, 
1813,  and  died  September  14,  1893,  at  the 
home  of  his  son,  Clark  T.  Ludwig,  with  whom 
he  had  resided  for  twenty-one  years.  He  was 
nineteen  years  of  age  when  he  accompanied  the 
other  members  of  his  father's  family  to  Ohio 
and  subsequently  settled  on  one  of  the  latter's 
numerous  farms,  between  Fremont  and  Tiffin, 
O.  Here  he  had  480  acres  of  land.  He  was 
prudent  and  industrious  and  accumulated  what 
was  considered  an  ample  fortune  at  that  day. 
Eight  years  later  he  bought  a  farm  in  San- 
dusky county,  but  afterward  returned  to  Craw- 
ford county  and  later  bought  his  father-in- 
law's  farm  of  180  acres,  near  Leesville,  in  Jef- 
ferson township.  On  that  property  he  made 
many  improvements,  a  notable  one  being  the 
erection  of  a  commodious  barn,  the  material 
used  being  the  finest  black  walnut  obtainable 
at  the  time.  Subsequently  he  and  wife  came 
to  Bucyrus,  her  death  taking  place  in  1877,  in 
the  brick  house  above  alluded  to.     She  was 


602 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


born  in  Virginia,  in  1810  and  prior  to  her  mar- 
riage was  a  teacher  and  was  considered  a  fine 
singer.  She  was  a  very  active  and  interested 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Five  children  were  born  to  Samuel  Ludwig 
and  wife,  as  follows :  a  babe  that  died ;  Mary 
Jane,  who  died  in  1856;  Clark  T. ;  Eliza,  de- 
ceased, who  was  the  wife  of  John  P.  Monnett; 
and  William  Dorsey,  who  died  in  Texas,  in 
1878.  He  married  Belle  Caldwell,  who  sur- 
vives and  resides  on  South  Sandusky  street, 
Bucyrus. 

Clark  T.  Ludwig  was  born  in  the  Old  Indian 
hut  which  had  been  built  by  Chief  George  Wip- 
ingstick,  in  Seneca  county,  O.,  on  the  land  later 
owned  by  Mr.  Ludwig's  grandfather  and  fa- 
ther, and  was  young  when  the  family  moved 
to  Crawford  county.  He  was  educated  in  the 
schools  at  Bucyrus,  at  Delaware,  O.,  and  in 
Wittenberg  college,  at  Springfield,  O.  In  May, 
1862,  he  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  war, 
entering  Co.  K,  86th  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  under  Cap- 
tain Moderwell  and  Col.  Barney  Burnes  of 
Mansfield,  and  was  honorably  discharged  at 
the  termination  of  his  term  of  enlistment,  in 
1863.'  For  some  time  afterward  Mr.  Ludwig 
was  engaged  in  teaching  school  and  later  be- 
came interested  in  farming  and  stock  raising. 
In  1870  he  went  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  where  he 
was  in  the  real  estate  business  for  two  years. 
For  five  years  he  was  a  commercial  traveler 
for  the  large  wholesale  house  of  Burr  &  Hard- 
wick,  New  York  city.  Mr.  Ludwig  returned 
to  Crawford  county  in  order  to  look  after  his 
aged  parents  and  has  resided  here  ever  since. 
During  1883-4  his  handsome  brick  residence, 
to  which  he  has  given  the  name  of  East  Lynne, 
was  completed,  its  situation  being  in  the  east- 
ern portion  of  Bucyrus,  with  a  fine  surround- 
ing estate.  Its  situation  is  ideal  and  it  is  one 
of  the  stately  homes  of  the  city  in  all  its  ap- 
pointments. 

Mr.  Ludwig  was  married  near  Mansfield,  O., 
to  Miss  Mary  Smith,  who  was  born  July  14, 
1847,  in  Columbiana  county,  O.,  where  she 
was  reared,  coming  to  Crawford  county  in 
young  womanhood.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam and  Eva  (Freed)  Smith,  both  of  whom 
were  born  in  Columbiana  county,  O.  William 
Smith  died  at  Kirksville,  Mo.,  in  1884.  when 
aged  sixty-eight  years.  His  widow,  who  was 
born  January   10,   1824,  is  a  member  of  the 


household  of  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Martha  New- 
house,  \\ho  lives  near  Salem,  O.  George 
Smith,  an  uncle  of  Mrs.  Ludwig,  was  a  man  of 
prominence  in  several  of  the  states  of  the 
Union.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  Ohio 
state  legislature  and  afterward  moved  to  Mis- 
souri, where  he  was  elected  lieutenant-gover- 
nor of  the  state  and  later  was  appointed  a  U. 
S.  marshal  for  the  Western  division  of  Mis- 
souri, by  President  Grant. 

Two  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ludwig,  Edward  and  Edna,  the  former  of 
whom  died  at  the  age  of  seven  years.  The  lat- 
ter, who  was  born  in  1878,  was  educated  at 
Bucyrus  and  subsequently  married  Harvey  N. 
Steger,  who  is  a  shoe  merchant  at  Cardington, 
O.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Steger  have  two  children: 
Mary  Isabel  and  Byron  Ludwig. 

Mr.  Ludwig  has  been  a  conscientious  mem- 
ber of  the  Republican  party  since  he  became  a 
voter  and  has  consistently  advocated  its  prin- 
ciples and  given  support  to  its  candidates.  On 
numerous  occasions  his  party  has  made  him 
its  candidate  for  offices,  both  state  and  local, 
but  he  failed  of  election  because  his  party  has 
always  been  in  the  minority  in  this  section. 
He  is  a  member  of  Keller  Post,  No.  128,  G. 
A.  R.,  and  takes  much  interest  in  everything 
pertaining  to  this  body.  Since  1873  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in 
which  he  is  one  of  the  elders. 

A.  E.  LOYER,  M.  D.,  physician  and  surgeon 
at  New  Washington,  O.,  where  he  is  in  the 
enjoyment  of  a  substantial  practice,  was  born 
at  Oceola,  O.,  December  i,  1872,  a  son  of  John 
and  Magdalene  (Barth)  Loyer. 

John  Loyer  was  born  at  Sulphur  Springs, 
O.,  and  died  in  1874,  when  aged  thirty-three 
years,  surviving  his  wife  for  but  three  weeks, 
her  death  occurring  at  the  early  age  of  twenty- 
six  years.  They  had  two  children  but  only  one 
survives. 

A.  E.  Loyer  was  only  two  years  old  when 
he  became  an  orphan.  He  was  taken  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Gottleib  Kibler,  farmers,  residing 
one  and  a  half  miles  west  of  New  Washing- 
ton, and  faithful  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  to  which  the  parents  of  the  child  had 
also  belonged.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kibler  remained 
on  their  farm  until  the  fall  of  1886,  when  they 
moved  to  New  Washington,  where  Mr.  Kib- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


603 


ler  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years,  in 
August,  191 1,  having  survived  his  wife  since 
1897;  their  burial  was  in  the  Lutheran  ceme- 
tery. They  gave  to  their  charge  a  large  meas- 
ure of  care  and  affection,  while  they  reared 
him  to  be  useful  and  self  supporting.  In  1891 
he  gratified  them  by  his  creditable  graduation 
from  the  New  Washington  High  school  and 
afterward  attended  Capital  university  at  Co- 
lumbus, for  one  year  and  the  Ohio  Medical 
university  in  that  city  for  one  year.  He  then 
spent  two  years  in  the  Medical  college  of  Ohio 
at  Cincinnati,  where  he  was  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1895.  He  spent  his  first  professional 
year  at  Sulphur  Springs,  locating  at  New 
Washington,  March  18,  1896,  since  when  he 
has  been  identified  with  her  every  public  in- 
terest. 

Dr.  Loyer  was  married  to  Miss  Kathryn  M. 
Aschbacher,  who  was  born  at  New  Washing- 
ton, May  20,  1874,  and  after  graduating  in 
1 89 1  for  five  years  had  been  a  public  school 
teacher  in  the  primary  department.  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Loyer  have  four  children :  Freda  A., 
Beatrice  M.,  Geraldine  A.  and  Phineas  Jud- 
son.  Dr.  Loyer  has  been  a  lifelong  Democrat 
and  at  times  has  served  in  the  town  council, 
always  with  wisdom  and  honesty.  At  pres- 
ent he  is  serving  in  his  second  term  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  school  board.  For  one  year  he 
served  as  president  of  the  Crawford  County 
Medical  society  and  is  identified  also  with  the 
Ohio  State  Medical  society  and  the  American 
Medical  association.  In  addition  to  his  large 
private  practice  he  is  surgeon  for  the  Lake 
Erie  and  Western  Railroad  and  is  examiner 
for  twenty-five  life  insurance  companies.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Loyer  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  He  is  a  reader  and  a  student  and  no 
subject  of  scientific  investigation  has  been 
more  closely  studied  by  him  than  spinal  fever, 
that  malignant  disease  which  carried  away  his 
young  mother  and  father.  He  began  to  read 
medicine  in  1892  under  Dr.  A.  H.  Hise,  at 
New  Washington,  and  later  spent  one  year  un- 
der the  supervision  of  Dr.  E.  M.  Rininger,  at 
Chatfield,  O. 

WILLIAM  A.  BLICKE,  cashier  of  the 
Bucyrus  City  Bank,  a  private  institution  that 
was  established  at  Bucyrus,  December  12, 
1 88 1,  has  been  identified  with  the  business  ever 


since  the  doors  of  the  bank  were  opened  and 
his  fidelity  to  the  best  interests  of  it  have  never 
for  one  moment  been  questioned.  He  is  con- 
nected also,  both  officially  and  otherwise,  with 
other  concerns  of  large  importance  and  may 
justly  be  numbered  with  the  most  substantial 
and  reliable  men  of  Crawford  county.  He 
was  born,  reared  and  educated  at  Bucyrus. 
His  parents,  Frank  and  Theresa  (Vollrath) 
Blicke  were  born  in  Germany  and  came  to 
Bucyrus  in  youth.  The  mother  of  Mr.  Blicke 
died  in  June,  1904,  aged  sixty-five  years,  the 
father  December  26,  191 1,  at  the  age  of  seven- 
ty-six years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church. 

William  A.  Blicke  was  born  to  work,  al- 
though not  to  poverty,  and  from  boyhood  had 
his  own  problems  to  solve  and  his  own  way  to 
make  in  life.  That  this  discipline  was  benefi- 
cial and  assisted  in  the  formation  of  a  strong 
and  resolute  character,  no  one  can  dispute,  Mr. 
Blicke  least  of  all.  During  the  past  thirty 
years  he  has  been  connected  with  the  Bucyrus 
City  Bank,  as  indicated  above,  which  was 
started  originally  as  the  Monnett  Banking 
Company,  which,  in  1892,  became  known  as 
the  Bucyrus  City  Bank,  the  original  officers 
having  been :  E.  B.  Monnett,  president ;  M.  W. 
Monnett,  cashier;  George  Donnenwirth,  vice- 
president;  and  W.  A.  Blicke,  assistant  cashier. 
The  present  officers  of  the  bank  are :  George 
Donnenwirth,  president ;  J.  H.  Robinson,  vice- 
president;  Frank  P.  Donnenwirth,  vice-presi- 
dent; W.  A.  Blicke,  cashier;  F.  E.  Donnen- 
wirth, assistant  cashier;  and  C.  E.  Gebhardt, 
teller.  The  board  of  directors  is  made  up  as 
follows :  George  Donnenwirth,  Frederick 
Hipp,  Frank  P.  Donnenwirth,  J.  H.  Robinson, 
J.  C.  Tobias,  Daniel  Kalb  and  W.  A.  Blicke. 
Announcement  is  made  by  published  statement 
that  the  assets  of  this  institution  are  over  one 
million  dollars  and  that  the  liabilities  are  se- 
cured by  the  combined  wealth  of  all  the  stock- 
holders. The  condition  of  this  bank  on  June  7, 
1911,  show  deposits  of  $931,029.39  and 
resources  of  $1,103,475.03,  the  liabilities  being 
the  same  as  the  latter.  In  1881  its  capitaliza- 
tion was  $50,000,  which,  in  1905,  was  in- 
creased to  $60,000,  with  a  surplus  of  $50,000. 
Prosperity  has  attended  this  institution  from 
the  beginning  and  this  has  not  been  only  on 
account  of  the  large  capital  represented  but 


604 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


mainly  because  of  the  careful,  conservative 
business  methods  of  its  officials.  Public  con- 
fidence was  early  gained  and  has  ever  been 
maintained.  In  1897  the  company  purchased 
the  present  fine  bank  building  and  still  owns 
the  old  home  of  the  bank  which  it  occupied  for 
sixteen  years.  A  large  general  banking  busi- 
ness is  carried  on  with  correspondents  in  the 
cities  of  New  York,  Cleveland,  Cincinnati, 
Columbus  and  Toledo.  Mr.  Blicke  served  as 
assistant  cashier  until  January  i,  1901, --since 
which  time  he  has  been  cashier. 

Mr.  Blicke  is  also  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  Carroll  Foundry  and  Machine  Company, 
which  owns  one  of  the  finest  plants  in  the  state 
for  manufacturing  open  hearth  steel  castings 
and  gray  iron  castings;  is  secretary  of  the 
Bucyrus  Publishing  Company,  publishers  of 
the  Daily  Forum  and  the  Semi- Weekly  News ; 
is  vice-president  of  the  Crestline  Publishing 
Company,  publishers  of  the  Crestline  Advocate 
and  the  Daily  Leader  at  Gallon;  and  is  secre- 
tary and  treasurer  of  the  Ohio  Private  Bankers 
Association  and  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
Group  No.  6,  Ohio  Bankers  Association,  in- 
cluding nine  counties  adjacent  to  Crawford: 
Marion,  W^yandot,  Richland,  Erie,  Huron, 
Ashland,  Morrow  and  Knox.  In  August, 
1883,  he  organized  the  W.  A.  Blicke  Insurance 
Agency,  handling  all  lines  of  insurance  and 
maintains  his  office  in  the  bank  building.  In 
1906  he  disposed  of  the  fire  insurance  end  of 
the  business.  For  one  year  Mr.  Blicke  served 
as  treasurer  of  the  Crawford  County  Fanners 
Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Association,  and  was 
the  first  treasurer  appointed  at  the  organization 
of  the  Y.  ^I.  C.  A.  arid  held  the  office  for 
several  years.  For  six  years  also  he  was 
treasurer  of  the  Crawford  County  Agricultural 
Society.  These  numerous  offices  of  trust,  held 
over  long  periods,  testify  silently  to  the  confi- 
dence felt  in  Mr.  Blicke  by  his  fellow  citizens. 

Mr.  Blicke  was  married  first,  in  1888,  to 
Miss  Antonia  L.  ^^lader,  who  was  born  in  1867 
and  reared  at  Bucyrus,  where  her  death  oc- 
curred ^lay  I,  1 89 1.  She  was  survived  by  one 
son,  Frederick  F.,  who  was  born  April  26, 
1 89 1,  and  since  graduating  from  the  Bucyrus 
High  School,  has  been  a  student  at  the  Culver 
Military  Academy  and  in  the  department  of 
chemistry,  of  the  University  of  Michigan  at 
Ann  Arbor,  ]>.Iich.     -\Ir.  Blicke  was  married 


(second)  in  1901,  to  Miss  Nellie  Hall,  who 
was  born  and  educated  at  Bucyrus,  the  only 
daughter  of  Joseph  E.  Hall,  formerly  postmas- 
ter at  Bucyrus.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blicke  one 
son  was  born,  JuUiard  Hall.  Mrs.  Blicke  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  while  Mr. 
Blicke  retains  his  birthright  membership  in  the 
Lutheran  body.  He  is  a  charter  member  of 
Bucyrus  Lodge  of  Elks,  No.  156,  and  a  veteran 
of  Demas  Lodge  No.  108,  K.  of  P.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Democrat  and  for  twelve  years  was  city 
clerk  of  Bucyrus. 

HON.  FREDERICK  HIPP,  formerly  pro- 
bate judge  in  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  a 
highly  esteemed  resident  of  Bucyrus,  where  he 
now  lives  retired,  was  born  in  Wurtemberg, 
Germany,  December  9,  1822,  the  second  of 
six  children  born  to  his  parents.  Christian  F. 
and  Sabina  (Beckbissinger)  Hipp.  Accom- 
panying them  to  America  in  1833,  he  was 
reared  on  the  home  farm  in  Chatfield  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O. 

Regarding  the  success  which  has  attended 
the  life  efforts  of  Frederick  Hipp,  it  may  be 
truthfully  said  that  it  has  been  achieved  wholly 
by  himself.  When  he  reached  manhood  and 
started  out  to  make  his  independent  way  in 
life  it  was  with  empty  hands,  but  the  happy 
result  has  proved  that  he  possessed  also  resolu- 
tion, industry  and  integrity.  His  first  move 
was  to  learn  the  wagon-making  trade,  enter- 
ing a  shop  at  Bucyrus,  and  when  he  was  mas- 
ter of  it  he  opened  a  place  of  his  own  at  Rich- 
ville,  where  he  also,  at  a  later  date,  engaged 
in  merchandising.  After  acquiring  a  tract  of 
land  he  became  a  farmer  and  continued  to 
follow  agricultural  pursuits  for  a  number  of 
years  and  still  owns  142  acres  of  well  im- 
proved land  in  Bucyrus  township.  A  Dem- 
ocrat from  conviction,  he  has  always  worked 
for  party  success  and  on  numerous  occasions 
has  served  in  responsible  offices  in  township 
and  county.  For  twenty  years  he  served  as  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  for  many  years  was  town- 
ship trustee;  he  served  also  at  one  time  as 
postmaster  and  in  1881  was  elected  judge  of 
the  Probate  Court.  Judge  Tipp  can  look  back 
over  a  long  and  useful  life,  from  a  youth  of 
sturdy  and  self  respecting  independence  to  an 
honored  old  age. 

Judge    Hipp    was    married    to    Catherine 


HON.  FREDERICK  HIPP 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


607 


Kunzi,  who  was  born  in  Germany  in  1825, 
and  fifteen  children  were  born  to  them,  the 
larger  number  of  whom  became  well  estab- 
lished in  life  and  more  than  half  still  survive. 
Judge  Hipp  and  family  attend  the  Lutheran 
church.  He  owns  considerable  real  estate  in 
the  city  of  Bucyrus  and  is  a  director  in  the 
Bucyrus  City  Bank. 

WILLIAM  F.  SCHIFER,  who,  in  associa- 
tion with  his  brother,  J.  George  Schifer,  man- 
ages and  operates  180  acres  of  his  father's  val- 
uable farm  of  260  acres,  which  is  situated  in 
Bucyrus  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  is  an 
enterprising  and  successful  agriculturist  and  a 
respected  and  reliable  young  man.  He  was 
born  August  28,  1885,  at  Buc3a-us,  O.,  and  is  a 
son  of  Frederick  and  Elizabeth  (Leitzy) 
Schifer. 

Frederick  Schifer  was  born  in  Wurtemberg, 
Germany,  and  his  wife  in  Holmes  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.  They  now  live  retired  at 
Bucyrus.  The  following  children  were  born 
to  them :  Emma ;  William  F. ;  Elsie,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Leroy  L.  Lust  and  has  two  children 
— Norma  Lucile  and  Frederick  Jacob;  and  J. 
George.  The  youngest  son,  J.  George,  was 
born  on  the  present  farm,  in  Bucyrus  township. 
May  II,  1 89 1,  and  after  his  school  days  were 
over  did  clerical  work  for  three  years,  since 
when  he  has  been  associated  with  his  brother 
and  has  given  his  entire  time  to  farming. 

William  F.  Schifer  attended  school  through 
boyhood  and  then  began  his  farm  training  and 
has  made  farming  his  main  business.     He  and 
brother    divide    the    responsibility    and    have 
gained  the  reputation  of  being  very  competent 
agriculturists.     They  raise  the  usual  crops  of 
this  section  and  have  some  excellent  stock  but 
have  not  yet  grown  for  an  outside  market.    In 
May,   1910,  William  F.  Schifer  was  married 
to  Miss  Agnes  Brose,  who  is  a  daughter  of 
David  and  Esther  (Stirm)  Brose,  well  known 
residents  of  Crawford  county.     Mrs.  Schifer 
has  two  brothers  and  two  sisters — John,  Sarah, 
Cyrus  and  Naomi.    Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schifer  have 
one  daughter,  Emma  Marie.     Both  Mr.  Schi- 
fer and  brother  are  Democrats  in  their  politi- 
cal views.    The  whole  family  attends  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church. 


JEAN  (JOHN)  N.  JUILLIARD,  deceased. 
In  recalling  the  venturesome  pioneers  who  left 
other  lands  and  came  early  to  Ohio  and  bore 
an  important  part  in  the  material  development 
of  sections  of  this  great  commonwealth,  many 
of  those  who  proved  the  highest  type  of  citi- 
zens came  from  France.  Stark,  Crawford  and 
other  counties  of  the  state  have  representatives 
in  the  second  generation  of  these  pioneers, 
many  of  whom  lived  into  extreme  old  age  and 
died  surrounded  by  comforts  won  through 
their  earlier  industry. 

Jean  (John)  Juilliard  was  born  in  1792,  at 
Mountaehlue,  France,  forty  miles  distant  from 
Paris.     His  father  was  a  colonel  during  the 
Italian  Wars  and  lost  his  life  while  leading  a 
charge  over  a  bridge,  his  body  never  being 
recovered.     The  son,  Jean  Nicholas,  probably 
bore  his  name.     He  was  given  a  good  educa- 
tion in  the  village  schools  and  by  the  advice  of 
his  wise  mother,  learned  the  self-supporting 
trade  of  a  shoemaker  and  before  emigrating  to 
America  he  was  in  the  shoe  business  and  was 
considered  a   fairly  successful  business  man. 
In   1836,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  four 
children,  he  set  sail  from  Haver-de-Grace  on 
an  English  sailing  vessel  for  New  York  and  in 
the  course  of  some  weeks  landed  safely  in  the 
United   States.      Several   sisters   of  his   wife 
lived  in  Ohio,  one  in  Stark  county  and  one  in 
Delaware  county,  and  the  travelers  immediate- 
ly made  their  way  to  Stark  county.    There  Mr. 
Juilliard  purchased  a  small  farm  situated  ten 
miles  east  of  Canton.     Although  never  accus- 
tomed to  such  toil,  he  cleared  this  property 
and   developed   a   farm   and   also,    for   many 
years,  engaged  in  work  at  his  trade.     He  was 
a    kind-hearted,    genial   man,    law-abiding    in 
every  particular,  and  his  home  wa.s  well  known 
to  early  settlers  for  its  neighborly  hospitality. 
He  lived  until    1876,  being  then  eighty-four 
years  of  age.     In  his  own  province  in  France 
he  had  married  Anna  Berlett,  whose  ancestry 
was  similar  to  his  own,  and  she  also  was  per- 
mitted a  long  life,  dying  in  1874,  when  aged 
eighty-two  years.     They  were  members  and 
liberal  supporters  of  the  Lutheran  church  after 
coming  to  the  United  States.    They  never  for- 
got France,  a  spirit  of  patriotism  ever  tingling 
their  thoughts  and  conversation,  but  they  also 
loved  their  adopted   country,   of  which   they 


608 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


were  truly  worthy  residents  for  so  long.  To 
them  the  following  children  were  born :  Julia 
A.,  Louis  C,  Frederick  C.,  George  A.,  Cather- 
ine E.,  Augustus  D.,  and  IMrs.  A.  E.  J.  Cahill. 
Julia  A.  became  the  wife  of  T.  A.  Hall,  who 
was  born  in  182 1  and  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1836.  He  was  in  the  dry  goods  busi- 
ness in  Bucyrus  but  he  and  his  wife  are  both 
now  deceased,  Mr.  Hall's  death  taking  place 
December  25,  19 10. 

Louis  C.  Juilliard  died  in  Stark  county,  O., 
in  middle  age.  In  1849  he  had  made  his  way 
to  California,  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of  Pana- 
ma and  spent  nineteen  years  prospecting  and 
also  merchandising  in  the  gold  mining  regions, 
having  many  adventures  but  surviving  to  re- 
turn to  his  family.  He  married  Louise  Fusier 
and  they  had  a  family.  Frederick  C.  Juilliard 
accompanied  his  older  brother  to  California  in 
1849  ^nd  there  they  were  interested  together 
in  merchandising  and  mining.  He  never  re- 
turned to  Ohio  but  now  resi'des  with  his  family 
at  Santa  Rosa.  George  A.  Juilliard  died  at 
Louisville,  Ohio,  to  which  city  he  retired  after 
a  successful  agricultural  life.  Catherine  E.  is 
the  widow  of  Eli  \\^alker  and  has  five  daugh- 
ters and  resides  with  one  of  them  at  Louisville, 
Ohio.  Augustus  D.  Juilliard  is  at  the  head  of 
the  well  known  manufacturing  firm  of  A.  D. 
Juilliard  &  Co.,  manufacturers  of  woolens  and 
silks  and  extensive  jobbers.  He  married 
Helen  Cossett.  Mrs.  Cahill,  who  resides  at 
Bucyrus,  was  born  Alarch  18,  1842,  in  Stark 
county,  and  was  educated  at  ^It.  Union  Col- 
lege. She  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church. 

J.  C.  REIFF,  one  of  the  successful  farmers 
and  leading  citizens  of  Holmes  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  resides  on  his  valuable 
farm  of  eighty  acres,  which  lies  six  and  one- 
half  miles  northwest  of  Bucyrus.  He  was 
born  on  the  old  home  place,  August  17,  1867, 
and  is  a  son  of  J.  C.  and  [Mary  (Shock)  Reiff, 
well  known  people  for  many  years  in  this 
section. 

J.  C.  Reiff  attended  the  country  schools  and 
afterward  assisted  his  father  on  the  home 
place,  farming  and  stock  raising  being  the  in- 
dustries which  engaged  his  attention  then  and 
have  continued  to  do  so  until  the  present.  Mr. 
Reiff  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Stella 


Frost  and  they  have  two  children,  Chester  and 
Russell.  Mr.  Reiff  and  family  are  members  of 
the  United  Brethren  church.  He  has  been  ac- 
tive in  political  circles  for  a  number  of  years 
and  has  served  with  efficiency  in  public  office, 
the  township  never  having  had  a  more  honest 
assessor  or  trustee  than  he.  At  present  he  is 
the  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party  for 
county  commissioner.  He  takes  much  interest 
in  the  two  fraternal  organizations  with  which 
he  is  connected,  the  Eagles  and  the  Foresters, 
and  also  has  a  wide  acquaintance  and  many 
friends  all  over  the  county. 

PHILIP  FUHRMAN,  deceased,  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  was  a  successful  business  man  of 
Bucyrus,  O.,  and  a  respected  and  esteemed  citi- 
zen. He  was  born  in  Boerrstadt,  Reinpfaltz, 
Germany,  July  12,  1828,  and  accompanied  his 
parents  to  America  in  1832  and  to  Bucyrus 
in  1836,  and  in  this  city  seventy- four  years  of 
his  life  were  passed,  his  death  occurring  in  his 
home  here,  September  26,  1910.  He  was  a 
son  of  Sebastian  and  Elizabeth  (Rolle)  Fuhr- 
man. 

On  the  paternal  side  the  family  was  dis- 
tinctly German,  but  there  was  a  French  strain 
on  the  maternal.  Sebastian  Fuhrman  was 
given  an  education  that  fitted  him  for  profes- 
sional life,  and  his  natural  musical  gifts  had 
also  recei\'ed  attention.  He  served  all  through 
the  Napoleonic  wars.  When  it  came  to  pro- 
■\iding  for  the  wants  of  his  family  he  sensibly 
learned  a  useful  trade,  becoming  a  butcher  and 
followed  the  meat  trade  all  his  active  life.  In 
1832,  with  wife  and  three  children — these  be- 
ing: Catherine,  now  Mrs.  Stauffer,  and  Philip 
and  Thomas — he  embarked  for  America  and 
after  a  long  and  stormy  "voyage  on  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  on  one  of  the  old,  slow-going  sailing 
vessels  of  that  day,  the  family  landed  safely  in 
the  harbor  of  Xew  York  and  from  there  made 
their  way  to  Ohio.  In  1836  they  came  to 
Crawford  county  and  Sebastian  Fuhrman  em- 
barked in  the  meat  busmess  while  his  resource- 
ful and  industrious  wife  started  a  boarding- 
house.  Together  they  prospered  and  were  able 
to  give  their  children  comforts  and  advantages 
far  be}-ond  those  of  many.  For  more  than 
forty  years  they  carried  on  their  enterprises 
and  were  highly  respected  people.  They  were 
members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  and 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


609 


did  much  in  the  early  days  to  firmly  found  the 
church  here.  Sebastian  Fuhrman  died  August 
9,  1877,  in  the  eightieth  year  of  his  age,  his 
widow  surviving  him  for  six  years.  The  fol- 
lowing children  were  born  in  America:  Mrs. 
Geo.  Donnenwirth;  Mrs.  Charles  Amon,  of 
Fort  Wayne,  Ind. ;  John,  deceased ;  and  Mrs. 
A.  J.  High,  also  deceased. 

Philip  Fuhrman  attended  school  at  Bucyrus 
and  then  learned  the  butchering  business  under 
his  father  and  continued  in  the  meat  and  stock 
business  until  within  twenty  years  of  his  death, 
when  he  retired.  He  was  an  excellent  business 
man  but  never  accumulated  a  very  large  for- 
tune because  of  his  generous  impulses  and  his 
unselfishness.  He  contributed  to  charity  in 
every  form  and  there  are  many  people  now  liv- 
ing at  Bucyrus  who  owe  much  to  the  kind  heart 
and  free-giving  hand  of  Mr.  Fuhrman.  Al- 
though he  held  to  no  particular  religious  creed, 
his  life  proved  his  true  Christianity.  He  was 
a  good  citizen  in  every  meaning  of  the  term 
and  assisted  in  forwarding  public  movements 
here  when  he  was  covninced  they  would  be  for 
the  general  welfare. 

Mr.  Fuhrman  was  married  at  Mifflin,  O.,  to 
Miss  Sarah  Stauffer,  who  was  born  and  edu- 
cated there,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Catherine 
(Rice)  Stauffer,  natives  of  Pennsylvania. 
They  came  to  Ohio  early  in  married  life  and 
the  father  of  Mrs.  Fuhrman  followed  the 
trade  of  a  miller.  Subsequently  they  moved  to 
Kansas  and  both  died  there  aged  seventy  years. 
Mrs.  Fuhrman  died  April  25,  1888,  after  a 
very  short  illness.  She  was  a  woman  of  beau- 
tiful character  and  was  a  devoted  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  church.  Two  daughters  sur- 
vive :  Alice  and  Emma  L.  The  former  is  the 
wife  of  Edward  McAllister,  residing  at  Leipsic, 
Putnam  county,  O.,  a  railroad  man.  Emma  L. 
Fuhrman  was  born  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  October  14, 
1856,  and  was  reared  and  educated  here.  She 
was  married  in  1900  to  Frank  Royce,  who  was 
born  August  11,  1856,  at  Madison,  Wis.  He 
was  educated  at  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  and 
since  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Rapids 
Hardware  Company,  has  been  associated  with 
that  house  and  is  now  representing  the  firm 
through  New  York  and  Pennsvlvania.  Mr. 
Royce  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  is  identi- 
fied with  the  Masonic  fraternity.  Mrs.  Royce 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 


WILLIAM  A.  HIGH,  who  was  born  in  the 
northwest  corner  of  Cranberry  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  February  9,  1871,  is  a 
well  known  business  man  of  New  Washington 
and  is  the  junior  member  of  the  undertaking 
firm  of  High  &  DeRoche,  being  licensed  as  an 
embalmer  by  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  is  also 
general  agent  for  the  Union  Central  Life  In- 
surance Company  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  He  is 
a  son  of  Michael  and  Mary  (Donnenwirth) 
High. 

Michael  High  came  to  New  Washington 
when  he  was  twelve  years  old,  from  Germany, 
where  he  attended  school  and  afterward  he 
learned  the  blacksmith  trade  and  worked  with 
his  brother-in-law,  George  Donnenwirth.  Af- 
ter his  marriage  he  moved  to  Cranberry  town- 
ship and  there  the  following  children  were 
born:  Matilda,  who  married  John  Michel- 
f elder;  Magdaline  Elizabeth,  who  married 
Adam  B.  Shaffer;  Margaret  Louise,  who  mar- 
ried John  J.  Sutter;  George  A.,  who  is  de- 
ceased ;  John  Jacob,  who  married  Ella  M.  Tri- 
bolet;  Adam  F.,  who  married  Caroline  M. 
Aschbacher ;  Mary  F. ;  William  A. ;  and  Ru- 
dolph Henry,  who  lives  on  the  old  homestead. 
The  father  died  August  22,  1884  when  past 
sixty-three  years  of  age  and  his  burial  was  in 
the'  Lutheran  cemetery.  His  wife,  Mary 
(Donnenwirth)  High,  was  born  in  Stark 
county,  O.,  September  23,  1828,  and  lived 
seventy-two  years  on  the  old  homestead,  a 
good  woman  beloved  by  her  family  and  re- 
spected by  all  who  knew  her.  She  died  Jan- 
uary 28,  1904,  and  was  also  buried  in  the 
Lutheran  cemetery. 

William  A.  High  attended  the  public  schools 
in  Cranberry  township  and  when  nineteen 
years  old  entered  the  New  Washington  High 
School  and  in  1902  took  a  course  in  the  Ohio 
Normal  University  at  Ada,  in  the  department 
of  law  but  was  not  admitted  to  the  bar.  He 
taught  school  in  several  different  townships  in 
the  county  but  failing  health  warned  him  to 
direct  his  attention  in  other  channels  and  he 
gave  up  both  educational  work  and  the  law. 
On  March  27,  1900,  he  directed  his  first 
funeral  and  on  the  same  day  he  wrote  his  first 
life  insurance  application.  On  February  27, 
1898,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Anna  M.  Eckert, 
who  was  born  in  Jefferson  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  a  daughter  of  John  R.  and  Bar- 
bara (Volkmar)  Eckert,  the  former  of  whom 


610 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


still  lives  in  that  section  of  the  county.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  High  have  had  three  children :  Paul 
Franklin,  who  died  February  6,  1907,  aged 
four  years;  and  Martha  Margaret  and  Luther 
W^illiam.  They  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church  at  New  Washington,  which  was  prac- 
tically founded  at  New  Washington  by  Mr. 
High's  grandfather,  Adam  High,  who  built 
the  second  house  here.  In  politics  Mr.  High  is 
a  Democrat  and  for  ten  years  he  has  been  a 
notary  public. 

JOHN  S.  DE  LASHMUTT,  auditor  for 
the  American  Clay  Machinery  Company  of 
Bucyrus,  O.,  who  has  been  a  resident  of  this 
city  for  the  past  sixteen  years,  was  born  at 
Lancaster,  O.,  January  29,  1864,  and  is  a  son 
of  Dr.  Van  Elias  and  Cleanthe  (Sifford)  De 
Lashmutt. 

The  De  Lashmutt  familv  originated  in 
France  and  four  brothers  of  the  name  came  to 
the  American  colonies  prior  to  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  three  of  whom  settled  in  what  is 
now  the  State  of  Maryland.  One  of  the  des- 
cendants was  the  grandfather  of  John  S.  De 
Lashmutt,  and  spent  his  life  in  Frederick  coun- 
ty, Md.,  a  planter  and  slaveholder  in  early 
days.  Of  his  eight  sons  and  three  daughters 
there  are  three  sons  and  two  daughters  yet 
living. 

Dr.  Van  Elias  De  Lashmutt  became  a  physi- 
cian and  after  graduating  from  a  Maryland 
university  and  medical  college,  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  medicine,  residing  for  the  most  part 
until  1871,  at  Frederick  City  and  Baltimore. 
He  then  moved  to  Shelburn,  Sullivan  county, 
Ind.,  and  continued  there  in  the  practice  of 
medicine  until  the  day  of  his  death.  This  oc- 
curred on  May  24,  191 1,  interrupting  the 
pleasant  festivities  provided  by  the  family  as  it 
was  the  anniversary  of  his  wedding,  more  than 
fifty  years  before.  He  was  then  almost  seven- 
ty-nine years  of  age  but  was  comparatively 
well  both  in  mind  and  body.  During  his 
earlier  life  he  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
church  but  after  moving  to  Shelburn  became 
identified  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  subsequently  an  official  of  the  same.  He 
was  married  to  Cleanthe  Sifford,  a  daughter 
of  John  Sifford,  of  Frederick  City,  Md.  She 
died  \\hen  aged  about  seventy  years,  a  most 
estimable  woman  and  an  active  member  of  the 


Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Five  childrj 
were  born  to  Dr.  De  Lashmutt  and  wif 
namely:  Gertrude,  who  is  the  wife  of  Wi 
Ham  Jackson,  of  Baltimore,  Md. ;  Frank  1 
who  was  killed  in  1908,  in  a  mine  explosioi 
John  S. ;  Oscar  L.,  who  is  in  business  at  She 
burn,  Ind. ;  and  Mary  Ellen,  whose  death  0( 
curred  January  29,  19 12,  who  was  the  wife  c 
\\'^illiam  E.  Mills,  who  is  also  deceased,  foi 
merly  sheriff  of  Sullivan  county,  Ind.,  and 
member  of  the  business  firm  of  W.  E.  Mills  1 
Co.  Their  two  children  are:  Juanita  an 
William. 

John  S.  De  Lashmutt  was  educated  at  Free 
erick  City,  Md.,  and  at  Shelburn,  Ind.  Whe 
only  sixteen  years  old  and  while  still  in  schoc 
he  learned  telegraphing  and  later  became  cor 
nected  with  the  Evansville  &  Terre  Haul 
Railroad  as  telegraph  operator  and  static 
agent,  afterward  coming  to  Ohio  and  accepf 
ing  a  similar  position  with  the  Ohio  Centra 
lines,  now  a  part  of  the  New  York  Centra 
system.  In  1891  he  came  to  Bucyrus  and  wa 
with  the  Ohio  Central  of  the  New  York  Cer 
tral  system  for  four  years.  In  1905  he  becam 
identified  with  his  present  house,  then  the  Frj 
Sheckler  Company,  continuing  after  the  re 
organization  of  the  business.  He  served  firs 
as  an  accountant  and  bookkeeper  but  sine 
1902  has  been  auditor  for  the  company,  a  pes; 
tion  of  large  responsibility  that  he  fills  wit 
the  utmost  efficiency.  From  principle  he  is 
Republican  and  takes  a  hearty  interest  in  a 
that  pertains  to  good  citizenship  but  his  bus 
life  leaves  him  no  time  in  which  to  accept  th 
cares  of  any  public  office. 

Mr.  De  Lashmutt  was  married  at  Bremet 
Fairfield  county,  O.,  to  Miss  Ada  Stuart,  wh 
was  born  in  that  city,  reared  and  educate 
there  and  they  have  three  children :  Cleanth; 
born  in  1889;  Clarence,  born  in  1893;  an 
^^llliam  S.,  born  in  1895.  Mr.  De  Lashmul 
and  family  are  members  of  the  Presbyteria 
church.  He  is  identified  with  the  Elks,  th 
^Maccabees  and  the  order  of  Ben  Hur. 

DAVID  G.  ULMER,  who  is  one  of  the  sul 
stantial  citizens  and  excellent  farmers  of  Lit 
erty  township,  resides  on  the  old  Ulmer  home 
stead  one  and  one-half  miles  north  of  Sulphu 
Springs,  where  he  has  eighty  acres  and  owe 
an  additional  forty  acres  lying  a  little  farthe 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


611 


south.  He  was  born  here,  August  3,  1862,  and 
is  a  son  of  John  GottHeb  Uhner,  an  early  sett- 
ler in  this  section. 

David  G.  Ulmer  attended'^the  public  schools 
until  old  enough  to  become  self  supporting  and 
afterward  worked  by  the  month  and  day  for 
some  fourteen  years,  at  the  end  of  which 
period  he  bought  the  interests  of  the  other 
heirs  in  the  homestead  and  has  resided  here 
ever  since.  He  gives  attention  to  general  farm- 
ing and  raises  good  stock,  paying  close  atten- 
tion to  his  business  and  consequently  being 
very  successful. 

Mr.  Ulmer  was  married  first  to  Miss  Tillie 
Knappenberger,  who  died  twelve  years  later, 
after  which  he  married  Mrs.  Mary  (Leuthard) 
Lutz.  They  have  a  very  comfortable  residence 
and  Mr.  Ulmer  has  recently  completed  a  spa- 
cious barn.  They  are  members  of  the  Luth- 
eran church  and  are  highly  respected  people. 
In  politics,  Mr.  Ulmer  votes  with  the  Dem- 
ocratic party. 

WALTER  M.  HUBBELL,  assistant  secre- 
tary of  the  American  Clay  Machinery  Com- 
pany of  Bucyrus,  O.,  has  been  identified  with 
this  important  business  enterprise  since  1907. 
He  was  born  near  Elkhart,  Ind.,  March  25, 
1879,  and  resided  and  attended  school  in  Hunt- 
ington county  until  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age, 
when  he  came  to  Bucyrus. 

Mr.  Hubbell  completed  his  education  in  the 
Bucyrus  schools.  In  1898  he  enlisted  from 
here  for  service  in  the  Spanish- American  War, 
becoming  a  member  of  Co.  A,  8th  O.  Vol.  Inf., 
which  was  commanded  by  Captain  Charlton 
and  the  regiment  by  Colonel  Hard  of  Wooster. 
Mr.  Hubbell  accompanied  his  regiment  to 
Cuba,  where  it  passed  forty  days  and  then 
returned  to  the  United  States  and  he  was  hon- 
orably discharged  in  the  same  year.  On  his 
way  home  he  was  taken  ill  at  Montauk,  L.  I., 
and  while  his  regiment  passed  on  to  Ohio  he 
was  detained  at  the  Red  Cross  Emergency 
Hospital,  where  he  developed  typhoid  fever. 
In  a  delirious  condition  he  escaped  at  midnight 
from  his  nurse  and  in  some  way  still  unknown 
to  himself,  wandered  on  a  highway  where  he 
was  picked  up  by  W.  H.  Baldwin,  president  of 
the  Long  Island  Railroad.  This  Good  Samari- 
tan placed  him  in  charge  of  two  nurses  and  a 
physician  and  paid  the  expense  and  when  con- 


valescent took  the  young  soldier  to  his  own 
house,  where,  with  comfort,  care  and  luxury, 
he  recuperated  to  such  an  extent  in  two  weeks 
that  he  was  able  to  accept  the  position  tendered 
him  by  his  protector,  on  the  Long  Island  Rail- 
road. Mr.  Baldwin  is  now  deceased  but  Mr. 
Hubbell  justly  believes  that  he  can  never  suf- 
ficiently express  his  gratitude  and  will  never 
fail  to  relate  this  occurrence  and  with  tender 
feelings  thus  perpetuate  Mr.  Baldwin's 
memory. 

Mr.  Hubbell  did  not  fail  to  take  full  ad- 
vantage of  the  business  opportunity  thus  af- 
forded him  and  remained  in  different  capaci- 
ties on  the  Long  Island  Railroad  for  six  years 
and  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Baldwin's  death  he  was 
local  agent  at  Coney  Island.  Afterward  he 
was  tendered  and  accepted  a  remunerative  po- 
sition with  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  Com- 
pany, with  which  corporation  he  remained  un- 
til 1907,  when  he  came  to  Bucyrus  again  and 
two  years  later  became  assistant  secretary  of 
the  American  Clay  Machinery  Company.  Mr. 
Hubbell  is  a  director  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and 
president  of  the  board,  and  is  a  trustee  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  church.  He  is  identified 
fraternally  with  the  Masons  and  the  Elks  and 
belongs  to  Holmes  Camp  of  the  Spanish  War 
Veterans. 

Mr.  Hubbell  was  married  in  this  city  to  Miss 
Myra  L.  Fitsimmons,  a  daughter  of  the  late 
Dr.  James  Fitsimmons,  and  they  have  one 
daughter,  Myra  L.,  who  was  born  at  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  July  8,  1907. 

C.  H.  FLICKINGER,  proprietor  of  a  saw- 
mill located  three  miles  north  of  Bucyrus,  O., 
is  one  of  the  leading  men  of  Holmes  township, 
Crawford  county,  and  at  present  is  serving  in 
the  office  of  township  clerk.  He  belongs  to 
one  of  the  old  county  families  and  was  born 
July  25,  1868,  at  Broken  Sword,  Holmes  town- 
ship, and  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Margaret  J. 
(Fralick)  Flickinger. 

Samuel  Flickinger  was  born  also  in  Holmes 
township,  in  which  he  died  March  7,  191 1, 
when  aged  seventy-three  years  and  eleven 
months.  He  was  engaged  in  the  saw-mill  busi- 
ness his  entire  life  and  owned  the  Flickinger 
mill  that  his  son  now  owns  and  operates.  He 
married  Margaret  J.  Fralick,  a  daughter  of 
Daniel  Fralick,  who  was  one  of  the  old  settlers 


612 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


of  the  county.  She  was  born  November  29, 
1849,  ^iid  still  survives.  Of  their  seven  chil- 
dren three  are  living,  namely:  jNIrs.  Roy  C. 
Start,  who  lives  at  Toledo ;  Guy,  who  is  in  the 
drug  business  at  Toledo;  and  C.  H.,  of  Bucy- 
rus.  Three  children  died  in  infancy  and 
Harry,  the  second  son,  is  also  deceased. 

C.  H.  Flickinger  attended  the  public  schools 
until  old  enough  to  work  in  his  father's  mill 
and  he  has  since  continued  in  the  business. 
The  Flickinger  mill  is  the  largest  mill  in  this 
section  and  has  a  capacity  of  3000  feet  of  lum- 
ber a  day.  Combined  with  it  is  a  cider  press. 
Mr.  Flickinger  has  devoted  himself  pretty 
closely  to  this  business  and  has  prospered,  but 
he  has  not  neglected  public  matters,  which 
should  claim  the  attention  of  every  good  citi- 
zen. He  is  identified  with  the  Democratic  par- 
ty and  has  served  Holmes  township  in  the 
office  of  assessor  five  terms  and,  as  mentioned 
above,  is  now  the  efficient  and  popular  town- 
ship clerk. 

I\Ir.  Flickinger  was  married  December  24, 
1893,  to  ]\Iiss  Sarepta  Smith,  a  daughter  of 
Squire  Frederick  Smith,  of  Lykens  township, 
who  was  born  in  Germany,  but  who  for  many 
years  has  been  a  respected  citizen  and  farmer 
in  Crawford  county.  Mr.  and  ]Mrs.  Flickinger 
have  had  five  children:  Dale,  Alice,  Jewel, 
Ross  and  Gordon,  all  of  whom  survive  except 
Jewel.  Mr.  Flickinger  belongs  to  the  fraternal 
order  of  Eagles. 

JOHX  ]\IcAIICHAEL,  deceased,  for  many 
years  was  a  well  known  and  highly  esteemed 
citizen  of  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  where  he  owned  300  acres  of  well 
improved  land.  He  was  born  in  1842,  in  Lib- 
erty township  and  died  on  his  farm  in  Whet- 
stone township  in  1901.  His  father,  David 
McAIichael,  was  of  Scotch  ancestry  but  was 
born  in  Ohio  and  came  to  Crawford  county 
and  settled  in  Liberty  township  in  early  man- 
hood. He  married  Margaret  Anderson,  who 
was  probably  born  in  Crawford  county  and 
lived  to  be  an  aged  lady.  His  death  occurred 
in  1854.  Of  their  nine  children,  the  eldest, 
Daniel,  still  survives  and  lives  in  Liberty  town- 
ship and  has  four  sons. 

The  late  John  McMichael  was  one  of  the 
younger  members  of  his  parents'  family  of 
nine  children.    He  grew  up  on  the  home  farm, 


attended  the  early  schools  and  assisted  hi; 
father  in  his  agricultural  operations  until  he  se 
cured  farm  property  of  his  own.  He  neve: 
had  any  outside  business  interest  but  devotee 
himself  to  agriculture  and  was  considered  cm 
of  the  most  successful  farmers  and  stockmei 
of  his  neighborhood.  Being  a  man  of  intelli 
gence,  good  judgment  and  sterling  character 
he  was  frequently  selected  by  his  political  par 
ty  for  local  offices  but  was  not  elected  on  ac 
count  of  the  party  to  which  he  belonged  beinj 
greatly  in  the  minority  in  the  county. 

Mr.  McMichael  was  married  in  Whetstone 
township  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Trimble,  who  wa< 
born  there,  May  21,  1844,  a  daughter  of  Johr 
and  Isa  (Parcher)  Trimble.  John  Trimbh 
was  born  in  Eastern  Ohio  and  his  wife  in  Ver 
mont  and  they  were  married  in  Whetstone 
township,  where  !Mr.  Trimble  secured  land 
from  the  Government  which  has  become  very 
valuable.  He  lived  to  be  eighty-seven  years  of 
age,  his  wife  passing  away  at  the  age  of  seven- 
ty-two. They  were  members  of  the  Baptisi 
church.  Of  their  nine  children,  six  grew  tc 
maturity  and  five  of  these  married  and  hac 
issue.  Mrs.  Mc]\Iichael  is  the  only  survivoi 
of  the  family.  To  IMr.  and  !Mrs.  JiIcMichae 
nine  children  were  born,  two  of  whom  are  de 
ceased,  Mary  and  Emma,  both  of  whom  diee 
after  marriage,  the  latter  being  survived  by  ; 
daughter,  Orina  Quaintance.  The  living  chil 
dren  are  as  follows :  Eugene,  a  farmer  o 
\\'hetstone  township,  who  is  married  and  ha; 
four  children — Zelma,  Ethel,  Raymond  ane 
Lois ;  Lawrence,  who  resides  at  Bucyrus  ane 
has  five  children — Archie,  Hazel,  Elva,  Rub; 
and  ]\laybell ;  W^ayland  E.,  who  is  a  rural  mai 
carrier  out  from  Bucyrus;  Leroy,  a  farme 
and  a  contractor  on  road  work  in  \\'hetstoni 
township,  who  has  three  children — Ralph  E. 
Harold  G.  and  Maurice  E. ;  Bessie  K.,  wh( 
resides  with  her  mother;  J.  Garfield,  who  i 
a  stenographer  with  the  American  Clay  Ma 
chinery  Company  at  Bucyrus,  and  has  one  sor 
Robert  X. ;  and  Oren  A.,  living  in  Bucy 
rus.  The  above  young  men,  like  their  lat 
father,  are  all  Republicans  and  representativ 
and  respected  citizens.  After  the  death  of  th 
father  the  family  moved  to  Bucyrus  and  Mn 
AIc^Michael  enjoys  a  pleasant  home  here  an 
she  and  her  daughter  are  agreeably  connecte 
with  church  and  social  circles. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


613 


ISAAC  WILSON  HURR,  one  of  the  heirs 
of  the  Hurr  farm,  located  in  Whetstone  town- 
ship, was  born  on  this  farm,  on  which  he  still 
lives  and  which  he  now  manages,  February  2, 
1865,  ^  son  of  David  and  Mary  (Heverly) 
Hurr. 

George  and  Christina  (Kehrer)  Hurr,  the 
parents  of  David  Hurr  and  grandparents  of 
the  subject  of  this  article,  were  farming  people 
and  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  Their  childrert 
were  Jacob,  Christina  (wife  of  Isaac  Beal), 
George,  David  and  Mary  (the  wife  of  Jacob 
Shearer). 

David  Hurr  was  born  March  4,  1836,  in  Ly- 
coming county.  Pa.,  and  came  to  Crawford 
county,  Ohio,  when  twelve  years  old.  After 
the  usual  common  school  education  he  went  to 
work  on  a  farm  and  followed  agricultural  pur- 
suits all  his  life.  On  December  6,  1861,  he 
was  married  to  Mary  Heverly,  who  was  born 
on  the  farm  in  Whetstone  township  on  which 
our  subject  now  lives,  which  farm  was  former- 
ly the  Heverly  homestead.  She  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Christina  (Miller)  Heverly, 
natives  of  Germany.  Her  father  was  a  weaver 
by  trade  but  later  a  farmer.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
John  Heverly  had  the  following  children 
John,  Caroline,  wife  of  Philip  Sheddinger 
Frederick,  Catherine,  wife  of  Abraham  Gable 
Mary  and  Samuel.  To  David  Hurr  and  his 
wife  were  born  Charles,  Isaac  W.,  Harriet  M., 
Emma  L.,  John  Harrison  and  Carrie  Alberta. 
The  last  mentioned  is  a  teacher  in  the  Union 
School  at  Bucyrus  where  the  mother  and 
daughters  now  live.  David  Hurr  passed  away 
at  Bucyrus  July  6,  1906. 

Isaac  W.  Hurr,  the  direct  subject  of  this 
sketch,  received  a  common  school  education,  as 
did  his  father,  and  then  went  to  work  as  a 
farmer.  He  does  general  farming  and  raises 
stock  for  his  own  use.  He  was  married  on 
December  20,  1905,  to  Miss  Eva  Dalzell,  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Emma  (Frisby)  Dal- 
zell. William  Dalzell  was  a  veteran  of  the 
Civil  War  and  died  shortly  after  coming  home. 
Their  children  were  Charlotta,  the  wife  of 
William  E.  Redmond;  and  Eva  (Mrs.  Hurr). 

Politically  Mr.  Hurr  is  a  Democrat  but  votes 
for  the  man  whom  he  thinks  most  capable 
rather  than  for  his  party's  choice.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  F.  &  A.  M.  at  Caledonia,  Ohio. 


His   religious  affiliation   is   with  the   English 
M.  E.  church. 

ADORHAM  J.  FLAHARTY,  deceased,  a 
well  known  and  popular  railroad  man  and  for 
a  number  of  years  station  agent  at  Bucyrus  for 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  was  born  at  Pine 
Run,  Knox  county,  O.,  and  died  at  Bucyrus  at 
the  age  of  sixty-six  years.  His  parents  were 
Perry  and  Susan  (Feasele)  Flaharty,  and  his 
grandparents  were  Nicholas  and  Nancy  Fla- 
harty. The  latter  were  natives  of  Belmont 
county,  O.,  and  they  became  early  settlers  in 
Richland  county  and  there  Perry  Flaharty 
grew  to  manhood  and  engaged  in  the  mercan- 
tile business  at  Bellville,  where  both  he  and 
wife  died.  They  had  eight  children,  Adorham 
J.  being  the  eldest  and  all  are  now  deceased. 

Adorham  J.  Flaharty  was  given  a  good 
common  school  education.  He  became  con- 
nected with  the  railroad  in  1865  as  a  telegraph 
operator  and  for  twenty  years  or  until  two 
years  before  his  death,  was  connected  with  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad.  To  his  duties  he  gave 
the  attention  which  made  him  so  long  valued 
by  his  employers  as  one  of  their  most  faithful 
and  competent  men,  and  during  his  long  period 
as  agent  at  Bucyrus,  he  made  many  friends 
through  his  courtesy  and  good  will.  In  politics 
he  was  a  Republican.  For  some  years  he  be- 
longed to  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  to  the 
Knights  of  Honor. 

Mr.  Flaharty  was  married  at  Bellville, 
Richland  county,  O.,  to  Miss  Sarah  M.  Cole- 
man, who  was  born  on  her  father's  farm  in 
Morrow  county,  O.,  September  2,  1844,  a 
daughter  of  Joseph  Harrison  and  Fannie 
(Kerr)  Coleman.  The  Coleman  family  is  of 
Irish  ancestry.  Following  their  marriage,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Coleman  settled  on  a  farm  in  Rich- 
land county  and  there  the  latter  died  at  the  age 
of  forty-eight  years.  Mr.  Coleman  died  at 
Forest,  Hardin  county,  O.,  aged  sixty-three 
years.  Of  their  six  children  there  are  three  yet 
living,  Mrs.  Flaharty  being  one  of  the  younger 
members.  Five  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Flaharty,  two  of  whom  died  young,  the 
survivors  being:  Harry  B.  and  Fred  C,  rail- 
road men,  both  of  whom  reside  at  Skagway, 
Alaska ;  and  Carrie  Gertrude,  who  is  the  wife 
of   Carl   F.    Roehr,   and   has   three   children: 


614 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Margaret  E.,   Martha   Jane   and   Charles  J., 
their  ages  ranging  from  nine  to  six  years. 

A.  A.  DE  ROCHE,  a  representative  busi- 
ness man  of  New  Washington,  O.,  who  has 
been  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  five  years,  is 
active  in  the  insurance  business  and  is  in- 
terested in  the  undertaking  firm  of  High  & 
De  Roche,  was  born  in  Chatfield  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  December  6,  1869,  a  son 
of  John  D.  and  Margaret  (Miller)  De  Roche. 

John  D.  De  Roche  was  born  in  Columbiana 
county,  O.,  October  21st,  1831,  and  came  to 
Crawford  county  with  his  parents,  David  L. 
and  Susanna  (Wysard)  De  Roche.  David  L. 
De  Roche  settled  on  a  tract  of  forty  acres,  in 
Chatfield  township,  one  mile  west  of  the  Cran- 
berry township  line,  to  which  he  later  added 
forty  acres  and  still  later,  100  acres  and  there 
he  died  when  aged  56  "years,  his  burial  being  in 
the  Windfall  cemetery.  They  were  members 
of  the  Lutheran  church  but  frequently  at- 
tended religious  services  of  other  denomina- 
tions, particularly  the  Presbyterian.  John  D. 
De  Roche  grew  to  manhood  as  a  farmer  and 
spent  his  life  on  the  homestead'  in  Chatfield 
township  until  he  sold  his  farm  when  he  re- 
tired to  live  in  New  Washington  and  now 
makes  his  home  with  his  son,  David  L.  De 
Roche.  He  married  Margaret  Miller,  who 
was  a  native  of  Canton,  Stark  county,  O. 
They  had  five  sons:  William  H.,  George  A., 
Edward,  Adam  A.  and  David  and  one  daugh- 
ter, Emma  E.  Mrs.  De  Roche  died  March  8, 
1899. 

A.  A.  De  Roche  is  a  graduate  of  the  New 
Washington  High  School  and  also  of  the  Ohio 
Normal  University  at  Ada,  O.  For  thirteen 
years  he  followed  school  teaching,  for  a  part 
of  the  time  in  Chatfield,  Cranberry,  Auburn 
and  Whetstone  townships,  one  year  in  Seneca 
county,  and  for  five  years  \Aas  a  teacher  in  the 
public  schools  at  New  Washington.  When  he 
retired  from  the  educational  field  he  went  into 
the  insurance  business  and  has  done  well  and  is 
agent  for  fire,  accident  and  plate  glass  com- 
panies. He  maintains  his  office  on  Mansfield 
Street,  New  Washington,  and  is  in  partnership 
with  W.  A.  High  in  undertaking.  His  insur- 
ance territory  covers  Auburn,  Chatfield,  Cran- 
berry and  Liberty  townships,  in  Crawford 
county  and  Seneca  and  Huron  counties,  repre- 


senting twelve  fire  insurance  companies,  c 
accident  company,  one  health  insurance,  c 
live  stock  and  plate  glass. 

Mr.  De  Roche  married  Miss  Louisa  J.  As( 
bacher,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Christi 
Aschbacher,  and  they  have  two  children :  F 
min,  who  is  a  school  boy  of  thirteen  years;  a 
Pauline  Alberta,  who  is  three  years  old. 
politics  Mr.  De  Roche  is  a  Republican  and 
clerk  of  the  school  board.  He  and  wife  belo 
to  the  Lutheran  church,  of  which  he  is  seci 
tary. 

MICHAEL  FLOCKEN,  deceased,for  mai 
years  was  a  highly  respected  citizen  of  Bug 
rus,  O.,  and  was  one  of  the  prosperous  bu: 
ness  men.  He  was  born  in  Rhine  Byron,  1 
Langdau,  Germany,  April  9,  1829,  a  son  1 
Michael  Flocken,  who  was  a  wine  manufa 
turer  in  one  of  the  German  Rhine  province 
He  was  twice  married  and  one  of  his  sons  is 
prominent  physician  in  Germany. 

The  parents  of  Michael  Flocken  the  younge 
died  in  Germany,  but  he,  with  his  brothei 
Jacob,  Louis  and  Conrad,  and  his  two  sister 
all  came  to  the  United  States  and  all  marrif 
here.  Michael  had  already  had  some  expei 
ences  away  from  home,  having  spent  thn 
years  with  an  uncle  in  Russia  and  while  thei 
learned  the  difficult  Russian  language.  ] 
1850  he  came  to  America  and  settled  for  a  tin 
in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  worked  at  tl 
cooper  trade,  and  then  came  to  Bucyrus  ar 
continued  in  the  business  as  long  as  it  w; 
profitable.  Always  industrious  and  pruden 
he  accumulated  a  comfortable  property.  E 
was  known  as  a  good  man,  kind  and  neigl 
borly  in  the  community  and  ever  ready  to  coi 
tribute  to  charity.  He  was  deeply  interested  i 
the  work  of  the  German  Methodist  church  ar 
was  an  official  in  the  same  and  superintendei 
of  the  Sunday  school.  He  identified  himse 
with  the  Republican  party  and  belonged  to  tl 
beneficial  order  of  Knights  of  Honor. 

Mr.  Flocken  was  married  in  1853,  at  Galioi 
O.,  by  Rev.  John  Smith,  uncle  of  die  bride,  1 
Miss  Anna  E.  Rupparsberger,  who  was  boi 
at  Christianfeldt,  Hesse  Darmstadt,  German; 
June  16,  1835,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Eliz: 
beth  M.  (Schmidt)  Rupparsberger.  Her  pai 
ents  were  both  natives  of  Hesse  Darmstad 
The   father  died  in  1847  and  the  mother  i 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


615 


1853.  She  came  to  America  with  her  children, 
sailing  from  Bremen  and  landing  at  New  York 
six  weeks  later.  The  little  family  came  right 
on  to  Ohio,  where  they  joined  Rev.  Jacob 
Schmidt,  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Rupparsberger. 
Some  time  later  the  mother  became  a  member 
of  a  daughter's  family  and  died  at  Sulphur 
Springs.  She  was  a  member  of  the  German 
Lutheran  church.  Mrs.  Flocken  and  her 
brother  Frederick,  are  the  only  survivors  of 
their  parents'  family. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Flocken  twelve  children 
were  born,  the  eight  survivors  being  as  fol- 
lows :  Sophia,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  H. 
Miers,  a  saddler,  at  Bucyrus;  Lewis  H.,  who 
is  a  retired  druggist,  living  at  Marion,  O. ; 
Edward,  who  is  foreman  in  a  manufacturing 
plant  at  Mansfield;  Charles,  who  resides  with 
his  family  at  Bucyrus ;  Frederick  J.,  who  is  a 
druggist  at  Marion ;  William  F.,  who  conducts 
a  barber  shop  at  Bucyrus;  John  H.,  who  is 
also  a  barber;  and  Nellie  S.,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Irvin  Miller,  a  photographer  at  Mt.  Vernon, 
Ohio.  Mrs.  Flocken  and  children  belong  to 
the  German  Methodist  church. 

HARRY  G.  LA  RUE,  a  successful  farmer, 
who  resides  on  a  well  improved  tract  of  twen- 
ty-three acres  which  is  situated  in  Liberty 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.;  one  mile 
south  and  half  a  mile  southwest  of  Sulphur 
Springs,  O.,  is  a  substantial  and  well  known 
citizen.  He  was  born  in  Crawford  county,  O., 
June  25,  1879,  and  is  a  son  of  Frank  and  Ar- 
della  (Waller)  La  Rue.  The  parents  of  Mr. 
La  Rue  were  also  born  in  Ohio.  They  reared 
ten  children,  namely:  Charles,  Lysander, 
Cora,  Ralph,  Guy,  Harry  G.,  James,  Edna, 
Ernest  and  Gertrude. 

Harry  G.  La  Rue  attended  the  public  schools 
in  his  native  county  and  prepared  himself  for 
teaching,  which  profession  he  has  followed 
ever  since,  in  addition  to  his  agricultural  ac- 
tivities. He  is  well  known  as  an  educator  and 
in  every  place  he  has  taught  has  given  entire 
satisfaction. 

Mr.  La  Rue  married  Miss  Mabel  Colwell, 
who  is  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Mary 
(Wentz)  Colwell,  natives  of  Crawford  county. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  La  Rue  have  two  children, 
Helen  and  Dorothy.  In  politics  Mr.  La  Rue  is 
identified  with  the  Republican  party.     He  is 


one  of  the  active  and  intelligent  citizens  of  his 
neighborhood  and  takes  a  hearty  interest  in 
everything  that  promises  to  benefit  it  in  any 
way. 

ANTHONY  SCHACK,  deceased,  who,  for 
many  years,  was  identified  with  the  Pennsyl- 
vania railroad  offices  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  was  un- 
usually popular  as  an  official  and  was  highly 
esteemed  as  a  man.  He  was  born  April  5,  1858, 
at  Woodbourne,  Sullivan  county,  N.  Y.,  and 
died  at  his  home  in  Bucyrus,  April  12,  1902. 
He  was  a  son  of  Adam  and  Elizabeth  (Zim- 
mer)  Schack. 

The  family  name  was  variously  spelled, 
sometimes  Schock,  Schaack,  Schwack  or 
Schack,  the  last  orthography  being  most  ac- 
ceptable to  the  late  Anthony  Schack.  The 
father,  Adam,  lost  his  parents  when  young  and 
was  probably  about  eighteen  years  of  age  when 
he  left  Germany  for  the  United  States.  He 
resided  for  some  time  in  Sullivan  county,  N. 
Y.,  and  moved  then  to  Elk  county,  Pa.,  and 
late  in  life  came  to  Bucyrus,  where  he  died  at 
the  home  of  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Matthews,  being 
then  aged  over  seventy  years.  His  wife  had 
died  previously  at  Wilcox,  Elk  county.  Pa. 
She  was  a  Roman  Catholic  while  he  was  a 
Presbyterian.  Of  their  ten  children,  Anthony 
was  the  youngest. 

From  the  schools  of  Elk  county,  Anthony 
Schack  entered  Oberlin  College,  O.,  where  he 
completed  a  course  in  bookkeeping  and  teleg- 
raphy, after  which  he  returned  to  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  was  associated  for  a  time  with  a 
tanning  company,  later  was  a  merchant  in  Sal- 
amanca, N.  Y.,  and  still  later  went  to  Chicago, 
•111.,  where  he  was  connected  with  a  tannery 
until  November,  1880,  when  he  came  to  Bucy- 
rus. He  accepted  a  position  as  bill  clerk  in  the 
offices  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  and  some 
time  later  was  appointed  ticket  agent  for  the 
same  company  and  continued  in  that  office 
until  about  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  an 
active  citizen  and  occasionally  accepted  public 
office  although  no  seeker  for  the  same  and 
served  as  city  treasurer.  His  friends  affec- 
tionately called  him  Tony  and  he  reciprocated 
their  friendliness  and  appreciated  their  com- 
radeship. He  was  a  member  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias.     Although  identified  with  no  par- 


616 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ticular  church  organization,  his  life  was  in  ac- 
cordance with  moral  principles. 

On  December  28,  1898,  Mr.  Schack  was 
married  at  Bucyrus,  to  Miss  Mary  Amelia 
Matthew,  who  was  born  at  Leipsic,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  a  daughter  of  Charles  ^I.  and  Mar- 
garet (Schack)  Matthew.  The  father  was 
born  April  25,  1825,  in  Rheinish  Prussia,  and 
died  at  Bucyrus,  March  5,  1901.  In  1847  he 
came  to  America,  both  parents  being  dead,  and 
after  landing  at  the  port  of  New  York,  went  to 
the  copper  regions  of  Michigan  and  Wisconsin, 
where  he  engaged  there  in  work  in  the  mines. 
Later  he  moved  to  Seneca  county,  O.,  and 
started  a  wagonmaking  business  at  Republic, 
where  he  lived  for  ten  years.  He  came  then 
to  Bucyrus  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  em- 
ployed as  a  patternmaker  and  foreman  in  some 
of  the  large  manufacturing  plants.  In  his  na- 
tive land  he  had  learned  the  cabinetmaking 
trade  and  previous  to  retirement  he  conducted 
a  furniture  and  undertaking  establishment. 
He  was  a  worthy  church  member,  one  of  the 
leading  rrien  in  the  Reformed  body,  and  at  all 
times  he  gave  liberally  in  the  way  of  charity. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  order  of  Knights  of 
Honor. 

At  Tiffin,  O.,  April  15,  1853,  Charles  M. 
Matthew  was  married  to  Alargaret  Schack, 
who  was  born  in  Bavaria,  Germany,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  after  reaching  young 
womanhood.  She  died  November  23,  1886. 
Her  daughter  pays  a  high  tribute  to  her  as  a 
devoted  mother,  an  example  of  Christian  liv- 
ing, kind,  wise  and  loving  in  every  domestic 
relation.  She  was  the  mother  of  seven  chil- 
dren, namely:  Jacob  H.,  who  is  deceased; 
Charles  F. ;  Louise  Lucy,  who  lives  at  Albany, 
Ore. ;  Mrs.  Schack ;  John  Philip,  a  clothing 
merchant  at  Bucyrus,  who  has  one  son,  Donald 
S. ;  William  E.,  who  is  in  business  at  Cleve- 
land, and  has  three  children — Helen  L.,  Paul 
C.  and  Janet  A. ;  and  George  F.,  who  resides 
with  his  sister,  ^Irs.  Schack.  She  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  is  interested 
in  its  many  avenues  of  usefulness  and  has  a 
pleasant  circle  of  friends,  many  of  whom  she 
has  known  all  her  life. 

ARTHUR  C.  ROWSE,  whose  excellent 
farm  of  70  acres  lies  one  mile  north  of  Osce- 
ola, O.,  is  one  of  the  successful  and  enterpris- 


ing young  agriculturists  of  this  part  of  Cra 
ford  county.  He  was  born  in  1 881,  in  Wy£ 
dot  county,  and  is  a  son  of  Walter  and  O 
nelia  (Straw)  Rowse. 

Walter  Rowse  belonged  to  an  old  family 
Crawford  county  and  was  reared  at  Bucyi 
until  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age  and  th 
went  to  Wyandot  county,  where  he  engaged 
farming  until  one  year  before  his  death,  wh 
he  moved  into  Marion  county  and  died  th( 
when  aged  54  years.  He  married  Corne 
Straw,  of  Wyandot  county  and  the  foUowi 
children  were  born  to  them:  Qsincy,  Frar 
Arthur,  Grace,  Ella,  and  Sallie  and  Miltc 
twins,  there  being  yet  five  survivors. 

Arthur  C.  Rowse  turned  his  attention 
agricultural  pursuits  as  soon  as  he  left  schoi 
assisting  his  father  on  the  home  place  f 
some  years  and  then  locating  in  Whetsto 
township,  Crawford  county,  for  six  years. 
December,  1909,  he  bought  his  present  far 
on  which  he  carries  on  his  farm  industries 
a  very  satisfactory  manner,  according  to  t 
best  recognized  methods.  They  include  a  ge 
eral  line  of  farming  and  the  raising  of  co 
siderable  stock. 

^Ir.  Rowse  married  Miss  Alice  Harvey,  wi 
was  born  in  Crawford  county  but  was  rear 
in  Wyandot  county,  O.,  her  parents  residii 
near  Mt.  Zion.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rowse  have  0 
daughter,  Marie.  They  are  members  of  t 
United  Brethren  church  at  Osceola,  O. 
politics  "Mr.  Rowse  is  a  Republican.  He 
known  as  one  of  the  reliable  men  of  T 
township  and  his  interest  may  be  counted  on 
relation  to  beneficial  and  public-spirited  rno\ 
ments  in  his  section. 

PHILIP  ROSS,  deceased,  was  a  leadi 
business  man  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  for  many  yei 
and  was  valued  and  esteemed  by  his  fellc 
citizens.  He  was  born  in  Hesse-Darnista( 
Germany,  July  3,  1843,  ^^^d  was  a  son  of  Pel 
and  Margaret  (Zimmerman)  Ross.  The  fai 
ily  came  to  America  on  a  sailing  vessel  in  18; 
landing  at  the  harbor  of  New  York,  and  frc 
that  city  they  came  on  to  Crawford  county  a 
secured  heavily  timbered  lands  in  Lyke 
township.  There  Jacob  Ross  died,  two  yej 
later,  before  he  had  time  to  develop  a  far 
His  widow  afterward  made  her  home  with  I 
son  Peter  and  died  there  in  1893,  aged  eight 


o 

CO 


a 
H 
o 

PS 

o 


^. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


619 


three  years.  In  Germany  they  had  been  con- 
firmed in  the  Lutheran  church  and  they  were 
attendants  of  the  same  at  Chatfield,  O. 

PhiHp  Ross  was  the  third  youngest  in  a  fam- 
ily of  seven  children  and  was  eighteen  years  of 
age  when  the  family  came  to  America.  He 
attended  school  at  Chatfield  and  later  a  me- 
chanics and  arts  school  at  Sandusky,  and  after- 
ward became  a  skilled  carpenter  and  builder, 
following  this  business  for  many  years.  He 
went  into  partnership  with  his  brother  George, 
in  building  contracting  in  1868,  at  Bucyrus, 
and  continued  in  the  same  until  his  death,  on 
January  24,  1905,  having  survived  his  brother 
for  six  years.  They  were  considered  reliable 
and  efficient  men  in  their  line  and  erected  many 
of  the  halls,  private  residences  and  public 
buildings  in  this  city,  including  the  Opera 
House.  Politically  Mr.  Ross  was  a  Democrat 
and  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  his  party  and 
served  for  some  terms  as  a  valued  member  of 
the  city  council. 

Mr.  Ross  was  married  at  Bucyrus,  on  May 
26,  1878,  to  Miss  Theresa  Vollrath,  who  was 
born  in  this  city,  March  17,  1857,  and  has 
always  lived  here.  Her  parents  were  Albert 
and  Catherine  (Mader)  Vollrath,  natives  of 
Saxony,  Germany,  who  came  to  America  with 
their  parents  in  1852,  in  the  days  when  it  re- 
quired three  -months  to  cover  the  great  waste 
of  water  rolling  between  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica. For  one  year  afterward  they  lived  at 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  and  then  came  to  Bucyrus, 
where  Albert  Vollrath  died  November  15, 
1907,  aged  seventy-eight  years.  He  was  en- 
gaged during  his  active  life  in  the  planing 
mill  business.  The  mother  of  Mrs.  Ross  died 
August  5,  1895,  aged  sixty  years.  They 
were  members  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vollrath  had  one  son 
and  four  daughters  born  to  them :  Mrs.  Ross ; 
Malink,  who  is  the  wife  of  E.  R.  Birk,  of  Bu- 
cyrus; Carrie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Fisher,  of  White  Plains  N.  Y. ;  and  William 
and  Louisa,  both  of  whom  died  unmarried. 

Three  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ross  namely:  Otto  C,  born  April  i,  1879,  who 
resides  at  home  and  is  connected  with  the  T.  & 
O.  C.  Railroad  Shops ;  Harry  Jacob,  who  was 
born  August  12,  1880,  and  who  is  a  machinist 
with  the  American  Clay  Machinery  Company ; 
and   Ora  Irene,   born  August   2,    1881,   who 


is  a  graduate  of  the  Bucyrus  High  School  in 
the  class  of  1900.  She  is  a  member  of  the 
English  Lutheran  church,  while  her  mother 
and  brothers  retain  membership  with  the  Ger- 
man Lutherans..  The  late  Philip  Ross  was  a 
Scottish  Rite  Mason  and  was  also  a  member 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

GEORGE  ROSS  was  an  honorable,  up- 
right and  successful  business  man  of  Bucyrus, 
O.,  for  many  years  and  was  closely  identified 
during  that  time  in  its  material  development. 
He  was  born  in  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Germany, 
May  31,  1839,  and  died  at  his  home  in  Bu- 
cyrus, May  29,  1899.  He  was  one  of  a  fam- 
ily of  seven  children  bom  to  his  parents,  who 
were  Peter  and  Margaret  (Zimmerman)  Ross. 

George  Ross  was  15  years  old  when  he  ac- 
companied his  parents  to  America  and  grew 
to  manhood  on  the  old  farm  in  Lykens  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.  His  father  died 
early  but  his  mother  survived  into  old  age. 
After  his  school  days  were  entirely  over  he 
learned  the  carpenter  trade  which  included 
house  building,  at  Sandusky,  his  younger 
brother,  the  late  Philip  Ross  having  also 
learned  his  trade  at  the  same  place.  The 
brothers  came  to  Bucyrus  and  formed  a  part- 
nership and  continued  together  in  a  building 
and  contracting  business  in  this  city  as  long 
as  they  lived,  the  younger  member  of  the  firm 
continuing  for  six  years  after  the  death  of 
the  older.  Many  of  the  fine  buildings  of  all 
kinds  which  adorn  this  city  were  erected  by 
this  firm  and  from  their  own  plans.  Mr. 
Ross  was  noted  for  his  reliability  and  it  was 
often  remarked  that  this  firm  was  thoroughly 
dependable.  He  was  a  man  of  quiet  life,  a 
Democrat  in  his  political  opinions  but  no  seeker 
for  office,  and  a  faithful  member  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church.  He  provided  an  in- 
surance for  his  family,  being  identified  with 
the  Royal  Arcanum  and  the  Royal  Home 
Society. 

Mr.  Ross  was  married  in  186=5  to  Miss  Em- 
ma Jacobs,  who  was  born  in  Lykens  township, 
Crawford  county,  in  June,  1843,  and  is  a 
daughter  of  August  and  Frederica  (Bear) 
Jacobs.  They  were  natives  of  Germany, 
where  they  were  reared  and  married,  soon 
after  embarking  on  a  sailing  vessel  for  Am- 
erica.    They  reached  the  United  States  after 


620 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


a  voyage  of  seven  weeks  and  were  landed  at 
the  port  of  New  York  and  from  there  came 
to  Springfield,  O.    After  two  years  there  they 
came  to  Lykens  township,   where  they  were 
among  the   early  settlers.     Their  first  home 
was  a  log  cabin  built  in  a  little  clearing  made 
by  Mr.  Jacobs  and  their  neighbors  were  In- 
dians.    By  trade  he  was  a  carpenter  and  he 
followed  the  same  and  also  managed  to  clear 
and  develop  his  farm  of  loo  acres.     Here  he 
died  in  1890,  aged  79  years,  having  outlived 
his  wife  for  19  years.    In  their  youth,  in  Ger- 
many, they  had  been  confirmed  in  the  German 
Lutheran  church  and  they  continued  in  that 
faith  during  the  rest  of  their  lives.     Seven 
children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jacobs, 
the  two  survivors  being  Mrs.  Ross  and  Charles 
Jacobs,  both  being  residents  of  Bucyrus.     To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Ross  were  born  a  daugh- 
ter and  a  son — Carrie  May  and  Frank  George. 
The  former,  who  was  born  in  1875,  died  May 
6,  1909;  she  was  the  wife  of  Peter  Bossier, 
who  died  six  years  after  their  marriage,  leav- 
ing no  children.     The  latter,  Frank  George, 
was  born  Dec.   16,  1877,  is    unmarried    and 
makes  his  home  with  his  mother.    He  is  a  well 
known  and  popular  engineer  on  the  T.  &  O.  C. 
Railroad.     He  is  a  Knight  Templar  Mason, 
an  Elk,  belongs  to  the  Uniform  Rank,  Knights 
of  Pythias,  to  the  order  of  Eagles  and  to  the 
Forester  organization  and  to  the  Brotherhood 
of   Locomotive   Engineers.     Mrs   Ross   is   a 
member  of  the  German  Lutheran  church,  in 
which  Mr.  Ross  was  an  elder  for  many  years. 

MERVIN  J.  GIBSON,  who  is  successfully 
carrying  on  agricultural  operations  on  his 
mother's  farm  of  eighty  acres,  which  is  sit- 
uated in  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  was  born  in  this  township,  October 
10,  1883,  and  is  a  son  of  Andrew  and  Letty 
J.  (Campbell)  Gibson. 

Andrew  Gibson  was  born  in  Crawford 
county,  where  he  has  been  engaged  in  farm- 
ing ever  since  his  term  of  service  in  the  Civil 
war  closed.  He  married  Letty  J.  Campbell, 
who  was  also  born  in  Crawford  county,  and 
three  children  were  born  to  them,  namely: 
Iva  M.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Jeremiah  Low- 
miller;  Mervin  J.  and  Claude  M.  Andrew 
Gibson  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian church. 


Mervin  J.  Gibson  obtained  a  common  school 
education  and  afterward  assisted  his  father  on 
the  home  farm.  He  remained  until  March, 
1910,  when  he  took  charge  of  his  mother's 
farm  in  Whetstone  township,  where  his  intel- 
ligent methods  have  brought  about  very  satis- 
factory results.  Mr.  Gibson  is  not  an  experi- 
menter, his  whole  previous  training  having 
been  along  the  line  in  which  he  is  engaged, 
but  he  is  wide  awake  and  keeps  posted  as  to 
modeAi  methods  of  procedure  and  makes  use 
of  labor-saving  machinery. 

On  December  22,  1909,  Mr.  Gibson  was 
married  to  Miss  Austie  B.  Self,  a  daughter  of 
David  and  Caroline  (Deisen)  Self,  the  for- 
mer of  whom  was  born  in  Morrow  county,  0., 
and  the  latter  in  Germany.  Mrs.  Gibson  has 
one  brother  and  one  sister :  Carl  D.  and  Ema 
C.  On  December  13,  19 10,  a  daughter  was 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gibson,  to  whom  they 
gave  the  name,  Edith  Caroline.  They  attend 
the  Lutheran  church.  In  politics,  Mr.  Gibson, 
like  his  father,  is  a  Republican.  The  family 
is  a  highly  respected  one  in  Crawford  county. 

REV.  ISAAC  BEAL,  a  highly  respected  re- 
tired farmer  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  and  a  lay 
preacher  in  the  German  Methodist  church, 
was  born  in  Lycoming  county,  Pa.,  August  28, 
1828,  and  is  a  son  of  George  and  a  grandson 
of  John  Michael  Beal,  the  latter  of  whom  mar- 
ried in  their  native  village  near  Stuttgart,  Ger- 
many. He  was  born  September  3,  1759,  and 
she  was  but  a  few  years  younger.  After  the 
birth  of  their  children,  namely :  John  Michael, 
Jr.,  George,  Frederick  and  Dorothea,  they 
joined  a  colony  that  had  determined  to  seek 
a  country  where  religious  opinions  were  not 
regulated  by  law.  With  this  party  of  their 
friends  and  neighbors,  the  Beals  came  down 
the  Rhine  river  to  a  secluded  seaport  and  on 
June  9,  1804,  embarked  on  a  sailing  vessel, 
the  Margaretta,  for  America.  They  were 
tossed  on  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic  for  two 
and  one-half  months  before  they  reached  their 
safe  haven,  at  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

From  Philadelphia  the  party  proceeded  to 
Germantown  and  in  the  following  spring  went 
on  their  way  to  the  point  for  which  they  had 
started,  Williamsport,  in  Lycoming  county. 
There  they  built  a  rough  hewn  edifice  which 
they  dedicated  to  church   purposes,  in   1828 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


621 


and  the  little  building  still  stands.  There 
Conrad  F.  Haller  expounded  the  Scriptures  to 
them  as  a  lay  reader,  being  a  man  of  some 
learning.  In  1833  a  part  of  the  colony  came 
on  to  Crawford  county  with  a  view  of  im- 
proving their  material  condition,  and  from  the 
favorable  reports  received  from  them,  the  Ohio 
lands  were  fertile  and  desirable.  This  in- 
formation led  to  a  part  of  the  Beal  family  ■ 
coming  to  Crawford  county  in  1842  and  the 
remainder  in  1843.  They  purchased  land  situ- 
ated about  three  and  one-half  miles  southeast 
of  Bucyrus  and  a  part  of  this  is  still  in  the 
possession  of  the  Beal  family.  The  original 
purchase  of  200  acres  was  made  for  $3,000, 
while  this  same  land  at  the  present  time  could 
not  be  purchased  for  $100  per  acre. 

The  grandmother  of  Rev.  Isaac  Beal,  and 
one  daughter,  died  in  •  Pennsylvania,  but  the 
grandfather  survived  until  he  was  eighty- 
nine  years  old  and  died  in  1848,  in  Crawford 
county.  His  sons  became  farmers  here  and 
all  have  been  noted  for  good  citizenship.  A 
few  of  the  older  members  of  the  family  have 
always  subscribed  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Piet- 
ist community,  that  being  the  name  given  the 
religious  colony,  while  others  have  become 
identified  with  more  liberal  sects.  While  still 
residing  in  Pennsylvania,  George  Beal  was 
married  to  Barbara  Sherer,  who  was  also 
born  in  Germany  and  came  to  America  with 
her  parents  when  she  was  five  years  old. 
George  Beal  and  wife  were  among  those  mem- 
bers of  the  family  who  continued  in  commu- 
nion with  the  Pietists.  They  were  worthy, 
virtuous,  self  denying  people,  examples  of 
Christianity,  and  they  were  permitted  to  live 
long  lives  together,  his  death  occurring  in 
1882,  two  years  after  that  of  his  wife,  when 
they  were  about  eighty-seven  years  of  age. 
Four  children  were  born  to  them,  Isaac,  the 
eldest,  being  the  only  survivor.  Mary,  the 
second  in  order  of  birth,  died  in  December, 
1910.  She  was  the  wife  of  Nathan  Mutchler, 
who  is  also  deceased.  Jacob,  the  third  mem- 
ber of  the  family,  died  at  Youngstown,  O.,  in 
1909,  and  is  survived  by  a  family.  Benjamin, 
the  youngest,  was  a  citizen  of  Bucyrus  and 
for  many  years  was  secretary  of  the  Crawford 
County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company.  A 
family  survives  him. 

Isaac  Beal  was  reared  in  Lycoming  county 


and  was  with  the  first  section  of  the  Beal  fam- 
ily that  came  pioneering  to  Crawford  county  in 
1842  and  has  been  identified  with  this  sec- 
tion ever  since.  After  his  father's  death  he 
became  owner  of  a  part  of  the  old  homestead 
and  for  many  years  has  carried  on  extensive 
operations  both  in  farming  and  stockraising. 
During  his  active  years  on  the  farm  he  made  a 
specialty  of  growing  sheep.  He  continued  his 
agricultural  activities  until  1891,  when  he  re- 
tired to  Bucyrus,  where  he  has  resided  ever 
since.  For  many  years  a  member  of  the  Ger- 
man Methodist  church,  he  has  also  been  a  trus- 
tee and  lay  preacher,  and  in  the  latter  relation 
is  valued  by  a  congregation  that  holds  him  in 
the  highest  esteem. 

Mr.  Beal  was  married  in  September,  1853, 
to  Miss  Christina  Hurr,  who  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  December  25,  1831,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  Pietist  colony  that  came  to 
Crawford  from  Lycoming  county.  She  is  a 
member  of  the  German  Methodist  church,  in 
which  faith  the  children  have  been  reared. 
They  are  as  follows :  Simon  George,  who  is  a 
farmer  in  Crawford  county,  married  Catherine 
Sherer,  who  died  December  17,  1910,  leaving 
one  son,  Milton  S. ;  Mary  A.,  who  is  the  wife 
of  H.  F.  Miller;  Lizzie,  who  is  the  wife  of  J. 
G.  Hipp,  of  Bucyrus,  and  has  five  children — 
Raymond,  Rufus,  Mary,  Naomi  and  Martha; 
Benjamin  F.,  a  minister  of  the  German  Meth- 
odist church,  and  a  graduate  of  Wallace  Theo- 
logical college,  having  a  charge  at  Cleveland, 
who  married  Josephine  Deitrich  and  has 
six  children — Carl,  Paul,  Theodore,  Maria, 
Catherine  and  Wilbur;  Catherine,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Rev.  J.  C.  Gerlach,  a  Gerfnan  Meth- 
odist minister  at  Cincinnati,  a  graduate  of 
Wallace  college;  Ellen  B.,  who  lives  with  her 
parents ;  and  Martha  M.,  whb  graduated  from 
the  Bucyrus  High  school  in  the  class  of  1894 
and  for  ten  years  has  been  ^n  acceptable 
teacher  in  the  city  public  schools.  The  Beal 
family  enjoyed  a  reunion  on  August  29,  191 1, 
and  among  the  other  entertainments  was  an 
interesting  history  of  the  family  that  had  been 
prepared  with  much  care  by  Miss  Martha  and 
was  read  by  her  to  those  present.  The  record 
showed  a  long  line  of  sober,  faithful,  honest, 
industrious,  law-abiding  and  God  fearing  an- 
cestors. 


622 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


EMANUEL  SCHIEBER,  who  is  one  of 
the  prominent  and  representative  citizens  of 
Liberty  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  now 
serving  in  his  second  term  as  township  trus- 
tee, resides  on  his  finely  cultivated  farm  of 
eighty  acres,  situated  not  many  miles  distant 
from  Bucyrus,  O.  He  was  born  in  Liberty 
township,  March  31,  1865,  and  is  a  son  of  Ja- 
cob and  Eva  (Mauer)  Schieber,  and  a  grand- 
son of  Gotleib  and  Magdalena  Schieber. 

Jacob  Schieber  was  born  in  Germany  and 
was  brought  by  his  parents  to  America  when 
eighteen  months  old.  He  became  a  successful 
farmer  and  a  highly  respected  citizen  of  Lib- 
erty township,  where  his  death  occurred  in 
1884,  his  burial  being  in  the  Shealy  cemetery. 
He  married  Eva  Mauer,  who  was  born  in 
Stark  county,  0.,  and  now  resides  with  a 
daughter  in  Liberty  township.  They  became 
parents  of  the  following  children:  John; 
Louisa,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  Hari- 
son  Klink;  Henry;  David  S. ;  Emanuel;  Mary, 
who  is  the  wife  of  F.  W.  Hieber;  Elizabeth, 
who  is  the  widow  of  John  Hieber;  Samuel  A., 
and  Jay  W.,  who  died  when  eight  years  of  age. 

Emanuel  Schieber  attended  the  local  schools 
through  boyhood  and  after  enjoying  one  term 
at  the  Northern  Ohio  University,  at  Ada, 
turned  his  attention  to  school  teaching.  He 
taught  five  winter  terms  and  proved  very  ac- 
ceptable to  his  pupils  but  since  then  his  farm 
and  other  enterprises  have  claimed  his  entire 
attention.  He  carries  on  his  agricultural  oper- 
ations scientifically  and  meets  with  very  satis- 
factory results. 

Mr.  Schieber  was  married  in  January,  i8gi, 
to  Miss  Louisa  M.  Hieber,  who  is  a  daughter 
of  Christian  and  Christiana  (Wagner)  Hie- 
ber, who  were  farming  people  in  Liberty 
township  for  many  years.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Schieber  four  children  have  been  born, 
namely:  Millard  E.,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Bucyrus  High  school  in  the  class  of  191 1,  and 
has  accepted  a  position  with  the  Second  Na- 
tional Bank,  Bucyrus,  O. ;  Harry,  who  is  a 
member  of  the  class  of  1913,  in  the  Bucyrus 
High  school;  Elsie  C,  and  Dorothy  E.  Mr. 
Schieber  and  family  are  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics and  has  frequently  been  elected  to  office 
on  that  ticket;  for  six  years  he  served  as  a 
justice  of  the  peace  and  for  three  years  as  a 


member  of  the  township  school  board.  Mr. 
Schieber  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Second  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Bucyrus,  O. 

HERBERT  S.  BLAIR,  a  leading  business 
man  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  manufacturer  of  husking 
gloves,  husking  pins  and  other  specialties  and 
a  jobber  all  over  the  great  corn  belt  of  the 
country,  has  been  in  this  line  of  business  for 
the  past  twenty-seven  years  and  has  developed 
a  large  enterprise  from  a  small  beginning.  He 
was  born  at  Bucyrus,  August  3,  1859,  and  is  a 
son  of  Elias  and  Anna  (McCrory)  Blair. 

Elias  Blair,  who  is  president  of  the  Second 
National  Bank  of  Bucyrus,  one  of  the  old  and 
honored  citizens  of  this  city,  was  born  in  1824, 
near  Mt.  Vernon,  O.,  being  of  English  parent- 
age. In  1852  he  made  the  overland  trip  to 
California  and  spent  two  years  as  a  prospec- 
tor and  miner  in  the  gold  fields,  returning  to 
his  native  state  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama,  with  substantial  evidences  of  his  suc- 
cess while  there.  He  located  in  what  was  then 
the  village  of  Bucyrus  where  he  embarked  in 
the  hardware  business  being  the  pioneer  mer- 
chant in  this  line.  Mr.  Blair,  together  with 
unmistakable  business  qualities,  has  been  more 
or  less  of  an  inventor  all  his  life  and  several 
of  his  inventions  are  made  use  of  in  almost 
every  agricultural  and  stock-raising  district  in  if 
the  United  States  and  Europe.  Reference  is 
made  to  his  hog  anti-rooter  device  and  his  hog 
snout  ring,  the  manufacture  of  which  is  still  ' 
carried  on  under  his  name.  Mr.  Blair  is  one 
of  the  substantial  citizens  of  Bucyrus,  the 
owner  of  a  large  amount  cfi  property  which 
he  and  his  son  have  improved.  For  some 
years  he  has  been  a  semi-invalid  but  still  main- 
tains his  interest  in  business  and  all  current  af- 
fairs. He  was  married  at  Mansfield,  O.,  to  . 
Miss  Anna  McCrory,  who  was  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  when  young  was  brought  to 
Mansfield  by  her  parents.  Two  sons  and  four 
daughters  were  born  to  them.  One  daughter 
died  in  infancy  and  one  son,  Bennington,  died 
at  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  The  survivors 
are :  Herbert  S. ;  Carrie  B.,  who  is  the  widow 
of  Albert  Ensminger,  of  Bucyrus,  and  she  has 
one  son,  Edward ;  Lizzie  B.,  who  is  the  widow 
of  Edward  Roehr,  of  Bucyrus ;  and  Anna,  who 
is  the  wife  of  F.  I.  Ruhl,  who  is  manager  of 
Mr.  Blair's  large  hardware  store.    They  have 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


623 


one  son,  E.  Blair  Ruhl.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blair 
are  members  of  the  English  Lutheran  church, 
in  which  he  has  been  an  officer  for  many  years. 
Herbert  S.  Blair  was  reared  and  educated  at 
Bucyrus  and  practically  grew  up  in  the  hard- 
ware and  manufacturing  business.  The  first 
husking  implement  was  a  simple  affair,  a  pin 
or  peg,  which  was  quite  useful  but  of  not 
nearly  the  utility  of  the  present  device  which 
has  been  developed  together  with  many  other 
instruments,  more  than  thirty  in  all,  which  are 
manufactured  by  Mr.  Blair,  all  of  these  being 
covered  by  patents.  A  large  force  of  work- 
men is  kept  at  all  times  and  his  sales  are  enor- 
mous, one  business  house  of  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
alone,  ordering  a  shipment  of  these  specialties 
to  the  amount  of  $7,000.  Mr.  Blair  has  sel- 
dom purchased  an  invention,  almost  all  of  the 
original  implements  and  the  improvements 
having  been  the  issue  of  his  own  brain  and 
skill. 

Mr.  Blair  was  married  at  Bucyrus,  to  Miss 
Belle  Frayer,  a  daughter  of  the  late  J.  G. 
Frayer.  They  have  three  children:  Marietta, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Oren  E.  Smith,  of  Bucy- 
rus; John,  who  is  a  student  in  a  military  in- 
stitute; and  Anna  Belle,  who  attends  the  pub- 
lic schools.  One  son,  Milton  Blaine,  died  aged 
seven  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blair  are  members 
^■of  the  English  Lutheran  church.  Fraternally 
he  is  an  Elk  and  a  Knight  Templar  Mason  and 
Shriner.     Politically  he  is  a  Republican. 

GEORGE  F.  DONNENWIRTH,  a  well 
known  business  njan  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  dealing 
in  fine  wines  and  liquors,  and  a  citizen  whose 
public  spirit  and  liberality  may  be  counted  on 
in  every  emergency,  was  born  in  this  city,  De- 
cember 6,  1869,  and  is  a  son  of  William  and 
•  Catherine   (Assenheimer)   Donnenwirth. 

William  Donnenwirth  was  born  at  New 
Washington,  O.  The  greater  portion  of  his 
life  was  spent  on  his  farm  in  Liberty  town- 
ship but  his  death  occurred  at  Bucyrus,  when 
in  his  fifty-eighth  year.  He  married  Catherine 
Assenheimer,  who  survives  and  is  a  resident  of 
Bucyrus  and  a  member  of  the  German  Lu- 
theran church.  To  William  Donnenwirth  and 
wife  the  following  children  were  born:  Car- 
rie; Frank  E.,  who  is  assistant  cashier  of  the 
Bucyrus  City  Bank ;  George  F. ;  Elizabeth ; 
Rose;  Charles  A.,  who  is  with  the  American 


Clay  Machinery  Company;  Mrs.  Bertha  Dar- 
ling; and  John,  who  died  at  the  age  of  two 
years. 

George  F.  Donnenwirth  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  and  gave  his  father  assistance 
on  the  farm  and  continued  agricultural  pur- 
suits until  1896.  In  1900  he  became  interested 
in  the  grocery  business,  with  J.  A.  Leifer  un- 
der the  firm  name  of  Leifer  &  Donnenwirth, 
and  continued  with  that  firm  until  June  i, 
1903.  On  September  8th  of  that  year  he  em- 
barked in  his  present  business. 

Mr.  Donnenwirth  was  married  April  4, 
1909,  to  Miss  Sue  P.  Streib,  a  daughter  of  M. 
K.  and  Kate  Streib,  residents  of  Crawford 
county.  In  politics  Mr.  Donnenwirth  has  al- 
ways been  identified  with  the  Democratic 
party. 

WILLIAM  F.  MADER,  a  merchant  and 
chief  of  the  fire  department  of  the  city  of 
Bucyrus,  O.,  was  born  on  the  lot  he  now  uses 
for  business  purposes,  Nos.  109-111-113  North 
Sandusky  street,  April  27,  1865.  He  is  a  son 
of  John  George  and  Christina  (Dinkel) 
Mader. 

John  George  Mader  was  born  i-ft  Wertem- 
berg,  Germany,  in  1839,  and  died  at  his  home 
at  Bucyrus,  O.,  in  December,  1907.  He  was  a 
son  of  John  George  Mader,  who  was  born  and 
reared  in  Germany  and  there  married  Miss 
Hoch.  In  the  late  forties  the  father  of  John 
George  Mader,  Jr.,  accompanied  by  his  two 
older  children,  took  passage  on  a  sailing  ves- 
sel for  America  and  after  a  voyage  of  forty- 
seven  days,  reached  New  York  and  came  on  to 
Bucyrus,  O.,  where  he  established  himself  in 
the  hotel  business.  In  1852  he  sent  for  his 
wife  and  the  other  children  and  they  also 
crossed  the  Atlantic  ocean  in  a  sailing  vessel 
and  came  on  to  Bucyrus,  where  he  was  doing 
a  good  business,  the  railroad  being  then  in 
course  of  construction  and  the  country  opening 
up  in  every  direction,  there  being  much  travel. 
Some  years  prior  to  his  death  in  1878,  he  gave 
up  the  hotel  business  and  retired  to  a  farm 
near  the  city,  a  large  portion  of  which  still 
belongs  to  the  family.  Almost  his  whole  fam- 
ily of  ten  children  grew  to  maturity  and  sev- 
eral survive  and  reside  at  Bucyrus. 

John  George  Mader,  Jr.,  was  the  third  eldest 
child  of  those  who  survived  infancy  and  was 


624 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


thirteen  years  of  age  when  he  accompanied  his 
mother  and  the  younger,  children  to  America 
to  join  the  father  at  Bucyrus.  He  grew  up 
very  helpful  to  his  father  in  the  hotel  business 
and  later  went  into  the  wine  and  liquor  busi- 
ness on  North  Sandusky  avenue  and  became 
a  man  of  ample  fortune.  He  was  a  Democrat 
in  politics  and  was  frequently  sent  as  a  dele- 
gate to  state  and  county  conventions  and 
served  in  the  city  council.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Deutsche  Gesellschaft  society. 

At  Bucyrus  he  was  married  to  Christina 
Dinkel,  who  was  born  in  this  city  in  1841  and 
died  here  in  1885.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Ludwig  and  Christina  Dinkel,  who  were  early 
German  settlers  in  this  section  and  faithful 
members  of  the  German  Lutheran  church. 
They  had  two  children,  Mrs.  Mader  and  Louis, 
the  latter  of  whom  lives  retired  in  Bucyrus. 
Five  children  were  born  to  the  above  marriage, 
the  eldest  of  these  being  William  F.,  of  this 
record.  Antonia,  the  eldest  daughter,  was  the 
wife  of  WiUiam  A.  Blicke,  cashier  of  the 
Bucyrus  City  Bank  and  was  survived  by  one 
son,  Frederick.  C.  Edward,  the  second  son, 
is  a  resident  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  is  vice 
president  of  the  firm  of  Schall  &  Co.,  of  New 
York.  He  married  Miss  Wilhelmina  Schall 
and  they  have  seven  daughters,  and  one  son. 
J.  G.,  the  third  son  is  associated  with  his  eld- 
est brother  in  business.  He  married  Miss 
Minnie  Schurr.  Elsie,  the  youngest,  who  was 
the  wife  of  George  G.  Koch,  of  Cleveland,  is 
survived  by  one  daughter. 

William  K  Mader  was  reared  and  educated 
at  Bucyrus  and  afterward  assisted  his  father 
and  subsequently  became  his  partner  in  busi- 
ness arid  still  later  with  his  brother,  John  G. 
Mader,  the  brothers  being  the  sole  proprietors 
of  the  business  their  father  founded.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Democrat  but  has  never  been  what 
is  termed  a  politician.  He  has  been  connected 
with  the  fire  department  for  many  years  and 
was  at  the  head  of  the  old  volunteer  company 
when  the  apparatus  consisted  of  the  old  hand 
engine  known  locally  as  the  Water  Cloud  and 
other  primitive  accouterments.  Since  1888 
he  has  been  chief  of  the  present  well  organized 
department  and  its  equipments  are  modern  and 
entirely  adequate  and  Chief  Mader  is  proud  of 
his  force  of  well  trained  men. 

Mr.  Mader  was  married  in  New  York  city 


to  Miss  Cecelia  Schall,  a  .daughter  of  Michael 
Schall,  who  established  the  wholesale  confec- 
tionery supply  house  of  Schall  &  Co.,  in  that 
city.  Both  he  and  wife  were  natives  of  Wer- 
temberg,  Germany.  After  his  death  his  widow 
and  her  brother  continued  the  business  until 
her  death,  since  which  time  it  has  been  oper- 
ated as  a  stock  company.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mader 
have  two  children :  Lucile  Dora,  who  was  born 
in  1892  and  Vera  Elsie,  who  was  born  in  1895. 
The  family  belong  to  the  German  Lutheran 
church.  Mr.  Mader  is  a  member  of  the  Order 
of  Eagles  and  belongs,  like  his  late  father,  to 
the  Deutsche  Gesellschaft  society. 

SIMEON  F.  SHERER,  who  is  a  well 
known  citizen  of  Whetstone  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  and  a  representative  of  an 
old  and  substantial  county  family,  was  born 
on  the  farm  on  which  he  still  lives,  March  5, 
1865,"  and  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth 
(Haller)  Sherer. 

Samuel  Sherer  was  born  in  Lycoming 
county.  Pa.,  and  was  five  years  old  when  he 
was- brought  to  Ohio  and  he  ever  afterward 
lived  on  the  same  farm  in  Whetstone  town- 
ship, Crawford  county.  He  was  a  man  of  lo- 
cal importance,  a  hearty  supporter  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  active  in  pub- 
lic matters,  serving  for  a  number  of  years  as 
township  clerk,  township  trustee  and  in  othei- 
capacities,  elected  to  office  on  the  Democratic 
ticket.  At  the  time  of  his  death  hfe  owned 
about  308  acres  of  land  in  Whetstone  town- 
ship. He  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  be- 
ing a  Miss  Hagenleibly,  who  was  born  in  this 
township  and  at  death  was  survived  by  two 
daughters — Catherine,  now  deceased,  who  was 
the  wife  of  Simeon  Beal,~and  Mary,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Emanuel  Lust.  His  second  marriage 
was  to  Elizabeth  Haller,  who  died  when  her 
son,  Simeon  F.,  was  four  and  one-half  years 
old.  He  was  the  eldest  born  and  had  one 
sister,  Matilda,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  J. 
Kurtz. 

Simeon  F.  Sherer  attended  the  public 
schools.  He  remained  with  his  father  and  suc- 
ceeded to  the  homestead  and  has  lived  here 
ever  since,  carrying  on  general  farming  and 
raising  enough  stock  for  home  use.  On  June 
5,  1901,  Mr.  Sherer  was  married  to  Miss 
Mary  Kurtz,  a  daughter  of  George  and  Cath- 


JOHN  HOPLEY,  SR.,  AND  JOHN  (III)  HOPLEY,  JR. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


627 


erine  (Geibler)  Kurtz,  who  were  natives  of 
Germany.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Sherer  set- 
tled first  in  Pennsylvania  and  then  came  to 
Ohio,  where  the  father  subsequently  died,  the 
mother  now  making  her  home  with  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Sherer.  The  latter  has  the  following 
brothers  and  sisters :  John  J.  and  Isaac ;  Eliza- 
beth, who  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  C.  H.  Senn,  of 
Williamsport,  Pa. ;  Laura,  who  is  the  wife  of 
C.  A.  Coppe;  and  Benjamin. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sherer  three  children  have 
been  born:  Robert  K.,  Katherine  and  Lowell 
Samuel.  The  family  attend  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  Politically  a  Democrat,  Mr. 
Sherer  takes  great  pleasure  in  the  success  his 
party  frequently  achieves.  He  has  served  at 
times  in  public  office  and  has  been  school  di- 
rector and  also  township  trustee. 

JOHN  L.  TOBIAS,  engineer  for  the  Bucy- 
rus  Electric  Light  and  Power  company  at 
Bucyrus,  O.,  a  practical  and  experienced  man 
in  his  profession,  was  born  at  Greencastle, 
Franklin  county.  Pa.,  April  19,  1853,  and  is  a 
son  of  William  B.  Tobias. 

John  L.  Tobias  was  eleven  years  of  age 
when  he  accompanied  the  family  to  Sulphur 
Springs,  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  he  was 
reared  here,  attending  the  district  schools  dur- 
ing the  winter  time  until  old  enough  to  work 
in  a  saw  mill,  and  passing  his  summers  use- 
fully on  the  home  farm.  It  was  while  he  was 
assisting  his  brother,  William  F.  Tobias,  in  the 
lumber  industry  that  he  gained  his  first  knowl- 
edge of  steam  engineering,  which  he  has  fol- 
lowed alternately  for  twenty  years  while  also 
carrying  on  agricultural  pursuits  in  Marion 
county.  In  1899  he  came  to  Bucyrus  and  con- 
tinued work  along  engineering  lines  and  for 
the  past  eighteen  months  has  filled  his  present 
responsible  position  with  one  of  the  city's  most 
important  utilities. 

John  L.  Tobias  was  married  at  Bucyrus,  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Meyer,  who  was  born  here  in 
1859  and  is  a  daughter  of  John  and  Margaret 
(Bauer)  Meyer,  natives  of  Wurtemberg  and 
Bavaria,  Germany.  Mr.  Meyer  was  twenty 
years  of  age  when  he  came  to  America  and  lo- 
cated at  Bucyrus  where  he  was  married,  in 
1858,  to  Margaret  Bauer.  She  was  nine  years 
old  when  her  parents  brought  her  from  Ger- 
many to  Bucyrus,  and  was  a  daughter  of  Jacob 


and  Eva  (Stickler)  Bauer.  Jacob  Bauer  died 
at  the  age  of  forty  years  but  his  widow  sur- 
vived to  the  age  of  seventy  years.  In  their  re- 
ligious connection  they  were  German  Luther- 
ans. John  Meyer  was  a  well  known  citizen 
and  a  very  active  Democrat,  serving  in  many 
public  capacities,  and  at  one  time  was  city 
treasurer.  He  died  August  5,  1908,  when  aged 
75  years.  The  mother  of  Mrs. .  Tobias  sur- 
vived until  August  2,  191 1,  when  aged  72 
years.  They  were  among  the  most  highly  re- 
spected residents  of  Bucyrus  and  were  worthy 
members  and  liberal  supporters  of  the  German 
Lutheran  church.  Of  their  seven  children, 
Amelia  died  young.  The  other  members  of 
the  family  are:  Mrs.  Tobias;  John;  Jacob  B., 
who  is  a  resident  of  Lincoln,  Neb. ;  Catherine, 
who  resides  in  the  old  Meyer  homestead  at 
No.  136  Hill  street;  Charles,  a  resident  of 
Bucyrus,  who  is  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
Crawford  County  Infirmary;  and  Frank. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tobias  have  one  daughter, 
Lillian  M.,  who  was  born  September  15,  1889. 
She  has  been  carefully  educated  and  is  filling 
a  clerical  position  with  the  Carroll  Foundry 
and  Machine  Co.  of  this  city.  Mr.  Tobias  and 
family  belong  to  the  German  Lutheran  church. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 

JOHN  HOPLEY.  One  of  the  citizens  of 
Crawford  county  who  has  left  a  strong  im- 
press not  only  on  the  local  surroundings  but 
upon  the  affairs  of  the  state  of  Ohio,  is  John 
Hopley,  for  40  years  owner  and  editor  of  the 
Bucyrus  Journal  and  also  head  of  the  com- 
pany which  owned  and  published  the  Bucyrus 
Evening  Telegraph.  Mr.  Hopley  was  a  na- 
tive of  England,  having  been  born  at  Whit- 
stable,  a  naval  station  on  the  east  coast  of 
England,  May  21,  1821.  His  father,  Edward 
Hopley,  F.  R.  C.  S.,  was  for  43  years  a  sur- 
geon in  the  Royal  Navy  of  England,  and  after 
his  retirement  practiced  his  profession  of 
medicine  and  surgery  at  Whitstable,  in  Kent, 
and  later  at  Lewes,  in  Sussex,  one  of  the 
oldest  towns  in  England.  His  mother  was 
Miss  Catherine  Cooper  Prat,  who  descended 
from  a  long  line  of  ancestry  distinguished  in 
the  Church  of  England,  her  great-grandfather, 
Samuel  Prat,  having  been  Dean  of  Rochester 
Cathedral  in  1697,  preceptor  of  the  Royal 
heir  apparent.  Canon  of  Windsor,  and  head 


628 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


chaplain  to  Queen  Anne,  and  is  buried  in  St. 
George's  chapel,  Windsor;  others,  Rev.  Dan- 
iel Prat  and  George  Prat,  are  buried  in  Roch- 
ester Cathedral;  her  father.  Rev.  John  Prat, 
being  buried  in  St.  Dunstans,  Canterbury.  In 
the  seven  generations  since  Daniel  Prat  (in 
1574)  all  of  his  ancestors  in  the  direct  line, 
except,  of  course,  his  mother,  have  been  min- 
isters in  the  Church  of  England. 

John  Hopley  pursued  his  education  in  the 
Royal  Navy  Academy  at  Camberwell,  Surrey, 
a  suburb  of  London.  This  school  was  ex- 
clusively for  sons  of  na\'al  officers  and  its 
course  was  most  extensive  and  thorough. 
Here  the  Bell,  or  monitor  system  was  in 
vogue,  and  this  afforded  opportunity  for  the 
development  of  character  through  responsibil- 
ity. Mr.  Hopley  excelled  in  both  athletics 
and  study,  and  won  many  class  honors.  Av 
the  close  of  his  college  course  he  was  ma^e 
a  teacher  of  the  institution,  where  he  rema'/ied 
for  some  years. 

In  1842,  soon  after  attaining  his  majority, 
he  came  to  the  United  States  with  hh  mater- 
nal uncle,  John  R.  Prat,  of  ZanesviL'e,  whose 
store  he  entered  in  the  capacity  of  clerk.  He 
there  continued  until  1844,  when  he  began 
teaching,  with  a  view  to  entering  upon  the 
study  of  law,  and  making  its  practice  his  life 
work.  In  1845  he  went  to  Logan,  Hocking 
county,  to  teach.  He  induced  the  trustees  to 
^establish  graded  schools  there,  which  were 
among  the  first  of  the  kind  established  in 
Ohio.  They  proved  a  great  success  and  his 
educational  ideas  did  much  to  build  those 
schools  into  prominence  and  effected  an  up- 
lifting of  the  schools  of  Ohio  in  general. 

On  April  19,  1848,  Mr.  Hopley  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Georgianna  Rochester, 
the  fourth  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Rochester, 
of  Logan,  Ohio.  Her  father  was  born  near 
London,  England,  Jan.  9,  1796,  and  in  1816 
he  married  Miss  Marian  Gladdle,  a  daughter 
of  a  French  gentleman  who  left  his  native 
land  owing  to  the  French  Revolution,  and 
entered  the  English  armv  as  an  officer,  and 
was  killed  in  Spain  while  fighting  against 
Napoleon.  Mr.  Rochester  came  to  America 
in  1820.  settling  at  Englishtown,  Athens 
county,  Ohio,  but  soon  removed  to  Logan, 
where  for  nearly  half  a  century  he  was  en- 
gaged in  merchandising,  being  recognized  as 


one  of  the  most  prominent  and  influential 
citizens  of  the  place.  For  more  than  44  years 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
and  served  for  34  years  as  an  elder.  He  aided 
greatly  in  promoting  the  moral  advancement 
of  the  people  among  whom  he  lived,  and  the 
memory  of  his  upright  career  remains  as  an 
inspiration  and  a  benediction  to  all  who  knew 
him.  He  died  Oct.  29,  1876,  at  the  age  of  81 
years.  His  daughter,  Mrs.  Hopley,  was  born 
Feb.  22,  1826. 

Desiring  to  study  slavery  and  its  influence 
upon  the  social  life  of  the  South,  Mr.  Hopley 
soon  after  his  marriage,  removed  to  Tennes- 
see, becoming  a  teacher  in  a  school  at 
""mellow  Creek,  and  New  Providence,  and 
then  went  to  Elkton,  Todd  county,  Ken- 
tucky, where  he  had  charge  of  the  schools. 
In  1862  he  returned  to  Logan  as  supervisor 
of  the  public  schools,  where  he  remained  in 
educational  work  for  three  years.  In  1855 
he  was  chosen  instructor  in  mathematics  at 
Granger's  Commercial  School  at  Columbus, 
but  the  institution,  not  being  in  strong  finan- 
cial condition,  he  only  remained  a  portion  of  a 
year  and  then  went  to  Wellston,  Columbiana 
county,  to  fill  out  an  incompleted  year  there. 
On  the  I2th  of  April,  1856,  he  arrived  with 
his  family  at  Bucyrus,  having  been  elected 
superintendent  of  schools  at  this  place,  and 
during  the  years  of  his  work  at  the  head  of 
the  Bucyrus  schools  he  was  an  important  fac- 
tor in  placing  them  on  a  firm  basis.  He  en- 
tered on  his  duties  here  with  his  usual  earnest- 
ness ■  and  zeal  and  the  system  he  established 
soon  awakened  the  admiration  of  the  people 
of  the  vicinity  and  other  portions  of  the  state. 

In  1858,  Mr.  Hopley  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  formed  a  partnership  with  A.  M. 
Jackson,  but  the  following  year  he  decided  to 
open  an  office  of  his  own,  and  he  continued 
the  practice  successfully  until  1862  when  he 
went  to  England  with  Thomas  Alsop,  a  client, 
to  settle  some  Alsop  family  affairs,  and  when 
he  returned  he  found  his  practice  practically 
destroyed ;  some  of  his  clients  were  in  the 
army  and  in  many  cases  important  witnesses 
had  enlisted,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to 
bring  cases  to  trial.  Mr.  Hopley  was  *hen 
appointed  by  I\Ir.  Salmon  P.  Chase  to  a  clerk- 
ship in  the  office  of  the  second  auditor  of  the 
treasury  at  \\^ashington,  ar-^  soon,  by  special 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


629 


order  of  Mr.  Chase  himself,  was  transferred 
to  the  office  of  the  latter,  having  a  desk  in  the 
office  of  the  library  of  the  treasury.  As  he 
found  opportunity  he  studied  the  financial 
problems  and  employed  his  pen  effectively  in 
advancing  the  financial  policy  of  the  secretary 
of  the  treasury,  and  the  establishment  of  na- 
tional banks.  After  the  national  banking  law 
was  passed  he  was  transferred  to  the  banking 
and  currency  bureau.  Hugh  McCuUough, 
who  was  then  comptroller  of  the  currency, 
placed  Mr.  Hopley  in  charge  of  the  statistical 
department  of  the  bureau.  His  duties  there 
included  examination  of  regular  reports  and 
reports  of  bank  examiners.  Mr.  Hopley, 
during  that  period  of  life,  occasionally  fur- 
nished data  for  speeches  made  by  members  of 
Congress,  whereby  the  statesmen  became  dis- 
tinguished. 

In  1864  he  resigned  his  position  in  order  to 
accept  an  offer  of  a  position  in  a  large  bank 
in  New  York.  In  1866  he  was  appointed 
national  bank  examiner  by  the  Government  for 
all  the  southern  states  excepting  Delaware, 
Maryland  and  Virginia;  Kansas  was  after- 
ward added  to  the  list.  After  completing  this 
work  in  1867  he  returned  to  Bucyrus  and  in 
September  purchased  of  James  Robinson  a 
half  interest  in  the  Bucyrus  Journal.  The  fol- 
lowing spring  he  purchased  of  Ralph  Robin- 
son the  other  half  interest,  and  after  the  spring 
of  1868  he  was  sole  owner  of  that  paper  until 
his  death.  From  August,  1870,  to  January, 
1879,  he  was  postmaster  at  Bucyrus,  having 
been  appointed  by  President  Grant.  He  was 
also  postmaster  at  Bucyrus  from  1890  to  1894, 
having  been  appointed  by  President  Harrison. 
In  1887  the  Bucyrus  Evening  Telegraph  was 
established  as  an  independent  paper  but  on 
Jan.  4,  1895  The  Hopley  Printing  Co.  was 
incorporated  and  since  that  time  the  daily  and 
weekly  papers  have  been  under  one  manage- 
ment, Mr.  Hopley  having  been  president  and 
general  supervisor  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred June  3,  1904.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Georgi- 
anna  Rochester  Hopley  died  Oct.  21,  1904, 
living  but  a  few  months  after  her  husband, 
with  whom  she  had  borne  the  burdens  and 
obligations  of  life  for  56  years. 

Thev  were  the  parents  of  ten  children,  their 
third  child  having  died  in  infancy,  but  all  the 
others  having  grown  to  maturity.     Their  old- 


est child,  Charles  Rochester  Hopley,  died  Jan. 
19,  1909.  The  surviving  children  are  John 
Edward  Hopley,  now  of  Bucyrus;  Thomas  P. 
Hopley,  of  Enid,  Oklahoma;  Mary  Catherine 
Cooper  Hopley,  of  Chicago;  Georgianna  Eliza 
Hopley,  of  Bucyrus;  Harriet  Evelyn  Frances 
Hopley,  of  Chicago;  James  Richard  Hopley, 
Frank  Lewes  Hopley,  and  Joseph  William 
Hopley  of  Bucyrus.  There  are  four  grand- 
children, Miss  Pearl  Hopley,  the  daughter  of 
Charles  R.  Hopley,  now  of  Newburg,  New 
York;  Laura  Rochester  Hopley,  John  Curtis 
Hopley  and  Rose  Hopley,  children  of  Thomas 
P.  Hopley  of  Enid,  Oklahoma. 

In  his  association  with  the  newspaper  and 
editorial  work  and  his  efforts  in  the  interests 
of  the  Republican  party,  John  Hopley  filled 
an  important  place  in  Crawford  county  and 
his  influence  reached  pretty  generally  through- 
out Ohio.  His  peculiarly  effective  schooling 
fitted  him, for  the  work  of  political  writing, 
and  he  aimed  to  give  to  his  editorial  utter- 
ances a  high  quality  of  intelligence  and  in- 
tegrity. His  pen  was  often  responsible  for 
planks  in  the  Republican  state  platforms,  and 
his  ideas  helped  in  guiding  the  enactment  of 
tariff  legislation,  his  friends  being  those  re- 
sponsible for  important  laws  enacted  at  Wash- 
ington. While  he  wrote  vigorously  on  sub- 
jects of  local  interests  and  while  he  never 
hesitated  to  speak  plainly  about  matters  of 
local  discussion,  he  retained  the  friendship 
and  admiration  of  those  with  whom  he  had 
been  associated  here  and  his  death  caused  gen- 
eral regret  here  at  Bucyrus.  He  was  in  the 
sixties,  secretary  of  the  Crawford  County  Fair 
Association,  later  he  was  instrumental  in  or- 
ganizing the  Republican  Editorial  Association 
of  Ohio  and  was  its  first  president.  He  had 
many  friends  in  public  affairs,  both  at  Colum- 
bus and  in  Washington  and  found  much  pleas- 
ure in  his  advancement  of  the  big  affairs  of 
state  and  nation. 

Charles  R.  Hopley  was  a  veteran  of  the 
Civil  War,  having  served  in  a  Pennsylvania 
regiment.  He  later  traveled  a  great  deal  and 
spent  much  time  in  mining  developments,  in- 
cluding the  Black  Hills  excitement  and  the 
Yukon  rush  to  Alaska.  He  died  in  California, 
Jan.  19,  1909,  where  he  had  gone  for  the 
winter  to  escape  the  rigors  of  the  Alaskan 
winter. 


630 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


John  E.  Hopley  was  United  States  consul 
for  seven  years,  from  1898  to  1905,  five  years 
being  located  at  Southampton,  England,  and 
two  years  at  Montevideo,  Uruguay.  He  was 
associated  with  New  York  newspapers  for 
years  and  in  1887  established  the  Bucyrus 
Evening  Telegraph.  He  has  been  very  active 
in  politics. 

Thomas  P.  Hopley  was  educated  in  Bu- 
cyrus schools  and  established  the  Temperance 
Ballot,  a  newspaper  which  he  afterward 
changed  to  the  Crawford  County  News.  This 
lie  sold  in  1893  and  went  to  Oklahoma  where 
he  participated  in  the  opening  of  the  "strip" 
and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Enid,  still 
being  one  of  the  "boosters"  of  the  city. 

Mary  C.  C.  Hopley  is  associated  with  the 
Open  Door  Work  of  Willard  Hall  in  Chicago, 
and  devotes  much  time  to  newpaper  work. 

Georgia  E.  Hopley,  is  a  well  known  news- 
paper worker  and  has  done  much  important 
work  in  reporting  women's  activities  for  news- 
papers. She  retired  from  newspaper  work  to 
care  of  her  parents  during  their  last  illness 
and  later  became  the  head  of  the  famUy  home 
at  Bucyrus. 

Harriet  E.  Hopley  is  an  expert  proof- 
reader, having  been  employed  in  some  of  the 
most  particular  printing  offices  in  Chicago, 
where  she  resides. 

James  R.  Hopley  was  managing  editor  of 
the  Family  newspapers  up  to  the  time  he  was 
appointed  postmaster  at  Bucyrus. 

Frank  L.  Hopley  is  advertising  manager  of 
the  American  Clay  Machinery  Co.,  and  is  sec- 
retary and  manager  of  the  American  Clay 
Products  Exposition  at  Chicago.  Though  his 
home  is  at  Bucyrus  his  work  is  at  Chicago 
much  of  the  time. 

Joseph  W.  Hopley  was  a  war  correspond- 
ent with  the  Eighth  Ohio  regiment  in  Cuba. 
He  has  charge  of  the  newspaper  end  of  the 
business  of  The  Hopley  Printing  Company, 
of  which  organization  he  is  a  vice  president. 

FRANK  I.  RUHL,  a  successful  and  enter- 
prising business  man  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  who  has 
been  manager  of  the  large  mercantile  interests 
of  Elias  Blair  since  the  latter's  retirement  from 
active  participation  in  business,  has  been  iden- 
tified with  his  present  concern  ever  since  1893. 
He  was  born  at  Bucyrus,  December  16,  1859, 


the    youngest    child    of    Alexander    A.    and 
Amelia  M.  (Shawke)  Ruhl. 

The  Ruhl  family  is  of  German  ancestry.  It 
is  probable  that  the  grandfather,  Jacob  Ruhl, 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  came  to  Galion,' 
O.,  quite  early  and  at  one  time  had  large  inter- 
ests north  of  that  place.  Jacob  Ruhl  and  wife 
were  old  people  at  time  of  death  and  of  their 
large  family  there  is  one  survivor :  Mrs.  S.  G. 
Cummings,  who  is  the  wife  of  an  attorney  liv- 
ing at  Mansfield,  O. 

Alexander  A.  Ruhl  was  born  at  Galion,  O., 
April  4,  1828,  where  he  grew  to  manhood  and 
then  came  to  Bucyrus.  Here  he  became 
prominent  in  town  and  county  affairs,  was 
postmaster  during  the  fifties  and  was  county 
auditor,  county  treasurer  and  county  clerk. 
Politically  he  was  a  Democrat.  His  death  oc- 
curred in  1891.  He  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to 
Aurelia  M.  Shawke,  who  was  born  here  in 
1833  and  died  in  1906.  Her  parents  were 
Thomas  and  Esther  (Allbright)  Shawke,  the 
former  of  whom,  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  came 
here  in  1828,  when  it  was  nothing  but  a  mere 
hamlet.  Stories  are  still  told  of  his  remark- 
able strength  and  of  his  fondness  for  athletics 
and  all  manly  diversions  and  also  of  his  affec- 
tion for  children,  all  of  whom  returned  the 
sentiment.  The  Ruhls  and  the  Shawkes  have 
always  been  Methodists.  One  daughter  and 
two  sons  were  born  to  Alexander  A.  Ruhl  and 
wife,  namely:  Ida  B.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Louis 
Brower,  of  Bucyrus ;  George  S.,  who  conducts 
a  carriage  making  shop  at  Bucyrus,  who  mar- 
ried Nettie  Curran  and  has  one  son,  Frank  M.- ■ 
and  Frank  I. 

Frank  I.  Ruhl  was  reared  and  educated  at 
Bucyrus  and  was  graduated  in  1878.  In  1893 
he  became  a  clerk  for  Elias  Blair  in  his  hard- 
ware store  and  later  became  chief  clerk  and 
manager.  Mr.  Blair  has  placed  implicit  reli- 
ance in  him  for  the  past  twenty  years  and  has 
found  him  faithful  to  every  interest  and 
capable  of  handling  every  business  problem. 
Mr.  Ruhl  was  married  to  Anna,  a  daughter  of 
Mr.  Blair  in  May,  1891,  and  they  have  one  son, 
E.  Blair  Ruhl,  who  was  born  April  5,  1892. 
He  was  graduated  from  the  Bucyrus  High 
school  in  June,  191 1,  and  at  the  present  writ- 
ing is  a  student  in  the  Wittenberg  college  at 
Springfield,  O.  Mr  and  Mrs.  Ruhl  attend 
the  Lutheran  church. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


631 


JOHN  D.  PFOUTS,  a  leading  citizen  and 
township  trustee  of  Holmes  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  resides  on  his  farm  of  thirty- 
seven  and  one-half  acres,  which  he  largely  de- 
votes to  the  raising  of  fine  poultry.  He  was 
born  in  Lycoming  county,  Pa.,  but  has  been  a 
resident  of  Crawford  county  since  1856.  His 
parents  were  Robert  and  Jane  (Pursell) 
Pfouts. 

Robert  Pfouts  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  of 
German  parentage.  He  was  a  canal  boatman 
and  his  death  occurred  in  middle  life,  in  the 
infancy  of  his  son,  John  D.  The  mother  came 
to  Crawford  county  in  1856,  when  John  D. 
was  five  years  old,  and  she  survived  into  her 
sixty-fifth  year,  dying  on  her  son's  farm. 

John  D.  Pfouts  attended  the  country  schools 
until  old  enough  to  secure  employment  at  the 
old  Eagle  Works,  now  the  American  Clay  Ma- 
chinery plant,  at  Bucyrus,  and  three  years  la- 
ter became  interested  in  farm  work  and  has 
continued  in  that  line.  His  first  farm  of  forty 
acres  was  in  Liberty  township  but  he  has  lived 
on  his  present  place  for  many  years.  He  car- 
ries on  general  farming  but  makes  a  specialty 
of  raising  S.  C.  white  leghorn  chickens  for 
market,  and  growing  India  Runner  ducks.  He 
has  accommodations  on  his  place  for  some  800 
chickens  and  safely  carries  the  birds  over  win- 
ter. Giving  close  attention  to  this  industry, 
Mr.  Pfouts  has  made  it  a  very  profitable  one, 
the  demand  for  his  birds  always  exceeding  the 
supply.  He  has  made  all  the  improvements 
on  his  property  and  has  erected  all  the  present 
substantial  buildings. 

Mr.  Pfouts  married  Miss  Alice  Fralick  and 
they  have  two  sons :  Earl,  who  has  great  mu- 
sical talent  and  lives  in  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia; and  P.  R.,  who  is  a  rural  mail  carrier  out 
of  Bucyrus.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Jo- 
seph B.  Quaintance.  In  politics,  Mr.  Pfouts 
is  a  Democrat  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Na- 
tional Union.  He  is  a  representative  man  in 
Holmes  township  and  as  one  of  its  trustees 
looks  carefully  after  the  interests  of  all  resi- 
dents, and  probably  no  man  is  better  known  or 
more  highly  respected. 

EUGENE  VAN  VOORHIS,  deceased, 
was  born  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  March  4,  1854,  a  son 
of  Daniel  and  Eliza  (Hoffman)  Van  Voorhis, 
who  came  from  Mansfield,  O.,  to  this  section 


at  an  early  date.  Daniel  Van  Voorhis  was 
well  known  in  business  circles  at  Bucyrus, 
where  he  was  in  the  restaurant  line  for  many 
years  and  died  here  when  aged  sixty-five  years. 
His  widow  survived  him,  passing  away  in  Oc- 
tober, 191 1,  at  the  home  of  a  daughter,  Mrs. 
James  Hamilton,  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.  Of  their 
eight  children,  four  survive. 

Eugene  Van  Voorhis  was  the  eldest  of  his 
parents'  family  and  he  grew  to  manhood  at 
Bucyrus  and  spent  about  all  his  life  here  after 
learning  his  trade  of  tinner  and  working  for  a 
time  at  Sulphur  Springs  and  Bellefontaine. 
He  was  a  skilled  workman  and  completed 
many  important  contracts.  Politically  he  was 
a  Democrat  but  never  was  an  active  party 
worker,  and  the  only  fraternal  organization 
with  which  he  allied  himself  was  the  Royal 
Arcanum. 

In  1887  Mr.  Van  Voorhis  was  married  to 
Miss  Emma  Squier,  who  was  born  at  Sulphur 
Springs,  O.,  December  6,  1857,  where  she  was 
educated.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Dr.  John  B. 
and  Dorothy  (Hottel)  Squier.  Dr.  Squier 
was  born  at  Salem,  N.  Y.,  in  181 8,  coming  to 
this  state  three  years  later.  He  first  learned 
the  millwright  trade  but  afterward  became  a 
physician  and  practiced  many  years  at  Sulphur 
Springs  and  was  known  all  over  this  section. 
His  death  occurred  December  16,  1890.  Prior 
to  the  campaign  of  Hon.  Horace  Greeley  he 
was  a  Republican  but  afterward  identified  him- 
self with  the  Democracy.  He  was  a  power  in 
local  politics  and  during  the  Civil  war  was  a 
loyal  supporter  of  President  Lincoln.  A  pa- 
triotic poem  entitled  Old  Abe  Lincoln,  written 
about  this  time,  became  very  popular.  He 
was  an  acquaintance  of  that  strange  character 
known  as  Johnny  Appleseed.  He  was  thrice 
married.  Thomas  Corwin,  a  son  of  his  first 
union  became  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  where 
he  was  captured  by  the  Confederates  and  died 
a  prisoner  at  Andersonville,  Ga.  One  daugh- 
ter of  his  second  marriage  survives,  in  the  per- 
son of  Mrs.  Ella  Humiston  of  Sandusky,  O. 
His  third  happy  union  was  with  Dorothy  Hot- 
tel, who  was  born  at  Bristol,  Trumbull  county, 
O.,  November  14,  1830.  While  on  a  visit  in 
Crawford  county  she  became  acquainted  with 
Dr.  Squier  and  subsequently  married  him  and 
six  children  were  born  to  them :  Edgar  Allen, 
who  is  a  resident  of  Springfield,  O. ;  Emma, 


632 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


who  was  born  December  6,  1857;  Anna,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Dr.  Charles  F.  Sexauer,  a  physi- 
cian of  FrankHn,  O. ;  Flora,  deceased,  who 
was  the  wife  of  John  A.  Torrence,  of  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich. ;  Oscar  W.,  who  is  employed  in 
the  offices  of  the  Big  Four  Railroad,  at  Ken- 
ton, O. ;  and  Effie  S.,  deceased,  who  was  the 
wife  of  Thomas  Black,  of  Pittsburg  and  is 
survived  by  two  sons.  Mrs.  Black  was  the 
author  of  that  tender  little  book  of  poems  en- 
titled Heart  Whispers. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Voorhis  the  follow- 
ing children  were  born :  Charles  Fred,  who  is 
in  the  jewelry  business  at  Prospect,  O.,  and 
who  married  Nina  Kibler  and  have  one  daugh- 
•ter,  Dorothea;  Walter  S.,  a  graduate  of  the 
Bucyrus  High  school, — with  his  brothers 
Harry  V.  and  Donald  E., — who  is  chief  en- 
gineer and  draughtsman  for  the  American 
Dredge  Company  at  Seattle,  Wash. ;  Harry 
Victor,  who  formerly  was  agent  for  the  Adams 
Express  Company,  but  now  connected  with  the 
American  Clay  Machine  Company,  and  lives 
at  home ;  Paul  V. ;  and  Donald  E.,  who  is 
agent  for  the  Adams  Express  Company  at  Co- 
lumbia City,  Ind.,  and  who  married  Esther  L. 
Alleman,  of  Warsaw,  Ind.,  to  whom  one  son 
was  born,  David  Alleman.  Mrs.  Van  Voorhis 
and  sons  are  Presbyterians. 

HERMAN  F.  MILLER,  who  has  been  en- 
gaged in  the  fire  insurance  business  at  Bucy- 
rus, O.,  for  some  ten  years,  having  a  conveni- 
ent office  in  the  Miller  block,  which  was 
erected  by  his  father,  was  born  in  1853  in 
Crawford  county,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  John  G. 
and  Mary  (Krebe)  Miller. 

John  G.  Miller  was  born  in  Wertemberg, 
Germany,  in  1826,  where  his  parents  lived  and 
died.  His  father  was  a  baker  and  the  youth 
learned  the  business  and  worked  as  a  baker  in 
his  own  land  until  1852,  when  he  decided  to 
emigrate  to  the  United  States,  in  the  hope  of 
bettering  his  fortunes.  He  took  passage  on  a 
sailing  vessel  at  Bremenhaven,  Germany,  and 
after  a  long  voyage  was  safely  landed  at  the 
port  of  New  York.  In  the  following  year  he 
reached  the  village  of  Bucyrus  and  was  so 
pleased  with  the  people  that  he  decided  to  re- 
main here  although,  at  that  time,  he  found 
but  a  moderate  demand  for  bakery  goods,  the 
housewives  still  doing  much  of  their  own  bak- 


ing. Hence  he  found  that  by  attending  to  his 
oven  at  night,  after  working  at  different  things 
during  the  day,  he  could  supply  sufficient  bak- 
ery goods  for  his  customers,  and  for  a  long 
time  thus  did  business.  In  the  meanwhile  the 
excellence  of  his  bread,  pies  and  cakes  gained 
him  custom  and  slowly  but  surely  he  prospered 
and  finally  opened  a  bakery  shop  on  South 
Sandusky  street  and  made  baking  his  main 
business  and  continued  to  be  in  active  trade 
until*  his  death,  July  3,  1895.  In  1876  he 
erected  the  handsome  three-story  brick  block 
on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  Public  Square 
and  acquired  and  improved  much  other  prop- 
erty. He  was  a  Republican  in  politics  but  de- 
clined office,  attending  closely  to  his  business. 
For  many  years  he  was  a  consistent  member 
of  the  German  Methodist  church,  and  was  one 
of  the  most  respected  citizens  of  Bucyrus.  In 
Germany  he  married  Mary  Krebe,  who  was 
born  in  Wertemberg  in  1824.  She  accom- 
panied him  to  America  and  to  her  frugal  hab- 
its and  careful  management  he  attributed  much 
of  his  business  success.  She  has  reached  her 
eighty-seventh  birthday  and  her  many  friends 
hope  that  she  will  live  to  see  many  more.  But 
one  child  was  born  to  the  above  marriage,  Her- 
man F. 

Herman  F.  Miller  was  educated  at  Bucyrus 
and  then  learned  his  father's  trade  and  sub- 
sequently became  a  partner  in  the  business  and 
operated  it  until  1900,  when  he  disposed  of  it 
and  embarked  in  the  insurance  line  and  repre- 
sents a  number  of  standard  companies.  He 
has  never  been  greatly  interested  in  politics  but 
votes  with  the  Republican  party.  He  is  iden- 
tified fraternally  with  the  Masons  and  Elks. 

Mr.  Miller  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to  Miss 
Mary  Beal,  who  was  born  in  Bucyrus  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  June  4,  1876,  and  is  a 
daughter  of  Rev.  Isaac  and  Christiana  (Hurr) 
Beal,  natives  of  Germany  who  came  to 
America  when  young  and  were  reared  to  mar- 
riagable  age  in  Pennsylvania.  In  1843  they 
came  to  Crawford  county  and  settled  on  wild 
land  in  Bucyrus  township,  which  they  cleared, 
developed  and  improved  and  remained  on  their 
farm  until  1896,  when  they  retired  to  Bucyrus 
and  now  reside  in  great  comfort  in  their  home 
on  South  Sandusky  avenue.  Rev.  Beal,  now 
eighty-five  years  of  age,  for  thirty-five  years 
has    ministered    to    the    German    Methodist 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


633 


church  without  compensation.  His  wife  has 
passed  her  eighty-third  birthday.  They  are 
well  known  and  much  beloved  people.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Miller  have  had  two  children:  Rufus 
E.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seven  years;  and 
Lillian,  who  was  born  in  1877  and  is  the  wife 
of  E.  W.  Petrie,  of  Gallon,  O.,  and  has  one 
son,  Kenneth  Miller  Petrie. 

CHARLES  F.  HOOVER,  who  carries  on 
general  farming  and  stock-raising  in  Bucyrus 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  where  he  and 
wife  own  eighty-five  acres  of  valuable  land, 
additionally  operates  150  acres  belonging  to 
another  party.  Mr.  Hoover  is  a  native  of 
Crawford  county  and  was  born  in  Dallas 
township,  December  18,  1873,  and  is  a  son  of 
Christian  and  Lorena  (Kirby)  Hoover,  the 
former  of  whom  is  a  retired  farmer  of  Dallas 
township.  The  latter  died  December  8,  1910. 
Of  their  children,  Charles  F.  is  the  third  in 
order  of  birth,  the  others  being:  Ernest  B., 
Bardette  K.,  Maud,  and  Madge,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Arlington  L.  Blair. 

Charles  F.  Hoover  completed  the  common 
school  course  in  Dallas  township  and  then 
became'  a  student  in  the  Ohio  Northern  Uni- 
versity, at  Ada,  O.,  remaining  for  three  years, 
after  which  he  taught  school  in  Crawford 
county  for  about  twelve  years.  Since  retiring 
from  the  educational  field  he  has  devoted  him- 
self entirely  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  is 
nvimbered  with  the  progressive  and  successful 
farmers  of  this  section. 

In  October,  1897,  Mr.  Hoover  was  married 
to  Miss  Elnora  Kerr,  who  was  born  in  Bucy- 
rus township,  on  the  present  farm  of  herself 
and  husband,  and  is  a  daughter  of  George  T. 
and  Lydia  (Eckelberry)  Kerr,  early  settlers 
of  the  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kerr  had  the 
following  children :  Bertie,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Irvin  Dickey;  Elnora,  who  is  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Hoover;  Beva,  who  is  the  wife  of  Fred  J.  Al- 
bright; Clementine,  who  is  the  wife  of  J.  W. 
Hudson:  Ava,  who  is  the  wife  of  Floyd  Hull, 
and  Walter  J.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hoover  have  the 
following  children :  Helen,  Wayne,  Clifford, 
Marjorie  and  Doris  Lillian.  Mr.  Hoover  and 
family  attend  the  United  Brethren  church. 
He  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  sentiments 
and  while  living  in  Dallas  township,  served 
three  terms  as  township  clerk.    He  is  identified 


with  but  one  fraternal  organization,  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  attending  at  Bucyrus  and 
taking  much  interest  in  the  order. 

FRANK  PIGMAN,  an  able  member  of  the 
bar  at  Gallon,  O.,  of  which  city  he  has  been  a 
resident  since  1907,  was  born  at  Coshocton,  O., 
March  24,  1874. 

From  the  public  schools  of  his  native  place, 
Mr.  Pigman  entered  the  Northern  Ohio  Uni- 
versity at  Ada,  where  he  was  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1899,  thereafter  entering  the  Univer- 
sity of  Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor,  where  he 
a  teacher  in  the  schools  of  Coshocton,  where 
he  served  for  five  years,  also  as  a  member  of 
the  board  of  school  examiners,  and  later  was 
an  instructor  in  a  military  school  at  Chicago. 
In  1905  he  was  graduated  from  the  Chicago 
Law  college  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
the  same  year  and  became  associated  in  the 
practice  of  law  with  David  K.  Tone.  In  1907 
he  came  to  Galion  and  entered  into  partner- 
ship with  J.  W.  Covilter,  whose  death  occurred 
in  1910  and  who  had  been  a  member  of  the 
Galion  bar  since  1865.  Since  that  time  Mr. 
Pigman  has  practiced  alone  and  in  addition  to 
private  clients  he  is  the  local  attorney  for  the 
Erie  railroad. 

Politically  Mr.  Pigman  is  a  Democrat  and  as 
a  citizen  having  the  best  interests  of  the  com- 
munity at  heart,  is  active  in  promoting  move- 
ments which  promise  better  conditions  along 
every  line.  He  is  a  Royal  Arch  Mason  and  be- 
longs also  to  the  Elks  and  the  Knights  of 
Pythias.  Mr.  Pigman  is  unmarried.  He  owns 
what  is  probably  the  most  complete  law  library 
in  Crawford  county,  which  includes  all  the 
Ohio  reports  together  with  hundreds  of  books 
that  are  authorities  on  law. 

DAVIS  W.  HILLIS,  a  veteran  of  the  great 
Civil  war  and  an  honored  and  widely  known 
citizen  of  this  section  of  Ohio,  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  Galion  since  1900,  when  he  retired  and 
purchased  his  comfortable  residence  at  No. 
879  East  Walnut  street.  He  was  born  in  Fair- 
field county,  O.,  July  20,  1850,  and  is  a  son  of 
James  Franklin  and  Eleanor  (Turner)  Hillis. 

James  F.  Hillis  was  born  in  Maryland  and 
died  in  Wyandot  county,  O.,  in  February, 
1897,  when  aged  seventy-seven  years.  He  was 
married   in   Fairfield  county,   O.,  to  Eleanor 


634 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Turner,  who  was  born  at  Circleville,  O.,  where 
she  attended  school  and  in  childhood  was  a 
playmate  of  Philip  Sheridan,  later  the  dis- 
tinguished military  hero.  After  marriage,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hillis  moved  to  Upper  Sandusky  and 
from  185 1  until  death,  they  lived  in  Wyandot 
county,  Mrs.  Hillis  surviving  her  husband  for 
but  six  weeks.  He  was  a  farmer  and  stock 
raiser  and  a  solid,  representative  man  and  pa- 
triotic citizen.  Early  in  the  Civil  war  he  be- 
came a  member  of  the  83rd  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  as 
a  private  but  later  was  made  hospital  sergeant 
as  he  had  medical  knowledge  from  having 
given  some  attention  to  medical  study  in  his 
earlier  years.  While  with  General  Sherman's 
command  on  the  great  march  to  the  sea,  he 
contracted  yellow  fever  at  Newberne,  N.  C. 
He  was  in  an  unconscious  condition  when  he 
was  sent  north  and  was  discharged  from  the 
service  on  account  of  disability,  but  finally  was 
nursed  back  to  health  and  lived  many  years 
afterward.  Three  children  made  up  his  fam- 
ily :  Elizabeth,  Sarah  A.  and  Davis  W.  Eliza- 
beth died  in  girlhood.  Sarah  A.,  who  is  one  of 
the  most  highly  esteemed  residents  of  Akron, 
O.,  where  she  owns  a  beautiful  home,  for 
twenty-five  years  as  a  valued  teacher  in  that 
city.  She  is  a  graduate  of  several  well  known 
institutions,  afterward  making  educational 
work  her  leading  interest,  and  in  recognition 
of  her  scholarship  and  of  her  faithfulness  as 
a  teacher,  she  has  been  presented  with  many 
medals  and  other  testimonials. 

Perhaps  Davis  W.  Hillis  was  one  of  the 
youngest  soldiers  of  the  Civil  war,  for  he  had 
not  yet  passed  his  fifteenth  birthday  when  he 
succeeded  in  enlisting  at  Upper  Sandusky,  in 
Co.  I,  192nd  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  took  part  in  all 
the  hardships  of  this  command  until  he  was 
honorably  discharged,  September  7,  1865,  at 
Winchester,  Va.  He  took  part  in  many  minor 
engagements  and  skirmishes  and  saw  many  of 
his  comrades  fall  and  once  was  wounded  in  the 
knee,  at  Halltown,  Va.  His  worst  experience, 
howe\'er,  was  when  he  was  captured,  when 
coming  down  the  Shenandoah  river,  by  a  band 
of  General  Mosby's  guerrillas,  and  for  eleven 
days  was  forced  to  march  with  them  in  his 
bare  feet  and  \\hen  they  released  him  it  was 
not  until  they  had  taken  all  his  clothes.  All 
this  hardship  and  indignity  was  visited  on  him 
after  peace  was  declared,  but  he  was  in  the 


enemy's  country,  and  at  that  time  defenseless. 
After  he  returned  to  Ohio  he  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  stock  raising  and  was  interested  in  de- 
veloping race  horses  for  a  time.  In  1872  he 
located  at  Bucyrus  and  continued  to  live  there 
until  1900,  when  he  came  to  Gallon,  where  he 
has  lived  as  stated  above.  He  is  a  valued 
member  of  Keller  Post,  G.  A.  R.  at  Bucyrus. 

Mr.  Hillis  was  married  in  Holmes  township, 
Crawford  county,  by  Rev.  J.  Crouse,  to  Miss 
Susaij  M.  Sell,  a  member  of  an  old  family, 
who  was  born  there  January  7,  1849,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  and  Rebecca  (McBride)  Sell. 
The  father  of  Mrs.  Hillis  was  born  in  Stark 
county,  O.,  where  his  people  were  early  set- 
tlers. ■  He  married  Rebecca  McBride,  whose 
ancestry  was  of  Virginia,  old  Revolutionary 
stock,  and  at  the  time  of  marriage  she  was  a 
teacher  in  Crawford  county.  The  Sells  later 
moved  on  a  farm  which  they  developed  and 
improved  and  there  Mrs.  Sell  died  May  i, 
1895,  aged  eighty-one  years,  having  survived 
her  husband  since  1874.  She  had  been  reared 
in  the  Society  of  Friends  but  later  united  with 
the  Lutherans,  while  he  was  a  life-long  Meth- 
odist. One  of  their  sons,  Isaac  D.  Sell,  who 
now  is  a  resident  of  Troy,  Kans.,  was  a  valiant 
soldier  in  the  Civil  war.  Jeremiah  Sell  is  a 
resident  of  a  western  state;  Newton,  another 
son,  lives  in  Oklahoma,  while  another  son,  Ja- 
cob A.,  is  a  Baptist  minister  located  at  Cleve- 
land, O.  Mrs.  Hillis  has  three  sisters :  Anna, 
who  married  John  Hill,  resides  at  Gallon  and 
they  have  three  children;  Mary  Ellen,  who 
lives  in  Holmes  township,  unmarried;  and 
Jennie,  who  lives  on  the  old  Sell  homestead, 
married  but  has  no  children. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hillis  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born:  Jay  J.,  who  died  in  infancy; 
Franklin  T.,  who  lives  with  his  family  on  a 
farm  in  Jefferson  township;  William  D.  W.,  a 
railroad  man  residing  at  Cleveland,  who  is  an 
ex-soldier  of  the  Spanish- American  war,  and 
has  a  wife  and  five  children;  Emmor  G.,  who 
served  with  his  brother  in  the  same  company 
in  the  Spanish-American  war,  and  is  also  a 
railroad  man  and  lives  at  Cleveland  with  wife 
and  one  child ;  Ella  J.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Hor- 
ace Warrick,  of  Whetstone  township,  and  has 
one  son ;  James  A.  G.,  who  is  a  contractor  at 
Gallon,  and  has  one  son ;  Pearl  B.,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Edward  Couts  of  Bucjrrus,  and  has 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


635 


one  daughter;  and  Earl  R.,- who  is  employed 
in  the  match  factory  at  Barberton,  O.  The 
children  of  William  D.  W.  and  Emmor  G. 
Hillis  have  the  honor  of  having  a  great- 
grandfather and  a  grandfather  who  served  in 
the  Civil  war  and  fathers  who  were  in  the 
Spanish-American  war.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis 
W.  Hillis  are  members  of  the  Christian  church. 

JACOB  HIEBER,  whose  model  farm  of 
loi  acres  lies  seven  miles  northeast  of  Bucy- 
rus,  O.,  in  Liberty  township,  was  born  on  this 
farm  in  1875,  and  is  a  son  of  Frederick  and 
Lydia  (Lust)  Hieber.  The  Hieber  family  is 
of  German  extraction  on  both  sides  and  the 
father  of  Jacob  Hieber  was  born  in  Germany, 
while  the  mother  was  born  in  Lykens  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  of  German  parents. 
Ten  children  were  born  to  them,  namely: 
Frederick  W.,  Elizabeth,  Samuel,  Benjamin, 
Joseph,  Jacob,  Sarah,  Isaac,  Sophia  and  Reu- 
ben. 

Jacob  Hieber  was  educated  in  the  district 
schools.  He  remained  at  home  and  operated 
the  home  farm  until  he  purchased  the  same 
in  1908,  since  which  time  he  has  made  many 
excellent  improvements  and  it  may  now  be 
numbered  with  the  model  farms  of  the  town- 
ship. 

Mr.  Hieber  has  a  pleasant  family  circle.  He 
married  Miss  Louisa  Kafer,  who  is  a  daughter 
of  Jacob  and  Magdalina  (Shealy)  Kafer,  old 
residents  of  Crawford  county,  and  they  have 
had  two  children :  Winfield  Jacob,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  two  and  one-half  years;  and  John 
Frederick,  who  resides  at  home.  Mr.  Hieber 
and  wife  are  members  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church.  He  is  an  intelligent,  wide  awake  citi- 
zen and  as  such  is  interested  in  publig  affairs  in 
his  neighborhood.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics. 

CHARLES  P.  BRYANT.  The  Bryant 
family  according  to  the  earliest  records  that 
have  been  discovered,  originated  in  Holland 
and  possibly  went  to  that  country  from  Eng- 
land. Simeon  Bryant  was  born  in  Holland  at 
the  close  of  the  i6th  century.  At  an  early  age 
he  came  to  the  American  colonies  and  settled 
at  Hackensack,  N.  J.,  and  about  1617  he  lo- 
cated at  Springfield,  N.  J.     His  family  con- 


tained four  sons :  Simeon,  Jr.,  Hannes,  Sam- 
uel and  John. 

Simeon  Bryant,  Jr.;  {he  progenitor  of 
Charles  P.  Bryant,  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  was  born 
in  1 7 10.  He  married  Hannah  Searing  and 
they  had  eleven  children,  the  ninth  being  Da- 
vid, the  grandfather  of  Charles  P.  Bryant. 

David  Bryant  was  born  in  1756,  in  New 
Jersey  and  he  participated  in  the  Revolution- 
ary war.  The  official  record  shows  that  for 
one  month  in  1776  he  served  as  a  private  min- 
ute man.  Captain  Joseph  Horton's  Company, 
First  Regiment,  Essex  County  Militia,  and  la- 
ter served  eight  days  more  in  the  same  com- 
pany and  between  1776  and  1779,  served  an 
additional  three  months  in  the  same  company 
and  regiment.  Afterward  he  served  seven 
monthly  tours  under  Capt.  Joseph  Horton  dur- 
ing the  continuance  of  the  war,  and  he  par- 
ticipated in  the  battles  of  Springfield,  Farm- 
ers and  Elizabeth.  This  brave  man  and  pa- 
triot married  Catherine  Wooley,  a  daughter 
of  Major  Abram  Wooley,  who  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  U.  S.  garrison  holding  Fort  Du- 
buque, now  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  and  he  was  al- 
lowed a  pension.  In  1791  he  moved  to  Wash- 
ington county.  Pa.,  and  in  1816  came  to  Knox 
county,  O.,  locating  near  Mt.  Vernon.  Fif- 
teen children  were  born  to  him.  At  the  age 
of  eighty  years  he  was  still  a  man  of  such 
robustness  and  vigor  that  he  did  not  hesitate 
to  undertake  new  enterprises,  one  of  these  be- 
ing the  establishment  of  a  new  home  at  Crown 
Point,  near  Hebron,  Ind.  This  proposed  un- 
dertaking Mr.  Bryant,  however,  did  not  live 
to  complete,  his  death  occurring  on  the  way,  at 
Fort  Wayne,  Ind.  His  widow  survived  him 
only  four  days.  They  were  people  widely 
known  and  of  the  highest  merit. 

Isaac  Bryant,  the  third  born  in  the  family  of 
fifteen  children,  was  born  June  18,  1786.  He 
married  Maria  Fisher,  a  daughter  of  Freder- 
ick and  Catherine  (Quigley)  Fisher,  the  for- 
mer a  native  of  France  and  the  latter  of  Ire- 
land. The  Fishers  lived  at  Utica,  N.  Y.,  where 
Mr.  Fisher  was  interested  in  the  manufacture 
of  rope  but  he  lost  his  rope-walk  by  fire  and 
this  deprived  him  of  his  resources.  After  his 
death  Mrs.  Fisher  moved  to  Kentucky  where 
her  death  occurred.  At  the  time  of  marriage, 
Isaac  Bryant  was  fifty-seven  years  of  age  and 


37 


636 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


was  over  seventy  years  of  age  when  his  ninth 
child  was  born,  his  death  occurring  two  years 
later  in  1859.  At  the  time  of  marriage  he  was 
at  Circleville,  O.,  but  later  moved  to  Little 
Wyandot,  where  he  remained.  In  politics  he 
was  a  Democrat  and  was  well  known  in  his 
day.  His  widow,  born  November  7,  1819, 
died  May  4,  1890.  She  was  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  a  woman  of  admirable 
character.  To  Isaac  Bryant  and  wife  the  fol- 
lowing children  were  born:  Isaac  and  Freder- 
ick, both  of  whom  died  in  infancy ;  Catherine ; 
John,  who  died  in  1884,  aged  thirty-five  years, 
who  married  and  had  two  children;  Maria 
M.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years; 
Ann,  who  died  in  infancy;  Jennie  W.,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Frank  Sheckler;  Charles  P.,  and 
Benjamin  F.,  who  married  and  lives  in  Idaho. 
Charles  P.  Bryant  was  born  in  Wyandot 
county,  O.,  November  27,  1855,  where  he  was 
reared  and  was  carefully  educated,  his  par- 
ents providing  a  governess  for  their  children, 
a  highly  educated  lady.  In  1880  he  came  to 
Bucyrus  and  began  the  study  of  surveying  and 
mastered  the  useful  branch  of  knowledge  and 
accompanied  surveyors  on  many  trips  in  or- 
der that  he  might  have  plenty  of  practical  ex- 
perience. Afterward  he  was  appointed  city 
engineer  and  still  later  was  made  deputy  sur- 
veyor under  Surveyor  H.  E.  Valentine,  serv- 
ing under  that  official  until  September,  1894, 
when  he  became  deputy  to  Surveyor  Flick- 
inger,  under  whom  he  served  six  years.  In 
1900  Mr.  Bryant  was  elected  surveyor  of 
Crawford  county,  assuming  the  duties  of  the 
same  in  1901  and  served  as  surveyor  until 
1907,  when  he  again  became  deputy,  Charles 
A.  Guiss  being  elected  surveyor,  and  was  with 
Surveyor  Guiss  until  the  expiration  of  the 
latter's  term  in  September,  1910.  Mr.  Bryant 
is  one  of  the  leading  Democrats  of  the  county 
and  has  served  as  a  delegate  to  both  Senatorial 
and  Congressional  conventions  many  times  and 
for  two  years  was  secretary  of  the  Crawford 
County  Democratic  Central  committee.  For 
twenty-five  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  P)rthias  and  thereby  has  earned  a 
Knight's  medal.  He  belongs  also  to  the  Eagles 
of  which  organization  he  has  been  past  worthy 
president  and  is  a  trustee  and  charter  member. 
Mr.  Bryant  became  interested  in  the  Elks  at 
the  time  of  its  organization  in  1894  and  has 


been  an   active  and   interested  member  ever 
since.    Mr.  Bryant  has  never  married. 

GEORGE  C.  MAYER,  whose  well  culti- 
vated farm  of  eighty  acres  lies  four  miles  west 
of  Bucyrus,  O.,  this  location  giving  him  an 
easy  market  for  his  produce,  was  bom  at  Wit- 
tenberg, Germany,  June  23,  1876,  and  is  a  son 
of  Jacob  and  Barbara  (Swenck)  Mayer,  both 
of  whom  still  reside  in  Germany,  where  the 
father  is  a  farmer  and  a  carpenter.  The  fam- 
ily is  one  of  nine  children  and  three  of  them 
live  in  America. 

George  C.  Mayer  obtained  his  education  in 
Germany  and  remained  in  his  native  land  un- 
til 1903,  when  he  came  to  the  United  States 
and  ever  since  locating  in  Ohio  has  been  en- 
gaged in  farming,  first  in  Jefferson  township, 
Crawford  county,  and  since  1905  on  his  pres- 
ent place  in  Holmes  township.  Here  he  made 
all  the  improvements,  even  erecting  his  com- 
fortable residence.  He  is  a  hard-working, 
prudent,  sensible  man  and  is  prospering. 

In  October,  1900,  Mr.  Mayer  was  married 
to  Miss  Emma  Steinhilder,  a  daughter  of 
Francis  Steinhilder,  who  is  a  substantial 
farmer  of  Tod  township.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mayer  are  members  of  the  Martin  Luther 
church  in  Tod  township.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mayer  have  no  children.  Their  one  son, 
Francis  Wesley,  who  was  bom  July  10,  1902, 
lived  not  quite  two  years,  dying  May  15,  1904. 
Mr.  Mayer  has  become  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  and  has  identified  himself  politically 
with  the  Democratic  party. 

GEORGE  M.  BIRK,  Ph.  D.,  of  the  drug 
firm  of  Birk  Bros.,  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  located  at 
No.  4  Opera  House  block,  was  bom  at  Bucy- 
rus, February  25,  1869,  and  is  a  son  of  John 
G.  and  Joanna  (Kuhn)  Birk,  and  a  grandson 
of  John  G.  Birk,  who  came  from  Germany  to 
Ohio  in  1849,  one  of  that  notable  band  of 
patriots  which  included  such  men  as  Mr.  Birk 
and  the  late  Gen.  Carl  Schurz,  both  of  whom 
became  honored  citizens  of  their  adopted 
country. 

George  M.  Birk  attended  school  at  Bucyrus 
through  his  boyhood  but,  unlike  several  of  his 
brothers,  did  not  incline  to  leara  the  father's 
trade  of  hamessmaking.  He  seemed  to  have 
natural  talent  in  the  direction  of  chemistry 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


637 


and  by  himself  followed  a  course  of  reading 
along  that  line  although  he  never  had  any  col- 
legiate training.  In  1885  he  went  to  Ne- 
braska and  there  passed  the  strict  examina- 
tion demanded  by  the  State  Board  of  Phar- 
macy, and  in  1889,  two  years  before  he  had 
reached  his  majority,  he  was  licensed  to  prac- 
tice. In  1892  he  returned  to  Bucyrus  and  in 
the  same  year  associated  himself  with  his  older 
brother,  Hon.  Christian  F.  Birk,  in  the  drug 
business  and  for  twenty  years  he  has  been  at 
the  head  of  his  present  store.  This  is  the  third 
oldest  drug  store  in  this  city,  having  been 
started  in  1878  by  A.  C.  Lewis,  who  operated 
it  until  1892,  when  the  present  firm  took  pos- 
session. They  not  only  carry  a  complete  line 
of  pure  drugs  and  honest  proprietary  rem- 
edies, but  all  the  sundries  to  be  found  in  a  first 
class  establishment  of  its  kind  and  addition- 
ally have  a  side  line  in  wall  paper. 

George  M.  Birk  married  Miss  Florence  Mae 
Eckhart,  who  was  born  at  Marion,  O.,  a 
daughter  of  William  H.  and  Julia  C.  (Martin) 
Eckhart,  the  former  of  whom  was  bom  in 
Pennsylvania  and  the  latter  in  Ohio,  both  of 
German  parents.  Mr.  Eckhart  died  in  Marion 
county,  O.,  at  the  age  of  fifty  years,  while  his 
widow  makes  her  home  with  her  daughter, 
Mrs.  Birk,  who  was  an  only  child.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Birk  have  one  daughter,  Kathryn  Eck- 
hart, who  was  born  May  12,  1898.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Birk  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the 
Masons,  the  Elks,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and 
the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  Politically  he  is 
a  Democrat. 

WILLIAM  SIDNEY  SWENEY,  who 
owns  and  carefully  cultivates  the  old  home- 
stead farm  of  61  acres,  which  is  situated  in 
Whetstone  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
was  born  on  this  farm,  June  28,  1850,  and  is  a 
son  of  John  L.  and  Jane  (McCurdy)  Sweney. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Sweney  was  of  Ccotch- 
Irish  parentage  but  was  born  in  Adams  county. 
Pa.,  near  the  historic  city  of  Gettysburg.  He 
came  to  Crawford  county  in  early  manhood 
and  followed  farming  and  stock  raising  as  long 
as  he  lived,  he  and  wife  both  now  resting  in 
the  Stewart  cemetery.  She  was  born  in 
Franklin  county,  Pa.,  and  was  also  young 
when  she  came  to  this  section  and  subsequently 


was  married  to  John  L.  Sweney.  They  had 
the  following  children  born  to  them:  James 
Addison;  Sarah  Elizabeth,  who  died  when 
aged  twenty-four  years;  Martha  Jane,  John 
W.,  Isaac  Newton,  Nancy  Louise  and  Thomas 
Leander,  all  of  whom  are  deceased;  and  Wil- 
liam Sidney,  the  youngest  born.  The  latter's 
paternal  grandfather  was  John  Sweney.  His 
maternal  grandfather,  James  McCurdy,  was 
one  of  the  three  first  elders  in  the  First  Pres-, 
byterian  church  at  Bucyrus. 

William  S.  Sweney  was  not  quite  satis- 
fied when  he  had  completed  the  common  school 
course  and  therefore  spent  one  term  at  Leba- 
non, O.,  after  which  he  willingly  returned  to 
the  farm,  where  he  has  led  a  contented  and 
prosperous  life  ever  since.  He  assisted  his 
father  until  the  latter's  death  and  then  took  en- 
tire charge  of  the  homestead  and  carries  on  a 
general  farming  line  and  raises  enough  stock 
for  his  own  use. 

Mr.  Sweney  was  married  (first)  to  Miss 
Margaret  Ellen  Hess,  who  died  March  29, 
1888,  a  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Mary  (Hen- 
ery)  Hess.  Three  children  were  born  to  this 
union:  Alva  May,  who  is  the  wife  of  Earl 
Preston;  Edgar  Blaine,  and  a  babe  that  died. 
On  May  14,  1891,  Mr.  Sweney  was  married 
(second)  to  Miss  Anna  Crall,  a  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Julia  Crall,  farmers  in  Liberty 
township,  well  known  people.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sweney  attend  the  Lutheran  church.  He  has 
always  been  identified  with  the  Republican 
party  but  has  been  no  seeker  for  office,  but  is 
one  of  the  township's  steady  and  reliable  men. 

CHARLES  E.  GEIGER,  a  well  known 
business  man  of  Bucyrus,  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Dobbins  &  Geiger,  wholesale  and  retail 
dealers  in  live  stock,  meats,  sausages  and  fish, 
doing  all  their  own  butchering  and  manufac- 
turing, was  born  at  Sandusky,  O.,  January  6, 
1879,  and  is  a  son  of  John  E.  and  Adelia 
(Barbarick)  Geiger. 

John  E.  Geiger  was  born  at  Sandusky,  a  son 
of  Rudolph  Geiger,  who  was  born  in  Germany. 
After  coming  to  the  United  States  the  latter 
followed  the  brickmaking  trade  at  Sandusky 
for  some  years  and  then  purchased  a  farm  in 
Huron  county  on  which  he  lived  during  the 
rest  of  his  life,  his  death  occurring  at  the  age 
of  seventy-nine  years.     For  many  years  John 


638 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


E.  Geiger  has  been  a  substantial  business  man 
of  Sandusky,  where  he  now  Hves.  He  mar- 
ried Adelia  Barbarick,  also  a  native  of  Ohio 
and  they  had  five  children,  four  surviving. 

Charles  E.  Geiger  attended  school  at  San- 
dusky and  secured  a  commercial  course  in  one 
of  the  business  colleges  before  he  entered  into 
business  for  himself.  His  father  was  a 
butcher  and  market  man  and  he  has  been  in 
the  business  more  or  less  all  his  life.  The  pres- 
ent Bucyrus  house  is  an  old  one,  started  about 
forty  years  ago  and  for  some  time  prior  to  Mr. 
Geiger's  interest  in  it,  the  name  was  Snavely 
&  Dobbins.  The  present  style  has  been'  in 
operation  for  the  past  twelve  years.  Both 
partners  are  practical  butchers  and  reliable 
business  men  and  they  have  a  large  trade  and 
their  business  is  on  a  substantial  foundation. 

Mr.  Geiger  was  married  in  1904  to  Miss  Lil- 
lian Ehrhart,  who  died  eight  months  after- 
ward. He  was  married  secondly  to  Miss  Co- 
lette Kronenbarger,  who  was  born  in  Craw- 
ford county  and  educated  at  Bucyrus.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Geiger  are  members  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church.  He  belongs  to  the  fraternal 
order  of  Eagles.  In  public  matters  Mr.  Geiger 
has  shown  himself  an  earnest  and  public  spir- 
ited citizen  and  was  elected  alderman  at  large 
on  the  Democratic  ticket,  in  which  office  he  is 
at  present  serving. 

DAVID  B.  EICHELBERGER,  a  well 
known  man  in  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  a 
leading  citizen  of  Sandusky  township,  resides 
on  one  of  his  several  farms,  eight  and  one- 
half  miles  northeast  of  Bucyrus,  O.  He  was 
bom  in  1846,  in  Crawford  county  and  is  a 
son  of  Isaac  H.  and  Catherine  (Bibler) 
Eichelberger. 

Isaac  H.  Eichelberger  was  born  in  Virginia 
but  came  to  Ohio  when  three  years  old;  his 
wife  was  born  in  Ohio.  The  following  chil- 
dren were  bom  to  them:  Charles,  Sarah, 
Rebecca,  Catherine,  Casper,  Isaac,  Oscar, 
Elizabeth,  Noah  and  David  B. 

David  B.  Eichelberger  grew  up  on  his 
father's  farm  and  in  boyhood  attended  the 
district  schools  with  his  brothers  and  sisters, 
all  of  whom  survived  infancy  except  Noah 
and  Elizabeth.  Mr.  Eichelberger  owns  a 
great  amount  of  land,  some  400  acres,  fer- 
tile and  well  improved,  and  its  value  is  an- 


nually increasing.  He  has  additional  inter- 
ests, being  a  director  in  the  Farmers  &  Citi- 
zens Bank  at  Bucyrus  and  is  the  adjuster  for 
the  Farmers'  Fire  Insurance  Company  of 
Crawford  county. 

Mr.  Eichelberger  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Elizabeth  J.  Decker,  who  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Aaron  and  Nancy  (Bishop)  Decker,  and 
six  children  have  been  born  to  them:  Elta, 
Ladema,  Williard,  Edgar,  James  and  Cora. 
EltaMs  the  wife  of  Alexander  Smith,  a  pros- 
perous farmer  in  Sandusky  township,  and  they 
have  four  children:  Lester,  Wayne,  Ivan  and 
Edgar.  Ladema  married  C.  L.  Laughbaum 
and  they  have  five  children :  Emmerson,  Glenn, 
Charles,  Jennie  and  Donald,  the  family  home 
being  in  Auburn  township.  Williard  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Whetstone  township;  He  married 
Elizabeth  Sherer  and  they  have  two  children : 
Miriam  and  Loren.  Edgar  is  a  farmer  in  San- 
dusky township,  married  Fannie  Crider  and 
they  have  three  children:  Helen,  Mildred  and 
Florence.  James  is  a  farmer  in.  Sandusky 
township,  married  Jessie  Littler  and  has  two 
children :  Elden  and  Dale.  Cora  is  the  wife  of 
Charles  McKeehen  and  has  three  children- 
Lois,  Wendell  and  Orlo — and  they  reside  in 
Sandusky  township.  Mrs.  Eichelberger's 
father  was  bom  in  New  Jersey  and  her  mother 
in  Ashland  county,  O.  She  has  two  brothers 
and  one  sister,  namely:  James,  who  married 
Alice  Briggs  and  lives  in  Crawford  county; 
John,  a  resident  of  Bucyrus,  who  married  Mary 
SteifHe ;  and  Melvina,  who  is  the  wife  of  Emer 
Swonger  and  lives  in  Arkansas.  Mr.  Eichel- 
berger and  family  are  members  and  liberal 
supporters  of  the  English  Lutheran  church. 

FRED  F.  HARTER,  who  carries  on  gen- 
eral farming  and  moderate  stock  raising  on  his 
sixty  acres  of  valuable  land,  situated  one  mile 
east  of  Oceola,  O.,  is  a  son  of  the  late  Cap- 
tain J.  H.  Harter,  and  was  born  in  1868,  at 
Nevada,  O. 

Fred  F.  Harter  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Nevada  and  Oceola,  O.,  and  for 
twelve  years  afterward  taught  school  in 
Crawford  county,  and  was  considered  an  ex- 
cellent educator.  As  his  father  then  needed 
his  assistance  he  engaged  in  farming  the  home 
place  and  in  1898  came  to  his  present  farm 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


639 


where  he  erected  a  modern  residence  and  made 
other  substantial  improvements. 

Mr.  Harter  married  Miss  Kitty  Steiner, 
who  was  born  in  Crawford  county,  and  they 
have  three  children :  John  R.,  William  F.  and 
Stephen  F.  In  politics,  Mr.  Harter  is  a  pro- 
nounced Republican  and  at  present  is  serving 
on  the  school  board.  Fraternally  he  is  iden- 
tified with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Wood- 
men and  the  J.  O.  U.  A.  M.  With  his  family 
he  belongs  to  the  United  Brethren  church. 

HUGH  McFARQUHAR,  a  retired  ma- 
chinist and  one  of  Gallon's  highly  respected 
citizens,  was  born  in  Inverness,  Scotland,  Jan- 
uary 12,  1838,  and  is  a  son  of  Duncan  and  Isa- 
bella (Frazier")  McFarquhar. 

The  parets  of  Mr.  McFarquhar  were  born 
in  Scotland  and  the  father  followed  the  trade 
of  stone  cutter  until  his  death  in  1847,  when 
aged  sixty  years.  His  widow  subsequently 
crossed  the  ocean  to  Canada  and  died  at  To- 
ronto. They  were  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian church.  Of  their  family  of  two  sons 
and  four  daughters,  one  son  and  one  daughter 
.  survive :  Hugh  and  Margaret,  the  latter  being 
the  wife  of  Frank  Holder,  of  Chicago,  111., 
where  they  have  a  son  and  daughter. 

Hugh  McFarquhar  was  the  youngest  born 
of  the  family.  In  1854  when  he  accompanied 
his  mother  to  Canada,  he  was  sixteen  years  of 
age  and  his  school  days  were  over.  They 
joined  other  members  of  the  family  who  were 
at  Toronto  and  Hugh  soon  was  apprenticed  to 
learn  the  machinist's  trade.  After  completing 
his  apprenticeship  he  went  to  Dunkirk,  N.  Y., 
and  was  chief  machinist  for  two  years  with 
the  Erie  railroad  and  then  settled  at  Gallon  and 
became  a  machinist  for  the  Atlantic  &  Great 
Western,  now  the  Erie  Railway,  with  which  he 
was  identified  more  or  less  continuously  since 
■1875.  For  over  twenty  years  he  was  at  the 
head  of  the  gang  and  foreman  in  the  locomo- 
tive building  department,  a  man  always  to  be 
depended  upon,  steady,  efficient  and  faithful 
to  his  employers. 

At  Litchfield,  111.,  Nov.  3,  1864,  Mr.  Mc- 
Farquhar was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Tan- 
nock,  who  was  born  in  Ayreshire,  Scotland, 
July  28,  1843,  and  was  seven  years  old  when 
her  father  brought  her  to  America.  He  had 
been  dispatched  to  Paterson,   N.   J.,   to  take 


charge  of  a  department  in  the  Rogers  Loco- 
motive Works,  and  later,  for  five  years  was 
foreman  in  the  Erie  Railway  shops  at  Sus- 
quehannah,  Pa.,  removing  from  there  to  St. 
Thomas,  Canada,  later  to  Guelph.  During  the 
Civil  war  he  returned  to  the  United  States  and 
settled  at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  after  the  war 
moving  to  Litchfield,  111.,  at  all  these  places 
being  connected  with  railroad  work.  His 
death  at  the  age  of  ninety  years,  occurred 
March  8,  19 12,  at  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McFarquhar.  His  wife  died  here  in  1910, 
when  aged  eighty-eight  years.  They  were 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

Six  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McFarquhar:  Elizabeth  J.,  who  was  born  at 
Gallon,  and  who  is  the  wife  of  C.  G.  Smith,  of 
Cleveland,  and  has  four  children — Louise, 
Eugene,  Garrett  and  Hugh;  John,  who  occu- 
pies a  responsible  position  as  manager  of  the 
office  of  a  manufacturing  concern  at  Denver, 
Col. ;  Margaret,  who  died  when  aged  but  sev- 
teen  years;  Andrew,  who  lives  at  Buffalo,  N. 
Y.,  and  is  assistant  to  the  general  foreman  of 
the  Erie  Railway,  who  married  Myrta  Kin- 
caid  and  has  one  son,  William;  Charles,  who 
was  accidentally  killed  on  the  Erie  Railroad 
when  aged  seventeen  years;  and  Janette,  an 
accomplished  and  educated  young  lady,  who  is 
acceptably  filling  the  position  of  secretary  to 
a  manager  of  a  Working  Woman's  club  at 
Davenport,  la.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McFarquhar  are 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  which 
he  has  been  an  elder  for  ten  years. 

VICTOR  L.  KEMP,  one  of  the  represen- 
tative citizens  of  North  Robinson,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  manager  of  the  elevator  at  this 
place  for  the  Switzer  &  White  Elevator  Com- 
pany and  a  member  of  the  town  council,  was 
born  at  Union  City,  Ind.,  and  is  a  son  of 
Joshua  and  Rachel  (Fields)  Kemp. 

Joshua  Kemp  was  born  at  Baltimore,  Md., 
in  early  manhood,  locating  in  Randolph  coun- 
ty, Indiana,  where  he  married  Rachel  Fields, 
and  they  both  are  deceased,  their  burial  being 
at  Union  City,  Ind.  Mr.  Kemp  was  a  farmer 
and  made  a  specialty  of  gardening.  His  chil- 
dren were  as  follows :  Alonzo ;  Lola,  who  is 
the  wife  of  William  Haney;  Laura  and  Hat- 
tie,  both  of  whom  are  deceased;  Victor  L. ; 


640 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


John;  Herschel;  Ora,  who  is  the  wife  of  Al- 
bert Bogan;  and  Robert. 

Victor  L.  Kemp  attended  the  public  schools 
in  Indiana  and  then  learned  the  carriage  paint- 
ing trade  which  he  followed  for  some  eleven 
years  and  was  afterward  otherwise  engaged 
until  April,  1907,  when  he  accepted  the  man- 
agement of  the  North  -Robinson  elevator.  A 
large  business  is  done  here  and  the  Switzer  & 
White  Company  is  known  all  over  the  county. 

Mr.  Kemp  was  married  December  31,  1898, 
to  Miss  Aretta  Newhouse,  who  is  a  daughter 
of  Michael  and  Olive  (Johnson)  Newhouse 
and  a  granddaughter  of  Charles  Newhouse 
and  Henry  Johnson.  Her  father  was  born  in 
Germany  but  spent  his  last  years  in  Crawford 
county.  The  mother  of  Mrs.  Kemp  was  born 
in  Crawford  county  and  now  resides  with  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Kemp,  the  latter  being  the  youngest 
of  four  children,  the  others  being  as  follows : 
Oliva,  wife  of  Augustus  Tracht;  William 
H.,  deceased,  and  Lawrence.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Kemp  are  members  of  the  English  Lutheran 
church.  In  politics  Mr.  Kemp  is  a  Democrat 
and  is  active  in  local  affairs.  He  is  identified 
with  Tent  No.  256  K.  O.  T.  M.,  at  North 
Robinson. 

JOSEPH  F.  WARNER,  who  occupies  the 
position  of  a  Government  railway  mail  clerk, 
with  home  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  belongs  to  an  old 
New  England  family  of  more  or  less  prom- 
inence in  colonial  days.  His  grandfather, 
William  Warner,  came,  in  181 5,  from  Con- 
necticut, to  Medina  county,  O.,  accompanied 
by  his  wife,  formerly  Clarissa  Warner.  They 
were  people  of  thrifty  ideas,  just  the  resource- 
ful kind  that  made  successful  pioneers. 
When  they  started  for  the  new  lands  in  Ohio 
it  was  a  great  undertaking,  but  they  had  a 
strong  ox-team  and  they  decided  to  load  their 
wagon  with  buttons  and,  by  disposing  of  these 
at  Cleveland,  would  secure  money  that  would 
be  very  useful  when  they  had  left  civilization 
behind  them,  and  also  would  enable  them  to 
provide  housekeeping  necessities  to  take  with 
them.  In  all  probability  their  plans  were  suc- 
cessfully carried  out  and  by  the  time  they 
reached  their  new  home  with  their  two  babies, 
a  log  cabin  was  awaiting  them,  it  having  been 
ordered  built  by  William's  father.    They  lived 


into  old  age  on  their  land  in  Medina  county 
and  were  respected  and  esteemed  people. 

Three  sons  and  one  daughter  were  born  to 
William  and  Clarissa  Warner.  Lucius,  the 
eldest,  lived  and  died  in  Medina  county,  sur- 
vived by  one  daughter,  Mary,  who  lives  in 
California,  the  widow  of  Alfred  Armstrong. 
Lorenzo  was  educated  in  Kenyon  College,  at 
Gambier,  O.,  for  the  Methodist  ministry.  He 
married  and  had  three  sons  and  one  daughter. 
Joseph  was  born  June  3,  181 8,  on  the  new 
farm,  in  Liverpool  township,  Medina  county, 
O.,  and  died  in  1903.  The  one  daughter  died 
in  infancy. 

Joseph  Warner  inherited  the  old  homestead 
and  gave  his  parents  filial  care  in  their  declin- 
ing years.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was 
the  oldest  resident  of  Liverpool  township,  be- 
ing aged  eighty-five  years.  In  his  early  polit- 
ical life  he  was  a  Whig  but  in  1857  identified 
himself  with  the  Republican  party  at  its  birth. 
He  was  married  in  Medina  county,  O.,  to 
Emily  A.  Mathewson,  who  was  born  also  in 
Liverpool  township,  in  1822  and  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-seven  years.  They  were  mem- 
bers and  liberal  supporters  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  To  them  the  following 
children  were  born:  Lucius  W.,  who  was 
born  October  i,  1841,  who  is  a  farmer  in 
Lorain  county,  O.,  and  who  married  Julia  Mc- 
Millian  and  has  three  children — Cora,  Eva 
and  Adella;  H.  Ellen,  born  June  12,  1843, 
who  is  the  widow  of  Rev.  D.  O.  Fox,  and  has 
an  adopted  son,  John  Fox;  Olive,  bom  April 
9,  1845,  who  is  the  wife  of  David  Torbet,  of 
Albany  College,  at  Albany,  Ore. ;  Qarissa  R, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years;  Philip 
L.,  who  is  a  farmer  on  a  part  of  tfie  old  home- 
stead ;  and  Joseph  Fremont.  The  above  fam- 
ily all  had  excellent  educational  advantages. 
Mrs.  Fox  was  graduated  with  the  highest 
honors  at  Baldwin  University,  Berea,  O.,  and 
won  the  degree  of  M.  A.  She  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  faculty  and  held  the  chair  of  mathe- 
matics and  was  also  a  colaborer  with  Prof.  A. 
Schuyler  in  his  mathematical  works  and  is 
also  the  author  of  several  volumes.  In  early 
womanhood  she  went  to  India  as  a  missionary 
and  while  there  met  Rev.  D.  O.  Fox,  who  was 
sent  into  the  missionary  field  from  Illinois. 
After  twenty-five  years  of  faithful  missionary 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


641 


work  Mrs.  Fox  does  not  yet  feel  that  the  har- 
vest is  ripe  enough  for  her  to  rest  from  her 
labors.  She  is  a  woman  of  extraordinary- 
mentality,  Christian  zeal  and  executive  ability. 

Joseph  Fremont  Warner  was  born  on  the 
old  homestead  in  Medina  county,  O.,  July  i, 
1855.  He  completed  his  education  at  Bald- 
win College  and  afterward,  for  twelve  years, 
devoted  himself  to  educational  work,  teaching 
in  Ottawa,  Cuyahoga  and  Medina  counties. 
In  1890  he  accepted  the  position  of  Govern- 
ment railway  mail  clerk  and  during  all  this 
time  has  been  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad, 
being  now  a  fifth  grade  clerk.  Every  one  does 
not  realize  the  knowledge  that  is  made  a  re- 
quisite for  a  position  of  this  kind  and  in  the 
five  states  covered  by  his  distribution — 
Pennsylvania,  Iowa,  Illinois,  South  Dakota 
and  Nebraska — Mr.  Warner  declares  that  he  is 
not  only  familiar  with  every  post-ofRce  loca- 
tion but  with  every  fence  corner.  For  five 
years  prior  to  locating  at  Bucyrus,  in  1890,  he 
resided  at  Mansfield,  O. 

In  Medina  county  Mr.  Warner  was  married 
to  Miss  Mary  L.  Gano,  who  was  born  in 
Wood  county,  O.,  July  2,  1859,  and  died  at 
Mansfield,  August  26,  1894.  She  was  sur- 
vived by  the  following  children :  Blanche  A., 
born  July  16,  1878,  who  is  the  wife  of  F.  M. 
Young,  of  Logansport,  Ind.,  and  has  one 
daughter,  Frances;  Maude  A.,  born  July  13, 
1880,  who  is  the  wife  of  Jesse  Casteel,  a 
farmer  at  Lake  Geneva,  Wis.,  and  has  three 
children — Luella,  Harry  and  Ellis  F;  Jessie 
M.,  who  was  born  July  26,  1882,  and  died 
March  6,  1902 ;  and  Greeta  L.,  who  was  born 
November  7,  1886,  and  died  December  8, 
1902. 

At  Mansfield,  O.,  Mr.  Warner  was  married 
(second)  in  1895,  to  Miss  Georgia  Casteel, 
who  was  born  at  Haysville,  Ashland  county, 
O.,  January  9,  1872,  where  she  was  educated. 
She  comes  from  an  old  Castilian  family  of 
Spain,  her  ancestors  having  been  driven  from 
that  country  by  religious  persecution.  They 
found  their  way  to  the  eastern  coast  of  the 
American  continent  and  were  among  the  early 
settlers  at  Jamestown,  Va.  Mrs.  Warner  is  a 
daughter  of  Elias  and  Sarah  M.  (Fry)  Cas- 
teel. Her  father  was  born  in  Ohio  and  her 
mother  at  Evansville,  Ind.,  and  they  were 
married  at  Hookstown,  O.     On  July  4,  1876, 


they  settled  at  Evansville,  Ind.,  later  moving  to 
Mansfield,  O.,  where  he  carried  on  business 
as  a  shoe  merchant.  In  1861  he  enlisted  for 
service  in  the  Civil  War,  entering  the  loist 
O.  Vol.  Inf.,  from  which  he  was  subsequently 
discharged  on  account  of  disability,  when  he 
returned  to  Haysville,  O.,  and  there  his  death 
occurred  December  3,  1884.  His  wife  sur- 
vived until  January  12,  1897.  The  family  be- 
longed to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and 
to  the  same  religious  body  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Warner  are  attached.  They  have  had  two 
children:  Fremont  Casteel,  who  was  born 
September  7,  1902,  and  died  October  5  in  the 
same  year;  and  Lolo  Belle,  who  was  born 
October  20,  1907.  Politically  Mr.  Warner  is 
a  Republican  but  his  busy  life  scarcely  affords 
him  time  or  opportunity  to  accept  any  public 
office  although  few  men  are  better  qualifie'd, 
but  he  takes  an  intelligent  citizen's  interest  in 
all  that  promises  to  benefit  his  city.  For  many 
years  he  has  been  a  member  of  Trinity  Lodge 
F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Bucyrus.  He  and  family  enjoy 
an  attractive  and  comfortable  residence  and 
their  circle  of  friends  is  a  large  one. 

J.  E.  JOHNSON,  general  farmer  and  stock 
raiser,  who  owns  a  well  improved  farm  of  42 
acres,  which  lies  four  and  one-half  miles  north 
of  Bucyrus,  O.,  was  born  in  Washington 
countv.  Md.,  September  7,  1871,  and  is  a  son 
of  Luther  and  Mary  (Furry)  Johnson. 

Luther  Johnson  was  born  in  Maryland  and 
from  there  went  to  Franklin  county,  Pa., 
where  he  engaged  in  farming  for  many  years 
and  died  at  the  age  of  62.  Some  30  years 
ago  he  came  to  Crawford  county  and  spent  a 
few  weeks  here  but  returned  to  his  old  home 
in  Pennsylvania  and  never  came  back.  He 
was  married  in  that  state  to  Mary  Furry 
and  they  had  the  following  children  born  to 
them :  J.  E.,  William,  Clara,  Lizzie,  Mac  and 
David,  Mac  being  now  deceased. 

J.  E.  Johnson  had  common  school  advan- 
tages in  Franklin  county,  Pa.,  and  assisted  his 
father  afterward  until  1886,  when  he  came  to 
Crawford  county,  O.  For  thirteen  years 
afterward  Mr.  Johnson  worked  on  farms  in 
this  county,  becoming  well  acquainted  with  the 
people  and  with  the  relative  value  of  different 
sections  in  the  farming  districts.  After  mar- 
riage he  purchased  a  farm  in  Marion  county 


642 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


and  operated  it  for  two  years  and  then  moved 
to  Gallon,  where  his  wife  died  and  after  dis- 
posing of  his  property  there  he  went  to  Henry 
county.  Subsequently  he  married  again  and 
then  returned  to  Gallon  and  later  went  to  Bu- 
cyrus  where  he  worked  for  one  year  for  the 
American  Clay  Machinery  people,  after 
which,  in  1907,  he  bought  his  present  farm 
and  has  been  here  ever  since.  The  buildings 
were  sufficiently  comfortable  and  in  good 
enough  repair  for  use  but  there  were  many 
other  improvements  that  Mr.  Johnson  has 
thought  desirable  and  has  put  them  in  place. 
He  is  numbered  with  the  competent  and  suc- 
cessful agriculturists  of  Holmes  township  and 
is  one  of  its  most  respected  citizens. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  married  first  to  Miss  Cora 
Meyers  and  second  to  Miss  Kate  Meyers.  His 
two  children,  Howard  W.  and  Stanley  C. 
were  both  born  to  his  first  union.  In  politics 
Mr.  Johnson  is  a  Democrat  and  while  living 
in  Marion  county  he  served  on  the  school 
board,  but  has  accepted  no  office  since  coming 
to  Holmes  township. 

D.  \V.  BRICKLEY,  M.  D.,  physician  and 
surgeon  at  Gallon,  C,  specialist  in  general 
surgery  and  a  member  of  the  medical  firm  of 
Morgan  &  Brickley,  operating  a  private  hospi- 
tal, was  born  at  Gallon,  O.,  in  1877  and  is  well 
known  to  the  people  of  this  city.  He  is  a  son 
of  Samuel  and  Mary  (Hershner)  Brickley. 

Samuel  Brickley  was  born  in  Morrow 
county,  O.,  was  a  farmer  and  carpenter  in 
both  Crawford  and  Morrow  counties  and  died 
in  Troy  township  in  the  latter  county,  in  June, 
191 1,  when  aged  seventy  years.  His  widow 
survives  and  continues  to  occupy  the  old 
homestead  in  Troy  township.  She  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  United  Brethren  church.  The  fam- 
ily consisted  of  four  sons  and  one  daughter. 

D.  W.  Brickley  enjoyed  educational  advan- 
tages in  different  sections  and  attended  the 
Johnsville  High  School  and  completed  addi- 
tional work  in  Mansfield,  C,  and  later,  from 
1896  until  1900,  engaged  in  teaching  and 
study,  after  which  he  entered  the  Ohio  ^^led- 
ical  University  at  Columbus,  O.,  where  he 
was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1904. 
Subsequently  he  took  a  post-graduate  course 
in  the  Xew  York  Post-Graduate  (Medical) 
School  and  Hospital,  where  he  secured  valu- 


able surgical  and  hospital  experience.  He  was 
engaged  in  practice  at  Canal  Winchester  prior 
to  coming  to  Gallon.  Here,  in  partnership 
with  Dr.  Morgan  he  conducts  a  private  hospi- 
tal and  the  firm  are  the  surgeons  for  the  Big 
Four  and  the  Erie  Railways  and  official  ex- 
aminers for  the  U.  S.  Marine  corps.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  county  and  state  medical  bodies 
and  of  the  American  Medical  Association. 

Dr.  Brickley  was  married  in  Morrow  coun- 
ty to  Miss  Luetta  B.  Baker,  a  daughter  of  C. 
A.  and  Ellen  (Emig)  Baker.  Mr.  Baker  is 
now  established  in  the  undertaking  and  furni- 
ture business  at  Truman,  Minn.  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Brickley  have  two  sons :  Daniel .  W.  and 
Charles  Lester.  They  are  members  of  the 
United  Brethren  church.  He  is  a  32nd  degree 
Mason,  belongs  to  the  Blue  Lodge  and  Chap- 
ter at  Gallon,  the  Council  at  Bucyrus,  the 
Commandery  at  Mansfield,  the  Consistory  at 
Columbus,  and  the  Shrine  at  Toledo.  His 
time  is  too  much  occupied  to  permit  of  much 
political  activity  but  in  national  matters  he 
casts  his  vote  with  the  Democracy. 

T.  M.  DROLESBAUGH,  who  has  been  a 
resident  of  Crawford  county,  O.,  since  his 
nineteenth  year,  carries  on  general  farming 
and  stock  raising  on  his  well  improved  place 
six  miles  northwest  of  Bucyrus.  He  was  born 
at  Oil  City,  Pa.,  and  is  a  son  of  James  and 
Elizabeth  Bell  (Marshall)  Drolesbaugh. 

James  Drolesbaugh  was  a  farmer  before  he 
enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  War,  becom- 
ing a  member  of  the  171st  Pa.  Vol.  Inf.,  and 
contracted  illness  during  his  service  which 
caused  his  death,  when  he  was  41  years  of 
age.  He  married  Elizabeth  Bell  Marshall, 
who  now  resides  in  Perry  county.  Pa.,  being 
in  her  seventieth  year.  They  had  three  chil- 
dren: T.  JNI.,  Mrs.  Catherine  Gray  and  Mrs. 
Amanda  Smith,  both  sisters  of  Mr.  Droles- 
baugh being  residents  of  Perry  county. 

T.  M.  Drolesbaugh  was  young  when  his 
parents  moved  to  Perry  county.  Pa.,  and  he 
attended  the  public  schools  and  Bloomfield 
Academy.  Afterward  he  migrated  to  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  and  worked  for  some  years 
as  a  farm  hand,  and  then  embarked  in  the 
implement  business  and  conducted  the  same 
for  fourteen  years  at  Bucyrus.  After  selling 
he  purchased  a  farm  which  he  operated  for 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


643 


two  years  and  later  bought  his  present  place 
of  150  acres  on  which  he  has  resided  ever 
since. 

Mr.  Drolesbaugh  was  married  in  Perry 
county  to  Miss  Anna  Meminger,  who  died  in 
October,  1908,  at  the  age  of  46  years,  leaving 
two  children :  Guernsey  and  Amy,  both  of 
whom  reside  with  their  father.  Mr.  Droles- 
baugh served  almost  ten  years  in  Company  A, 
8th  Regiment  O.  N.  G.,  and  has  in  his  posses- 
sion three  honorable  discharges  and  also  tele- 
grams received  during  the  strike  of  1895  from 
President  McKinley,  who  was  then  Governor 
of  Ohio.  As  captain  of  the  Sons  of  Veterans 
Mr.  Drolesbaugh  put  Col.  Lemet  Camp  on  a 
substantial  basis  as  to  membership  and 
finances.  He  has  a  wide  acquaintance  with 
big  game  hunters,  having  been  near  Hudson 
Bay,  Canada,  and  all  over  the  northern  por- 
tion of  the  Province  of  Quebec.  In  politics, 
Mr.  Drolesbaugh  is  a  Democrat  and  locally  is 
influential  in  his  party.  He  served  four  years 
as  constable  of  Bucyrus.  At  present  he  is 
serving  in  the  ofifice  of  constable  for  Holmes 
townslaip. 

JOHN  W.  McCARRON,  attorney  at  law, 
who  has  been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Gallon,  O.,  since  1901  and  is  a 
representative  and  useful  citizen,  was  born  in 
RicWand  county,  O.,  February  12,  1874,  and 
is  a  son  of  Fred.,  and  a  grandson  of  James 
McCarron. 

James  McCarron  was  of  Scotch-Irish  an- 
cestry and  possibly  was  born  in  New  Jersey, 
from  which  state  he  came  to  Ohio  at  an  early 
day.  He. located  first  in  Columbiana  county 
but  later  moved  to  Fredericktown,  in  Knox 
county,  where  he  engaged  in  brick  manufac- 
turing until  his  death,  when  aged  fifty  years. 
He  married  Jane  Baker,  who  lived  to  the  age 
of  eighty-five  years,  passing  away  in  Ashland 
county.  They  were  among  the  early  sup- 
porters of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in 
that  section. 

Frederick  McCarron  was  born  in  Colum- 
biana county,  O.,  and  has  spertt  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  as  a  farmer.  He  still  resides 
near  Fredericktown,  in  Knox  county,  where 
he  is  well  known  and  much  respected.  He  is 
a  Democrat  in  his  political  views  but  has  never 
sought  public  ofiice.    He  was  married  in  Rich- 


land county,  O.,  to  Priscilla  Hunter,  who  was 
born  there  in  1848,  and  died  in  Knox  county, 
March  10,  1908.  Her  parents  were  Benjamin 
and  Sarah  (Jump)  Hunter,  and  her  brother, 
Robert  Hunter,  who  is  a  graduate  of  Dart- 
mouth College  and  a  resident  of  Richland 
county,  is  a  prominent  man  of  that  part  of  the 
state.  The  grandfather,  James  Hunter,  who 
served  in  the  War  of  1812,  was  a  son  of  a 
Revolutionary  soldier.  To  Frederick  McCar- 
ron and  wife  a  family  was  born  and  five  of 
their  children  survive,  all  of  whom,  with  one 
exception,  have  domestic  circles  of  their  own. 

John  W.  McCarron  was  reared  in  Knox 
county,  attended  school  at  the  Ohio  State  Nor- 
mal School,  Ada,  O.,  and  for  a  few  years  be- 
fore graduating  in  law,  taught  school,  but  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  shortly  after  his  twenty- 
first  birthday,  in  June,  1895.  For  about  six 
years  Mr.  McCarron  engaged  in  law  practice 
at  Mt.  Vernon,  O.,  and  then  came  to  Gallon, 
where  he  has  built  up  a  very  satisfactory 
practice. 

Mr.  McCarron  was  married  to  Miss  Julia 
Menges,  who  was  born  at  Sandusky,  0.,  a 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Julia  (Stecker) 
Menges,  who  came  to  America  from  Germany 
when  young.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  McCarron 
reside  at  Crestline,  O.,  and  are  aged  about 
seventy-five  years.  For  fifty  years  Jacob 
Menges  has  been  a  piano  instructor  and  is  a 
man  of  great  musical  talent.  Mrs.  McCarron, 
the  only  daughter  in  a  family  of  four  children, 
has  inherited  a  large  measure  of  musical  tal- 
ent. She  was  two  years  old  when  her  parents 
moved  from  Sandusky  to  Crestline  and  was 
educated  there.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCarron 
have  two  children:  Ruth  M.  and  Robert  F., 
aged  respectively  eleven  and  six  years.  The 
family  belongs  to  the  First  Presbyterian 
church.  Mr.  McCarron  is  identified  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Maccabees  and  the 
Foresters.  His  political  rearing  was  in  the 
Democratic  party  and  he  has  continued  loyal 
to  its  principles. 

CHARLES  G.  F.  REIFF,  who  owns  a  fine, 
well  improved  farm  of  eighty-two  acres,  sit- 
uated in  Holmes  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  has  spent  almost  all  his  life  here  but  was 
born  in  Seneca  county,  O.,  in  1862,  and  is  a 
son  of  J.  C.  and  Mary  (Shaub)  Reifif. 


644 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


J.  C.  Reiff  was  born  in  1836,  in  Ciermany, 
and  from  there  came  to  the  United  States 
when  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age  and  lo- 
cated in  Seneca  county,  O.,  moving  from 
there  to  Crawford  county  in  the  fall  of  1862. 
He  died  here  October  23,  1887,  and  of  his  ten 
children  there  are  seven  yet  living. 

Charles  G.  F.  Reiff  was  an  infant  when  his 
parents  came  to  Holmes  township.  After  his 
attendance  in  the  district  schools  was  over  he 
engaged  in  farming  and  also  learned  the  stone- 
mason's trade.  While  he  has  continued  to 
operate  his  farm  he  has  also  done  consider- 
able work  in  this  section  as  a  mason  and  is 
well  known  in  that  connection  all  over  the 
county.  Mr.  Reiff  has  improved  his  property 
and  has  built  a  comfortable  and  commodious 
residence.  He  married  Miss  Minnie  A. 
Snavely  and  they  have  four  children:  Floy 
E.,  Lulu  F.,  Arthur  A.  and  O.  M.  Mr.  Reiff 
and  family  attend  the  United  Brethren 
church.  He  is  an  active  citizen  in  local  mat- 
ters, takes  much  interest  in  the  public  schools 
and  at  present  is  serving  as  a  school  director. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 

J.  E.  GELSANLITER,  one  of  the  substan- 
tial citizens  and  representative  business  men 
of  Galion,  O.,  proprietor  of  the  Boston  Street 
Meat  Market,  was  born  in  Polk  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  April  2,  1861,  and  is  a 
son  of  George  and  Elizabeth  (Burgener)  Gel- 
sanliter. 

George  Gelsanliter  was  born  in  Hesse- 
Darmstadt,  Germany,  in  1834,  and  some  years 
later  accompanied  his  parents  to  America, 
crossing  the  Atlantic  Ocean  in  a  sailing  vessel 
that  required  three  months  to  make  the  voy- 
age. The  family  located  in  Richland  county, 
O.,  and  ten  years  later  the  father  died.  He 
helped  to  clear  off  the  timber  that  then 
covered  the  present  site  of  Crestline.  For 
many  years  he  was  a  well  digger  and  pump 
manufacturer  but  later  became  a  farmer  and 
since  1865  has  resided  on  his  valuable  farm 
located  just  outside  the  limits  of  Galion.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Burgener,  who  was  born 
in  Morrow  county,  O.,  and  she  also  survives, 
and,  like  her  husband,  is  in  the  enjoyment  of 
excellent  health.  They  are  members  of  the 
English  Lutheran  church.  One  son  and  two 
daughters  were  born  to  them,  the  latter  being 


Alice  Rosella  and  Bertha  May.  The  younger 
daughter  was  the  first  wife  of  Leonard  Fick- 
ersen  and  at  death  she  left  two  children: 
George  and  Leonard.  Mr.  Fickersen  subse- 
quently was  married  to  the  older  daughter 
and  she  is  now  living  at  the  home  of  her  par- 
ents with  the  boys.  Mr.  Fickersen  died 
about  five  years  ago,  leaving  no  children  of 
his  second  marriage. 

J.  E.  Gelsanliter  has  always  lived  in  Polk 
township,  Crawford  county,  and  he  lived  on 
the  home  farm  until  he  came  to  Galion  and 
went  into  business,  some  twenty-four  years 
since.  He  started  in  the  grocery  business  on 
the  comer  of  Grove  Avenue  and  Boston  Street, 
opening  up  his  place  April  30,  1888,  and  he 
conducted  the  Boston  Street  Grocery  for  ten 
years,  when  he  sold  his  grocery  business  to 
Evans  &  Kurrley  and  since  then  has  devoted 
himself  exclusively  to  his  meat  business. 
When  he  started  he  opened  with  his  first  stock 
of  goods  in  a  private  house  and  now  has  a 
large  and  commodious  establishment  and 
owns  property  extending  along  Grove  Avenue 
from  Boston  to  Union  Street. 

Mr.  Gelsanliter  was  married  near  Galion, 
O.,  to  Miss  May  Belle  Cummings,  who  was 
born  in  Crawford  county  and  is  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Emily  (Baker)  Cummings.  The 
father  of  Mrs.  Gelsanliter  still  lives  on  his 
old  farm,  being  now  in  his  67th  year,  but  his 
wife  died  in  early  life  at  the  age  of  28  years, 
survived  by  two  children:  Mrs.  Gelsanliter 
and  Charles,  the  latter  of  whom  lives  in  Polk 
township  and  is  a  machinist  by  trade.  To  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Gelsanliter  six  children  were  born, 
namely:  Bessie,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  months;  Olive,  who  graduated  from 
the  Galion  High  School  and  is  now  a  member 
of  the  class  of  1913,  at  Wittenberg  College, 
Springfield.  O. ;  Norma  Ethel,  who  graduated 
from  the  Galion  High  School  in  19 10  and  is  a 
student  at  A\'ittenberg  College;  Charles  and 
George,  both  of  \\'hom  are  students  in  the 
Galion  High  School :  and  Alice  May.  All  the 
family,  except  the  youngest  child,  are  members 
of  the  English  Lutheran  church.  Politically 
a  Democrat,  Mr.  Gelsanliter  has  served  two 
ternis  on  the  city  council  and  for  the  past  six 
years  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of 
education. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


645 


CHARLES  L.  SHAWK,  general  farmer 
and  stock  raiser,  residing  six  miles  northwest 
of  Bucyrus,  O.,  where  he  owns  seventy-six 
acres,  was  born  on  the  old  home  place  north  of 
Bucyrus,  in  1861,  on  which  his  father,  J.  T 
Shawk,  still  resides,  being  now  in  his  seventy- 
sixth  year. 

Charles  L.  Shawk  attended  the  schools  of 
Crawford  county  and  afterward  was  a  student 
for  two  terms  at  Hillsdale,  Mich.,  and  then 
returned  to  the  home  farm  and  assisted  his 
father  for  several  years.  From  there  he 
moved  one  mile  south  of  Wingert's  Corners 
■or  Brokensword,  where  he  remained  until 
March,  1883,  when  he  returned  to  the  home 
farm  for  two  years  and  then  settled  on  the 
old  Thomas  Shawk's  farm,  south  of  Wingert's 
Comers  or  Brokensword,  and  after  two  years 
there  came  to  his  present  place.  He  has  made 
all  the  substantial  improvements  here  and  also 
on  his  other  farm  of  eighty  acres,  which  lies 
one-half  mile  to  the  west. 

In  March,  1885,  Mr.  Shawk  was  married  to 
Miss  Laura  Wilhelm,  a  daughter  of  the  late 
Christian  Wilhelm,  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren :  Guy,  Arthur  and  Grace.  In  politics 
Mr.  Shawk  is  a  Democrat.  With  his  family 
he  belongs  to  the  United  Brethren  church  at 
Bethe  in  Holmes  township. 

T.  C.  Shawk,  who  resides  four  miles  north- 
west of  Bucyrus,  on  his  farm  of  eighty  acres, 
was  born  on  the  old  Shawk  farm  north  of  Bu- 
cyrus, in  1872.  Since  leaving  school  he  has 
been  continuously  engaged  in  farm  pursuits, 
remaining  on  the  homestead  for  some  ten 
years  following  his  marriage  and  coming  then 
to  his  present  farm  on  which  he  built  both  the 
house  and  barn.  In  1896  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Emma  Meek  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren: Russell,  Willard  and  Warren.  With 
his  family  he  belongs  to  the  Evangelical 
church  at  Harmony.  Politically  he  is  a 
Democrat. 

CHARLES  JEFFERSON  CRISSINGER, 
who  controls  a  large  amount  of  the  real  estate 
and  insurance  business  at  Gallon,  O.,  was  born 
in  Crawford  county,  O.,  August  6,  1846,  and 
is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Coblen) 
Crissinger,  and  a  grandson  of  CJeorge  Cris- 
singer. 

George  Crissinger  was  of  German  extrac- 


tion but  was  born  in  Northumberland  county. 
Pa.,  was  reared  there  to  farm  pursuits  and  all 
his  life  expressed  himself  in  the  Pennsylvania 
German  dialect.  He  married  in  Pennsylvania 
and  there  his  five  sons  and  perhaps  an  equal 
number  of  daughters  were  born  and  they  ac- 
companied him  when  he  moved  to  Crawford 
county,  O.,  in  the  early  thirties. 

Jacob  Crissinger,  son  of  George  and  father 
of  Charles  J.,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  in 
February,  1812,  and  died  in  Ohio,  May  13, 
1885.  He  was  a  young  man  when  he  accom- 
panied his  parents  to  Ohio  but  subsequently 
returned  to  Pennsylvania  to  marry  Elizabeth 
Coble,  who  was  born  there  in  181 7  and  died 
in  Ohio  September  23,  1861.  After  returning 
to  Ohio  they  lived  in  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford  county,  and  became  some  of  its 
most  respected  people.  Jacob  Crissinger  was 
a  carpenter  by  trade  and  also  was  an  auc- 
tioneer and  cried  sales  all  over  the  county  in 
both  the  German  and  the  English  languages. 
They  were  members  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church.  Their  family  contained  the  fol- 
lowing children:  Catherine,  who  was  born 
October  20,  1838,  died  in  1876,  married 
Samuel  Kennedy  and  left  seven  children,  all 
now  deceased;  Malinda,  born  in  1840,  died 
July  17,  1 881,  married  William  Hile,  also  now 
deceased;  Eli,  who  was  born  March  26,  1843, 
died  unmarried,  September  22,  1873 ;  Emanuel 
C,  who  follows  the  carpenter  trade  at  Gallon; 
Daniel,  who  follows  the  same  trade,  in  Whet- 
stone township;  William,  who  was  born  in 
1848,  died  unmarried  in  1861 ;  Andrew,  who 
was  born  in  1859,  died  in  1862;  Sarah,  who 
was  born  in  1854,  died  in  1856.  Jacob  Cris- 
singer was  married  (second)  to  Mrs.  Keziah 
Cramer  and  the  following  children  were  born 
to  this  union :  Moses,  who  was  born  Septem- 
ber 26,  1866,  died  April  7,  1873;  Jacob,  who 
is  a  resident  of  Marion,  O.,  and  has  a  wife  and 
three  daughters;  Sarah,  who  is  the  wife  of  a 
Mr.  Fisher,  of  Marion  county,  and  they  have 
a  large  family;  and  Hattie,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Joseph  Reber,  and  they  live  at  Chicago,  111. 

Until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  when  he 
started  out  to  take  care  of  himself,  Charles  J. 
Crissinger  attended  school  and  gave  his  father 
assistance.  He  continued  to  work  at  farming 
until  he  was  twenty-three  years  old  and  then 
learned  the  carpenter  trade,  which  he  followed 


646 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


until  1887,  when  he  embarked  in  the  grocery 
business  and  continued  until  1901.  In  that 
year  he  disposed  of  his  grocery  interests  and 
went  into  the  real  estate  and  insurance  busi- 
ness and  has  been  very  successful  along  this 
line  and  through  his  efforts  much  real  estate 
has  changed  hands  here  and  capital  has  been 
brought  to  this  section.  Mr.  Crissinger  is  one 
of  the  representative  business  men  of  the  city. 

In  early  manhood,  in  Whetstone  township, 
Mr.  Crissinger  was  married  to  Miss  Civilla 
Noblit,  who  was  born  there  October  4,  1850, 
and  they  have  been  residents  of  Gallon  since 
1872.  Her  parents,  Robert  and  Susanna  (Al- 
bright) Noblit,  were  born  in  Pennsylvania 
and  came  to  Crawford  county  as  early  settlers 
and  lived  and  died  on  their  farm  in  Whetstone 
township,  the  father  passing  away  at  the  age 
of  sixty-three  years  but  the  mother  surviving 
to  the  age  of  seventy-four  years.  They  were 
members  of  the  Reformed  church.  Five  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Noblit,  name- 
ly: Samuel,  who  died  unmarried,  in  1861 ; 
John,  who  resides  with  his  family  in  Whet- 
stone township;  Mary  M.,  who  is  a  resident 
of  the  above  township;  and  Isaac,  who  is  a 
resident  of  Bucyrus,  O. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crissinger  had  one  son,  Ed- 
ward Wilson,  who  was  born  September  30, 
1872.  He  was  a  young  business  man  of 
promise  and  had  a  bright  future  before  hjm 
when  he  was  accidentally  killed  on  a  railroad 
crossing,  January  4,  1901.  He  was  survived 
by  his  young,  wife,  Mrs.  Mary  F.  (Burwell) 
Crissinger.  She  was  born  in  Jefferson  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  a  daughter  of  Cal- 
vin and  Martha  (Gledhill)  Burwell,  old  resi- 
dents of  Jefferson  township,  where  they  spent 
their  entire  lives.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crissinger 
were  members  of  the  United  Brethren  church. 
In  his  political  views  he  is  a  Democrat. 

WINFIELD  S.  SPEIGEL,  who  owns  and 
resides  on  the  old  Miller  homestead,  which  is 
situated  four  miles  north  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  was 
born  near  Pleasant  Home  in  1872,  and  is  a 
son  of  John  Speigel,  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Holmes  township,  Crawford  county,  O. 
The  family  is  of  German  extraction  and  it  has 
many  representatives  in  this  section,  all  sub- 
stantial and  respected  people. 

Winfield    S.    Speigel   attended   the   country 


schools  and  then  turned  his  attention  to  farn 
ing,  beginning  on  a  place  just  west  of  h 
present  farm,  where  he  cultivated  eighty  acr( 
until  191 2,  when  he  moved  to  the  farm  l 
recently  purchased.  In  the  latter  he  has  fift] 
nine  acres  and  he  still  retains  his  first  farm  c 
which  he  made  all  the  improvements  an 
erected  the  substantial  buildings.  Gener; 
farming  has  been  successfully  carried  on  ar 
moderate  stock  raising. 

Mr.  Speigel  was  married  in  early  manhoc 
to  Miss  Amanda  Walther,  who  was  born  i 
Liberty  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  an 
they  have  two  children:  Marie  and  Albert 
As  a  citizen,  Mr.  Speigel  takes  an  interest  j 
public  matters  and  votes  with  the  Democrat 
party  but  he  has  never  desired  to  assume  tl 
cares  of  office. 

RALPH  O.  PERROTT,  secretary  ar 
manager  of  the  American  Clay  Machii 
ery  Company,  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  has  bee 
identified  with  this  large  manufacturing  coi 
cern  since  1901  and  has  occupied  his  presei 
position  since  1906,  entering  the  business  i 
a  stenographer  immediately  after  his  gradui 
tion  from  the  Bucyrus  High  School.  He  wj 
bom  in  this  city  in  January,  1883,  a  son  c 
John  R.  and  Nancy  J.  (Bacon)  Perrott. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Perrott  were  bor; 
reared  and  married  in  the  western  part  ( 
Pennsylvania  and  for  a  number  of  years  ha^ 
been  residents  of  Bucyrus,  where  they  recent 
celebrated  their  fifty-second  wedding  annive 
sary.  About  i860  they  came  to  Ohio  and  1( 
cated  at  Crestline  where  John  R.  Perrott  w; 
employed  in  the  shops  of  the  Pennsylvan 
Railroad  Company  as  a  skilled  machinist.  ] 
the  early  seventies  they  removed  to  Buc3nri 
and  this  has  been  their  home  ever  since,  ar 
during  the  greater  part  of  this  time  up  to  tl 
present,  Mr.  Perrott  has  been  with  the  Buc; 
rus  Steam  Shovel  &  Dredging  Company.  ^ 
highly  do  his  employers  regard  his  capaci' 
as  an  expert  machinist  that  they  entrusted 
him  the  making  of  their  exhibition  dredg 
which  excited  much  interest  when  they  we 
shown  at  the  Columbian  Exposition  at  Q 
cago,  111.  Mr.  Perrott  is  now  73  years  of  aj 
but,  nevertheless,  quietly  and.  efficiently  ca 
ries  on  his  usual  activities  daily  and  his  cor 
pany  yet  relies  on  his  skill  and  judgment 


■ 

■ 

^M 

^1 

^^H 

\^gk   ^  m 

^^H 

^H 

^^^^Km    '^  ^1 

^H 

H 

^^^^^^^     ^  \ 

^^^l^^^^l 

^K 

^(^ '  'IhhI 

; 

j| 

^^S^H 

^      >^^Wb 

"^^^1 

■H 

^H 

^1 

j^ 

RALPH  0.  PERROTT 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


649 


everything  concerning  their  machinery.  With 
his  wife  he  attends  the  Presbyterian  church. 
They  have  five  children,  two  of  whom  are 
married. 

Ralph  O.  Perrott  was  educated  in  his  na- 
tive city  and,  as  he  has  taken  care  of  himself, 
in  a  practical  way,  since  he  was  seven  years 
of  age,  may  justly  be  termed  a  self  made  man. 
As  a  lad  he  delivered  newspapers  and  then 
conceived  the  idea  that  he  would  like  to  be  a 
printer.  Accordingly  he  entered  the  Hopley 
printing  establishment  and  learned  the  busi- 
ness in  all  its  departments.  From  the  very  first 
he  had  saved  a  portion  of  his  earnings  and 
when  he  decided  to  turn  his  attention  to  other 
than  newspaper  work,  he  had  enough  means 
laid  by  to  ensure  him  against  financial  em- 
barassment.  After  showing  ability  as  a  stenog- 
rapher with  the  American  Clay  Machin- 
ery Company,  he  was  transferred  from  the 
general  office  to  the  credit  department, 
where  his  powers  of  organization  were  soon 
shown  and  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of  this 
important  branch  of  the  business.  Through 
his  systematic  methods  and  good  judgment  he 
soon  established  this  department  on  a  firm 
basis  and  not  only  succeeded  in  collecting  debts 
of  large  volume  that  had  been  considered 
worthless  by  the  firm,  but  so  regulated  the 
line  of  credits  that  such  embarassments  in  the 
future  could  be  largely  eliminated.  His  value 
as  an  executive  officer  could  not  be  overlooked 
and  in  1906  the  board  of  directors  elected  him 
first  secretary  of  the  corporation  and  man- 
ager of  the  Bucyrus  factory,  a  timely  recog- 
nition of  his  talents,  fidelity  and  industry.  Mr. 
Perrott  is  yet  numbered  with  the  city's  young 
business  men  but  he  stands  high  in  this  con- 
nection and  enjoys  the  confidence  of  people 
who  have  known  him  all  his  life. 

Mr.  Perrott  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to 
Miss  Blanche  Quilter,  who  was  born  and  edu- 
cated in  this  city,  a  daughter  of  Frank  and 
Bridget  (Kane)  Quilter,  the  former  of  whom 
is  superintendent  of  the  Broken  Sword  Stone 
Company  of  Bucyrus.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Quilter 
and  Mrs.  Perrott  are  all  members  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  church.  On  May  24,  1909,  a 
daughter  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Perrott, 
whom  they  named  Margaret  Maxine.  Mr. 
Perrott  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church. 
He  is  active  in  local  interests  of  various  kinds, 


is  a  director  of  the  Farmers  National  Bank; 
secretary  of  the  Bucyrus  City  Hospital  As- 
sociation; and  chairman  of  the  finance  com- 
mittee, of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  in  which  relation 
he  assisted  in  raising  the  sum  of  $17,000.  He 
is  a  Knight  Templer  Mason  and  is  an  active 
member  of  the  order  of  Elks.  Politically 
both  he  and  his  father  are  Republicans. 

JOHN  SANFORD  BURNISON,  who  has 
been  identified  with  the  Erie  Railway  Com- 
pany for  33  years — continuously  since  1876 
with  the  exception  of  three  years — has  been 
conductor  on  the  Fourth  Division  between 
Marion  and  Dayton,  O.,  since  1884  and  is 
justly  popular  with  the  public  as  he  is  held  in 
high  regard  by  the  company.  He  was  born 
near  Galion,  O.,  October  i,  1858,  and  is  a  son 
of  John  and  Mary  (Myers)  Burnison. 

John  Burnison  was  born  February  20,  1819, 
at  Canton,  O.,  and  died  in  Hardin  county, 
November  27,  1880.  His  father,  who  was 
born  in  Scotland,  came  to  the  United  States 
quite  early  in  life  and  secured  later  200  acres 
of  land  in  Stark  county,  on  which  the  city  of 
Canton  now  stands.  He  and  wife  both  died 
in  Wyandot  county.-  John  Burnison  became  a 
farmer  and  followed  agricultural  pursuits  in 
Marion,  Crawford  and  Hardin  counties.  He 
was  a  man  of  sterling  qualities  and  was  well 
known  and  much  respected.  He  married 
Mary  Myers,  who  was  born  in  Germany, 
March  4,  1820,  and  was  sixteen  years  of  age 
when  she  came  to  the  United  States  and  died 
in  Ohio  at  the  age  of  sixty  years.  In  early 
married  life  they  were  members  of  the  United 
Brethren  church  but  later  united  with  the 
Dunkard  body.  They  had  ten  children,  seven 
sons  and  three  daughters.  The  three  surviv- 
ing members  of  this  family  are :  John  San- 
ford;  James  H.,  who  lives  in  Hardin  county, 
O. ;  and  Emma,  who  is  the  wife  of  Alvin 
Wall,  a  resident  of  Hardin  county. 

John  Sanford  Burnison  was  married  (first) 
in  Hardin  county,  to  Miss  Jennie  Wall,  who 
was  born  there  in  i860  and  died  March  14, 
1906,  survived  by  one  son,  Roy  O.,  who  was 
born  August  27,  1882.  He  was  educated  in 
the  Galion  schools  and  has  his  home  at  Crest- 
line, being  a  conductor  on  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad.  He  married  Miss  Kittie  Fecke,  and 
they  have  one  daughter,  Dorothea,  who  was 


650 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


born  December  14,  1905.  Mr.  Burnison  was 
married  (second)  to  Miss  Viola  May  Cole, 
who  was  born  in  Sandusky  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  November  11,  1882,  a  daughter 
of  Samuel  F.  and  Delora  N.  (Lauchbaum) 
Cole.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Burnison  retired 
from  their  farm  to  Gallon,  in  191 1.  The 
father  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  both  he 
and  wife  are  members  of  the  United  Brethren 
church.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burnison  have  a  bright 
little  son,  John  Franklin,  who  was  born  April 
25,  1909.  They  attend  the  United  Brethren 
church.  Mr.  Burnison  belongs  to  the  order  of 
Railroad  Conductors,  No.  109,  at  Galion. 

FERDINAND  HECK,  a  respected  resident 
of  Galion,  where  he  owns  property,  is  a  loco- 
motive engineer,  employed  on  the  Cincinnati 
division  of  the  Erie  Railroad,  was  born  in 
Prussia,  Germany,  about  20  miles  from  Ber- 
lin, Feb.  12,  1861.  His  parents,  John  and 
Frederica  (Erest)  Heck,  were  natives  of  the 
same  place.  In  1864  they  emigrated  with  their 
family  to  the  United  States  in  a  sailing  ves- 
sel, the  voyage  occupying  six  weeks.  They 
landed  at  Castle  Garden,  New  York  City  and 
continued  on  to  Mansfield,  Ohio,  where  John 
Heck  found  employment  at  his  trade  of 
mason.  After  following  his  trade  in  Mans- 
field for  ten  years,  he  turned  his  attention  to 
farming,  at  the  end  of  ten  years  thus  occupied 
locating  on  a  five-acre  tract  of  land  near 
Shelby,  Richland  county,  O.,  where  he  died 
September  24,  1898,  at  the  age  of  78  years. 
His  wife  died  March  17,  1905,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-two.  They  belonged  to  the  German 
Lutheran  church  and  he  was  a  Democrat  in 
politics.  Their  children — five  in  number — 
were  as  follows :  Amelia,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Michael  Menchen,  resides  on  the  old  home- 
stead near  Shelby  and  has  two  children — ^Wil- 
liam and  Anna.  Ferdinand,  whose  name  ap- 
pears at  the  head  of  this  sketch;  Rena,  who 
lives  near  Shelby,  O.,  is  the  wife  of  Jacob 
Ginder  and  has  two  children — Wilbur  and 
Edith ;  Augusta,  who  was  born  on  the  voyage 
to  America  and  who  died  in  Mansfield,  O.,  at 
the  age  of  four  years;  and  Anna,  born  in 
Mansfield,  O.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Martin  J. 
Molder,  resides  in  Shelby,  O.,  and  has  three 
children — ^John,  Myrtle  and  Glenn. 

Ferdinand  Heck  was  reared  and  educated 


in  Mansfield  and  in  Richland  county,  Ohio. 
He  acquired  a  knowledge  both  of  mason  work 
and  farming,  but  at  the  age  of  24  years  ob- 
tained employment  on  the  Big  Four  Railroad. 
Later  he  secured  a  position  as  fireman  on  the 
Erie  road  and  was  thus  employed  for  twelve 
years,  at  the  end  of  that  time  being  promoted 
to  engineer  on  the  Cincinnati  division  of  the 
Erie  road  (known  as  the  Third  Division)  and 
has  since  been  thus  occupied.  Some  time  ago 
he  purchased  half  a  block  of  land  on  East 
Mam  street,  Galion,  on  which  he  has  two  large 
residences,  one  of  which  he  occupies. 

On  June  25,  1885,  he  was  married  in  Mans- 
field, O.,  to  Miss  Susie  Placer,  who  was  born 
near  Richland,  Ohio,  March  10,  1862,  and 
who  was  there  reared  and  educated.  Her  par- 
rents  were  Conrad  and  Elizabeth  (Christman) 
Placer,  natives  of  Germany,  who  came  to 
America  when  young  people  and  who  were 
married  in  Mansfield,  later  locating  in  Rich- 
land county,  where  Mr.  Placer  died  in  1868  at 
the  age  of  about  forty  years.  His  wife  died  in 
Crestline,  on  the  Richland  county  side  of  that 
city,  June  19,  1888,  when  she  was  nearly  60 
years  of  age.  They  were  German  Lutherans 
in  religion.  Their  daughter  Susan  (Mrs. 
Heck)  was  the  fourth  born  of  six  children, 
three  of  whom  are  yet  living,  namely:  Mrs. 
Heck;  a  half  brother,  J.  C.  Klingelhafer,  who 
resides  in  Galion,  is  married  and  has  three 
children — Ruth,  Robert  and  Mary;  and  a  sis- 
ter, Mrs.  Sarah  Placer,  who  is  now  residing 
with  Mrs.  Heck.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Heck  have  no 
children ;  the  latter  is  a  member  of  the  English 
Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Heck  is  a  socialist  in 
his  political  views.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers  and  is 
a  reliable  and  progressive  citizen. 

ALFRED  LEUTHOLD,  attorney  at  law 
at  Bucyrus,  O.,  was  born  in  Canton  Bern, 
Switzerland,  November  11,  1874,  one  of  a 
family  of  nine  children  born  to  his  parents. 
Christian  Leuthold,  Jr.  and  wife,  and  a  grand- 
son of  Christian  and  Sarah  (Von  Bergen) 
Leuthold.  The  paternal  great-grandfather 
was  a  prominent  physician  in  Switzerland. 

Christian  Leuthold,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Canton 
Bern,  Switzerland,  in  1841  and  died  at  Bucy- 
rus February  15,  1906.  In  his  native  land  he 
was  a  grower  of  stock.     He  married  Kath- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


651 


erine  Knoti,  of  Canton  Bern,  and  they,  with 
their  nine  children,  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1884,  landing  at  the  harbor  of  New  York. 
From  there  they  made  their  way  to  Upper 
Sandusky,  O.,  and  four  years  afterward  moved 
to  Bucyrus  township,  Crawford  county.  The 
father  and  sons  rented  a  large  farm,  all  of  his 
sons  helping  industriously  in  order  to  acquire 
homes  of  their  own.  After  the  father  died 
the  mother  retired  to  Bucyrus,  where  she  still 
lives  at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years.  At 
present  this-  family  owns  valuable  land  and 
stock  and  is  numbered  with  the  substantial 
ones  of  the  county.  Their  children  were  as 
follows :  Katherine,  who  is  the  wife  of  Jacob 
Bohn,  a  farmer  in  Holmes  township,  and  they 
have  three  children :  Christian,  who  is  a  farmer 
in  Crawford  county,  married  Clara  Geisman 
and  they  have  eight  children ;  Rosa  L.,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Godfrey  Welty,  a  farmer  in 
Holmes  township,  and  they  have  eight  chil- 
dren ;  David,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Holmes  town- 
ship, married  Louisa  Geist,  and  they  have  one 
child ;  John,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Bucyrus  town- 
ship, married  Anna  Spring,  and  they  have  two 
sons ;  Godfrey,  who  is  an  attorney  at  Bucyrus, 
is  unmarried;  Alfred,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch ;  Samuel,  who  is  associated  in  the  prac- 
tire  of  law  with  his  brother  Alfred,  married 
Tena  Miller,  and  they  have  one  son;  and 
Louisa,  who  resides  with  her  mother  and  is 
an  exemplary  daughter. 

Through  many  hardships  and  discourage- 
ments, Alfred  Leuthold  secured  an  education 
and  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1897  from 
the  Ohio  Northern  University  at  Ada,  O., 
with  the  degree  of  A.  B.,  having  been  admitted 
to  the  bar  before  he  was  graduated.  Later  he 
taught  school  in  Crawford  county,  O.  When 
the  Spanish-American  war  broke  out  in  1898, 
he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  4th  Ohio  and 
served  for  one  year,  during  this  time  being 
stationed  for  three  months  on  the  island  of 
Porto  Rico.  He  was  honorably  discharged 
January  20,  1899,  and  then  came  to  Bucyrus, 
where  he  established  himself  in  the  practice  of 
law.  He  is  a  member  of  Camp  Thoman,  No. 
33,  Spanish-American  War  Veterans,  at  Bu- 
cyrus. Mr.  Leuthold  was  married  in  Craw- 
ford county  to  Miss  Hattie  KepHnger,  who 
was  born  in  Liberty  township  in  1874  and  was 
educated   in  the  public  schools.     They  have 


three  children:  Emerson,  who  was  born  in 
1903;  Warren  KepHnger,  in  1905;  and  Ruth 
Katherine,  whose  birth  took  place  May  12, 
1898.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leuthold  are  members  of 
the  United  Brethren  church. 

DAVID  H.  WHITE,  who  has  been  identi- 
fied with  the  mills  operated  by  Zigler  &  Co.,  at 
Bucyrus,  O.,  for  the  past  twenty-seven  years 
and  for  eighteen  of  these  has  been  a  member 
of  the  firm,  has  been  connected  with  the  indus- 
try since  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age.  He 
was  born  at  Beaver  Falls,  Pa.,  in  1859,  and  is 
a  son  of  Hugh  and  Sarah  J.  (Boyles)  White. 
They  also  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania  and 
the  father  died  in  that  state  some  years 
ago.  For  a  considerable  period  he  had  been 
superintendent  of  a  steel  company  and  was 
widely  known.  His  widow  resides  at  Cleve- 
land, Ohio. 

David  H.  White  is  the  eldest  of  a  family  of 
seven  children  born  to  his  parents,  all  of  these 
surviving.  He  entered  one  of  the  first  flour 
mills  built  at  Beaver  Falls,  as  an  apprentice, 
when  he  was  merely  a  boy,  learned  the  busi- 
ness and  has  devoted  himself  to  it  all  his  life. 
Since  he  has  been  a  resident  of  Bucyrus  he  has 
made  his  influence  felt  as  a  worthy  and  de- 
pendable citizen,  and  served  through  three 
terms  as  a  member  of  the  city  council,  elected 
on  the  Democratic  ticket.  Mr.  White  was 
married  at  Bucyrus  to  Miss  Anna  M.  Zigler, 
a  daughter  of  G.  K.  Zigler.  She  is  a  member 
of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  White  is  a  mem- 
ber of  several  fraternal  organizations  and  is 
prominent  in  Masonry,  belonging  to  the  Con- 
sistory at  Toledo  and  the  Shrine  at  Cleveland. 
He  is  also  a  director  in  the  Second  National 
Bank. 

HON.  THOMAS  BEER— distinguished 
along  many  lines,  the  late  Judge  Thomas  Beer 
will  long  be  recalled  as  one  of  Crawford 
county's  eminent  citizens.  He  came  of  an  an- 
cestry notable  for  its  achievements,  but  his 
fame  rests  sufficiently  upon  what  he  accom- 
plished himself,  his  indebtedness  to  his  fore- 
bears, however,  always  having  been  a  matter 
of  pride  to  him.  They  were  soldiers  and 
patriots,  missionaries  and  scholars — men  of 
courage  and  women  of  beauty  and  refinement 


652 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


— and  heredity  was  clearly  shown  in  the  char- 
acter of  their  descendant. 

Thomas  Beer  was  "born  September  7,  1832, 
the  third  of  a  family  of  thirteen  children,  two 
of  whom  died  in  infancy.  His  parents  were 
Rev.  Thomas  Beer,  D.  D.,  and  his  wife,  Mar- 
garet (Cameron)  Beer. 

The  earliest  paternal  ancestor  on  record 
was  William  Beer,  and  the  line  of  descent  was 
through  Thomas  and  Adeline  (Aten)  Beer, 
and  through  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Cam- 
eron) Beer. 

William  Beer  was  born  in  Londonderry, 
Ireland,  in  1717  and  emigrated  to  America  in 
1764,  accompanied  by  his  son,  Thomas,  and 
they  settled  in  Northampton  county.  Pa. 

Thomas  Beer,  son  of  William,  was  young 
when  his  father  came  with  him  from  Ireland 
and  probably  was  still  a  youth  when  he  first 
enlisted,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  in  Col.  Stroud's  regiment,  serving 
further  under  five  enlistments.  When 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Trenton,  he  was  taken 
to  the  home  of  Lieut.  Richard  Aten  (Auten), 
and  was  nursed  back  to  health  by  the  young 
daughter,  Adeline  Aten,  whom  he  subse- 
quently married.  Lieut.  Aten  was  a  member 
of  Capt.  Riddle's  company,  2nd  regiment  of 
the  Sussex  militia,  N.  J.  He  was  a  son  of 
Adrian  and  Jacobje,  or  Jemima  (Middagh) 
Aten,  the  former  of  whom  died  at  Reading- 
ton,  N.  J.,  in  1758.  The  Atens  and  Middaghs 
emigrated  to  America  from  near  Amsterdam 
and  Leyden,  Holland,  settling  first,  between 
1660  and  1680,  near  Flatbush,  L.  I.,  but  later 
both  families  moved  to  Somerset  county,  N.  J. 
.Lieut.  Aten  finally  settled  in  Northampton 
county.  Pa.,  six  miles  north  of  Belvidere, 
N.  J.,  where  he  established  a  ferry  which  was 
known  as  Aten's  Ferry  for  more  than  120 
years. 

Thomas  Beer,  son  of  Thomas  and  Adeline 
(Aten)  Beer,  was  born  in  Northampton 
county,  Pa.,  March  22,  1801,  and  in  1827  was 
graduated  from  the  Western  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  In  the  same  year  he  entered 
the  Western  Theological  seminary,  which  had 
just  been  established  at  Allegheny,  Pa.,  and 
in  1829  was  licensed  to  preach,  being  grad- 
uated from  the  seminary  in  the  following  year. 
He  was  sent  first  as  a  missionary  to  Virginia 
and  later  to  Ohio  and  after  some  time  passed 


in  Wayne  township,  Wayne  county,  he  re- 
turned to  Mt.  Hope.  His  parishoners  came 
for  miles  to  the  Mt.  Hope  church,  which  held 
about  1,000  persons.  This  church  was  erected 
under  his  pastorate.  During  this -period  he 
also  served  as  pastor  to  the  Presbyterian 
churches  at  Congress  and  West  Salem.  He 
held  these  charges  over  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
His  latter  years  were  passed  at  Ashland,  0., 
his  death  occurring  October  7,  1886.  He  had 
been  honored  with  the  degree  of  D.  D. 

On  October  9,  1828,  he  was  married  to 
Margaret  Cameron,  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Mary  (Symmes)  Cameron.  John  Cameron, 
a  member  of  Clan  Cameron,  was  born  in  In- 
verness, Scotland,  and  served  as  a  soldier  in 
the  British  army.  In  1804  he  emigrated  to 
America  and  settled  at  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  where 
he  married  the  daughter  of  a  Revolutionary 
patriot,  who  lost  his  life  at  the  storming  of 
Quebec.  Margaret  (Cameron)  Beer  was  born 
March  7,  1809,  and  lived  until  March  27, 
1880.  She  was  a  remarkable  woman  in  many 
ways,  an  example  of  wifely  devotion  and  ma- 
ternal solicitude. 

Thomas  Beer,  bearing  the  favorite  family 
name,  when  very  young,  displayed  an  interest 
in  learning,  insisting  on  accompanying  his 
older  brothers  and  sisters  to  the  near-by 
school.  His  opportunities  were  meager  but  he 
evidently  made  the  most  of  them,  as  he  was 
accepted  as  a  teacher  when  he  was  only  six- 
teen years  of  age,  the  salary  of  $12  per  month 
being  carefully  saved  to  assist  in  paying  his 
way  when  he  entered  Vermillion  Institute,  at 
Hayesville,  O.,  of  which  his  father  was  one  of 
the  trustees'.  He  early  felt  a  predilection  for 
the  law,  and  during  185 1-2  he  devoted  himself 
to  the  study  of  his  profession,  in  the  office  of 
John  C.  Tidball,  at  Coshocton,  O.,  and  also 
taught  special  pupils.  His  means  not  being 
adequate,  however,  to  cover  his  expenses  while 
devoting  his  entire  time  to  the  study  of  law,  he 
looked  about  for  some  method  of  self  support 
and  in  1853  became  a  railway  telegraph  opera- 
tor at  Alliance,  so  continuing  until  1858.  In 
the  latter  part  of  1853  he  was  appointed  post- 
master at  Alliance  and  attended  to  his  official 
duties  until  1858,  in  connection  with  the  rather 
trying  ones  of  his  profession,  and  then  be- 
came editor  and  publisher  of  the  Stark  County 
Democrat.      After   two   years   of   newspaper 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


653 


work,  he  had  made  the  property  so  desirable 
that  he  was  able  to  dispose  of  it  at  a  very 
good  figure,  after  which  he  came  to  Bucyrus 
and  resumed  journalistic  work,  becoming 
editor  of  the  Crawford  County  Forum  and 
thus  continued  until  1862. 

In  the  meanwhile  he  had  never  lost  sight  of 
his  original  ambition  and  in  the  above  year 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  immediately  en- 
tered into  practice.  From  1864  until  1868  he 
served  in  the  state  legislature,  where  he  dis- 
played qualities  of  a  patriotic  statesman  and 
eloquent  orator,  and  in  1873-4  was  a  member 
of  the  constitutional  convention,  secretary  of 
its  judicial  committee  and  otherwise  promi- 
nent in  its  deliberations.  In  August,  1874, 
Governor  Allen  appointed  him  judge  of  the 
court  of  common  pleas,  a  position  he  filled  un- 
til 1885,  with  signal  distinction,^  after  which, 
until  1893,  he  served  on  the  circuit  bench,  re- 
tiring then  from  public  life  and  devoting  his 
attention  exclusively  to  his  private  practice. 
He  was  engaged  as  counsel  in  a  number  of 
important  cases,  in  which  the  emoluments  were 
large  and  the  outcome  for  his  clients  eminently 
successful.  All  his  life  he  was  a  democrat, 
one  of  the  old  school,  whose  principles  could 
never  be  changed  or  his  views  on  public  ques- 
tions swayed  by  money  or  influence.  On 
many  occasions  he  was  tendered  offices  of  the 
greatest  honor  and  responsibility,  being  twice 
nominated  for  supreme  judge,  while  he  twice 
declined  the  nomination  by  his  party  for  gov- 
ernor of  Ohio.  He  had  the  eloquent  tongue 
of  an  orator  and  his  political,  professional  and 
judicial  addresses  were  gems  of  learning  illu- 
minated by  flashes  of  wit  and  humor.  He  was 
an  honored  member  of  the  Ohio  State  Bar  As- 
sociation and  his  last  public  address,  "Coke 
Literature,''  was  delivered  before  this  body,  on 
July  7,  1909. 

Judge  Beer  was  a  man  of  versatile  gifts  and 
many  accomplishments.  Had  opportunities 
been  afforded  him  he  would  have  been  able  to 
make  a  name  for  himself  in  music,  and,  with- 
out any  particular  instruction,  was  a  fine  per- 
former on  the  flute,  violin  and  piano,  and  the 
writing  and  composing  of  a  music  score 
seemed  as  easy  to  him  as  the  settling  of  a  legal 
point.  He  was  an  artist,  also,  and  had  a 
natural  talent  for  friendly  caricature,  one  often 
exercised  for  the  amusement  of  his  friends. 

38 


His  memory  was  remarkable,  and  was  also  a 
natural  gift,  for  no  training  could  ever  have 
brought  it  to  the  perfect  state  which  enabled 
him  to  recall,  at  an  instant's  notice,  pages  of 
law  books,  technical  points  needed  in  prose- 
cuting or  expounding  some  obscure  law  prob- 
lems and  precedents  on  every  subject.  Having 
once  read  certain  data  in  relation  to  his  pro- 
fession, even  after  the  lapse  of  years,  he  could 
remember  facts,  book  and  page.  It  was  some- 
times said  of  him  that  he  absorbed  libraries,  so 
learned  was  he  and  so  entirely  accurate  in  all 
his  knowledge.  Poetry  always  appealed  to 
him  and  often,  in  his  quiet  moments,  he  re- 
laxed his  mind  by  repeating  choice  selections 
that  had  taken  his  fancy  as  he  read  them,  and 
were  never  forgotten.  As  may  be  imagined, 
these  various  gifts  made  him  an  invaluable 
member  of  the  different  organizations  in 
which  he  took  an  interest.  He  was  a  member 
-of  the  Society  of  Natural  History,  was  a  ma- 
son, and  belonged  for  many  years  to  the  State 
Historical  Society.  Perhaps,  outside  of  a  pub- 
lic institution,  there  is  no  finer  collection  of 
engravings,  prints  and  books  than  belonged  to 
Judge  Beer.  For  many  years  he  was  inter- 
ested in  collecting  autographs  and  many  im- 
portant ones  are  the  names  of  his  friends  and 
contemporaries,  while  there  are  many  others, 
including  one  of  King  George  III,  most  of 
Lord  Chancellors  of  England  and  many  Eng- 
lish and  American  authors.  He  was  a  great 
lover  of  nature  and  his  avocation  was  farming 
to  which  he  turned  for  relaxation  and  rest 
from  his  legal  duties. 

In  Ashland  county,  O.,  April  23,  1856, 
Thomas  Beer  was  married  to  Tabitha  Mary 
Dinsmore.  She  was  a  friend  of  his  childhood 
and  one  of  his  classmates  at  Vermillion  Insti- 
tute. She  also  attended  the  seminary  at  Hud- 
son, O.,  and  taught  school  several  years.  Her 
father,  James  Alexander  Dinsmore,  was  a 
veteran  of  the  war  of  181 2,  and  was  a  retired 
civil  engineer,  who  came  to  Ohio  in  1833  and 
lived  afterward  on  his  farm  in  Ashland 
county,  O.  To  Judge  and  Mrs.  Beer  nine  chil- 
dren were  born,  seven  of  whom  are  living, 
namely:  James  Dinsmore,  who  is  a  practicing 
physician  of  Wooster,  O.,  married  Jean  Lyle 
Thoburn,  and  they  reside  in  Ashland  county,  O. 

James  Alexander  Dinsmore' s  earliest  pa- 
ternal progenitor  was  Laird  Dinsmoor,  born 


654 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


about  1600,  who  lived  on  his  estate  at  Achen- 
mead,  Scotland,  on  the  Tweed.  His  son,  John 
(1650),  rebelling  at  being  compelled  to  hold 
the  stirrup  of  his  eldest  brother's  saddle  when 
the  latter  mounted  his  horse,  ran  away  from 
home  in  1667  and  settled  in  Ballywattick, 
county  Antrim,  Ireland.  His  grandson,  An- 
drew (born  at  Ballywattick,  Ireland,  1753), 
emigrated  to  America,  1771-72,  was  a  soldier 
in  the  Revolution,  settled  at  Peach  Bottom, 
York  county.  Pa.,  where  he  married  Cath- 
erine, daughter  of  James  Alexander,  a  Revo- 
lutionary patriot.  Their  eldest  son,  James 
Alexander  Dinsmore,  was  born  at  Peach  Bot- 
tom, Pa.,  March  20,  1788.  He  was  one  of  the 
defenders  of  Ft.  McHenry  at  Baltimore.  In 
1814  he  came  to  Ohio  and  entered  a  half  sec- 
tion of  land  in  Jackson  township,  Ashland 
county,  O.  He  then  returned  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  resided  on  a  farm  near  his 
father's  until  1833,  when  he  and  his  family, 
consisting  of  his  wife  and  four  children,  of 
which  Mrs.  Beer  was  one,  journeyed  by  wagon 
over  the  mountains  and  through  the  wilder- 
ness to  Mr.  Dinsmore's  farm  in  Ashland 
county.    He  died  here  January  7,  1863. 

He  was  married  March  14,  1826,  to  Griz- 
zell,  daughter  of  David  and  Dorcas  (Neel) 
Collins  of  Chanceford,  York  county,  Pa.  Da- 
vid Collins'  father,  Cornelius,  with  his  wife 
and  several  children,  emigrated  from  Ireland 
and  took  up  land  in  Colerain  and  Drumore 
townships,  Lancaster  county.  Pa.,  where  he 
lived  as  a  farmer  until  his  death.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Associate  Reformed  church. 
His  son,  David  (born  1768,  died  March  28, 
1828),  farmed  his  property  of  160  acres  at 
Chanceford,  York  county.  Pa.  His  wife,  Dor- 
cas Neel,  was  a  daughter  of  Lieut.  Thomas 
Neel  (born  March  25,  1744,  died  April  5, 
1824),  a  gallant  Revolutionary  officer,  who 
owned  a  large  estate  with  fishery  and  mill  on 
the  Susquehanna,  near  Christiana,  Lancaster 
county,  Pa.  The  mother  of  Dorcas  Neel  was 
Grizzell  Penny,  born  Dec.  i,  1753,  who  died 
Sept.  I,  1833.  They  were  married  Dec.  i, 
1770. 

To  Judge  and  Mrs.  Beer  nine  children  were 
born,  seven  of  whom  are  living,  namely: 
James  Dinsmore,  who  is  a  practicing  physician 
of  Wooster,  Ohio,  and  who  married  Jean  Lyle 
Thoburn  and  has   four  surviving  children — 


Mary  Margaret,  Thomas,  Jean  Lyle  and  Dor- 
cas Katherine;  Thomas  Cameron,  who  is  a 
resident  of  Bucyrus;  William  Collins,  who  is 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  in  New  York 
city,  married  Martha  Ann  Baldwin,  and  has 
three  children — Alice  Baldwin,  Thomas  and 
Richard  Cameron;  Dorcas  Grizzell,  who  has 
been  engaged  in  educational  work  for  a  num- 
ber of  years ;  Katherine  Jeannett,  who  resides 
with  her  mother ;  Robert  Lea,  who  is  assistant 
postmaster  at  Yonkers,  N.  Y.,  married  Mary 
Gobdrich  Fitch  and  has  one  daughter,  Mary; 
and  Mary  Elizabeth,  who  is  widely  known  as 
a  grand  opera  singer,  and  made  her  debut  and 
appeared  several  seasons  in  grand  opera  at 
Rome,  Italy,  as  a  member  of  the  National 
Opera  company. 

FRANK  J..  SNYDER,  proprietor  of  a  first 
class  grocery  store,  located  at  No.  108  West 
Main  Street,  Galion,  O.,  is  one  of  the  represen- 
tative business  men  of  this  city  and  is  serving 
in  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  Board  of  County 
Elections.  Mr.  Snyder  was  born  in  Morrow 
county,  O.,  June  26,  i86r,  and  is  a  son  of 
George  Snyder,  who  came  to  Galion  with  his 
family  about  1865. 

Frank  Snyder  has  been  a  resident  of  Galion 
since  childhood.  He  was  educated  here  and 
graduated  from  the  Galion  high  school  in  the 
class  of  1878,  immediately  afterward  becoming 
associated  with  his  father  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness. This  store  was  established  by  George 
Snyder  in  September,  1865,  and  has  ever  since 
been  continued  by  the  Snyders.  The  location 
is  excellent  and  the  building,  25x57  feet  in 
dimensions,  afifords  sufficient  space.  First 
quality  goods  are  carried,  honest  methods  of 
business  prevail  and  this  is  known  to  be  a  re- 
liable and  dependable  business  house.  For  the 
past  twenty  years  it  has  been  under  the  direct 
management  of  Frank  Snyder.  He  has  other 
city  realty,  including  a  handsome  residence  on 
the  comer  of  West  Main  and  Orange  streets. 

Mr.  Snyder  was  married  at  Galion,  O.,  to 
Miss  Nina  Wineland,  who  was  born  at  Upper 
Sandusky,  O.,  but  was  reared  and  educated  at 
Galion,  being  a  graduate  of  the  Galion  high 
school  in  the  class  of  1880.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Snyder  have  two  children — Norma  and 
Maude.  These  young  ladies  are  high  school 
graduates  and  are  numbered  with  the  younger 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


655 


social  set  in  the  neighborhood  in  which  they 
have  grown  up.  The  family  belongs  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  In  politics  Mr. 
Snyder  is  a  republican  and  is  an  active  and  up- 
right citizen.  He  served  two  years  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  city  council,  seven  years  on  the 
county  board  of  elections.  For  twenty  years 
Mr.  Snyder  has  been  one  of  the  directors  of 
the  Gallon  Building  &  Loan  Association  and 
was  one  of  its  organizers.  He  is  identified 
with  the  Masonic  fraternity. 

J.  FOSTER  HUBLEY,  proprietor  of  the 
Hubley  confectionery  store  and  ice  cream  par- 
lors, at  No.  no  East  Main  street,  Galion,  O., 
is  one  of  the  prosperous  business  men  of  this 
city,  which  is  his  native  place.  Mr.  Hubley  was 
born  April  29,  1873,  and  is  a  son  of  George 
and  Hannah  C.  (Pague)  Hubley. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Hubley  were  born  at 
Shippensburg,  Pa. — the  father,  August  27, 
1830— their  parents  being  of  German  extrac- 
tion. In  1854  George  Hubley  and  wife  came 
to  Galion,  O.,  where  Mr.  Hubley  went  to  work 
for  the  Big  Four  Railway  company.  His  work 
caused  his  home  to  be  in  other  parts  of  the 
country  at  times  and  he  was  in  Pennsylvania 
when  the  Civil  war  broke  out  and  for  several 
years  was  connected  with  the  quartermaster's 
department,  with  headquarters  at  Chambers- 
burg,  Pa.  In  1870  he  returned  to  Galion, 
where  he  still  resides  and  where  his  wife  died 
in  the  fall  of  1906,  having  lived  to  celebrate 
her  golden  wedding  anniversary.  She  was  a 
consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  to  which  Mr.  Hubley  also  belongs. 
He  is  a  democrat  in  his  political  opinions.  Of 
his  family  of  eight  sons  and  two  daughters, 
six  sons  and  one  daughter  survive,  all  being 
married  and  having  families  of  their  own. 

J.  Foster  Hubley  obtained  his  education  in 
the  Galion  schools  and  then  learned  the  candy 
making  trade,  beginning  in  an  establishment 
that  occupied  the  site  of  his  present  fine  store. 
He  is  a  practical  confectioner  and  has  been  in 
the  business  for  twenty-nine  years,  serving  un- 
der different  proprietors.  The  stand  at  No. 
no  East  Main  street  is  the  oldest  confection- 
ery stand  in  the  citv  and  Mr.  Hubley  has  been 
proprietor  of  the  business  for  the  past  five 
years.  His  building  has  dimensions  of  18x160 
feet  and  built  to  accommodate  100  guests  at 


one  time  in  his  ice  cream  parlor.  His  equip- 
ments are  modern  in  every  particular  and  in 
the  manufacture  of  his  dainties  and  sweet- 
meats every  sanitary  precaution  is  used.  He 
enjoys  a  large  patronage  and  is  regarded  as 
one  of  the  honorable  business  men  of  his  city. 
Mr.  Hubley  was  married  at  Galion,  O.,  to 
Miss  Luella  May  Kunkler,  who  was  born  at 
Wadsworth,  O.,  but  has  been  a  resident  of 
Galion  since  childhood.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren: Lorimer,  who  is  his  father's  assistant, 
and  Lois,  who  still  attends  school.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hubley  are  members  of  the  Baptist 
church.  Politically  he  is  a  democrat  and  fra- 
ternally a  Mason,  and  both  he  and  wife  belong 
to  the  Eastern  Star. 

CLARENCE  E.  GREENICK,  general 
farmer  and  dairyman,  residing  one  and  one- 
half  miles  from  the  public  square,  Bucyrus, 
O.,  owns  a  farm  of  eighty  acres  situated  in 
Whetstone  township  and  another  of  twenty 
acres,  in  Bucyrus  township,  and  is  one  of  the 
substantial  and  prosperous  citizens  of  Craw- 
ford county.  He  was  born  in  Holmes  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  Sept.  15,  1862,  and 
is  a  son  of  Jacob  L.  and  Louisa  (Lichtenwal- 
ter)  Greenick. 

Jacob  L.  Greenick  was  born  in  Germany,  a 
son  of  Jacob  Greenick.  In  his  early  manhood 
he  worked  as  a  machinist  and  operated  a  sta- 
tionary engine  but  later  became  a  farmer  and 
at  the  time  of  death  owned  the  home  farm  of 
his  son,  Clarence  E.,  who  later  purchased  it. 
Both  he  and  wife  died  at  Bucyrus.  She  was 
of  German  parentage,  a  daughter  of  John 
Lichtenwalter,  but  was  born  in  Ohio.  Three 
children  were  born  to  them,  one  of  whom  died 
in  infancy  and  another  when  aged  five  years, 
Clarence  E.  being  the  only  survivor.  The  par- 
ents were  members  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

Clarence  E.  Greenick  attended  the  public 
schools  and  was  about  sixteen  years  old  when 
his  parents  moved  on  his  present  farm  on 
which  he  has  lived  ever  since.  While  he  car- 
ries on  general  farming  with  much  success,  his 
main  interest  is  dairying  and  he  owns  a  valua- 
ble herd  of  twenty-five  Holstein  cows.  Bucy- 
rus draws  from  his  dairy  sixty  gallons  of  milk 

dailv- 

On  Oct.  29,  188  c;,  Mr.  Greenick  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Emma  Padgett,  a  daughter  of 


656 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Stewart  and  Mary  Jane  (Lones)  Padgett. 
The  father  of  Mrs.  Greenick  was  born  in  In- 
diana and  the  mother  in  Ohio  and  both  are 
now  deceased,  the  burial  of  the  father  being 
in  his  native  state  and  that  of  the  mother  in 
Seneca  county,  O.  After  the  death  of  her  first 
husband,  Mrs.  Padgett  married  George  Schaf- 
ner.  All  her  children  were  born  to  her  first 
union :  Josephine,  who  married  Dennis  Mulli- 
gan; Margaret,  who  married  Joshua  Lichten- 
walter;  Emma;  and  George  L.  and  Robert  C. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Greenick  the  following 
children  were  born:  Nina  L.,  who  married 
Harry  Ryland  and  has  two  children — Edith 
and  Virginia;  Jessie  Marie,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy; and  Arthur  Raymond,  Harold  Preston, 
Josephine  June,  Grace  Hildred  and  Clarence 
Edwin.  Mr.  Greenick  and  family  attend  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  In  politics  he  is 
a  democrat  as  was  his  father. 

GEORGE  W.  HOOVER,  a  representative 
citizen  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  a  retired  farmer  who 
has  resided  in  this  city  for  some  seven  years 
and  is  well  known  in  many  circles,  is  a  mem- 
ber of  one  of  the  old  families  of  Ohio,  the 
name  being  connected  with  pioneer  settlement. 
He  was  born  in  Dallas  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  William  and  Phebe 
(Swisher)  Hoover,  a  grandson  of  Christopher 
and  a  great-grandson  of  George  Hoover. 

George  Hoover  was  Drobably  of  German 
ancestry  but  he  was  born  in  Virginia  and  from 
there  came  to  the  Western  Reserve  and  se- 
cured government  land  in  what  is  now  Pick- 
away county,  prior  to  1803,  when  the  terri- 
tory became  a  state.  Christopher  Hoover  was 
born  about  1785  and  grew  to  manhood  on  his 
father's  farm  in  Pickaway  county.  His  first 
wife  died  there  and  he  married  a  second  and 
with  his  family  moved  to  Crawford  county 
and,  like  his  father,  secured  government  land. 
He  became  a  successful  farmer  and  accumu- 
lated property  and  felt  justified  in  retiring 
from  active  life,  moving  then  to  Sandusky  in 
the  early  fifties.  They  succumbed  to  cholera 
in  the  prevailine  enidemic  and  both  died  on 
the  same  day.  By  his  first  marriage,  Christo- 
pher Hoover  had  two  children,  William  and 
Hannah.  The  latter  married  Wesley  White 
and  they  lived  and  died  in  Dallas  township  and 
three  of  their  children  survive. 


William  Hoover  was  reared  in  Dallas  town- 
ship and  naturally  became  a  farmer.  He  con- 
tinued to  farm  and  raise  stock  until  1866,  when 
he  came  to  Bucyrus,  where  subsequently  he 
went  into  business  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Fry,  Sheckley  &  Hoover,  which  was  merged 
into  the  large  enterprise  now  known  as  the 
American  Clay  Machinery  Company,  in  which 
he  was  a  large  stockholder.  His  death  oc- 
curred in  June,  1897,  when  he  was  eighty-one 
years.  He  was  married  in  Franklin  county, 
O.,  to  Phebe  Swisher,  who  died  at  Bucyrus  on 
May  9,  191 1,  having  passed  her  ninety-fourth 
birthday.  She  and  husband  were  members  of 
the  English  Lutheran  church.  Of  their  ten 
children  eight  survive,  three  of  whom  live  in 
Crawford  county  and  two  in  the  city  of  Bucy- 
rus— George  W  and  Mrs.  Thomas  Jessem. 

George  W.  Hoover  was  the  fourth  born 
child  in  his  parents'  family  and  the  third  son. 
His  birth  took  place  on  the  old  homestead  on 
January  27,  1847.  He  attended  school  in  Dal- 
las township  and  later  at  Bucyrus,  after  which 
he  engaged  actively  in  agricultural  pursuits 
until  1903,  when  he  retired  and  established  his 
home  at  Bucyrus.  He  still  owns  his  excellent 
farm  in  Bucyrus  township  but  no  longer  oper- 
ates it.  Mr.  Hoover,  like  his  late  father,  is 
a  stanch  republican  but  he  has  never  been  will- 
ing to  accept  public  office.  He  has  never  mar- 
ried. 

GODFREY  LEUTHOLD,  a  well  known 
attorney  at  law  at  Bucyrus,  O.,.  was  born  in 
Daerstetten  township,  Simmenthal  valley, 
Canton  Bern,  Switzerland,  which  was  the 
scene  of  the  early  history  of  the  Leuthold 
family,  a  country  held  in  affectionate  remem- 
brance by  those  who  have,  nevertheless,  found 
happy  homes  in  other  lands.  The  father  of 
Mr.  Leuthold  was  Christian  Leuthold,  who 
was  the  only  son  of  Christian  Leuthold,  the 
latter  of  whom  spent  his  life  in  Canton  Bern, 
his  ancestors  coming  from  Southern  France. 

The  Leuthold  family  was  an  old  and  vigor- 
ous one,  but  Grandfather  Leuthold  died  when 
comparatively  young  and  left  but  one  son,  but 
his  early  death  reflected  credit  upon  him  in 
that  he  contracted  scarlet  fever,  from  which  he 
died,  while  ministering  to  a  stricken  neighbor. 
His  widow  subsequently  married  again  but  had 
no   issue  to  the  second  marriage.     She  be- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


657 


longed  to  the  royal  family  of  Von  Bergen  and 
all  her  life  was  noted  for  her  high  bred  quali- 
ties, her  charities  and  many  virtues. 

Christian  Leuthold,  Jr.,  the  only  son,  was 
born  in  1842  and  grew  to  manhood  in  his  na- 
tive place  and  there  married  Katherine  Knoti, 
who  came  from  one  of  the  most  industrious 
and  wealthiest  families  of  her  township.  Her 
father,  Gottlieb  Knoti  was  accidentally  killed 
by  a  fall  over  a  precipice  in  the  mountains. 
The  mother,  of  a  healthy  constitution,  married 
again  and  with  her  second  husband,  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  and  died  at  the  age  of  84 
years  in  the  state  of  New  York.  After  the 
birth  of  their  nine  children.  Christian  Leuthold 
and  wife  decided  to  leave  Switzerland  and  seek 
better  fortune  across  the  ocean  than  they  were 
sure  of,  with  so  large  a  family,  in  the  more 
constricted  regions  of  their  native  land.  At 
Havre,  France,  they  took  passage  on  the  emi- 
grant ship,  America,  and  with  great  hopes  set 
sail  for  New  York,  where,  after  a  long  voy- 
age, they  were  safely  landed  arriving  at  said 
city  in  the  month  of  April  in  the  year  1884. 
From  there  they  made  their  way  to  Upper 
Sandusky,  Ohio,  the  place  of  their  destination. 
Here  the  family  was  warmly  received  by  David 
Geiger,  a  brother-in-law  of  Christian  Leu- 
thold. 

The  first  year  the  family  lived  in  a  cottage 
one  mile  east  of  Upper  Sandusky,  all  the  mem- 
bers working  industriously  in  order  to  add  to 
the  capital  of  $300.00  which  they  brought 
from  Switzerland.  Godfrey  Leuthold  then 
being  but  eleven  years  old,  like  four  of  his 
brothers  was  compelled  to  work  for  other  peo- 
ple. The  second  year  they  rented  a  small 
farm  four  miles  east  of  Upper  Sandusky; 
here  they  resided  for  three -years.  The  boys 
continued  to  work  during  the  summer  months 
for  other  people,  mostly  for  farmers  in  Craw- 
ford county. 

In  the  year  1888  the  family  came  to  Craw- 
ford' county.  For  five  years  they  lived  on  a 
large  farm  which  they  rented  south  of  Bucy- 
rus.  During  the  first  years  they  met  with  dif- 
ficulties and  failures  and  the  boys  were  often 
compelled  to  bear  great  hardships.  But  at  the 
end  of  the  five  years  the  family  was  able  to 
buy  a  good  farm  of  80  acres  -two  miles  north 
of  Bucvrus.  Here  the  father  died  February 
15,  1906.    The  mother  then  moved  to  Bucyrus 


into  a  handsome  new  house  provided  for  by 
her  sons.  Here  she  still  resides,  living  with 
her  daughter  Louisa  a  retired  life. 

Godfrey  Leuthold  is  one  of  the  younger 
sons  in  the  above  family.  He  was  permitted 
to  attend  the  township  public  schools  during 
the  winter  months  till  he  was  16  years  old. 
Then,  though  having  a  passion  to  devote  him- 
self to  study,  he  was  compelled  to  help  work 
and  manage  a  farm  till  he  was  21  years  of 
age.  This  was  a  strenuous  life,  which  de- 
prived him  of  the  pleasures  of  youth  and  com- 
pelled him  to  cope  with  great  difficulties,  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  family  was  then  heavily  in- 
volved in  debt.  On  one  Friday,  September 
iSth,  he  was  of  age  and  left  home  under  most 
discouraging  circumstances.  Having  worked 
bitterly  hard  for  his  father,  he  was  obliged  to 
leave  home  with  nothing  else  but  the  clothes 
he  wore  while  working  at  home.  But  he  left 
with  a  determination  to  work  and  save  his 
money.  The  first  three  months  he  worked  for 
farmers,  cutting  and  husking  corn;  thus  he 
earned  his  first  money,  every  dollar  of  which 
he  saved.  When  winter  set  in  he  determined 
to  work  for  his  board  and  then  attended  the 
public  schools  in  Liberty  township,  in  order 
to  get  a  better  education,  which  he  was  de- 
prived of  while  working  for  his  father.  The 
next  spring  he  was  licensed  to  teach  school 
without  ever  having  attended  a  high  school. 
The  following  winter  he  taught  school  and 
worked  on  the  farm  in  the  summer,  aiming  to 
save  all  the  money  possible  in  order  to  prepare 
himself  financially  to  attend  a  college. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  1898  we  find  him  at- 
tending the  college  at  Berea,  Ohio,- a  Methodist 
school.  He  was  graduated  in  the  classical 
course  and  received  the  degree  of  B.  A.  in 
June  of  the  year  1903.  The  year  preceding 
he  was  chosen  by  the  Goethe  society  of  which 
he  was  a  member  to  deliver  the  valedictorian 
address. 

It  was  during  the  difficult  struggles  while 
working  for  his  father  that  he  first  realized  the 
usefulness  and  power  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
law.  So  after  being  graduated  at  the  college 
at  Berea,  he  at  once  took  up  the  study  of  law 
and  completed  a  course  in  this  science  at  the 
Ohio  Northern  Ujiiversity  at  Ada,  Ohio,  and 
was  graduated  at  this. school  in  the  fall  of  the 
year  1904.  receiving  the  degree  of  B.  L.     In 


658 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


December  of  the  same  year  he  was  admitted  to 
the  Ohio  bar  and  has  ever  since  been  in  the 
active  practice  of  law  at  Bucyrus,  Ohio. 

In  June  of  the  year  1907  the  college  at  Berea 
conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  M.  A.,  he 
having  first  fully  complied  with  all  require- 
ments for  this  honor. 

Mr.  Leuthold  always  took  an  active  part  in 
the  politics  of  the  republican  party  which  in 
his  county,  at  present  is  in  the  minority.  With 
an  aim  to  do  justice  to  all  and  with  malice  to- 
ward none  his  judgment  and  principles  are 
respected  by  men  of  both  parties,  his  charac- 
ter being  clean,  his  influence  uplifting.  He 
was  reared  in  the  Methodist  church  of  which 
he  has  been  a  faithful  member. 

To  consider  the  career  of  Mr.  Leuthold  in 
all  its  bearings,  it  is  indeed  inspiring,  his  suc- 
cess demonstrating  what  can  be  accomplished 
through  persistent  effort  and  in  the  face  of 
difficulties  and  discouraging  circumstances. 

MICHAEL  A.  RICKSECKER,  who  now 
lives  retired  at  Gallon,  O.,  after  many  years 
of  honorable  connection  with  the  great  Erie 
Railroad  system  as  locomotive  engineer,  was 
born  October  19,  1839,  in  Springfield  town- 
ship, Richland  county,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of 
Greenberry  and  Elenora  (Firestine)  Rick- 
secker. 

Greenberry  Ricksecker  and  wife  were  born 
at  Hagerstown,  Md.,  where  they  married  and 
after  two  children  had  been  born  to  them — 
Mary  A.  and  Charles  A. — they  started  for  a 
new  home  in  Ohio.  This  was  in  1835  and 
they  came  overland  to  Springfield  township, 
Richland  county,  and.  located  on  land  which 
was  wild  at  the  time,  but  which  they  developed 
into  an  excellent  farm.  The  old  log  house 
which  served  as  their  first  home  is  still  one  of 
the  landmarks  of  that  section.  Greenberry 
Ricksecker  was  a  whig  in  early  political  life 
but  later  became  a  republican  and,  notwith- 
standing his  southern  birth,  was  an  anti-slavery 
man.  An  underground  railroad  station,  the 
name  given  to  sheltering  places  for  escaping 
slaves  prior  to  the  Civil  war,  was  situated  in 
the  home  of  a  neighbor,  John  C.  Finney,  and 
as  Mr.  Ricksecker  was  in  sjTnpathy  with  the 
movement,  he  often  helped  negroes  on  their 
way  to  the  Canadian  border,  where  they  were 
safe  from  pursuit.     Another  neighbor  who  of- 


fered a  place  of  concealment  to  escaping 
slaves  was  Joseph  Roe  and  through  the  efforts 
of  these  philanthropic  men,  many  men,  women 
and  children  escaped  from  slavery.  In  many 
ways  Greenberry  Ricksecker  was  an  admirable 
man  and  he  was  esteemed  and  respected  in  his 
community,  where  he  lived  to  be  seventy-three 
years  of  age,  his  wife  passing  away  when  aged 
sixty-one  years.  They  were  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  After  reaching 
Richland  county,  two  more  children  were  born 
to'them — Michael  A.  and  Helen.  All  the  chil- 
dren married  and  reared  children  of  their  own 
and  became  respected  and  useful  members  of 
society. 

Michael  A.  Ricksecker  is  the  only  survivor 
of  his  parents'  family.  He  attended  school  in 
Springfield  township  and  helped  his  father, 
after  school,  on  the  farm  and  also  in  his  car- 
penter shop  and  frequently  assisted  in  the  erec- 
tion of  log  houses  for  other  settlers.  He  thus 
gained  a  practical  knowledge  of  carpentering 
while  quite  young.  By  the  time  he  was  four- 
teen years  of  age  he  was  anxious  to  provide 
for  himself  and  soon  found  a  place  where  he 
could  work  for  his  board  and  receive  $4  a 
month.  When  sixteen  years  of  age  he  worked 
at  cutting  cord  wood  for  forty  cents  a  cord  and 
also  split  rails,  as  did  Abraham  Lincoln  in 
early  manhood,  and  while  keeping  busy  and 
contented  in  this  way  he  also  kept  on  assisting 
his  father  as  a  carpenter. 

On  April  21,  1861,  Mr.  Ricksecker  re- 
sponded to  the  call  of  President  Lincoln  for' 
75,000  men  and  entered  Co.  H,  15th  O.  Vol. 
Inf.,  under  Capt.  Hiram  Miller  and  Col. 
Moses  R.  Dickey,  and  served  through  a  first 
enlistment  of  three  months.  On  December  11, 
1 86 1,  he  re-enlisted  for  three  years  in  the  First 
Ohio  Independent  Battery,  Light  Artillery, 
under  command  of  Capt.  McMullen,  and  was 
honorably  discharged  December  13,  1864. 
During  the  larger  part  of  the  time  he  served 
in  West  Virginia  with  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac, taking  part  in  such  hard  fought  battles  as 
South  Mountain,  Frederick  city  and  Antie- 
tam.  Ever  at  the  post  of  duty,  Mr.  Rick- 
secker made  a  record  as  a  brave  and  efficient 
soldier,  and  having  faced  the  many  hazards  of 
war  without  being  wounded,  returned  safely 
to  his  home. 

He  then  turned  his  attention  to  railroading 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


659 


and  entered  the  service  of  the  Atlantic 
&  Great  Western  Railway  Company  (now 
known  as  the  Erie  Railroad)  in  the  capacity 
of  brakeman,  at  a  time  when  the  company  sent 
out  only  one  train  a  day,  this  being  in  March, 
1865.  In  April  following  he  made  the  trip  on 
the  first  through  freight  train  that  left  Gallon, 
and  in  July  of  the  same  year  was  promoted 
and  became  fireman.  Until  January,  1868,  he 
was  engaged  in  freight  and  passenger  trans- 
portation and  then  was  promoted  and  made 
engineer  and  operated  both  through  and  local 
freight  trains  until  June,  1880,  and  from  that 
time  until  October  23,  1910,  when  he  was  re- 
tired on  the  age  limit,  his  place  was  in  the  cab 
of  the  passenger  train  on  the  Cincinnati  divi- 
sion, east.  Mr.  Ricksecker  is  still  retained  by 
the  company,  which  knows  how  to  recognize 
efficient  service,  and  fills  the  position  of  assist- 
tant  train  dispatcher,  his  duties  making  no 
heavy  demand  oil  his  health. 

On  June  17,  1869,  at  Ontario,  O.,  Mr.  Rick- 
secker was  married  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Rater, 
who    was   born   in    Germany   and  was   three 
years  old  when  her  <  parents  brought  her  to 
Richland  county,  O.     She  was  born  April  3, 
1844,  and  died  June  10,  1906.     Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ricksecker  had  no  children  of  their  own,  but 
they  adopted  a  little  seven-year  old  maiden, 
Elizabeth  Keiser,  who  was  born  at  Mansfield, 
O.     She  has  been  a  real  daughter  to  them  and 
her   foster  parents  have  had  reason  to  take 
much  pride  in  her   as  a  sweet   and   amiable 
member  of  the  household,  as  a  good  student, 
being  a  graduate  of  the  Gallon  high  school, 
and  as  a  singer  in  the  choir  and  teacher  in  the 
sabbath   school   of   the    Methodist   Episcopal 
church,  of  which  religious  denomination  Mr. 
and   Mrs.   Ricksecker  were  long  very  active 
members. 

In  politics  Mr.  Ricksecker  is  a  decided  re- 
publican but  has  never  had  the  politician's  de- 
sire for  public  office.  He  is  yet,  as  always,  in- 
terested in  the  progress  and  development  of 
the  city's  various  interests,  where  he  has  in- 
vestments and  almost  lifelong  friends.  He 
has  been  very  active  in  Dick  Morris  Post,  G. 
A.  R.,  No.  130,  of  which  he  is  the  present 
commander — a  dignity  well  deserved — and  on 
several  occasions  he  has  attended  encamp- 
ments held  in  other  and  distant  cities.  For 
many  years  he  has  been  identified  with  the 


Masonic  fraternity,  uniting  with  the  order  in 
young  manhood  and  belongs  to  Gallon  Lodge, 
No.  414,  F.  &  A.  M.;  to,  the  Chapter  No.  142, 
at  Gallon,  and  to  the  Council,  at  Bucyrus. 
Mr.  Ricksecker  belongs  also  to  another  organi- 
zation, one  that  is  known  all  over  the  United 
States  and  numbers  thousands  of  trained  and 
experienced  men  in  its  ranks — the  Brother- 
hood of  Locomotive  Engineers — he  being  con- 
nected with  Division  No.  16.  For  forty  years 
he  has  preserved  his  membership  in  this  rep- 
resentative industrial  body  and  in  recognition 
of  this,  at  the  termination  of  the  above  period, 
he  received  a  handsome  gold  badge,  suitably 
inscribed,  which,  it  is  needless  to  say  he  values 
highly.  Mr.  Ricksecker  is  a  valued  member  of 
the  Richland  County  Historical  Society  and 
his  reminiscences  of  former  events  have  con- 
tributed to  the  interest  of  its  published  reports 
on  many  occasions. 

MRS.  SARAH  A.  DICE,  a  highly  re- 
spected and  well  known  business  woman  of 
Gallon,  O.,  who,  for  twenty  years  has  suc- 
cessfully conducted  a  millinery  business 
here,  was  born  in  Crawford  county,  O.,  near 
Gallon  and  is  a  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Susan 
(Smith)  Garberich. 

The  parents  of  Mrs.  Dice  were  of  German 
ancestry,  but  were  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
both  accompanied  their  parents  when 
young,  to  Crawford  county.  The  father  of 
Mrs.  Dice  engaged  in  farming  in  Polk  town- 
ship for  many  years  and  died  there  in  1897, 
when  aged  61  years.  The  mother  of  Mrs. 
Dice  still  survives  and  lives  on  the  old 
homestead,  hale  and  hearty,  despite  her  83 
years.  Isaac  Garberich  was  a  strong  Re- 
publican. He  was  a  man  of  sterling  charac- 
ter, honest  and  upright,  and  was  a  leading- 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
to  which  his  widow  also  belongs.  Mrs.  Dice 
is  one  of  a  family  of  nine  children  born  to 
her  parents,  three  sons  and  six  daughters, 
all  of  whom  survive. 

After  creditably  completing  the  public 
school  course,  Mrs.  Dice  learned  the  millin- 
ery business,  for  which  she  had  a  natural 
aptitude  and  has  been  in  business  for  the 
past  26  years  and  for  twenty  years  has  been 
at  her  present  location,  where  she  erected 
her  building.     She  carries  the  finest  line  of 


660 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


millinery  and  millinery  goods  to  be  found 
at  Gallon  and  caters  to  a  very  exclusive 
trade.  Her  display  of  tasteful  and  attract- 
ive milinery  v^^ould  do  credit  to  any  large 
city,  while  her  long  experience  and  natural 
artistic  talent  in  the  blending  of  colors  and 
materials  and  in  adapting  them  to  the  lines 
of  head,  face  and  figure  are  so  well  known 
and  appreciated  that  her  taste  and  judg- 
ment are  depended  upon  by  a  very  particu- 
lar class  of  purchasers.  Too  much  credit 
cannot  be  given  to  Mrs.  Dice  for  her  energy 
and  enterprise  in  building  up  and  enlarging 
this  business  enterprise  and  her  unusual 
success  reflects  the  high  opinion  in  which 
she  is  held  by  those  who  have  known  her 
from  childhood.  Mrs.  Dice  has  two  chil- 
dren :  Clare  D.,  a  resident  of  Gallon,  a  ma- 
chinist by  trade ;  and  Gladys  C,  who  is  the 
wife  of  John  Scott  Boyd,  who  is  superin- 
tendent of  the  Galion  Iron  Works  Com- 
pany. Mrs.  Dice  and  daughter  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

REV.  THOMAS  J-  SHEPPARD,  well 
known  among  Civil  War  veterans  as  the 
"Andersonville  Chaplain,"  was  born  at 
Zanesville,  C,  June  22,  1834,  being  a  son  of 
Thomas  and  Elizabeth  (LeHue)  Sheppard. 
He  was  of  Puritan  and  Huguenot  stock,  his 
grandfather,  Joseph  Sheppard,  having  been 
born  at  Attleboro,  England.  The  family 
came  to  the  United  States  in  181 1,  landing 
at  Boston.  On  his  mother's  side  the  LeHue 
family  came  from  France,  and  were  Hugue- 
nots, one  of  the  founders  of  the  American 
branch  coming  to  America  with  Marquis 
de  Lafayette  as  a  volunteer  in  the  American 
Revolution.  Others  of  the  LeHue  family 
were  already  settled  in  Winchester,  Freder- 
ick county,  Va.  Thomas  J.  Sheppard,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  practically  born 
into  the  Baptist  church.  His  grandfather. 
Rev.  Thomas  Sheppard,  was  a  leader  in  the 
denomination  at  Zanesville  and  on  the  for- 
mation of  the  Market  Street  Baptist 
Church,  of  Zanesville,  in  1825,  his  parents 
united  there.  Thomas  J.  Sheppard  spent 
his  early  life  in  Zanesville.  His  parents  both 
died  there  in  1853,  his  mother's  death  oc- 
curring in  July  and  his  father's  in  Novem- 


ber. He  after  that  lived  with  his  sister 
EHzabeth,  the  wife  of  Capt.  John  Thomp- 
son, north  of  Dresden.  He  spent  six  years 
in  the  drug  store  of  Capt.  Thompson  and 
attended  West  Bedford  Academy,  where 
he  met  Miss  Margaret  Collins  of  Mounds- 
ville,  W.  Va.,  who  became  his  wife  June  i, 
1859,  the  wedding  being  at  the  Collins  fam- 
ily home,  the  residence  of  William  Collins 
at  High  Oaks  •  on  the  hills  overlooking 
Moundsville.  After  marriage  he  took  up 
the  reading  of  law  at  Zanesville  and  his  in- 
terest in  church  work  started  at  that  time. 
At  the  close  of  a  revival  service  in  1854  he 
was  licensed  to  preach  and  thereafter  con- 
tinued to  conduct  religious  services  regu- 
larly for  54  years.  On  Aug.  11,  1862,  he  en- 
listed as  a  member  of  Co.  E,  97th  O.  Vol. 
Inf.  under  Capt.  Eagan,  being  appointed 
fifth  sergeant.  He  was  in  eleven  ijnportant 
engagements  including  Murfreesboro,  Mis- 
sionary Ridge  and  Stone  River.  He  was 
captured  June  27,  1864,  during  a  night  skir- 
mish before  the  battle  of  Kenesaw  Moun- 
tain, while  on  picket  duty.  He  was  sent  to 
Andersonville  where  he  was  confined  almost 
eleven  months.  While  in  prison  here  he 
conducted  religious  services  and  became 
known  as  the  "Andersonville  Chaplain,"  a 
term  of  endearment  applied  to  him  by  men 
he  helped  there.  His  naturally  sunny  dis- 
position and  firm  religious  conviction  gave 
him  power  to  do  good  among  the  discour- 
aged prisoners.  At  the  close  of  their  term 
in  prison  a  testimonial  was  prepared  and 
signed  by  155  prisoners  commending  his 
work  and  recommending  him  for  appoint- 
ment as  a  regular  army  chaplain.  This  tes- 
timonial he  has  prized  highly,  but  did  not 
desire  to  take  up  the  work  of  an  army  chap- 
lain, feeling  he  could  do  more  good  as  a 
minister,  pastor  of  a  church.  Mr.  Sheppard 
was  mustered  out  of  the  service  at  Camp 
Chase,  June  15,  1865.  He  was  associated 
with  the  United  States  Christian  Commis- 
sion after  the  war  and  took  up  his  higher 
education  at  Denison  University,  Granville, 
Ohio,  where  he  was  graduated  with  the 
class  of  1870.  His  first  pastorate  was  at 
Kirkersville,  Ohio,  from  1865  to  1869.  He 
held  pastorates  in  Ohio  at  West  Jefferson 


WILLIAM  BEMJER 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


663 


and  Lisbon,  Clyde  and  Sidney,  and  was  spe- 
cial asrent  for  Denison  University  from  1876 
to  1884.  He  became  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
church  at  Bucyrus,  Ohio,  in  1884,  where  he 
remained  until  1889,  when  he  went  to  Ken- 
ton as  pastor  and  where  he  built  a  new 
church.  In  1892  he  was  appointed  chaplain 
of  the  Ohio  State  Soldiers'  Home  at  San- 
dusky, and  from  there  went  to  Grass  Lake, 
Michigan,  but  in  1899  he  retired  from  active 
work  and  located  at  Granville,  where  the 
family  lived  until  the  death  of  Mrs.  Shep- 
pard,  July  3,  191 1,  since  which  time  he  has 
lived  with  his  daughter,  Mrs.  James  R.  Hop- 
ley  at  Bucyrus.  His  son,  Thomas  Hamilton 
Sheppard,  died  at  Los  Angeles,  Calif.,  April 
3,  191 1.  His  son,  William  Collins  Sheppard, 
is  a  resident  of  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan, 
and  his  daughter,  Mrs.  James  R.  Hopley, 
lives  at  Bucyrus.  Many  years  ago  the  Ohio 
association  of  Ex-Prisoners  of  War  elected 
him  chaplain-for-life  and  it  was  while  a  resi- 
dent of  Bucyrus  in  1887  that  Keller  Post 
advocated  his  selection  as  chaplain  of  the 
Ohio  association  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  a  place  he 
filled  with  honor. 

Rev.  Mr.  Sheppard  has  done  much  liter- 
ary work,  mostly  of  a  religious  and  patriotic 
nature.  He  has  written  a  number  of  poems, 
some  of  which  have  been  set  to  music.  His 
lecture  on  "Battle  Fields  and  Prison  Pens'.' 
has  been  heard  in  many  towns  and  cities  of 
the  country.  It  was  in  introducing  Mr. 
Sheppard  to  an  audience  at  Lansing,  Mich- 
igan, that  the  late  Governor  Pingree,  a 
prison-mate  at  Andersonville,  alluded  to 
him  as  "the  man  who  preached  to  me  in 
Hell." 

WILLIAM  BENDER,  who  is  a  retired 
farmer  and  one  of  the  highly  respected  citi- 
zens of  Tiro,  O.,  occupies  his  comfortable 
home  on  North  Main  Street  but  still  retains 
his  farm  of  180  acres,  situated  in  Auburn 
township,  Crawford  county.  He  was  born 
in  Richland  county,  O.,  March  26,  1850,  and 
is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Catherine  (Hoffman) 
Bender. 

Jacob  Bender  was  born  near  Heidelberg,. 
Germany,  Oct.  5,  1816,  where  he  was  reared 
to  manhood  and  in   1840  married  Catherine 


Hofifman,  who  was  born  also  in  Germany, 
Aug.  13,  1 81 6.  In  the  year  of  their  marriage 
they  emigrated  to  America,  and  on  reaching 
the  United  States  settled  in  Richland  county, 
O.  He  purchased  40  acres  of  land  near 
Shelby,  to  which  he  later  added  20  more  acres, 
and  after  clearing  and  developing  both  tracts, 
purchased  a  farm  of  160  acres,  four  miles 
south  of  Shelby.  In  1862  they  came  to  Craw- 
ford county  and  purchased  200  acres  of  land 
from  George  Cummings.  He  was  a  large 
landowner  also  in  other  states,  having  300 
acres  in  Iowa  and  300  acres  in  Michigan.  His 
death  occurred  Sept.  26,  1897,  when  he  was 
aged  80  years.  His  wife  died  Jan.  15,  1885. 
They  were  members  of  the  Lutheran  church, 
in  America,  but  he  had  been  reared  a  Catholic 
and  she  in  the  Reformed  church.  They  were 
good.  Christian  people  in  each  organization. 
To  them  the  following  children  were  born: 
Jacob,  Henry,  Charles,  Christina,  Anthony, 
William,  Catherine,  who  died  Aug.  31,  1886; 
Lizzie,  John  Phillip,  and  one  that  died  in  in- 
fancy. 

William  Bender  was  his  father's  helper  on 
the  home  farm  until  he  reached  the  age  of  21 
years.  After  marriage  he  located  on  80  acres 
of  his  present  farm,  then  the  property  of  his 
father-in-law,  and  while  renting  the  same  for 
II  years,  was  an  extensive  stock  dealer.  In 
1882  he  purchased  a  tract  of  104  acres  ad- 
joining on  the  east  and  in  1885  bought  his 
present  homestead  and  now  has  land  in  both 
Auburn  and  Vernon  townships.  He  improved 
his  farm  properties,  erecting  a  handsome  resi- 
dence in  1889  and  a  substantial  barn  in  1890 
and  resided  there  until  he  retired  to  Tiro. 
He  is  interested  in  the  Seamless  Tube  Mills 
at  Shelby,  O. 

On  Sept.  3,  1873,  Mr.  Bender  was  married 
to  Miss  Cornelia  Sawyer,  a  daughter  of  Al- 
banus  Sawyer.  Albanus  Sawyer  was  a  na- 
tive of  this  county  while  his  wife  was  born 
in  P'ennsylvania.  They  had  the  following 
children  besides  Mrs.  Bender :  Asa,  Rule,  Royal 
E.,  John  F.,  Erastus,  deceased,  Clara,  de- 
ceased, Anna  and  Lottie.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ben- 
der have  three  children:  Rilla  May,  wife  of 
John  W.  Hutt,  of  Richland  county,  O. ;  and 
Minnie  Luella.  wife  of  Walter  Ervin;  and 
Ruth  lone.  While  Mr.  Bender  has  never  been 
very  active  in  politics,  he  has  always  exerted 


664 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


his  influence  in  support  of  movements  that 
have  made  this  section  law  abiding  and  a  de- 
sirable place  in  which  to  live.  Mr.  Bender  is 
a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  at  Tiro. 
He  served  as  supervisor  for  25  years.  The 
familv  attends  the  Lutheran  church  and  Mr. 
Bender  has  been  a  liberal  contributor  to  the 
building  of  the  church  and  to  its  support. 

JOHN  S.  MURPHY^  a  representative 
farmer  of  Dallas  township,  who  is  the  owner 
of  80  acres  of  land,  was  born  in  Springfield, 
Fayette  county.  Pa.,  June  23,  i860,  but  came 
to  Crawford  county  in  1866.  His  parents, 
William  H.  and  Elizabeth  (King)  ^Murphy, 
were  natives  of  Fayette  county.  Pa. 

William  H.  Murphy  was  a  blacksmith  by 
trade  but  in  later  years  devoted  his  atten- 
tion to  farming.  He  was  a  Democrat  in 
politics  and  he  and  his  wife  belonged  to  the 
U.  B.  church.  They  made  their  home  with 
their  son,  John  S.  Murphy,  for  ten  years  pre- 
vious to  their  decease.  William  H.  Murphy 
lies  buried  in  Nevada,  Ohio,  and  his  wnfe  in 
Scotsdale,  Pa.  They  were  the  parents  of 
the  following  children:  John  S.,  whose  name 
heads  this  sketch ;  Mary,  the  wife  of  Zeph. 
Chance ;  Frederick,  deceased ;  and  Lula,  the 
wife  of  Arizona  Carmean. 

John  S.  Murphy  received  a  common 
school  education  in  the  schools  of  Craw- 
ford county  and  at  the  age  of  19  years  be- 
gan to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade  and  fol- 
lowed that  occupation  for  21  years.  He 
still  does  some  of  this  work,  having  quite 
recently  built  for  White  Brothers  what  is 
the  largest  barn  in  this  county.  !Mr.  Mur- 
phy's main  interests,  however,  lie  in  his 
farming,  and  he  has  met  with  success  in  his 
endeavors  in  this  line.  Besides  his  general 
farming  he  raises  some  stock,  but  only 
enough  for  his  own  use.  In  1900  when  Mr. 
:\Iurphy  bought  his  farm  it  was  covered 
with  woods  and  swamp  and  he  has  cleared 
all  the  land  and  has  also  built  his  house  and 

barn.  .         . 

In  1885,  Mr.  Murphy  was  united  m  mar- 
riage with  :Miss  Lucinda  Heinlen.  She  is 
the  daughter  of  Mathias  and  Elizabeth 
(Bickel)  Heinlen,  who  were  very  early  set- 
tlers in  Crawford  county,  but  who  were  na- 
tives of  Germany.      Their    children    were, 


namely :  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  A.  E.  Bollin- 
ger ;  John ;  Samuel ;  Lena,  the  wife  of  Byrou 
Kent ;  Frank  D. ;  Matilda,  the  wife  of  James 
Johnston;  ^klathias;  and  Lucinda,  the  wife 
of  the  subject  of  this  article.  To  Mr.  and 
'Sirs.  John  S.  Murphy  have  been  born  chil- 
dren who  were  named  as  follows :  Eliza- 
beth (Mrs.  D.  C.  Lust);  Charles;  Dora,  de- 
ceased ;  Lloyd,  who  met  his  death  from  the 
kick  of  a  horse;  Frank,  deceased;  Cooler; 
Lula,  deceased;  Roy,  John,  Thomas  and 
Stella. 

^Ir.  Murphy  is  a  Democrat  in  politics. 
He  and  his  family  attend  the  U.  B.  Church. 
He  belongs  to  the  F.  &  A.  M.  at  Nevada, 
Ohio. 

CHARLES  A.  GUISS,  civil  engineer  at 
Bucyrus,  O.,  and  formerly  county  surveyor 
of  Crawford  county,  is  numbered  with  the 
reliable  men  of  his  profession  in  this  section 
and  has  satisfactorily  completed  every  con- 
tract he  has  undertaken.  He  was  born  at 
Sulphur  Springs,  Crawford  county,  O.,  Aug. 
24,  1878,  and  was  two  years  old  when  his 
parents  moved  to  Chatfield  township,  where 
he  was  reared.  He  is  a  son  of  John  and 
Susan  (Fry)  Guiss,  who  are  highly  re- 
spected retired  residents  of  New  Washing- 
ton. 

The  Guiss  family  is  of  German  ancestry 
and  it  was  founded  in  Ohio  by  the  grand- 
father, Abraham  Guiss,  who  came  to  Craw- 
ford county  prior  to  1838  and  secured  a 
large  tract  of  land  from  the  Government  in 
Cranberry  township.  As  soon  as  he  had 
secured  a  home  here  he  sent  for  his  family 
and  it  is  said  that  his  wife  drove  with  chil- 
dren and  household  goods,  an  ox-team,  the 
entire  distance  from  Columbia  county.  Pa., 
to  Crawford  county.  O.  She  was  a  typical 
pioneer  woman,  strong  and  resourceful,  and 
outlived  her  husband,  dying  at  New  Wash- 
ington in  extreme  old  age.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  German  Lutheran  church. 

John  Guiss,  father  of  Charles  A.,  was 
born  in  Cranberry  tow^nship,  Crawford 
county,  where  he  was  reared  and  lived  for 
some  years  after  his  marriage,  when  he 
moved  to  West  Liberty  and  later  to  Sulphur 
Springs,  engaging    in    mercantile    pursuits 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


665 


and  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Albert,  Fry 
&  Co.  Afterward  he  engag-ed  in  farming 
in  Chatfield  township  and  served  in  numer- 
ous township  offices,  elected  to  the  same  on 
the  Democratic  ticket.  He  was  township 
clerk  and  trustee  and  also  a  justice  of  the 
peace.  He  married  Susan  Fry,  a  daughter 
of  John  Fry,  who  was  born  in  Switzerland 
and  came  in  early  manhood  to  Chatfield 
township,  securing  Government  1  .nd  on 
which  he  lived  until  his  death  when  aged  89 
years.  He  married  a  member  of  the  Helm 
family,  in  Crawford  county.  Six  children 
were  born  t  John  and  Susan  Guiss,  namely : 
William  H.,  who  is  a  physician  at  Tiro,  O. ; 
Melville  O.,  formerly  auditor  of  the  Bir- 
mingham &  Nevada  Railroad  and  general 
manager  of  the  Georgia  &  Alabama  Iron 
Company,  now  located  at  Memphis,  Tenn. ; 
Ethie  R.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Frank  Derr.  of 
New  Washington ;  Charles  A. ;  Warren  G., 
who  is  in  the  oil  business  at  Tulsa,  Okla. ; 
and  Maude  R.,  who  lives  with  her  parents. 
Charles  A.  Guiss  was  graduated  in  the 
State  University  at  Columbus,  in  the  class 
of  1905,  with  his  Civil  engineer  degree  and 
afterward  was  appointed  deputy  county  sur- 
veyor of  Lake  county,  O.,  under  County 
Surveyor  J.  C.  Ward,  and  continued  his 
duties  there  for  about  one  year  and  then 
came  to  Bucyrus.  He  followed  his  profes- 
sion privately  from  1906  until  1907,  when 
he  was  elected  county  surveyor  of  Crawford 
county  and  satisfactorily  served  out  his 
term,  retiring  then  to  give  his  entire  atten- 
tion to  his  personal  business.  He  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  his  political  leanings  and  frater- 
nally is  identified  with  the  Elks  and  the 
Eagles,  both  of  Bucyrus. 

JOHN  MEUSER,  deceased,  was  identi- 
fied with  the  Erie  Railway  for  a  number  of 
years,  for  19  of  these  operating  a  freight 
engine  and  for  more  than  ten  years  being 
a  passenger  train  engineer.  He  was  born 
in  Richland  county,  O.,  Dec.  31,  1842,  and 
his  accidental  death  occurred,  while  in  the 
path  of  duty,  Dec.  30,  1901,  the  direct  result 
of  the  explosion  of  an  engine  pipe. 

John    Peter    Meuser,    father   of   the   late 


John  Meuser,  was  born  in  Prussia  and 
served  in  Napoleon's  Army  at  the  Battle  of 
Waterloo,  in  181 5,  receiving  a  medal  for  his 
bravery,  which  is  still  in  the  possession  of 
the  family.  He  afterward  came  to  the 
United  States  and  settled  in  Richland  coun- 
ty, O.,  where  he  followed  the  cabinetmaking 
trade.  Late  in  life  he  came  to  Gallon,  where 
his  death  occurred  Aug.  11,  1869,  when  he 
was  aged  79  years.  He  was  twice  married, 
his  first  wife  dying  without  issue.  His  sec- 
ond wife,  Cathei'ine  Swain,  was  born  in 
Switzerland,  in  November,  1823,  and  was 
brought  to  America  by  her  parents  in  child- 
hood. She  died  at  Gallon  in  1863,  the 
mother  of  nine  children,  eight  of  whom 
grew  up,  six  of  whom  married  and  three  of 
whom  survive. 

John  Meuser  was  the  eldest  born  of  the 
above  family  of  children  and  remained  in 
Richland  county  until  1865,  when  he  came 
to  Gallon,  entering  the  Erie  Railway  service. 
Through  ability  and  fidelity  he  rapidly 
gained  promotion  and  enjoyed  the  confi- 
dence of  both  his  superiors  and  his  asso- 
ciates in  business.  It  was  while  running  the 
Wells  Fargo  Express  train  on  the  Fourth 
Division,  between  Marion  and  Caledonia, 
O.,  that  the  accident  occurred  that  cost  this 
brave  and  experienced  man  his  life.  He  was 
quite  prominent  in  railway  circles,  and  for 
many  years  had  been  a  member  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers.  He 
was  fraternally  identified  also  with  the  Odd 
Fellows.  Politically  he  was  a  Democrat, 
while  in  his  religious  connection  he  was 
active  in  the  First  Lutheran  Church. 

On  July  II,  1869,  Mr.  Meuser  was  mar- 
ried at  Gallon  to  Miss  L.  Agnes  Sheaffer, 
who  was  born  in  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  Aug.  8,  1852,  but  has 
been  a  resident  of  Gallon  for  56  years  and 
owns  the  valuable  property  on  which  he 
lives.  Her  parents  were  William  W.  and 
Savilla  (Albright)  Sheafifer,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  in  Dauphin  county,  Pa., 
April  16,  1827,  and  died  May  20,  1889.  He 
came  to  Whetstone  township,  March  17, 
1850,  in  the  following  year  was  married  to 
Savilla  Albright,  who  was  born  in  Whet- 


366 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


stone  township,  June  ii,  1833,  and  died  No- 
vember 29,  1884.  Her  parents  were  John 
and  Sarah  (Sheaffer)  Albright,  who  were 
pioneers  in  Crawford  county,  from  Penn- 
sylvania. Two  children  were  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Meuser:  Letta  L.,  who  is  the  wife 
of  R.  C.  Case,  of  Richwood,  O. ;  and  Wil- 
liam W.,  a  fireman  on  the  Erie  Railroad, 
lives  at.  Gallon,  who  married  Virda  Nelson. 
Mrs.  Meuser  is  very  active  in  the  First  Eng- 
lish Lutheran  Church,  to  which  her  parents 
also  belonged,  and  is  interested  in  the  For- 
eign Missionary  Society. 

JOHN  M.  LEITZY,  whose  well  culti- 
vated farm  of  80  acres  is  located  in  Dallas 
township,  is  a  son  of  Francis  and  Hannah 
(Smith)  Leitzy.  He  was  born  in  Holmes 
township,  Dec.  26,  1855. 

Francis  Leitzy  was  born  in  Germany  but 
canie  to  this  country  when  young.  His 
father,  also  named  Francis  Leitzy,  resided 
in  Crawford  county  at  his  death.  Francis 
Leitzy,  Jr.,  upon  his  arrival  in  the  U.  S.,  se- 
cured land  and  followed  his  occupation  as  a 
farmer.  He  married  Hannah  Smith,  a  na- 
tive of  Columbiana  county,  Ohio,  and  they 
had  seven  children,  namely :  Catherine,  who 
is  the  wife  of  George  Strohm ;  Rose  Ann,  the 
wife  of  Philip  Strohm;  Mary,  the  wife  of 
Jacob  Staiger;  John  M.,  our  subject;  Eliza- 
beth, the  wife  of  Frederick  Schiefer;  Wil- 
liam ;  and  Joseph.  He  was  a  Democrat  po- 
litically and  in  religious  faith,  a  Lutheran. 
He  is  buried  in  Crawford  county,  Ohio. 

John  M.  Leitzy  since  completing  his  edu- 
cation has  spent  his  life  in  farming.  His 
first  experience  in  the  cultivation  of  land 
was  obtained  while  working  for  his  father, 
with  whom  he  continued  until  about  25 
years  of  age.  He  then  went  to  Bucyrus 
township,  Crawford  county,  and  rented  a 
tract  of  land  there.  After  five  years  spent 
at  that  place  he  went  to  Tod  township, 
where  he  also  rented  land  but  before  long 
he  returned  to  Bucyrus  township.  Seven 
years  ago  he  bought  his  present  farm  from 
M.  M.  McBeth  and  he  has  here  successfully 
followed  general  farming  since  that  time. 
He  also  raises  stock  for  his  own  use. 


In  February,  1881,  Mr.  Leitzy  married 
Miss  Barbara  Staiger.  Her  parents,  John 
and  Rickey  (Klink)  Staiger,  were  promi- 
nent farming  people  of  Crawford  county, 
but  are  now  deceased.  Their  children  be- 
sides Mrs.  Leitzy  were:  Samuel;  Joseph; 
Lena,  the  wife  of  Robert  Rice;  Rickey,  de- 
ceased; Elizabeth  and  Mary,  twins,  the  for- 
mer the  widow  of  Jacob  Beller  and  the  lat- 
ter deceased;  and  Lydia,  the  wife  of  William 
Roaker. 

To  Mr. "and  Mrs.  John  M.  Leitzy  there 
have  been  born  the  following  children: 
Frederick,  a  music  teacher  and  dealer  in 
musical  instruments ;  Laura,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Clarence  Shroll;  Irvin  G.  and  Corvin  C, 
twins ;  and  Richard  F. 

Mr.  Leitzy  is  a  Democrat  and  has  served 
his  township  on  the  school  board  and  as 
road  supervisor.  He  with  his  family  are  at- 
tendants of  the  Martin  Luther  Church. 

CHARLES  A.  BEILHARZ,  the  leading 
contractor  in  painting  and  decorating  at 
Bucyrus,  O.,  has  been  a  resident  of  this  city 
since  boyhood,  but  was  born  in  Republic 
township,  Seneca  county,  O.,  April  16,  1853, 
a  son  of  Dr.  Wilham  and  Maria  B.  (Crock- 
ett) Beilharz,  and  a  grandson  of  Rev.  John 
P.  Beilharz. 

Rev.  John  P.  Beilharz  was  born  in  1795 
and  was  educated  in  Germany  and  for  many 
years  after  coming  to  America  served  pas- 
torates in  the  German  Lutheran  church  in 
Ohio.  It  is  remembered  that  he  preached 
the  impressive  sermon  at  the  laying  of  the 
corner  stone  of  the  present  old  German 
Lutheran  church  edifice  at  Bucyrus.  He 
died  in  Seneca  county  in  May,  1867,  aged  72 
years,  honored  and  esteemed  to  the  end. 
His  remains  are  buried  in  Fremont,  O. 

William  .Beilharz,  son  of  Rev.  William 
and  father  of  Charles  A.,  was  born  in  1819, 
in  Germany,  and  was  a  child  when  his 
parents  came  to  America  and  they  settled 
in  Birks  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  became 
a  dentist  and  prior  to  the  Civil  War  prac- 
ticed dentistry  at  Tiffin,  O.,  and  from  there 
came  to  Bucyrus  and  opened  an  office  on 
Sandusky  Street,  where  he  continued  in  his 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


667 


profession  for  some  years  and  then  retired, 
his  death  occurring  June  23,  1899.  He  was 
married  in  Seneca  county  to  Maria  B. 
Crockett,  who  was  born  in  Thomaston, 
Maine,  March  30,  1824,  and  was  a  child 
"when  her  parents  moved  to  Seneca  county, 
O.,  and  settled  in  Eden  township.  She  sur- 
vived her  husband,  dying  May  14,  1903,  at 
the  age  of  79  years.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Beilharz 
were  members  of  the  English  Lutheran 
church.  They  had  three  children :  Charles 
A. ;  Anna,  who  is  the  wife  of  F.  L.  Ingman, 
a  merchant,  farmer  and  real  estate  dealer  in 
Iowa ;  and  Cassius  M.,  who  was  accidentally 
killed  at  Columbus,  O.,  Aug.  29,  1891,  while 
attending  to  his  duties  of  conductor,  on  the 
T.  &  O.  C.  Railway.  His  widow,  Henrietta 
Beilharz,  died  June  20,  1900. 

Charles  A.  Beilharz  was  educated  in  the 
Bucyrus  schools  and  learned  his  trade  under 
the  supervision  and  direction  of  Samuel 
Welsh,  who  was  a  very  competent  man  in 
his  line.  For  25  years  Mr.  Beilharz  has  been 
engaged  in  contracting  in  painting  and  deco- 
rating and  has  had  important  work  to  do 
with  both  public  and  private  buildings  and 
his  judgment  is  pretty  apt  to  be  asked  when 
any  work  of  especial  magnitude  is  contem- 
plated. 

Mr.  Beilharz  was  married  to  Miss  Ella  M. 
Choate,  who  was  born  at  Napoleon,  Henry 
county,  O.,  a  daughter  of  Col.  William  A. 
and  Rosina  (McGill)  Choate.  Colonel 
Choate  was  killed  in  battle  while  leadinp-  his 
regiment  during  the  Civil  War.  In  politics 
Mr.  Beilharz,  like  his  late  father,  is  a  Re- 
publican. He  is  identified  with  the  Elks  and 
since  1883  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias. 

PERRY  CHALMERS  FULTON,  a 
highly  respected  retired  resident  of  Bucyrus, 
O.,  is  a  member  of  one  of  the  early  families 
of  this  city,  in  which  he  was  born,  Dec.  26, 
1849.  His  parents  were  Andrew  and  Eliza- 
beth Harper  (Scott)  Fulton. 

Andrew  Fulton  was  born  in  Stark  county, 
O.,  in  1820,  where  he  lived  until  21  years  of 
age  and  then  came  to  Bucyrus.  Here  he. fol- 
lowed the  cabinetmaker's  trade,  which  in- 


cluded the  manufacturing  of  furniture,  by 
hand,  and  the  making  of  coffins.  Many  of 
the  latter  were  constructed  of  walnut  and  as 
they  were  usually  ordered  after  the  death  of 
an  individual,  it  was  no  unusual  thing  for 
Mr.  Fulton  to  work  sometimes  the  entire 
night  fashioning  the  last  receptacles  for  the 
dead,  polishing  and  making  them  as  attract- 
ive as  possible.  For  some  ten  years  he  was 
in  partnership  with  his  brother,  David  Ful- 
ton, but  in  1863  David  went  into  the  gro- 
cery business  and  Andrew  became  sole  pro- 
prietor of  the  former  concern,  but  died  in 
the  following  year,  on  Nov.  13,  1864.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Harper  Scott,  a  daughter 
of  Wilson  Scott.  She  was  born  in  West- 
moreland county.  Pa.,  in  1826,  and  was  only 
two  years  old  when  her  parents  moved  to 
Crawford  county,  reaching  Bucyrus  on  Dec. 
25,  1828,  and  camping  over  night  on  what, 
vvas  then  the  village  square.  Shortly  after- 
ward Mr.  Scott  secured  300  acres  of  Gov- 
ernment land  in  Whetstone  township,  on 
which  he  erected  a  log  cabin  and  there  he 
and  family  spent  many  years.  Late  in  life, 
when  aged  75  years,  he  went  to  Springfield, 
Mo.,  and  afterward  all  record  of  him  was 
lost.  Mrs.  Fulton  survived  until  Oct.  28, 
1898,  passing  away  at  the  age  of  73  years. 
Both  she  and  husband  were  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  Five  children  made 
up  their  family.  Perry  Chalmers  being  the 
first  born.  Anna  Z.  married  Fred  Tipple 
and  they  live  at  Youngstown,  O.,  and  have 
a  family  of  children.  James  T.  went  out  to 
Fairbanks,  Alaska,  but  his  wife  and  daugh- 
ter have  not  yet  joined  him.  Estella  E.  died 
at  the  age  of  18  months.  Andrew  D.  resides 
with  his  wife  and  two  sons  at  Somerville, 
Mass. 

Perry  Chalmers  Fulton  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Bucyrus  and  all  his  subsequent 
business  life  has  been  passed  here  and  since 
June,  1888,  he  has  been  connected  with  the 
T.  &  O.  C.  Railroad.  He  was  married  at 
Bucyrus,  Sept.  20,  1888,  to  Miss  Mary 
Heller,  who  was  born  in  1840,  and  died  at 
Bucyrus,  Sept.  11,  191 1.  She  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  D.  and  Margaret  (Daniel) 
Heller.     For  some  years  she  was  connected 


668 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


with  the  U.  B.  church,  but  later  became  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
at  Bucyrus  and  was  always  actively  inter- 
ested in  its  mission  and  charitable  work. 
Mr.  Fulton  has  four  children,  namely : 
Chalmers  C,  who  resides  with  his  wife,  son 
and  daug-hter,  at  Bethlehem,  Pa. ;  Blanche 
Estella,  who  married  Homer  Eggleston  and 
they  live  at  Chicago,  111.,  and  have  one 
daughter;  Wesley  J.,  who  resides  with  his 
family  at  Cardington,  O. ;  and  Harvey  Wil- 
liams, who  is  in  business  at  Dubuque,  O. 
Politically,  Mr.  Fulton  is  somewhat  inde- 
pendent but  nominally  a  Republican,  and  is 
connected  fraternally  with  the  order  of  For- 
esters and  Royal  Home. 

M.  H.  SCHILL,  doing  business  under  his 
own  name  at  New  Washington,  C,  in  the 
clothing  and  gent's  furnishing  line,  custom 
tailor  and  representative  of  the  Royal  Tail- 
ors, of  Chicago,  111.,  is  well  known  in  this 
part  of  Ohio  and  is  a  representative  citizen 
of  New  Washington.  He  was  born  Sept.  1 1, 
1865,  in  Richland  county,  O.,  but  was  mainly 
educated  at  Shelby,  O. 

Mr.  Schill  entered  upon  his  business  ca- 
reer as  a  dry  goods  salesman,  afterward 
traveling  for  a  firm  for  two  and  one-half 
years  through  southern  Ohio  and  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  then  went  into  the  clothing  busi- 
ness and  resided  for  the  following  seven 
years  at  Shelby,  being  connected  with  the 
Kennedy  Clothing  House.  On  Jan.  16,  1907, 
he  came  to  New  Washington  and  here  for 
three  years  was  manager  for  Kennedy-Robi- 
son  Company,  of  Shelby,  on  April  12,  191 1, 
embarking  in  business  for  himself  and  his 
trade  name  is  Schill,  the  clothier.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  stocks  above  mentioned,  he 
handles  a  fine  line  of  suit  cases  and  trunks, 
having  excellent  business  accommodations 
on  West  Mansfield  Street.  Mr.  Schill  is 
acknowledged  to  be  a  man  of  taste,  skill  and 
practical  knowledge  in  his  special  line  and 
attracts  a  very  high  class  of  patronage. 

Mr.  Schill  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Fabian,  who  was  born  at  Galion,  O.  They 
are  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
Mr.  Schill  is  identified  with  the  Knights  of 


Columbus,  Mansfield  Council;  with  the 
Eagles,  at  Shelby,  O.,  and  C.  K.  of  O.,  of  the 
same  city. 

JOHN  W.  LOOMIS,  a  well  remembered 
educator  in  several  sections  of  Ohio,  has 
been  a  resident  of  Bucyrus  since  1904,  when 
he  became  connected  with  the  U.  S.  Railway 
mail  service  and  at  present  is  a  railway 
postal  clerk  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
between  Crestline,  O.,  and  Chicago,  111.  He 
was  born  in  Seneca  county,  O.,  in  1871,  and 
is  a  son  of  George  and  Susan  C.  (Beery) 
Loomis. 

The  Loomis  family  is  of  New  England 
ancestry  but  has  been  established  in  the 
State  of  Ohio  for  about  100  years.  Reuel 
Loomis  was  one  of  the  early  colonists  from 
Connecticut  to  settle  in  the  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory and  secured  land  in  Sandusky  county 
shortly  after  Ohio  became  a  State.  In  1820 
he  moved  to  Tiffin  and  was  one  of  the  pio- 
neer farmers  of  Seneca  county.  There  his 
son,  Wildman  Loomis,  grandfather  of  John 
W.  Loomis  of  Bucyrus,  was  reared,  his  birth 
having  taken  place  in  1819  in  Sandusky 
county.  He  died  on  his  farm  in  Eden  town- 
ship, Seneca  county,  when  aged  83  years. 
He  was  intensely  loyal  to  the  Union  and 
when  civil  war  was  precipitated  entered  the 
Federal  Army,  accompanied  by  his  son 
George,  and  served  as  corporal  of  Co.  B, 
164th  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  throughout  a  full  term  of 
enlistment. 

George  Loomis  was  born  in  Seneca  coun- 
ty, O.,  in  April,  1841,  and  died  at  Hicksville, 
O.,  in  1905.  He  engaged  in  farming  through 
most  of  his  active  period  and  was  well 
known  in  his  native  state.  He  married 
Susan  C.  Beery,  who  was  born  in  April,  1847 
and  died  at  Hicksville,  O.,  in  1892.  They 
were  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Their  children  were  seven  in  num- 
ber, as  follows :  John  W. ;  Mary  C,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Noah  Ames,  residing  at  Hicks- 
ville, O.,  and  they  have  two  children — Rich- 
ard D.  and  Rachael  N. ;  Ella  E.,  who  died 
unmarried  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years; 
H.  Edward,  who  is  engaged  in  the  harness- 
making  business  at  Hicksville,  married  there 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


669 


Ruby  Coburn  and  they  have  three  daugh- 
ters— Susan  L.,  Lulu  M.  and  Alma  L. ; 
James  W.,  who  died  in  infancy;  Lula  M., 
who  died  when  aged  seven  years ;  and  Laura 
E.,  who  died  in  infancy. 

John  W.  Loomis  enjoyed  excellent  educa- 
tional advantages  in  youth  and  early  man- 
hood, attending  school  both  in  Seneca  and 
Wyandot  counties  and  completing  the  scien- 
tific course  at  the  National  Normal  Univer- 
sity, at  Lebanon,  O.  For  some  ten  subse- 
quent j^ears  he  taught  school  in  Defiance 
and  Henry  counties  and  for  some  time  was 
at  the  head  of  the  schools  of  Florida,  O., 
and  was  jprincipal  of  the  Hicksville  High 
School.  After  two  years  of  travel  in  the 
South  he  was  connected  for  a  few  years 
with  the  circulating  department  of  the 
Bucyrus  Journal  and  Daily  Telegraph.  For 
the  past  eight  years  as  mentioned  above, 
Mr.  Loomis  has  been  in  the  Government 
service. 

Mr.  Loomis  was  married  at  Bucyrus  in 
January,  1908,  to  Miss  Maude  May  Minton, 
who  was  born  in  1881,  at  Bradford,  O., 
where  she  attended  school  and  later  per- 
fected herself  in  music  at  Ada,  O.  She  is 
a  daughter  of  Ellis  and  Bertha  (Burt)  Min- 
ton, natives  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  respect- 
ively, and  a  granddaughter  of  Dr.  Henry 
Harrison  and  Elizabeth  (Shellenbarger) 
Minton.  Dr.  Minton  was  a  prominent 
physician  at  Bradford,  where  he  practiced 
for  32  years.  Mrs.  Loomis  has  one  sister. 
Alma  G.,  who  is  supervisor  of  drawing  and 
music  in  the  New  Comerstown  schools,  in 
Tuscarawas  county,  O.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Loomis  have  one  daughter,  Grace  Isabel, 
who  was  born  Sept.  6,  1910.  They  are 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  In 
politics  Mr.  Loomis  is  a  Republican  and 
fraternally  he  belongs  to  Demas  Lodge  No. 
108,  Knights  of  Pythias. 

H.  O.  DUTTER,  manager  of  the 
Bucyrus  Telephone  Company,  a  prosperous 
business  concern  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  was  born 
at  Garrettsville,  Portage  county,  O.,  Jan. 
16,  1873. 

In  1891  Mr.  Dutter  was  graduated  from 


the  Garretsville  High  School,  after  which 
he  gave  two  years  to  electrical  study  and 
practice  at  Athens,  O.,  which  prepared  him 
to  fill  a  position  of  some  responsibility  in 
the  electrical  engineering  department  of 
the  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company,  of 
that  city.  From  1893  until  1896  he  was 
connected  with  the  Light  and  Power  Com- 
pany at  Delphos,  O.,  and  from  then  until 
1901  was  superintendent  of  the  Clyde,  O., 
Light  and  Power  Company  and  for  one 
year  was  also  city  engineer  there  and  after 
that  occupied  a  similar  position  with  a 
municipal  plant  at  Bryan.  From  1902  until 
1905  he  was  superintendent  of  the  gas  de- 
partment, with  the  Peoples  Gas  and  Elec- 
trical Company,  at  Defiance,  O.  In  1906 
he  was  connected  for  some  time  with  the 
Light  and  Power  Company  at  Alliance,  O., 
coming  from  there  to  Bucyrus,  where  he 
became  superintendent  of  the  Light  and 
Power  Company  of  this  city,  assuming  the 
management  of  the  present  company  in 
October,  1910.  The  Bucyrus  Telephone 
Company  was  incorporated  in  1898,  with  an 
authorized  capital  of  $150,000.  Its  ofiScers 
are:  Dr.  J.  A.  Chesnes,  president;  H.  S. 
Blair,  vice  president;  A.  D.  Stoltz,  secre- 
tary and  treasurer,  the  board  of  directors 
including  the  officers  and  three  additional 
capitalists :  Benjamin  Shearer,  J.  Wentz 
and  E.  Blair.  The  company  operates  1000 
automatic  telephones  and  500  farm  tele- 
phones and  they  also  have  long  distance 
connection  with  the  Bell  and  Independent 
companies.  Constant  employment  is  given 
to  twenty  people.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
successful  local  enterprises  of  this  section. 
Mr.  Dutter  was  married  at  Delphos,  O., 
to  Miss  Katherine  Florence  Mahoney,  who 
was  born  and  educated  there.  Mr.  Dutter 
is  a  Knight  Templar  Mason,  belonging  to 
the  Commandery  at  Marion,  O.,  and  to  the 
minor  branches  at  Bucyrus.  He  belongs 
to  the  Knights  of  Pythias  at  Defiance,  O., 
and  is  past  chancellor  of  Clyde  Lodge  No. 
146,  Clyde,  O. ;  to  the  Elks,  at  Bucyrus ;  to 
the  Maccabees  at  Defiance,  O.;  and  is  a 
member  of  the  American  Gas  Institute  and 
an  associate  member  of  the  American  Insti- 


670 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


tute  of  Electrical  Eng-ineers.  Mr.  Dutter 
is  a  busy,  practical,  competent  man  and  is 
valued  as  a  citizen. 

ISRAEL  ULMER,  one  of  the  represent- 
ative farmers  and  good  citizens  of  Craw- 
ford county,  who  owns  a  fine  farm  in 
Bucyrus  township,  in  partnership  with  his 
brother,  William  Ulmer,  containing  113 
acres,  was  born  in  Crawford  county,  March 
18,  1853,  and  is  a  son  of  Adam  and  Cather- 
ine (Bahler)  Ulmer. 

Adam  Ulmer  and  wife  were  born  in 
Wurtemberg,  Germany,  and  they  came 
when  young  to  Crawford  county,  married 
here  and  had  the  following  children :  John, 
William,  Minnie,  Israel  and  Mary.  The 
father  of  the. above  family  died  in  1856  and 
in  i860  the  mother  married  Henry  Miller 
and  they  moved  to  Henry  county,  O.  They 
had  four  children :  Sophia,  Jacob,  Pauline 
and  Margaret. 

Israel  Ulmer  obtained  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  and  afterward  learned 
the  carpenter  trade  which  he  followed  for 
five  years,  all  the  rest  of  his  mature  life 
having  been  spent  as  a  farmer.  In  1884  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Steiger,  a 
daughter  of  George  G.  and  Magdalena 
(Stohm)  Steiger.  The  parents  of  Mrs. 
Ulmer  were  farmers  in  Holmes  township 
where  the  father  still  lives,  the  mother  be- 
ing now  deceased.  Of  their  family  of  chil- 
dren, Mrs.  Ulmer  was  the  second  born,  the 
others  being:  Charles;  Magdalena,  wife  of 
Charles  Unger;  George  Emanuel;  David; 
Moses;  Emma,  wife  of  Noah  Lust;  and 
Martha,  wife  of  Warren  Dinnenger;  Philip; 
and  Amelia,  the  wife  of  Casper  Meyer. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ulmer  the  following 
children  have  been  born:  George  F. ; 
Emma,  who  is  the  wife  of  Arthur  Luke  and 
has  two  children — Clinton  and  Leola ;  and 
Minnie,  Otto,  Milo,  and  Eunice.  Mr.  Ulmer 
and  family  attend  the  German  Lutheran 
church.  The  Ulmers  have  always  been 
stanch  in  their  support  of  the  Democratic 
party.  Mr.  Ulmer  has  served  three  years 
as  school  director,  taking  much  interest  in 
school  matters  in  his  township  and  in  every 


other  way  performing  his  duties   as  a  re- 
sponsible and  reliable  citizen. 

HENRY  A.  BARTH,  who  is  a  member 
of  the  business  firm  of  William  F.  Earth 
and  Brother,  barbers,  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  is  a 
prominent  Democratic  politician  of  Craw- 
ford county  and  is  serving  in  the  office  of 
city  auditor.  He  was  born  in  Chatfield 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  Aug.  4, 
1862,  and  is  a  son  of  Frederick  and  Cather- 
ine (Boll)  Barth,  who  reared  a  family  of 
seven  children.  The  father  was  born  in 
Germany  and  when  he  came  to  Ohio  settled 
on  a  farm  in  Chatfield  township.  His  death 
occurred  in  1882. 

Henry  A.  Barth  was  reared  on  his 
father's  farm  and  was  educated  in  the 
country  schools.  In  1880  he  came  to 
Bucyrus  and  here  learned  his  business  and 
in  association  with  his  brother,  condticts  a 
large  establishment.  He  has  been  for  years 
an  active,  interested  and  reliable  citizen, 
served  one  term  as  a  member  of  the  city 
council  representing  the  Third  Ward,  and  in 
1907  was  elected  city  auditor.  He  is  an 
officer  in  the  National  Union  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Barbers'  Union  and  is  treasurer 
of  the  local  organization. 

Mr.  Barth  married  Miss  Amanda  E. 
Orthwein,  a  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Orth- 
wein,  of  Crawford  county,  and  they  have 
two  daughters:  Stella  V.  and  Helen  R. 
They  reside  at  No.  325  S.  Spring  Street, 
Bucyrus,  and  they  attend  the  German 
Lutheran  church. 

JOHN  WEIRICK,  a  retired  farmer  and 
highly  respected  citizen  of  Whetstone 
township,  where  he  owns  218  acres  of  valu- 
able land,  was  born  at  Perrysville,  Rich- 
land county,  O.,  June  6,  1840,  and  is  a  son 
of  Levi  and  Elizabeth  (Broner)  Weirick. 

Levi  Weirick  and  wife  were  both  born  in 
Union  county.  Pa.,  both  came  to  Ohio 
when  young  and  both  died  in  Crawford 
county,  where  their  burial  took  place.  By 
trade  he  was  a  chair  maker  and  he  followed 
the  same  all  his  life.  In  early  days  he  was 
a  Whig  but  later  identified  himself  with  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


671 


Republican  party.  Both  he  and  wife  be- 
longed to  the  United  Brethren  church.  To 
them  the  following  children  were  born: 
Charles  H.,  who  is  deceased;  Mary,  who  is 
the  widow  of  John  Smith ;  John ;  Margaret ; 
Clarine,  who  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Stein- 
helfer;  William  and  Sabina. 

John  Weirick  attended  school  through 
boyhood  and  then  worked  on  farms  by  the 
month  until  he  was  21  years  of  age.  The 
Civil  War  was  then  in  progress  and  with 
many  other  patriotic  young  men  of  the 
neighborhood,  he  entered  the  Union  Army, 
enlisting  in  Co.  C,  23rd  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  in 
which  he  served  for  three  years,  receiving 
his  honorable  discharge  at  Cumberland, 
Md.,  in  January,  1865.  He  saw  hard  serv- 
ice and  in  addition  to  participating  in  the 
wearying  marches  and  many  skirmishes,  he 
took  part  in  such  important  battles  as 
South  Mountain,  Antietam  and  Cedar 
Creek.  After  the  close  of  the  war,  Mr. 
Weirick  came  to  Crawford  county,  O.,  with 
the  intention  of  securing  farm  land  and  es- 
tablishing a  permanent  home.  For  the  first 
seven  years  he  rented  land  and  then  pur- 
chased his  first  100  acres  of  his  present  farm 
and  later  added  118  acres  more  and  for 
many  years  carried  on  his  agricultural  in- 
dustries by  himself  but  now  these  responsi- 
bilities are  carried  by  his  son.  General 
farming,  including  the  raising  of  a  good 
grade  of  stock,  occupies  the  attention  of 
Mr.  Weirick. 

In  1867,  John  Weirick  was  married  to 
his  cousin.  Miss  Matilda  Weirick,  who  is  a 
daughter  of  Aaron  and  Margaret  (Clark) 
Weirick,  substantial  farming  people  of 
Whetstone  township  who  had  the  follow- 
ing children:  Harriet,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Hiram  Anton;  Matilda;  Lucinda,  who  is 
the  wife  of  William  Miller;  Clark  M.; 
Charles;  Mary  Ann,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Hiram  Trautman;  Nancy  Jane,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Henry  Tate;  and  Catherine,  who  is 
the  wife  of  John  Brubaker. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weirick  have  had  the  fol- 
lowing children:  Catherine  Irene,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Charles  D.  Wise,  and  has  one 
son,  Clyde  DeWitt;  Charles,  who  died  at 


the  age  of  two  years;  Edna  Viola,  who  is 
the  wife  of  James  Heinlen  and  has  three 
children — Hilda,  Mildred  and  Iva;  Horace, 
who  married  Ella  Hilliss,  and  has  one  son, 
Neal;  Levi,  who  married  Emma  Bonner, 
and  has  two  children — Ivan  and  Harold; 
Alberta,  who  is  the  wife  of  Simon  Roberts; 
Margaret,  who  lives  at  home;  and  Ida,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Charles  I.  Wise,  and  has  two 
children — Eugene  and  Geraldine.  The  pa- 
ternal grandparents  of  both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Weirick  were  Henry  and  Mary  Weirick. 
During  his  active  years,  Mr.  Weirick 
served  usefully  in  a  number  of  local  offices 
and  was  school  director  and  road  super- 
visor and  for  two  terms  was  constable. 
He  is  a  man  of  pronounced  temperance 
principles  and  votes  with  the  Prohibition 
party.  Both  he  and  family  have  long  been 
active  members  of  the  United  Brethren 
church  and  they  are  all  people  who  stand 
very  high  in  the  esteem  of  their  neighbors 
and  fellow  citizens. 

GEORGE  W.  NEUMANN,  carpenter 
contractor,  is  a  well  known  business  man 
of  Bucyrus,  O.,  of  which  city  he  has  been 
a  resident  for  27  years.  He  was  born  in 
Polk  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  June 
14,  1855,  and  is  a  son  of  George  and  Mary 
(House)  Neumann. 

George  Neumann  was  born  at  Berlin, 
Germany,  in  1824,  and  his  wife  at  the  same 
place  in  1822  and  both  died  on  their  farm 
in  Tully  township,  Marion  county,  O.,  he 
in  1892  and  she  in  1881.  They  came  to 
America  in  1850,  with  their  first  two  chil- 
dren, Peter  and  Elizabeth,  landed  at  New 
York  and  from  there  moved  to  Polk  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.  There  four 
more  children  were  born — George  W., 
Mary,  Henry  J.  and  Jacob  R.,  four  of  the 
family  still  surviving. 

George  W.  Neumann  was  young  when 
his  parents  moved  to  Marion  county  and 
there  he  was  reared  and  attended  a  local 
school  in  boyhood,  afterward  learning  the 
carpenter  trade.  In  1885  he  came  to 
Bucyrus  and  here  has  continued  to  be  act- 
ively engaged  in  business  ever  since.     He 


672 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


is  a  skilled  workman  and  has  been  con- 
cerned in  the  erection  of  many  of  the  sub- 
stantial structures  of  this  city  and  vicinity. 
In  1889.  Mr.  Neumann  was  married  to 
Miss  Laura  Lowmiller,  who  was  born  at 
Bucyrus  and  is  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Louisa  (Kiefer)  Lowmiller,  and  a  grand-, 
daughter  of  Adam  Lowmiller.  The  latter 
was  of  German  parentage  but  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  in  1808  and  died  at  Bucyrus 
in  1889.  Daniel  Lowmiller,  father  of  Mrs. 
Neumann,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in 
1838  and  came  to  Ohio  in  early  manhood. 
In  1861  he  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil 
War,  entering  the  First  111.  Bat.  I.  Light 
Artillery,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the 
Rebellion.  He  participated  in  many  battles 
and  in  every  situation  displayed  true  cour- 
age and  patriotic  spirit.  After  the  war  he 
came  to  Crawford  county  and  married  here 
and  resided  at  Bucyrus  until  his  death  in 
1896.  The  mother  of  Mrs.  Neumann  is  a 
well  known  resident  of  Bucyrus.  She  was 
born  in  one  of  the  Rhine  provinces,  Ger- 
many, in  1842,  and  was  nine  years  old  when 
her  people  came  to  Crawford  county.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Neumann  have  four  children: 
Bessie  Irene,  born  October  18,  1889;  Mar- 
tha Mildred,  born  July  7,  1896;  Louise 
EHzabeth,  born  March  26,  1901 ;  and 
George  William,  born  July  30,  1908.  Mr. 
Neumann  and  family  are  members  of  the 
German  Lutheran  church.  In  his  political 
views,  Mr.  Neumann  denominates  himself 
an  independent  Democrat. 

FRANKLIN  ADAMS.  Among  the  force- 
ful and  sterling  citizens  of  Crawford  county 
who  in  recent  years  have  passed  to  the  Great 
Beyond  was  he  whose  name  begins  this  brief 
notice.  He  was  born  at  Alstead,  N.  H.,  Nov. 
16,  1 81 3,  a  son  of  John  and  Susanna  (Morse) 
Adams.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Nathan 
Adams,  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  a 
colonial  soldier  in  the  American  Revolution. 
The  name  of  Adams  stands  prominently  out 
in  American  history  and  the  family  of  which 
our  subject  was  a  member  is  the  some  which 
furnished  two  presidents  to  the  United  States, 
while  the  eloquence  of  another  representative 
of  the  family  inspired  the  Declaration  of  In- 


dependence. The  Morse  family  to  which  Mr. 
Adams'  mother  belonge'd  has  also  been  con- 
spicuous in  Bay  State  annals.  The  parents  of 
our  subject  were  both  born  in  Massachusetts. 
They  resided  for  some  time  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, but  in  1820  removed  to  Canadice,  New 
York,  and  thence  to  Michigan  in  1836,  in 
which  last  named  state  both  died.  They  had 
four  sons  and  five  daughters. 

Franklin  Adams,  after  attending  the  com- 
mon schools  in  early  boyhood,  entered  an 
academy  at  Middleburg,  Wyoming  county,  N. 
Y.,  and  later  continued  his  academic  course  in 
Henrietta,  Monroe  county,  N.  Y.  On  attain- 
ing his  majority  in  1834  he  joined  the  general 
trend  of  emigration  westward,  believing  that 
in  a  newer  country  he  would  find  better  op- 
portunities of  advancement.  Settling  in  Ash- 
land, Ohio,  he  made  that  place  his  home  for  18 
months,  and  it  was  while  here  that  he  began 
the  study  of  the  law,  under  the  direction  of 
Silas  Robbins.  He  continued  it  subsequently 
at  Mansfield,  Ohio,  under  James  Purdy  of 
that  city.  At  the  July  term  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Ohio,  held  in  Bucyrus  in  1836,  Mr. 
Adams  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  also  li- 
censed to  practice  by  the  District  Court  of  the 
United  States,  held  in  Columbus  in  1839. 
He  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  at 
Mansfield,  in  association  with  Mr.  Purdy,  his 
preceptor,  but  on  the  loth  of  August,  1837,  he 
came  to  Bucyrus,  of  which  place  he  subse- 
quently remained  a  citizen  until  his  death, 
which  took  place  on  August  i,  1909.  From 
1838  to  1845  he  held  the  office  of  prosecuting 
attorney,  which  was  the  only  political  office 
ever  held  by  him.  From  1852  to  1854  he  was 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Ohio  and  Ift- 
diana  Railroad  Company  when  it  was  first 
built  between  Crestline,  Ohio  and  Fort  Wayne, 
Ind.,  which  road  is  now  a  part  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railway  system.  In  politics  he  was 
a  stanch  Democrat,  but  his  undivided  time  and 
attention  were  given  to  the  practice  of  the 
law  and  he  never  sought  political  preferment. 
His  character  as  a  lawyer  has  been  well 
summed  up  in  the  following  words : 

"As  a  lawyer  his  has  been  a  general  prac- 
tice, covering  the  usual  variety  of  litigated  in- 
terests that  make  up  the  docket  of  nisiprius 
courts  in  a  country  town.  To  chancery  he 
has  given  special  attention,  especially  to  the 


FRANKLIN  ADAMS 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


675 


administration  of  estates.  He  accomplished 
much  toward  settlement  of  cases  outside  of 
the  courtroom.  He  has  always  advised  com- 
promises rather  than  settlement  of  difficulties 
in  the  courts.  In  early  days  it  was  not  un- 
usual for  disputants  to  bring  before  him  their 
respective  grievances  for  arbitration,  and  thus 
he  became  in  the  best  sense  counsel  for  both 
parties,  and  in  fact  took  the  part  of  counsel 
and  judge.  An  amiable  disposition,  unques- 
tioned integrity,  unfailing  tact,  insight  into 
human  nature  and  regard  for  equity  as  well 
as  law,  enabled  him  to  solve  hundreds  of  dif- 
ficulties and  restore  the  relations  of  friendship 
and  confidence  between  men  who  had  become 
antagonistical  over  some  point  and  were  in- 
clined to  ruinous  litigation.  Always  a  stu- 
dent, always  thorough,  and  ever  exact,  Mr. 
Adams  has  long  held  the  reputation  of  being  a 
learned  and  able  lawyer,  accurate  and  exact 
in  his  pleadings,  alert  in  trial,  logical  and  con- 
vincing in  argument." 

Mr.  Adams  might  well  have  been  called  the 
Nestor  of  the  Crawford  county  bar.  At  a 
banquet  tendered  him  by  the  bench  and  bar  of 
Crawford  county  at  the  time  he  had  completed 
his  70th  anniversary  as  a  lawyer  he  receiyed 
from  his  professional  associates  and  towns- 
men- most  complimentary  and  eulogistic  ex- 
pressions of  their  appreciation  of  his  ability, 
of  his  devotion  to  duty  and  of  his  character 
as  a  man,  among  the  principal  speakers  being 
Col.  Wilson  C.  Lemert.  The  proceedings 
were  published  in  pamphlet  form  making  some 
forty  or  more  pages. 

Mr.  Adams  was  not  only  a  lawyer  of  marked 
ability,  he  was  also  an  able  business  man.  He 
acquired  a  large  amount  of  agricultural  prop- 
erty and  had  a  beautiful  home,  with  spacious 
and  well  cared  for  grounds  near  the  public 
square  in  the  heart  of  the  city.  He  was  never 
married  but  left  his  large  estate  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Ostermier.  It  was  about  1870  that 
Miss  Ostermeir  became  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Adams.  She  was  then  employed  at  the  Sims 
Hotel  (now  the  Deal  House),  where  Mr. 
Adams  was  living  at  that  time.  He  was  at- 
tracted by  her  agreeable  manners,  her  kind- 
ness, and  the  efficient  way  in  which  she  per- 
formed her  duties  and  soon  made  her  an  ofifer 
to  become  his  managing  housekeeper,  which 
she  accepted  in  1878.     She  held  this  position 


to  the  close  of  Mr.  Adam's  life  and  was  as 
faithful  and  efficient  in  it  as  she  had  been  in 
her  duties  at  the  hotel,  and  caring  for  him 
tenderly  in  his  last  illness.  As  a  reward  for 
this  faithful  service,  he  willed  to  her  all  his 
valuable  property  in  fee  simple,  and  she  has 
since  kept  up  and  conducted  the  household  in 
the  same  neat  and  systematic  manner  that  he 
desired  when  living.  Miss  Ostermier  is  a 
woman  of  natural  refinement  as  well  as  busi- 
ness and  administrative  ability  and  those  who 
know  her  best  feel  that  she  has  met  with  a  well 
deserved  reward. 

Mr.  Adams  was  a  member  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  being  in  fact 
a  charter  member  of  La  Salle  Lodge,  of  Bu- 
cyrus.  As  a  man  his  life  was  irreproachable 
and  at  his  demise  there  were  many  to  mourn  his 
loss. 

F.  C.  McGAUGHY,  D.  D.  S.,  one  of  the 
leading  professional  men  of  Gallon,  who  for 
14  years  has  been  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  dentistry  in  this  city,  was  born  April  4, 
1875,  in  Chesterville,  Morrow  county,  Ohio. 
He  is  a  son  of  Hugh  P.  and  Hannah  L. 
(Boner)  McGaughy. 

Hugh  P.  McGaughy  was  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  came  to  Morrow  county,  Ohio, 
in  early  manhood,  where  he  married,  and 
he  and  wife  settled  in  Chester  township, 
where  he  engaged  in  farming  and  also 
worked  as  a  house  carpenter.  His  death 
occurred  in  1910,  at  the  age  of  72  years,  his 
wife  having  passed  away  in  1904.  He  was 
of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry,  and  was  reared  in 
the  Presbyterian  faith.  She  was  of  Baptist 
rearing,  and  her  people  were  of  Dutch  and 
Welsh  extraction. 

F.  C.  McGauhgy  attended  the  public 
schools  in  Chesterville,  and  then  entered 
The  Ohio  Medical  University,  at  Colum- 
bus, Ohio.  The  Ohio  Medical  University 
has  since  been  consolidated  with  The  Star- 
ling Medical  College,  to  form  The  Starling 
Ohio  Medical  Universitv-  He  was  gradu- 
ated from  the  dental  department  of  said 
university  in  the  class  of  1897.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  came  to  Gallon,  and  has 
built  up  a  large  and  substantial  practice. 
He  has  a  well  equipped  office,   and  keeps 


676 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


thoroughly  abreast  with  the  times  in  all 
advancements  in  dental  science.  His  resi- 
dence is  situated  at  No.  658  West  Main 
Street,  Galiou. 

Dr.  McGaughy  was  married  at  Bucyrus, 
Ohio,  to  Miss  Eva  A.  Matthew,  the  only 
daughter  of  Charles  F.  Matthews.  She  was 
born  at  Bucyrus,  in  1878,  and  was  reared 
and  educated  in  her  native  city.  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  McGaughy  are  members  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  Professionally,  Dr.  Mc- 
Gaughy is  a  member  of  The  Central  Ohio 
Dental  Society,  component  society  of  The 
Ohio  State  Dental  Society,  and  fraternally 
is  a  Mason  and  Knight  of  Pythias. 

DAVID  C.  GAIBLER,  whose  valuable 
farm  of  134  acres  is  well  cared  for  and  is  a 
profitable  property,  situated  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford'  county,  O.,  was  born 
in  Germany,  January  19,  1869,  and  is  a  son 
of  Gottlieb  and  Frederica  (Schaaf)  Gaibler. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Gaibler  lived  in  Ger- 
many until  1887,  when  they  followed  David 
C.  Gaibler  to  Ohio,  and  for  six  months  lived 
at  Bucyrus.  Gottlieb  Gaibler  and  wife  then 
moved  to  Frontier  county,  Nebr.,  and  there 
the  latter  died  in  1909,  after  which  Mr. 
Gaibler  went  to  Oregon  for  several  years 
and  then  rettirned  to  his  Nebraska  farm. 
His  children  were:  Christian;  David  C. ; 
Mary,  wife  of  Christian  Schurr,  Gottlieb, 
Pauline,  Frederica  and  Nina. 

David  C.  Gaibler  attended  the  public 
schools  in  Germany  and  afterward  learned 
and  worked  at  the  carpenter  trade.  He  was 
the  first  one  of  the  family  to  come  to 
America,  which  was  in  1884,  and  since  then 
he  has  engaged  in  farm  work  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  everything  else.  He  purchased  his 
present  farm  from  the  heirs  of  his  mother- 
in-law,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Kerr)  Sennet,  who 
was  born  and  spent  her  life  on  this  place. 
Mr.  Gaibler  carries  on  all  kinds  of  farm 
activities  and  is  prosperous. 

In  January,  1896,  Mr.  Gaibler  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Jennie  Sennet,  a  daughter  of 
Elias  and  Elizabeth  (Kerr)  Sennet,  the  for- 
mer of  whom  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
now  resides  with  his  children.    The  mother 


of  Mrs.  Gaibler  died  Dec.  29,  1896.  Mrs. 
Gaibler  has  four  sisters  and  one  brother: 
Sadie,  wife  of  Dennis  Miller;  William; 
Rosa;  Delia,  wife  of  David  Gulp;  and 
Daisy.  The  grandparents  were  Oliver  and 
Elizabeth  (Wooster)  Sennet.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Gaibler  attend  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  po- 
litical opinions,  but  takes  no  very  active 
part  in  politics,  being  a  practical,  hard- 
working farmer  and  no  seeker  for  office. 

JOHN  W.  BIRK,  M.  D.,  was  born  in 
Crawford  county,  Ohio,  March  3,  1874,  a 
son  of  Christian  F.  and  Martha  S.  (Volk) 
Birk.  He  is  a  grandson  of  John  G.  Birk, 
a  native  of  Wurtemburg,  Germany,  who 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1845.  After 
residing  for  a  time  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  John 
G.  Birk  removed  to  Tuscarawas  county, 
Ohio;  but  he  did  not  remain  there  long,  as 
in  1847  he  came  to  Bucyrus,  where  he  es- 
tablished a  harness  making  business,  which 
he  carried  on  for  many  years  and  which  is 
still  flourishing.  He  became  a  prominent 
citizen  and  served  as  treasurer  of  Crawford 
county  from  1874  to  1876.  His  death  took 
place  Nov.   10,   1888. 

In  185 1  he  married  Miss  Joanna  Kuhn, 
who  was  also  a  native  of  Germany  and  a 
representative  of  one  of  the  pioneer  fam- 
ilies of  Crawford  county,  her  people  having 
come  to  this  section  of  Ohio  in  1836.  She 
died  in  October,  1893,  having  attained  the 
age  of  65  years.  In  their  family  were  the 
following  children:  Christian  F.,  father  of 
Dr.  John  W.  Birk;  George  M.,  who  is  en- 
gaged in  the  drug  business  with  his  brother, 
Christian;  Emanuel  R.,  who  is  now  propri- 
etor of  the  harness  shop  established  by  his 
father  and  is  doing  a  very  extensive  busi- 
ness ;  Lewis  C,  who  is  foreman  in  the  har- 
ness store ;  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of  F.  P. 
Donnenwirth,  a  retired  citizen  of  Bucy- 
rus, O. 

Christian  F.  Birk  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  of  Bucyrus,  which  he  at- 
tended until  he  was  14  years  of  age.  He 
then  began  assisting  his  father  in  the  har- 
ness shop,  where  he  mastered  the  business, 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


677 


which  he  mastered  in  all  its  details.  For 
several  years  he  was  a  partner  with  his 
father  in  the  enterprise,  which  was  carried 
on  under  the  firm  name  of  J.  G.  Birk  &  Son. 
For  53  years  the  business  has  been  contin- 
ued as  the  Birk's  Harness  Store,  and  is  one 
of  the  most  successful  commercial  institu- 
tions of  the  city,  being  now  conducted  by 
two  of  the  sons  of  J.  G.  Birk,  as  above  in- 
timated. 

In  1892  Christian  F.  Birk,  in  connection 
with  his  younger  brother,  G.  M.  Birk,  es- 
tablished a  drug  store,  which  they  are  still 
conducting.  They  carry  a  large  and  well 
assorted  stock  of  goods  and  conduct  their 
business  so  as  to  retain  their  patrons  and 
build  up  their  trade.  Their  sales  are  con- 
stantly increasing  and  the  proprietors  en- 
joy a  good  income.  Christian  F.  Birk  is 
also  connected  with  the  Board  of  Trade. 
In  Bucyrus,  in  1873,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Bertha  S.  Volk,  a  daughter  of  William  F. 
Volk,  who  came  to  Crawford  county  about 
60  years  ago.  They  had  three  children — 
John  W.,  Carrie  Elizabeth  and  Edna,  of 
whom  Carrie  E.  is  the  wife  of  G.  W.  Kerr, 
of  Wrightsville,  Pa.,  and  Edna,  at  one  time 
a  teacher  in  the  public  schools,  is  now  the 
wife  of  Otho  Kennedy.  Mrs.  Christian  F. 
Birk  died  Aug.  10,  1898,  a  month  after  her 
son,  John  W.,  had  sailed  for  Cuba  on  mili- 
tary service  and  while  he  was  on  the  island. 

Mr.  Christian  F.  Birk  is  connected  with 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  fraternity  and  with 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  He  belongs  to  .the  German  Lutheran 
church  and  in  politics  is  a  stalwart  Demo- 
crat. When  only  23  years  of  age  he  was 
elected  to  the  city  council  and  after  an  in- 
terval he  was  chosen,  in  1896,  for  a  second 
term  of  two  years.  He  served  as  city  mar- 
shal from  1884  until  1890  and  in  the  latter 
year  entered  upon  a  four  years  term  as 
county  sheriff.  His  fellow  townsmen  con- 
ferred upon  him  the  highest  honor  within 
their  power  when  in  1898  he  was  elected 
mayor  of  Bucyrus,  and  two  years  later  they 
again  called  him  to  the  same  position,  a  fact 
which  indicates  how  faithfully  he  had 
served  them,  his  administration  being  prac- 


tical, progressive  and  beneficial.  His  pub- 
lic career  has  been  epitomized  as  follows : 
"Public  spirited,  he  has  withheld  his  sup- 
port from  no  measure  that  he  believes  will 
promote  the  welfare  and  substantial  ad- 
vancement of  Bucyrus,  and  his  discrimi- 
nating mind  enables  him  to  judge  correctly 
of  the  value  to  the  city  of  any  measure  in- 
troduced. Over  the  record  of  his  public 
life  and  private  career  there  falls  no  shadow 
of  wrong  or  suspicion  of  evil,  and  he  is  rich 
in  those  qualities  which  win  and  retain  per- 
sonal friendships." 

John  W.  Birk,  the  direct  subject  of  this 
article,  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools.  He  graduated  from  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons,  University  of  Illi- 
nois, in  1901.  Previous  to  this,  however, 
he  had  seen  military  service,  being  first 
lieutenant  in  Company  A,  Eighth  O.  Vol. 
Inf.,  during  the  Spanish-American  War, 
and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  San- 
tiago. He  began  the  practice  of  medicine 
in  1903,  locating  in  Bucyrus  in  that  year. 
He  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mar- 
garet Curtis,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Geo. 
Curtis  of  Hawley,  Pa.,  and  the  family  con- 
sists of  one  child,  Margaret  H.  Dr.  Birk 
and  his  family  are  now  residents  of  Chi- 
cago, 111.  He  belongs  to  the  Masons  and 
the  Elks. 

WESLEY  SAMUEL  COOK,  who  car- 
ries on  general  farming  and  stock  raising 
to  some  extent  in  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  has  114  acres  of  well 
cultivated  land,  this  being  the  old  home- 
stead on  which  he  was  born,  June  8,  1879. 
He  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  ElizalDeth  (Mutch- 
ler)  Cook. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Cook  were  both  born 
in  Lycoming  county,  Pa.,  and  both  married 
twice.  The  first  wife  of  Jacob  Cook  was 
Mary  Kiess  and  she  was  survived  by  the 
following  children :  Philip,  Lena,  wife  of 
Amos  Meek  and  Mary,  wife  of  Joseph  Wag- 
ner. His  second  marriage  was  to  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  (Mutchler)  Walter  and  Wesley 
Samuel  was  the  only  child  born  to  this 
union.     To  her  first  marriage   Mrs.   Cook 


678 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


had  three  children,  namely:  Elmer;  Addie, 
who  was  twice  married,  first  to  a  Mr.  Ball 
and  second  to  John  Cook ;  and  Emma,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Joseph  Steinhilfer.  Jacob 
Cook  died  on  this  farm  Feb.  17,  1907,  on 
which  he  had  lived  for  many  years.  Polit- 
ically he  was  a  Democrat.  Both  he  and 
wife  attended  the  Evangelical  church,  to 
which  his  son  also  belongs. 

Wesley  Samuel  Cook  obtained  his  edu- 
cation in  the  township  schools  and  has  al- 
ways lived  on  the  homestead,  which  he 
owns,  subject  to  his  mother's  dower  right. 
On  June  8,  1904,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Bessie  Kelley,  a  daughter  of  Walker  and 
Hannah  (Albright)  Kelley,  who  live  re- 
tired at  Bucyrus.  Mrs.  Cook  has  one 
brother  and  one  sister,  Clarence  and  Hat- 
tie,  the  latter  of  whom  is  the  wife  of  Ernest 
Steifel.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cook  have  three 
bright  boys,  Robert,  Carson  and  Richard, 
who  will  be  carefully  reared  and  well  edu- 
cated. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cook  are  Christian 
people,  belonging  to  the  Evangelical  body. 
A  Democrat,  like  his  late  father,  Mr.  Cook 
votes  for  his  party's  candidates  in  National 
afifairs  but  in  local  elections  uses  his  own 
good  judgment. 

FOREST  R.  McFARLAND,  who,  for 
the  past  eleven  years  has  been  a  railway 
mail  clerk  for  the  U.  S.  Government,  on  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  between  Pittsburg, 
Pa.,  and  Chicago,  111.,  in  which  connection 
he  has  proved  himself  a  dependable  and  ef- 
ficient official,  was  born  in  Champaign 
county,  O.,  April  11,  1876,  and  is  a  son  of 
Robert  I.  and  Agnes   (Baker)   McFarland. 

The  McFarlands  were  originally  of  Scot- 
land and  in  about  1650  the  branch  from 
which  Forest  R.  McFarland  came,  moved 
into  Ireland,  and  in  1740  the  first  represen- 
tative came  to  America.  This  ancestor  lo- 
cated first  in  Virginia  and  from  there  went 
into  Kentucky  as  a  pioneer.  Rev.  Robert 
McFarland,  the  great-grandfather  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  Rockbridge  county, 
Va.,  March  7,  1782,  and  moved  to  Kentucky 
with  his  parents  in  1796.  He  became  wide- 
ly known  as  a  Methodist  missionary  and  he. 


with  several  other  families,  came  to  Ohio 
under  the  guidance  of  Gen.  Simon  Kenton, 
the  noted  Indian  fighter,  in  1807,  and  began 
his  ministry  here  among  the  Indian  settle- 
ments on  the  Mad  River  and  was  closely  as- 
sociated with  those  days  of  pioneer  struggle 
and  hardship  in  this  now  peaceful  valley. 
He  lived  until  1864,  having  been  born  in 
1782.  For  a  long  time  his  cabin  was  his 
church  but  later  Concord  Chapel,  which 
still  stands,  was  erected,  and  there  he  ex- 
pounded Methodist  doctrine  for  many 
years  and  ministered  up  and  down  the  val- 
ley to  all  who  needed  spiritual  help  or  in- 
struction. 

John  McFarland,  son  of  Rev.  Robert,  was 
born  February  18,  1824,  and  spent  his  life' 
within  one  mile  of  his  birthplace  and  fol- 
lowed agricultural  pursuits.  His  death  oc- 
curred May  7,  1895.  For  years  he  was  an 
official  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  for  thirty  of  these  was  the  leader  of 
the  church  choir.  In  his  native  county  he 
married  Sarah  Ann  Gibbs,  who  was  possi- 
bly born  in  Kentucky,  in  1826,  and  died  in 
1883.  Of  their  five  children  there  are  four 
survivors,  namely:  Robert  I.;  William, 
who  is  manager  of  a  hotel,  at  Columbus,  O., 
who  formerly  was  a  school  teacher;  Eliza- 
beth, who  is  the  wife  of  Luther  Myers,  of 
Columbus,  and  has  one  daughter;  and 
Harry  L.,  who  is  engaged  in  the  life  insur- 
ance business  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn. 

Robert  I.  McFarland,  son  of  John  and 
father  of  Forest  R.  McFarland,  was  born 
August  23,  1850,  on-  the  old  Mad  River 
Valley  farm,  in  Champaign  County,  O., 
where  he  continued  to  reside  and  followed 
agricultural  pursuits  until  some  five  years 
since,  when  he  retired  to  Bucyrus,  where  he 
still  lives.  For  a  number  of  years  he  filled 
township  offices  and  gave  his  political  sup- 
port to  the  Republican  party.  Mr.  McFar- 
land has  always  been  known  as  an  upright 
man  and  good  citizen.  He  married  Agnes 
Baker,  who  was  born  near  Natural  Bridge, 
Rockbridge  county,  Va.,  Dec.  30,  1847. 
Her  father,  Isaac  Baker,  brought  his  family 
to  Ohio  when  she  was  quite  young  and  for 
ten  years  they  lived  in  Allen  county  and 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


679 


then  moved  into  Champaign  county,  where 
he  died  in  1902,  after  passing  his  91st  birth- 
day, having  been  born  in  181 1,  of  Swiss- 
German  parentage.  The  mother  of  Mrs. 
McFarland  died  in  middle  age.  Both  par- 
ents were  members  of  the  German  Re- 
formed church.  At  the  time  of  death,  Mr. 
Baker  was  one  of  the  oldest  Democrats  in 
Champaign  county  and  was  a  well  known 
man. 

Forest  R.  McFarland  is  an  only  child  and 
he  was  carefully  reared  by  good  parents 
and  taught  to  be  thoughtful  for  others  and 
to  be  kind  and  courteous  in  his  demeanor, 
and  these  habits  have  not  been  detrimental 
to  his  advancement  in  business  or  social 
life.  After  graduating  from  the  local  Hieh 
School  he  spent  one  term  in  the  Ohio 
Northern  University,  at  Ada,  O.,  and  after- 
ward taught  school  until  he  received  his  ap- 
pointment to  his  present  position,  as  men- 
tioned above. 

In  1900  Mr.  McFarland  was  married  at 
Bucyrus  to  Miss  Caroline  Albright,  who 
was  born  and  reared  here  and  in  1898  grad- 
uated from  the  Bucyrus  High  School,  after 
which,  until  her  marriage,  she  was  a  teach- 
er. She  is  a  daughter  of  George  W.  and 
Jemima  (Scott)  Albright,  prominent  fam- 
ilies in  Crawford  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McFarland  have  three  children:  Martha 
Marguerite,  who  was  born  May  13,  1902; 
Isabelle  Jemima,  who  was  born  January  6, 
1906;  and  Agnes  Georgiana,  who  was  born 
August  8,  1908.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McFarland 
are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  he  is  an  official  in  the  same  and 
in  the  Sunday  school. 

OSCAR  K.  SHARROCK,  a  contractor 
and  prosperous  citizen  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  was 
born  in  a  log  hut  near  Iberia,  Morrow 
county,  O.,  September  6,  1849.  His  par- 
ents were  Joseph  and  Mary  (Woodside) 
Sharrock,  and  he  is  a  great  grandson  of 
James  Sharrock,  who  came  to  this  country 
as  a  captain  in  the  English  army  during  the 
early  years  of  the  Revolutionary  period, 
probably  about  1776  or  1777.  While  in 
charge  of  a  party  succoring  the  wounded 
on  a  field  of  action,  after  the  battle,  he  as- 


sisted a  wounded  American  soldier,  whom 
he  recognized  as  an  old  schoolmate.  Their 
acquaintance  was  renewed,  they  talked 
about  the  war  and  the  causes  of  difference 
between  the  colonies  and  the  mother  coun- 
try and  Captain  Sharrock  finally  became 
convinced  that  the  cause  of  the  colonies 
was  a  just  one.  He  accordingly  took  an 
early  opportunity  of  terminating  his  rela- 
tions with  the  English  army  and,  with  some 
others,  joined  the  Americans,  serving  under 
Washington  and  Lafayette  against  his 
former  comrades.  The  principal  scene  of 
his  military  activities,  while  in  the  Amer- 
ican army,  was  in  New  York  State  and  he 
was  engaged  chiefly  in  patrolling  the  de- 
batable ground  between  the  advanced  posts 
of  the  two  armies,  which  was  overrun  and 
ravaged  at  frequent  intervals  by  marauders 
of  semi-military  character  from  both  sides. 
While  engaged  in  these  duties,  he  met  and 
married  Constance  Williams,  who  was  a 
sister  of  David  Williams,  one  of  the  captors 
of  Major  Andre.  They  resided  in  New 
York  State  but  later,  after  the  war,  settled 
in  New  York  City,  where  Capt.  Sharrock 
acquired  a  quarter  section  of  land  in  the 
heart  of  the  citv,  in  the  vicinity  of  Wall 
Street.  Here  they  both  died  when  well  ad- 
vanced in  years.  They  had  a  large  family 
consistinp-  of  eleven  sons  and  one  daughter. 
Ten  of  the  sons  were  sea  captains,  the  ex- 
ception being  Benjamin,  grandfather  of  the 
direct  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  was  the 
second  in  order  of  birth. 

Benjamin  Sharrock,  above  referred  to, 
was  born  probably  before  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  War  in  a  log  cabin  in  New 
York  State.  He  contributed  to  the  military 
record  of  the  family,  serving  under  Jackson 
at  New  Orleans  in  the  War  of  1812-15.  At 
its  close  he  returned  home  to  New  York 
State,  but  soon  after,  and  before  his  mar- 
riage, removed  to  Ohio,  settling  in  Guern- 
sey county.  Here  he  married  a  Quakeress 
by  the  name  of  Cotwell,  of  Quaker  City  in 
that  county.  This  act  seems  to  have  been 
displeasing  to  his  parents,  as  we  are  told 
that  he  was  disinherited  because  of  it.  His 
father  James  had  previously  forfeited  valu- 
able property  in  England  on  account  of  his 
desertion   of  the   Royal   cause,   which   fact 


680 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


does  not  seem  to  have  made  him  act  gen- 
erously towards  Jhis  son.  However,  the 
latter  exercised  his  right  to  select  his  own 
wife,  perhaps  reflecting  philosophicallv  that 
"true  love  never  does  run  smooth."  Ben- 
jamin was  a  farmer  by  regular  occupation 
and  also  a  preacher,  being  known  as  Rev. 
Benjamin  Sharrock.  In  182 1  he  came  with 
certain  others  to  Crawford  county,  where 
he  had  a  very  large  tract  of  land,  a  part  of 
it  being  secured  from  the  Government  and 
State  for  services  as  a  surveyor,  he  having 
laid  out  some  of  the  earliest  roads  in  north- 
ern Ohio.  His  last  years  were  spent  quietly 
near  Iberia,  Morrow  county,  where  he  wa? 
a  prominent  citizen,  being  also  widely 
known  throughout  this  section.  He  had 
made  a  careful  study  of  Indian  life  and  na- 
ture, and  was  resoected  by  the  Indians, 
whom  he  had  always  treated  justly.  He 
died  November  16,  1879,  at  the  remarkable 
age  of  104  years  and  was  buried  at  Iberia, 
in  Morrow  county.  Shortly  before  his 
death  he  walked  from  near  Iberia  to  four 
miles  west  of  Bucyrus.  The  stone  that 
marks  his  grave  is  a  mill  stone  that  he  cut 
in  1820  for  the  mill  he  owned  at  Rockford, 
this  county,  and  which  was  a  famous  old 
time  g-rist-mill.  Benjamin  Sharrock  was  a 
remarkable  man  in  more  than  one  respect. 
He  never  used  intoxicating  liquors,  though 
their  use  was  almost  universal  during  his 
earlier  years,  and  though  he  attained  so 
great  an  age,  he  never  used  elasses  to  aid 
his  sip-ht ;  moreover  at  the  time  of  his  death 
he  still  retained  all  his  teeth,  these  last  two 
facts,  toeether  with  his  aee,  indicatin'^  a 
wonderful  vitality.  His  wife,  who  had 
passed  away  some  vears  before  him,  was 
the  daughter  of  a  pioneer  settler  of  this  part 
of  Ohio,  who  also  was  familiar  with  Indian 
life  and  customs  and  who  was  a  well  known 
citizen. 

Rev.  Benjamin  Sharrock  and  wife  were 
the  parents  of  quite  a  large  family,  of  whom 
Joseph,  father  of  our  subject,  was  the 
second  born.  The  latter  first  'saw  the  light 
in  Guernsey  county,  O.,  November  4,  1814. 
When  two  years  old  he  accompanied  his 
parents  to  the  vicinity  of  Sandusky,  where 
they  remained  for  a  while.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  Morrow  county  to  Mary  Woodside, 


who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  October  17, 
1818.  This  marriage  took  place  several 
years  before  the  Sharrocks  located  in  Craw- 
ford county.  Joseph  and  his  wife  became 
the  owners  of  a  fine  farm  in  Bucyrus  town- 
ship, consisting  of  nearly  300  acres  of  good 
land.  Here  they  spent  the  rest  of  their 
lives,  Joseph  dying  in  1893  and  his  wife  in 
1883.  They  were  regular  attendants  at 
church,  though  not  members  and  were 
quick  to  support  any  good  work.  Joseph 
Sharrock  was  a  man  of  musical  talent  and 
for  a  number  of  years  took  a  leading  part 
in  musical  entertainments  throughout  the 
county.    He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics. 

The  children  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Shar- 
rock were  six  in  number,  as  follows:  (i). 
Gardner  accidentally  shot  himself  April  3, 
1874,  when  32  years  old.  (2).  Garrett  is 
now  a  farmer  in  Crawford  county.  (3). 
Charles  died  two  years  ago  at  his  home  in 
Bucyrus,  O.  (4).  Oscar  is  the  direct  sub- 
ject of  this  article  and  will  be  further  re- 
ferred to  herein.  (5).  Benjamin  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Golden  City,  Mo.  (6).  James  is  a 
resident  of  Morrow  county,  Ohio. 

Oscar  K.  Sharrock,  whose  birth  has  been 
already  narrated,  had  some  difficulty  in  ob- 
taining an  adeouate  education,  as  his  father 
was  opposed  to  his  spending  too  much  time 
over  his  books  or  at  school.  Without  the 
latter's  knowledge,  however,  and  by  dint 
of  earnest  application,  with  the  friendly  as- 
sistance of  a  Miss  McCracken,  he  acquired 
a  fairly  thorough  knowledp-e  of  the  or- 
dinary branches  of  study,  so  much  so  that 
for  a  time  he  followed  the  occupation  of 
teacher.  He  continued  to  improve  himself 
educationally,  adding  to  his  stores  of 
knowledge  and  giving  particular  attention 
to  language  and  rhetoric,  also  devoting 
much  thought  to  public  questions.  His 
ability  as  a  speaker  and  debater  became 
known,  and  with  it  there  grew  up  a  demand 
for  his  services  on  the  lecture  platform.  In 
this  sphere  of  intellectual  activity  he  has 
made  a  name  for  himself  throughout  this 
section,  having  lectured  on  subjects  of  his- 
toric interest,  two  of  his  most  noted  lec- 
tures being  on  the  subjects  of  Benedict  Ar- 
nold and  the  Expansion  of  the  United 
States,  on  the  latter  subject  he  taking  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


681 


affirmative  proposition  that  "It  was  right 
for  America  to  expand."  On  the  platform 
Mr.  Sharrock  has  an  agreeable  and  sym- 
pathetic voice  of  commanding  volume,  and 
an  easy  delivery  that  never  tires  his  audi- 
tors but  holds  their  attention  to  the  end. 
As  a  contractor  in  the  line  of  his  regular 
business  he  has  been  successful  and  is  a 
thoroughly  skilled  mechanic  and  a  reliable 
man  of  business. 

He  was  married  in  Liberty  township  to 
Miss  Cynthia  A.  McMichael,  a  daughter  of 
David  and  Margaret  (Anderson)  Mc- 
Michael and  a  grand-daughter  of  Daniel 
and  Mary  (McDowell)  McMichael.  Grand- 
father McMichael  was  born  in  Ireland  and 
came  to  America  about  1794,  when  16  years 
of  age.  His  family  locating  in  Westmore- 
land county,  Pa.,  he  there  married,  his  wife, 
Mary  being  a  native  of  Scotland.  Soon 
after  their  marriage  they  moved  to  Ohio 
and  settled  north  of  the  Sandusky  near 
where  Bucyrus  is  now  located.  He  en- 
tered 160  acres  of  land  at  a  point  up  the 
river  and  built  a  saw  and  grist  mill — one  of 
the  first  in  the  county.  Of  his  eight  chil- 
dren, David  married  Margaret  Anderson, 
daughter  of  John  Anderson,  a  pioneer  in 
that  locality.  On  his  father-in-law's  death 
David  McMichael  moved  to  the  latter's 
farm,  where  he  subsequently  resided,  dying 
Nov.  3,  1857  and  leaving  a  widow  and  seven 
children — Rebecca  ].,  Daniel  L.,  John  A., 
George  W.,  Maria,  Cynthia  and  David — of 
whom,  George  W.  and  Maria  removed  to 
Nebraska.  Daniel  McMichael,  Mrs.  Shar- 
rock's  grandfather,  built  the  first  white 
man's  cabin  in  Liberty  township  and  was 
the  third  settler  in  the  county.  Mrs.  Shar- 
rock was  well  educated  and  was  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  a  teacher  in  the  pubHc  schools. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sharrock 
are  as  follows:  (i).  Walter  Scott,  was  edu- 
cated in  Crawford  county  and  is  a  steam  en- 
gineer by  occupation.  He  resides  at  home 
with  his  parents.  (2).  J.  Wayland,  who  is 
a  clerk  in  a  hardware  store  in  Bucyrus,  mar- 
ried Bessie  Souder  and  has  a  son.  Jack  B. 
(3),  Maude  Estella,  was  educated  at  Ohio 
Northern  University  and  was  employed  for 
some  years  as  a  teacher.  She  is  now  in 
Cuba  and  also  travels  Southern  territory  as 


representative  of  the  Crescent  Mfg.  Co. 
of  Seattle,  Wash.  She  is  unmarried.  (4). 
Mirian  Thorne,  a  cultivated  young  woman, 
educated  at  Ohio  Northern  University,  is 
residing  at  home.  (5).  Ross  C,  graduated 
from  the  Ohio  Northern  University  at  Ada, 
O.,  in  the  class  of  1909  and  is  a  civil  en- 
gineer and  assistant  surveyor  residing  in 
Bucyrus.  He  married  Lurlie  Snavely  and 
has  a  son,  Harold  C.  (6).  Mabel  B.  is  the 
wife  of  Harry  Ehrick,  of  Bucyrus  and  has 
a  daughter,  Thelma  Norine.  (7).  Raloh 
Beaumont,  who  resides  at  home,  is  attend- 
ing high  school  and  will  graduate  in  the 
class  of  1913.  It  will  thus  he  seen  that  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Sharrock  have  a  promising  family 
who  are  contributing  to  the  good  citizen- 
ship of  the  state  and  upholding  the  family 
reputation,  of  which  fact  they  may  well  be 
proud. 

S.  L.  FRENCH,  general  farmer  and  well 
known  citizen  of  Crawford  county,  O.,  re- 
siding on  his  well  improved  farm  of  seventy 
acres,  situated  in  section  11,  Cranberry 
township,  belongs  to  one  of  the  old  county 
families  of  substantial  character.  He  was 
born  in  Lykens  township,  Crawford  county, 
Jan.  14,  1864,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Eliza- 
beth Jane  French,  who  reside  in  Cranberry 
township,  on  a  farm  that  adjoins  that  of 
their  son,  on  the  north. 

S.  L.  French  received  primary  instruc- 
tion in  Cranberry  township  and  afterward 
attended  school  at  New  Washington  and 
was  a  member  of  the  class  of  1883,  the  first 
one  graduated  from  the  New  Washington 
High  School.  Afterward  he  took  a  course 
in  the  Ohio  Normal  School  at  Ada,  O.,  and 
then  became  a  teacher,  both  in  Cranberry 
and  Auburn  townships.  Mr.  French  then 
visited  the  Northwest  and  resided  at  Fort 
Stellacoom,  Wash.,  and  for  four  years  was 
leader  of  the  orchestra  engaged  to  play  at 
the  Insane  Asylum.  He  also  played  in 
orchestras  in  hospitals  for  the  insane  in 
Jacksonville,  111.,  Columbus,  O.,  Blackfoot, 
Idaho,  and  for  three  years  directed  the 
orchestra  at  the  Toledo,  O.,  State  Hospital. 
After  coming  back  to  Crawford  county  in 
1895  he  bought  property  in  Cranberry 
townships,  parts  of  the  old  Robert  Robin- 


682 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


son  and  Curtis  farms,  improved  the  same 
and  has  here  carried  on  a  general  agricul- 
tural line  ever  since.  Mr.  French  follows 
progressive  methods,  keeping  himself  well 
informed  through  attendance  and  interest 
in  the  Grange  and  other  agricultural  bodies 
and  agricultural  literature,  and  his  success 
proves  that  his  system  is  entirely  practical 
and  again  demonstrates  that  an  educated 
man  often  makes  the  best  farmer.  The  loca- 
tion of  his  property  gives  it  excellent  drain- 
age and  the  Northern  Ohio  Railroad  run- 
ning through  it  has  proved  to  be  of  advan- 
tage. 

At  Tacoma,  Wash.,  on  Jan.  12,  1893,  Mr. 
French  was  married  to  Miss  Lena  Unkrich, 
who  was  born  at  Fairfield,  la.,  a  daughter 
of  Henry  Unkrich,  and  they  have  four  chil- 
dred :    Helen,  who  is  a  student  in  the  New 
W^ashington   High    School;   and   Florence, 
George   and   Jeanette,    all   of   whom,  were 
born  in  Cranberry  townshin.    Dail  Robison, 
a  young  man  of  20  years,  has  lived  with  the 
family  since  he  was  four  years  of  age.     Mr. 
French    and    family   are    members    of    the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Politically  Mr. 
French  is  a  Democrat.  In  some  local  organi- 
zations he  has  been  interested  to  some  de- 
gree and  is  on  the  directing  board  of  the 
Crawford  County  Fire  Insurance  Company. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  French  are  members  of  Cran- 
berry Grange  No.  1435,  also  of  the  Craw- 
ford County  Pomona,  the  Ohio  State  and 
National    Grange.      :Many    years    ago    he 
joined    the    Knights    of    Pythias    and    has 
passed  all  the  chairs  in  the  local  lodge.    Mr. 
French  and  family  are  representative  people 
of  this  section. 

ADAM  SHUNK,  deceased,  was  one  of 
the  best  known  and  most  highly  respected 
citizens  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  for  many  years.  He 
was  the  founder  of  one  of  the  large  manu- 
facturing houses  here,  the  plow  company 
which  bears  his  name,  and  he  was  also  a 
citizen  whose  sterling  worth  could  not  fail 
of  being  appreciated.  He  was  born  in  Som- 
erset county.  Pa.,  March  23,  i797.  pew  to 
the  age  of  21  years  on  his  father's  farm, 
developed  into  a  man  of  great  usefulness  to 
his  family,  community  and  generation  and 
died  October  30,  1892. 


As  a  youth   Adam   Shunk   had  no  edu- 
cational   opportunities.      He    dutifully   per- 
formed the  labors  assigned  him  on  the  farm 
as  long  as  he  remained  at  home,  but,  when 
the  age  of  maturity  set  him  free,  he  de- 
voted himself  to  work  as  a  carpenter,  having 
constructed  his  own  tools.     He  was  deft  of 
hand  from  childhood  and  it  is  said  of  him 
that  a  wagon,  perfect  in  all  its  parts,  was 
made  by  his  boyish  fingers,  when  he  was 
not  more  than  eight  years  of  age.   He  never 
served  an  apprenticeship  to  any  mechanical 
trade,  his  aptness  in  the  use  of  tools  being 
a  natural  faculty.     His  work  of  21  years,  in 
his  native  section,  compared  favorably  with 
that  of  other  carpenters,  but  this  work  did 
not  entirely  satisfy  himself  and  a  part  of  his 
time  and  all  his  leisure  was  given  to  experi- 
menting.    In   1843  he  purchased  a  patent 
right  to  manufacture  a  certain  kind  of  plow. 
In  the  following  spring  he  opened  his  plow 
plant  at  Xenia,  O.,  and  while  engaged  there 
he  also  conducted  a  grocery  store  and  for  a 
time  he  worked  at  Canal  Fulton.    In  the  fall 
of  1854  Mr.  Shunk  came  to  Bucyrus,  and 
with  the  capital  he  had  at  command  built  a 
brick  shop  and  started  into  the  manufacture 
of  plows.     There  are  yet  business  men  of 
Bucyrus  who  recall  the  beginning  of  this 
enterprise  and  others  who  know  of  its  ex- 
pansion, while  the  active  business  men  of 
today  point  with  pride  to  the  Shunk  Plow 
Company  as  an  example  of  the  commercial 
importance  of  this  city  as  a  successful  manu- 
facturing center.     In   his   day   Mr.    Shunk 
made   all   the   different  patterns   of   plows 
that  he  manufactured.     The  business  has 
been  developed  until  not  only  the   Shunk 
New  Model  Steel  Plow  is  manufactured  but 
the  plant  also  turns  out:  the  Handy  Steel 
Farm    Wagons,    steel    plows,    combination 
plows,    contractors'    plows,    single    shovel 
plows,  potato  diggers,  steel  plow  shapes  and 
steel  plow  beams  made  to  pattern,  gas  en- 
gine trucks,  steel  scraper  blades,  corn  har- 
vesters and  other  steel  implements. 

Mr.  Shunk  was  twice  married,  first,  in 
1816,  to  Miss  Mary  Banfort,  of  Somerset 
county,  who  died  in  1844,  and  second,  in 
1845,  to  Miss  Catherine  Bauch,  of  Spring- 
field, O.  Children  were  born  to  both 
unions,  the  survivors  of  the  second  being: 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


683 


Francis,  Nelson  F.,  Isaac,  John  Q.  and  Katie. 
The  Shunk  Plow  Company  is  owned  and 
operated  by  Nelson  F.  and  John  Q.  Shunk, 
the  former  of  whom  lives  at  No.  421  Mans- 
field Street,  and  the  latter  at  No.  603  Rens- 
selaer Street.  They  are  m,en  of  business  en- 
terprise and  are  worthy  citizens.  Should 
they  claim  the  honor,  they  are  entitled  to 
membership  in  that  org^anization.  Sons  of 
the  American  Revolution,  their  grand- 
father having  served  under  General  Wash- 
ington. In  many  ways  Adam  Shunk  was  a 
very  remarkable  man  and  his  fellow  citi- 
zens of  a  younfer  p-eneration  remember  his 
wonderful  activity  in  business  even  into  old 
age.  From  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he 
had  been  a  faithful  member  until  death  of 
the  English  Lutheran  church. 

HENRY  P.  REXROTH,  deceased,  for 
many  years  was  a  well  known  citizen  and 
successful  farmer  in  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  where  he  was  born 
April  4,  1859  and  died  in  December,  1909. 
His  parents  were  John  and  Mary  Ann  (Geb- 
hart)  Rexroth,  who  were  early  settlers  in 
this  section,  locating  in  Whetstone  town- 
ship when  they  came  from  Germany.  They 
had  five  sons  and  one  daughter,  namely: 
George,  J.  J.,  Daniel,  Samuel,  Henry  P.  and 
Mrs.  Guinther. 

Henry  P.  "Rexroth  was  reared  on  his 
father's  farm  and  obtained  a  district  school 
education.  Farming  was  his  main  business 
through  life  but  he  also  was  a  veterinary 
practitioner.  He  was  able  to  leave  a  valu- 
able farm  of  120  acres,  well  cultivated  and 
well  stocked,  to  his  family,  and  his  widow 
and  son  continue  to  operate  it,  carrying  on 
general  farming  and  raising  Duroc  Jersey 
hogs. 

In  1882  Mr.  Rexroth  was  married  to 
Miss  Margaret  Nungesser,  a  daughter  of 
Christian  and  Elizabeth  (Helfrich)  Nun- 
gesser, and  they  had  children  born  to  them 
as  follows :  Bertha,  who  is  the  wife  of  John 
Eyler,  and  has  four  children — Marguerite, 
Russell,  Harry  and  Glenn;  Mary,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Emanuel  Fauser,  and  has  two 
children — Miriam  and  Wilbur;  Carrie,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Harry  Kurtz;  Emma,  who  is 
the  wife   of  Walter   Diebler  and   has   one 


daughter,   Ernestine;   Enomah   and   Harry 
J.  G. 

Mr.  Rexroth  was  a  prominent  man  in 
township  poHtics  and  was  frequently  elected 
to  office,  serving  four  years  as  township 
clerk  and  fifteen  years  as  constable.  He  was 
a  valued  member  and  comrade  in  several 
fraternal  organizations,  belonging  to  the 
Eagles  and  the  Royal  Arcanum.  With  his 
family  he  belonged  to  the  German  Re- 
formed church  in  Whetstone  township  and 
gave  it  liberal  support. 

JOHN  M.  DOSTAL,  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Dostal  Bros.,  brewers,  at  Bucyrus, 
O.,  was  born  at  Iowa  City,  la.,  and  is  one 
of  the  representative  business  men  of  this 
city.  His  parents  were  John  P.  and 
Johanna  (Cerny)  Dostal. 

John  P.  Dostal  was  born  in  Bohemia,  in 
1840,  and  died  April  17,  1912.  When  a 
young  man  he  accompanied  his  parents  to 
the  United  States  and  they  all  located  at 
Iowa  City,  la.  He  had  his  own  way  to 
make  in  the  world  and  the  success  which  re- 
warded his  efforts  was  remarkable,  consid- 
ering that  he  had  to  contend  with  a  strange 
language,  unaccustomed  people,  little  cap- 
ital and  unknown  customs.  He  became  a 
brewer  and  at  Iowa  City  continued  in  busi- 
ness until  he  accumulated  a  fortune  of 
$100,000.  When  laws  went  into  effect  that 
limited  his  business  he  moved  his  plant  to 
Aurora,  111.,  in  1882,  and  continued  until  he 
sold  out  to  the  Aurora  Brewing  Company. 
In  1890  he  embarked  in  the  brewing  busi- 
ness at  Denver,  Colo.,  and  his  old  plant  is 
now  owned  by  the  Neff  Bros.  Brewing  Com- 
pany. At  Iowa  City  he  married  Johanna 
Cerny,  who  was  born  also  in  Bohemia  and 
accompanied  her  parents  when  young,  to 
Iowa  City,  la.,  where  she  was  reared.  She 
is  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church, 
as  was  her  husband.  In  politics  John  P. 
Dostal  was  a  Democrat.  Two  sons  and 
four  daughters  were  born  to  them. 

John  M.  Dostal  was  educated  at  the 
Jesuit  College,  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  Craw- 
ford county,  Wis.,  and  both  he  and  brother, 
George  A.  Dostal,  learned  the  brewing  busi- 
ness with  their  father.  The  present  plant, 
which  occupies   six  acres  at  Bucyrus,  was 


684 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


established  many  years  aeo,  the  Dostal 
Bros,  taking-  charge  in  September,  1902,  suc- 
ceeding Frank  Dick,  who  had  succeeded  the 
Donenwirths,  the  builders.  The  Dostal 
Bros,  have  made  the  business  a  prosperous 
one,  introducing  new  methods  and  install- 
ing modern  machinery.  Employment  is 
given  to  from  fifteen  to  twenty  employes 
and  the  capacity,  which  is  sold  entirely  in 
Ohio,  is  about  20,000  barrels  annually.  The 
firm  of  Dostal  Bros,  is  made  up  of  John  M. 
and  George  A.  Dostal.  The  latter  is  widely 
known  in  musical  circles  and  at  the  present 
time  (1912)  is  a  m,ember  of  an  operatic 
company  touring  the  country.  He  ea,rly 
displayed  musical  talent  and  three  years 
ago  completed  his  musical  studies  at  Rome. 
He  married  Miss  Gertrude  E.  Madden,  of 
Chicago,  111. 

John  M.  Dostal  was  married  February 
14,  1912,  at  Columbus,  O.,  to  Miss  Mar- 
garet McCaffrey,  of  that  city.  They  are 
members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
He  is  identified  with  the  Elks,  the  Deutsche 
Gesellschaft  and  the  Eagles  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Elks. 

ALVA  FRENCH,  a  substantial  and 
highly  esteemed  citizen  of  Gallon,  C,  now 
living  retired  after  many  years  of  agricul- 
tural life,  occuoies  his  comfortable  residence  ■ 
which  stands  at  No.  645,  Cherry  Street; 
Galion.  He  was  born  at  Otsego,  N.  Y., 
April  1=;,  1839,  and  is  a  son  of  Sampson  and 
Betsey  (Seward)  French. 

Sampson  French  was  born  in  Massachu- 
setts and  his  wife  in  Connecticut,  both  fam- 
ilies being  old  ones  in  New  England.  Thev 
were  married  in  New  York  and  their  home 
continued  to  be  in  Otsego  county  until 
1847,  when  they  came  to  Ohio  and  settled 
in  what  is  now  Morrow  county,  purchasing 
land  in  Washington  township  and  there 
spent  their  lives,  both  passing  away  before 
the  Civil  War.  They  were  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  They  were  of 
the  same  class  of  people  as  the  Shermans  of 
Ohio  and  were  friendly  with  that  family 
and  also  with  the  older  Garfields.  For 
fourteen  years  Sampson  French  was  a  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  and  was  an  influential  man 
in  many  directions.     While  he  lived  in  New 


York  he  followed  his  trade  of  cloth  weaver 
and  fuller,  to  some  extent,  and  owned  a 
woolen  mill,  while  he  was  also  a  millwright 
and  owned  a  saw  mill.  He  was,  in  fact,  one 
of  the  well  equipped,  resourceful  men  of  his 
time  and  his  useful  activity  covered  many 
fields.  Eight  of  his  children  reached  matur- 
ity and  all  of  his  six  sons  and  two  daughters 
married  and  had  families  of  their  own.  The 
two  survivors  are:  Alya  and  Calvin.  The 
latter  is  a  retired  railroad  man  now  living 
at  Bifighamton,  N.  Y.  He  is  a  veteran  of 
the  Civil  War,  during  which  he  was  once  a 
prisoner  at  Andersonville,  Ga.,  an  expe- 
rience which  typifies  the  horrors  of  war. 

Alva  French  remained  at  home  assisting 
in  the  cultivation  of  the  family  farm  until 
i860  when  he  entered  the  railroad  employ. 
He  enlisted  in  Co.  C,  i8oth  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  in 
September,  1864,  and  was  made  color  bear- 
er, under  Capt.  Moses  Abbott,  and  was  hon- 
orably discharged  June  i,  1865,  in  the  mean- 
while having  participated  in  the  battle  of 
Wise's  Fork,  N.  C.  After  the  war  he  re- 
sumed railroad  work,  which  he  had  pre- 
viously been  connected  with  to  some  de- 
gree, and  for  ten  years  was  with  the  Big 
Four  and  Erie  Railways.  He  then  went 
back  to  Morrow  county  and  purchased  58 
acres  of  desirable  land  and  devoted  himself 
to  its  cultivation  and  improvement  until 
1912,  when  he  retired  and  came  to  Galion. 
In  1862,  Mr.  French  was  married  in  Mor- 
row county  to  Miss  Lydia  A.  Elder,  who 
was  born  and  educated  there.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Abigail  (Noyer) 
Elder,  who  were  born  in  Bedford  county, 
Pa.,  but  were  married  in  Ohio  and  were 
early  settlers  in  Morrow  county,  the  Elder 
lands  having  been  secured  from  the  Govern- 
ment by  the  grandfather  of  Mrs.  French. 
This  family  is  one  of  the  best  known  in 
Morrow  county,  a  long-lived  people,  thrifty 
and  virtuous. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  French  have  three  children, 
one  son  and  two  daughters :  Chauncy  C, 
who  succeeded  his  father  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Morrow  county  estate;  Abbie, 
who  is  the  wife  of  J-  F-  Nichols,  residing  at 
Galion;  and  Carrie,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Korah  Mountz,  of  Morrow  county,  and  has 
two  children:  Ralph  and  Edith  Marie.   Mrs. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


685 


French  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  Mr.  French  has  been  a  Re- 
publican since  he  cast  his  first  presidential 
vote,  that  bein^  for  Abraham  Lincoln.  He 
is  a  valued  member  of  Dick  Morris  Post  No. 
130,  G.  A.  R.  In  1867  Mr.  French  was 
painfully  injured  in  a  railroad  accident  and 
in  the  following'  year  went  to  Missouri  and 
spent  five  years  thei-e  before  he  was  able 
to  resume  his  former  active  life. 

SHERMAN  R.  HARMAN,  a  well  known 
resident  of  Dallas  township,  was  born  May 
II,  1876,  on  the  farm  where  he  now  lives 
and  which  he  and  his  father  own.  He  is  a 
son  of  John  and  Lois  (Burke)  Harman. 

John  Harman  and  his  wife  were  both 
born  in  Ohio,  where  he  has  been  a  farmer 
but  is  now  living-  retired  at  Nevada.  He  is 
in  sympathy  with  the  principles  of  the  Re- 
publican party  and  attends  the  U.  B. 
Church.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Harman  were 
blessed  with  four  children:  Ida,  the  wife  of 
Charles  L.  Slagle;  Sherman,  the  subject  of 
this  article;  and  Mary  and  Jay,  both  de- 
ceased. 

After  attending  the  common  schools  of 
his  district,  Sherman  R.  Harman  turned  his 
attention  to  farming  and  went  to  work  on 
the  farm  before  referred  to.  He  has  been 
associated  with  his  father  until  last  year 
and  since  then  he  has  successfully  managed 
the  farm  himself.  He  does  general  farming 
and  raises  a  good  grade  of  stock. 

In  1901  Mr.  Harman  was  married  to  Miss 
Bertha  Mollenkopf,  who  is  a  daughter  of 
Philip  and  Emma  (Cook)  Mollenkopf.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Harman  have  a  son  and  a  daugh- 
ter— John  Milton  and  Mildred  Gertrude. 

Sherman  R.  Harman  is,  as  his  father,  a 
Republican  politically  and  affiliated  with  the 
U.  B.  Church. 

JACOB  COLTER,  senior  member  of 
the  lumber  firm  of  Colter  &  Co.,  saw  mill 
operators  and  manufacturers  of  all  kinds  of 
house  and  building  material  in  the  way  of 
lumber,  has  been  identified  with  the  lumber 
business  all  his  life  since  early  manhood. 
He  was  born  in  Bavaria,  Germany,,  in  1842 
and  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Caroline  (Leppla) 
Colter,  who  emigrated  to  America  in  1851, 


crossing  the  Atlantic  Ocean  in  a  sailing  ves- 
sel that  required  42  days  to  make  the  pass- 
age. They  landed  at  the  port  of  New  York 
and  from  there  came  to  Ohio  and  located 
near  Strasburg.  There  the  father  died  six 
weeks  later,  leaving  his  widow  and  two  chil- 
dren, Jacob  and  Henry.  The  latter  is  in  the 
saw  mill  business  in  Adams  county,  Ind.,  is 
married  and  has  four  sons.  The  mother  of 
Mr.  Colter  is  now  in  her  ninetieth  year.  She 
contracted  a  second  marriage  and  six  chil- 
dren were  born  to  it,  her  second  husband 
being  now  deceased. 

Jacob  Colter  was  reared  in  Tuscarawas 
county,  O.,  and  obtained  an  excellent  edu- 
cation at  Millersburg,  one  that  fitted  him 
for  teaching  and  he  taught  school  sucess- 
fully  prior  to  entering  into  the  lumber  in- 
dustry. In  1873,  in  partnership  with  a  kins- 
man, P.  W.  Smith,  he  bought  a  saw  mill 
at  Areola,  Ind.,  in  which  he  continued  to  be 
interested  for  twenty  years.  When  he  and 
partner  left  that  section  of  Indiana  it  was 
with  an  earned  capital  of  $50,000.  In  1902 
Mr.  Colter  came  to  Bucyrus  and  conducted 
a  saw  mill  until  1906,  when  a  planing  mill 
was  added  to  the  other  facilities  and  a  large 
business  has  been  built  up.  Since  1905  Mr. 
Colter  has  had  a  silent  but  active  partner 
in  Peter  Conkle.  The  plant  of  Colter  &  Co., 
covers  nine  acres  of  land,  a  part  of  which  is 
covered  with  mills  and  their  complete  equip- 
ments and  a  part  is  given  to  the  storage  of 
lumber,  they  keeping  an  average  of  400,000 
feet  on  hand  all  the  time.  Mr.  Colter  is  also 
interested  at  Jonesboro,  Ark.,  where  his 
lumber  plant  is  worth  $110,000,  and  addi- 
tionally he  is  concerned  in  banks  at  Decatur 
and  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  and  at  Willshire, 
Van  Wert  county,  O.  Mr.  Colter  is  one  of 
the  capitalists  of  Crawford  county. 

Mr.  Colter  was  married  in  Indiana  to 
Miss  Sarah  Crawford,  who  was  born  in 
1855,  in  Allen  county,  Ind.  She  died  at 
Areola,  Ind.,  in  1902,  survived  by  six  chil- 
dren: Blanche,  who  is  the  wife  of  Lee 
Ellsworth,  who  is  well  known  on  the  dra- 
matic stage;  William  H.,  who  is  engaged  in 
the  saw  mill  business  at  Upper  Sandusky; 
John,  who  lives  at  Jonesboro,  Ark. ;  Maude, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Robert  Picking,  of  Bucy- 
rus; Ethel,  who  resides  with  her  father;  and 


686 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Helen,  who  is  a  Higfh  School  student.  Mr. 
Colter  resides  at  No.  222  South  Poplar 
Street,  Bucyrus.  He  has  never- taken  any 
very  active  part  in  politics  but  nevertheless 
has  always  arrayed  himself  with  the  sup- 
porters of  law  and  order.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  M.  E.  church. 

JAMES  RICHARD  HOPLEY  was  born 
at  Bucyrus,  O.,  Aug.  i,  1863,  the  son  of  the 
late  John  and  Georgianna  (Rochester)  Hop- 
ley.  He  is  strictly  a  Bucyrus  boy  having  been 
brought  up  here  and  was  graduated  from  the 
Bucyrus  public  schools  in  the  class  of  1882. 
In  1884  in  company  with  five  other  boy 
friends  he  organized  the  Bucyrus  Evening 
Times  and  was  editor  and  manager  of  that 
paper.  In  1887  and  1888  he  was  located  at 
Fort  Worth,  Texas,  engaged  in  railroad  work. 
On  Nov.  15,  1893,  he  was  married  at  Gran- 
ville, 0.,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Sheppard,  daugh- 
ter of  Rev.  Thomas  J.  and  Margaret  (Col- 
lins) Sheppard.  At  that  time  Mr.  Hopley  was 
city  editor  of  the  Bucyrus  Evening  Telegraph. 
In  1896  he  became  editor  and  manager  of  the 
Sandusky  Evening  Telegraph  at  Sandusky, 
Ohio,  where  he  remained  about  a  year.  In 
1897  he  went  to  Columbus  where  he  was  asso- 
ciated with  Charles  W.  Harper  for  a  number 
of  years  as  editor  of  The  Advertising  World 
and  Ad-Art,  where  his  natural  aptitude  for 
advertising  was  given  full  swing.  During  the 
latter  part  of  his  work  at  Columbus  he  was 
manager  of  the  Harper  Illustrating  Syndi- 
cate, continuing  his  work  as  editor  of  the  Har- 
per advertising  publications.  In  1902  he  re- 
turned to  Bucyrus  as  manager  of  the  Hopley 
Printing  Company  and  upon  the  death  of  the 
late  John  Hopley  he  became  editor  as  well  as 
manager  of  the  newspapers  belonging  to  the 
family  estate.  Mr.  Hopley  has  been  a  Re- 
publican all  his  life  and  has  taken  a  consider- 
able part  in  the  local  politics.  In  December 
of  1 910,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Bu- 
cyrus, O.,  by  President  Taft,  taking  up  the 
duties  of  the  oiifice  Feb.  15,  191 1.  Mr.  Hopley 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
since  he  was  16  years  of  age  and  in  March, 
1912,  was  elected  a  ruling  elder  of  the  church 
at  Bucyrus. 

Mrs.    James   R.    Hopley   has    taken   much 
prominence   in   club   work,   was   chosen   vice 


president  of  the  Ohio  Federation  of  Women's 
Clubs  in  1899  and  in  1900  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  State  Federation.  In  1903  she 
was  the  only  woman  speaker  on  the  program 
of  the  Ohio  Centennial  celebration  at  Chil- 
licothe,  O. 

ROBERT  LAIRD,  deceased,  for  many 
years  was  identified  with  the  great  Erie 
Railway  system  at  Kent  and  Galion,  O., 
and  was  quite  influential  in  local  politics  in 
Crawford  county.  He  was  born  at  Glas- 
gow, Scotland,  May  6,  1841,  and  was  a  son 
of  Robert  and  Mary  (Laird)  Laird. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Laird  were  of  Scot- 
tish birth  and  ancestry  and  of  the  Presby- 
terian faith.  In  1849  they  took  passage 
with  their  children  on  a  sailing  vessel  bound 
for  the  United  States,  and  after  six  long 
weeks  on  the  water,  were  safely  landed  on 
the  coast  of  Virginia.  Later  the  father  be- 
came manager  of  mines  at  Mt.  Savage,  now 
in  West  Virginia,  and  to  him  is  attributed 
the  honor  of  discovering  the  beds  of  fire 
clay  in  that  section  which  he  subsequently 
assisted  in  developing.  His  widow  sur- 
vived him,  dying  at  Parkersburg,  W.  Va., 
in  her  79th  year.  They  had  twelve  children 
born  to  them,  a  number  of  whom  reached 
maturity. 

Robert  Laird  had  but  meager  educational 
opportunities.  He  learned  the  boilerma- 
ker's  trade  at  Peidmont,  W.  Va.,  and  after- 
ward worked  at  Zanesville  and  then  entered 
the  shops  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Rail- 
road, and  while  there  enlisted  for  service 
in  the  Civil  War.  He  became  a  member  of 
Company  D,  159th  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  in  which  he 
served  for  three  months,  when  he  was  pros- 
trated with  rheumatism,  from  which  he  was 
never  afterward  entirely  free;  When  he  re- 
sumed work  at  his  trade  he  remained  with 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  for  about 
four  years,  having  come  first  to  Galion,  in 
1868,  and  here  became  foreman  of  the  boiler 
shops  and  for  twenty  years  was  connected 
with  the  Erie  Railway.  He  then  went  to 
Mansfield,  O.,  where  he  was  at  the  head  of 
the  J.  Sullivan  Boiler  Works  and  three 
years  later  returned  to  Galion  and  here 
conducted  a  boiler  shop  of  his  own  for  five 


JAMES  R.  HOPLEY 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


689 


years.  His  death  occurred  in  this  city 
November  5,  1905.  He  was  a  man  of  ster- 
ling traits  of  character,  honest  and  upright, 
industrious  and  faithful  and  was  the  type 
of  citizen  that  a  community  cannot  afford 
to  lose.  He  was  firm  in  his  adherence  to 
the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party  and 
was  frequently  brought  forward  as  a  party 
candidate  for  responsible  positions.  Mr. 
Laird  was  a  Knight  Templar  Mason  and 
was  master  of  the  local  lodge.  He  had 
hosts  of  friends  in  Dick  Morris  Post  No. 
130,  G.  A.  R.,  and  it  was  while  presiding  as 
commander  that  his  death  summons  came 
to  him  and  he  peacefully  expired  supported 
by  his  old  comardes  in  arms. 

Mr.  Laird  was  married  at  Zanesville,  O., 
to  Miss  Jennie  Mcintosh,  who  was  born  at 
Edinburgh,  Scotland,  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Agnes  (Russell)  Mcintosh,  and  in  her 
infancy  brought  by  her  mother  to  America. 
The  mother  died  in  1868,  she  being  then 
aged  79  years.  Mrs.  Laird  is  the  youngest 
of  five  childi-en  and  she  has  one  brother  liv- 
ing in  Ohio,  John  Mcintosh,  who  is  a  re- 
tired carriage  blacksmith,  residing  at  Mt. 
Vernon,  with  wife,  three  sons  and  one 
daughter.  One  son  was  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lard,  John  R.  He  was  carefully  reared 
and  graduated  with  credit  from  the  Galion 
High  School,  afterward  learned  the  ma- 
chinist trade  and  became  a  skilled  boiler- 
maker.  His  death  occurred  November  27, 
191 1,  when  aged  46  years.  Mrs.  Laird  is  a 
woman  of  marked  ability,  a  leader  in  sev- 
eral distinctive  lines.  For  some  time  she 
was  president  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps 
at  Galion  and  for  ten  years  its  treasurer, 
and  she  was  the  organizer  of  the  Eastern 
Star  lodge  here  and  its  first  matron. 

CHRISTIAN  SHONERT,  dealer  in 
pianos  and  other  musical  instruments  at 
Bucyrus,  O.,  who  is  known  all  through  this 
section  as  a  musician  of  a  high  order  of  abil- 
ity, was  born  in  Saxony,  Germany,  April  13, 
1832,  and  is  a  son  of  John  H.  and  Frederica 
(John)  Shonert. 

John  H.  Shonert  followed  the  blacksmith 
trade  in  Germany  and  was  an  excellent 
workman  but  many  of  his  customers  were 


people  of  small  means  and  unable  to  pay 
enough  for  Mr.  Shonert's  services  to  enable 
him  to  take  care  of  and  provide  for  a  rapidly 
increasing  family.  In  the  hope  that  in 
America  he  would  find  better  opportunities, 
Mr.  Shonert  decided  to  emigrate  and  in 
1848,  with  his  family  left  the  port  of 
Bremen  for  the  United  States.  After  a  voy- 
age of  six  weeks  the  family  was  safely 
landed  at  Castle  Garden,  New  York  City, 
and  from  there  made  their  way  to  Crawford 
county,  O.,  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Lykens 
township,  where  the  father  followed  both 
farming  and  blacksmithing. 

Christian  Shonert  attended  school  in  his 
native  land  and  was  16  years  of  age  when 
he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Ohio.  After 
one  year  of  toil  on  the  farm  in  Lykens 
township  he  left  home  and  came  to  Bucyrus, 
where  he  learned  the  tanning  business,  and 
afterward,  for  a  number  of  years,  continued 
in  this  line,  during  a  part  of  the  time  alone 
and  also  with  a  partner.  The  German  peo- 
ple are  noted  for  their  natural  musical 
talent  and  Christian  developed  this  very 
early  although  circumstances  were  such 
that  he  had  little  opportunity  to  develop  it 
while  young.  Later  he  secured  advantages 
and  it  has  long  been  said  of  him  that  he  is 
the  finest  musician  in  Crawford  county.  He 
was  the  first  real  musical  man  in  Bucyru.? 
and  has  had  much  to  do  with  the  encourage- 
ment of  music  in  this  city.  He  has  been  in 
the  musical  instrument  business  at  his  pres- 
ent location.  No.  415  N.  Sandusky  Street, 
since  1849. 

Mr.  Shonert  was  married  October  30, 
1856,  to  Miss  Maria  W.  Miller,  a  resident  of 
Bucyrus,  and  they  have  had  seven  children, 
all  of  whom  have  inherited  their  father's  re- 
markable musical  gifts  and  have  had  them 
cultivated  and  appreciated.  The  third  son, 
Edwin  M.  Shonert,  has  become  a  celebrated 
pianist  and  at  present  is  on  the  concert 
stage.  Mr  Shonert  has  been  one  of  Bucy- 
rus' most  useful  citizens.  He  has  served 
with  satisfaction  and  efficiency  in  city  and 
county  offices  and  was  four  times  elected 
county  treasurer,  first  in  1875  and  again  in 
1877  and  also  served  the  two  terms  from 
1884  to  1888.    He  retired  from  this  office  of 


690 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


trust  and  responsibility  bearing  with  him 
the  respect,  esteem  and  commendation  of 
his  fellow  citizens.  He  has  also  served  a 
number  of  years  on  the  school  board  and 
city  council. 

W.  J.  JUMP,  farmer  and  teacher,  is  a 
member  of  one  of  the  old  families  of  Craw- 
ford county  which  has  many  representatives 
in  Tod  township.  He  was  born  June  i8, 
1876,  on  the  old  homestead  and  is  a  son  of 
W.  H.  Jump. 

W.  J.  Jump  attended  the  local  schools  at 
Lemert  and  later,  Ada  University,  after 
which  he  began  to  teach  school.  Not  every 
nominally  qualified  teacher  finds  himself 
fitted  for  this  work  after  he  begins,  but  in 
Mr.  Jump's  case,  teaching  seems  to  be  a 
natural  vocation  and  for  thirteen  years  he 
has  been  engaged  in  educational  work  in 
Crawford  county,  at  present  teaching  at 
Glen  Eden,  in  School  District  No.  2,  Tod 
township.  His  farm  of  forty  acres  also 
claims  attention  and  he  takes  much  interest 
in  its  management. 

Mr.  Jump  married  Miss  Anna  Lecrone,  a 
daughter  of  Adam  Lecrone,  of  Bremen,  O., 
and  they  have  had  two  children,  Carlton 
and  Harry,  but  both  sons  passed  away  in 
infancy,  the  former  when  aged  nine  months 
and  the  latter  when  but  five  months  old. 
Mr.  Jump  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  at  Plankton,  O.,  while 
Mrs.  Jump  is  a  member  of  the  U.  B.  church 
at  Laurel  in  Hocking  county,  O.  In  his 
political  attitude  he  is  a  Democrat.  He  has 
a  wide  acquaintance  and  is  held  in  very  high 
esteem  in  Crawford  county  as  an  educator. 

MISS  JULIA  AUMILLER,  who  is  a 
very  highly  esteemed  lady  of  Bucyrus,  C, 
is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  pioneer 
families  of  Holmes  township,  Crawford 
county,  and  here  she  has  spent  her  active 
and  useful  life.  She  was  born  in  Holmes 
township  and  is  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Sarah  (Boyer)  Aumiller. 

Daniel  Aumiller  and  wife  were  both  born 
in  Union  county,  Pa.  He  was  just  19  years 
of  age  when  he  accompanied  his  brother, 
George  Aumiller,   to   Crawford   county,   in 


October,  1828.  At  that  time  the  busy  city 
of  Bucyrus  was  nothing  but  a  hamlet  on  the 
frontier  and  it  was  no  unusual  sight  to  see 
bands  of  Indians  in  the  neighborhood. 
George  Aumiller  was  a  brick  maker  and  in 
this  industry  he  was  assisted  by  his  brother, 
Daniel  Aumiller,  the  latter  of  whom  worked 
for  three  years  and  frugally  saved  almost 
every  dollar  in  order  to  be  able  to  invest  in 
land.  When  he  had  sufficient  capital  to  en- 
ter an  80  acre  tract,  he  walked  the  entire 
distance  to  the  land  office  at  Tiffin,  C,  in 
order  to  secure  the  property  in  Holmes 
township  that  he  had  in  mind.  It  was  a  dis- 
couraging looking  place  at  that  time,  little 
resembling  the  improved  farm  that  Miss 
Julia  Aumiller  and  a  sister,  Mrs.  Nichols, 
now  own,  but  Daniel  Aumiller  not  only 
cleared  that  place  and  put  it  under  cultiva- 
tion, but  later  acquired  160  acres  more,  to- 
gether with  tracts  of  Western  land.  His 
death  occurred  on  the  first  80  acres  he  had 
bought,  when  he  was  in  his  72nd  year.  In 
addition  to  farming  he  also,  for  some  years, 
followed  the  brick  mason  trade  and  was 
known  all  over  Crawford  county.  His 
widow  survived  him  for  16  years,  her  death 
occurring  in  1900,  in  her  82nd  year.  In 
early  life  she  belonged  to  the  Albright 
church  but  later  united  with  the  English 
Lutheran  body.  All  of  their  eleven  children 
grew  to  maturity  on  the  farm  and  three 
sons  and  four  daughters  are  yet  living. 

Miss  Julia  Aumiller  was  educated  in  the 
local  schools.  She  is  a  very  capable  busi- 
ness woman  and  for  a  number  of  years  con- 
ducted a  dressmaking  business.  In  addi- 
tion to  her  interest  in  the  old  homestead, 
she  owns  two  excellent  houses  at  Bucyrus. 
She  is  one  of  the  active  and  interested  mem- 
bers of  the  English  Lutheran  church  at  Bu- 
cyrus, has  many  pleasant  social  connections 
and  a  very  wide  circle  of  friends. 

OTTERBEIN  P.  BECK,  who,  as  head 
sales  agent  for  the  Galion  Iron  Works  Com- 
pany, at  Galion,  C,  occupies  a  very  import- 
ant position,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the 
directing  board  of  the  company,  has  been 
identified  with  this  concern  since  its  organi- 
zation and  a  large  measure  of  its  success 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


691 


may  justly  be  attributed  to  his  energy  and 
business  capacity.  He  was  born  in  Jeffer- 
son township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  is  a 
son  of  John  Beck  and  a  grandson  of  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  Jefferson  township,  Craw- 
ford county. 

John  Bef;k  was  born  in  1807  in  Westmore- 
land county,  Pa.,  and  in  1827  accompanied 
his  parents  to  Jefferson  township,  and  his 
father  built  the  first  grist  mill  in  the  county, 
constructing  it  on  the  Sandusky  River. 
John  Beck  engaged  in  farming  but  pos- 
sessed natural  mechanical  skill  and  was  a 
satisfactory  carpenter  and  a  capable  mill- 
wright, manufactured  pumps  for  some 
years  and  occupied  his  spare  moments  in 
constructing  such  delicate  musical  instru- 
ments as  the  dulcimer.  He  was  well  known 
all  over  the  county  and  in  his  way  he  was  a 
genius.  Early  in  life  he  was  a  Democrat 
but  the  issues  involved  in  the  Civil  War 
made  him  a  Republican.  For  many  years 
he  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  Jefferson 
township.  He  was  twice  married,  first  to 
Mary  Swisher,  who  left  six  children,  three 
of  whom  were  soldiers  in  the  Union  Army 
during  the  Civil  War.  His  second  wife  was 
Eliza  Rhoads,  who  was  born  in  Indiana  but 
was  reared  in  Seneca  county,  O.,  by  an  un- 
cle. She  died  in  1880  when  aged  44  years, 
leaving  nine  children,  six  of  whom  survive. 

Otterbein  P.  Beck  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  Jefferson  township  and  during  al- 
most all  of  his  active  business  life  has  been 
connected  with  manufacturing  concerns  and 
more  or. less  of  the  time  with  his  present 
particular  department.  For  nine  years  he 
was  connected  with  the  Central  Ohio  Buggy 
Company  and  for  six  years  afterward  was 
sales  agent  for  the  Ohio  Buggy  Company. 
He  came  to  Gallon  in  1880  and,  as  men- 
tioned above,  has  been  interested  with  the 
Gallon  Iron  Works  since  the  pJant  was 
established  here.  He  has  jobbers  all  through 
the  country  who  handle  the  products  of  this 
company  and  in  addition  the  company  has 
fifty  active  men  on  the  road,  while  the  office 
business  is  so  voluminous  that  nine,  stenog- 
raphers are  required.  Mr.  Beck  is  thor- 
oughly alive  to  business  possibilities  and 
has  the   natural   foresight   and   good   judg- 


ment that  enable  him  to  recognize  advan- 
tages when  presented. 

Mr.  Beck  was  married  in  Crawford 
county  to  Miss  Mary  H.  Shumaker,  who  is 
a  daughter  of  John  and  Esther  (Gledhill), 
Shumaker.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Beck  died  in 
May,  1869,  from  the  kick  of  an  unruly  horse 
and  the  mother  died  in  December,  1868. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beck  have  two  children : 
Loren  Eugene,  who  was  educated  at  Galion 
and  in  the  Ohio  Business  College,  Mans- 
field, O.,  and  is  a  commercial  traveler;  and 
Lois  May,  who  is  a  member  of  the  class  of 
1914  in  the  Galion  High  School.  This 
young  lady  has  great  musical  talent  and  is  a 
member  of  the  choir  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Mrs.  Beck  was  reared  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Beck  is  a 
Knight  of  Pythias  and  is  a  charter  member 
of  the  United  Commercial  travelers  and  a 
charter  member  of  the  Commercial  Club  at 
Galion. 

WILLIAM  MASON,  who  is  one  of  the 
leading  business  men  of  New  Winchester, 
O.,  owner  and  proprietor  of  a  general  store 
and  also  owner  of  one  of  the  finest  resi- 
dences in  the  town,  was  born  in  Dallas 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  May  16, 
i860,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Line) 
Mason. 

John  Mason  was  born  in  England  and 
came  to  the  United  States  when  a  boy.  He 
worked  at  first  on  farms  in  different  sec- 
tions and  later  acquired  land  of  his  own  and 
at  the  time  of  death  owned  280  acres  of  fine 
land  in  Crawford  county.  He  married  Mary 
Line,  who  was  born  in  Ohio,  and  they  had 
the  following  children :  Nancy,  deceased, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Charles  Saylor ;  Fannie, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Z.  W.  Hipsher;  James, 
who  is  deceased ;  Ellen,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Otis  Brooks;  Rose  Ann,  who  is  the  wife  of 
John  Hord ;  William ;  and  Lottie,  who  is 
deceased.  John  Mason  and  wife  are  both 
deceased  and  their  burial  was  in  Marion 
county,  O.  They  were  well  known  and 
highly  respected  people. 

William  Mason  was  given  public  school 
advantages  and  afterward  assisted  his  fa- 
ther until  he  was  18  years  of  age  and  then  be- 


692 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


came  a  farmer  on  his  own  account  and  con- 
tinued until  1898,  when  he  purchased  a  busi- 
ness at  New  Winchester,  which  he  con- 
ducted for  18  months  and  then  sold,  after 
which  he  bought  his  general  store  and  has 
conducted  the  same  for  the  past  twelve 
years.  He  carries  a  full  and  well  selected 
stock  and  enjoys  a  liberal  amount  of  patron- 
age. 

In  1881  Mr.  Mason  was  married  to  Miss 
Maggie  Cress,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Jacob 
and  Elizabeth   (Lint)  Cress,  the  former  of 
whom    is   well   known    all    over    Crawford 
county    as    an    expert    blacksmith.      Mrs. 
Mason  is  the  second  in  a  large  family,  as 
follows :     Nora,  who  is  the  wife  of  G.  W. 
Schreck;  Iley  Bell,  who  is  the  wife  of  Sam- 
uel Sharrock;  Frances,  of  Chicago;  Minnie, 
who  is  the  widow  of  Fred  Daoust;  Delia, 
who  is  deceased;   and  Manford.     Mr.  and 
Mrs.    Mason   are   members   of  the   United 
Brethren  church.     Politically  Mr.  Mason  is 
a  Republican  and  has  been  a  loyal  party 
worker  for  many  years.     He  has  served  at 
times  in  public  oflice  and  for  one  term  was 
assessor  of  Dallas  township  and  at  present 
is   turnpike  road  commissioner  for  Whet- 
stone township.     For  several  years  he  was 
postmaster  of  New  Winchester.   He  is  iden- 
tified with  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  be- 
longs to  Lodge  No.  447,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  at 
Caledonia,  O. 

WILLIAM  C.  KIESS,  vice-president  of 
the  Second  National  Bank  of  Bucyrus,  O., 
is  also  largely  interested  in  real  estate  and 
conducts  an  extensive  business  along  this 
line,  dealing  in  both  city  realty  and  farm 
property.  He  has  been  a  representative 
citizen  of  Crawford  county  for  many  years 
and  has  frequently  been  honored  by  elec- 
tion to  ofifices  of  trust  and  responsibility  by 
his  fellow  citizens.  He  was  born  on  his 
father's  farm  in  Whetstone  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  in  iS^y,  and  is  a  son  of 
Jacob  and  Catherine  (Delker)  Kiess. 

Jacob  Kiess  was  born  in  Lycoming 
county,  Pa.,  a  son  of  Christopher  Kiess  and 
wife,  who  were  natives  of  Germany.  Grand- 
father Kiess  was  an  educated  man  and  first 
taught  school  in  his  native  land  and  after- 


ward, for  twenty  years  in  Pennsylvania.   He 
thus  was  useful  in  his  day  and  generation 
although   he    never   accumulated   as   much 
property  as  have  a  number  of  his  descend- 
ants.   In  1850,  Jacob  Kiess  and  wife  settled 
on  a  farm  in  Crawford  county,  improved  it 
and  there  he  died  in  his  seventieth  year,  in 
1882.     In  early  manhood  he  had  married 
Catherine     Delker,     who     was     born     in 
Germany,  where  she  lived  until  fifteen  years 
of  ages    She  survived  her  husband,  passing 
away  in  1885,  when  aged  69  vears.     They 
were  members  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
church  and  were  worthy  of  their  name  and 
profession  of  faith.     Of  their  children  there 
are   three   sons   and    one    daughter   living, 
namely:     WilHam   C,   Simeon,  Joseph  F., 
and  Mrs.  M.  A.  Butts,  of  Hiawatha,  Kans. 
William  C.  Kiess  was  reared  on  the  home 
farm  and  early  took  part  in  the  necessary 
toil  that  successful  cultivation  of  land  de- 
mands.   His  education,  however,  was  in  no 
way  neglected  and  he  was  ambitious  as  well 
as  intelligent.     After  attending  the  public 
schools  he  enjoyed  higher  training  in  the 
university  at  Ada,  C,  where  he  was  special- 
ly prepared  in  the  Normal  classes  for  edu- 
cational work.     For  seven  years  afterward 
Mr.  Kiess  taught  school,  confining  his  ef- 
forts to  Whetstone  township,  and  he  met 
with  a  large  measure  of  success.    He  looks 
back  upon  that  period  as  a  useful  season  of 
his  life,  in  which  he  did  his  best  and  felt  re- 
warded for  his  eflforts.    Among  his  warmest 
friends  of  the  present  are  those  who  were 
once  his  pupils.    From  the  school-room  Mr. 
Kiess  entered  public  office,  serving  as  town- 
ship clerk  for  four  years  and  as  land  ap- 
praiser in  his  township.     On  February  9, 
1900,  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  probate 
judge  of  Crawford  county,  to  which  honor- 
able office  he  had  been  elected  in  the  previ- 
ous autumn,  and  his  services  on  the  bench 
demonstrated  his  particular  fitness  for  that 
position.    Judge  Kiess  subsequently  turned 
his  attention  to  dealing  in  real  estate  and 
has  numerous  additional  interests.     He  is 
a  notary  public  and  maintains  his  office  in 
the  Rowse  Building. 

Judge  Kiess  was  married  in  1879  to  Miss 
Sarah  E.  Wagner,  a  daughter  of  John  and 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


693 


Mary  Wagner,  old  residents  of  Whetstone 
township,  who  have  long  since  passed  to 
their  final  rest.  Two  children  living  were 
born  to  Judge  and  Mrs.  Kiess,  a  son  and 
daughter,  Thomas  Clinton  and  Bessie  Belle. 
Judge  Kiess  and  family  are  members  of  the 
Evangelical  church.  Their  pleasant  and 
hospitable  home  is  at  No.  475  Gallon  Street, 
Bucyrus. 

GEORGE  LEROY  SHEMER,  a  suc- 
cessful farmer  of  Dallas  township,  who  is 
also  one  of  that  township's  prominent  citi- 
zens, was  born  in  Crawford  county,  Ohio, 
March  8,  1872,  a  son  of  Levi  and  Martha 
(McKinney)  Shemer.  The  parents  of  our 
subject  were  early  settlers  in  Crawford 
county,  the  father,  Levi  Shemer,  coming 
here  from  Stark  county,  Ohio,  when  a  child 
of  eight  years;  his  wife,  Mrs.  Martha 
Shemer,  is  from  Richland  county.  They 
are  still  living  and  reside  in  Dallas  town- 
ship, Levi  being  a  farmer  by  occupation. 
Their  children  are :  George  LeRoy,  whose 
name  appears  at  tlae  head  of  this  sketch; 
Mary  Matilda,  who  is  the  wife  of  Daniel 
Parcher;  Charles  Otis;  Velma  Maude,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Leo  White ;  and  Earl. 

George  LeRoy  Shemer  in  his  boyhood 
attended  the  common  schools  and  was  early 
trained  to  agricultural  pursuits.  He  has  re- 
sided in  Dallas  township  for  29  years,  and 
is  engaged  in  general  farming,  keeping 
stock  enough  for  his  own  use.  A  Republi- 
can in  politics,  like  his  father,  he  is  now 
serving  in  his  third  term  as  clerk  of  the 
township. 

He  was  married  Oct.  16,  1895  to  Mary  E. 
Parcher,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Adelia 
(Wilson)  Parcher,  farming  people  and 
prominent  residents  of  Dallas  township. 
John  Parcher,  Mrs.  Shemer's  father,  was 
born  in  Bucyrus  township,  this  county,  m 
1846.  His  father,  Daniel  Parcher,  was  also 
a  native  of  this  county,  while  his  mother, 
Mrs.  Mary  (McNeal)  Parcher,  came  from 
Pennsylvania.  John  Parcher  was  county 
commissioner  for  six  years  and  has  also 
served  as  township  trustee.  He  is  a  man 
highly  respected  in  the  community.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  G.  L.  Shemer  attend  the  Metho- 


dist Episcopal  church.  They  are  industri- 
ous thrifty  people,  good  neighbors,  and  well 
liked  in  the  community  and  have  a  wide  cir- 
cle of  friends. 

DANIEL  M.  TOBIAS,  a  well  known 
resident  of  Bucyrus,  is  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  D.  M.  Tobias  &  Co.,  doing  business 
at  Columbus,  O.,  dealers  and  manufacturers 
of  fine  blank  books  and  legal  stationery. 
Mr.  Tobias  was  born  at  Greencastle,  Pa., 
May  8,  1859. 

Daniel    M.   Tobias   was    four   years   old 
when  his  parents  came  to  Crawford  county 
and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Liberty  township 
from  which  they  later  moved  to  another  in 
Holmes   township,    and   there   he   grew   to 
manhood.      His   education  was   secured   in 
the    district    and    Bucyrus    schools    and    at 
Oberlin   College.     After  learning  the   cab- 
inetmaker's trade  he  followed  that  for  some 
time  and  then  acted  as  deputy  for  his  broth- 
er, Hon.  James  C.  Tobias,  who  was  judge  of 
the  Probate  Court.    For  ten  years  after  the 
termination  of  his  term  as  deputy,  he  was 
superintendent  of  the  Bucyrus  Stock  Farm, 
in    which    position    he    exhibited    excellent 
judgment    and    successfully    handled    and 
drove  the  high  bred  horses  for  which  the 
farm    was    noted    all    over    the    state.      In 
November,   1903,  after  some  time  devoted 
to  pattern  work  in  a  cabinetmaking  shop,  he 
entered  the  employ  of  the   Dayton  Blank 
Book    and    Lithographing    Company,    and 
after  the  second  year  became  stockholder 
and  director  in  the  company  and  for  nine 
years  was  a  salesman  for  that  concern,  at 
the  end  of  that  period  establishing  his  own 
business  at  Columbus,  where  he  has  con- 
tinued  to   prosper   until   the   present.      He 
has  always   been  an  active   Democrat  and 
has  frequently  been  a  delegate  to  important 
conventions,  has  served  in  numerous  local 
offices  and  is  the  present  candidate  of  his 
party  for  county  auditor. 

Mr.  Tobias  was  married  (first)  at  Bucy- 
rus and  by  that  marriage  had  two  children : 
Ray  J.,  who  resides  in  the  West;  and  Jessie 
M.,  Mrs.  Smith,  whose  home  is  in  California. 
Mr.  Tobias  was  married  (second)  at  B'ucy- 
rus,  to  Miss  Sallie  Stewart,  who  was  born 


694 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  but  in  childhood  was 
brought  to  Bucyrus  by  her  parents,  Joseph 
and  Mary  (Snyder)  Stewart,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  in  Columbiana  county,  O., 
March  9,  1839,  and  died  Feb.  3,  1905.  For 
more  than  thirty  years  he  was  a  railroad 
engineer,  in  1881  becoming  identified  with 
the  T.  &  O.  C.  Railroad  and  continuing  with 
that  line  until  within  a  few  years  of  his  de- 
cease. He  was  the  instructor  of  Eugene 
Debs,  the  labor  leader,  when  the  latter  be- 
came a  fireman  on  his  engine,  and  was  well 
known  to  railroad  men  all  over  the  country. 
His  widow  survives  and  resides  at  Bucyrus. 
She  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tobias  have  four  children: 
Ruth  M.,  who  was  born  May  24,  1894,  and 
stands  at  the  head  of  the  class  of  1913,  in 
the  Bucyrus  High  School;  Russell  Stewart, 
who  was  born  May  21,  1897;  Daniel  Milton, 
who  was  born  August  9,  1899;  and  Cath- 
erine, who  was  born  August  25,  1906.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Tobias  attend  the  Lutheran 
church.  He  is  secretary  of  the  Order  of 
United  Commercial  Travellers  of  America 
and  has  represented  this  body  as  a  delegate 
to  its  national  convention  for  several  years. 
Since  188.S  he  has  been  identified  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  at  Bucyrus,  with  which 
he  has,  at  times,  been  officially  connected. 
Although  Mr.  Tobias  carries  on  his  busi- 
ness at  the  capital,  he  has  continued  to 
maintain  his  home  at  Bucyrus  and  his  hand- 
some residence  is  situated  at  No.  411  East 
Mansfield  Street. 

J.  P.  WHALEN,  proprietor  of  the 
Whalen  Laundry,  a  very  successful  busi- 
ness enterprise  of  Gallon,  C,  doing  busi- 
ness at  No.  241  East  Main  street,  was  born 
in  this  city  in  1867,  a  son  of  Richard  and 
Mary  (Riester)  Whalen. 

Richard  Whalen  was  born  in  New  York 
and  was  a  young  man  when  he  came  west- 
ward and  during  the  larger  part  of  his  after 
life  was  connected  in  some  capacity  with 
railroads,  both  at  Gallon,  O.,  and  Indianap- 
olis, Ind.,  being  last  identified  with  the  Erie 
Railroad.  His  death  occurred  in  April,  1907, 
when  he  was  68  years  of  age.  He  was  mar- 
ried at  Gallon  to  Mary  Riester,  who  was 


born  in  Ohio,  of  German  parents,  and  she 
survives.  She  is  a  member  of  the  German 
Catholic  church,  as  was  her  husband. 

J.  P.  Whalen  was  reared  at  Gallon  and 
Indianapolis  and  attended  school  regularly 
in  boyhood.  He  has  been  identified  with 
the  laundry  business  practically  all  his  life 
since  then,  or  since  1882,  and  in  1888 
started  his  present  laundry.  At  first  it  was 
a  somewhat  small  concern,  a  hand  laundry, 
but  Mr.  Whalen  had  no  idea  of  remaining 
satisfied  with  what  were  then,  necessary 
conditions,  and  gradually  made  improve- 
ments as  his  patronage  increased  and  by 
1900  had  built  up  such  a  substantial  income- 
bringing  business  that  he  felt  justified  in 
securing  his  present  commodious  quarters 
and  installing  modern  laundry  machinery. 
He  gives  continuous  employment  to  ten  in- 
dividuals and  guarantees  the  finest  work  in 
the  city. 

Mr.  Whalen  was  married  at  Gallon,  O., 
to  Miss  Nellie  Mitchell,  who  was  born  and 
reared  at  Urbana,  O.,  and  they  have  two 
children :  Eileen,  an  attractive  little  girl  of 
thirteen  years  who-  attends  the  parochial 
school;  and  Joel,  who  has  not  yet  reached 
his  third  birthday.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whalen 
are  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church, 
and  he  belongs  to  that  world-wide  organiza- 
tion, the  Knights  of  Columbus.  He  is  an 
energetic  and  enterprising  business  man 
and  reputable  citizen. 

LEO  WHITE,  who  is  one  of  the  enter- 
prising and  successful  agriculturists  of 
Dallas  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  and 
one  of  the  representative  and  reliable  citi- 
zens, now  serving  in  his  third  term  as  town- 
ship trustee,  was  born  in  Dallas  township, 
July  17,  1870,  and  is  a  son  of  Willard  T. 
and  Clementine  (Swigart)  White. 

Willard  T.  White  was  born  also  in  Dallas 
township  and  has  been  a  farmer  all  his  life 
and  is  one  of  the  large  landowners  of  Craw- 
ford county,  at  present  having  800  acres. 
He  has  been  twice  married,  first  to  Clemen- 
tine Swigart,  who  died  when  her  two  chil- 
dren, Leo  and  Ida  Irene,  were  small;  Ida 
Irene  is  the  wife  of  E.  H.  K.  McComb,  who 
is  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Manual 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


695 


Training  School  at  Indianapolis,  Ind.  After 
the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Mr.  White  mar- 
ried Ella  Brown,  who,  like  the  first  Mrs. 
White,  was  a  native  of  Wyandot  county, 
and  two  sons  were  born  to  them :  Garrett 
B.  and  Abraham  Jay. 

Leo  White  attended  the  local  schools  and 
afterward  enjoyed  two  terms  at  Ada,  O., 
since  when  he  has  devoted  himself  to  gen- 
eral farming  and  stock  raising.  He  oper- 
ates a  large  body  of  jand  including  240 
acres  of  his  father's  fai'm  and  an  additional 
160  acres,  which  he  rents.  He  is  progres- 
sive and  up-to-date  in  his  methods  and  his 
industries  are  prospering. 

In  October,  1898,  Mr.  White  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Velma  Maude 
Shemer,  who  was  born  in  Crawford  county. 
Her  parents,  Levi  and  Martha  (McKinney) 
Shemer,  are  residents  of  Dallas  township. 
They  have  the  following  children :  G.  L. ; 
Matilda,  wife  of  D.  L.  Parcher;  Otis;  Mrs. 
White,  and  Earl.  Two  daughters  have 
been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  White:  Helen 
Lorena  and  Hazel  Martha,  The  family  be- 
longs to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Politically  an  ardent  Republican,  Mr.  White 
has  been  frequently  tendered  public  office 
by  his  party  and  has  served  as  township 
trustee  with  efficiency  as  well  as  township 
treasurer  for  three  terms.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Elks  at  Bucyrus,  O. 

JOHN  T.  LUSCOMBE,  master  me- 
chanic for  the  Toledo  &  Ohio  Central  Rail- 
road, at  Bucyrus,  O.,  was  born  in  County 
Cork,  Ireland,  thirty-seven  years  ago  and 
accompanied  his  parents,  John  and  Eliza- 
beth (Pitchford)  Luscombe,  to  America, 
in  May,  1884,  the  family  landed  in  the  Do- 
minion of  Canada. 

John  Luscombe  and  wife  reside,  in  com- 
fortable retirement,  at  Belleville,  Ontario, 
he  having  served  thirty  years  with  the 
Grand  Trunk  Railroad,  for  fifteen  years  of 
this  period  being  in  charge  of  the  car  de- 
partment. He  is  a  pensioner  of  the  British 
Government,  having  served  for  21  years  in 
the  British  army  and  held  the  rank  of  color 
sergeant  during  a  part  of  the  time.  He 
served  three  terms  of  enlistment,  each  of 


seven  years.  He  and  wife  are  members  of 
the  Baptist  church.  Ten  children  were  born 
to  them,  as  follows :  John  T. ;  Langford 
G.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  23  years ;  Henry 
J.,  who  died  at  the  a^e  of  25  years,  and  is 
survived  by  his  widow;  Alfred  P.,  who  is 
a  prosperous  farmer  and  wheat  grower  in 
Alberta,  where  he  married  and  has  three 
children;  Reuben  C,  who  is  an  engineer  on 
the  B.  &  O.  Railroad  at  Newark,  O.,  and 
has  two  sons;  Maude  M.,  who  resides  with 
her  parents ;  Walter  R.,  who  is  in  charge 
of  a  department  in  a  large  clothing  house 
in  Canada,  and  who  married  there  and  has 
twin  daughters;  Edith  Clara,  who  lives  at 
home;  E.  Agnes,  who  also  resides  with  her 
parents;  and  William  Oliver,  who  is  in  the 
employ  of  a  manufacturing  company  at 
Belleville. 

John  T.  Luscombe  was  graduated  from 
the  Belleville  High  School  and  when  only 
fifteen  years  of  age  entered  the  employ  of 
the  Grand  Trunk  Railroad  and  continued, 
in  various  capacities  until  1901,  when  he 
became  identified  with  the  B.  &  O.  In  the 
meanwhile  he  had  not  neglected  his  educa- 
tion, in  1900  graduating  from  the  National 
Correspondence  School,  at  Scranton,  Pa. 
He  has  filled  important  positions  with  dif- 
ferent companies  and  when  with  the  Chi- 
cago &  Alton  Railroad,  was  machine  fore- 
man and  with  the  B.  &  O.,  was  general 
foreman.  Prior  to  March,  1908,  when  he 
became  master  mechanic  for  the  Toledo  & 
Ohio  Central,  he  was  general  foreman  of 
the  shops  at  Bucyrus.  Mr.  Luscombe  fills 
a  very  responsible  position  and  enjoys  the 
entire  confidence  of  the  company. 

Mr.  Luscombe  was  rnarried  at  St. 
Thomas,  Can.,  to  Miss  Alberta  Bradley, 
who  was  born  at  Chicago,  111.,  a  daughter 
of  George  and  Emma  (Oxley)  Bradley, 
natives  of  England,  who  now  reside  in  Al- 
berta, Canada.  Mrs.  Luscombe  is  the  eld- 
est of  four  children,  the  others  being: 
George  J.;  Mrs.  H.  L.  Emmet,  of  Chicago; 
and  Alice,  wif*  of  George  Martin,  also  of 
Chicago.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Luscombe  have 
two  sons,  Harold  Btadley,  who  was  born 
in  November,  1904,  and  Edgar  Allen,  born 
September,    1908.     They   are   members   of 


696 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Lus- 
combe  belongs  to  the  minor  orders  of  Ma- 
sonry at  Bucyrus  and  to  the  Commandery 
at  Marion,  O.,  and  is  identified  also  with 
the  Elks. 

Note. — Since  this  sketch  was  made  Mr. 
Luscombe  has  resigned  his  position  with 
the  T.  &  O.  C.  to  accept  a  more  responsible 
position  with  the  Big  Four  R.  R.  and  is 
now  located  at  Bellefontaine,  Logan  county, 
O. 

EDWARD  KAVANAGH,  who  has  a 
long  and  honorable  record  as  an  employe 
of  the  Erie  Railroad  Company,  having  be- 
come identified  with  the  same  in  June, 
1872,  when  it  was  known  as  the  A.  &  G.  W. 
Railroad  and  the  Broad  Guage.  He  was 
born  at  London,  Canada,  Feb.  i,  1858,  and 
is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Bridget  (Shae) 
Kavanagh. 

Thomas  Kavatiagh  and  wife  were  born 
in  Ireland,  the  former  being  a  son  of  Mar- 
tin and  Juda  (Delaney)  Kavanagh,  natives 
of  County  Kilkenny.  When  Thomas  Kav- 
anagh was  young  he  went  to  live  with  an 
aunt,  who  apprenticed  him  to  a  shoemaker 
to  learn  his  trade.  Four  years  afterward 
he  went  to  London  and  worked  in  different 
English  cities  before  coming  to  the  United 
States  in  1846.  For  some  time  he  worked 
at  his  trade  on  King  Street,  New  York  City, 
after  which  he  went  to  Philadelphia  and 
from  there  to  other  places  and  finally 
crossed  the  line  into  Canada  and  located  at 
London.  There  he  met  Bridget  Shae,  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Johanna  (Ken- 
nedy) Shae,  who  spent  their  lives  in  Ire- 
land, the  daughter  having  come  to  Canada 
in  1852.  She  lived  at  London,  Canada, 
some  four  years  before  her  marriage  to  Mr. 
Kavanagh.  In  1863  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kav- 
anagh moved  to  Cleveland,  O.,  and  after- 
wards moved  to  Kent,  where  Mr.  Kavanagh 
died  in  May,  1904,  his  birth  having  taken 
place  March  5,  1819.  Mrs.  Kavanagh  sur- 
vives and  resides  at  Kent.  She  was  born 
March  24,  1830.  She  is  a  member  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church  as  was  her  hus- 
band.    They  had  sixteen  children  born  to 


them,   Edward  being' the  only  survivor  of 
this  large  family. 

Edward  Kavanagh  began  at  the  bottom 
when  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Erie 
Railroad,  working  at  first  in  the  mechanical 
department,  from  which  he  was  promoted 
to  be  a  hostler.  In  January,  1883,  he  was 
given  a  position  as  fireman  and  continued 
as  such  until  December,  1886,  when  he  was 
made  an  engineer  and  has  filled  this  posi- 
tion ever  since,  for  the  past  ten  years  be- 
ing in  the  passenger  service.  Mr.  Kav- 
anagh has  handled  every  known  make  of 
engine,  from  the  little  primitive  one  that 
was  fed  with  wood,  to  the  great  giants  of 
the  road  that  only  men  of  real  engineering 
knowledge  can  control,  be  the  motive  power 
steam  or  electricity.  He  is  justly  proud  of 
the  fact  that  he  has  never  received  a  repri- 
mand for  dereliction  of  duty  since  he  came 
to  the  road.  He  has  witnessed  many 
changes  in  ownership  and  in  operating  and 
has  kept  a  record  of  these  which  makes  in- 
teresting reading  concerning  this  very  im- 
portant line. 

Mr.  Kavanagh  was  married  to  Miss 
Agnes  King  and  they  had  the  following 
children:  Arthur  Lewis,  a  railroad  con- 
ductor on  the  Erie,  who  lives  at  Hunting- 
ton, Ind.,  and  has  a  family  of  one  son  and 
two  daughters ;  George,  who  was  acci- 
dentally killed  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years, 
by  a  switch  engine,  while  working  for  the 
Erie  as  a  call  boy;  John  E.,  who  is  in  the 
pattern  department  of  a  steel  bridge  manu- 
facturing plant  at  Chicago;  and  Catherine 
v.,  who  is  the  wife  of  T.  T.  Glennor,  re- 
siding in  Pennsylvania,  and  has  one  son. 
Mr.  Kavanagh  was  married  (second)  tQ 
Mrs.  Lydia  A.  Firstenberger,  widow  of 
Jacob  Firstenberger,  who  died  in  1900.  She 
was  born  and  reared  at  Marion,  O.,  her 
family  name  being  Dutt.  Mr.  Kavanagh 
is  a  member  of  Division  No.  16,  B.  L.  E., 
and  for  twelve  years  was  its  chief  and  in 
1898  was  sent  as  a  delegate  to  the  Conven- 
tion of  Engineers  held  at  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
He  has  been  chairman  of  the  General  Com- 
mittee of  Adjustment  from  Division  16  for 
the  past  ten  years. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kavanagh  have  been  ex- 


MAJ.   EDMUND  R.  KEARSLEY 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


699 


tensive  travelers,  having-  visited  almost  ev- 
ery state  in  the  union  and  also  Mexico  and 
Canada.  He  relates  many  stories  of  inter- 
est of  his  travels  as  well  as  incidents  rela- 
tive to  his  work  as  an  engineer  but  they 
would  occupy  too  much  space  to  be  given 
here. 

MAJOR  EDMUND  ROBERTS  KEARS- 
LEY,  deceased,  whose  birth  took  place  at 
Harrisburg,  Pa.,  May  i8,  1816,  died  at  his 
palatial  Residence,  No.  309  East  Mansfield 
Street,  Bucyrus,  O.,  in  January,  1901.  His 
long  and  busy  life  had  covered  an  important 
epoch  in  his  country's  history  and  his  personal 
experiences,  in  public  and  military  life,  form 
an  interesting  and  instructive  record.  De- 
scended from  military  ancestors,  all  his  life, 
even  in  old  age,  he  continued  to  be  interested 
in  military  affairs,  favoring  and  substantially 
encouraging  a  military  organization  at  Bu- 
cyrus, bearing  his  name,  when  past  his  four 
score  years  and  ten,  in  their  spirit  and  en- 
thusiasm living  over  again  many  of  the  events 
of  his  own  earlier  life. 

Edmund  Roberts  Kearsley  was  the  first  child 
bom  to  Major  Jonathan  Kearsley  and  Mar- 
garet (Hetich)  Kearsley,  and  a  grandson  of 
Captain  Samuel  Kearsley,  with  whom  he  lived 
for  some  years  after  the  death  of  his  mother, 
in  182 1.  His  father.  Major  Jonathan  Kear- 
sley, graduated  at  Washington  College,  Pa., 
now  ,called  Washington  and  Jefiferson  Col- 
lege, in  181 1,  and  in  the  following  year  was 
appointed  by  President  Madison,  a  lieutenant 
in  the  U.  S.  Artillery,  and  in  1814  was  com- 
missioned assistant  adjutant-general,  with  the 
rank  of  major.  He  was  engaged  in  the  bat- 
tles of  Niagara,  Stony  Creek  and  Chrysler's 
Field,  and  in  the  sortie  from  Fort  Erie,  in 
which  latter  engagement  he  was  so  seriously 
wounded  that  it  resulted  in  the  loss  of  a  leg. 
In  181 7  he  was  appointed  collector  of  revenue 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1820,  receiver  of  pub- 
lic moneys  for  the  District  of  Michigan,  at 
which  time  he  removed  to  Detroit,  where  he 
resided  until  his  death.  There  his  son,  the 
late  Edmund  Roberts  Kearsley  joined  him  in 
182  c;  and  immediately  became  a  pupil  in  the 
public  schools.  His  father  then  sent  him  to  a 
private  school  at  Utica,  N.  Y.,  and  from  1829 
until  1832  he  was  a  student  at  Kenyon  Col- 


lege, O.  Upon  his  return  to  Detroit  he  became 
assistant  receiver  in  the  Michigan  Land  Of- 
fice, under  his  father,  in  which  capacity  he 
attracted  the  attention  of  Major  John  Bid- 
die,  register  of  the  Land  Office,  who  re- 
quested the  transfer  of  so  efficient  a  helper  to 
his  department.  As  chief  clerk  of  this  im- 
portant office,  Major  Kearsley  continued  until 
1840,  when  failing  health  caused  his  resigna- 
tion. From  then  until  1847  he  resided  on  his 
father's  farm  of  600  acres  located  in  Oakland 
county,  Mich.  About  this  time  he  returned 
to  Detroit  and  entered  into  business.  He 
superintended  the  erection  of  the  Biddle  House 
at  Detroit,  which  was  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  complete  hotels  in  the  state  of  Michigan 
for  many  years. 

His  first  connection  with  military  matters 
was  when  he  assisted  in  the  organization  of 
the  Brady  Guards,  a  well  drilled  body  of 
young  men  that  did  excellent  service  during 
the  troubles  along  the  Canadian  and  Michi- 
gan border  during  the  rebellion  of  1837-8  in 
the  Dominion.  During  this  time  Captain  Kear- 
sley was  appointed  assistant  adjutant  with  the 
rank  of  major,  a  title  he  retained  until  the 
close  of  life.  Later  he  was  appointed  assistant 
quartermaster-general  of  Michigan  and  while 
in  that  position  served,  with  Captain  U.  S. 
Grant,  who  later  became  commander  of  the 
army  and  subsequently  President  of  the  United 
States.  A  warm  personal  friendship  existed 
between-  them  until  the  death  of  General 
Grant.  Major  Kearsley's  active  participation 
in  military  affairs  was  not  so  much  on  the 
field  as  in  the  no  less  necessary  official  de- 
partments which  regulate  and  make  possible 
effective  action  on  the  battle  ground,  and  his 
sincerity,  honesty  and  general  efficiency, 
which  were  ever  placed  at  the  service  of  his 
country  in  time  of  need.  Perhaps  no  man  in 
Crawford  county,  O.,  to  which  state  he  re- 
moved in  1 85 1,  could  have  so  advantageously 
and  peacefully  managed  the  difficult  matter  of 
carrying  out  the  law,  in  1862,  as  did  he  as 
draft  officer.  Where  another  equally  patriotic 
official  might  have  brought  about  local  trouble 
as  the  minds  of  men  were  inflamed  by  partisan 
feeling  at  that  time,  Major  Kearsley's  tact, 
diplomacy,  understanding  of  human  nature, 
together  with  his  personal  high  character  in- 
spiring confidence,  brought  about  satisfactory 


700 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


results  and  Crawford  county  sent  in  its  full 
quota. 

As  noted  above,  Major  Kearsley  came  to 
Bucyrus  early  in  1851  and  this  city  remained 
his  home  during  the  rest  of  his  life.  At  that 
time  his  maternal  uncle,  Hon.  Charles  Hetich, 
was  county  treasurer  of  Crawford  county,  and 
Major  Kearsley  became  his  assistant  and  in 
the  following  year  was  made  deputy  auditor 
and  in  1853  was  elected  auditor.  So  popular 
an  official  had  he  become  that  in  1855  he  was 
nominated  for  a  third  term  by  both  parties 
and  elected,  this  being  a  notable  occurrence 
in  Crawford  county  that  has  never  since  been 
repeated.  It  was  during  his  term  of  official 
life  that  he  superintended  the  erection  of  nu- 
merous buildings  of  a  public  nature,  including 
the  first  brick  jail  ever  built  in  the  county. 
He  continued  his  interest  in  county  affairs 
after  retiring  from  office,  cheerfully  giving 
advice  when  consulted,  his  many  years  of  ex- 
perience making  this  particularly  valuable. 
Bucyrus  is  indebted  to  him  in  many  ways  for 
he  was  ever  awake  to  the  city's  needs  and  was 
ready  to  lend  his  influence  and  give  substan- 
tial support  to  all  measures  which  he  deemed 
worthy  of  th-^  sRine.  Through  his  energy  and 
financial  assistance  the  Bucyrus  Memorial 
Library  became  a  fact  and  it  was  a  pleasure  to 
him  to  continue  his  benefactions  to  this  insti- 
tution. From  the  time  he  reached  manhood 
until  the  closing  years  of  his  life,  his  gifts  to 
people  in  all  walks  were  numerous  and  con- 
tinuous, but  in  large  part  his  benefactions 
were  given  quietly  and  with  no  thought  or  de- 
sire that  public  approval  should  mark  them. 
In  early  life  a  Whig,  he  later  became  a  Dem- 
ocrat although  he  gave  political  support  in  the 
election  of  President  Lincoln. 

Major  Kearsley  was  married  in  Illinois,  to 
Miss  Susan  Phillips,  who  was  born  April  5, 
1827,  at  Salem,  O.,  and  was  18  months  old 
when  her  people  came  to  Bucyrus,  where  she 
has  spent  all  her  life  with  the  exception  of 
three  years,  during  which  period  she  lived  with 
an  aunt  in  Illinois.  Her  father,  James  Lewis 
Phillips,  was  born  in  Ohio,  Jan.  14,  1798, 
and  died  Sept.  20,  1827.  His  father,  Robert 
P.  Phillips,  was  born  in  Wales,  July  21,  1773, 
and  came  to  America  when  a  young  man  and 
became  a  teamster  and  carrier,  first  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  later  at  Salem,  O.,  where  he  also 


conducted  a  tannery.     He  married  Susanna 
Snyder,  who  was  of  Dutch  descent.     James 
Lewis  Phillips  was  married  in  Ohio,  Dec.  16, 
1824,  by  Rev.  Kenneth  Vallandingham,  who, 
it  may  be  noted,  later  baptized  their  daughter, 
Mrs.  Kearsley,  to  Maria  McCracken,  who  was 
born  April  25,  1796.    Her  parents  were  James 
and  Susan  (Kelley)  McCracken,  the  latter  of 
whom    was    a    distant    relative    of    General 
Grant's  maternal  ancestors.    The  McCrackens 
came  from  Scotland  and  the  family  was  well 
known  in  Wayne  county,  O.,  and  at  Colum- 
bus.    After  the  death  of  her  husband,  Mrs. 
Maria  Phillips  left  Salem  and  with  her  two 
daughters,  Samantha  and  Susan,  came  to  Bu- 
cyrus, where  her  kindred  lived  and  here  her 
death    occurred    October    14,     1834.      Mrs. 
Kearsley's   only  sister  died   unmarried,   Jan. 
5,  1872. 

Major  Kearsley  was  married  (first)  July 
2,  1857,  to  Martha  C.  Sweney,  who  was  born 
at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  in  1824,  and  died  at  Bu- 
cyrus, in  1874.  Two  children  were  bom  to 
that  union:  an  infant  daughter,  who  died  on 
the  day  of  birth;  and  Rebecca  M.,  who  was 
born  Nov.  28,  1866,  and  who  married  Elmer 
L.  White,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  They  had  one 
daughter,  Margaret  Sara,  who  resides  with 
her  grandmother,  at  Bucyrus.  The  family  has 
been  identified  with  the  Presbyterian  church 
for  many  years  and  in  this  relation  Major 
Kearsley  was  faithful  and  conscientious.  He 
belonged  to  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion and  was  justly  proud  of  this  connection, 
and  he  was  also  affiliated  with  the  old  fra- 
ternities, the  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows. 

DR.  JAMES  F.  FITZSIMMONS,  who 
at  the  time  of  his  death  on  April  12th,  1910, 
was  the  oldest  practicing  physician  in  Bucy- 
rus, was  also  a  citizen  widely  known  and 
much  esteemed.  He  was  born  on  a  farm  in 
Whetstone  township,  this  county,  Sept.  18, 
1843,  3-i^d  was  therefore  in  his  67th  year  at 
the  time  of  his  demise.  His  parents  were 
William  and  Anna  E.  (Holman)  Fitzsim- 
mons,  who  came  overland  to  Bucyrus  from 
Huntingdon  county.  Pa.,  in  1831,  settling 
in  Whetstone  township. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  on 
his  parents'  farm  and  there  resided  until 
his  nineteenth  year,  when  he  went  to  Up- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


701 


per  Sandusky,  where  he  attended  school  for 
several  terms.  In  May,  1864,  he  enlisted 
in  the  134th  O.  V.  I.,  and  was  discharged 
with  his  comrades  in  August  of  that  year. 
In  the  fall  of  1864  he  attended  the  Vermil- 
lion Institute  at  Hayesville,  O.,  remaining 
until  the  summer  of  1865,  when  he  entered 
the  office  of  Drs.  Ferris  and  Byron  at  Upper 
Sandusky.  In  the  winter  of  1865-66  he  at- 
tended his  first  course  of  lectures  at  Charity 
Hospital  Medical  College  at  Cleveland,  go- 
ing thence  to  Ft.  Wayne,  Ind.,  where  he 
studied  and  practiced  with  Dr.  J.  S.  Gregg 
of  that  place  until  1867.  He  then  entered 
Chicago  Medical  College  from  which  he  was 
graduated  in  March,  1868. 

Resuming  practice  in  Ft.  Wayne,  he  re- 
mained there  until  1871  and  then  engaged 
in  special  practice  in  Cincinnati  for  a  short 
time.  In  June,  1871,  he  located  in  Bucyrus, 
which  place  was  his  home  and  the  scene  of 
his  professional  activities  until  his  death. 
Just  previous  to  that  final  event  he  had 
been  appointed  a  member  of  the  county 
board  of  pension  examiners.  He  was  a 
member  of  Keller  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  had  served 
as  presiding  officer  of  the  Board  of  Health 
in  past  years ;  held  membership  and  office 
in  the  Crawford  County  Medical  Society 
and  in  the  Royal  Arcanum.  He  also  held 
membership  in  Summit  City  Lodge  No.  170 
A.  F.  &  A.  M.  of  Ft.  Wayne,  Ind.,  and  in 
Bucyrus  Chapter,  No.  160,  R.  A.  M.,  and 
was  Past  Worthy  Patron  of  Bucyrus  Chap- 
ter No.  3,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 

Dr.  Fitzsimmons  was  married  Jan.  i, 
1872,  to  Miss  Ella  Ryan,  an  adopted  daugh- 
ter of  G.  L.  Saulsbury,  a  prominent  busi- 
ness man  of  Bucyrus,  well  known  through- 
out the  county.  Mr.  Saulsbury  was  a  native 
of  the  State  of  New  York  and  married  there 
Nancy  R.  Dedrick.  He  and  his  wife  spent 
their  lives  subsequently  in  Michigan  and 
Ohio,  both  dying  in  Toledo,  this  State,  as 
also  their  children.  Mrs.  Fitzsimmons  was 
born  in  Ireland  and  in  1861  came  to  Bucy- 
rus, where  she  was  educated  and  has  since 
resided.  Her  father,  Michael  Ryan,  mar- 
ried there  Mary  Cantwell,  who  was  born 
in  Clonmell,  the  walled  town  in  Tipperary 
county  and  the  scene  of  many  early  battles. 


She  was  of  French  extraction.  Michael 
and  Mary  Ryan  had  ten  children,  all  but 
four  of  whom  died  in  Ireland.  The  sur- 
vivors accompanied  their  parents  to  Amer- 
ica, the  family  settling  first  in  Hartford, 
Conn.,  and  there  the  wife  and  mother  died 
in  middle  age.  Mr.  Ryan  married  a  second 
time  and  came  to  Ohio,  locating  in  Marion 
county,  where  he  and  his  second  wife  died, 
he  at  the  age  of  about  70  years.  They  were 
members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
Mrs.  Fitzsimmons  was  the  youngest  of  ten 
children  and  is  the  only  one  now  living. 
Her  children  are  three  in  number,  namely: 
Ralph  J.,  a  well  educated  young  man,  died 
in  1909  unmarried.  Nellie  E.  graduated 
from  the  School  of  Oratory  at  Northwest- 
ern University,  Evanston,  111.,  later  was  for 
eight  years  societor  of  the  Bucyrus  Forum 
and  a  city  reporter  for  three  years  on  the 
now  resides  in  Spokane,  Wash.  Myra  Les- 
evening  Telegram.  She  is  unmarried  and 
lie  is  the  wife  of  Walter  M.  Hubbell,  as- 
sistant secretary  of  the  American  Clay  Ma- 
chinery Co.,  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  and  has  a 
daughter,  Myra  Leslie  (2d).  The  family 
are  all  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Dr.  Fitzsimmons'  death  was  very  sud- 
den and  was  due  to  heart  disease,  which 
had  not  previously  troubled  him  to  any 
great  extent.  He  was  sweeping  the  ver- 
anda of  his  home  when  he  suddenly  fell 
back  and  in  a  few  moments  life  was  extinct. 
We  cannot  sum  up  his  character  better  than 
to  quote  an  extract  from  his  obituary  notice 
in  a  local  journal.  The  writer  says :  "Dr. 
Fitzsimmons  was  a  gentleman  of  the  old 
school,  a  man  or  irreproachable  character 
and  strong  moral  uprightness.  In  char- 
acter and  personality  he  fulfilled  in  every 
particular  the  requirements  of  the  noblest 
of  professions  and  his  heart  was  ever  in  his 
work.  A  man  of  courtly  bearing  and  manner, 
he  was  one  who  justly  earned  the  respect, 
confidence  and  veneration  of  old  and  young 
alike.  No  citizen  of  Bucyrus  was  more 
generally  esteemed  and  more  genuinely  re- 
spected than  Dr.  Fitzsimmons.  He  was  a 
man  of  modest  tastes,  with  a  distinct  lean- 
ing for  home  life  and  for  a  period  of  years 
he  has  lived  busily  yet  quietly  here  among 


702 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


the  friends  of  his  young  manhood  and  of 
his  later  years.  He  has  come  to  the  end  of 
the  journey.  The  call,  sudden  though  it 
was,  found  him  fully  prepared,  as  he  had 
always  been  at  all  times,  with  a  clean  heart 
and  mind,  to  meet  his  maker  wherever  the 
summons  should  call  him.  He  leaves  be- 
hind the  record  of  a  clean  life  worthily  lived, 
than  which  a  better  monument  to  his  mem- 
ory could  never  be  reared." 

JOHN  C.  CRANER,  township  assessor 
of  Bucyrus  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
and  a  well  known  citizen,  has  been  engaged 
in  farming  in  this  section  for  a  number  of 
years,  renting  land  and  since  1906  has 
owned  29  acres  which  are  highly  productive. 
He  was  born  in  Crawford  county,  Nov.  27, 
1868,  and  is  a  son  of  Christian  and  Magda- 
lena  (Shaffer)  Craner. 

Christian  Craner  was  born  in  Crawford 
county  and  still  survives,  residing  in  Polk 
township,  but  his  wife  'passed  away  some 
years  ago  and  her  burial  was  in  Marion 
county.  They  had  the  following  children: 
Malinda,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of 
Jacob  Sargel;  Samuel  W. ;  Francis;  Cassie, 
who  is  the  wife  of  William  McCracken ;  El- 
mer J.  and  John  C.  Christian  Craner  has 
always  been  a  farmer  and  is  well  known  in 
the  county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Ger- 
man Methodist  church  as  was  his  wife. 

After  his  school  days,  John  C.  Craner  as- 
sisted his  father  and  then  engaged  at  farm 
work  by  the  month  and  continued  for  about 
nine  years,  having,  considerable  experience 
with  all  kinds  of  farm  methods.  He  then 
rented  the  farm  on  which  he  yet  lives  and 
still  operates  but  since  1906  has  owned  29 
acres. 

Mr.  Craner  was  married  Dec.  29,  1892, 
to  Miss  Margaret  Stuckman,  a  member  of 
one  of  the  well  known  families  of  this  town- 
ship, and  they  have  five  children:  Archie 
B.,  Reba,  Rollin,  Velma  and  Donald.  Mr. 
Craner  and  family  attend  the  United  Breth- 
ren church.  He  belongs  to  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  lodge  at  Bucyrus  and  is  one  of  the 
active  members  of  the  Democratic  party 
in  Bucyrus  township. 


WILLIAM  J.  SCHWENCK,  prosecut- 
ing attorney  of  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  a 
prominent  Democratic  politician,  has  been 
a  member  of  the  Bucyrus  bar  ever  since  he 
entered  into  legal  practice  in  1900.  He  was 
born  in  this  county,  Oct.  18,  1874,  and  is 
a  son  of  Hieronymus  and  Anna  M.  (Zim- 
mer)  Schwenck,  both  parents  being  now  de- 
ceased. The  father  was  a  farmer  and  there 
were  eight  children  in  the  family  circle. 

William  J.  Schwenck  began  his  education 
in* the  public  schools  and  later  attended 
the  Ohio  Normal  University,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  in  1898.  Subsequent  to 
this  he  entered  the  law  department  of  the 
Ohio  State  University  and  was  graduated 
from  that  institution  in  June,  1900.  Dur- 
ing his  vacation  he  read  law  in  the  office  of 
Phil  M.  Crow  at  Kenton,  O.,  and  shortly 
after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  in  April, 
1902,  he  was  elected  city  solicitor  of  Bucy- 
rus, serving  until  1906.  On  Nov.  8,  1910, 
Mr.  Schwenck  was  elected  prosecuting  at- 
torney for  the  county  and,  as  above  stated, 
has  served  in  this  office  ever  since,  his  of- 
ficial record  showing  that  he  possesses  in 
high  degree  those  qualities  which  are  essen- 
tial to  the  proper  performance  of  its  very 
important  duties. 

Mr.  Schwenck  married  Miss  Ruth  France, 
a  daughter  of  William  France,  who  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania.  They  are  members 
of  the  Lutheran  church,  and  he  is  a  promi- 
nent member  of  the  Bucyrus  lodge  of 
Eagles. 

M.  A.  WINEMILLER,  treasurer  and 
general  manager  of  the  Gallon  Handle  & 
Manufacturing  Company,  of  Gallon,  O.,  an 
important  business  enterprise  of  this  city, 
is  a  thoroughly  experienced  man  in  this 
line,  having  been  connected  with  manufac- 
turing industries  since  boyhood.  He  was 
born  at  Wapakoneta,  Auglaize  county,  O., 
in  1861,  and  is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Matilda 
(Lucas)  Winemiller. 

Michael  Winemiller  was  born  in  one  of 
the  Rhine  provinces,  Germany,  and  was  six 
years  of  age  when  his  parents  brought  him 
to  the  United  States.  The  family  located 
in  Auglaize  county,  O.,  in  the  early  thirties, 


WILLIAM  J.  SCHWENGK 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


703 


where  Michael  Winemiller  passed  the  rest 
of  his  Hfe,  becoming  a  farmer  and  black- 
smith, and  dying  at  the  age  of  76  years.  He 
was  married  in  the  same  county  to  Matilda 
Lucas,  who  was  born  in  Kentucky  and  from 
there  came  to  Ohio  in  young  womanhood 
and  lived  to  be  75  years  old.  Her  father, 
Israel  Lucas,  died  while  serving  as  a  soldier 
in  the  Civil  War.  To  Michael  Winemiller 
and  wife  five  sons  and  one  daughter  were 
born,  all  of  whom  survive  and  all  are  well 
settled  in  homes  of  their  own. 

M.  A.  Winemiller  entered  a  handle  factory 
after  leaving  school  and  worked  at  Win- 
chester, Ind.,  and  at  Attica  and  Piqua,  O., 
being  foreman  of  the  plant  at  Piqua  and 
manager  at  Attica.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  board  of  directors  and  treasurer  of  the 
Winchester  D.  Handle  Company,  manufac- 
turing D  and  long  handles.  Mr.  Winemiller 
was  concerned  in  the  establishing  of  the 
Galion  Handle  &  Manufacturing  Company, 
at  Galion,  in  1907,  and  has  been  treasurer 
and  general  manager  ever  since.  This  is 
an  incorporated  concern,  capitalized  at  $15,- 
000,  its  officers  being:  Anton  Kahn,  presi- 
dent; Allen  Miller,  J.  S.  Winemiller  and  M. 
A.  .Winemiller,  with  a  board  of  five  direc- 
tors. Employment  is  given  to  thirty  peo- 
ple and  the  output  of  farm  tool  handles, 
about  three  car  loads  a  month,  are  sold  in 
England  and  Germany. 

Mr.  Winemiller  was  married  at  New  Bre- 
men, O.,  to  Miss  Julia  C.  Staas,  who  was 
born  in  Auglaize  county,  O.,  of  German 
parentage.  They  attend  the  Friends' 
church.  Fraternally,  Mr.  Winemiller  is  con- 
nected with  the  Odd  Fellows  at  Winchester, 
Indiana. 

JOHN  J.  KURTZ,  one  of  the  progressive 
and  successful  farmers  and  stock  dealers  of 
Whetstone  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
owning  thoroughbred  stock  and  registered 
sheep,  belongs  to  one  of  the  old  and  sub- 
stantial families  of  this  section.  He  was 
born  in  Whetstone  township,  Oct.  14,  1870, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  George  and  Catherine 
(Gaibler)  Kurtz. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Kurtz  were  born  in 
Germany  and  for  a  few  years  after  coming 


to  the  United  States,  John  George  Kurtz 
lived  in  Pennsylvania  and  then  came  on  to 
Crawford  county,  O.,  being  then  11  years 
of  age.  He  followed  farming  all  his  active 
life  and  was  a  highly  respected  man. 
John  George  Kurtz  was  married  (first)  to 
Catherine  Sherer  and  they  had  two  chil- 
dren, Jacob  and  Samuel,  the  latter  being 
deceased.  He  married  (second)  Catherine 
Gaibler  who  was  brought  to  Crawford 
county  by  her  parents  and  still  survives, 
making  her  home  with  a  daughter,  Mrs.  S. 
F.  Sherer.  They  had  the  following  chil- 
dren: Isaac;  Benjamin;  Mary,  wife  of 
Simon  F.  Sherer;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Dr.  C. 
H.  Senn;  Laura,  who  is  the  wife  of  C.  A. 
Koppe;  and  John  J.  The  parents  of  the 
above  family  were  members  of  the  German 
Methodist  church. 

John  J.  Kurtz  attended  the  public  schools. 
He  has  spent  his  entire  life  on  the  home 
farm,  having  an  interest  as  an  heir  to  the 
200-acre  tract,  and  is  one  of  the  prosperous 
agriculturists  of  Whetstone  township.  He 
is  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  stock  industry 
and  makes  a  specialty  of  American  Delaine 
sheep.  In  addition  to  farming  the  home- 
stead he  also  manages  80  acres  belonging 
to  his  wife. 

On  Dec.  25,  1901,  Mr.  Kurtz  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Matilda  Sherer,  the  only  daugh- 
ter of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Haller) 
Sherer,  both  of  whom  are  now  deceased. 
Mr.  Sherer  was  a  prominent  man  in  Whet- 
stone township  and  served  for  many  years 
in  public  office.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kurtz  have 
one  son,  Harold,  who  was  born  June  7, 
1903.  They  attend  the  German  Methodist 
church.  Nominally  Mr.  Kurtz  is  a  Demo- 
crat but  is  somewhat  independent  in  his 
political  tendencies. 

WILLIAM  M.  REID,  deceased,  was 
born  in  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  Nov.  23,  1834,  and  died  at  his 
home  in  Bucyrus,  O.,  July  30,  1909.  His 
parents  were  Rev.  George  and  Mary  A. 
(Foster)  Reid. 

Rev.  George  Reid  was  born  in  the  north 
of  Ireland,  Jan.  7,  1812,  a  son  of  George 
Reid.      The   family   came    to     the     United 


704 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


States  in  1824,  crossing  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
in  one  of  the  old  sailing  vessels  that  re- 
quired three  months  to  make  a  voyage  that 
is  now  completed  in  a  week.  The  Reids 
landed  on  the  coast  of  Virginia,  but  moved 
by  degrees  farther  north,  driving  their 
teams  on  up  through  New  York  until  they 
reached  Jamestown,  where. they  tarried  for 
a  time  and  then  pushed  into  Ohio.  Grand- 
father George  Reid  died  in  Wayne  county. 
For  some  years  the  Reids  lived  at  San- 
dusky and  then  came  to  Crawford  county, 
where  they  secured  four  sections  of  Gov- 
ernment land.  They  were  not  only  pio- 
neers but  people  of  purpose  and  enterprise. 
Their  land  was  speedily  cleared  and  put 
under  cultivation  and  while  they  flailed 
their  first  yield  of  wheat,  they  were  the  first 
to  invest  in  a  tread-mill  thresher,  which  was 
then  considered  a  wonder  of  agricultural 
machinery.  The  Reids  brought  the  first 
grass  mower  into  the  county  and  were  ever 
ready  to  test  the  utility  of  new  inventions. 
The  bricks  with  which  they  built  their 
houses  they  burned  and  molded  on  their 
own  farm ;  they  tanned  the  hides  of  their 
own  cattle  and  made  leather  and  also  fash- 
ioned their  own  shoes,  while  the  women  of 
the  family  were  no  less  busy  and  resource- 
ful. From  the  flax  raised  on  the  farm, 
mothers  and  daughters  wove  linen  of  amaz- 
ing softness  of  texture  and  the  heavy  win- 
ter clothing  came  also  from  their  bus;^ 
looms,  the  wool  from  their  own  sheep. 
Pages  might  be  written  of  the  remarkable 
accomplishments  of  both  the  fathers  and 
mothers  of  those  early  days  and  in  consid- 
ering them,  their  descendants  must  give 
testimony  of  honor  and  praise. 

While  the  settlement  of  a  representative 
family  like  the  Reids  was  a  benefit  to  the 
county,  it  was  particularly  helpful  to  Whet- 
stone township  and  there  it  became  a  prom- 
inent factor  in  all  affairs.  Rev.  George  Reid 
was  a  missionary  preacher  and  paid  his 
own  way  when  necessary,  although  in  every 
community  a  pioneer  welcome  awaited 
him.  He  felt  a  special  call  to  preach  to  the 
Indians  and  established  a  mission  church 
in  Wyandot  county,  the  old  structure  being 
a  landmark,  standing  in  the  midst  of  an  old 


Indian  burying  ground.     With  the  help  of 
his  sons  he  developed  a  fine  farm  on  which 
he  lived  until  after  the  death  of  his  first 
wife,  who  was  the  mother  of  his  five  chil- 
dren :    Robert,  who  was  born  July  15,  1832, 
and  died  in  i860;  William  M. ;  Hugh,  who 
was  born  August  10,  1837,  and  died  in  1844; 
George,   who  was   born  August  30,    1841, 
and  who  now  resides  on  his  farm  in  Iowa; 
and  Rachel,  who  was  born  April  3,   1843, 
and  died  in   1845.     After  his  second  mar- 
riage* Rev.  George  Reid  located  at  Ada,  O., 
and  later,  while  on  a  visit,  died  at  the  home 
of  his  son,  William  M.,  at  Bucyrus,  when 
aged  about  68  years. 

William  M.  Reid  was  given  somewhat 
better  educational  advantages  than  many 
country  boys  of  the  period  enjoyed,  his 
father  having  him  attend  the  district 
schools  regularly  and  later  sending  him  to 
Columbus  to  take  a  course  in  a  commercial 
college.  In  the  early  fifties,  with  his 
brother,  Robert  Reid,  he  came  to  Bucyrus, 
where  they  embarked  in  the  dry  goods  busi- 
ness together.  Later,  William  M.  Reid, 
about  1856,  went  into  the  general  store 
business  under  the  firm  name  of  Reid,  But- 
terfield  &  Co.  In  1865  he  became  senior 
member  of  the  firm  of  Reid,  Kaler  &  Malic, 
dealers  in  grain,  seeds  and  produce,  and  in 
this  line  continued  and  became  a  prosper- 
ous merchant.  From  early  manhood  he 
was  a  Republican  and  at  different  times  was 
elected  to  public  office  and  once  was  mayor 
of  Bucyrus.  In  all  his  enterprises  and  con- 
nections he  was  honest,  reliable  and  de- 
pendable and  no  man  was  held  in  higher 
esteem  by  his  fellow  citizens.  He  never 
identified  himself  with  many  fraternal  oi"- 
ganizations  but  became  interested  in  the 
Knights  of  Honor  and  was  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  this  order  at  Bucyrus  and  belonged 
also  to  the  Royal  Arcanum.  He  united 
early  with  the  Presbyterian  church,  in 
which  he  long  served  as  an  elder,  and  for 
twenty-one  years  was  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday-school. 

Mr.  Reid  was  married  (first)  December 
31,  1861,  to  Miss^Mary  E.  Modewell,  who 
was  born  in  Crawford  county,  August  10, 
1863,   and   died  when   aged   25  years,   five 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


705 


months  and  nine  days.  Her  parents  were 
Adam  and  Susan  (Kelley)  Modewell,  who 
were  leading  people  of  Bucyrus  at  that 
time.  Mrs.  Reid  was  survived  by  one 
daughter,  Anna  M.,  who  is  a  teacher  in 
Honolulu.  Mr.  Reid's  second  marriage 
took  place  at  Bucyrus,  August  i6,  1864,  to 
Miss  Emily  McCracken,  who  was  born  at 
Sulphur  Springs,  Crawford  county,  in  1844, 
a  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  Marian 
(David)  McCracken.  The  father  was  born 
in  Wayne  county,  O.,  of  Scotch-Irish  pa- 
rentage. He  came  to  Bucyrus  and  here  met 
and  married,  his  wife  having  been  a  school 
teacher  here  before  any  school-house  was 
built,  having  her  classes  in  a  part  of  her 
uncle's  store.  Afterward  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mc- 
Cracken moved  to  Sulphur  Springs  and  she 
died  there  at  the  age  of  41  years.  Mr.  Mc- 
Cracken married  (second)  Mrs.  Huldah 
(Kent)  McCullough,  and  two  children  were 
born :  Genetta;  who  is  the  widow  of  Robert 
Colmary  and  the  mother  of  two  children; 
and  Jay,  who  died  at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  sur- 
vived by  his  widow.  To  the  first  marriage 
of  Mr.  McCracken  the  following  children 
were  born :  Rachel,  who  died  in  infancy ; 
Margaret,  now  deceased,  who  was  the  wife 
of  David  Lewis,  also  deceased;  and  Mrs. 
Reid.  John  McCracken  died  at  Bucyrus, 
when  more  than  60  years  of  age. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reid  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born :  Edward  George,  Mar- 
garet, Lathrop  Tracy,  William  Thane, 
Charles  Talmadge,  Robert  Scott,  Susan 
Mariman,  Lois  Emily  and  James  McCrack- 
en. Edward  George  Reid  was  born  May 
19,  1867,  and  was  educated  at  Bucyrus.  He 
succeeded  his  father  in  business  and  is  a 
representative  citizen  of  Bucyrus.  On  April 
26,  1898,  he  enlisted  for  service  in  the  war 
with  Spain,  becoming  sergeant-major  in  the 
8th  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  the  other  officers  being, 
Capt.  M.  A.  Charlton,  Lieut.-Col.  (now 
Senator)  Dick,  Col.  C.  V.  Hard,  of  Woos- 
ter,  O.,  and  Maj.  Edward  Follrath,  of 
Bucyrus,  O.  While  with  his  regiment  at 
Santiago,  Cuba,  he  was  prostrated  with  the 
yellow  fever  and  he  was  sent  to  a  hosptial, 
where,  through  the  efficiency  of  Miss  Anna 
Wheeler,    the    noble    daughter    of    General 


Wheeler,  who  was  giving  her  services  as  a 
nurse,  he  recovered  his  health.  He  was 
honorably  discharged  with  his  regiment  in 
November,  1898,  and  resumed  business, 
deaHng  in  grain,  hay,  seeds  and  building 
materials  as  before  the  war.  He  is  past 
commander  of  Charles  Thoman  Camp 
Spanish  American  War  Veterans  and  is 
identified  with  a  number  of  fraternal  organ- 
izations. Politically  he  is  a  Republican  and 
is  serving  as  a  member  of  the  school,  public 
parks  and  library  boards  and  the  Board  of 
Health.  In  1909  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Maude  E.  McCarrell  and  they  have  one 
daughter,  Mary  Emily.  Margaret  Reid  was 
born  June  26,  1868,  and  died  July  1,  1S70. 
Lathrop  Tracy  Reid  was  born  April  26, 
1870,  and  is  an  engineer  on  the  L.  &:  N. 
Railroad,  resides  at  Cloverport,  Ky.,  is  mar- 
ried and  has  seven  children.  William 
Thane  Reid  was  born  December  4,  1871, 
and  died  in  promising  manhood,  in  Cali- 
fornia. Charles  Talmadge,  who  was  born 
November  19,  1873,  is  a  commercial  trav- 
eler with  the  Hess,  Clark  Company,  resides 
at  Ashland,  O.,  married  Virgie  Laughbaum 
and  they  have  two  children,  Dorothy  and 
Robert.  Robert  Scott  Reid  was  born  July 
16,  1876,  and  is  a  physician  in  practice  at 
Ocean  Side,  Calif.,  a  graduate  of  the  Co- 
lumbus Medical  College  in  the  class  of  1897. 
He  married  Millie  Hoover  and  they  have 
one  daughter,  Elizabeth.  Susan  M.  Reid 
was  born  July  27,  1879.  She  is  a  graduate 
of  Lewis  Institute,  in  the  department  of 
Domestic  Science,  Chicago.  She  is  the  wife 
of  J.  H.  Norton  and  they  live  at  Riverside, 
Calif.,  and  have  two  sons,  Richard  and 
John.  Lois  Emily  Reid  was  born  January 
30,  1882.  She  is  a  trained  nurse,  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  Training 
School,  Chicago.  James  McCracken  Reid 
was  born  October  8,  1885,  and  is  a  resident 
of  Los  Angeles,  Calif.,  where  he  is  connect- 
ed with  the  Wells,  Fargo  Express  Com- 
pany. He  married  Gertrude  Bean.  Mrs. 
Reid  and  family  are  all  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  She  is  vice  presideni 
of  the  Foreign  Missionary  Society  at 
Bucyrus. 


706 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


HON.  LEWIS  H.  BATTEFELD,  who 
is  serving  in  his  second  term  as  a  member 
of  the  Ohio  State  Legislature  and  thereby 
adding  prestige  to  the  city  of  Bucyrus,  of 
which  he  has  been  a  resident  since  i860, 
was  born  at  Columbus,  O.,  in  1842,  one  of 
a  family  of  four  children  born  to  his  parents, 
Lewis  and  Christina  (Biber)  Battefeld,  the 
latter  of  whom  was  a  daughter  of  Conrad 
and  Christina  (Utz)  Biber,  all  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Germany. 

At  the  early  age  of  seven  years  Lewis  H. 
Battefeld  was  left  an  orphan,  both  of  his 
parents  having  died  of  cholera  in  the  epi- 
demic of  1849.  He  was  reared  in  the  home 
of  his  maternal  grandfather,  in  Cranberry 
township,  Crawford  county,  and  attended 
the  country  schools.  After  coming  to 
Bticyrus,  in  i860,  he  learned  the  trade  of 
saddle  and  harness  making,  which  he  fol- 
lowed for  14  years,  when  he  became  inter- 
ested in  the  manufacture  of  brick  and  drain 
tile,  in  which  line  he  continued  for  35  years, 
building  up  a  large  business  from  a  small 
beginning.  There  are  many  men  so  en- 
grossed in  business  that  public  matters  have 
no  interest  for  them  but  fortunately  not  all 
are  so  absorbed,  there  being  others  who 
have  a  wider  outlook  and  more  ambition. 
Among  these  may  be  classed  Mr.  Battefeld. 
A  Democrat  from  principle  from  the  time 
of  his  majority,  he  soon  made  his  influence 
felt  in  Crawford  county  and  eventually  be- 
came a  leader  of  his  party.  In  1869  he  was 
appointed  city  marshal  of  Bucyrus  and  at 
the  same  time  was  township  constable. 
From  1886  until  1892  he  was  a  trustee  of 
Bucyrus  township  and  in  1895  took  up  the 
duties  of  a  member  of  the  board  of  county 
commissioners,  his  election  having  been  ac- 
complished in  the  previous  year,  and  three 
years  later  was  re-elected  to  this  office  and 
for  two  years  he  was  president  of  the  Coun- 
ty Commissioners'  Association  of  Ohio.  In 
1900  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic 
National  Convention  held  at  Kansas  City, 
from  the  13th  Congressional  District  of 
Ohio,  having  previously  served  in  the  same 
capacity  in  other  political  gatherings  in 
county,  state  and  country,  and  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  served  as  chairman  of  that  im- 


portant organization,  the  Democratic 
county  central  committee.  In  1909  Mr. 
Battefeld  was  elected  to  the  legislature  and 
approval  of  his  course  as  a  statesman  was 
shown  by  his  subsequent  re-election.  He 
is  well  known  all  over  the  state  and  his  asso- 
ciates and  friends  are  men  of  equal  promi- 
nence and  reliability. 

Mr.  Battefeld  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to 
Miss  Phillipina  Krebs,  a  daughter  of  Fred- 
erick A.  and  Christina  (Weibel)  Krebs,  na- 
tives of  Bavaria,  Germany,  but  at  that  time 
residents  of  Liberty  township,  Crawford 
county.  Two  children  were  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Battefeld:  Cordelia  S.,  who  died 
in  1886;  and  Lewis  P  The  latter  is  a  rail- 
road and  general  contractor,  doing  a  large 
business  at  Bucyrus.  Mr.  Battefeld  and 
family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  He  is  identified  with  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows and  the  Elks,  while  Lewis  P.  Battefeld 
is  a  Mason. 

CHARLES  R.  MILLER,  one  of  the 
leading  farmers  of  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  who  numbers  with  his 
many  substantial  possessions,  two  excellent 
farms,  one  of  135  acres  and  the  other  of 
seventy  acres,  was  born  in  Bucyrus  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  Aug.  11,  1857,  and 
is  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Maria  ^Lemon) 
Miller. 

Daniel  Miller  was  born  in  Seneca  county, 
O.,  but  spent  the  larger  portion  of  his  life 
in  Crawford  county,  where  he  was  a  suc- 
cessful farmer.  He  was  a  quiet,  steady,  in- 
dustrious man,  a  lover  of  his  home  and  fam- 
ily and  a  consistent  member  of  the  Luth- 
eran church.  He  married  Maria  Lemon, 
who  was  born  in  the  State  of  New  York 
and  in  early  life  accompanied  her  parents 
to  Seneca  county,  O.,  where  her  death  oc- 
curred and  both  she  and  husband  rest  side 
by  side  in  Oakwood  Cemetery  at  Bucyrus. 
She  was  a  devout  member  of  the  Baptist 
church.  They  had  the  following  children: 
Hannah  Jane,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife 
of  Abel  Dewalt;  John  D. ;  Henrietta,  who 
is  deceased;  and  Charles  R.,  Frank  E.,  Cas- 
sius  C.  and  Lemon  S. 

Charles    R.     Miller    remained    with    his 


HON.  LEWIS  H.  BATTEFELD 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


707 


father  on  the  home  farm  until  he  was  21 
years  of  age,  in  the  meanwhile  attending 
school  in  the  winter  months,  and  when  he 
started  out  for  himself  was  quite  well 
equipped,  his  knowledge  of  farming  secur- 
ing him  remunerative  employment.  When 
the  agricultural  season  was  over  he  en- 
gaged in  teaming  and  when  spring  came 
again  resumed  farming  and  through  pru- 
dence and  industry  has  become  a  man  of 
independent  means.  He  has  been  an  active 
and  useful  citizen,  giving  support  to  the 
public  schools  and  exerting  his  influence  for 
the  betterment  of  his  community  whenever 
opportunity  has  offered. 

On  Jan.  i,  1879,  Mr.  Miller  was  married 
to  Miss  Catherine  Eichelberger,  a  daughter 
of  Isaac  and  Catherine  (Bibler)  Eichelber- 
ger. They  were  farming  people  in  Craw- 
ford county,  O.  Mrs.  Miller  has  two 
brothers  and  two  sisters:  David,  Noah, 
Polly  and  Betsey.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Miller 
the  following  children  were  born :  Bertha 
May,  who  died  when  aged  five  months ; 
Clara  Irene,  who  married  Curtis  Stofer  and 
has  one  child,  Ethel  Marie ;  Orville  B.,  who 
married  Mary  Mullencupp,  and  has  one 
child,  Desta  Irene ;  and  Earl  Roland,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  thirteen  months.  Nomi- 
nally Mr.  Miller  is  a  Republican  but  in  some 
campaigns  he  is  inclined  to  be  independent, 
casting  his  vote  rather  for  man  than  party. 
He  has  served  as  township  constable  and 
several  times  as  supervisor  and  enjoys  the 
confidence  and  respect  of  his  fellow  citizens 
very  generally. 

ALEXANDER  M.  KERR,  a  retired 
farmer  and  highly  respected  resident  of 
Bucyrus,  O.,  belongs  to  one  of  the  old  and 
representative  families  of  Crawford  county, 
of  Scotch  ancestry.  He  was  born  March  4, 
1846,  in  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  William  and  Jane 
(Clark)  Kerr. 

In  early  days  the  great-grandparents  of 
Alexander  M.  Kerr  migrated  from  Scotland 
to  near  Dublin,  Ireland,  and  reared  their 
children  and  died  there.  One  son,  William 
Kerr,  grandfather  of  Alexander  M.,  came  to 
the  United  States  in  1800  and  shortly  after- 


ward settled  in  Juniata  county.  Pa.  He  was 
married  there  to  a  lady  by  the  name  of 
Stewart,  who  died  in  Pennsylvania  and  was 
survived  by  a  daughter,  Nancy,  who  later 
married  and  became  the  mother  of  several 
children.  William  Kerr,  Sr.,  was  then  mar- 
ried to  a  widow,  Mrs.  Sarah  (Abrams) 
Elder,  and  they  continued  to  reside  in 
Juniata  county  until  after  the  birth  of  their 
children,  four  in  number — Alexander, 
Sarah,  William  and  James — and  then  de- 
cided to  come  to  Ohio.  This  was  in  1832 
and  they  made  the  long  journey  in  wagons 
and  finally  reached  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford  county,  the  whole  country  being 
then  but  a  wilderness  of  forest  and  tangled 
prairie.  The  land  on  which  they  settled  had 
been  slightly  improved  by  a  former  owner, 
so  that  they  found  a  shelter  provided  which 
was  better  than  was  the  fate  of  some  other 
settlers  who  came  into  this  section  about 
the  same  time.  Here  WilHam  Kerr,  Sr., 
died,  prior  to  1845,  and  his  widow  survived 
him  for  seven  years.  They  were  among  the 
founders  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
Whetstone  township  and  were  people  of  ex- 
emplary life  and  were  widely  known  for 
their  pioneer  hospitality. 

William  Kerr,  Jr.,  father  of  Alexander  M. 
Kerr,  of  Bucyrus,  was  born  August  24, 
1808,  and  died  September  23,  1888.  He  was 
twenty-four  years  old  when  his  parents 
came  to  Crawford  county,  where  his  subse- 
quent life  was  spent,  farming  being  his  main 
interest.  He  was  married  in  Whetstone 
township,  Feb.  14,  1837,  to  Miss  Jane  Clark, 
who  was  born  in  Wayne  county,  O.,  Dec.  4, 
1810,  and  died  July  3,  1884.  She  was 
brought  to  Crawford  county  by  her  father, 
Archibald  Clark,  in  1821,  after  the  death  of 
her  mother,  in  Wayne  county,  O.  Archi- 
bald Clark  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in 
Whetstone  township,  where  he  became  a 
man  of  importance  and  of  large  fortune.  He 
died  there  Dec.  30,  1875,  aged  85  years.  The 
Clarks  were  of  Scotch-Irish  extraction  and 
were  Presbyterians  in  religious  faith.  To 
William  Kerr,  Jr.,  and  his  wife  the  follow- 
ing children  were  born :  Archibald  C, 
Sarah  and  Alexander  M.  Archibald  C. 
Kerr  was  born  Feb.  6,  1838,  and  was  reared 


708 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


in  Whetstone  township  and  remained  at 
home  until  he  enHsted  for  service  in  the 
Civil  War,  Aug.  i,  1862,  in  the  8ist  O.  Vol. 
Inf. ;  he  died  from  fever  at  Corinth,  Miss., 
Dec.  I,  1862.  He  w^as  unmarried.  Sarah, 
the  only  daughter,  was  born  March  26, 
1839.  She  married  James  Wise,  and  they 
reside  on  their  farm  in  Wyandot  county. 
They  had  one  daughter,  Daisey  V.,  who 
died  after  her  marriage. 

Alexander  M.  Kerr  grew  to  manhood  on 
the  home  farm  and  continued  to  reside  there 
until  after  his  marriage,  when  he  settled  on 
a  farm  of  140  acres  situated  in  Holmes 
township.  There  he  engaged  successfully 
in  agricultural  pursuits  until  he  retired  from 
active  business  life,  in  March,  1906.  Mr. 
Kerr  is  a  man  of  intelligence  and  observa- 
tion and  keeps  well  informed  concerning  all 
that  goes  on  in  public  affairs.  He  is  inde- 
pendent in  politics,  believing  in  personal 
freedom  of  thought  and  is  pronounced  in 
his  attitude  in  favor  of  temperance.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

Mr.  Kerr  was  married  at  Bucyrus,  Dec. 
23,  1874,  to  Miss  Sarah  J.  Franz,  who  was 
born  April  17,  1852,  the  youngest  of  five 
children  born  to  her  parents  and  the  only 
one  surviving.  She  was  very  carefully  and 
thoroughly  educated,  graduating  with  the 
first  class  after  the  new  Union  School  build- 
ing was  completed  at  Bucyrus,  at  which 
time  the  first  certificates  of  graduation  were 
issued.  She  was  chosen  to  deliver  the  first 
class  address. 

The  parents  of  Mrs.  Kerr  were  Col.  John 
and  Jane  (Burwell)  Franz.  Col.  Franz 
was  born  in  Germany,  Aug.  12,  1812,  and 
died  of  an  attack  of  apoplexy,  Nov.  14,  1870. 
In  his  youth  death  removed  his  parents  and 
he  was  reared  by  an  uncle  until  the  age  of 
18  years.  He  then  emigrated  alone  to 
America  and  found  his  way  to  GaHon, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  where  he  learned  the 
cabinetmaking  trade,  which  he  pursued 
until  1857,  in  the  meanwhile  so  impressing 
his  fellow  citizens  with  his  sterling  char- 
acter that  in  that  year  they  elected  him 
sheriff  of  Crawford  county.  He  served  two 
terms,  four  years,  in  this  office.  When  the 
Civil  War  broke  out  he  became  interested. 


having  previously  been  active  in  the  state 
militia,  and  was  commissioned  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  loist  O.  Vol.  Inf.  He  served 
for  a. time  but  was  forced  to  resign  on  ac- 
count of  the  recurrence  of  an  old  ailment 
which  tendered  military  exposure  impossi- 
ble. After  his  return  to  private  life  he 
was  again  called  into  public  affairs,  being 
elected  to  the  office  of  county  treasurer, 
and  was  serving  in  his  second  term  when 
his  useful  life  was  terminated  as  mentioned 
above.  He  was  an  ardent  Democrat  all 
his  mature  life  and  served  in  many  local 
offices  including  membership  on  the  board 
of  education.  He  was  widely  known  in  the 
Masonic  fraternity  and  was  a  Mason  of  the 
thirty-second   degree. 

Col.  John  Franz  was  married  in  Ohio  to 
Jane   Burwell,  who  was  born  in  Harrison 
county,  0.,.May  21,  1815,  and  died  at  Bu- 
cyrus, in   1902.     Her  people  were  old  set- 
tlers in  Harrison  county  and  came  to  Craw- 
ford   county   when    she   was   young.      The 
Burwells,  like  the  Franz's  and  Kerrs  were 
Presbyterian  in  religious  faith.     Mrs.  Kerr 
had  three  brothers  and  one  sister.     Jay  B. 
Franz  died  in  1910.  He  was  thrice  married 
but  left  no  issue.    William  Franz  was  wide- 
ly  known    as    the    inventor   of   the    Franz 
Knitting    Machine,    which  has    had    a    re- 
markable sale  notwithstanding  the  competi- 
tion afforded  by  factory  knitting.     He  real- 
ized an  ample  fortune  from  this  invention. 
He  was  married  in  Ohio  and  had  four  chil- 
dren, three  of  whom  survive.  John  S.  Franz 
died  at  Jacksonville,  Fla.     He  had  early  in- 
terests of  a  substantial  character  at  Tampa. 
He  married  there  and  is  survived  by  three 
children.     Kate  E.,  the  only  sister  of  Mrs. 
Kerr,  died  at  Bucyrus.     She  was  the  wife 
of  J.  R.  Clymer,  a  prominent  journalist  of 
Crawford    county,    who    is    also    deceased. 
They   are   survived   by  two   sons   and   one 
daughter. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kerr  three  sons  have 
been  born,  two  of  whom  survive.  William 
Franz,  the  eldest,  was  born  Nov.  6,  1875, 
and  died  Aug.  24,  1876.  Jay  Alexander,  the 
second  son,  was  born  Oct.  25,  1882,  was 
given  excellent  educational  advantages  and 
is    now    a    prosperous    farmer    in    Huron 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


709 


county,  O.  He  married  Miss  Maude  G. 
Carmean  and  they  have  two  sons:  Ernest 
C.  and  Ralph  W.  The  youngest  son, 
Franklin  M.,  is  unmarried  and  resides  with 
his  parents.  He  is  well  educated  and  is 
identified  with  the  T.  &  O.  Railroad,  in 
the  freight  department. 

EARL  W.  CRALL,  a  resident  of  Bucy- 
rus,  Ohio,  who  is  engaged  in  the  railway 
mail  service,  was  born  in  Liberty  township, 
this  county,  just  east  of  Bucyrus,  in  Oc- 
tober, 1875.  He  is  a  son  of  John  Raysor 
Crall,  and  a  descendant  in  the  fifth  genera- 
tion of  Mathias  Crall,  who  was  of  Swiss 
parentage  and  who  resided  in  Dauphin 
county.  Pa.  Mathias,  who  had  served  as 
a  soldier  in  the  Colonial  army  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  had  a  son,  Henry,  who  vvas 
born  in  Dauphin  county,  and  who  married 
Elizabeth  Henshaw,  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, like  himself.  Among  the  children  of 
Henry  and  Elizabeth  was  John,  known  as 
John  Crall,  Sr.,  who  was  born  in  Dauphin 
county.  Pa.,  December  18,  1809.  When  a 
young  man  John  Crall  worked  at  the  mill- 
wright's trade.  On  April  16,  1835,  he  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Raysor,  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Susanna  (Fackler)  Raysor.  She  was 
born  February  10,  1817,  in  the  same  county 
as  her  husband.  After  their  marriage  they 
lived  with  his  father's  family  one  year, 
when  they  moved  to  the  farm  of  her  father, 
where  they  remained  nine  years.  He  gave 
them  money  to  purchase  the  farm  .of  Mr. 
Crall's  parents,  who  were  about  to  sell  and 
move  to  the  West. 

The  Crall  family  moved  to  Ohio,  settling 
in  Crawford  county,  and  the  flattering  ac- 
counts sent  back  by  them  of  this  country 
induced  John  Crall  to  move  here  also.  Ac- 
cordingly with  his  wife  and  five  children, 
he  left  Harrisburg  in  a  two-horse  wagon 
in  April,  1852,  arriving  in  Crawford  county 
in  June.  Here  they  purchased  the  Samuel 
Foster  place,  in  Liberty  township,  after- 
wards occupied  by  their  son,  Elias,  and  in 
this  townshin  both  Henry  and  John  Crall 
died  and  were  buried — the  former  at  a 
very  advanced  age.  Their  bodies  rest  in 
the  old  Crall  cemetery,  connected  with  the 


Crall  United  Brethren  church,  which  they 
had  taken  a  leading  part  in  founding,  and  of 
which  Henry  Crall  was  one  of  the  first 
trustees.  This  church  has  been  several  times 
repaired  and  remodeled  and  is  one  of  the 
best  known  churches  in  the  county — being 
in  fact  an  old  landmark. 

John  and  Elizabeth  Crall  were  the  par- 
ents of  twelve  children,  three  of  whom  died 
in  Pennsylvania  in  childhood,  and  two  died 
in  childhood  after  they  came  here.  The 
others  were :  John  R.,  who  settled  in  Mi- 
lan, Erie  county,  O. ;  Elizabeth,  who  be- 
came Mrs.  E.  M.  Moore;  William  Elias, 
who  for  some  time  taught  school  and  who 
settled  on  the  old  homestead,  marrying  Lo- 
vina  Spahr,  but  who  later  moved  to  Hicks- 
ville,  O.,  where  he  now  resides;  Oliver 
and  Susan,  of  whom,  like  William,  we  have 
no  special  record;  and  David,  who  served 
in  the  Civil  war  as  a  member  of  the  loist 
Regt.,  O.  V.  I.,  was  captured  at  Chicka- 
mauga,  and  died  in  Danville  prison.  May 
24,  1864.  John  Crall,  Sr.,  died  Nov.  25, 
1879.  He  and  his  wife  were  both  members 
of  the  United  Brethren  church,  her  father, 
John  Raysor,  being  a  minister  of  that  per- 
suasion. She  died  at  an  advanced  age  and 
was  buried  in  the  old  Crall  cemetery.  All 
were  worthy  people,  prominent  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  township  and  universally  liked 
and  respected. 

John  Raysor  Crall,  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  and  son  of  John  and  Eliza- 
beth Crall  above  mentioned,  was  born  in 
Dauphin  county.  Pa.,  in  1837,  and  was  four- 
teen years  of  age  when  he  accompanied  the 
family  to  this  county.  He  was  brought  up 
to  farm  life  and  was  thus  engaged,  for  the 
most  part  in  this  county,  until  about  ten 
years  ago,  when  he  removed  to  Wauseon, 
Ohio,  and  later  to  Adrian,  Mich.,  where  he 
resides  at  the  present  time  with  a  daughter. 
Like  the  majority  of  the  Crall  family,  he 
is  a  Republican  in  his  political  affiliations. 
He  was  first  married  in  this  county  to  Cath- 
erine Ferral,  who  died  in  the  prime  of  life, 
leaving  one  son,  Clark  Crall,  who  is  now 
farm  manager  for  the  Sciota  Land  Co.,  at 
McGuffy,  Ohio,  and  who  is  married  but 
has  no  children.    John  R.  Crall  married  sec- 


710 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ondly  in  this  county  Catherine  Stephenson, 
who  was  born  in  Crawford  county  of  Eng- 
lish parentage  paternally,  and  was  here 
reared  and  educated.  On  her  mother's  side 
she  is  of  Pennsylvania-German  jancestry. 
She  died  in  the  fall  of  1883,  in  the  prime 
of  life.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church,  as  is  also  her  husband.  They  were 
the  parents  of  six  children,  of  whom  one, 
Maude,  died  in  infancy,  and  another,  May, 
at  the  age  of  25  years,  unmarried.  The 
others  are :  Lawrence,  a  farmer  in  Wil- 
liams county,  who  is  married  and  has  three 
children — Fred.  L.,  Lee  and  Mabel;  Dilla 
M.  lives  with  her  father  in  Adrian,  Mich., 
being  in  the  employ  of  the  Van  Camp  Com- 
pany; she  is  unmarried;  Earl  W.  is  the 
direct  subject  of  this  sketch;  Lee  S.,  who 
resides  at  Sumner,  111.,  is  in  the  employ  of 
the  Standard  Oil  Company,  is  married  and 
has  children — Donald  H.,  Dorothy  and 
Glenn  Robert. 

Earl  W.  Crall  was  educated  at  Ada,  O., 
and  at  Alliance,  O.,  and  was  for  some  years 
a  school  teacher.  In  the  fall  of  1903  he 
took  a  place  as  railway  mail  clerk  and  is 
in  class  4A  of  the  department.  He  also 
studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  igoS.  He  is  a  broad-minded  man  of 
scholarly  tastes  and  has  many  friends 
throughout  the  county.  He  was  married 
in  Whetstone  township  to  Mabel  B.  Camp- 
bell, who  was  born  in  that  township,  April 
4,  1875,  a  daughter  of  John  Benton  and 
Jennie  F.  (Shanks)  Campbell,  and  who, 
after  receiving  a  good  education,  taught 
school  in  the  county  for  some  three  years. 
Mrs.  Crall  is  a  granddaughter  of  Edward 
Campbell  and  a  great  granddaughter  of 
John  Campbell,  who  was  an  early  settler 
in  Wayne  county,  Ohio.  In  1823  John 
Campbell  came  with  his  family  to  Crawford 
county,  settling  in  Whetstone  township, 
where  he  took  up  government  land  and  ap- 
plied himself  to  the  task  of  developing  a 
farm.  For  years  he  resided  in  a  log  cabin, 
which  he  built  himself.  He  was  a  man  of 
ability  and  became  one  of  influence,  dying 
much  respected  at  the  age  of  76  years. 

Edward  Campbell  was  reared  on  the  farm 
on  which  he  continued  to  reside  after  his 


father's  death.  He  married  Amanda  Tupps, 
who  bore  him  four  children.  Their  daugh- 
ter, Catharine,  married  Frank  KeifTer  and 
is  now  deceased.  Their  son,  Samuel  K., 
became  in  his  turn  the  manager  of  the 
homestead  farm.  A  daughter,  Lettie  J., 
married  Andrew  J.  Gibson  and  resides  on 
the  old  Campbell  homestead  in  Whetstone 
township,  which,  as  has  been  stated  by  an- 
other historian,  "  in  the  days  of  its  founder 
was  the  center,  not  only  of  a  generous  hos- 
pitality, but  of  an  influence  which  extended 
in  many  directions,  for  that  honored  pioneer 
served  for  many  years  in  the  office  of  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  at  one  time  represented 
his  district  in  the  legislature,  and  was  an 
active  and  prominent  member  of  the  Disci- 
ple church." 

John  B.  Campbell  was  the  third  child  of 
his  parents.  He  was  born  and  reared  on 
the  Campbell  homestead  and  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  near  his  home  and  at 
Lebanon,  Q.  For  some  time  subsequently 
he  taught  winter  school,  working  on  the 
farm  during  the  remainder  of  the  year.  In 
1872  he  married  Miss  Jennie  Shanks,  a 
daughter  of  David  Shanks,  and  they  had 
two  children — Mabel  Campbell  and  Urias 
Edward.  After  their  marriage,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Campbell  settled  on  Grandfather 
Campbell's  old  home  farm,  where  they  lived 
ten  years,  then  locating  on  a  farm  of  160 
acres,  on  which  Mr.  Campbell  has  made 
some  fine  improvements.  He  has  given  his 
attention  to  general  farming  and  is  a  sue- 
cessful  breeder  of  shorthorn  cattle  and  a 
prominent  sheep  raiser.  In  1892  he  was 
granted  a  premium  for  the  largest  yield  of 
scoured  wool  per  fleece  grown  in  the  United 
States  during  the  year  1892,  which  was  con- 
ferred upon  him  at  Boston,  Mass.  He  is 
a  Republican  in  politics  and  an  influential 
and  useful  citizen. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crall  are  the  parents  of 
two  children — Muriel  Bernice,  born  April 
5,  1905,  who  is  now  attending  the  city 
schools,  and  Clark  Campbell,  born  April  7, 
1908.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crall  are  members  of 
the  Christian  church;  the  former  is  a  Re- 
publican with  independent  proclivities.    He 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


711 


belongs  to  the  Blue  lodge  of  the  Masonic 
order. 

DELMAN  McCALLISTER,  a  leading 
citizen  of  Crawford  county,  O.,  who  now 
devotes  his  entire  time  to  the  management 
of  his  farm  and  its  varied  industries,  for  a 
number  of  years  was  one  of  the  most  ef- 
fective and  popular  teachers  in  both  Seneca 
and  Crawford  counties.  He  was  born  Jan. 
i6,  1867,  in  Fairfield  county,  O.,  and  is  a 
son  af  Albert  and  Maria  (Spitler)  McCalr 
lister. 

Albert  McCaUister  was  born  in  Fairfield 
county,  O.,  in  1837,  where  he  followed  farm- 
ing until  about  1873,  when  he  moved  to 
Seneca  township,  Seneca  county,  and  con- 
tinued as  a  farmer  until  his  death,  Novem- 
ber 26,  1900,  when  aged  62  years.  He  was 
of  Scotch-Irish  descent.  In  1862  he  mar- 
ried Maria  Spitler,  who  was  of  German 
descent  and  was  born  and  reared  in  Fair- 
field county,  her  death  occurring  in  Wyan- 
dot county,  December  2,  191 1,  when  she 
was  aged  74  years,  9  months  and  24  days. 
They  had  seven  children,  as  follows :  Theo- 
dore, who  is  a  farmer  and  resides  in  Wyan- 
dot county;  Mrs.  Clara  Wood,  of  Toledo; 
Delman;  Mrs.  Sadie  Ream,  who  died  Feb. 
2,  1904;  Mrs.  Minerva  Chester,  who  lives 
at  Melmore,  Seneca  county;  Mrs.  Amanda 
Meyers,  who  lives  in  Wyandot  county ;  and 
Mrs.  Irena  Hackman,  who  also  lives  in  Wy- 
andot county. 

Delman  McCallister  was  brought  up  on 
a  farm  in  Seneca  county,  his  parents  hav- 
ing moved  to  that  place  when  he  was  a 
small  boy.  Here  amid  stern  surroundings, 
he  helped  his  parents  at  the  general  farm 
work  and  attended  the  district  school  in 
winter,  until  he  reached  the  age  of  19  years, 
when  he  hired  out  to  a  neighbor  farmer  for 
the  summer  season.  The  following  winter 
he  again  attended  the  district  school,  was 
seized  with  a  desire  to  teach  and  during  the 
following  summer  attended  the  Fostoria 
Normal  School,  then  taught  school  for  a 
time,  before  taking  a  higher  educational 
course  at  Ada,  O.  For  some  sixteen  years 
Mr.  McCallister  satisfactorily  taught  school 
in  Seneca  county.     As  a  teacher  he  was  al- 


ways mindful  of  the  moral  and  spiritual 
side  of  life,  and  tried  to  impress  and  enthuse 
his  pupils  with  the  higher  and  loftier  ideals 
which  trend  to  build  up  and  make  better 
and  more  noble  men  and  women.  In  1903 
he  came  to  his  present  farm  in  Crawford 
county  and  for  one  year  afterward  taught 
school  at  Oceola,  his  last  work  in  this  line 
being  during  the  following  winter  when  he 
taught  the  school  in  his  own  school  dis- 
trict. He  is  now  thoroughly  interested  in 
his  agricultural  activities  and  carries  on  his 
operations  along  modern  lines  and  with  a 
large  amount  of  success.  In  farming,  as  in 
teaching,  Mr.  McCallister  is  thoroughly 
progressive.  He  believes  in  making  home 
life  pleasant  by  having  pleasant  surround- 
ings and  spends  no  little  time  in  making 
them  so. 

Mr.  McCallister  was  married  June  29, 
1891,  to  Miss  Ida  May  Peters,  who  is  a 
daughter  of  the  late  J.  D.  Peters,  who  was 
born  in  Jefferson  county,  O.,  Sept.  16,  1828, 
and  came  with  his  parents  to  Hancock 
county  in  1834,  and  settled  on  a  farm  where 
Arcadia  now  stands.  Later  he  bought  and 
moved  to  a  large  farm  in  Seneca  county. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  197  regular  O. 
V.  L,  and  a  life-long  resident  of  Hancock 
and  Seneca  counties.  He  died  in  Fostoria, 
O.,  June  4,  191 1,  when  aged  82  years,  8 
months  and  18  days.  He  was  married  first' 
to  Sarah  J.  Benham,  and  three  children 
were  born  to  them:  William,  who  is  de- 
ceased; Mrs.  Josephine  Whetson,  of  Find- 
lay,  O. ;  and  Mrs.  Melvina  Ferguson,  who 
is  deceased.  He  was  married  (second)  to 
Nancy  Roller,  who  left  nine  children,  name- 
ly: Emma,  who  is  deceased;  Ida  May,  who 
is  Mrs.  McCallister;  Ross,  who  is  deceased; 
C.  J.,  who  is  a  resident  of  Tiffin;  Mrs.  Alma 
Shuman,  who  is  a  resident  of  Cary,  O. ; 
Harry  O.,  who  lives  in  Indianapolis,  Ind. ; 
Mrs.  Anna  Baker  Cole,  who  is  a  resident 
of  Findlay,  O. ;  Mrs.  Ada  Meyers,  whose 
husband  is  a  minister  living  at  Caldwell, 
Kans. ;  and  Mrs.  Myrtle  Moore,  whose 
home  is  in  South  Dakota.  The  third  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  Peters  was  to  Ellen  Clemens, 
a  resident  of  Findlay. 

Mrs.  McCallister  was  also  one  of  the  sue- 


712 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


cessful  school  teachers  of  Seneca  county. 
She  received  her  higher  education  at  the 
Northwestern  Normal  School  and  the  Fos- 
toria  Academy,  and  followed  teaching  for 
several  years  previous  to  her  marriage.  She 
was  a  lover  of  good  literature  and  always 
took  great  interest  in  literary  work. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCallister  have  one  foster 
son,  Frank,  who  lives  at  home  and  teaches 
school.  In  politics  Mr.  McCallister  has  al- 
ways been  a  Democrat.  While  residing  in 
Seneca  county  he  served  two  terms  as  town- 
ship clerk  and  has  also  served  as  census 
enumerator.  He  is  identified  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Jr.  O.  U.  A.  M. 
For  many  years  he  has  been  a  member  and 
active  in  the  United  Brethren  church,  tak- 
ing a  special  interest  in  Sunday-school 
work. 

D.  C.  CAHILL,  a  well  known  member 
of  the  Bucyrus  bar,  formerly  clerk  of  the 
courts  of  Crawford  county,  has  been  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  law  in  this  city,  al- 
though not  continuously,  since  i860,  when 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  was  born 
in  Vernon  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
Nov.  2,  1832,  and  is  a  son  of  R.  W.  and 
Eliza  (Cummins)   Cahill. 

Mr.  Cahill  spent  his  early  years  on  the 
home  farm,  and  later,  to  assist  his  father, 
passed  more  time  there.  He  was  educated 
in  the  Wittenberg  College,  and  completed 
the  entire  term  in  that  institution.  In  th? 
fall  of  1857  he  came  to  Bucyrus  and  com- 
pleted his  course  in  law,  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  three  years  later  and  afterward  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in 
this  city  until  April,  1865,  when  he  closed 
his  office  in  order  to  make  a  visit  to  the  Pa- 
cific coast.  Traveling  in  a  leisurely  way 
and  stopping  at  interesting  places,  he 
reached  California  and  went  from  there  ta 
Oregon,  and  from  April,  1866,  until  he 
started  back  east,  he  served  as  deputy  clerk 
of  the  county  courts  of  Linn  county.  In 
his  return  to  New  York  Mr.  Cahill  trav- 
eled over  what  was  then  an  interesting  part 
of  the  Western  hemisphere  and  which  is 
doubly  so  at  present,  crossing  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama  in  the  irregular  and  unsafe  man- 


ner of  transportation  of  that  time,  without 
ever  a  thought  of  the  great  Gatun  Dam 
that  has  eaten  its  way  through  miles  of 
that  wilderness,  or  of  the  mighty  water- 
way that  will  invite  the  commerce  of  every 
nation. 

For  a  few  months  Mr.  Cahill  again  prac- 
ticed law  at  Bucyrus,  but  once  more  closed 
his  office  in  order  to  be  free  to  accompany 
an  ailing  brother  to  the  warmer  clime  of 
Texas,  where  the  latter  died  three  months 
later.  In  June,  1869,  Mr.  Cahill  resumed 
his  law  practice  at  Bucyrus  but  shortly 
afterward  was  incapacitated  by  a  painful  ac- 
cident, which  prevented  further  professional 
efifort  until  1872.  In  1874  he  was  elected 
county  clerk  of  Crawford  county  and  con- 
tinued as  such  until  1880.  After  leaving 
public  life,  Mr.  Cahill  once  more  resumed 
his  practice  of  law  and  has  ever  since  main- 
tained his  office  in  the  Quinby  Block,  being 
in  partnership  with  a  brother,  the  firm"  name 
being  Cahill  Brothers.  General  law  has 
been  his  line  and  he  has  the  reputation  of 
being  one  of  the  safest  and  most  conserv- 
ative advisers  among  the  older  members 
of  the  Bucyrus  bar. 

FRANK  MARION  EAKIN,  agent  for 
the  Pennsylvania  Company,  at  Bucyrus,  O., 
is  not  only  popular  with  this  corporation 
but  is  known,  valued  and  esteemed  in  rail- 
road circles  generally.  He  was  born  at  Co- 
lumbus Grove,  O.,  July  28,  1870,  and  is  a 
son  of  Dr.  Thomas  and  Ella  (Frank)  Eakin. 

Thomas  Eakin,  the  grandfather,  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania  and  was  of  Scotch-Irish 
ancestry.  He  married  in  his  native  state 
and  a  large  family  was  born  to  him,  his  eld- 
est son  being  given  his  name,  Thomas,  as 
was  the  family  custom.  Thomas  Eakin,  Jr., 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1816  and  be- 
came a  physician.  For  some  years  he  was 
associated  in  practice  with  Dr.  J.  F.  Fitz- 
simmons,  at  Moundsville,  Ind.  Later  Dr. 
Eakin  located  at  Columbus  Grove,  O.,  after 
three  years  of  medical  service  in  the  Civil 
War,  and  continued  to  practice  there  until 
within  a  short  time  of  his  death,  in  1894. 
He  was  a  man  of  education  and  culture  and 
of  splendid  physical  robustness  and  it  was 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


713 


said  of  him  that  his  mere  appearance  in 
a  sick  room  was  as  potent  as  his  prescrip- 
tions. He  was  widely  known  and  was  held 
in  very  high  esteem  both  personally  and 
professionally.  He  was  thrice  married,  his 
last  union  being  with  Miss  Ella  Frank,  who 
was  born  in  Wayne  county,  O.,  not  far  from 
Wooster.  She  is  a  lady  of  scholarship,  a 
former  teacher,  and  has  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Columbus  Grove  School  Board. 
She  is  interested  not  only  in  social  matters 
but  in  those  of  wider  scope,  especially  in 
relation  to  those  concerning  her  own  sex. 
She  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  as  was  the  late  Dr.  Eakin.  Four 
children  were  born  to  the  above  marriage, 
three  daughters  and  one  son,  namely:  Net- 
tie, who  is  the  wife  of  L.  E.  Maxwell,  a 
prominent  citizen  of  Wooster,  O.,  a  mem- 
ber of  its  board  of  aldermen;  Frank  Mar- 
ion, our  subject;  Margaret,  who  resides 
with  her  mother  at  Columbus  Grove ;  and 
Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  L.  D.  Bower,  a 
merchant  at  Geneva,  O. 

Frank  Marion  Eakin  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  Columbus  Grove,  after  which,  in 
1888,  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Company  as  a  telegraph  operator  and 
served  as  such  at  different  points  until  1896, 
when  he  was  detailed  as  clerk  for  the  same 
system,  at  Englewood,  111.,  where  he  con- 
tinued until  1899,  at  which  time  he  was  ap- 
pointed ticket  agent  at  Lima,  O.  After 
coming  to  Bucyrus  he  was  made  agent,  this 
being  a  very  important  point  on  the  Penn- 
sylvania Lines,  and  here  has  displayed 
marked  efficiency,  his  executive  ability  be- 
ing so  tempered  with  tact  and  diplomacy 
that  he  presides  over  an  office  of  satisfied 
employes  and  at  the  same  time  meets  every 
demand  of  often  an  unreasonable  public. 

Mr.  Eakin  was  married  in  igoo  at  To- 
peka,  Kans.,  to  Miss  Eleanor  H.  Newman, 
who  was  born  in  Chicago,  111.,  and  was  edu- 
cated at  Toledo,  O.,  and  in  Kansas.  They 
attend  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  is  iden- 
tified with  the  Masons  and  the  Elks. 

J.  LEW  GUGLER,  who  is  prominent  in 
the  commercial  life  of  Galion,  O.,  and  pro- 
prietor of  one  of  the  largest  mercantile  es- 


tablishments in  Crawford  county  and  iden- 
tified with  numerous  other  successful  busi- 
ness enterprises  of  this  section  belongs  to 
that  large  number  of  prosperous  business 
men  who  can  claim  this  city  as  their  native 
place.  He  was  born  in  a  log  cabin  in  1864 
that  still  stands  on  North  Union  street,  and 
is  a  son  of  Louis  and  Louisa  (Hessenauer) 
Gugler. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Gugler  were  born, 
reared  and  married  near  Heidelberg,  Ger- 
many, and  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1848,  on  a  sailing  vessel  that  required  70 
days  to  make  the  passage  but  nevertheless 
safely  landed  its  voyagers  in  the  harbor  of 
New  York.  From  there  Louis  Gugler  and 
wife  made  their  way  to  Galion,  O.,  where 
Mr.  Gugler  engaged  in  work  at  his  trade, 
that  of  cooper,  for  40  years,  and  his  indus- 
try would  have  been  rewarded  by  a  com- 
fortable competency  had  not  his  faith  in 
some  friends  induced  him  to  endorse  notes 
which  he  subsequently  had  to  meet.  His 
death  occurred  when  he  was  aged  about 
67  years.  His  widow  survived  until  1904, 
she  being  aged  73  years.  They  assisted  in) 
■founding  the  German  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  at  Galion,  Mr.  Gugler  being  an  of- 
ficial for  a  long  period. 

J.  Lew  Gugler  was  educated  in  the  Galion 
schools  and  at  one  time  had  as  his  tutor 
Jacob  Menser,  a  well  known  character. 
When  fourteen  years  of  age  the  youth  com- 
menced his  business  career  and  it  was  with 
the  fixed  purpose  of  sometime  being  at  the 
head  of  a  mercantile  establishment  of  his 
own,  starting  in  the  dry  goods  store  of  D. 
W.  Swaner.  His  ambition  has  been  real- 
ized, although  many  years  of  work  and  fi- 
delity to  employers  went  before  and  he  has 
had  many  handicaps  at  one  time  or  another. 
He  spent  ten  years  of  service  in  dry  goods 
stores  in  Mansfield,  O.  His  determination 
and  energy  enabled  him  to  overcome  all 
difficulties  and  at  length,  in  1893,  he  em- 
barked in  business  with  a  partner,  under  the 
firm  style  of  Gugler  &  Davis,  which  was 
continued  until  1903,  when  Mr.  Gugler  be- 
came sole  proprietor.  He  has  a  fine  loca- 
tion with  an  180-foot  frontage  at  No.  121 
East  Main  street.     His  stock  is  large  and 


714 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


varied,  including  dry  goods,  cloaks,  ready- 
to-wear  goods,  carpets  and  rugs  and  house 
furnishings,  handling  the  finest  fabrics  and 
catering  to  the  most  exclusive  of  the  city's 
buyers.  He  is  a  man  of  ideas  and  has  in- 
troduced many  pleasing  features  which  are 
not  to  be  found  in  every  establishment.  Mr. 
Gugler  has  found  also  that  it  is  better  to 
do  a  strictly  cash  business  and  he  was  the 
first  merchant  in  the  city  who  established 
and  kept  to  this  safe  and,  in  the  end,  most 
satisfactory  system.  Mr.  Gugler  has  dem- 
onstrated his  business  ability  along  still 
other  lines  and  is  a  member  of  the  board  of 
directors  of  the  Commercial  Savings  Bank 
Company;  also  of  the  Galion  Iron  Works 
Company,  and  of  the  Galion  Building  and 
Loan  Association,  and  is  a  stockholder  in 
numerous  other  concerns. 

Mr.  Gugler  was  married  to  Miss  Ida  C. 
Hugo,  who  is  justly  proud  of  her  descent 
from  the  great  French  writer,  Victor  Hugo. 
She  was  born  at  Mansfield,  C,  but  was 
mainly  educated  at  Detroit,  Mich.  They 
have  two  children,  a  daughter  and  a  son, 
Mildred  Dorothy,  who  is  aged  14  years; 
and  Robert  Hugo,  who  is  a  school  boy  of 
9  years.  An  older  child,  Helen  Louise,  died 
when  5  years  old.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gugler 
are  members  and  generous  supporters  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Mr.  Gugler 
being  a  member  of  the  official  board.  He 
has  always  been  an  ardent  Republican  and 
in  191 1  was  elected  a  member  of  the  school 
board  in  a  city  of  8,000  that  always  gives 
a  Democratic  majority  of  from  500  to  1,000. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Com- 
mercial Club  and  is  a  director  and  an  active 
member  of  the  renowned  "Galion  Boost- 
ers," who  never  tire  of  working  for  Greater 
Galion. 

JOHN  F.  FISCHER,  formerly  a  trustee  of 
Tod  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  one 
of  the  honest,  reliable  and  respected  citizens 
of  this  section,  resides  on  his  finely  improved 
farm  of  100  acres,  which  is  situated  nine  miles 
northwest  of  Bucyrus,  O.  He  was  born  in 
Germany  and  is  a  son  of  Emanuel  and  Mag- 
dalena  (Rilling)  Fischer. 

Emanuel   Fischer  and   wife   were  born   in 


Germany  and  when  they  came  first  to  Craw- 
ford county,  0.,  he  bought  a  tract  of  20  acres 
west  of  Bucyrus,  to  which  he  subsequently 
added  16  acres  and  followed  farming  there 
until  the  close  of  his  active  life,  his  death  oc- 
curring in  1897,  when  his  age  was  72  years. 
He  married  Magdalena  Rilling,  who  was  born 
in  1840  and  still  survives.  Of  their  ten  chil- 
dren, six  grew  up  and  five  of  these  are  living. 

John  F.  Fischer  went  to  school  in  the  country 
near  his  father's  farm,  first  in  Pennsylvania, 
ancf  after  1884,  when  the  family  came  to 
Crawford  county,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bu- 
cyrus. He  then  secured  farm  work  and  for 
six  years  was  engaged  by  the  month  as  a  farm 
hand,  in  this  way  gaining  a  very  thorough 
knowledge  of  every  phase  of  agricultural  life. 
For  the  next  three  years  he  rented  land  and 
put  into  practice  what  he  had  learned  when 
working  for  others  and  succeeded  so  well 
that  he  took  a  larger  farm  on  the  Tiffin  road. 
He  remained  there  one  year  and  afterward, 
up  to  1901,  lived  on  other  farms  in  the  town- 
ship, being  a  good  tenant  on  all.  In  the  above 
year  he  purchased  first  80  acres  and  then 
added  20  acres,  which  together  constitute  his 
present  farm  of  100  acres  in  Tod  township 
which  he  has  so  improved  that  it  is  one  of  the 
best  and  most  attractive  in  this  part  of  the 
township. 

Mr.  Fischer  married  Miss  Sophia  Streib 
and  they  have  three  children:  Mary,  who  is 
sixteen  years  old;  Clara,  who  is  eleven  years 
old;  and  Jerome,  a  bright  boy  of  seven  years. 
Mr.  Fischer  and  family  are  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church.  His  political  sentiments 
have  always  been  Democratic. 

WILLIAM  MAGEE,  who  enjoys  the 
distinction  of  being  the  oldest  man  living 
that  was  born  in  Crawford,  county,  C,  is 
widely  known  and  universally  esteemed, 
possessing  traits  of  character  which  have 
endeared  him  to  those  with  whom  he  has 
associated  in  any  way  during  his  long  and 
worthy  life.  He  was  born  on  his  father's 
farm  in  Crawford  county,  Sept.  19,  1827, 
and  is  a  son  of  James  Washington  and  a 
grandson  of  Alexander  MaGee. 

Alexander  MaGee  was  born  in  Ireland 
and  came  to  America  in  early  manhood,  set- 
tling in  Washington  county.  Pa.,  prior  to 


MR.  AND  MRS.  JOHN  F.  FISCHER 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


717 


the  Revolutionary  War.  He  acquired  400 
acres  of  land  in  Washington  county  and 
lived  on  the  same  into  old  age,  a  well  pre- 
served man  possessing  all  his  natural  facul- 
ties except  his  eyesight,  which  faded  some 
years  before  his  death.  The  family  has 
been  one  of  unusual  longevity.  He  mar- 
ried in  Pennsylvania  an  excellent  woman 
who  belonged  to  an  old  Presbyterian  fam- 
ily of  Washington  county,  and  the  following 
names  of  their  children  have  been  pre- 
served: Alexander,  John,  William,  James 
Washington  and  Nancy,  the  last  named  be- 
coming the  wife  of  John  Ramsey. 

James  Washington  MaGee  was  born  in 
Washington  county.  Pa.,  in  1789,  and  grew 
to  manhood  in  his  father's  house.    In  those 
days  a  source  of  income  was  open  to  sturdy 
young    men    in    the    business    of    hauling 
freight  over  the  mountains,  there  being  no 
great  transportation  lines  yet  constructed, 
and  James  Washington  MaGee  made  nu- 
merous  trips    of   this   kind.      Having   thus 
earned  the  capital  he  was  anxious  to  invest 
it  in  land  and  in  1821  came  to  Ohio,  then 
the  far  West  to  Pennsylvania,  and  in  San- 
dusky township,  Crawford  county,  entered 
160  acres  of  land  for  himself  and  also  160 
acres  for  each  of  his  three  brothers-in-law, 
a  one-quarter  section  for  William  Moder- 
well,  another  for  John  Clemens,  and  another 
for  John  Magars.     Having  thus  ensured  a 
little  settlement  in  the  wilderness  he,  with 
the  other  families,  in  1823  came  with  their 
wagons  and  ox-teams,  to  Crawford  county. 
Here  all  established  themselves  and  lived 
out  long  and  useful  lives  and  all  have  de- 
scendants in  the  county.    James  W.  MaGee 
cleared    and    improved    his    farm    and    re- 
mained on  it  a  contented  man  during  the 
rest  of  his   life,   his   death  occurring  April 
14,  1850.     His  father  had  been  a  Federalist 
and  he  was  a  Whig.     In  the  latter  part  of 
his    life   he   united   with    the    Presbyterian 
church.     On  May  10,  1814,  he  was  married 
in  Washington  county,   Pa.,   to   Miss  Ann 
Moderwell,  who  was  of  Scotch  parentage, 
but  was  born  in  Pennsylvania.     She   was 
born  February  21,  1792,  and  in  loving  trib- 
ute to  her  her  son,  William,  declares  that 
when  she  died  on  October  12,   1852,  there 


passed  from  earth  the  best  woman  that  ever 
lived.  She  was  a  devoted  Christian  wife 
and  mother  and  not  only  her  family  loved 
her  but  the  whole  neighborhood.  Mr.  Ma- 
Gee can  conceive  of  no  higher  type  of  wom- 
anhood than  was  this  beloved  mother.  Nine 
children  were  born  to  James  W.  and  Ann 
McGee,  as  follows :  Eliza,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  70  years,  leaving  two  children :  Mary 
A.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  21  years;  Robert, 
who  was  survived  by  children,  Isabel  and 
John,  both  of  whom  are  deceased;  Sarah 
I.  and  Margaret  E.,  twins,  the  former  dying 
at  the  age  of  16  years  and  the  latter  when 
aged  19  years;  and  Ethalinda,  who  died 
when  aged  18  years. 

William  MaGee  passed  his  boyhood  and 
youth  on  the  homestead  farm  and  as  oppor- 
tunity was  afiforded  attended  the  district 
school.  He  was  industrious  and  provident 
during  his  active  years  and  accumulated  a 
large  amount  of  property,  the  greater  part  of 
which  he  has  given  to  his  children  in  order 
to  witness  their  enjoyment  of  it,  but  he 
still  retains  a  farm  of  116  acres,  which  lies 
in  Bucyrus  township.  On  Oct.  10,  1850, 
Mr.  MaGee  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret 
Jane  Cleland,  who  was  born  in  Vernon 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  Nov.  3, 
1828,  and  died  at  her  home  in  Bucyrus,  Feb. 
14,  1899,  an  estimable  woman  in  every  re- 
lation of  life.  The  following  children  were 
born  to  them :  an  infant,  deceased,  who  was 
born  September  13,  1851 ;  Rachel  Ann,  born 
March  31,  1853,  who  is  a  widow  living  at 
Los  Angeles,  Calif. ;  and  William  Wallace, 
who  was  born  August  28,  1856,  and  now 
has  charge  of  his  father's  farm  in  Bucyrus 
township.  He  married  Amanda  Dirmeyer 
and  has  had  two  children:  James,  who  died 
in  childhood;  and  Florence  A.  When  five 
weeks  old  a  niece,  Rachel  Emma  Ann  Cle- 
land, lost  her  mother  and  she  then  became 
a  member  of  the  household  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
MaGee.  She  grew  up  a  dutiful  and  loving 
daughter  and  for  eleven  years  was  the  chief 
dependence  of  her  adopted  mother,  Mrs. 
MaGee,  the  latter  of  whom  was  an  invalid 
for  thirteen  years,  being  afflicted  with 
creeping  paralysis.  Since  then  she  has  been 
equally   dutiful   to   her  uncle   and  adopted 


718 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


father,  Mr.  MaGee.  On  May  13,  191 1,  she 
was  happily  married  to  Ray  H.  Furister, 
who  was  born  June  17,  1878,  in  Michigan, 
a  son  of  the  late  A.  J.  and  Susan  Viola 
(Hodges)  Furister.  In  his  views  on  public 
matters  Mr.  MaGee  is  in  sympathy  with  the 
cardinal  principles  of  the  Republican  party. 
He  has  always  been  a  Presbyterian  in  re- 
ligious faith. 

VICTOR  McDOUGAL,  owner  and  pro- 
prietor of  an  important  industry  at  North 
Robinson,  Crawford  cofinty,  O.,  a  plant  for 
the  manufacture  of  brick  and  drain  tile,  is 
an  experienced  man  in  this  business  and 
since  purchasing  this  plant  in  June,  1909, 
has  worked  his  machinery  to  its  fullest  ca- 
pacity every  season.  Mr.  McDougal  was 
born  Dec.  22,  1876,  near  New  Washington, 
0.,  and  is  a  son  of  Hiram  and  Elizabeth 
(King)  McDougal. 

The  father  of  Mr.  McDougal  was  born  in 
Auburn  township,  Crawford  county  and  the 
mother  in  Pennsylvania.  The  latter  sur- 
vives and  resides  at  New  Washington,  but 
the  former  died  Jan.  22,  1908.  He  was  a 
veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  having  served 
three  years  in  Co.  K,  45th  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  and 
was  honorably  discharged.  Afterward  he 
followed  agricultural  pursuits.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
His  children  were :  Adrian,  Warren,  Vic- 
tor and  Inez,  the  last  named  being  deceased. 

Victor  McDougal  attended  the  commoij 
schools  of  Cranberry  township  and  spent 
two  years  in  the  New  Washington  High 
School,  after  which  he  went  to  Cleveland 
and  in  one  of  the  great  machine  shops  of 
that  city  learned  the  trade  which  he  fol- 
lowed for  three  years.  On  account  of  im- 
paired eyesight  Mr.  McDougal  was  obliged 
to  give  up  his  trade  in  which  he  was  ac- 
knowledged to  be  a  skillful  workman,  and 
then  turned  his  attention  to  tile  making, 
this  being  an  industry  that  demanded  less 
eye  strain  than  work  as  a  machinist.  For 
two  years  he  was  in  the  tile  plant  of  Wil- 
liam Seitter  and  for  two  years  more  was 
with  the  Milliron  Bros.,  and  then  went  into 
the  business  for  himself,  purchasing  his 
present  well  equipped  plant  from  P.  R.  Fate. 


During  his  busy  season  he  gives  employ- 
ment to  eight  men.  and  has  a  satisfactory 
local  market  for  his  brick  and  tile.  He  has 
invested  in  other  property  here  and  owns 
a  comfortable  residence. 

On  June  14,  1905,  Mr.  McDougal  was 
married  to  Miss  Blanche  Burd,  a  daughter 
of  Jeremiah  and  Mary  Burd,  farming  people 
in  Seneca  county.  Mrs.  McDougal  has  one 
sister,  Elsie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Monroe 
Stephenson.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McDougal  have 
three  children:  Homer  R.,  Richard  and 
Norris.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican,  fra- 
ternally belongs  to  the  Maccabees,  and  he 
and  wife  attend  the  United  Brethren  church 
at  North  Robinson. 

WILLIAM  R.  WISE,  who,  in  associa- 
tion with  his  brothers  conducts  a  furniture 
and  undertaking  business  at  Bucyrus,  O., 
is  a  representative  business  man  of  this  city. 
The  Wise  family  was  known  in  Clearfield 
county.  Pa.,  in  the  days  of  George  Wise,  the 
grandfather.  He  died  there  and  later  his 
widow  came  to  Crawford  county,  O.,  accom- 
panied by  her  sons,  and  afterward  to  Val- 
paraiso, Ind.,  where  she  remained  during 
the  rest  of  a  long  life. 

William'  Wise,  father  of  William  R.  Wise, 
was  born  in  1824,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  was 
twelve  years  old  when  his  mother  came  to 
Crawford  county.  About  1845  the  sons, 
William,  Adam,  Jacob,  John  and  Henry, 
returned  to  Crawford  county  from  Indiana 
and  all  settled  on  farms  in  the  county.  Wil- 
liam located  first  in  Bucyrus  township,  but 
afterward  moved  on  a  farm  nearer  the  vil- 
lage and  still  later  became  a  resident  of  the 
hamlet,  where  he  started  a  cabinetmaking 
shop.  He  had  but  the  tools  of  his  trade, 
none  of  the  present  machinery  for  the  mak- 
ing of  furniture  having  yet  been  invented, 
and  even  the  black  walnut  coffins  were  all 
made  by  hand.  He  was  one  of  the  first  in 
this  section  to  purchase  machinery  and  had 
the  enterprise  to  keep  abreast  with  the 
times,  and  in  1847,  in  partnership  with 
Christopher  Hoenstein  opened  a  large  shop 
at  No.  215  East  Mansfield  street,  Bucyrus. 
This  continued  until  1865,  when  the  firm 
name  became  William  Wise,  and  later  Wil- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


719 


liam  Wise  &  Sons,  located  at  Nos.  215-17 
S.  Sandusky  street.  He  first  admitted  his 
son,  Preston,  who  died  in  1890,  and  his 
death  occurred  October  14,  1901.  Since  that 
time  the  business  has  been  conducted  by  the 
surviving-  sons :  WilHam  R.,  George  L., 
Fred  A.  and  Joseph  D.,  all  of  whom  have 
been  practically  brought  up  in  it.  This  firm 
carries  a  large  stock  of  furniture  and  house 
furnishings  and  a  complete  line  of  under- 
taking goods,  including  two  funeral  cars 
and  an  ambulance.  The  present  business 
house  was  erected  in  1884  and  additions 
made  in  1895,  the  present  frontage  being 
33  feet  with  a  depth  of  160  feet.  Every  de- 
partment of  the  business  is  carefully  at- 
tended to  and  the  patronage  is  heavy.  Old 
methods,  in  so  far  as  business  integrity  is 
concerned,  are  still  maintained,  confidence 
in  the  name  of  Wise  having  been  secured 
a  half  century  ago. 

The  late  William  Wise  was  a  leading 
member  of  the  English  Lutheran  church  at 
Bucyrus  for  thirty  years.  He  gave  political 
support  to  the  Republican  party  but  ac- 
cepted no  offices.  For  some  years  prior 
to  his  death  he  was  a  member  of  the  fra- 
ternal organization,  the  Knights  of  Honor. 
He  was  married  in  Crawford  county  to 
Eliza  Jane  Deardorfif,  who  was  born  in  1827 
and  died  in  1888.  Her  .  father,  Emanuel 
Deardorff,  was  an  early  settler  in  Craw- 
ford county,  a  tanner  and  farmer,  who 
spent  his  last  years  in  comfortable  re- 
tirement in  Bucyrus.  None  of  his  sur.- 
viving  children  reside  in  this  county. 
To  William  Wise  and  wife  eleven  children 
were  born,  two  of  whom  died  young.  One 
daughter,  Lizzie,  died  in  1902,  and  one  son, 
Preston,  in  1890.  A  daughter,  Millie,  who 
died  February  i,  1910,  was  the  wife  of  Ed- 
ward VoUrath,  an  attorney  at  Bucyrus,  and 
was  survived  by  three  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters. The  surviving  members  of  the  family 
of  William  and  Eliza  Jane  Wise  are :  Mar- 
tha, who  is  the  widow  of  Rev.  George 
Hindle  and  resides  at  Wooster,  O.,  with  her 
large  family;  Bessie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Seth 
Hodges,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the  U.  S. 
Express  Company  at  Cleveland,  O.,  and 
who  has   one   son,   William   Preston;   Wil- 


liam R.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  George 
L.,  who  married  Fannie  Shaw  and  has  one 
daughter,  Mary;  Fred  A.,  who  married 
Maybell  Beard  and  has  two  daughters, 
Helen  and  Frances  V. ;  Joseph  E.,  who  mar- 
ried Olive  Greyer,  formerly  a  successful 
teacher  of  music  at  Bucyrus,  and  has  one 
son,  William. 

William  R.  Wise  was  reared  and  educated 
with  Jiis  brothers  in  the  city  schools,  and 
also  with  them  had  the  practical  training 
under  their  father  that  provided  them  with 
a  business  as  soon  as  they  were  able  to  take 
responsibilities  on  themselves.  He  was 
married  at  Bucyrus  to  Miss  Stella  Lauck,  a 
daughter  of  George  Lauck,  who  for  many 
years  before  his  death  was  a  merchant  here. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wise  have  two  children : 
Eleanor  C,  who  was  born  April  18,  1901 ; 
and  Virginia,  who  was  born  July  29,  1905. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wise  are  members  of  the  Eng- 
lish Lutheran  church.  He  belongs  to  the 
Elks,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Eagles 
and  the  Order  of  Ben  Hur.  He  and  broth- 
ers are  all  Republicans.  From  their  father 
they  have  inherited  musical  talent  of  a  high 
order  and  frequently  they  take  care  of  the 
musical  service  as  well  as  the  practical  work 
of  funerals,  this  usually  being  more  than 
satisfactory.  Mr.  Wise  and  brothers  are 
all  graduate  embalmers. 

JEFFERSON  I.  SMITH,  ex-auditor  of 
Crawford  county,  O.,  who  has  been  active 
in  Democratic  councils  in  this  county  for 
many  years,  is  engaged  in  the  insurance 
business  at  Bucyrus  and  represents  some  of 
the  leading  life  companies  of  the  country. 
He  was  born  in  Lykens  township,  Crawford 
county,  April  24,  1863,  and  is  a  son  of  Fred- 
erick and  Lucy  A.  (Shupp)  Smith. 

Frederick  Smith  was  born  in  Litenberg, 
Saxony,  Germany,  April  i,  181 5,  later  at- 
tended a  trade  school  and  became  a  stone 
mason.  Between  1835  and  1840  he  came 
to  America,  voyaging  on  an  old  sailing  ship 
that  was  tossed  on  the  Atlantic  ocean  for 
sixty  days  before  making  harbor  at  New 
York.  From  that  city  he  made  his  way  to 
Columbus,  O.,  where  he  secured  work  at 
his   trade    and   helped   to   build   the    stone 


720 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


bridge  there  and  presumably  secured  the 
capital  by  this  labor  which  he  subsequently 
invested  in  i6o  acres  of  land  in  Lykens 
township,  Crawford  county.  It  was  then 
an  unbroken  tract  of  timber  and  presented 
a  hard  task  to  its  new  owner,  who  imme- 
diately went  to  work  to  clear  it.  Before 
his  death,  in  1877,  he  had  cleared  100  acres 
of  his  place  and  had  acquired  cattle  and 
stock  and  was  considered  a  substantial  resi- 
dent of  his  township.  He  was  an  intelligent 
and  interested  man  in  public  matters  and 
somewhat  of  a  leader  in  Democratic  poli- 
tics in  his  section.  In  Germany  he  belonged 
to  the  Lutheran  church  but  later  in  life 
united  with  the  Evangelical  Association. 

Frederick  Smith  was  married  first  at  Co- 
lumbus, O.,  to  Christina  Lippman,  who  was 
a  native  of  Germany  and  had  come  to  the 
United  States  when  a  young  woman.  She 
died  in  Lykens  township,  leaving  four  chil- 
dren, all  living  except  the  eldest.  Mr.  Smith 
chose  Lucy  A.  Shupp  for  his  second  wife. 
She  was  born  in  1830,  in  Dauphin  county. 
Pa.,  and  after  her  parents  died  she  came 
to  Ohio  and  was  reared  in  the  home  of  her 
brother,  the  late  Michael  Shupp.  She  died 
in  1890,  in  Holmes  township,  Crawford 
county.  She  was  a  woman  of  many  virtues, 
a  sincere  Christian  and  a  member  of  the 
Evangelical  Association.  There  were  ten 
children  born  to  the  second  marriage,  the 
seventh  in  order  of  birth  being  Jefferson  I., 
of  Bucyrus.  The  others  were :  Cornelius 
W.,  who  resides  with  his  family  at  Bucy- 
rus ;  Matilda,  who  died  when  aged  38  years ; 
.  Katherine,  who  is  the  wife  of  Jacob  Meek 
of  Holmes  township;  Frederick,  who  re- 
sides with  his  family  at  Bucyrus ;  Henry 
W.,  who  lives  in  Holmes  township;  Lucy 
A.,  who  died  when  aged  28  years;  Emma 
J.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Abraham  Schifer,  liv- 
ing in  Crawford  county,  and  has  eight  chil- 
dren; and  Serepta,  who  is  the  wife  of  Clar- 
ence H.  Flickinger,  of  Holmes  township. 

Jefferson  I.  Smith  attended  both  the  com- 
mon and  high  school  and  aftei-ward  taught 
school  very  acceptably  for  some  time,  after 
which  he  went  into  newspaper  work.  For 
12  years  he  was  the  able  editor  of  the  New 
Washington  Herald  and  during  this  time 


aroused  interest  in  other  sections  in  north- 
west Ohio,  being  ever  loyal  to  his  own 
part  of  the  state.  In  1897  he  was  appointed 
deputy  auditor  of  Crawford  county  and 
served  under  Auditor  J.  F.  Kimerhne 
through  the  latter's  term,  and  in  1901  was 
elected  auditor  and  served  the  county  in 
that  important  office  until  1909.  He  is  still 
officially  connected  with  county  affairs  in 
a  special  way  but  his  main  business  is  life 
insurance  and  he  maintains  his  office  at  Bu- 
cyrus. 

Mr.  Smith  was  married  in  Wayne  county, 
0.,  to  Miss  Linnie  Breneman,  who  was 
born  there  in  i860  and  is  a  daughter  of  J. 
H.  and  Lydia  (McNary)  Breneman,  early 
settlers  and  continuous  residents  of  Wayne 
county  until  their  deaths.  Mr.  Breneman 
was  a  shoemaker  by  trade.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Smith  have  one  son,  Russell  Breneman 
Smith,  who  was  born  Aug.  23,  1894,  and  is 
a  student  in  the  class  of  1912  in  the  Bucyrus 
high  school.  Mr.  Smith  and  family  belong 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  identified  with  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows and  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  at- 
tends both  lodges  at  New  Washington. 

WINFIELD  S.  KIESS,  who,  as  his 
father's  representative,  successfully  ope- 
rates one  of  the  large  farms  of  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  390  acres 
of  very  valuable  land,  belongs  to  a  well 
known  and  highly  respected  family  of  this 
section.  He  was  born  in  Whetstone  town- 
ship, Oct.  12,  1880,  and  is  a  son  of  Joseph 
and  Rebecca  (Haldeman)  Kiess. 

Joseph  Kiess  came  to  Ohio  from  Lycom- 
ing county,  Pa.,  and  now  lives  retired  at  Bu- 
cyrus. He  married  Rebecca  Haldeman, 
who  was  born  at  Galion,  O.,  and  died  March 
19,  1902.  They  had  two  children:  Winfield 
S. ;  Viola,  who  married  J.  A.  Shearer  and 
has  three  children,  namely:  Catherine,  Eve- 
line, Joseph.  The  father  of  the  above  fam- 
ily has  always  given  political  support  \o 
the  Democratic  party.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Evangelical  church,  to  which  his  wife 
also  belonged. 

Winfield  S.  Kiess  attended  the  public 
schools  and  afterward  the  Ohio  Northern 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS  . 


721 


University,  at  Ada,  O.  His  business  has 
been  farming  but  during  six  winter  terms 
he  made  use  of  his  decided  musical  talent, 
being  director  of  music  during  that  time 
in  the  public  schools  of  both  Whetstone 
and  Liberty  townships.  His  present  farm, 
known  as  the  Joseph  Kiess  homestead,  not 
only  now  engages  all  his  time  and  atten- 
tion but  makes  it  necessary  for  him  to  keep 
two  hired  farmers  and  also  to  utilize  the 
services  of  a  boy,  all  the  year  round.  Mr. 
Kiess  is  very  enterprising,  keeps  thoroughly 
posted  as  to  crops,  stock  and  other  matters 
pertaining  to  his  business,  and  is  numbered 
with  the  most  reliable  farmers  of  this  part 
of  the  county. 

In  October,  1904,  Mr.  Kiess  was  married 
to  Miss  Sadie  Cook,  a  daughter  of  Philip 
and  Rachel  (Nefif)  Cook,  the  latter  of  whom 
is  deceased.  Mr.  Cook,  who  is  a  retired 
farmer  now  living  at  Bucyrus,  married 
Mary  Lust  for  his  second  wife,  and  three 
children  were  born  to  them ;  Minnie,  Bessie 
and  Ethel.  To  his  first  marriage  the  fol- 
lowing children  were  born:  Ella,  wife  of 
William  Ronk;  Sadie,  wife  of  Winfield  S. 
Kiess;  Clara,  wife  of  William  Hosterman; 
Emma,  wife  of  Clarence  Kelly;  and  Frank. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kiess  have  two  bright  little 
ones,  Leona  and  William.  They  attend  the 
Evangelical  church.  Politically  Mr.  Kiess 
is  a  Democrat  and  fraternally  he  belongs 
to  the  Maccabees.  Although  his  father  still 
owns  this  farm,  its  entire  management  and 
direction  is  in  the  hands  of  Mr.     Kiess. 

RAPHAEL  M.  LONSWAY,  who  very 
efficiently  represents  the  well  known  firm 
of  Dostal  Bros.,  brewers,  in  the  commercial 
field,  all  over  Ohio,  has  been  identified  with 
this  Bucyrus  business  house  since  1902, 
when  the  present  owners  succeeded  Frank 
Dick.  He  was  born  December  6,  1875,  in 
Seneca  county,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  Emanuel 
and  Magdalene  (Houck)  Lonsway. 

Emanuel  Lonsway  was  born  in  Seneca 
county,  of  Canadian  parents  and  of  French 
ancestry.  He  grew  to  manhood  on  his 
father's  farm  and  then  married  Magdalene 
Houck,  also  a  native  of  Seneca  county,  who 
was  of  German  ancestry.     For  a  number  of 


years  they  lived  on  their  farm  in  Loudon 
township  and  then  retired  to  Fostoria,  O., 
where  they  still  live.  They  are  devout  mem- 
bers of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  Of 
their  family  of  fourteen  sons  and  one  daugh- 
ter, Raphael  M.,  was  the  fifth  in  order  of 
birth. 

Raphael  M.  Lonsway,  or,  as  he  is  best 
known  to  his  friends,  Ray  M.  Lonsway,  was 
reared  in  his  native  county  and  at  school 
prepared  himself  for  teaching,  and  for  some 
years  before  coming  to  Bucyrus  was  a  very 
acceptable  educator  in  Seneca  county.  Since 
identifying  himself  with  his  present  firm  he 
has  filled  all  the  departmental  official  posi- 
tions and  thus  prepared  himself  for  the 
work  of  a  commercial  traveler,  in  which  he 
has  been  quite  successful.  Through  his  close 
attention  to  business  he  has  won  the  appro- 
bation of  the  firm  and  through  his  pleasing 
personality  has  made  many  friends  for  him- 
self. 

Mr.  Lonsway  was  married  in  Big  Spring 
township,  Seneca  county,  O.,  to  Miss  Rose 
M.  Jacoby,  who  was  born  there  in  1876,  a 
daughter  of  Michael  and  Mary  (Reinhart) 
Jacoby,  who  now  live  retired  at  Cary,  O. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lonsway  have  three  children : 
Raymond,  who  is  a  very  satisfactory  pupil 
in  the  parochial  school;  and  Gilbert  M.  and 
Gertrude  S.,  attractive  twin  children,  now 
in  their  fifth  year.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lonsway 
are  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church, 
in  which  both  were  reared.  He  is  identified 
with  the  Eagles,  the  U.  C.  T.,  of  Ohio,  and 
the  D.  K.  U.  V. 

SIMEON  KIESS  and  JOSEPH  F. 
KIESS,  retired  farmers  and  respected  citi- 
zens of  Bucyrus,  O.,  are  sons  of  Jacob  and 
Catherine  (Delker)  Kiess,  and  grandsons  of 
Christopher  and  Christina  (Sheets)   Kiess. 

The  grandfather,  Christopher  Kiess,  and 
his  wife  were  both  born  in  Wurtemberg, 
Germany,  and  after  marriage  lived  at  Stutt- 
gart until  January,  1806,  when  they  emi- 
^•rated  to  America,  landing  probably  at 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  from  that  city  moving  to 
Lycoming  county.  There  Christopher  Kiess 
was  a  farmer  and  also  taught  school  and  for 
many  years  resided  near  the  present  city 


722 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


of  Williamsport,  where  he  died  Mar.  26, 
1866,  when  aged  88  years  and  2  months, 
having  survived  his  wife  for  a  few  years. 
They  were  members  of  the  Pietist  colony,  a 
body  of  religionists  who  came  to  the  United 
States  in  order  to  follow  out  their  religious 
beliefs  in  their  daily  lives.  To  Christopher 
Kiess  and  wife  the  following  children  were 
born:  Rebecca,  born  Sept.  8,  1801 ;  Abra- 
ham, born  Sept.  23,  1802;  Catharine,  born 
Oct.  30,  1805;  William,  born  Feb.  26,  1808, 
in  America;  Dorothea,  born  Oct.  8,  1809; 
Jacob,  born  Aug.  6,  1812;  Salome,  born 
Sept.  6,  1813;  Sophia,  born  Sept.  3,  1816; 
Emanuel,  born  July  9,  1818;  and  Christina, 
born  July  23,  1820. 

Jacob  Kiess  grew  to  manhood  on  his 
father's  farm  and  continued  to  reside  in 
Pennsylvania  until  1852,  when,  with  his 
family  he  started  for  what  was  then  the  far 
West,  Crawford  county  having  been  little 
settled  previously  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Whetstone  township.  He  secured  a  wild 
prairie  farm,  which,  with  the  aid  of  his  sons, 
was  converted  into  a  productive  and  valu- 
able one,  and  there  he  and  wife  enjoyed 
some  years  of  comfort.  His  death  on  Deco- 
ration Day,  1882,  was  caused  by  accident 
while  crossing  a  railroad  track.  He  was 
twice  married,  first  to  a  Miss  Rote  and  sec- 
ond to  Catherine  Delker.  To  his  first  mar- 
riage two  children  were  born  :  Jonathan  and 
Lydia.  To  his  second  marriage  S  sons  were 
born ;  Simeon,  Joseph  F.,  Daniel,  Samuel 
and  William  C,  and  two  daughters,  Chris- 
tina and  Mary  Margaret.  The  mother  of 
the  last  named  family  was  born  in  1813  in 
Wurtemberg,  Germany,  and  was  a  child 
when  her  parents  emigrated  to  America  and 
settled  in  Lycoming  county.  Pa.  She  sur- 
vived her  husband  for  two  years  and  died 
at  the  home  of  a  daughter  in  Kansas.  Both 
she  and  husband  were  devout  members  of 
the  Evangelical  church,  in  which  he  was  a 
class  leader. 

Simeon  Kiess  grew  to  manhood  on  the 
home  farm  in  Whetstone  township,  having 
been  eight  years  old  when  the  long  overland 
trip  was  made  from  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  was  born  Jan.  31,  1844.  He  remained 
with  his  father  for  some  years  and  then  pur- 


chased the  homestead  and  continued  to 
carry  on  farming  and  stock  raising  there 
until  1906,  when  he  shifted  its  heavy  respon- 
sibilities to  the  sturdy  shoulders  of  his  sons 
and  retired,  moving  then  to  Bucyrus.  The 
farm  contains  about  400  acres,  all  of  which, 
with  the  exception  of  80  acres,  has  been 
well  improved.  Mr.  Kiess  was  a  very  en- 
terprising and  progressive  farmer  and  han- 
dled only  first-class  stock  and  made  use  of 
improve4  and  labor-saving  machinery. 

In  1867  Simeon  Kiess  was  married  in 
Whetstone  township  to  Miss  Catherine 
Kile,  who  was  born  there  in  1845,  ^  daugh- 
ter of  Tobias  and  Carrie  (Nipp)  Kile,  na- 
tives of  Germany.  They  came  to  Ohio  and 
after  marriage  located  in  Whetstone  town- 
ship, where  the  father  of  Mrs.  Kiess  lived  to 
be  83  years  of  age,  surviving  his  wife  for 
five  years.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kiess  the  fol- 
lowing children  were  born :  Sidney  E., 
Harvey  E.  and  Verne  E.  Sidney  E.,  who 
operates  a  part  of  his  father's  farm,  mar- 
ried Amanda  Cook  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren— Raymond  and  Catherine.  Harvey 
E.,  who  completed  his  education  in  the  uni- 
versity at  Ada,  O.,  is  cashier  of  the  Farmers 
and  Citizens  Bank  of  Bucyrus;  he  married 
Ida  Sherrard,  of  Gibsonburg,  O.,  and  they 
have  two  children:  Helen  Irene  and  John 
Simeon.  Verne  E.,  who  is  a  farmer  in 
Whetstone  township,  married  Rebecca  NefiE 
of  Martel,  O.,  and  they  have  two  children: 
Margaret  and  Marian.  Mr.  Kiess  and  sons 
are  Democrats  in  politics  and  the  whole 
family  belongs  to  the  Evangelical  church. 

JOSEPH  F.  KIESS  was  born  in  Lycom- 
ing county.  Pa.,  Sept.  15,  1849,  ^^^  was  too 
young  to  recall  the  adventures  incident  to 
the  long  trip  over  the  mountains  when  his 
parents  came  to  Crawford  county  from  his 
native  place.  He  grew  to  manhood  in 
Whetstone  township  and,  with  his  brothers 
and  sisters,  attended  the  district  school. 
When  he  left  home  he  purchased  a  farm  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  old  homestead  and  still 
owns  390  acres  of  valuable  land  in  Whet- 
stone township,  on  which  he  made  fine  im- 
provements. He  was  an  extensive  farmer, 
stock  raiser  and  sheep  grower  and  for  years 
kept  some   500  head  of  sheep.     In   April, 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


723 


191 1,  he  retired,  having  erected  a  handsome 
residence  on  the  corner  of  Lucas  and  East 
streets,  Bucyrus,  and  here  enjoys  all  the 
comforts  that  modern  building  now  pro- 
vides. Formerly  he  was  quite  active  in 
township  affairs  and  served  on  the  school 
board  and  in  other  offices. 

Joseph  F.  Kiess  was  married  (first)  to 
Miss  Rebecca  Haldeman,  who  was  born  in 
Morrow  county,  O.,  in  April,  1856,  and  died 
in  her  home  on  the  farm  in  Whetstone 
township,  March  17,  1901,  having  been  a 
member  of  the  Evangelical  church  for  years. 
She  was  a  young  woman  vhen  she  accom- 
panied her  parents,  Rev.  Christophei"  and 
Susanna  (Brickley)  Haldeman,  to  Gallon, 
O.,  where  both  died  advanced  in  years.  Mrs. 
Rebecca  Kiess  was  survived  by  two  chil- 
dren :  Viola,  who  is  the  widow  of  John 
Sherer,  who  died  in  October,  1910,  leaving 
three  children :  Catherine  R.,  Evelyn  and 
Joseph  N.,  and  Winfield  Scott,  who  man- 
ages his  father's  large  farming  interests.  He 
married  Sadie  Cook  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren: Leona  and  William  H.  Mr.  Kiess 
was  married  (second)  at  Bucyrus,  Aug.  24, 
1909,  to  Mrs.  Elnora  (Niebel)  Heckman, 
who  was  born  in  Wyandot  county,  O.,  and 
completed  her  education  at  the  Tiffin  high 
school.  In  early  womanhood  she  was  mar- 
ried to  Scott  Heckman,  who  was  born  in 
Wyandot  county  in  May,  i860,  and  died  at 
Sycamore,  in  November,  1903.  He  left  no 
children.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Kiess  were 
Abraham  and  Catherine  (Haldeman)  Nie- 
bel, who  were  of  German  ancestry  but  were 
born  in  Pennsylvania.  They  were  married 
in  Morrow  county,  O.,  and  then  moved  to 
Wyandot  county,  where  the  mother  of  Mrs. 
Kiess  died.  Her  father  resides  at  Sycamore 
and  is  in  his  72nd  year.  Her  one  brother, 
Orval  Niebel,  is  principal  of  the  Sycamore 
schools,  married  Marcella  Musser  and  they 
have  one  daughter,  Catherine.  The  grand- 
father of  Mrs.  Kiess,  Enos  Niebel,  moved 
from  Pennsylvania  to  Wyandot  county  in 
1829,  and  died  at  Sycamore,  O.,  in  May, 
191 1,  when  97  years  of  age.  His  father  was 
an  early  preacher  in  the  Albright,  now  the 
Evangelical  church,  to  which  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Kiess  belong. 


WILLIAM  H.  LOWMILLER,  who  is 
one  of  the  well  known  and  substantial  citi- 
zens of  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  residing  on  his  farm  of  150 
acres,  was  born  in  Snyder  county,  Pa.,  May 
19,  1840,  and  is  a  son  of  Adam  and  Cath- 
erine (Baker)  Lowmiller.  ^ 

Adam  Lowmiller  and  wife  were  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  married  there  and  reared  a 
family  of  eight  children,  namely:  Susan, 
deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  William 
Straus;  Daniel  Henry,  who  is  deceased; 
William  H. ;  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Reuben  Treaster;  Eliza  Ann,  deceased, 
who  was  married  first  to  a  Mr.  Blaine  and 
second  to  a  Mr.  Martin;  Catherine,  who 
is  the  wife  of  David  Harmony;  and  two  who 
died  in  infancy.  By  trade  the  father  of  the 
above  family  was  a  weaver  and  afterward 
he  was  employed  in  a  tannery. 

William  H. ..Lowmiller  was  reared  to  the 
age  of  19  years  in  Snyder  county.  Pa.,  and 
attended  school  as  opportunity  ofifered  but 
as  soon  as  he  was  released  from  home  re- 
sponsibilities he  started  for  Ohio,  reaching 
Crawford  county,  Feb.  7,  1859,  his  capital 
being  the  sum  of  nine  dollars.  He  then 
learned  the  carpenter  trade  and  became  a 
good  workman  and  followed  it  for  about 
eight  years  and  then  turned  his  attention 
to  farming.  For  two  years  he  rented  land 
and  then  bought  his  first  20  acres,  which 
he  sold  to  advantage  two  years  afterward 
and  bought  85  acres  of  his  present  farm, 
purchasing  of  Jacob  Keister,  his  father-in- 
law,  who  had  entered  it  from  the  Govern- 
ment in  1828.  Mr.  Lowmiller  owes  the 
original  deed  which  bears  the  signature  of 
Andrew  Jackson,  President  of  the  United 
States.  For  many  years  Mr.  Lowmiller 
labored  on  his  farm  and  kept  adding  to  it 
and  improving  in  many  ways,  but  finally 
shifted  his  heaviest  responsibilities  to  the 
shoulders  of  his  capable  sons,  Edward  C. 
and  Jeremiah  E.  Lowmiller.  General  farm- 
ing is  engaged  in  and  some  good  stock  is 
raised  but  not  for  sale. 

On  April  6,  1865,  Mr.  Lowmiller  was 
married  to  Miss  Sarah  Keister,  who  was 
born  in  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  June  29,    1839,   and   died  in  June, 


724 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


1909.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
Salome  (Wize)  Keister,  natives  of  Union 
county,  Pa.,  who  came  to  Crawford  county 
in  1828.  They  had  the  following  children: 
Mrs.  Sarah  Lowmiller,  Mrs.  Jacob  Shu- 
maker,  Mrs.  George  Wingert,  Joseph,  Mrs. 
Daniel  Kehrer  and  Mrs.  John  Zimmerman. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lowmiller  four  children 
were  born,  as  follows :  Edward  C,  who 
married  Clara  Kiefer;  Jeremiah  A.,  who 
married  Iva  Gibson  and  has  three  children 
— Roland,  Helen  and  Earl;  Ellen  M.,  de- 
ceased, who  was  the  wife  of  Samuel  Zim- 
merman and  had  two  children,  Orrin  and 
Maud;  and  Ida  E.,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Charles  Gehret  and  has  two  children, 
Mildred  and  Frederick  William.  In  addi- 
tion to  operating  the  home  farm  for  their 
father,  the  two  sons  of  Mr.  Lowmiller  own 
a  tract  of  8i/^  acres  in  partnership.  The 
family  belongs  to  the  German  Reformed 
church.  Nominally  Mr.  Lowmiller  -il"  a 
Democrat  but  frequently  in  casting  his 
vote,  follows  the  dictates  of  his  own  judg- 
ment. 

IRA  B.  CHADWICK,  assistant  superin- 
tendent of  the  Toledo  &  Ohio  Central  Rail- 
way Company,  at  Bucyrus,  C,  has  been 
identified  with  railroad  work  for  26  years 
and  during  this  entire  period  has  been  with 
the  same  corporation.  He  was  born  on  his 
father's  farm  near  Alexandria,  Licking 
county,  O.,  June  3,  1865,  and  is  a  son  of 
Lucius  and  Anna  L.  (Graves)   Chadwick. 

Lucius  Chadwick  was  born  in  Central 
New  York,  a  son  of  Rufus  Chadwick  of  the 
same  state.  The  family  is  of  English  ex- 
traction. Grandfather  Rufus  Chadwick 
married  Experience  Brickley,  fn  New  York, 
and  when  their  eldest  child,  Lucius,  was 
two  years  old,  they  came  to  Ohio,  traveling 
by  way  of  the  Ohio  Canal,  this  being  in 
1840.  They  settled  in  Licking  county  and 
Mr.  Chadwick  established  a  tannery  at 
Alexandria  or  in  the  near  vicinity,  which 
he  conducted  for  a  number  of  years.  His 
death  occurred  there  in  1878,  at  the  age  of 
63  years,  his  widow  surviving  until  1881 
They  were  among  the  organizers  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  their  neigh- 


borhood and  their  hospitable  home  was 
ever  ready  to  receive  traveling  or  visiting 
preachers. 

Lucius  Chadwick  learned  the  tanning- 
business  with  his  father  but  later  engaged 
in  the  mercantile  business  at  Alexandria, 
returning,  however,  to  the  homestead  when 
his  father  died.  He  made  improvements 
and  continued  to  carry  on  the  farm  until 
the  close  of  his  life,  on  Sept.  24,  1906,  when 
his  age  was  66  years.  In  early  life  a  Whig 
he  later  became  a  Republican  and  was  a 
man  of  local  importance,  being  mayor  of 
Alexandria  at  the  time  of  death  and  for- 
merly a  justice  of  the  peace.  Lucius  Chad- 
wick married  Anna  L.  Graves,  who  was 
born  in  Licking  county,  O.,  and  still  sur- 
vives, being  now  in  her  seventieth  year. 
Her  father,  V.  A.  Graves,  was  born  in 
Masachusetts  and  his  wife  in. Licking  coun- 
ty, O.  They  were  strong  Presbyterians  and 
were  most  worthy  people  in  every  way.  To 
Lucius  Chadwick  and  wife  three  children 
were  born:  Lorena,  a  resident  of  Alex- 
andria, O.,  who  was  a  teacher  for  some 
years  and  who  is  a  great  Sunday-school 
worker;  Ira  B.,  and  Albert.  The  last 
named  was  a  merchant  at  Alexandria  and 
died  there  in  1904  and  is  survived  by  his 
widow,  Helen  (Weed)  Chadwick. 

Ira  B.  Chadwick  left  school  at  the  usual 
age  and  then  learned  the  art  of  telegraphy 
and  his  first  position  with  his  present  com- 
pany was  at  Corning,  O.,  after  which  he 
was  stationed  at  different  points,  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  agent  and  operator.  He  climbed 
steadily  upward  through  the  positions  of 
dispatcher  and  for  two  years  was  chief  dis- 
patcher at  Columbus  and  for  three  years 
was  assistant  trainmaster  at  Bucyrus,  but 
three  years  later  was  sent  back  to  Columbus 
as  trainmaster  and  continued  until  July  i, 
1909,  when  he  was  made  assistant  superin- 
tendent of  the  road,  with  headquarters  at 
Bucyrus,  under  Superintendent  C.  L.  Gard- 
ner, whose  headquarters  are  at  Columbus. 
This  long  period  of  uninterrupted  service 
speaks  for  itself. 

On  October  26,  1899,  Mr.  Chadwick  was 
married  to  Miss  Gertrude  M.  Stiger,  who 
was  born  in  this  city,  March  20,   1867,  a 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


725 


daughter  of  Jacob  and  Ellen  (Monnett) 
Stiver.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chadwick  have  one 
daughter,  Arnie  Louise,  who  was  born  Feb. 

8,  1903,  at  Columbus.  They  were  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  is 
prominent  in  Masonry,  belonging  to  the 
Shrine  at  Columbus  and  is  identified  also 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Elks  and 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

FRANK  C.  WAGNER,  proprietor  of  a 
fine  grocery*  store  and  doing  a  large  busi- 
ness on  the  Public  Square,  Bucyrus,  O.,  oc- 
cupies a  site  on  which  a  grocery  store  has 
been  conducted  continuously  for  40  years. 
Mr.   Wagner  was  born  at  Bucyrus,   Sept. 

9,  1872,  and  is  a  son  of  Robert  and  Mary  A. 
(Stiger)  Wagner. 

Robert  Wagner  was  born  in  Saxony,  Ger- 
many, and  came  to  America  in  1863,  where 
he  succeeded  in  establishing  himself  in 
business  and  in  1867  returned  to  Germany 
to  be  married  to  Mary  A.  Stiger.  In  1868 
they  came  to  Bucyrus  and  here  he  followed 
his  trade  as  a  mechanic  until  the  close  of  his 
life,  his  death  occurring  in  the  spring  of 
187s,  when  he  was  about  forty  years  of 
age.  Mrs.  Wagner  subsequently  married 
Edward  Meissner  and  they  reside  at  Bucy- 
rus, no  children  having  been  born  to  the 
second  union.  To  the  first  marriage  there 
were  four  children,  Frank  C.  being  the 
youngest  and  the  only  son.  One  son  died 
in  infancy  and  two  daughters  survive; 
Clara,  who  is  the  wife  of  Otto  Fearing,  a 
tailor  in  business  at  Bucyrus;  and  Anna, 
who  is  the  wife  of  M.  A.  Charlton,  who  is 
an  electrician  employed  in  the  Industrial 
Home  at  Lancaster,  O.  They  have  two 
children:    Paul  H.  and  Susie. 

Frank  C.  Wagner  obtained  his  education 
in  the  schools  of  Bucyrus  but  since  the  age 
of  13  years  has  been  identified  with  the 
grocery  trade  and  has  been  connected  with 
the  grocery  people  who  did  business  here 
since  April,  1889.  For  ten  years  he  was  a 
clerk,  first  for  L.  C.  Hall  and  later  for  J. 
E.  Hall.  On  Sept.  i,  1899,  hfe  purchased 
the  latter's  interest  and  in  partnership  with 
E.  A.  Ditty,  conducted  the  business  for  two 
and   one-half   years.      In   March,    1901,   he 


bought  his  partner's  interest  and  since  then 
has  been  alone.  He  has  commodious  quar- 
ters, his  store  space  being  22  x  65  feet, 
situated  at  No.  156  Public  Square,  and  he 
carries  a  carefully  selected  stock  of  both 
staple  and  fancy  groceries,  catering  mainly 
to  the  best  and  most  particular  trade.  He 
is  one  of  the  busy  and  successful  business 
men  of  this  city  and  takes  pride  in  his  justifi- 
able reputation  for  business  integrity. 

Mr.  Wagner  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to 
Miss  Anna  Schaaf,  who  was  born  and  edu- 
cated here.  They  have  one  son,  William 
Joseph,  who  was  born  Nov.  17,  1905.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wagner  are  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church.  Politically  he  is  a 
Republican  and  is  a  willing  party  worker 
but  desires  no  political  advancement  for 
himself.  He  belongs  to  Demas  Lodge  No. 
108  Knights  of  Pythias. 

JOHN  LEWIS  DIEBLER,  who  owns 
and  resides  on  the  old  family  homestead 
containing  121  acres,  situated  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  was  born 
here  Nov.  6,  1859,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and 
Magdalena  (Heinlen)  Diebler. 

John  Diebler  was  born  in  Union  county, 
Pa.,  Nov.  25,  1816,  and  was  a  son  of  John 
G.  and  Mary  M.  (Wise)  Diebler.  In  1828 
the  Dieblers  came  from  Pennsylvania  to 
Crawford  county,  journeying  in  a  three- 
horse  wagon  and  accompanied  by  two  other 
families  of  pioneers,  and  all  settled  near  the 
center  of  Whetstone  township,  where  they 
found  fertile  and  well  watered  land.  The 
Dieblers  have  been  among  the  best  citizens 
of  this  township  ever  since.  John  Diebler 
assisted  his  father  on  the  farm  and  later 
learned  the  carpenter  trade.  He  became  a 
well  known  man  in  this  section  and  fre- 
quently was  elected  to  public  ofifice.  He 
was  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  this  section  and  was  a 
liberal  supporter  of  the  German  Reformed 
church. 

On  Aug.  20,  1843,  John  Diebler  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Magdalena  Heinlen,  who  was 
born  in  Pickaway  county,  O.,  June  20,  1822, 
and  they  became  parents  of  the  following 
children:     Sarah  R.,  Anna  E.,  Rebecca  L., 


726 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


John  L.,  Amanda  S.,  Mary  M.,  George  and 
Samuel. 

John  L.  Diebler  attended  the  district 
schools  with  more  or  less  regularity  until 
he  was  seventeen  years  of  age,  mainly  dur- 
ing the  winter  seasons,  and  remained  at 
home  with  his  father  until  the  latter's  death, 
when  he  purchased  the  home  place  and  has 
lived  here  ever  since.  The  land  is  fertile 
and  under  Mr.  Diebler's  excellent  methods 
is  very  productive.  He  raises  a  good  grade 
of  stock  but  not  for  the  general  market,  and 
grows  the  grains  that  do  best  in  this  sec- 
tion. 

In  1886  Mr.  Diebler  was  married  to  Miss 
Lydia  Matilda  Shumaker,  a  daughter  of 
Jacob  and  Matilda  (Kester)  Shumaker, 
representative  farming  people  of  Crawford 
county,  whose  other  children  were :  Sarah ; 
Mary,  wife  of  F.  W.  Sholtz;  J.  E. ;  Eliza, 
wife  of  L.  F.  Heinlen;  Catherine,  wife  of 
George  Gattner;  Henry  J.  and  J.  S. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Diebler  two  sons  were 
born:  Walter  E.  and  Otto  Milton.  The 
former  married  Emma  Rexroth  and  they 
have  one  daughter,  Ernestine.  The  family 
belongs  to  St.  John's  Reformed  church  of 
Whetstone  township.  In  pohtics  always  a 
Democrat,  Mr.  Diebler  has  been  a  loyal 
party  worker.  He  has  encouraged  the  de- 
velopment of  the  public  schools  and  for  six 
years  has  been  president  of  the  school 
board,  and  has  served  two  terms  as  road 
supervisor. 

LEWIS  REITER,  who  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  Bucyrus,  C,  for  a  half  century,  now 
lives  in  comfortable  retirement  at  his  home 
which  is  at  No.  865  South  Poplar  Street, 
Bucyrus,  and  is  known  to  a  large  body  of 
his  fellow  citizens.  He  was  born  in  Schuyl- 
kill county,  Pa.,  Dec.  28,  1834,  and  is  a  son 
of  John  and  Sarah  (Mathias)  Reiter. 

The  Reiters  are  of  Pennsylvania  Dutch 
stock,  good,  sensible,  thrifty  people.  In  the 
thirties  John  Reiter  with  wife  and  children 
came  to  Ohio  and  settled  first  on  land  east 
of  Bucyrus,  but  later  bought  land  in  Holmes 
township,  north  of  Bucyrus,  where  he  de- 
veloped a  fine  farm  and  there  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.     Both  he  and  wife  were 


members  of  the  German  Reformed  church. 
They  had  seven  children  born  to  them  and 
there  are  three  yet  living,  namely:  Lewis; 
Elizabeth,  who  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Brink, 
residing  in  Henry  county,  O.;  and  Sarah, 
who  owns  a  home  of  her  own  at  Bucyrus 
and  lives  on  the  corner  of  Oakwood  ave- 
nue and  South  East  street. 

Lewis  Reiter  grew  up  on  his  father's 
farm  in  Whetstone  township  and  afterward 
learned^  the  carpenter  trade  and  for  many 
years  followed  the  same  afte*r  coming  to 
Biucyrus.  He  was  married  in  this  city  to 
Anna  Myers,  who  was  born  in  Columbiana 
county,  O.,  March  4,  1836,  and  was  young 
when  her  parents,  Louis  and  Barbara 
(Amon)  Myers,  moved  to  Bucyrus.  Here 
Mr.  Myers  died  when  aged  73  years  and 
Mrs.  Myers  at  the  age  of  86  years.  They 
were  of  the  German  Lutheran  faith.  Of 
their  nine  children  all  survive  except  two, 
John  and  Rebecca,  the  former  of  whom  was 
a  retired  farmer  at  time  of  decease,  and  the 
latter  was  the  wife  of  Frederick  Bittikofer, 
also  now  deceased.  The  surviving  mem- 
bers of  the  Myers  family  are :  Jacob,  who 
is  a  farmer  in  Henry  county,  O. ;  Anna,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Lewis  Reiter  and  the  mother 
of  Mrs.  J.  J.  Smith,  of  Bucyrus ;  Lewis,  who, 
with  his  sister,  Mrs.  Mary  Nedele,  widow 
of  John  Nedele,  resides  at  No.  338  South 
Main  street,  Bucyrus ;  George,  who  is  a  re- 
tired business  man  of  this  city,  and  resides 
on  East  Warren  Street;  Barbara,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Benjamin  Ernest,  residing  at 
Ridgeville,  Henry  county,  O. ;  and  Cath- 
erine, who  is  one  of  the  representative  busi- 
ness women  of  Bucyrus.  For-  many  years 
Miss  Catherine  Myers  has  successfully  con- 
ducted a  millinery  establishment,  for  a  time 
being  associated  with  her  sister,  Mrs.  Lewis 
Reiter,  and  at  present  with  her  niece,  Mrs. 
J.  J.  Smith.  This  is  the  oldest  millinery 
establishment  in  the  city  and  its  continued 
prosperity  is  assured  as  the  business  is  still 
carried  on  according  to  the  honest  and 
capable  methods  with  which  it  was  started. 
It  has  more'  than  a  local  reputation  and  the 
most  fastidious  people  need  not  leave  their 
own  city  in  order  to  secure  tasteful,  modern 
and  fashionable  millinery.     Mrs.  Reiter  was 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


727 


connected  with  the  business  from  May  6, 
1881,  until  1902,  when  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Smith,  took  over  her  interest.  Four  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reiter,  as 
follows :  Mary  Minerva,  who  was  born  at 
Mansfield,  O.,  Nov.  21,  1861 ;  Leander,  who 
died  in  1908,  at  Butler,  Ind.,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  business ;  Annette,  who  conducts 
a  large  millinery  business  on  Euclid  Ave- 
nue, Cleveland,  O. ;  and  John  L.,  who  is  a 
baker  by  trade,  and  who  resides  with  his 
parents.  Mr.  Reiter  has  always  given  his 
political  support  to  the  Republican  party. 

Mrs.  J.  J.  Smith,  the  eldest  of  the  above 
family,  was  given  educational  advantages 
at  Bucyrus,  where  she  grew  to  womanhood, 
and  then  learned  the  millinery  trade  with 
Mrs.  E.  A.  J.  Cahill.  Later  she  became  in- 
terested in  the  business  with  her  mother,  and 
as  noted  above,  since  1902,  has  successfully 
conducted  the  same.  She  was  married  at 
Bucyrus,  to  John  Justice  Smith,  who  was 
born  here  March  17,  1857,  a  son  of  John 
Clark  and  Mary  (Myers)  Smith.  They 
came  to  Bucyrus  before  marriage  and  after- 
ward made  this  city  their  permanent  home. 
Mr.  Smith  is  the  only  survivor  of  a  family 
of  seven  children,  with  the  exception  of  one 
sister,  Mrs.  Myra  Sites,  who  is  also  a  resi- 
dent of  Bucyrus. 

Four  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Smith,  namely:  Anna  M.,  born  March 
18,  1894;  M.  Geraldine,  born  May  16,  1897; 
John  Amon,  born  March  9,  1899;  and 
Thomas  Clark,  born  August  10,  1906.  Mr. 
Smith  and  family  are  members  of  the  Eng- 
lish Lutheran  church.  By  trade,  Mr.  Smith 
is  a  carriage  painter.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  politics,  and  fraternally  he  is  connected 
with  the  Modern  Woodmen  and  the  Royal 
Arcanum. 

CHARLES  LAKE,  one  of  the  prominent 
and  substantial  business  men  of  Bucyrus, 
O.,  who  has  been  identified  with  the  com- 
mercial interests  of  this  city  for  some  56 
years,  is  owner  and  proprietor  of  the  oldest 
jewelry  store  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  the 
oldest  established  business  house  in  Bucy- 
rus.    Mr.  Lake  was  born  in  Meigs  county, 


O.,  April  2,  1836,  and  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and 
Maria  (Cassell)  Lake. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Lake  were  natives  of 
Hartford,  Conn.  They  married  there  and 
then  came  to  Meigs  county,  O.,  acquiring 
a  farm  in  Lebanon  township.  The  father 
was  a  quiet,  industrious  man,  a  Whig  in 
politics  and  a  Baptist  in  religious  faith.  He 
died  at  the  age  of  62  years.  The  mother 
of  Mr.  Lake  died  at  Hamilton,  O.,  in  her 
6oth  year.    They  had  but  one  child. 

Charles  Lake  remained  at  home,  assisting 
his  father  and  attending  the  district  schools, 
until  about  nineteen  years  of  age,  when  he 
went  to  Cincinnati  and  became  an  appren- 
tice to  the  jeweler's  trade.  After  serving 
the  prescribed  time  he  started  out  as  a  jour- 
neyman and  located  in  the  village  of  Bucy- 
rus. He  became  an  employee  in  a  store 
which  had  been  founded  by  a  Mr.  Fifener, 
who,  in  1850  was  succeeded  by  William 
Burkhardt  and  in  1855  ^^r.  Lake  entered 
into  partnership  with  the  latter  and  they 
continued  together  until  1865,  when  Mr. 
Lake  became  sole  proprietor.  His  hand- 
somely appointed  store  is  located  at  No.  104 
Quinby  Block,  north  side  of  the  Public 
Square.  He  has  introduced  modern  fittings, 
equipments-  and  conveniences  and  carries 
a  large  stock  of  first  class  goods,  the  array 
of  silver  ware,  watches  and  clocks,  china 
and  cut  glass,  diamonds  and  other  precious 
stones  with  or  without  setting,  presents  a 
beautiful  and  attractive  appearance,  one 
that  would  be  entirely  creditable  in  any  city. 

Mr.  Lake  was  married  in  Bucyrus  to  Miss 
Abaline  Seizer,  who  was  born  in  Crawford 
county  and  died  in  1890.  They  had  three 
children :  Edward,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
seven  years ;  Fannie,  who  died  when  aged 
16  years;  and  Helen,  who  is  the  wife  of 
James  Aylward,  who  is  a  native  of  Toledo, 
O.,  and  a  prominent  business  man  of  Bucy- 
rus, who  is  now  manager  of  the  jewelry 
store  owned  by  Mr.  Lake.  Mr.  Lake  has 
never  been  very  active  along  political  lines, 
business  claiming  the  larger  part  of  his  at- 
tention. He  votes  with  the  Republican 
party.  He  owns  the  block  in  which  he  car- 
ries   on    his   business   together   with    other 


728 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


property.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  With  interest  Mr.  Lake 
has  watched  the  growth  of  Bucyrus  and  at 
all  times  has  been  ready  to  lend  a  helping 
hand  when  opportunity  presented  or  occa- 
sion demanded. 

WILLIAM  L.  FERRALL,  a  leading  rep- 
resentative in  the  real  estate  line  at  Bucyrus, 
established  his  office  in  this  city  some  eleven 
years  iago,  from  1903  until  1906  being  in 
partnership  with  E.  B.  Foster  but  during  the 
rest  of  this  period  has  been  alone.  He  was 
born  in  Liberty  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  Jan.  12,  1838,  and  is  a  son  of  Edmund 
and  Nancy  (Eaton)  Ferrall. 

Edmund  Ferrall  was  born  in  Ohio  and  his 
wife  in  Washington  county,  Pa.  She  came 
to  Columbiana  county,  O.,  in  young  woman- 
hood and  was  there  married  and  soon  after 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ferrall  moved  to  Stark  county. 
From  there,  in  1835  they  came  to  Crawford 
county  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Liberty  town- 
ship, the  same  being  known  at  present  as  the 
Joshua  Meyers  farm  on  the  Sulphur  Spring 
road,  northeast  of  Bucyrus.  A  few,  years 
afterward  they  traded  the  farm  mentioned 
for  another  tract  of  unbroken  land  in  Liberty 
township.  To  the  second  tract  Mr.  Ferrall 
kept  adding  until  he  owned  a  half  section  of 
land  and  lived  on  the  place  until  the  death  of 
his  wife,  when  she  was  63  years  of  age.  He 
no  longer  desired  to  remain  on  the  home- 
stead and  sold  it  to  advantage,  moving  to  a 
small  farm  near  Bucyrus,  on  which  the  closing 
years  of  his  life  were  spent,  his  death  occur- 
ring after  his  8ist  birthday.  He  was  a  man 
of  sterling  character  and  was  held  in  the  high- 
est esteem  by  his  neighbors.  In  all  his  deal- 
ings with  them  he  showed  his  Quaker  hon- 
esty arid  on  certain  occasions,  when  he  had 
escaped  misfortunes  that  fell  on  others,  he 
displayed  the  generosity  and  true  charity  that 
accorded  well  with  his  religious  principles. 
Of  his  nine  children  all  but  two  reached  matu- 
rity. 

William  L.  Ferrall  was  the  fourth  son  and 
fifth  child  in  his  parents'  family.  He  grew  up 
on  the  old  homestead  in  Liberty  township  and 
after  completing  his  education  taught  school 
for  about  eight  years  during  the  wintef  sea- 
sons.    In  1894  he  came  to  Bucyrus  and  dur- 


ing much  of  the  time  since  then  has  been  a  real 
estate  broker  and  has  handled  many  valuable 
properties  in  Crawford  county  in  this  capacity. 
Mr.  Ferrall  has  long  been  one  of  the  influen- 
tial Democrats  of  this  section  of  the  state  and 
during  some  of  his  campaigns  through  Craw- 
ford and  Allen  counties,  was  advertised  as 
the  Farmer  Orator,  possessing  a  ready  wit 
and  being  a  fluent  and  forceful  speaker.  He 
has  always  been  a  loyal  party  man,  ever  ready 
to  work  for  his  friends  but  never  a  seeker  of 
office  for  himself.  He  has  also  been  a  con- 
tributor to  the  press  for  many  years. 

Mr.  Ferrall  was  married  first  to  Miss  Re- 
becca Kiefer,  who  was  born  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  and  died  at  the 
age  of  52  years,  leaving  five  children,  namely : 
Frank  K.,  who  lives  at  Memphis,  Tenn. ;  Sam- 
uel L.,  who  is  engaged  in  the  real  estate  busi- 
ness at  Galion,  O.;  Hattie  E.,  a  resident  of 
Toledo,  O.,  who  is  the  widow  of  Harry  A. 
Sherer  and  has  two  children — Harold  and 
Viva ;  Charles  E.,  a  carriage  painter  by  trade, 
who  lives  at  Galion  and  has  two  sons;  and 
Almia,  who  is  the  wife  of  Arthur  Gladhill,  of 
Galion.  Mr.  Ferrall  was  married  (second)  to 
Mrs.  MoUie  J.  (Songer)  Foster,  who  has  one 
son  born  to  her  former  marriage,  Elzie  B. 
Foster,  who  is  a  resident  of  Bucyrus.  Mrs. 
Ferrall  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  while  Mr.  Ferrall  belongs  to  the 
Christian  church. 

EMANUEL  HEINLEN,  a  member  of 
one  of  the  old  and  leading  families  of  Whet- 
stone township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  where 
his  farm  of  46  acres  is  situated,  was  born 
June  27,  1845,  i'^  the  old  pioneer  log  house 
that  then  stood  on  this  farm,  and  is  a  son 
of  Lewis  and  Hannah  (Wise)  Heinlen. 

Lewis  Heinlen  was  born  in  Wurtemberg, 
Germany,  and  came  to  the  United  States 
when  a  young  man.  He  was  a  butcher  by 
trade,  and  also  made  pumps  during  his 
earlier  years  but  mainly  followed  farming 
after  settling  in  Whetstone  township.  He 
erected  the  log  house  in  which  his  children 
were  born  and  which  stood  until  1900,  when 
it  was  torn  down  to  make  way  for  the  pres- 
ent handsome  brick  residence.  He  married 
Hannah  Wise,  who  was  born  in  Lycoming 
county,  Pa.,  and  they  had  the  following  chil- 


WILLIAM  L.  PERRALL 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


731 


dren  born  to  them :  Sarah  Ann,  deceased, 
who  was  the  wife  of  John  Stump;  Samuel; 
George ;  Elizabeth,  who  was  the  wife  of 
Isaac  Stump;  Reuben;  Jonathan;  Henry; 
Mary  Malinda;  Emanuel,  and  Josiah  and 
Isaac.  The  parents  were  members  of  the 
Reformed  church. 

During  boyhood  .Emanuel  (Heinlen  'at- 
tended the  district  schools  when  his  help 
was  not  required  on  the  farm,  and  after- 
ward continued  with  his  father  and  re- 
mained until  the  latter's  death.  In  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  estate  of  240  acres,  Mr. 
Heinlen  received  46  acres  of  the  homestead. 
Here  he  carries  on  general  farming,  grows 
fruit  and  raises  poultry  and  stock  sufficient 
for  family  use. 

In  1870  Mr.  Heinlen  was  married  to  Miss 
Catherine  Bittikofer,  a  daughter  of  Fred- 
erick and  Barbara  (Heimlich)  Bittikofer. 
The  parents  of  Mrs.  Heinlen  were  born  in 
Switzerland  and  the  father  was  a  weaver  by 
trade.  To  this  first  marriage  of  Frederick 
Bittikofer  three  children  were  born:  Abra- 
ham Frederick,  deceased;  Lena,  deceased, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Philip  Heckler;  and 
Catherine,  who  is  Mrs.  Heinlen.  His  sec- 
ond marriage  was  with  Rebecca  Myers  and 
three  daughters  were  born  to  that  union : 
Sarah,  who  is  deceased;  Allison;  and 
Laura,  who  is  the  wife  of  Joseph  Johnson. 

A  family  of  eight  children  were  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Heinlen,  as  follows:  Eliza- 
beth MaHnda,  Samuel,  Delia  May,  Allen, 
Harvey,  Alfred,  Leo  Howard  and  Bessie, 
all  surviving  except  Allen,  Elizabeth  Ma- 
linda and  Delia  May.  The  youngest  daugh- 
ter is  a  student  in  the  Bucyrus  high  school, 
a  member  of  the  class  of  1912.  Mr.  Heinlen 
and  family  belong  to  St.  John's  Reformed 
church  of  Whetstone  township,  in  which 
Mr.  Heinlen  has  been  both  a  deacon  and 
elder  and  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday-school, 
as  well  as  its  superintendent.  In  his  po- 
litical principles  he  is  a  Democrat.  Fre- 
quently he  has  been  chosen  for  public  of- 
fice by  his  fellow  citizens  and  has  served 
many  times  on  the  school  board,  for  seven 
years  was  township  assessor  and  for  seven 
years  was  one  of  the  board  of  directors  of 
the  Crawford  County Tnfirmary. 


ROBERT  M.  AURAND  who  for  more 
than  twenty  years,  has  been  connected  with 
the  government  mail  service,  is  second  clerk 
on  the  P.  F.  W.  &  C.  Railroad  on  the  route 
running'  west  from  Pittsburg  to  Chicago, 
and  first  clerk  on  the  route  running  east. 
He  was  appointed  from  Monroeville,  Allen 
county,  Ind.,  and  came  to  Bucyrus,  O.,  in 
1891,  this  city  being  conveniently  located 
as  to  his  business.  He  was  born  Jan.  23, 
1863,  in  Wyandot  county,  O.,  and  is  a  son 
of  Daniel  and  Mary  A.  (Deppler)  Aurand. 

The  original  spelling  of  the  family  name 
was  Aurandt  and  during  the  life  of  the 
grandfather,  Jonathan'Aurandt,  this  orthog- 
raphy was  preserved,  after  his  time  the  final 
letter  being  dropped.  Jonathan  Aurandt 
was  of  German  ancestry  but  he  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania.  During  his  earlier  years 
he  was  a  preacher  in  the  German  Reformed 
church.  He  was  twice  married  and  shortly 
after  his  second  marriage  came  to  Crawford 
county,  about  1830,  and  here  he  and  his 
wife  lived  into  old  age,  their  deaths  occur- 
ring on  their  farm  two  miles  nOrth  of 
Oceola.  They  were  among  the  early  work- 
ers in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Jonathan  Aurandt  married  sisters  and  all  of 
the  ten  children  of  his  second  union  were 
born  in  Crawford  county,  and  of  these  the 
following  survive :  Jonathan,  a  retired  car- 
riage upholsterer,  living  at  Mt.  Gilead,  who 
has  one  daughter;  George,  who  is  a  farmer 
on  the  old  homestead,  and  who  has  four 
children;  Enoch,  who  lives  in.  Merrick 
county.  Neb.,  and  has  four  children;  and 
Rufus,  a  retired  farmer  and  justice  of  the 
peace,  who  has  seven  children. 

Daniel  Aurand,  son  of  Jonathan  and 
father  of  Robert  M.,  was  born  in  Crawford 
county,  O.,  Jan.  26,  1835,  and  died  near 
•Monroeville,  Ind.,  Jan.  4,  1908.  Some  years 
after  his  marriage  he  lived  on  a  farm  near 
Logansport,  Ind.,  and  then  returned  to 
Crawford  county,  where  he  resided  for  nine 
years.  In  1872  he  moved  to  Allen  county, 
Ind.  He  followed  farming  all  his  life.  His 
father  had  been  a  Whig  in  politics  and  he 
was  a  Republican.  During  the  latter  part 
of  his  life  he  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal   church.      He   married   Mary   A. 


732 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Deppler,  who  was  born  in  Crawford  county 
in  1840,  and  died  January  19,  1875.  Her 
father,  John  Deppler,  was  born  in  Ger- 
many and  when  he  came  to  the. United 
States  settled  near  Sulphur  Springs,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  where  he  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, and  was  eighty  years  old  at  time  of 
death.  He  was  thrice  married  and  three 
children  were  born  to  the  first  wife  and  one 
to  the  third,  the  latter  being  George  W. 
Aurand,  who  is  a  resident  of  Michigan.  Of 
the  first  union  two  survive :  Robert  M.  and 
Mary  A. ;  the  latter  is  the  wife  of  John  V. 
Lutz,  a  farmer  in  Crawford  county,  and 
they  have  two  children,  Esther  and  Maude. 
One  son,  Daniel  A.,  who  was  born  in  1873, 
died  unmarried  in  1893. 

Robert  M.  Aurand  was  nine  years  old 
when  his  parents  moved  to  Allen  county, 
Ind.,  and  there  he  attended  the  public 
schools  and  prepared  himself  for  education- 
al work,  and  later  taught  school  in  Indiana 
and  also  in  Nebraska,  spending  three  years 
in  that  state.  He  then  received  his  appoint- 
ment to  the  railway  mail  service  and 
through  fidelity  and  efificiency  has  been  ad- 
vanced to  his  present  position. 

Mr.  Aurand  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to 
Miss  Esther  S.  Shifley,  who  was  born  in 
Crawford  county  and  was  educated  at  Bu- 
cyrus and  Toledo,  and  for  five  years  was  a 
stenographer  and  bookkeeper  in  a  large 
business  house  in  the  latter  city  and  for 
two  years  in  the  former  city.  Her  parents 
were  John  and  Anna  (Krauss)  Shifley,  the 
former  of  whom  was  of  German  extraction 
but  was  born  in  New  York,  while  the  latter 
was  of  Swiss  parentage  but  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania.  They  were  married  near  Buf- 
falo, N.  Y.,  near  which  city  they  lived  until 
after  the  birth  of  five  children,  when  they 
came  to  Crawford  county,  where  two  more, 
children  were  born.  The  father  died  at  Bu- 
cyrus in  1876,  being  then  in  middle  age.  The 
mother  of  Mrs.  Aurand  passed  away  in  the 
latter's  home,  in  1907,  when  almost  82  years 
of  age.  Both  she  and  husband  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Mennonite  church,  good, 
worthy,  virtuous  people,  the  influences  of 
whose  lives  were  beneficial  to  all  with  whom 
they  came  in  contact. 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Aurand  have  two  children: 
Robert  Ray,  who  was  born  March  4,  1895, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  class  of  1913  in  the 
Bucyrus  high  school;  and  Helen  Magda- 
lene, who  was  born  December  10,  1896. 
This  young  lady  is  the  possessor  of  musical 
gifts  which  are  being  developed  under  the 
direction  of  Prof.  Snyder,  a  well  known  mu- 
sician of  Bucyrus.  Mr.  Aurand  and  family 
are  members  of  the  Baptist  church.  Mr. 
Aurand  is  a  Knight  of  Pythias  and  belongs 
also  to  the  Railway  Mail  Association. 

CHARLES  ARNOLD,  who  has  been  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  native  wines 
at  Bucyrus,  O.,  for  the  past  20  years,  en- 
joys a  wide  business  reputation  as  his  bev- 
erages are  in  demand  all  over  the  country 
and   have   consumers   wherever   they   have 
been    introduced.     Mr.    Arnold    was    born 
Feb.    17,   1850,   in  the  province  of  Baden, 
Germany,  quite  near  the  division  line  be- 
tween France  and  Switzerland.  His  parents 
were  John  Jacob  and  Anna  Mary  (Schmidt) 
Arnold,  also  natives  of  Baden.    The  mother 
died  when  aged  40  years,   but   the   father 
lived  to  the  age  of  73  years.     Like  his  own 
father,  also  John  Jacob  Arnold,  jie  was  a 
man    of    impressive    figure,    six    feet,    two 
inches  in  height  and  weighing  250  pounds. 
Grandfather  Arnold,  with  four  of  his  broth- 
ers, enlisted  in  the  German  army  in  1813, 
serving  for  six  years.     He  survived  to  be 
96  years  old  and  died  in  his  native  neighbor- 
hood.   Of  the  six  children  born  to  the  par- 
ents  of   Charles  Arnold,   he  is  the  eldest. 
Anna  M.,  the  next  in  order  of  birth,  lives 
in    Germany,    unmarried.     Ernest    follows 
the   butchering  business   in   Germany  and 
resides  with  his  family  there,  a  well  known 
citizen  of  Baden.     Frederick  still  lives  on 
the  old  homestead  on  the  Rhine.     Herman 
came  to  America  and  follows  the  butcher 
trade  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  111.     He  mar- 
ried a  lady  from  Kansas  and  they  have  chil- 
dren.    Elsie  married  Frantz  Huber,  a  gold 
engraver  at  Lahr,  Germany,  and  they  have 
children. 

Charles  Arnold  attended  the  schools  near 
his  home  in  boyhood  and  then  began  to 
learn  wine  waking  as  a  trade.     In  1869  he 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


733 


emigrated  to  America  and  located  at  Bucy- 
rus,  O.,  reaching  this  city  on  Sept.  29th 
of  that  year.  Finding  no  attractive  opening 
in  the  wine  business  at  that  time,  he  learned 
the  machinist  trade  and  worked  along  that 
line  for  26  years,  during  this  time  being  em- 
ployed in  eleven  different  shops  and  work- 
ing in  every  department.  All  these  years, 
however,  he  had  been  quietly  making  ex- 
periments and  taking  note  of  the  product- 
iveness, the  hardiness  and  the  chemical 
qualities  of  the  native  grapes  in  Ohio,  and 
after  retiring  from  his  hard  work  in  the  ma- 
chine shop  embarked  in  the  wine  making 
business,  in  which  he  has  prospered.  He 
has  carefully  studied  the  fruitage  of  the 
Ohio  vines  and  has  come  to  a  thorough  un- 
derstanding of  the  business  from  this  point 
of  view.  His  plant  consumes  two  car  loads 
of  grapes  to  produce  8,000  gallons  of  wines 
and  his  cellars  have  been  specially  con- 
structed to  store  the  same  for  its  maturing. 
His  specialties  are  Delaware,  Catawba  and 
Claret,  and  he  produces  a  very  fine  line  of 
special  table  claret,  not  to  be  excelled  in 
flavor  and  wholesomeness  by  any  exported 
product. 

Mr.  Arnold  was  married  first  in  this  city 
to  Miss  "Mary  Flocken,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  42  years,  the  mother  of  two  children : 
Charles  Frederick,  who  lives  at  Akron,  O. ; 
and  William  E.,  who  is  a  dental  surgeon. 
Mr.  Arnold's  second  marriage  also  took 
place  at  Bucyrus,  to  Miss  Mary  Kraft,  who 
died  in  191 1,  leaving  no  children.  Mr.  Ar- 
nold is  a  32nd  degree  Mason  and  is  promi- 
nent also  as  an  Odd  Fellow.  He  casts  his 
political  vote  with  the  Democratic  party. 
He  is  a  well  known  and  highly  respected 
citizen,  active  in  public  charities  and  liberal 
in  supporting  local  enterprises. 

JOHN  PHILIP  GERSTENSLAGER, 
who  is  one  of  the  representative  men  of 
Whetstone  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
resides  on  his  valuable  farm  of  87  acres, 
which  he  purchased  iji  1893.  He  was  born 
at  Bucyrus,  O.,  Jan.  14,  1858. 

John  P.  Gerstenslager  had  but  meager 
educational  opportunities  and  never  went 
to  school  after  he  was  13  years  of  age,  his 


time  being  engaged  until  his  mother's  death 
three  years  later,  in  helping  to  clear  up 
the  farm  of  his  step-father.  He  then  started 
out  for  himself  and  for  nine  years  worked 
in  the  neighborhood  where  he  was  known, 
for  farmers  by  the  month,  and  continued 
for  several  years  after  his  marriage,  at  the 
end  of  that  time  renting  the  farm  which  he 
now  owns.  It  belonged  to  his  father-in-law, 
John  Deebler,  and  after  the  latter's  death 
Mr.  Gerstenslager  purchased  it  and  ever 
since  has  carried  on  general  farming  and 
done  moderate  stock  raising,  his  many  years 
of  experience  giving  him  advantage  over 
younger  men  in  the  business,  of  whom  there 
are  always  examples  in  every  neighborhood, 
who  work  by  theory  instead  of  along  prac- 
tical lines. 

In  1877  Mr.  Gerstenslager  was  married  to 
Miss  Anna  Elizabeth  Deebler,  a  daughter 
of  John  and  Magdalena  (Heinlen)  Deebler, 
both  of  whom  are  now  deceased.  Mrs. 
Gerstenslager  had  three  sisters  and  one 
brother :  Sarah,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife 
of  Charles  Lutz;  Rebecca,  deceased,  who 
was  the  wife  of  Isaac  Albright ;  John  Lewis ; 
and  Amanda,  who  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Ger- 
stenslager. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gerstenslager  the  fol- 
lowing children  have  been  born:  Harvey 
William,  who  married  Delia  Christman,  and 
has  three  children,  Florence,  Inez  and  Del- 
ma;  John  Harry,  who  married  Emma  Shu- 
maker  and  has  one  daughter,  Edna ;  Albert 
Lewis,  who  married  Carrie  Laughbaum, 
and  has  two  children,  Lucile  and  Irene; 
Bertha,  who  married  Otto  Neumann,  and 
has  three  children,  Harland,  Edwin  and 
Frederick;  and  Nellie,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Philip  Frank.  The  family  attends  the  Re- 
formed church  in  Whetstone  township.  In 
politics  Mr.  Gerstenslager  is  a  stanch  Dem- 
ocrat. He  is  a  man  who  stands  high  in  the 
esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens  and  they  have 
testified  to  the  same  by  electing  him  to  a 
number  of  important  offices.  For  six  years 
he  served  as  township  trustee  and  for  sev- 
eral years  was  road  supervisor,  while  for 
two  years  he  filled  the  office  of  township 
health  officer. 


734 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


L.  FRANK  HEINLEN,  a  prosperous 
merchant  of  Bucyrus,  C,  who  conducts  a 
large  grocery  store  at  No.  812  North  San- 
dusky Avenue,  established  the  same  in 
February,  1908,  for  four  years  previously 
having  been  a  farmer.  He  viras  born  in 
Wyandot  county,  O.,  Nov.  3,  1859,  and  is 
a  son  of  Samuel  and  Margaret  (Keiss) 
Heinlen. 

■Samuel  Heinlen  was  born  in  Crawford 
county,  0.,  in  1836,  a  son  of  Louis  Hein- 
len, who  was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Ger- 
many, and  came  to  America  when  aged 
twenty  years,  locating  in  Whetstone  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  C,  southeast  of  Bu- 
cyrus. He  worked  at  his  trade  of  tailoring 
among  the  early  settlers,  according  to  the 
practice  of  the  times  going  with  shears  and 
goose  to  one  house  after  another  and  fitting 
the:  male  members  of  the  family  with  gar- 
ments. He  had  married  in  Pickaway 
county  before  reaching  Crawford,  a  Miss 
Starger,.  also  a  native  of  Germany.  Their 
old  farm  in  Whetstone  township  still  be- 
longs to  the  family  and  there  they  spent 
their  lives  into  old  age,  dying  when  about 
eighty  years  old.  They  were  members  of 
the  Mennonite  church.  Of  their  children, 
two  sons  and  one  daughter  survive:  John, 
who  lives  with  his  family  at  Des  Moines, 
la. ;  David,  who  lives  on  his  farm  near  Bu- 
cyrus; and  Mrs.  Sarah  Wise,  who  lives  in 
Marion  county,  O.  Samuel  Heinlen  followed 
farming,  locating  in  Whetstone  township 
after  marriage  and  a  few  years  before  the 
birth  of  their  son,  L.  Frank,  moved  to  Wy- 
andot county,  where  they  lived  several 
years  and  then  returned  to  Crawford 
county.  He  married  Margaret  Keiss,  who 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  was  thirteen 
years  old  when  she  accompanied  her  parents 
to  Crawford  county.  Five  children  were 
born  to  them,  namely:  WiHiam  A.,  who  is 
a  dealer  in  sewing  machines  at  Bucyrus  and 
has  two  daughters,  Ruth  and  Gladys;  L. 
Frank ;  Reuben,  who  is  a  railroad  agent  and 
lives  at  Great  Bend,  Kans. ;  Mary  E.,  who 
is  the  wife  of  William  Stump,  a  farmer  in 
Dallas  township,  and  has  one  daughter, 
Vella;  and  Edward,  who  was  accidentally 
killed  in  an  explosion  in  a  saw  mill  at  Bu- 


cyrus. In  1887  Samuel  Heinlen  and  wife 
retired  to  Bucyrus  and  here  his  death  oc- 
curred in  January,  191 1.  His  wife  survives, 
well  and  active  in  mind  and  body,  at  the 
age  of  75  years. 

L.  Frank  Heinlen  was  small  when  his  par- 
ents returned  to  Crawford  county  and  he 
was  reared  to  manhood  here  and  obtained 
his  education  in  the  local  schools  and  the 
university  at  Ada,  O.  He  was  connected 
with  several  business  houses  in  a  clerical 
capacity  before  he  engaged  in  farming,  after 
which,  as  stated  above,  he  embarked  in  his 
present  business  at  Bucyrus.  Like  his  late 
father  he  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  prior 
to  coming  to  Bucyrus  was  clerk  of  Whet- 
stone township  for  six  years.  He  is  a  good 
citizen  and  as  a  business  man  is  wide  awake 
to  honorable  opportunities. 

Mr.  Heinlen  was  married  in  Jefferson 
township,  Crawford  county,  C,  to  Miss 
Eliza  Shumaker,  who  was  born  there,  a 
daughter  of  Jacob  Shumaker,  of  German 
ancestry.  Her  parents  came  to  Ohio  from 
Pennsylvania.  They  were  members  of  the 
German  Reformed  church.  Mrs.  Heinlen 
is  one  of  a  family  of  eight  children.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Heinlen  have  -three  children :  Clinton, 
who  not  only  has  been  well  educated  in  a 
literary  sense  but  has  a  technical  education 
in  wireless  telegraphy  and  is  an  operator 
on  the  vessels  in  the  Great  Lakes  during  a 
part  of  the  year  and  is  with  his  father  as  an 
assistant  during  the  other  months,  a  very 
capable  and  reliable  young  man  for  his 
twenty-two  years;  Hazel,  who  was  credit- 
ably graduated  from  the  Bucyrus  high 
school  in  the  class  of  1910;  and  Grace,  who 
is  a  student  in  the  city  schools,  and  is  now 
nine  years  old.  Mr.  Heinlen  and  family 
are  members  of  the  Evangelical  Associa- 
tion, to  which  organization  his  parents  also 
belonged  from  his  childhood. 

GEORGE  W.  FENNER,  deceased.  Per- 
haps no  old  resident  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  was 
held  in  higher  esteem  than  was  the  late 
George  W.  Fenner,  who  was  identified  with 
the  material  development  of  this  city  for  43 
years.  He  was  born  at  Delaware  Water 
Gap,  Pa.,  April  26,   1825,  and  died  at  his 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


735 


beautiful  residence  situated  on  the  corner 
of  Charles  and  Poplar  Streets,  Bucyrus,  O., 
Oct.  9,  1900.  His  parents  were  Abram  and 
Eliza  (Pickering)  Fenner. 

Both  the  Fenners  and  Pickerings  bear 
names  linked  with  epoch-making  events  in 
America  history,  the  former  tracing  an  an- 
cestry from  that  stanch  old  skipper,  Captain 
Fenner,  who  successfully  guided  the  May- 
flower to  the  shores  of  New  England  in 
1620,  while  during  the  War  of  the  Revolu- 
tion the  Pickerings  were  financial  support- 
ers of  the  Patriot  cause.  In  every  succeed- 
ing generation  these  names  have  been  borne 
by  people  of  sterling  worth  whose  lives  have 
reflected  credit  on  the  noble  ancestry  from 
which  they  came. 

Abram  Fenner,  father  of  the  late  George 
W.  Fenner,  was  born  in  Delaware  county, 
Pa.,  and  died  at  Ashley,  Pa.,  at  the  age  of 
82  years.  He  was  a  farmer  and  millwright, 
a  man  of  peaceful  life  and  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Friends.  He  was  twice  married 
and  both  wives  bore  children.  His  eldest 
daughter  was  the  wife  of  Joseph  Coleman. 
Hiram,  the  eldest  son,  came  to  Bucyrus  in 
1852  and  here  followed  the  tailoring  trade 
during  his  active  years,  retiring  before  his 
death,  in  1894.  Benjamin  lived  and  died  at 
Almira,  Pa.  George  W.  was  the  youngest 
of  this  family. 

Of  the  boyhood  of  George  W.  Fenner 
little  is  known,  but  it  is  possible  that  the 
stern  Quaker  discipline  of  the  household  in 
some  ways  chafed  him  and  led  him  to  leave 
home  and  become  a  clerk  in  a  store  and 
then  to  enlist  for  service  in  the  Mexican 
War,  in  which  he  performed  so  creditably 
in  several  departments  that  he  was  espe- 
cially honored  by  General  Winfield  Scott. 
At  first  he  was  attached  to  the  quartermas- 
ter's department  and  it  is  evident  that  he 
displayed  rare  soldierly  qualities  or  he 
would  not  have  been  selected  to  lead  the 
party  of  volunteers  in  the  attempt  to  raise 
the  country's  flag  over  the  citadel  in  the 
city  of  Mexico.  It  was  indeed  a  hazardous 
although  successful  expedition ;  neverthe- 
less all  did  not  live  to  return.  General  Scott 
was  so  impressed  by  the  bravery  of  young 
Fenner    that    he    presented    him    with    his 


sword,  which  honorable  trophy  is  carefully 
preserved  in  the  family.  Not  only  was  Mr. 
Fenner  thus  distinguished,  but  when  thp 
war  closed  and  he  was  discharged,  it  was 
found  that  by  a  special  provision,  his  com- 
mission as  an  officer  was  permitted  to  ex- 
tend to  the  end  of  his  natural  life.  He  re- 
turned to  Pennsylvania  and  from  there 
came  to  Bucyrus,  where  his  older  brother 
was  already  estabHshed,  in  September,  1857, 
having,  in  the  meanwhile,  learned  the  car- 
penter trade  and  become  a  skilled  mechanic. 
He  reached  Bucyrus  when  it  was  awakening 
to  its  needs  and  for  many  years  he  was  en- 
gaged here  in  the  planning  and  erecting  of 
many  of  the  fine  business  structures  as  well 
as  the  handsome  residences  which  adorn 
this  city.  While  he  never  became  active  in 
politics  because  of  his  disinclination  to  bind 
himself  by  any  party  tie,  he  was  an  alert 
and  interested  citizen  and  gave  hearty  sup- 
port to  all  measures  of  which  his  own  judg- 
ment approved.  At  one  time  he  was  iden- 
tified with  the  Odd  Fellows  and  also  was 
a  member  of  the  order  of  Royal  Arcanum. 

At  Delaware  Water  Gap,  Mr.  Fenner  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  EHzabeth 
Bush,  who  was  born  at  Shawnee,  on  the 
Delaware  river.  May  6,  1827,  and  died  at 
Bucyrus,- Oct.  21,  1894.  She  came  also  of 
old  Quaker  stock  and  throughout  life  was 
an  exemplar  of  the  simple  unostentatious 
faith  in  which  she  was  reared.  Her  parents 
were  Benjamin  Van  C.  and  Sarah  (DePuy) 
Bush.  Four  children  were  born  to  this  mar- 
riage, namely:  Frank,  Foster,  Amandus  and 
Eliza.  The  eldest  son,  who  died  Sept.  10, 
191 1,  was  a  carriage  and  sign  painter  by 
trade  and  was  engaged  in  business  at  Bu- 
cyrus. Foster  Fenner,  the  second  son,  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  but  was  reared  and 
educated  at  Bucyrus.  He  resides  with  his 
sister  in  the  old  home  in  this  city.  In  pol- 
itics, like  his  late  father,  Foster  Fenner  is  in- 
dependent, and  fraternally  he  is  connected 
with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and 
with  the  order  of  American  Mechanics. 
Amandus,  the  third  son,  who  died  at  Bucy- 
rus, Sept.  9,  1908,  at  the  age  of  52  years,  is 
survived  by  his  widow  and  one  son  and 
three  daughters.    The  only  daughter,  Eliza, 


736 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1857  and  was 
broug-ht  to  Ohio  when  but  seven  months 
old.  She  has  passed  the  larger  part  of  her 
life  in  this  city  and  is  well  known  through 
her  social  connections  and  her  womanly 
charities. 

ISAAC  KURTZ,  who  in  addition  to  be- 
ing one  of  the  heirs  of  the  Kurtz  estate  in 
Whetstone  township,  Crawford  county,  C, 
consisting  of  200  acres,  owns  a  second  farm 
containing  108  acres,  in  the  same  township. 
He  was  born  Jan.  12,  1872,  in  Whetstone 
township  and  is  a  son  of  John  George  and 
Catherine  (Gaibler)  Kurtz. 

John  George  Kurtz  was  born  in  Germany 
and  was  eleven  years  old  when  he  was 
brought  to  Ohio  from  Pennsylvania,  and 
continued  to  reside  in  Whetstone  township 
until  the  time  of  his  death.  His  burial  was 
in  the  Sherer  cemetery.  He  married  Cath- 
erine Gaibler,  who  was  also  born  in  Ger- 
many and  now  makes  her  home  with  a 
daughter,  Mrs.  Simeon  F.  Sherer,  in  this 
township. 

After  his  school  days  were  over,  Isaac 
Kurtz  assumed  farm  duties  on  the  home- 
stead and  the  larg-er  part  of  his  life  has  been 
spent  on  the  old  farm  to  which  he  came  back 
after  a  period  spent  at  Bucyrus;  "where  he 
was  in  the  employ  of  M.  C.  Coulter  in  the 
implement  business  and  later  in  the  harness 
business  under  the  firm  name  of  Kurtz  & 
Hafifner.  On  the  homestead  are  two  resi- 
dences and  he  occupies  one  and  cultivates 
140  acres  of  the  land,  while  his  brother, 
John  J.,  occupies  the  other  and  manages  the 
other  part  of  the  farm.  They  both  are  men 
of  energy  and  enterprise  and  their  under- 
takings are  carried  on  with  such  good  judg- 
ment that  they  are  usually  successful. 

On  May  18,  1899,  Mr.  Kurtz  was  married 
to  Miss  Laura  Sherer,  a  daughter  of  Jacob 
and  Mary  (Hurr)  Sherer,  who  were  early 
settlers  in  Crawford  county,  both  being  now 
deceased.  They  were  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Methodist  church.  To  the  first  mar- 
riage of  Jacob  Sherer  the  following  children 
were  born :  Emanuel ;  Sarah,  wife  of  J.  J. 
Heverly;  Emma,  wife  of  Andrew  Peters; 
John;  and  Laura,  wife  of  Isaac  Kurtz.    To 


his  second  marriage,  with  Sarah  -Beal,  two 
children  were  born:  Bertha,  wife  of  I.  M. 
Snyder ;  and  Ruth,  a  high  school  student  at 
Bucyrus. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kurtz  two  children  have 
been  born:  Lloyd  Sherer  and  Dorothy 
Eleanor.  They  attend  the  German  Metho- 
dist church.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kurtz  are 
members  of  the  Grange  at  Bucyrus.  In  pol- 
itics he  is  a  Democrat.  Mr.  Kurtz  is  a  stock- 
holder in  the  Farmers  &  Citizens  Bank  of 
Bucyrus. 

JOHN  KERR,  who  now  lives  somewhat 
retired  after  a  busy  agricultural  life  of  many 
years,  owns  and  occupies  one  of  the  com- 
fortable homes  and  attractive  residences 
that  may  be  found  in  the  city  of  Bucyrus,  O., 
his  being  particularly  marked  on  account  of 
its  tasteful  arrangement  of  flower  beds  on 
the  lawn  and  its  great  variety  of  choice 
shrubbery.  Mr.  Kerr  was  born  in  Dallas 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  Sept.  6, 
i84.'5. 

James  Kerr,  the  grandfather,  was  born  in 
Franklin  county,  Pa.  He  grew  to  ma^j^s- 
tate  there  and  was  married  to  iBetsfey  Ar- 
buckle.  Late  in  the  twenties  they  came  to 
Ohio  and  settled  in  what  was  practically  a 
wilderness,  hoping  to  develop  a  farm  and 
earn  comfort  for  their  old  age.  They  lived 
beyond  four  score  and  ten  and  were  per- 
mitted many  years  of  comparative  ease. 
They  were  among  the  early  members  of 
the  Christian  church  in  this  section.  They 
had  the  following  children:  Robert,  John- 
son, who  was  a  farmer  in  Wyandot  county; 
Alexander,  who  was  a  farmer  in  Allen 
county;  James,  who  was  a  farmer  in  Craw- 
ford county,  all  of  whom  left  descendants; 
Jane  and  Martha,  who  were  both  married 
and  lived  into  old  age;  and  Louisa,  who 
married  Robert  Urich  and  who  lived  and 
died  in  Knox  county,  O. 

Robert  Kerr  was  born  in  Mifflin  county, 
Pa.,  in  1807  and  was  reared  in  Knox  county, 
coming  there  when  6  years  of  age.  From 
Knox  county  he  came  to  Crawford  county 
when  20  years  of  age  and  here  entered 
eighty  acres  of  government  land  in  Dallas 
township.     This  eighty  acres  was  but  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


737 


nucleus  around  which  he  built  up  a  large 
fortune  in  land,  acquiring  acre  after  acre 
until  he  owned  4,500  acres  of  Ohio  soil.  He 
began  life  in  a  primitive  way,  starting  in 
a  log  cabin  that  had  a  puncheon  floor,  and 
in  this  humble  dwelling  a  number  of  his 
children  were  born,  among  whom  was  his 
son,  John,  who  still  owns  the  original  eighty 
acres  entered  by  his  father.  In  the  course 
of  time  Robert  Kerr  provided  a  more  com- 
modious residence  and  resided  in  it  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
1889.  He  was  known  far  and  wide  for  the 
success  he  reached  in  his  agricultural  opera- 
tions and  his  growing  of  stock  and  he  be- 
came one  of  the  largest  sheep  farmers  in 
Crawford  county,  having  an  annual  flock 
of  10,000  head  for  many  years.  His  first 
wife  died  in  1857  at  the  age  of  forty-one 
years  and  twenty  days.  She  was  a  devout 
Christian,  a  member  of  the  Disciples 
church.  Three  sons  and  four  daughters 
were  born  to  this  marriage,  three  of  whom 
survive :  John ;  Mrs.  Sarah  Harris,  who  lives 
on  a  farm  in  Wyandot  county;  and  Mary, 
viho  is  the  wife  of  Philip  Linn,  of  Marion, 
O.  His  second  marriage  was  with  Mrs. 
Martha  Williams,  and  they  had  one  daugh- 
ter :  Mrs.  Adelaide  Barr,  who  is  a  resident 
of  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

John  Kerr  grew  up  on  his  father's  farm 
and  had  absolutely  no  educational  advan- 
tages. Although  this  has  been,  no  serious 
drawback  to  his  success  in  life,  Mr.  Kerr  has 
given  each  one  of  his  own  children  a  college 
education.  While  he  was  not  permitted  the 
study  of  books,  he  learned  many  lessons  of 
value  in  the  fields  and  forests  of  his  father's 
large  estate  and  many  of  these  he  after- 
ward practically  applied.  When  he  became 
a  farmer  on  his  own  account  he  put  aside 
many  of  the  old,  worn-out  methods  and 
theories  of  former  days,  and  through  his 
own  experimenting  reached  conclusions 
which  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  many  of 
the  most  modern  methods  of  carrying  on 
agricultural  pursuits.  He  reached  success 
in  what  he  undertook  and  soon  became  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  most  practical  and 
enterprising  farmers  and  stock  men  of  the 
township.      In    1892    he    retired    from    the 


farm  to  Bucyrus  after  erecting  his  hand- 
some brick  residence  at  No.  215  South 
Spring  Street,  already  mentioned.  He  has 
seen  many  changes  take  place  in  this  part 
of  Crawford  county  and  is  well  posted  on 
all  the  leading  events. 

On  August  30,  1869,  Mr.  Kerr  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Alice  Chambers,  who  was  born 
and  reared  in  Carey,  Wyandot  county,  O. 
Her  father,  William  Chambers,  was  born  in 
West  Virginia  and  was  married  in  Wyan- 
dot county,  O.,  to  Keziah  Carr.  They  were 
farming  people  in  Wyandot  county  for 
some  years  when  they  moved  to  Sedgwick 
county,  Kans.,  but  later  returned  to  Ohio. 
He  died  in  Marion  county  in  1890  and  his 
wife  in  Wyandot  county,  in  1900,  aged  re- 
spectively 81  and  86  years.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Kerr  the  following  children  were 
born:  Eva,  the  wife  of  Daniel  Locke,  who 
resides  at  Everett,  Wash.,  and  has  two 
sons — Gormley  and  Wayne ;  Maude,  who  is 
the  widow  of  William  Sholaker,  and  re- 
sides in  Delaware;  and  Robert,  a  farmer  in 
Richland  county,  O.,  who  married  Jessie 
Strawbridge  and  has  three  sons — John, 
Harrold  and  Donald.  Mrs.  Kerr  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Christian  Science  church.  Polit- 
ically Mr.  Kerr  is  identified  with  the  Re- 
publican party. 

MILTON  R.  LEWIS,*  who  is  engaged 
in  an  insurance  and  real  estate  business  at 
Bucyrus,  O.,  in  partnership  with  Chas.  F. 
Mathew,  with  offices  in  the  Forum  Build- 
ing, was  one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  fire  in- 
surance line  here  and  has  been  identified 
with  insurance  during  many  years  of  a  very 
active  business  life.  He  was  born  in  Harri- 
son county,  O.,  in  1847,  and  has  been  a 
resident  of  Bucyrus  since  1849,  being  reared 
and  educated  here. 

David  Lewis,  ithe  grandfather,  was  of 
Welsh  ancestry  and  was  born  in  Maryland. 
He  was  a  pioneer  in  Harrison  county,  O., 
but  his  last  days  were  spent  at  Bucyrus, 
where  he  died  when  aged  83  years.  He 
married  Rachel  Rogers  and  they  had  a 
large  family  born  to  them,  the  third  in  order 
of  birth  being  James  Lewis,  who  became 
the   father  of   Milton   R.   Lewis.     He   was 


738 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


born  in  1813,  in  Harrison  county  and  was 
reared  on  the  home  farm  near  Cadiz.  He 
married  Rebecca  Gregory,  who  was  also 
of  Maryland  parentage.  After  the  birth  of 
several  children  they  moved  to  Bucyrus, 
Crawford  county,  in  which  section  he  be- 
came a  very  prominent  man.  In  1856  he 
was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  the  first 
and  only  Republican  elected  from  this  Sen- 
atorial district.  He  had  embraced  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Republican  party  as  they  were 
in  formation,  having  previously  been  a 
Whig.  During  the  Civil  War  James  Lewis 
was  appointed  United  States  district  as- 
sessor and  served  for  seven  years  in  the 
office.  For  65  years  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  during 
much  of  this  period  served  in  an  official 
capacity.  Of  his  twelve  children  ten  grew 
to  maturity  and  five  yet  survive. 

Milton  R.  Lewis  for  26  years  was  a  trav- 
eling salesman  for  a  Mansfield  business 
house  and  at  the  close  of  his  long  connec- 
tion spent  one  year  at  Portland,  Ore.,  and 
then  returned  to  Bucyrus.  He  then  went 
into  the  insurance  business  and  has  been 
very  active  in  the  local  field.  In  1909  he 
entered  into  partnership  with  Chas.  F. 
Mathew,  formerly  county  recorder.  The 
firm  handles  a  large  amount  of  farm  and 
city  property  and  represents  many  stan- 
dard insurance  companies.  Mr.  Lewis  has 
one  daughter,  Lucille,  a  talented  young 
woman  who  is  a  student  in  the  Arts  and 
Crafts  School,  at  Cleveland,  O.  One  son, 
James,  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years. 
Mr.  Lewis  is  a  Knight  Templar  Mason,  be- 
longing to  the  Commandery  at  Mansfield, 
O.,  and  to  Blue  Lodge,  Chapter  and  Coun- 
cil, at  Bucyrus.  He  is  identified  also  with 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Elks.  He 
is  a  highly  respected  citizen  and  is  widely 
known.  Politically  Mr.  Lewis  is  a  Re- 
publican. 

WILLIAM  KNELL,  who  is  one  of 
Whetstone  township's  highly  respected 
German-American  citizens,  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  the  United  States  since  he  was  22 
years  old  but  claims  Germany  as  his  birth- 
place.   His  parents,  George  and  Christiana 


(Shookrnan)  Knell,  lived  and  died  in  Ger- 
many as  did  his  grandfathers,  Andrew 
Knell  and  Peter  Shookman. 

William  Knell  was  the  only  one  of  his 
family  to  come  to  America,  his  one  sister 
remaining  with  the  parents.  For  three 
months  after  reaching  the  United  States 
he  lived  at  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  but  found 
no  opening  in  that  section  for  a  young  man 
who  had  his  hopes  settled  on  securing  farm- 
ing land  on  which  he  could  establish  himself 
permanently.  From  Chambersburg  he 
walked  to  Mansfield,  O.,  where  he  remained 
for  two  months  more,  earning  his  living  by 
doing  odd  jobs  and  making  friends  wher- 
ever he  stopped,  and  then  started  on  foot 
for  Crawford  county.  Here  he  found  plenty 
of  farm  labor,  starting  first  on  the  farm  of 
Abraham  Holmes  and  keeping  steadily  at 
work  for  the  next  four  years.  He  then 
visited  Nebraska  and  remained  in  the  West 
for  nine  months  and  then  came  back  to 
Crawford  county,  where  he  married.  For 
three  years  he  rented  land  and  for  two  more 
worked  for  a  railroad  company  and  then 
bought  his  first  tract,  30  acres  in  Jefferson 
township.  Mr.  Knell  remained  there  for 
ten  years,  in  the  meanwhile  preparing  for 
further  investment  and  in  1874  bought  his 
present  valuable  farm  of  100  acres  from 
Jay  Major,  and  has  lived  here  ever  since. 
This  property  is  very  valuable  and  under 
Mr.  Knell's  careful  cultivation  has  been  de- 
veloped into  one' of  the  best  farms  in  this 
section  of  Crawford  county. 

In  i860,  Mr.  Knell  was  married  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Rettig,  a  daughter  of  Nicholas 
and  Elizabeth  (Ketrost)  Rettig.  They 
were  born  in  Germany  and  were  early  set- 
tlers in  Crawford  county,  where  they  pros- 
pered. They  had  the  following  children: 
Catherine,  Maria,  Margaret,  Elizabeth, 
Gertrude,  Caroline,  George,  Leonard  and 
Nicholas.  Three  sons  were  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Knell:  Calvin,  who  lives  in  Jef- 
ferson township,  who  married  Clara  Gear- 
hart  and  has  three  children — Oleda,  Paul 
and  Carl ;  Harvey,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Whet- 
stone township,  who  married  Edith  Smith 
and  has  four  children — Loran,  Edwin, 
Myron  and  Mildred ;  and  John,  who  married 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


739 


Wilemina  Wharton  and  has  two  children — 
Roma  and  William.  Mr.  Knell  and  family- 
are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr. 
Knell  and  his  sons  all  belong  to  the  Demo- 
cratic party  and  all  are  men  of  high  stand- 
ing- in  Whetstone  to-wnship,  quiet,  self-re- 
specting, law-abiding  men,  who  profit 
through  their  industry,  and  are  helpful  and 
just  to  those  with  whom  they  are  associated 
in  the  public  affairs  of  the  community. 

CHRISTOPHER  WALTHER,  one  of 
the  highly  respected  citizens  of  Bucyrus,  O., 
now  living  retired  after  an  active  business 
career  that  covered  many  years,  is. a  native 
of  Germany,  born  in  Baden,  June  i6,  1833, 
and  is  a  son  of  Christopher  and  Elizabeth 
(Doll)  Walther. 

Christopher  Walther,  Sr.,  was  born  in 
Baden,  Germany,  in  1802,  a  son  of  Chris- 
topher Walther,  a  weaver  by  trade,  whose 
entire  life  was  spent  in  Germany,  although 
a  part  of  his  family  came  to  America  and 
settled  in  Ohio.  Christopher  was  married 
in  Germany  to  Elizabeth  Doll,  whose 
parents  were  small  farmers  and  spent  their 
lives  in  that  land.  Christopher  Walther 
and  wife  continued  to  live  in  their  natiA^e 
section  until  six  children  were  born  to  them 
and  then  determined  to  seek  a  land 
where  there  were  wider  opportunities  and 
made  preparations  to  immigrate  to  the 
United  States.  Before  they  were  ready  to 
embark  on  the  sailing  ship,  however,  in 
1846,  two  of  the  children  had  died  and  it 
was  with  wife  and  four  children  that  Chris- 
topher Walther  started  on  the  long  sea  voy- 
age that  then  consumed  thirty-six  days. 
They  reached  the  harbor  of  New  York  and 
then,  by  the  old  tedious  ways  of  transporta- 
tion, finally  made  their  slow  journey  to 
Sandusky,  O.,  where  relatives  had  already 
established  themselves.  They  remained 
there  for  eight  weeks  and  then  came  by 
wagon  to  Crawford  county,  where,  in  Lib- 
erty township,  Mr.  Walther  bought  a  small 
farm.  They  lived  to  see  many  years  of  pros- 
perity, retiring  to  Bucyrus  in  the  closing 
years  of  their  lives.  In  Germany  they  had 
belonged  to  the  Lutheran  church  but  in 
their   new   home    no    organization    of   that 


faith  had  yet  been  established  and  they 
united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  were  among  its  worthiest  members. 
They  had  the  following  children  beside  the 
two  that  died  in  Germany:  Christopher; 
Magdalena,  born  October  14,  1836,  who  is 
the  widow  of  August  Kuntzman,  and  lives 
at  Sandusky,  O. ;  Philip  Jacob,  who  was 
born  October  17,  1838,  and  who  lives  on  the 
old  homestead  in  Liberty  township  and 
married  Rosina  Knappenberger ;  Carolina, 
born  June  6,  1841,  who  is  the  wife  of  Chris- 
tian Bertsch,  a  shoe  manufacturer  at  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich. ;  and  Henry,  born  in  America, 
December  12,  1849,  who  is  a  carriage 
builder  by  trade  and  lives  at  Sandusky,  O. 
It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  no  death 
has  occurred  among  the  children  of  Chris- 
topher and  Elizabeth  Doll  since  the  family 
came  to  America. 

Christopher  Walther,  eldest  son  of  Chris- 
topher and  Elizabeth  Walther,  remained  on 
the  home  farm  until  he  was  sixteen  years 
of  age,  when  he  learned  the  carpenter  trade, 
serving  an  apprenticeship  to  the  same  for 
three  years.  In  1853  he  came  to  Bucyrus 
and  with  the  exception  of  the  period  from 
1856  until  1861,  which  he  spent  in  Iowa,  he 
has  been  a  continuous  resident  of  this  city. 
He  has  been  a  busy  man,  becoming  a  skilled 
mechanic  in  early  manhood  and  later  adopt- 
ing building  as  his  chosen  line  of  work  and 
as  a  builder  erected  many  of  the  important 
structures  in  this  city  and  vicinity.  Many 
of  the  handsome  public  school  buildings 
now  standing  give  testimony  as  to  his  taste 
and  skill,  including  the  Union  School  build- 
ing, while  the  large  German  Lutheran 
church  edifice  on  Poplar  Street,  shows 
what  he  accomplished  in  that  line  of  con- 
struction. For  the  past  twelve  years  Mr. 
Walther  has  been  more  or  less  retired  but 
there  is  probably  no  citizen  of  Bucyrus  who 
more  closely  watches  the  city's  material  de- 
velopment and  extension  than  he,  having 
so  long  been  closely  connected  with  the 
same. 

Mr.  Walther  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to 
Miss  Margaret  Schuler,  who  was  born  June 
17,  1838,  at  Rome,  N.  Y.,  and  died  at  her 
home  in  this  city,  April  5,   1900.     This  es- 


740 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


timable  lady  was  a  daughter  of  Frederick 
and  Ava  (Stoll)  Schuler,  natives  of  Ger- 
many, who  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
and  lived  in  New  York  until  1840,  when 
they  came  to  Bucyrus.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Lutheran  church.  The  only  sur- 
vivor or  their  family  is  Jacob  Schuler,  a  re- 
tired business  man  of  this  city.  Seven  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walther, 
namely:  two  who  died  in  infancy;  Annetti, 
who  is  the  widow  of  Paul  Barraider,  of  Fort 
Wayne,  Ind. ;  Frank  A. ;  Fred  E.,  who  died 
at  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  in  191 1;  Lena,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Charles  Flocken,  of  Bucyrus ; 
and  Lizzie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Philip  Mar- 
quart,  of  Cleveland,  O. 

FOREST  CASEY,  junior  member  of  the 
well  established  firm  of  Resch  &  Casey, 
plumbers,  tinware  manufacturers  and  deal- 
ers in  hardware,  at  No.  123  East  Ninth 
Street,  Gallon,  C,  was  born  at  Gallon,  Jan. 
9,  1869,  and  has  spent  his  life  in  his  native 
city.  His  parents  were  James  and  Hattie 
(Shumaker)  Casey. 

James  Casey  was  born  in  Pennsylvania 
in  1842  and  was  brought  to  Gallon  in  boy- 
hood by  his  parents,  grew  up  on  a  farm  and 
spent  his  life  in  Crawford  county,  his  death 
occurring  at  Gallon  in  June,  1909,  having 
survived  his  wife  since  1871.  They  were 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Of  the  five  children  born  to  his 
first  marriage,  James  Casey  has  two  sur- 
vivors, Forest  and  Susie,  both  of  whom  re- 
side at  Gallon.  His  second  marriage  was  to 
his  sister-in-law,  Miss  Clara  Shumaker,  who 
died  in  August,  1910,  leaving  three  chil- 
dren :  Earl,  who  is  assistant  cashier  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Galion;  Floyd,  who 
is  a  bookkeeper  in  a  Cleveland  business 
house;  and  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  John 
Wiggs,  of  Chicago,  III.,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren. 

Forest  Casey  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  and  afterward  learned  his  present 
business.  In  1892  he  entered  into  partner- 
ship with  the  Resch  brothers,  William  T. 
and  Harry  P.,  which  continued  until  1904, 
when  the  second  Resch  brother  withdrew 
and  the  business  has  been  successfully  con- 


tinued ever  since  by  the  present  firm,  Wil- 
liam T.  Resch  and  Forest  Casey.  They 
carry  a  large  line  of  hardware  sundries  in- 
cluding wire  fencing,  and  manufacture  tin- 
ware and  attend  to  plumbing.  The  firm 
stands  high  in  pubhc  regard,  both  partners 
having  been  known  here  from  youth. 

Mr.  Casey  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Lydia  Schloss,  who  was  born  at  Galion 
in  1875,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  Schloss,  who 
died  in  this  city  some  15  years  ago.  The 
motlier  of  Mrs.  Casey  is  now  in  her  eigh- 
tieth year  and  resides  with  her  daughter. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schloss  were  both  born  in 
Germany  and  after  coming  to  Galion  were 
married  and  spent  their  lives  here.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Casey  have  one  son,  Kenneth  De 
Forest,  who  was  born  February  6,  1903. 
They  are  members  of  the  German  Reformed 
church.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Casey 
is  a  Republican,  and  fraternally  he  is  identi- 
fied with  the  Elks  and  the  Odd  Fellows. 

JOHN  C.  AUCK,  whose  fine  farm  of  121 
acres  is  situated  in  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  is  a  successful  farmer 
and  representative  citizen  of  this  section. 
He  was  born  in  Whetstone  township,  three- 
fourth  miles  west  of  his  present  farm,  Nov. 
29,  1868,  and  is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Caro- 
line (Ehmann)  Auck. 

Michael  Auck  was  born  in  Lycoming 
county.  Pa.,  and  now  is  a  retired  farmer 
living  at  Bucyrus.  His  parents  were  John 
Christopher  and  Rachel  (Wagner)  Auck. 
He  married  Caroline  Ehmann,  who  was 
born  in  Germany  and  is  a  daughter  of  Chris- 
topher and  Frederica  (Fritz)  Ehmann. 
They  are  members  of  the  German  Re- 
formed church  at  Bucyrus.  Six  children 
were  born  to  them,  namely:  Mary  Jane, 
who  is  the  wife  of  David  S.  Schieber;  John 
C. ;  Lucy  Ellen,  who  is  the  wife  of  J.  E. 
Myers ;  William  H. ;  Celia,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Harry  G.  Hoover ;  and  Samuel  E. 

John  C.  Auck  obtained  a  common  school 
education  in  Whetstone  township  and  then 
assisted  his  father  on  the  home  farm  until 
he  was  23  years  of  age.  On  Dec.  24,  1891, 
Mr.  Auck  was  married  to  Miss  Orie  Ellen 
Andrews,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Lemen  and 


ABSALOM  M.  VORE 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


743 


Lettie  (Kiefer)  Andrews,  and  a  grand- 
daugter  of  Jacob  and  Ellen  (Montgomery) 
Andrews  and  of  Samuel  and  Catherine 
(Jones)  Kiefer.  Mrs.  Auck  was  born  on 
this  farm  March  3,  1872,  and  both  parents 
were  born  in  Crawford  county.  The  mother 
died  Feb.  4,  1901,  but  the  father  survives 
and  lives  retired  at  Bucyrus.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Andrews  attended  the  Church  of  Christ. 
They  had  the  following  children :  Allen  C, 
Mrs.  Auck,  George  Franklin  and  Elsie 
Catherine,  the  two  last  named  being  de- 
ceased. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Auck  have  two  chil- 
dren: Lemen  Paul,  who  was  born  June  25, 
1893;  and  Ralph  Michael,  who  was  born 
Jan.  19,  1898.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Auck  are  mem- 
bers of  St.  John's  German  Reformed  church, 
in  Whetstone  township.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat  and  has  frequently  been  elected 
to  local  offices,  serving  as  township  trustee 
from  igo8  until  1912,  one  year  as  road 
supervisor  and  also  as  a  member  of  the 
school  board. 

ABSALOM  M.  VORE,  a  retired  farmer 
and  highly  respected  resident  of  Bucyrus,  O., 
was  born  in  Center  county.  Pa.,  Dec.  22,  1840, 
coming  of  old  Pennsylvania  Dutch  stock.  He 
is  a  son  of  Jesse  and  Catherine  (Musser) 
Vore. 

In  the  days  of  the  grandfather,  who  was 
Absalom  Vore,  the  name  was  spelled  Wohr 
but  later  was  anglicized.  The  grandfather 
spent  his  life  in  Pennsylvania  and  was  a 
farmer.  After  marriage  he  lived  in  Berks 
county,  where  he  died  and  his  widow  subse- 
quently married  a  second  time  and  reared  a 
second  family. 

Jesse  Vore,  father  of  Absalom  M.,  was 
born  Aug.  15,  1805,  in  Berks  county.  Pa. 
Later  in  life  he  moved  to  Center  county  and 
for  some  years  followed  the  tailoring  trade  at 
Millheim.  All  his  children  were  born  in  Cen- 
ter county,  where  he  later  became  a  farmer, 
moving  with  his  family  to  Ohio  in  1859.  He 
bought  a  farm  of  100  acres,  situated  in  Holmes 
township,  Crawford  county,  and  there  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  life,  his  death  occurring 
May  3,  1892.  He  married  Catherine  Musser, 
who  was  born  in  Center  county.  Her  death 
occurred  July  23,  1885.  Jesse  Vore  and  wife 
were  members  of  the  Reformed  church  and 


were  people  whose  Christianity  was  shown  in 
their  daily  walk  and  conversation.  They  had 
eleven  children,  two  of  whom  died  young. 
Nine  grew  to  maturity  and  of  these,  Julia, 
Harriet  and  John,  all  died  unmarried  in  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Absalom  M.  Vore,  who  was  the  sixth  of  the 
family  in  order  of  birth,  is  the  oldest  of  the 
survivors.  He  was  in  early  manhood  when 
the  family  came  to  Ohio  and  proved  of  the 
greatest  assistance  to  his  father  after  moving 
on  the  large  farm  in  Holmes  township.  He 
continued  at  home  and  finally  succeeded  to  the 
homestead  and  there  followed  farming  with  a 
large  amount  of  success  until  in  September, 
1908,  when  he  retired  from  active  labor,  pur- 
chased a  fine  residence  at  No.  517  E.  Rens- 
selaer street,  Bucyrus,  and  has  been  a  resident 
of  this  city  ever,since.  Politically  a  Democrat 
he  has  always  been  interested  in  the  success 
of  his  party  and  has  frequently  served  in  im- 
portant public  offices.  During  his  two  terms 
as  trustee  of  Holmes  township,  much  desirable 
progress  was  made  in  its  affairs,  and  he  was  a 
justice  of  the  peace  there  for  two  years.  For 
22  years  he  was  a  director  of  the  agricultural 
society  and  for  six  years  a  director  of  the 
Crawford  County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance 
Company.  He  is  serving  in  his  second  term 
as  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Crawford 
County  Infirmary. 

On  Dec.  27,  1866,  Mr.  Vore  was  married 
to  Miss  Louisa  F.  Kanable,  who  was  born  in 
Holmes  township,  April  4,  1844,  a  daughter  of 
Enoch  and  Rebecca  (Gordon)  Kanable.  Her 
parents  were  born  in  Bedford  county,  Pa. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vore  have  one  daughter, 
Clyde  L.,  who  was  born  Jan.  i,  1868,  in 
Holmes  township.  She  married  Curtis  L. 
Dobbins,  and  they  reside  on  his  farm  in  Ma- 
rion county,  O.  They  have  two  sons :  Ray  V. 
and  Earl  Keith.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vore  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He 
is  a  charter  member  of  the  Holmes  Grange, 
Patrons  of  Husbandry,  and  later  identified 
himself  with  Bucyrus  Grange,  No.  705,  of 
which  he  was  master  for  four  years,  and  in 
December,  1892,  he  received  the  seventh  and 
highest  degree  in  the  Grange. 

JACOB  W.  STIGER,  a  well  known  citi- 
zen of  Bucyrus,  O.,  who  now  lives  retired 


744 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


and  occupies  his  handsome  residence  at  No. 
883  Soutla  Poplar  Street,  has  been  a  resident 
of  Ohio  since  childhood,  but  his  birth  oc- 
curred at  Williamsport,  Pa.,  February  22, 
1838.  His  parents  were  Abraham  and 
Rosina  (Clineman)  Stiger. 

The  Stigers  belonged  to  Wurtemberg, 
Germany,  and  there  the  grandparents  lived 
into  old  age,  their  two  sons,  Abraham  and 
Jacob  Frederick,  both  coming  to  the  United 
States.  Prior  to  this  Abraham  served  three 
years  in  the  standing  army  and  later  for 
four  years  held  a  commission  on  the  Ger- 
man emperor's  staff.  When  honorably  dis- 
charged he  was  married  in  the  village  of 
Myring,  nine  miles  from  his  native  city,  to 
Rosina  Clineman.  She  had  one  brother, 
John  Clineman,  who  also  came  to  the 
United  States,  where  he  engaged  in  hotel 
keeping  and  farming  and  died  at  Calumet, 
Cook  county.  111.,  leaving  six  sons. 

Abraham  Stiger  and  wife  set  out  for 
America  on  the  day  following  their  mar- 
riage, taking  passage  on  a  slow-going  sail- 
ing vessel  that  required  75  days  to  make  the 
harbor  of  New  York.  From  there  they 
went  to  Lycoming  county.  Pa.,  early  in  the 
twenties,  and  resided  there  for  some  years 
and  then  went  to  Illinois  and  in  Cook 
county  made  a  purchase  of  five  lots  in  the 
swampy  village  of  Chicago,  along  the  slug- 
gish river.  Mr.  Stiger  built  a  house  for  his 
family  but  the  climate  proved  detrimental 
to  their  health  and  they  remained  but  two 
years.  The  land  that  he  once  owned  is  now 
valued  at  many  thousands  of  dollars,  this 
being  the  site  of  the  Northwestern  Railroad 
station,  Chicago,  a  busy  section  of  the 
second  largest  city  in  the  country.  In  1844 
Mr.  Stiger  brought  his  family  to  Bucyrus 
and  here  he  resided  until  his  death  on 
June  15,  i860.  While  living  in  Pennsyl- 
vania he  engaged  in  farming  and  was  also 
a  charcoal  burner  but  he  had  artistic  talents 
and  these  he  put  to  use  after  locating  per- 
manently at  Bucyrus.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  German  Reformed  church,  while  his 
wife,  late  in  life,  united  with  the  German 
Methodists.  They  had  four  daughters  and 
one  son  born  to  them:  Mary,  who  is  the 
wife  of  John  D.  Alcott,  of  Milwaukee,  Wis., 


and  has  one  son;  Jacob  W. ;  Catherina,  de- 
ceased, who  was  the  wife  of  Dennis  Man- 
ning, also  deceased;  Minnie,  who  is  the 
widow  of  John  G.  Carpenter,  and  resides  in 
the  city  of  Chicago ;  and  Rosina,  the  widow 
of  OHver  C.  Carpenter,  formerly  of  Chi- 
cago, who  has  three  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters. 

Jacob  W.  Stiger  received  his  early  school 
instruction  from  Miss  Anna  McCracken, 
who  £aught  in  a  little  building  that  then 
stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  Park  Hotel, 
at  Bucyrus.  When  sixteen  years  of  age,  not 
being  subject  to  military  service  as  had  his 
father  in  his  youth,  he  was  ready  to  learn  a 
trade  and  chose  harnessmaking,  which  he 
learned  under  John  Sins,  one  of  the  early 
business  men  of  the  place.  In  1857  Mr. 
Stiger  left  Ohio  and  traveled  through  the 
West,  working  at  his  trade,  until  the  death 
of  his  father  recalled  him  home.  He  spent 
some  time  in  Chicago  and  two  years  at  St. 
Paul,  Minn.,  and  a  short  period  at  Free- 
port,  111.,  and  then  he  went  back  to  Bucyrus 
and  started  into  business  here  in  his  trade 
line  and  was  prospering  when  the  Civil 
War  broke  out.  On  July  16,  1861,  he  en- 
listed for  service  in  Co.  E,  34th  O.  Vol.  Inf., 
of  which  he  was  commissioned  a  corporal, 
and  served  with  this  regiment  for  21 
months,  when  he  received  his  honorable 
discharge  at  Cincinnati.  He  returned  then 
to  Bucyrus  and  resumed  his  harness  and 
saddlery  business,  in  which  he  continued 
until  1876,  when  he  became  a  farmer  in 
Scott  township,  Marion  county,  and  in  1882 
he  purchased  a  farm  in  Bucyrus  township, 
Crawford  county,  where  he  followed  agri- 
cultural pursuits  until  1910,  when  he  re- 
tired. He  owns  an  entire  block  on  the  edge 
of  the  city,  in  the  midst  of  which  stands  his 
fine  residence,  surrounded  by  beautifully 
laid  out  grounds. 

Mr.  Stiger  was  married  in  Marion  county, 
O.,  May  3,  1864,  to  Miss  Ellen  M.  Monnett, 
who  was  born  there  Jan.  22,  1843,  ^  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  and  Hannah  (Belt)  Mon- 
nett. Mrs.  Stiger  is  a  cultured  and  edu- 
cated lady  and  prior  to  her  marriage  was 
a  teacher.  Six  children  have  been  born  to 
Mr.  and  ^Irs.  Stiger:     Charles  W.,  who  is 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


745 


president  and  manager  of  the  Motor  Device 
Company,  an  important  enterprise  of  Chi- 
cago, and  who  married  Louisa  Rathbone,  of 
Peoria,  111.,  and  has  two  children — Marion 
and  Charles  W. ;  Gertrude  M.,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Ira  B.  Chadwich,  superintendent  of 
the  T.  &  O.  Railroad  at  Bucyrus,  and  has 
one  daughter,  Arnie  Louise;  John  R.,  who 
was  graduated  from  the  law  department  of 
the  State  University  at  Columbus,  and  who 
became  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Hills 
&  McCoy,  Chicago,  and  died  there  in  1898, 
when  aged  but  28  years;  Arnie  C,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Oscar  F.  Cretcher;  Thomas  A., 
who  is  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  at 
Everett,  Wash.,  and  who  married  Anna 
Raymond  and  has  two  children — Louise 
and  Thomas  Raymond;  and  Cora,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Prof.  Augustus  Goldsmith,  who 
is  an  instructor  in  music  in  the  public 
schools  at  Bucyrus.  Every  educational  ad- 
vantage possible  were  afforded  the  above 
family  and  all  were  creditably  graduated 
from  one  or  more  institutions.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Stiger  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  At  their  hospitable 
home  both  friend  and  stranger  find  wel- 
come and  courteous  greeting. 

EMANUEL  AUMILLER,  one  of  the 
best  known  citizens  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  resid- 
ing at  No.  354  Warren  street,  has  long  been 
numbered  with  the,  leading  men  and  sub- 
stantial citizens  of  Crawford  county.  He 
is  the  owner  of  numerous  valuable  farms  in 
this  county  together  with  improved  land  in 
Nebraska.  He  was  born  in  Holmes  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  Oct.  5,  1838,  and 
is  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Sarah  (Boyer) 
Aumiller. 

The  Aumiller  family  originated  in  France 
and  from  that  country  the  great-grand- 
father of  Emanuel  Aumiller  came  to  Amer- 
ica with  a  body  of  British  soldiery  during 
the  Revolutionary  War.  After  reaching  the 
colonies  he  became  impressed  with  the 
righteousness  of  their  cause  and,  through  a 
clever  subterfuge,  managed  to  escape  from 
the  English  troopers  and  later  became  a 
loyal  and  useful  soldier  in  the  Patriot  army. 
It  is  supposed  that  he  died  in  Pennsylvania, 


and  it  is  certain  that  his  son,  John  Aumiller, 
died  in  that  state.  The  widow  of  John 
Aumiller  came  to  Ohio  and  when  an  old 
lady  went  to  Indiana  and  died  at  the  home 
of  her  son,  George  Aumiller,  in  Elkhart 
county.  She  had  but  two  sons;  George  and 
Daniel,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  Union 
county,  Pa.,  the  latter  in  1810.  In  1828  the 
sons  accompanied  their  mother  to  Ohio, 
covering  the  distance  to  Crawford  county 
with  a  two-horse  wagon  and  camping  by 
the  roadside  on  the  way  to  rest.  For  some 
years  they  all  lived  together  on  a  farm  that 
George  purchased  near  Bucyrus,  but  the 
latter  subsequently  moved  to  Elkhart 
county,  Indiana,  and  there  became  a  man  of 
independent  fortune. 

In  183 1  Daniel  Aumiller  entered  eighty 
acres  of  wild  land  in  Crawford  county  and 
to  the  development  and  improvement  of 
this  land  th'e  rest  of  his  life  was  more  or 
less  devoted.  He  married  Sarah  Boyer, 
who  was  born  in  1819,  in  Union  county,  Pa., 
and  she  survived  her  husband  for  18  years, 
dying  at  the  age  of  eighty-two.  She  was 
an  estimable  woman  and  a  devoted  member 
of  the  Evangelical  Association.  They 
reared  their  family  of  eleven  children  to 
man  and  womanhood  and  seven  of  these 
survive. 

Emanuel  Aumiller  was  the  second  born 
and  the  second  son  of  the  family.  He  took 
advantage  of  the  rather  meager  educational 
opportunities  offered  children  in  his  day  in 
the  neighborhood  of  his  father's  farm  and 
very  early  became  accustomed  to  the  work 
of  the  farm.  Mr.  Aumiller  continued  to 
operate  his  land  himself  for  many  years,  af- 
ter which  he  reheved  himself  of  some  of 
his  responsibilities  and  retired  to  Bucyrus. 
In  addition  to  his  handsome  place  in  this 
city,  he  owns  200  acres  of  improved  land 
in  Holmes  township,  three  farms  of  112,  80 
and  78  acres,  all  in  Bucyrus  township,  and 
480  acres  in  Nemaha  county.  Neb. 

Mr.  Aumiller  was  married  in  Holmes 
township  to  Miss  Lucy  A.  Heller,  who  was 
born  Dec.  i,  1841,  and  died  at  her  Bucyrus 
home,  Sept.  14,  1906.  She  was  a  consistent 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
to  which  her  husband  also  belongs.     Mr. 


746 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


and  Mrs.  Aumiller  had  two  sons,  Daniel 
and  Jesse  E.  The  former  is  a  prominent 
farmer  in  Bucyrus  township,  married  Maria 
Miller  and  they  had  an  adopted  daughter. 
Jessie  E.,  who  was  born  in  1873,  died  in 
191 1.  His  second  wife  is  a  resident  of  Chi- 
cago, 111.,  and  their  two  children,  Lucile  and 
George  E.,  both  died  young.  Mr.  Aumiller 
is  a  Republican  in  politics. 

HENRY  J.  STUMP,  who  is  a  leading 
citizen  of  Whetstone  township,  and  the 
owner  of  135  acres  of  valuable  land  here, 
was  born  in  this  township,  Jan.  23,  1867, 
and  is  a  son  of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth  (Hein- 
len)  Stump. 

Isaac  Stump  was  born,  in  Pennsylvania 
and  came  to  Crawford  county  in  young 
manhood,  where  he  subsequently  married 
and  engaged  in  farming  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  and  his  wife  now  live  retired  in 
this  township,  their  home  being  a  short  dis- 
tance west  of  the  one  occupied  and  owned 
by  Henry  J.  Stump.  Isaac  Stump  is  a 
staunch  Democrat  and  in  former  years  was 
quite  active  in  politics  and  public  afifairs  in 
his  township  and  served  both  as  trustee  and 
treasurer.  He  and  wife  are  members  of  the 
German  Reformed  church.  They  have  five 
children,  namely:  Esther,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Emanuel  D.  Sherer;  Sarah,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Daniel  W.  Hurr;  Henry  "J.;  Amanda, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Edward  D.  Zimmerman ; 
and  Emma,  who  was  married  (first)  to 
Charles  Lepp,  and  (second)  to  Simeon  G. 
Kurtz. 

Henry  J.  Stump  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Whetstone  township  and  worked 
with  his  father  on  the  home  farm  until  his 
own  marriage,  after  which  he  engaged  in 
farming  on  the  home  place  on  shares  and 
three  years  later  rented  farm  land  from  his 
father  for  about  ten  years.  He  then  pur- 
chased 74  acres  from  his  father,  which  he 
put  in  fine  shape,  subsequently  buying  61 
acres  more,  all  together  making  about  as 
large  a  farm  as  he  cares  to  handle.  He 
raises  the  general  crops  of  the  locality,  has 
fine  orchards  and  garden  and  grows  his 
own  stock,  not  the  fancy  kinds,  but  never- 
theless of  good  grade. 


On  Jan.  10,  1889,  Mr.  Stump  was  married 
to  Miss  Elma  D.  Rorick,  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Mary  (Heinlen)-  Rorick,  for- 
merly well  known  farming  people  living  in 
Whetstone  township  but  now  retired  resi- 
dents of  Bucyrus.  They  had  the  following 
children:  Elizabeth,  deceased,  who  was  the 
wife  of  John  Snyder;  William,  who  is  de- 
ceased ;  Charles ;  Elma  D. ;  Henry ;  Amanda, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Morris  Roberts;  Anna, 
who  is*the  wife  of  John  Baumonk ;  and  Ora 
and  Rosa,  both  of  whom  are  deceased. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stump  have  two  daughters : 
Chloe  E.,  who  is  the  wife  of  William  M. 
Wingert  and  has  one  son,  Layton;  and  Ber- 
nice,  who  attends  the  township  schools. 
Mr.  Stump  and  family  are  members  of  the 
Reformed  church.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  pol- 
itics and  for  four  years  served  in  the  office 
of  township  trustee  and  for  two  years  was 
supervisor. 

J.  GEORGE  HIPP,  a  well  known  and  re- 
liable business  man  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  a  builder 
and  contractor  here  for  many  years,  was 
born  in  this  city,  on  what  is  now  South  San- 
dusky avenue,  Oct.  26,  1858,  and  is  a  son 
of  Sebastian  and  Elizabeth  (Brand)  Hipp. 

Sebastian  Hipp  was  born  in  Wurtemberg, 
Germany  and  was  19  years  of  age  when  he 
took  passage  on  a  sailing  vessel  for  ,the 
United  States  and  after  a  voyage  of  many 
weeks  was  safely  landed  at  Castle  Garden, 
New  York  City,  and  from  there  came  to 
Bucyrus.  Here  he  followed  the  weaving 
of  the  beautiful  German  bedspreads  which 
many  Americans  would  pay  large  prices 
to  obtain  at  the. present  day  and  those  who 
are  fortunate  enough  to  possess  them, 
treasure  them  with  care.  He  was  an  expert 
in  this  line  of  manufacturing  and  knew  how 
to  blend  his  colors  and  bring  out  the  beauty 
of  the  pattern.  Like  many  other  old  in- 
dustries, machinery  soon  replaced  hand 
work  to  such  an  extent  that  the  latter  be- 
came unprofitable.  He  later  became  inter- 
ested in  a  woolen  mill  at  Butler,  C,  and  still 
later  moved  to  Mansfield,  where  he  now 
resides,  being  in  his  85th  year.  He  was 
married  at  Bucyrus  to  Elizabeth  Brand, 
who  was  born  in  Baden  Baden,  Germany 


AND  REPRESENTATIVIi  CITIZENS 


747 


and  was  a  child  when  her  people  came  with 
her  to  America.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Hipp 
located  at  Bloomville,  Seneca  county,  where 
she  g'rew  to  womanhood  and  about  that 
time  they  came  to  Bucyrus,  where  they 
later  passed  away.  Mrs.  Hipp  died  at 
Mansfield,  O.,  March  7,  19Q9.  She  was  a 
devoted  member  of  the  German  Reformed 
church. 

J.  George  Hipp  is  the  eldest  of  a  family 
of  nine  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  in- 
fancy, eight  reaching  maturity.  He  at- 
tended school  at  Bucyrus  and  then  learned 
the  carpenter  trade  and  subsequently  went 
into  building  and  contracting.  He  has  al- 
ways been  a  steady,  hard-working  man, 
practical  in  everything  and  well  merits  his 
reputation  for  reliability.  Mr.  Hipp  handles 
a  large  amount  of  work  in  his  line  at  Bu- 
cyrus. 

Mr.  Hipp  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Beal, 
whose  birth  in  Bucyrus  township  preceded 
his  own  by  24  days.  She  is  a  daughter  of 
Isaac  Beal,  once  a  well  known  farmer  of 
Bucyrus  township,  and  they  have  the  fol- 
lowing children :.  Raymond  C.,  who  fills  a 
very  important  position,  being  head  of  the 
claim  department  of  the  John  Deere  Manu- 
facturing Company,  of  Atlanta,  Ga. ;  Rufus 
B.,  who  is  a  commercial  salesman  for 
George  B.  Barrett  Jewelry  Company,  of 
Pittsburgh,  Pa. ;  Mary  Elizabeth,  who  is  a 
graduate  of  the  Bucyrus  High  School ; 
Naomi  C,  who  is  a  member  of  the  class  of 
1912,  Bucyrus  High  School ;  and  Martha 
L.,  who  is  also  a  student  in  the  High  School 
of  this  city.  These  young  ladies  all  take 
part  in  the  pleasant  social  life  here  and  with 
their  parents  belong  to  the  German  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church. 

JOHN  GEBHARDT,  president  of  the 
city  council  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  and  formerly 
sheriff  of  Crawford  county,  has  long  been 
prominent  in  public  affairs  in  city  and 
county.  He  was  born  two  miles  north  of 
Bucyrus,  Sept.  6,  1859,  and  is  a  son  of  Adam 
and  Susan  (Brand)  Gebhardt. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Gebhardt  belonged  to 
old  families  of  Baden,  Germany.  The 
father,   Adam   Gebhardt,   was  born   at   Ep- 


ping,  in  the  above  province,  Sept.  15,  1815. 
He  was  early  left  an  orphan  and  from  the 
age  of  15  years  depended  entirely  upon 
himself,  for  a  number  of  years  doing  farm 
labor  in  Germany  and  also  being  driver  of 
a  stage.  He  was  married  in  Germany  to 
Elizabeth  Whittmer.  In  1848  the  country 
became  so  disturbed  with  revolutionary 
ideas  that  peaceful  labor  became  difficult  to 
secure  and  thus  he  and  family  turned  their 
thoughts  to  America  and  finally  started  for 
the  United  States.  In  those  days  the  in- 
spection of  sailing  ships  was  not  very  thor- 
ough and  the  one  on  which  this  party  em- 
barked sprung  a  leak  when  along  the  Irish 
coast  and  it  became  necessary  to  stop  until 
repairs  could  be  made.  Thus  the  voyage 
consumed  68  days  but  the  tired  passengers 
were  finally  landed  safely  at  New  York. 
Their  journey  was  not  yet  over,  however,  as 
they  intended  to  locate  in  Crawford  county, 
O.,  which  entailed  a  further  water  trip  as 
far  as  Sandusky  and  a  wagon  journey  before 
Holmes  township,  Crawford  county,  was 
reached.  Adam  Gebhardt  secured  160  acres 
situated  two  miles  north  of  Bucyrus,  of  land 
almost  new,  his  being  the  second  transfer 
from  the  Government.  There  he  spent  a 
laborious  life,  working  early  and  late  to  de- 
velop his  land  and  make  improvements.  He 
died  on  this  farm  August  17,  1897.  He  was 
a  worthy  member  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church  and  was  a  man  of  whom  his  neigh- 
bors ever  spoke  kindly.  His  first  wife  died 
six  months  after  reaching  America,  leaving 
two  daughters:  Eva,  who  died  in  1911,  who 
was  the  wife  of  Philip  Whittmer,  of  Pauld- 
ing county,  O.,  and  left  a  large  family;  and 
Elizabeth,  who  died  some  thirty  years  since. 
She  was  married  first  to  Jacob  Defenbaugh, 
and  second  to  John  Frey,  both  of  whom  she 
sur\'ived, 

Adam  Gebliardt's  second  union  was  with 
Susan  Brand,  who  was  then  living  at 
Bloom^■ille,  O.  She  was  born  at  Fortsheim, 
Baden,  Germany,  July  12,  1827,  and  was 
brought  young  to  the  United  States  by  her 
parents.  Christian  and  Elizabeth  (Mussel- 
man)  Brand.  They  located  in  Seneca 
county,  O.,  where  she  was  reared.  Mrs. 
Gebhardt  survives  and  is  a  typical  pioneer 


748 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


woman,  one  of  those  whose  courage  and 
resourcefulness  added  so  much  to  the  com- 
fort and  happiness  of  the  home  in  the  early 
days  when  privations  had  to  be  faced  on 
every  side.  She  tells  in  an  interesting  way 
of  many  expedients  resorted  to  by  careful 
housewives  of  her  day  and  has  cooked 
many  a  satisfying  meal  on  coals  from  burnt 
.  log^  in  the  open,  and  has  done  it  all  the  year 
round.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Mennonite 
church.  Personally  she  is  greatly  beloved, 
her  sympathy  and  neighborly  kindness 
never  failing  when  trouble  falls  on  those 
within  her  reach.  Five  children  were  born 
to  this  second  marriage,  as  follows :  Cath- 
erine, who  died  in  1906,  who  was  the  wife  of 
John  C.  Krauter,  and  left  three  sons  and  five 
daughters ;  Caroline,  who  is  the  wife  of  Wil- 
liam Krauter,  a  farmer  in  Bucyrus  township, 
and  has  five  children;  Jacob,  who  lives  in 
Oregon ;  John ;  and  Susan,  who  is  the 
widow  of  August  Michileus,  and  who  re- 
sides at  Bucyrus  and  has  five  children. 

John  Gebhardt  grew  up  on  the  home 
farm,  which  yet  belongs  to  the  family,  and 
obtained  his  education  in  the  local  schools. 
In  1893  he  began  to  cry  sales  and  from  his 
first  effort  it  was  predicted  that  he  would 
be  unusually  successful  as  an  auctioneer, 
which  judgment  was  later  confirmed  and 
undoubtedly  he  has  a  greater  popularity 
along  this  line  than  any  one  else  in  this  part 
of  Ohio.  He  is  a  general  auctioneer  and  it 
makes  no  difference  to  him  what  kind  of 
property  is  for  sale,  as  his  knowledge  is 
extensive,  his  ready  flow  of  wit  can  be  ap- 
plied alike  to  any  commodity  and  his  voice 
can  be  modulated  to  suit  any  occasion.  Af- 
ter coming  to  Bucyrus  in  1893  he  was  asso- 
ciated with  John  Snavely  in  the  meat  mar- 
ket business  in  which  he  continued  for 
about  five  years.  For  six  months  afterward 
he  devoted  himself  entirely  to  auctioneering 
and  then  purchased  a  market  business  of  his 
own,  which  he  conducted  until  1901,  when 
he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Crawford  county 
and  served  most  acceptably  through  two 
terms.  For  more  than  21  years  he  has  been 
a  member  and  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  time  vice-president  of  the  Crawford 
Countv    Agricultural    Society    and   both    in 


city  and  county  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
live  men  of  this  section.  He  has  served  on 
the  school  board  and  is  now  president  of 
the  city  council  in  his  second  term. 

Mr.  Gebhardt  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to 
Miss  Emma  Caroline  Vollrath,  born  April 
27,  1862,  a  daughter  of  F.  August  and  Caro- 
line (Ashbaucher)  Vollrath,  natives  of  Ger- 
many, who  lived  and  died  on  their  farm  in 
Cranberry  township,  Crawford  county. 
Mrs.  Gebhardt  is  one  of  a  family  of  eleven 
children.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gebhardt  have 
two  children:  Janet  Susan,  born  Nov.  20, 
1882,  who  is  the  wife  of  Louis  F.  Ronfeldt 
of  Bucyrus;  and  Cleo  Edward,  who  was 
born  May  24,  1886.  He  has  been  connected 
with  the  Bucyrus  City  Bank  since  he  was 
fifteen  years  of  age.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Geb- 
hardt are  members  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church. 

MICHAEL  D.  BAIR,  farmer,  owning  90 
acres  of  good  land  in  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  was  born  in  this  town- 
ship, Oct.  26,  i860,  a  son  of  John  and  Re- 
becca (Shearer)  Bair.  The  father  of  our 
subject,  John  Bair,  was  a  native  of  Stark 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  spent  his  life  in 
farming.  He  was  a  Republican  in  politics 
and  was  affiliated  religiously  with  the 
Lutheran  church.  As  above  intimated,  he 
married  Rebecca  Shearer,  who  was  born  in 
Whetstone,  Crawford  county,  and  they  be- 
came the  parents  pf  seven  children,  namely : 
George  W.,  Samuel  M.,  Rachel  Ann,  who 
married  George  Ness;  Michael  D.,  subject 
of  this  sketch;  Adam,  now  deceased;  Sadie 
J.,  also  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  John 
Seifert,  and  Lilly,  wife  of  Lawrence  Mc- 
Michael.  Samuel  M.  resides  on  a  farm  in 
Whetstone  township,  which  is  a  part  of 
the  old  Bair  homestead. 

Michael  D.  Bair  acquired  his  education  in 
the  common  schools  and  then  took  up  farm- 
ing, which  he  has  since  followed  as  an  oc- 
cupation. After  starting  in  for  himself,  he 
rented  a  farm  for  eight  years  and  then 
bought  his  present  tract  of  90  acres  from  the 
Bair  heirs.  He  has  convenient  and  substan- 
tial buildings,  does  general  farming  and 
keeps  enough   stock  for  his  own  use.     In 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


749 


politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  for  the  last 
six  years  has  served  the  township  as  school 
director. 

He  was  married  Dec.  19,  1886,  to  Clara 
Shumaker,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Cather- 
ine (Dickerhoof)  Shumaker,  who  were  for- 
merly farming  people  in  Polk  township. 
Mrs.  Shumaker  has  passed  away  but  Mr. 
Shumaker,  Mrs.  Bair's  father,  is  living  in 
Gallon,  being  now  retired  from  the  active 
business  of  life.  He  is  a  Democrat  and  in 
religion  a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church,  as  was  also  Mrs.  Shumaker.  Their 
children  were  as  follows :  Belle,  wife  of  Ira 
Morrow;  Clara,  who  is  now  Mrs.  Bair; 
Mary,  wife  of  Frank  Tracht;  and  Andrew, 
who  is  deceased.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  M.  D.  Bair 
have  on  son,  Andrew  W.,  who  was  born 
Oct.  18,  1893,  and  who  lives  with  his  father 
on  the  farm.  The  family  attend  the  Eng- 
lish Lutheran  church,  and  are  people  well 
known  and  respected  throughout  this  lo- 
cality. 

JAMES  THROUPE,  a  highly  respected 
citizen  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  who  now  lives  retired 
from  active  business,  for  35  years  held  the 
responsible  position  of  general  foreman  of 
the  shops  connected  with  one  of  the  largest 
industrial  concerns  of  the  country,  the 
American  Clay  Machinery  Company,  at 
Bucyrus,  O.  He  was  born  at  Bradley,  in 
Yorkshire,  England,  October  28,  1830,  but 
in  his  erect  carriage  and  robust  health,  he 
might  be  credited  as  much  younger.  He 
comes  of  sturdy  Yorkshire  folk,  his  parents 
and  grandparents  living  there  into  old  age. 
He  is  a  son  of  John  and  Maria  (Sugdin) 
Throupe. 

John  Throupe  was  born  near  Stilson  and 
Bradley,  England,  in  1800,  a  son  of  WilHam 
Throupe,  and  he  had  one  brother,  William, 
who  lived  and  died  in  Yorkshire.  John 
Throupe  was  a  miller  and  operated  a  grist 
mill,  utilizing  water  power  for  the  same. 
He  married  Maria  Sugdin,  a  daughter  of 
Jonas  and  Maria  Sugdin.  Her  death  oc- 
curred in  England  in  1880,  when  aged  about 
eighty  years.  She  was  a  devout  meiiiber  of 
the  Church  of  England.  To  John  Throupe 
and  wife  ten  children  were  born  and  almost 


all  lived  to  marry  and  rear  children  of  their 
own.  Of  this  family  James  is  the  only  sur- 
vivor. 

James  Throupe  was  reared  in  his  native 
shire  and  attended  the  village  school.  He 
left  home  for  America  when  eighteen  years 
of  age,  but  previously  had  learned  the  ma- 
chinist trade  and,  while  he  believed  the 
United  States  would  offer  him  a  better  in- 
dustrial opportunity,  he  had  no  idea  of 
coming  to  this  country  empty  handed  and 
helpless.  In  1848,  when  he  boarded  the 
sailing  vessel,  the  Benjamin  Adams,  for  the 
harbor  of  New  York,  he  scarcely  antici- 
pated the  discomforts  that  attended  the 
long  voyage  of  six  weeks  on  a  stormy  sea, 
but  finally  safely  reached  port  and  started 
for  Ohio  as  his  objective  point.  From 
Cleveland  he  went  to  Alliance  and  about 
the  first  work  he  found  was  sawing  wood  to 
feed  the  engines  that  were  then  used  on  the 
old  Fort  Wayne  Railroad.  Within  two 
years,  however,  he  had  a  remunerative  posi- 
tion in  the  railroad  shops  and  after  eighteen 
months  at  Alliance  he  came  to  Bucyrus  and, 
in  connection  with  a  Mr.  William  Burkhart, 
started  a  repair  shop  which  was  the  nucleus 
or  beginning  of  the  present  American  Clay 
Machinery  Compan3^  Afterward  he  be- 
came general  foreman  and  as  mentioned 
above,  for  many  years  afterward  was  con- 
tinued in  that  position  and  was  one  of  the 
most  valued  and  trusted  employes.  Al- 
though for  a  number  of  years  sadly  handi- 
capped by  an  accident,  he  nevertheless  pos- 
sessed the  efficiency,  the  unerring  eye  and 
the  executive  ability  that  made  his  services 
very  valuable.  During  the  Civil  War  he 
was  enthusiastic  in  his  support  of  the  Union 
cause  and  when  General  Grant  accom- 
plished the  surrender  of  Vicksburg  and  the 
citizens  of  Bucyrus  proposed  a  celebration 
in  honor  of  this  victory,  Mr.  Throupe  was 
given  charge  of  the  cannon  used  on  the  oc- 
casion. Through  a  premature  explosion  an 
accident  occurred  which  caused  the  break- 
ing and  subsequent  loss  of  Mr.  Throupe's 
right  arm.  This  accident  was  deplored  by 
the  whole  city  and  checked  the  festivities. 

Mr.  Throupe  was  married  at  Bucyrus 
to  Miss  Helen  Kirkland,  who  was  born  in 


FdO 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Liberty  township,  Crawford  county,  in  1838, 
and  died  at  the  family  home  here,  January 
19,  1882,  at  the  age  of  44  years,  6.  months 
and  18  days.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Robert 
and  Roxy  (Stone)  Kirkland,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  in  England  and  the  latter 
in  America.  Thirteen  children  were  born 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Throupe,  all  but  five  of 
these  dying  when  young,  the  others  being 
as  follows :  Martha,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Theodore  Rhuark,  a  farmer  in  Jefferson 
county,  and  has  two  children,  William  and 
Blanche,  both  of  whom  are  married,  the 
former  being  the  father  of  Elwood  and 
Louis;  Frances,  who  is  the  wife  of  Elijah 
Clark,  an  engineer  on  the  T.  &  O.  C.  Rail- 
road, residing  at  Bucyrus,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren, Victor  and  Ruth,  the  former  of  whom 
is  married  and  has  one  son;  Ida,  the  widow 
of  Samuel  Rule,  who  resides  with  her 
father,  and  has  two  children,  Orvie  and 
Nina;  Jay,  who  is  unmarried,  and  lives  at 
Columbus;  and  Carrie,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Benjamin  Nickler,  a  farmer  residing  in  Lib- 
erty township,  Crawford  county,  and  has 
six  children — Martha,  James,  Edward,  Rob- 
ert, May  and  Roy. 

JAMES  W.  GAMBLE,  who  has  been  of- 
ficially connected  with  the  law  and  order 
department  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  for  some  years 
and  at  present  fills  a  responsible  position  as 
merchants'  watchman,  is  a  well  known  and 
respected  citizen  whose  reliability,  effi- 
ciency and  courage  has  been  put  to  the  test 
on  many  occasions.  He  takes  a  just  pride 
in  the  implicit  confidence  that  is  placed  in 
his  fidelity  by  those  whose  property  and  in- 
terests he  has  guarded  so  faithfully,  some- 
times  endangering  his  life   in  so  doing. 

James  W.  Gamble  was  born  in  1851,  in 
Franklin  county.  Pa.  His  grandfather,  Fil- 
son  Gamble,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
his  great  grandfather  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  The  grandparents  lived 
and  died  in  Pennsylvania  and  their  children 
who  survived  infancy  were :  Samuel,  who 
became  a  Presbyterian  minister;  Ezra,  who 
went  to  the  far  West  and  engaged  in  gold 
mining;  Calvin,  who  served  in  the  Civil  war 
and  afterward  became  a  farmer;  Frank,  who 


died  from  injuries  received  during  his  serv- 
ice in  the  Civil  war;  Mrs.  Amanda  Blair, 
who  lived  in  Kansas;  Tirzah,  wife  of  Dr. 
Mackey,  of  Colorado;  and  James  Filson, 
father  of  James  W. 

James  F.  Gamble  was  born  in  Franklin 
county,  Pa.,  in  Path  Valley,  Feb.  11,  1826, 
and  died  in  t];ie  state  of  New  York.  He 
served  an  apprenticeship  to  several  mechan- 
ical trades  in  Cumberland  county,  Pa.  He 
was  ni^arried  Jan.  24,  1850,  in  Cumberland 
county,  to  Bathsheba  McCune  Morrow, 
who  was  born  in  Cumberland  county,  Dec. 
II,  1826,  and  died  in  Franklin  county.  Pa., 
May  24,  1905.  Both  she  and  her  husband 
were  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Her  parents  were  William  and  Mary 
(Bo3'd)  Morrow,  the  former  of  whom  was 
born  January  26,  1767,  and  died  June  i, 
1843.  Mary  Boyd  was  born  Nov.  11,  1781, 
and  died  June  5,  1855.  There  were  nine 
children  born  to  William  and  Mary  Mor- 
row, namely:  Margaret  M.,  who  died  April 
19,  1884,  at  the  age  of  71  years,  was  the 
wife  of  Thomas  Lindsey;  Agnes  B.,  born  in 
1814,  married  Rev.  John  McCullough,  and 
died  in  1894;  Mary,  born  in  1815,  who  mar- 
ried William  Ferguson  in  1843,  died  when 
aged;  Jane  McCune,  born  in  181 6,  died 
April  5,  1887,  who  married  Elias  Asper; 
William,  Jr.,  born  in  1817,  died  in  1883,  and 
who  married  Carolyn  Wallace;  Elizabeth, 
born  in  1819,  died  in  1884,  the  wife  of  Sam- 
uel Shoemaker;  James  B.,  born  Sept.  14, 
1820,  who  died  Oct.  12,  1869,  while  a  miner 
in  the  gold  fields  of  California ;  John  B.,  who 
was  born  Feb.  24,  1822,  died  Dec.  25,  1894, 
married  Rebecca  Staufifer;  Bathsheba  Mc- 
Cune, who  married  James  F.  Gamble,  being 
the  youngest. 

To  James  F.  Gamble  and  wife  the  follow- 
ing children  were  born :  James  W. ;  Mary 
C,  who  is  the  widow  of  George  Alexander; 
Wilbert  Elton,  an  oil  operator  residing  near 
Parker's  Landing,  Pa.,  who  married  Sadie 
Parton;  Curtis  L.,  who  died  June  18,  1906, 
at  Youngstown,  C,  and  who  is  survived  by 
a  widow  and  children ;  Rosa  Bell,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Putnam  Doran,  residing  in  Frank- 
lin county.  Pa.,  and  has  two  daughters; 
and     Frank     Elmer,     a    business     man    of 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


751 


Youngstown,  who  married  Alice  Dille  and 
has  one  son. 

In  1863,  when  he  was  twelve  years  old, 
James  W.  Gamble  came  to  Crawford 
county,  O.,  with  his  uncle,  Calvin.  He  at- 
tended school  for  several  years  and  then 
became  a  farmer  and  continued  until  1885, 
when  he  came  to  Bucyrus.  Here  he  fol- 
lowed the  carpenter  trade  for  a  few  years 
and  then  became  a  member  of  the  city  po- 
lice force  and  still  later  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  his  present  position  as  special 
watchman. 

On  Oct.  21,  1873,  Mr.  Gamble  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Elizabeth  McCreary,  who  was 
born  Feb.  26,  1852,  and  died  Nov.  17,  1904, 
near  Lincoln,  Neb.  She  was  a  member  and 
active  worker  in  St.  Paul's  Lutheran 
church  of  Bucyrus.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Thomas     and     Eliza     (Boyer)     McCreary. 

Thomas  McCreary  was  born  July  15, 
1826,  and  died  at  Bucyrus  when  over  80 
years  of  age.  ITe  was  of  Scotch  ancestry 
and  possessed  manj^  of  the  characteristics 
of  that  hardy  and  thrifty  race.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  he  engaged  successfully  in 
farming  in  Crawford  county  and  was  a  man 
of  considerable  worldly  substance.  His 
Avife,  Eliza  Boyer,  was  born  Jan.  30,  1829, 
and  died  Dec.  24,  1867.  She  and  husband 
were  English  Lutherans. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gamble  four  children 
were  born,  namely :  Mabel  Grace,  who  died 
in  infancy;  Curtis  Guy,  who  was  educated 
at  Bucyrus  and  is  engaged  in  the  oil  fields 
in  Illinois  as  a  contractor;  and  Ella  M.  and 
Ina  Imo,  both  of  whom  are  highly  educated, 
cultivated  and  capable  young  women.  The 
former  was  graduted  from  the  Bucyrus 
high  school  in  the  class  of  1900  and  since 
then  has  filled  the  position  of  confidential 
secretary  for  the  late  Judge  Beer  and  his 
heirs,  settling  up  his  estate  and  then  enter- 
ing into  business  on  her  o\\n  account.  She 
is  a  member  of  the  literary  club  known  as 
Crocus  Junior.  The  younger  daughter 
completed  her  high  school  course  in  1903 
and  now  has  charge  of  her  father's  home. 
Miss  Imo  is  also  a  member  of  the  Crocus 
Junior  Club.  Both  she  and  sister  are  active 
Sunday-school  workers  and  belong  to  the 


King's  Daughters  and  other  church  and  so- 
cial organizations. 

Mr.  Gamble  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 
He  belongs  to  the  fraternal  order  of  Mac- 
cabees. 

SIMEON  G.  KURTZ,  who  is  a  worthy 
representative  of  one  of  the  old  families  of 
high  standing  in  Crawford  county,  O.,  re- 
sides on  his  valuable  farm  of  121^  acres, 
which  is  situated  in  Whetstone  township. 
He  was  born  in  this  township,  Dec.  10,  1875, 
and  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Margaret  (Rex- 
roth)  Kurtz,  and  a  grandson  of  George 
Kurtz. 

Samuel  Kurtz  and  wife  were  both  born 
in  Crawford  county  and  for  many  3'ears 
lived  in  Whetstone  township,  where  they 
are  pleasantly  remembered,  but  now  live  in 
comfortable  retirement  at  Bucyrus.  To 
them  the  following  children  were  born : 
George,  Aaron,  Simeon  G.,  Catherine, 
Bertha,  Harrison,  Paul  and  Edwin.  Of  the 
above.  Bertha  is  the  wife  of  Russell  Meyers. 
All  survive  except  Catherine  and  Paul.  The 
parents  are  members  of  the  Reformed 
church. 

Simeon  G.  Kurtz  attended  the  public 
schools  in  Whetstone  township  and  one 
term  at  Ada  colleg-e,  Ada,  O.,  after  which 
he  engaged  in  teaching  school  for  three  win- 
ter terms  and  during  the  summers  carried 
on  farm  operations  for  his  father.  When 
he  married  he  rented  his  present  farm  from 
his  father-in-law  and  purchased  it  three 
years  later  and  has  devoted  his  attention  to 
general  farming  and  stock  raising  ever 
since,  keeping  up  his  grade  of  stock  but  not 
making  calculations  to  have  any  to  sell. 

On  Nov.  20,  1901,  Mr.  Kurtz  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Emma  Stump,  who  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth  (Heinlen) 
Stump.  Her  father  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  her  mother  in  Crawford  county 
and  they  now  live  retired  on  their  farm  but 
one-fourth  mile  \vest  of  their  son,  Henrj' 
J.  Stump's  farm  in-  Whetstone  township. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kurtz  have  two  children :  My- 
ron Clinton  and  La  Verne  Simeon.  The 
family  belongs  to  the  Reformed  church  and 
Mr.  Kurtz  is  superintendent  of  the  Sunday- 


752 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


school  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees.  Both  he  and  wife  belong  to  the 
Grange  at  Bucyrus  and  take  part  in  its  work 
and  enjoy  its  social  features.  In  politics 
Mr.  Kurtz  is  a  Republican. 

W.  E.  ARNOLD,  D.  D.  S.,  who  has  been 
professionally  established  at  Bucyrus,  C, 
since  1905,  is  in  the  enjoyment  of  an  ex- 
cellent class  of  practice,  having  won  confi- 
dence and  approbation  through  his  techni- 
cal skill,  complete  mastery  of  his  science 
and  his  honorable  methods  of  business.  He 
was  born  at  Mt.  Vernon,  O.,  June  24,  1878, 
and  is  a  son  of  Charles  and  Mary  Ann 
(Flocken)  Arnold. 

Charles  Arnold  was  born  in  Baden,  Ger- 
many, and  is  now  62  years  of  age  and  a 
resident  of  Bucyrus.  He  came  to  America 
when  19  years  of  age  and  for  some  years 
followed  the  trade  of  a  machinist,  but  for 
the  past  20  years  has  been  engaged  in  a 
manufacturing  business.  Politically  he  is 
a  Democrat  and  fraternally  is  an  Odd  Fel- 
low and  a  32nd  degree  Mason.  He  married 
Anna  Flocken,  who  was  born  at  Bucyrus, 
and  they  are  parents  of  two  sons :  W.  E. 
and  Charles  F.  The  latter  is  a  resident  of 
Akron,  O.,  and  married  Myrtle  Collins. 

Since  he  was  18  years  of  age  Dr.  W.  E. 
Arnold  has  been  interested  in  dentistry  and 
after  graduating  from  the  Mt.  Vernon  high 
school,  at  the  age  of  18,  he  entered  the 
dental  department  of  the  Ohio  Medical  Uni- 
versity, at  Columbus,  where  he  was  grad- 
uated in  the  class  of  1901.  Prior  to  1905, 
when  he  came  to  locate  permanently  at  Bu- 
cyrus, he  practiced  at  Wheeling,  W.  Va., 
and  at  other  points.  He  makes  a  specialty 
of  crown  and  bridge  work,  does  fine  porce- 
lain work  also  and  keeps  thoroughly  abreast 
with  the  times  in  a  profession  which  is  con- 
tinually advancing  along  scientific  lines. 

Dr.  Arnold  was  married  at  Wheeling,  W. 
Va.,  to  Miss  Blanche  Smouse,  a  daughter 
of  Thomas  Smouse.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
Arnold  was  of  German  ancestry.  His  death 
occurred  in  1890  and  that  of  his  widow  in 
191 1,  she  being  then  over  70  years  of  age. 
They  were  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church.     Of   their   large   family  eight   sur- 


vive. Dr.  and  Mrs.  Arnold  have  two  sons : 
Henry  William,  who  was  born  April  8, 
1908;  and  Robert  Charles,  who  was  born 
May  21,  1910.  Mrs.  Arnold  was  educated 
at  Wheeling  and  Grafton,  W.  Va.  Politi- 
cally Dr.  Arnold  is  a  Democrat  and  frater- 
nally he  belongs  to  the  Elks,  at  Mt.  Vernon. 
He  was  reared  in  the  German  Lutheran 
church. 

OTTO  FEIRING,  merchant  tailor  and 
one  of  the  representative  business  men  of 
Bucyrus,  O.,  conducting  his  business  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  public  square,  was 
born  at  Bucyrus,  March  11,  1867,  and  is 
a  son  of  Frederick  and  Elizabeth  (Schuler) 
Feiring,  and  a  grandson  of  Frederick  Feir- 
ing. 

Frederick  Feiring,  the  grandfather,  wai» 
born   in   Wurtemberg,    Germany,   in    1818, 
and   died   in   Ohio   in    1866.      He   came   to 
America   and    settled    in    Crawford    county 
about  1833  and  his  first  work  here  was  on 
what  was  commonly  called  the  Big  Ditch, 
or  the  Hahn  Ditch,  not  far  from  Bucyrus, 
the  completion  of  which  proved  the  advan- 
tage of  draining  the  low  wet  lands  that  then 
composed  a  large  part  of  the  present  most 
valuable  farming  sections.    With  the  money 
thus  earned  he  purchased  a  team  of  horses 
and  then  went  into  the  carrying  business, 
transporting     merchandise     between     San- 
dusky and  Bucyrus.     No  railroads  had  yet 
been  constructed  and  for  some  years  this 
industry  was  very  profitable.     He  then  be- 
came associated  with  William  Hahn,  in  the 
manufacture  of  brick  and  they  did  some  of 
the  earliest  brickmaking  in  the  county  and 
continued    together    for    four    years.     Mr. 
Feiring  then  went  into  the  meat  business 
and  prospered,  becoming  a  large  cattle  deal- 
er and   butcher   and   was   in   this   business 
until  1852,  when  he  purchased  the  Western 
Hotel  of  its  former  owner,  Mr.  Kingsinger. 
This  is  now  known  as  the  old  Royal  Hotd. 
and   Mr.   Feiring  continued  to  be  its  pro- 
prietor until   his   death,   in  the   meanwhile 
having  improved  the  property  to  the  value 
of  $7,000.     He  was  a  strong  character  and 
is  still  remembered  by  the  older  residents 
of  Bucyrus.     He  was  a  very  ardent  Demo- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


753 


crat  and  it  is  said  that  occasionally,  when 
he  found  that  his  gfuests  were  just  as  ardent 
Republicans,  he  would  suggest  that  they 
find  another  place  of  entertainment.  He 
married  Barbara  Price,  also  of  Wurtem- 
berg,  a  woman  of  fine  character,  frugal  and 
resourceful,  and  she  was  of  much  assist- 
ance to  her  husband.  They  had  three  sons 
and  five  daughters :  Frederick  J.,  George 
Henry,  Charles,  Mary,  Callie,  Emma,  Mat- 
tie  and  Ida.  The  mother  died  at  the  home 
of  a  daughter,  Mrs.  A.  J.  Keller,  of  Kenton, 
Ohio. 

Frederick  Feiring,  Jr.,  son  of  Frederick 
and  father  of  Otto  Feiring,  was  born  at 
Bucyrus,  O.,  and  when  he  went  into  busi- 
ness, in  mature  life,  became  a  butcher  and 
stock  buyer  and  was  one  of  the  well  known 
bvisiness  men  of  the  city.  Like  his  father 
he  was  a  strong  Democrat  and  once  was 
a  candidate  for  the  office  of  city  marshal, 
failing  of  election  by  but  four  votes.  His 
death  occurred  in  1883,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
one  years.  He  married  Elizabeth  Schuler, 
who  was  born  at  Bucyrus  in  1848  and  died 
in  1877,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-nine 
years.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Frederick 
and  Eva  (Stoll)  Schuler,  natives  respect- 
ively of  Baden  and  Wurtemberg,  Germany. 
They  came  to  America  in  1832  and  landed 
at  the  harbor  of  New  York  and  remained 
in  that  city  for  five  years,  when  they  mar- 
ried, and  in  the  following  year,  1838,  came 
to  Bucyrus.  Frederick  Schuler  was  a  shoe- 
maker by  trade  and  this  he  carried  on  in 
this  city  during  all  his  active  years,  hi=; 
death  occurring  in  1892.  He  and  wife  were 
German  Lutherans.  One  son  survives,  Ja- 
cob Schuler,  who  follows  his  father's  trade 
and  lives  also  at  Bucyrus.  Five  children 
were  born  to  Frederick  and  Elizabeth  Feir- 
ing, three  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  The 
two  survivors  are :  Otto  and  Annetta,  the 
latter  of  whom  lives  with  her  brother. 

'  Otto  Feiring  obtained  his  education  in 
the  Bucyrus  schools  and  at  the  age  of  eight- 
een years  began  to  learn  his  trade,  and  from 
1885  until  1897,  when  he  went  into  business 
for  himself,  he  worked  at  the  same  in  this 
city  and  at  Crestline.  His  present  location 
is  an  excellent  one  and  with  the  exception 


of  seven  years,  he  has  been  here  ever  since 
embarking  in  the  business.  He  carries  a 
large  stock  and  caters  to  the  best  trade. 

On  Nov.  16,  1898,  Mr.  Feiring  was  mar- 
ried in  this  city  to  Miss  Clara  Wagner,  who 
was  born  in  Bucyrus,  Ohio,  in  1869.  Her 
parents,  Robert  and  Mary  Ann  Wagner, 
were  natives  of  Saxony,  Germany  where 
they  were  married.  After  the  death  of  Mr. 
Wagner  his  widow  married  Edward  Meis- 
ner,  of  Bucyrus.  Mrs.  Feiring  has  one  sis- 
ter and  one  brother :  Anna  and  Frank.  The 
former  is  the  wife  of  M.  A.  Charlton,  who 
is  at  the  head  of  a  department  in  the  State 
Industrial  School  near  Lancaster,  Mrs. 
Charlton  being  the  matron  in  one  of  the 
cottages.  They  have  two  children :  Paul 
and  Susan. 

Mr.  Feiring  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and 
is  serving  in  the  office  of  treasurer  of  Bu- 
cyrus township.  He  belongs  to  Demas 
Lodge,  No.  108,  Knights  of  Pythias,  of 
which  he  is  past  chancellor,  and  is  also 
identified  with  the  Modern  Woodmen.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Feiring  are  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church. 

FRANCIS  E.  COOK,  who  has  been 
freight  and  passenger  agent  for  the  Erie 
Railway,  at  Galion,  O.,  since  1904,  has  spent 
many  years  in  the  employ  of  this  corpora- 
tion and  stands  high  with  its  officials  and 
with  the  traveling  public.  He  was  born  in 
Richland  county,  O.,  near  the  Crawford 
county  line,  Aug.  19,  1865,  and  is  a  son  of 
Richard  E.  and  Isabel   (Sanderline)   Cook. 

Richard  E.  Cook  was  born  in  Richland 
county,  O.,  where  he  married,  and  then 
moved  to  Wyandot  county,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  farming  for  a  number  of  years, 
afterward  returning  to  Richland  county,  and 
in  1883  retiring  and  coming  to  Galion, 
where  he  died  in  1903,  aged  81  years.  His 
widow  still  resides  at  Galion,  occupying  her 
comfortable  residence  on  First  Avenue,  and 
the  family  still  owns  the  farm.  She  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  has  a  wide  circle  of  congenial  friends 
and  seven  of  her  children  survive,  as  fol- 
lows :  Marion  E.,  who  lives  at  Painesville ; 
Charles  A.,  who  lives  at  Mansfield:  Arminta 


754 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


A.,  who  married  Adolph  Bersinger  of 
Galion,  and  has  three  children ;  Lawrence 
R.,  who  lives  in  California;  Ida  M.,who  mar- 
ried W.  A.  Townsend,  of  Galion,  and  has 
four  children;  Sidney  C,  who  married  Wil- 
liam Helscher,  of  Galion,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren; and  Francis  E.,  who  lives  in  Galion. 

Francis  E.  Cook,  after  graduating  from 
the  Galion  high  school  in  1887,  entered  the 
Spencerian  Business  College  at  Cleveland, 
and  after  being  graduated  there  accepted  a 
clerical  position  in  the  offices  of  the  Erie 
Railway  Company  at  Galion,  and  for  eight 
years  was  bill  clerk  and  later  foreman  at 
Galion  Transfer  until  being  appointed  to  his 
present  position  as  general  agent  in  1904. 
Since  1888  he  has  been  continuously  con- 
nected with  the  freight  and  passenger  de- 
partment. Faithfulness  and  industry  have 
contributed  to  his  frequent  promotions, 
and  the  mere  fact  of  these  testifies  to  his 
efficiency  and  reliability. 

At  Galion,  O.,  Mr.  Cook  was  married  to 
Miss  Etta  J.  Rinehart,  who  was  born  and 
educated  here,  a  daughter  of  Charles  and 
Clara  B.  (Wilhelm)  Rinehart.  The  father 
of  Mrs.  Cook  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
the  mother  in  Ohio,  in  which  state  they  were 
married.  The  father  died  near  Galion  in 
which  city  the  mother  resides,  being  aged 
about  65  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cook  have 
one  son:  Howard  Edsel,  who  was  born 
February  12,  1894,  graduated  from  the 
Galion  high  school  in  191 1  and  is  a  member 
of  the  class  of  191 5  in  the  Wesleyan  Col- 
lege at  Delaware,  O. 

Politically  Mr.  Cook  is  a  Republican  and 
he  is  active  in  local  matters  as  well  as  out- 
side afifairs,  belongs  to  the  Commercial  Club 
and  has  served  three  terms  in  the  city 
council.  He  is  a  32nd  degree  Mason,  be- 
longing to  Blue  lodge  and  chapter  at 
Galion,  council  at  Bucyrus,  commander}-  at 
Mansfield  and  the  consistory  at  Columbus, 
O.  He  and  his  wife  are  both  members  of 
the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  Mrs.  Cook  at 
present  being  Worthy  Matron.  He  is 
a  charter  member  of  the  Junior  Order  of 
United  American  Mechanics  and  has  held 
several  important  offices  in  this  organiza- 
tion.     Mr.   Cook  is  also  a  member  of  the 


National  Association  of  Railway  Agents, 
with  whose  members  he  and  his  family  have 
traveled  extensively,  having  visited  cities 
and  other  points  of  interest  in  almost  every 
state  in  the  Union,  also  Cuba  and  Canada. 
The  Cooks  are  Methodists  and  a  remark- 
able incident  in  the  family  is  that  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cook  and  son  are  all  graduates  of  the 
Galion  high  school. 

ED^YARD  C.  HEINLA,  an  enterprising 
and*  successful  business  man,  who  is  exten- 
sively interested  in  the  stock  business,  own> 
260  acres  of  valuable  land  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  and  160  equally 
valuable  acres  in  Marion  county,  O.,  and  ad- 
ditionally is  a  stockholder  and  director  in 
the  Farmers  and  Citizens  Bank  at  Bucyrus. 
He  was  born  in  Whetstone  township.  May 
27,  1875,  and  is  a  son  of  Lewis  B.  and  Mary 
Jane  (Fink)  Heinla. 

Lewis  Heinla  was  born  in  Germany  and 
came  to  Ohio  in  earlj^  manhood,  where  he 
married  and  subsequently  became  a  sub- 
stantial farmer  in  Crawford  county.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  German  Reformed 
church  but  his  wife  was  reared  in  the  United 
Brethren  church.  The  following  children 
were  born  to  them :  Henry ;  Lavina,  whcr 
is  the  widow  of  Byron  Neish ;  Amanda,  who 
is  the  wife  of  W.  G.  Roberts;  James  and 
Edward  C. 

Edward  C.  Heinla  attended  the  public 
schools  in  Whetstone  township,  and  for 
about  18  months  afterward  was  engaged 
in  a  general  mercantile  business  at  New 
Winchester.  After  disposing  of  his  store 
to  his  brother  he  enibarked  in  th*  stock 
business  and  has  developed  a  large  connec- 
tion in  this  line,  buying  and  selling,  his 
markets  being  Cleveland,  Buffalo  and  Pitts- 
burg, Pa. 

Mr.  Heinla  was  married  in  1898  to  Miss 
Gertrude  R.  Loyer,  a  daughter  of  Henry 
and  Maggie  (Gracie)  Loyer,  the  latter  of 
whom  is  now  the  wife  of  fsaac  Albright. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  James  and  Sarah 
(Evans)  Gracie,  who  were  born  in  Ireland. 
Air.  and  Mrs.  Heinla  have  two  children: 
Floyd  S.  and  Irma  G.  They  attend  the 
United    Brethren    church.      Mr.    Heinla    is 


T.  B.  CARSON 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


(.U 


identified  fraternally  with  the  J.  O.  U.  A. 
M.  and  the  F.  O.  E.,  both  at  Bucyrus,  and 
with  the  Owls  at  Galion.  He  is  independ- 
ent in  his  political  opinions  but  is  never 
lacking  in  any  quality  of  good  citizenship. 

T.  B.  CARSON,  who  now  lives  in  comfort- 
able retirement  at  his  home  situated  on  South 
Kibler  Street,  New  Washington,  O.,  for  many 
years  was  a  public  official  here,  before  which 
he  was  a  faithful  soldier  through  the  great 
Civil  War.  He  was  born  in  Seneca  county, 
O.,  June  7,  1837,  and  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and 
Elizabeth  (Willoughby)  Carson.  Both  the 
Carsons  and  Willoughbys  originated  in  Ire- 
land and  both  families  came  early  to  Ohio. 
Grandfather  Robert  Carson  served  through  the 
Revolutionary  \A^ar  under  General  Washing- 
ton, while  Samuel  Carson,  the  father  of  T.  B. 
Carson,  served  through  the  War  of  181 2  and 
survived  all  its  dangers,  subsequently  settling 
in  Ohio,  marrying  and  rearing  his  family  of 
eleven  children  in  Seneca  county.  Of  these 
but  two  survive,  the  youngest  son  and  the 
youngest  daughter. 

T.  B.  Carson  enjoyed  better  educational 
advantages  than  did  many  of  his  companions 
and  associates,  attending  the  district  schools 
at  least  during  the  winter  sessions  until  1858 
and  afterward  was  a  student  in  the  Seneca 
County  Academy.  Whatever  future  plans  he 
had  made,  they  were  changed  by  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Civil  ^^''ar  and  in  1861  he  enlisted 
as  a  private  in  Co.  H,  14th  Vol.  Inf.,  under 
Captain  Stafford,  and  participated  in  all  the 
engagements  in  which  his  company  took  part 
up  to  the  time  of  his  discharge,  Sept,  19,  1864, 
at  Atlanta,  Ga.  He  never  was  captured  and 
never  injured  except  on  one  occasion  when  he 
was  kicked  by  a  mule  at  Camp  Dick  Robinson, 
in  Kentucky. 

After  his  honorable  discharge  from  the  ser- 
vice, Mr.  Carson  returned  to  Seneca  county, 
where  he  engaged  in  teaching  school  and  in 
farming.  Samuel  Carson,  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, entered  240  acres  of  land  three  miles 
north  of  New  AVashineton.  T.  B.  Carson 
devoted  his  summers  to  his  land  and  in  win- 
ter time  taught  school,  five  terms  in  Seneca 
county,  one  term  in  Huron  countv  and  eleven 
terms  in  Crawford  county.  In  1869  he 
bought  80  acres  in  Cranberry  township,  which 


he  cleared  and  improved  and  then  sold,  after 
which  he  bought  160  acres  one-half  mile  to 
the  east,  to  which  he  added  80  adjoining  acres 
and  spent  his  time  engaged  in  farming  until 
i886,  in  which  year  he  moved  to  New  Wash- 
ington, where  he  was  interested  in  the  real 
estate  business  until  1889.  Samuel  Carson 
erected  the  buildings  on  his  farm  on  what  is 
known  as  the  old  military  road  between 
Mansfield  and  Tiffin,  this  road  having  been 
laid  out  to  run  on  west  to  the  Ohio  river. 
The  situation  of  his  home  made  it  a  con- 
venient depot  for  what  was  once  known  as 
the  Underground  Railroad  and  as  he  had  been 
reared  with  a  hatred  of  human  slavery,  he 
often  sheltered  escaping  slaves  in  the'  old  days 
and  on  many  occasions  assisted  them  at  night 
throught  the  woods  to  the  next  stopping 
place,  Sandusky  City,  from  which  depot  they 
made  their  way  to  Detroit,  Mich.,  and  from 
there,  if  fortunate,  soon  reached  freedom  in 
Canada.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  many 
prosperous  and  respected  people  live  in  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  at  the  present  day  whose 
grandparents  were  once  in  American  slavery 
and  were  helped  o\'er  the  border  by  such  phil- 
.anthropists  as  Mr.  Carson. 

As  indicated  above,  Mr.  Carson  imbibed 
anti-slavery  views  in  his  youth  and  later, 
when  the  Republican  party  was  formed  he 
became  identified  with  it  and  has  so  contin- 
ued. In  1889  he  was  appointed  postmaster 
at  New  Washington  and  served  in  that  im- 
portant office  for  over  18  years  although  not 
qute  continuously.  He  was  postmaster  from 
1889  until  1893.  In  September,  1897  he  was 
reappointed  and  continued  until  March  21, 
191 1,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  the  present 
official,  S,  A.  Pugh.  Many  changes  in  the 
service  came  about  during  Mr.  Carson's  long 
incumbency,  including  the  establishing  of  the 
rural  mail  delivery  service.  He  inaugurated 
reforms  and  made  improvements  at  different 
times  and  through  these  raised  the  class  of 
the  office  and  insured  more  satisfactor\-  con- 
ditions for  the  public.  Mr.  Carson  has  never 
accepted  any  other  public  office  although,  as 
one  of  the  local  party  leaders,  manv  have  been 
tendered  him.  AVhen  he  came  to  New  Wash- 
ington he  was  one  of  the  seven  Republicans 
in  the  voting  precinct. 

On  May  2,  i86t,  in  Seneca  county,  O.,  Mr. 


758 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Carson  was  married  to  a  schoolmate,  Miss 
Sarah  Rebecca  Smith,  who  was  a  daughter 
of  Jonathan  and  Elizabeth  (Bigam)  Smith. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carson  had  seven  children, 
three  of  whom  are  living,  the  others  dying  in 
infancy.  Those  living  are:  John  W.,  Violet 
E.  and  Mabel.  John  W.  married  Lillie  Smith 
and  to  them  have  been  born  five  children — 
Lloyd,  Nellie,  Ethel,  Irene  and  Robert.  Vio- 
let E.  was  married  first  to  A.  J.  Schwartz  and 
they  had  two  daughters,  Mildred  and  Marie; 
she  was  married  secondly  to  B.  F.  Long. 
Mabel  O.  is  the  wife  of  Edward  Neis.  The 
mother  of  the  above  family  died  Dec.  24, 
1904,  and  her  burial  was  at  Swamp  Center 
Cemetery,  three  miles  north  of  New  Wash- 
ington. She  was  a  faithful  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  to  which  Mr. 
Carson  also  belongs.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  Post  at  New  Washington  and  for 
many  years  has  belonged  to  the  Knights  of 
Pythias. 

FRANK  J.  HOERIGER,*  whose  excel- 
lent farm  of  6oj4  acres  lies  in  Liberty  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  four  and  one- 
half  miles  northeast  of  Bucyrus,  was  born 
at  Ridgeton,  Crawford  county,  in  1878,  and 
is  a  son  of  Christian  W.  and  Catherine 
(Trautman)  Hoeriger. 

Christian  Hoeriger  was  born  in  Ohio.  He 
was  twice  married  and  two  daughters,  Alice 
and  Ida,  were  born  to  his  first  union.  Alice 
now  lives  with  her  second  husband,  John 
Pitke,  at  Cleveland,  O.  Her  first  husband, 
Elmer  Sponseller,  left  two  children  at  death, 
Lloyd  and  Florence.  Ida  resides  at  home. 
To  his  second  marriage  four  children  were 
born :  Laura,  Lillie,  Lee  and  Frank  J.  Laura 
is  the  widow  of  John  Cooper,  who  was  ac- 
cidentally killed  in  1907,  and  she  resides  in 
Liberty  township  with  her  two  children, 
Hartland  and  Mary.  Lillie  married  C.  H. 
Kenzuli  and  they  reside  at  Bucyrus  and 
have  one  daughter,  Evaline.  Lee  is  in  busi- 
ness at  Bucyrus. 

Frank  J.  Hoeriger  has  been  engaged  in 
farming  ever  since  he  left  school  and  has  a 
well  cared  for  and  productive  property.  He 
married  Miss  Mary  Beck,  who  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Daniel  and  Alice  (Rittenhour)  Beck, 
who  are  well  known  and  substantial  people 


of  Liberty  township.  The  Beck  family  is  a 
very  old  one  in  Liberty  township,  the 
grandparents  of  Mrs.  Hoeriger  having  been 
brought  to  this  section  by  their  parents  in 
pioneer  days,  coming  by  wagon  from  Penn- 
sylvania. Mrs.  Hoeriger  has  three  sisters 
and  two  brothers,  namely:  Ida,  who  is  the 
wife  of  A.  L.  Hildebrand,  of  New  Win- 
chester, 0.,  and  has  two  children,  Maurice 
and  Cleo ;  Alice,  who  is  the  wife  of  William 
Smalls,  of  Liberty  township  and  has  one 
son,  Chester;  Pearl,  who  is  the  wife  of  E. 
J.  Housberg,  of  New  Winchester,  and  has 
two  children,  Howland  and  Orval.;  and 
Harry  and  Russell,  who  live  at  home.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hoeriger  have  one  daughter, 
Alice  Catherine.  Mr.  Hoeriger  is  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics.  His  standing  in  his  neigh- 
borhood is  that  of  a  substantial,  honest  and 
useful  citizen. 

OLIVER  K.  CRALL,  a  general  farmer 
and  well  known  citizen  of  Bucyrus  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  who  owns  78 
acres  of  valuable  land  in  this  township,  was 
born  June  13,  1856,  in  Liberty  township, 
Crawford  county,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  (Raysor)  Crall. 

John  Crall  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
was  a  son  of  Henry  Crall.  For  many  years 
he  was  a  respected  resident  of  Liberty 
township,  Crawford  county,  where  he  car- 
ried on  farming,  and  there  both  he  and 
wife  died  and  their  burial  was  in  the  Crall 
graveyard.  They  were  members  of  the 
United  Brethren  church.  Their  family  was 
made  up  of  the  following  children :  John  R. ; 
David,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war 
and  died  while  imprisoned  by  the  Confed- 
erates in  an  old  jail  at  Danville,  Va. ;  Eliza- 
beth, who  was  the  wife  of  E.  M.  Moore, 
both  of  whom  are  now  deceased;  William 
H. ;  Elias ;  Oliver  K. ;  and  Susan,  who  is 
the  wife  of  S.  D.  Meyers. 

Oliver  K.  Crall  attended  school  in  Lib- 
erty township  and  enjoyed  one  term  in  the 
Normal  school  at  Fostoria,  O.,  following 
which,  before  settling  down  as  a  farmer, 
he  taught  one  term  of  school.  He  remained 
on  the  homstead  for  one  year  after  mar- 
riage but  in  November,  1881,  came  to  Bu- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


759 


cyrus  township,  where  he  has  lived  ever 
since  and  has  become  one  of  the  representa- 
tive men  of  this  section  of  the  county.  Al- 
though the  land  of  his  present  farm  was 
well  situated  and  in  every  way  desirable, 
yet  he  was  not  satisfied  with  the  buildings 
and  kept  on  improving  until  he  had  remod- 
eled the  house  into  a  modern  residence  and 
had  built  not  only  a  substantial  new  barn 
but  machine  sheds  and  other  farm  build- 
ings. He  has  devoted  himself  to  general 
farming  and  moderate  stock  raising  and  is 
generally  regarded  as  one  of  the  township's 
capable  and  prosperous  agriculturists. 

On  Dec.  21,  1880,  Mr.  Crall  was  married 
to  Miss  Mary  C.  Kerr,  who  is  a  daughter 
of  David  E.  and  Margaret  (Dobbins)  Kerr. 
The  father  of  Mi's.  Crall  is  deceased,  but 
the  mother,  now  in  her  eighty-fifth  year, 
lives  comfortably  at  Bucyrus.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Kerr  the  following  children  were  born : 
John  A. ;  Margaret,  wife  of  Robert  An- 
drews; Belle  J.;  Mary  C,  wife  of  Mr.  Crall; 
and  Celestia  I.,  who  is  the  wife  of  John 
Eckard. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crall  have  had  three  chil- 
dren, namely:  Arthur  K.,  who  is  deceased; 
Homer  Boyd,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Bucyrus 
township,  and  married  Susan  Ebert;  and 
Nellie  B.,  formerly  a  student  at  Wooster 
College,  who  is  now  teaching,  in  her  fifth 
year,  in  grade  No.  8  in  the  Union  school 
at  Bucyrus.  She  is  an  educated  and  accom- 
plished young  lady  and  very  successful  in 
her  educational  work.  Mr.  Crall  and  fam- 
ily are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Politically  he  is  a  Republican  but  is  not 
active  in  politics,  taking  the  part  only  of  a 
good  citizen  who  has  the  best  interests  of 
the  country  at  heart.  He  belongs  to  the 
Royal  Arcanum  at  Bucyrus. 

FRANK  J.  QUILTER,  superintendent 
of  the  Broken  Sword  Stone  Company,  at 
Bucyrus,  O.,  was  born  in  the  province  of 
Ontario,  Dominion  of  Canada,  Nov.  i,  1853, 
a  son  of  John  and  Bridget  (Lawler)  Quil- 
ter. 

John  Quilter  was  of  French  extraction. 
When  he  died,  in  the  prime  of  life,  he  was 
a  foreman  on  the  construction  work  of  the 


Grand  Trunk  Railroad,  in  Canada.  He  mar- 
ried Bridget  Lawler  and  both  she  and  hus- 
band were  born  in  Ireland  and  married 
there.  She  died  at  Bucyrus,  in  1905,  aged 
85  years.  Three  children  were  born  in  Ire- 
land— Catherine,  Bessie  and  Matthew. 
About  1848  the  family  came  to  America  and 
while  living  at  Black  Rock,  N.  Y.,  one  son 
was  born,  John,  who  lived  to  maturity,  mai-- 
ried  and  died  in  New  York,  where  his  chil- 
di^en  still  live.  After  moving  to  Canada, 
two  more  children  were  born :  Frank  J.  and 
Joanna,  the  latter  of  whom  lives  in  Colo- 
rado. 

Frank  J.  Quilter  was  five  years  old  when 
he  accompanied  his  widowed  mother  to  Cat- 
taraugus county,  N.  Y.,  and  he  was  reared 
in  that  state  and  learned  the  carpenter 
trade.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  years  he 
came  to  Ohio,  since  when  he  has  been 
largely  connected  with  railroads.  For  one 
year  he  was  with  the  Lake  Erie  &  Western 
and  prior  to  1881,  when  he  came  to  Bucy- 
rus, he  was  located  for  a  year  at  Fostoria, 
with  the  T.  &  O.  C.  Company,  and  for  30 
years  was  general  foreman  of  the  car  de- 
partment for  that  road.  Since  March  11, 
191 1,  he  has  been  superintendent  of  the 
Brokensword  Stone  Company,  of  which 
Dr.  John  A.  Chesney  is  president;  P.  J.  Car- 
roll is  vice-president  and  general  manager; 
William  H.  Pickerington  is  treasurer.  This 
business  is  capitalized  at  $10,000  and  is  in 
a  prosperous  condition.  Employment  is 
given  65  men  in  the  quarries,  six  miles 
northwest  of  the  city.  A  speciality  is  con- 
crete and  crushed  stone  for  macadamizing 
streets,  and  the  trade  territory  is  Ohio,  to- 
gether with  West  Virginia.  Mr.  Quilter  is 
a  dii'ector  in  the  Citizens  Stone  Coitipany 
and  also  in  the  Peoples  Savings  and  Loan 
Company. 

In  1877,  in  New  York,  Mr.  Quilter  was 
married  to  Miss  Bridget  Keane,  who  was 
born  in  Ireland  in  i860  and  in  girlhood  ac- 
companied her  mother  to  New  York  City. 
Her  father,  Patrick  Keane,  had  died  in  Ire- 
land but  the  mother  survived  until  1907. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Quilter  have  had  five  child- 
dren:  Margaret,  who  died  when  aged  21 
years,  an  educated  young  lady  and  a  grad- 


760 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


uate  of  the  high  school;  John,  a  machinist, 
who  lives  at  Olean,  -N.  Y.,  and  who  mar- 
ried Mary  Martin;  Frank  S.,  who  died  in 
1904,  and  was  a  young  man  of  brilliant 
promise;  Blanche  A.,  who  is  the  wife  of  R. 
O.  Parrott,  general  secretary  of  the  Amer- 
ican Clay  Machinery  Company,  at  Bucyi-uS, 
and  has  one  daughter,  Margaret  M.;  and 
Harry  K.,  who  is  with  the  T.  &  O.  C.  Rail- 
road Company,  at  Bucyrus.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Quilter  are  members  of  the  Holy  Trinity 
Roman  Catholic  church.  Since  the  Civil  war 
he  has  been  a  Republican  and  has  been  act- 
ive in  public  affairs  and  for  seven  years  was 
a  member  of  the  city  council.  His  fraternal 
afifiliations  include :  the  Elks,  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America,  Modern  Woodmen 
of  the  World  and  the  American  National 
Association. 

EDWARD  E.  COULTER,  a  well  known 
agriculturist  of  Crawford  county,  owns  and 
operates  a  farm  of  I57>4  acres  in  Whet- 
stone township.  He  was  born  March  3, 
1862,  in  Marion  county  just  across  the  line 
from  where  he  now  lives.  His  parents, 
Harvey  and  jNIary  A.  (Carmean)  Coulter, 
were  natives  of  Huntingdon  county,  Pa., 
and  Ross  county,  O.,  respectively.  The 
father  died  about  1895  but  the  mother  still 
survives  and  makes  her  home  with  her  son, 
Edward  E.  Coulter.  She  was  82  years  old 
on  July  3,  1912. 

Harvey  Coulter  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion and  politically  adhered  to  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Democratic  party.  He  and  his 
wife  became  the  parents  of  the  following 
children:  Malissa,  the  wife  of  Lewis  Spiece; 
Rachel,  now  Mrs.  J.  W  Dowling;  William; 
Mathew;  Sarah,  deceased,  who  was  Ihe 
wife  of  S.  G.  Hurr ;  Samuel ;  Edward  E. ; 
John  S. ;  Efifie,  wife  of  Thomas  Gruber; 
Orphia  and  Elger  J. 

After  completing  his  common  school  eJ- 
ucation,  Edward  E.  Coulter  began  fanning, 
his  first  experience  in  this  occupation  being 
with  his  father.  Farming  has  been  his  life 
work  since,  but  for  three  years  he  was  in- 
terested in  the  implement  business  in  con- 
nection with  it.  He  has  cleared  his  land 
himself,  it  never  having  had  a  plow   in  it 


before  it  came  into  his  possession.  Mr. 
Coulter  also  raises  very  fine  stock,  having 
Poland  China  hogs  and  full-blooded  Dur- 
ham cattle.  He  and  his  neighbors  have 
formed  a  company  which  owns  two  full- 
blooded  horses,  one  of  which  is  a  French 
coach  horse  and  the  other  a  French  draft 
horse.  Mr.  Coulter  has  a  modern  residence 
which  he  has  erected,  as  well  as  up-to-date 
farm  buildings. 

On  Sept.  29,  1885,  Mr.  Coulter  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Emma  Ruff,  a  daughter  of  Mar- 
tin and  Jacobina  (Weidner)  Ruff,  natives 
of  Germany,  where  they  were  married  and 
where  the  father  was  a  tailor  but  in  later 
years  owned  a  farm  although  he  did  not 
operate  it.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ruff  are 
now  deceased.  They  were  the  parents  of 
children  as  follows :  Charles ;  William  Phil- 
ip ;  Mar)',  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of 
Philip  Erb ;  Jacob ;  Henry,  John,  deceased : 
Catherine,  wife  of  James  Lance;  Emma 
(Mi-s.  Coulter) ;  and  Sarah,  deceased.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Edward  E.  Coulter  have  raised 
two  orphans :  Cora  Eighty,  wife  of  Pai'.l 
Virgin;  and  Charles  Eighty,  who  married 
Hazel  Lee. 

Mr.  Coulter  is  independent  in  politics.  He 
is  serving  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  edu- 
cation, on  which  he  served  first  three  years 
and  then  was  re-elected  to  serve  four  years 
more.  He  and  his  wife  attend  the  Reformed 
church. 

C.  L.  \\^HIT:MEYER.*  whose  excellent 
farm  of  120  acres  lies  in  Holmes  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  nine  miles  northwest 
of  Bucyrus,  was  born  in  Lykens  township, 
Crawford  county,  three-fourth  miles  north 
of  Brokensword,  O.  His  parents  were  Hen- 
ry and  Eliza   (Shupp)   Whitmeyer. 

Henry  Whitmeyer  was  born  at  Lan- 
caster, Pa.,  and  was  four  years  old  when 
his  people  came  to  Stark  county,  O.,  and 
twelve  years  old  when  he  came  to  Crawford 
county.  He  followed  farming  until  1903, 
when  he  retired  and  still  resides  at  Bucyrus. 
He  married  Eliza  Shupp,  a  daughter  of 
Michael  Shupp,  of  Dauphin  county,  Pa., 
and  they  have  three  children :  C.  L. ;  Sarah, 
who  is  a  resident  of  Bucyrus;  and  Gather- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


761 


ine,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  Brown,  of  Bu- 
oy r.us. 

After  completing  his  years  of  school  at- 
tendance in  Crawford  county,  C.  L.  Whit- 
meyer  taught  seven  terms  of  school  and  was 
considered  an  excellent  teacher.  After  mar- 
riage he  engaged  in  farming  and  ever  since 
has  resided  on  his  present  place  and  car- 
ries on  stock  raising  and  general  agricul- 
ture. On  April  2,  1895,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Tillie  M.  Miller,  a  daughter  of  Joshua 
and  Catherine  (Zeller)  Miller,  the  former 
of  whom  is  deceased.  Mrs.  Whitmeyer 
had  one  brother,  John,  who  is  now  de- 
ceased. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whitmeyer  five  chil- 
dren have  been  born,  namely :  Gertrude, 
Lailah,  Russell,  AA'ayne  and  Ida  Fay.  The 
family  attend  the  Evangelical  church.  Mr. 
Whitmeyer  has  ser\'ed  nine  years  in  the  of- 
fice of  justice  of  the  peace.  Politically  he 
is  a  Democrat  and  fraternally  is  connected 
with  the  Foresters. 

STANSBURY  LEMMON  AIILLER,  a 
])rominent  farmer  of  Dallas  township,  owns 
80  acres  of  well  cultivated  land.  He  was 
born  in  Crawford  county,  May  10,  1864,  be- 
ing a  son  of  Daniel  and  Maria  (Lemmon) 
Miller. 

John  Miller,  father  of  Daniel  and  grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a 
native  of  Little  York,  Pa.,  from  which  place 
his  parents  removed  to  Perry  county,  Ohio, 
when  he  was  young,  and  there  he  grew  up. 
He  became  a  cabinet  maker  and  went  to 
work  at  that  trade  in  Licking  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  met  and  married  Miss  Lydia  Mur- 
dick.  In  1825  they  removed  to  Crawford 
county  and  settled  in  the  then  small  town 
of  Bucyrus  and  here  worked  at  his  trade 
and  also  engaged  in  the  hotel  business  and 
dry  goods  trade.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
prominent  and  successful  men  of  his  day 
and  it  was  he  who  built  the  first  carding  mill 
which  was  for  years  one  of  the  leading  in- 
dustries of  the  county.  He  was  twice  elected 
sheriff  of  Crawford  county.  He  died  in 
1858  and  his  -wife  survived  until  1871. 

Daniel  Miller  was  born  in  Perry  count\-, 
Ohio,    June    i,    1824,    and    was    raised    on    a 


farm.  After  completing  his  education  in 
the  common  schools  he  took  up  farming  and 
followed  that  all  his  life.  In  1847  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Maria  Lem- 
mon, as  before  indicated.  She  was  born 
May  20,  1827,  in  Seneca  county,  N.  Y.,  but 
came  to  Ohio  when  a  child.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Daniel  Miller  the  following  children 
were  born :  Jennie,  deceased,  who  was  the 
wife  of  Abel  De  AValt;  John  D. ;  Charles 
R. ;  Francis  E. ;  Nettie,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  18  years;  Cassius  M.;  and  Stansbury  L., 
whose  name  heads  this  article. 

After  having  attended  the  common 
schools  of  his  neighborhood,  Stansbury  L. 
Miller  secured  employment  in  a  railroad 
shop  but  remained  there  only  one  year 
when  he  turned  his  attention  to  farming, 
working  with  his  father  until  the  latter's 
death.  Mr.  Miller  continued  farming  the 
home  place  until  his  mother  died,  when 
this  farm  was  sold,  and  in  1898  he  bought 
his  present  farm  from  Lorena  Fisher,  it 
being  known  as  the  Fisher  farm  but  it  was 
at  first  a  part  of  the  Wesley  White  farm. 
Mr.  Miller  has  built  the  new  house  and 
barns  and  has  greatly  improved  the  prop- 
erty since  it  came  into  his  possession.  He 
does  general  farming  and  raises  stock  for 
his  own  use. 

Stansbury  L.  Miller  was  married  in  1885 
to  Miss  Clara  E.  Mehaffey.  Her  parents, 
John  and  Margaret  (Sulbff)  Mehaffey,  re- 
sided in  Juniata  county.  Pa.,  at  the  time  of 
her  birth.  John  Mehaffey  met  his  death 
during  the  Civil  war  at  Andersonville  pris- 
on. To  him  and  his  wife  there  were  born 
two  children,  named  as  follows:  Ephraim 
and  Clara  E.  Mrs.  John  Mehaffey  later  mar- 
ried Ephraim  Mehaffey,  a  brother  of  her 
first  husband,  who  had  also  served  in  the 
Civil  war.  To  them  was  born  one  daugh- 
ter, Anna.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stansbury  L.  Mil- 
ler have  one  son,  Stephen  Lester,  who  lives 
at  home. 

Mr.  Miller  is  a  Republican  in  his  politi- 
cal principles  but  votes  for  the  man  he 
judges  best  rather  than  his  party's  choice. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
at  Bucyrus.  He  and  his  family  attend  the 
Baptist  church. 


762 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


HON.  EDWARD  J.  SONGER,  mayor 
of  the  city  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  is  a  member  of 
one  of  the  old  famiUes  of  Crawford  county. 
He  was  born  October  6,  1867,  one  of  two 
children  born  to  his  parents,  Jonathan  and 
Ruth  (Stewart)  Songer.  The  father  o.f 
Mayor  Songer  engaged  in  farming  until  he 
enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  war,  be- 
coming a.  member  of  the  12th  O.  Vol.  Cav., 
and  on  the  field  of  battle  received  wounds 
which  caused  his  death. 

Edward  J.  Songer  had  no  educational  op- 
portunities beyond  those  offered  by  the 
public  school,  in  early  manhood  learning 
the  trade  of  a  molder,  at  which  he  worked 
almost  continuously  until  he  was  elected 
mayor  of  the  city,  in  November,  1897,  on 
the  Democratic  ticket,  having  previously 
served  as  president  of  the  city  council.  May- 
or Songer  is  deservedly  popular.  He  is  di- 
recting the  afifairs  of  the  municipality  with- 
out fear  or  favor,  solving  many  important 
problems,  carefully  looking  after  public  util- 
ities, and  is  promoting  the  city's  develop- 
ment by  giving  it  a  solid  business  adminis- 
tration. 

Mayor  Songer  married  Miss  Cora  Risher, 
a  daughter  of  William  Risher,  who  is  a  well 
known  engineer  in  charge  of  a  passenger 
train  out  of  Bucyrus  on  the  T.  &  O.  C.  Rail- 
road. Mayor  and  Mrs.  Songer  have  a  very 
attractive  home  at  No.  720  E.  Warren 
Street.  He  is  identified  with  the  Elks  and 
the  Odd  Fellows. 

CALVIN  D.  TUPPS,  a  member  of  one 
of  the  old  and  substantial  families  of  Whet- 
stone township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  re- 
sides on  his  finely  developed  and  improved 
farm  of  280  acres,  which  lies  not  far  from 
Gallon,  O.  On  the  old  homestead  part  of 
this  farm  Mr.  Tupps  was  born,  Oct.  5,  i860, 
and  is  a  son  of  Jechonias  Tupps. 

On  a  groundwork  of  good,  common 
school  education  Calvin  D.  Tupps  success- 
fully pursued  his  course  thus  far  in  life,  de- 
voting himself  almost  entirely  to  agricul- 
tural pursuits.  When  prepared  to  become 
an  independent  farmer  he  purchased  80 
acres  of  his  present  farm  from  George 
Kraner    and   the   balance    from   his   father. 


General  farming  occupies  his  attention,  his 
stock  raising  being  only  for  his  own  use. 
In  1903  he  erected  one  of  the  fine  residences 
of  this  township,  one  that  is  architecturally 
attractive  while  its  comfort  is  assured  by 
the  installation  of  a  water  plant  and  a  sys- 
tem of  hot  air  heating.  All  his  other  build- 
ings are  equally  substantial  and  well  adapt- 
ed for  use  on  a  large  estate. 

On  Dec.  30,  1883,  Mr.  Tupps  was  married 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Ellen  Myers,  a  daughter 
of  highly  respected  retired  residents  of 
Gallon,  Charles  and  Catherine  (Beach) 
Myers.  Mrs.  Tupps  has  the  following  broth- 
ers and  sisters:  Isaac,  Laura,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Lewis  P.  Tracht ;  Samuel ;  Washing- 
ton; George;  and  Malinda,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Edward  Donbeck.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tupps 
have  two  children:  Luther  C.  and  Mabel, 
both  of  whom  live  at  home.  The  family  at- 
tends the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Tupps  is 
a  wide  awake,  intelligent  citizen  but  no 
seeker  for  office,  and  is  identified  with  the 
Republican  party. 

BENJAMIN  F.  COUTS,  whose  business 
is  the  exacting  one  of  railroad  engineer,  has 
been  a  railroad  man  for  the  past  17  years 
and  for  1 1  of  these  has  been  an  engineer  on 
the  Toledo  &  Ohio  Central  Railroad.  He 
was  born  May  14,  1872,  in  the  old  family 
homestead  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of 
William  H.  H.  and  Harriet  (Mead)  Couts. 

It  is  possible  that  the  great-grandfather 
of  the  Couts  family  of  Crawford  county,  O., 
was  born  in  England  and  settled  early  in  the 
state  of  Pennsylvania.  There  his  son,  Hen- 
ry Couts,  was  born  and  from  there,  60  years 
ago,  he  came  to  Crawford  county  and  estab- 
lished himself  near  the  now  flourishing  city 
of  Bucyrus.  Later  he  acquired  land  along 
the  Sandusky  river,  on  which  he  erected 
saw  mills  and  from  these  mills  came  the 
lumber  used  in  early  building  through  this 
section.  From  his  land  he  furnished  all  the 
wood  used  by  the  railroads  through  here 
when  they  were  first  constructed  and  his  act- 
ivities covered  other  fields.  He  was  elected 
a  county  commissioner  and  proved  an  able 
and  useful  ofificial.  It  was  through  his  ef- 
forts  that   the   earliest  postal   service  was 


HON.  EDWARD  J.  SONGER 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


768. 


established  in  Crawford  county.  His  death 
was  caused  by  accident,  he  then  being  in 
his  78th  year.  In  public  life  he  set  an  ex- 
ample of  public  spirit,  while  in  private  life 
he  set  one  of  self  denial  and  temperance,  his 
objections  to  stimulating  beverages  extend- 
ing even  to  tea  and  coffee.  During  the 
Civil  war  he  served  in  an  Ohio  regiment  in 
the  capacity  of  a  veterinary  surgeon.  He 
gave  his  seven  sons  to  his  country's  serv- 
ice, five  others  being  too  young  to  shoul- 
der a  musket,  and  all — ^John,  William,  H. 
H.,  Samuel,  David,  Hiram,  Jacob  and  Jere- 
miah, lived  to  return  home.  Several  were 
slightly  wounded  in  the  conflict  and  for  a 
time  Jeremiah  was  confined  at  Anderson- 
ville  prison.  Of  his  thirteen  children  only 
one  was  a  daughter,  she  being  given  the 
name  of  Barbara.  She  survives  and  lives 
in  Kentucky,  being  the  widow  of  Jacob 
Schupp.  Almost  all  of  this  large  family 
grew  to  maturity  and  the  following  are  yet 
living:  William,  John,  Jeremiah  and  Sam- 
uel, all  at  Bucyrus  except  John,  whose  home 
is  in  Upper  Sandusky. 

William   H.   H.   Couts  was  born   March 
16,    1839,   and  was   quite  young  when  his 
parents  came  to  Bucyrus.     He  had  no  op- 
portunity to  study  or  to  learn  the  contents 
of  books  until  after  he  enlisted  for  service 
in  the   Civil  war.      Fortunately  for  him   a 
comrade,  who  had  enjoyed  many  education- 
al advantages,  took  an  interest  in  the  un- 
lettered young  man  and  proposed  teaching 
him,  a  proposition  gladly  accepted  and  car- 
ried out,  and  when  the  soldiering  days  were 
over  he   had   a   good,   practical   education, 
which  he  turned  to  account.     He  became 
a    contractor   and    a    skilled   workman,    as 
many  of  the  structures  at  Bucyrus  stand 
to  bear  testimony.     He  now  lives  retired, 
making  his  home  with  his  son,  Benjamin 
F.  Couts,  but  yet  takes  a  large  degree  of 
interest  in  everthing  that  pertains   to  the 
growth  and  development  of  Bucyrus.     He 
is  a  valued  member  of  Kelly  Post,  G.  A.  R., 
of  this  city,  having  served  for  four  years 
and  six  months  in  the  army  during  the  Civil 
war.     He  was  a  member  of  the  34th  and 
36th  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  participated  in  many 
of  the  serious  battles  of  that  great  war  and 


on  two  occasions  was  wounded  and  left  on 
the  battlefield  as  dead,  and  once  suffered 
from  sunstroke.  He  still  carries  scars  of 
his  honorable  service. 

During  a  furlough  home,  Mr.  Couts  was 
married  to  Miss  Harriet  L.  Mead,  who  was 
born  in  the  state  of  New  York,  a  daughter 
of  Isaac  and  Lydia  R.  (Lenard)  Mead,  who 
came  to  Ohio  in  her  childhood.  For  many 
years  afterward  Isaac  Mead  and  wife  lived 
at  Bucyrus,  and  she  died  in  this  city  when 
aged  ']J  years,  his  death  occuring  one 
year  before  at  Welden  Center,  Mich.  The 
wife  of  William  H.  H.  Couts  died  at  Bu- 
cyrus in  September,  1907,  at  the  age  of 
66  years.  She  was  a  consistent  member  of 
the  Baptist  church,  to  which  her  husband 
also  belongs.  _Their  family  consisted  of 
three  sons  and  two  daughters,  as  follows : 
Addie  B.,  who  died  Mar.  7,  1912,  and  who 
was  the  wife  of  George  Wolf,  of  Bucyrus; 
William  Lenard,  who  was  accidentally 
killed  in  September,  1892,  while  attending 
to  his  duties  as  a  fireman  of  the  Missouri 
Pacific  Railroad;  Frederick  F.,  who  is  a 
prominent  citizen  of  South  Milwaukee, 
Wis.,  one  of  the  board  of  aldermen,  and 
who  is  married  and  has  two  children,  Maria 
and  Ada;  Benjamin  F. ;  and  Viola,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Edward  Cosgrove,  who  is  an 
electrical  engineer,  living  at  Kalamazoo, 
Mich. 

Benjamin  F.  Couts  was  married  at  Stra- 
kers,  O.,  to  Miss  Edith  Meade,  who  was 
born  at  Homestead,  Mich.,  Oct.  24,  1877, 
where  she  was  educated  and  lived  until  her 
marriage.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Jerome  and 
Lucy  (Kentner)  Meade,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  in  New  York  and  the  latter 
in  Michigan.  Mrs.  Meade  died  at  Home- 
stead in  1885,  when  aged  32  years.  For  a 
number  of  years  Mr.  Meade  was  connected 
with  the  Govenment  Life  Saving  Station, 
belonging  to  the  Lake  Michigan  service, 
but  now  is  a  farmer.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  A/[ethodist  Episcopal  church,  as  was  his 
wife.     In  politics  he  is  a  Socialist. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Couts  have  one  daughter, 
Burdette  Meade,  who  was  born  May  17, 
1910.  They  attend  the  Baptist  church,  Mrs. 
Couts  being  a  member.     Mr.  Couts  is  very 


764 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


prominent  in  the  order  of  the  B.  L.  F.  & 
E.,  having  served  as  financial  secretary  of 
the  org-anization  for  four  years,  and  now  is 
the  legislative  representative  of  that  order. 
He  is  an  earnest,  clear-headed,  competent 
man.  In  his  attitude  on  public  questions  he 
is  a  Socialist,  while  his  father  remains  a 
Republican. 

DAVID  SHEARER,  who  owns  and  cul- 
tivates his  farm  of  no  acres  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  was  born  in 
this  township  Dec.  4,  1839.  His  father,  John 
Shearer,  was  a  native  of  Lancaster  county, 
Pa.,  and  his  mother,  who  was  in  maiden- 
hood Catherine  INIiller,  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, coming  to  this  country  when  six 
years  old. 

John  Shearer,  who  was  a  son  of  j\Iichael 
and  Barbara  Shearer,  was  a  farmer  all  his 
life  and  a  Democrat  in  his  political  views. 
He  and  his  family  attended  the  German 
Reformed  church.  Both  he  and  his  wife 
are  now  deceased  and  are  buried  in  Shearer 
cemetery  in  this  township.  Their  children 
were  named  as  follows :  David,  Benjamin, 
George,  Isaac,  Samuel,  ]\Iary  and  Daniel, 
the  four  last  named  being  deceased. 

David  Shearer  received  his  education  in 
the  common  schools  of  his  native  township, 
and  when  the  time  came  for  him  to  choose 
his  life's  occupation  he  began  work  with  his 
father  on  the  latter  s  farm.  He  continued 
working  in  this  way  until  his  27th  year, 
when  he  purchased  the  farm  from  his  father 
and  here  he  has  spent  his  subsequent  life. 
He  has  cleared  the  land  and  has  erected  the 
substantial  house  and  farm  buildings  found 
thereon. 

;\Ir.  Shearer  was  united  in  marriage  with 
]\Iiss  Rachel  Paulin,  Xov.  30,  1865.  She  was 
1)orn  in  Columbiana  county.  O.,  a  daughter 
of  Peter  and  Rachel  (Cox)  Paulin.  Her 
father  was  a  native  of  ^Maryland  and  served 
in  the  war  of  1812.  Air.  and  Mrs.  Pauhn 
had  a  large  family  of  children,  all  of  whom 
are  deceased  except  a  son  named  Solomon 
and  Mrs.'  Shearer.  The  others  were :  Na- 
than, Daniel,  John.  Samuel,  Peter,  Joshua. 
Alary  (Mrs.  John  Rupert),  and  Anna  (Airs. 
Jerry  Hoag). 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  David  Shearer  have  one 
son,  Samuel  C,  a  resident  of  Denver,  Colo., 
and  traveling  passenger  agent  for  the  Den- 
ver &  Rio  Grande  R.  R.  He  married  Ella 
Laughbaum,  who  is  now  deceased.  He  has 
a  daughter  Clarice. 

David  Shearer  is  independent  in  politics. 

E.  E.  HEINLEN,*  one  of  the  enterpris- 
ing and  successful  agriculturists  of  Holmes 
township,  resides  on  his  well  improved  farm 
of  80  acres,  which  is  situated  nine  miles 
north  of  Bucyrus,  O.  He  was  born  in 
Holmes  township,  Crawford  county,  in 
1880,  and  is  a  son  of  Henry  and  Ehzabeth 
(Auck)  Heinlen. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Heinlen  were  born 
also  in  Crawford  county  and  the  father  en- 
gaged in  farming  during  life,  his  death  oc- 
curring at  the  age  of  34  years.  The  mother 
resides  iij  Whetstone  township.  They  had 
three  children,  namely:  Cora,  who  is  the 
widow  of  Charles  Aliller;  E.  E. ;  and  Caro- 
line, who  married  E.  Sury. 

E.  E.  Heinlen  obtained  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  Crawford  county  and 
afterward  engaged  in  farming  on  the  home 
place,  and  in  1900  came  to  his  present  farm. 
Here  he  has  made  notable  improvements, 
including  the  building  of  a  comfortable  resi- 
dence. He  raises  excellent  stock  and  car- 
ries on  a  general  farming  line. 

Mr.  Heinlen  was  married  to  Miss  Hattie 
Kellogg,  a  daughter  of  William  Kellogg, 
of  Crawford  county,  and  they  have  one 
daughter,  Mary.  They  attend  the  Evan- 
gelical church.  Mr.  Heinlen  is  a  Democrat 
but  is  no  political  agitator,  merely  taking  a 
good  citizen's  intelligent  interest  in  public 
matters. 

WILLIAAI  L.  TUPPS,  a  leading  citizen 
of  Whetstone  township,  Crawford  county, 
0.,  township  trustee  and  successful  farmer, 
resides  on  his  well -improved  place  contain- 
ing 97  acres,  near  the  old  Tupps  homestead, 
and  he  was  born  there  Dec.  9,  1871.  His 
parents  were  Jechonias  and  Sarah 
( Schreck)   Tupps. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Tupps  were  both  born 
in  Crawford  county.-  the  father  on  the  pio- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


765 


neer  farm  which  his  father,  Jacob  Tupps, 
entered  from  the  gfovernment  when  he  came 
here  from  Pennsylvania,  and  it  has  never 
been  out  of  the  family.  The  father  of  Mr. 
Tupps  has  been  a  farmer  all  his  active  life 
and  has  spent  his  life  in  this  township.  His 
first  marriage  was  to  Sarah  Schreck,  and 
after  her  death  he  married  Mrs.  Rachel 
(Shearer)  Gibler,  the  widow  of  Adam  Gib- 
ler.  To  his  first  marriage  the  following 
children  were  born :  Dorothy,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Washington  Bair;  Calvin  D.,  who 
lives  on  the  old  homestead;  Catherine,  de- 
ceased, who  was  the  wife  of  Joshua  Preble ; 
Homer  I. ;  Amanda,  who  is  the  wife  of  Sam- 
uel W.  Guinther;  Samuel  E.  and  William 
L.  The  mother  of  the  above  children  died 
March  28,  1881,  and  her  burial  was  in  the 
Whetstone  cemetery.  The  father  still  sur- 
vives and  is  in  the  enjoyment  of  good  health 
although  he  was  born  Dec.  19,  1832.  In  his 
3'outh  he  attended  the  old  Campbell  school 
and  afterward,  as  noted  above,  settled  down 
to  farming.  His  parents  were  Jacob  and 
Catherine  (Whitmer)  Tupps  and  he  was  the 
youngest  born  of  three  children,  the  others 
being:  Amanda,  who  was  the  wife  of  Ed- 
ward Campbell ;  and  Urias.  Jechonias  Tupps 
is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  at  one  time 
served  in  the  office  of  road  supervisor.  He 
resides  with  his  son,  William  L. 

William  L.  Tupps  obtained  his  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  Whetstone  town- 
ship, and  with  the  exception  of  three  years, 
during  which  he  was  a  railroad  employe, 
he  has  been  engaged  ever  since  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits.  He  bought  this  farm  in  De- 
cembei",  1899,  and  carried  on  general  farm- 
ing, raises  stock  for  his  own  use  and  deals 
in  Delaine  sheep.  After  coming  to  the  place 
he  remodeled  the  house  and  built  substan- 
tial barns  and  these,  with  other  improve- 
ments, make  this  one  of  the  most  valuable 
farms  in  the  township. 

Mr.    Tupps   was   married   on   March   2}^, 

1893,    to    Miss    Bertha    F.    Holtshouse,    a 

daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Mary  (Noblit) 

Holtshouse,  the  former  of  whom  was  born 

in  Pennsylvania  and  is  now  deceased,  and 

the  latter  in  Crawford  county.    To  Mr.  and 

Mrs.     Holtshouse    the    following    children 
44 


were  born:  Blanche  Louellen,  deceased; 
John  C. ;  Bertha  F. ;  Amanda  F.,  wife  of 
E.  J.  Line ;  Delia,  wife  of  Isaac  Beach ;  Ollie, 
wife  of  Oliver  Beach;  William  Franklin, 
deceased;  Jay  L. ;  and  Warren  W.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Tupps  have  four  children :  Chester 
E.,  Bessie  M.,  Harold  B.  and  Dorothy  Lou- 
ellen. Mr.  Tupps  is  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics and  is  an  intelligent  and  wide  awake 
citizen.  As  one  of  the  township  trustees 
he  looks  carefully  after  public  interests.  He 
is  a  member  of  Pope  Grange,  at  Gallon,  O. 

SANFORD  W.  BURKHART,*  who  is 
one  of  the  well  known  farmers  and  stock 
raisers  of  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  residing  on  his  valuable  tract 
of  82  acres,  was  born  in  Marion  county,  O., 
Oct.  7,  1866,  and  is  a  son  of  John  S.  and 
EHzabeth   (Shaffer)  Burkhart. 

The  Burkhart  family  is  a  numerous  and 
respected  one  in  Pennsylvania  and  there 
John  S.  Burkhart  was  born.  An  enterpris- 
ing spirit  brought  him  to  Ohio  in  youth 
and  in  Morrow  county  he  was  married  to 
Elizabeth  Shaffer.  They  reside  on  their 
farm  in  Marion  county,  O.,  where  they  have 
lived  for  many  years  and  have  taken  part 
in  the  useful  activities  and  interests  of  that 
section.  The  following  children  were  born 
to  them :  Sanford  W. ;  Louise,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Abraham  Guinther;  Ella,  who  is  the 
wife  of  John  Lepp ;  and  Ora. 

After  his  school  days  Sanford  W.  Burk- 
hart assisted  his  father  on  the  homestead 
and  remained  with  him  until  he  was  32  years 
of  age  and  then  purchased  his  present  place 
from  Isaac  Noblit.  A  new  barn  and-  en- 
tirely remodeled  house  changed  the  appear- 
ance of  the  property  in  a  very  short  time 
and  a  pleasant  air  of  thrift  and  prosperity  is 
very  noticeable.  Mr.  Burkhart  raises-  some 
excellent  stock  for  his  own  use  and  grows 
the  grains  that  do  best  in  this  climate. 

On  March  4,  1898,  Mr.  Burkhart  was 
married  to  Miss  Emma  Christman,  who  is 
a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Lucinda  (Speace) 
Christman,  both  of  whom  are  now  deceased. 
The  father  of  Mrs.  Burkhart  was  a  farmer, 
in  Marion  county  and  his  children  were  as 
follows:   Sadie,   who   is   the   wife   of   Silas 


766 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Hill;  Edward,  who  is  deceased;  Iva,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Rev.  David  Raiser,  pastor  of 
the  Reformed  church  at  Tiffin,  O. ;  Bertha, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Ora  Bensley;  and  Emma, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  Burkhart.  To  the 
last  named  have  been  born :  Verda,  Lester, 
Joan,  Mildred,  and  a  babe  that  died.  They 
are  members  of  the  Reformed  church.  In 
politics  Mr.   Burkhart  is  a  Democrat. 

ALBERT  M.  ENSMINGER,  formerly 
special  examiner  for  the  State  Bureau  of 
Uniform  Accounting,  fofl:  many  years  was 
prominent  in  the  public  affairs  of  Bucyrus, 
O.,  and  was  favorably  known  as  a  journalist 
and  as  a  member  of  the  Bucyrus  bar.  He 
was  born  in  Perry  county.  Pa.,  Sept.  27, 
1858,  and  died  at  his  home  on  the  corner  of 
East  Rensselaer  and  Iron  streets,  Bucyrus, 
Sept.  27,  1909.  His  parents  were  John  Wil- 
liam Henry  and  Susan   (Jacobs)  Ensminger. 

John  William  Henry  Ensminger  was  born 
in  Perry  county,  Pa.,  Feb.  2,  1826,  and  died 
at  Bucyrus,  O.,  Feb.  24,  1892.  He  was  a 
son  of  David  and  Barbara  (Messinger)  En- 
sminger, the  former  of  whom  was  the  second 
son  of  Christian  Ensminger,  who  was  born 
in  America,  June  8,  1762,  and  died  March  6, 
1836.  A  younger  son  of  David  and  Barbara 
(Messinger)  Ensminger,  George  Benjamin 
Franklin,  was  born  in  Perry  county,  Pa., 
Nov.  26,  1845,  and  died  January  2,  1869,  in 
Crawford  county,  O.  He  was  married  Nov. 
4,  1868,  to  Miriam  A.  Ebert,  a  daughter  of 
Dr.  Philip  Ebert  of  Crawford  county.  No 
children  were  born  to  this  union.  The  widow 
was  married  Dec.  12,  1876,  to  Dr.  H.  S. 
Bevington,  of  Crawford  county,  and  to  this 
union  two  children  were  born:  Elwood  and 
Rebecca. 

John  William  Henry  Ensminger  was  mar- 
ried April  13,  1854,  to  Susan,  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Christina  Jacobs,  of  Cumberland 
County,  Pa.  She  was  born  March  14,  1835. 
Of  this  union  there  were  born  five  children, 
three  sons  and  two  daughters,  namely :  Frank- 
lin Pierce,  who  was  born  Dec.  31,  181;  1^,  mar- 
ried April  II,  1878  Anna  E.,  daughter  of 
Hiram  and  Rachel  Cross,  born  July  3,  i8s6, 
and  they  had  one  son,  Edgar  Albertus,  born 
March  i.  1880,  who  died  April  21,  1884.; 
Albert    Milton,    the    subject   of   this    sketch; 


Charles  Edgar,  who  was  born  Nov.  2^,  i860 
married  August  12,  1886,  Emma,  daughter 
of  Benjamin  Beal,  born  June  7,  1866,  and 
they  have  three  children— Gertrude  Augusta, 
born  Aug.  22,  1887,  Arthur  Beal,  born  Jan! 
8,  1890,  and  Charles  Edgar,  Jr.,  born  Nov. 
14,  1896;  Anna  May,  who  was  born  May  30 
1868,  died  Dec.  28,  1871 ;  and  Alberta  Etta^ 
who  was  born  Sept.  22,  1876.  In  1866  John 
William  Henry  Ensminger  moved  with  his 
famjly  to  Jefferson  township,  Crawford  coun- 
ty, O.,  and  in  1879  the  family  home  was 
transferred  to  Bucyrus. 

Albert  M.  Ensminger  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Bucyrus  and  afterward  en- 
tered the  law  department  of  the  University 
of  Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor,  where  he  was 
graduated  with  the  class  of  1882.  In  the 
same  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and 
entered  into  the  practice  of  law  at  Bucyrus. 
In  1885  he  was  first  elected  city  solicitor  and 
was  subsequently  re-elected  and  when  his 
second  official  term  ended,  he  became  editor 
of  the  Daily  Forum,  at  Bucyrus,  and  ably 
upheld  the  policy  of  that  newspaper  from 
1890  until  he  was  appointed  postmaster  in 
1894,  during  the  second  administration  of 
President  Cleveland.  He  served  as  postmas- 
ter at  Bucyrus  until  September  i,  1898,  and 
then  resumed  his  newspaper  connection,  in 
which  he  continued  until  1901,  when  he  again 
turned  his  attention  to  other  interests.  Sub- 
sequently, however,  he  was  more  or  less  con- 
nected with  the  Bucyrus  newspapers,  being  a 
special  reporter  for  the  Evening  Telegraph 
and  the  Bucyrus  Journal.  In  1905  he  was 
appointed  special  state  examiner,  a  position 
for  which  he  was  eminently  qualified  and  in 
which  he  proved  satisfactory  to  the  fullest 
extent. 

Mr.  Ensminger  was  married  Dec.  16,  1886. 
to  Miss  Carrie  Blair,  daughter  of  -Elias  and 
Anna  (McCrory)  Blair,  a  prominent  family 
of  Bucyrus.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Ensminger 
still  survive  and  she  was  the  third  born  in 
their  family  of  children.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ensminger  one  son  was  bom,  Edward  Blair, 
who  is  attending  school  in  Bucvrus.  Mrs. 
Ensminger  is  a  member  of  St.  Paul's  Luth- 
eran Church,  to  which  Mr.  Ensminger  also 
belonged,  and  is  active  in  the  work  of  the 
missionary  society. 


ALBERT  M.  ENSMINGER 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


769 


Fraternally,  Mr.  Ensminger  was  a  member 
of  Bucyrus  Lodge  No.  156  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  of  Demas 
Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  belonged 
also  to  the  Crawford  County  Bar  Association. 
Few  men  of  the  city  are  remembered  with 
more  sincere  sentiments  of  regret,  for  in  every 
relation  of  life  he  was  upright,  honorable  and 
helpful. 

WILLIAM  R.  SHADE,  who  has  been 
identified  with  the  great  Erie  Railway  for 
the  past  44  years,  is  probably  one  of  the 
best  known  engineers  connected  with  this 
line  and  is  the  oldest  one  in  point  of  service 
on  the  Cincinnati  division,  also  known  as 
the  Third  division.  Mr.  Shade  was  born 
at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  Nov.  19,  1850,  and  is 
a  son  of  David  and  Ann  M.  (Sholey)  Shade. 

David  Shade  and  wife  were  natives  of 
Pennsylvania  and  from  there  came  to  Ohio 
in  1854  and  located  at  Mansfield,  where 
the  father  operated  a  saw  mill  for  some 
years,  afterward  moving  to  Hartford,  Ind., 
where  he  died  in  1872,  when  aged  45  years. 
His  widow,  who  was  born  Dec.  17,  1826, 
survived  until  Jan.  2,  191 1,  dying  at  the 
home  of  her  son,  William  R.,  at  Galion.  She 
was  a  member  of  the  English  Lutheran 
church.  The  family  consisted  of  three  sons 
and  two  daughters,  William  R.  being  the 
eldest.  One  son,  Norton,  lives  in  California, 
and  one  daughter,  Ida,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Amos  Warner,  lives  at  Battle  Creek,  Mich., 
and  they  have  three  sons  and  one  daugh- 
ter.    The  others  are  deceased. 

After  his  school  days  passed  William  R. 
Shade  entered  into  railroad  life,  in  1868  be- 
coming a  brakeman  with  the  C.  &  G.  W 
(now  the  Erie)  road;  in  the  following  year 
he  was  promoted  to  be  fireman  and  con- 
tinued in  that  position  until  Oct.  i,  1876, 
when  he  was  given  an  engine  and  entered 
upon  the  responsible  duties  that  make  an 
engineer  one  of  the  most  important  factors 
in  the  whole  operating  department  of  a  rail- 
road. No  mistake  was  made  in  according 
this  privilege  to  Mr.  Shade  as  his  record 
as  an  engineer  shows  that  his  careful  su- 
pervision and  thorough  knowledge  of  rail- 
roading has  enabled  him  to  avoid  accidents 


and  thereby  save  lives  and  property  through 
a  continuous  period  of  service  in  this  posi- 
tion of  36  years.  As  a  token  of  apprecia- 
tion, in  191 1  his  name  was  placed  on  his  en- 
gine as  the  oldest  engineer  of  his  division 
and  at  the  same  time  he  was  given  a  letter 
of  commendation  from  Charles  A.  Allen,  the 
division  superintendent,  who  mentioned  his 
years  of  faithful  service.  For  13  years  past 
Mr.  Shade  has  been  assigned  to  the  most 
important  passenger  service. 

Mr.  Shade  was  married  at  Galion  to  Miss 
Susie  Gates,  who  was  born  in  New  York 
in  1858,  and  died  in  this  city  in  1895  Three 
sons  were  born  to  this  marriage,  two  of 
whom,  Ellis  and  Elmer,  died  in  early  cWld- 
hood.  The  third  son,  Arthur  R.,  who  was 
born  in  1876,  is  a  commercial  traveler.  He 
married  Ella  Epley  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren, George  and  Paul.  Mr.  Shade  was 
married  (second),  also  at.  Galion,  to  Miss 
Ella  Warren,  who  was  born  in  Meigs  coun- 
ty, O.,  her  father  being  a  veteran  of  the 
Civil  War.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shade  attend  the 
Christian  church,  of  which  Mrs.  Shade  is 
a  member.  In  politics  Mr.  Shade  is  a 
Democrat  and  fraternally  belongs  to  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  for  more  than  30 
years  has  been  identified  with  the  Brother- 
hood of  Locomotive  Engineers. 

JACOB  K.  KLEINKNECHT,  whose 
one  farm  of  82  acres  lies  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  owns  an 
equally  valuable  one  of  93  acres,  situated 
in  Jefferson  township.  He  was  born  May 
10,  1844,  in  what  was  then  Richland  but 
now  is  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of 
Peter  and  Elizabeth    (Kitch)    Kleinknecht. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Kleinknecht  were 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  the  father  in  Berks 
county,  a  son  of  John  Kleinknecht,  and  the 
mother  in  Cumberland  county,  a  daughter 
of  George  Kitch.  They  came  to  Ohio  in 
youth  and  were  married  here.  The  father 
followed  farming.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  United  Brethren  church  and  at  the  time 
of  death  was  living  in  Wells  county,  Ind., 
where  he  was  buried.  The  mother  was  a 
member  of  the  Church  of  Christ  and  her 
death  occurred  in  Crawford  county.     They 


770 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


had  the  following  children :  Jacob  K. ;  John ; 
William,  who  is  deceased;  and  Mary  Jean- 
etta,  who  is  the  wife  of  William  Hillbolt, 
of  Bellefontaine,  O. 

Jacob  K.  Kleinknecht  had  district  school 
advantages  in  his  boyhood  and  afterward 
worked  by  the  month  on  different  farms  for 
two  years,  up  to  1861,  when  he  enlisted  for 
service  in  the  Civil  War.  The  company 
he  joined  was  one  that  was  organized  at 
Bucyrus  by  James  A.  Marsh  and  became  a 
part  of  the  56th  HI.  Vol.  Inf.,  in  which  he 
served  about  four  months.  He  reenlisted 
in  the  First  Batteiy,  111.  Light  Artillery,  in 
which  he  served  for  eighteen  months  under 
Captain  Boutin,  who  later  organized  the 
S9th  U.  S.  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  Mr.  Klein- 
knecht remained  in  that  regiment  until  the 
close  of  the  war  and  was  finally  mustered 
out  January  31,   1866. 

Returning  theji  to  Crawford  county  he 
went  to  work  on  the  farm  of  Rev.  William 
Nevill,  remaining  six  months,  and  then 
spent  the  winter  in  Minnesota  and  after 
he  again  returned  to  Crawford  county  was 
married  and  passed  the  following  year  on 
his  wife's  folks'  homestead.  She  inherited 
26  acres  and  they  moved  on  it,  and  in  1885 
Mr.  Kleinknecht  bought  his  home  farm 
from  Allen  Scott.  The  second  farm  came 
later  to  his  wife  as  a  part  of  the  old  Stine- 
baught  homestead. 

On  March  27,  1867,  Mr.  Kleinknecht  was 
married  to  Miss  Permelia  C.  Stinebaught, 
who  was  born  in  Crawford  county,  a 
daughter  of  Adam  and  Catherine  (Ash- 
croft)  Stinebaught.  The  father,  a  farmer 
and  saw  mill  man,  was  born  in  Virginia, 
while  the  mother  was  born  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, a  daughter  of  Adam  Ashcroft.  They 
had  the  following  children:  Mary  Ann,  de- 
ceased, who  was  the  wife  of  Henry  Brad- 
ford ;  Elizabeth  and  John,  both  of  whom  are 
deceased;  Margaret,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Henry  Sheidler;  George  D.,  who  died  from 
the  effects  of  a  wound  received  in  the  Civil 
War:  Harriet  B.,  deceased,  who  was  the 
wife  of  a  Mr.  Pinkerton;  Newton,  and  Per- 
melia C,  who  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  Klein- 
knecht. To  the  last  named  the  following 
family  has  been  born :  Robert  C,  who  mar- 


ried Mary  Crawford;  Sylvia  A.,  who  is  the 
wife  of  John  D.  Snyder;  and  George  G., 
Henry  H.,  Willis  W.,  Charles  F.,  John  C, 
Joseph  O.,  Alfred  E.,  and  Elzie  E.  The 
family  attend  the  United  Brethren  church. 
Politically  a  Republican,  Mr.  Kleinknecht 
has  been  elected  frequently  to  township  of- 
fices and  has  served  on  the  school  board 
and  as  road  supervisor. 

SAMUEL  W.  GUINTHER,  whose  fine 
farm  of  170  acres  lies  in  Whetstone  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  Q.,  was  born  in 
Marion  county,  O.,  April  15,  1861,  and  is  a 
son  of  John  G.  and  Christiana  (Delker) 
Guinther.  The  parents  were  both  born  in 
Pennsylvania  and  both  are  now  deceased, 
resting  side  by  side  in  the  old  Shearer  ceme- 
tery. They  were  well  known  and  highly 
respected  people.  They  had  the  following 
children:  Catherine,  wife  of  John  Witea- 
mire;  Rosena  and 'Salome,  both  died  in  in- 
fancy; George,  deceased;  Abraham;  Mary, 
deceased;  and  Samuel  W. 

Samuel  W.  Guinther  attended  the  public 
school  in  boyhood  and  assisted  his  father 
until  old  enough  to  work  as  a  farm  hand 
on  neighboring  farms  and  was  thus  engaged 
for  two  years  prior  to  1884,  when  he  bought 
40  acres  of  his  present  farm.  To  the  first 
purchase  he  added  and  now  is  the  justly  con- 
tended owner  of  170  acres  of  valuable  land. 
He  has  done  considerable  improving  which 
includes  the  building  of  a  fine  new  barn, 
and  carries  on  a  general  farming  line,  rais- 
ing just  enough  stock  for  his  own  use.  He 
is  a  good  manager  and  a  practical  and  sensi- 
ble farmer. 

On  Dec.  25,  1884,  Mr.  Guinther  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Amanda  Ellen  Tupps,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Jechonias  and  Sarah  (Schreck) 
Tupps,  prominent  people  in  Whetstone 
township,  where  Mr.  Tupps  owns  a  fine 
farm.  To  Mr.  and  :\Irs.  Guinther  the  fol- 
lowing children  have  been  born :  Oscar  L. ; 
John  C,  who  married  Ethel  Sharrock; 
Ethel  May;  and  one  who  died  in  infancy. 
The  family  attend  the  English  Lutheran 
church.  Mr.  Guinther  is  nominally  a  Demo- 
crat but  he  is  quite  capable  of  thinking  for 
himself  and   frequently  casts  his  vote  for 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


771 


the  man  rather  than  the  party.  He  has 
served  as  a  school  director  and  on  one  oc- 
casion filled  out  the  unexpired  term  of  town- 
ship trustee. 

JOHN  F.  ECKSTEIN,  who  carries  on 
general  farming  in  section  13,  Cranberry 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  wher'e  he 
owns  80  acres  of  valuable  land,  situated 
two  miles  east  of  New  Washington,  O.,  was 
born  in  this  township,  Aug.  25,  1876;  and 
is  a  son  of  Adam  and  Catherine  (Fike)  Eck- 
stein. 

Adam  Eckstein  was  born  in  Germany, 
Feb.  15,  1845,  and  at  the  age  of  three  years 
was  brought  to  America  by  his  parents, 
George  and  Catherine  Eckstein.  They  lived 
for  two  years  in  Crawford  county  and  then 
moved  to  Richland  county  and  resided  there 
for  six  years,  but  return'ed  to  Crawford 
county,  where  George  Eckstein  died  in  his 
69th  year  and  his  wife  when  aged  73  years. 
Adam  Eckstein  attended  the  district  schools 
in  boyhood  and  afterward  worked  as  a  hired 
man  until  24  years  of  age,  an  industrious 
and  willing  helper  at  all  times  and  one  who 
made  friends  and  kept  them,  and  about  this 
time  was  married  to  Miss  Catherine  Fike. 
She  was  born  in  Germany  and  lived  there 
until  she  "was  24  years  old,  a  daughter  of 
George  Fike.  After  marriage  Mr.  Eck- 
stein and  wife  settled  on  the  farm  of  120 
acres,  lying  in  section  12,  Cranberry  town- 
ship, where  he  now  lives  retired.  When 
Mr.  Eckstein  came  into  possession  he  found 
a  great  deal  of  improving  and  fertilizing 
necessary  and  his  years  of  experience  on 
dififerent  farms  had  given  him  so  excellent 
a  training  that  he  soon  was  able  to  put  his 
own  place  into  fine  condition,  and  during 
his  active  years  was  known  as  one  of  the 
best  farmers  in  this  section.  In  politics  he 
has  always  been  a  Democrat,  but  has  never 
accepted  any  office  except  that  of  school 
director.  He  is  a  member  and  an  elder  in 
the  German  Lutheran  church,  and  when  the 
present  church  edifice  was  erected,  was  a 
member  of  the  building  committee.  To 
Adam  Eckstein  and  wife  six  children  were 
born,  namely:  Mary,  who  died  when  aged 
two  years ;   Catherine,  who  is  the  wife  of 


William  Kessler,  residing  in  Auburn  town- 
ship; John,  who  Hves  in  Cranberry  town- 
ship; Adam  G.,  who  follows  the  carpenter 
trade  and  lives  at  N^w  Washington;  Will- 
iam, who  assists  his  father;  and  Julia,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Israel  Steiger,  of  Cranberry 
township. 

John  F.  Eckstein  attended  what  was 
called  the  Brick  or  McDougal's  school,  in 
Cranberry  township,  in  his  boyhood,  and 
was  reared  to  farm  life.  When  he  started 
out  for  himself  he  received  a  gift  from  his 
father,  the  latter  giving  all  his  children  cash 
or  its  equivalent  amounting  to  one  thou- 
sand dollars.  Ever  since  marriage  he  has 
lived  on  his  present  farm  and  has  done  con- 
siderable improving  and  carries  on  his  agri- 
cultural operations  more  or  less  according 
to  modern  methods,  assisted  by  the  latest 
improved  machinery. 

Mr.  Eckstein  married  Miss  Margaret 
Amelia  Shafifer,  who  was  born  in  Chatfield 
township,  Crawford  county.  O.,  a  daughter 
of  Adam  B.  Shafifer,  and  they  have  four 
children :  Mary  M.,  Elsie  Amelia,  Frederick 
Adam  and  Esther  Margaret.  Mr.  Eckstein 
and  family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  Life  his  father  be  is  a  Democrat 
and  has  served  Cranberry  township  one 
term  as  supervisor  and  two  terms  as  school 
director. 

ISAAC  H.  TUPFS,  general  farmer  and 
highly  respected  citizen  of  Whetstone  town- 
ship, Crawford  county.  O.,  and  a  member 
of  one  of  the  old  and  substantial  families 
of  this  section,  was  born  on  the  old  Tupps 
homestead  in  Whetstone  township,  Nov. 
24,  1864,  a  son  of  Jechonias  Tupps. 

After  completing  his  period  of  school  at- 
tendance, Isaac  H.  Tupps  assisted  his  father 
until  he  was  21  years  of  age  and  then  pur- 
chased his  present  excellent  farm  of  80 
acres,  which  was  known  as  the  Henry  Low- 
miller  farm.  Here  he  successfully  carries 
on  general  farming  and  raises  blooded 
horses,  his  stable  including  the  five-year  old 
Belgian  stallion  Kronas,  which  Mr.  Tupps 
purchased  in  1912,  and  the  imported  Bel- 
gian mare,  Sabine. 

One  Dec.  2.  1884.  Mr.  Tupps  was  married 


772 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


to  Miss  Mary  E.  Snyder,  a  daug[hter  of 
Isaac  and  Rebecca  (Albright)  Snyder.  The 
parents  of  Mrs.  Tupps  are  deceased.  They 
had  the  following  children :  Laura  Ann,  de- 
ceased, who  was  the  wife  of  David  Beach ; 
Lucinda,  who  was  married  (first)  to  Eli 
Beach,  and  (second)  to  Adam  Beach; 
Lewis ;  John  and  Mary  E.,  and  two  who 
died  young. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tupps  have  one  son,  Ivor 
Gillespie,  who  was  born  Nov.  8,  1894.  They 
attend  the  Luthei^an  church.  Mr.  Tupps  is 
a  Republican  in  politics,  and  he  served  two 
terms  in  the  office  of  township  supervisor. 

MISS  LOUISE  MILLER,  who  com- 
mands universal  respect  at  Gallon,  0., 
where  she  is  held  in  the  highest  possible 
esteem,  is  widely  known  all  over  Crawford 
county  and  in  farther  sections  whither  her 
pupils  have  wandered  as  their  life  work  has 
led  Ihem,  for  Miss  Miller  has  devoted  her- 
self to  educational  work  since  she  was  16 
years  of  age.  She  was  born  at  Gallon  and 
for  many  happy  years  her  home  has  been 
at  No.  240  South  Pierce  Street.  Her  par- 
ents were  Casper  and  Margaret  (Schnei- 
der) Miller. 

Casper  Miller  was  born  in  Hesse-Darm- 
stadt, Germany,  and  early  in  the  forties 
came  to  the  United  States,  on  a  sailing  ves- 
sel, and  subsequently  worked  at  the  plas- 
tering trade  at  Gallon  for  a  number  of  years 
and  in  this  city  his  death  occurred  in  1861. 
He  married  Margaret  Schneider,  who  was 
also  a  native  of  Germany,  and  they  had 
one  daughter,  Louise.  After  the  death  of 
Mr.  Miller  his  widow  contracted  a  second 
marriasre,  with  John  Baldinger.  He  was 
born  in  the  canton  of  Argau,  Switzerland, 
and  came  to  the  United  States  when  a 
young  man.  He  died  in  early  middle  life, 
leaving  one  daughter,  Mary.  Mrs.  Bal- 
dinger survived  until  1908  when  in  her  86th 
year,  passing  away  at  Gallon.  Both  she  and 
Mr.  Miller  were  members  of  the  German 
Lutheran  church,  while  Mr.  Baldinger  was 
of  the  Reformed  body. 

Louise  Miller  still  resides  in  the  house 
in  which  she  was  born.  She  attended  the 
Gallon     schools,     deciding     to     become     a 


teacher  even  in  girlhood,  and  as  early  as 
1879  taught  in  the  public  schools,  in  the 
first  grade,  giving  instruction  in  German. 
The  life  of  a  conscientious  teacher  is  one 
that  may  not  always  be  envied,  and  that 
Miss  Miller  for  so  many  continuous  year, 
longer  than  any  other  teacher  in  years  of 
service,  has  kept  up  her  courage,  enthusi- 
asm and  efificiency  proves  the  possession  of 
rare  natural  talents  for  this  profession.  In 
these  days  it  is  not  only  necessary  for  an 
acceptable  instructor  to  be  well  grounded 
in  the  elements,  broadened  by  reading  and 
widened  in  outlook  by  travel,  but  there  are 
so  many  technical  studies  required  and  so 
many  accomplishments  demanded,  that  to 
succeed  in  all  these  branches  and  for  so  long 
a  time,  denotes  high  proficiency  and  unself- 
ish devotion  to  the  interests  of  others.  All 
these  qualities  Miss  Miller  combines,  and 
hence  her  place  would  be  hai'd  to  fill,  either 
in  the  educational  field  or  in  the  confidence 
and  affection .  of  those  who  have  benefited 
through  her  patience  and  scholarship.  Miss 
Miller  as  well  as  Miss  Baldinger  are  mem- 
bers of  the  German  Evangelical  Lutheran 
church,  in  which  they  were  confirmed  when 
young,  and  they  take  a  deep  interest  in  the 
work  of  the  Sunday-school. 

LEVI  BEACH,  a  retired  farmer  residing 
at  New  Winchester,  C,  where  he  and  wife 
own  valuable  property,  still  retains  his  farm 
of  92  acres,  which  is  situated  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county.  He  v/as  born 
in  that  township,  Aug  2,  1850,  and  is  a  son 
of  Peter  and  Magdalena  (Meyers)   Beach. 

Levi  Beach  was  15  years  of  age  when  his 
father  died.  He  attended  the  district  schools 
and  then  remained  on  the  home  farm  work- 
ing for  his  mother  until  he  was  21  years  old, 
when  he  left  to  make  his  own  way  in  the 
world  as  there  were  younger  sons  who  could 
carry  on  the  farm.  He  was  the  third  born 
in  the  following  family:  Rebecca,  wife  of 
John  Price ;  Mary  Jane,  wife  of  Lewis  Kra- 
ner;  Samuel;  Laura,  wife  of  Andrew  Mey- 
ers; Elizabeth,  wife  of  Frank  Nungesser; 
and  Charles:  At  different  times  Mr..  Beach 
owned  farms  in  other  sections,  a  valuable 
one, in  Ohio  and  another  in  Indiana,  both 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


773 


of  which  he  sold  to  advantage.  Farming 
has  been  his  main  business  in  Hfe  and  he 
carried  it  on  very  successfully  for  many 
years. 

In  1872  Mr.  Beach  was  married  to  Miss 
Matilda  Albright,  who  is  a  daughter  of 
Henry  Albright  and  a  sister  of  Isaac  Al- 
bright, the  latter  of  whom  resides  at  New 
Winchester.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beach  have 
been  born  four  children:  John  H.,  who  mar- 
ried Amanda  Wise,  and  has  two  children — 
Florence  and  Carl;  William  Lewis;  Oliver 
Francis,  who  married  Ollie  Holtzhouse,  and 
has  one  son,  Francis  Layton;  and  Charles, 
who  is  a  merchant  at  New  Winchester,  and 
who  married  Daisy  Katsimeyer.  Mr.  Beach 
and  sons  are  Democrats  in  their  political 
views. 

WILLIAM  G.  GWINNER,*  general 
farmer  and  a  well  known  citizen  of  Liberty 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  resides  on 
the  old  family  homestead,  six  miles  north- 
east of  Bucyrus.  He  was  the  second  born 
in  his  parents'  family  of  eight  children.  His 
father,  John  Gwinner,  was  born  in  Germany 
and  was  a  young  man  when  he  came  to 
Ohio,  where  he  married  Matilda  Scott,  a 
native  of  this  State.  All  their  children  sur- 
vive with  the  exception  of  the  youngest, 
who  died  in  infancy.  Emma  B.,  the  eldest, 
married  C.  Bear,  and  their  two  children 
died  in  infancy.  James  A.  married  Zela 
Smith  and  they  live  at  Bucyrus  and  have 
three  children;  Ernestine,  Eldin  and  Cath- 
erine. Isaac  J.  married  Elizabeth  Stribe 
and  they  live  at  Sulphur  Springs  and  have 
four  children :  Velma,  Benjamin,  Lucile  and 
Florence.  Rachel  married  George  T.  Timp- 
son  and  they  live  at  Bucyrus  and  have  three 
children :  Nellie,  Dorance  and  Alice.  Cora 
married  Israel  Fritz  and  they  live  in  Whet- 
stone township  and  have  had  five  children : 
Agnes,  Stella,  Delia,  Hazel  and  Velma  C, 
Delia  being  deceased. 

William  G.  Gwinner  attended  the  district 
schools  in  boyhood  and  has  followed  farm- 
ing and  stock  raising  ever  since.  He  has  a 
large  acreage  under  cultivation  as  he  oper- 
ates both  his  father's  land  and  an  adjacent 
property.      He   has   always   been   industrious 


and  practical  and  is  considered  one  of  the 
most  capable  agriculturists  of  Liberty  town- 
ship. 

Mr.  Gwinner  married  Miss  Hulda  E.  Wil- 
son, a  daughter  of  Richard  Wilson,  of  Craw- 
ford county,  and  they  have  six  children, 
namely:  Chai-les  H.,  a  farmer  in  Liberty 
township,  who  married  Lulu  M.  Crum,  and 
have  two  children — Charles  E.  and  Joseph- 
ine M.;  Carrie  E.,  who  married  Ross  W. 
Spade,  and  lives  in  Liberty  township;  Will- 
iam T.,  Russell  M.,  Ruby  D.  and  Rose  M., 
who  still  reside  at  home.  Mr  Gwinner  and 
family  attend  the  United  Brethren  church. 
Mrs.  Gwinner  was  born  in  Crawford  county 
and  had  the  following  brothers  and  sisters : 
Edward,  who  is  in  business  at  Bucyrus, 
and  who  married  Letta  Schroll  and  has 
four  children — Sherman,  Arnie,  Nellie  and 
Stephen;  Evaline,  who  is  the  wife  of  Will- 
iam Mahafifey  and  lives  in  Marion  county, 
O.,  and  has  four  children — Lester,  George, 
Pearce  and  Mary;  Augustus,  a  resident  of 
Bucyrus,  who  married  Daisy  Winters  and 
has  two  children — Evaline  and  Archie; 
Nancy,  who  is  the  wife  of  Joseph  Albright, 
of  Attica,  Ind.,  and  has  one  son,  Wilson; 
John,  who  is  deceased;  and  Mrs.  Gwinner. 
Both  the  Gwinner  and  Wilson  families  are 
well  established  and  highly  i-espected  ones 
in  Crawford  county. 

JOHN  J.  FALSER,  one  of  the  enterpris- 
ing and  successful  farmers  of  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  who  resides 
on  his  valuable  farm  of  no  acres,  was  born 
in  this  township.  May  21,  1873,  and  is  a  son 
of  Samuel  and  Catherine  (Hager)   Fauser. 

The  Fauser  family  is  an  old  and  respected 
one  of  Crawford  county,  of  German  extrac- 
tion. Both  parents  of  John  J.  Fauser  were 
born  in  this  county  and  now  live  in  com- 
fortable retirement  at  Bucyrus,  where  they 
are  among  the  liberal  supporters  of  St. 
John's  Reformed  church.  Their  family  con- 
sisted of  the  following  children :  Anna,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Eli  Dinkle-;  Emanuel ;  Harry ; 
Emma,  who  is  the  wife  of  Frederick  Hou- 
ser;  John  J.;  and  George,  the  last  named 
being  a  nephew  but  was  reared  as  a  son 


774 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


and  the  family  has  never  known  any  dif- 
ference. 

John  J.  Fauser  obtained  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  and  afterward  assisted 
his  father  until  he  was  28  years  of  age  and 
then  rented  his  present  farm  from  his  father 
and  in  191 1  purchased  it.  He  has  devoted 
himself  to  general  farming  ever  since  and 
raises  enough  stock  for  his  own  use. 

On  Dec.  25,  1900,  Mr.  Fauser  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Elsie  May  Guinther,  a  daugh- 
ter of  George  and  Malinda  (Rorick)  Guin- 
ther, who  are  well  known  people  of  Marion 
county,  O.,  and  live  on  their  farm  there. 
Mrs.  Fauser  has  one  sister  and  four  broth- 
ers, namely:  Lottie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Leo 
Heinlen ;  and  Ezra,  William,  Cornelius  and 
Emil.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fauser  are  members 
of  St.  John's  Reformed  church  of  Whet- 
stone township,  and  for  six  and  one-half 
years  he  has  served  as  Sunday-school  su- 
perintendent and  as  a  member  of  the  church 
choir.  For  the  past  five  years  he  has  been, 
general  secretary  of  the  Crawford  county 
Sunday-school  Association.  Nominally  he 
•  is  a  Democrat,  but  is  frequently  inclined  to 
use  his  own  judgment  concerning  issues  and 
candidates.  He  has  never  accepted  any  of- 
fice except  that  of  school  director,  in  which 
he  served  two  terms. 

HUGH  LISSE,*  proprietor  of  the  Galion 
Creamery,  at  Galion,  C,  is  one  of  the  enter- 
prising business  men  of  this  city  and  a  much 
respected  citizen.  He  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, March  9,  1869,  and  his  parents  were 
Adam  and  Anna  (Zunack)  Lisse.  They 
spent  their  entire  lives  in  Germany,  where 
the  mother  died  in  1900,  at  the  age  of  59 
years  and  the  father  in  1910,  when  in  his 
70th  year.  He  was  a  machinist  by  trade. 
They  were  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church. 

Hugh  Lisse  obtained  the  public  school 
education  that  every  German  boy  receives 
and  then  learned  the  tinner's  trade.  He 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1891  and  took 
charge  of  a  distillery  and  brewing  plant,  for 
his  brother-in-law,  Charles  Coppe,  situated 
at  Cardington,  Morrow  county,  O.,  where 
he  remained  until   1908.  in  the  meanwhile 


having  become  its  owner,  about  1893.  After 
disposing  of  the  brewery  he  came  to  Galion 
and  conducted  a  cafe  at  No.  105  East  Main 
street,  until  October,  1910,  when  he  became 
owner  and  proprietor  of  the  Galion  Cream- 
ery. This  plant  had  been  established  here 
in  1905  by  J.  E.  Brinnon  and  since  it  has 
come  under  the  business  management  of 
Mr.  Lisse,  has  developed  into  a  prosperous 
enterprise.  He  ships  for  eastern  markets 
and  handles  local  goods  and  the  high  grade 
of  butter  produced  finds  ready  sale. 

Mr.  Lisse  was  married  in  Marion  county, 
O.,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  .Ranroth,  who  was 
born  in  Westphalia,  Germany,  in  1870,  and 
came  to  America  with  her  parents  and  to 
Marion  county,  O.,  in  1889.  Her  father, 
Mangus  Ranroth,  now  lives  retired,  in  Ma- 
rion county,  his  age  being  87  years.  The 
mother  died  in  1904,  in  her  69th  year.  They 
belonged  to  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
Six  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lisse,  namely:  Frank,  who  is  a  stu- 
dent in  the  Galion  High  School;  Gertrude, 
who  attends  the  parochial  school;  and 
George,  Anna,  Robert  and  Paul.  The  fam- 
ily belongs  to  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
In  politics  Mr.  Lisse  is  a  Democrat. 

DAVID  ZIEGENFUS,  general  farmer 
and  a  well  known  citizen  of  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  residing  on 
his  finely  cultivated  farm  of  96  acres,  was 
born  in  Whetstone  township,  Nov.  i,  1843, 
and  is  a  son  of  Philip  and  Elizabeth  (Kem- 
erer)   Ziegenfus. 

Philip  Ziegenfus  and  wife  were  both  born 
in  Germany  and  both  came  when  young  to 
America,  their  marriage  taking  place  in  the 
United  States.  For  many  years  he  was  a 
respected  man  and  hard-working  farmer  in 
Whetstone  township,  Crawford  county, 
where  both  he  and  his  wife  died,  their  burial 
being  in  the  Whetstone  cemetery.  They 
weie  good  Christian  people  and  members 
of  the  Reformed  church.  They  had  three 
children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 

David  Ziegenfus  was  the  only  one  of  his 
parents'  children  to  reach  mature  years.  In 
boyhood  he  attended  the  district  schools 
and  later  assisted  his  father  on  the  farm  and 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


(  (0 


inherited  the  same  when  his  parents  passed 
away.  He  thoroughly  understands  the  sci- 
ence of  farming  and  pursues  those  methods 
which  he  has  proved  to  be  most  profitable, 
and  raises,  in  good  part,  what  is  necessary 
for  family  use,  including  cattle  and  stock. 
In  1876  Mr.  Ziegenfus  was  married  to 
Miss  Eva  Ribble,  who  was  born  in  Vernon 
township,  Crawford  county,  a  daughter  of 
John  and  Rachel  Ribble,  well  known  peo- 
ple in  Crawford  county.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ribble  the  following  children  were  born: 
Catherine,  who  is  the  wife  of  Peter  Howe ; 
Eva,  who  is  the  wife  of  David  Ziegenfus; 
Lena,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  Huffman; 
Christina,  who  is  the  wife  of  Jacob  Mee- 
nick;  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  Glower; 
Elizabeth,  who  is  the  wife  of  Daniel  Haag; 
and  Peter.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ziegenfus  have 
had  four  children,  namely :  Magdalena ; 
Elizabeth,  who  is  the  wife  of  M.  E.  Otter- 
man  ;  Mary,  who  is  deceased ;  and  Jennie. 
Mr.  Ziegenfus  and  family  are  members  of 
the  Reformed  church.  He  is  a  Democrat 
politically  and  served  one  term  as  school 
director  and  one  term  as  township  super- 
visor. 

JACOB  WHITEAMIRE,  who  is  a  pros- 
perous farmer  and  respected  citizen  of 
Whetstone  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
owns  iS4j4  acres  of  very  find  land  and  de- 
votes it  to  general  agriculture.  He  was 
born  March  7,  1850,  at  Galion,  O.,  a  son 
of  Michael  and  Margaret  (Bacht)  White- 
amire. 

Michael  Whiteamire  and  wife  were  born 
in  Germany.  He  was  a  small  farmer  there 
and  after  marriage  resided  'on  his  own  land 
until  after  the  birth  of  four  children  and  then 
embarked  with  his  family  for  the  United 
States.  They  came  immediately  to  Galion, 
O.,  where  their  youngest  son  was  born  and 
the  father  died  six  months  afterward.  His 
widow  was  thus  left  in  a  strange  country 
with  a  helpless  infant  and  four  other  young 
children,  these  being:  John,  George,  Peter 
and  Catherine,  the  last  named  in  later  years 
becoming  the  wife  of  Jacob  Stump. 

Jacob  Whiteamire  was  as  carefully  reared 
as  was  possible  by  his  good  mother  and 


went  to  school  until  he  was  about  15  years 
of  age,  when  he  started  to  work  on  farms 
by  the  month.  For  five  years  he  worked  in 
this  way  in  dififerent  parts  of  the  county 
and  then  for  four  years  rented  land,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  he  was  able  to  buy  76 
acres  of  his  present  farm,  to  which  he  later 
added  40  acres  and  subsequently  383^ 
acres  more,  all  of  which  has  been  secured 
through  persistent  industry.  It  is  excellent 
land  and  responds  to  the  careful  cultivation 
it  receives. 

On  Oct.  5,  1873,  Mr.  Whiteamire  was 
married  to  Miss  Christina  Cook,  who  is  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  (Diebler)  Cook, 
and  they  have  the  following  children :  Ida 
Ellen,  born  Dec.  20,  1874,  who  is  the  wife 
of  William  Hurrell  and  has  three  children 
— James  E.,  Alma  A.  and  Ethel  G. ;  Emma 
Amanda,  born  Jan.  15,  1876,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Jay  Hurrell  and  has  one  son,  Eugene 
Edward;  John  Wesley,  who  was  born 
March  14,  1877,  and  who  married  Amanda 
Beach  and  has  two  children — Floyd  H.  and 
Gertrude  A.;  Wilson  Edward,  who  was 
born  July  28,  1884,  and  married  Ida  Beach; 
Jessie  Lawrence,  M^ho  was  born  Nov.  5, 
1886;  Harvey  Sylvester,  who  was  born  Aug. 
2,  1888;  and  Sarah  Alma,  who  was  born 
Sept.  4,  1890.  Mr.  Whiteamire  and  family 
attend  the  German  Reformed  church.  A 
Democrat  in  politics,  Mr.  Whiteamire  has 
frequently  been  urged  to  accept  public  of- 
fice and  has  served  with  general  satisfaction 
as  school  director  and  as  road  supervisor. 

SAMUEL  A.  TUPPS,  who  belongs  to 
one  of  the  best  known  families  of  Whet- 
stone township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  re- 
sides on  his  well  improved  farm  of  140 
acres.  He  was  born  Aug.  22,  1869,  on  the 
old  family  homestead  which  is  now  owned 
by  his  brother,  Calvin  D.  Tupps,  and  is  a 
son  of  Jechonias  Tupps,  who  reared  a  large 
and  highly  creditable  family. 

Samuel  A.  Tupps  had  public  school  ad- 
vantages and  afterward  followed  farming 
for  others  until  prepared  to  purchase  land 
for  himself.  When  he  started  out  wages 
were  low  and  sometimes  he  received  only  a 
fraction  of  what  is  paid  at  the  present  time. 


r76 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


When  21  years  old  he  rented  170  acres  from 
his  father  and  later  no  acres  and  subse- 
quently bought  the  no  acres.  A  disastrous 
fire  destroyed  his  dwelling  and  he  then  sold 
80  acres  of  his  first  farm  and  purchased  his 
present  one  on  which  he  has  carried  on  gen- 
eral farming  and  stock  raising  and  addition- 
ally is  interested  in  buying' and  selling  lum- 
ber in  Crawford  and  Marion  counties. 

On  Aug.  16,  1890,  Mr.  Tupps  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Ella  M.  Whiteamire,  who  was 
born  in  Crawford  county  and  is  a  daughter 
of  John  and  Catherine  (Guinther)  White- 
amire. The  father  of  Mrs.  Tupps  is  de- 
ceased but  the  mother  survives.  They  had 
the  following  children:  Sarah,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Isaac  Meyers ;  Simeon,  who  is  de- 
ceased; Ella,  who  is  the  wife  of  Samuel  A. 
Tupps ;  and  Edward  and  William.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Tupps  have  four  children :  Zeno,  Flor- 
ence, Lester  and  Velma.  Mr.  Tupps  and 
family  attend  Trinity  Lutheran  church.  Or- 
dinarily Mr.  Tupps  votes  with  the  Republi- 
can party  but  sometimes  occasions  arise  in 
which  he  uses  his  own  judgment  irrespect- 
ive of  part}'. 

ISAAC  ALBRIGHT,  who  now  lives  re- 
tired in  his  comfortable  home  at  New  Win- 
chester, O.,  is  one  of  the  representative  and 
substantial  citizens  of  Crawford  county  and 
is  the  owner  of  three  fine  farms  situated  in 
Whetstone  township  which  aggregate  400 
acres  of  valuable  land.  He  was  born  in  Whet- 
stone township,  Ang.  30,  1856,  and  is  a  son 
of  Henry  and  Sovena  Albright,  pioneers  in 
this  section  and  people  of  high  standing. 
Henry  Albright  was  married  twice  and  the 
children  bom  to  his  first  union  were :  Isaac : 
Xatilda,  wife  of  Levi  Beach ;  Agnes,  deceased, 
who  was  the  wife  of  George  Kober;  and  an 
infant  son  that  died.  To  his  second  mar- 
riage three  children  were  born:  Charles  H., 
George  F.  and  Ida  May,  all  of  whom  are  de- 
ceased. 

Isaac  Albright  attended  the  district  schools 
in  boyhood  and  then  assisted  his  father  on 
the  homestead  until  the  latter's  death,  when 
he  purchased  the  property  and  for  many  years 
carried  on  general  farming  and  stock  raising. 

In  1877  Mc  Albright  was  married  to  Miss 


Rebecca  Diebler,  who  died  Sept.  9,  1906,  and 
was  buried  in  the  Whetstone  cemetery  where 
rest  the  ashes  of  many  of  the  former  residents 
of  this  section.     To  that  marriage  the  follow- 
ing children  were  born:    Lyda,  who  married 
Charles  Nelson  and  has  two  children — Laura 
and  Mildred;    Alta,  who  married  Francis  N. 
Neuman,   and  has   two   children — Viola  and 
Harold;  Ezra  C,  who  married  Clyde  Low- 
ery,  and  has  one  son,  Myron;    Warren  W., 
deceased,  who  was  killed  by  a  stroke  of  light- 
nings Roy,  who  married  Alta  Love  and  has 
one   son,   Doran   W. ;   Maggie,   who  married 
Harry  Fauser,  and  has  two  daughters — Helen 
and  Ethel;  and  Eva  and  Gertrude  at  home. 
Mr.    Albright's    second    marriage    was    with 
Mrs.    Maggie     (Gracey)    Loyer,    widow    of 
Henry   Loyer   and    daughter  of   James   and 
Sarah  (Evans)  Gracey.     The  parents  of  Mrs. 
Albright  were  born  in  Ireland,  and  Mr.  Al- 
bright   is    the    eldest   of   their   children,    the 
others  being:    Mary,  wife  of  George  Kight- 
linger;    David,    deceased;    and    Rebecca,    the 
wife  of    Isaac    Wolfe.     Mrs.    Albright  is  a 
member  of  the  United  Brethren  church,  while 
Mr.   Albright  was   reared   in   the   Reformed 
church.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  and 
fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  F.  O.  E., 
belonging  to  the  lodge  of  this  order  at  Bu- 
cyrus. 

CURTIS  E.  HILDEBRAND,*  postmas- 
ter and  general  merchant  at  Brandywine, 
O.,  is  a  leading  citizen  of  this  pleasant  vil- 
lage and  is  a  member  of  one  of  the  old  and 
prominent  families  of  Liberty  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.  He  was  born  on  his 
father's  farm  in  Liberty  township,  in  i888j 
and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Ida  May  (Shell) 
Hildebrand. 

On  both  sides  Mr.  Hildebrand  comes  of 
German  ancestry,  but  the  families  have  been 
of  America  during  several  generations,  the 
Hildebrands  belonging  to  Ohio  and  the 
Shells  to  Pennsylvania.  Both  parents  were 
born  in  Liberty  township  and  still  reside 
there.  Their  family  consisted  of  two  chil- 
dren :  Curtis  E.  and  Flossie,  the  latter  of 
whom  resides  at  home. 

Curtis  E.  Hildebrand  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  his  native  township  and  re- 
mained as  his  father's  assistant  on  the  home 


ISAAC  ALBRIGHT 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


779 


farm  until  he  embarked  in  the  mercantile 
business  at  Brandywine.  He  carries  a  large 
and  well  selected  stock  and  supplies  the 
needs  of  a  large  surrounding  territory.  On 
April  25,  1910,  he  was  appointed  postmas- 
ter and  attends  to  his  public  duties  in  addi- 
tion to  managing  his  business.  He  owns 
considerable  property  here,  including  his 
store  building  and  comfortable  residence, 
and  takes  much  interest  in  the  development 
of  the  place. 

Mr.  Hildebrand  married  Miss  Lucy  Li- 
menstoll,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Sophia 
Limenstoll,  who  have  other  children, 
namely :  Christian  John,  Daniel  Reuben,  So- 
phia, Lydia,  Sarah,  Anna  Martha  and  Ja- 
cob. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hildebrand  have  an  at- 
tractive little  daughter,  Helen  Beatrice. 
They  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church. 
Politically  Mr.  Hildebrand  is  a  Democrat 
and  fraternally  he  belongs  to  the  Order  of 
Owls. 

GEORGE  M.  KUHN,  one  of  Whet- 
stone township's  most  respected  citizens, 
resides  on  his  valuable  farm  of  90  acres  and 
has  spent  his  entire  life,  with  the  exception 
of  four  and  one-half  years,  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.  He  was 
born  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  Oct.  31,  1844,  and  is  a 
son  of  Christian  and  Sophia  (Stoll)  Kuhn. 

The  parents  of  George  M.  Kuhn  were 
natives  of  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  and  after 
marriage  they  came  to  the  United  States. 
By  trade  the  father  was  a  tailor  and  for 
two  years  worked  as  such  in  New  York 
and  then  came  to  Bucyrus  and  continued 
for  a  time  in  the  tailoring  and  clothing  busi- 
ness and  then  engaged  in  farming.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  His 
family  consisted  of  the  following  children : 
Hannah,  wife  of  John  Birk;  Lewis;  Fred; 
George  M. ;  John;  and  Matilda,  wife  of 
Abraham  Shearer. 

George  M.  Kuhn  attended  the  district 
schools  when  he  was  young  and  afterward 
assisted  his  father  on  the  farm  until  he  was 
24  years  of  age,  at  which  time  he  married 
and  later  purchased  the  homestead  of  80 
acres,  to  which  he  added  ten  more.  He  car- 
ries on  general  farming  and  raises  stock  and 


poultry  for  home  use.  He  is  a  Democrat 
in  politics  and  has  served  as  school  director 
and  road  supervisor  and  has  been  twice 
chosen  to  administer  on  estates. 

On  Sept.  19,  1868,  Mr.  Kuhn  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Mary  Keifer,  who  was  born 
in  Germany  and  died  June  26,  1912,  aged 
one  day  less  than  61  years.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  Adam  and  Elizabeth  (Shock) 
Keifer,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  black- 
smith and  farmer.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Keifer 
the  following  children  were  born :  Elizabeth, 
who  married  Lewis  Kuhn;  Margaret,  who 
married  Fred  Muntz;  Catherine,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Jacob  Carg;  Louisa,  who  married 
Henry  Lowmiller;  Jacob;  Lydia,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Oswald  Fritch ;  John,  and  Mary, 
who  was  the  wife  of  George  M.  Kuhn. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kuhn  had  eight  children : 
Christian,  who  married  Laura  Nefif  and  has 
two  children — Isabella  and  George;  Freder- 
ick, who  married  Ida  Brown  and  has  five 
children — Marie,  Vera,  Paul,  Virgil  and  Ell- 
wood;  Elizabeth,  who  has  been  a  teacher, 
and  a  very  successful  one,  since  she  was  17 
years  old ;  Anna,  who  is  stenographer  and 
bookkeeper  for  a  Cleveland  hardware  firm; 
Charles  Edward,  who  is  mail  clerk  on  the 
P.  &  W.  Railroad;  Elma,  who  is  a  clerk  in 
a  store  at  Mansfield,  O. ;  and  Edna  and  Ma- 
bel, who  are  at  home.  The  family  attends 
the  Lutheran  church. 

SAMUEL  A.  ZIMMERMAN,  who  car- 
ries on  general  farming  on  his  valuable 
tract  of  no  acres,  which  is  situated  in 
Whetstone  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
was  born  in  Polk  township,  Crawford 
county,  April  28,  1871,  and  is  a  son  of  Peter 
and  Philissa  (Eichhorn)  Zimmerman. 

Peter  Zimmerman  was  born  in  Whetstone 
township,  where  his  father,  Daniel  Zimmer- 
man, was  an  early  settler.  He  followed 
farming  all  his  active  life  and  still  owns  a 
farm  of  95  acres  in  Polk  township,  but  lives 
retired  with  his  second  wife,  at  Gallon. 
They  are  members  of  the  First  Reformed 
church  in  that  city.  He  married  sisters, 
first,  Philissa  Eichhorn,  who  died  in  1875 
and  rests  in  the  Fairview  Cemetery  at  Gal- 
ion,   and   married   second,   Catherine   Eich- 


780 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


horn,  both  of  them  being  daughters  of 
Adam  Eichhorn,  an  early  settler  in  Craw- 
ford county.  To  his  first  union  two  sons 
were  born :  Frederick  and  Samuel  A. ;  and 
to  the  second,  a  son  and  daughter — Wal- 
ter, and  Lottie  who  is  deceased. 

Samuel  A.  Zimmerman  obtained  a  com- 
mon school  education  and  before  purchas- 
ing land  for  himself,  assisted  his  father  for 
two  years,  after  which  he  bought  his  pres- 
ent farm  in  Whetstone  township,  from  Mag- 
gie J.  Shearer.  He  does  general  farming 
and  keeps  good  stock,  carefully  keeps  his 
buildings  repaired  and  his  farm  machinery 
sheltered  and  has  the  reputation  of  being 
one  of  the  very  successful  agriculturists  of 
this  section. 

On  Oct.  19,  1891,  Mr.  Zimmerman  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Ellen  Lowmil- 
ler,  who  died  Oct.  10,  1904,  her  burial  be- 
ing in  the  Fairview  cemetery  at  Galion. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  William  and  Sarah 
(Kester)  Lowmiller,  who  were  early  set- 
tlers in  Whetstone  township.  Mrs.  Zim- 
merman was  an  admirable  woman  and  was 
a  devoted  member  of  the  First  Reformed 
church  at  Galion.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Zim- 
merman four  children  were  born :  Ada,  Or- 
lando, Melvin  and  Maud  May,  the  eldest 
being  deceased.  Mr.  Zimmerman  is  a  mem- 
ber and  liberal  supporter  of  the  First  Re- 
formed church  at  Galion.  He  is  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics  like  his  father,  and  has  served 
three  years  on  the  township  school  board. 

CARL  HENRY  HENKEL,*  attorney  at 
law  and  city  solicitor  of  Galion,  O.,  was 
born  in  this  city,  Oct.  25,  1880,  and  is  a 
son  of  Henry  C.  and  Wilhelmina  (Sames) 
Henkel. 

Henry  C.  Henkel  and  wife  were  both  born 
in  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Germany,  and  were 
brought  to  America  by  their  parents  when 
young.  They  were  reared  at  Galion  and 
married  here  and  the  family  has  long  been 
a  highly  respected  one  in  this  section. 
Henry  C.  Henkel  followed  the  mason  trade 
during  his  active  years  and  now,  at  the  age 
of  70,  lives  retired.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
German  Lutheran  church.  His  wife  died  in 
September,   1908,  at  the   age  of   56  years. 


Their  two  children  survive,  Carl  Henry  and 
Clara  E.,  the  latter  being  the  wife  of  Henry 
E.  Lemon,  of  Galion. 

After  completing  the  public  school  course, 
Carl  Henry  Henkel  entered  the  law  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Michigan,  at  Ann 
Arbor,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1901, 
before  he  had  attained  his  majority  and 
afterwards  was  admitted  to  the.  bar  and 
has  been  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession  ever  since.  He  has  been  a 
very  active  Democrat  and  on  many  occa- 
sions his  party  has  recognized  his  efficiency 
and,  in  addition  to  serving  as  a  delegate  to 
state  conventions,  in  1908  he  was  sent  as  a 
delegate  to  the  National  Democratic  Con- 
vention. 

Mr.  Henkel  was  married  to  Miss  Olive 
Barr,  who  was  born  at  Galion,  Feb.  14,  1880, 
a  daughter  of  Oliver  and  Elizabeth  (Chand- 
ler) Barr,  natives  of  Ashland  county,  O. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henkel  have  two  children:  Ja- 
nette  E.  and  Oliver  C,  aged  respectively 
eight  and  five  years.  They  are  members  of 
the  Methodist  church.  Mr.  Henkel  is  iden- 
tified fraternally  with  the  Masons,  Knights 
of  Pythias,  Elks  and  Independent  Order  of 
Foresters  and  has  served  as  a  high  state 
official  in  the  last  named  organization.  Both 
professionally  and  personally,  Mr.  Henkel 
stands  high  in  his  native  city  and  his  influ- 
ence may  be  confidently  counted  on  in  fur- 
thering public  spirited  movements  that  are 
for  the  purpose  of  advancing  the  general 
welfare. 

JOHN  A.  NOBLIT,  an  experienced  and 
successful  general  farmer  of  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  where  he 
owns  120  acres  of  well-cared-for  land,  was 
born  in  this  township,  Sept.  12,  1863,  and  is 
a  son  of  Robert  and  Susanna  (Albright) 
Noblit. 

Robert  Noblit  and  wife  were  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  his  birthplace  being  in  Dau- 
phin county.  They  came  to  Ohio  and  set- 
tled in  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  and  through  frugality  and  industry 
accumulated  a  large  property,  the  father 
owning  at  one  time  as  much  as  300  acres  of 
fine   land.     He  was   a   Democrat  but  was 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


781 


never  a  politician.  Both  he  and  wife  were 
members  of  the  German  Reformed  church 
and  are  worthy  people  in  every  relation  of 
life.  The  following  children  survive  them : 
John  A.,  Samuel;  Mary  Jane,  wife  of  Ben- 
jamin F.  Holshouse ;  Sylvia,  wife  of  Charles 
Crising^er;  and  Isaac. 

John  A.  Noblit  attended  the  public  school 
that  was  nearest  the  old  homstead,  on  which 
he  has  practically  spent  his  life,  40  acres  of 
his  present  farm  being  a  part  of  it.  This 
land  he  inherited  and  added  the  remainder 
by  purchase.  His  farm  shows  the  efifects 
of  intelligent  cultivation  and  the  stock  in 
his  fields  demonstrate  that  he  is  careful  also 
in  that  industry  although  he  aims  to  raise 
only  enough  for  his  own  use. 

Mr.  Noblit  was  married  to  Miss  Hannah 
Morgan,  who  was  born  in  Hancock  county, 
O.,  a  daughter  of  Richard  and  Margaret 
(Shira)  Morgan.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Nob- 
lit was  a  blacksmith  by  trade.  Her  broth- 
ers and  sisters  were :  Angeline  M.,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Daniel  Warner ;  Mary  Jane,  de- 
ceased, who  was  the  wife  of  George  Baxter ; 
Richard  S. ;  Susanna,  who  is  the  wife  of 
David  Perkins;  Mahala,  who  was  the  first 
wife  of  Vet  Erskin,  and  Julia,  who  became 
his  second  wife,  both  wives  being  now  de- 
ceased; Robert  F. ;  and  William  M. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Noblit  six  children  were 
born,  namely,:  William,  who  married  Anna 
Wise,  and  has  two  children — Carma  and 
Flossie;  Benjamin,  who  married  Bertha 
Shaftsall,  and  has  one  son,  Denzel  Dean; 
Amanda  Jane,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  H. 
Wise  and  has  one  daughter,  Bernice  Irene ; 
Alta  R.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles  H.  Cris- 
inger,  and  has  three  children — Thelma,  Le- 
ota  and  Theodore  Jennings ;  and  two  who 
died  young.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Noblit  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He 
is  a  Democrat  politically  but  is  no  seeker  for 
public  ofifice. 

ISAAC  COOK,  one  of  the  representative 
men  of  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  who  carries  on  general  farming 
and  stock  raising  on  his  205  acres  of  fine 
land,  was  born  in  this  township,  March  25, 
1854,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Sarah  (Die- 


bler)  Cook,  old  and  responsible  families  of 
this  section. 

Isaac  Cook  attended  the  district  school  in 
boyhood  with  his  brothers  and  sisters  and 
then  gave  his  father  assistance  on  the  home 
farm  and  remained  until  he  was  30  years 
of  age,  when  he  purchased  85  acres  of  his 
present  farm  and  settled  here,  subsequently, 
as  suited  his  convenience,  adding  until  it 
reached  its  present  large  dimensions.  Mr. 
Cook  is  an  experienced  farmer  and  applies 
practical  and  tried  and  proven  methods  in 
his  work.  He  cultivates  the  grains  that  are 
most  profitably  grown  in  this  section  and 
raises  enough  cattle  and  stock  for  home  use. 
He  has  a  fine  appearing  property,  new  barns 
and  a  handsome  modern  residence  adding 
to  its  attractiveness  and  value. 

On  Sept.  30,  1884,  Mr.  Cook  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Lilah  C.  Nungesser, 
who  is  a  daughter  of  Christian  and  Eliza- 
beth (Helfrick)  Nungesser,  and  they  have 
one  son,  Irvin  Lee,  who  assists  his  father 
and  also  teaches  school ;  and  a  daughter, 
Ada  Malinda,  who  is  a  student  at  the  Gallon 
high  school.  Mr.  Cook  and  family  attend 
the  Lutheran  church.  He  is  a  Democrat 
in  his  political  opinions  and  keeps  well 
posted  concerning  public  afifairs.  On  numer- 
ous occasions  he  has  been  chosen  for  town- 
ship offices  and  has  served  acceptably  as 
school  director,  trustee  and  road  supervisor. 

DANIEL  R.  GORMAN,*  a  well  known 
business  man  of  Gallon,  O.,  who  is  engaged 
in  the  real  estate  Hne,  came  to  this  city  after 
three  years  of  honorable  service  in  the  Civil 
war  and  has  been  identified  with  many  of 
its  interests.  He  was  born  near  Chambers- 
burg,  in  Franklin  county,  Pa.,  Sept.  18,  1840, 
and  is  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Sophia  (Kissell) 
Gorman. 

Daniel  Gorman  and  wife  were  both  born 
in  Pennsylvania,  he  in  1801  and  she  three 
years  later.  Her  death  occurred  in  1877, 
while  he  survived  until  1881.  In  1853  the 
family  moved  to  Indiana  and  the  parents 
spent  the  remainder  of  their  days  on  a  farm 
near  Newcastle.  They  were  highly  re- 
spected people  and  were  members  of  the 
Lutheran   church.     Of  their  family  of  six 


782 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


children,  Daniel  R.  was  the  youngest  born. 
Two  are  deceased :  Maria,  who  was  twice 
married,  died  in  Indiana  at  the  age  of  74 
years,  leaving  children.  Fianna  is  survived 
by  husband  and  three  children,  her  death  oc- 
curring at  the  age  of  71  years.  George  W. 
still  resides  in  Indiana,  a  widower,  and  both 
of  his  two  daughters  are  married  and  reside 
at  Newcastle.  John  J.  lives  in  Mills  county, 
la.,  a  widower,  with  three  children.  Susan 
is  the  widow  of  Joseph  Rigle,  has  one  son 
and  six  daughters,  all  of  whom  have  mar- 
ried and  reside  near  Newcastle,  Ind. 

Daniel  R.  Gorman  was  twelve  years  old 
when  his  parents  moved  to  Indiana,  where 
he  had  some  school  opportunities  while 
helping  on  the  home  farm,  but  had  not 
reached  his  21st  birthday  when  he  enlisted 
for  service  in  the  Civil  war,  on  Aug.  5,  1861, 
entering  Co.  C,  36th  Ind.  Vol.  Inf.,  a  pri- 
vate soldier  under  Captain  Woodward  and 
Col.  William  Gross.  Although  he  remained 
in  the  service  until  his  honorable  discharge 
on  Sept.  21,  1864,  and  was  in  the  front  of 
battle  at  Shiloh,  Stone  River,  Laverne,  Wild 
Cat  and  many  other  places,  he  escaped  all 
serious  injury,  although  danger  came  very 
near  to  him  on  many  occasions.  In  one 
battle  a  musket  ball  passed  through  his  hat 
so  close  to  his  head  that  it  cut  the  hair  and 
passing  on  with  its  swift  message  of  death, 
killed  a  comrade  immediately  behind  him. 

After  his  return  to  Indiana,  Mr.  Gorman 
worked  at  the  plastering  trade  and  followed 
the  same  more  or  less  until  1905,  after  com- 
ing to  Gahon  becoming  a  plastering  con- 
tractor, and  in  this  relation  for  years  was 
connected  prominently  with  the  building 
trades  here.  Mr.  Gorman  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  Gallon  since  1865  and  with  the  ex- 
ception of  six  years,  during  which  he  was 
a  conductor  on  the  Big  Four  Railway,  he 
has  been  interested  in  the  business  above 
mentioned,  continuing  up  to  seven  years 
ago,  since  when  he  has  been  in  the  real 
estate  business. 

On  June  i,  1867,  Mr.  Gorman  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Maggie  Barrett,  who  was  born 
in  Chester  county,  Pa.,  in  1848,  and  was 
twelve  years  of  age  when  she  was  accom- 
panied  by   her   parents,   Lemuel   and   Ann 


(Young)  Barrett  to  Gallon.  Her  father 
was  a  stone  mason  by  trade  and  lived  at 
Gallon  for  some  years  and  then  went  to 
Kansas,  where  his  death  occurred  at  the 
age  of  70  years,  his  wife  having  previously 
died  at  Gallon,  in  1875,  at  the  age  of  63 
years.  They  were  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian church. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gorman  have  two  daugh- 
ters, Bessie  and  Madge  C.  The  former  is 
the  wife  of  Harry  C.  Tram,  of  Cleveland, 
O.  The  latter  is  the  wife  of  John  Weiden- 
kofer,  and  they  have  one  son,  Robert  Gor- 
man, and  reside  at  Cleveland.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gorman  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Gorman  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Dick  Morris  Post  No.  30,  G.  A.  R., 
of  which  he  was  commander  for  seven  years, 
and  has  filled  other  offices,  including  that 
of  adjutant.  He  has  been  officially  con- 
nected also  for  a  number  of  years  with  the 
Soldiers'  Relief  Corps.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gorman  have  a 
very  pleasant  home  at  Gallon  and  a  visitor 
there  is  sometimes  favored  with  an  exhibi- 
tion of  valuable  and  historic  rehcs.  These 
include  a  handsome  punch  bowl  and  spoon 
said  to  have  been  used  by  both  General 
Washington  and  General  LaFayette  when 
entertained  by  the  Barretts,  and  left  as  an 
heirloom  to  Mrs.  Gorman  by  a  grandaunt. 
Mr.  Gorman  is  justly  proud  of  being  the 
custodian  of  a  volume  that  was  pres'ented 
to  the  Dick  Morris  Post  by  friends,  in  which 
the  G.  A.  R.  records  are  carefully  preserved. 

HENRY  A.  KEHRER,  a  prominent  citi- 
zen of  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  0.,  residing  on  his  valuable  farm 
of  120  acres,  has  been  a  public  official  for  a 
number  of  years  and  enjoys  the  confidence 
and  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens.  He  is 
a  native  of  this  township,  born  Nov.  30, 
1868,  and  is  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Lydia  (Kes- 
ter)  Kehrer. 

The  Kehrer  family  was  established  in 
Crawford  county  by  the  grandparents,  Mar- 
tin and  Nancy  (Brooklaugher)  Kehrer,  who 
came  from  Pennsylvania  and  lived  in  Whet- 
stone township,  where  their  son,  Daniel 
Kehrer  was  born  and  spent  his  life.     He 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


783 


was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  also  engaged 
in  farming.  His  death  occvirred  in  July, 
1908.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat  and 
he  belonged  to  the  Reformed  church.  He 
married  Lydia  Kester,  who  was  born  also  in 
Crawford  county,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  Kes- 
ter and  she  still  resides  on  the  farm  in 
Whetstone  township.  They  had  the  fol- 
lowing children:  Samuel,  Henry  A.,  Ella, 
William  D.,_  Jacob  M.,  Emma  E.,  Joseph 
A.  and  Reuben  E. 

Henry  A.  Kehrer  obtained  a  common 
school  education  and  afterward  gave  his 
father  assistance  on  the  farm  for  two  years, 
in  the  meantime  beginning  to  work  under 
his  father  at  the  carpenter  trade,  and  then 
went  to  Gallon  and  completed  his  appren- 
ticeship by  working  two  years  more.  Fol- 
lowing this  he  moved  on  his  father-in-law's 
farm,  the  Peter  Beach  place,  and  operated  it 
for  two  years  and  for  five  years  prior  to 
moving  on  his  present  farm  he  cultivated 
it.  In  1896  he  bought  75  acres  from  Wil- 
liam Beltz  and  45  acres  from  Samuel  Stine- 
helfer,  immediately  beginning  to  improve. 
In  1900  he  erected  his  handsome  residence, 
which  is  one  of  the  finest  in  Whetstone 
township,  and  three  years  later  his  substan- 
tial, barn,  adding  fencing  and  tiling  as  nec- 
essary. General  farming  and  moderate  stock 
raising  are  the  industries. 

On  Nov.  21,  1894,  Mr.  Kehrer  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Matilda  T.  Beach,  a  daughter 
of  Peter  and  Amanda  (Cook)  Beach,  and 
a  granddaughter  of  Adam  Beach  and  John 
and  Sarah  (Deibler)  Cook.  The  parents  of 
Mrs.  Kehrer  now  live  retired  at  Gallon, 
where  they  attend  the  Reformed  church.  He 
is  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war.  Mrs.  Kehref 
has  one  sister,  Ellen  E.,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Peter  Neuman,  of  Whetstone  township.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Kehrer  have  two  sons :  Arthur  C, 
who  was  born  June  23,  1895;  and  Clinton 
G.,  who  was  born  Feb.  12,  1903.  The  family 
attend  the  German  Reformed  church.  In 
politics  Mr.  Kehrer  is  an  influential  member 
of  the  Democratic  party  and  at  present  is 
serving  his  second  term  as  township  treas- 
urer and  has  served  five  years  on  the  school 
board. 


JACOB  J.  NEUMAN,  who  owns  one  of 
the  fine  farms  of  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  a  tract  of  80  well-im- 
proved acres,  was  born  Sept.  28,  1853,  in 
Crawford  county,  but  was  reared  in  Marion 
county.  His  parents  were  Henry  and  Susan 
(Young)  Neuman. 

Jacob  J.  Neuman  attended  the  public 
schools  until  he  was  15  years  of  age  and 
then  began  to  work  on  farms  by  the  month 
and  continued  until  he  was  24  years  old, 
taking  care  of  his  wages  during  this  time 
and  after  marriage  settled  on  his  present 
farm.  Here  he  carries  on  general  farming 
and  stock  raising,  grows  fruit  for  home  use 
and  successfully  carries  on  all  the  industries 
which  serve  to  make  the  modern  farmer 
one  of  the  most  independent  men  of  the 
day. 

Mr.  Neuman  was  married  Feb.  17,  1878, 
to  Miss  Salome  Dinkle,  a  daughter  of  Chris- 
topher and  Catherine  (Meyers)  Dinkle,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  Germany  and 
the  latter  in  Pennsylvania.  The  father  of 
Mrs.  Neuman  was  a  farmer  and  a  carpenter 
and  also  worked  as  a  millwright.  In  poli- 
tics he  was  a  Democrat.  His  children  were 
as  follows:  George;  Joseph  F. ;  Salome, 
wife  of  Jacob  J.  Neuman ;  Lena,  wife  of  John 
O.  Neuman;  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of  John  H. 
Neuman.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Neuman  have  had 
six  children  born  to  them,  namely:  Christo- 
pher H.,  who  was  married  (first)  to  Delia 
Guinther,  who  died  after  the  birth  of  one 
son,  George  Russell,  and  was  married  (sec- 
ond) to  Mabel  Yeagley,  and  they  have  one 
son,  Emerson;  Francis  F.,  who  married  Alta 
Albright,  and  they  have  two  children,  Viola 
and  Harold;  Otto  E.,  who  married  Bertha 
Gerstenslager,  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren, Harley,  Edwin  and  Frederick  Wil- 
liam; Margaret,  who  is  a  trained  nurse  re- 
siding at  Galion;  Pearl,  who  married  Albert 
Sellers  and  they  have  two  children,  Esther 
and  Christina;  and  Blanche,  who  married 
Howard  Heinlen,  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren. Fiesta  and  Gladys  Lavina.  Mr.  Neu- 
man and  family  belong  to  the  Lutheran 
church,  of  which  he  is  a  trustee  and  in  which 
he  has  served  both  as  deacon  and  elder.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  has  frequently 


7h4 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


been  chosen  for  public  office  and  served 
three  years  as  township  trustee,  has  also 
been  supervisor  and  school  director,  and 
at  present  is  a  member  of  the  township 
board  of  Health. 

GEORGE  BE_\,CH,*  who  has  been  iden- 
tified with  one  of  the  successful  business 
enterprises,  of  Gallon,  C,  since  its  organi- 
zation in  1908,  the  Perfection  Road  Machin- 
ery Company,  of  which  he  is  foreman,  was 
born  in  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Germany,  Jan.  21, 
1871,  and  is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Barbara 
(  Bormuth)  Beach.  Both  parents  were  born 
in  Hesse  Darmstadt.  In  1881  the  family 
came  to  America,  on  the  ship  Persian,  land- 
ing- at  New  York  City  and  from  there  com- 
ing to  Gallon,  and  here  Michael  Beach  has 
worked  at  his  trade  of  millwright.  His  wife 
died  in  1897,  when  aged  53  years. 

George  Beach  is  the  only  surviving  child 
of  his  parents  and  was  ten  years  old  when 
they  came  to  America.  He  attended  school 
until  he  was  16  years  old  and  then  was  ap- 
prenticed, to  the  machinist's  trade  and 
worked  at  the  same  with  dififerent  firms 
from  1889  until  1908,  for  eight  years  before 
accepting  his  present  position,  being  with 
the  Schupe  Carriage  Works.  He  is  not 
only  an  expert  mechanic  but  has  ability  as 
an  executive  and  manages  the  force  of  30 
workmen  in  the  factory  without  friction. 

In  1901,  Mr.  Beach  was  married  at  Gallon 
to  Miss  Clara  Kiess,  who  was  born  in  this 
city,  June  16,  1871,  a  daughter  of  Emanuel 
and  Catherine  (Hetter)  Keiss,  who  have 
lived  in  Gallon  for  the  past  40  years.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Beach  have  one  child,  Esther  N., 
who  was  born  Jan.  21,  1904.  They  are  mem^ 
bers  of  the  First  Reformed  Church  at  Gal- 
ion.  In  politics  Mr.  Beach  is  a  Democrat 
and  for  some  years  he  has  belonged  to  the 
order  of  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  reliable  and  useful  citi- 
zens of  Gallon,  exceedingly  resourceful  in 
business  and  law-abiding  under  every  cir- 
cumstance. 

ISAAC  A.  LAUGHBAUM,  one  of  the 
leading  citizens  of  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford    countv,    Ohio,    a    member    of    the 


board  of  directors  of  the  Crawford  County 
Infirmary,  resides  on  his  farm  of  160  acres, 
vvhich  he  devotes  to  general  agriculture.  He 
was  born  in  Henry  county,  O.,  Nov.  17, 
1853,  and  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth 
(Pfeifer)  Laughbaum. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Laughbaum  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania  and  the  mother  in  Ger- 
many. Farming  was  his  occupation  through 
life.  Both  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  Laugh- 
baum are  now  deceased,  their  burial  having 
beeh  in  Sandusky  township.  They  had  the 
following  children :  Nancy,  who  is  the  wife 
of  John  H.  Beltsing;  Emanuel  R.;  Isaac  A., 
Allen ;  Samantha  J.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Jo- 
seph Parr;  Amanda  E.,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Norman  Palmer;  Ida,  who  is  the  wife  of 
George  Weaks;  Clement  L.;  Winona,  who 
is  the  wife  of  William  Walters;  and  Delia, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Samuel  Cole. 

Isaac  A.  Laughbaum  went  to  school  in 
boyhood  but  was  yet  young  when  he  began 
to  engage,  to  some  extent,  in  farming  and 
has  continued  along  the  same  line  all  his 
life.  His  first  purchase  of  land  was  40  acres 
of  his  present  farm,  which  he  bought  from 
his  father-in-law  and  later  the  remainder 
came  to  his  wife  throug-h  inheritance.  On 
Oct.  9,  1875,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Susan 
Shearer,  a  daughter  of  Adam  and  Hannah - 
(Clark)  Shearer.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Laugh- 
baum was  thrice  married  and  she  is  the  only 
surviving  child  of  his  second  union,  two  hav- 
ing died  in  infancy. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Laughbaum  the  follow- 
ing children  were  born :  Nettie,  who  married 
Lewis  Walter  and  has  one  son;  Ralph ;  Wil- 
liam C,  who  married  Mabel  Dolbeer  and 
has  one  child,  Naomi ;  Edwin,  who  married 
Julia  Johnson  and  has  three  children,  How- 
ard, Ellen  and  Hattie ;  Carrie,  who  married 
Albert  Gerstenslager  and  has  three  children, 
Lucile,  Irene  and  Donald  L. ;  Earl,  who  mar- 
ried Edna  Ross  and  has  two  daughters, 
Helen  and  Lola  Belle ;  Erman,  who  mar- 
ried Blanche  Flowers  and  has  one  child. 
Blossom;  John;  Ora,  who  married  Rachel 
Cook,  and  has  one  child.  Marvel ;  Harold  and 
Valma,  who  are  at  home.  Mr.  Laughbaum's 
children  have  been  given  good  educational  ad- 
vantages.    William   C,   the  eldest  son,   is  a 


ISAAC  A.  LAUGHBAUM 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


785 


graduate  of  Wittenberg  college  and  seminary 
and  is  pastor  of  the  English  Lutheran  church 
at  Nevada,  O.  Edwin  H.  is  principal  of  the 
schools  of  Gallon  and  is  also  on  the  board 
of  county  school  examiners.  Earl  is  also 
a  school  teacher  and  additionally  is  a  sub- 
stitute mail  carrier  at  GaHon.  After  grad- 
uating from  Wittenberg  College,  John,  en- 
tered upon  his  studies  preparatory  to  becom- 
ing a  minister.  The  other  sons  have  become 
successful  farmers  and  all  are  credits  to  their 
parents  and  the  community.  Carrie  was  a 
teacher  in  the  public  schools  for  a  number  of 
years  before  her  marriage,  and  Valma  is  now 
a  junior  in  the  Gallon  High  School. 

In  politics  Mr.  Laughbaum  is  a  Democrat 
and  has  served  four  years  as  township  trustee 
and  also  as  school  director.  He  was  twice 
elected  to  the  office  of  County  Infirmary  Di- 
rector. He  is  a  member  of  Polk  Grange  at 
Gallon,  being  past  master  of  the  same  and  also 
deputy  master  of  the  Ohio  State  Grange.  The 
whole  family  has  membership  in  the  English 
Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Laughbaum  has  served 
for  a  number  of  years  as  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  school  at  North  Robinson,  also  as  a 
member  of  the  church  council,  and  also  as  sec- 
retary of  the  joint  council  of  the  North 
Robinson  charge. 

JAY  L.  HOLTZHOUSE,*  a  member  of 
one  of  the  old  and  respected  families  of 
Whetstone  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
and  one  of  the  heirs  of  an  estate  of  109  acres 
of  very  valuable  land,  was  born  on  the  old 
homestead  where  he  still  lives,  Aug.  31, 
1883,  and  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  F.  and  Mary 
G.  (Noblit)  Holtzhouse. 

Benjamin  F.  Holtzhouse  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  and  was  of  German  parent- 
age. He  was  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war 
and  for  many  years  was  a  respected  citi- 
zen of  Crawford  county  and  carried  on  farm- 
ing on  his  land  in  Whetstone  township, 
where  his  death  occurred  in  1894.  He  mar- 
ried Mary  G.  Noblit,  who  was  born  in  Craw- 
ford county,  and  the  following  children  were 
born  to  them :  John ;  Bertha,  who  is  the  wife 
of  W.  L.  Tupps;  Nettie,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Jay  Line;  Delia,  who  is  the  wife  of  Isaac 
Beach ;  Ollie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Oliver 
Beach;  Jay  L.  and  Warren.  Since  his  school 

4B 


days  Jay  L.  Holtzhouse  has  worked  the 
homestead  farm  on  shares  with  his  mother. 
He  is  an  industrious  and  intelligent  farmer 
and  in  his  agricultural  operations  shows 
good  judgment  and  thorough  knowledge. 

In  1903  Mr.  Holtzhouse  was  married  to 
Miss  Jessie  Coulter,  who  is  a  daughter  of 
William  and  Margaret  (Hager)  Coulter, 
well  known  residents  of  Gallon,  O.  Mrs. 
Holtzhouse  has  one  half-brother,  George  F., 
and  a  half-sister,  Etta,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Lewis  Hallay,  while  her  full  sister  and 
brothers  are :  Roma,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Fred  Robison;  and  Clyde  and  Howard.  Mr, 
and  Mrs.  Holtzhouse  have  one  son,  Floyd. 
They  attend  the  United  Brethren  church 
and  have  many  pleasant  social  interests  in 
the  neighborhood.  In  politics  he  is  a  Re- 
publican, as  was  his  father. 

WILLIAM  KRAUTER,  who  is  one  of 
the  leading  men  of  Bucyrus  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  a  very  successful  agricul- 
turist and  owner  of  large  bodies  of  land  in 
the  county,  is  interested  also  in  several  suc- 
cessful industrial  enterprises.  Mr.  Krauter 
was  born  in  Germany,  April  8,  1849,  ^^'^ 
was  six  years  old  when  his  parents,  John 
and  Catherine  (Borner)  Krauter,  brought 
him  to  this  country. 

John  Krauter,  with  wife  and  five  children, 
came  to  America  in  1854,  crossing  the  At- 
lantic ocean  in  a  sailing  vessel  that  afforded 
few  comforts  and  no  luxuries  to  the  passen- 
gers but  nevertheless  safely  landed  them  on 
solid  ground.  From  New  York  they  came 
to  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  John  Krauter 
was  a  farmer  in  Liberty  township  until 
twenty-six  years  before  death,  when  he 
moved  to  Bucyrus  and  died  there.  His  wife 
died  in  Liberty  township.  They  had  seven 
children,  namely:  Jacob,  Christian,  John  C, 
William,  Gottlieb,  Frederick  and  David,  all 
surviving  except  Gottlieb.  They  were  good. 
Christian  people,  strict  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Methodist  church. 

William  Krauter  obtained  his  book  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools,  but  during  a 
long  and  busy  life  has  learned  many  other 
lessons.  He  helped  his  father  clear  ofif  the 
land  and  develop  a  productive  farm  and  re- 


786 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


mained  at  home  until  he  was  25  years  of 
age,  and  then  started  out  for  himself.  On 
April  9,  1874,  Mr.  Krauter  bought  82  acres 
of  land  from  George  Cook,  to  which  he  later 
added  until  at  present  his  home  farm  con- 
tains 157  acres,  situated  in  Bucyrus  town- 
ship, while  he  owns  an  additional  100  acres 
in  Whetstone  township,  all  well  improved 
and  fertile,  productive  farin  land  which  he 
devotes  mainly  to  farming,  raising  only 
enough  stock  for  his  own  use.  Mr.  Krauter 
has  other  sources  of  income,  being  a  stock- 
holder in  the  Carroll  Foundry  &  Machine 
Company,  at  Bucyrus,  and  also  in  the  Inde- 
pendent Telephone  Company. 

On  April  2,  1874,  Mr.  Krauter  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Caroline  Gebhart,  a  daughter 
of  Adam  and  Susan  (Brand)  Gebhart,  resi- 
dents of  Holmes  township,  Crawford 
county,  but  natives  of  Germany.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Gebhart  had  five  children:  Catherine, 
Caroline,  Susan,  Jacob  and  John.  To  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Krauter  five  children  have  been 
born,  as  follows:  Amanda;  Emma,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Rev.  Blume,  a  minister  in  the 
German  Methodist  church;  Amos  B.,  who 
married  Mary  Yaussy;  Charles  E. ;  and 
Clara.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Krauter  are  members 
of  the  German  Methodist  church.  In  his  po- 
litical views  Mr.  Krauter  is  a  Republican 
and  he  gives  hearty  support  to.  that  party 
but  has  no  fault  to  find  with  those  whose 
opinions  differ  from  his  own.  He  is  widely 
known  and  universally  respected. 

JEREMIAH  NIMAN,  for  many  years 
was  known  as  one  of  the  far  seeing  business 
men  and  reliable  citizens  of  Bucyrus,  O.  He 
was  born  in  Richland  county,  O.,  not  far  dis- 
tant from  Mansfield,  and  died  at  Bucyrus, 
Feb.  I,  1900,  when  aged  about  62  years.  His 
parents  were  John  and  Margaret  (Bradley) 
Niman. 

John  Niman  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
his  wife  in  England,  but  they  were  married 
in  Richland  county,  O.,  the  Bradleys  having 
settled  at  Mansfield  when  the  present  city  had 
but  three  primitive  huts  and  when  the  Indians 
were  still  numerous  in  that  section  of  the 
country.  Mrs.  Niman  was  quite  young  when 
her   father  took  possession   of  one   of  these 


huts  and  her  experiences  of  pioneer  life  en- 
abled her  in  after  years  to  relate  many  in- 
teresting stories  to  her  descendants,  especially 
stories  connected  with  the  then  fast  dis- 
appearing Indians.  Her  death  occurred  on 
her  ninetieth  birthday,  in  1895,  she  having 
survived  her  husband  for  many  years.  They 
were  parents  of  five  sons  and  two  daughters, 
namely:  James,  William,  Jeremiah,  John  B. 
and  one  not  named,  Margaret  and  Elizabeth, 
all  of  whom  have  now  passed  away  except 
John  B.,  who  is  proprietor,  of  the  Union 
Foundry  at  Mansfield,  O. 

Jeremiah  Niman  had  such  educational  op- 
portunities as  the  village  afforded  in  his  day. 
When  quite  young  he  began  to  assist  his 
father  in  the  latter's  furniture  and  cabinet- 
making  shop  and  had  practically  learned  the 
business  by  the  time  he  was  eighten  years  of 
age.  He  then  determined  to  become  a  soldier 
and  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  War  with 
his  two  brothers,  one  of  whom,  William,  was 
captain  of  his  company,  the  other,  John  B., 
being  a  musician  in  the  regiment,  which  had 
been  raised  by  Col.  McLaughlifiin,  of  Mans- 
field. Jeremiah  Niman,  in  spite,  of  his  youth, 
became  a  brave  and  efficient  soldier,  acting  as 
color  bearer — a  post  of  unusual  danger- — and, 
with  the  exception  of  an  attack  of  typhoid 
fever,  passed  through  the  war  vmharmed  and 
received  an  honorable  discharge.  In  1865  he 
came  to  Bucyrus  and  embarked  in  the  furni- 
ture and  undertaking  business  and  prospered 
and  some  years  later  erected  the  Niman  Block 
at  No.  130  South  Sandusky  street,  in  which 
he  carried  on  his  business  until  1896,  when 
he  retired.  The  closing  years  of  his  life  were 
spent  in  the  quiet  way  most  congenial  to  old 
age  and  he  passed  out  of  existence  leaving 
behind  him  a  record  of  an  honorable  life  dur- 
ing which  he  had  harmed  no  man  by  word 
or  deed.  Politically  he  was  a  Republican. 
For  many  years  he  was  a  member  of  Keller 
Post,  G.  A.  R.  and  the  National  Union  and 
Royal  Arcanum.  He  was  a  Presbyterian  and 
gave  liberally  to  religious  movenients. 

At  Toledo,  O.,  in  1870,  Mr.  Niman  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Seaman,  who  was 
born  at  Woodville,  Sandusky  county,  a 
daughtet-  of  Capt.  Ira  Kent  and  Mary 
(Swartzman)  Seaman.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
Niman    was    born    in   New    Jersey   and   her 


JEREMIAH  NIMAN 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


789 


mother  in  Pennsylvania.  They  were  married 
at  Fremont,  O.,  where  they  lived  until  1862, 
when  they  moved  to  Toledo,  where  Mr.  Sea- 
man became  a  prominent  member  of  the 
bar  and  a  representative  citizen.  He  served 
through  the  Civil  War  and  raised  Co.  I,  21st 
O.  Vol.  Inf.,  which  was  the  first  company 
that  went  out  of  Sandusky  county.  He  lived 
usefully  many  years  afterward,  his  death  tak- 
ing place  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Niman,  when 
he  was  89  years,  seven  months  and  six  days 
old.  His  wife  had  died  previously  at  Toledo, 
when  aged  60  years.  The  family  ancestry 
has  been  preserved.  His  father  was  Daniel 
Seaman  and  his  grandparents  were  Micah 
and  Jemima  (Ball)  Seaman.  The  original 
settler  had  been  born  in  England  and,  with 
a  brother,  had  owned  a  whaling  vessel  that 
probably  was  stranded  on  American  shores, 
as  the  earliest  settlement  of  the  family  traced 
was  on  Long  Island.  This  ancestor  par- 
ticipated in  the  Revolutionary  War  under 
General  Washington.  Daniel  Seaman,  Sr., 
came  from  New  Jersey  to  Sandusky,  O., 
where  subsequently  the  family  became  one  of 
more  than  usual  prominence.  Mrs.  Niman 
has  two  surviving  sisters — Mrs.  M.  Belle 
Bushanan,  who  is  a  resident  of  Bucyrus  (her 
husband  is  a  great  nephew  of  President  Bu- 
chanan) ;  and  Mrs.  Emily  Kinnear,  who  lives 
at  Galesburg,  111.  Jackson  Daniel  Seaman,  a 
brother  of  Mrs.  Niman,  served  on  the  gun- 
boat Ozark  in  the  Civil  War.  Charles  F., 
another  brother,  was  in  the  regular  army  and 
was  one  of  the  guards  placed  over  Sitting 
Bull,  when  that  bad  Indian  was  captured. 
Mrs.  Niman  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  and  is  interested  in  the  work  of  for- 
eign missions.  She  is  a  lady  of  education 
and  culture,  belongs  to  the  Current  Events 
Club  and  to  the  Keller  Post  Relief  Corps. 

JOHN  MESSNER,  deceased,  was  one  of 
those  worthy  citizens  and  kind,  good,  Chris- 
tian men  whose  death  is  not  only  a  loss  to 
their  community  and  family,  but  is  felt  in 
a  wider  circle  to  which  the  influence  of 
their  useful  lives  have  extended.  He  had 
but  few  advantages  in  his  youth  as  his 
father  died  when  he  was  very  young  and  his 
mother  had  four  other  children  to  claim 
her  attention  and  be  provided  for.     After 


her  second  marriage  to  an  excellent  man, 
Thomas  Collier,  the  family  came  to  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  and  here  John  Messner 
spent  almost  the  whole  of  his  subsequent 
life. 

John  Messner  was  born  in  1818,  in  Penn- 
sylvania, and  it  is  possible  that  he  served 
his  four  years  of  apprenticeship  to  the  shoe- 
making  trade  before  he  came  as  a  perma- 
nent resident  to  Crawford  county.  Later 
he  became  a  farmer  and  still  later,  after 
moving  to  Bucyrus,  a  business  man  here. 
He  was  not  only  respected  but  highly 
esteemed  and  it  has  been  said  of  him  that 
his  mere  presence  was  a  tonic,  so  cheerful 
and  happy  was  his  temperament.  Nomi- 
nally he  was  a  Democrat  in  his  political 
views  but  was  very  apt  to  cast  his  vote  for 
those  candidates  whose  private  life  sus- 
tained their  public  utterances.  He  never 
identified  himself  with  any  religious  body 
although  every  act  of  his  life  proclaimed  that 
he  possessed  those  characteristics  which 
make  men  true  Christians.  He  found  good 
in  all  men,  he  forgave  those  who  did  him 
wrong,  he  cheered  the  unfortunate  and  gave 
to  those  in  need.  His  life  was,  therefore, 
one  of  beneficence,  and  his  memory  is  ten- 
derly cherished.  His  death  occurred  at  Bu- 
cyrus, O.,  June  20,  1902. 

John  Messner  was  married  first  to  Miss 
Maria  Clapper,  who  was  born  in  Crawford 
county,  O.  She  died  following  the  birth  of 
her  only  child,  Thomas  William,  now  of 
Allegheny,  Pa.  Some  years  later. Mr.  Mess- 
ner returned  to  Pennsylvania,  and  while 
there  married  Margaret  Gardner.  She  was 
born  there,  a  daughter  of  parents  who  had 
crossed  the  Atlantic  ocean  from  Scotland 
and  Ireland  prior  to  the  War  of  1812,  in 
which  the  father  of  Mrs.  Messner  partici- 
pated. Seven  children  were  born  to  this 
marriage,  one  son  and  six  daughters,  all  of 
whofn  survive.  Two  daughters,  both  of 
whom  reside  with  their  mother  at  Bucyrus, 
are  prominent  educators  in  Crawford 
county,  one  of  them,  Mjss  Martha  Messner, 
being  county  school  examiner  and  city  ex- 
aminer, the  first  woman  ever  appointed  to 
this  office  in  Ohio. 

Mary  Ellen  Messner  was  the  eldest  of  the 


790 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


above  family  and  was  born  and  educated 
at  Bucyrus.  She  married  Hersehel  Quinby 
Johnston,  Feb.  i6,  1875,  ^''•^  they  have  two 
children :  Martha  Pearl  and  Ida  Blanche. 
The  former  was  born  at  Bucyrus,  May  16, 
1876,  and  was  graduated  from  the  Bucyrus 
high  school  in  1895.  Six  years  later  she  mar- 
ried Hiram  Benjamin  Sears,  who  was  born, 
reared  and  educated  in  Crawford  county. 
Mr.  Sears  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Craw- 
ford County  Forestry  Association  and  its 
present  treasurer.  He  is  deeply  interested 
in  the  movement  as  applied  to  local  sur- 
roundings and  frequently  has  exhibits  at 
county  fairs  in  order  to  secure  the  attention 
of  other  farmers  to  this  very  important  mat- 
ter. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sears  have  two  sons : 
Richard  Elkanah,  who  was  born  April  21, 
1903,  and  John  Frederick,  who  was  born 
March  13,  1905.  The  second  daughter  of 
Mrs.  Johnston,  Ida  Blanche,  was  born  Oct. 
2"^,  1878,  and  was  graduated  from  the  Bucy- 
rus high  school  in  the  class  of  1896.  She 
married  Judge  Charles  F.  Schaber,  and  they 
have  3  children:'  Bertha  Mary,  who  was 
born  April  15,  1905;  Virginia  May,  who  was 
born  Jan.  12,  1909;  and  Ruth  Marion,  born 
June  8,  1912.  Mrs.  Johnston  and  daughters 
attended  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  The 
venerable  mother  of  Mrs.  Johnston  is  in  ex- 
cellent health  despite  her  75  years.  Her 
favorite  book  is  the  Holy  Bible  and  this  she 
has  read  and  studied  for  so  many  years  until 
its  precepts  and  promises  are  familiar  and 
she  can  readily  apply  them  to  almost  every 
problem  of  life. 

W.  S.  DEERWESTER,*  one  of  the  rep- 
resentative citizens  of  Holmes  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  a  farmer  and  carpen- 
ter and  house  builder,  was  born  in  Clermont 
county,  0.,  in  i860,  and  is  a  son  of  Peter 
Deerwester,  an  early  settler  there. 

W.  S.  Deerwester  was  given  public  school 
advantages  and  afterward  learned  the  car- 
penter trade  and  also  followed  farming  to 
some  extent.  In  1876  he  came  to  Crawford 
county  and  located  at  Brokensword,  and 
since  then  has  built  more  than  100  substan- 
tial barns  and  a  large  percentage  of  the  best 
farmhouses  in  this  section.    He  owns  a  small 


farm  located  eight  miles  northwest  of  Bu- 
cyrus and  gives  it  attention,  but  still  fol- 
lows work  at  his  trade. 

Mr.  Deerwester  was  married  (first)  to 
Miss  Ida  M.  Smith,  a  daughter  of  William 
Smith,  and  an  infant  was  born  to  them,  now 
deceased.  After  his  first  wife  passed  away, 
Mr.  Deerwester  was  married  (second)  to 
Miss  Adella  George,  who  is  now  deceased, 
neither  of  their  two  children  surviving  in- 
fan(^.  Mr.  Deerwester  is  a  very  intelligent, 
broad-minded  man  and  has  given  much 
study  to  public  questions  and  has  more  or 
less  identified  himself  with  .the  Socialist 
party. 

LEWIS  H.  ASSENHEIMER,  who  suc- 
cessfully operates  a  farm  of  83  acres  in  Bu- 
cyrus township,  was  born  in  this  township 
July  12,  1866,  a  son  of  Christian  and  Bertha 
(Marggraf)  Assenheimer.  His  paternal 
grandparents  were  Ludwig  and  Rosena 
(StoU)  Assenheimer,  the  former  of  whom, 
Ludwig,  was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Ger- 
many, about  1802  and  was  a  weaver  by 
trade.  In  1832  he  came  to  New  York  and 
there,  in  1833,  he  married  Miss  Rosena  Stoll, 
who  was  also  a  native  of  Wurtemberg,  Ger- 
many, born  in  181 1,  and  who,  it  is  thought, 
came  over  in  the  same  vessel.  He  brought 
a  large  stock  of  clocks  with  him,  which  he 
traded  to  his  brother-in-law,  George  F. 
Stoll,  for  the  building  of  a  house.  He  fol- 
lowed his  trade  of  weaver  for  many  years 
and  afterwards  kept  a  grocery  store.  His 
death  took  place  Oct.  19,  1855.  He  and  his 
wife  had  thirteen  children. 

Christian  Assenheimer,  was  born  in  New 
York  City,  Aug.  12,  1834,  and  was  there- 
fore little  over  a  year  old  when  his  father 
located  in  Bucyrus  in  the  fall  of  1835.  He 
attended  school  in  the  village  until  he  was 
twelve  years  of  age,  learning  both  English 
and  German,  and  worked  at  anything  he 
could  find  to  do  until  his  17th  year,  when 
he  was  apprenticed  to  Peter  Shallenmiller, 
a  cabinet-maker,  to  learn  the  trade.  Having 
followed  his  trade  as  apprentice  and  jour- 
neyman until  1859,  he  then  bought  out  his 
old  employer,  going  in  debt  for  a  large  part 
of  the  stock.     He  carried  on  the  furniture 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


791 


business  and  undertaking  for  about  twelve 
years  with  good  success,  paying  for  his  stock 
and  buying  the  property  where  C.  M.  Mat- 
hews was  afterwards  located,  where  he  car- 
ried on  business  until  1871.  He  then  ex- 
changed his  town  property  for  96  acres  of 
land,  on  which  he  resided  until  1879,  when 
he  purchased  a  farm  on  the  Sandusky  road, 
five  and  a  half  miles  from  Bucyrus,  on  which 
he  made  various  improvements.  After  ope- 
rating this  farm  for  a  number  of  years  he 
retired  and  is  now  living  in  Bucyrus  with 
his  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  Oct.  6, 
1859.  Her  name  in  maidenhood  was  Bertha 
Marggraf;  she  was  born  in  Stadtilm,  Sax- 
ony, Germany,  Oct.  17,  1837,  and  came  to 
America  with  her  parents  when  but  six 
years  of  age,  they  settling  in  Bucyrus,  this 
county.  They  have  had  children  as  follows: 
Emma  C,  born  June  26,  i860;  Margaret 
T.,  March  15,  1862;  Frederick  C,  May  28, 
1864;  Lewis  H.,  July  12,  1866;  Franklin  E., 
Aug.  22,  1868;  Edward  C,  July  26,  1871 ; 
William  C,  March  15,  1875,  and  Otto  A., 
Oct.  5,  1877.  The  parents  are  members  of 
the  German  Lutheran  church. 

Lewis  H.  Assenheimer  acquired  his  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools  of  this  local- 
ity and  in  the  meanwhile  was  initiated  into 
farm  work  by  his  father,  whom  he  assisted 
until  his  marriage.  The  farm  of  83  acres 
which  he  owns  formed  a  part  of  the  parental 
homestead  and  he  has  resided  here  since 
he  was  five  years  of  age.  It  is  a  fertile  and 
well  cultivated  piece  of  land,  well  supplied  . 
with  good  buildings,  and  here  he  carries  on 
general  farming,  also  keeping  enough  stock 
for  his  own  use.  A  Democrat  politically, 
Mr.  Assenheimer  has  been  somewhat  active 
in  township  affairs ;  he  is  a  member  of  the 
board  of  education  and  is  also  road  super- 
visor, looking  after  18  miles  of  road. 

He  was  married  January  23,  1895,  to  Mag- 
dalena  Stuckman,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Elizabeth  (Speigle)  Stuckman,  farming  peo- 
ple of  Bucyrus  township.  Of  this  marriage, 
four  children  have  been  born :  Arno,  Har- 
old, Howard  and  Bertha  Elizabeth.  The 
family  attend  the  English  Lutheran  church. 

HARRY  MACKEY,  a  well  known  engi- 
neer with  the  Erie  Railroad,  who  has  been 


idehtified  with  this  line  since  his  24th  birth- 
day, was  born  at  Gallion,  O.,  June  25,  1859, 
and  is  a  son  of  James  and  Mary  (Pensinger) 
Mackey. 

James  Mackey  was  born  in  Pennsylvania 
but  in  childhood  accompanied  his  parents 
to  Zanesville,  O.,  and  in  1850  to  Gallon, 
where  his  father,  William  Mackey,  died. 
While  living  at  Zanesville  James  Mackey 
learned  the  carpenter  trade  but  after  he 
came  to  Gallon  engaged  in  butchering  and 
meat  packing  for  some  years,  after  which 
he  became  a  very  successful  building  con- 
tractor here  and  continued  in  that  line  as 
long  as  he  was  active.  His  death  occurred 
at  Gallon  in  J900.  He  was  married  in  Ohio 
to  Mary  Pensinger,  who  was  born  in' Penn- 
sylvania and  had  accompanied  her  parents 
to  Ohio.  Her  death  occurred  at  Gallon  in 
1864.  She  was  a  member  of  the  English 
Lutheran  church.  The  family  consisted  of 
three  sons,  Thomas,  John  and  Harry,  and 
one  daughter,  Jennie,  who  is  the  widow  of 
James  Stewart,  now  of  Montana. 

Harry  Mackey  was  reared  and  attended 
school  at  Gallon,  and  afterward  for  a  time 
was  with  his  brother,  Thomas,  in  the  meat 
business  and  as  a  side  interest  learned  to 
operate  a  stationary  engine.  Mechanics 
came  to  him  naturally,  and  as  he  found  his 
bent  was  in  that  direction  he  decided  to 
enter  upon  railroad  work,  and  on  his  birth- 
day, June  25,  1883,  became  an  employe  of 
the  Erie  Railway  Company.  He  served  for 
three  and  one-half  years  as  fireman  and  then 
was  given  an  engine  and  ever  since  has 
been  connected  with  the  Cincinnati  East  Di- 
vision. His  promotion  has  been  unusually 
rapid,  probably  because  he  has  never  had  a 
single  accident  and  because  never  a  single 
complaint  has  been  entered  against  him.  He 
has  had  his  name  added  to  the  Red  Star 
list,  which  indicates  that  he  is  one  of  the 
most  valued  passenger  engineers  in  the 
service. 

Mr.  Mackey  was  married  at  Gallon  to 
Miss  Katherine  Pfefifer,  who  was  born  in 
this  city  in  1857,  a  daughter  of  Frederick 
Pfei¥er,  and  died  here  Jan.  8,  1904,  leaving 
no  children.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church.  Mr.  Mackey  was  married 
(second)   to   Miss  Anna   Sames,  who  was 


792 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


born  at  Galion,  July  29,  1861,  a  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Mary  (Lanius)  Sames.  The  par- 
ents of  Mrs.  Mackey  were  born  in  Germany 
but  were  married  at  GaUon,  where  their  sub- 
sequent lives  were  spent,  the  father  dying 
at  the  age  of  63  years  and  the  mother  sur- 
viving to  be  71  years  old.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  German  Reformed  church.  Mrs. 
Mackey  had  two  brothers :  Henry  C.,  who 
died  at  Brightwood,  Ind.,  when  aged  twen- 
ty-six years,  survived  by  a  widow  and  son; 
and  William  H.,  who  is  a  hardware  mer- 
chant at  Mt.  Gilead,  O. 

Since  she  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  Mrs. 
Mackey  has  been  a  member  of  the  German 
Reformed  church,  which  Mr.  Mackey  also 
attends.  Since  1886  he  has  been  identified 
with  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  En- 
gineers, and  has  filled  almost  all  of  the  po- 
sitions in  the  local  lodge  at  Galion  and  has 
recently  as  a  delegate  of  Division  No.  16, 
the  convention  of  the  International  Brother- 
hood recently  convened  at  Harrisburg,  Pa. 
He  belongs  also  to  the  Junior  Order  of 
American  Mechanics,  No.  106,  at  Galion,  to 
Lodge  No.  186,  Knights  of  Pythias,  of  this 
city,  and  to  Order  of  Owls,  Nest  No. 
1700,  of  Marion,  O.  In  politics  he  casts 
an  independent  vote. 

SIMEON  G.  BEAL,*  who  is  a  representa- 
tive of  one  of  the  old  agricultural  families 
of  Crawford  county,  O.,  follows  farming 
and  stock  raising  in  Bucyrus  township,  ope- 
rating two  farms,  one  of  80  acres,  which  be- 
longs to  his  father,  and  his  own  property, 
where  he  has  40  acres.  He  was  born  in 
Bucyrus  township,  Oct.  19,  1856,  and  is  -a 
son  of  Isaac  Beal. 

Simeon  G.  Beal  attended  the  district 
schools  near  his  father's  farm  in  his  youth 
and  afterward  was  trained  to  be  a  practical 
farmer  and  raiser  of  stock,  and  in  order  to 
be  successful  there  is  a  great  deal  to  be 
learned  along  both  lines.  Mr.  Beal  raises 
only  enough  general  stock  for  his  own  use 
but  devotes  considerable  attention  to  sheep 
growing  and  through  his  excellent  methods 
makes  this  industry  a  profitable  one. 

Mr.  Beal  was  married  to  Miss  Catherine 
Sherer,  who  died  Dec.  ,17,  1910,  a  daughter 


of  Samuel  Sherer.  Her  burial  was  in  the 
Sherer  cemetery  in  Whetstone  township, 
where  other  members  of  her  family  rest. 
One  son  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beal, 
Milton  Sherer,  a  bright  youth  who  was 
graduated  from  the  Bucyrus  high  school  in 
the  class  of  1910.  Mr.  Beal  is  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  as  was  his 
wife.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political 
views. 

■i- 

FREDERICK  C.  ASSENHEIMER,  a 
farmer  of  Bucyrus  township,  who  owns  82 
acres  of  land  and  also  works  80  acres  be- 
longing to  his  father,  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Bucyrus,  May  28,  1864,  a  son  of  Chris- 
tian and  Bertha  (Marggraf)  Assenheimer. 
His  father.  Christian  Assenheimer,  was  born 
Aug.  12,  1834,  in  Cherry  Street,  New  York 
City,  and  was  a  son  of  Ludwig  and  Rosena 
(Stoll)  Assenheimer.  In  i835_  Ludwig  As- 
senheimer brought  his  family  to  Crawford 
county,  Ohio,  locating  in  Bucyrus,  and 
young  Christian  grew  up  in  the  village, 
learning  both  German  and  English.  He  at- 
tended school  until  twelve  years  old,  at 
which  time  he  began  to  do  odd  jobs  and 
work  at  anything  he  could  find  to  do.  ] 
his  17th  year  he  was  apprenticed  to  Peter 
Shallenmiller  to  learn  the  trade  of  cabinet- 
maker, remaining  with  him  three  years  and 
a  half  and  subsequently  following  his  trade 
as  a  journeyman  until  1859,  when  he  bought 
out  his  old  employer.  He  carried  on  the 
,  furniture  business  and  undertakingfor  about 
12  years  and  finally  bought  theproperty  sub- 
sequently occupied  by  C.  M.  Matthews  & 
Co.,  where  he  did  business  until  1871.  He 
then  exchanged  his  town  property  for  96 
acres  of  land  in  Bucyrus  township,  on  which 
he  resided  until  1879,  when  he  bought  a 
farm  of  160  acres  on  the  Sandusky  road,  five 
and  a  half  miles  from  Bucyrus,  on  which 
he  made  fine  improvements  and  took  up  his 
permanent  residence.  He  was  married  Oct. 
6,  1859,  to  Miss  Bertha  Marggraf,  of  Bu- 
cyrus, who  was  born  in  Stadhilm,  Saxony, 
Germany,  Oct.  17,  1837,  and  who  came  to 
America  with  her  parents  when  but  six 
years  of  age.  Of  this  marriage  six  sons  and 
two  daughters  were  born,  as  follows :  Emma 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


793 


C,  June  26,  i860;  Martha  T.,  March  15, 
1862;  Frederick  C,  May  28,  1864;  Lewis  H., 
July  12,  1866;  FrankHn  E.,  Aug.  22,  1868; 
Edward  C,  July  26,  1871 ;  William  C, 
March  15,  1875;  and  Otto  A.,  Oct.  5,  1877. 
Christian  Assenheimer  and  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  German  Lutheran  church  and  he 
is  a  Democrat  politically,  serving  six  years 
as  a  member  of  the  town  council  and  three 
years  as  township  trustee.  They  now  live 
retired  in  Bucyrus. 

Ludwig  Assenheimer,  the  father  of  Chris- 
tian and  grandfather  of  our  subject,  was 
born  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  about  1802, 
and  was  a  weaver  by  trade.  In  1832  he 
came  to  New  York,  where  he  married 
Rosena  Stoll,  a  native  also  of  Wurtemberg, 
born  Aug.  11,  181 1,  and  who  probably  came 
over  in  the  same  vessel.  They  were  mar- 
ried in  1833,  and  came  to  Bucyrus  in  1835. 
He  brought  a  large  stock  of  clocks  with 
him,  which  he  traded  to  his  brother-in-law, 
Geo.  F.  Stoll,  for  the  building  of  a  house. 
He  followed  his  trade  for  many  years,  then 
kept  a  grocery  store  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  Oct.  19,  1855.  He  and  his  wife 
had  thirteen  children. 

Frederick  C.  Assenheimer  acquired  his 
education  in  the  common  schools  and  was 
trained  to  agriculture,  becoming  a  practical 
farmer.  He  started  in  for  himself  when  28 
years  old,  working  for  a  year  and  a  half  by 
the  month  and  then  being  associated  with 
his  father,  from  whom  he  later  bought  his 
farm,  which  he  has  operated  alone.  He  does 
general  farming  and  keeps  stock  enough 
for  his  own  use.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat. He  was  married  Feb.  28,  1907,  to  Mrs. 
Viola  (Mollenkop)  Harmon,  who  is  a 
daughter  of  Philip  Mollenkop  and  was  mar- 
ried previously  to  Jay  Harmon,  now  de- 
ceased. Of  her  first  union  there  were  two 
children,  Ward  C.  and  Alice  Ruth.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Assenheimer  are  the  parents  of  one 
child,  Elsie  Rowena.  Mr.  Assenheimer  be- 
longs to  the  German  Lutheran  church,  while 
his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren 
church.  They  have  a  fine  homestead  and 
are  prosperous  farming  people,  well  known 
and  respected  throughout  the  township  and 
vicinity. 


JOHN  HALEY,  who  entered  into  the 
service  of  the  Erie  Railway  Company  as  a 
call  boy,  away  back  on  Nov.  20,  1869,  has 
been  identified  with  this  road  ever  since, 
and  through  regular  promotions  in  1902  was 
made  a  passenger  engineer  and  now  fills  that 
very  important  position,  one  of  the  oldest 
and  most  relied  on  engineers  in  the  Erie 
service.  Mr.  Haley  was  born  at  Cleveland, 
O.,  April  4,  1855,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and 
Mary  (Carroll)  Haley. 

Both  parents  of  Mr.  Haley  were  born  in 
1814,  in  County  Cork,  Ireland,  and  there 
they  were  married  in  1839  and  a  few  years 
later  came  to  America  and  subsequently  lo- 
cated at  Cleveland,  O.,  and  from  there  came 
to  Gallon,  in  1857.  The  father  was  a  rail- 
road man  and  for  some  years  he  was  con- 
nected with  the  Big  Four  and  the  Erie  Rail- 
roads while  living  at  Gabon,  where  his 
death  occurred  Dec.  5,  1894.  His  widow 
survived  until  Jan.  15,  1899.  They  were 
members  of  St.  Patrick's  Roman  Catholic 
church.  In  politics  he  formerly  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat, but  after  the  conclusion  of  the  Tilden- 
Hayes  campaign,  voted  the  Republican 
ticket  until  the  end  of  his  life.  He  was  the 
father  of  a  family  of  three  sons  and  three 
daughters,  all  of  \vhom  survive  except  one 
daughter. 

John  Haley  accompanied  his  parents  to 
Gallon  in  1857,  being  then  an  infant,  was 
reared  here  and  obtained  his  education  in 
the  public  schools,  leaving  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen years  in  order  to  become  a  railroad 
man,  for  which  he  had  a  strong  natural  in- 
clination. In  November,  1869,  he  became 
call  boy  for  the  Erie  and  four  years  later 
was  made  fireman  on  the  Fourth  Division 
of  what  was  then  the  Atlantic  &  Great 
Western,  in  June,  1873,  when  it  was  also 
called  the  Broad  Gauge.  Later  the  road  be- 
came the  N.  Y.  &  P.  O.,  later  changes  be- 
ing made  until  the  present  name  of  the  Erie 
Railway  was  adopted,  and  during  all  this 
period  of  changing  names  and  owners, 
equally  important  changes  were  being  made 
in  the  methods  of  railroading  and  equipping. 
He  recalls  the  time  when  the  engines  were 
fired  with  wood,  and  few,  if  any,  of  the 
most  fore-sighted  railroad  men  could  have 


794 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


pictured  the  present  day  steam  eng^ines,  su- 
perheated with  steam  or  electricity,  which 
often  weigh  250  tons.  On  July  29,  1879,  Mr. 
Haley  was  made  an  engineer  and  in  No- 
vember, 1880,  was  given  a  crew,  and  now, 
with  one  exception  is  the  oldest  engineer  of 
the  Third  Division,  running  from  Marion 
to  Kent,  O.  He  has  an  excellent  record  as 
a  train  man,  his  caution  and  prudence  being- 
proverbial,  and  few  engineers  of  this  line 
enjoy  more  fully  the  confidence  of  employ- 
ers or  comrades. 

Mr.  Haley  was  married  at  Sandusky,  C, 
to  Margaret  Mullen  Manz,  who  was  born 
and  educated  at  Sandusky.  She  is  of  French 
and  German  extraction,  a  daughter  of  Jo- 
seph and  Frederica  Manz.  Joseph  Manz 
was  one  of  eight  brothers  that  enhsted  in 
the  Union  army  and  fought  throughout  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion.  He  was  a  member 
of  Company  A,  32nd  O.  V.  I.,  and  served 
under  General  Grant.  He  belonged  to  Mc- 
Meens  Post,'G.  A.  R.,  Sandusky,  O.  Joseph 
and  Frederica  Manz  were  married  in  New 
York  City  and  it  was  there  Mrs.  Haley  was 
born.  Mr.  Manz  was  accidentally  killed  at 
Sandusky  by  a  Lake  Shore  engine,  July  12, 
1891,  when  sixty  years  of  age.  He  was  a 
well  known  citizen  of  Sandusky  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  The 
mother  of  Mrs.  Haley  survived  until  Febru- 
ary 22,  191 1,  for  many  years  having  been 
a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mrs. 
Haley  has  one  brother,  Anthony,  and  one 
sister,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Larkin,  both  of  whom 
live  at  Sandusky.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Haley  are 
members  of  St.  Patrick's  Catholic  church. 
He  is  an  active  and  interested  member  of 
the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers. 
In  politics  he  votes  independently. 

GODFREY  YAUSSY,  proprietor  of  the 
Willow  Brook  stock  farm,  a  valuable  tract 
of  357  acres  situated  in  Whetstone  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  is  one  of  the  well 
known  and  substantial  citizens  of  this  sec- 
tion, to  which  he  came  in  1905,  from  Mon- 
roe county,  0.,  where  he  was  born  July  25, 
1851.  His  parents  were  Christian  and  Eliza- 
beth (Muhleman)  Yaussy. 

Christian  Yaussy  and  wife  were  both  born 


in   Switzerland  but  they  were   married  in 
America.     He  followed  farming  in  Monroe 
county,   O.,    for   some   years    and   his   wife 
died  and  is  buried  there,  &nd  he  then  madei 
his  home  with  his  son,  Godfrey,  where  he 
died  May   i,   1912.     The  family  numbered 
seven  children,  three  of  whom  died  in  in- 
fancy and  one,  Anna,  who  was  the  wife  of 
Joseph  Winkler,  is  also  deceased.    The  sur- 
vivors are:  Godfrey,  Edward  and  Samuel. 
The  mother  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  while  the   father  was  a 
Lutheran.     He  was  a  Democrat  in  his  po- 
litical sentiments.    His  parents  were  Daniel 
and  Mary  Yaussy. 

Godfrey  Yaussy  attended  the  common 
schools  in  Monroe  county  in  boyhood  and 
then  went  into  a  cheese  factory,  where  he 
continued  for  eleven  years.  There  are  no 
people  who  understand  the  making  of 
cheese  quite  so  well  as  the  Swiss,  and  Mr. 
Yaussy  knows  the  manufacture  of  many 
varieties  of  this  food-dainty.  After  coming 
to  Crawford  county  in  1905  he  purchased 
197  acres  of  land  from  John  Albright,  80 
acres  from  a  Mr.  Miller  and  80  acres  more 
from  a  Mr.  Rowse.  Prior  to  coming  here  he 
sold  his  farm  of  190  acres  in  Monroe  county. 
He  carries  on  dairying  and  Js  a  breeder  of 
registered  Holstein-Friesian  cattle. 

In  October,  1874,  Mr.  Yaussy  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Sarah  Gehrig,  a 
daughter  of  Christian  and  Mary  (Dahler) 
Gehrig,  who  were  natives  of  Switzerland. 
They  were  married  in  that  land  and  after- 
ward came  to  the  United  States  and  en- 
gaged in  farming  in  Monroe  county,  where 
both  died.  They  laad  the  following  children: 
Sarah;  John;  Rebecca,  deceased,  who  was 
the  wife  of  Edward  Brenzikofer;  Lydia,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Fred  Roth ;  Hannah,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Samuel  Yaussy;  Selma,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Carl  Bock ;  and  Ernest  and  Net- 
tie. To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Yaussy  fourteen  chil- 
dren have  been  born,  all  of  whom  survive, 
namely:  Clara  H.,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Charles  W.  Lutliy;  Lydia,  who  is  the  wife 
of  John  Fraley ;  Ella,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Sanford  Fraley ;  Robert ;  John ;  Mary,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Amos  Krauter;  Henry;  Sel- 
ma; Otto;  Edna,  who  is  a  teacher  in  Whet- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


795 


stone  township ;  Esther ;  Paul ;  Clarence  and 
Verna,  the  younger  members  attending  the 
Bucyrus  high  school.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Yaussy 
have  reared  their  children  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  Although  he  is  inde- 
pendent in  his  political  views,  Mr.  Yaussy 
has  been  so  generally  recognized  as  a  good 
citizen  that  he  has  frequently  been  elected 
to  office. 

CHARLES  ULMER,*  general  merchant 
at  Sulphur  Springs,  Crawford  county,  O., 
and  a  public  spirited  and  substantial  citi- 
zen, was  born  in  Liberty  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  in  1868,  and  is  a  son  of 
Gottlieb  and  Barbara  Ulmer,  who  were  na- 
tives of  Wittenberg,  Germany.  After  com- 
ing to  America  they  settled  in  Crawford 
county,  O.  Eleven  children  were  born  to 
them,  namely:  Henry,  who  married  Anna 
May,  a  daughter  of  Lewis  May,  is  deceased 
but  his  widow  survives  and  lives  in  Vernon 
township;  Mary,  who  married  John  Kleop- 
enstine,  and  they  live  at  Mansfield,  O.; 
Rosa,  who  lives  with  her  husband  in  Lib- 
erty township;  Jacob  F.,  who  is  a  resident 
of  Liberty  township,  married  Nora  Pfleid- 
ener;  John  W.,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Liberty 
township,  married  Eliza  Brown;  David  G., 
who  is  a  resident  of  Liberty  township,  mar- 
ried first  Tillie  Knobenger  and  after  her 
death  married  Mrs.  David  Lutz ;  Frederick, 
who  is  a  resident  of  Cranberry  township, 
married  Anna  Sanders;  Charles,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch ;  and  Lizzie,  Katie  and  Eliza, 
all  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 

Charles  Ulmer  obtained  his  education  in 
the  public  schools.  After  leaving  the  home 
farm  he  went  into  the  general  mercantile 
business  and  has  continued  and  enjoys  a 
large  trade.  He  is  one  of  the  active  and 
enterprising  men  of  Sulphur  Springs  and 
at  present  is  serving  in  the  office  of  treas- 
urer of  Liberty  township. 

Mr.  Ulmer  was  married  to  Miss  Amy 
Striker,  who  died  October  15,  1911,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Daniel  and  Mary  Striker.  They  had 
the  following  children :  Harvey,  Mabel,  Ar- 
thur, Robert,  Edward,  Sarah,  all  of  whom 
live  with  their  father,  and  one  who  died  in 
infancy.     Mr.  Ulmer  and  children  are  mem- 


bers of  the  Lutheran  church.     He  is  identi- 
fied with  the  Order  of  Maccabees. 

JOHN  L.  COOK,  who  was  born  Jan. 
31,  1857,  on  his  present  valuable  farm  of 
165  acres,  which  is  situated  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  belongs  to  a 
highly  respected  family  of  this  section.  His 
parents  were  John  and  Sarah  (Deeber) 
Cook. 

John  Cook  was  born  in  Germany  and 
was  a  son  of  Peter  Cook.  By  trade  he  was 
a  plasterer  and  for  many  years  during  the 
season  was  steadily  employed  and  also  en- 
gaged in  farming.  He  always  voted  the 
Democratic  ticket  and  he  gave  liberal  sup- 
port to  Trinity  Reformed  church  at  Gallon. 
He  married  Sarah  Deeber,  who  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania,  a  daughter  of  Louis  Dee- 
ber, and  they  had  the  following  chil- 
dren :  Elizabeth,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife 
of  John  Albright;  Henry;  George;  Amanda, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Peter  Beach ;  Tena.  who 
is  the  wife  of  Jacob  Whiteamire;  Isaac; 
John  L. ;  and  Sarah,  who  makes  her  home 
with  her  brother,  John  L.  Cook.  The  par- 
ents of  the  above  family  are  deceased,  their 
burial  beinsr  in  the  Whetstone   Cemetery. 

John  L.  Cook  attended  the  district  school 
in  boyhood  with  his  brothers  and  sisters 
and  afterward  remained  at  home,  as  his 
father  needed  his  assistance  in  cultivating 
his  large  estate  of  335  acres.  When  his 
father  died,  Mr.  Cook  bought  91  acres  and 
kept  on  adding  until  he  now  owns  165  acres 
as  stated  above.  He  carries  on  general  ag- 
riculture here  and  is  one  of  the  prosperous 
farmers  of  this  section. 

Mr.  Cook  was  married  in  1887  to  Miss 
Mary  E.  Gibler,  a  daughter  of  Adam  and 
Rachel  (Shearer)  Gibler,  who  came  to 
Crawford  county  very  early  and  became 
people  of  ample  means  and  were  highly 
respected.  Mrs.  Cook  has  two  brothers  and 
one  sister:  Isaac  and  John,  and  Sarah,  who 
is  the  wffe  of  James  McPeak.  Five  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cook, 
as  follows:  Rachel  C,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Ora  Laughbaum;  and  Ida  S.,  Nettie  J., 
Elsie  B.  and  Verdie  B.  The  family  attend 
Trinity  Reformed  Church.    A  stanch  Demo- 


796 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


crat,  Mr.  Cook  has  been  elected  to  local  of- 
fices by  his  party  and  has  served  three 
terms  as  school  director  and  one  term  as 
road  supervisor. 

SIMON  J.  DENZER,  a  prosperous  farm- 
er,  ow^ning  loi  acres  in  Bucyrus  township, 
W2LS  born  in  this  township,  Oct.  21,  1856, 
son  of  Jacob  and  Matilda  (McNeal)  Den- 
zer.  His  ^grandfather,  Andrew  Denzer,  was 
born  in  Baden,  Germany,  and  served  under 
Napoleon  in  the  disastrous  Russian  cam- 
paign, where  so  many  of  the  army  perished. 
Being  lucky  enough  to  escape  death,  he 
afterwards — about  1833 — came  to  America, 
dying  in  this  country  seven  years  after.  He 
and  his  wife  had  four  sons  and  a  daughter, 
Andrew,  George,  Jacob,  Marv  and  Simon. 
Two  of  these  children  died  in  Germany  and 
were  buried  at  Upfingen,  Baden.  Mrs.  An- 
drew Denzer  survived  her  husband  many 
years,  passing  away  in  1876  at  the  advanced 
age  of  ninety-four. 

Jacob  Denzer  was  thirteen  years  old  when 
he  accomoanied  his  parents  to  the  United 
States.  They  soon  settled  in  Crawford 
county,  Ohio,  the  father  (Andrew)  pur- 
chasing 15  acres  of  land  in  Liberty  town- 
ship. This  he  cleared  and  in  the  following 
spring  built  a  cabin  on  it.  The  same  spring 
— of  1834 — Jacob  began  work  as  a  farm 
hand,  earning  three  or  four  dollars  per 
month,  and  was  thus  employed  until  he  was 
25  years  of  age.  Until  reaching  his  majority 
he  gave  his  earnings  to  his  parents.  At 
the  age  of  25  he  began  farming  rented  land, 
which  he  operated  for  three  years.  On 
March  13,  1850,  he  married  Matilda  Mc- 
Neal of  Crawford  county,  who  was  born 
in  Huntingdon  county.  Pa.,  Dec.  6,  1826, 
and  she  proved  a  most  capable  help-meet 
to  him.  After  his  marriage  he  rented  a 
farm  for  six  years  and  in  the  meanwhile 
bought  38  acres  of  land.  In  1863  he  pur- 
chased the  homestead  on  which  he  resided 
for  the  rest  of  his  life,  where  he  carried  on 
farming  and  stock-raising  becoming  in  time 
one  of  the  prosperous  and  substantial  citi- 
zens of  the  township.  For  about  ten  years 
he  also  operated  a  saw-mill.  He  and  his 
wife  had  thirteen  children,  of  whom  two — 


Florence  and  an  infant  son — died  in  child-> 
hood.  The  others  were  Mary  L.,  Jennie, 
Andrew,  Esther,  J.  Anson,  Simon  J.,  Ella, 
Alexander,  Maggie,  Lewis  I.  and  Electa  V. 

Simon  J.  Denzer  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  and  was  brought  up  on 
his  father's  farm,  acquiring  a  competent 
knowledge  of  agriculture  methods.  He 
has  since  continued  in  this  now  profitable 
line  of  industry  and  is  now  engaged  in  gen- 
eral farming  keeping  enough  stock  for  his 
own  use.  A  part  of  his  farm  belonged 
originally  to  the  Denzer  homestead;  the 
rest  he  has  acquired  by  purchase.  He  has 
made  substantial  improvements  in  the  prop- 
erty, building  the  fine  barn  and  residence 
which  stands  on  his  land,  and  the  general 
aspect  of  his  place  is  one  of  thrift  and  pros- 
perity. He  votes  the  Democratic  ticket  but 
is  not  an  active  politician. 

He  was  married  Feb..  15,  1888,  to  Clara 
F.  Miller,  who  was  born  in  Holmes  town- 
ship, this  county,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  and 
Mary  (Lichtenwalter)  Miller.  Her  parents 
were  early  settlers  in  Crawford  county  and 
cleared  a  farm  there,  the  father  coming  from 
Columbiana  county  and  the  mother  from 
Stark  county.  They  were  farmers.  Their 
children  were  Isaac  L. ;  Elizabeth,  now  de- 
ceased, who  was  the  wife  of  Martin  ShafE- 
ner;  Sarah,  wife  of  Andrew  Gidley;  Mary, 
wife  of  Valentine  Heiby ;  Adeline,  who  mar- 
ried Michael  Shififler;  Catherine,  who  mar- 
ried William  Lotzenheiser ;  Clara  F.,  the 
wife  of  our  subject;  Daniel,  now  deceased; 
and  Laura,  who  is  the  wife  of  Peter  L.  Bash. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Denzer  have  two  children, 
both  sons,  namely,  John  Evan  and  Allen 
D.  The  family  attend  the  English  Lutheran 
church. 

CHRISTIAN  HOOVER,  who  is  one  of 
the  substantial  citizens  of  Dallas  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  owning  244  acres  of 
finely  developed  land,  was  born  in  Craw- 
ford county,  in  September,  1844,  and  is  a 
son  of  William  and  Phebe  (Swisher) 
Hoover. 

William  Hoover  was  born  in  Pickaway 
county,  O.,  but  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
was  passed  as  a  farmer  in  Crawford  county. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


797 


He  married  Phebe  Swisher,  who  was  born 
in  Franklin  county,  O.,  and  the  following 
children  were  born  to  them :  John  T. ; 
Emma,  who  is  the  wife  of  Henry  M.  Welch ; 
Christian ;  George  W. ;  Margaret,  who  is 
the  wife  of  David  E.  Fisher;  Marcellus; 
Alice,  who  is  the  wife  of  Marks  Tea; 
Charles  Fremont;  Flora,  who  is  the  wife  of 
H.   L.  Weber;  and  WilHam. 

Christian  Hoover  had  public  school  ad- 
vantages as  they  were  offered  when  he  was 
a  boy,  and  since  then  has  devoted  himself 
entirely  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  since 
the  age  of  four  years  has  lived  on  his  pres- 
ent farm,  which  is  generally  known  as  the 
old  Hoover  homestead.  He  no  longer  does 
more  than  overlook  his  farm,  having  placed 
all  the  practical  responsibilities  on  the 
sturdy  shoulders  of  his  sons,  who  are  capa- 
ble and  thorough  farmers. 

In  1868  Mr.  Hoover  was  married  to  Miss 
Lorenna  Kirby,  who  was  born  in  Crawford 
county,   a   daughter   of   Samuel   and    Mary 
(Welch)   Kirby,  old  settlers  here  and  well 
known  peoole.     Mrs.  Hoover  died  Nov.  8, 
1909,  and  her  burial  was  in  Oakwood  ceme- 
tery, Bucyrus.    Two  brothers  and  one  sister 
survive  her :  John,   George  and  Emma,  who 
is  the  wife  of  James  Orr.    To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hoover  the  following  children  were  born : 
Ernest,  who  married  Nona  Flock,  and  has 
four   children,    Hugh,   Alice,    Florence   and 
Lucile;    Burdett   K.,   who   married    Elnora 
Quaintance,  and  has  two  children,  Chester 
and  Hazel;  Charles  F.,  who  married  Nora 
Kerr  and  has  five  children,  Helen,  Wayne, 
Clififord,    Marjorie    and    an    infant;    Maud; 
and  Madge,  who  is  the  wife  of  Arlington 
Blair     and     has     three     children.     Hoover, 
Thomas  and  a  child  unnamed.    Mr.  Hoover 
is  a  Republican  in  his  political  sentiments 
and  occasionally  has  consented  to  serve  his 
his  township  in  public  ofiSce,  for  three  years 
being  a  trustee,  serving  through  an  impor- 
tant period  of  the  township's  history.  With 
his  family  he  attends  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church. 

HARRY  R.  SCHULER,*  one  of  the  able 
young  professional  men  of  Gallon,  O.,  a 
member  of  its  bar  and  an  important  politi- 


cal factor,  was  born  at  Indianapolis,  Ind., 
Feb.  24,  1877,  and  is  a  son  of  Philip  and 
Mary  (Amann)  Schuler. 

Philip  Schuler  was  born  in  Baden,  Ger- 
many, and  when  eleven  years  of  age  came 
alone  to  the  United  States.  After  a  few 
years  in  Michigan  he  came  to  Gallon,  O., 
where  he  engaged  in  the  grocery  business 
for  some  time  and  then  turned  his  attention 
to  insurance  and  real  estate,  and  maintains 
offices  in  the  Schaffner  Block.  He  was  mar- 
ried to  Mary  Amann,  who  was  born  in 
Ohio,  a  daughter  of  George  and  Mary 
Amann,  who  came  to  Ohio  from  Germany 
in  1855.  George  Schuler  followed  farming 
and  dairying  near  Gallon.  He  survived  his 
wife,  dying  in  1906.  They  were  members  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  church,  and  to  this  re- 
ligious body  Philip  Schuler  and  wife  also 
belong.  He  is  one  of  the  well  known  public 
men  of  Crawford  county,  a  member  of  the 
General  Assembly  in  1867  and  1868  and 
chairman  of  the  city  council  of  Gabon  in 
1880.  He  is  one  of  the  influential  men  of 
the  Democratic  party  and  a  loyal  supporter 
of  its  candidates.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schuler 
three  sons  and  four  daughters  were  born, 
all  of  whom  survive  and  are  well  known  peo- 
ple of  this  section. 

Harry  R.  Schuler  was  the  second  born  in 
the  above  family  and  with  his  brothers  and 
sisters  was  given  excellent  school  advant- 
ages. In  the  69th  General  Assembly  of 
Ohio  he  was  a  page,  after  which  he  entered 
upon  the  study  of  law,  and  in  1902  was  grad- 
uated from  the  law  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Georgetown,  D.  C,  receiving  his 
degree  of  L.  L.  D.  and  in  the  following  year 
that  of  L.  L.  M.  In  May,  1904,  he  came 
to  Gallon,  after  being  admitted  to  the  bar, 
to  enter  upon  practice,  and  in  1909  was 
elected  city  solicitor,  in  which  office  he 
served  until  January  i,  1912.  On  numerous 
occasions  he  has  been  the  delegate  of  his 
party  to  State,  Senatorial  and  Congressional 
Democratic  conventions  and  he  is  person- 
ally on  the  friendliest  terms  with  many  of 
the  highest  party  leaders.  His  ability  is 
very  generally  recognized  and  his  party 
loyalty  has  withstood  every  test. 

Mr.  Schuler  is  unmarried.     He  is  a  mem- 


798 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ber  of  St.  Joseph's  Roman  Catholic  church 
at  GaHon.  Fraternally,  he  is  identified  with 
the  Elks,  the  Eagles,  the  Catholic  Knights 
of  Ohio  and  the  Knights  of  Columbus  and 
belongs  also  to  the  Commercial  and  the 
Lambs'  Clubs. 

MELANCHTHON  GEORGE  NUNGES- 
SER,  a  prominent  farmer  and  politician  of 
Whetstone  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
residing  on  his  valuable  farm  three  miles  west 
of  Gallon,  was  born  at  New  Winchester,  O.; 
Jan.  i6,  1863,  and  is  the  only  son  of  Christian 
A.  and  Elizabeth  (Helfrick)   Nungesser. 

Christian  Nungesser  was  born  in  Germany 
and  before  coming  to  the  United  States  he 
learned  the  trade  of  shoemaking.  He  lived 
in  Cincinnati,  O.  but  later  located  at  New 
Winchester  in  Crawford  county  and  still  later 
purchased  his  farm  of  100  acres  five  miles 
west  of  Gallon.  This  farm  he  still  owns  al- 
though he  and  his  wife  now  live  retired  in 
Gallon.  They  are  members  of  the  German 
Lutheran  church.  They  had  the  following 
children  born  to  them:  Delilah  C,  wife  of 
I.  A.  Cook;  Margaret  C,  widow  of  H.  P. 
Rexrith;  Martha  J.,  Wife  of  J.  F.  Guinther; 
and  Melanchthon  G. 

Melanchthon  G.  Nungesser  availed  himself 
of  the  advantages  of  the  county  school  of 
those  days  but  left  this  school  at  the  early 
age  of  16  years  and  was  thrown  upon  his  own 
resources.  However,  he  determined  to  fur- 
ther his  educational  training  and  he  managed 
under  very  adverse  circumstances  and  with 
much  sacrifice  to  attend  school  at  the  Ohio 
Central  College  at  Iberia,  O.  for  one  year. 
Later  he  spent  several  terms  at  the  N.  W.  O. 
University  at  Ada,  O.  He  then  made  prac- 
tical application  of  his  knowledge  by  teach- 
ing school,  in  which  work  he  continued  for 
12  years.  As  a  teacher,  through  his  earnest 
devotion,  persistent  efifort  and  close  applica- 
tion he  was  eminently  successful,  winning  the 
respect  of  his  pupils,  patrons  and  fellow 
teachers.  Through  his  teachers'  institute 
work  and  relations  he  was  a  very  active  and 
useful  member. 

On  Sept.  2Q,  1887,  M.  G.  Nungesser  was 
married  to  Miss  Matilda  C.  Burkhart,  who 
was  born  in  Marion  county,  O.,  a  daughter 
of  Abraham  and  Caroline    (Schaffer)   Burk- 


hart. Mr.  Burkhart  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Mrs.  Burkhart  in  Morrow  county, 
O.  They  now  live  retired  in  Gallon,  O.  Their 
children  were  as  -follows:  Samuel;  William; 
Matilda;  Amanda,  wife  of  J.  McKinistry; 
John  E. ;  and  Cora,  wife  of  H.  O.  Smith. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nungesser  have  had  three 
children  born  to  them:  Vesta  Vanola,  Virgil 
Vinton  and  Cleoda  D.  The  last  named,  who 
is  12  years  old,  is  the  only  survivor,  the  two 
first  ndmed  dying  in  infancy.  Mr.  Nungesser 
and  wife  are  members  of  the  English  Luth- 
eran church. 

After  marriage  they  located  on  a  tenant 
farm  which  was  all  but  modern  and  in  a  state 
of  productiveness.  Becoming  discouraged  at 
the  wasted  efforts  of  his  best  days,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Nungesser  concluded  to  buy  a  home  for 
themselves  and  in  1904  they  bought  an  80 
acre  tract  of  land  from  the  Jacob  Christman 
heirs,  located  three  miles  west  of  Gallon,  for 
which  he  went  heavily  in  debt.  With  renewed 
interest  and  added  efifort  he  set  about  im- 
proving it  and  at  once  adopted  his  plan  of 
parallel  tiling,  which  has  since  become  so 
popular,  erecting  modern  and  commodious 
farm  buildings,  remodeling  his  residence  and 
installing  the  most  modern  comforts  and  con- 
veniences. Now  by  his  close  application, 
economy  and  thrift  the  encumbrance  is  can- 
celled, improvements  paid  for  and  the  farm 
in  a  high  state  of  productiveness.  At  present 
Mr.  Nungesser  is  erecting  another  residence 
on  West  Main  street,  Galion,  which  he  ex- 
pects to  occupy  on  completion.  As  a  farmer 
and  stock  raiser  he  is  a  fancier  of  pure  bred 
stock  and  raises  registered  stock  as  practical 
with  his  operations.  His  flock  of  registered 
American  Delaine  Merine  sheep  ranks  among 
the  best  in  the  state.  His  stock  as  a  whole 
well  shows  judgment  in  good  breeding. 

Mr.  Nungesser  is  and  always  has  been  very 
active  in  Farmers'  Institute  work  and  is  rated 
as  one  of  the  most  progressive  agriculturists 
of  his  county. 

In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  has  always 
taken  a  great  interest  in  civil  matters,  thus 
stands  as  an  important  factor  in  his  county 
and  at  the  time  of  this  writing  is  the  candidate 
of  the  leading  party  of  his  county  for  the  of- 
fice of  county  representative.  He  has  served 
on  many  very  important  committees  and  for 


MELANCHTHON  G.  NUNGESSER 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


801 


several  terms  served  as  justice  of  the  peace. 
He  is  also  an  active  member  of  the  Patrons 
of  Husbandry,  the  I.  O.  F.  and  also  the 
I.  O.  O.  F. 

Mr.  Nungesser  is  as  a  whole  a  self-devel- 
oped man,  ambitious,  persistent,  known  for 
loyalty  and  integrity,  which  has  won  for  him 
a  place  of  high  regard  in  the  minds  of  his 
fellow  men. 

CLARENCE  R.  SNYDER,  one  of  the 
enterprising  and  successful  young  farmers 
of  Whetstone  township,  operates  133  acres 
of  valuable  land,  situated  near  Bucyrus  and 
belonging  to  his  father-in-law,  David  Win- 
gert.  Mr.  Snyder  was  born  in  Whetstone 
township,  Dec.  3,  1883,  and  is  a  son  of  John 
D.  and  Mary  Elizabeth  (Rorick)  Snyder. 
The  mother  died  on  Jan.  2,  1905,  but  the 
father  survives  and  is  employed  by  the 
Gabon  Vault  Company  and  formerly  was  a 
farmer.  His  children  are:  Clarence  R., 
Ira  M.,  Melvin  V.,  Gladys  Amelia  and 
Margie  Elizabeth. 

^  Clarence  R.  Snyder  attended  the  pubHc 
schools  and  spent  several  terms  at  the  O. 
N.  W.,  at  Ada,  O.  After  completing  his 
studies  he  was  a  teacher  in  the  public 
schools  for  three  years  and  then  engaged  in 
farm  work,  to  which  he  has  since  devoted 
his  attention.  He  is  very  industrious  and 
possesses  excellent  judgment-  and  has  been 
very  successful  in  the  management  of  the 
property  belonging  to  Mr.  Wingert.  Gen- 
eral farming  is  his  main  business,  although, 
he  raises  some  good  stock,  fully  enough  for 
home  use. 

Mr.  Snyder  married  Miss  Nancy  M.  Win- 
gert, who  is  a  daughter  of  David  and 
Catherine  (Kehrer)  Wingert,  the  latter  of 
whom  died  April  22,  1910.  Mr.  Wingert  re- 
sides with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snyder,  the  latter 
being  the  only  daughter.  Mr.  Wingert  has 
one  son,  William  M.,  who  is  a  farmer  in 
Whetstone  township.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snyder 
have  one  daughter,  Viola  Lucilla,  born  June 
6,  1907,  and  one  son,  Kenneth  Willard,  born 
May  22,  1912.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat and  is  serving  as  a  member  of  the 
school  board.  He  and  wife  belong  to  the 
German  Reformed  church,  attending  in 
Whetstone  township. 


CHARLES  N.  JUMP,*  who  is  the  pop- 
ular teacher  of  the  Frogtown  school,  in  Dis- 
trict No.  4,  Tod  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  was  born  in  1873,  near  Lemert,  O.,  and 
is  a  son  of  William  A.  and  Abbie  (Dun- 
lop)  Jump. 

The  Jump  family  is  an  old  one  in  Craw- 
ford county  and  the  grandparents  came  here 
from  New  'York  when  William  A-  Jump 
was  three  years  old.  The  latter  survives 
and  has  resided  on  his  farm  in  Tod  town- 
ship for  40  years.  He  was  married  first  to 
Abbie  Dunlop  and  second  to  Adeline  Heft. 
To  the  first  union  five  children  were  born : 
Charles  N.,  John  Wallace,  Ralph,  Bertha 
and  Denise,  who  married  C.  Burnshaw.  To 
the  second  marriage  two  children  were 
born :  Theo  and  Fred,  the  mother  of  whom 
survives. 

Charles  N.  Jump  attended  school  at  Le- 
mert and  afterward  took  a  course  in  the 
university  at  Ada,  O.,  and  thus  prepared, 
began,  in  1893,  to  teach  school  and  has  con- 
tinued in  educational  work  ever  since.  Mr. 
Jump  is  considered  a  careful,  conscientious 
and  efficient  teacher  and  his  best  recom- 
mendation is  the  fact  that  his  pupils  make 
steady  progress  and  when  they  go  out  into 
the  world  for  themselves  find  that  the  in- 
struction he  has  given  them  is  very  valu- 
able. 

Mr.  Jump  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Iva  Diffenbaugh.  Politically,  he  is  a 
Democrat,  and  has  served  in  the  office  of 
township  assessor.  He  was  reared  in  the 
United  Brethren  church. 

WILLIAM  M.  WINGERT,  general 
farmer  and  stock  raiser,  operating  122  acres 
of  fine  land  which  is  situated  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  countv,  O.,  was  born 
in  Whetstone  township,  Nov.  i,  1880,  and 
is  the  only  son  of  David  and  Catherine 
(Kehrer)  Wingert. 

David  Wingert  was  born  in  Pennsylvania 
but  has  spent  the  larger  portion  of  his  life 
in  Crawford  county,  O.,  where,  for  many 
years,  he  was  a  prosperous  farmer.  He 
now  lives  retired  and  since  the  death  of 
his  wife,  in  April,  1910,  has  resided  with  his 
daughter  and  son-in-law,  Clarence  R.  Sny- 


802 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


der  and  wife,  in  Whetstone  township,  Mr. 
Snyder  renting  one  of  his  farms,  and  also 
with  his  son,  Wm.  AI.  Wingert,  and  wife. 
He  married  Catherine  Kehrer,  who  was 
born  and  died  in  Whetstone  township. 
They  had  two  children,  William  M.  and 
Nancy  M.,  the  latter  of  whom  is  the  wife 
of  Clarence  R.  Snyder.  In  politics,  Mr. 
A^"ingert  is  a  Democrat.  He  is  one  of  the 
older  members  and  liberal  supporters  of  the 
Reformed  church  in  this  township. 

AVilliam  M.  W^ingert  obtained  his  educa- 
tion in  the  ptiblic  schools.  Under  the  di- 
rection of  his  father  he  became  a  reliable 
and  careful  agriculturist  and  for  some  years 
has  rented  from  his  father  the  farm  which 
he  is  successfully  conducting. 

On  March  13,  1910,  Mr.  Wingert  was 
married  to  Miss  Chloe  Stump,  who  is  a 
daughter  of  H.  J.  Stump,  a  family  of  con- 
siderable importance  in  this  section  of 
Crawford  county,  and  they  have  one  son, 
Layton  H.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  AVingert  attend 
the  Reformed  church.  In  politics,  he  is  a 
stanch  Democrat. 

RUFUS  AURAND,  retired  farmer  and 
highly  respected  citizen,  and  also  an  hon- 
ored veteran  of  the  great  Civil  AA^ar,  has 
been  a  resident  of  Bucyrus  since  1903.  He 
was  born  in  AMietstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  0.,  March  28,  1837,  and  is  a  son  of 
Jonathan  Aurand  and  a  grandson  of  Henry 
Aurand. 

Henry  Aurand,  the  grandfather,  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania  and  was  a  son  of  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier  who  fought  in  the  Battle  of 
Yorktown.  Henry  married  ]\largaret  Tre- 
baugh,  of  German  ancestry,  and  they  both 
died  in  Union  county.  Pa.  Henry  Aurand 
and  wife  were  members  of  the  Reformed 
church. 

Jonathan  Aurand  was  born  in  Beaver 
township.  Union  county.  Pa.  He  was  mar- 
ried there  to  Susan  AA'hittemeyer  and  they 
came  to  Ohio  in  1827  and  located  in  what 
was  then  an  unimproved  part  of  the  county, 
although  near  Bucyrus.  There  the  first 
wife  of  Jonathan  Aurand  died,  Aug.  20, 
1828.  Two  children  survived  her,  both  of 
whom  are  now  deceased.    On  July  28,  1829, 


Jonathan  Aurand  was  married  to  his  sister- 
in-law,  Rachel  AA'ittemeyer,  also  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania.  They  continued  to  live  in 
AA'hetstone  township  for  a  number  of  years 
and  then  moved  to  Tod  township,  where 
Jonathan  Aurand  died  July  12,  1875^,  ^^^ 
widow  surviving  him  until  May  i,  1892. 
They  were  estimable  people,  active  in  the 
Reformed  church,  valued  neighbors  and 
worthy  examples.  After  moving  to  Tod 
township  they  united  with  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  and  were  equally  inter- 
ested in  its  good  works.  A  familv  of  eight 
sons  and  four  daughters  were  born  to  them 
all  of  the  daughters  and  four  of  the  sons  be- 
ing now  deceased.  All  of  the  survivors 
have  married,  and  all,  with  the  exception 
of  Emanuel,  who  resides  in  Nebraska,  still 
live  in  Ohio.  Of  these  eight  sons,  five  be- 
came soldiers  in  the  Union  Army  during  the 
Civil  AA'ar :  Emanuel,  Rufus,  John,  Jona- 
than and  Enoch.  Emanuel  and  Rufus  were 
members  of  the  56th  111.  A/'ol.  Inf.,  and  after 
this  regiment  was  disbanded  by  order  of  the 
Secretary  of  AA^ar,  both  served  in  other 
regiments.  John  was  a  member  of  a  Mis- 
souri regiment;  Jonathan  served  in  the 
First  O.  Cav.  and  the  174th  O.  A^ols.,  and 
was  wounded  while  in  the  service ;  and 
Enoch  was  a  member  of  Co.  E,  34th  O. 
A/^ol.  Inf.,  and  during  his  enlistment  of 
eighteen  months  was  made  a  prisoner  in 
West  Virginia  and  for  a  time  was  incar- 
cerated in  a  Richmond  prison. 

Rufus  Aurand  grew  up  on  the  home 
farm,  attended  the  district  school  and  as- 
sisted his  father  and  brothers  until  Sept. 
7,  1861,  when,  with  his  brother  Emanuel, 
he  enlisted  in  the  regiment  which  was  later 
disbanded  and  he  re-enlisted  in  the  61  st  O. 
Vol.  Inf.,  becoming  orderly  sergeant  of 
Company  B,  and  serving  as  such  until  after 
the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  where  he 
was  temporarily  in  command.  He  was  pro- 
moted for  his  soldierly  Qualities  at  this 
time,  being  made  first  lieutenant  of  Com- 
pany K,  a  position  he  served  in  until  serious 
ill  health  compelled  him  to  resign  and  re- 
turn home  to  recuperate.  As  soon  as  he 
was  better  and  again  able  to  take  the  field 
he  re-enlisted,  entering  the  3d  O.  Cav.,  with 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


803 


which  he  continued  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  He  participated  in  many  of  the  most 
serious  battles  of  the  time,  and  in  looking 
back  over  the  long  list  of  engagements  that 
meant  death  or  injury  to  so  many  of  his 
brave  comrades,  he  is  disposed  to  regard 
the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run  as  the  one 
most  stubbornly  contended.  He  was  a  part 
of  the  command  that  took -part  in  Wilson's 
Raid  through  Tennessee,  Alabama  and 
Georgia  in  the  last  months  of  the  war,  and 
was  at  Macon,  Ga.,  when  hostilities  ceased. 
After  his  military  service  was  over  he  was 
connected  with  the  saw  mill  industry  until 
1896  and  was  also  a  farmer  until  1903,  when 
he  retired  to  Bucyrus,  well  entitled  to  a 
period  of  ease  and  comfort.  Politically,  he 
is  a  Democrat,  but  has  consented  to  serve 
but  little  in  a  public  capacity  except  as  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  in  which  office  he 
passed  24  consecutive  years.  He  has  been 
very  active  in  Grand  Army  affairs  and  is 
senior  commander  of  Keller  Post,  No.  128, 
G.  A.  R.,  at  Bucyrus. 

Mr.  Aurand  was  married  in  Liberty 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  to  Miss 
Eva  L.  Seibert,  who  was  born  in  1855,  in 
Holmes  township.  Her  parents,  Peter  and 
Catherine  (Smith)  Seibert,  were  well 
known  farmers  in  Holmes  township, 
where  they  lived  into  old  age.  Mrs.  Aurand 
is  one  of  the  six  survivors  of  their  large 
farming.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Aurand  are  mem- 
bers of  the  U.  B.  church. 

CHARLES  F.  UNGER,*  who  is  one  of 
the  representative  men  of  Bucyrus  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  servine  in  his 
second  term  as  township  trustee,  has  op- 
erated what  is  known  as  the"  Henry  Flock 
farm  for  the  past  five  years  and  has  brought 
its  85  acres  up  .to  a  fine  state  of  oroduction. 
He  was  born  in  Liberty  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  Jan.  17,  i860,  and  is-a  son  of 
Frederick  and  Rosa  (Bollinger)  Unger. 

Frederick  Unger  and  wife  were  both 
born  in  Germany  and  both  came  when 
young  to  Crawford  county,  where  they 
were  subsequently  married.  The  mother 
died  June  i,  1895,  and  her  burial  was  in 
Oakwood   cemetery   at    Bucyrus.      The   fa- 


ther engaged  in  farming  during  his  active 
life  and  now  lives  retired  at  the  home  of  a 
daughter  in  Richland  county,  O.  They  liad 
the  following  children :  Charles  F.,  Caro- 
line, wife  of  Charles  Gearhart;  William  H., 
Albert  J.  and  Sarah  A.,  wife  of  David 
Croft. 

Charles  F.  Unger  obtained  his  education 
in  the  public  schools  and  then  worked  for 
his  father  and  remained  at  home  until  he 
was  30  years  of  age.  In  1890  he  bought  a 
farm  in  Bucyrus  township,  which  he  sold 
in  1900,  and  then  moved  to  Holmes  town- 
ship, where  he  bought  his  second  farm,  but 
in  1906  he  also  disposed  of  that  property 
and  since  then  has  been  renting  the  farm 
above  referred  to,  carrying  on  farm  indus- 
tries here.  He  is  one  of  the  leading  Demo- 
crats in  this  part  of  the  county,  and  while 
living  in  Holmes  township  served  two  years 
as  ditch  superintendent,  and. as  an  official 
of  Bucyrus  township,  has  served  with  ex- 
treme efficiency.  He  is  well  known  over 
the  county,  in  which  he  has  lived  his  entire 
life,  with  the  exception  of  five  years. 

On  March  21,  1890,  Mr.  Unger  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Maggie  A.  Staiger,  who  was 
born  in  Holmes  township,  Crawford  county, 
Jan.  II,  i86s,  a  daughter  of  John  George 
and  Magdalena  (Strohm)  Staiger.  They 
were  natives  of  Germanv  who  settled  in 
Holmes  township  many  years  ago  and  the 
father  engaged  in  farming.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Staiger  had  the  following  children:  Will- 
iam, Charles,  Mary,  wife  of  Israel  Ulmer; 
Mrs.  Unger,  George,  Philip,  Emanuel, 
Amelia,  wife  of  C.  R.  Meyers;  David,  Moses 
and  Martha,  wife  of  Warren  Dininger.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Unger  have  one  son,  Frederick  G., 
who  was  born  in  Bucyrus  township  in  1895, 
and  assists  his  father  on  the  farm.  The 
family  belongs  to  the  German  Lutheran 
church.  Mr.  Unger  is  identified  with  two 
fraternal  organizations,  the  Eagles  and  the 
Owls,  attending  both  lodges  at  Bucyrus. 

ELI  KILE,  a  well  known  resident  of 
Whetstone  township,  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  was  born  on  a  farrri  in  this 
township,  now  occupied  by  his  son-in-law, 
Sept.    ID,    1851.     His  parents,  Tobias   and 


804 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Catherine  (Knipp)  Kile,  were  both  natives 
of  Germany,  the  former  a  son  of  Peter  Kile 
and  the  latter  a  daughter  of  Christopher 
Knipp.  After  emigrating  to  America  and 
settling  in  this  section,  Tobias  Kile  entered 
the  land  on  which  the  Kile  homestead  now 
stands  from  the  Government  and  began  the 
development  of  a  farm.  He  and  his  wife  are 
both  deceased  and  are  buried  in  the  Kile 
cemetery.  They  were  German  Lutherans 
in  religion  and  he  was  a  Democrat  polit- 
ically. They  had  a  large  family,  namely: 
Eva,  wife  of  Jacob  Helfrick;  Philip,  Peter, 
Elizabeth,  who  married  Peter  Knipp ;  Cath- 
erine, wife  of  Simeon  Kiess;  Sarah,  wife  of 
Joseph  Dinkle;  Fred,  Eli,  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Amanda,  who  married  William 
Beltz,  and  Ida,  now  deceased,  who  was  the 
first  wife  of  William  Beltz, 

Eli  Kile  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  this  locality  and  was  trained  to 
farm  work,  in  which  he  has  since  continued, 
doing  general  farming  and  keeping  enough 
stock  for  his  own  use.  Like  his  father,  he 
is  a  Democrat  and  has  been  somewhat 
active  in  local  affairs,  as  he  was  township 
trustee  for  several  terms  and  treasurer  of 
the  township  for  three  terms,  completing 
his  service  in  that  office  in  January  last, 
after  having  held  office  in  one  position  or 
another  for  about  thirty  years  altogether. 
As  may  be  inferred,  he  is  a  man  well 
thought  of  by  his  fellow  citizens — sagaciovis 
and  enterprising,  with  good  business  ability 
and  sound  judgment  in  matters  concerning 
the  public  weal. 

He  was  married  in  1875  to  Sophia  Tracht, 
a  daughter  of  Peter  and  Mary  (Johnston) 
Tracht.  Mrs.  Kile's  father  is  now  deceased, 
but  her  mother  is  still  living  and  is  now  in 
her  84th  year,  a  resident  of  Jefiferson  town- 
ship, this  county.  Their  family  was  as  fol- 
lows: Eva,  wife  of  Daniel  Christman,  both 
now  deceased;  Leonard,  deceased;  Lu- 
cinda,  who  married  Leonard  Weber,  now 
deceased ;  Rosetta,  wife  of  Henry  Hinkel ; 
Henry,  Michael,  Sophia,  who  is  now  Mrs. 
Eli  Kile;  Delilah,  wife  of  Henrv  Snyder; 
Alfred  and  R.  C.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eli  Kile 
have  been  the  parents  of  six  children,  name- 
ly:    Minnie,   Lula,   wife   of   Peter   Boehm; 


Adella,  wife  of  Fred  Hildebrand;  Myrtle, 
wife  of  Harry  Nelson;  Lottie  and  Ollie. 
The  Kile  family  attend  the  Lutheran 
church. 

HOMER  SIMPSON,  who  is  a  rural  mail 
delivery  official,  out  from  Gallon,  O.,  and  a. 
well  known  and  representative  citizen  of 
Crawford  county,  was  born  in  Mifflin  town- 
ship, Ashland  county,  O.,  Oct.  i,  1871,  and 
is  a  son  of  Robert  and  Josephine  (Keight- 
ley)  Simpson. 

Robert  Simpson  was  born  in  Richland 
county,  O.,  in  1848,  a  son  of  Pennsylvania 
parents,  who  moved  into  Ashland  county 
among  the  pioneers.  They  died  near  to- 
gether, during  an  epidemic  of  typhoid  fever, 
and  beside  two  other  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters there  was  Robert,  who  was  only  two 
years  old,  at  the  time.  All  survive  with  one 
exception,  and  all  have  domestic  ties  of 
their  own.  Robert  Simpson  married  Jo- 
sephine Keightley,  and  they  still  live  on 
their  farm  in  Richland  county.  They  are 
members  of  the  United  Brethren  church. 

Homer  Simpson  was  the  eldest  born  of  a 
family  of  ten  children,  there  being  yet  six 
sons  and  three  daughters  of  this  familv 
surviving.  In  1892  Mr.  Simpson  came  to 
Gallon  and  for  three  and  one-half  years 
afterward  was  a  brakeman  on  the  Erie  Rail- 
road, after  which  he  was  variously  and 
busily  employed  until  he  was  appointed  to 
his  present  Government  position  by  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt,  Sept.  i,  1903. 

On  March  26,  1902,  Mr.  Simpson  was 
married  at  Gallon,  O.,  to  Miss  Katherine 
C.  Swaney,  who  was  born  in  Ashland 
county,  where  she  was  educated  and  for 
some  years  p-rior  to  her  marriage  was  a 
teacher  in  the  Ashland  county  schools. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  John  W.  and  Lydia  M. 
(Billings)  Swaney,  the  former  of  whom  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  and  the  latter  in  New 
York.  The  mother  of  Mrs.  Simpson  came 
from  Saratoga  county  to  Ashland  county, 
O.,  when  a  young  woman,  and  for  some 
years  afterward  taught  school  and  subse- 
quently was  married  to  John  W.  Swaney. 
They  spent  their  lives  on  the  farm  in  Mont- 
gomery township,  and  there    Mr.  Swaney 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


805 


died  in  1894,  aged  83  years,  having  survived 
his  wife  for  16  months,  her  age  being  73 
years.  They  were  members  of  the  Baptist 
church.  In  poHtics,-  Mr.  Swaney  was  a 
Democrat.  Mrs.  Simpson  has  two  sisters 
and  four  brothers,  all  of  whom  have  mar- 
ried, two  brothers  being  residents  of  Galion. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Simpson  are  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  Fraternally,  he  is  a 
Mason,  being  a  member  of  Galion  Lodge 
and  Galion  Chapter  at  Galion,  and  belongs 
to  the  Council  at  Bucyrus.  He  also  is  iden- 
tified with  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  He  is  a  prom- 
inent memter  of  the  Rural  Letter  Carriers' 
Association  of  Ohio,  of  which  he  is  secre- 
tary. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Simpson  are  also  active 
members  of  the  Eastern  Star. 

SAMUEL  M.  BAIR,*  a  well  known  resi- 
dent of  Whetstone  township,  lives  on  his 
farm  of  40  acres,  which  is  a  part  of  the  130- 
acre  Bair  homestead.  Mr.  Bair  was  born 
in  this  township  in  1857,  being  a  son  of  John 
and  Rebecca  (Shearer)  Bair. 

John  Bair  was  born  in  Stark  county,  O., 
where  he  was  a  farmer  all  his  life.  He 
adhered  to  the  principles  of  the  Republican 
party  and  was  affiliated  with  the  Lutheran 
church.  He  married,  as  before  indicated, 
Rebecca  Shearer,  who  was  born  in  Whet- 
stone township,  Crawford  county,  and  they 
became  the  parents  of  children  who  were 
named  as  follows:  G.  W.,  Samuel  M., 
Rachel  Ann,  wife  of  George  Ness;  Michael 
D. ;  Adam,  deceased;  Sadie  J.,  deceased, 
who  was  the  wife  of  John  Seifert,  and  Lilly, 
wife  of  Lawrence  McMichael. 

Samuel  M.  Bair  grew  up  on  his  father's 
farm,  and  after  his  school  education  was 
finished  went  to  work  on  this  farm  with  his 
father.  He  later  was  employed  by  the 
month,  and  so  continued  for  ten  years, 
when  he  rented  a  farm  and  went  to  work 
for  himself.  Eight  years  were  spent  in  this 
manner  and  then  Mr.  Bair  bought  his  pres- 
ent farm  of  forty  acres  from  the  Bair  heirs 
and  here  he  has  since  successfully  carried 
on  general  farming. 

In  September,  1888,  Mr.  Bair  was  marr 
ried  to  Miss  Minerva  Ellen  Morrow,  a  na- 
tive of  Jefferson  township.    She  is  a  daugh- 


ter of  William  and  Catherine  Morrow,  of 
Crawford  county,  where  William  Morrow 
was  formerly  a  well  known  farmer.  He  is 
now  deceased  and  is  buried  in  Biddle  ceme- 
tery, but  his  wife  survives  and  still  lives  in 
this  township.  Mr.  Bair's  brothers  and  sis- 
ter are  as  follows :  Harvey,  Charles,  Irvin, 
Albert,  Frank,  Joseph  and  Maude,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Frederick  Ritzhof. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel  M.  Bair  there 
has  been  born  one  son,  Ray  Marion,  who 
lives  at  home.  Mr.  Bair  is  a  Republican 
and  has  served  four  or  five  years  on  the 
school  board  and  as  road  supervisor  for 
about  seven  years.  He  and  his  family  are 
attendants  of  the  U.  B.  church. 

JOHN  C.  MEYER,  who  may  almost  be 
named  as  one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  ice  busi- 
ness at  Bucyrus,  has  been  continuously  en- 
gaged in  the  same  since  1883  and  has  acquired 
an  ample  competency  through  the  handling  of 
this  necessary  commodity.  Mr.  Meyer  was 
born  at  Bucyrus,  April  7,  186 1,  a  son  of  John 
and  Margaret  (Bauer)  Meyer. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Meyer  were  both  born 
in  Gennany  and  came  to  the  United  States  in 
youth,  crossing  the  Atlantic  Ocean  in  the  cum- 
bersome sailing  vessels  of  that  day  and  after 
long  and  tempestuous  voyages,  landing  safely 
at  New  York.  They  were  married  in  Bucyrus, 
O.  Mr.  Meyer  was  an  industrious  man  and 
was  well  known  as  a  faithful  and  honest 
laborer  along  many  lines  and  was  a  very  promi- 
nent Democrat  for  many  years.  He  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  Infirmary 
directors,  also  of  the  board  of  Public  Service 
and  once  was  city  treasurer.  His  death  oc- 
curred August  6,  igo8,  when  he  was  aged  76 
years,  4  months  and  12  days.  His  widow  sur- 
vived until  Aug.  2,  191 1,  her  age  being  ^2 
years.  They  had  seven  children,  four  sons  and 
two  daughters  yet  living.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  German  Lutheran  church. 

John  C.  Meyer  was  the  eldest  son  and  sec- 
ond child  in  his  parents'  family.  He  attended 
school  in  his  native  city  and  in  boyhood  was 
variously  employed  but  his  main  business  in- 
terest for  the  past  28  years  has  been  the  hand- 
ling of  ice.  He  married  Miss  Mary  O.  Bauer, 
who  was  born  in  Lykens  township,  Crawford 
county,  in  1863,  and  died  Sept.  5,  1902.     She 


806 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


was  a  daughter  of  Frederick  and  Henrietta 
(Bauer)  Bauer,  natives  of  Saxony,  Germany. 
After  they  came  to  the  United  States,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bauer  lived  first  at  Boston,  Mass.,  and 
then  came  to  Crawford  county,  settling  in 
Lykens  Township,  where  Mrs.  Bauer  died, 
after  which  Mr.  Bauer  came  to  this  city  and 
died  here  at  the  age  of  84  years.  They  had 
five  sons  and  three  daughters.  Eight  children 
were  born  to  IMr.  and  Mrs.  Meyers,  the  surviv- 
ors being:  Carrie  H.,  born  Oct.  31,  1885,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Otis  Shearer  and  has  one  daughter, 
Mary  Martha,  their  home  being  at  Aberdeen, 
S.  Dak.;  Odelia  M.,  who  was  born  in  1887, 
and  resides  at  home;  Edwin  F.  B.,  who  with 
his  wife  Anna  resides  at  home,  he  being  in 
business  with  his  father;  and  Augusta  C,  John 
and  Adelaide,  all  of  whom  are  at  home.  Air. 
Meyer  and  family  belong  to  the  German  Luth- 
eran church.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics 
and  fraternally  is  connected  with  the  Elks, 
the  Eagles,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the 
Junior  Order  of  United  American  ]vlechanics, 
and  also  has  belonged  to  the  Deutsche  Gesell- 
schaft  since  1880,  being  a  member  in  good 
standing  of  all  these  lodges. 

CHARLES  JACOB  SCROGGS,  senior 
member  of  the  law  firm  of  Scroggs  &  ]\Ion- 
nett,  was  born  in  Bucyrus,  O.,  July  14,  1863, 
a  son  of  Hon.  Jacob  and  Julia  A.  (\^'alwork) 
Scroggs.  His  paternal  family  is  of  Scotch 
origin,  and  according  to  tradition,  their  name 
is  properly  "]\Iurray."  During  one  of  the 
border  wars  of  the  middle  ages,  Sir  James 
Alurray  was  on  the  losing  side  and  he  and 
supposedly  all  his  family  were  put  to  death, 
except  that  after  the  battle,  a  child  wrapped 
in  the  Alurray  plaid  was  found  among  the 
"scroggs,"  the  local  name  of  a  kind  of  under- 
brush. Sir  \A'illiam  Murray,  a  younger 
brother  who  had  been  on  the  other  side  in  the 
battle  was  perfectly  willing  the  older  branch 
of  the  family  should  be  extinct  but  was  not 
quite  equal  to  killing  an  innocent  child  in  cold 
blood,  and  as  a  compromise,  the  boy,  although 
undoubtedly  his  brother's  son  and  the  right- 
ful heir  to  the  family  title  and  estates,  was 
never  formally  recognized  nor  given  the  fam- 
ily name,  but  was  called  "Scroggs"  from  the 
place  where  he  was  found.  This  rescued  child 
was  the  ancestor  of  the  Scroggs  family  under 


present  consideration.  Among  the  family 
annals  also  we  find  that  a  Sir  W^illiam 
Scroggs,  born  in  1623,  was  graduated  from 
Oxford  University  in  1639  and  served  as  chief 
justice  under  Charles  II.     He  died  in  1683. 

The  first  ancestors  of  the  Scroggs  family 
to  seek  their  fortunes  in  the  Xew  World  were 
four  brothers  of  the  name — Alexander,  Allen, 
John  and  James  Scroggs,  who  in  1743  set- 
tled in  Cumberland  county.  Pa.  According  to 
family  tradition,  they  were  either  grandchil- 
dreri  or  great  grandchildren  of  Chief  Justice 
Scroggs  above  mentioned.  They  became  men 
of  mark  and  substance,  but  with  three  of  them 
our  history  has  little  to  do,  being  concerned 
chiefly  with  Allen.  The  latter  was  a  farmer  in 
Cumberland  county.  Pa.,  where  he  died  in 
1776,  leaving  a  numerous  family.  His  second 
son,  John,  born  in  1766,  made  his  way  to  Bal- 
timore, where  on  May  i8th,  1787,  he  married 
Frances  Hook.  He  died  in  1796  at  the  early 
age  of  30  years. 

His  son,  John  Scroggs,  Jr.,  who  was  born 
in  Baltimore  in  1792,  was  a  hatter  by  trade. 
He  continued  to  reside  in  that  city  until  1819 
and  saw  military  service  in  the  War  of  1812- 
IS,  being  present  at  the  bombardment  of  Fort 
McHenry  and  at  North  Point.  He  then  re- 
moved to  Cumberland  county.  Pa.,  and  one 
year  later  to  Columbiana  county,  O.  He  was 
married  in  Canton,  O.,  to  Aiin  Shawke,  a 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Dorothea  (Kester) 
Shawke.  Her  father  was  born  in  Lebanon 
county,  Pa.,  Xov.  15,  1753,  and  was  of  Ba- 
varian ancestry,  being  able  to  trace  his  family 
back  to  the  14th  century.  He  w'as  a  soldier 
of  the  Revolution,  serving  during  portions  of 
seven  years  in  a  number  of  Pennsyhania  com- 
panies and  dying  at  Lisbon,  Ohio,  in  1832. 

John  Scroggs,  Jr.,  was  a  hatter,  which  trade 
he  followed  at  Lisbon  and  Canton,  Ohio,  and 
afterward  at  Bucyrus,  to  which  place  he  re- 
moved in  1839  and  settling  on  the  site  of  the 
present  residence  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
Here  he  resided  until  his  death  in  1861.  having 
lived  not  an  eventful  life  but  one  which  won 
for  him  the  highest  respect  of  all  \vho  knew 
him.  After  his  death  his  widow  made  her 
home  with  her  only  living  daughter,  Mrs.  W. 
T.  Giles,  until  her  death  in  1882,  at  the  ripe 
age  of  86  years.  Both  ]Mr.  and  Mrs.  Scroggs 
were   lifelong  and   faithful  members  of  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


807 


Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  the  present 
beautiful  edifice  in  Bucyrus  contains  memorial 
windows  in  their  honor. 

They  were  the  parents  of  seven  children: 
Joseph  R.,  who  died  in  Freeport,  111.,  unmar- 
ried, in  1867,  a  newspaper  man  by  profession 
and  a  prominent  Mason  and  Odd  Fellow. 
William  M.,  for  two  terms  county  auditor, 
who  married  Miss  Margaret  Byron  in  1849 
and  died  at  Bucyrus  in  1874,  leaving  a  widow 
and  two  children,  all  since  deceased;  Jacob, 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Mary, 
wife  of  W.  T.  Giles,  one  of  the  newspaper 
men  of  the  West,  who  died  at  Freeport,  111., 
in  1898,  his  wife  having  passed  away  in  1889, 
leaving  two  children — W.  S.,  a  railway  mail 
clerk,  and  Mira  L.,  a  teacher  in  the  Chicago 
schools,  who  died  in  1904;  Mira,  wife  of  C. 
W.  Butterfield,  died  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  in  1859; 
Amanda,  who  died  young;  John  B.,  a  promi- 
nent lawyer  of  Kansas  City,  Kas.,  where  he 
died  in  1899,  leaving  behind  him  a  widow 
and  three  step-children. 

Jacob    Scroggs    father    of    Charles    Jacob, 
was  born  in  Canton,  O.,  Aug.  11,  1827.     He 
attended  the  frontier  schools  in  his  boyhood 
and  also  learned  his  father's  trade,  but  finding 
it  uncongenial  employment,  he  taught  school 
for  five  terms,  worked  on  the  local  newspapers 
and  in  clerical  positions  in  the  court  house. 
He  held  a  clerk's  position  in  Toledo  for  a  year 
and  also  traveled  a  year  for  Winthrop  Smith 
&  Co.,  the  predecessors  of  the  American  Book 
Co.     He  then  applied  himself  to  the  study  of 
the  law  under  the  direction  of  Judge  Hall  and 
D.   W.   Swigert,  and   was   graduated  at  the 
Cincinnati  Law  School  in  1854.     In  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  opened  an  office  in  Bucyrus, 
where  for  40  years  he  occupied  an  honored 
position   at   the  Crawford   county  bar.      His 
character  as  a  lawyer  has  been  well  summed  up 
in  the  following  words :     "Never  sanctioning 
the  sharp  practice  which  too  many  consider  a 
necessary  concomitant  of  the  practice  of  law, 
others  had  more  success  than  he  in  making  a 
jury  believe  'the  worse  were  the  better  cause;' 
but  in  profound  knowledge  of  the  law,  fine 
reasonin"-  powers,    and    in   that   integritv   of 
character  which  enabled   and  compelled  him 
on  occasion  to  fearlessly  tell  a  client  he  was 
in  the   wrong,   he  stood   easily  in  the   front 
rank."    From  the  memorial  to  him  adopted  by 


the  Ohio  State  Bar  Association  we  extract  the 
following : 

"Upon  his  fair  name  the  breath  of  suspi- 
cion never  dared  to  rest.  His  word  was  a  bond 
that  was  never  forfeited  and  his  rugged  man-, 
hood  commanded  confidence  and  won  respect 
from  all.  With  few  early  advantages,  he 
made  himself,  by  industry  and  energy,  a  peer 
of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  the  state,  a  man  of  lib- 
eral education,  broad  views  and  affluent  cir- 
cumstances. He  was  held  in  universal  esteem 
by  men  of  all  parties  throughout  the  city,  the 
county  and  the  state." 

Jacob  Scroggs  was  an  active  Republican 
in  politics,  which  circumstance  prevented 
him  from  ever  holding  high  office,  Crawford 
county  being  strongly  Democratic.  He  served, 
however,  as  mayor  of  Bucyrus  for  four  years 
and  for  twelve  years  was  a  member  of  the 
board  of  education,  for  ten  years  of  that  time 
being  its  jJresident;  and  for  nine  years  his 
name  was  upon  both  tickets.  He  was  a  presi- 
dential elector  in  1864  and  again  in  1880,  was 
the  Republican  candidate  for  circuit  judge  in 
1884,  and  two  years  later  was  an  unsuccessful 
candidate  for  the  Republican  nomination  for 
supreme  judge. 

On  Sept.  22,  1859,  Jacob  Scroggs  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Julia  A.  Walwork, 
who  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Aug.  4, 
1833.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Mary  (Stephens)  Walwork,  the  former  a 
native  of  England  and  the  latter  of  Glen  Falls, 
N.  Y.,  her  mother's  family  tracing  their  de- 
scent from  the  early  Puritan  settlers.  She 
became  a  school  teacher  at  the  early  age  of 
fourteen,  teaching  first  near  Syracuse,  N.  Y., 
and  she  held  a  life  certificate  empowering  her 
to  teach  in  any  school  in  New  York  state.  In 
1855  she  went  to  Georgia  as  a  teacher,  but  her 
anti-slavery  views  caused  her  to  return  north 
in  1857.  Coming  to  Bucyrus,  she  had  charge 
of  the  high  school  here,  holding  that  position 
until  three  years  after  her  marriage,  the  rest 
of  her  life  being  devoted  to  her  home,  family 
and  friends.  She  was  a  highly  successful 
teacher  and  was  a  prominent  factor  in  the 
social  and  intellectual  life  of  the  city,  although 
virtually  confined  to  her  home  as  an  invalid 
for  many  years  before  her  death,  which  took 
place  July  23,   1901.     She  had  survived  her 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


husband  several  years,  he  having  passed  away 
March  23,  1897. 

Charles  Jacob  Scroggs,  whose  nativity  has 
been  already  given,  was  the  only  child  of  his 
-parents.  He  was  educated  by  his  mother  and 
in  the  public  schools,  from  which  he  was  grad- 
uated in  1877  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  being 
the  youngest  graduate  on  record.  He  attended 
Ohio  Wesleyan  University  at  Delaware,  O., 
one  year,  after  which  he  took  a  four  years' 
course  at  Michigan  University,  Ann  Arbor, 
graduating  at  that  institution  in  1884  with  the 
degree  of  A.  M.,  being  one  of  seven  in  a  class 
of  90  to  receive  the  master's  degree  instead 
of  the  customary  A.  B.  Two  years  later  he 
was  graduated  at  the  Cincinnati  Law  School 
with  the  degree  of  LL.  B.,  and  since  then  has 
been  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Bucyrus,  being  associated  with 
his  father  until  the  latter's  death  and  since 
then  with  his  present  partner,  Mr.  Wallace  L. 
Monnett.  He  has  inherited  many  of  his 
father's  characteristics  and  as  a  safe,  accurate 
advisor,  particularly  in  matters  of  commercial 
and  corporation  law,  he  is  excelled  by  none  in 
the  county.  He  has  also  been  actively  iden- 
tified with  the  business  life  of  the  community. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Bucyrus 
Loan  and  Building  Association,  of  which  he 
has  been  attorney  and  director  since  its  incep- 
tion, and  he  helped  to  organize  and  is  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  Home  Mutual  Fire  Asso- 
ciation. 

Mr.  Scroggs  is  an  independent  Republican 
in  politics,  his  independence  being  so  marked 
that  he  has  never  affiliated  with  the  regular 
party  organization  or  been  a  candidate  for 
office,  and  the  only  public  position  he  has  ever 
filled  has  been  vice-president  of  the  sinking 
fund  commission,  a  place  he  has  had  since  the 
adoption  of  the  municipal  code  of  1903.  In 
this  capacity  he  at  once  on  the  organization 
of  the  board,  insisted  that  the  bank  handling 
their  account  should  pay  the  city  interest  on 
daily  balances,  and  it  is  largely  through  his 
agitation  and  effort  that  all  public  funds  of  the 
county  are  now  deposited  with  the  banks  pay- 
ing the  highest  interest,  instead  of,  as  for- 
merly, being  left  in  favored  banks  without 
compensation. 

Mr.  Scroggs  is  a  Free  Mason  of  high  stand- 
ing, his  official  record  in  that  order  being  as 


follows:     W.   M.,   Trinity  Lodge,   No.   556, 
1906-7;  H.  P.  Bucyrus  Chapter  No.  160,  1908- 
9;  T.  I.  M.,  Gwynn  Council,  No.  83,  1902-3; 
W.  P.  Bucyrus  Chapter,  No.  3,  Order  East- 
ern Star,  1905.    He  is  also  a  member  of  Ma- 
rion Commandery,  No.  36,  K.  T. ;  Ohio  Con- 
sistory A.  A.   S.  R.,  and  Al  Koran  Temple 
N.  M.  S.    He  is  also  a  Past  Chancellor  of  De- 
mas  Lodge  No.  108,  K.  of  P.  and  under  Grand 
Chancellor  Young  was  his  deputy  for  the  six- 
teenth  Pythian  district,  composed  of  Craw- 
for3,   Seneca  and  Wyandot  counties;  was  a 
charter  member  of  Bucyrus  Lodge,  No.  156, 
B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  is  a  life  member  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  that  order.    He  also  takes  an  active 
interest  in  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion and  has  been  one  of  the  board  of  man- 
agers of  its  Ohio  Society  and  was  a  delegate 
to  the  national  congress  of  the  order  in  1901. 
He  is  also  a  man  of  strong  literary  tastes  and 
has  one  of  the  finest  private  libraries  in  Bucy- 
rus. 

He  was  married  on  June  5,  1912  to  Miss 
Mary  E.  Zouck,  eldest  daughter  of  the  late 
Peter  G.  and  Mary  E.  (Myers)  Zouck,  of  Bal- 
timore, Md.  Her  father  was  born  at  Tren- 
ton, Baltimore  county.  May  31,  1846  being  of 
French  Huguenot  descent;  was  educated  at 
Gettysburg  College,  of  which  in  later  life,  he 
was  a  trustee,  and  during  most  of  his  adult 
life  was  a  prominent  figure  in  the  business 
circles  of  Baltimore  and  Baltimore  county,  be- 
ing an  extensive  dealer  in  lime,  lumber  and 
other  contractor's  supplies.  He  was  also  one 
of  the  most  prominent  lay  members  of  that 
branch  of  the  Lutheran  church  commonly 
spoken  of  as  the  "English  Lutheran"  being 
a  frequent  delegate  to  its  general  synod  and 
serving  on  a  number  of  its  boards.  He  died 
at  Glen  Morris,  Baltimore  county,  Nov.  19, 
1906.  His  wife  was  a  native  of  Hanover, 
Pa.,  and  is  of  "Pennsylvania  German"  and 
Virginian  ancestry,  being  a  daughter  of  Col. 
David  Myers,  whose  mother  was  a  second 
cousin  of  General  Washington;  and  a  great 
granddaughter  of  Col.  Henry  Schlegel  of 
Revolutionary  fame. 

SIDNEY  ELLSWORTH  KIESS,  a  gen- 
eral farmer  who  has  been  very  successful  in 
his  agricultural  operations,  resides  on  his  own 
farm  of  eighty  acres  and  is  interested  with  his 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


809 


father  in  i6o  acres,  both  properties  lying  in 
Whetstone  township,  Crawford  county,  O. 
He  was  born  in  Whetstone  township,  July  25, 
1868,  and  is  a  son  of  Simeon  and  Catherine 
(Kile)  Kiess. 

Simeon  Kiess  was  born  in  Lycoming 
county,  Pa.,  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Cath- 
erine Kiess,  of  German  extraction,  and  for 
many  years  was  a  farmer  in  Whetstone  town- 
ship and  now  lives  retired  at  Bucyrus.  He 
is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  views  and  both 
he  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Evangelical 
church.  He  married  Catherine  Kile,  who  was 
born  in  Whetstone  township,  a  daughter  of 
Tobias  and  Catherine  Kile,  and  they  have  three 
children :  Sidney  E. ;  Harvey  E.,  who  is  cashier 
of  the  Farmers  and  Citizens  Bank,  Bucyrus; 
and  Verne  E.,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Whetstone 
township. 

Sidney  E.  Kiess  attended  the  public  schools 
and  assisted  his  father  on  the  home  farm  until 
he  was  22  years  of  age  and  afterward  engaged 
in  farming  for  himself.     In  1900,  in  partner- 
ship with  his  father,  he  bought  160  acres  of 
the  old  Elias  Lavely  farm  and  in  the  spring  of 
191 1,  purchased  the  remaining  eighty  acres. 
This  is  considered  a  fine  property,  the  land 
being  well  situated  for  both  farming  and  stock 
raising  and  improved  with  substantial  build- 
ings including  two  houses  and  two  barns.    Mr. 
Kiess  is  an  intelligent  and  progressive  farmer, 
a  member  of  the  local  Grange,  and  he  is  also 
one  of  the  leading  Democrats  of  the  township 
and  served  for  seven  years  as  township  trustee. 
On  Jan.  29,  1891,  Mr.  Kiess  was  married 
to  Miss  Amanda  M.  Cook,  a  daughter  of  Fred 
and   Rosanna   (Wagner)    Cook.     They  were 
both    born    in    Lycoming   county.    Pa.,    their 
parents  being  George  and  Margaret  Cook  and 
John  and  Catherine  Wagner,  and  they  now 
live  retired  at  Bucyrus  and  are  members  of  the 
Evangelical   church.      They   have   three   chil- 
dren:   Mrs.    Kiess;    Harvey    W.,    who    is    a 
farmer  in  Whetstone  township;  and  Earl  E., 
who  is  assistant  cashier  of  the  Second  National 
Bank  at  Bucyrus.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kiess  have 
two  interesting  children,  a  son  and  daughter, 
Harold   Raymond,   who   was   born   Nov.    29, 
1901,   and  Kathryne  Rosena,   who  was  born 
June  13,  1910.     They  attend  the  Evangelical 
church.     Mr.  Kiess  is  one  of  the  township's 
substantial  as  well  as  reliable  citizens  and  is 


a  stockholder  in  the  Farmers  and  Citizens  Bank 
at  Bucyrus. 

PETER  L.  BASH,:  general  farmer  and 
stock  raiser,  whose  excellent  farm  of  140  acres 
is  situated  four  miles  west  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  in 
Holmes  township,  Crawford  county,  was  born 
in  Liberty  township,  Crawford  county,  Feb. 
9,  1856.  He  is  a  son  of  Peter  and  Susannah 
(Cover)  Bash, 

Peter  Bash  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
there  grew  to  manhood.  When  he  started  out 
for  himself  he  came  to  Ohio  and  afterward 
made  his  home  in  Liberty  township,  and 
Holmes  township,  Crawford  county,  where 
he  died  when  aged  80  years.  He  was  a  well 
known  man  in  his  day,  a  successful  farmer 
and  a  worthy  citizen  in  every  respect.  He 
married  Susannah  Cover,  who  was  also  a  na- 
tive of  Pennsylvania,  and  they  had  ten  children 
born  to  them,  three  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
Samuel  and  Jacob  are  farmers  living  in  In- 
diana. Mary,  who  is  now  deceased,  was  the 
wife  of  Jacob  Seibert.  Elizabeth  is  the  wife 
of  William  Roister,  of  Holmes  township. 
Rebecca  is  the  wife  of  Willis  Noblet  of  Wyan- 
dot county,  O.  Peter  L.  was  the  sixth  in  order 
of  birth.  Susannah  is  the  wife  of  S.  A.  Mc- 
Bride  and  they  live  in  Indiana. 

Peter  L.  Bash  was  one  year  old  when  his 
parents  moved  to  Holmes  township  and  here 
he  went  to  school  and  afterward  became  a 
teacher.  He  taught  five  winter  terms  in 
Holmes  township  and  two  terms  in  Tod  town- 
ship and  then  settled  down  to  farming  the 
homestead,  which  he  subsequently  bought  and 
has  always  made  his  home  here.  His  father 
had  kept  the  place  in  good  conditioh,  having 
cleared  the  land  when  he  first  settled  on  it,  and 
with  the  exception  of  building  a  new  barn, 
Mr.  Bash  has  not  had  to  add  improvements 
except  those  which  all  good  farmers  provide 
who  take  a  pride  in  their  possessions. 

Peter  L.  Bash  was  married  in  1883,  to  Miss 
Laura  Miller,  who  died  in  1892,  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Mary  Miller.  Mr.  Bash  has  four 
children,  namely:  Floy,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Carl  Harvey,  living  in  Holmes  township ;  Orlo 
R.,  who  married  Flora  Mutchler  and  lives  in 
Tod  township,  having  one  son,  Cecil ;  Roy  E., 
who  married  Ethel  Kimbel  and  lives  with  his 
father;  and  Russell  D.,  who  is  a  student  in  the 


810 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


township  schools  where  he  is  making  fine  prog- 
ress, having  successfully  passed  the  Boxwell 
examination.  Mr.  Bash  and  family  attend  the 
United  Brethren  church  which  is  situated  just 
north  of  the  homestead.  He  is  a  Democrat  in 
politics  and  has  served  on  ihe  township  school 
board  very  usefully  and  for  two  terms  was 
township  assessor. 

HARRY  A.  PAXTON,*  proprietor  of  the 
Paxton  Garage,  located  at  Nos.  310-12  South 
Sandusky  street,  Bucyrus,  has  been  in  business 
here  since  1907,  having  succeeded  the  firm  of 
Rosina  Bros.,  who  founded  the  concern  in 
1905.  Mr.  Paxton  was  born  at  Iberia,  Mor- 
row county,  O.,  July  i,  1875  and  obtained  his 
education  in  the  public  schools. 

Mr.  Paxton  was  married  in  this  city  to 
learned  his  trade  at  Fostoria,  0.,  in  the  great 
Seneca  Machine  shops.  Afterward  he  was 
connected  with  the  Shunk  Plow  Company,  at 
Bucyrus,  with  which  house  he  continued  for 
ten  years  and  during  this  time  became  well 
acquainted  with  the  people  of  Bucyrus  and 
the  business  prospects  in  this  city.  Since  tak- 
ing charge  of  his  present  quarters  he  has  in- 
creased his  floor  space  to  three  times  the  origi- 
nal extent,  now  having  16,800  feet,  the  build- 
ing being  of  concrete  and  steel  construction, 
favorably  located  within  two  blocks  of  the 
public  square.  He  has  room  for  the  display 
of  45  cars  and  his  plant  is  equipped  with  a 
paint  house  and  a  machine  shop.  He  has 
shown  himself  a  shrewd  and  reliable  business 
man  and  is  prospering. 

Mr.  Paxton  was  married  in  this  city  ro 
Miss  Laura  N.  Rosina,  who  was  born  and 
educated  here,  and  they  have  one  daughter, 
Jessie  R.,  who  was  born  Dec.  29,  1903.  In 
politics  Mr.  Paxton  is  a  Republican.  Frater- 
nally he  belongs  to  the  Elks,  Modern  Wood- 
men and  the  Masons,  in  the  last  named  organi- 
zation belonging  to  the  Blue  Lodge,  Chapter 
and   Council,   all  at  Bucyrus. 

ANDREW  McINTIRE  RUMER  was 
born  near  Rockland,  in  Newcastle  county, 
Del.,  Oct.  19,  1836,  and  comes  of  an  old  fam- 
ily that  was  established  at  Whitely  Creek 
Hundred  prior  to  the  Revolutionary  War. 
His  father  was  James  Rumer,  his  grandfather 
was  John  Rumer  and  his  great-grandfather 
was  Henry  Rumer. 


Henry  Rumer  came  to  the  American  col- 
onies from  Germany  before  the  Revolution- 
ary struggle  and  secured  the  equivalent  of  a 
while  township  of  land  in  Delaware,  where 
he  lived  into  old  age.     John  Rumer,  son  of 
Henry,  was  a  man  well  educated  for  that  day 
and  taught  school  and  utilized  a  cherry  desk 
which  his  grandson  now  prizes  and  keeps  in 
repair,  this  heirloom  being  at  least  150  years 
old.    John  Rumer  served  in  the  War  of  1812 
and  geems  to  have  been  a  man  of  considerable 
prominence,    for    years    collecting    the    state 
taxes  and  serving  in  other  offices.     He  mar- 
ried EUen  Emma  McGlade,  who  was  born  m 
Ireland    but    was    of    Scotch-Irish    ancestry. 
They  were  among  the  early  members  of  the 
Presb)^erian  church  in  their  section.     Their 
entire    family    of  nine    children    survived  to 
maturity  and  all,  with  the  exception  of  James 
Rumer,  who  died  at  the  age  of  71  years,  lived 
to  be  more  than  80  years  of  age;     All  mar- 
ried and  left  descendants  except  Henry,  who 
succumbed  to  the  injuries  received  in  the  Mex- 
ican War,  a  short  time  after  his  return  from 
the  same. 

James  Rumer,  the  eldest  born  of  the  chil- 
dren of  John  and  Ellen  Emma  Rumer,  was 
born  about  1800,  in  Delaware,  and  died  at 
the  home  of  his  son  Andrew.  His  life  had 
been  an  agricultural  one  and  probably  he 
owned  slaves  to  assist  in  the  developing  Of 
his  lands.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics  bvit 
never  accepted  public  office.  James  Rumer 
married  Eleanor  Biddle,  who  was  born  in 
Newcastle  county,  in  181 1,  and  died  in  1867, 
when  aged  56  years.  She  was  reared  by  Pres- 
byterian parents,  who  were  rigid  church  dis- 
ciplinarians. Nine  children  were  born  to 
James  and  Eleanor  Rumer,  two  of  whorri  died 
in  infancy.  Seven  grew  to  mature  years  and 
married  and  the  six  survivors  all  reside  in 
Ohio. 

Andrew  Mclntire  Rumer  was  the  second 
born  in  the  above  family  and  the  eldest  son, 
and  was  reared  in  Delaware.  His  educational 
opportunities  were  meagre  and  as  soon  as  old 
enough  he  learned  the  stone  cutting  and  stone 
mason  trades,  and  in  1856  entered  the  employ 
of  the  Pennsvhania  Railroad  Company  and 
was  engaged  in  construction  work  for  them 
when  the  Civil  War  broke  out.  He  soon  de- 
cided to  enter  the  army  and  on  May  26,  1862, 
enlisted,  entering  Co.  H,  130th  Pa.  Vol.  Inf., 


ANDREW  McINTIEE  RUMER 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


813 


as  quartermaster  sergeant,  and  was  mustered 
out  May  23,  1863.  He  re-enlisted,  Feb.  1.864, 
and  was  a  second  time  honorably  discharged 
and  mustered  out  Oct.  8,  1865.  For  some 
time  his  battery  had  been  stationed  in  front 
of  Petersburg,  Va.,  and  was  at  Fort  Spring 
Hill  when  General  Lee  surrendered  to  Gen- 
eral Grant.  Although  Mr.  Rumer  saw  hard 
service  and  very  often  was  in  positions  of  the 
gravest  danger,  he  was  permitted  to  escape 
without  injury  although  a  heavy  toll  was  ex- 
acted from  his  regiment  at  Antietam  and  at 
Bloody  Angle. 

After  his  return  from  the  war,  Mr.  Rumer 
soon  became  connected  with  the  construction 
department  of  the  Western  Division  of  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad,  and  was  placed 
in  charge  of  all  work  calling  for  the  use  of 
brick  or  stone.  In  1880,  when  he  came  to 
the  T.  &  O.  Railroad,  he  located  at  Bucyrus 
and  from  then  until  1908  was  a  contractor 
with  this  road,  at  the  head  of  the  contracting 
firm  of  A.  M.  Rumer  &  Co.  1909  Mr.  Rumer 
retired  from  business  and  his  son,  Charles 
Victor  Dupont  Rumer,  succeeded  to  the  busi- 
ness, which  he  now  carries  on  at  Columbus,  O. 
Mr.  Rumer  continues  to  be  interested  in  it 
as  a  director  and  he  has  other  large  interests, 
including  the  Fulton  Stone  Company,  in  Mor- 
row county  and  owns  the  Corning  Stone 
Quarry,  in  Perry  county,  O.  During  the  win- 
ter seasons  Mr.  Rumer  and  family  live  at 
Bticyrus,  but  in  the  summer  time  they  retire 
to  a  beautiful  farm  of  118  acres,  which  Mrs. 
Rumer  owns  in  Portage  county,  O. 

Mr.  Rumer  was  married  in  Richland  coun- 
ty, O.,  to  Miss  Susan  J.  Cope,  who  was  born 
in  1843  and  was  reared  and  educated  at  Mans- 
field, O.  She  is  a  daughter  of  John  and  Eliza 
C.  (Stough)  Cope,  who  were  natives  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  came  from  there  to  Ohio  in  the 
thirties  and  settled  in  the  vincinity  of  Mans- 
field. John  Cope  became  a  man  of  large 
means  and  was  an  extensive  farmer  and  stock 
raiser.  His  death  occurred  at  the  age  of  48 
years,  while  his  widow  survived  to  be  54 
years  old.  They  were  worthy  people  and 
were  members  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church.  Nine  children  have  been  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Rumer,  namely:  Frank  Llewelyn, 
who  resides  at  Corpus  Christi,  Texas,  and 
who    married    Harriet    Sagar    and  has    three 


children — Margaret  Lucile,  John  Andrew  and 
Norma  Ray;  Charles  Victor  Dupont,  who 
married  Rose  Eichman,  of  Bucyrus.  These 
two  sons  are  the  only  survivors.  Charles 
V.  D.  Rumer  is  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason 
and  a  Shriner,  while  Mr.  Rumer  is  also  an 
equally  advanced  Mason.  The  latter  belongs 
to  the  Blue  Lodge,  Chapter  and  Council  at 
Bucyrus,  to  the  Toledo  Commandery  and  to 
the  Shrine  at  Cleveland  and  is  a  life  member 
and  past  high  priest  of  Maumee  Commandery. 
In  other  fraternal  bodies  he  has  also  been 
prominent,  having  been  identified  with  the 
Odd  Fellows  for  35  years  and  is  past  noble 
grand  in  that  order;  is  a  member  of  the  East- 
ern Star,  the  Royal  Order  of  Scotland,  the 
Elks  and  the  Knightg  of  Pythias.  Mrs.  Ru- 
mer belongs  also  to  the  Eastern  Star  and  is 
past  matron  and  also  grand  chaplain  of  the 
Grand  Chapter;  belongs  also  to  the  order  of 
Rebecca  and  for  some  years  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Ladies'  Relief  Corps.  She  is  well 
known  in  philanthropic  movements  here  and 
is  very  active  as  a  member  of  the  church  mis- 
sionary and  aid  society. 

Mr.  Rumer  is  a  valued  member  of  Kelley 
Post,  G.  A.  R.,  at  Bucyrus  and  takes  part  in 
its  deliberations  and  is  deeply  concerned  in 
the  pending  legislation  in  reference  to  vet- 
erans of  the  Civil  War.  His  political  attitude 
has  always  been  in  accord  with  the  Republican 
party,  but  he  has  always  felt  too  much  occu- 
pied with  buisness  affairs  to  feel  at  liberty  to 
accept  public  office  which  has  many  times  been 
tendered  him.  Frequently  he  has  given  ad- 
vice and  has  willingly  cooperated  in  further- 
ing public  spirited  enterprises  here. 

W.  L.  SPRINGER,  who  resides  on  his 
birthplace  farm,  a  tract  of  eighty  acres,  which 
lies  in  section  26,  Cranberry  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  Ohio,  belongs  to  an  old  Ohio 
family  which  was  established  here  in  pioneer 
days.  Mr.  Springer  was  born  on  this  farm 
October  23,  1877,  and  is  the  son  of  Samuel 
S.  and  Annie  M.  (Tobin)   Springer. 

Samuel  S.  Springer  was  born  near  Big  Hill, 
in  Richland  county,  Ohio,  where  he  grew  to 
manhood  and  later  settled  one  mile  southeast 
of  New  Washington,  and  after  marriage  set- 
tled on  the  farm  above  described  which  he 
completed  clearing.     Here  he  lived  the  life  of 


814 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


a  busy  farmer  until  his  last  sickness,  his  death 
occurring  Feb.  2,  1899,  and  his  burial  was  in 
the  Goodwill  cemetery.  After  his  death  his 
widow  continued  for  a  time  to  carry  on  the 
farm  and  still  resides  here.  Mr.  Springer  was 
an  honorable  and  upright  man  and  was  widely 
known.  He  was  a  good  citizen  and  did  not 
seek  public  office  but  performed  his  duties  ac^ 
cording  .to  his  conscience  and'  judgment. 
Nominally  he  was  a  Democrat  but  before  death 
had  become  much  interested  in  the  Prohibition 
party.  He  married  Annie  M.  Tobin,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  Tobin,  and  four 
children  were  born  to  them :  Mrs.  Etta  Miller, 
who  lives  at  Decatur,  Ind. ;  Mrs.  Zella  May 
Nye,  who  is  a  resident  of  Auburn  township, 
Crawford  county;  Mrs.  Alma  Ackerman,  who 
lives  in  Cranberry  township;  and  W.  L.,  who 
has  leased  the  homestead.  The  parents  of  the 
above  family  reared  their  children  in  the 
beliefs  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

In  going  to  school  and  in  helping  on  the: 
home  farm,  and  in  taking  part  in  the  pleasant 
social  life  of  his  neighborhood,  Mr.  Springer 
passed  from  boyhood  into  youth  and  man- 
hood and  then  settled  down  to  the  serious  busi- 
ness of  cultivating  his  acres  with  successful 
results.  He  has  a  near  market  at  New  Wash- 
ington, which  is  but  four  miles  distant  in  a 
northwesterly  direction.  General  farming  is 
engaged  in  and  Mr.  Springer  raises  his  own 
stock  and  fruit. 

On  Sept.  27,  1901,  Mr.  Springer  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Edna  Grace  Bruce,  who  was  born 
in  Auburn  township,  Crawford  county,  a 
daughter  of  Robert  and  Jane  (Keller)  Bruce, 
the  latter  of  whom  died  when  Mrs.  Springer 
was  II  years  old.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Springer 
have  had  three  children:  a  babe  that  died  un- 
named ;  Elsworth,  who  is  a  school  boy  of  nine 
years ;  and  Roberta,  who  is  in  her  seventh  year. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Springer  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of  which  he  is 
a  trustee  and  is  also  secretary  of  the  church 
board.  In  his  political  views  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat. 

MISS  LOUISE  HOFSTETTER.  After 
devoting  practically  her  whole  life  to  educa- 
tional work  at  Gallon,  O.,  it  is  a  matter  of 
justifiable  pride  to  Miss  Hofstetter  to  be  able 
to  number  among  her  former  pupils  so  many 


who  have  attained  prominence  in  their  various 
careers,  and  also  to  recognize  the  great  ad- 
vancement made  in  educational  standards  in 
the  Gallon  schools  since  she,  figuratively,  put 
her  girlish  shoulder  to  the  task  of  turning  the 
wheel  of  progress.  She  was  born  at  Gallon 
and  this  city  has  been  her  continuous  home. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Charles  Hofstetter  and 
a  granddaughter  of  Jacob  Hofstetter,  who  was 
the  founder  of  the  family  in  America. 

Jacob  Hofstetter  was  born  in  Germany  and 
was  married  there  to  Louise  Holz,  who  died 
in  Germany,  leaving  children.  Jacob  Hofstet- 
ter was  married  a  second  time  in  Germany  and 
with  this  wife  and  his  children,  came  to 
America  in  1847  ^nd  later  reached  Gabon,  O. 
His  second  wife  died  here  and  he  married 
one  more  and  died  here  in  old  age. 

Charles  Hofstetter  was  born  Nov.  22,  1827, 
at  Grossestadt,  Baden,  Germany,  a  son  of 
Jacob  and  Louise  (Holz)  Hofstetter.  He 
accompanied  his  father  to  the  United  States 
and  to  Gallon,  O.,  but  soon  afterward  went 
to  Mansfield,  where  he  became  a  clerk  in  a 
hardware  store  and  remained  until  1857,  when 
he  returned  to  Gallon  and  started  the  first 
hardware  store  in  the  place,  in  that  same  year 
erecting  his  own  building  at  No.  104  East  Main 
street,  one  of  the  early  brick  structures  that 
still  remain  suitable  for  business  purposes.  He 
remained  in  the  hardware  business  for  seven 
years  and  then  accepted  a  position  as  travel- 
ing salesman  for  a  large  firm  and  afterward 
came  back  to  Gallon  and  went  into  the  whole- 
sale wine  and  liquor  business  and  in  this  con- 
nection compounded  and  put  on  the  market  a 
medicinal  preparation  under  his  own  name 
that  had  a  wide  sale  and  became  a  standard 
remedy.  He  was  a  foremost  man  in  many 
lines  of  activity  and  very  public  spirited  and 
during  the  long  siege  of  the  Civil  War  when 
so  much  hardship  was  entailed  on  the  families 
of  the  soldiers  at  the  front,  he  was  generous 
and  resourceful  in  providing  for  their  necessi- 
ties. He  was  a  charter  member  of  both  the 
Masons  and  Odd  Fellows  at  Gallon  and  until 
the  close  of  life  remained  active  workers  in 
these  organizations.  After  a  long,  useful  and 
honorable  life  he  passed  away  at  Gallon,  April 
5,  1872. 

On  April  2,  1858,  Mr.  Hofstetter  was  mar- 
ried at  Gallon,  to  Miss  Lena  Kraft,  who  was 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


815 


born  in  this  city,  Oct.  2.2,  1840,  in  a  house 
standing  in  sight  of  the  present  city  hall,  which 
ground  had  been  cleared  of  timber  by  her 
father,  John  Kraft,  who  was  born  in  Prus- 
sian Germany  and  came  young  to  the  United 
States  and  located  at  Galion,  O.,  where  he 
married  Margaret  Ichhorn,  who  was  a  native 
of  Baden,  Germany.  In  1854,  Mr.  Kraft  built 
what  was  known  as  the  Galion  Brewery. 
He  built  his  first  home,  a  log  house,  where  now 
stand  the  city  public  buildings,  in  1836.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  German  Re- 
formed church  here  and  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Hofstetter,  has  always  been  a  member  of  this 
religious  body,  and  remembers  many  occasions 
when  the  preachers  were  hospitably  enter- 
tained by  her  parents. 

To  Charles  Hofstetter  and  wife  the  fol- 
lowing children  were  born:  Louise;  John  F., 
who  is  a  resident  of  Cleveland;  Catherine, 
who  is  in  the  millinery  business  at  Crestline; 
Lena,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Knight,  of 
Galion,  and  has  two  children;  Naoma  L.,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Aldon  Metheany,  who  is  in  the 
insurance  business  at  Galion,  and  Lorin  C. 

Miss  Louise  Hofstetter  was  graduated  from 
the  Galion  High  School  in  1876  and  in  1877 
began  teaching  school  and  has  taught  contin- 
uously at  Galion  ever  since.  Her  circle  of  ac- 
quaintance takes  in  old  and  young  and  the 
affectionate  regard  in  which  she  is  held  in 
many  homes  is  indicated  by  the  title  of  Aunt 
Lou,  given  by  those  who  have  been  the  objects 
of  her  affectionate  care  and  instruction  for  so 
long  a  time.  Miss  Hofstetter  and  the  other 
members  of  the  family,  are  all  communicants 
of  the  Reformed  church. 

GILBERT  FERRIS  MALCOLM,  a 
prosperous  farmer,  who  is  now  serving  in  his 
third  term  as  trustee  of  the  township,  is  the 
owner  of  275  acres  of  good  farm  land  in  Dal- 
las and  Bucyrus  townships.  He  was  born  in 
Bucyrus  township,  this  county,  April  29,  1865, 
a  son  of  James  Harvey  and  Elcy  (Monnett) 
Malcolm.  His  grandparents  were  James  Har- 
vey and  Elizabeth  Malcolm,  and  his  great 
grandfather  on  the  paternal  side,  who  was  also 
named  James,  was  an  aide  to  General  Scott 
in  the  War  of  1812  and  fell  in  the  battle  of 
Lundy's  Lane,  being  buried  on  the  battlefield. 

James  H.  Malcolm,  father  of  our  subject, 


was  born  Oct.  18,  1827,  in  Ulster  county, 
N.  Y.  He  lived  on  a  farm  and  attended  dis- 
trict school.  His  father  dying  and  leaving  him 
to  fight  the  battle  of  life  alone,  he  found  em- 
ployment in  a  mill,  where  he  worked  morning 
and  evening  to  pay  his  board,  while  he  at- 
tended school  during  the  day.  In  the  summer 
he  worked  on  a  farm.  At  the  age  of  16  he 
commenced  buying  cattle  for  his  brother  and 
was  thus  employed  for  about  three  years,  his 
brother  being  one  of  the  first  to  slaughter  and 
send  quartered  beef  down  the  Hudson  to  the 
New  York  markets.  He  next  went  to  Wash- 
ington, where  he  engaged  in  selling  beef  by 
the  quarter,  which  occupation  he  followed  for 
five  years.  During  this  time  he  formed  the 
acquaintance  of  some  of  the  leading  stock 
dealers  of  the  Sandusky  Plains,  among  whom 
were  the  Monnetts.  In  185 1  he  went  to  Cali- 
fornia, taking  the  water  route,  the  voyage  oc- 
cupying 36  days.  While  there  he  purchased  a 
tract  of  land  in  the  Santa  Clara  valley  and 
kept  a  ranch  for  one  year,  then  selling  it  at  a 
fair  profit.  He  then  located  on  the  river  20 
miles  below  Sacramento  City,  on  the  great 
Vine  ranch  and  here  turned  his  attention  to 
the  raising  of  vegetables.  A  large  portion  of 
his  crops  were  ruined,  however,  by  an  over- 
flow of  the  river.  In  the  winter  of  1854  he 
returned  to  New  York,  where  he  resumed  the 
handling  of  cattle. 

In  June,  1856,  he  came  to  Bucyrus  and  en- 
gaged in  buying  and  feeding  cattle,  in  part- 
nership with  George  Roberts.  This  business 
union  lasted  three  years  and  was  productive 
of  fair  success.  He  then  continued  in  the  stock 
business  alone,  and  rented  the  Abraham  Mon- 
nett "Mud  Run"  farm  for  one  ye^r,  when  he 
bought  the  homestead  portion,  consisting  of 
360  acres,  living  here  nine  years  and  adding 
300  acres  in  1868.  In  May,  1878,  he  removed 
to  Bucyrus  to  educate  his  children.  His  wife, 
to  whom  he  was  married  Nov.  4,  1862,  was  in 
maidenhood  Elcy  Monnett,  a  daughter  of  A. 
Monnett  of  Marion  county,  O.  Their  chil- 
dren are  Catherine  E.,  wife  of  Mitchell  Aye; 
Gilbert  F.,  subject  of  this  sketch ;  and  Ella  M., 
wife  of  Dr.  Kock  at  Bucyrus.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
James  H.  Malcolm  were  members  of  the  M.  E. 
church,  which  Mr.  Malcolm  served  as  trustee 
and  steward. 

Gilbert  Ferris  Malcolm  in  his  boyhood  at- 


816 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


tended  the  common  schools  of  Bucyrus  town- 
ship and  was  brought  up  on  the  farm  acquir- 
ing a  good  knowledge  of  agricultural  methods. 
In  course  of  time  he  acquired  land  of  his  own, 
as  already  described,  and  is  now  engaged  suc- 
cessfully in  general  farming.  He  also  deals 
extensively  in  mules,  both  buying  and. selling 
them.  He  owns  a  Percheron  stallion.  Cardan ; 
also  a  Belgium  stallion,  Eclatant,  and  one  road 
stallion,  Bert  Wilks.  In  politics  he  is  a  Re- 
publican, and  the  fact  that  he  is  now  serving 
in  his  third  term  as  township  trustee  shows 
that  he  has  gained  the  confidence  of  his  fellow 
citizens  and  is  a  man  of  recognized  ability  in 
business  affairs. 

Mr.  Malcolm  was  married  Feb.  i8,  1897,  to 
Elizabeth  Hinamon,  of  Marion  county,  whose 
father  is  Frederick  Hinamon,  a  farmer  of 
that  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Malcolm  attend 
Scioto  Chapel. 

ANSON  WICKHAM,  attorney  at  law  at 
Bucyrus,  O.,  and  president  of  the  Bar  Associa- 
tion of  Crawford  county,  has  been  prominent 
in  his  profession  for  many  years,  during  the 
larger  number  of  which  he  has  been  a  resident 
of  Bucyrus. 

He  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Crawford  county 
in  June,  1849,  and  grew  to  manhood  thereon. 
He  is  a  son  of  Willard  and  Phoebe  (Pen- 
nington) Wlckham,  the  father  being  a  native 
of  New  York  and  of  English  ancestry.  The 
mother  was  from  Virginia,  being  of  Irish  and 
German  ancestry.  They  had  a  family  of 
seven  children. 

Anson  \\'ickham  attended  the  district  schools 
and  later  attended  the  University  of  Otterbein 
where  he  was  graduated  in  May,  1873.  In 
July  following  he  began  the  study  of  the  law 
in  the  office  of  Scott  &  Harris  of  Bucyrus, 
O.,  a  leading  law  firm  of  northwestern  Ohio, 
and  on  the  i8th  day  of  September,  1875,  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  at  Kenton,  Ohio.  He 
thereupon  began  the  practice  of  the  law  at 
Bucvrus  and  has  continued  to  practice  there 
ever  since.  Shortly  after  he  began  the 
practice  of  the  law  he  was  appointed 
city  solicitor  and  served  for  some  time 
in  that  capacity  and  subsequently  elected 
prosecuting  attorney  of  Crawford  county,  in 
which  exacting  office  he  served  six  years.  Mr. 
\\'ickham  has  always  been  an  active  and  use- 


ful citizen  and  has  lei^  his  influence  to  all 
measures  for  the  public  good. 

In  May,  1893,  Mr.  Wickham  was  married 
to  Catharine  Shellhase  who  was  born  in 
Prussia.  Her  parents  emigrated  to  this  coun- 
try when  Catharine  was  of  tender  years  and 
settled  in  Jefferson  township,  Crawford  county, 
where  she  resided  until  the  decease  of  her 
parents  which  occurred  in  1886-7,  after  which 
she  moved  to  the  city  of  Bucyrus.  For  the 
past  few  years  ]Mr.  and  Mrs.  \\'ickham  have 
been  practically  living  under  the  eaves  of  the 
courthouse. 

JOHN  EDGAR  GIBSON,  general  farmer 
and  substantial  citizen  of  \\^hetstone  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  was  born  on  his  present 
farm  of  80  acres,  all  in  one  tract,  Dec.  31, 
1859,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Kerr) 
Gibson. 

John  Gibson  was  born  in  Franklin  county, 
Pa.,  a  son  of  George  and  Hannah  (Buchan- 
non)  Gibson,  and  came  to  Crawford  county  as 
a  young  man  and  entered  the  farm  which  is 
still  called  the  John  Gibson  place.     He  became 
a    prominent    man    in    Whetstone    township, 
served  many  years  as  a  justice  of  the  peace 
and  in  other  offices  especially  those  connected 
with  educational  advancement.     He  was  also 
a  leader  in  all  moral  movements,  a  strict  Pres- 
byterian and  frequently  visited  over  the  county 
in  order  to  encourage  the  establishing  of  Sun- 
day schools.     He  was  married  (first)  to  Mar- 
tha Mathews,  who  left  one  daughter  at  death, 
^lartha,  who  married  William  Gregg  and  is 
now  deceased.     His  second  marriage  was  to 
Mary  Kerr,  who  was  born  also  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, a  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Margaret 
(Campbell)  Kerr,  and  to  this  union  the  fol- 
lowing children  were  born:     Margaret  Ann, 
now  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  John  Camp- 
bell, deceased;  Hannah,  who  was  twice  mar- 
ried, first  to  Andrew  R.  \\^alker  and  second 
to   Peter  Helfrick,   surviving  both   and  now 
residing  at  Bucyrus:  Andrew  H.,  who  mar- 
ried Lettie  J.  Campbell;  George  B.,  who  mar- 
ried Hattie   Shroll;   IMary  Belle,  who  is  de- 
ceased; James   M.,  a  practicing  physician  at 
Suffolk,  Va.,  who  is  a  graduate  of  Columbus 
Medical   College,    and    who   married    Rachel 
Stewart:  Emma  Aline,  deceased,  who  was  the 
wife  of  William  Stewart;  John  Edgar;  Charles 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


817 


E.,  who  married  Ella  Woods;  and  Delia  J. 
and  Leaffa  L.  Charles  E.  and  his  two  younger 
sisters  had  collegiate  advantages,  attending 
the  Central  Ohio  College  at  Iberia,  and  Delia 
J.  was  also  a  student  at  the  National  Normal 
School  at  Lebanon,  O. 

John  Edgar  Gibson  attended  the  public 
school  and  has  devoted  himself  to  agricultural 
pursuits  and  has  remained  on  the  homestead 
where  his  two  youngest  sisters  also  live.  Mr. 
Gibson  and  sisters  attend  the  Presbyterian 
church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  as  was 
his  father,  and  has  served  one  term  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  school  board.  This  family  is  known 
all  over  the  county  and  is  held  in  high  regard. 

WILLIAM  F.  HOOVER,  whose  valuable 
farm  of  115  acres  lies  three  miles  west  of 
Bucyrus,  O.,  was  born  on  this  place,  July  27, 
1872,  and  has  spent  his  life  there  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock  raising.  His  parents  were 
Jacob  and  Fredericka  (Haffner)   Hoover. 

Jacob  Hoover  was  one  of  the  best  known 
and  most  highly  respected  citizens  of  Holmes 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.  He  was 
born  in  Wittenberg,  Germany,  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1851  at  the  age  of  19  years 
and  settled  in  Crawford  county,  where  he  died 
July  7,  1900,  having  spent  all  his  life  in  this 
county  after  emigrating  to  this  country.  This 
section  of  the  county  was  a  wilderness  when 
he  came  here,  he  securing  his  land  in  Holmes 
township,  in  1868.  Where  now  stands  Roher's 
planing  mill  was  a  burnt  over  tract  with 
stumps  left  and  where  other  industries  are 
now  carried  on  was  still  forest,  swamp  and 
brush.  For  three  years  after  reaching  Craw- 
ford county  he  lived  at  Bucyrus  and  afterward 
for  a  time  on  another  tract  and  then  secured 
the  present  homestead,  which  he  cleared  and 
built  the  residence  that  still  serves.  He  mar- 
ried Fredericka  Hafifner,  who  was  born  m 
Germany  and  came  to  the  United  States  when 
14  years  of  age.  Ten  children  were  born  to 
them,  the  survivors  being:  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Mollenkopf,  who  is  a  resident  of  Galion,  O. ; 
Mrs.  Martha  Quaintance,  who  lives  at  Bucy- 
rus; Mary,  who  lives  with  her  brother,  Wil- 
liam F.,  on  the  home  place;  and  Mrs.  Minnie 
McGarry,  who  is  a  resident  of  Cleveland,  O. 

William  F.  Hoover  obtained  his  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  Holmes  township  and 
has  devoted  all  his  mature  life  to  carrying  on 


his  agricultural  activities.  He  has  brought  the 
land  to  a  fine  state  of  cultivation  and  has  made 
many  substantial  improvements  here.  Mr. 
Hoover  keeps  well  informed  concerning  all 
that  goes  on  in  the  world  and  does  his  full 
duty  as  a  citizen  in  local  matters.  In  his  polit- 
ical views  he  is  a  Republican.  Mr.  Hoover 
has  never  married. 

WEBSTER  H.  SPROUT,*  who  is  en- 
gaged in  the  confectionery  and  ice  cream  busi- 
ness at  No.  124  South  Sandusky  street,  Bucy- 
rus, O.,  since  1902,  has  conducted  a  first  class 
establishment  of  this  kind  here  and  has  one 
of  the  best  equipped  confectionery  stores  in 
the  city.  He  was  born  at  Fostoria,  O.,  in 
1884,  and  is  a  son  of  David  and  a  grandson 
of  Samuel  Sprout. 

David  Sprout,  who  resides  at  Fostoria,  O., 
an  honored  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  now  in 
his  77th  year,  was  born  in  Ohio,  a  son  of 
Samuel  and  Mary  (Good)  Sprout.  Samuel 
Sprout  was  a  farmer  in  Seneca  county  during 
almost  his  entire  life.  David  was  one  of  a 
family  of  11  children,  of  whom  six  sons  and 
three  daughters  are  yet  living.  He  served 
through  the  Civil  war  as  a  member  of  the  49th 
O.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  suffered  imprisonment  in 
Libby  prison.  He  is  a  member  of  the  G.  A. 
R.  Post  at  Houston,  O.  For  some  50  years 
he  operated  a  sawmill  in  Seneca  county.  He 
was  married  there  to  Ella  Rosenberger,  a 
daughter  of  David  Rosenberger,  formerly  the 
owner  of  a  large  farm  in  Seneca  county. 
David  Sprout  and  wife  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  as  were  their  par- 
ents. The  following  children  were  born  to 
them :  Minnie,  Marcella,  Louis,  Webster  H. 
and  Harry.  Minnie  is  the  wife  of  Rev.  Ar- 
thur Chenneworth,  a  minister  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  faith.  He  is  at  the  head  of  the 
Methodist  Publishing  House  in  the  Philippine 
Islands  and  is  postmaster  and  leading  man  of 
the  town  in  which  he  lives.  They  have  two 
sons.  Marcella  is  the  wife  of  Frank  B.  Kieb- 
ble,  of  the  large  dry  goods  house  of  Kiebble, 
Wilson  &  Co.,  of  Fostoria.  They  have  one 
son.  Louis  is  a  machinist  and  is  employed  at 
Fostoria.  He  married  Maude  Good  and  they 
have  children.  Harry  is  engaged  at  Fostoria 
with  the  mercantile  house  of  Kiebble,  Wilson 
&  Co. 

Webster  H.   Sprout  was  educated  at  Fos- 


818 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


toria  and  there  learned  the  confectioner's  busi- 
ness and  is  a  practical  worker  and  does  all 
of  his  own  manufacturing  of  dainties  with 
the  exception  of  chocolates.  For  a  short  time 
before  coming  to  Bucyrus  he  was  in  business 
at  Fostoria.  He  is  in  the  enjoyment  of  a 
liberal  patronage  and  his  special  confections 
ha^e  quite  a  reputation  and  large  sale. 

]Mr.  Sprout  was  married  at  Van  Wert,  O., 
Jan.  19,  1901,  to  Miss  Nellie  Cupp,  who  was 
born  and  educated  in  that  place.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  Peter  B.  and  Edith  (Penn)  Cupp, 
th£  former  of  whom  was  born  at  Ashland  and 
the  latter  at  Zanesville,  O.  Mrs.  Cupp  was  a 
daughter  of  John  Penn,  who  was  directly 
descended  from  the  great  Quaker  settler  of 
Pennsylvania.  He  came  early  to  Van  ^Vert, 
0.,  and  conducted  a  furniture  business  there 
for  many  years.  Peter  B.  Cupp  and  wife  were 
married  there  and  still  live  on  the  old  Penn 
property  on  Jefferson  street,  Mr.  Cupp  suc- 
ceeding to  the  John  Penn  furniture  business. 
He  is  now  retired.  Mrs.  Sprout  is,the  young- 
est of  their  four  children,  the  others  being: 
Cuta,  wife  of  F.  M.  Gorham,  of  Mansfield,  O. ; 
Clara,  wife  of  W.  C.  Terrill,  a  confectionery 
dealer  at  Upper  Sandusky,  they  having  two 
daughters;  and  Charles,  a. confectionery  dealer 
at  Fostoria,  who  married  Grace  Doe.  The 
father  of  IMrs.  Sprout  has  a  fine  military  rec- 
ord, having  served  all  through  the  Civil  war 
in  the  49th  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  suffered  im- 
prisonment in  Libby  prison.  On  one  notable 
occasion,  single-handed,  he  captured  thirteen 
Confederate  soldiers.  Mr.  Sprout  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Demas  Lodge,  No.  108,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  the  Elks  and  Jr.  O.  U.  A.  M. 

ISAAC  SHEARER,  whose  death  in  No- 
A'ember,  1907,  removed  from  earth's  scenes 
one  of  Dallas  township's  substantial  and  re- 
spected citizens,  was  born  in  Crawford 
county,  O.,  in  1847,  a  son  of  John  and  Cath- 
erine (Miller)  Shearer.  John  Shearer,  who 
was  a  son  of  Michael  and  Barbara  Shearer, 
was  born  in  Lancaster  county.  Pa.,  and  his 
active  years  were  devoted  to  farming.  His 
wife  Catherine,  the  mother  of  Isaac,  was  born 
in  Germany  and  came  to  America  when  a  child 
of  six  years.  Both  are  now  deceased  and 
their  remains  rest  in  the  Shearer  cemetery  in 
\^'hetstone  township.      Mr.   Shearer  and   his 


fa,mily  attended  the  German  Reformed  church. 
Their  children  were  David,  Benjamin,  George, 
Isaac,  Samuel,  Mary  and  Daniel,  the  four  last 
named  being  now  deceased. 

Isaac  Shearer  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  became  a  practical  farmer,  own- 
ing at  the  time  of  his  death  177  acres  of  gpod 
land,  which  now  belongs  to  his  heirs.  He  was 
a  Democrat  politically  and  attended  the  Evan- 
gelical church  at  Bucyrus.  He  was  married 
in  November,  1872,  to  Vesta  Elmira  Shellen- 
berger,  who  was  born  in  Mahoning  county,  O., 
a  daughter  of  John  and  Rachel  (Paulin)  Shel- 
lenberger  of  that  county.  Of  this  marriage 
the  children  born  were  Charles  Wesley,  Mil- 
ford  Guy,  Franklin  Abraham,  and  two  that 
died  in  infancy.  Three  brothers  of  our  sub- 
ject are  still  living — David,  Benjamin  and 
George;  two — Samuel  and  Daniel — are  de- 
ceased, and  a  sister  died  when  quite  young. 
The  family  is  one  well  known  in  Crawford 
county,  there  being  various  members,  scat- 
tered throughout  the  different  townships,  and 
all  are  in  general  industrious,  thrifty  and  sub- 
stantial people,  worthy  members  of  the  com- 
munities in  which  they  reside. 

FREDERICK  J.  PHELPS,*  a  well  known 
citizen  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  who  has  been  associ- 
ated with  the  firm  of  Nassbaum  &  Bach,  lead- 
ing clothiers  of  this  city,  since  1894,  comes  of 
New  England  ancestry.  His  parents  were 
Andrew  Henry  and  Helen  Phelps,  and  his 
grandfather  was  Julius  Phelps  on  the  maternal 
side  and  Frederick  Phelps  on  the  paternal  side. 
Andrew  Henry  Phelps  was  born  at  East  Ham- 
den,  Mass.,  and  died  at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich., 
Nov.  20,  1910,  aged  69  years.  He  was  a 
'  stationary  engineer.  In  1885  he  had  moved 
to  Ann  Arbor,  after  the  death  of  his  wife  in 
1882,  four  children  surviving — Sadie,  Fred- 
erick J.,  Frank  C.  and  Harold  A.,  all  residents 
of  Ann  Arbor  except  Frederick  J. 

Frederick  J.  Phelps  was  reared  in  his  na- 
tive place  and  enjoyed  excellent  school  ad- 
vantages. The  larger  part  of  his  business  life 
has  been  passed  at  Bucyrus,  where  for  17 
years  he  has  been  connected  with  his  present 
firm,  where  he  enjoys  full  confidence  and  has 
a  large  amount  of  responsibility.  Mr.  Phelps 
was  married  at  Jackson,  Mich.,  to  Miss  Clara 
Butler,  who  was  born  at  Indianapolis,  Ind., 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


819 


but  was  educated  at  Jackson.  They  have  two 
children:  F.  Norman,  who  is  a  student  in 
the  Bucyrus  high  school,  a  member  of  the 
class  of  1913,  and  Helen  M.,  a  little  maiden 
of  five  years.  In  politics  Mr.  Phelps  is  a  Re- 
publican and  fraternally  is  identified  with 
Demas  Lodge,  No.  108,  Knights  of  Pythias. 
Mrs.  Phelps  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church. 

PETER  T.  NEUMANN,  a  general  farmer 
and  leading  citizen  of  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  resides  on  a  farm  of  80 
acres  and  owns  a  second  farm,  containing  20J/2 
acres,  which  lies  southeast  of  the  first  one. 
He  was  born  Sept.  29,  1862,  in  Marion  county, 
O.,  and  is  a  son  of  Henry  and  Susan  (Young) 
Neumann. 

Henry  Neumann  and  his  wife  were  both  born 
in  Germany,  and  after  their  marriage  they  came 
to  the  United  States  and  directly  to  Marion 
county,  O.,  and  both  are  now  deceased.  Henry 
Neumann  was  a  wagonmaker  by  trade  but  in 
his  later  years  he  became  a  farmer.  He  was 
a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  he  and  his  wife 
were  members  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
church  of  Gallon,  O.,  until  1894,  when  they 
joined  the  Evangelical  church  at  Olentangy, 
O.  They  had  the  following  children :  Jacob 
J.,  John  O.,  Maria,  George  J.,  Peter  T.,  Henry 
A.,  Mary  A.,  Harmon  and  Anna,  three  of  these 
surviving,  namely:  Jacob  J.,  John  O.  and 
Peter  T. 

Peter  T.  Neumann  attended  the  public 
schools  and  afterward  Ada  College  for  one 
term  and  then  assisted  his  father  on  the  home 
farm  until  he  was  21  years  of  age.  For  the 
next  five  years  he  worked  by  the  day-  and 
month  and  was  careful  with  his  earnings. 
For  the  next  six  years  he  rented  farm  land  on 
shares  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  was  ready 
to  purchase  a  farm  of  his  own,  this  transac- 
tion with  Peter  Beach  taking  place  in  1896. 
The  present  buildings  were  all  on  the  place  but 
Mr.  Neumann  has  practically  rebuilt  the  house 
and  has  a  handsome  residence  and  attractive 
surroundings.  For  eight  years  he  also  fol- 
lowed threshing  in  partnership  with  his  broth- 
ers. Mr.  Neumann  has  been  a  very  busy  man 
all  his  life  but  notwithstanding  he  has  found 
time  to  make  experiments  and  develop  some 
of  his  mechanical  ideas  into  practical  machin- 


ery and  has  secured  "two  patent  rights  from 
the  government.  His  first  patent  was  secured 
on  appliances  to  be  used  on  traction  engines 
and  threshing  machines,  and  his  second  on  a 
convertible  hay  rack,  the  utility  of  which  has 
been  recognized  by  a  number  of  farmers  in 
this  towniship  who  are  using  them. 

On  Dec.  13,  1888,  Mr.  Neumann  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Ellen  M.  Beach,  a  daughter  of 
Peter  and  Amanda  Beach,  now  of  Gallon,  and 
they  have  three  children:  Nettie  M.,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Cornelius  Guinther;  Elmer  C.  and 
Clara  Mildred.  They  attend  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  church  at  Olentangy,  O.,  Mr.  Neu- 
mann having  been  assistant  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday-school  for  two  years  and  superin- 
tendent for  twelve  years,  and  at  present  is  one 
of  the  church  trustees  and  treasurer  of  the 
trustees'  fund.  Politically  he  is  a  Democrat 
and  has  frequently  been  elected  to  responsi- 
ble offices,  serving  five  years  as  township  clerk, 
two  terms  as  road  supervisor,  three  terms  as 
school  director  and  at  present  is  ditch  super- 
visor of  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  O. 

J.  A.  BITTIKOFER,  proprietor  of  the 
West  Bucyrus  City  Dairy,  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  has 
other  city  property  and  additionally  owns  332 
acres  of  fine  farming  land  in  Crawford  county, 
was  born  in  Liberty  township,  Crawford 
county,  in  i860,  and  is  a  son  of  Frederick  and 
Rebecca  (Myers)  Bittikofer. 

Frederick  Bittikofer  was  born  in  Switzer- 
land and  in  boyhood  accompanied  his  parents 
to  America  and  assisted  his  father  after  the 
latter  settled  in  Crawford  county  and  later 
carried  on  farming  for  himself  and  also 
started  into  the  dairy  business,  founding  the 
industry  which  his  son  continues.  He  was 
an  industrious  and  enterprising  man  but 
did  not  live  into  old  age,  his  death  occurring 
when  he  was  in  his  58th  year.  He  married 
Rebecca  Myers,  who  was  born  in  Columbiana 
county,  O. 

J.  A.  Bittikofer  has  been  in  the  dairy  busi- 
ness for  28  years  and  has  been  a  farmer  ever 
since  he  left  school.  His  father  was  the  pio- 
neer in  the  dairy  business  in  this  section  of  the 
county  and  during  his  lifetime  operated  a 
wagon  and  faithfully  served  patrons  at  Bu- 
cyrus.    His  son  not  only  has  continued  what 


820 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


his  father  commenced  but  has  greatly  enlarged 
the  business,  operates  a  wagon  that  requires 
two  men  to  handle  the  trade.  He  has  a  fine 
location  just  outside  the  city  limits  and  has 
all  modern  improvements  and  sanitary  dairy 
appliances.  Mr.  Bittikofer  is  one  of  the  busy 
men  of  this  county,  what  with  his  dairy,  oper- 
ating his  farm,  looking  after  his  85  head  of 
cattle  and  attending  to  numerous  other  inter- 
ests which  engage  the  time  and  attention  of 
leading  citizens  of  a  community.  Politically 
he  is  a  Democrat  but  has  never  been  a  seeker 
for  office  although  well  qualified  to  fill  many 
responsible  positions,  but  nevertheless  is  a  wide 
awake  and  useful  citizen. 

Mr.  Bittikofer  married  Miss  Ellen  Tobin, 
and  they  have  had  six  children,  namely :  Wal- 
ter, Lee,  Bessie,  Mike,  Florence  and  Esther. 
Mr.  Bittikofer  attends  the  Reformed  church 
at  Bucyrus,  his  family  attending  the  English 
Lutheran  church.  He  belongs  fraternally  to 
the  M.  W.  A. 

VORNDRAN  BROS.  Herman  J.  and  Jo- 
seph A.  Vorndran,  who  own  160  acres  of  well 
drained  land,  situated  in  section  22,  Cranberry 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  two  and  one- 
half  miles  south  and  east  of  New  Washington, 
O.,  are  successful  farmers  and  stock  raisers 
and  representative  men  of  their  neighborhood. 

John  Vorndran,  the  father,  was  born  in 
Bavaria,  Germany,  and  from  there  he  came 
in  early  manhood  to  Ohio.  At  Tiffin,  in  this 
state,  he  was  married  (first)  to  Rosa  Barn- 
holtzer,  who  was  born  also  in  Germany,  and 
died  in  Ohio,  when  aged  40  years.  She  was 
a  faithful  member  of  the  Catholic  church  and 
her  burial  was  in  the  Catholic  cemetery  at  Tif- 
fin. She  was  survived  by  six  children,  namely : 
John,  Michael,  Catherine,  Charles,  Mary  and 
Joseph  A.  John  Vorndran  was  married  (sec- 
ond) to  Theresa,  a  sister  of  his  first. wife,  and 
two  children  were  born  to  them:  Herman  J. 
and  Clara.  Both  John  Vorndran  and  wife  died 
at  New  Washington,  he  in   1908  and  she  in 

1907. 

Joseph  A.  Vorndran  was  born  at  Tiffin,  O., 
July  26,  1872,  and,  with  his  brother,  Joseph 
A.  Vorndran,  is  half  owner  of  the  home  farm 
of  160  acres.  The  two  brothers  have  lived 
there  for  15  years  and  have  been  in  business 
together  for  the  past  three  years,  taking  charge 


when  the  parents  died.  They  successfully 
carry  on  general  farming  and  are  giving  spe- 
cial attention  to  sheep  growing,  raising  from 
25  to  30  head  of  thoroughbred  Rambouillet 
and  Merino  sheep  annually.  They  are  thrifty, 
hard  working  men,  good  citizens  in  every  sense 
of  the  wor^  and  highly  respected  wherever 
known.  They  are  members  of  St.  Bernard's 
Catholic  church  at  New  Washington.  They 
have  all  their  land  under  cultivation  with  the 
exception  of  thirty  acres  of  woodland  and 
pastufage  for  their  Shorthorn  cattle  and  Po- 
land China  hogs,  which,  together  with  sheep 
raising,  are  profitably  bred  and  raised  here. 

JOHN  MARTINITZ,*  a  representative 
business  man  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  who  owns  and 
conducts  a  first  class  bakery  on  the  southeast 
corner  of  the  public  square,  was  born  in  Wur- 
temberg,  Germany,  Jan.  24,  1875,  and  is  a 
son  of  Andrew  and  Rosa  (Gekler)  Martinitz. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Martinitz  spent  their 
lives  in  Germany,  where  his  mother  died  in 
1887  and  the  father  in  1904.  The  latter  was 
a  small  farmer.  They  were  highly  respected 
people  and  members  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

John  Martinitz  remained  at  home  and  at- 
tended school  until  1893,  when  he  decided  to 
try  his   fortune   in  America,  being  the  only 
member  of  the  family  to  have  this  ambition. 
In  that  year  he  took  passage  at  Bremen  on  a 
steamer  that  safely  landed  him  in  the  harbor 
of  New  York  and  from  there  he  came  to  Bucy- 
rus and   immediately  set  about  learning  the 
bakery  trade,   entering  the   establishment  of 
Leander  Reiger  for  this  purpose.     After  com- 
pleting his   apprenticeship   he  worked    for   a 
time  as  a  journeyman  and  then  started  a  small 
bakery  at  Cary,  O.,  which  he  operated  until 
1902,  when  he  returned  to  Bucyrus  and   in 
November,  1903,  established  his  present  busi- 
ness in  this  city.    He  has  prospered  from  the 
first  and  in  addition  to  his  retail  establishment 
has  his  bakery  plant,  on  Oakwood  avenue,  near 
his  home   on  Walnut  street.     This  plant  is 
equipped  with  all  kinds  of  modern  machinery 
and  his  ovens  have  a  capacity  of  600  loaves  of 
bread  an  hour,  together  with  pies  and  cakes 
of  endless  variety.    He  takes  pride  in  the  sani- 
tary condition  of  his  bakery  and  invites  in- 
spection.    While  all  his   products  are  invit- 


FERXA^T)0  J.  XOETOX 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


823 


ing  and  toothsome,  his  specialty  of  Sweet  Home 
Loaf  bread  is  particularly  so. 

Mr.  Martinitz  was  married  at  Bucyrus,  to 
Miss  Rosa  Goebelt,  who  was  born  at  Baden, 
Germany,  Nov.  28,  1878,  and  was  two  years 
old  when  her  parents  brought  her  to  America 
and  she  grew  up  in  this  city.  She  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Lena  Goebelt,  residents  of 
Bucyrus.  They  are  members  of  the  German 
Reformed  church.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martinitz 
have  two  children:  Gladys  Ruth,  who  was 
born  in  1902,  and  John  Carl,  who  was  born 
in  1908.  Mr.  Martinitz  is  identified  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Eagles,  the  Elks  and 
the  Odd  Fellows,  and  in  the  last  named  order 
is  past  senior  warden  and  chief  patriarch  of 
Wyandot  Encampment,  at  Cary,  O.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  nominally  a  Democrat  but  is  inclined 
to  be  independent  in  his  views  on  many  public 
questions  that  now  concern  the  country. 

FERNANDO  J.  NORTON,  florist,  who 
has  been  established  in  this  business  -at  Bu- 
cyrus, O.,  since  1882  and  since  1888  has  oc- 
cupied his  present  desirable  quarters  on  the 
corner  of  Spring  and  Warren  streets,  is  one 
of  the  representative  business  men  of  this 
city.  He  belongs  to  the  oldest  family  of  Bu- 
cyrus, it  being  his  grandfather  who  built  the 
first  structures  in  the  hamlet  that  was  but  a 
frontier  settlement  at  that  time,  erecting  them 
on  his  own  land  that  he  had  secured  from 
the  Government.  Fernando  J.  Norton  was 
born  in  this  city,  Dec.  28,  1859,  and  is  a  son 
of  Jefferson  and  Eleanor  (Byron)  Norton, 
and  a  grandson  of  Samuel  Norton. 

Samuel  Norton  was  a  very  interesting  fig- 
ure in  Crawford  county  history.  At  a  very 
early  day  he  came  to  this  section  of  Ohio  from 
New  England  and  immediately  recognized  that 
the  land  he  had  acquired  was  beautiful  as  to 
location  and  ideal  as  a  future  place  of  homes. 
Before  long  he  had  his  land  surveyed  and  laid 
out  into  building  lots  by  Col.  Hilburn  and 
when  the  time  came  to  give  the  proposed  city 
a  name  he  chose  the  given  name  of  a  personal 
friend,  which  was  Cyrus,  prefixing  the  ad- 
jective beau,  abbreviated,  which  indicated  the 
beauty  of  the  landscape,  surrounded  as  it  is 
by  fertile  plains  and  watered  by  the  Sandusky 
River.  Hence  came  Beau-Cyrus,  then  short- 
ened to  Bucyrus,  a  city  which  in  every  way 


has  justified  the  hopes  and  ambitions  of  its 
founder.  He  spent  his  remaining  years  here, 
as  did  his  wife,  Mary  (Butler)  Norton. 

Jefferson  Norton,  son  of  Samuel  and  Mary 
(Butler)  Norton,  was  born  Feb.  22,  1824, 
and  he  too  became  a  prominent  factor  in  the 
development  of  the  various  interests  of  Bu- 
cyrus. When  he  reached  manhood  he  em- 
barked in  the  business  of  carriage  manufac- 
turing and  continued  all  through  his  active 
life  and  for  many  years  was  also  in  the  gren- 
house  business  as  the  senior  member  of  the 
firm  of  Norton  &  Elliott.  Although  an  ardent 
Whig  and  later  a  Republican,  he  was  a  politi- 
cian only  so  far  as  good  citizenship  demanded 
and  never  accepted  public  office.  He  was  lib- 
eral in  his  contributions  to  public  movements 
and  to  charities  and  was  generous  in  his  su- 
port  of  the  Baptist  church,  of  which  he  was 
a  member.  His  death  occurred  Aug.  20,  1876. 
He  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to  Eleanor  Byron, 
who  was  born  in  1822,  who  came  of  a  noble 
Irish  family.  Mrs.  Norton  died  in  1878.  Her 
parents  were  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith 
but  she  was  a  Protestant.  Six  children  were 
born  to  them,  namely:  Flora,  the  widow  of 
Oswald  E.  Gravell,  who  resides  at  Cleve- 
land; Charles,  who  resides  in  the  far  West; 
Byron,  who  is  ticket  agent  and  telegraph  op- 
erator for  the  Rio  Grande  Railroad  at  Den- 
ver, Colo.;  Hattie,  the  wife  of  Charles  Wy- 
burg,  who  resides  at  Denver;  Fernando  J., 
and  one  who  died  early. 

Fernando  J.  Norton  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  city  and  very  early  dis- 
played a  taste  for  his  present  line  of  work. 
For  a  time  he  was  engaged  in  railroading  and 
became  a  qualified  engineer  on  the  T.  8:  O.  C. 
Railroad.  In  the  meanwhile  his  greenhouse 
business  developed  so  that  he  found  it  neces- 
sary to  give  it  his  entire  attention  and  from 
a  mere  window  garden  it  has  grown  to  nearly 
a  whole  city  block  and  more  than  15,000 
square  feet  of  glass.  His  trade  is  both  retail 
and  wholesale  and  he  supplies  choice  plants 
and  cut  flowers  for  every  occasion,  having  his 
greenhouses  fully  equipped  with  modern  ap- 
pliances. 

Mr.  Norton  was  married  first  to  Miss  Anna 
L.  Adams,  who  was  born  near  Galion,  O.,  in 
October,  i8qg,  and  died  at  Mansfield,  O.,  in 
1910.     Of  their  six  children  one  died  in  in- 


824 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


fancy.  The  following  survive:  Myrtle  B., 
who  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  Joseph  Daley,  of  Ober- 
line,  Tex. ;  Arthur  F.,  who  is  associated  in 
business  with  his  father,  and  who  has  one  son, 
Edwin;  Fairy  E.,  a  graduate  of  Neff  College, 
who  is  a  teacher  of  elocution  and  conductor 
of  the  Norton  Concert  Company  and  is  a 
matron  in  the  order  of  the  Eastern  Star; 
Mable,  who  resides  at  home;  and  Harry 
James,  who  is  with  his  father's  business.  Mr. 
Norton  was  married  (second)  to  Miss  Helen 
W.  Roehr,  a  daughter  of  Charles  Roehr,  of 
Bucyrus,  an  educated  and  accomplished  lady. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Norton  are  members  of  the 
Eastern  Star,  in  which  she  has  been  an  ofiScial. 
Mr.  Norton  is  a  member  also  of  Demas  Lodge, 
Knights  of  Pythias;  of  the  Royal  Arcanum; 
is  past  commander  in  the  Maccabees;  is  a 
Mason  in  all  branches  here,  and  belongs  also 
to  the  I.  O.  U.  A.  M.  and  the  Royal  Home. 

DAVID  GRAHAM,  who  is  well  known  as 
a  citizen  and  as  a  judicious  and  successful 
farmer  all  through  Crawford  county,  owns  197 
acres  of  fine  land  situated  in  Bucyrus  township, 
on  which  he  has  lived  for  many  years.  He 
was  born  in  Seneca  county,  O.,  and  is  a  son 
of  Richard  and  Mary  Ann  (Smith)  Graham. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Graham  were  born  in 
Ireland  and  after  coming  to  America  lived  in 
Seneca  county,  O.,  where  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them:  David;  Ellen,  who 
married  Christopher  Bowman ;  Richard ;  Mary 
and  Margaret,  twins,  the  former  of  whom  be- 
came the  wife  of  Charles  Ebel;  David;  John; 
Sarah  E. ;  Martha,  who  married  Monroe  Un- 
derwood; and  James.  Richard  Graham  fol- 
lowed farming  as  an  occupation.  Both  he 
and  his  wife  are  now  deceased,  their  burial 
being  in  the  Episcopal  cemetery  at  Bucyrus. 

With  his  brothers  and  sisters,  David  Graham 
attended  the  district  schools  in  boyhood,  after 
which,  as  soon  as  old  enough,  he  began  to 
take  care  of  himself  and  worked  by  the  month 
on  farms.  He  thus  gained  a  great  deal  of 
experience  and  finally  rented  a  farm  for  three 
years  and  then  bought  40  acres  of  his  present 
estate  to  which  he  has  added  as  opportunity 
has  been  presented.  It  requires  a  great  deal 
of  hard  work  and  good  management  to  suc- 
cessfully cultivate  almost  200  acres  but  Mr. 
Graham  accomplishes  it. 


On  March  18,  1882,  Mr.  Graham  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Mary  McHenry,-  a  daughter  of 
Caleb  and  Mary  (Palmer)  McHenry.  To 
Mr.  McHenry's  first  marriage  the  following 
children  were  born:  Curtis,  Emma,  Milord, 
Mary,  Esther  and  Joseph.  To  his  second  mar- 
riage, with  Addie  Rex,  four  children  were 
born:  Mattie,  Orpha,  Myland  and  William. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Graham  sons  and  daughters 
have  been  born  and  some  of  these  have  estab- 
lished homes  of  their  own,  while  others  still 
remain  under  the  safe  old  home  roof  with 
father  and  mother.  Anna  Z.  married  Edward 
Rogers.  James  married  Cleo  Wistman  and 
they  have  three  children :  Walter,  Arthur  and 
Laverne.  Richard  Chloe  married  Belle  Ober- 
lander  and  they  have  two  children :  Ethel  and 
Inez.  Mildred,  Kenneth,  Ivan,  Burt,  Mary 
and  David  Elmine,  live  at  home.  The  family 
belongs  to  the  United  Brethren  church.  In 
his  political  sentiments,  Mr.  Graham  is  a  Re- 
publican and  fraternally  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias,  at  Bucyrus. 

J.  W.  SPIEGEL,  who  resides  on  his  well 
improved  farm  of  180  acres,  which  is  situated 
six  and  one-half  miles  northwest  of  Bucyrus, 
O.,  in  Holmes  township,  Crawford  county, 
was  born  just  one  mile  north  and  one  east  of 
his  present  place,  in  1869,  and  is  a  son  of 
John  A.  and  Amanda  (Miller)   Spiegel. 

John  A.  Spiegel  was  born  in  Germany  and 
was  three  years  old  when  his  parents  brought 
him  to  America.  They  came  to  Crawford 
county,  O.,  and  were  among  its  early  settlers 
and  among  its  best  class  of  citizens.  John  A. 
Spiegel  followed  agricultural  pursuits  through 
life,  and  at  the  time  of  death  owned  120  acres 
of  land  northeast  of  this  farm,  which  he  had 
cleared  up  from  the  forest.  He  married 
Amanda  Miller,  who  was  born  in  Crawford 
county  and  they  had  five  children,  namely: 
Ella,  who  is  deceased;  J.  W.,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  Edward  and  Winfield,  both  of 
whom  live  in  Holmes  township;  and  Wesley, 
who  is  deceased. 

J.  W.  Spiegel  grew  up  on  his  father's  farm 
and  obtained  his  education  in  the  township 
schools.  He  has  made  farming  his  business 
in  life,  early  taking  charge  of  affairs  on  the 
home  place  and  from  there  came  to  his  pres- 
ent farm   in   1901.     The  excellent  improve- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


825 


ments  seen  on  every  side  prove  that  Mr.  Spie- 
gel takes  interest  and  pride  in  his  home.  Gen- 
eral farming  and  stock  raising  are  carried  on 
and  all  the  farm  industries  are  conducted  in 
so  systematic  a  manner  that  they  result  profit- 
ably. 

Mr.  Spiegel  was  married  to  Miss  Nettie  Fra- 
lick,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Henry  Fralick,  who 
still  survives,  now  well  along  in  life,  and  lives 
on  his  farm  north  of  here.  Five  children 
have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spiegel :  Amy, 
Minnie,  Charles,  Dorothy  and  Hazel,  all  of 
whom  sufvive  except  Hazel,  who  was  the  sec- 
ond born.  The  farnily  attend  the  United 
Brethren  church.  Mr.  Spiegel  gives  his  polit- 
ical support  to  the  Democratic  party. 

MARTIN  F.  SEIBEL,  superintendent  of 
the  Crawford  County  Infirmary,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  and  owner  of  40  acres  of  excellent 
land  in  Jefferson  township,  was  born  in  that 
township,  March  4,  1862,  and  is  a  son  of  John 
Nicholas  and  Margaret  (Schellhass)  Seibel. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Seibel  were  born  in 
Germany  and  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1846,  previous  to  marriage.  They  then  came 
immediately  to  Crawford  county,  where  the 
father  worked  on  farms  and  also  in  stone 
quarries,  an  industrious  and  reliable  man.  Of 
their  family  Martin  F.  was  the  youngest  born. 
The  others  were:  Elizabeth,  who  is  the 
widow  of  Carl  Lyon  and  lives  at  Oakland, 
Cal. ;  George,  who  is  deceased;  Philip  and 
John,  twins,  the  former  of  whom  is  deceased, 
while  the  latter  lives  at  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Martin  F.  Seibel  attended  school  at  Lees- 
ville,  O.,  in  boyhood  and  afterward  spent  two 
years  as  a  student  in  college  at  Ada,  O.,  and 
thus  prepared  himself  for  teaching.  For  20 
years  Mr.  Seibel  taught  school,  for  13  of  these 
in  the  country  and  for  seven  at  Leesville,  at 
which  place  he  taught  for  six  years  in  the 
high  school.  Although  he  was  so  continuously 
engaged  with  his  educational  duties,  Mr.  Seibel 
found  time  to  pay  some  attention  to  farming 
and  poultry  raising  and  also  learned  the  stone 
mason  trade,  engaging  in  this  work  during 
his  summer  vacations.  In  1906  he  retired 
from  the  educational  field  and  also  gave  up 
work  at  his  trade,  his  industry  having  brought 
him  independence,  and  after  that  he  gave  much 
attention  to  farming  and  poultry  raising.     In 


1907  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Farmers' 
Institute  for  a  term  of  two  years,  in  which 
body  he  was  very  active,  urging  progressive 
methods  and  increase  of  agricultural  knowl- 
edge. 

On  March  31,  1885,  Mr.  Seibel  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Lucetta  Ludwig,  a  daughter  of 
John  and  Maria  (Rettig)  Ludwig.  The  father 
of  Mrs.  Seibel  was  born  in  Germany,  in  which 
country  he  was  a  shoemaker,  but  became  a 
farmer  after  coming  to  Ohio.  He  married 
Maria  Rettig,  who  was  born  in  Seneca  county, 
O.,  and  both  are  now  deceased.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Ludwig  the  following  children  were  born : 
Caroline,  who  married  Adam  Hawk;  John; 
Leonard,  who  is  deceased;  Henry;  Catherine, 
who  married  Peter  Bauer;  Lucetta,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Mr.  Seibel ;  Elona  J.,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Oliver  Jacobs;  and  Ettie,  who  is  the  wife 
of  John  Fetter.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seibel  have 
five  children :  Fern,  who  is  the  wife  of  Elihu 
Bogan;  Vera  Fay,  who  is  the  wife  of  Harvey 
Pfahler  and  has  one  daughter,  Marie;  Haz- 
lette;  George  Dewey  and  Voyle.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Seibel  are  members  of  the  U.  B.  church 
at  Bucyrus. 

In  politics,  Mr.  Seibel  is  a  Democrat  and 
served  two  terms  as  township  clerk  of  Jeffer- 
son township  prior  to  being  elected  superin- 
tendent of  the  Crawford  County  Infirmary, 
an  office  that  was  tendered  him  without  any 
solicitation  on  his  part.  He  is  well  qualified 
for  this  position  of  responsibility,  and  as  a 
man,  enjoys  the  confidence  of  his  fellow  citi- 
zens, irrespective  of  party.  He  has  served  in 
numerous  important  positions,  was  treasurer  of 
the  Teachers'  Institute  for  two  terms,  has  been 
trustee  of  the  U.  B.  church  and  is  president  of 
the  cemetery  association.  He  belongs  to  the 
Patrons  of  Husbandry  and  to  the  Junior  Order 
of  United  American  Mechanics. 

CHARLES  VOLLMER,*  a  highly  re- 
spected retired  business  man  of  Bucyrus,  O., 
for  many  years  was  active  both  in  business 
and  in  politics  and  served  four  years  as  sher- 
iff of  Crawford  county,  O.  He  was  born  in 
Wurtemberg,  Germany,  March  13,  1852,  and 
is  a  son  of  John  and  Dorothy  (Stahl)  Voll- 
mer. 

The  father  and  mother  of  Mr.  Vollmer  were 
both  born  in  Germany,  he  in  1819  and  she  in 


826 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


1818,  both  coming  of  sturdy  and  respected 
parentage.  John  Vollmer  was  a  son  of  John 
VoUmer,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  Napoleonic 
wars  and  was  one  of  the  1,000  brave  men 
that  marched  with  that  mighty  army  to  Mos- 
cow, this  handful  being  all  that  finally  strag- 
gled back.  He  survived  however,  to  the  age 
of  70  years  and  left  a  large  family  of  descend- 
ants, one  son  yet  surviving  in  the  person  of 
Jacob  Vollmer,  a  venerable  citizen  of  New 
Washington,  O.  With  his  brother,  John  Voll- 
mer, he  came  to  America  after  serving  in 
the  German  Revolution  of  1848. 

John  Vollmer  (2),  father  of  Charles  Voll- 
mer, grew  to  manhood  in  Germany  and  learned 
the  family  trade  of  miller,  one  that  had  been 
followed  by  his  father  and  grandfather.  He 
married  and  became  the  father  of  12  chil- 
dren and  after  some  of  the  older  ones  came 
to  America,  in  1868,  he  and  wife  also 
crossed  the  ocean  and  finally  reached  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  where  the  latter  died  in  1872, 
he  surviving  to  be  80  years  of  age.  They 
were  German  Lutherans  in  religious  faith. 
Of  the  children  who  came  to  the  United  States 
there  are  but  two  surviving :  Charles  and  Mrs. 
Louisa  Fritzmeyer,  the  latter  of  whom  re- 
sides at  New  Washington,  O. 

Charles  Vollmer  was  16  years  of  age  when 
he  left  Germany  for  America,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  joining  an  older  brother,  John  Voll- 
mer, who  had  come  to  Ohio  in  1866.  The 
latter  died  at  New  Washington  when  aged 
42  years  and  was  survived  by  one  son  and 
five  daughters.  From  Germany,  Charles  Voll- 
mer went  to  Hull,  England,  and  from  there 
to  Liverpool,  where  he  took  passage  on  a 
vessel  for  New  York,  where  he  was  safely 
landed  and  immediately  made  his  way  to  New 
Washington,  O.  He  had  already  had  two 
years  of  experience  in  a  blacksmith  shop  and 
soon  found  work  at  this  trade  in  his  new  home 
and  shortly  afterward  started  his  own  shop 
and  continued  until  1897,  in  which  year  he 
was  elected  county  sheriff.  He  made  an  ad- 
mirable officer  in  that  as  in  other  positions  to 
which  he  was  called  by  his  fellow  citizens,  serv- 
ing in  the  city  council  and  for  many  years  as 
city  marshal.  In  June,  1902,  he  came  to  Bucy- 
rus  and  established  a  restaurant  at  No.  210 
North  Sandusky  avenue,  which  he  conducted 
until  October,  191 1,  when  he  laid  aside  busi- 


ness responsibilities  and  is  enjoying  well  earned 
rest. 

Mr.  Vollmer  was  married  (first)  at  Lansing, 
Mich.,  to  Miss  Catherine  Roller,  who  was  born 
in  Michigan,  of  German  ancestry,  and  died 
there  June  6,  1877,  leaving  two  sons:  Fred- 
erick, who  is  purchasing  agent  for  the  Carroll 
Machine  and  Steel  Works,  at  Bucyrus;  and 
Benjamin,  who  is  a  resident  of  Lansing,  Mich. 
Mr.  Vollmer  was  married  (second)  at  New 
Washington,  O.,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Walter, 
who  was  born,  reared  and  educated  in  Cran- 
berry township,  Crawford  county,  and  is  a 
daughter  of  Frederick  and  Barbara  (Trem- 
bler) Walter,  the  former  of  whom  was  born 
in  Germany  and  the  latter  in  Crawford  county. 
The  mother  of  Mrs.  Vollmer  died  some  40 
years  since  but  the  father  survived  until  De- 
cember, 1910.  They  were  members  of  the 
German  Lutheran  church.  They  had  two 
sons  John  and  Jacob,  both  of  whom  live  in 
Crawford  county,  and  two  daughters,  Mrs. 
Vollmer  and  Mrs.  Mary  Brown,  who  resides 
with  her  four  daughters  in  Columbus. 

Seven  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Vollmer,  namely:  William,  who  lives  at  St. 
Paul,  Minn.;  Rosa,  who  is  the  wife  of  George 
Blumenschein,  of  Bucyrus,  and  has  an  adopted 
son;  Charles,  who  is  associated  with  his 
brother  William,  at  St.  Paul;  John  who  is  in 
business  at  Bucjrrus;  Ruth,  who  is  cashier  in 
a  business  house  at  Buc3a"us;  and  Martha  and 
Elizabeth,  both  of  whom  are  students.  Mr. 
Vollmer  is  a  Knight  Templar  Mason  and  be- 
longs also  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Mac- 
cabees, the  Elks  and  the  Odd  Fellows,  being 
past  grand  master  of  the  last  organization.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 

ULYSSES  GRANT  HARVEY,  a  well 
known  resident  of  Bucyrus  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  who  resides  on  the  old  home 
farm  of  211  acres,  being  one  of  the  heirs  of 
the  late  Andrew  Jackson  Harvey,  was  born  in 
Bucyrus  township,  March  4,  1867,  and  is  a 
son  of  Andrew  Jackson  and  Elizabeth  (Price) 
Harvey. 

The  Harvey  and  Price  names  are  very  fa- 
miliar ones  in  Pennsylvania ,  in  which  state 
Andrew  J.  Harvey  and  wife  were  born.  In 
early  married  life  they  came  to  Crawford 
county  and  for  many  years  Andrew  J.  Harvey 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


827 


was  a  successful  farmer  in  Bucyrus  township 
and  one  of  its  most  respected  citizens.  His 
death  occurred  in  the  fall  of  1903  and  his 
burial  was  in  the  Bucyrus  cemetery.  He  was 
an  intelligent  and  public  spirited  man  in  all 
that  related  to  the  section  in  which  he  made 
his  home  and  he  gave  support  to  educational 
and  religious  enterprises.  His  widow  sur- 
vives and  still  occupies  the  old  homestead. 
The  children,  six  in  number,  were:  Ollie, 
Lawrence,  Minnie,  Ulysses  Grant,  Clay  M. 
and  Nettie. 

Ulysses  G.  Harvey  obtained  his  education 
in  the  public  schools  and  has  spent  his  life  on 
the  homestead,  where,  under  his  father's  di- 
rection, he  was  trained  along  agricultural  lines. 
He  still  remains  with  his  mother  and  carries 
on  the  industries  that  are  necessary  on  so 
large  an  estate.  His  parents  reared  him  in 
the  Presbyterian  church.  Like  his  late  father 
he  is  a  Republican  in  National  affairs  but  in 
local  matters  frequently  uses  his  own  judg- 
ment. For  some  years  he  has  been  identified 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  at  Bucyrus,  and 
takes  much  interest  in  the  work  and  aims  of 
this  world-wide  fraternal  organization. 

EDWARD  A.  SPIEGEL,  whose  home 
farm  lies  in  Holmes  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  five  miles  northwest  of  Bucyrus, 
O.,  was  bom  in  this  township,  Feb.  21,  1869, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  A.  Spiegel,  one  of  the  old 
settlers  of  this  section. 

Edward  A.  Spiegel  attended  the  public 
schools  and  then  chose  farming  as  his  business 
in  life,  preparing  for  the  future  on  the  home 
farm.  In  1892  he  came  to  his  present  farm 
of  80  acres  and  additionally  has  two  other 
tracts  in  this  township,  one  containing  40  acres 
and  the  other  39  acres.  Mr.  Spiegel  is  an 
enterprising  man  and  believes  in  improve- 
ments, hence  his  lands  have  never  been  neg- 
lected and  his  buildings  are  equal  to  any  in 
the  township,  his  handsome  residence  having 
been  erected  in  1899.  This  place  is  known 
as  Center  Farm,  and  Mr.  Spiegel  engages 
in  general  agriculture,  raising  excellent  crops 
and  considerable  stock,  his  market  for  his  ex- 
tra produce  being  Bucyrus. 

In  1 89 1  Mr.  Spiegel  was  married  to  Miss 
Matilda  Thatcher,  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Thatcher  of  Wyandot  county,  where  he  for- 


merly was  a  farmer  and  lumberman.  He  mar- 
ried Naomi  Hall,  who  survives  but  he  died 
when  Mrs.  Spiegel  was  eight  years  old.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spiegel  the  following  children 
have  been  born:  Neal,  born  Nov.  19,  1895, 
who  is  his  father's  capable  assistant;  Naomi, 
who  was  born  March  10,  1900;  Esther,  who 
was  born  Jan.  11,  1902;  Edith,  who  was  born 
March  20,  1904;  and  Catherine,  who  was  born 
Aug.  21,  1910  and  died  Sept.  17,  1910.  Mr. 
Spiegel  and  family  are  members  of  the  United 
Brethren  church  in  Holmes  township.  In  pol- 
itics he  thinks  for  himself  and  votes  inde- 
pendently. 

JAMES  O.  CRIDER,  owner  and  proprietor 
of  a  general  store  at  Leesville,  O.,  is  a  mem- 
ber of  one  of  the  old  Crawford  county  fam- 
ilies, his  grandparents,  Daniel  Crider  and  wife 
having  come  to  this  part  of  Ohio  from  Penn- 
sylvania at  a  very  early  day.  He  was  bom  in 
Jefferson  township,  Crawford  county,  in  Au- 
gust, 1878,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary 
(Ashcroft)  Crider. 

John  Crider  was  born  in  Crawford  county, 
O.,  and  spent  his  life  here  mainly  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  was  a  man  of 
good  standing  in  his  community,  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  a  sup- 
porter of  law  and  order.  His  death  occurred 
in  May,  1906.  He  married  Mary  Ashcroft, 
who  still  survives,  residing  at  Leesville,  and 
they  had  the  following  children:  Frank;  Ilo, 
who  is  deceased;  Lulu,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Frank  Lutz;  William;  Nellie;  Lyda,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Chauncy  Channel;  Sidney,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Charles  Gledhill ;  James  O. ;  and 
Ressie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Allen  Smith. 

James  O.  Crider  obtained  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  and  afterward  leamed  the 
stone  mason  trade  and  followed  the  same  un- 
til October,  191 1,  when  he  purchased  the  stock 
and  good  will  of  J.  P.  Herr,  a  merchant  at 
Leesville,  and  has  continued  in  the  general 
mercantile  line  ever  since.  He  carries  a  very 
well  assorted  stock  and  enjoys  patronage 
drawn  from  the  town  and  surrounding  coun- 
try. He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  views 
but  has  no  desire  to  hold  public  office. 

On  Oct.  19,  1905,  Mr.  Crider  was  married 
to  Miss  Mary  Herr,  who  was  born  in  Craw- 
ford county  and  is  a  daughter  of  J.  P.  and 


828 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Catherine  (Reibel)  Herr  and  a  granddaughter 
of  John  Peter  Herr.  The  mother  of  Mrs. 
Crider  died  on  Aug.  20,  19 10,  and  her  burial 
was  in  Vernon  township.  The  father  still 
carries  on  his  farm  industries.  Mrs.  Crider 
was  the  third  born  in  her  parents'  family,  the 
others  being:  John,  who  is  deceased;  Eliza- 
beth, who  is  the  wife  of  Harvey  Hahn;  and 
Magdalena,  William  and  Catherine,  all  of 
whom  are  deceased. 

ELLIOTT  A.  SMITH,*  foreman  in  the 
painting  department  of  the  Toledo  &  Ohio 
Central  Railroad  main  shops  at  Bucyrus,  O., 
has  been  connected  with  this  corporation  since 
1885  and  has  filled  his  present  responsible  of- 
fice since  1897.  He  was  born  July  20,  1845, 
at  Mansfield,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  Cyrus  A. 
and  Jane  (Rowland)  Smith.  Cyrus  A.  Smith 
was  born  in  Broome  county,  N.  Y.  and  from 
there  came  to  Ashland  county,  O.,  in  young 
manhood.  There  he  was  married  to  Jane  Row- 
land, who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  came 
to  Ohio  with  her  parents  in  181 6.  They  lo- 
cated on  untilled  land  in  a  wild  section  and  she 
often  recalled  seeing  Indians  in  her  youth  and 
of  sitting,  on  the  knee  of  that  strange  old 
philosopher,  Johnny  Appleseed,  who,  in  her 
day,  went  up  and  down  the  country,  scattering 
his  apple  seeds,  that  he  had  faith  to  believe 
would  fill  the  land  with  bounteous  orchards. 

A  few  years  after  marriage,  Cyrus  A.  Smith 
moved  to  Mansfield,  O.,  where  he  engaged  in 
merchandising  during  the  rest  of  his  active 
life,  spending  the  closing  days  with  his  son 
Elliott  A.,  at  Bucyrus,  where  his  death  oc- 
curred in  1882.  He  had  survived  his  wife 
for  two  years,  her  death  occurring  at  Savanna, 
Ashland  county,  where  they  had  lived  for  a 
few  years.  Of  their  children,  Ellott  A.,  was 
the  only  one  to  reach  maturity.  They  were 
Baptists  in  religious  faith  and  practice. 

Elliott  A.  Smith  was  mainly  reared  at  Mans- 
field and  there  learned  his  trade  and  in  1885, 
when  he  came  first  to  the  Toledo  &  O.  C.  Rail- 
way, it  was  as  a  letter  and  ornamental  sign 
painter.  He  thoroughly  understood  every 
branch  of  the  business,  however,  and  so  proved 
his  qualifications  that  he  was  rapidly  pro- 
moted and  finally  was  made  foreman  of  his 
department. 

Mr.  Smith  was  married  at  Mansfield  to  Miss 


Ella  Chandler,  who  was  born  in  that  city,  a 
daughter  of  Dr.  J.  M.  and  Rachel  E.  (Mount) 
Chandler,  old  residents  there.     Dr.  Chandler 
was  born  in  181 7   and  died  in   1863.     His 
widow   survived   into   extreme   old  age,   her 
death  occurring  Jan.    10,   1912,  in  her  87th 
year.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  have  two  sons: 
Rowland  M.,  who  is  an  artist  on  what  is  per- 
haps rightly  termed,  the  world's  greatest  news- 
paper, the  Chicago  Tribune,  and  who  is  mar- 
ried and  has  one  daughter,  Janet;  and  Charles, 
a  graduate  of  the  Western  Dental  College, 
Kansas  City,  who  has  been  established  in  prac- 
tice at  St.  Louis,  for  three  years,  and  who 
married  Elizabeth  Peckham. 

Politically  Mr.  Smith  has  always  been  a 
Republican.  During  the  Civil  war  he  served 
four  months  in  Co.  A,  163d  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  and 
was  present  at  the  blowing  up  of  the  mines 
in  front  of  Petersburg,  Va.  He  is  a  member 
of  Keller  Post,  No.  108,  G.  A.  R.,  of  which 
he  is  adjutant.  He  belongs  also  to  the  Royal 
Arcanum  and  formerly  was  identified  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias. 

ALBERT  L.  BEASTON,  who  is  a  mem- 
ber of  one  of  the  old  and  substantial  families 
of  Crawford  county,  residing  five  and  one- 
half  miles  south  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  on  the  Marion 
road,  where  he  has  120  acres  of  finely  im- 
proved land,  owns  a  second  farm,  containing 
84  acres,  which  lies  to  the  west  of  his  home 
tract.  He  was  born  in  Bucyrus  township, 
Jan.  13,  1870,  and  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and 
Mary  (Drolesbaugh)  Beaston. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Beaston  were  born  in 
Pennsylvania  and  came  of  German  ancestry. 
For  many  years  they  were  well  known  and 
highly  esteemed  residents  of  Crawford  county, 
where  the  father  was  a  successful  farmer  and 
a  good  citizen  but  was  never  willing  to  accept 
public  office.  Both  father  and  mother  of  Mr. 
Beaston  have  passed  away,  their  burial  being 
in  the  Mt.  Zion  cemetery  in  Bucyrus  town- 
ship. They  had  three  children:  John  A.; 
Anna,  now  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of 
Harry  Price ;  and  Albert  L. 

Albert  L.  Beaston  has  devoted  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  to  agricultural  pursuits,  be- 
ginning to  assist  his  father  as  soon  as  his 
school  days  were  over  and  continuing  along 
the  same  line  up  to  the  present.    General  farm- 


DAVID   CHRISTIE 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


831 


ing  is  his  main  industry,  his  raising  of  stock 
being  limited  to  just  enough  for  his  own  use. 

On  Oct.  1 6,  1895,  ^r.  Beaston  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Lavena  M.  Welsh,  a  daughter 
of  George  H.  and  Amelia  (Palmer)  Welsh, 
former  very  highly  respected  residents  of 
this  township,  where  the  father  was  a  farmer. 
They  are  survived  by  two  daughters:  Effie 
M.,  who  is  the  wife  of  E.  E.  Harvey;  and 
Mrs.  Beaston.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beaston  have 
one  daughter,  Wilma  A.  The  family  belongs 
to  the  Scioto  Methodist  Episcopal  thurch.  Mr. 
Beaston  has  always  believed  in  the  principles 
of  the  Republican  party. 

DAVID  CHRISTIE,  deceased,  who,  for 
many  years  was  a  busy  and  highly  respected 
citizen  of  Bucyrus  and  an  honorable  man  in 
every  relation  of  life,  was  born  at  Cross  Gate, 
Fifeshire,  Scotland,  Oct.  17,  1832,  a  son  of 
Ebenezer  and  Catherine  (Anderson)  Christie, 
and  a  grandson  of  Captain  Anderson,  who 
was,  in  his  day,  a  well  known  military  man 
and  Scotch  patriot. 

David  Christie  learned  to  be  a  blacksmith 
and  general  machinist  and  with  this  knowl- 
edge, in  1852,  came  to  the  United  States  after 
serving  three  years  in  the  shipyards  at  Grav- 
enstock,  Scotland.  For  some  years  he  fol- 
lowed his  trades  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  at 
Cincinnati  and  Chillicothe,  O.  Later  he  trav- 
eled over  other  sections  of  the  country,  work- 
ing at  Cochran,  Ind.,  and  at  points  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  while  residing  at  Maysville,  in  the 
latter  state,  enlisted  and  served  three  months 
in  the  Civil  War.  After  that  he  returned  to 
the  above  mentioned  Ohio  cities,  easily  find- 
ing employment  in  the  different  railroad 
shops,  as  he  was  so  skilled  a  workman.  In 
1879  he  came  to  Bucyrus,  being  then  in  the 
employ  of  the  T.  &  O.  Railroad  and  later 
became  foreman  of  the  railroad  shops  here  in 
the  blacksmith  department,  where  he  contin- 
ued until  1892,  when  he  resigned  in  order  to 
enjoy  some  years  of  ease  and  comfort  after 
many  years  of  hard  work.  These  were  af- 
forded him,  his  death  occurring  Dec.  16,  1908. 
He  was  a  man  who  was  held  in  much  esteem 
for  his  many  sterling  qualities.  Politically 
he  was  a  Republican  and  at  one  time  was  a 
member  of  the  city  council.  From  boyhood 
he  had  been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church. 


Mr.  Christie  was  married  (first)  at  Chilli- 
cothe, to  Margaret  Dickson,  who  died  in  that 
city  in  February,  1865,  leaving  four  children: 
James  and  Anna  Jane  McCall,  both  of  whom 
are  deceased;  Ezenezer,  who  lives  at  E.  St. 
Louis;  and  David,  who  now  lives  at  Toledo. 
At  Aurora,  Ind.,  Mr.  Christie  was  married 
(second)  on  Jan.  24,  1866,  to  Mrs.  Agnes 
Laird,  who  was  born  near  Belfast,  Ireland,  in 
1833,  a  granddaughter  of  James  and  Nanna 
Marshall,  who  left  Scotland  and  settled  in  Ire- 
land. Their  second  son,  Samuel,  was  born 
near  Belfast  in  1799,  married  Jennie  Berk- 
ley and  after  the  birth  of  three  children — 
Agnes,  Mary  and  Eliza — determined  to  come 
to  America.  They  crossed  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
in  the  sailing  vessel,  the  Thomas  P.  Cope,  and 
after  a  voyage  of  seven  weeks  on  a  rough  sea, 
were  safely  landed  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.  They 
located  at  Aurora,  Ind.,  from  which  place 
they  later  moved  to  a  farm  of  80  acres  in 
Dearborn  county.  There  the  father  developed 
a  productive  farm  from  very  discouraging 
original  conditions  and  replaced  the  old  log 
cabin  with  a  comfortable  residence.  He  died 
there  in  December,  1852,  when  aged  53  years, 
having  survived  his  wife,  who  died  in  1849, 
aged  but  37  years.  Additions  were  made  to 
their  family  after  they  settled  in  Indiana,  as 
follows:  James,  who  died  in  infancy;  Jane, 
a  resident  of  Bellefontaine,  O.,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Ebenezer  Christie;  and  Sarah  R.,  who 
is  the  widow  of  Michael  Tracy,  residing  in 
Indiana. 

The  first  marriage  of  Mrs.  Christie  took 
place  in  1854,  to  Robert  Laird,  who  died  in 
1857,  leaving  two  children:  Jennie  B.  and 
Mary  E.,  who  died  in  early  life.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Christie  the  following  children  were 
born,  all  of  whom  survived:  Margaret,  who 
is  the  wife  of  John  De  Hart,  of  Bucyrus,  and 
has  three  sons — Laird,  David  J.  and  Andrew; 
Catherine,  who  is  the  wife  of  George  Stuck- 
ert,  and  has  four  children — Nayvere,  Robert, 
Donald  and  Anna  Jane;  Mary,  who  is  the 
wife  of  William  McKinley,  a  railroad  con- 
ductor, living  at  Toledo,  O.,  and  has  three 
children — Hobart,  Walter  and  Agnes;  Agnes, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Murray  Lidey,  and  lives 
with  her  mother;  and  Robert,  who  resides  at 
Toledo  and  who  is  married  and  has  three 
children — Robert,  Don  and  Helen. 


832 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


PETER  BAER,  who  is  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Tod  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  and 
one  of  the  successful  agriculturists,  resides 
on  his  well  improved  farm  of  130  acres,  which 
is  situated  one  and  one-half  miles  southwest 
of  Oceola,  O.  He  was  born  in  Allegany 
county,  Md.,  Feb.  14,  1846,  and  is  a  son  of 
Peter  and  Mary  (Logsdon)  Baer. 

Peter  Baer,  the  father,  was  born  in  Mary- 
land, where  his  parents  had  settled  when  they 
came  to  America  from  Germany.  He  was 
a  cabinetmaker  by  trade  and  also  followed 
farming  and  auctioneering.  In  185 1  he  moved 
with  his  family  to  Marion  county,  O.,  where 
he  located  on  a  farm  but  died  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  at  the  age  of  52  years.  He  married 
Mary  Logsdon,  who  was  also  a  native  of 
Maryland,  and  she  lived  to  see  her  82d  birth- 
day. Six  children  were  born  to  them,  namely : 
Jonas,  who  died  at  the  age  of  66  years,  in  Cal- 
ifornia; Eli,  who  was  a  farmer  in  Marion 
county  and  died  there  at  the  age  of  82  years; 
Herman,  who  died  in  Marion  county,  when 
aged  70  years;  John,  who  is  a  resident  of 
Marion  county ;  Mrs.  Honora  Ellen  Hord,  who 
lives  at  Clinton,  Hardin  county,  O. ;  and  Peter. 
From  this  branch  of  the  Baer  family  also  de- 
scended George  F.  Baer,  the  coal  baron  of 
Pennsylvania. 

Peter  Baer  attended  the  schools  of  Marion 
county  and  became  proficient  in  his  studies  and 
during  his  last  term  was  called  on  to  assist 
the  teacher.  Afterward  he  worked  as  a  farmer 
on  the  home  place  until  he  moved  to  the  vil- 
lage of  Wyandot,  in  Wyandot  county,  where 
he  was  in  business  until  1873,  when  he  came 
to  Tod  township,  Crawford  county,  and  set- 
tled on  his  present  valuable  farm.  General 
farming  is  his  main  industry  but  he  also  raises 
some  stock,  poultry  and  fruit.  Since  early 
manhood  he  has  been  an  active  and  interested 
citizen  and  his  stability  as  such  has  been  fre- 
quently recognized.  When  only  21  years  old 
he  was  elected  township  clerk  in  Marion  county 
and  continued  in  that  oflfice  as  long  as  he  re- 
mained there.  In  Tod  township  he  was  elected 
township  trustee  on  the  Democratic  ticket  and 
served  four  terms,  still  later  was  made  land 
appraiser  and  at  the  present  time  (19 12)  is 
his  party's  selected  candidate  for  county  com- 
missioner. 

Mr.    Baer   married    Miss   Catherine   Flock, 


who  was  born  at  Bucyrus  but  was  reared  in 
Wyandot  county,   and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren:    Henry  Herman,  who  is  a  teacher  in 
a  high  school  in  Nevada,  and  who  married 
Grace   Burnside,   they  having  an   infant   un- 
named; George  P.,  who  is  a  resident  of  Cleve- 
land, a  judge  of  the  municipal  court  there,  and 
who  married  Elizabeth  Wurtz ;  and  Mary,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Charles  R.  Snyder,  residing  one 
and  one-half  miles  east  of  the  homstead,  and 
has  one  son,   Wilfred.     Mr.  Baer  and  wife 
attend"  the  Lutheran  church. 

FLAVIUS  S.  KEPLER,  whose  valuable 
farm  of  160  acres  is  situated  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  who  is 
one  of  the  stockholders  in  the  Farmers  and 
Citizens  Bank  at  Bucyrus,  is  a  leading  citizen 
of  this  section  of  Crawford  county,  both  as  a 
business  man  and  as  a  politician.  He  was 
born  June  10,  1866,  in  Hocking  county,  O., 
and  is  a  son  of  Lucius  and  Margaret  (Snyder) 
Kepler. 

Lucius  Kepler  is  one  of  the  substantial  farm- 
ers of  Green  township,  Hocking  county,  O.,  a 
prominent  Democrat  and  a  liberal  supporter 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  that 
section.  He  married  Margaret  Snyder  and 
the  following  children  were  born  to  them: 
Flavins  S.;  Julia,  who  is  the  wife  of  Crom- 
well Nelson;  Margaret,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Edward  Hamlin;  John;  Jacob;  Hannah,  who 
is  the  wife  of  James  Lemon;  Barnett;  Hester, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Richard  Herld ;  and  Frank 
and  Grover. 

Flavius  S.  Kepler  had  common  school  ad- 
vantages and  remained  on  the  home  farm  and 
assisted  his  father  until  he  was  19  years  of 
age.  After  leaving  the  farm  he  went  into 
railroad  work  and  continued  for  seven  years 
but  again  resumed  farming  as  his  occupation 
and  for  13  years  operated  his  present  place 
under  rental  before  he  purchased  it  from  C. 
F.  Rexroth.  It  was  the  old  John  Brehman 
homestead,  a  fine  piece  of  property,  which, 
under  Mr.  Kepler's  care  and  good  manage- 
ment, has  been  developed  into  one  of  the  best 
farms  in  Whetstone  township. 

In  November,  1886,  Mr.  Kepler  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Nora  Shumaker,  one  of  the  fol- 
lowing family  of  eleven  children  born  to  Joel 
and  Elmira   (Weatherbee)  Shumaker;  Ange- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


833 


line,  who  is  the  wife  of  William  AUebach; 
Sarah,  who  is  deceased ;  Margaret,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Isaac  Read;  Almeda,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Frank  Benedict;  Ella,  who  is  the  wife  of 
James  Stoneman;  and  Albert,  Charles,  Ed- 
ward, David  and  Nora,  and  Effie,  who  is  de- 
ceased. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kepler  have  four  chil- 
dren :  Russell,  who  married  Catherine  Heiber 
and  has  one  son,  William  Flavius ;  and  Lucius, 
Marie  and  Delia  Alice. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Kepler  is  a  stanch 
Democrat,  was  reared  in  this  party,  his  father 
being  a  strong  party  man  and  an  admirer  and 
supporter  of  the  late  ex-Pres*ident  Cleveland. 
For  seven  years  Mr.  Kepler  served  as  town- 
ship assessor  arid  at  present  is  a  member  of 
the  school  board.  He  belongs  to  that  impor- 
tant party  organization,  the  Democratic  Cen- 
tral Committee.  Mr.  Kepler  is  an  interested 
member  of  the  local  Grange  and  with  his  fam- 
ily attends  the  United  Brethren  church. 

G.  RAYMOND  LICHTY,*  freight  and  pas- 
senger agent  of  the  Toledo  &  Ohio  Central 
Railway,  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  has  been  identified 
with  this  corporation  since  1901  and  through 
ability  and  fidelity  in  a  comparatively  short 
time  won  his  way  from  a  clerkship  to  his 
present  responsible  position.  He  was  born  in 
1880,  at  Bucyrus,  and  is  a  son  of  Adam  J.  and 
a  grandson  of  Peter  Lichty. 

Peter  Lichty  was  born  in  Alsace  Lorraine, 
when  it  was  yet  a  French  province  and  came 
to  the  United  States  in  the  forties,  shortly 
afterward  locating  at  New  Washington,  in 
Crawford  county,  O.  From  there  he  came 
to  Bucyrus,  where  he  followed  his  trade  of 
wagonmaking,  late  in  life  retiring  to  Toledo, 
where  he  died  at  the  home  of  his  eldest  son, 
Peter  Lichty,  his  wife  surviving  him  but  a 
short  time.  They  were  members  of  the  Luth- 
eran church.  They  had  four  sons :  Peter, 
who  resides  at  Toledo,  la. ;  Charles,  deceased, 
who  is  survived  by  children ;  George,  who  is  a 
resident  of  Bucyrus ;  and  Adam  J. 

Adam  J.  Lichty  was  born  at  New  Washing- 
ton, Crawford  county,  O.,  63  years  ago,  and 
is  a  prominent  citizen  of  Bucyrus,  at  present 
serving  in  an  official  capacity.  He  learned 
the  wagonmaking  trade  with  his  father  and 
they  conducted  the  business  together  at  New 
Washington   until   the   older  member   of  the 


firm  went  to  Iowa,  after  which  Adam  J.  oc- 
cupied himself  for  some  years  along  the  same 
line.  In  the  early  part  of  the  Civil  war  he 
enlisted  in  Co.  C,  in  an  Ohio  regiment  of  in- 
fantry, in  which  he  served  for  90  days  and 
at  present  is  an  official  member  of  Keller  Post, 
G.  A.  R.,  of  Bucyrus.  Mr.  Lichty  has  always 
been  a  Democrat  and  a  working  member  of 
his  party.  He  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to 
Anna  Streib,  who  was  born  in  Germany  and 
when  five  years  old  accompanied  her  parents 
to  America.  Conrad  Streib  and  wife  were 
members  of  the  German  Lutheran  church. 
Three  children  were  born  to  Adam  J.  Lichty 
and  wife:  G.  Raymond;  Marcus  H.,  who  is 
in  the  restaurant  business  at  Canton,  O. ;  and 
Robert  C,  who  is  general  superintendent  of 
the  K.  &  M.  Railroad,  at  Charleston,  W.  Va. 

G.  Raymond  Lichty  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  and  ever  since  has  been  en- 
gaged in  railroad  work,  in  1901  beginning  as 
yard  clerk  with  the  Toledo  &  Ohio  Central. 
Later  he  was  employed  in  the  freight  depart- 
ment and  still  later  was  bill  clerk  for  the  de- 
partment as  operated  from  this  center  to  the 
main  offices  at  Columbus.  In  1907  he  was 
advanced  to  his  present  position  in  which  he 
has  given  efficient  and  satisfactory  service  and 
has  five  men  in  his  department. 

Mr.  Lichty  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to  Miss 
Ethel  L.  Frash,  who  was  born  here  in  1882, 
a  daughter  of  Louis  and  Gertrude  (Petero) 
Frash,  residents  of  this  city.  The  father  of 
Mrs.  Lichty  was  born  in  Ohio  and  her  mother 
in  Germany.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lichty  have  one 
daughter,  Dorothea,  who  was  born  June  15, 
1906.  They  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  Mr.  Lichty  is  not  very  active  in  pol- 
itics but  he  votes  with  the  Democratic  party. 

ELMER  ELLSWORTH  HARVEY,  whose 
valuable  farm  of  166  acres  is  situated  in  Bucy- 
rus township,  is  numbered  with  the  prosperous 
agriculturists  of  this  section  and  is  one  of  the 
most  highly  respected  citizens.  He  was  born 
in  Bucyrus  township,  Dec.  30,  1865,  and  is  a 
son  of  George  Washington  and  Elizabeth 
(Failor)  Harvey. 

George  Washington  Harvey  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  and  came  in  early  manhood  to 
Crawford  county,  where  he  followed  farm- 
ing all  his  after  life.    He  married  (first)  Eliza- 


834 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


beth  Failor,  who  was  born  and  died  here  and 
her  burial  was  in  the  Bucyrus  cemetery. 
They  were  faithful  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  Their  family  of  children  consisted 
of  the  following:  William  F.,  Galen  H.,  Effie, 
Elmer  Ellsworth.  He  was  married  (second) 
to  Elizabeth  Neil  and  they  have  two  children : 
D.  N.  and  E.  R. 

Elmer  Ellsworth  Harvey  bears  a  name  that 
has  been  held  in  tender  rememberance  by  the 
loyal  people  of  the  United  States  since  the 
early  days  of  the  Civil  war.  His  boyhood 
was  mainly  devoted  to  school  attendance  and 
since  then  he  has  been  interested  in  farm  pur- 
suits. In  1906  he  purchased  his  present  farm 
from  the  G.  H.  Welsh  estate  and  carries  on 
general  farming  and  stock  raising  as  best  suits 
his  convenience,  being  progressive  and  up-to- 
date  in  his  methods.  He  has  improved  his 
property  as  he  has  considered  advisable  and 
has  recently  built  a  substantial  barn. 

In  1888  Mr.  Harvey  was  married  to  Miss 
Effie  Welsh,  a  daughter  of  the  late  George 
H.  Welsh.  She  has  one  sister,  who  is  the  wife 
of  A.  L.  Beaston,  a  well  known  farmer  in 
Bucyrus  township.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harvey  have 
three  children:  Imo,  Mildred  and  Russell. 
They  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Mr.  Harvey  is  a  very  intelligent,  well 
informed  man  and  as  he  is  perfectly  capable  of 
drawing  conclusions  for  himself  concerning 
public  questions,  he  is  an  independent  voter. 

MRS.  ELIZABETH  ROBERTS,  Sr.,  one 
of  the  best  known  residents  of  Holmes  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  residing  on  her 
valuable  farm  of  40  acres,  but  owns  80  addi- 
tional acres  which  is  rented,  this  latter  tract 
being  located  nine  miles  northwest  of  Bucy- 
rus, was  born  in  that  city  and  is  a  daughter 
of  Lewis  and  Elizabeth  (Fetter)  Trish. 

The  parents  of  Mrs.  Roberts  were  born, 
reared  and  married  in  Germany.  For  two 
years  after  coming  to  the  United  States  they 
lived  in  Pennsylvania  and  then  moved  to  Craw- 
ford county,  0.,  and  the  father  followed 
wagon  making  at  Bucyrus,  later  moving  on  a 
farm  in  Wyandot  county,  where  he  engaged 


in  agricultural  pursuits  until  the  close  of  his 
life,  when  aged  58  years.  Of  his  large  family 
of  children,  nine  reached  mature  years. 

Elizabeth  Trish  grew  to  useful  young  wo- 
manhood under  her  parents'  roof  and  obtained 
a  district  school  education.  In  1854  she  mar- 
ried Daniel  Roberts,  who  was  born  in  Fair- 
field county,  O.  When  he  reached  manhood 
he  took  charge  of  a  tract  of  land  in  Tod  town- 
ship, which  his  father  gave  him  and  which 
Mrs.  Roberts  still  owns.  He  followed  farming 
with  excellent  success  and  provided  well  for 
his  family.  During  the  Civil  war  he  became 
a  soldier  in  the  Union  army,  enlisting  in  Co. 
H,  123d  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  some  time  after- 
ward was  captured  by  the  Confederates  and 
sent  to  the  terrible  prison  at  Salisbury,  N.  C, 
where  neglect  and  hardship  caused  his  death. 
He  left  a  widow  and  son  to  mourn  his  early 
passing  away.  Three  children  were  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roberts:  Robert  Albert,  an 
infant  and  Clara,  the  last  two  named  being  de- 
ceased. Robert  Albert  Roberts,  locally  known 
as  Colonel  Roberts,  was  born  on  the  present 
farm  which  he  rents  from  his"  mother.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Blimm  and  they  have  three 
children :  Daniel,  Glen  and  Daisy.  The  eldest 
was  named  in  remembrance  of  his  grandfather. 
He  married  Edna  Lutz  and  they  have  one  son, 
Wilbur.  Mrs.  Roberts  and  family  attend  the 
Protestant  Methodist  church. 

BURDETT  KIRBY  HOOVER,  who  owns 
and  operates  a  farm  of  80  acres  in  Dallas  town- 
ship, was  born  in  this  township,  Dec.  7,  1870, 
a  son  of  Christian  and  Lorena  (Kirby)  Hoo- 
ver. He  is  a  grandson  of  William  and  Phebe 
(Swisher)  Hoover,  the  former  of  whom  was 
born  in  Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  but  who 
passed  the  greater  part  of  his  life  as  a  farmer 
in  Crawford  county.  By  his  wife,  Phebe, 
who  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  O.,  he  had 
ten  children,  namely:  John  T.,  Emma,  wife 
of  Henry  M.  Welsh ;  Christian ;  George  W. ; 
Margaret,  wife  of  David  E.  Fisher;  Marcel- 
lus;  Alice,  wife  of  Marks  Tea;  Charles  Fre- 
mont; Flora,  wife  of  H.  L.  Weber;  and  Wil- 
liam. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


835 


Christian  Hoover,  father  of  our  subject,  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  and  was  brought 
up  to  agriculture.  Since  he  was  four  years 
old  he  has  resided  on  the  old  Hoover  home- 
stead, which  is  operated  now  by  his  sons,  un- 
der his  direction,  he  having  retired  practically 
from  active  labor.  He  was  married  in  1868 
to  Lorena  Kirby,  who  was  born  in  Crawford 
county,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary 
(Welsh)  Kirby.  Mrs.  Christian  Hoover  died 
Nov.  8,  1909.  Two  brothers  and  a  sister  sur- 
vive her — ^John,  George  and  Emma,  the  last 
mentioned  being  the  wife  of  James  Orr.  The 
children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hoover  were  as 
follows :  Ernest,  who  married  Nonia  Flock 
and  has  four  children — Hugh,  Alice,  Florence 
and  Lucile;  Burdett  K.,  whose  name  heads 
this  article;  Charles  F.,  who  married  Nora 
Kerr  and  has  five  children — Helen,  Wayne, 
Clifford,  Marjorie  and  Dorothy;  Maud;  and 
Madge,  who  is  the  wife  of  Arlington  Blair 
and  has  three  children — Hoover,  Thomas  and 
a  child  unnamed.  Christian  Hoover  is  a  Re- 
publican politically  and  has  served  the  town- 
ship as  trustee,  showing  himself  a  capable  man 
of  affairs.    He  attends  the  M.  E.  church. 

Burdett  K.  Hoover  after  attending  the  com- 
mon schools  in  his  boyhood,  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  farming.  He  worked  under  his  father 
until  he  was  about  29  years  old,  after  which 
he  rented  land  for  six  years,  two  years  of  this 
time  in  Holmes  township  and  four  years  in 
Bucyrus  township.  He  then  bought  his  pres- 
ent farm  of  A.  W.  Blair  and  is  engaged  in 
general  farming,  keeping  enough  stock  for  his 
own  use.  Like  his  father,  he  is  a  Republican, 
and  he  served  as  township  clerk  for  some 
years  and  for  two  years  as  treasurer. 

He  was  married  in  1901  to  Olive  Quaint- 
ance,  a  daughter  of  Aaron  John  and  Mary 
(Heller)  Quaintance.  Mrs.  Hoover's  par- 
ents are  farming  people  of  Holmes  township, 
her  father  being  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war. 
Their  children  are  J.  B.,  Leroy,  Daniel,  Etta, 
wife  of  J.  W.  Dobbins,  Blanche,  wife  of  B. 
S.  Kimmel,  Oscar,  James,  Olive  now  Mrs. 
B.  K.  Hoover,  Orrel,  and  Ona,  wife  of  Al- 
bert Brown.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  B.  K.  Hoover  are 
the  parents  of  two  children ;  Chester,  Laverne 
and  Hazel  Anita.  The  family  attend  the 
United  Brethren  Mt.  Zion  church  in  Dallas 
township. 


HENRY  S.  KROHN,*  one  of  the  highly 
respected  retired  citizens  of  Gallon,  O.,  for 
many  years  has  occupied  his  comfortable  resi- 
dence at  No.  430  Grand  street,  in  front  of 
which  he  set  out  the  maple  trees  which  have 
grown  to  luxuriance,  is  well  known  all  over 
Crawford  county,  for  a  long  period  having 
been  a  popular  educator.  He  was  born  in 
York  county.  Pa.,  Sept.  22,  1840,  and  is  a 
son  of  John  and  Mary  (Snyder)  Krohn. 

Both  the  Krohn  and  Snyder  families  orig- 
inated in  Germany,  but  for  generations  have 
been  of  America  and  before  coming  to  Ohio, 
lived  and  prospered  in  York  county.  Pa.,  and 
there  John  Krohn  was  born,  a  son  of  John 
and  Catherine  (Kreitzer)  Krohn.  He  was  one 
of  a  family  of  nine  children  and  the  eldest. 
He  became  a  farmer  in  York  county.  Pa.,  mar- 
ried and  died  in  1852,  at  the  age  of  59  years. 
After  being  left  a  widow,  Mrs.  Krohn  came 
to  Crawford  county,  O.,  with  her  children 
and  purchased  80  acres  of  land  on  the  out- 
skirts of  Gallon,  her  farm  now  being  a  part 
of  the  city  and  laid  out  in  streets  and  cov- 
ered with  buildings.  Mrs.  Krohn  was  mar- 
ried after  coming  to  Ohio  to  John  Dice,  and 
both  died  here,  Mr.  Dice  being  buried  in  the 
old  Gallon  cemetery.  She  survived  to  the 
age  of  yy  years.  In  every  relation  of  life 
she  was  an  estimable  woman  and  was  a  de- 
his  parents'  children  and  is  the  only  one  liv- 
ing. He  was  reared  to  farm  pursuits  but 
was  more  than  usually  intelligent  as  a  youth 
and  so  applied  himself  to  his  books  that  he 
became  qualified  for  teaching  and  subsequently 
taught  46  terms  of  school,  42  of  these  in  Craw- 
ford county.  He  has,  at  times,  been  otherwise 
occupied,  from  1874  until  1884  being  con- 
nected with  the  Big  Four  Railroad,  and  occa- 
sionally has  followed  the  carpenter  trade  to 
some  extent.  He  has  been  practically  a  con- 
tinuous resident  of  Gallon  since  1872,  and 
his  general  interests  have  been  centered  here. 

Mr.  Krohn  was  married  in  Crawford  county, 
to  Miss  Anna  E.  Swisher,  who  was  born  in 
Jefferson  township,  June  18,  1839,  and  is  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Garberich) 
Swisher.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Krohn  was  born 
in  Crawford  county  and  died  here  when  aged 
60  years.  The  mother  was  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  survived  to  the  age  of  76  years. 
They  were  members  of  the  United  Brethren 


836 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


church.     Mrs.  Krohn  is  the  only  one  remain- 
ing of  their  family  of  children. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Krohn  have  had  the  fol- 
lowing children:  Mary  A.,  who  has  been  a 
teacher  since  the  age  of  17  years  and  is  well 
known  in  educational  circles  and  has  many 
pleasant  social  connections  here;  Ida  Jane, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Hanie  L.  Seif,  residing  at 
Galion;  Estella,  who  is  the  wife  of  Evan  J. 
Healy,  of  Delaware  county,  0.,  and  has  two 
sons — Elbridge  J.  and  Russell  Krohn ;  William 
Franklin,  who  married  and  removed  to  Chi- 
cago, 111.,  and  has  had  two  children,  Willard 
and  Henrietta,  the  latter  of  whom  died  at 
the  age  of  seven  years;  Iva  May,  who  mar- 
ried (first)  John  Cook,  and  (second)  James 
E.  Mateer,  and  who  resides  at  Mt.  Gilead, 
Morrow  county,  O. ;  Ena  J.,  who  married 
William  G.  Line,  of  Galion,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren, Madge  E.  and  Charles  H.  Mr.  Krohn 
and  family  are  active  in  the  United  Brethren 
church.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Krohn  is 
a  Republican. 

JOHN  I.  MILLIKEN,  one  of  the  progres- 
sive and  enterprising  agriculturists  of  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  and  one  of  its  substantial 
citizens,  resides  on  his  one  farm  of  120  acres, 
lying  in  Bucyrus  township,  and  owns  a  second 
farm,  containing  56  acres,  situated  in  Dallas 
township.  He  was  born  in  Juniata  county, 
Pa.,  Jan.  6,  1871,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and 
Sarah  (Innis)  Milliken. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Milliken  were  born  in 
Pennsylvania  and  still  reside  there,  the  father 
being  a  farmer  and  also  a  carpenter.  He  has 
been  identified  with  the  Democratic  party  since 
his  early  manhood  but  has  never  been  a  seeker 
for  public  office.  He  and  wife  are  members 
of  the  United  Presbyterian  church.  They  have 
reared  a  large  family,  as  follows :  Jennie,  who 
is  the  wife  of  William  McGill ;  Alice,  deceased, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Neely  Arnold;  Sarah; 
Charles;  Etta,  who  is  the  wife  of  Warren 
Gray;  Emma,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Mc- 
Cullough;  John  I.;  Myrtle,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Joseph  McLaughlin;  Elizabeth,  who  is  the  wife 
of  John  Hockenberry ;  and  Bertha,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Crawford  Tilfer. 

John  I.  Milliken  received  his  educational 
training  in  the  public  schools  of  Juniata  county 
and  afterward  assisted  his  father  until  he  was 


19  years  of  age  when  he  decided  to  start  out 
for  himself.  He  came  to  Crawford  county 
as  a  promising  field  and  for  the  four  succeed- 
ing years  worked  on  farms  by  the  month,  a 
very  excellent  way  in  which  to  learn  the  dif- 
ferent methods  pursued  by  farmers  in  secur- 
ing the  best  returns  from  the  soil,  and  then 
followed  farming  on  shares  for  two  years. 
His  present  farm  in  Bucyrus  township,  was 
formerly  known  as  the  James  P.  Beall  farm. 
He  carries  on  all  the  usual  farm  industries  and 
has  met  with  great  success  in  his  undertakings 
and  is  numbered  with  the  best  farmers  in  the 
township. 

In  November,  1893,  Mr.  Milliken  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Nora  E.  Beall,  who  was  bom  on 
the  present  farm,  and  belongs  to  one  of  the 
old  county  families.  Her  parents,  James  P. 
and  Mary  Ann  (Keckler)  Beall,  are  both  de- 
ceased, their  burial  being  at  Bucyrus.  James 
P.  Beall  was  a  leading  Republican  of  Bucyrus 
township  and  he  and  his  wife  were  faithful 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Mrs.  Milliken  was  the  youngest  born  of  their 
children,  the  others  being:  James  Perry  and 
John  W.,  both  now  deceased;  Mary  M.,  wife 
of  Charles  Henry;  Laura  E.,  wife  of  E.  R. 
Hill;  Dorsey  L. ;  and  Eva  M.,  wife  of  Wesley 
Beal.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Miliken  have  one  daugh- 
ter, Edith  Beal.  They  attend  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Milliken  votes  with 
the   Republican   party. 

H.  W.  SMITH,  general  farmer  residing  on 
his  well  improved  place  of  65  acres,  situated 
nine  miles  northwest  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  was  born 
in  Lykens  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
Dec.  21,  1859,  and  is  a  son  of  Frederick  Smith. 
He  was  a  native  of  Saxony,  Germany,  and 
came  to  the  United  States  when  a  young  man. 

H.  W.  Smith  attended  school  in  Lykens 
township  and  afterward  took  up  farming,  first 
on  the  home  place  and  then  in  Holmes  town- 
ship, subsequently  buying  a  farm  in  Tod  town- 
ship which  he  later,  sold.  In  1904  he  bought 
his  present  farm,  on  which  he  has  placed  all 
the  excellent  improvements  and  carries  on 
general  farming  and  stock  raising. 

In  March,  1885,  Mr.  Smith  was  married 
(first)  to  Miss  Jane  Smith,  who  died  in  1888. 
Mr.  Smith  was  married  (second)  to  Mrs.  Es- 
ther   (Norris)    Wilhelm,   in   1891,   who   was 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


837 


accidentally  killed  by  a  stroke  of  lightning, 
July  16,  1907,  while  in  church,  on  a  part  of 
the  home  farm.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  had  one 
child  that  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Smith  had 
one  son  by  her  first  marriage,  Clyde  Wilhelm, 
who  is  a  teacher  in  Holmes  township  and  in 
September,  191 1,  was  married  to  Miss  Hazel 
Frost.  His  father,  William  Wilhelm,  was  a 
•farmer  in  Holmes  township  and  died  prior  to 
the  birth  of  his  son.  Mr.  Smith  is  a  member 
of  the  Evangelical  church  and  is  one  of  Holmes 
township's  most  respected  citizens.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Democrat,  but  uses  his  own  judg- 
ment when  voting. 

DAVID  LUST,  V.  S.  is  one  of  the  well- 
known  residents  of  Dallas  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  and  the  owner  of  120  acres  of 
land,  80  of  which  are  located  in  Dallas  town- 
ship and  the  remaining  40  in  Tod  township. 
He  was  born  in  Crawford  county,  Nov.  17, 
1847,  being  a  son  of  Conrad  and  Magdalena 
(Myers)   Lust. 

Conrad  Lust  came  to  this  country  from 
Germany  where  he  had  been  born,  being  but 
nine  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  arrival 
here.  His  wife  was  born  in  Columbiana 
county,  O.  Both  have  passed  away  and  their 
remains  are  buried  in  Chatfield  township. 
They  reared  a  family  of  children  who  bore  the 
following  names :  Israel,  Susannah,  deceased, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Christopher  Klink;  John; 
David;  Catherine,  the  widow  of  William  H. 
Hunsicker;  Sophia,  the  wife  of  Emanuel 
Yeiter;  Solomon;  Daniel;  and  Elizabeth,  who 
is  the  wife  of  John  Beal.  Conrad  Lust  was  a 
Democrat  in  politics. 

Dr.  David  Lust,  after  completing  his  com- 
mon school  education,  turned  his  attention  to 
farm  work  but  in  connection  therewith  began 
the  study  of  veterinary  surgery.  After  three 
years  spent  with  Dr.  Keller  he  began  practice 
for  himself  and  has  since  continued  to  attend 
to  his  duties  as  a  veterinary  together  with  his 
farming.  Dr.  Lust  has  lived  on  his  farm  about 
40  years,  having  inherited  the  80  acres  on 
which  he  resides  from  his  father.  The  40 
acres  located  in  Tod  township  he  himself  has 
bought.  His  land  is  well  improved  and  he 
carries  on  general  farming  besides  raising 
what  stock  he  needs. 

Dr.  Lust  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Hunsicker 


in  August,  1 87 1.  She  was  born  in  Stark 
county,  her  parents  being  Jacob  and  Otillia 
(Nearing)  Hunsicker,  whose  other  children 
were:  Jacob,  William,  Catherine  (Mrs.  Henry 
White),  Peter,  and  Mary  (Mrs.  Jacob 
Shearer).  Mr.  Hunsicker  spent  his  life  en- 
gaged in  farming. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Lust  are  the  parents  of  three 
children,  namely :  Noah  L.,  who  married  Miss 
Emma  Stiger;  Ida,  the  wife  of  Philip  Stiger; 
and  Daniel  C,  who  married  Miss  Bessie  Mur- 
phy. 

In  politics  Dr.  Lust  adheres  to  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  He  has  served  as  land  appraiser. 
He  belongs  to  the  Grange  at  Bucyrus  and  the 
Reformed  church. 

H.  N.  OBERLANDER,*  a  leading  business 
man  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  a  reliable  contractor  and 
for  some  four  years  largely  engaged  in  build- 
ing streets  in  this  and  other  cities,  belongs 
to  one  of  the  old  families  of  Crawford  county. 
His  grandfather,  Jacob  Oberlander,  came  from 
Germany  to  this  county  at  an  early  date,  tak- 
ing up  lands  in  Lykens  township  and  estab- 
lishing his  family  here  on  a  sound  foundation. 
H.  N.  Oberlander  was  born  on  the  family 
homestead,  in  1863,  and  is  a  son  of  Emanuel 
Oberlander,  the  second  born  son  in  his  grand- 
father's family. 

Emanuel  Oberlander  was  three  years  old 
when  his  parents  came  to  Crawford  county 
and  more  or  less  spent  his  life  on  the  home- 
stead which  comprised  a  three-quarter  section 
of  land.  He  developed  into  a  careful  and  suc- 
cessful farmer  and  good  business  man  and 
from  time  to  time  added  to  the  property  he 
had  inherited.  His  death  occurred  in  1902, 
wh«n  he  was  63  years  of  age.  Politically  he 
was  a  Democrat.  In  his  religious  views  he 
was  in  sympathy  with  the  religious  body  known 
as  the  Albright  Methodists.  He  married  Ly- 
dia  Spade,  a  native  of  Crawford  county,  who 
still  occupies  the  old  homestead  in  Lykens 
township.  Six  children  were  born  to  them  as 
follows :  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  George 
Haines  of  New  Washington  Crawford  county, 
and  has  two  children :  Willis,  who  resides  on 
the  old  farm  with  his  mother;  Galen,  who  re- 
sides with  his  family  in  Lykens  township, 
father  of  one  son;  H.  N.,  who  has  resided  at 
Bucyrus  ever  since  he  was  elected  a  county 


838 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


commissioner;  George,  who  lives  on  the  old 
farm,  and  who  is  married  and  has  one  child; 
and  Jennie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Christopher 
Miller,  a  farmer  in  Lykens  township  and  has 
two  sons  and  one  daughter. 

H.  N.  Oberlander  obtained  his  education  in 
the  country  schools  and  grew  up  on  the  home 
farm  and  for  a  number  of  years  devoted  him- 
self to  agricultural  pursuits.  A  man  of  force 
and  character  he  secured  the  confidence  of 
his  fellow  citizens  all  over  the  county  and  in 
1893  was  elected  a  county  commissioner  and 
served  for  six  years.  During  this  time  he 
had  become  a  resident  of  Bucyrus,  where  he 
has  resided  ever  since.  His  leading  business 
for  some  years  has  been  street  and  road  con- 
tracting and  building,  and  additionally  he 
deals  in  hay.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and 
at  different  times  has  been  elected  to  about  all 
of  the  township  offices,  in  every  one  of  which 
he  has  given  efficient  and  honest  service. 

In  Lykens  township,  Crawford  county,  on 
July  10,  1884,  Mr.  Oberlander  was  married 
to  Miss  Lillie  M.  Dellinger,  who  was  born  45 
years  ago  at  Lima,  in  Allen  county,  O.,  the 
youngest  child  of  David  and  Amanda  (Wil- 
liam) Dellinger.  Her  father,  David  Dellinger, 
was  also  born  in  Lykens  township,  a  son  of 
Joseph  and  Susanna  (Smith)  Dellinger,  pio- 
neers in  that  section.  David  Dellinger  was  a 
merchant  at  Lima,  O.,  for  ten  years  prior  to 
his  death,  which  occurred  when  Mrs.  Ober- 
lander was  young.  Mrs.  Dellinger  when  left 
a  widow  came  to  Lykens  township  with  her 
three  children  and  died  here  Feb.  2.  1905.  She 
was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Mrs.  Oberlander  has  two  sisters: 
Mollie  and  Mattie.  The  former  is  the  wife 
of  Alexander  Flickinger,  a  farmer  in  Texas 
township,  Crawford  county,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren, Edith  and  Harry.  Edith  is  the  wife  of 
Ralph  Larue  and  has  two  children.  Harry 
resides  with  his  wife  on  a  farm  near  Plank- 
ton, O.  Mattie  is  the  wife  of  H.  S.  Shupp 
and  they  live  on  a  farm  in  Lykens  township. 
They  have  one'  daughter,  Maria,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Prof.  Earl  Hall,  who  is  principal  of 
the  public  schools  at  Fowler,  Colo. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oberlander  have  had  two 
children:  N.  Winona  and  Chalmer  L.  The 
daughter,  who  died  in  the  flower  of  young 
womanhood,  when  aged  but  20  years,  Oct.  26, 


1905,  was  a  beautiful  and  talented  girl.  Her 
parents  had  given  her  educational  advantages 
and  she  had  taught  school  for  three  years.  She 
was  universally  admired  and  beloved.  Chal- 
mer L.  Oberlander  was  born  Nov.  4,  1887,  and 
is  associated  with  his  father  and  has  proven 
a  reliable  business  man.  Mrs.  Oberlander  is 
a  member  of  the  Free  Will  Baptist  church. 

LEVI  SHEMER,  a  prosperous  farmer, 
owner  of  127  acres  of  land  in  Dallas  township, 
was*  born  in  Stark  county,  O.,  Oct.  14,  1845, 
son  of  John  and  Mary  (Wickard)  Shemer. 
The  father  of  our  subject  was  a  native  of 
Switzerland  and  the  mother  of  Pennsylvania. 
They  came  to  Crawford  county  early  in  mar- 
ried life  and  John  Shemer  followed  farming 
here  for  many  years.  Their  children  were 
Levi,  Garrison,  Delila,  now  deceased,  who 
was  the  wife  of  William  McBride,  Susan,  wife 
of  John  Aumiller;  Emeline,  wife  of  Neal 
Spade;  Priscilla,  wife  of  Marion  Spade; 
Amanda,  deceased ;  Esther,  wife  of  C.  P.  Shoflf- 
stale;  George  and  J.  Corvin.  John  Shemer 
was  a  Republican  in  politics  and  he  and  his 
wife  attended  the  United  Brethren  church. 

Levi  Shemer  was  quite  young  when  he  ac- 
companied his  parents  to  Crawford  county. 
He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and 
in  1863,  at  the  age  of  18  years,  enlisted  in 
Company  A,  12th  Ohio  Volunteer  Cavalry, 
serving  until  the  close  of  the  war,  when  he  was 
honorably  discharged.  He  then  returned  to 
Crawford  county,  where  he  was  married 
March  30,  1871  to  Martha  J.  McKinney,  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Matilda  (Rex)  Mc- 
Kinney. Mrs.  Shemer's  father  was  a  native 
of  Richland  county,  O.,  and  her  mother  of 
Pennsylvania;  they  were  farming  people. 
Their  children  were  Mary  Ann,  wife  of  W.  B. 
Comstock;  Martha  J.,  who  is  now  Mrs. 
Shemer;  Eleonore,  wife  of  John  Frost;  and 
John  Henry. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shemer  the  children  born 
are  George  LeRoy,  Mary  Matilda,  wife  of 
Dan  Parcher;  Charles  Otis,  Velma,  Maude, 
Leo  White  and  Earl.  Mr.  Shemer  is  a  Re- 
publican in  politics.  He  has  served  Dallas 
township  as  road  supervisor  and  school  di- 
rector, and  belongs  to  Lee's  Post,  No.  128, 
G.  A.  R.  at  Liberty. 


ALBERT  E.  SHUMAKER 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


841 


FREDERICK  TRISH,  who  is  extensively 
engaged  in  general  farming  and  cattle  and 
stock  raising  in  Tod  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  has  a  large  body  of  land,  amount- 
ing to  858  acres,  which  lies  in  Crawford  and 
Wyandot  counties.  His  present  home  is  sit- 
uated five  and  one-half  miles  south  of  Oceola. 
He  was  born  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  Nov.  13,  1840, 
and  is  a  son  of  Lewis  and  Anna  Elizabeth 
(Fetter)  Trish. 

Lewis  Trish  and  wife  were  both  born  in 
Germany  .  He  came  to  America  when  young 
and  located  first  at  York,  Pa.,  and  from  there 
made  his  way  to  Crawford  county,  in  1835 
reaching  Bucyrus,  where,  for  20  years  he  car- 
ried on  a  wagon  and  carriage  making  busi- 
ness. He  moved  then  to  Wyandot  county  and 
became  a  farmer  and  died  there  July  4,  1859, 
when  aged  57  years.  He  married  Anna 
Elizabeth  Fetter,  who  died  in  1882,  her  age 
being  "jj  years,  6  months  and  3  days.  Of 
their  nine  children,  three  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters are  deceased. 

Frederick  Trish  is  the  only  surviving  son  of 
his  parents'  family.  He  attended  school  at 
Bucyrus  and  remembers  many  interesting 
events  of  the  early  days  in  the  city's  develop- 
ment. In  June,  1853  he  accompanied  his  par- 
ents to  Wyandot  county  and  for  28  years 
followed  farming  there,  in  1884  moving  to  his 
present  fine  property  near  Oceola.  In  addi- 
tion to  raising  the  crops  that  do  best  in  this 
section,  Mr.  Trish  is  successfully  interested  in 
live-stock  and  raises  cattle,  horses,  sheep  and 
hogs. 

Mr.  Trish  married  Miss  Maria  Shroll,  who 
is  a  daughter  of  Levi  Shroll,  this  family  be- 
ing one  of  the  oldest  in  Crawford  county. 
This  marriage  took  place  May  11,  1875  and 
five  children  have  been  born  to  them,  all  of 
whom  survive,  namely :  George,  Henry,  Delta, 
Ray  and  Bessie.  They  all  remain  on  the 
homestead,  Henry  being  married,  his  wife 
having  formerly  been  Miss  Gertie  Lacount,  of 
Cleveland,  O.  Mr.  Trish  and  sons  are  Demo- 
crats. He  has  always  been  an  active  citizen 
and  while  living  in  Wyandot  county  served  as 
a  township  trustee  and  in  .other  public 
positions. 

ALBERT  E.  SHUMAKER,  one  of  the 
substantial     men    of     Whetstone     township, 


Crawford  county,  O.,  a  general  farmer  and 
buyer  and  shipper  of  stock,  resides  on  his  80- 
acre  farm  here  and  owns  additionally  ten  acres 
to  the  east  and  14  more  acres  to  the  northeast 
of  the  home  tract.  Mr.  Shumaker  was  born 
in  Crawford  county,  July  18,  1862,  and  is  a 
son  of  Joel  and  Elmira  (Weatherby)  Shu- 
maker. 

Joel  Shumaker  was  born  in  Pennsylvania 
and  was  a  son  of  Jonathan  and  Hannah 
(Kuehner)  Shumaker,  the  former  of  whom 
was  born  in  Germany  and  the  latter  in  Hol- 
land. Joel  Shumaker  learned  the  stone  mason 
trade  in  his  native  place  and  was  married  in 
Pennsylvania  to  Elmira  Weatherby,  who  was 
born  in  Lycoming  county.  Afterward  the 
Shumaker  and  Weatherby  families  moved  to 
Crawford  county,  O.  In  a  terrible  railroad 
accident  on  the  crossing  at  North  Robinson, 
Crawford  county,  on  Feb.  26,  1887,  both  Mr. 
Shumaker  and  his  father-in-law  met  death. 
He  was  a  good  man,  a  devout  member  of  the 
United  Brethren  church  and  left  a  large  family 
and  many  friends.  His  children  were  as  fol- 
lows: Angeline,  who  married  William  Alle- 
bach ;  Margaret,  who  married  Isaac  Reed ;  Sa- 
rah, who  is  now  deceased ;  Almeda,  who  is  the 
widow  of  F.  O.  Benedict;  Ellen,  who  married 
James  Stoneman;  Albert  E.,  the  subject  of 
this  article;  Edward,  who  is  deceased; 
Charles;  Nora,  who  married  Flavius  Kepler; 
and  David.  Both  the  father  and  mother  of 
the  above  family  rest  in  the  Campbell  cem- 
etery, in  Crawford  county. 

Albert  E.  Shumaker  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Whetstone  township  and  afterward 
was  a  student  for  18  months  in  the  university 
at  Ada,  O.  Following  his  return  home  he  en- 
gaged in  farming  through  the  summers  for 
the  next  three  years  and  taught  school  dur- 
ing the  winters  but  since  then  has  devoted 
his  attention  largely  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
In  1 90 1  he  purchased  his  present  home  farm, 
formerly  known  as  the  Lininger  farm,  from 
the  Smith  heirs,  and  has  done  a  large  amount 
of  improving  including  tiling,  fencing,  fer- 
tilizing and  building,  a  fine  barn  having  but 
recently  been  erected.  In  addition  to  the 
land  above  mentioned,  Mr.  Shumaker  has  a 
desirable  building  lot  at  Bucyrus  in  tlie  Som- 
mer  Addition,  of  which  section  he  is  one  of 
the  stockholders,  and  he  also  has  a  handsome 


842 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


residence  at  Galion.  He  is  a  man  of  much 
public  spirit  as  well  as  private  enterprise  but 
he  has  not  tied  himself  down  to  any  particu- 
lar political  party,  preferring  to  give  his  sup- 
port to  the  men  and  measures  his  own  judg- 
ment approves  of.  His  public  usefulness  has 
been  frequently  recognized  by  his  fellow  citi- 
zens and  he  has  served  in  Office,  in  1892  being 
census  enumerator  of  Jefferson  township,  in 
1 910  was  land  appraiser  in  Whetstone  town- 
ship and  for  many  years  has  been  a  member 
of  the  school  board.  At  present  Mr.  Shu- 
maker  is  administrator  of  the  Sarah  Shu- 
maker  estate  which  is  valued  at  $3,500,  and 
is  also  administrator  of  the  Estate  of  Mary  E. 
Heckert,  valued  at  $1,300.  He  also  served  as 
administrator  of  the  estates  of  his  father  and 
father-in-law  and  for  six  years  or  until  the 
death  of  Eliza  Stailey,  served  as  trustee  of  her 
Trust  Fund,  which  was  valued  at  $2,665. 

Mr.  Shumaker  was  married  Nov.  3,  1886, 
to  Miss  Ellen  Smith,  daughter  of  Jacob  C 
and  Catherine  (Stailey)  Smith,  and  a  grand- 
daughter of  Daniel  and  Christiana  (Gel- 
baugh)  Smith,  and  of  William  and  Elizabeth 
(Whitmer)  Stailey,  all  Pennsylvania  people, 
except  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Shumaker,  who 
was  born  in  Ohio.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Shu- 
maker served  over  three  years  in  the  Civil 
War  as  a  member  of  Co.  K,  8ist  O.  Vol.  Inf., 
and  afterward  engaged  in  farming  until  his 
death.  Mrs.  Smith  survives  and  makes  her 
home  with  her  eldest  child,  Mrs.  Shumaker. 
The  other  children  are:  John;  Wallace; 
Pearl,  who  is  the  wife  of  William  Hancock; 
and  Amanda,  who  is  the  wife  of  W.  M.  Frost. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shumaker  have  six  children: 
Harry  Guy,  Mayme,  Warren,  Victor,  Velma 
and  Anna.  The  eldest  son  married  Viola 
Bowers.  The  family  attend  the  United 
Brethren  church.  Mr.  Shumaker  is  a  leading 
member  of  Pope  Grange,  at  Galion. 

CHARLES  W.  SHEARER,  who  is  one  of 
the  heirs  to  180  acres  of  good  farm  land  in 
Dallas  township,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Bu- 
cyrus,  this  county,  in  September,  1888,  a  son 
of  Isaac  and  Vesta  (Shellenberger)  Shearer. 
His  parental  grandparents  were  John  and 
Catherine  (Miller)  Shearer,  and  his  grand- 
parents Michael  and  Barbara  Shearer,  of  Lan- 
caster county,  Pa.     John  Shearer,  the  grand- 


father, was  born  in  that  county  and  his  active 
years  were  devoted  to  farming.  His  wife, 
Catherine  Miller  Shearer,  was  a  native  of 
Germany  who  came  to  America  when  a  child 
of  six  years.  Both  died  and  are  buried  in  the 
Shearer  cemetery  in  Whetstone  township. 

Isaac  Shearer,  father  of  Charles  W.,  was 
born  in  Crawford  county,  O.,  in  1847.  He 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  his 
active  years  were  spent  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits.. He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  at- 
tended the  Evangelical  church.  Industrious 
and  thrifty,  he  became  the  owner  of  about  180 
acres  of  good  land,  and  was  a  man  respected 
for  his  personal  qualities  as  a  man  and  citizen. 
His  death  took  place  in  November,  1907.  His 
widow  still  resides  on  the  homestead  farm. 
The  latter,  Mrs.  Vesta  Elmira  Shearer,  was 
born  in  Mahoning  county,  Ohio,  a  daughter  of 
John  and  Rachel  (Paulin)  Shellenberg,  of 
that  county.  Her  marriage  to  Mr.  Shearer 
took  place  in  November,  1872,  and  the  chil- 
dren born  were  Charles  Wesley  (subject  of 
this  sketch),  Milford  Guy,  Franklin  Abra- 
ham, and  two  that  died  in  infancy. 

Charles  W.  Shearer  in  his  boyhood  at- 
tended the  common  schools  of  Dallas  town- 
ship and  was  trained  to  farm  work  by  his 
■father.  In  company  with  his  brother  Milford 
he  now  operates  the  home  farm  of  180  acres, 
which  is  well  stocked  with  full  blooded  Jersey 
cattle.  Charles  W.  Shearer  was  married  in 
October,  19 10,  to  Elma  Wolf,  a  daughter  of 
Jacob  and  Emma  (Mitchell)  Wolf,  farmers 
of  Wyandot  county,  whose  children  were 
Harley,  Bessie,  Claude,  Elma,  Grace,  Russell, 
Hershel  and  Theodore.  Mr.  Shearer  is  inde- 
pendent in  politics.  The  family  attend  the 
Evangelical  church  at  Bucyrus. 

JAMES  E.  HARROP,*  of  the  firm  of 
Harrop  &  Faulkner,  conducting  the  leading 
livery  business  at  Bucyrus  and  being  heavy 
dealers  and  handlers  of  stock,  is  a  man  of 
long  experience  in  this  line.  He  was  born  Oct. 
II,  1862,  and  is  a  son  of  Hugh  and  Catherine 
(Cover)  Harrop. 

Hugh  Harrop  was  born  in  Lancastershire, 
England,  in  1833,  and  when  a  young  man 
aged  about  22  years,  came  to  the  United 
States,  the  only  member  of  his  parents'  family 
of  twelve  children.     He  worked  as  a  machin- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


843 


ist  in  Philadelphia,  for  a  time,  having  learned 
the   trade   in   England,   afterward   coming  to 
Ohio  and  finding  employment  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania   Railroad   shops    at   Crestline    and  was 
thus  engaged  until  his  death  in  1889.    In  1864 
he  brought  his  parents,  James  and  Ann  Har- 
rop,  to  America  and  they  spent  their  declin- 
ing years  here  under  his  filial  care.     He  was 
married   at   Crestline,   in    1861,   to   Catherine 
Cover,  who  was  of  Pennsylvania  Dutch  stock, 
a  daughter  of  Hiram  and  Margaret  (Pfeier) 
Cover,  who  were  early  settlers  at  Crestline. 
Mrs.  Harrop  was  born  in   1843  and  died  in 
1900.     She  and  her  husband  were  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.     Four  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Hugh  Harrop  and  wife, 
namely:  James  E. ;  George  A.,  born  in  Sep- 
tember,   1864,    who   resides    at    South   Bend, 
Ind.,  a  contractor  in  very  comfortable  circum- 
stances, and  who  has  one  son.  Gale,  a  student 
of  Harvard  College;  Frank  H.,  born  in  Oc- 
tober, 1866,  who  resides  at  Crestline,  where  he 
is    foreman    of    the    Pennsylvania    Railroad 
shops,  and  who  is  married  and  has  five  chil- 
dren— Robert,  Noel,  Russell  and  two  daugh- 
ters; and  Bertha,  who  is  the  wife  of  R.  E. 
Miller,  an  attorney  at  South  Bend,  and  has 
one  son,  Russell.     The  three  sons  of  Hugh 
Harrop  became   skilled  machinists   like  their 
father  and  all  worked  for  a  time  at  that  trade 
and  all  have  been  successful  as  business  men. 
James  E.  Harrop  was  born  at  Crestline,  O., 
and     obtained    his    education    in    the    pub- 
lic schools  there.     In  that  city  he  started  into 
the  livery  business  in  1887  and  has  continued 
in  this  line  ever  since.     In  1890  he  came  to 
Bucyrus  and  since  1895  has  been  active  in  a 
commercial  way  here,  entering  into  his  pres- 
ent partnership,  with  James  E.   Faulkner  in 
1903,  the  latter  having  been  in  the  stock  buy- 
ing business  prior  to  that  date.     They  com- 
bined the  two  and  have  since  then  done  a  very 
large  business.     They  purchase  largely  in  the 
West  and  sell  in  the  East  and  manage  their 
undertakings  with  good  judgment  and  along 
practical  lines  and  have  met  with  a  large  de- 
gree of  prosperity.     Their  livery  stables  ac- 
commodate  some  40  horses,   with  outfits  to 
match,  carry  also  undertaking  outfits  and  ad- 
ditionally   have    a    central    delivery    system 
which  they  operate  in  the  city  and  a  similar 
system  at  Marion,  O. 


In  June,  1886,  Mr.  Harrop  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Erma  Zink,  who  was  born 
in  1867,  at  Crestline,  O.  Her  parents  were 
David  L.  and  Mary  J.  (Hall)  Zink,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  born 
near  Philadelphia.  For  44  years  after  locating 
at  Crestline,  O.,  David  L.  Zink  served  as 
ticket  and  freight  agent  there  for  both  the 
Pennsylvania  and  the  Big  Four  Railroads. 
He  still  lives  at  Crestline  but  his  wife  passed 
away  in  1900,  when  aged  70  years.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Kink  had  four  sons  and  three  daughters, 
all  of  whom  are  living;  all  have  married  and 
all  have  families  of  their  own.  Their  relig- 
ious connection  was  with  the  Presbyterian 
church.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harrop  two  sons 
were  born:  Hugh  J.,  in  1893;  and  Spencer 
Howard,  born  in  February,  1898.  The  older 
son  is  a  graduate  of  the  Bucyrus  High  School, 
while  the  younger  is  yet  a  student.  Mr.  Har- 
rop and  family  belong  to  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican  but  has 
never  been  a  politician.  He  is  identified  with 
the  Masons,  Elks  and  Maccabees. 

FREDERICK  KUEHNLE,  owner  of  80 
acres  of  land,  40'  of  which  are  located  in 
Whetstone  township  and  the  remainder  in 
Bucyrus  township,  Crawford  county,  was 
born  in  Wurtemburg,  Germany,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1856,  a  son  of  Michael  and  Barbara 
(Sager)  Kuehnle.  The  father  died  in  Ger- 
many when  our  subject  was  six  years  old. 
The  mother  came  to  this  country  and  died 
here.  Their  children  were  Christian,  Carl  and 
Frederick. 

Frederick  Kuehnle  came  to  this  country 
from  Germany  when  25  years  of  age  and  lo- 
cated in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  where  he  remained 
four  months.  He  then  spent  a  year  in  Phil- 
adelphia, after  which  he  came  to  Crawford 
county  and  after  working  by  the  month  for 
seven  years,  bought  his  present  farm.  He 
does  general  farming  and  raises  stock  for  his 
own  use. 

On  Feb.  7,  1904,  Mr.  Kuehnle  was  married 
to  Mary  Kober,  a  native  of  this  county,  whose 
parents  were  farmers  in  Richland  township. 
Their  children  were  as  follows:  Mary,  Ben- 
jamin and  Emma,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife 
of  August  Minder.  Our  subject  and  his  wife 
are  the  parents  of  one  son  Paul.  Mr.  Kuehnle 


844 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


had  been  previously  married,  his  first  wife 
having  been  Catherine  Yearling,  a  daughter  of 
Peter  and  Elizabeth  Yearling.  She  was  the 
mother  of  one  child,  Charles,  who  is  teaching 
school  in  Whetstone  township. 

Politically,  Mr.  Kuehnle  is  a  Democrat.  He 
and  his  family  attend  the  German  Lutheran 
Church. 

JAMES  MILLER,  deceased,  for  many 
years  was  a  highly  respected  citizen  and  suc- 
cessful general  farmer  in  Holmes  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  and  was  a  member  of 
one  of  the  oldest  families  in  this  section,  one 
that  has  always  been  held  in  high  regard.  He 
was  born  in  Holmes  township,  Oct.  17,  1840 
and  died  on  his  well  improvefl  farm  of  160 
acres,  Aug.  17,  1898.  His  father,  John 
Miller, .  was  of  German  extraction  and  was 
well  known  all  over  Crawford  county. 

James  Miller  grew  up  on  his  father's  farm 
and  assisted  in  his  father's  agricultural  activi- 
ties until  he  married,  when  he  came  to  the 
farm  on  which  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
busy  and  useful  life.  In  leaving  this  fine  prop- 
erty to  his  family  he  provided  well  for  their 
future,  having  improved  the  place  to  a  high 
degree  and  erected  all  th*  present  substantial 
buildings.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat  but 
was  never  very  active  in  public  matters  and 
the  only  oflfice  he  ever  was  willing  to  accept 
was  that  of  school  director.  For  many  years 
he  attended  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  contributed  to  its  support. 

On  July  3,  1862,  James  Miller  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Caroline  Angene,  who  is 
a  daughter  of  Adam  and  Barbara  (Shearer) 
Angene.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Miller  was  born 
in  Germany  and  after  coming  to  America  lo- 
cated in  Crawford  county,  O.,  where  he  lived 
until  his  death,  and  Mrs.  Miller  was  three 
years  old  at  that 'time  and  was  reared  near 
Brokensword,  O.  She  is  one  of  a  family  of 
II  children  and  has  two  brothers  and  one 
sister  living. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Miller  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born :  Frank,  who  lives  at  Toledo, 
O.;  Charles,  whose  home  is  in  Pennsylvania, 
a  commercial  traveler,  who  married  Minnie 
Peck;  Horace,  who  is  engaged  in  the  real  es- 
tate business  at  Geneva,  O.,  and  who  married 
Elva  Dunlap  and  has  three   children — Earl, 


Gorman  and  Beulah;  Annie  B.,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Harmon  Claussen,  of  Milwaukee, 
Wis.;  and  Minnie  May,  who  died  December 
II,  1890,  when  aged  but  19  years.  She  was  a 
beautiful  and  talented  young  woman  and  had 
just  completed  her  college  course.  Mrs  Mil- 
ler and  children  belong  to  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  Since  the  death  of  her  husband 
she  has  had  her  farm  rented  to  responsible 
tenants. 

FULTON  N.  STUCKMAN,  who  resides 
with  his  mother,  on  the  old  homestead  farm 
of  40  acres,  situated  in  Bucyrus  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  operating  the  same  for 
her,  also  carries  on  farming  and  stock  raising 
on  his  own  farm  of  44  acres.  He  was  born  on 
the  home  farm,  Aug.  16,  1879,  and  is  a  son  of 
Henry  and  Elizabeth   (Speigle)   Stuckman. 

Henry  Stuckman  was  a  farmer  in  Bucyrus 
township  for  many  years  and  was  a  well 
known  and  respected  man.  He  died  on  his 
farm  and  his  burial  was  at  Bucyrus.  In 
politics  he  was  a  Democrat  and  he  attended 
and  assisted  in  supporting  Mt.  Zion  church. 
He  was  twice  married,  first  to  Elizabeth  Sny- 
der and  after  her  death  to  Elizabeth  Speigle. 
Two  children  were  born  to  the  first  marriage : 
Irvin  and  Ottie,  the  latter  of  whom  married 
Elmer  Cook,  and  is  now  deceased.  Four  chil- 
dren were  born  to  the  second  marriage, 
namely:  Lena,  who  is  the  wife  of  L.  H.  As- 
senheimer ;  Fulton  N. ;  and  Regina  and 
Bertha,  both  of  whom  are  deceased. 

In  these  modern  days  of  change  there  are 
comparatively  few  people  who  have  been  able 
to  pass  their  busy,  useful  lives  in  the  place  of 
their  birth;  but  such  has  been  the  opportunity 
of  Fulton  N.  Stuckman,  and  the  old  home  that 
sheltered  him  as  a  child,  continues  to  be  his 
chosen  place  of  residence.  He  carries  on  his 
farm  industries  here  with  success,  raising  ex- 
cellent crops  from  his  fertilized  fields  and 
enough  good  stock  to  satisfy  all  home 
demands. 

On  May  i,  1901,  Mr.  Stuckman  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Emma  Sheff,  who  was  born  in 
Ashland  county,  O.,  a  daughter  of  Martin 
Sheff  and  wife,  who  now  reside  on  their  farm 
in  Wyandot  county.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sheff 
the  following  children  were  born:  Mary,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Amos  Hite;  Mrs.   Stuckman; 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


845 


Edward;  Caroline,  who  is  the  wife  of  Ziba 
Beavers;  and  Albert,  Elmer  and  Sarah.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Stuckman  have  three  sturdy  bright 
little  sons:  Jesse,  Park  and  Herbert.  Mr. 
Stuckman  and  family  belong  to  the  Mt.  Zion 
church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  has 
served  on  the  township  school  board. 

JOHN  E.  FAULKNER,*  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Harrop  &  Faulkner,  liverymen,  at  Bu- 
cyrus,  O.,  and  one  of  the  well  known  business 
men  of  that  city,  is  a  member  of  one  of  the 
old  English  families  that  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1850  and  since  then  has  contributed 
to  the  best  citizenship  of  this  country.  Ed- 
ward Faulkner,  father  of  John  E.,  was  born 
in  England,  in  1844,  and  died  at  Bucyrua,  Jan. 
II,  1909.  His  parents  were  Joseph  and  Mary 
(Porter)  Faulkner  and  prior  to  coming  to 
America  the  father  conducted  a  hotel  near 
London.  The  family  settled  in  Crawford 
county,  O. 

The  late  Edward  Faulkner  was  one  of  the 
best  known  men  of   Crawford   county.     He 
was  a  stock  dealer  and  trader  and  had  exten- 
sive   business    connections    and    through    up- 
rightness of  character  and  honest  dealing,  he 
secured  the  respect  and  esteem  of  those  with 
whom  he  became  associated.    During  the  Civil 
War  he  served  as  a  soldier  in  Co.  I,  150th  O. 
Vol.  Inf.,  making  several  attempts  to  enlist  be- 
fore he  was  finally  accepted  and  served  until 
about  the  close  of  the  war,  participating  in 
many     engagements     but     being     fortunate 
enough  to  escape  both  wounds  and  imprison- 
ment.     Nature    had    endowed    him    with    a 
mathematical  mind  and  his  talent  was  culti- 
vated and  often  proved  of  great  value  to  him. 
In  his  large  dealings  he  frequently  could  cal- 
culate the  amount  per  pound  of  a  herd   of 
cattle   or  flock  of  sheep,   in  a   few   seconds, 
problems  that  would  require  hours  of  work 
with  both  brains  and  pencil,  in  another  less 
gifted  dealer.     He  was  thoroughly  posted  on 
the  topography  of   the  county,   was  familiar 
with  every  highway,  had  knowledge  of  every 
farm  and  its  history  and  was  personally  ac- 
quainted with  the  larger  number  of  owners. 
Politically  he  was  as  stanch  a  Republican  as 
his   brothers   were   Democrats.     He   married 
Mary  Knisley,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Eliza- 
beth   Knisley,    this   being    an    old    Craiwford 

48 


county  family.  Mrs.  Faulkner  survives  and 
resides  at  Bucyrus.  Four  children  were  born 
to  Edward  Faulkner  and  wife,  namely: 
George  W.,  who  is  engaged  in  the  plumbing 
business  at  Bucyrus;  Irene,  who  is  the  wife  of 
J.  C.  Fisher,  of  Toledo,  O. ;  John  E.  and 
Joseph,  who  represents  a  business  house  of 
Dayton,  O.,  at  Oakland,  Calif.,  and  who  is 
married  and  has  two  sons. 

John  E.  Faulkner  obtained  his  education  in 
the  Bucyrus  schools.  In  partnership  with 
James  E.  Harrop  he  is  doing  a  large  business 
in  the  shipping  of  horses  and  other  stock  and 
they  also  conduct  a  first  class  livery  stable. 
They  are  men  of  enterprise  and  their  stand- 
ing in  business  circles  is  high. 

Mr.  Faulkner  was  married  in  Marion 
county,  O.,  to  Miss  Josephine  Sickle,  who  was 
born  there  in  1877,  a  daughter  of  Joshua 
Sickle,  who  died  before  she  was  born.  She  is 
the  only  survivor  of  the  family  now  living  in 
this  city.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Faulkner  have  two 
children:  Edward,  born  Dec.  5,  1888;  and 
Marjorie,  born  Jan.  25,  1900.  The  family  at- 
tends the  English  Lutheran  church.  Politi- 
cally Mr.  Faulkner  is  a  Republican  and 
fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Elks  and 
the  Eagles. 

CHARLES  K.  WELLER,  superintendent 
of  Oakwood  Cemetery,  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  and  a 
well  known  and  respected  citizen,  owning  a 
handsome  residence  on  the  corner  of  Spring 
and  Center  streets,  Bucyrus,  was  born  in  San- 
dusky township,  Crawford  county,  Aug.  19, 
1873.  He  is  a  son  of  Peter  and  Melissa 
(Kaler)  Weller. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Weller  was  born  in  Ger- 
many but  for  many  years  has  been  a  valued 
citizen  of  Crawford  county  and  now  lives  re- 
tired at  Bucyrus.  For  some  15  years  he 
served  as  postmaster  at  West  Liberty  and 
afterward  was  engaged  in  clerical  work  until 
he  retired.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and 
is  a  leading  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 
He  married  Melissa  Kaler,  who  was  born  in 
Crawford  county,  and  died  in  March,  1902, 
and  her  burial  was  in  Oakwood  Cemetery. 
Peter  Weller  was  married  second  to  Mary 
Jenner,  but  his  children  were  both  born  to  his 
first  union.  They  were  two  in  number: 
Charles  K.  and  Vella  May,  the  latter  of  whom 


846 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


died  in  November,  1910  and  was  the  wife  of 
Frank  Shell. 

Charles  K.  Weller  obtained  a  common 
school  training  and  for  five  years  afterward 
was  engaged  in  clerical  work  in  Bucyrus  and 
then  learned  the  carriage  painting  trade, 
which  he  followed  for  some  years.  In  1902 
he  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  Oak- 
wood  Cemetery  and  under  his  care  this  burial 
place  has  become  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
gardens  of  the  dead  in  the  state. 

On  Dec.  29,  1897,  Mr.  Weller  was  married, 
by  Rev.  Jacob  Henry  Cutter,  pastor  of  St. 
Paul's  Lutheran  Church,  to  Miss  Laura  L. 
Kibler,  who  was  born  in  Crawford  county, 
and  is  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Rose  (Hari- 
ger)  Kibler.  Mr.  Kibler  was  born  in  Ger- 
many and  was  a  well  known  farmer  in  Craw- 
ford county.  He  was  married  here  to  Rose 
Hariger  and  they  had  the  following  children : 
Lucinda,  who  is  the  wife  of  Daniel  Klink; 
Matilda,  who  is  the  wife  of  Theodore  Lyons, 
and  a  twin  sister  of  Lucinda;  Emma,  who  is 
the  wife  of  William  Miller;  John;  and  Laura 
L.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  Weller.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Weller  have  one  son.  Perry  Robert. 
They  are  members  of  the  English  Lutheran 
church.  He  is  an  independent  voter  in  politics 
but  is  active  in  the  Masonic  body  at  Bucyrus. 

A.  M.  ZOOK,  one  of  the  prominent  citizens 
of  Tod  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  who 
carries  on  farming  and  stock  raising,  owning 
160  acres  of  valuable  land,  was  born  in  Dallas 
township,  Crawford  county,  within  one  and 
three-fourth  miles  of  his  home  place,  Nov.  17, 
1855,  and  is  a  son  of  J.  B.  and  Samantha 
(Spahr)  Zook. 

J.  B.  Zook  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
was  already  a  young  man  when  he  accom- 
panied his  parents  to  Crawford  county,  locat- 
ing near  Bucyrus,  where  he  engaged  in  teach- 
ing school  for  a  time  and  then  bought  80 
acres  of  land,  the  same  being  now  owned  by 
his  grandson.  With  the  exception  of  a  few 
years  passed  in  the  city  of  Bucyrus,  he  spent 
the  rest  of  his  life  on  that  farm,  his  death  oc- 
curring there  when  his  age  was  65  years.  He 
married  Samantha  Spahr,  who  was  born  m 
Crawford  county,  and  they  had  but  one  child, 
A.  M.  After  the  death  of  his  first  wife  he 
married  Nancy  J.  Good,  and  one  son  was  also 


born  to  that  union,  Lloyd,  who  is  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Bucyrus. 

A.  M.  Zook  attended  the  country  schools 
and  when  the  time  came  to  choose  an  occupa- 
tion, decided  on  farming.  He  located  first  on 
a  farm  of  80  acres  from  which  he  moved,  July 
25,  1888,  to  his  present  place.  He  carried  on  . 
agricultural  operations  here  until  the  death  of 
his  wife,  after  which  he  rented  his  farm  for 
five  years.  After  his  second  marriage  he  re- 
turned to  the  farm  on  which  he  has  made  ex- 
cellent improvements,  including  the  erection  of 
new  and  substantial  buildings. 

Mr.  Zook  was  married  first  to  Miss  Sadie 
Swartz,  who  died  in  1903,  leaving  two  chil- 
dren: Vitellius,  residing  on  his  farm  of  65 
acres,  situated  in  Dallas  township,  who  mar- 
ried Jeanetta  Tate  and   has   two  children — 
Merritt  and  Violet ;  and  a  babe  that  died.    Mr. 
Zook's  second  marriage  was  to  Miss  Cathe- 
rine Lust,  a  daughter  of  Israel  Lust.     They 
are  active  members  of  the  United  Brethren 
church.    In  politics  Mr.  Zook  is  a  Republican 
and  for  six  years  was  a  trustee  of  Tod  town- 
ship, the  first  one  ever  elected  on  the  Republi- 
can ticket,  and  for  nine  years  was  a  justice  of 
the  peace  in  Dallas  township.     Few  men  in 
this  section  have  traveled  farther  or  more  en- 
joyably  than  has  Mr.  Zook,  his  journeyings 
taking  him  to  Newfoundland,  Canada,  and  all 
over  the  United  States  and  even  to  Cuba.     In 
large  part  his  trips  have  been  hunting  expedi- 
tions and  four  times  he  has  sought  moose  in 
the  Maine  forests,  twice  has  been  after  game 
in  Michigan  and  Wisconsin  as  well  as  Florida 
and     intermediate    -points.       He     has     many 
trophies,  each  one  of  which  has  an  interesting 
history. 

GEORGE  SAND,  who  cultivates  his  fine 
farm  of  210  acres,  situated  in  Bucyrus  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  with  a  great  deal 
of  care,  was  born  in  France,  in  1864,  and  is  a 
son  of  George  and  Margaret  (Witter)  Sand. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Sand  were  also  born  in 
France,  where  they  were  reared  and  married 
and  came  to  Ohio  when  their  son  George  was 
young.  The  other  children  born  to  this  mar- 
riage were  Michael  K.  and  John.  The  father 
married  again  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife 
and  they  now  live  at  Nevada,  O.,  and  have  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


847 


following  children:  Anna,  wife  of  George 
Guger,  and  Clara,  wife  of  William  Price. 

George  Sand  had  the  usual  school  oppor- 
tunities in  his  youth  and  has  been  engaged  in 
farming  ever  since  and  with  an  experience  of 
some  30  years  may  lay  just  claim  to  under- 
stand his  business,  especially  when  he  has 
proved  that  success  has  followed  his  efforts. 
He  devotes  his  land  to  the  crops  that  do  best 
in  this  section  and  raises  some  good  stock. 

Mr.  Sand  was  married  Feb.  11,  1892,  to 
Miss  Grace  Rosa  Mayer,  a  daughter  of  Jacob 
Mayer.  Her  parents  never  came  to  the  United 
States  but  she  has  one  brother,  George,  and  a 
sister,  Mary,  wife  of  William  Kline,  living  in 
this  country.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sand  the  fol- 
lowing children  have  been  born:  Alfred  M., 
Antonia  B.,  William  G.,  John  H.,  C.  Fred- 
erick; Clarence  M.,  Bertha  A.  M.,  Milford  C, 
and  Irvin  R.  Mr.  Sand  and  family  attend  the 
German  Lutheran  church.  He  votes  the 
Democratic  ticket.  Mr.  Sand  is  a  well  known 
and  highly  respected  citizen  of  Bucyrus  town- 
ship. 

JOHN  A.  MECK,*  justice  of  the  peace  and 
a  member  of  the  Bucyrus  bar,  has  long  been 
well  known  to  the  people  of  Crawford  county, 
in  which  section  of  Ohio  may  be  found  a  host 
of  his  friends.  He  is  a  native  of  Crawford 
county,  born  in  Lykens  township,  Feb.  19, 
1858. 

Mr.  Meek  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
and  at  the  Ohio  Normal  School  at  Ada,  O., 
and  after  completing  the  educator's  course  in 
the  institution,  commenced  to  teach  school. 
For  the  following  six  years  or  more  he  alter- 
nated school  teaching  and  working  on  the 
home  farm.  After  coming  to  Bucyrus  he 
studied  law  with  the  late  Hon.  S.  R.  Harris, 
formerly  member  of  Congress  from  this  dis- 
trict. In  1902  he  was  appointed  a  justice  of 
the  peace  and  so  satisfactory  has  been  his  ser- 
vice in  this  capacity  that  he  has  made  many 
friends  who  would  like  to  see  him  elected  to 
the  oi?ice  of  probate  judge,  believing  that  he 
possesses  in  unusual  degree  the  qualities  which 
are  needed  on  the  bench.  He  has  been  quite 
active  in  political  circles  for  a  nvimber  of  years 
and  has  been  an  efficient  worker  for  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  Formerly  he  was  identified  with 
the  Masonic  lodge  at  Bucyrus. 

Mr.  Meek  is  unmarried. 


T.  JOHN  LUTZ,  who  resides  on  his  val- 
uable farm  of  seventy-six  acres,  situated  in 
Bucyrus  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  owns 
a  second  farm,  which  contains  146  acres  and 
is  located  in  Ashtabula  county,  O.  He  was 
born  in  Chatfield  township,  Crawford  county, 
in  December,  i860,  and  is  a  son  of  Michael 
and  Sabina  (Kalb)  Lutz. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Lutz  were  born  in  Ger- 
many but  for  many  years  they  were  well 
known  and  highly  respected  residents  of  Chat- 
field  township,  Crawford  county,  where  the 
father  was  a  farmer  and  also  followed  the  car- 
penter trade.  Both  he  and  wife  died  in 
Chatfield  township  and  a  number  of  their  chil- 
dren live  in  this  section.  Of  these  T.  John 
was  the  sixth  in  order  of  birth,  the  others  be- 
ing: William;  Sabina,  who  is  the  widow  of 
Mathias  Loyer;  Michael;  Catherine,  who  is 
the  wife  of  J.  D.  Loyer;  Caroline;  Lucy,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Frank  Rush;  David;  Matilda, 
who  is  the  wife  of  J.  H.  Fox;  and  Daniel  and 
Jacob. 

T.  John  Lutz  attended  the  public  schools 
near  his  father's  farm  and  afterward  spent 
three  terms  at  college,  at  Valparaiso,  Ind.  A 
well  educated  man  makes  no  mistake  when  he 
chooses  farming  as  his  life  work  and  Mr.  Lutz 
has  proved  this  true.  When  he  started  he 
bought  100  acres  of  land  in  Cranberry  town- 
ship, which  he  bought  from  a  Mr.  Rader,  but 
since  1903  he  has  been  on  his  present  farm  in 
Bucyrus  township,  which  he  purchased  from 
C.  F.  Rexroth. 

In  June,  1882  Mr.  Lutz  was  married  to  Miss 
Mary  Elizabeth  Zeller,  who  died  in  1904.  She 
was  a  daughter  of  Frederick  and  Elizabeth 
(Bardon)  Zeller,  who  came  to  Crawford 
county  from  Germany  and  after  many  years 
died  on  their  farm  here.  They  had  the  fol- 
lowing children:  Margaret,  wife  of  N.  F. 
Shunk;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  John  Q.  Shunk; 
Catherine;  Christina,  wife  of  M.  J.  Lutz; 
Henry;  Martha;  August;  Matilda,  wife  of  S. 
E.  Miller,  Mary  Elizabeth,  formerly  wife  of 
T.  John  Lutz;  and  John,  Albert  and  Etta. 
Three  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lutz :  Cyrus  Pierce,  Clifton  D.  and  Ruth,  the 
last  named  being  deceased.  Mr.  Lutz  was 
married  (second)  to  Mrs.  Ida  (Lewis)  Jack- 
son, widow  of  Thomas  J.  Jackson,  and  she 
had  one  child  of  her  first  marriage,  Bertie 
Elmyra.     Mr.  Jackson  died  in  Huron  county, 


848 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


O.  In  politics  Mr.  Lutz  has  always  been  a 
Democrat  and  on  many  occasions  has  been 
elected  to  responsible  township  offices  on  the 
Democratic  ticket.  He  has  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  school  board  and  in  Chatfield  town- 
ship served  as  road  supervisor  and  three  terms 
as  assessor.  He  is  one  of  the  valued  members 
of  the  Bucyrus  Grange,  and  with  his  wife  be- 
longs to  the  English  Lutheran  church  in  that 
city. 

JOSEPH  LEITZY,  farmer,  stock  raiser 
and  leading  citizen  of  Holmes  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  resides  on  his  farm  of 
lOO  acres  and  has  an  additional  40  acres  in 
Bucyrus  township.  He  was  born  in  Holmes 
township,  Aug.  7,  1876,  and  is  a  son  of 
Francis  and  Susanna  (Smith)  Leitzy. 

Francis  Leitzy  was  born  in  Germany  and 
was  young  when  he  came  to  the  United 
States  and  spent  the  larger  portion  of  his  long 
life  in  Crawford  county,  O.,  settling  first  near 
Bucyrus  and  later  moving  to  the  place  now 
owned  by  his  son  Joseph,  four  miles  west  of 
that  city.  He  carried  on  farming  and  raised 
stock,  was  an  honest,  industrious  man  and  one 
who  was  highly  respected.  He  lived  to  be  84 
years  old.  He  married  Susanna'  Smith,  who 
died  in  her  55th  year,  and  they  had  eight  chil- 
dren born  to  them,  as  follows :  Rosanna,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Philip  Strohm;  Catherine,  who 
is  the  wife  of  George  Strohm;  Mary,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Jacob  Steiger;  John,  who  lives  in 
Dallas  township,  Crawford  county;  Louisa, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Fred  Schufer  of  Bucyrus; 
William,  who  "lives  at  Bucyrus ;  Joseph ;  and 
George,  who  is  deceased. 

Joseph  Leitzy  remained  at  home  and  as- 
sisted his  father  and  after  the  latter's  death 
bought  the  interests  of  the  other  heirs.  He  is 
a  practical,  well  informed  .farmer  with  a 
thorough  understanding  of  the  principles  of 
agriculture  and  their  appliance  to  his  own  land 
and  has  been  very  successful  in  his  undertak- 
ings. He  has  a  very  attractive  place,  having 
erected  substantial  buildings  and  keeping 
everything  in  excellent  order. 

Mr.  Leitzy  was  married  (first)  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Wisman,  who  died  in  1908,  leaving 
one  daughter,  Mary.  He  was  married  (sec- 
ond) to  Miss  Verda  Wisman.  They  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Martin  Luther  Church  at  Bucyrus 


in  which  Mr.  Leitzy  is  a  deacon.  In  politics 
Mr.  Leitzy  is  a  stanch  Democrat.  He  served 
three  years  as  township  supervisor,  with  the 
greatest  efficiency,  and  at  present  is  a  school 
director. 

ALFRED  C.  GEORGE,  whose  fine  farm  of 
148  acres  is  situated  in  Dallas  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  has  been  a  resident 
of  Crawford  county  for  a  number  of  years  but 
his  Ijirth  took  place  in  Morrow  county,  Jan. 
14,  1874,  his  parents,  John  and  Elizabeth 
(McCracken)  George,  being  also  natives  of 
Morrow  county.  They  were  well  known  peo- 
ple, were  members  of  the  Baptist  church,  and 
lived  comfortably  on  their  well  improved 
farm,  which  continued  to  be  their  home  until 
the  close  of  life.  They  had  the  following 
family  of  children  born  to  them:  Margaret, 
deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  Perry  Purvis; 
Julia,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  William 
Reed ;  Mary,  who  married  Theodore  Stafford ; 
William-;  Jennie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Thomas 
Cluff;  Benjamin;  Thomas,  who  is  deceased; 
Abbie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Harry  Clark;  John 
A.;  Hannah,  who  married  (first)  James 
Clark,  and  (second)  a  Mr.  Fleming;  Alfred 
C,  and  Callie,  who  is  deceased. 

Alfred  C.  George  obtained  his  educational 
training  in  the  public  schools  and  remained  on 
the  home  farm  with  his  father  until  he  was  24 
years  of  age.  For  about  two  years  afterward 
he  rented  land  in  Bucyrus  township  and  then 
bought  his  present  farm,  68  acres  from  Daniel 
Aumiller  and  80  acres  from  Charles  Dowdy. 
He  has  improved  his  property  and  recently  has 
erected  a  substantial  modern  barn.  A  general 
line  of  farming  is  carried  on  and  he  has  every 
reason  to  feel  satisfied  with  his  present  agri- 
cultural success  and  its  future  promise. 

On  April  4,  1906,  Mr.  George  was  married 
to  Miss  Mabel  Beall,  who  was  born  in  Craw- 
ford county,  and  is  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Annetta  (Wentz)  Beall.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
George  is  deceased  but  the  mother  lives  and 
resides  in  Dallas  township.  The  Bealls  were 
early  settlers  and  substantial  people  of  this 
part  of  Crawford  county.  Mrs.  George  has 
three  brothers,  one  older,  Arthur,  and  two 
younger,  Walter  and  Edgar.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
George  have  one  daughter,  Elizabeth  Annetta. 
They  are  members  of  the  Christian  Church. 


JAIIES   S.   McCARRELL,  D.  D.  S. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


851 


Mr.  George  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  be- 
longs also  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias  lodge  at 
Bucyrus. 

JAMES  S.  McCARRELL,  D.  D.  S.,  de- 
ceased, for  44  years  was  one  of  the  leading 
professional  men  of  Bucyrus,  where,  also  as 
a  citizen,  he  was  held  in  respect  and  esteem. 
He  was  born  Feb.  14,  1835,  in  Armstrong 
county.  Pa.,  and  died  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  May  3, 
1909.  He  was  one  of  a  family  of  three  sons 
and  one  daughter  born  to  Rev.  James  Mc- 
Carrell,  who,  at  one  time  was  a  prominent 
minister  in  the  United  Presbyterian  church 
in   Pennsylvania. 

James  S.  McCarrell  had  school  advantages, 
his  father  being  a  scholarly  man,  and  early 
became  a  teacher.  When  the  Civil  War  broke 
out  he  and  his  two  brothers  enlisted  for  serv- 
ice but  serious  illness  caused  his  discharge  on 
account  of  disability,  while  his  brothers  sur- 
vived the  early  hardships  of  army  life  only 
to  die  later  of  starvation  in  the  stockade  at 
Andersonville,  Ga.  He  resumed  teaching  and 
later  became  superintendent  of  the  public 
schools  of  Beaver  Falls,  Pa.  He  completed 
his  studies  in  dentistry  at  New  Brighton,  Pa., 
and  in  1865  came  to  Bucyrus  and  established 
himself  here  where  his  subsequent  life  was 
spent.  He  was  one  of  the  most  successtui 
practitioners  of  dental  surgery  in  this  city, 
his  long  experinece  and  scientific  skill  qualify- 
ing him  for  all  ordinary  dental  work  and  for 
those  delicate  operations  which,  in  his  later 
years,  served  to  elevate  the.  profession  to  its 
present  high  plane,  with  which  he  made  him- 
self thoroughly  familiar.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Ohio  State  Dental  Association  and  in 
many  lines  of  dental  practice  was  considered 
an  authority.  For  many  years  he  was  identi- 
fied with  the  Masonic  fraternity.  He  called 
himself  a  Democrat  but  was  always  independ- 
ent in  his  views. 

Dr.  McCarrell  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to 
Miss  Mary  A.  Matthews,  who  was  born  in 
1837,  at  Utica,  N.  Y.,  and  was  three  years 
old  when  her  parents  moved  to  Sandusky,  O. 
Her  grandfather,  Rev.  Robert  Matthews,  was 
a  native  of  Bath,  England.  He  was  possessed 
of  means  and  for  forty  years  devoted  his  life 
to  the  free  ministery  of  the  Baptist  church. 
Robert  Matthews,  Jr.,  father  of  Mrs.  McCar- 


rell was  educated  in  England.  He  married 
Mary  Kelly,  of  Troy,  N.  Y.  and  afterward 
settled  permanently  at  Sandusky,  O.,  where 
Mr.  Matthews  continued  in  business  until  his 
death.  His  widow  subsequently  married 
James  Paul  and  they  had  one  son,  Charles. 
She  lived  into  old  age  and  died  at  Sandusky. 
Mrs.  McCarrell  has  one  surviving  brother, 
William  Matthews,  of  Sandusky.  To  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  McCarrell  three  children  were  born: 
James,  who  died  when  aged  three  years  and 
eight  months;  Maud,  who  is  the  wife  of  Ed- 
ward George  Reid,  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Bucyrus;  and  Susan,  who  resides  with  her 
mother.  Mrs.  McCarrell  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  and  Miss  Susan  of  the 
Episcopal  church.  They  are  well  known  in 
social  circles  here. 

Mrs.  McCarrell  had  an  exceedingly  trying 
experience  at  one  time  in  her  life.  She  was 
attending  the  performance  at  Ford's  Theater, 
Washington,  D.  C,  on  that  memorable  occa- 
sion when  President  Lincoln  was  fatally  shot 
by  the  assassin,  J.  Wilkes  Booth. 

CHARLES  H.  LANIUS,  passenger  agent 
at  Galion,  O.,  has  been  identified  with  the  C. 
C.  C.  and  B.  I.  and  now  Big  Four  R.  R.,  at 
this  point  since  1870  and  is  one  of  the  best 
known  railroad  men  on  the  line.  He  was  born 
at  Kelshausen,  Kreises  Wetzlar,  Prussia,  Dec. 
20,  1848,  a  son  of  Peter  and  Elizabeth 
(Sames)  Lanius. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Lanius  were  also  of 
German  birth  and  parentage.  During  the 
Revolution  of  1848  Peter  Lanius  became  in- 
volved and  in  the  spring  of  1849  embarked 
with  his  wife  and  infant  son  on  a  vessel  sail- 
ing for  America.  After  a  voyage  of  three 
months  the  travelers  were  safely  landed  in  the 
harbor  of  New  York  and  from  there  made 
their  way  to  Buffalo  and  then  to  Sandusky, 
O.  From  that  place,  in  a  grain  wagon,  then 
denominated  a  land  schooner,  the  German 
family  reached  Galion.  At  first  Peter  Lanius 
accepted  farm  work  at  35  cents  a  day,  a  small 
wage  but  in  that  day  it  purchased  more  than 
double  the  amount  that  it  would  at  the  present 
time.  Later,  for  many  years  he  was  in  the 
draying  business  at  Galion  and  his  death  oc- 
curred in  this  city  in  1886,  when  he  was  aged 
6^  years,  having  survived  his  wife  for  five 


852 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


years.  They  were  members  of  the  First  Re- 
formed church  and  were  highly  respected  by 
all  who  gained  their  acquaintance.  The  fam- 
ily contained  four  sons  and  two  daughters, 
there  being  three  sons  yet  living,  namely: 
Charles  H. ;  William  P.,  who  is  general  yard- 
master  with  the  B.  &  O.  Railroad  at  Lorain, 
O. ;  and  John,  who  is  a  car  inspector  for  the 
Big  Four,  at  Gallon. 

Charles  H.  Lanius  was  reared  and  attended 
school  at  Gallon  and  in  1870  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  the  C.  C.  C.  and  B.  I.  now  Big  Four 
R.  R.  In  1878  he  was  made  ticket  and  ex- 
press clerk  and  continued  until  1907,  when  he 
was  made  passenger  agent. 

Mr.  Lanius  was  married  at  Gallon  to  Miss 
Catherine  Sittler,  who  was  born  here,  a  daugh- 
ter of  John  Sittler,  who  was  born  in  Dodenau, 
Hesse  Darmstadt  and  married  at  Gallon, 
where  he  died  aged  44  years.  By  trade  he  was 
a  cooper.  The  mother  of  Mrs.  Lanius,  was 
born  at  New  Philadelphia,  O.,  and  died  at  the 
age  of  68  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lanius  have 
six  children,  namely:  Frederick,  agent  of  Big 
Four  R.  R.,  at  Gallon,  who  married  Zula 
Belle  Cutchfield  and  has  three  children — 
Ralph,  Vivian  and  Dean;  Mary,  who  passed 
the  grammar  grade,  and  follows  the  dress- 
making trade;  Ora,  who  is  a  clerk  in  a  dry 
goods  store  and  a  graduate  of  Gallon  High 
School;  Carl,  train  director  for  the  Pennsyl- 
vania lines  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  who  married 
Cora  Clark ;  Otto,  who  is  with  the  C.  and  E.  I. 
Railway,  at  Danville,  111.,  and  Cleo,  also  a 
graduate  of  Gallon  High  School,  who  is  a 
stenographer,  in  the  Big  Four  Railway  offices 
at  Gallon.  All  the  children  have  been  given 
educational  advantages  and  all  stand  well  in 
their  communities.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lanius  have 
reared  their  family  in  the  faith  of  the  First 
Reformed  church.  Fraternally  Mr.  Lanius  is 
a  Blue  Lodge  Mason,  and  in  his  political  senti- 
ments he  prefers  to  be  free  from  party  ties. 

SAMUEL  BAKER,  whose  death  on  Sept. 
15,  19 10,  deprived  Dallas  township  of  a 
good  and  worthy  citizen,  was  born  in  Whet- 
stone township,  this  county,  Sept.  22,  1845, 
son  of  Benaiah  and  Mary  (Houck)  Baker. 
His  parents  were  natives  of  Pickaway  county 
and  were  farmers.  They  had  nine  children, 
namely:  Rebecca,  who  married  Thomas  Ken- 


nedy; William;  Phillip;  John;  Matilda,  wife 
of  Marcus  Hemphill;  Samuel,  subject  of  this 
sketch ;  Lucinda,  wife  of  George  Miller ;  Polly, 
who  was  the  wife  of  William  Crissinger;  and 
David,  who  perished  in  the  Civil  war. 

Samuel  Baker  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  was  brought  up  to  farming,  which 
occupation  he  followed  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 
Politically  he  was  a  Democrat  and  though  not 
particularly  active  in  township  affairs  was  rec- 
ogmzed  as  a  capable  farmer  and  reliable  citi- 
zen, exercising  usually  a  sound  judgment  on 
matters  of  public  interest.  He  was  married 
Oct.  14,  1869  to  Lydia  Jane  Kennedy,  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Margaret  (Shank) 
Kennedy. 

Mrs.  Baker's  parents  were  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  both  came  to.  Ohio  when  young. 
After  their  marriage  they  took  up  farming  in 
Marion  county.  Their  children  were  Lydia 
Jane,  above  mentioned;  Thomas  S.,  a  farmer 
of  Dallas  township,  where  and  elsewhere  he 
owns  large  tracts  of  agricultural  property,  be- 
ing also  a  stockholder  in  the  Farmers  and 
Citizens  Bank  of  Bucyrus,  and  whose  wife  was 
in  maidenhood  Esther  F.  Monnett;  Martha, 
now  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  George 
Watts;  James  William,  of  whom  we  have  no 
special  record;  Emma,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Madison  Roberts;  Zilla,  who  is  the  present 
wife  of  George  Watts;  and  Margaret  Ellen, 
who  is  the  wife  of  John  Hill.  After  the  death 
of  Mrs.  Margaret  Kennedy,  Mrs.  Baker's 
mother,  William  Kennedy  married  for  his 
second  wife  Mary  A.  Lance  and  they  had  born 
to  them  a  daughter,  Samira,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Ellsworth  J.  Jones.  Mrs.  Baker's  grand- 
parents on  the  paternal  side  were  Thomas  and 
Nancy  Kennedy,  and  on  the  maternal  side, 
Jacob  and  Lydia  Shank. 

The  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel 
Baker  have  been  as  follows :  Delia,  who  mar- 
ried Charles  Garver  and  whose  children  are 
C.  Marion,  Marvin  J.  and  Jane  Ermyntrude; 
William  P.,  who  married  Icy  Birdilla  Blowers 
and  has  two  children — William  Carl  and 
Daniel  Earl ;  Thomas,  who  married  Rose  Shell 
and  whose  children  are  Ernest,  Cleo  and  Mil- 
dred; David,  who  resides  in  the  state  of  Cali- 
fornia; Roda;  Sylvia;  Idro,  wife  of  Jay  Stoltz 
has  one  child,  Treva  Fern;  Vernon  J.  and 
Hertha.     The  Baker  family  in  general  attend 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


853 


the  Methodist  church.  They  are  numbered 
among  the  good  citizenship  of  Crawford 
county,  in  the  development  and  upbuilding  of 
which  they  are  taking  an  active  and  useful 
part.  Mrs.  Baker  herself  owns  80  acres  in 
Dallas  township,  which  came  to  her  from  her 
father,  William  Kennedy. 

JACOB  LUST,  whose  well  improved  farm 
of  150  acres  lies  in  Holmes  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  on  the  Oceola  road,  four 
miles  west  of  Bucyrus,  was  born  in  Lykens 
township,  Crawford  county,  March  17,  1855, 
and  is  a  son  of  David  and  Catherine  (Yeiter) 
Lust. 

David  Lust  came  of  German  ancestry  but 
was  born  in  Marion  county,  O.,  and  in  1828 
accompanied  an  uncle  to  Crawford  county  and 
resided  in  Chatfield  township  until  after  his 
marriage.     He  then  moved  to  Lykens  town- 
ship and  for  many  years  carried  on  farming 
but  is  now  retired,  being  in  his  84th  year.    He 
married  Catherine  Yeiter,  who  was  born  in 
New   Jersey  and   was   brought  to   Crawford 
county  in  youth.     Ten  children,  six  sons  and 
four  daughters  were  born  to  them  and  all  sur- 
vive except  one  daughter,  Mrs.  Lydia  Stump, 
the  next  to  the  youngest  born.     The  others 
are :  Jacob ;  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Heiber ;  Simon,  of 
Liberty  township;  Noah,  of  Whetstone  town- 
ship ;  Mrs.  Mary  Cook,  of  Bucyrus ;  Wesley,  of 
Holmes  township;  Mrs.  Sarah  Hayden,  who 
resides  with  her  father;  Abraham,  of  Holmes 
township ;  and  Amos,  who  is  the  home  farmer. 
Jacob  Lust  obtained  his  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  and  afterward  engaged  in  farm- 
ing in  Liberty  and  Bucyrus  townships  prior 
to  coming  to  his  present  place,  Aug.  17,  1893. 
He  has  greatly  improved  this  property  since 
it  came  into  his  possession  and  has  a  valuable 
and   well   stocked   farm.      Mr.    Lust   married 
Miss   Amanda   Brown,   a   daughter   of   John 
Brown,   who   was   born   in   Germany.      They 
have  had  six  children,   namely:  Verne,   who 
married  Ora  Benson  and  has  two  children — 
Florence  and  Fairy;  an  infant,  deceased;  Ef- 
fie,  who  died  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years ;  Roy, 
who  married  Elsie  Schifer  and  has  two  chil- 
dren— Norma    and    Fred;    and    Leora    and 
Raymond,  who  remain  at  home.     Politically 
Mr.   Lust  is  a  stanch  Democrat  and  he  has 
served  in  the  office  of  township  trustee  and  is 


a  member  of  the  school  board,  the  District  No. 
9  school-house  being  on  his  farm.  Mr.  Lust 
and  family  attend  the  Lutheran  church.  They 
are  all  well  known  and  highly  respected  people 
of  this  section. 

SAMUEL  F.  WEIDEMAIER,  who,  for 
25  years  has  resided  on  his  present  exceed- 
ingly valuable  farm  of  280  acres,  which  is 
situated  in  Bucyrus  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  is  a  representative  man  of  this  sec- 
tion, one  who  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  all  who 
know  him.  He  was  born  in  Marion  county, 
O.,  March  28,  i860,  and  is  a  son  of  Peter  and 
Christina  (Diegle)  Weidemaier. 

Peter  Weidemaier  was  born  in  Germany 
and  came  to  America  in  youth  and  became  a 
farmer  in  Marion  county,  O.  There  he  mar- 
ried Christina  Diegle,  who  was  born  in  Mar- 
ion county,  of  German  parents,  and  there  they 
lived  until  the  end  of  their  lives,  being  quiet, 
good,  thrifty  and  religious  people.  They  had 
the  following  children  born  to  them:  Samuel 
F.,  Jacob,  Daniel  Joseph,  Thomas  and  Minnie, 
all  of  whom  survive  except  Daniel  and  Minnie. 

Samuel  F.  Weidemaier  was  trained  to  farm 
pursuits  by  his  father,  with  whom  he  remained 
until  he  was  28  years  of  age.  Since  he  has 
been  in  business  for  himself  many  of  the  farm 
methods  have  changed  and  improve'd  machin- 
ery has  taken  the  place  of  former  wearying 
hand  work,  but  the  principles  remain  the  same. 
For  16  years  Mr.  Weidemaier  rented  the  farm 
he  then  bought,  purchasing  it  from  the  heirs 
of  Daniel  Stump,  who  was  his  father-in-law. 
He  has  made  improvements  as  he  has  deemed 
them  necessary  and  since  taking  charge  of  the 
property  has  probably  doubled  its  value.  He 
engages  in  a  general  farming  line.  In  1887 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Louisa  Stump,  a 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Zimmer- 
man) Stump,  and  they  have  two  sons,  Arthur 
and  Wesley.  In  politics  Mr.  Weidemaier  is  a 
Democrat.  With  his  family  he  belongs  to  the 
German  Methodist  church,  of  which  he  is  a 
trustee  and  in  which  he  has  served  as  Sun- 
day-school superintendent. 

CHAS.  F.  MATTHEW,  who  served  Craw- 
ford county  in  the  office  of  recorder  for  six 
consecutive  years  and  is  now  engaged  in  the 
abstract,  insurance  and  real  estate  business  at 


854 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Bucyrus,  O.,  has  been  a  resident  of  this  city 
for  over  a  half  century.  He  was  born  in  Sen- 
eca county,  O.,  July  3,  1854,  and  is  a  son  of 
Charles  M.  Matthew. 

Charles  M.  Matthew  was  born  in  one  of 
the  Rhine  provinces  of  Germany  and  in  1847, 
during  the  insurrection,  left  Germany  and 
came  to  America,  locating  in  the  Lake  Super- 
ior region  and  some  time  later  removed  to 
Scipio,  in  Seneca  county,  0.,  where  he  fol- 
lowed the  trade  of  cabinetmaker.  There  he 
married  Margaret  Shock,  who  was  born  in 
Bavaria,  Germany,  and  had  been  brought  to 
America  by  her  parents  when  she  was  a  child. 
After  the  birth  of  three  of  their  seven  chil- 
dren, they  moved  to  Bucyrus,  where  the  re- 
mainder of  their  quiet,  virtuous,  useful  lives 
were  spent,  the  mother  dying  in  1885  and  the 
father  surviving  until  1905,  he  being  then  in 
his  76th  year.  They  were  members  of  the 
German  Reformed  church.  Politically  he  was 
a  Democrat.  Six  of  the  family  of  children 
still  live  and  four  reside  at  Bucyrus. 

Chas.  F.  Matthew  was  the  eldest  born  of 
his  parents'  children  and  was  six  years  old 
when  the  family  came  to  Bucyrus.  Here  his 
education  was  attended  to  and  he  was  usefully 
employed  in  various  ways  until  1880,  when  he 
went  to  work  in  his  father's  furniture  store 
and  became  a  partner  in  1885  and  continued 
in  the  business  for  the  next  ten  years.  In 
1897  ^^  "was  appointed  deputy  county  recorder 
and  in  1903  was  elected  recorder  and  filled  out 
two  terms  in  this  office  with  marked  efficiency. 
In  the  meanwhile  he  had  become  interested  in 
abstract  work  and  later  opened  an  abstract  of- 
fice and,  in  connection  with  his  other  interests, 
continues  the  same.  In  1909  he  became  asso- 
ciated with  Milton  R.  Lewis  in  the  insurance 
and  real  estate  business  at  Bucyrus  and  theirs 
is  a  busy  office  in  the  News  Forum  Building  at 
Bucyrus. 

Mr.  Matthew  was  married  in  Pennsylvania 
to  Miss  Kate  B.  Schack,  who  was  born  in  the 
state  of  New  York  but  was  reared  at  Wilcox, 
Pa.  They  have  two  children:  Eva  A.,  who 
was  born  in  1878  and  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  F.  C. 
McGaughy,  a  well  known  dentist  of  Gallon, 
O.,  and  Fred  A.,  who  is  interested  in  mining 
in  Mexico.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Matthew  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Politically 
he  is  a  Democrat  and  formerly  was  active  as 
a  Knight  of  Pythias. 


ALBERT  J.  SEELE,  whose  excellent  farm 
of  93  acres  lies  in  Bucyrus  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  was  born  in  Holmes  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  Feb.  19,  1857,  and  is 
a  son  of  Emil  and  Catherine  (Spade)  Seele. 

Emil  Seele  was  born  in  Germany  and  was 
16  years  old  when  he  came  to  America  and  lo- 
cated in  Crawford  county.  He  learned  and 
followed  the  shoemaking  trade  for  some  years 
but  later  became  a  farmer  in  Holmes  town- 
ship,-where  he  died.  He  was  a  highly  re- 
spected man,  a  faithful  member  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church,  and  a  Democrat  in 
politics.  He  married  Catherine  Spade,  who 
was  born  in  Stark  county,  O.,  and  she  also  is 
deceased,  through  life  having  been  a  member 
of  the  German  Reformed  church.  They  had 
the  following  children :  Malinda,  who  married 
Charles  Gerstenberger ;  Edward;  Matilda,  who 
married  Abraham  Ditty;  George  Delmar;  Al- 
bert J. ;  Celestia,  who  married  Daniel  Smith ; 
and  William,  Clarence,  and  Charles  Westley. 

Albert  J.  Seele  attended  school  until  he  was 
12  years  of  age  and  then  began  to  help  his 
father  on  the  home  farm  and  remained  until 
he  was  30  years  of  age,  farming  having  been 
his  business  through  life.  For  14  years  Mr. 
Seele  rented  land,  having  his  present  farm 
rented  for  ten  years  before  buying  it,  in  Feb., 
1 90 1,  from  David  W.  Nussbaum.  He  has 
made  improvements  since  becoming  its  owner 
and  still  continues  these  and  has  a  valuable 
property.  He  carries  on  general  farming  and 
raises  stock  but  only  enough  for  his  own  use. 

On  December  12,  1887,  Mr.  Seele  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Ellen  Rupert,  a  daughter  of 
Solomon  and  Lydia  (Haas)  Rupert.  The 
father  of  Mrs.  Seele  was  born  in  Stark  county, 
O.,  and  the  mother  is  Lykens  township,  this 
county.  They  lived  on  a  farm  in  Lykens 
township.  They  had  three  children:  Aaron, 
Ellen  and  Emery.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seele  have 
one  son,  James  Carson,  who  was  born  Oct.  2, 
1888  and  assists  his  father.  He  is  a  member 
of  Co.  A,  O.  N.  G.,  at  Bucyrus.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Seele  attend  the  English  Lutheran  church. 
Both  Mr.  Seele  and  son  are  Democrats,  and 
James  C.  Seele  belongs  fraternally  to  the  Jr. 
O.  U.  A.  M.,  at  Bucyrus. 

C.  R.  SHECKLER,  M.  D.,  who  is  the  old- 
est resident  physician  of  Brokensword,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  to  which  place  he  came  in 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


855 


1882,  was  born  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  in  1856,  and  is 
a  son  of  Edward  F.  and  Adeline  (Shawk) 
Sheckler. 

Edward  F.  Sheckler  was  of  German  par- 
entage but  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  from 
there  came  to  Crawford  county  in  young  man- 
hood. For  many  years  afterward  he  con- 
ducted a  tailoring  establishment  at  Bucyrus 
and  his  death  occurred  at  the  home  of  his 
son,  Dr.  Sheckler,  when  he  was  aged  67  years. 
He  married  Adeline  Shawk,  who  passed  away 
at  Bucyrus  some  years  before  her  husband. 
They  had  four  children,  namely :  C.  R. ;  Nettie, 
who  married  E.  J.  Williams,  a  teacher  and 
fruit  farmer  in  the  State  of  Washington;  J. 
Thompson,  who  is  also  a  resident  of  Wash- 
ington, a  carpenter  by  trade;  and  Edward, 
who  also  follows  carpentering  in  Washington. 

C.  R.  Sheckler  attended  the  public  schools 
of  Bucyrus  and  with  a  local  physician  did  his 
preliminary  medical  reading  and  then  entered 
the  Columbus  Medical  College,  Columbus,  O., 
where  he  was  graduated  in  1877.  He  com- 
menced practice  at  North  Robinson,  Crawford 
county,  where  he  continued  for  six  years  and 
then  came  to  Brokensword  and  made  this 
pleasant  town  his  permanent  home.  His  prac- 
tice covers  a  wide  territory  and  few  men  are 
better  known  in  this  section.  As  a  citizen  he 
has  been  active  in  advancing  the  interests  of 
the  place  and  has  taken  much  interest  in  educa- 
tional matters  and  has  served  on  the  board  of 
education. 

Dr.  Sheckler  married  Miss  Catherine  Be- 
gan, a  daughter  of  Samuel  Bogan  of  North 
Robinson,  and  they  have  three  children: 
Ralph,  a  railroad  man,  who  married  Catherine 
Gallagher  of  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  and  has  one 
child;  and  Adeline  and  Archie  B.,  both  of 
whom  reside  at  home.  In  politics  Dr.  Sheck- 
ler is  a  Democrat  and  fraternally  belongs  to 
the  order  of  Foresters. 

JOHN  PARCHER,*  farmer,  and  one  of 
the  leading  citizens  of  Dallas  township,  was 
born  in  Bucyrus  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  Sept.  16,  1846,  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Mary 
(McNeal)  Parcher.  His  father  was  a  native 
of  this  county,  while  his  mother  was  from 
Pennsylvania.  Daniel  Parcher  was  a  car- 
penter by  trade  and  also  followed  farming  to 


some  extent.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat. 
He  and  his  wife  are  both  deceased  and  their 
remains  rest  in  Bucyrus  cemetery.  Their 
children  were :  John,  whose  name  appears  at 
the  head  of  this  sketch;  Juliet,  wife  of  Josiah 
Keckler;  Wellington,  Benjamin,  Allison,  Edith 
(deceased),  George,  Daniel,  and  Elizabeth  and 
Alexander,  who  are  both  deceased. 

John  Parcher  was  educated  only  in  the 
common  schools  so  far  as  literary  attainments 
are  concerned,  but  his  education  in  the  school 
of  life  has  been  broader  and  more  compre- 
hensive, and  in  it  he  has  learned  many  things 
that  are  not  taught  by  schoolmasters.  Hav- 
ing been  trained  to  agriculture,  from  his 
youth  up  he  has  followed  farming  as  his  reg- 
ular occupation  and  now  owns  120  acres  of 
excellent  land  in  Dallas  township,  which  is 
well  cultivated  and  cared  for.  His  buildings 
are  convenient  and  supstantial  and  he  is  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  prosperous  citizens  of 
the  community.  He  has  owned  his  present 
farm  for  about  15  years,  but  has  lived  on  it 
for  about  34  years  altogether ;  it  was  formerly 
known  as  the  Wesley  White  farm.  In  con- 
nection with  his  general  farming  operations, 
Mr.  Parcher  keeps  enough  stock  for  his  own 
use.  Hs  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  has  been 
sufficiently  active  to  serve  in  public  office.  He 
was  county  commissioner  for  six  years  and 
has  also  served  as  township  trustee. 

Mr.  Parcher  was  married  Jan.  i,  1868  to 
Adelia  Wilson,  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Sarah 
(Taylor)  Wilson,  the  former  a  native  of 
Crawford  county,  while  Mrs.  Wilson  was  from 
Ross  county.  Mr.  Wilson  was  an  active  man 
among  the  early  settlers  of  this  section;  he 
was  both  a  farmer  and  merchant,  his  mer- 
cantile operations  including  a  considerable 
trade  in  furs,  which  he  bought  from  the 
Indians.  There  were  thirteen  children  in 
the  Wilson  family,  namely:  John,  Mary, 
Richard,  Susan,  Samuel,  Malissa,  William, 
Sarah,  Daniel,  Rachel,  David,  Adelia  and 
Olive — a  good  stock  contributing  to  form 
that  high  grade  of  citizenship  for  which  the 
state  of  Ohio  is  noted.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  the  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parcher,  ten 
in  number,  who  are  as  follows:  Jesse;  Mary 
E.,  wife  of  G.  L.  Shemer;  Susannah,  who  is 
now  deceased;  Clara,  also  deceased;  Lewis; 
Alma,  wife  of  C.  O.  Shemer;  John  Grover; 


856 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Clarence;  Calvin,  deceased;  and  Delcie.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Parcher  and  family  attend  the  Meth- 
odist church,  while  Mr.  Parcher  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Royal  Arcanum  lodge  at  Bucyrus. 

JACOB  GEIGER,  a  well  known  business 
man  of  Bucyrus  is  the  proprietor  of  the  Bucy- 
rus Copper  Kettle  Works,  a  large  and  well 
equipped  plant  which  gives  employment  to 
many  people.  He  was  born  in  Rhenish  Ba- 
varia, 75  years  ago,  and  was  three  years  of 
age  when  his  parents  with  their  family  came 
to  this  country,  settling  near  Chatfield.  At 
the  age  of  14  Mr.  Geiger  came  to  Bucyrus, 
where  he  was  employed  as  a  clerk  by  A.  P. 
Widman,  then  a  prominent  dry-goods  mer- 
chant. He  remained  with  Mr.  Widman  about 
four  years,  then  accepted. a  position  as  clerk 
and  bookkeeper  in  the  dry-goods  store  of  J. 
P.  Bowman.  Later  he  went  to  Hayesville 
where  he  attended  school.  Returning  to  Bucy- 
rus Mr.  Geiger  clerked  for  several  years,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1863  with  Daniel  Picking  formed 
a  partnership  known  as  Picking  &  Geiger. 
This  firm  bought  out  the  former  hardware  busi- 
ness of  E.  Blair,  and  conducted  a  hardware 
store,  with  Mr.  Geiger  as  manager.  In  1874 
this  firm  started  the  manufacture  of  Copper 
Kettles  for  boiling  apple  butfer. 

Mr.  Geiger  remained  in  this  business  until 
the  spring  of  1879  when  he  sold  his  interest 
to  D.  Picking  &  Co.  He  then  erected  the  first 
building  of  the  Bucyrus  Copper  Kettle  Works, 
and  in  the  fall  of  1879  formed  a  partnership 
with  Philip  E.  Bush  for  the  manufacture  of 
copper  kettles.  To  increase  the  business,  other 
lines  of  kettles  have  been  added  from  time  to 
time,  and  as  it  became  necessary  there  were 
additions  built  to  the  plant.  Since  the  death 
of  Mr.  Bush  in  1907,  the  business  has  been 
continued  under  the  old  firm  name  of  Geiger 
&  Bush,  but  Mr.  Geiger  has  been  sole  pro- 
prietor. He  is  still  actively  engaged  in  man- 
aging the  business  and  is  assisted  by  his  son, 
J.  D.  Geiger. 

Mr.  Geiger  was  married  June  6,  1877,  at 
Bucyrus  to  Millie  Fenner.  They  have  two 
children,  Judson  Dale,  a  graduate  of  Rose 
Polytechnic  Institute,  who  is  associated  with 
his  father  in  the  business,  and  Alberta,  (B.  Lit., 
Oxford  College)  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
W.  Kern. 


GEORGE  BEARD,  an  agriculturist  of  Dal- 
las township,  where  he  operates  his  farm  of 
8iJ4  acres,  came  here  on  April  8,  191 1,  from 
Tod  township,  where  he  had  lived  since  1859 
with  the  exception  of  one  year  spent  in  Wyan- 
dot county.  The  family  had  previous  to  1859 
been  located  in  Richland  county,  Ohio.  Mr. 
Beard  was  born  in  Germany,  May  12,  1847, 
but  was  brought  to  this  country  when  seven 
years  of  age.  After  a  residence  of  seven  years 
in  I^ichland  county,  O.,  which  was  his  first 
home  in  the  United  States,  he  came  to  Craw- 
ford county,  this  being,  as  before  stated,  in 
1859.  Mr,  Beard  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Jo- 
sephine (Reichley)  Beard,  natives  of  Germany, 
who  are  both  now  deceased  and  buried  at  Ne- 
vada, Ohio. 

After  coming  to  this  country  Jacob  Beard 
engaged  in  farming  and  in  this  way  the  rest 
of  his  life  was  spent.  He  was  a  Democrat 
in  his  political  views  and  he  and  his  wife  were 
Lutherans  in  religious  faith.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Jacob  Beard  reared  a  family  of  eight  children, 
as  follows:  John,  George,  Mary,  Cresia,  Hat- 
tie,  Fannie,  Anna  and  Susan.  Mary  became 
the  wife  of  Barrick  Holmes;  Cresia  is  mar- 
ried to  A.  D.  Mulford;  Annie  is  the  wife  of 
George  Christy;  and  Susan,  who  is  now  de- 
ceased, was  the  wife  of  Reuben  Wilcox. 

George  Beard  grew  up  on  the  home  farm 
and  received  the  common  school  education 
generally  afforded  the  youths  of  his  day.  He 
has  since  that  time  spent  his  life  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits  with  the  exception  of  one  year, 
when  he  lived  retired  at  Nevada,  Ohio.  He 
does  general  farming  and  has  been  so  success- 
ful in  his  undertakings  that  he  now  needs  the 
services  of  hired  men  to  help  him.  He  raises 
stock  for  his  own  use. 

In  1874  Mr.  Beard  was  married  to  Mary 
Feichner,  who  was  born  in  Crawford  county. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  John  and  Rose  Ann 
(Cafeir)  Feichner,  who  were  well  known 
farming  people  of  Liberty  township,  Craw- 
ford county.  They  are  both  deceased  and 
buried  in  Liberty  township,  one  mile  north 
of  Sulphur  Springs.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beard  have 
had  one  child,  I-ettie  McHenry. 

Mr.  Beard  is  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He 
and  his  wife  are  affiliated  with  the  Lutheran 
church. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


857 


WILLIAM  MERIT  McHENRY,  a  well- 
known  resident  of  Dallas  township,  which  he 
is  serving  as  township  trustee,  was  born  on 
the  farm  on  which  he  now  lives,  Nov.  21, 
1874.  This  property  comprises  100  acres  of 
well-improved  land.  Mr.  McHenry  is  a  son 
of  Caleb  and  Adeline  (Rex)  McHenry. 

Caleb  McHenry  was  born  Nov.  15,  1829 
in  Columbiana  county,  O.,  his  parents  being 
Malcomb  and  Elizabeth  (Wickert)  McHenry, 
who  had  moved  from  Pennsylvania  to  Colum- 
biana county,  O.,  in  1812  and  afterwards 
moved  to  Richland  county,  O.,  where  they  re- 
mained until  1838,  in  which  year  Malcomb 
McHenry  left  his  home  to  go  west  in  search 
of  a  better  location.  He  was  never  afterwards 
heard  of  and  it  is  supposed  that  he  was  killed 
by  the  Indians.  His  wife  moved  to  Indiana 
and  died  there  Feb.  6,  1878. 

Caleb  McHenry,  son  of  Malcomb,  and  father 
of  our  subject,  grew  up  on  the  farm  and  fol- 
lowed agriculture  all  his  life.  He  came  to 
Dallas  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  in  1840 
and  all  his  subsequent  life  with  the  exception 
of  eight  years  when  he  was  in  Lake  county, 
Ind.,  was  spent  here.  He  was  widely  known 
in  Dallas  township,  having  served  as  justice 
of  the  peace  for  a  great  number  of  years  and 
also  as  township  trustee  and  clerk  to  the  chair- 
man of  the  school  board.  He  was  first  united 
in  marriage  with  a  Miss  Parmer,  of  Indiana, 
and  their  children  were :  Curtis,  deceased ; 
Emma,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  R.  L. 
Hudson;  Millard  Esther,  deceased,  who  was 
the  wife  of  Jacob  Shupp;  Joseph;  and  Mary, 
the  wife  of  David  Graham.  He  married,  sec- 
ondly, Adeline  Rex  and  they  became  the  par- 
ents of  children  as  follows :  Martha,  the  wife 
of  Willis  Spade;  Orpha,  deceased,  who  was 
the  wife  of  Benjamin  Grooves ;  Milen  and  Wil- 
liam M.,  the  direct  subject  of  this  article,  who 
is  the .  youngest  born. 

William  M.  McHenry  received  the  usual 
common  school  education  and  then  turned  his 
attention  to  farming  which  has  since  been  his 
life's  occupation.  His  land  is  well  improved 
and  Mr.  McHenry  successfully  carries  on  gen- 
eral farming  on  it  and  he  takes  pride  in  rais- 
ing good  stock  though  not  registered. 

On  April  7,  1898,  Mr.  McHenry  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Lettie  Beard,  who  was  born  in 
this  county,  a  daughter  of  George  and  Mary 
(Feichner)    Beard,   who  were   formerly  resi- 


dents of  Tod  township  but  who  now  reside  in 
Dallas  township,  where  Mr.  Beard  is  a  farmer. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beard  have  had  but  one  child, 
Mrs.  McHenry,  but  Mrs.  Beard  has  three  chil- 
dren from  a  former  marriage  to  a  Mr.  Mauer, 
namely:  Frank;  Caroline,  who  was  married 
first  to  William  Miller  and  secondly  to  Frank 
Layman;  and  Malissa,  the  wife  of  Edward 
Starner.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McHenry  have 
been  born  the  following  children:  Eber 
Wayne,  Mary  Eunice,  Vera  May  and  Maud 
Fay. 

Politically,  our  subject  is  a  Republican  but 
votes  for  the  man  who  in  his  judgment  is  most 
capable  of  filling  office,  rather  than  his  party's 
choice.  He  is  serving  in  his  second  term  as 
township  trustee,  having  filled  this  office  for 
four  years.  He  is  fraternally  affiliated  with 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  at  Nevada,  Ohio,  and 
religiously,  he  and  his  family  are  connected 
with  the  U.  B.  Mt.  Zion  church  in  this  town- 
ship. 

FRANK  E.  HAMAN,  deceased,  was  a  well 
known  resident  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  for  many  years 
and  enjoyed  the  respect  and  esteem  of  his  fel- 
low citizens.  He  was  born  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  Dec.  13,  1834,  a  son  of  William  and 
Mary  (Hopp)  Haman.  He  was  yet  young 
when  his  parents  moved  to  Richland  county, 
O.,  where  they  spent  the  remainder  of  their 
lives.  They  had  a  large  family  of  children, 
one  daughter  still  surviving  in  the  person  of 
Mrs.  Fannie  J.  DeGraff,  who  lives  near  Strak- 
ers,  O. 

Frank  E.  Haman  spent  his  boyhood  on  his 
father's  farm  and  attended  the  district  schools. 
When  old  enough  to  learn  a  trade  he  came 
to  Bucyrus  and  apprenticed  himself  to  a  black- 
smith and  became  a  first  class  mechanic.  Later 
he  became  a  member  of  the  city  fire  depart- 
ment and  was  a  brave  and  efficient  worker  in 
that  admirable  organization  for  full  18  years. 
Politically  he  was  a  Republican  and  took  an 
active  interest  in  local  measures  and  served 
for  some  years  in  the  office  of  city  marshal. 
He  was  a  dependable  man  in  every  relation 
of  life  and  his  memory  is  tenderly  preserved 
by  his  family  and  friends.  His  death  occurred 
Feb.  17,  1905,  and  his  obsequies  were  con- 
ducted by  the  Masons,  of  which  fraternity  he 
had  been  an  active  member. 


858 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


On  March  2,  1852,  Mr.  Haman  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Isabella  Jane  Cromleigh,  who  was 
born  at  Middleton,  Dauphin  county,  Pa.,  Oct. 
II,  1830.  Her  father  died  in  Dauphin  county 
when  aged  37  years,  3  months  and  7  days,  hav- 
ing been  a  well  known  man,  a  teacher,  merchant 
and  lumber  inspector.  He  was  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  Lutheran  church  in 
his  community  and  for  years  was  superintend- 
ent of  the  Sunday-school.  After  some  time 
his  widow  married  a  Mr.  Stringfellow,  but  ho 
children  were  born  to  the  second  union.  Mrs. 
Haman  was  18  years  old  when  she  accom- 
panied her  mother  to  Richland  county,  being 
the  only  child  born  to  the  first  marriage.  Her 
mother  died  in  Ohio  when  aged  almost  60 
years.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church. 

Eight  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Haman,  three  sons,  and  five  daughters.  One 
daughter,  Josephine,  died  in  far  off  Honolulu, 
having  gone  to  Hawaii  as  a  teacher  of  music. 
She  was  very  talented  and  in  girlhood  had 
been  the  organist  in  the  Presbyterian  church 
at  Bucyrus.  She  is  survived  by  her  husband 
and  two  daughters.  TWo  other  daughters  died 
in  maidenhood,  M.  Jennie,  at  the  age  of  14 
years,  and  Ida,  at  the  age  of  13  years.  Effie 
J.,  another  child,  died  in .  her  fourth  year. 
There  are  three  surviving  members  of  the  fam- 
ily: Lewis  C,  who  resides  with  his  family 
at  Cleveland,  O. ;  Loring  C,  who  resides  with 
his  family  at  Warsaw,  Ind.,  where  he  is  in  the 
restaurant  business;  and  Frances  E.,  who  is 
the  widow  of  Joseph  Shanks  and  has  two  sons. 
Mrs.  Haman  and  daughter  are  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church. 

WILLARD  T.  WHITE,  proprietor  of  a 
farm  of  800  acres  in  Dallas  township,  is  one 
of  this  township's  best  known  and  most  pros- 
perous citizens.  He  was  born  in  Dallas  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  Ohio,  Aug.  8,  1845, 
a  son  of  Charles  Wesley  and  Hannah  (Hoo- 
ver) White.  His  paternal  grandfather,  also 
named  Charles,  was  born  and  reared  in  Vir- 
ginia, and,  being  about  16  years  old  when  the 
Revolutionary  war  broke  out,  was  placed  on 
the  muster  roll  of  the  militia  and  was  in  active 
military  service  for  several  years  during  the 
struggle  for  independence,  serving  for  a  part 
of  this  period  under  the  direct  command  of 


General  Washington.  He  also  served  for  sev- 
eral years  in  that  branch  of  the  service  known 
as  "minute  men."  He  inherited  an  estate  from 
his  father,  a  part  of  which  consisted  of  slaves, 
and  as  the  public  conscience  of  those  days  had 
not  been  generally  awakened  in  regard  to  the 
iniquity  of  a  traffic  in  human  beings,  he  con- 
tinued to  own  them  and  afterwards  added  to 
their  number,  settling  subsequently  in  Fayette 
county,  Ky.  Later,  however,  he  adopted 
more  modern  ideas  with  respect  to  the  slav- 
ery question  and  becoming  disgusted  with 
the  brutality  of  the  .system,  liberated  his 
slaves,  some  thirteen  in  number,  and  took 
up  his  residence  in  Ross  county,  Ohio.  This 
act  of  self-sacrifice  caused  him  to  fall  into 
somewhat  straightened  circumstances,  and  at 
the  time  of  his  advent  in  Ross  county,  which 
was  in  1812,  he  had  barely  enough  pecuniary 
resources  to  purchase  a  farm  of  145  acres, 
upon  which  he  settled.  By  industry  and  per- 
severance.^  however,  he  gradually  improved  his 
condition.  He  resided  in  Ross  county  for 
some  40  years,  and  died  about  the  year  1856, 
at  the  advanced  age  of  96  years,  6  months  and 
14  days.  He  was  the  father  of  three  sons — 
Samuel,  George  and  Charles  W.  The  two 
elder  were  soldiers  in  the  War  of  1812. 

Charles  W.  White,  the  youngest  son,  was 
born  in  Fayette  county,  Ky.,  within  a  mile  and 
a  half  of  Lexington,  July  18,  1802.  He  was 
too  young  at  the  time  of  the  second  war  with 
England  to  take  any  part  in  it.  At  the  age 
of  18  he  left  his  home  in  Ross  county  and 
visited  the  New  Purchase  for  the  purpose  of 
in  seeking  another  home  in  this  section  of  the 
state.  About  the  year  1820  he  obtained  a  sit- 
uation at  the  old  Indian  mill,  located  on  the 
Sandusky  river,  several  miles  about  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Upper  Sandusky.  He  was  em- 
ployed by  the  Government  Indian  agent, 
received  $15  a  month,  and  boarded  himself. 
His  assistant  in  the  mill  was  Charles  Garrett, 
and  at  this  time  the  nearest  white  settler  was 
at  the  Indian  mission,  then  Upper  Sandusky. 
White  assisted  at  the  mill  for  some  three  years. 
During  this  time  he  saved  money  enough  to 
purchase  his  first  farm,  consisting  of  207 
acres,  now  located  in  Dallas  township,  which 
farm  he  owned  for  over  half  a  century.  After 
working  for  different  persons  during  the  next 
nine  years,  he  removed  to  his  land,  and,  by 


ALVERTIS  D.  SHAEEOCK 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


861 


industry,  economy  and  hard  labor  he  acquired 
a  competence,  and  was  the  owner  of  some  1300 
acres  in  Dallas  township,  besides  97  acres  in 
Bucyrus  township.  His  principal  occupation 
was  the  raising  of  cattle,  and  from  it  he  de- 
rived the  larger  part  of  his  income. 

He  was  married  Nov.  25,  1830,  to  Miss 
Hannah  Simmons  Hoover  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  five  children,  namely:  Mary,  wife 
of  S.  D.  Welsh;  Lorena,  who  married  first 
Benjamin  Welsh,  and  secondly  J.  J.  Fisher; 
Emma,  wife  of  Dwight  Welsh;  Willard  T., 
subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Charles  W. 

Willard  T.  White  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  and  was  brought  up  to  farm  life 
on  the  homestead,  on  which  he  passed  his  active 
career  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He 
inherited  from  his  father  about  300  acres  of 
the  land,  acquiring  the  rest  by  purchase.  For 
some  years  he  has  been  practically  retired,  his 
sons  looking  after  the  farm,  and  during  a 
part  of  this  time  he  has  resided  in  Bucyrus. 
The  homestead  property  is  in  excellent  condi- 
tion, well  cultivated,  and  enough  stock  being 
kept  for  use  on  the  farm.  Mr.  White  is  a 
Republican  in  politics  and  attends  the  Baptist 
church. 

He  was  first  married  to  Clementine  Swigart, 
a  resident  of  this  county,  but  who  was  born 
in  Illinois.  They  had  two  children — Leo  and 
Irene.  The  former,  Leo  White,  is  a  prosper- 
ous agriculturist  of  Dallas  township,  now  serv- 
ing in  his  third  term  as  township  trustee.  He 
operates  240  acres  of  his  father's  farm  and 
has  an  additional  tract  of  160  acres,  which  he 
rents.  In  1898  he  married  Velma  Maude 
Shemer,  a  native  of  Crawford  county  and  has 
two  children — Helen  L.  and  Hazel  M.  Irene, 
the  other  child  of  Mr.  White's  first  marriage, 
is  the  wife  of  E.  H.  K.  McComb,  who  is  as- 
sistant superintendent  of  the  Manuel  Train- 
ing School  at  Indianapolis,  Ind. 

After  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Willard  T. 
White  married  secondly  Ella  Brown,  of  Wyan- 
dot county,  and  of  this  marriage  there  are  two 
children :  Garrett  B.  and  Abram  Jay,  the  lat- 
ter of  whom  married  Bertha  Beal,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Benjamin  Beal  of  Crawford  county. 

ALVERTIS  D.  SHARROCK,  who  owns 
two  of  the  finest  farms  in  Bucyrus  township, 
Crawford   county,   O.,   occupies   one   of    160 


acres  and  also  cultivates  his  other  place,  where 
he  has  93  acres  and  also  owns  a  piece  of  tim- 
ber land  of  seven  and  one  half  acres.  He  was 
born  in  Bucyrus  township,  Aug.  9,  1871,  and 
is  a  son  of  Charles  A.  and  Mary  Ann  (Stine- 
man)  Sharrock.  His  father  was  a  native  of 
Morrow  county,  O.,  and  followed  farming 
for  many  years  in  Bucyrus  township  and 
owned  a  large  body  of  land.  His  death  oc- 
curred April  21,  1909,  and  his  burial  was  at 
Bucyrus.  He  was  a  member  of  Mt.  Zion 
church,  to  which  his  widow,  who  survives, 
also  belonged.  She  continues  to  live  on  the  old 
homestead  in  Bucyrus  township.  They  had 
two  children:  Alpha,  who  is  the  wife  of  Tiro 
E.  Ditty,  and  Alvertis  D. 

After  his  school  days  were  over,  Alvertis 
D.  Sharrock  assisted  his  father  in  his  farm 
industries  and  has  always  lived  in  his  native 
township.  In  addition  to  general  farming  he 
raises  Percheron  horses  and  Mrs.  Sharrock 
takes  much  interest  in  her  registered  Jersey 
cattle.  In  the  summer  of  191 1  Mr.  Sharrock 
built  a  very  fine  modern  residence  already 
having  other  substantial  farm  buildings. 

In  1893  Mr.  Sharrock  was  married  to  Miss 
Emma  L.  Mollenkopf,  who  was  born  in  Bu- 
cyrus township  and  is  a  daughter  of  John  G. 
and  Christiana  Mollenkopf,  who  were  born  in 
Germany  and  later  came  to  Crawford  county. 
Mrs.  Sharrock  has  three  sisters  and  one 
brother,  namely:  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of 
August  Shefifler;  Frederica,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Charles  E.  Wisman ;  Otto  F. ;  Tena,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Alvin  Brinkman ;  and  Elsie.  In 
August,  1898,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sharrock's  only 
son,  Leo  C,  was  born,  who  is  a  school  boy. 
In  politics  Mr.  Sharrock  is  a  Democrat  as 
was  his  father.  He  and  wife  are  members 
of  the  Lutheran  church.  They  belong  to  old 
and  highly  respected  families  of  this  section 
and  are  representative  people. 

TIRA  EDWIN  DITTY,  who  is  one  of  the 
substantial  citizens  and  prosperous  farmers  of 
Bucyrus  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  pur- 
chased his  home  farm  of  100  acres  in  1900, 
and,  in  partnership  with  his  wife  owns  this 
tract,  another  farm  one-half  mile  west,  con- 
taining 49  acres,  a  seven  and  one-half  acre 
timber  tract  and  also  a  handsome  residence 
situated  on  the  corner  of   Fisher  and   Reed 


862 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


streets,  Bucyrus.  Mr.  Ditty  was  born  in 
Holmes  township,  Crawford  county,  Feb.  13, 
1872,  and  is  a  son  of  Abraham  and  Matilda 
(Seek)  Ditty. 

Abraham  Ditty  and  wife  were  both  born 
in  Crawford  county  and  he  engaged  in  farm- 
ing throughout  life,  his  death  occurring  in 
1908.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Evangelical 
church  and  his  burial  was  at  Brokensword. 
His  widow  survives  and  resides  at  North  Bucy- 
rus and  she  also  is  a  member  of  the  Evangelical 
church.  They  had  the  following  children: 
Clara,  who  is  the  wife  of  Frank  Stineman; 
Tira  Edwin;  Irene,  who  is  deceased,  was  the 
wife  of  William  Drexel;  and  Laura,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Roy  Linn. 

Tira  Edwin  Ditty  obtained  a  public  school 
education  and  grew  to  manhood  on  the  home 
farm,  afterward  working  for  some  two  years 
on  farms  by  the  month  and  this  practical  train- 
ing has  proved  valuable  to  him  in  the  manage- 
ment of  his  own  large  property.  He  carries 
on  general  farming,  grows  fruit  and  poultry 
for  home  consumption  and  sufficient  stock  also 
for  his  own  use. 

On  Nov.  14,  1894,  Mr.  Ditty  was  married 
to  Miss  Alpha  Sharrock,  who  is  a  daughter 
of  Charles  A.  and  Mary  Ann  (Stineman) 
Sharrock.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Ditty  was  born 
in  Morrow  county  and  died  April  21,  1909. 
His  widow  survives  and  still  occupies  the  old 
homestead  in  Bucyrus  township.  Mrs.  Ditty 
has  one  brother,  Alvertis  D.,  who  owns  260 
acres  of  fine  land  in  Bucyrus  township.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Ditty  have  two  children:  Cleland 
Lemoin,  who  was  born  October  10,  1895;  and 
Reva  Ilo,  who  was  born  January  17,  1898. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ditty  attend  the  United  Breth- 
ren church.  Nominally  he  is  a  Democrat,  as 
was  his  father,  but  frequently  exercises  his 
own  judgment  in  casting  his  vote.  He  is  iden- 
tified with  the  K.  O.  T.  M.  at  Bucyrus. 

WILLIAM  F.  CROWE,  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  one  of  the  well  known  men  of 
Crawford  county,  who  has  been  vit&lly  inter- 
ested in  the  city  of  Crestline  for  more  than 
40  years,  was  born  in  County  Clare,  Ireland, 
Jan.  3,  1841,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary 
(Flannery)  Crowe. 

William  F.  Crowe  was  left  fatherless  in  his 
boyhood,  and,  as  it  so  often  has  been  the  case. 


the  seven  children  of  the  family  owed  their 
rearing,  education  and  encouragement  to  the 
brave  and  devoted  mother.     In  1849  the  fam- 
ily set  sail  for  Quebec,  Canada,  and  after  voy- 
aging for  seven  weeks  and  three  days,  were 
safely  landed.     From  there  they  traveled  to 
Burlington,  Vt.,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same 
year   reached   New   Franklin,   in  Columbiana 
county,  O.,  and  from  there,  in  the  autumn  of 
1 85 1,  to  Richland  county,  William  F.  then  be- 
ing ten  years  of  age  and  picking  up  a  knowl- 
edge of  books  wherever  and  whenever  oppor- 
tunity offered.     In  the  following  year  removal 
was  made  to  Mansfield  and  there  he  attended 
school  until  1853,  when  he  came  to  Crestline, 
finding    employment    with    the    Pennsylvania 
Railroad  as  a  driver.    In  1854  his  mother  and 
the  younger  children  joined  him  and  here  the 
remainder  of  her  life  was  passed  and  it  is  a 
satisfaction  to  her  son,  that  each  year  it  grew 
more   comfortable   and   less  filled   with   care. 
She  passed  away  in  1895,  when  aged  81  years 
and  her  burial  was  in  St.  Joseph's  cemetery, 
she  having  been  a  faithful  Catholic  all  her  life. 
Of  the  family  of  seven  children,  the  follow- 
ing survive :     W^illiam  F. ;  John,  who  served 
all  through  the  Civil  war  in  the  Federal  Army 
as  a  member  of  Co.  E,  loist  O.  Vol.  Inf.; 
Mrs.  Ellen  Purcell,  who  lives  at  Alliance,  O., 
and  has  three  children ;  and  Jane,  who  is  Mrs. 
Francis  J.  Gosser,  and  lives  at  Crestline,  the 
mother  of  one  son  and  one  daughter. 

In  all  essentials,  William  F.  Crowe  is  a  self- 
made  man.  His  early  opportunities  were  lim- 
ited and  those  he  enjoyed  he  had  to  make  for 
himself,  yet,  before  he  reached  the  prime  of 
life  he  is  found  serving  his  fellow  citizens  in 
honorable  positions  and  respected  and  looked 
up  to  as  one  in  authority.  For  more  than  40 
years  he  has  held  official  responsibilities  at 
Crestline,  serving  seven  years  in  the  council, 
for  two  terms  was  county  recorder,  for  ten 
years  was  corporation  treasurer,  twice  has 
served  the  city  as  mayor  and  for  the  past  14 
years  has  been  justice  of  the  peace.  He  has 
been  regardful  of  the  city's  interest  in  the  per- 
formance of  all  these  public  duties  and  his 
record  as  a  citizen  not  only  shows  unselfish 
public  spirit,  but  the  ability  and  foresight  of 
a  thorough  business  man,  making  his  services 
of  permanent  value. 

Judge  Crowe  was  married  at  Marion,  O.,  to 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


863 


Miss  Ellen  Haley  of  County  Kerry,  Ireland, 
who  accompanied  her  parents,  Bartholomew 
and  Ellen  (Lynch)  Haley,  to  America  and 
she  and  one  sister  Mrs.  D.  Cusick  of  Marion, 
O.,  are  the  only  surviving  children.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Crowe  have  the  following  children: 
Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  H.  L.  Sossen- 
heimer,  agent  for  the  Berger  Manufactur- 
ing Co.,  and  lives  at  St.  Louis,-  having  one 
daughter,  Colletta,  at  Cleveland,  O. ;  Ellen, 
who  is  in  the  dressmaking  business  at  Crest- 
line; Anna  M.,  who  has  been  a  teacher  in 
the  Crestline  union  schools  for  some  ten 
years;  Jane,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of 
W.  H.  Bagley  of  Tulsa,  Okla.,  and  is  sur- 
vived by  one  son,  Paul  S. ;  Frances,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Francis  Charon,  of  Oklahoma,  and 
has  two  sons — Francis  H.  and  William  R. ; 
Agnes,  who  occupies  a  clerical  position  at 
Wagner,  Okla. ;  Florence  who  is  in  the  mil- 
linery business  at  Cleveland ;  John  W.,  who  is 
connected  with  a  gas  company  in  Oklahoma, 
as  a  machinist;  and  Eugenia  and  Josephine 
Hortense,  who  reside  at  home.  Judge  Crowe 
and  family  belong  to  St.  Joseph's  Catholic 
church  at  Crestline  and  his  daughter  Anna  M. 
is  president  of  the  L.  C.  B.  A.,  a  most  worthy 
charity  connected  with  the  work  of  the  Cath- 
olic church,  one  that  was  organized  by  Kate 
Crowe,  a  daughter  of  Judge  Crowe,  and  its 
first  president.  She  was  the  first  president  of 
the  emergency  hospital  maintained  by  the  pub- 
lic. In  1 86 1  Judge  Crowe  was  active,  with 
others,  in  securing  the  erection  of  the  first 
church  edifices  for  St.  Joseph's  congregation 
and  has  always  been  hearty  in  its  support.  In 
his  political  views  he  is  a  Democrat. 

MRS.  SAMUEL  MILLER,*  who  in  maiden 
life  was  Mary  Catherine  Swartz,  is  a  native 
of  this  county,  being  a  daughter  of  George 
and  Eliza  (Staufer)  Swartz. 

George  Swartz  was  born  in  Richland 
county,  Ohio,  and  his  wife  in  Pennsylvania, 
but  came  to  Crawford  county,  Ohio,  when 
children,  this  region  being  then  a  wilder- 
ness. Mr.  Swartz  as  a  farmer  endured  the 
hardships  of  the  early  settlers  and  cultivated 
his  land  successfully.  To- him  and  his  wife 
were  born  the  following  children :  Sarah 
Jane,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  A.  M. 
Zook;  Mary  Catherine,  the  subject  of  this  ar- 


ticle, who  on  Dec.  28,  1887,  was  married  to 
Samuel  Miller,  of  Wyandot  county,  and  James 
Benjamin,  deceased. 

Mrs.  Miller  owns  60  acres  of  well  developed 
land  and  has  a  modern,  attractive  home  and 
substantial  farm  buildings,  which  she  has  built. 
Mrs.  Miller  does  not  make  a  specialty  of  rais- 
ing any  particular  product  on  her  farm  but 
rather  lets  her  land  yield  the  ordinary  crops 
that  are  most  successfully  raised  in  the  sec- 
tion of  Ohio  in  which  she  resides.  Stock  suffi- 
cient for  her  own  use  is  also  raised. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel  Miller  are  the  parents 
of  six  children,  namely :  Grace,  Maud,  Donna, 
Lester,  Garrett  and  Lena.  Grace  is  the  wife 
of  Grove  Maley  and  they  have  three  children — 
Merl  Allen,  Maud  Fern  and  Robert  Edwin. 

DAVID  PETRY,  whose  well  cultivated 
farm  of  132  acres  is  located  in  Bucyrus  town- 
ship, was  born  in  Schuykill  county,  Pa.,  July 
4,  1 84 1.  His  parents  were  Charles  and  Phoebe 
(Knepper)  Petry.  They  were  natives  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  moved  to  Ohio  about  185 1  or 
1852,  locating  first  east  of  Mansfield.  There 
they  remained  one  year  when  they  removed 
to  northeast  of  Lexington  and  from  there  came 
to  Richland  county,  where  they  spent  the  rest 
of  their  lives.  Mrs.  Petry  died  on  the  home 
farm  but  her  husband's  death  occurred  in 
Mansfield,  where  he  was  living  retired  after 
his  life  of  farm  work.  He  was  affiliated  with 
the  Democratic  party  and  -with  his  wife  be- 
longed to  the  Lutheran  church.  Three  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Petry : 
William;  David,  our  subject;  and  Sarah,  the 
wife  of  George  Stewart.  After  the  death  of 
the  mother  of  these  children,  Charles  Petry 
remarried,  his  second  union  being  with  Miss 
Elizabeth  Strater,-who  was  born  in  Germany. 

David  Petry  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  his  locality  and  after  that 
assisted  his  father  in  the  farm  work  until  he 
was  21  years  of  age.  He  then  rented  the  home- 
stead farm  but  after  eight  years  that  was  sold 
and  in  1872  David  Petry  and  his  father  came 
to  Bucyrus  township  and  together  purchased 
the  farm  on  which  our  subject  now  lives  and 
which  he  successfully  operates. 

In  1862  David  Petry  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Mary  Ann  Wert,  a  native  of 
Germany,  who  came  to  this  country  when  eight 


864 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


years  old  and  spent  the  last  years  of  her  life 
in  Crawford  county.  She  died  Feb.  13,  1910 
and  was  buried  in  Bucyrus  cemetery.  She  was 
a  daughter  of  Christian  and  Margaret  Wert, 
both  natives  of  Germany,  who  had  the  follow- 
ing children:  John,  Christiana,  George  and 
Mary  Ann  (Mrs.  Petry).  One  daughter  was 
born  to  David  Petry  and  his  wife — Amanda, 
the  wife  of  Joseph  McHenry,  a  farmer  of  this 
township. 

Mr.  Petry  is  a  Democrat  politically  and  in 
religious  faith,  a  Lutheran. 

DAVID  L.  ZINK,  who  is  secretary  of  the 
Crestline  Building  &  Loan  Association,  of 
Crestline,  O.,  is  one  of  the  well  known  and 
most  active  business  men  of  Crawford  county, 
long  connected  with  railroad  life  and  since 
then  keenly  interested  in  other  lines  of  activity 
and  usefulness.  Mr.  Zink  was  born  at  Mari- 
etta, Lancaster  county.  Pa.,  Dec.  i,  1833,  a 
son  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  Zink,  one  of  three 
children.  Mr.  Zink  has  one  brother,  Samuel, 
also  a  resident  of  this  city. 

Early  in  life  Mr.  Zink  had  spent  some  time 
with  his  father  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  in  the 
early  fifties  went  into  the  commission  business 
in  that  city  with  a  relative,  and  from  there,  in 
September,  1856,  came  to  Ohio  and  located  at 
Crestline.  Here  he  found  his  most  promising 
business  offer  in  a  railroad  office  and  went  to 
work  for  the  Pennsylvania  line  in  the  freight 
department.  On  Feb.  i,  i86r,  he  was  ap- 
pointed agent  for  the  Pennsylvania  company 
at  Crestline,  this  point  having  become  one  of 
great  railway  importance.  Mr.  Zink  still  re- 
tains this  official  notice  as  it  bears  the  signa- 
ture of  the  late  Augustus  Bradley,  once  a  rail- 
road magnate  and  his  friend,  then  being  su- 
perintendent of  the  eastern  division  of  the 
Pennsylvania  lines.  In  May,  1865,  he  was 
appointed  ticket  agent  of  the  Big  Four  Rail- 
road, serving  for  about  47  years  for  the  Penn- 
sylvania roa.d  and  jointly  for  both  roads  un- 
til his  age  limit  retirement,  Dec.  i,  1903.  Dur- 
ing this  long  period  he  handled  railroad  money 
amounting  to  millions  of  dollars  and  his  books 
and  records  showed  an  accuracy  that  was  per- 
fect. When  he  retired  he  was  the  recipient  of 
many  congratulatory  messages  and  of  personal 
testimonials  that  would  seem  flattering  if  they 
were  not  so  thoroughly  just.    Many  men  after 


so  long  and  arduous  a  business  life  and  re- 
tirement on  a  pension,  would  feel  justified  in 
putting  aside  business  care  and  devote  some 
time  to  rest  and  refreshment,  but  this  was  not 
the  feeling  that  Mr.  Zink  had  when  released 
for  his  railroad  duties.     From  youth  a  hard 
worker  and  still  being  in  vigorous  health  of 
mind  and  body,  he  merely  turned  his  attention 
in  another  direction  and  has  devoted  himself 
closely  to  the  interests  of  the  Crestline  Building 
&  Loan  Association,  of  which  he  has  been  se- 
cretary since  its  organization.     This  was  on 
Oct.  23,  1891,  and  business  was  begun  Jan.  i, 
1892.     The  capital  stock  was  $50,000,  which 
was  increased  to  $300,000,  on  March  i,  1892; 
and  was  further  increased,  in  1906,  to  $600,- 
000,  a  prosperous  business  having  been  done 
from  the  beginning.    The  original  officers  con- 
tinue: C.  P.  Frank,  of  Crestline,  being  presi- 
dent;   David   L.    Zink,    being   secretary;   and 
Jacob  Babst,  being  treasurer.  The  board  of  di- 
rectors is  made  up  of  the  following  reputable 
and  stable  business  men:  C.  P.  Frank,  W.  R. 
Boyd,  F.  M.  Anderson,  Joseph  Ims,  Jacob  M. 
Winter,  John  Marquart,  Jr.,  and  A.  A.  Reeve. 
On  Aug.  25,  1855,  Mr.  Zink  was  married  at 
Pittsburgh,  to  Miss  Mary  Jane  Hall,  who  was 
born  at  Chambersburg,   Pa.,  June  30,    1830, 
and  of  their  family  of  eight  children  all  sur- 
vive except  one  son,  Robert  George,  who  died 
in  infancy.     The  others  are:     John  E.,  who 
is  joint  ticket  agent  for  the  Big  Four  and  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroads,  and  freight  agent  for 
the  Pennsylvania  Lines,  at  Crestline,  and  who 
resides  here  with  his  wife  and  two  sons;  Sarah 
Alice,  who  was  educated  at  Oberlin  College, 
who   married   H.   E.   Atkinson,  and  lives  at 
Landsdown,  Pa.,  and  has  three  living  daugh- 
ters ;  Jennie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Frank  Snyder, 
a  machinist  residing  at  Kankakee,  111.,  and  has 
one   daughter;   William   H.,    who   is   freight 
agent  for  the  Pennsylvania  Company  at  Ro- 
chester, Pa.,  and  lives  there  with  his  wife  and 
son;  Emma  F.,  who  is  the  wife  of  James  Har- 
rop,  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  and  who  has  two  sons: 
Wesley  S.,  who  is  storekeeper  with  the  Rock 
Island"   Railroad    at    Chicago,    and    has    one 
daughter ;  and  Walter,  who  is  a  machinist  with 
the  Big  Four  Railroad  and  lives  at  Bellefon- 
taine,  O.,  with  his  wife  and  one  son.     The 
mother  of  the  above  family  died  on  March 
14,  1903. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


865 


On  Dec.  i,  1908,  his  seventy-fifth  birthday, 
Mr.  Zink  was  tendered  a  reception  and  spent 
a  long  to  be  remembered  evening  surrounded 
by  his  family  and  old  friends  who  gladly 
gathered  to  offer  good  wishes  and  recall  old 
memories.  Mr.  Zink  has  witnessed  many 
changes  come  over  Crestline  since  he  first 
made  it  his  home,  and  in  every  possible  way 
has  contributed  a  share  in  bringing  about  its 
present  prosperity. 

JOHN  WENTZ,  a  retired  farmer  and 
highly  respected  citizen  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  has 
long  been  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  Craw- 
ford county  and  for  years  has  been  very  ac- 
tive in  all  that  pertains  to  the  great  agricul- 
tural order,  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry.  He 
was  born  at  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  Sept.  i,  1837, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Manard) 
Wentz,  and  a  grandson  of  Philip  Wentz. 

Philip  Wentz  lived  and  died  in  the  home 
of  his  ancestors  in  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Ger- 
many. He  was  a  small  farmer  and  inn 
keeper.  He  was  the  father  of  four  sons  and 
three  daughters,  all  of  whom  except  the  oldest 
came  to  America  and  settled  mainly  in  Penn- 
sylvania, Ohio  and  Indiana.  John  Wentz,  the 
second  son,  was  born  in  Germany  about  1810 
and  was  a  young  man  when  he  took  passage 
on  a  sailing  vessel  that  landed  him,  90  days 
later,  in  the  harbor  and  port  of  Baltimore,  Md. 
He  was  the  pioneer  of  the  family  in  the  United 
States.  As  a  farmer  in  Franklin  county.  Pa., 
he  was  satisfied  at  first  to  work  for  $10  per 
month,  and  later  accepted  fifty  cents  a  day  for 
railroad  work  and  was  offered  what  was  then 
considered  a  necessity,  a  certain  amount  of 
rum  a  day.  He  was  temperate  in  his  habits 
and  made  friends  with  some  of  his  Irish  fel- 
low workmen  by  turning  this  allowance  over 
to  them.  He  took  care  of  his  wages,  small 
as  they  were,  and  in  the  course  of  time  he  had 
enough  capital  to  warrant  his  looking  for  land 
in  which  to  invest  it.  In  the  meanwhile  he 
married  and  located  at  Chambersburg,  from 
which  place,  in  1839,  with  his  small  family  and 
household  possessions,  all  packed  in  a  one- 
horse  wagon,  he  journeyed  as  far  as  Black- 
ford county,  Ind.,  which  was  then  practically 
a  wilderness.  There  he  invested  his  savings 
which  amounted  to  $200,  and  on  the  land  then 

purchased  both  he  and  wife  died.     She  also 
49 


was  born  in  Germany,  a  native  of  Langstadt, 
and  had  come  alone  in  early  womanhood  to 
the  United  States  and  lived  at  Chambersburg, 
Pa.,  at  the  time  of  marriage.  She  died  in  1871, 
when  aged  65  years,  being  survived  by  her 
husband  into  his  85th  year.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  German  Lutheran  church.  Their 
family  record  ^reads  as  follows :  One  babe 
died  in  infancy.  Elizabeth  died  when  aged  17 
years.  Mary,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Louis 
Schmidt.  Tena  died  at  the  age  of  twelve 
years.  Jacob  lives  at  Findlay,  O.,  a  retired 
farmer.  He  married  Elizabeth  Kanable  and 
they  have  children.  John  was  one  of  the 
early  born  in  the  family.  _ 

John  Wentz  was  20  years  of  age  when  he 
came  to  Ohio  in  October,  1857,  having  ob- 
tained his  schooling  in  Indiana.  On  Thanks- 
giving Day  of  the  above  year  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Catherine  Greenish,  who  was  born  at 
Waynesboro,  Pa.,  May  30,  1836,  and  the 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Christina  Greenish. 
Mrs.  Wentz  was  reared  from  the  age  of  six 
years  in  Crawford  county,  where  she  died 
June  21,  1908.  She  was  a  woman  of  kind  and 
loving  impulses  and  a  Christian,  being  a  de- 
voted member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Nine  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wentz,  as  follows :  Mary,  the  widow 
of  Thomas  Caldwell,  who  lives  in  Crawford 
■  county  and  has  seven  children ;  Annetta,  who 
is  the  widow  of  John  Bell  and  has  four  chil- 
dren: Clement  C,  a  resident  of  Bucyrus,  who 
married  Mary  Schaffner;  Willis,  a  farmer  in 
Crawford  county,  who  married  Mary  Miller; 
Alice,  who  married  H.  M.  Dobbins  of  Bucy- 
rus and  has  three  children;  Ida  M.,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Henry  Shafner  of  Galion,  O.,  and  has 
two  children;  Emma  P.,  who  lives  with  her 
father;  John  Earl,  who  manages  the  home- 
stead farm,  who  married  Lillie  Florence  Miller 
and  has  three  children. 

Mr.  Wentz  was  a  very  successful  farmer 
and  conducted  his  agricultural  operations  along 
the  lines  that  have  brought  prosperity  to  men 
in  that  line  of  business  from  early  days — con- 
stant industry,  careful  oversight,  good  seed 
and  good  judgment,  the  last  named  being  a 
very  necessary  part  of  the  farmer's  equipment 
as  it  is  of  any  vocation.  In  the  earliest  days 
of  its  organization,  1874,  he  became  interested 
in  the  Bucyrus  Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry, 


866 


fflSTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


this,  body  being  of  considerable  importance  as 
it  is  the  only  order  in  the  county  that  has  never 
surrendered  its  charter.  Mr.  Wentz  is  the 
only  surviving  charter  member  and  he  has 
served  in  all  its  offices.  He  has  also  been 
prominently  identified  with  the  Crawford 
County  Farmers'  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany, which  is,  with  but  one  exception,  the 
largest  mutual  fire  company  in  Ohio,  and  for 
24  years  was  its  treasurer  and  later,  for  two 
years  was  vice  president  of  the  compan)',  re- 
tiring from  office  in  June,  19 10.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Democrat  but  has  never  accepted  pub- 
lic office  to  a  large  degree,  although  in  1890 
he  was  appointed  land  appraiser  of  Holmes 
township. 

WILLIAM  A.  BILSING,  proprietor  of 
Rock  Brook  Farm,  a  fertile  tract  of  163  acres 
of  valuable  land,  situated  five  miles  north- 
west of  Crestline,  O.,  has  been  interested  in 
agricultural  affairs  ever  since  his  school  days. 
He  belongs  to  a  pioneer  family  of  Ohio,  his 
grandfather  having  come  from  Germany  and 
settled  in  Crawford  county  at  an  early  day. 
At  that  time  his  father,  Adam  Bilsing,  was  a 
boy  of  ten  years. 

Adam  Bilsing  grew  to  manhood  in  Craw- 
ford county  where  he  married  first  Lavina 
Swisher,  a  native  of  Crawford  county.  To 
them  were  born  the  following  children :  John* 
H.,  Barnet  C,  Mary  C,  William  A.,  Anna  D., 
Eliza,  Samilda  C,  Flora  A.,  and  Margaret  E. 
Of  these,  John  H.  married  Nancy  Laughbaum 
and  lives  in  New  Mexico.  Barnet  C,  who 
lives  in  Jefferson  township,  Crawford  county, 
married  Elizabeth  James,  who  is  deceased. 
Mary  C.  is  deceased.  Anna  D.,  who  married 
John  Rader,  died  in  1885.  Eliza  became  the 
wife  of  Allen  Laughbaum  and  lives  at  Daven- 
port, Wash.  Samilda  C.  is  the  wife  of  Lin- 
coln Hoover  and  they  live  in  Vernon  town- 
ship, Crawford  county.  Flora  A.,  now  de- 
ceased, was  the  wife  of  Prof.  Franklin  Brin- 
ing, formerly  a  civil  engineer  in  the  employ 
of  the  British  Government  and  at  present  an 
instructor  at  Thomason  College,  in  India. 
Margaret  E.  died  at  the  age  of  two  years. 
Adam  Bilsing  married  secondly  Catherine  Dap- 
per and  to  them  were  born  four  children, 
namely:  Aaron,  Augusta  (wife  of  George 
Brown),  Franklin  D.  and  Frances. 


William  A.  Bilsing  obtained  a  district  school 
education  and  then  turned  his  attention  to 
farming  and  this  has  been  his  main  interest 
ever  since.  Rock  Brook  Farm  is  considered 
one  of  the  finest  farms  in  Vernon  township 
and  Mr.  Bilsing  has  taken  pride  and  pleasure 
in  improving  it. 

In  early  manhood  Mr.  Bilsing  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Catherine  A.  Weaver,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Henry  and  Charlotte  (Heis)  Weaver, 
the  former  of  whom  died  in  1908.  The  mother 
of  Mrs.  Bilsing  survives,  being  now  in  her  79th 
year  and  lives  at  Leesville,  O.  Mrs.  Bilsing 
had  two  sisters  and  one  brother:  Ellen,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Frank  Cassel  and  lives  at  Crest- 
line; Charles  B.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  two 
years;  and  Mary  E.,  who  died  when  aged 
40  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bilsing  have  two 
children:  Alma  E.,  who  married  Calvin  B. 
Parr ;  and  Sherman,  who  is  a  graduate  of  Ot- 
terbein  University  and  is  now  a  student  in  the 
Ohio  State  University  preparing  for  a  profes- 
sion. Mr.  Bilsing  and  family  are  members 
of  the  United  Brethren  church,  of  which  he 
is  a  trustee  and  has  held  the  office  of  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  school  and  class  leader. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  is  well 
known  all  over  the  county  and  is  correspond- 
ent for  three  of  the  county  newspapers. 

JOHN  A.  LAUTHERS,*  one  of  the  highly 
respected  citizens  of  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  is  also  one  of  the  most 
substantial  and  owns  175  acres  of  fine  land  in 
this  township  and  25  acres  in  Liberty  town- 
ship, and  has  additional  interests.  He  was  born 
in  Huntingdon  county.  Pa.,  July  8,  1858,  and 
is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  Jane  (Seibert) 
Lauthers. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Lauthers  as  well  as  the 
paternal  grandfather,  James  Lauthers,  spent 
their  lives  in  Pennsylvania.  They  had  the  fol- 
lowing children:  James;  Sadie,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Andrew  Shearer;  John  A.;  Anna,  de- 
ceased, who  was  the  wife  of  William  Trego; 
Samuel  Morrison;  and  Belle,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Samuel  Widney,  she  being  the  eldest  of  the 
family. 

John  A.  Lauthers  obtained  a  district  school 
education  in  his  native  place  and  remained  on 
the  home  farm  with  his  father  until  he  was 
21  years  of  age,  when,  in  answer  to  a  gen- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


867 


eral  call  for  help  on  western  farms,  he  came 
to  Ohio  and  for  two  years  following  worked 
on  farrns  by  the  month.  Afterward,  for  three 
years  he  rented  land  and  then  bought  80  acres 
in  Dallas  township,  from  L.  H.  Ross  and  lived 
on  that  place  for  seven  years.  In  1893  1"^^- 
purchased  his  present  home  farm  in  Whet- 
stone township  from  John  Brehman  and  has 
resided  here  ever  since,  having  everything  ex- 
ceedingly comfortable  about  him.  Later  he 
sold  his  farm  in  Dallas  township  and  bought 
154  acres  in  Sandusky  township,  and  all  told 
owns  about  354  acres  of  rich  land  in  Craw- 
ford county  and  also  has  stock  in  the  Summer 
addition  of  Bucyrus  and  in  the  Second  Na- 
tional Bank  of  that  city. 

In  November,  1882,  Mr.  Lauthers  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Celestia  Carpenter,  of  Mount 
Gilead,  O.,  a  daughter  of  Charles  and  Lydia 
(Bingham)  Carpenter,  farming  people  in  Mor- 
row county.  Mrs.  Luthers  has  two  sisters : 
Carrie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Frank  Pitman ;  and 
Jennie.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lauthers  have  two  sons : 
Walter  L.  and  Charles  W.  The  family  be- 
longs to  the  Presbyterian  church  and  is  a  prom- 
inent one  in  Whetstone  township.  While  Mr. 
Lauthers  is  a  stanch  Democrat  he  has  no  polit- 
ical aspirations. 

ABRAM  C.  MONNETT,  deceased,  was  an 
honored  veteran  of  the  Civil  War  and  for 
many  years  after  its  close  was  a  successful 
farmer  and  stock  dealer  in  Crawford  county. 
He  came  of  an  old  Ohio  family  of  some  mili- 
tary distinction,  and  was  born  at  Bucyrus, 
March  31,  1839.  His  parents  were  Col.  Wil- 
liam and  Elizabeth  (Cahill)  Monnett. 

Col.  Isaac  Monnett,  the  grandfather,  was 
born  in  Pickaway  county,  O.,  and  died  at  Bucy- 
rus, Crawford  county,  when  aged  92  years. 
For  many  years  he  was  identified  officially  with 
the  state  militia.  The  family  was  an  agricul- 
tural one  and  he  owned  and  cultivated  large 
tracts  of  land.  With  other  members  of  the 
family  he  was  active  in  his  support  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  being  a  lay 
preacher  in  the  same  himself,  while  his 
brother  Thomas  and  son  William,  both  be- 
came accepted  ministers  in  the  same.  He  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Fittenger,  who  was  born  in 
Ross  county,  O.,  and  died  in  old  age  at  Bucy- 
rus. 


Col.  William  Monnett,  a  son  of  Col.  Isaac 
and  father  of  the  late  Abram  C.  Mipnnett,  was 
five  years  old  when  he  accompanied  his  par- 
ents from  Ross  to  Pickaway  coimty  and  some 
years  after  marriage  he  moved  to  the  plains 
of  Crawford  county,  where  he  acquired  1,000 
acres  of  land,  mainly  situated  in  Cranberry 
township.  When  twelve  years, old  he  united 
with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  was 
a  militant  Christian,  accepting  .election  as  col- 
onel of  the  nth  O.  militia  on  the  same  day 
that  he  was  licensed  as  a  Methpdist  minister. 
For  II  years  he  continued  active  ministerial 
work,  failing  health  then  requiring  his  resig- 
nation. He  married  Elizabeth  Cahill  and  they 
had  five  children:  Abram  C. ;  Mary  J.,  who 
married  Hon.  S.  R.  Harris,  both  now  de- 
ceased; Rachel,  who  married  William  H.  Kin- 
near,  both  now  deceased ;  Sarah  L.,  who  is  the 
widow  of  L.  L.  Walker,  of  Whetstone,  O. ; 
and  Isaac  W.,  who  died  in  Washington  state, 
when  aged  43  years.  The  father  of  the  above 
family  died  in  1884,  the  mother  surviving  un- 
til 1891. 

Abram  C.  Monnett  was  reared;  on  his 
father's  large  estate  and  attended  the  district 
schools  in  youth.  When  civil  war  was  pre- 
cipitated he  entered  the  Federal  Army,  enlist- 
ing in  the  34th  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  in  which  he 
served  until  the  close  of  hostilities,  escaping 
wounds  and  capture  but  suffering  all  the  rest 
of  his  life  from  the  exposure  to  which  he  had 
been  subjected.  After  he  returned  to  peaceful 
pursuits  he  resumed  his  agricultural  activities 
and  continued  the  same  during  the  remainder 
of  his  active  life.  Like  all  his  people  he  was 
an  interested  and  conscientious  citizen,  doing 
his  full  public  duty  on  every  occasion  but  ask- 
ing no  political  reward.  He  was  a  Republi- 
can. His  death  occurred  at  his  home  in  Bucy- 
rus, April  17,  1879. 

Abram  C.  Monnett  was  married  at  Bucyrus 
to  Miss  Jennie  E.  Walwork,  who  was  born  at 
Saratoga,  N.  Y.,  and  is  a  graduate  of  the  Al- 
bany State  Normal  School.  She  came  to  Bu- 
cyrus as  a  teacher  and  five  years  later  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mr.  Monnett.  Hef 
parents  were  Thomas  and  Mary  (Stevens) 
Walwork,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in 
Liverpool,  England,  a  son  of  Thomas  Wal- 
work. The  younger  Thomas  Walwork  came 
to  the  United  States  in  early  manhood  and  was 


868 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


married  near  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  to  Mary  Stev- 
ens and  they  subsequently  moved  to  Sara- 
toga, N.  Y.,  where  Mr.  Walwork  established 
and  opterated  a  large  woolen  factory.  They 
were  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  They  were  people  of  social  standing 
and  the  father  possessed  an  ample  enough  for- 
tune to  give  his  children  excellent  educational 
advantages. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Monnett  the  following 
children  were  born :  Frank  W.,  M.  Elizabeth, 
Julia  A.,  Wallace  L.  and  Rachel.  All  have 
been  given  superior  educational  advantages. 
Frank  W.,  the  eldest  son,  was  a  graduate  of 
the  Cincinnati  law  school  when  he  enlisted  for 
service  in  the  Spanish-American  War,  and  died 
in  the  Philippine  Islands,  when  aged  29  years. 
M.  Elizabeth,  who  was  the  wife  of  Rev.  James 
Cass,  died  at  Bucyrus  in  1902.  She  was  a 
graduate  of  the  Bucyrus  High  School  and  also 
a  graduate  in  music  and  was  not  only  a  young 
woman  of  great  talent  but  was  amiable  and 
engaging  in  social  and  domestic  life.  Julia 
A.  is  a  graduate  of  the  Conservatory  of  Music 
and  Oratory  at  Cincinnati,  is  married  to  Rev. 
James  M.  Cass,  pastor  of  the  First  M.  E. 
church,  at  Westport,  and  has  one  daughter, 
Ruth  E.  Her  home  is  on  Lake  Champlain,  at 
Westport,  N.  Y.  Wallace  L.  is  a  graduate  of 
Bucyrus  High  School  and  of  the  Cincinnati 
Law  School  and  at  present  is  serving  in  the 
office  of  referee  in  bankruptcy.  He  resides 
with  his  wife  and  four  children,  at  Bucyrus. 
Rachel,  the  youngest  member  of  the  family, 
is  a  graduate  of  the  Bucyrus  High  School  and 
the  Cincinnati  School  of  Music  and  Oratory, 
and  is  the  wife  of  Edwin  G.  Beal,  cashier  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Bucyrus. 

URIAS  CRISTEE,  who  has  resided  on  his 
present  farm  of  120  acres,  situated  in  Tod 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  for  42  years, 
was  born  in  Dauphin  county,  Pa.,  Feb.  16, 
1831,  and  is"  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Hannah 
(Grape)  Cristee. 

Joseph  Cristee  was  born  in  Pennsylvania 
and  was  of  Scotch  parentage.  By  trade  he 
was  a  blacksmith  and  he  thought  so  well  of 
it  as  a  means  of  subsistence  that  he  taught  all 
his  sons  this  trade.  In  1833  he  came  to  Rich- 
land county,  O.,  and  there  his  death  occurred 
at  the  age  of  70  years.  He  married  Hannah 
Grape,  who  was  born  in  Germany  and  was 


seven  years  old  when  her  people  brought  her 
to  America.  They  had  eight  children,  Urias 
being  the  fifth  born. 

Urias  Cristee  was  sent  to  school  in  boyhood, 
his  parents  being  concerned  in  the  education 
and  welfare  of  their  children.     He  was  about 
21    years    old   when   he   came   to   Crawford 
county.     For  several  years  he  was  associated 
with  his  brother-in-law  in  business  at  Bucyrus, 
where  they  started  the  first  real  provision  store, 
and  dealt  also  in  grain  and  seed,  purchasing 
clover  seed,  oats  and  corn  and  has  seen  the 
day  when  corn  could  be  bought  for  35  cents 
and  sold  for  seventy-five.    After  two  and  one- 
half  years  in  the  grain  and  provision  busi- 
ness, Mr.  Cristee  sold  out  and  for  30  years 
afterward    worked    at    the    blacksmith   trade 
in  Oceola,  O.     After  selling  his  shop  he  spent 
six  months  in   Richland  county  and  worked 
as  a  horse  shoer  and  was  considered  a  fine  one 
although  he  never  believed  himself  as  skilled 
a  workman  as  was  his  father,  the  latter  being 
a  natural  born  mechanic  and  without  instruc- 
tion was  able  to  make  a  A\agon  as  well  as  one 
who  had  learned  the  trade.     Mr.  Cristee  pre- 
serves many  memories  of  his   father,  whom 
he  held  in  the  highest  respect  and  with  great 
affection.     He  had  had  no  educational  oppor- 
tunities but  could  keep  his  accounts  accurately 
although  he  could  not  tell  one  letter  of  the  al- 
phabet from  the  other.    From  Richland  county 
Mr.  Cristee  worked  one  year  for  his  brother 
at  Oceola  and  then  returned  to  Bucyrus  for 
three  months,  and  in  1870  settled  on  his  pres- 
ent valuable  farm  in  Tod  township,  one  mile 
west  of  Oceola.     He  put  up  the  substantial 
buildings  on  this  property  and  his  residence 
is  a  handsome  brick  structure. 

Mr.  Cristee  was  married  to  Miss  Adeline 
Failor,  of  Bucyrus,  who  died  in  1902,  when 
aged  65  years,  and  11  children  were  born  to 
them,  the  survivors  being:  Mrs.  Ida  Yost, 
Frank,  Mrs.  Nellie  Yost,  Mrs.  Clara  Andrews. 
Those  deceased  were:  William,  Lizzie.  Mrs. 
Emma  Moore  and  four  infants.  Mr.  Cristee 
is  a  member  and  liberal  supporter  of  the  United 
Brethren  church  at  Oceola.  In  politics  he  is 
a  Republican  and  he  keeps  well  posted  concern- 
ing public  affairs. 

JOHN  E.  GEISSMAN,  who  is  one  of  the 
successful  young  farmers  of  Cranberry  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  resides  in  section  22, 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


where  he  is  profitably  cultivating  114  acres, 
which  belongs  to  his  father.  He  was  born  in 
Holmes  township,  Crawford  county,  July  30, 
1882,  and  is  a  son  of  W.  H.  and  Mary 
(Leimenstall)  Geissman. 

W.  H.  Geissman  was  born  in  Chatfield  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  where  he  was  reared 
and  educated.  When  he  came  to  the  present 
farm,  74  acres  of  which  were  bought  of  John 
Nigh,  and  40  acres  of  Jacob  Millimaier,  very 
little  improving  had  been  done.  In  1893  he 
built  the  substantial  barn  and  in  1896  he  erected 
the  comfortable  residence  and  made  other  ad- 
ditions to  the  farm  equipment  and  put  all  its 
industries  on  a  solid  footing.  In  1909  he  re- 
tired and  moved  to  Chatfield  and  later  became 
mail  carrier  on  Rural  Route  No.  i,  out  of  that 
place.  He  married  Mary  Leimenstall,  who 
died  June  2,  1904,  the  mother  of  six  children. 
The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Geissman  was  to 
Mrs.  Rosa  Klink. 

After  his  school  period  was  over,  John  E. 
Geissman  determined  to  become  a  farmer.  He 
had  been  given  excellent  preparation  for  the 
same  for  after  attending  the  high  school,  he 
had  practical  training  in  the  Columbus  Agri- 
cultural School.  For  the  past  three  years  he 
has  been  operating  the  home  farm  along 
modern  lines  and  has  met  with  excellent  re- 
turns, and  has  brought  Plain  View  Stock  Farm 
up  to  a  high  standard.  Like  the  other  enter- 
prising agriculturists  of  this  section,  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Cranberry  Township  Grange. 

On  April  4,  1909,  Mi".  Geissman  married 
Miss  Pearl  Harrer,  who  was  born  in  Lykens 
township,  Crawford  county,  the  only  daughter 
of  Caleb  Harrer,  and  they  have  an  infant 
daughter,  Fern  Mary  Ann,  born  April  29,  1912. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Geissman  are  members  of  the 
Pietist  and  Evangelical  churches  respectively. 
In  political  opinions  Mr.  Geissman  calls  him- 
self an  independent  Democrat,  and  his  neigh- 
bors consider  him  a  valuable  citizen  and  a 
wide  awake  business  man. 

G.  F.  ACKERMAN  was  born  in  Liberty 
township,  Crawford  county,  Dec.  10,  1871, 
and  until  he  was  16  years  of  age  attended 
school  and  worked  on  his  father's  farm.  The 
next  two  years  he  continued  his  studies  at 
New  Washington  High  School  and  in  the  fall 
of  1890  he  entered  the  Ohio  Normal  Univer- 


sity at  Ada,  taking  the  scientific  course.  He 
then  became  a  teacher  and  taught  school  in 
the  winter  months,  working  on  the  farm  in 
the  summer  until  he  returned  to  Ada  and  took 
a  course  in  stenography  in  1893  and  1894.  He 
resumed  teaching  and  farm  life,  and  agam 
in  the  spring  of  1896  took  a  review  course 
at  Ada.  He  then  took  up  the  study  of  law 
under  Judge  Tobias,  also  acting  as  the  Judge's 
stenographer,  but  continuing  to  teach  school 
in  the  winter  months.  From  1898  to  1902 
he  served  as  Principal  of  the  Third  Ward 
School  of  Bucyrus.  On  the  ist  day  of  Jan- 
uary, 1902,  he  was  appointed  Deputy  Sherifif 
of  Crawford  county,  which  position  he  filled 
until  January,  1906.  From  1906  to  1908  he 
was  engrossing  clerk  for  the  senate  at  the  state 
capitol,  also  acting  as  bookkeeper  during  the 
interims  between  sessions  for  the  American 
Clay  Machinery  Co.  In  1907  he  accepted  a 
position  as  salesman  for  the  Strine  &  Grinder 
Manufacturing  Co.,  of  New  Philadelphia,  O. 
In  June  of  1908,  he  was  nominated  by  the 
Democratic  party  for  auditor  without  opposi- 
tion and  was  elected  the  ensuing  fall.  As  his 
predecessor's  term  of  office  did  not  expire  for 
eleven  months  he  became  principal  of  the 
Third  Ward  school  of  Bucyrus  for  the  school 
year  of  1908  and  1909.  He  is  considered  a 
very  able  and  efficient  auditor.  He  has  served 
on  the  county  central  committee  and  has  been 
delegate  to  judicial  and  senatorial  conventions. 
Also  in  1907  he  was  a  member  of  the  city  coun- 
cil and  was  clerk  of  the  county  board  of  elec- 
tions during  1903,  1904,  and  1905.  In  1896 
he  was  secretary  of  the  Bryan  Free  Silver  Club 
which  had  an  enrollment  of  twelve  hundred 
members. 

On  Nov.  10,  1896,  G.  F.  Ackerman  married 
Caroline  E.  Kuhn,  daughter  of  August  and 
Catherine  (Limbach)  Kuhn,  of  Tuscarawas 
county.  They  have  two  children  living:  Elva 
Marie  and  Margaret  Catherine.  His  father, 
Caleb  A.,  was  born  in  Crawford  county,  Dec. 
12,  1840.  He  married  Margaret  High,  also  a 
native  of  Crawford  county  and  born  Sept.  4, 
1844.  Both  were  of  German  ancestry  and  of 
pioneer  families  of  Crawford  county.  They 
are  still  living  and  reside  in  Bucyrus.  Caleb 
A.  served  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  in  the 
Forty-Ninth  Ohio  Regiment  under  Colonel 
Gibson.     Mr.  G.  F.  Ackerman  is  a  member  of 


B70 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


the  Knights  of  Maccabees  and  of  the  Order  of 
Eagles.  In  1908  he  was  sent  as  a  delegate  by 
the  Eagles  to  the  national  convention  at  Seattle, 
-Wash.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
church  and  for  13  years  has  acted  as  treasurer 
and  trustee  of  that  church  in  Bucyrus.  His 
chosen  profession  is  the  law  which  it  is  his  in- 
tention to  follow  after  the  expiration  of  his 
term  of  office. 

JOHN  C.  CAHILL,  residing  nine  miles 
north  of  Crestline,  O.,  and  one  and  one-half 
miles  south  of  Tiro,  O.,  on  the  old  homestead 
farm  of  160  acres,  which  he  owns,  is  one  of  the 
representative  men  of  Vernon  township,  of 
which  he  has  been  a  trustee  for  some  ten  years. 
He  was  born  on  this  farm  in  1862,  and  is  a 
son  of  R.  W.  and  Catherine  (Richards)  Cahill. 

R.  W.  Cahill  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
after  coming  to  Ohio  and  marrying,  followed 
an  agricultural  life  until  his  death.  The  sur- 
viving members  of  his  family  are :  Eliza ;  Jen- 
nette ;  Davis ;  D.  C,  who  lives  at  Bucyrus ;  R. 
W.,  who  lives  at  Napoleon,  O. ;  John  C. ;  and 
G.  W.  and  James,  who  live  at  Tiro,  O. 

John  C.  Cahill  attended  the  district  schools 
in  Vernon  township  and  later  the  Ohio  Normal 
School,  at  Ada,  after  which  he  returned  to  his 
father,  with  whom  he  remained  until  the  form- 
er's death,  when  he  purchased  the  homestead, 
widely  known  as  the  Green  Hill  Farm.  He 
has  made  many  improvements  and  is  progress- 
ive in  his  agricultural  methods  and  is  num- 
bered with  the  most  successful  farmers  of  this 
section. 

Mr.  Cahill  married  Miss  Mary  A.  Weirich, 
a  daughter  of  Christian  and  Adeline  (Miller) 
Weirich,  and  they  have  had  three  children: 
Allen  W.,  John  R.  and  Edith,  the  last  named 
being  deceased.  In  politics,  Mr.  Cahill  is  a 
Democrat  and  in  addition  to  his  long  period  of 
service  as  township  trustee,  he  was  clerk  of  the 
township  for  four  years,  and  enjoys  the  very 
desirable  reputation  of  having  conscientiously 
performed  every  public  duty. 

CLAUDE  A.  LINGENFELTER,  M.  D., 
physician  and  surgeon  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  and  a 
specialist  in  diseases  of  the  eye,  ear,  nose  and 
throat,  was  born  at  Loudonville,  O.,  May  24, 
1884,  and  is  a  son  of  Dr.  James  A.  and  Mary 
(Petot)   Lingenfelter. 


Dr.  James  A.  Lingenfelter  was  born  in  Bed- 
ford county,  Pa.,  of  German  parentage,  and 
lost  his  parents  when  young.    He  grew  up  on 
a  farm,  having  no  opportunity  to  follow  the 
bent  of  his  desires  for  a  medical  education, 
and  was  already  a  young  man  when  he  came 
to  Ohio.     He  lived  in  Stark  county  for  sev- 
eral years  and  then  came  to  Loudonville  and 
found  work  in  a  butcher  shop  as  a  meat  cut- 
ter,  but  he  by  no  means  had  given  up  his 
ambition  to  become  a  physician.    Only  he  can 
teir  of  the  obstacles  he  overcame  and  of  tlie 
self  denials  he  practiced  before  he  was  finally 
able  to  secure  his  degree  from  a  medical  col- 
lege at  Cincinnati.     He  is  known  as  a  skillful 
physician  and  has  a  large  practice.    In  politics, 
a  Democrat  he  has  held  local  offices  but  his 
profession  claims  the  larger  part  of  his  time. 
He  is  identified  with  the  Masons  and  other 
fraternal    orders.      He    married    Miss   Mary 
Petot,  who  was  born  and  reared  at  Loudon- 
ville,   a    daughter    of    Claud    and    Catherine 
(Specht)    Petot,   the   former  of   whom  was 
born  in  France  and  the  latter  in  Germany. 
Mr.   and  Mrs.   Petot  were  married  in  Paris 
and  soon  afterward  emigrated  to  the  United 
States,  living  first  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  later 
moving  to  Loudonville,  O.     Mr.   Petot  was 
one  of  the  leading  shoe  merchants  of  Loudon- 
ville at  the  time  of  his  death.    His  widow  still 
resides    there.     They  were    of  the    Catholic 
faith  but  later  united  with  the  English  Luth- 
erans and  Mr.   Petot  was  liberal  in  his  sup- 
port of  all    church  demands    made    on  him. 
Three  sons  were  born  to  Dr.  James  A.  Lin- 
genfelter and  wife:    Claude  A.;  Harry,  who 
is  engaged  in  the  jewelry  business  at  Loudon- 
ville; and  Charles,  who  is  in  business  at  Los 
Angeles,  Cal. 

Claude  A.  Lingenfelter  attended  school  at 
Loudonville  and  was  graduated  from  the 
High  School  in  1900,  after  which  he  spent  a 
student  year  at  Oberlin  College,  and  then  he 
entered  the  Cleveland  Medical  College,  where 
he  remained  for  one  year  and  Subsequently 
was  graduated  after  a  four  year  course  from 
the  New  York  Homeopathic  College  in  the 
class  of  1906,  with  his  well  earned  degree. 
He  engaged  in  a  general  practice  at  Loudon- 
ville until  1908,  when  he  came  to  Bucyrvis, 
where,  in  answer  to  a  general  demand,  he  has 
specialized  in  the  diseases  of  eye,  ear,  nose 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


871 


and  throat,  these  so  generally  prevailing  that 
careful  and  scientific  men  following  this 
branch  of  medical  practice  are  welcomed 
almost  everywhere  along  this  line  of  practice. 
Dr.  Lingenfelter  has  been  more  than  usually 
successful. 

Dr.  Lingenfelter  was  married  in  New  York, 
to  Miss  Marian  Gilmartin,  who  was  born  at 
Scranton,  Pa.,  an  was  educated  at  Mt.  Mor- 
ris, N.  Y.,  completing  her  musical  studies  at 
Oberlin  College.  Her  parents  were  Frederick 
and  Rhoda  (Jones)  Gilmartin,  of  Welsh  ex- 
traction. The  mother  died  in  1906,  but  the 
father  survives.  Mrs.  Lingenfelter  has  one 
sister,  Dollie,  who  is  a  professional  nurse  re- 
siding in  Philadelphia.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Lingen- 
felter have  one  son,  William  Qaude,  born 
June  3,  1908.  Politically  Dr.  Lingenfelter  is 
a  Republican  and  fraternally  a  Master  Mason, 
Royal  Arch  Mason,  Royal  and  Select  Master 
Mason  and  a  Knight  Templar  Mason,  being 
identified  with  the  Commandery  at  Marion,  O. 

SAMUEL  J.  STUMP,*  who  carries  on  his 
successful  agricultural  industries  on  three 
tracts  of  valuable  land,  situated  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  resides  on  a 
farm  of  163  acres  and  owns  a  second  one  of  63 
acres,  and  additionally,  in  partnership  with 
Professor  Guinther,  superintendent  of  the 
schools  of  Gallon,  O.,  he  owns  a  third  farm  of 
190  acres.  Mr.  Stump  was  born  on  his  home 
farm,  July  9,  1857,  and  is  a  son  of  Daniel  and 
Elizabeth  (Zimmerman)  Stump. 

Daniel  Stump  spent  almost  his  entire  life  in 
Crawford  county,   being  only  six  years   old 
when  his  parents  brought  him  from  Lycoming 
county.  Pa.     His  death  occurred  in  the  spring 
of  1897  and  his  burial  was  in  the  Sherer  ceme- 
tery.   He  married  Elizabeth  Zimmerman,  who 
was  born  in  Crawford  county  and  still  sur- 
vives, residing  on  the  honiestead.    The  follow- 
ing children  were  born  to  them :  Samuel  J. ; 
Louisa,  who  is  the  wife  of  S.  F.  Whiteamire; 
Joseph,  who  died  at  the  age  of  12  years;  Sarah, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  eight  years ;  Lydia,  who 
died  when  aged  five  years;  and  Clara,  who 
passed  away  at  the  age  of  19  years.     She  was 
an  attractive  and  talented  young  woman,  had 
prepared  herself   for  teaching  and   had  just 
completed  her  first  term  as  a  teacher  when  she 
died. 


Samuel  J.  Stump  attended  school  near  his 
home  and  then  helped  his  father  on  the  home 
farm  and  they  remained  together  until  the 
father's  death.  At  that  time  the  latter  owned 
163  acres  in  Whetstone  township  and  174  acres 
in  Bucyrus  township.  Mr.  Stump  is  a  sensible, 
practical  farmer,  devoting  his  attention  to  the 
grains  and  tubers  that  he  has  proved  are  most 
profitable  to  cultivate  in«this  soil  and  climate, 
and  to  a  good  grade  of  stock  that  has  proved 
satisfactory,  and  he  has  prospered. 

On  March  16,  1897,  Mr.  Stump  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Lottie  Guinther,  a  daughter  of 
Jacob  and  Catherine  (Shellenmiller)  Guinther, 
and  a  granddaughter  of  George  and  Margaret 
Guinther.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Stump  are 
both  now  deceased,  their  burial  being  in  the 
Sherer  cemetery.  Her  father  was  born  in 
Germany  and  was  15  years  old  when  he  came 
to  the  United  Ctates  and  for  seven  years  after- 
ward lived  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  where  he  was 
in  a  bakery  business.  After  coming  to  Craw- 
ford county  he  followed  farming.  He  married 
Catherine  Shellenmiller,  who  was  born  in  Ly- 
coming county.  Pa.,  and  they  had  the  follow- 
ing children  born  to  them:  Mary,  who  is  the 
wife  of  George  K.  Ulmer;  George;  Sophia, 
who  is  deceased ;  Catherine,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Samuel  Rexroth ;  Isaac  C,  who  is  principal  of 
the  Gallon  public  schools;  Lottie,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Mr.  Stump;  and  Jacob. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stump  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born :  Gertrude  Elizabeth,  who  died 
when  aged  two  years;  Clarence  Willard  and 
Howard  James.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stump  are 
members  of  the  German  Methodist  church,  of 
which  he  is  a  trustee  and  for  three  years  was 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school.  Mr. 
Stump  calls  himself  an  Independent  Democrat. 

W.  H.  GARRIGUES,  who  owns  one  of 
the  best  improved  farms  in  Tod  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  containing  80  acres  sit- 
uated one-half  mile  west  of  Oceola,  O.,  was 
born  at  Oceola,  in  1864,  and  is  a  son  of  R.  T. 
and  Sarah  A.  (Wert)  Garrigues. 

R.  T.  Garrigues  was  born  in  Maryland  and 
came  here  before  the  town  of  Oceola  was  laid 
out.  Being  a  carpenter  by  trade  he  had  much 
to  do  with  the  erecting  of  the  buildings  at 
Oceola  and  became  a  man  of  ample  means  as 
the  reward  of  a  long  and  busy  life,  his  death 


872 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


occurring  at  Oceola  in  1910,  when  he  was  aged 
84  years.  He  married  Sarah  A.  Wert,  who 
survived  until  191 1,  passing  away  in  her  76th 
year.  Three  of  their  eight  children  died  in  in- 
fancy, the  others  being:  Mrs.  S.  D.  Trout,  of 
Bucyrus ;  Mrs.  Minnie  I.  Fruth,  of  Oceola ;  W. 
H.,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Mrs.  Mettie  A. 
Snavely,  of  Sulphur  Springs;  and  Mrs.  Sallie 
N.  Brown,  of  Oklahoma. 

W.  H.  Garrigues  attended  the  Oceola 
schools  and  afterward  became,  a  farmer,  and 
for  12  years  lived  on  a  place  east  of  Oceola,  on 
which  he  made  improvements  and  then  moved 
to  the  farm  where  he  still  lives,  one-half  mile 
west  of  the  town,  and  in  March,  1907,  having 
bought  his  present  property,  where  he  carries 
on  general  farming  and  stock  raising.  Mr. 
Garrigues  has  very  progressive  ideas  as  to  his 
agricultural  methods  and  is  no  less  particular 
concerning  the  way  he  lives.  His  fine  residence 
in  which  he  has  installed  all  modern  comforts 
and  conveniences,  and  these  include  a  complete 
system  of  lighting,  would  do  credit  to  a  city 
and  surrounded  as  it  is  with  a  fine  lawn  and 
concrete  walks,  attracts  attention  and  favor- 
able comment  from  every  passer-by.  It  is  a 
type  of  home  that  here  and  there,  through  the 
wealthy  agricultural  communities,  is  taking  the 
place  of  the  uncomfortable  and  often  unsani- 
tary dwellings  that  the  prosperous  farmer  of 
the  present  day  no  longer  feels  satisfied  to  oc- 
cupy, and  this  change  brings  a  large  measure 
of  comfort,  happiness  and  content  to  the  whole 
family. 

Mr.  Garrigues  married  Miss  Cora  E.  Peck, 
who  is  a  daughter  of  Taylor  Peck,  a  well 
known  farmer  of  Bucyrus  township.  They 
have  one  son,  Harry  W.,  who  attends  the  pub- 
lic schools  in  Oceola.  Mr.  Garrigues  has  fre- 
quently been  elected  to  public  office  in  Tod 
township  and  for  two  years  was  a  member  of 
the  Tod  township  board  of  trustees.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Garrigues  are  members  of  the  United 
Brethren  church.  For  some  years  he  has  been 
connected  with  Lodge  No.  116  Jr.  O.  U.  A.  M. 
at  Oceola.  He  is  an  intelligent,  liberal-minded 
man,  a  capable  farmer  and  a  useful  citizen. 

JOSEPH  A.  BLUM,  owner  and  manager 
of  a  prospering  business  enterprise  of  Cran- 
berry township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  to  which 
he   ha^;   given   the   appropriate   name    of   the 


Twentieth  Century  Hatchery,   is  one  of  the 
wide  awake,  well  informed  and  enterprising 
young  business  men  of  Crawford  county.    He 
was  born  May  22,  1888,  on  his  present  farm 
situated   in   section   23,    Cranberry  township, 
where  he  resides  with  his  father,  F.  X.  Blum. 
Joseph  A.  Blum  grew  to  manhood  in  his  na- 
tive township  and  obtained  his  education  in  the 
public  schools.     In  pushing  out  into  a  some- 
what new   field   of   industry,   Mr.   Blum  has 
shown  commendable  enterprise  and  he  has  a 
growing  investment.     The  Twentieth  Century 
Hatchery  is  located  3  miles  southwest  of  New 
Washington,  O.,  where  it  was  started  in  1904, 
with  a  2,000  egg  capacity.    Its  present  capacity 
is  30,000  eggs  per  hatch,  and  during  the  sea- 
son there  is  a  calculated  hatch  of  3,000  per 
week.     Shipments  are  made  to  all  sections  of 
the  country,  special  boxes  being  provided.  Mr. 
Blum's  present  plant  contains  two  buildings, 
one  with  dimensions  of  22x75   feet  and  the 
other  of  42x24  feet.    In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat.     He    belongs    to    the    Roman    Catholic 
church  and  is  identified  with  the  Knights  of 
Columbus. 

CLEMENCE  J.  WILLIAMSON,  V.  S.,* 
who  is  the  oldest  veterinary  surgeon  in  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  in  point  of  professional  serv- 
ice, has  been  a  resident  of  Bucyrus  for  a 
number  of  years  and  commands  a  large  prac- 
tice. He  was  born  in  Crawford  county,  Jan. 
14,  1872,  and  is  one  of  a  family  of  seven  chil- 
dren. His  parents  were  Benjamin  F.  and 
Mary  (Auk)  W'illiamson.  The  father  was  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  learned  the 
carpenter  trade  and  came  to  Crawford  county 
in  1850,  from  which  county  he  entered  an 
Ohio  regiment  and  served  in  the  Civil  war. 

Dr.  \Villiamson  attended  the  public  schools 
in  boyhood  and  grew  up  on  the  home  farm. 
Later  he  attended  the  Ohio  Northern  Univer- 
sity, where  he  was  graduated  in  pharmacy,  in 
1893.  Subsequently  he  entered  the  Ontario 
Veterinary  College,  at  Toronto,  Can.,  where 
he  was  graduated  in  1897  and  immediately  en- 
tered into  practice  at  Springfield,  O.,  in  1899 
coming  to  Bucyrus. 

Dr.  Williamson  married  Miss  Catherine 
E.  Reifif,  a  daughter  of  Herman  ReiflF,  and  they 
have  three  children.  With  his  family  he 
belongs  to  the  Lutheran  church.     Politically  he 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


873 


is  a  Democrat  but  the  volume  of  his  profes- 
sional duties  have  always  prevented  his  con- 
sidering any  invitation  to  accept  political 
office,  but  he  is  a  reliable  and  interested  citizen 
and  enjoys  the  confidence  of  professional 
brethren  and  the  public  at  large. 

J.  ERNEST  WENTZ,  who,  for  33  years 
has  been  a  continuous  resident  of  Bucyrus,  O., 
and  until  recently  active  in  the  business  life  of 
the  city,  was  born  at  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  Dec. 
7,  1840,  and  is  a  son  of  Anthony  and  Catherine 
(Steak)  Wentz. 

Anthony  Wentz  was  born  in  Germany  prob- 
ably in  181 5.  He  came  to  America  when  a 
young  man  and  located  in  Pennsylvania  and 
was  married  at  Chambersburg  in  that  state,  to 
Catherine  Steak.  They  remained  there  until 
after  the  birth  of  their  first  child,  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  1842,  starting  in  a  great  covered 
wagon  for  Crawford  county,  O.  Mr.  Wentz 
opened  his  shoemaking  shop  at  Bucyrus  and 
followed  his  trade  until  1846  when  his  death 
occurred.  He  was  an  official  in  the  English 
Lutheran  church.  His  widow  survived  for 
many  years,  her  death  occurring  at  Bucyrus  in 
her  75th  year.  Five  children  were  born  to  An- 
thony Wentz  and  wife,  namely:  J.  Ernest, 
George,  who  died  in  childhood;  Albert,  who 
died  May  i,  1910,  at  the  Soldiers'  Home,  San- 
dusky, O.,  who  had  served  during  the  Civil 
War  as  a  member  of  the  loth  O.  Vol.  Cav., 
and  was  honorably  discharged,  and  is  survived 
by  two  daughters — Florence  N.,  wife  of  J.  H. 
Huff,  D.  D.  S.,  Chicago,  and  Sarah  L.,  who  is 
housekeeper  for  her  uncle,  J.  Ernest  Wentz; 
William  M.,  a  machinist  at  Bucyrus,  who  is 
married  and  has  four  children ;  and  Mary,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  ten  years. 

J.  Ernest  Wentz  was  educated  in  the  Bucy- 
man  in  a  general  store,  first  at  Bucyrus  and 
rus  schools  and  afterward  he  became  a  sales- 
later  at  Mansfield,  O.  In  1878  he  returned  to 
Bucyrus  and  for  ten  years  afterward  was  asso- 
ciated with  George  W.  Harris  in  the  produce 
business.  In  1888  he  opened  up  his  own  busi- 
ness on  the  corner  of  Walnut  and  Charles 
streets  and  continued  until  June,  1907,  when 
he  sold  out  and  since  then  has  lived  retired. 
He  has  never  married  but  his  domestic  affairs 
are  well  looked  after  by  his  niece.  Miss  Sarah 
L.  Wentz,  a  very  capable  housekeeper  and  es- 
timable lady.     Both  she  and  her  sister,  Mrs. 


Huff,  are  Christian  Science  practitioners  and 
for  some  years  she  was  First  Reader  in  the 
church  of  this  organization  at  Bucyrus.  Mr. 
Wentz  is  in  close  sympathy  with  the  tenets  of 
this  reHgious  body.  Politically  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican and  fraternally  is  a  Knight  of  Pythias. 

CHARLES  C.  STEPHAN,  a  representa- 
tive citizen  of  Vernon  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  residing  seven  and  one-half  miles 
northeast  of  Crestline,  where  he  owns  80 
acres  of  fertile  and  well  tilled  land,  was  born 
in  Crawford  county,  in  1864,  and  is  a  son  of 
Adam  and  Anna  (Frank)  Stephan. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Stephan  were  born  in 
Germany,  from  which  country  the  father  came 
to  the  United  States  when  15  years  of  age,  and 
the  mother  was  brought  when  five  years  old, 
by  her  parents,  who  settled  in  Crawford 
county,  O.  To  Adam  Stephan  and  wife  the 
following  children  were  born :  Frank,  residing 
at  Crestline,  who  married  Barbara  Paffenbach ; 
George,  who  married  (first)  Mary  Bauer,  and 
(second)  Lizzie  Bauer  and  survives  them 
both;  John,  who  lives  at  Crestline,  who  mar- 
ried Clara  Swerer;  Amanda,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Conrad  Strauch,  of  Crestline ;  Edward,  who 
resides  at  Mansfield,  O.,  and  who  married 
Hattie  Gulp;  Ida,  who  lives  at  Crestline,  the 
widow  of  Jacob  Sleighberger,  who  died  in 
1912;  Louis,  who  died  in  California,  when 
aged  23  years;  and  Charles  C,  whose  name 
heads  this  sketch. 

Charles  C.  Stephan  followed  farming  with 
his  father  until  he  was  23  years  of  age  and 
then  went  to  Crestline  and  was  employed  there 
for  two  years,  after  which  he  resumed  farm- 
ing and  purchased  his  present  property.  He 
devotes  his  land  to  general  agriculture,  raising 
the  usual  products  of  the  soil  that  do  well  in 
this  climate  and  also  gives  some  attention  to 
growing  stock. 

Mr.  Stephan  married  Miss  Catherine  Kind- 
inger,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Catherine  (Kaf- 
fenberger)  Kindinger,  her  brothers  and  sisters 
being:  Charles,  John,  Mary,  Julia,  Emil,  Al- 
bert and  Emma.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stephan  have 
seven  children,  namely:  Wilbur,  Velma,  Ed- 
gar,- Anita,  Lester,  Luella  and  Lloyd.  '  Mr. 
Stephan  and  family  are  members  of  the  Re- 
formed church,  of  which  he  is  a  trustee  and  is 
also  serving  as  church  treasurer. 


w74 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


CHARLES  SHELDON  WERT,*  post- 
master at  Monnett,  O.,  and  proprietor  of  a 
general  store,  was  born  at  Oceola,  Crawford 
county,  Aug.  6,  1879,  ^^^  is  a  son  of  James 
and  Mary  (Neally)  Wert. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Wert  were  both  natives 
of  Ohio,  he  of  Tod  township,  Crawford 
county,  and  she  of  Wyandot  county.  The 
father  was  a  carpenter  and  contractor.  Both 
he  and  wife  are  now  deceased,  their  burial  be- 
ing at  Bucyrus.  They  had  three  children: 
Rahland  B.,  Charles  Sheldon  and  Jessie,  the 
last  named  being  the  wife  of  Stewart  Laune, 
who  is  in  the  grocery  business  at  Spring- 
field, O. 

Charles  S.  Wert  attended  the  public  schools 
and  for  some  years  afterward  engaged  in 
farming  and  then  embarked  in  a  general  store 
business  at  Mortimer,  O.,  where  he  continued 
for  two  and  one-half  years  and  then  came  to 
^klonnett,  where  he  has  built  up  a  fine  trade. 
In  addition  to  carrying  the  usual  merchandise 
of  a  general  store,  he  handles  farm  imple- 
ments. He  has  the  leading  place  of  business 
in  the  town  and  for  the  past  year  has  been 
postmaster,  being  an  ardent  Republican.  The 
only  other  public  ofiice  he  has  held  was  that 
of  constable  for  one  year  while  living  in  Dallas 
township. 

l\Ir.  Wert  was  married  Feb.  29,  1902,  to 
^liss  Agnes  E.  Linn,  who  was  born  in  Marion 
county,  O.,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Mary 
(  Martin)  Linn,  who  were  substantial  farmers 
there.  Mrs.  Wert  is  the  youngest  of  their 
three  children,  the  others  being:  Vela,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Welcome  Lewellyn,  and  Minor. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wert  have  a  son  and  a  daughter  • 
Raymond  and  Mary.  The  family  belongs  to 
the  Christian  church  at  Bucyrus  and  ■Mr.  Wert 
is  identified  with  the  fraternal  order  of  Junior 
United  American  ]\rechanics  of  the  same  city. 

CHARLES  S.  SPORE,  one  of  the  well 
known  men  of  Holmes  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  who  carries  on  general  farming 
and  stock  raising  on  his  farm  of  62  acres, 
which  is  situated  six  and  one-half  miles  north- 
west of  Bucyrus,  was  born  in  Liberty  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  July  28,  1858,  and 
is  a  son  of  S.  L.  and  Sarah  E.  (Brahman) 
Spore,  and  a  grandson  of  David  C.  Spore,  who 


made  the  record  of  teaching  forty  consecutive 
terms  in  the  schools  of  Crawford  county. 

S.  L.  Spore  was  born  in  1834,  in  Canada, 
and  was  t\\  o  years  old  when  his  parents  moved 
to   Crawford   county  and  settled  in  Liberty 
township.    Prior  to  his  enlistment  in  1862,  for 
service  in  the  Civil  War,  Mr.  Spore  engaged  in 
farming.    He  served  out  his  first  enlistmnt  of 
nine  months  and  served  nine  months  more  un- 
der his  second  contract  and  then  received  an 
honorable  discharge,  on  account  of  disability. 
Subsequently  he  learned  the  cooper  trade  and 
followed  that  with  farming  until  again  pros- 
trated by  ill  health,  after  which  he  was  in  the 
real  estate  business  until  his  health  failed  en- 
tirely and  he  retired  to  the  Soldiers'  Home,  at 
Marion,  Ind.,  where  he  could  have  constant 
care  and  medical  attention  and  died  there  in 
1906,  his  burial  being  in  Crawford  county. 
Although  he  did  not  fall  on  the  field  of  battle, 
nevertheless  he  was  a  victim  of  the  Civil  War, 
his    hardships    and    exposure    having    under- 
mined his  health.     At  the  time  of  death  he 
owned  80  acres  of  land.     He  married  Sarah 
E.  Brahman,  who  was  born  in  Huron  county 
and  died  in  1893,  aged  56  years.    Of  their  nine 
children  three  died  in  infancy,  the  others  be- 
ing :  Charles  S. ;  Mrs.  Honora  Linn,  of  Bucy- 
rus; Aud  David;  Rufus  D.,  who  has  a  large 
grocery  business  at  Bellevue,  O. ;  Benjamin  M., 
who  is  a  foreman  in  the  Pennsylvania  Railway 
shops  at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind. ;  and  Mrs.  Loretta 
M.  Goodwin,  who  is  a  resident  of  Bucyrus. 

Charles  S.  Spore  obtained  a  district  school 
education  and  afterward  taught  school  in 
Holmes  and  Chatfield  townships  for  three 
years.  After  marriage  he  settled  on  his  pres- 
ent farm  and  his  main  interests  since  have 
been  agricultural.  He  is  a  Republican  in  his 
political  sentiments  and  is  a  member  of  the 
township  school  board.  For  two  years  he  car- 
ried the  mail  from  Bucyrus  to  certain  points 
and  in  1900,  also  1910,  was  one  of  the  census 
enumerators.  Mr.  Spore  is  a  reliable,  trust- 
worthy citizen  and  is  universally  respected  in 
this  section. 

On  March  i,  1883,  Mr.  Spore  was  married 
to  Miss  Lucy  A.  Linn,  who  is  a  daughter  of 
William  Linn,  who  is  a  resident  of  Holmes 
township,  and  they  have  had  four  children, 
namely:  Lula  G.,  who  is  the  wife  of  R.  A. 
Rexroth,  who  is  in  the  real  estate  business  at 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


875 


Rock  Creek,  O. ;  Carrie  E.,  who  lives  at  Bucy- 
rus;  Harry  W.  B.,  who  resides  at  Newell,  W. 
Va. ;  and  Ray  E.,  who  assists  his  father  on  the 
home  fann.  Mr.  Spore  is  connected  by  mem- 
bership with  the  Odd  Fellows,  the  Grange,  the 
Home  Guards  of  America,  the  I.  O.  F.,  and 
the  Rebecca  branch  of  the  Odd  Fellows,  tak- 
ing an  interest  in  all  these  organizations  and  as 
nearly  as  possible  setting  an  example  as  to 
their  aims  and  benefits. 

FREDERICK  BEACH,  whose  finely 
equipped  farm  of  eighty  acres  lies  five  miles 
northwest  of  Crestline,  O.,  in  Vernon  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  is  one  of  the  well 
known  residents,  his  whole  life  having  been 
more  or  less  passed  in  this  section.  He  was 
born  in  Crawford  county  in  1837,  and  is  a  son 
of  Rinehardt  and  Louisa  (Klahn)  Beach.  The 
parents  of  Mr.  Beach  came  to  the  United 
States  from  Germany  in  1829  and  settled  in 
Crawford  county.  They  had  the  following 
children:  Adam,  Frederick,  Margaret,  Sarah. 
Elizabeth,  George,  Caroline,  William,  Samuel. 
Susan  and  Louisa,  the  last  named  dying  at  the 
age  of  15  years. 

Frederick  Beach  attended  the  district  schools 
in  boyhood  although  their  advantages  were 
meager  compared  with  those  of  the  present 
day,  and  remained  at  home  assisting  his  father 
until  he  was  1 5  years  of  age.  Then  he  learned 
the  cabinetmaking  trade  and  worked  at  the 
same  for  six  years  and  then  returned  to  the 
farm  and  has  been  mainly  interested  in  farm- 
ing ever  since.  He  bought  one  farm  and  after- 
ward sold  it  and  then  purchased  his  present 
one  on  which  he  has  made  many  improve- 
ments. He  carries  on  general  farming  and 
raises  stock,  having  always  been  a  man  of  in- 
dustry and  good  judgment  and  has  prospered. 

Mr.  Beach  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  E, 
Feick,  a  daughter  of  John  G.  Feick,  native  of 
Germany,  and  ten  children  have  been  born  to 
them,  namely:  Emma  S.,  who  married  William 
Harter  and  lives  at  Sandusky  City,  O. ;  George 
H.,  who  married  Ida  Brendle  and  lives  at 
Toledo,  O. ;  John  W.,  a  physician  practicing  at 
Arlington,  O.,  who  married  Florence  Rigle; 
Samuel  F.,  who  lives  at  Sandusky,  and  who 
married  Hattie  Takes;  Minnie  M.,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Albert  Bender,  of  Sandusky:  Charles 
C,  deceased,  September  21,  1907,  who  was  a 


physician  in  Indiana,  and  married  to  Emma 
Cline;  Callie  A.,  the  wife  of  William  Beyers, 
who  lives  at  Shelby,  O. ;  Augusta,  who  died  in 
infancy;  Cornelius,  who  is  superintendent  of 
the  Irondale  schools  in  Jefferson  county  and 
lives  at  home;  and  Luetta,  the  youngest,  who 
also  lives  with  her  parents.  Mrs.  Beach  has 
two  sisters  in  Germany,  Mary  and  Barbara, 
while  two,  Elizabeth  C.  and  Catherine,  and  a 
brother,  John  G.,  are  in  America.  Mr.  Beach 
and  family  are  members  of  the  German  Re- 
formed church  and  all  are  people  who  are  held 
in  the  highest  esteem  in  their  neighborhood. 

CALEB  B.  FOSTER,*  now  living  retired 
after  many  years  of  successful  business  en- 
deavor and  efficient  official  life,  occupies  his 
comfortable  home  which  is  situated  at  No.  510 
Spring  street,  Bucyrus,  O.  Mr.  Foster  was 
born  May  17,  1831,  in  Stark  county,  O.,  and 
is  a  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Croh- 
minger)  Foster. 

William  Foster  was  born  in  New  York  and 
his  wife  in  Pennsylvania  and  both  came  when 
young  to  Stark  county,  O.,  where  they  married 
and  continued  to  live.  By  trade  William 
Foster  was  a  shoemaker  and  he  also  conducted 
a  farm.  He  was  a  quiet,  industrious,  well 
meaning  man  and  was  known  all  over  the 
county.  In  his  political  views  he  was  a  Jack- 
sonian  Democrat.  He  survived  his  wife,  his 
death  occurring  during  the  Civil  War,  when 
aged  about  60  years.  They  were  members  of 
the  U.  B.  church.  Of  their  large  family  of 
children  three  survive:  Caleb  B.  and  George, 
the  latter  of  whom  resides  at  Lansing,  Mich., 
being  now  in  his  76th  year.  The  father  was 
twice  married  and  one  daughter  of  the  first 
union  survives,  Sarah  A.,  who  is  the  widow  of 
a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War. 

Caleb  B.  Foster  was  quite  young  when  his 
parents  came  from  Stark  county  to  Bucyrus 
and  here  he  was  reared  and  schooled.  He 
learned  the  carpenter  trade  and  later  became 
a  building  contractor  and  erected  many  of  the 
substantial  structures  of  Bucyrus  before  he  re- 
tired from  active  life  quite  a  long  time  since. 
He  was  then  elected  a  justice  of  the  peace  and 
served  in  that  office  for  21  years  during  which 
time  his  decisions  were  seldom  reversed.  He 
has  been  a  Democrat  since  he  first  exercised 
his  citizen's  privilege  and  for  some  years  was 


876 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


a  member  of  the  Democratic  county  organi- 
zations. 

Mr.  Foster  was  married  first  in  Crawford 
county  to  Miss  Maria  Simmons,  -who  died  in 
1862,  aged  35  years,  at  Oceola,  where  Mr. 
Foster  lived  for  some  12  years.  At  Oceola  he 
\\  as  married  again,  Miss  Annetta  Fox  becom- 
ing his  second  wife.  Her  death  occurred  in 
March,  1908,  at  Bucyrus.  Both  wives  were 
estimable  women  but  neither  left  issue.  Al- 
though Mr.  Foster  has  no  daughters  he  has 
had  the  tender  care  of  an  estimable  woman 
during  his  declining  years,  in  the  person  of 
Miss  Jennie  Smith.  She  was  born  at  Cham- 
bersburg,  Pa.,  45  years  ago,  and  came  to  Bucy- 
rus when  aged  19  years,  and  for  some  ten  years 
has  been  at  the  head  of  Mr.  Foster's  household. 

WILLIAM  GUNDRUM,  who  is  one  of  the 
leading  men  of  Vernon  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  township  trustee  and  a  prosperous 
farmer,  owns  5i/4  acres  of  valuable  land,  sit- 
uated eight  miles  north  of  Crestline,  O.  He 
was  born  on  his  father's  farm  in  Crawford 
county,  eight  miles  east  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  and 
is  a  son  of  Silas  and  Lavina  (Buck)  Gundrum. 

Silas  Gundrum  was  born  in  Pennsylvania 
and  was  five  years  old  when  his  parents  moved 
to  Ohio  and  settled  in  Crawford  county.  Here 
he  grew  to  manhood  and  then  married  Lavina 
Buck,  who  was  born  in  Ohio  and  they  had  eight 
children  born  to  them,  namely :  John,  who  lives 
two  and  a  half  miles  east  of  Gallon,  O.,  and 
who  married  Maggie  Ostermeyer;  Anna,  who 
is  deceased;  Joseph,  living  in  Sandusky  town- 
ship, who  married  Rule  Fetter;  Silas,  who  is 
deceased ;  Maggie,  who  married  Albert  Heller, 
of  Sandusky  township;  Emma,  who  is  de- 
ceased ;  and  Frank  and  AA^illiam.  Silas  Gund- 
rum died  March  9,  1902,  his  wife  having 
passed  away  some  years  before,  the  date  of  her 
death  being  Oct.  2,  1898. 

William  Gundrum  obtained  his  education  in 
the  district  schools  and  assisted  his  father  until 
he  was  21  years  of  age.  After  that  he  engaged 
in  farm  work  for  other  agriculturists,  by  the 
day  or  the  month  for  a  time  and  afterward 
rented  land  for  five  years,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  be  bought  his  present  place,  on  which  he 
carries  on  general  farming.  He  has  made  all 
the  excellent  improvements  here  and  has 
doubled  the  value  of  his  property. 


Mr.  Gundrum  married  Miss  Emma  Fix, 
who  is  a  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Matilda  Fix, 
and  they  have  three  children:  Grace,  Blanche 
and  Zella.  ]\Irs.  Gundrum  has  one  sister  and 
two  brothers:  Bert,  Charles  and  Lilly.  One 
sister,  Mary,  is  deceased.  In  politics  Mr. 
Gundrum  is  a  Democrat  and  frequently  has 
been  called  upon  to  serve  in  local  offices.  For 
a  number  of  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
township  school  board  and  at  present  is  a  very 
efficient  member  of  the  township  board  of 
trustees.  He' belongs  to  the  United  Brethren 
church. 

L.  H.  NAGEL,  a  prominent  business  man 
of  Brokensword,  O.,  who  conducts  the  largest 
general  store  in  the  place,  was  born  in  this 
town  in  1880  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Eliza- 
beth (Gearhert)  Xagel. 

John  Nagel  was  born  in  Erie  county,  O.,  and 
from  there  came  to  Crawford  county  when 
aged  21  years  and  for  21  subsequent  years  was 
engaged  in  the  hotel  business  at  Brokensword. 
He  is  now  a  manufacturer  of  soft  drinks,  at 
Bellevue,  O.,  being  in  his  sixty-fourth  year. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Gearhert,  who  was 
brought  to  America  when  a  child  of  four  years 
and  spent  her  after  life  at  Brokensword, 
where  she  died  in  her  54th  year.  They  had 
three  children:  Esther,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Henry  Shealy,  of  Bucyrus;  Emma,  who  mar- 
ried George  Grower;  and  L.  H.,  of  Broken- 
sword. 

L.  H.  Nagel  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  and  first  entered  into  business  at  Bucy- 
rus, in  the  clothing  line,  and  continued  until 
May  16,  1904,  when  he  opened  his  present 
store  at  Brokensword,  where  he  owns  his  own 
building  and  has,  by  far,  the  largest  patronage 
of  any  business  house  in  the  place.  His  stock 
includes  a  complete  assortment  of  groceries, 
dry  goods,  boots,  shoes  and  hardware. 

Mr.  Nagel  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  fra- 
ternally is  connected  with  the  Maccabees,  the 
Foresters,  and  belongs  to  the  National  Protec- 
ti^-e  Legion  at  Bucyrus.  Mr.  Nagel  is  un- 
married. 

HENRY  PHILLIPS,  a  representative  citi- 
zen and  a  native  of  ^^'^hetstone  township,  owns 
274  acres  of  land  located  in  this  township,  100 
acres  of  which  constitute  the  farm  on  which 


A.  X.  PHILLIPS 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


879 


he  lives.  He  was  born  Feb.  26,  1850.  His 
father,  Benjamin  PhiUips,  was  born  in  North- 
umberland county,  Pa.,  but  came  to  Ohio 
when  a  boy  of  12  years  and  spent  most  of  his 
life  in  Whetstone  township,  where  he  followed 
farming.  He  married  Sarah  Null,  a  native  of 
Parks  county.  Pa.,  and  to  them  were  born  four 
children:  Rebecca,  Henry,  Franklin  and  Sam- 
uel, all  of  whom  are  deceased  except  Henry, 
whose  name  heads  this  article.  Benjamin 
Phillips  was  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  he  and 
his  wife  attended  the  Reformed  church.  They 
are  both  now  deceased  and.  their  remains  rest 
in  Whetstone  cemetery. 

After  completing  a  common  school  educa- 
tion, Henry  Phillips  went  to  work  on  the  farm 
with  his  father.  He  later  owned  a  threshing 
machine  and  a  saw  mill  which  he  operated  in 
connection  with  his  farm  work.  His  first  pur- 
chase of  land  was  a  tract  of  20  acres,  which  he 
bought  in  partnership  with  his  brother  Samuel 
and  to  this  through  his  industry  and  ambition 
he  has  added  until  now  he  owns  274  acres  of 
excellent  land  on  which  he  carries  on  general 
farming  and  raises  stock  for  his  own  use. 

Henry  Phillips  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1883  to  Miss  Sarah  Kunert,  a  daughter  of 
Charles  W.  and  Mary  (Franks)  Kunert,  farm- 
ing people  of  this  county.  Their  children 
were:  Charles,  John,  Frank,  Jacob,  Samuel, 
Sarah,  Josephine  (wife  of  John  Dapper)  and 
Anna  (wife  of  William  Crider). 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  Phillips  have  been 
born  children  as  follows:  Ada  P.,  wife  of  Wil- 
liam H.  Ruth;  Edwin  R.,  who  lives  on  the 
homestead  farm;  Ida,  the  wife  of  Arthur 
Gearhart;  Mary  S.,  the  wife  of  Fred  Stiger; 
Russell  S.,  Luther  H.,  Anna  M.,  Paul  B.  and 
Esther  S. 

Mr.  Phillips  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political 
views  and  has  served  several  times  as  road 
supervisor.  Religiously,  he  is  identified  with 
the  Reformed  church. 

A.  N.  PHILLIPS,  deceased,  for  many 
years  was  a  prominent  and  representative 
man  in  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  a  useful, 
respected  and  esteemed  resident  of  his  com- 
munity. He  was  born  in  Frederick  county, 
Md.,  June  25,  1846,  and  died  on  his  valuable 
farm  of  235  acres,  situated  in  Tod  township, 
June    I,    191 1.     His  parents   were  John   and 


Ruth  Phillips,  who  were  natives  of  Maryland, 
where  the  father  died  in  February,  i860,  she 
in  the  following  May  coming  to  Crawford 
county,  and  died  in  August  of  the  same  year. 

A.  N.  Phillips  attended  the  country  schools 
and  later  became  a  student  at  Heidelberg 
University  and  was  ever  afterward  consid- 
ered a  man  of  well  trained  faculties  and  ex- 
cellent judgment,  this  general  opinion  making 
his  fellow  citizens  anxious-  to  secure  his  ad- 
vice on  perplexing  questions  and  eager  to 
see  him  serving  in  responsible  offices.  For 
18  months,  soon  after  returning  from  the 
university,  he  served  as  deputy  auditor.  In 
1875  he  went  into  the  flour  mill  business  on 
his  own  place  and  continued  until  1886  and 
afterward,  for  many  years,  carried  on  the 
usual  farm  activities.  From  his  own  quarries 
he  furnished  the  stone  for  the  building  of 
many  of  the  good  roads  in  this  section.  'For 
30  years  he  was  a  notary  public  and  he  set- 
tled up  and  administered  many  estates.  Those 
who  knew  him  well  remember  him  as  a  man 
faithful  and  conscientious  in  the  performance 
of  every  duty,  a  man  who  was  honest  in  all 
business  relations  and  was  kind,  thoughtful 
and  considerate  of  his  friends. 

In  April,  1884,  Mr.  Phillips  was  married  to 
Miss  Alice  Teeterick,  a  daughter  of  Samuel 
and  Margaret  Teeterick.  Her  father  was 
born  in  New  York  and  her  mother  in  Ger- 
many, the  latter  having  been  brought  to  Am- 
erica when  six  years  old  and  lived  for  a  time 
in  Pennsylvania  and  then  came  to  Bucyrus,  O., 
where  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Teeterick  on 
Sept.  14,  1842.  They  have  had  eleven  chil- 
dren born  to  them  and  eight  of  these  still  live 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Phillips  two  children  were 
born:  an  infant  that  died  early;  and  Charles 
Albert,  who  was  born  July  4,  1897,  and  died 
when  aged  five  years,  six  months  and  eighteen 
days.  In  his  views  on  public  questions  Mr. 
Phillips  was  a  consistent  Democrat.  While 
he  never  united  with  any  particular  church 
body  he  was  a  Christian  in  faith  and  works 
and  gave  liberally  to  every  worthty  cause, 
and  for  20  vears  taught  the  Bible  class  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mrs.  Phillips 
owns  the  valuable  farm  left  by  her  husband 
and  it  is  under  the  excellent  management  of 
her  brother,  Frank  Teeterick,  a  well  known 
farmer  of  Tod  township. 


880 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


AMANDUS  FENNER,*  deceased,  for 
many  years  was  a  well  known  business  man  at 
Bucyrus,  O.,  where  the  larger  part  of  his  life 
was  passed  and  where  he  was  held  in  high  es- 
teem. He  was  born  April  25,  1855,  at  the 
Delaware  Water  Gap,  Monroe  county.  Pa.,  a 
son  of  George  and  Elizabeth  (Bush)  Fenner. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Fenner  came  to  Craw- 
ford county,  0.,  in  1857,  settling  at  Bucyrus, 
where  they  spent  the  rest  of  their  lives,  the 
mother  dying  at  the  age  of  60  years  and  the 
father,  of  heart  disease,  when  aged  70  years. 
He  was  a  carpenter  contractor  and  in  his  line 
of  business  was  well  known  all  over  the 
county.  There  were  five  children  in  his  fam- 
ily, four  of  whom  reached  maturity:  Frank, 
Foster,  Eliza  and  Amandus.,  George  Fenner 
and  wife  were  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church. 

Amandus  Fenner  remained  at  home  and  at- 
tended school  until  he  was  15  years  of  age, 
\vhen  he  went  to  Cleveland  in  order  to  learn 
fine  house  painting  and  decorating  under  com- 
petent instructors  and  remained  in  that  city 
until  he  was  21,  when  he  returned  to  Bucyrus, 
where  he  followed  the  above  trade  during  the 
rest  of  his  active  life.  He  built  up  a  large  busi- 
ness of  his  own  in  this  direction,  giving  em- 
ployment to  from  five  to  eight  expert  helpers, 
and  all  over  Bucyrus  may  be  found  examples 
of  his  taste  and  skill. 

On  Nov.  7,  1878,  Mr.  Fenner  was  married 
to  Miss  E.  O.  Hufrangle,  who  was  born  Dec. 
II,  1865,  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  which  has  always 
been  her  home.  Her  parents  were  Frederick 
and  Frederica  (Roch)  Hufrangle,  natives  of 
Germany.  They  came  to  Bucyrus  when  young 
people,  married  and  spent  their  lives  here,  the 
death  of  the  father  occurring  July  3,  1894,  at 
the  age  of  65  years,  and  that  of  the  mother  on 
March  4,  1902,  when  in  her  6ist  year.  For 
some  years  he  followed  the  trade  of  harness 
maker  and  saddler  and  afterward  successfully 
engaged  in  the  dairy  business.  Mrs.  Fenner 
lias  the  following  brothers  and  sisters:  Otto, 
August.  Frederick,  Edward,  Cora,  William 
and  Elsie,  all  of  whom  are  married  and  in  com- 
fortable circumstances.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fenner  the  following  children  were  born: 
Maybell,  who  was  born  November  8,  1890,  and 
married  Walter  V.  Bybee,  who  is  in  the  elec- 
trical supply  business  in  Cincinnati ;  Irene  Julia, 


who  was  born  April  26,  1892,  and  resides  with 
her  mother;  Marie  Elizabeth,  who  was  born 
August  23,  1898;  and  George,  who  was  born 
June  15,  1902.  Mrs.  Fenner  and  family  are 
members  of  the  German  Lutheran  church  as 
were  her  parents.  Both  her  father  and  hus- 
band were  Democrats  in  their  political  affilia- 
tion. Mrs.  Fenner  owns  considerable  valuable 
property  in  this  city,  including  her  handsome 
residence  at  No.  718  Rogers  street. 

LOUIS  EDWARD  SHEALY,  who  is  one 
of  the  representative  citizens  and  careful  and 
prosperous  farmers  of  Liberty  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  resides  on  his  highly  im- 
proved farm  of  98^  acres,  and  was  born  in 
this  township  in  1869.  He  is  a  son  of  Gottlieb 
and  Frederica  (Bauer)  Shealy. 

Gottlieb  Shealy  and  wife  were  both  bom  in 
Wittenberg,  Germany.  He  came  to  the  United 
States  when  aged  14  years  and  after  marriage 
lived  in  Liberty  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.  They  had  the  following  children  born  to 
them:  George,  who  is  a  resident  of  Liberty 
township  as  is  his- next  brother,  Jacob,  neither 
of  whom  have  married;  Catherine,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Jacob  Green,  and  lives  in  Liberty 
township;  Louisa,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife 
of  Jacob  Ackerman  of  Chatfield  township; 
Ricka,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  John 
Green,  of  Mercer  county ;  Elizabeth,  who  keeps 
house  for  her  unmarried  brothers;  and 
Louis  E. 

Louis  E.  Shealy  secured  a  district  school  edu- 
cation and  continued  to  work  on  his  father's 
farm  afterward  until  his  marriage  and  for 
four  years  longer  and  then  bought  the  home 
farm,  it  pleasing  him  better  than  any  other  sit- 
uated in  Crawford  county.  He  remodeled  the 
barn  and  erected  a  modern  residence  and  made 
many  other  improvements  which  serve  to 
place  this  farm  among  the  best  in  this  section 
of  the  county.  He  carries  on  stock  raising  and 
general  farming  and  is  a  practical  and  pros- 
perous agriculturist. 

Mr.  Shealy  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Lydia  F.  Hieber,  who  was  bom  in  1870, 
in  Liberty  township,  a  daughter  of  Christian 
and  Christiana  (Wagner)  Hieber.  Mrs. 
Shealy  had  one  brother,  John  G.,  who  died  in 
1902,  survived  by  his  widow,  Elizabeth  (Shie- 
ber)    Hieber.      Mrs.    Shealy's    sisters    were: 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


881 


Louisa,  who  married  Emanuel  Shieber,  of 
Liberty  township;  Anna,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  20  years ;  and  Bertha,  ^Yho  Uves  in  Liberty 
township. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shealy  have  two  children: 
Luella  Lydia  and  Alton  Edward,  both  of 
whom  reside  at  home.  The  family  belongs  to 
the  Lutheran  church,  in  which  Mr.  Shealy  is 
an  official,  being  treasurer  and  also  a  member 
of  the  board  of  trustees  of  this  church.  He 
has  served  his  township  in  the  office  of  road 
supervisor  and  is  well  informed  concerning  the 
subject  of  good  roads. 

JOHN  H.  HARTER,  deceased,  who  was  a 
well  knqwn  and  highly  respected  citizen  of 
Crawford  county,  O.,  for  many  years  was  a 
successful  agriculturist  and  held  numerous  of- 
fices of  responsibility  in  his  section  and  was  a 
veteran  officer  of  the  great  Civil  War.  Cap- 
tain Harter  was  born  at  Aaronsburg,  Center 
county,  Pa.,  Aug.  11,  1838,  and  was  a  son  of 
William  and  Rebecca  Harter,  both  of  whom 
are  buried  at  Aaronsburg,  Pa. 

Mr.  Harter  had  district  school  advantages 
in  boyhood  and  then  learned  the  blacksmith 
trade  and  was  engaged  at  work  in  that  line  at 
Mifflinburg,  in  Union  county,  Pa.,  when  he  en- 
listed for  service  in  the  Civil  War,  in  July, 
1862.  He  entered  Company  D,  150th  Pa.  Vol. 
Inf.,  as  a  private,  and  participated  in  20 
battles  and  had  been  promoted  many  times  for 
gallantry  before  his  injuries  when  he  was 
forced  to  retire  from  military  life  on  Oct.  20, 
1864,  on  a  surgeon's  certificate.  His  company 
was  first  detailed  to  do  guard  duty  at  the  sum- 
mer home  of  Abraham  Lincoln  and  then  was 
sent  to  the  front  to  partake  in  the  battles  of 
Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  the  Wilderness 
campaign  and  Petersburg.  Capt.  Harter's 
army  record  is  the  subject  of  frequent  refer- 
ence in  a  popular  library  book  entitled  "The 
Recollections  of  a  Drummer  Boy,"  which  ap- 
peared first  in  St.  Nicholas  Magazine  and  later 
was  published  by  Ticknor  &  Co.,  of  Boston, 
Mass.  The  author  of  these  recollections,  Rev. 
Harry  M.  Kieffer,  was  the  drummer  boy  of 
the  company  of  which  Mr.  Harter  was  captain 
and  the  two  were  bunk  mates  and  personal 
friends. 

In  July,  1862,  Mr.  Harter  was  made  cor- 
poral in  rank  and  on  May  3,  1864,  had  reached 
the  rank  of  first  lieutenant  and  on  June  26, 


1864,  was  commissioned  captain.  He  was 
wounded  at  Spottsylvania  on  May  loth,  at 
Petersburg  on  June  i8th  and  again  on  Aug. 
10,  1864,  and  these  injuries  so  disabled  him 
that  he  unwillingly  had  to  accept  his  discharge, 
honorable  although  it  was.  He  united  with 
the  G.  A.  R.  at  Nevada,  O.,  and  was  valued 
as  a  comrade  in  that  body  . 

After  his  first  marriage,  Mr.  Harter  settled 
at  Nevada,  O.,  as  a  blacksmith  and  carriage 
builder  and  was  associated  with  his  brother, 
Thomas  H.  Harter,  in  the  ownership  of  the 
old  Nevada  enterprise,  a  weekly  newspaper, 
selling  his  interest  in  it  on  Jan.  3,  1879,  to  J. 
N.  Wilcox.  In  1882  he  bought  a  farm  north 
of  Oceola,  on  which  he  resided  until  1901, 
when  he  retired  to  Oceola,  where  his  death  oc- 
curred on  March  9,  1912.  Mr.  Harter  owned 
182  acres  and  was  an  expert  farmer.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  had  been  vice  president  and 
a  director  of  the  Crawford  County  Mutual 
Fire  Insurance  Company,  and  a  member  and 
official  of  the  Crawford  County  Agricultural 
Society.  He  became  a  Republican  in  politics 
at  the  resumption  of  specie  payments  in  1879 
and  was  steadfast  in  his  political  faith  till  his 
death.  He  was  many  years  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity  and  belonged  also  to  the 
Jr.  O.  U.  A.  M. 

At  Oceola,  O.,  Feb.  28,  1867,  Mr.  Harter 
\\  as  married  to  Miss  Margaretta  A.  Forrest,  a 
lady  of  fine  literary  talents  and  the  author  of 
som^  popular  poems.  They  had  four  children, 
namely :  Frederick,  who  resides  at  Oceola,  and 
married  Kittie  Stiner,  they  having  three  chil- 
dren; Marion,  who  married  Albert  Hauslaib 
and  has  two  children;  James  W.,  an  attorney 
and  resident  of  Duluth,  Minn.,  who  married 
Nellie  Walters,  of  Akron,  O.,  and  Bessie,  who 
resides  at  Oceola.  The  mother  of  the  above 
children  died  March  2,  1895.  In  1897  Captain 
Harter  was  married  to  Mrs.  Lena  (Sharp) 
Doty,  of  Oceola.  Mrs.  Doty  had  one  son, 
Harry,  by  her  former  marriage,  and  to  her 
second  marriage  one  son  was  born,  Robert. 
Airs.  Harter  lives  in  the  family  residence  in 
Oceola.  She  is  well  known  and  has  a  wide 
circle  of  friends  in  this  section  of  Crawford 
county,  in  which  she  has  passed  her  life. 

HERSCHEL  V.  FLICKINGER,  deputy 
county  surveyor  of  Crawford  county,  O.,  and 
formerly  county  sun^eyor,  has  been  identified 


882 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


with  the  surveyor's  office  since  1895  and  is  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  most  capable  men  in  this 
Hne  of  work  in  North  Central  Ohio.  He  was 
born  in  Holmes  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  July  II,  i860,  coming  from  one  of  the  old 
county  families. 

Samuel  Flickinger,  grandfather  of  Herschel 
V.  Flickinger,  was  born  in  Bucks  county,  Pa., 
and  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  in  Stark 
county,  O.,  from  which  section  he  came  to 
Crawford  county,  probably  about  1822.  He 
secured  160  acres  of  government  land  situated 
in  Holmes  township,  four  miles  from  the  pres- 
ent busy  city  of  Bucyrus,  a  place  of  three 
houses  at  that  time.  He  kept  his  land  and  im- 
proved it  and  died  there  when  aged  72  years. 
He  was  a  man  of  influence  in  the  Democratic 
party  and  was  a  representative  pioneer  in  the 
best  sense  of  the  word.  He  married  Malinda 
Healy,  who  was  born  in  Vermont,  and  she  also 
died  in  Holmes  township.  Their  12  children 
all  survived  to  maturity  and  all  married  with 
one  exception.  The  only  one  yet  living  is  Mrs. 
Horace  Austin,  of  Ravenna,  O. 

Horace  Flickinger,  father  of  Herschel  V., 
was  born  in  1833,  in  Holmes  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  was  reared  on  the  homestead  and 
inherited  a  part  of  it.  Later  he  purchased  a 
farm  in  Bucyrus  township  and  there  spent  the 
rest  of  his  life,  his  death  taking  place  in  1898. 
In  addition  to  farming  he  was  also  interested 
in  lumbering  for  some  25  years  and  owned  a 
saw  mill.  He  was  married  in  Holmes  town- 
ship to  Catherine  Fralick,  who  was  born  there 
in  1843,  and  died  in  Bucyrus  township  in  1909. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  Henry  Fralick, 
formerly  a  farmer  in  Holmes  township.  To 
Horace  and  Catherine  Flickinger  the  follow- 
ing children  were  born :  Herschel  V. ;  Delia, 
who  is  the  wife  of  F.  Lincoln  Harvey  of 
Bucyrus,  and  has  four  children — Carrie,  Har- 
rison, Cecil  and  Maude;  Clement  L.,  who  is 
a  farmer  in  Bucyrus  township,  unmarried; 
Alvin  G.,  who  is  a  clerk  in  the  county  auditor's 
office;  and  Carrie  B.,  who  is  the  wife  of  A.  L. 
Shumaker. 

Herschel  V.  Flickinger  attended  the  country 
schools,  later  those  of  Bucyrus  and  afterward 
was  a  student  in  the  North  Western  University 
at  Ada,  O.  Well  qualified  for  any  line  of  busi- 
ness, circumstances  led  to  his  becoming  iden- 
tified with  official  life  in  his  native  county  and 


his   usefulness   has   been   so   recognized   that 
more  or  less  he  has  been  connected  with  pub- 
lic affairs  in  the  county  ever  since  leaving  col- 
lege.   In  his  many  years  of  official  life  he  has 
been  deputy  county  auditor  and  deputy  treas- 
urer under  Treasurer  C.  F.  Shonert.    In  Nov- 
ember, 1895,  he  was  elected  county  surveyor 
and  served  for  six  years,  and  served  six  years 
as  deputy  under  Surveyor  Bryant,  and  in  Sep- 
tember,   191 1,    was   appointed   deputy   under 
Surveyor  L.  P.  Michelis.    He  has  administered 
all*these  offices  carefully  and  well,  performing 
his  duties  with  perfect  accuracy  and  with  sat- 
isfaction to  the  public.    He  is  a  zealous  Demo- 
crat and  has   been   appointed   a  delegate  to 
county,   state  and  congressional  conventions. 
One  of  the  charter  members  of  the  fraternal 
order  of  Eagles,  he  has  always  taken  a  deep 
interest  in  that  organization  and  was  its  first 
vice  president  and  belongs  also  to  the  Elks.    He 
is  unmarried. 

JACOB  J.  SCHNEIDER,  a  general  farmer 
and  well  known  and  respected  citizen  of  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  who  owns  100  acres  of  val- 
uable land,  in  partnership  with  his  brother, 
Adam  Schneider,  situated  in  section  11,  Cran- 
berry township,  was  born  two  miles  northwest 
of  Leesville,  O.  His  parents  were  John  Jacob 
and  Margaret  (Loutenslater)  Schneider. 

John  Jacob  Schneider  was  bom  in  one  of 
the  Rhine  provinces,  Germany,  and  was  18 
years  of  age  when  he  accompanied  his  parents, 
Michael  and  Elizabeth  Schneider,  to  America, 
who  settled  with  their  three  sons  and  one 
daughter,  in  Pennsylvania.  Later  they  came 
to  Leesville,  O.,  and  still  later  moved  on  a 
farm  in  Chatfield  township,  Crawford  county, 
one  mile  northeast  of  Chatfield,  and  there  they 
died  and  their  burial  was  in  the  cemetery  at- 
tached to  the  Reformed  church.  John  Jacob 
Schneider  followed  farming  during  the  greater 
part  of  his  life.  For  two  years  after  his  mar- 
riage he  lived  at  Leesville  and  then  moved  on 
the  farm  which  is  now  owned  by  his  sons, 
Jacob  J.  and  Adam.  Here  his  death  occurred 
when  he  was  aged  71  years  and  his  burial  was 
in  the  Chatfield  cemetery.  In  politics  he  was 
a  Democrat  and  was  a  man  of  influence  in 
Cranberry  township  and  served  one  term  as 
road  supervisor.  He  belonged  to  the  Re- 
formed church.    His  widow  survives  and  lives 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


883 


in  Chatfield  township.  Nine  children  were 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schneider  and  all  but 
two,  Mary  and  an  infant  son,  survive,  namely : 
Margaret,  Emma,  Lewis,  Hannah,  Jacob  J., 
Adam  and  William. 

Jacob  J.  Schneider  obtained  his  early  knowl- 
edge of  books  in  what  is  known  as  the  Swiss 
school,  in  Chatfield  township  and  was  about 
five  years  old  when  his  parents  moved  on  the 
present  home  farm.  In  association  with  his 
brother  Adam  he  has  improved  the  place  which 
includes  the  building  of  the  substantial  and 
comfortable  farm  house.  Mr.  Schneider  was 
married  to  Miss  Caroline  Huber,  who  was 
born  at  New  Washington,  O.,  a  daughter  of 
Charles  Huber.  They  are  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Schneider  and  his 
brother  are  identified  with  the  Democratic 
party  but  neither  have  ever  sought  political  of- 
fice. They  are  practical  farmers  and  quiet, 
industrious  citizens. 

WILLIAM  C.  SCOTT,  a  prosperous 
farmer  and  well  known  citizen  of  Dallas  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  resides  on  his  well 
improved  farm  of  80  acres,  devoting  it  to  gen- 
eral agriculture.  He  was  born  in  Harrison 
county,  O.,  Jan.  5,  1854,  and  is  a  son  of 
Andrew  and  Michel  (Trickel)  Scott. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Scott  was  a  native  of 
Ohio  and  was  a  farmer  all  his  active  life.  The 
mother  was  born  in  Maryland.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Of 
their  children,  William  C,  was  the  youngest, 
the  others  being:  Charlotte,  wife  of  Samuel 
Lelly;  Wesley;  Matilda,  wife  of  John  Gwin- 
ner;  Bishop;  Nathan;  Mary,  wife  of  Miles 
Murphy;  and  Jane,  wife  of  Leonard  Huffman. 

William  C.  Scott  has  been  interested  con- 
tinuously in  farming  ever  since  his  school  days. 
He  lost  his  father  when  he  was  only  15  years 
of  age  and  more  or  less  has  looked  out  for 
himself  since  then,  working  for  several  years 
by  the  month  with  neighboring  farmers  before 
he  went  into  business  on  his  own  account. 
After  renting  land  for  20  years  he  purchased 
his  present  farm,  from  Dice  Beers  and  im- 
mediately set  about  improving  it.  It  required 
tiling  and  fencing  and"  before  Mr.  Scott  was 
satisfied  he  had  also  built  a  comfortable  house 
and  substantial  barn.  His  land  is  in  fine  con- 
dition and  satisfactorily  productive, 
so 


In  1872  Mr.  Scott  was  married  to  Miss 
Anna  Kimble,  who  was  born  in  Crawford 
county  and  is  a  daughter  of  Nicholas  and 
Sarah  (Billings)  Kimble,  well  known  residents 
of  this  section.  Their  children  all  survive  with 
the  exception  of  three  sons,  William,  James 
and  Nicholas.  The  others  are :  Mary,  wife  of 
Thomas  Woodruth;  Lillian,  wife  of  James 
Cowells. ;  Joseph;  Charlotte,  wife  of  Andrew 
Claybaugh;  Daniel;  Amy,  wife  of  William 
Wilson ;  Cora,  wife  of  Duke  Wells ;  and  Anna, 
wife  of  William  C.  Scott.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Scott  nine  children  have  been  born,  namely: 
Elmer,  who  married  Laura  Albright;  Charles, 
who  married  Laura  Kearns ;  Phebe,  who  mar- 
ried Hanford  Cline ;  Alfred,  who  married  Eva 
Monnette;  Gertrude,  who  married  Jess  Can- 
ode  ;  Naomi,  who  married  Clinton  Shaw ;  May, 
who  married.  George  Purviss;  Sanford,  who 
married  Anna  Kiesling ;  and  Ray,  who  married 
Jessie  Kiesling.  Mr.  Scott  and  family  attend 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican  as  was  his  father.  He  has 
never  been  eager  for  political  position  but 
as  a  matter  of  duty  has  served  as  school 
director,  being  much  interested  in  the  public 
schools  and  in  every  movement  that  promises 
to  advance  the  general  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity. 

JOHN  NICHOLAS  REXROTH.  1800- 
1867.  John  Nicholas  (Johann  Nicholaus) 
Rexroth  was  the  first  bearing  that  surname  to 
locate  in  Crawford  county,  O.  He  arrived 
with  his  young  family  in  1833. 

The  name  is  a  Latin-German  derivation  and 
means  "The  Red-King."  Relatives  in  the 
fatherland  adhere  to  a  tradition  that  it  dates 
back  to  one  of  the  Othos,  an  emporer  of  Ger- 
many, from  whom  the  family  traces  descent. 
Another  version  comes  from  a  member  of  the 
family,  who  in  his  travels  came  upon  the  name, 
in  a  city  of  southern  Europe,  where  it  was  re- 
corded, centuries  ago,  that  the  second  syllable 
or  part  was  rath  meaning  counselor,  in  Ger- 
man, and  that  the  word  meant  "The  King's 
Counselor."  Unfortunately  his  record  is  not 
available  and  the  name  of  the  city  is  forgotten. 
Either  meaning  points  to  some  close  connec- 
tion with  royalty. 

The  practice  of  giving  a  common  prenomen 
or  given  name,  as  occurred  in  the  family,  and 


884 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


which  was,  Johann  to  the  sons  and  Johanna 
to  the  daughter,  suggests  a  custom  of  the  last 
days  of  the  Roman  republic.  Whatever  the 
facts  may  be  as  to  the  remote  ancestors,  it  is 
certain  the  immediate  ancestors  of  the  subject 
under  review,  were  honest,  industrious,  relig- 
ious people,  who  intended  to  meet  life's  needs 
honorably  and  to  the  best  of  their  ability. 

John  Nicholas  Rexroth  was  born  at  Erbach, 
Hesse-Darmstadt,  Germany,  Nov.  6,  1800. 
He  was  the  eldest  child  in  a  family  of  eight 
sons  and  two  daughters  born  to  John  Conrad 
Rexroth  and  wife.  The  names  of  the  sons,  in 
the  order  of  their  ages,  omitting  the  common 
given  name,  only  as  by  repetition  it  becomes 
the  real  given  name,  were — Nicholas,  Johan, 
Karl,  Eberhard,  Johanness,  George,  Ludwig 
and  Conrad,  and  the  daughters,  Mary  and 
Sophia.  These  names,  with  the  common  given 
name,  were  so  blended  in  their  use  in  the  fam- 
ily as  to  constitute  a  new  list.  The  mother  of 
these  children  was  a  large  woman  of  fine  ad- 
ministrative ability  and  a  thorough  disciplinar- 
ian. System  and  order  were  the  rule  in  her 
home,  though  ever  pervaded  by  the  spirit  of 
kindness  and  the  loving  gentleness  of  the  true 
mother.  Of  her  thriftiness,  American  descend- 
ants were  assured,  when  after  her  death  and 
by  her  previous  order,  the  oaken,  iron-bound 
chests  with  their  generous  shipments  of  linen 
sheets,  shirts,  etc.,  arrived  for  her  loved  chil- 
dren in  America.  Of  the  above  named  chil- 
dren, Nicholas,  Johanness,  Mary  and  Sophia 
and  descendants  of  Karl  and  Conrad  emigrated 
to  America.  There  were  about  forty  grand- 
children, descendants  of  the  original  family 
and  the  posterity  is  now  a  large  company.  The 
American  contingent  is  already  widely  distri- 
buted and  high  school,  college  and  university 
graduates  with  their  degrees  are  numerous 
among  them,  and  the  emblem  of  Phi  Beta 
Kappa  is  also  in  evidence.  They  are  engaged 
in  a  variety  of  honorable  and  useful  pursuits, 
agricultural  leading,  and  the  so-called  profes- 
sions, teaching,  ministry,  missionary,  medicine, 
dentistry,  have  representatives  from  them  who 
are  making  good. 

Each  of  the  children  of  the  elder  Rexroth 
received  a  common  school  education  and  all  of 
them  were  indoctrinated  in  the  tenets  of  the 
Lutheran  faith  and  confirmed  and  received  into 
that  church  at  the  usual  age. 


The  father  was  a  blacksmith  and  trained  all 
but  one  of  his  sons  in  that  trade;  the  son  ex- 
empt had  met  with  an  injury  to  one  of  his 
hands.    The  smithy  with  its  numerous  forges, 
was  no  small  affair ;  but  an  extensive  establish- 
ment and  the  leading  one  of  its  kind  in  that 
locality  and  drew  its  patronage  from  a  wide 
area.     There,  were  manufactured  agricultural 
implements  and  the  iron  parts  of  wagons  and 
vehicles  of  all  kinds.     Those  sturdy  sons  of 
vulcan    drove    a    thriving   business    as    they 
wrought  at  the  flaming  forge,  and  not  one  ever 
seemed  to  suspect  that  the  world  owed  him  a 
living,  only  as  he  returned  an  equivalent  in  use- 
ful labor.     In  addition  to  the  home  training, 
each  son  traveled  as  a  journeyman  workman 
through  a  prescribed  territory,  to  learn  best 
methods,    as    pertaining    to    his    art.      The 
"wanderbuch"  (journal)  is  an  interesting  relic 
of  this  practice.     It  was  in  this  way  that  one 
of  them  discovered  the  family  name  as  refer- 
red to  above.    The  youngest  son,  Conrad,  trav- 
veled  more  extensively  than  the  others,  spend- 
ing considerable  time  in  Switzerland.     He  be- 
came a  highly  skilled  artisan  and  possessed  the 
taste  and  genius  of  an  artist.     Later  he  be- 
came attached  to  the  court  of  the  Grand-duke 
George  II,  of  Saxe  Meiningen  and  had  charge 
of  all  equipages,  designing,  drafting  all  designs 
and    superintending    the    construction    of    all 
ducal  coaches,  carriages,  etc.,  with  their  silk 
and  satin  brocade  upholstering  and  of  these, 
the  fashions  changed  annually.     Thus,  the  in- 
ventive faculty  of  the  superintendent  was  not 
without  exercise.     The  duke,  who  is  living  at 
the    age    of    seventy-nine,    possesses    several 
palaces  of  great  magnitude  and  has  as  a  con- 
fidential secretary,  a  son  of  Conrad  Rexroth, 
who  among  other  duties,  signs  all  orders  on  the 
government  pay-roll.     The  only  member  of 
this  branch  of  the  family,  in  this  country,  is 
Mrs.    S.    Kranich,   North   Sandusky  Avenue, 
Bucyrus,  O.     George,  the  sixth  son  of  Con- 
rad,  Sr.,  became  quite  wealthy,  being  rated 
near   a   millionaire    before   his    death.     The 
homestead     is     in     his     family;     the     house 
where  all  the  children  were  born,  built  many 
years  ago,  is  still  used  as  a  residence ;  he  took 
care  of  his  aged  parents — the  mother  survived 
the  father  fifteen  years  and  was  an  invalid  for 
several  years  and  recei\'ed  her  daily  outing  in 
a  wheel-chair,  propelled  by  a  grandson.    From 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


885 


recent  advices,  a  cousin,  once  removed,  of  our 
subject  is  a  government  surveyor  in  the  Ger- 
man empire,  resides  at  the  imperial  palace  and 
eats  at  the  same  table  with  the  emperor.  A 
relative,  Rev.  George  Rexroth,  is  at  present 
pastor  of  the  First  German  Methodist  church, 
at  Frankfort-on-the-Main. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  relieved  from 
military  duty  as  his  help  would  be  needed  to 
raise  the  large  family  of  younger  sons,  who 
\vould  contribute  to  the  service  of  the  state, 
which  each  one  did  as  he  arrived  at  the  proper 
age.     He  was  a  most  dutiful  and  industrious 
son,  whom  the  father  affectionately  called  the 
"Bread  Winner."     His  influence  in  the  home 
and  business  was  very  salutary  and  in  later 
years  members  of  the  family  took  pleasure  in 
bearing  witness  to  it,  a  common  expression  be- 
ing: "He  was  so  pleasant  to  be  with  or  work 
with."    The  young  man's  journal  recites  that 
he  left  home  on  his  journeyman  tour,  Aug.  28, 
1822,  and  bears  stamps  of  many  places  visited 
and  signatures  of  deputies  or  magistrates  testi- 
fying to  his  fidelity.  After  serving  the  required 
time,  he  returned  to  help  his  father  until  early 
in  1830  when  he  departed  for  America,  where 
the  record  states  he  arrived  at  Baltimore,  Md., 
May  24th,  1830.    There  he  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  and  married  Anna  Maria  Rittman  on 
the  ninth  day  of  January,  1831.    The  wedding 
was  solemnized  in  the  "Old  Otterbein  Church" 
by  the  incumbent  pastor.     The  wife  was  born 
Dec.  29,   1806,  at  Middle  Mutchelbach,  near 
Manheim,  Baden.     Her  ancestors  came  from 
Denmark.    The  family  had  suffered  hardships 
on  account  of  the  wars  of  Napoleon,  two  un- 
cles being  in  the  Russian  campaign,  one  of 
whom  perished  at  the  siege  of  Moscow.     The 
father  died  when  this  daughter  was  an  infant 
and  the  mother  when  she  was  sixteen  years 
of  age.    When,  after  some  years  of  indecision 
as  to  her  life  course,  a  family  of  neighbors 
and  close  friends  decided  to  emigrate  to  Amer- 
ica, she  concluded  to  go  with  them  and  at  once 
converted  her  patrimony  into  money  and  joined 
the  company.     They  embarked  on  a  sail  ship 
and  were  thirteen  weeks  on  the  ocean — all  the 
passengers  being  sea-sick  but  herself,  but  af- 
ter arriving  she  was  the  longest  in  becoming 
acclimated.    They  arrived  at  Baltimore  in  1829 ' 
where,  later,  she  was  married,  as  above  stated. 
She  was  a  very  comely  young  woman,  with  an 


almost  perfect  complexion  which  never  lost 
its  beautiful  tint  in  spit  of  the  hardships  en- 
dured, to  the  close  of  her  more  than  86  years. 
She  was  fond  of  society,  interested  in  business 
and  public  affairs,  possessed  strong  practical 
sense,  a  fine  sense  of  humor  and  readily  made 
apd  retained  friends. 

Not  being  decided  as  to  their  future,  perma- 
nent location,  the  young  couple  went  to  Gettys- 
burgh.  Pa.,  on  account  of  relatives,  the  Sch- 
mucker  family,  prominent  in  the  college  and 
the  Luthern  church  at  that  place ;  but  the  tide 
of  emigration  had  set  strongly  to  the  North- 
west Territory  and  they  were  carried  with  it 
and  in  company  with  others  they  endured  the 
hardships  of  the  journey  until  they  reached 
Bucyrus,   O.,    where   they  decided   to   locate. 
Here,  in   1833,  Mr.   Rexroth  erected  a  good 
frame  house,  still  used  as  a  residence,  and  a 
forge  at  the  corner  of  what  are  South  Wal- 
nut and  Middletown  streets,  where  he  worked, 
industriously,  at  his  trade  and  rapidly  accu- 
mulated  property,    investing  his   earnings   in 
land.    He  was  an  extremely  hard-working  and 
conscientious  tradesman,  all  his  activities  be- 
ing marked  by  celerity  and  energy,  and  a  de- 
sire to  perform  his  work  to  the  full  satisfac- 
tion of  his  patrons.     Like  all  pioneer  trades- 
men,   whose   business    required    a    fuel,    that 
would  yield  an  intense  heat,  he  must  needs 
burn  his  own  charcoal.     These  occasions  gave 
the  wife  an  experience  of  adventure,  not  quite 
to  her  liking — in  going  into  the  deep  forest  to 
carry  meals  to  her  husband  who  must  stay  by 
the  charcoal  kiln  until  the  product  was  finished 
she  frequently  met  Indians  sometimes  return- 
ing from  Bucyrus  full  of  "Sandusky  water," 
which  always  was  a  cause  of  fright ;  but  as 
they  were  the  friendly  Wyandottes,  she  was 
never  harmed.     After  about  eight  eight  years 
of  residence  at  Bucyrus,  Mr.  Rexroth  removed 
with  his    family   to   New   Winchester.      The 
reason  for  this  change  is  not  known  unless  it 
was  a  desire  to  engage  in  brick-making  and  a 
large  tract  of  suitable  land  to  be  had  there 
induced  him  to  make  the  venture.     Possibly 
he  had  wearied  of  the  hard,  unremitting  toil 
and  thousfht  the   change  would  bring  relief. 
The  question  of  the  future  value  of  the  loca- 
tion when  all  the  settlements  around  were  mere 
villages  and  their  future  conjectural  and  when 
Brokensword  Avenue  was  laid  out  at  Oceola 


886 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


to  accommodate  the  future  county  buildings, 
did  not  seem  to  have  influenced  him  to  make 
the  change.  But  brick-making,  other  than 
gold  bricks,  was  a  premature  venture,  pioneers 
having  plenty  of  building  material  and  little 
cash  and  after  a  few  years  the  business  was 
abandoned  and  he  again  took  up  the  work 
of  his  trade  and  later,  seeing  Bucyrus  advanc- 
ing, he  returned  hither  in  the  spring  of  1849 
and  moved  into  his  own  house,  which  had  stood 
unoccupied.  Here  with  the  help  of  the  older 
sons  and  apprentices,  whom  he  had  trained, 
he  resumed  business  with  the  customary  suc- 
cess. In  1856  the  forge  was  moved  farther  on 
Middletown  street  and  a  new  residence  was 
built  on  the  corner,  which,  at  the  present  time, 
is  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  best  built  houses 
in  the  city,  with  its  substantial  oak  frame- 
work in  contrast  with  the  light-timbered  build- 
ings of  to-day. 

But  the  oldest  son  having  died  and  the 
younger  sons  desiring  to  engage  in  farming, 
the  father  sold  the  town  property  and  bought 
land  and  in  the  spring  of  1858  the  family 
moved  to  the  new  purchase,  south  of  the  city, 
adjoining  the  corporation.  From  this  location, 
the  younger  children  continued  to  attend  the 
town  schools  and  the  Ohio  State  Normal 
School  which  flourished  for  a  few  years,  but 
was  closed  on  account  of  the  war.  Some 
years  later  another  change  was  deemed  ad- 
vantageous— this  was  to  the  farm  on  the  Ma- 
rion road,  known  as  the  Riley  Pettit  farrrt,  a 
well-improved  place  with  a  coinmodious  brick 
residence.  Here,  on  the  17th  of  June,  1867, 
"life's  labors  ended"  and  the  father  passed 
into  the  better  life,  in  the  sixty-seventh  year 
of  his  age. 

Mr.  Rexroth  was  a  man  with  an  ardent 
religious  nature,  very  candid  and  confiding  and 
financial  reverses  which  came  to  him  and  de- 
spoiled him  of  much  of  his  hard  earned  prop- 
erty are  directly  traceable  to  this  fact,  as 
his  personal  and  business  habits  were  cor- 
rect and  almost  ideal.  He  became  surety  for 
others  and  lost,  though  never  in  any  sense  re- 
duced to  abject  poverty  as  he  always  owned 
his  own  home;  but  as  the  reverses  interfered 
with  privileges  for  his  family,  which  he  had 
fondly  cherished,  his  regret  was  deep  and  sin- 
cere. His  tender  sympathy,  kindness  of  speech 
and  gentleness  of  manner  disarmed  prejudice 


and  his  children  and  friends  ever  held  him  in 
deepest  regard  amounting  to  reverence.     He 
looked  upon  life  as  a  sacred  trust  and  upon 
himself  as  one  who  must  give  an  account  of 
his   stewardship.     To  him,   success   was  the 
meeting  of  moral  obligations  to  his  fellow  men, 
rather  than  the  amassing  of  wealth  by  personal 
shrewdness.     The  only  true  estimate  of  this 
man  must  be  based  upon  his  personality,  rather 
than  on  his  worldly  achievements.    To  him  the 
character   whose   activities   approached   most 
nearly  the  true  standard  of  conduct,  whether 
of  a  rich  man  or  a  poor  man,  marked  the  suc- 
cessful man,  so  in  life  much  time  and  labor 
were  spent  in  exhorting  men  to  keep  their  con- 
sciences and  their  records  clean  and  family 
and  friends  ever  saw  that  he  conscientiously 
practiced  what  he  preached. 

The  influence  of  such  a  personality  can  never 
die  and  the  sentiment  of  a  descendant,  uttered 
in  a  burst  of  enthusiasm :  "Oh,  how  it  wears," 
was  full  of  meaning. 

Though  reared  and  confirmed  in  the  Luth- 
eran church,  he  and  his  wife  resolved  to  iden- 
tify themselves  with  religious  people,  wher- 
ever their  lot  might  be  cast,  even  if  of  an- 
other denomination;  thus  we  find  them  mem- 
bers of  the  Evangelical  Association  and  later 
German  Methodists.  They  helped  to  found 
the  first  German  Methodist  church  at  Bucyrus 
and  Mr.  Rexroth  was  the  confidential  corre- 
spondent of  the  Reverend  William  Nast,  the 
founder  of  German  Methodism  in  the  United 
States,  and  the  organizer  of  the  local  church. 
He  was  ever  the  sympathetic  friend  and  ad- 
viser of  his  pastors  and  they  valued  his  spirit- 
tual  help  and  support.  One  of  the  most  promi- 
nent of  them  said,  recently,  "When  I  was  pas- 
tor at  Bucyrus,  I  always  felt  that  Brother  Rex- 
roth ought  to  be  in  the  pulpit  and  I  in  the  pew, 
such  was  the  impression  his  spiritual  insight 
and  attainments  made  upon  me."  His  ability 
along  this  line  was  greatly  appreciated  in  pi- 
oneer days  and  brought  into  exercise  by  calls 
to  the  homes  of  sickness  and  death  and  on 
occasions  of  funerals  when  in  the  absence  of 
a  pastor,  he  was  invited  to  address  the  people 
and  speak  the  words  of  comfort. 

An  incident  occurring  during  the  residence 
at  New  Winchester  deserves  a  permanent  rec- 
ord, though  the  main  features  only  can  be 
noted. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


887 


A  fellow-countryman  had  arrived  and 
erected  his  primitive  abode  in  the  dense  woods 
near  the  village.  Mr.  Rexroth  had  met  him 
and  they  had  a  long  conversation — this  was 
the  extent  of  their  acquaintance.  Several 
weeks  thereafter  Mr.  Rexroth  had  a  vision 
or  a  dream  three  times  repeated  in  one  night, 
representing  the  new  arrival  as  being  in  great 
distress  and  needing  his  help  and  directing 
him  to  go  to  the  relief.  He  arose  at  dawn 
intending  to  go  to  the  home;  but  the  wife 
thinking  it  was  only  a  dream  due  to  indigestion 
interposed  objections  which  caused  him  to  de- 
lay, but  later  the  wife  noting  his  distress  ad- 
vised him  to  go  and  investigate  which  he  did 
and  upon  arriving  found  the  man  unconscious 
from  a  fatal  injury  received  that  morning  when 
he  had  gone  out  to  fell  timber  and  he  died  be- 
fore night.  The  remarkable  feature  was  that 
when  Mr.  Rexroth  was  passing  a  night  of  dis- 
tress on  account  of  this  man  and  directed  to 
go  to  his  relief — the  victim  himself  was  well 
and  resting  peacefully  in  his  bed. 

The  occurrence  made  a  profound  impres- 
sion, as  the  people  saw  that  the  revelation  to 
Mr.  Rexroth  coming  before  the  accident  could 
have  had  none  but  a  supernatural  source  and 
as  showing  the  close  connection  between  the 
spirit  world  and  this. 

After  the  death  of  the  father  the  family 
home  was  transferred  to  Bucyrus  and  main- 
tained there  until  all  the  children  were  mar- 
ried, after  which  the  mother  chose  to  live  with 
her  youngest  daughter  with  visits  to  her  other 
children,  this  arrangement  continuing  for 
many  years,  till  within  several  years  of  her 
death  when  she  went  to  live  with  her  son  John 
and  family,  where  on  March  2,  1893,  she 
passed  into  the  spirit  world  in  the  eighty- 
seventh  year  of  her  age.  She  had  survived 
her  husband  nearly  twenty-six  years.  Her  jov- 
ial disposition  and  less  intense  nature  were, 
no  doubt,  conservators  of  the  vital  forces  as 
death  was  due  to  congestion  of  the  lungs  and 
not  to  the  infirmities  of  age.  Her  burial  was 
in  Oakwood  cemetery,  in  the  family  lot  be- 
side her  husband.  She  was  a  devoted  wife  and 
mother,  sharing  to  the  full  the  privations  and 
hardships  of  pioneer  life,  always  inculcating 
respect  and  obedience  to  high  ideals  of  living 
and  ministering  to  the  needs  of  others,  to  the 
best  of  her  ability. 


The  ten  children  born  to  this  pioneer  couple 
are  briefly  sketched  as  follows :  All  but  one 
lived  to  maturity,  all  were  reared  in  the  Meth- 
odist faith  and  united  with  that  church  in 
early  life,  all  had  such  school  privileges  as  the 
pioneer  communities  afforded,  four,  succeed- 
ing the  oldest  in  age,  were  born  at  Bucyrus,  O., 
the  rest  at  New  Winchester.  Each  of  the  liv- 
ing is  enjoying  a  material  competency  obtained 
by  observing  the  natural  laws  of  success — pa- 
tient industry,  economy,  sacrifice  and  good 
management.  In  politics,  the  sons  are  Repub- 
licans as  their  father  was,  who,  previously, 
had  been  a  Whig. 

Adam,  born  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  March  28, 
1832,  died  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  Jan.  10,  1855;  a 
young  man  of  superior  mental  endowments; 
a  faithful  helper  to  his  father,  and  devoted 
to  the  welfare  of  the  family.  His  leisure  was 
employed  in  acquiring  knowledge,  his  books 
showing  a  purpose  to  have  a  liberal  education. 
His  last  illness  was  protracted  and  full  of  suf- 
fering. Incidents  of  the  sickness  and  death 
resulted  in  the  conversion  of  his  physician,  a 
highly  educated  German,  who  had  been  an 
atheist.  The  last  audible  words  of  Adam  Rex- 
roth were  a  quotation  from  Shakespeare  in 
German:  "Ende  gut;  alles  gut,"  spoken  to 
his  father. 

Catherine,  born  Nov.  21,  1833,  is  living  at 
Nevada,  O.,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine ;  is 
well,  with  mental  faculties  unimpaired,  sur- 
rounded by  most  of  her  children.  She  mar- 
ried Emanuel  Albright,  the  children  born  of 
this  union  being,  William  W.,  Joseph  R., 
George  H.,  married  Harriet  Snyder;  Maryi 
deceased,  married  Lewis  Kissling;  Gertrude^ 
married  John  Kissling;  Grace,  married  John 
W.  Stuckman,  president  of  the  Crawford 
County  Agricultural  Society;  Nellie,  married 
George  Fahl,  deceased;  Frederick  married 
Beril  Kerr;  Margaret  M.,  married  Henry 
Gushman;  and  a  deceased  infant.  Mr.  Al- 
bright was  a  great-nephew  of  Jacob  Albright, 
founder  of  the  Evangelical  church  and  served 
the  full  time  in  the  Civil  war.  He  died  in 
1897  and  is  buried  in  Nevada  cemetery. 

John,  born  May  10,  1836,  died  May  8,  1895, 
at  his  home  on  the  Sandusky  Pike;  successful 
farmer  and  stock  raiser ;  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church,  in  which  he  held  many  official  posi- 
tions :  director  of  the  First  National  Bank,  the 


888 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


officials  being  his  pall-bearers;  a  man  honored 
and  beloved.  Dec.  i8,  1867,  he  married  Mag- 
dalena  Frey,  a  worthy  lady,  who  survives. 
Children :  Charles  married  Catharine  Kieffer ; 
John,  deceased ;  Lillian  I. ;  Roy  married  Lula 
Spore ;  Clyde ;  Elva  married  Edward  Campbell. 

Daniel,  born  Oct.  24,  1837,  living  at  his 
home  on  the  Marion  Road;  successful  agricul- 
turist, helped  to  found  Scioto  chapel;  many 
years  president  of  Crawford  County  Mutual 
Insurance  Company.  Dec.  2,  1862,  married 
Mary  Purkey,  strong  personality,  now  de- 
ceased. Living  children:  Edward  K.  mar- 
ried Margaret  Montgomery;  Anna  married  D. 
N.  Harvey;  and  Raymond  C.  married  Maud 
Chesney.  Deceased,  Charles,  the  first  born, 
at  thirteen  months ;  Efifie  Nina  and  Nellie  Belle 
in  young  womanhood;  and  several  infants. 

Elizabeth,  born  May  20,  1840,  died  in  the 
Methodist  parsonage  at  Upper  Sandusky,  Oct. 
19,  1889.  Graduate  of  Mt.  Union  College, 
teacher  of  drawing  and  oil  painting  at  the 
college,  also  teacher  in  Bucyrus  public  schools, 
an  almost  perfect  reader  of  human  nature,  and 
a  humorist  of  the  first  order.  On  Sept.  6, 
1870,  married  the  Rev.  Gershom  Lease,  one 
of  the  ablest  ministers  of  the  Central  O.  M.  E. 
Conference.  No  children.  Mr.  Lease  had 
been  previously  married  and  had  three  chil- 
dren, Emma,  Lura  and  Edward.  He  was  a 
General  Conference  delegate  at  Ne^^■  York 
City,  May,  1888;  died  Feb.  8,  1901,  aged  about 
seventy-three  years. 

Sarah,  born  May  4,  1842,  living  at  S.  W. 
corner  Poplar  and  Charles  streets,  Bucyrus, 
O.,  graduate  of  Mt.  Union  College,  taught 
in  the  college.  At  16  years  of  age  began 
teaching,  taught  seven  terms  in  the  country, 
about  seven  years  in  Bucyrus  public  schools, 
from  primary  to  principal  of  the  high  school. 
Sept.  4,  1872,  married  the  Rev.  Thomas  J. 
^Nlonnett,  an  able  minister  of  the  North  Ohio 
Conference  M.  E.  church,  with  whose  sketch 
elsewhere  given,  appears  other  brief  items. 

Lydia,  born  Nov.  6,  1843,  ^^^^  ^t  her  home 
south  of  Bucyrus,  April  30,  1889,  educated  in 
Bucyrus  public  schools  and  O.  S.  N.  S.  Taught 
school — gentle  refined  lady.  In  May,  1872, 
married  Benjamin  Beal,  farmer,  secretary  of 
the  Agricultural  Society,  secretary  Crawford 
County  Mutual  Insurance  Company  for  many 
years,  Methodist ;  held  many  official  positions ; 


died  March  4,  1898  at  Bucyrus.     Living  chil- 
dren, Benjamin  married  Bertha  Snyder;  Mary 
J.  married  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Housel  of  Cen- 
tral O.  M.  E.  Conference;  Edwin  G.,  cashier 
First  National  Bank,  married  Rachel  K.  Mon- 
nett;  ^^'illiam  D.,  minister,  missionary,  mem- 
ber Bengal  M.  E.  Conference,  on  leave  of  ab- 
sence from  Belgaum,  India,  married  Bessie  El- 
lice  Robinson;  Bertha  E.,  history  teacher  Bu- 
cyrus high  school,  married  Abraham  J.  White. 
Defeased  children:     Frederick  Alexis  and  an 
infant.    Mr.  Beal  had  been  previously  married 
and  had  three  children:     Albert,  who  became 
a  minister  of  the  North  Ohio  Conference,  M. 
E.  church,  died  April,  1908,  married  Mary  Mc- 
Cully;   Wesley,   prosperous    farmer,   married 
Eva  Beall;  Emma  married  Charles  E.  Ens- 
miniger. 

David,  born  June  4,  1846,  living  at  Marion, 
O.,  progressive  farmer  and  able  business  man, 
on  building  committee  and  generous  giver  M. 
E.  church,  Oxford,  Ind.,  Civil  War  veteran. 
Feb.,  1873,  married  Margaret  Purkey,  noble 
wife,  deceased  February,  1896.  Children,  John 
Nicholas,  wealthy  farmer,  married  Eleanor 
Walters;  Oliver  Morton,  deceased;  Mary,  do- 
mestic science  graduate;  Bessie  married  Oscar 
Hord,  prosperous  farmer;  Elizabeth  Lease, 
graduate  O.  W.  U.  and  Cincinnati  Missionary 
Training  School,  under  appointment  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society,  M.  E.  church, 
missionary  to  North  India. 

Samuel,  an  infant,  died  early  in  1845. 

Margaret,  born  Aug.  24,  1848,  is  living  at 
Bucyrus,  O.,  educated  in  local  public  schools 
and  O.  S.  N.  S.,  taught;  for  many  years  cared 
for  her  aged  mother.  February,  1873,  mar- 
ried Samuel  Kurtz,  now  deceased.  Living  chil- 
dren: George,  S.  Aaron,  Simeon  G.,  Bertha 
R.,  Harrison  and  Edwin.  Deceased,  Catha- 
rine and  Paul.  More  complete  data  of  this 
family  are  given  in  the  sketch  of  Samuel  Kurtz, 
given  elsewhere  in  this  history. 

Rexroth  relatives  meet  in  Annual  Reunion 
on  the  last  Wednesday  in  August,  thus  far  at 
Seccaium  Park,  as  being  most  central.  Ob- 
ject,- mutual  encouragement  and  helpfulness. 
About  one  hundred  have  attended  to  enjoy  a 
short  literary  and  business  program,  a  bounti- 
ful dinner  and  general  exchange  of  greetings. 
Last  year  a  motion  prevailed  to  undertake  some 
work  in  a  united  capacity  and  an  annual  do- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


nation  to  the  missionary  work  of  the  Rev.  Wil- 
Ham  D.  Beal  was  agreed  upon. 

HARRY  E.  LOTT,*  a  successful  general 
farmer  in  Dallas  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  who  operates  his  wife's  farm  of  215  acres, 
known  as  the  old  Monnett  homestead,  was 
bom  in  Clark  county,  O.,  Sept.  25,  1872,  and 
is  a  son  of  William  Henry  Harrison  and  Mary 
(Yarnell)  Lott. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Lott  were  born  in  Clark 
county  and  the  father  follows  farming  there. 
He  was  married  first  to  Mary  Yarnell,  who 
died  after  the  birth  of  the  following  children : 
Stella,  who  is  the  wife  of  Ernest  Keyes;  Jen- 
nette,  who  is  the  wife  of  William  A.  White; 
Louie,  who  is  the  wife  of  R.  A.  Garlough; 
and  Harry  E.,  Walter  and  Charles.  To  his 
marriage  with  Elizabeth  Crampton  four  sons 
were  born :  Fred,  Frank,  Crampton  and  Har- 
vey. 

Harry  E.  Lott  attended  the  public  schools 
in  Dallas  township  and  the  high  school  at 
Selma,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1888,  after 
which  he  perfected  himself  in  the  art  of  teleg- 
raphy and  was  a  telegraph  operator  for  rail- 
roads for  20  years.  Since  settling  on  the  pres- 
ent valuable  farm,  in  March,  191 1,  he  has 
devoted  himself  entirely  to  farming,  and  stock 
raising  and  his  agricultural  undertakings  have 
proven  judiciously  planned  and  well  carried 
out. 

In  February,  1899,  Mr.  Lott  was  married 
to  Miss  Emma  Lois  Monnett,  a  daughter  of 
Oliver  and  Mary  (Raymon)  Monnett,  this 
family  being  one  of  the  old  and  best  estab- 
lished ones  in  the  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lott 
have  three  daughters :  Mary  Eloise,  Bonnie 
Lois  and  Bess  Virginia.  The  family  attends 
the  Presbyterian  church.  He  is  identified  with 
Lodge  No.  402,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  Lodge 
No.  32,  Elks,  both  at  Marion.  Politically  he 
is  a  Republican. 

JOHN  SCHIMPF,  one  of  the  well  known 
farmers  and  respected  citizens  of  Sandusky 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  residing  on 
one  farm  of  120  acres  and  owning  a  second 
one,  of  82  acres,  lying  also  in  the  same  town- 
ship, was  born  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  in  1857,  and 
is  a  son  of  Frederick  A.  and  Lizzie  (Molen- 
kofif)  Shimpf. 


Frederick  Schimpf  was  born  in  Germany, 
where  he  grew  to  the  age  of  18  years  and 
learned  the  shoemaking  trade.  He  then  came 
to  the  United  States  and  located  at  Bucyrus, 
O.,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  until  he 
moved  on  his  farm  first  in  Lykens  township 
and  then  in  Chatfield  township,  after  which 
he  engaged  in  farming  until  his  death,  at  the 
age  of  56  years.  He  married  Lizzie  Molen- 
kofif  and  they  had  1 1  children. 

John  Schimpf  attended  the  district  schools 
in  boyhood  and  gave  his  father  assistance  on 
the  home  farm,  which  was  good  land  but  re- 
quired much  improving.  In  1888  he  came  to 
his  present  home  farm,  making  all  the  im- 
provements on  the  place,  and  here  has  been 
successfully  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits 
ever  since. 

Mr.  Schimpf  married  Miss  Eliza  Layer  and 
they  have  one  son,  Clarence,  who  resides  at 
home  and  takes  many,  of  the  responsibilities 
in  the  operating  of  the  two  farms.  In  poli- 
tics Mr.  Schimpf  is  a  Democrat.  He  served 
on  the  school  board  seven  years. 

H.  J.  ROOP,  a  successful  farmer  and  highly 
respected  citizen  of  Sandusky  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  residing  nine  miles  northeast 
of  the  city  of  Bucyrus,  where  he  and  wife 
own  389  acres  of  fine  land  which  has  been 
highly  improved,  belongs  to  one  of  the  solid 
old  families  of  this  section  and  is  a  son  of 
John  and  Sarah  Roop. 

John  Roop  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
came  to  Ohio  in  early  manhood,  where  he 
lived  until  his  death,  for  many  years  having 
been  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser  in  Crawford 
county.  He  married  after  coming  to  this  state 
and  a  family  of  13  children  was  born  to  him 
and  wife,  all  but  two  of  whom,  Rebecca  and 
Joseph,  still  survive.  Those  living  are :  Alice, 
Marinda,  Fancina,  May,  Laura,  Frank,  Ells- 
worth, Wellington,  Peter,  Charles  and  H.  J. 
The  parents  of  these  children  are  both  de- 
ceased and  are  buried  in  Roop  cemetery.  Lib- 
erty township.    John  Roop  died  June  18,  1912. 

H.  J.  Roop  obtained  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  and  his  main  occupation  has  been 
farming.  He  is  a  progressive  and  intelligent 
agriculturist  and  his  operations  are  on  an  ex- 
tensive scale.  He  has  devoted  much  care  and 
attention  to  the  improvement  of  his  large  prop- 


890 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


erty.  and  his  residence  is  of- modern  construc- 
tion and  very  attractive  from  every  point  of 
view. 

Mr.  Roop  married  Miss  Angeline  Songer, 
who  is  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Lydia 
(Schreck)  Songer,  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren :  Lester  C.  and  Orlo  E.  Mrs.  Roop  has 
one  brother,  WilHam  H.,  who  married  Marie 
E.  Reiff  and  they  have  two  children:  Lloyd 
W.  and  Delwyn  E.  Mr.  Roop  and  family  be- 
long to  the  Lutheran  church. 

JOSHUA  McNEAL,*  one  of  Bucyrus' 
most  respected  citizens,  has  been  a  resident  of 
Crawford  county  since  he  was  12  years  of  age 
and  has  witnessed  and  taken  part  in  much  of 
its  material  development  during  the  past  65 
years.  He  was  born  in  Huntington  county. 
Pa.,  April  3,  1825,  and  is  a  son  of  Alexander 
McNeal. 

The  McNeal  family  undoubtedly  is  of  Irish 
extraction  but  Alexander  McNeal  was  born 
in  America,  in  Huntington  county,  in  1790, 
and  lived  there  many  years  afterward.  He 
married  Jane  Goshorn  and  in  1837  they  came 
with  their  children  to  Crawford  county,  pio- 
neers in  every  sense  of  the  word,  and  found 
land  that  suited  them  in  Bucyrus  township, 
on  which  they  lived  out  long  and  useful  lives. 
Alexander  McNeal  died  when  aged  75  years 
and  was  survived  by  his  wife  for  several  years 
although  she  was  some  years  his  senior.  They 
were  among  the  founders  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  Bucyrus  township.  Of  their  twelve 
children,  five  were  sons  and  seven  were  daugh- 
ters and  all  grew  to  maturity  except  one,  and 
three  yet  survive :  Joshua ;  Alexander,  who 
resides  north  of  Bucyrus  with  his  children,  his 
wife  being  deceased;  and  Eliza,  who  is  the 
wife  of  William  Young,  of  Ada,  O. 

Joshua  McNeal  was  a  sturdy  boy  of  12 
years  when  he  came  with  his  people  to  Craw- 
ford county  and  remained  on  the  home  farm 
until  he  was  25  years  of  age.  Farming  was  his 
main  business  during  all  his  active  life  and  he 
has  spent  it  in  Bucyrus  and  Dallas  townships, 
where  he  has  owned  property,  residing  in  the 
latter  from  1865  until  1910,  when  he  was  pre- 
vailed upon  to  come  to  Bucyrus  and  become 
a  member  of  the  household  of  his  son,  Dennis 
A.  McNeal  Although  his  87  years  preclude 
any  active  participation  in  business,  Mr.  Mc- 


Neal in  mind  or  person  gives  no  indication 
of  such  a  passage  of  time,  being  in  excellent 
health  and  interested  in  all  that  transpires  not 
only  in  the  domestic  and  social  circles  but  in 
the  larger  life  that  takes  in  public  enterprises 
and  outside  affairs. 

Mr.  McNeal  was  married  in  Bucyrus  town- 
ship to  Miss  Loett  Palmer,  who  was  born  in 
1829,  in  Lorain  county,  O.,  and  was  ten  years 
old  when  she  accompanied  her  parents,  Den- 
nis,and  Olive  (Terrell)  Palmer,  to  Crawford 
county.  Dennis  Palmer  was  born  in  England 
and  his  wife  in  Massachusetts,  where  they  were 
married.  They  finally  came  to  Bucyrus  town- 
ship and  died  there  when  aged  about  70  years. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McNeal  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born:  Esther,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Lawrence  Murphy,  and  has  children,  Alfred, 
Joshua  and  Daisy,  the  last  named  being  mar- 
ried; George  and  Anna,  the  latter  being  mar- 
ried; J.  Curtis,  who  lives  at  Detroit,  Mich,, 
who  married  Martha  ^Vise  and  has  three  chil- 
dren— Marvin  J.,  Charles  and  Eula;  Dennis 
A. ;  and  Francis,  who  is  a  business  man  at 
Bucyrus. 

Dennis  A.  McNeal  was  born  on  the  old 
homestead  in  Bucyrus  township,  July  15,  1859, 
and  attended  the  public  schools  through  boy- 
hood. For  a  number  of  years  he  engaged  in 
farming  and  lumbering  and  is  a  man  of  sub- 
stantial fortune,  owning  a  valuable  farm  and 
also  city  realty.  He  was  married  in  Craw- 
ford county  to  Miss  Hulda  Beamer,  who  was 
born  in  Perry  county,  O.,  and  was  ten  years 
old  when  her  parents  came  to  Crawford 
county.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Re- 
becca (Grove)  Beamer,  the  former  of  whom 
was  born  in  Perry  county,  April  8,  1837,  and 
still  survives.  The  mother  of  Mrs.  McNeal 
was  born  in  1846  and  died  Dec.  22,  1887.  She 
\\as  a  member  of  the  old-school  Baptist  church. 
Mrs.  McNeal  is  one  of  the  following  family: 
Calvin,  who  is  a  resident  of  Nevada,  O. ;  Corda, 
who  is  the  wife  of  John  Starner,  also  of  Ne- 
vada, O. ;  Noble  B.,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Wyan- 
dot county;  Myrtle,  who  is  the  wife  of  Wil- 
liam Van  Horn,  of  Crawford  county;  Elva 
L.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Harvey,  of 
Bucyrus  township;  George,  who  lives  in  Cali- 
fornia; a  babe  that  died;  and  Mrs.  McNeal, 
who  is  the  eldest  born  of  this  family. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dennis  A.  McNeal  have  two 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


891 


children:  Frances  C,  born  October  6,  1885, 
graduating  in  the  class  of  1909  from  the  uni- 
versity at  Ada,  O.,  who  is  principal  of  the  East 
Side  public  school  at  Bucyrus,  and  is  married 
and  has  one  son,  Webster  M. ;  and  Orpha  A., 
born  June  9,  1891,  who  has  been  given  ex- 
cellent educational  advantages  and  holds  a 
teacher's  certificate.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McNeal 
are  members  of  the  English  Lutheran  church. 

SAMUEL  KURTZ,  whose  well  improved 
and  finely  cultivated  farm  of  112  acres,  lies 
two  miles  northeast  of  Sulphur  Springs,  O., 
in  Liberty  township,  Crawford  county,  be- 
longs to  one  of  the  highly  respected  old  Ger- 
man families  of  this  section,  his  grandparents 
having  come  to  America  with  their  families 
when  his  parents  were  children.  He  was  born 
March  22,  1850,  in  Chatfield  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  where  his  parents  had  settled  on 
a  farm  of  40  acres. 

Samuel  Kurtz  had  district  school  advantages 
in  boyhood  and  grew  up  as  a  farmer,  and  has 
continued  to  follow  agricultural  pursuits  ever 
since.  In  1883  he  settled  on  his  present  fine 
farm  which  he  has  improved  with  excellent 
buildings  and  here  carries  on  his  agricultural 
operations  with  complete  success. 

Mr.  Kurtz  married  Miss  Kate  Kessler,  who 
was  born  in  Schuykill  county,  Pa.,  and  three 
children  have  been  born  to  them,  James  Gar- 
field being  the  only  surviver,  the  two  other 
dying  in  infancy.  This  son  has  remained  with 
his  father  and  gives  him  assistance,  being  a 
competent  agriculturist,  trained  to  the  business 
under  his  father's  supervision.  He  married 
Miss  Elizabeth  Hoss  and  they  have  had  three 
children :  Ruth,  John  Wesley  and  one  that 
died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Kurtz  and  son  are  Re- 
publicans but  neither  are  seekers  for  political 
prominence.  The  family  belongs  to  the  Re- 
formed church. 

.G.  FRANKLIN  LASH,  who  resides  on  his 
valuable  farm  of  120  acres,  which  is  situated 
in  Sandusky  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
two  and  one-half  miles  northeast  of  Sulphur 
Springs,  was  born  in  1868,  on  his  father's 
farm  northwest  of  Tiro,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of 
George  and  Eliza  (Hutson)  Lash. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Lash  was  born  in  Wayne 
county,  O.,  and  the  father  was  five  years  old 


when  his  people  came  to  Crawford  county. 
He  was  a  farmer  and  resided  northwest  of 
Tiro,  where  his  death  occurred  at  the  age  of 
67  years.  His  widow,  Eliza  (Hutson)  Lash, 
now  in  her  79th  year,  lives  at  Tiro.  George 
F.  Lash  had  three  brothers,  one  survivor,  Ben- 
jamin, residing  at  Tiro,  while  William  and 
Elmer  are  deceased. 

G.  Franklin  Lash  obtained  his  education  in 
the  district  schools  and  then  assisted  his  father 
until  he  was  25  years  of  age.  Since  1894  he 
has  lived  in  Sandusky  township  continuously 
with  the  exception  of  seven  months  when  he 
resided  at  Sulphur  Springs.  He  carries  on 
general  farming  and  stock  raising,  having 
made  many  excellent  improvements.  His  sur- 
roundings indicate  good  management  and 
thrift. 

Mr.  Lash  married  Miss  Leila  A.  Stock, 
daughter  of  George  W.  and  Mary  (Loudon) 
Stock,  both  of  this  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lash 
have  two  children:  G.  Nellis  and  O.  Ells- 
worth. Politically  a  Democrat,  Mr.  Lash  is 
a  hearty  party  worker.  He  enjoys  the  confi- 
dence of  his  fellow  citizens,  irrespective  of 
party,  and  has  served  seven  and  one-half  years 
as  township  trustee. 

JAY  F.  SHAWK,  a  prosperous  farmer  and 
well  known  citizen  of  Holmes  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  carrying  on  agricultural  oper- 
ations on  160  acres  of  finely  improved  land 
situated  seven  miles  north  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  was 
born  on  the  old  family  homestead  in  this  town- 
ship, April  25,  1870,  and  is  a  son  of  Jennings 
T.  Shawk,  a  grandson  of  Thomas  Shawk  and 
a  great-grandson  of  Jacob  Shawk,  who  was  a 
Revolutionary  soldier.  The  family  is  one  of 
age  and  prominence  in  Holmes  township  and 
the  father  of  Mr.  Shawk  is  the  oldest  native 
born  man  here. 

Jay  F.  Shawk  was  educated  in  the  schools 
of  Crawford  county  and  received  his  agricul- 
tural training  on  the  home  farm  and  in  1894 
took  charge  of  his  present  one.  General  farm- 
ing and  moderate  stock  raising  are  the  in- 
dustries .engaged  in  and  his  methods  are  those 
of  the  progressive  agriculturists  of  the  day. 

On  Feb.  21,  1883,  Mr.  Shawk  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Lizzie  Fralick,  who 
was  born  in  Richland  county,  O.,  but  came 
with  her  parents  to  Holmes  township  when 


892 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


young.  Four  children  have  been  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Shawk,  namely:  Ruth,  who  mar- 
ried Ralph  Lahman,  of  Lykens  township,  and 
has  one  daughter,  Hilda;  Willis,  who  is  de- 
ceased; Naomi;  and  Laverne,  who  is  deceased. 
In  politics  Mr.  Shawk  is  a  Democrat  like  his 
father,  and  has  served  one  term  as  township 
trustee  and  also  as  road  superintendent.  He 
takes  much  interest  in  the  Patrons  of  Hus- 
bandry and  is  a  member  of  the  Bucyrus  Grange. 
He  and  wife  attend  the  Protestant  Methodist 
church  at  Broken  Sword. 

BLOOMER  B.  GILL,  a  representative  and 
enterprising  business  citizen  of  Galion,  O.,  be- 
longs to  one  of  the  early  families  of  this  part 
of  Crawford  county,  one  that  has  had  a  great 
deal  to  do  in  developing  this  section  along 
every  line.  Mr.  Gill  was  born  here,  m  iS5g, 
and  is  a  son  of  James  Woodgill  and  Louise 
(Baker)  Gill,  and  a  grandson  of  David  Gill. 

David  Gill,  the  grandfather,  was  the  found- 
er of  this  family  in  Ohio,  coming  from  an 
eastern  state,  and  was  the  first  teacher  in  this 
section  of  Crawford  county.  He  married  a 
Miss  Wood,  whose  people  were  of  English 
extraction.  Of  their  family  of  children  there 
is  but  one  survivor,  Mrs.  Catherine  Monnett, 
of  Crawford  county. 

James  Woodgill  Gill,  father  of  Bloomer  B. 
Gill,  was  the  only  son  of  the  family.  His 
birth  took  place  in  1824,  on  what  is  now  the 
site  of  Galion,  and  he  died  here  April  24, 
1866,  at  the  age  of  42  years.  He  secured  160 
acres  of  land  and  lived  to  see  a  part  of  this 
beautiful  city  built  on  this  property,  its  rapid 
development  resulting  largely  irom  his  ef- 
forts in  securing  the  construction  of  the  rail- 
road. He  was  married  here  to  Louise  M. 
Baker,  who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
was  brought  to  Ohio  by  her  parents,  who  set- 
tled near  Galion  but  in  Richland  county.  She 
survived  her  husband  and  not  only  carried 
forward  the  plans  that  were  interrupted  by 
his  death,  but  pursued  a  business  policy  of 
her  own  and  laid  out  what  is  known  as  the 
Gill  Addition  to  Galion.  For  the  past  27 
years  she  has  been  an  esteemed  resident  pf 
Dixon,  111.,  where  she  is  interested  in  social 
matters  and  church  relationships,  still  pos- 
sessing an  active  mind  as  well  as  perfect  phy- 
sical health  although  she  is  now^  in  her  83rd 


year.  Her  second  marriage,  after  which  she 
removed  to  Dixon,  was  to  the  late  I'heron 
Cumins,  for  many  years  a  prominent  and  re- 
spected citizen  of  that  city.  Mrs.  Cumins  was 
reared  in  the  Society  of  Friends  but  in  later 
years  united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Of  her  four  children,  two  survive: 
Bloomer  B.  and  Mrs.  Carrie  G.  Todd,  of 
Dixon,  111.  One  son.  Jay,  died,  at  the  age  of 
18  months,  and  another,  James  Woodgill,  Jr., 
at^the  age  of  17  years. 

After  completing  his  High  School  course, 
at  Galion,  Bloomer  B.   Gill  engaged  first  in 
the  hardware  business  an  later  became  a  man- 
ufacturer and  as  such  is  prominent  in  local 
circles.     He  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Howard  Motor  Car  Campany  which  has  re- 
cently been  merged  and  the  new  corporation 
is    known    as    the    Cleveland-    Galion    Motor 
Truck    Company,    which    is    capitalized    at 
$500,000.     Mr.    Gill,  like   both    parents,   has 
great  faith  in  the  future  of  Galion  and  not 
only  invests  in  local  enterprises  himself,  but 
is  ever  ready  to  foster  the  interests  of  others 
and  has  been  the   means   of   bringing  much 
outside   capital   here.      He   owns   one   of  the 
finest  residences   in  Crawford  county,   which 
he  erected  in  1884,  patterning  it  after  the  old 
southern  colonial  mansions,  with  wide  veran- 
das inviting  to  repose  and  broad  pillars  pro- 
ducing a  fine  architectural  effect. 

Mr.  Gill  was  married  at  Galion  to  Miss 
Xellie  Stewart,  who  was  born,  reared  and 
educated  here,  a  daughter  of  A.  M.  and  Han- 
nah (McClelland)  Stewart,  the  former  of 
whom  came  to  Galion  from  Boston,  Mass., 
and  for  many  years  was  livestock  agent  for 
the  Erie  and  the  Big  Four  Railroads  at  this 
point.  His  death  occurred  in  this  city  when 
lie  was  58  years  old,  his  widow  surviving. 
She  is  an  active  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gill  have 
four  children,  namely:  Mary  L.,  who  is  a 
graduate  of  Galion  High  School  and  the 
Phelps  School  of  Columbus,  O. ;  Isabel  Stew- 
art, who  was  graduated  at  the  Hathaway- 
Brown  School,  Cleveland,  in  the  class  of  iQio; 
Mina  Miller,  w^ho,  for  several  years  has  been 
an  art  student  at  Chicago,  111.,  giving  especial 
attention  to  portraiture,  for  which  she  has  de- 
cided talent ;  and  Tames  Cumins,  who  is  sfudv- 
ing  mechanics  and  resides  at  home.    Mrs.  Gill 


JAMES  W.  GILL 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


895 


belongs  to  that  cultured  body  of  ladies  at 
Gallon  which  torms  the  memoership  ot  tne 
tortnigntiy  CluD.  Mrs.  GiU  is  a  member  of 
the  Mcihooaist  Episcopal  church.  Jr'olitically 
Mr.  Gui  is  a  KepuDlican. 

JEREMIAH  HOPPLE,*  one  of  the  sub- 
stantial retired  farmers  of  Crawford  county, 
O,.  resides  in  his  comtortable  residence  at  iNo. 
321  bpring  street,  iSucyrus,  but  still  owns  his 
valuable  tarm  of  242  acres,  which  is  situated 
near  Sulphur  Springs.  He  was  born  in  INorth- 
ampton  county.  Pa.,  Dec.  5,  1^48,  and  is  a 
son  of  Reuben  and  Christianna  (Deal)  Hopple. 

Mr.  Hopple  comes  of  German  and  French 
ancestors,  many  of  whom  came  to  America 
and  several  served  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 
Reuben  Hopple  was  one  of  a  family  of  six 
sons  and  three  daughters.  He  grew  to  man- 
hood in  Northampton  county,  Pa.,  and  there 
married  Christianna  Deal.  1  hey  continued  to 
live  in  their  native  section  until  1856,  when 
they  came  to  Ohio  and  settled  in  Crawford 
county.  Reuben  Hopple  first  bought  land  in 
Liberty  township  and  sold  the  same  in  1861, 
but  purchased  another  tract  in  the  same  town- 
ship and  on  that  farm  his  wife  died,  and  a  few 
years  later  he  moved  to  a  farm  near  Bucyrus, 
where  he  passed  the  rest  of  his  life,  dying  in 
1898,  at  the  age  of  80  years.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  German  Reformed  church,  and  was 
a  Democrat  in  politics. 

The  children  born  to  I'J.euben  Hopple  and 
wife  were :  Anna,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife 
of  John  Davison;  Ephia,  who  married  Joseph 
Kneisley,  both  now  deceased;  Jeremiah,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Emma,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Amos  B.  Charlton,  of  Liberty  township. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charlton  have  seven  children : 
Virgil,  Parry  B.,  Michael,  Anna,  Maybell, 
Orlo  and  Donald  H. 

Jeremiah  Hopple  remained  at  home  until 
he  reached  manhood  and  afterward  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits  for  himself.  His 
finely  improved  farm  is  known  as  the  old 
Michael  Charlton  farm.  In  April,  1904,  he 
came  to  Bucyrus  to  reside  and  is  one  of  the 
well  known  and  well  informed  citizens  of  this 
place.  In  national  movements  he  is  identified 
with  the  Democratic  party  politically  while  in 
local  matters  he  exercises  his  own  judgment. 

In  1873  Mr.  Hopple  was  married  in  Liberty 


township,  to  Miss  Mattie  Sheiber,  a  daugh- 
ter ot  Christopher  and  Lydia  (Hershberger) 
Sheiber,  the  tormer  of  whom  was  born  in 
Wurtemberg,  Germany,  and  the  latter  in  Penn- 
sylvania. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sheiber  were  married 
in  the  above  state  and  then  came  to  Crawford 
county  and  they  died  on  the  same  farm  they 
settled  on  in  their  early  married  life.  Mrs. 
Hopple  has  two  brothers :  Jacob,  a  farmer  in 
Liberty  township,  who  married  Elizabeth 
Knabberger  and  has  the  following  children — 
Ella,  Anna,  Amelia  and  Pearle ;  and  J  ohn,  who 
resides  on  the  old  homestead.  He  married 
Caroline  Klink  and  they  have  children — Henry, 
Charles,  Anna,  Albert,  Cora,  Verne,  Walter, 
Irving  and  Mary.  Mary  was  accidentally  killed 
at  the  age  of  14  years,  while  on  a  railroad 
crossing. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hopple  have  four  children : 
Myrtle,  who  married  Ralph  McCalacan,  of  De- 
catur, 111.,  and  has  two  children — Helen  and 
Myra;  Otis  Milton,  who  is  a  resident  of  Los 
Angeles,  Cal. ;  Elden  J.,  who  is  a  member  of 
the  business  firm  of  McCullough  &  Hopple; 
and  Helen,  who  is  a  student  in  the  Domestic 
Science  School,  north  of  Decatur. 

CHARLES  M.  WERT,  general  farmer, 
who  owns  80  acres  of  valuable  land  which  is 
situated  ten  and  one-half  miles  northeast  of 
Bucyrus,  O.,  in  a  productive  section  of  San- 
dusky township,  Crawford  county,  was  born 
at  Sulphur  Springs,  in  Liberty  township,  and 
is  a  son  of  J.  H.  and  Elizabeth  Wert.  His 
father  and  grandfather  were  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  his  mother  was  born  in  Ohio.  He 
has  one  brother,  Herbert  B.  Wert,  who  mar- 
ried Minnie  Markle  and  they  have  four  chil- 
dren :  Logan,  Harold,  Paul  and  Warren.  The 
father,  J.  H.  Wert,  is  deceased,  but  the  mother 
survives. 

Charles  M.  Wert  has  devoted  himself  to 
agricultural  pursuits  since  he  has  been  of  suit- 
able age.  After  his  district  school  days  were 
over  he  assisted  his  father  and  in  the  course 
of  years  became  the  owner  of  his  present  well 
stocked  and  well  improved  farm.  He  takes 
much  interest  in  it  as  his  many  substantial  im- 
provements show,  and  is  numbered  with  the 
prosperous  agriculturists  of  this  section  of  the 
county.    In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 

Mr.    Wert   married    Miss    Edith    Darr,    a 


896 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


daughter  of  Aaron  and  Mary  Darr,  and  they 
have  four  children :  Eldon,  who  lives  at  Mar- 
ble Head,  O.,  and  who  married  Miss  Frances 
McKean  and  has  one  daughter,  Marian  Luise ; 
and  J.  Darr,  Karl  F.,  and  Sarah  N.  Mrs.  Wert 
has  three  brothers,  George,  William,  deceased, 
and  Frank,  and  two  sisters,  Harriet  and  Lu- 
cetta.  Air.  Wert  and  family  belong  to  the 
Lutheran  church. 

JOHN  GORDON,  a  well  known  and  highly 
respected  resident  of  Tod  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  and  one  of  the  most  successful 
agriculturists,  resides  on  his  finely  improved 
farm  of  165  acres,  which  is  situated  two  and 
one-half  miles  southwest  of  Oceola,  O.  He 
was  born  in  County  Glamorgan,  South  Wales, 
March  3,  1849,  and  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and 
Catherine  (Morris)  Gordon. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Gordon  were  farmers 
in  South  Wales  and  in  comfortable  circum- 
stances. The  father  died  in  1869,  when  aged 
61  years,  but  the  mother  survived  to  the  age 
of  72,  years.  They  had  the  following  children 
born  to  them :  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of 
George  Bevan  and  lives  in  Wales;  Thomas, 
who  manages  the  old  homestead  farm  in 
\\'ales;  Eliza,  who  lives  in  Wales,  being  the 
widow  of  Lewis  Bowen,  who  was  a  surveyor 
and  civil  engineer;  John,  subject  of  this  arti- 
cle; Richard,  who  is  deceased;  Ann,  who  was 
the  wife  of  George  Fleming,  both  of  whom 
are  deceased;  and  George,  who  still  lives  in 
Wales. 

John  Gordon  obtained  his  education  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  land.  When  21  years 
of  age  he  decided  to  come  to  the  United  States 
and  after  reaching  an  American  port  he  made 
his  way  to  Trumbull  county,  O.,  where  he 
found  employment  on  a  dairy  farm  and  con- 
tinued for  four  years,  when  he  married,  and 
then  moved  to  a  place  near  Bucyrus  and  two 
years  later  came  to  his  present  farm  in  Tod 
township.  He  found  a  large  amount  of  im- 
proving necessary  and  immediately  began  its- 
renovation  and  has  made  of  this  one  of  the 
finest  farms  of  this  part  of  Crawford  county. 
Mr.  Gordon's  methods  have  resulted  in  much 
prosperity.  He  has  always  been  a  hard-work- 
ing man  and  still  looks  carefully  after  his 
farm  interests. 

Mr.  Gordon  married  Miss  Callie  F.  Flock 


and  they  have  had  six  children:    -Luella,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Edward  McLaughlin,  who  oper- 
ates an  elevator  at  Nevada,  O.,  and  has  two 
children — Velma  and  Gordon ;  Henry,  who  as- 
sists his  father;  Alice,  who  helps  her  mother; 
and   Florence,   Elva  and  Letty,  all  three  of 
whom  are  now  deceased.     Mr.  Gordon  is  a 
Democrat  in  his  political  views  and  for  a  term 
of  six  years  was  township  road  commissioner 
and  still  keeps  up  his  interest  in  the  good  roads 
subject,  his  long  experience  in  the  above  office 
having  made  him  an  authority  on  the  subject. 
Mrs.   Gordon  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church. 

JOSEPH  KNISELY,*  who  is  a  member  of 
one  of  the  old  and  substantial  families  of  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  now  lives  retired  at  Bucyrus, 
\\hich  city  has  been  his  preferred  home  since 
1887.  He  was  born  Feb.  11,  1830,  at  Knisely 
Spring,  in  Sandusky  township.,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Sarah 
Knisely. 

Samuel  Knisely  was  born  in  1782,  in  York 
county,  Pa.,  and  was  a  young  man  when  he 
accompanied  his  German  father  to  Ohio.  The 
name  of  the  latter  has  not  been  preserved  but 
he  was  one  of  the  enterprising  pioneers  of  Tus- 
carauwas  county,  where  he  entered  1,600  acres 
of  land  and  probably  was  the  founder  of  New 
Philadelphia.  He  died  there  in  extreme  old 
age.  It  is  said  of  him  that  with  the  old  flint- 
lock musket,  which  his  grandson  carefully  pre- 
serves, he  made  it  a  practice  to  kill  just  100 
deer  each  season,  laying  aside  the  fowling 
piece  then  until  the  next  year.  Samuel  Knisely 
enlisted  for  service  in  the  War  of  181 2  and 
assisted  in  the  construction  of  the  block-house 
at  Mansfield,  built  to  preserve  the  settlers  from 
the  Indians  and  took  part  in  the  battles  there 
with  the  savages  and  helped  to  inter  the  unfor- 
tunate families  who  were  slain.  He  was  first 
lieutenant  of  his  company  and  the  annals  speak 
of  him  as  a  brave  and  daring  soldier.  In  1823 
he  came  to  Crawford  county  and  settled  in  the 
isolated  little  log  hut  village  of  Bucyrus,  secur- 
ing later  Government  land  lying  eight  miles 
west  of  hpre,  the  place  being  still  known  as 
Knisely  Springs.  Like  his  father  he  was  a 
great  huntsman  and  made  use  of  the  old  flint- 
lock musket.  The  Indians  learned  to  both 
fear  and  esteem  him,  for  he  was  a  just  as 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


897 


well  as  kind,  man,  and  on  many  occasions  he 
assisted  savages  and  fed  them  and  won  their 
good  will.  Thus  he  was  able  to  travel  far 
without  fear,  both  on  his  hunting  trips  and 
also  on  his  missions  of  mercy,  for  he  was  ever 
ready  to  assist  other  settlers  in  the  building 
of  their  cabins,  the  sowing  of  their  grain  or 
to  give  help  in  times  of  sickness  and  death. 
He  was  so  well  known  that  people  as  far  dis- 
tant as  Marion  county  frequently  begged  his 
presence.  In  May,  1867,  this  admirable  man, 
who  had  been  likened  by  his  admirers  to  Daniel 
Boone,  passed  out  of  life  at  the  home  of  his 
son  Joseph  Knisely.  His  wife  died  in  1859, 
when  aged  73  years.  She  was  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  church.  They  had  13  children,  four  of 
whom  survive. 

Joseph  Knisely  grew  up  on  the  Crawford 
county  farm  and  has  always  resided  in  this 
county  with  the  exception  of  seven  years  prior 
to  his  marriage,  which  he  spent  in  Illinois  and 
Indiana.  He  acquired  the  old  homestead  of 
160  acres  and  continued  farm  activities  there 
until  1887,  when  he  traded  the  farm  for  a 
large  tract  of  land  in  the  immediate  environs 
of  Bucyrus.  Much  of  this  land  has  been  dis- 
posed of  for  building  purposes  as  the  city  has 
grown.  Mr.  Knisely  has  occasionally  worked 
at  the  mason  trade  and  a  large  part  of  his 
time  has  been  occtipied  with  the  duties  of  pub- 
lic office,  to  which  he  frequently  has  been 
elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket. 

Mr.  Knisely  was  married  to  Miss  Minerva 
Baughman,  who  was  born  Oct.  12,  i839,.  in 
Putnam  county,  O.,  a  daughter  of  Abram  and 
Jane  (Book)  Baughman,  the  former  a  na- 
tive of  Pennsylvania  and  the  latter  of  Wayne 
county,  O.  After  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baughman 
married  they  began  housekeeping  in  a  thatch- 
roof  log  cabin  in  Van  Buren  township,  Put- 
nam county,  on  the  400  acres  of  land  which 
Mr.  Baughman  subsequently  developed  into  a 
fine  farm.  They  were  members  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  and  among  the  most 
worthy  and  respected  people  in  that  section. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Knisely  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born:  Fannie,  who  was  born  in 
1860  and  died  in  1881 ;  Sabilla,  born  Feb. 
26,  1861,  who  is  the  wife  of  George  Dinkle, 
of  Bucyrus ;  Florence,  born  Dec.  4,  1863,  who 
is  the  wife  of  David  Knisely,  of  Goshen,  Ind., 
and  has  one  son,  Clyde;  Lewis,  born  Dec.  i, 
1864,  who  resides  with  his  wife  at  Bucyrus; 


Sadie,  who  was  born  Oct.  25,  1868,  and  is 
the  wife  of  William  Hizer,  of  Gallon,  O. ; 
Minnie,  who  was  born  Nov.  12,  1870,  and  is 
the  widow  of  Joseph  Burger  and  has  one 
daughter,  Imogene ;  and  Maude,  who  was  born 
April  10,  1873,  who  is  the  wife  of  Edward 
Miller,  residing  at  Columbus,  O.,  and  has  two 
children — George  and  Dorothy.  Mr.  Knisely 
and  family  attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 

G.  P.  WELSHONS,  whose  finely  improved 
farm  of  120  acres  is  located  three  miles  north- 
east of  Sulphur  Springs,  O.,  was  born  in  1859, 
at  Crestline,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  Stephen  and 
Lucinda  (Rininger)  Welshons. 

Stephen  Welshons  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, of  German  ancestry.  He  came  to  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  in  1858,  and  selected  Crest- 
line as  his  home.  He  had  learned  the  cabinet- 
making  trade  in  Pennsylvania.  He  spent  five 
years  in  California  in  the  gold  mines.  He 
was  then  employed  by  the  railroad  company 
in  Crestline  and  later  worked  in  the  Big  Four 
yards,  during  the  remainder  of  his  active  life, 
but  was  living  on  a  farm  east  of  Crestline, 
his  death  occurring  at  the  age  of  76  years.  He 
married  Lucinda  Rininger  and  they  had  four 
children,  the  two  survivors  being  G.  P.  and 
Elwood,  the  latter  being  a  railroad  engineer. 

In  the  schools  of  Crestline,  O.,  G.  P.  Wel- 
shons obtained  a  common  school  education 
and  then  went  into  railroad  work,  serving  for 
two  and  one-half  years  as  a  fireman  and  later 
as  an  engineer.  He  tried  farming  for  a  short 
time  but  returned  to  the  railroad,  but  later  re- 
sumed farming  and  has  made  a  success  of  his 
undertaking.  All  the  substantial  improvements 
on  his  place  show  a  sensible  interest  and  much 
forethought  and  his  modern  residence  is  both 
comfortable  and  attractive.  He  raises  grain, 
hay,  potatoes,  fruit,  poultry  and  stock  and  is 
one  of  the  prosperous  agriculturists  of  this 
section. 

Mr.  Welshons  married  Miss  Mary  Peppard, 
and  they  have  two  children:  Samuel  and  Er- 
nest. He  is  a  good  citizen  but  no  seeker  for 
public  office,  and  casts  his  vote  with  the  Re- 
publican party. 

ELIAS  CRISSINGER,  who  is  a  leading 
citizen  of  Dallas  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  active  in  its  public  affairs  and  successful 


898 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


in  his  agricultural  activities,  owns  120  acres 
of  very  productive  land  and  carries  on  gen- 
eral farming.  He  was  born  Aug.  11,  1853,  i" 
Illinois,  and  is  a  son  of  William  and  Mary 
(Baker)  Crissinger,  and  a  grandson  of  Benaiah 
Baker. 

The  father  of  Air.  Crissinger  was  born  in 
Crawford  county  and  was  a  farmer  and  la- 
borer prior  to  entering  the  Federal  Army  for 
service  in  the  Ci\'il  W^ar  and  died  while  a  sol- 
dier. He  married  Alary  Baker,  who  was  also 
born  in  Crawford  county,  and  died  when  their 
son  Elias  was  but  two  years  old.  Their  other 
children  were :  James  A. ;  Alary,  deceased, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Henry  Zoll;  Emma,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Elias  Stiger;  Isabel,  who  is 
deceased;  and  Dora  I.,  who  is  the  wife  of 
John  Lyons.  The  parents  of  the  above  family 
were  members  of  the  German  Reformed 
church. 

Since  his  school  days,  Mr.  Crissinger  has 
been  interested  continuously  in  farm  pursuits 
and  in  late  years  has  received  assistance  from 
his  son  but  still  retains  the  general  manage- 
ment of  his  estate.  He  is  largely  a  self-made 
man,  becoming  an  orphan  when  ten  years  old 
and  afterward  living  with  relatives  and  strang- 
ers until  he  made  a  home  for  himself. 

On  Oct.  20,  1874,  Mr.  Crissinger  \\as  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Harriet  L.  Houser,  who  was  born 
in  Scott  township,  Marion  county,  O.,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Anthony  and  Eliza  (Wise)  Houser. 
The  father  of  Mrs.  Crissinger  was  a  farmer 
in  Marion  county,  O.,  and  also  followed  the 
carpenter  trade.  Mrs.  Crissinger  was  the 
youngest  but  one  of  his  children,  the  others 
being:  John,  Eliza,  who  married  (first)  Mi- 
chael Mathias,  and  (second)  Christian  Pom- 
mert;  Catherine,  who  married  Robert  Highley; 
Sarah,  who  married  Elliott  Denman;  and  Ma- 
linda,  who  married  Jacob  Spiece.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Crissinger  the  following  children  were 
born:  Manford  Roy,  who  married  Agnes 
Keckler,  and  has  two  children,  Julia  and  Frank . 
Daisy  Viola,  who  married  Wallace  Lindsay, 
and  has  two  children,  Plites,  and  Reo  May; 
William  A. ;  Ray,  who  married  Hattie  Mollen- 
koff,  and  has  five  children — Helen,  Homer, 
Raymond,  Velma  and  Wilma ;  Grover  O.,  who 
married  Mary  Oberlander,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren, Harold  and  Eveline;  Blanche  E.,  who  is 
the  wife  of   David  Pierce;  Mervin  E. ;  and 


Florence.    Mr.  Crissinger  and  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,   in 
which  he  served  some  years  as  steward  and 
for  six  years  was  a  class  leader.    As  a  citizen 
Air.  Crissinger  has  been  interested  in  all  that 
has  promised  to  build  up  and  make  more  stable 
good  laws  and  good  influences  in  his  com- 
munity.    Politically  his  opinions  have  made 
him  a  Democrat  and  for  many  years  both  in 
Alarion  and  in  Crawford  counties  he  has  served 
honestly  and  efficiently  in  township  offices,  be- 
irig  assessor  for  five  years  in  the  former  and 
for  three  years  in  the  latter,  and  for  six  years 
served  Dallas  township  on  its  board  of  trus- 
tees. 

JOHN  \ATLLIAAI  EXLEY,  one  of  the 
highly  respected  residents  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  who 
is  a  well-known  blacksmith,  was  born  here, 
Alay  19,  1858,  and  is  a  son  of  John  Jacob  and 
Frederica  (Krebs)  Exley. 

John  Jacob  Exley  was  born  in  1825,  in 
Baden,  Germany,  and  in  childhood  his  father 
died  and  shortly  afterward  his  mother.  In 
1838,  being  then  only  13  years  of  age,  he 
started  for  America  in  company  with  two 
friends,  the  late  Jacob  Schoub  being  one  of 
these  and  Daniel  Bauslinger,  the  other.  These 
youths  embarked  on  an  old  sailing  vessel  that 
required  42  days  to  transport  them  to  New 
York.  They  managed  to  make  their  way  from 
that  city  to  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  all  came 
to  Bucyrus.  They  were  too  young  to  have 
yet  learned  a  trade  but  all  three  became  re- 
spected men  and  useful  citizens.  John  Jacob 
Exley  died  after  a  very  short  illness,  on  Sept. 
12,  1868.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics  and 
was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  He 
A\-as  married  at  Bucyrus  to  Frederica  Krebs, 
who  was  bom  in  ^^''urtemberg,  Germany,  in 
1836,  and  died  Dec.  4,  1904.  She  accompanied 
her  parents  to  America  in  1854,  landing  at 
New  York,  and  came  to  Crawford  county  by 
way  of  Buffalo.  Her  parents,  Gottlieb  and 
Rica  Krebs,  subsequently  moved  to  Wyandot 
county  where  the  mother  died  aged  68  years, 
after  which  the  father  returned  to  Bucyrus 
and  lived  to  be  87  years  of  age. 

To  John  Jacob  Exley  and  wife  the  following 
children  were  born:  John  William;  Charles, 
who  is  a  blacksmith,  living  in  this  city;  Gal- 
lic, who  died  Aug.  28.  1897.  who  was  the  wife 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


899 


of  Joseph  Nutter  and  the  mother  of  two  chil- 
dren— WiUie  and  Georgia,  both  now  of  De- 
troit, Mich. ;  Emma,  who  is  the  widow  of  Al- 
bert Miller,  and  lives  at  Bucyrus,  having  one 
son,  Carl ;  and  Katie,  who  resides  with  her  sis- 
ter, Mrs.  Miller. 

John  William  Exley  attended  school  in  boy- 
hood and  afterward  learned  the  blacksmith 
business  with  the  late  John  Horvald,  and  fol- 
lowed this  trade  in  connection  with  other  work, 
being  a  natural  mechanic.  Through  industry, 
thrift  and  prudence  he  has  accumulated  a  com- 
l^etency  and  owns  several  valuable  pieces  of 
city  property.  With  the  exception  of  four 
years  he  has  spent  his  life  here  and  is  well 
known  to  the  majority  of  the  citizens.  On 
many  occasions  he  has  filled  public  office  with 
efficiency,  for  eight  years  has  been  a  member 
of  the  city  council,  of  which  he  was  president 
two  years  and  vice  president  four  years,  and 
has  been  a  member  of  all  the  committees.  He 
is  a  Democrat. 

Mr.  Exley  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to  Miss 
Augusta  Petersilge,  who  was  born  here  Nov. 
22,  ,i86i,  a  daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Fred- 
erica  (Winegartner)  Petersilge,.  natives  re- 
spectively of  Saxony  and  Wurtemberg,  Ger- 
many. The  father  of  Mrs.  Exley  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1852.  He  was  born  Jan.  21, 
1836,  and  died  Sept.  7,  1902.  His  widow  sur- 
vives and  was  73  years  old.  May  22,  1912;  she 
has  been  a  resident  of  the  United  States  since 
1854.  Two  of  her  children  survive:  Mrs. 
Exley  and  Fred.  The  latter  was  born  in  1865 
and  is  a  resident  of  Bucyrus  and  formerly  was 
engaged  in  the  restaurant  business.  He  mar- 
ried Anna  Trautman  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren: Augusta  P.  and  Ralph  F.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Exley  are  members  of  the  German  Luth- 
eran church.  He  is  a  member  of  a  German 
organization  and  for  28  years  has  been  a 
Knight  of  Pythias,  this  long  connection  en- 
titling him  to  the  order's  gold  medal. 

J.  H.  KIESS,*  who  has  lived  on  his  pres- 
ent farm  of  160  acres,  situated  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  for  42  years, 
has  owned  this  land  for  36  of  these,  purchas- 
ing from  Jonathan  Heinlein,  it  then  being 
called  the  old  Burkhardt  farm.  Mr.  Kiess  was 
born  in  Lycoming  county,  Pa.,  a  son  of  Jacob 
and  Catherine  (Roth)  Kiess. 


Christopher  Kiess,  the  grandfather,  was  born 
in  Germany  and  came  from  there  in  1806  and 
settled  in  Lycoming  county,  Pa.,  where  he  was 
one  of  the  early  school  teachers.  In  1850  the 
family  decided  to  come  to  Crawford  county, 
O.,  and  it  required  two  weeks  for  the  loaded 
farm  wagons  to  make  the  long  overland  jour- 
ney. They  settled  in  Whetstone  township  and 
among  the  good  citizens  of  this  section  the 
name  is  not  an  unusual  one.  The  mother  of 
J.  H.  Kiess  died  after  coming  to  Crawford 
county,  leaving  two  children :  J.  H.  and 
Lydia,  the  latter  of  whom  is  now  deceased 
and  is  survived  by  her  husband,  Lewis  Cripes. 
Jacob  Kiess  married  Catherine  Delker  for  his 
second  wife  and  they  had  the  following  chil- 
dren: Simeon,  Joseph,  Daniel,  Samuel,  W.  C, 
Christiana  and  Mary  Margaret. 

J.  H.  Kiess  had  but  meager  school  advan- 
tages in  the  English  language  but  in  Penn- 
sylvania attended  a  German  school.  His  help 
was  needed  by  his  father  when  he  was  yet 
young  and  he  has  devoted  his  whole  business 
life  to  agricultural  pursuits.  He  has  enriched 
his  land  and  carefully  cultivated  it  and  it  gives 
bountiful  returns,  and  his  buildings  are  those 
that  are  found  on  the  farms  of  substantial  and 
self-respecting  people,  built  and  kept  up  not 
only  for  shelter  but  for  comfortable  living. 
Mr.  Kiess  makes  no  attempt  to  raise  any  great 
aiTiount  of  stock  but  always  has  enough  for  his 
own  use. 

In  1864,  Mr.  Kiess  was  married  (first)  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Cook,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
Mary  (Kiess)  Cook,  and  to  this  marriage  the 
following  children  were  born;  Mary  B.,  Frank- 
lin J.,  Ella  Lucinda  and  Matilda,  all  of  whom 
are  deceased;  Rebecca,  who  is  the  wife  of  J. 
P.  Crawl;  and  Ida  E.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Sam- 
uel Keiser.  Mr.  Kiess  was  married  second  to 
Miss  Rachel  Cook,  a  daughter  of  George  and 
Rebecca  (Young)  Cook,  and  they  have  had 
five  children :  Reuben,  who  is  deceased ;  Wes- 
ley, who  is  a  mail  carrier;  and  Olen,  Charles 
F  and  Bertha  May.  Mr.  Kiess  has  frequently 
served  in  public  office  but  it  has  not  been  any 
political  reward  as  he  votes  independently.  He 
has  been  very  useful  and  progressive  in  rela- 
tion to  educational  matters  and  has  been  equally 
concerned  in  giving  the  people  good  roads,  for 
some  years  serving  as  road  supervisor.  With 
his  family  he  attends  the  Evangelical  church. 


900 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


EAIAXUEL  NEFF,  residing  nine  miles 
northeast  of  Bucyrus,  G.,  and  two  miles  east 
of  Sulphur  Springs,  is  the  justly  contented 
owner  of  a  well  improved  farm  of  215  acres, 
well  located,  well  drained  and  exceedingly  pro- 
ductive. He  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Sophia 
(Yeiter)  Neff,  the  oldest  of  nine  children, 
namely:  Aaron,  Amos,  John  J.,  Joseph  C, 
Elizabeth,  Alary,  Emma,  Tillie  and  Emanuel, 
all  sur\iving  except  Tillie.  Aaron  married 
Cora  Orweiler  and  they  live  in  Liberty  town- 
ship. Amos  married  Anna  Schieber  and  they 
live  at  Bucyrus,  O.  Jacob  married  Ella  Schie- 
ber and  they  live  in  Liberty  township.  Joseph 
married  Myrtle  Schieber  and  they  live  in 
Holmes  township.  Elizabeth  married  Joseph 
Durr  and  their  home  is  in  Liberty  township. 
Mary  married  Abraham  Scheiber  and  they  re- 
side at  Bucyrus,  while  Emma  is  the  wife  of 
Albert  Scheiber  and  they  live  in  Holmes 
township. 

Emanuel  Xeff  attended  school  at  Holmes 
township.  He  has  devoted  himself  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits  and  has  been  very  success- 
ful, being  progressive  and  enterprising  in  his 
undertakings.  He  has  greatly  improved  his 
property  since  it  came  into  his  possession,  has 
two  very  fine  barns  and  other  substantial  build- 
ings and  carries  on  his  operations  along  mod- 
ern lines  with  due  regard  to  family  comfort. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  township  board 
of  education  for  some  years  and  is  much  in- 
terested in  the  public  schools. 

Mr.  Xeff  married  ^Nliss  Sarah  Krauter,  one 
of  a  family  of  ten  children  born  to  Jacob  and 
Anna  Krauter,  the  others  being:  Jacob,  who 
married  Elizabeth  Baker,  and  lives  at  Cleve- 
land, O. :  Otilla,  who  is  the  widow  of  Elias 
Durr;  Alartha,  who  married  \\^illiam  Baker, 
of  Galion ;  Esther,  who  married  Hershel  Eshel- 
man,  of  Seville,  Aledina  county,  O. ;  Elmer, 
who  lives  at  home;  and  John,  Christianna, 
Sophia  and  X^^etta,  all  deceased.  Five  children 
have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  X'eff;  Lester 
E.,  Ralph  A.,  Herbert  J.,  Elsie  :sl.  and  Karl 
F.  j\Ir.  Neff  is  identified  with  the  Republican 
party  but  is  no  seeker  for  office,  just  a  sensible, 
law-abiding,  interested  citizen. 

CHARLES  B.  SCHUMACHER,  who  is 
now  numbered  with  the  substantial  citizens  of 
Galion,   for  many  years  was   interested  here 


successfully  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance 
business  and  is  well  known  all  over  Crawford 
county.  He  was  born  in  Northumberland 
county.  Pa.,  and  comes  of  Gennan  people. 

Johannes  Schumacher,  the  grandfather, 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  of  German  parents, 
so  that  a  number  of  generations  back  must 
be  followed  to  the  little  German  village  \vhere 
great  grand-father  Schmnacher  was  born.  He 
came  to  the  United  States  when  young  and 
became  a  .farmer,  he  and  wife  passing  their 
later  days  in  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  where 
they  died  in  advanced  age. 

John  Schumacher,  father  of  Charles  B., 
was  born  in  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  and  died 
Sept.- 17,  1856,  when  aged  66  years.  His  first 
marriage  was  to  a  Miss  Hicks  who  died  in 
Pennsylvania  in  middle  life  leaving  eight  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  are  now  deceased.  His 
second  marriage  was  to  Catherine  Baker,  who 
died  Sept.  20,  1873,  aged  73  years,  10  months 
and  6  days.  To  the  second  union  the  follow- 
ing children  were  born:  Catherine,  Elvina, 
Jane,  Julia,  \\'iiliam,  Robert,  Charles  B., 
Thomas  and  Sarah. 

Charles  B.  Schumacher  was  born  Dec.  15, 
1835  and  was  reared  and  obtained  his  educa- 
tion in  his  native  county.  Before  coming  to 
Ohio  in  1864,  he  had  been  variously  employed, 
and  after  reaching  the  state  located  for  a 
time  in  Fairfield  county  and  then  came  on  to 
Galion.  Here  he  began  work  as  a  blacksmith 
in  the  Erie  Railway  shops,  where  he  contin- 
ued until  1874,  becoming  a  master  blacksmith. 
After  leaving  shop  work  he  was  made  con- 
stable and  served  for  four  years,  in  that  office, 
when  he  was  elected  a  justice  of  the  peace 
and  continued  in  that  responsible  office  foi"  15 
consecutive  years  and  after  being  out  of  office 
for  one  year,  was  re-elected  justice  of  the 
peace  and  as  such  continued  until  1885,  termi- 
nating this  connection  after  serving  for  24 
years.  In  1886  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Ga- 
llon and  after  the  close  of  an  admirable  ad- 
ministration, he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
city  council  for  two  succeeding  years.  Mr. 
Schumacher  has  thus  been  a  very  hiehlv  hon- 
ored citizen  and  has  always  realized  his  re- 
sponsibilities and  has  fearlessly  and  honestly 
pursued  his  course  in  public  life. 

On  Dec.  31,  18=; 7,  Mr.  Schumacher  was 
married  in  Pennsylvania  to  Miss  Rachel  A. 


CHARLES   B.  SCHUMACHER 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


903 


Smith,  who  was  born  Aug.  14,  1839,  in  Wil- 
liams county,  O.,  but  was  reared  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  died  at  Galion,  March  7,  1908,  a 
woman  of  many  virtues  and  excellencies.  She 
was  the  loving  and  careful  mother  of  a  large 
family.  Helen,  Oliver,  Harry  and  Walter, 
all  died  young.  Alice  L.,  who  died  Jan.  28, 
1901,  was  the  wife  of  Theodore  Stewart,  and 
the  mother  of  two  children,  Charles  and  Helen, 
the  latter  of  whom  died  at  the  age  of  16  years, 
and  the  former,  who  lives  with  his  grand- 
father, a  graduate  of  the  class  of  1912,  in  the 
Galion  High  School  and  now  employed  by 
United  Fruit  Company,  of  New  York ;  Thomas 
M.,  who  is  general  traffic  manager  of  the 
American  Smelting  Company,  and  resides  in 
New  York;  Clara  T.,  who  is  the  wife  of 
George  Stoltz  and  lives  at  Dawson,  Neb. ;  S. 
Emma,  who  cares  for  her  father  and  is  his 
capable  housekeeper;  and  Wilbert  A.,  who  is 
general  traffic  manager  of  the  United  Fruit 
Company — Steamship  and  Railway  Service,  of 
New  York.  The  last  named  is  a  very  success- 
ful business  man.  After  graduating  in  the 
class  of  1894,  from  the  Galion  High  School, 
he  was  with  the  Illinois  Steel  Company  for 
two  years  and  with  the  Armour  people  for  14 
years,  becoming  assistant  traffic  manager  for 
them  and  later  traffic  manager  for  his  present 
Company.  He  has  two  children,  Ruth  and 
Herbert. 

Politically  Mr.  Schumacher  is  a  Democrat. 
For  many  years  he  has  been  very  active  in 
Odd  Fellowship,  uniting  with  the  order  in 
September,  1869,  and  has  filled  all  the  chairs 
in  the  local  lodge.  For  15  years  he  was  treas- 
urer of  Galion  Lodge  No.  215,  and  is  the  sec- 
ond oldest  past  grand  initiated  in  this  lodge. 
He  is  a  member  and  an  elder  of  the  Christian 
church,  his  family  being  of  the  same  religious 
faith. 

JENNINGS  T.  SHAWK,  who  enjoys  the 
distinction  of  being  the  oldest  native  born  man 
of  Holmes  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
now  lives  retired  on  his  farm  five  miles  north 
of  Bucyrus.  He  was  born  Sept.  11,  1835,  in 
an  old  log  house  that  then  occupied  the  present 
site  of  the  Opera  House,  at  Bucyrus,  and  is 
a  son  of  Thomas  Shawk  and  a  grandson  of 
Jacob  Shawk,  who  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier. 

Thomas   Shawk  was  born  in   Columbiana 


county,  O.,  March  4,  1806,  came  to  Craw- 
ford county  in  1829,  and  died  Dec.  29,  1885. 
After  his  marriage  he  moved  to  Bucyrus  by 
wagon,  the  state  of  the  roads  at  that  time 
making  the  journey  of  three  day's  duration, 
and  at  Bucyrus  purchased  the  block  on  which 
the  Opera  House  now  is  located  and  went  to 
work  as  a  blacksmith  for  a  man  named  Gil- 
more,  whose  shop  was  in  this  vicinity.  Shortly 
afterward  the  old  Trimble  House  was  erected. 
Thomas  Shawk  spent  the  larger  part  of  his 
life  at  Bucyrus  and  died  there.  For  three 
years  he  lived  in  Whetstone  township  and  for 
some  years  in  Holmes  township,  but  Bucyrus 
was  his  chosen  home  and  he  was  identified 
with  its  early  enterprises  and  was  considered 
a  valuable  citizen.  He  rnarried  Esther  Al- 
bright, whose  father  was  the  brother  of  Jacob 
Albright  who  was  the  founder  of  the  Evan- 
gelical church  in  Pennsylvania.  Daniel  Al- 
bright was  a  man  of  much  prominence  in  Craw- 
ford county  during  its  early  history.  This  was 
his  second  marriage,  his  first  one  taking  place 
in  Columbiana  county,  to  which  six  children 
were  born.  Jennings  T.  Shawk,  son  of  Thomas 
Shawk,  is  the  only  survivor  of  his  father's  fam- 
ily and  he  was  third  in  order  of  birth,  his  two 
brothers  and  three  sisters  all  being  deceased. 
Adeline  was  the  wife  of  Edward  Sheckler. 
Aurelia  was  the  wife  of  Alexander  Ruhl,  Ben- 
jamin Franklin  and  Thomas  as  well  as  Mary, 
the  youngest,  died  early. 

Jennings  T.  Shawk  had  educational  oppor- 
tunities that  served  to  qualify  him  for  teaching 
school  but  he  did  not  teach,  working  instead 
at  the  blacksmith  trade  until  his  marriage, 
when  he  came  to  his  present  farm,  on  which 
his  wife  was  born,  and  later  bought  the  place. 
For  many  years  afterward  he  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  stock  raising,  but  has  been  retired  for 
some  time  and  his  son  carries  on  the  farm  in- 
dustries. He  owns  320  acres,  all  situated  in 
Holmes  township,  and  his  improvements  are 
probably  the  best  in  the  township.  He  erected 
two  comfortable  residences  and  has  built  six 
barns,  three  of  which  were  destroyed  by  fire. 

Mr.  Shawk  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  Lah- 
man,  a  daughter  of  Charles  Lahman,  who  was 
born  in  Germany,  May  30,  1810,  and  died  in 
Ohio,  Feb.  10,  1892.  When  he  came  first  to 
Crawford  county  he  entered  80  acres  of  land 
and  then  returned  to  Germany,  where  he  was 


904 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


married  to  Christina  Gearhart  and  returned 
with  his  wife  to  Ohio  and  they  settled  on  the 
present  farm  of  Mr.  Shawk  and  Hved  there 
through  hfe.  Four  children  were  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Shawk,  namely:  George  E.,  who 
lives  in  Sheridan  county,  Mo.,  and  who  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Pfeifer  and  has  five  children — 
Mary,  Pearl,  Sarah,  George  and  Jessie ;  • 
Charles  L.,  who  lives  in  Holmes  township  who 
married  Laura  Wilhelm  and  has  three  chil- 
dren— Guy,  Arthur  and  Grace;  Jay,  who  is 
his  father's  farmer,  who  married  Lizzie  Fra- 
lick  and  has  two  children — Naomi  and  Ruth; 
and  Thomas,  also  a  resident  of  Holmes  town- 
ship, who  married  Emma  Meek  and  has  three 
children — Russell,  Willard  and  Warren.  In 
politics,  Mr.  Shawk  and  sons  are  Democrats 
and  he  has  served  as  township  trustee.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Evangelical  Association. 

HOWARD  M.  GREEN,*  who  is  engaged 
in  the  house  painting  and  decorating  business 
at  Gallon,  O.,  and  additionally,  is  interested 
with  his  brother,  in  a  500-acres  stock  farm  in 
Washington  township.  Morrow  county,  O.,  be- 
longs to  one  of  the  old  Crawford  county  fami- 
lies and  is  well  known  all  through  this  sec- 
tion. He  was  born  at  Gallon,  in  1871,  and  is 
a  son  of  James  Henry  and  Lenora  H.  (Mc- 
Clain)  Green,  and  a  grandson  of  Henry  and 
Anna  Green.  He  is  the  eldest  of  four  sons, 
the  others  being :    Frank,  Dahl  and  James. 

Howard  M.  Green  attended  school  at  Gallon 
and  completed  his  education  at  Evanston,  111. 
In  May,  1898,  he  enlisted  for  service  in  the 
Spanish-American  War,  entering  Battery  H, 
First  O.  Light  Artillery,  under  Captain  Stew- 
art and  Colonel  Brooks  and  was  discharged  as 
head  driver  of  his  section.  Later  he  became  a 
furniture  finisher,  displaying  much  skill  in  this 
line  of  work  and  then  learned  decorating.  For 
the  past  12  years  he  has  been  interested  in  the 
Spring  Grove  Stock  Farm,  in  Morrow  county, 
where  horses,  mules  and  hogs  are  raised  for 
market. 

Mr.  Green  was  married  at  Galion,  to  Miss 
Grace  Blazier,  who  was  born  at  Chicago,  111., 
but  was  reared  and  educated  at  Galion.  She 
is  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Sarah  E.  (Slick) 
Blazier,  the  former  of  whom  died  at  Galion  in 
1887,  at  the  age  of  45  years.  Mrs.  Blazier  re- 
sides on  East  Main  street,  Galion.     Mr.  and 


Mrs.  Green  have  two  children :  Ruth  Leanora, 
who  was  born  July  4,  1893,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  class  of  1913,  at  the  Galion  high  school; 
and  Frank  M.,  who  was  born  October  27,  1899. 
They  belong  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
have  many  pleasant  social  connections  and  Mr. 
Green  is  a  member  of  the  Spanish-American 
War  Veterans. 

CHARLES  A.  SHROLL,  who  is  engaged 
in  general  farming  in  Dallas  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  where  he  owns  80  acres  of 
excellent  land,  was  born  in  Bucyrus  township, 
Crawford  county,  March  2^,  1859,  and  is  a 
son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (McNichol)  ShroU. 

Jacob  Shroll  was  of  German  parentage  but 
he  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  where  his 
wife  was  also  born,  she  being  of  Irish  an- 
cestry. Both  died  in  Crawford  county,  his 
burial  being  in  the  old  SchroU  cemetery,  while 
her  resting  place  is  in  Mt.  Zion  cemetery,  in 
Bucyrus  township.  They  were  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Eight  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them,  Charles  A.  being  the 
youngest:  William;  Mary,  wife  of  Norman 
Mount;  Sarah,  wife  of  Porter  Leighbarger; 
John;  Nancy,  wife  of  Noah  Seitz;  Louisa, 
wife  of  Richard  Kellar;  and  Matilda,  wife  of 
R.  P.  Young. 

Charles  A.  Shroll  was  left  fatherless  when 
seven  years  of  age  and  on  this  account  had 
fewer  advantages  in  youth  than  had  many 
other  boys  of  his  acquaintance.  His  mother 
was  obliged  to  let  the  family  be  broken  up  and 
he  was  placed  with  strangers  with  whom  he 
lived  and  as  opportunity  offered,  attended  the 
district  schools.  He  was  naturally  industrious 
and  before  long  was  able  to  earn  enough  to 
provide  for  his  own  necessities  and  afterward 
continued  to  work  on  farms,  by  the  month, 
until  he  was  27  years  of  age.  In  all  this  time 
he  had  never  had  a  real  home,  living  always 
with  strangers,  but  now  he  married  and 
founded  his  own  hearthstone  and  has  a  happy 
domestic  circle  of  wife  and  eight  children. 
For  some  20  years  after  marriage  Mr.  Shroll 
rented  land  from  different  farmers,  after  which 
he  purchased  his  present  place  and  to  its  culti- 
vation and  improvement  has  devoted  himself 
ever  since.  He  is  a  self-made  man  and  niay 
be  cited  as  an  example  of  what  may  be  accom- 
plished through  industry  and  persistent  effort. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


905 


Mr.  ShroU  was  married  July  19,  1884,  to 
Miss  Ida  A.  Argrave,  who  was  born  in  Mercer 
county,  Pa.,  a  daughter  of  George  R.  and  Mary 
Argrave,  who  had  three  children:  Henry; 
Olive,  wife  of  George  Paup;  and  Ida  A.,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Shroll.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Shroll  the  following  children  have  been 
born :  Reginald,  who  married  Victoria  Eckert ; 
Clyde ;  Frank,  who  married  Effie  Fillinger ;  and 
Walter,  Dice,  Beth,  Theodore  and  Ivan  K. 
Mr.  Shroll  has  always  been  a  busy  man  but 
never  neglects  his  duties  as  a  citizen  and  has 
taken  much  interest  in  the  public  schools,  serv- 
ing as  school  director  and  giving  his  children 
all  the  advantages  within  his  power. 

W.  A.  WATERS,  who  is  one  of  the  most 
substantial  citizens  and  the  largest  land  owner 
in  Liberty  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  car- 
ries on  general  farming  and  stock  raising  on 
his  large  estate  of  400  acres  and  resides  two 
miles  southeast  of  Sulphur  Springs,  O.  He 
was  born  in  Wyandot  county,  O.,  March  11, 
1862,  and  is  a  son  of  Philip  A.  and  Mary 
(Daugherty)  Waters. 

Philip  A.  Waters  was  born  in  Westmore- 
land county.  Pa.,  and  by  his  parents  was 
brought  to  Crawford  county,  at  the  age  of 
four  years.  At  a  later  date  he  moved  to  Wyan- 
dot county  and  there  engaged  in  farming  for 
a  number  of  years,  when  he  removed  to  In- 
diana and  died  in  that  state  in  advanced  age. 
He  married  Mary  Daugherty  and  one  child 
was  born  to  them,  W.  A.,  the  wife  and  mother 
dying  in  1864. 

Being  left  motherless  at  the  age  of  two  and 
one-half  years,  W.  A.  Waters  was  reared  on 
the  present  farm  in  his  uncle's  home,  the  later, 
Reuben  Waters,  being  now  deceased.  He  ob- 
tained his  education  in  the  district  schools  and 
was  trained  from  boyhood  to  be  a  farmer. 
This  farm  has  always  been  his  home  from  in- 
fancy and  since  he  took  possession  as  sole 
owner,  he  has  made  a  great  many  improve- 
ments, including  the  erection  of  a  handsome 
modern  residence. 

Mr.  Waters  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Ella  Caris,  who  was  born  in  Wood 
county,  O.,  a  daughter  of  Eli  Caris,  and  they 
have  one  daughter,  Ada.  She  is  the  wife  of 
Delbert  Butterfif,  who  resides  on  an  adjoin- 
ing farm,  and  they  have  five  children :    Zelma, 


Bernice,  Robert,  Mendel  and  Richard.  Mr. 
Waters  is  a  Republican  in  politics  but  has  given 
more  attention  to  his  agricultural  activities 
than  to  public  matters,  although  he  never  neg- 
lects the  duties  of  good  citizenship. 

EMANUEL  C.  CRISSINGER,*  carpenter 
and  builder,  a  well  known  citizen  of  Galion 
and  a  reliable  business  man  of  this  section, 
was  born  in  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  May  13,  1850,  and  is  a  son  of 
Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Knoble)  Crissinger,  and 
a  grandson  of  George  Crissinger,  who  was 
the  founder  of  the  family  in  Ohio,  moving 
to  Crawford  county  from  Northumberland 
county.  Pa.  The  father  was  twice  married 
and  Emanuel  C.  was  the  sixth  born  of 
the  first  family,  there  being  two  surviving 
brothers:  Charles  J.,  a  well  known  business 
man  of  Galion;  and  Daniel,  who  is  a  farmer 
and  also  a  carpenter  and  lives  in  Whetstone 
township. 

Emanuel  C.  Crissinger  was  reared  on  the 
home  farm  and  worked  with  his  father  at  car- 
pentering and  under  his  supervision  became 
an  expert  mechanic.  In  1884  he  moved  to 
Galion  and  three  years  later  he  erected  the  com- 
fortable residence  which  he  has  since  occu- 
pied, at  No.  334  North  Market  street.  From 
1903  until  1909  he  was  engaged  in  the  grocery 
trade  at  Galion,  but  with  that  exception,  he 
has  been  giving  his  attention  exclusively,  for 
the  past  38  years,  to  carpenter  work  including 
building.  In  his  political  affiliation  he  is  a 
Democrat  but  he  has  never  been  what  may  be 
called  a  politician,  just  a  good,  earnest  and 
interested  citizen. 

Mr.  Crissinger  was  married  in  1884  to  Miss- 
Susie  E.  Fail,  who  was  born  near  Galion,  Sept. 
4,  1856,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Julia  A.  (Sny- 
der) Fail.  John  Fail  was  born  in  Germany 
and  was  eight  years  old  when  his  parents 
brought  him  to  the  United  States.  He  was. 
reared  in  Crawford  county  and  was  married, 
near  Bucyrus,  to  Julia  A.  Snyder,  who  accom- 
panied her  parents  to  this  section,  from  Penn- 
sylvania, when  17  years  of  age.  Mr.  Fail  was^ 
a  farmer  in  Polk  township,  Crawford  county, 
until  1898,  when  he  and  his  wife  retired  to 
Galion,  where  his  death  occurred  in  1899,  when 
aged  75  years.  Mrs.  Fail,  now  in  her  8oth- 
year,  resides  with  a  daughter  at  Galion.     To- 


906 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crissinger  the  following  chil- 
dren have  been  born:  William  A.,  born  Sept, 
15,  1887,  who  resides  at  Gallon  and  married 
Ada  Shaw;  and  Charles  Addison,  who  was 
born  May  9,  1890,  and  lives  with  his  parents. 
He  is  a  graduate  of  the  Galion  High  School 
and  is  now  cashier  for  the  Erie  Railway  Com- 
pany at  Galion.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crissinger  are 
active  members  of  the  United  Brethren  church, 
of  which  he  has  been  a  trustee  and  for  some 
years  was  a  class  leader  in  the  same. 

WILLIAM  I.  MUTCHLER,  one  of  the 
progressive  agriculturists  of  Tod  township, 
Crawford  county,  0.,  residing  on  his  well  im- 
proved farm  of  160  acres,  situated  one  mile 
northeast  of  Oceola,  O.,  was  born  on  this  farm, 
in  1866,  and  is  a  son  of  Isaiah  and  Harriet 
(Kisor)  Mutchler. 

In  the  death  of  Isaiah  Mutchler,  which  oc- 
curred in  1906,  in  his  83rd  year,  Crawford 
county  lost  one  of  its  most  respected  pioneers. 
He  bought  the  farm  which  now  belongs  to  his 
son,  William  I.,  in  1846,  from  the  Government, 
paying  $2.25  per  acre,  and  it  has  been  carefully 
preserved  in  the  family  ever  since,  and  has 
never  had  even  a  mortgage  entered  against  it. 
Isaiah  Mutchler  was  born  in  Seneca  county, 
O.,  and  took  possession  of  his  Crawford 
county  land  in  1847.  Subsequently  he  acquired 
much  other  property,  aggregating  some  600 
acres  of  land,  and  each  one  of  his  children 
were  given  a  farm  by  this  generous  and  provi- 
dent father.  He  was  a  member  of  the  United 
Brethren  church  and  had  filled  almost  every 
church  office,  taking  much  more  interest  in 
it  than  in  the  political  life  of  the  community 
in  which  his  long  life  was  spent.  He  married 
Harriet  Kisor,  who  was  born  near  Sycamore, 
Wyandot  county,  and  died  in  Crawford  county, 
when  aged  73  years  and  6  months.  The  record 
of  their  children  is  as  follows :  Catherine  and 
Barbara,  twins,  the  former  of  whom  married 
Adam  Fisher,  and  the  latter,  Frank  Karns; 
Amanda,  who  married  George  Aurand ;  Frank, 
deceased,  who  married  Dora  Miller;  Susanna, 
deceased,  who  married  John  Beamer;  George, 
who  married  Susan  Little;  Harriet,  who  mar- 
ried Samuel  Lambert;  Melissa,  who  is  de- 
ceased; twin  infants,  both  deceased;  Matilda, 
who  married  Philip  Hoker;  William  I.,  and 
Leafy,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  William 
Nicholson. 


In  the  schools  of  Tod  township,  William  I. 
Mutchler  secured  a  good,  common  school  edu- 
cation, and  ever  since  has  devoted  himself  to 
farm  industries  on  the  homestead.  Since  the 
farm  has  been  his  own  he  has  done  considerable 
improving,  replacing  all  the  buildings  with  the 
exception  of  one  barn.  He  owns  valuable 
stock  and  improved  machinery  and  is  contem- 
plating the  building  of  a  fine  silo  in  the  near 
future. 

Mr.  Mutchler  married  Miss  Rebecca  Patton, 
who  was  born  in  Mifflin  county,  Pa.,  and  a 
family  of  ten  children  has  been  born  to  them, 
as  follows:  Flora,  who  married  Orlo  Bash 
and  has  two  children,  Cecil  and  Laura;  Fred; 
Jesse,  who  married  Bessie  Cox;  and  Sylvia, 
Russell,  Mary,  Goldie,  Ethel,  Paul  and  Dwight 
L.,  all  of  whom  survive  with  the  exception  of 
Paul,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Mutchler  is  a 
Democrat  in  politics  and  he  has  served  as 
school  director.  He  is  one  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  United  Brethren  church  and 
has  served  as  class  leader  and  steward. 

GEORGE  W.  SCHIEFER,  who  is  one  of 
the  enterprising  and  successful  farmers  of  Bu- 
cyrus  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  where 
he  carries  on  modern  agriculture  on  his  farm 
of  94  acres  and  operates  additionally  the  257 
acres  belonging  to  his  mother-in-law,  Mrs. 
Ellen  McKinstry,  was  born  in  Crawford 
county,  Dec.  19,  1878,  and  is  a  son  of  Isaac 
and  Margaret  Ellen  (Berry)  Schiefer. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Schiefer  were  bom  in 
Crawford  county,  where  they  still  reside,  the 
father  being  a  farmer.  They  have  the  follow- 
ing children:  George  W.,  James  W.,  Weldon 
S.,  Cordelia,  Moody  L.,  Grace  J.,  and  Mary. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schiefer  are  members  of  the 
Evangelical  church. 

George  W.  Schiefer  completed  the  common 
school  course  and  then  became  a  student  in  the 
Ohio  Northern  University  at  Ada,  O.,  after 
which  he  taught  school  for  eight  terms  during 
the  winter  time  while  he  devoted  his  summers 
to  the  farm.  Since  then  he  has  given  all  his 
attention  to  his  agricultural  pursuits,  doing 
general  farming  and  being  an  extensive  stock 
raiser,  keeping  only  good  grades  and  finding  a 
ready  market. 

Mr.  Schiefer  was  married  Oct.  2,  1901,  to 
Miss  Mary  E.  McKinstry,  the  only  child  of 
William   Thomas   and   Ellen    (Warner)    Mc- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


907 


Kinstry.  The  mother  of  Mrs.  Schiefer  sur- 
vives but  her  father  died  in  190 1,  leaving  a 
large  estate.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schiefer  and  Mrs. 
McKinstry  attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican  but  has 
never  accepted  any  public  office  although  well 
qualified  for  the  same,  being  an  educated,  well 
balanced,  reliable  man. 

HENRY  R.  KURRLEY,*  a  representative 
business  man  of  Gallon,  0.,-junior  member  of 
the  firm  of  Evans  &  Kurrley,  proprietors  of  the 
Boston  Street  Grocery  House  and  also  con- 
ducting a  store  at  Delaware,  O.,  was  born  in 
the  latter  city,  Jan.  2,  1879,  and  is  a  son  of 
William  and  Fannie  (Wittinger)  Kurrley. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Kurrley  were  born  in 
Wurtemberg,  Germany.  They  were  young 
when  they  came  to  America  and  were  reared 
near  Delaware,  O.,  where  they  married  and 
now  live  in  comfortable  retirement.  In  1859 
William  Kurrley  started  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness at  Delaware  and  continued  active  in  the 
trade  until  1895,  when  he  sold  to  his  son, 
Leopold  D.,  and  the  business  is  continued  at 
the  old  stand.  Mr.  Kurrley  and  wife  are  both 
in  their  middle  seventies  but  are  hearty  and 
well  and  there  is  promise  of  many  years  before 
them.  All  their  seven  children  survive  and 
four  of  these  have  domestic  circles  of  their 
own. 

Henry  R.  Kurrley  was  reared  and  educated 
at  Delaware  and  learned  the  grocery  business 
in  his  father's  store.  In  October,  1898,  Mr. 
Kurrley  and  Mr.  Evans,  the  latter  of  whom 
was  born  at  Delaware  in  1873,  came  to  Gallon 
and  purchased  the  Boston  street  store  from  J. 
E.  Gelsanliter  and  have  conducted  it  success- 
fully ever  since  and  subsequently  bought  the 
Delaware  store,  which  Mr.  Evans  mainly  man- 
ages. Both  partners  are  young  men  of  energy, 
discretion  and  enterprise  and  conduct  their 
large  volume  of  business  along  honorable  lines, 
such  as  have  won  them  the  confidence  and 
patronage  of  the  public. 

;,^t  Delaware,  O.,  Mr.  Kurrley  was  married 
to  Miss  Amelia  L.  Osterly,  who  was  born, 
reared  and  educated  in  that  city.  They  have 
one  daughter,  Edna  A.,  who  was  born  at  Dela- 
ware, April  28,  1898,  and  is  now  attending 
school  at  Gallon.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kurrley  are 
members    of   the    German   Lutheran    church. 


Politically  he  is  a  Democrat.  The  firm  of 
Evans  &  Kurrley  has  membership  in  the  Com- 
mercial Club  in  this  city. 

MISS  INEZ  MILLER,  who  has  been  a 
teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Gallon,  O., 
since  1889,  and  has  been  interested  in  and 
identified  with  the  remarkable  advancement  in 
educational  matters  in  this  section  during  this 
time,  belongs  to  Gallon,  for  here  she  was  born, 
reared  and  educated  and  here  has  found  her 
chosen  field  of  work.  She  is  a  daughter  of 
Charles  R.  Miller  and  a  granddaughter  of 
Charles  and  Mary  (Riblet)  Miller. 

Charles  Miller,  the  grandfather,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  and  was  young  when  he  accom- 
panied his  parents  to  Richland  county,  O. 
Later  he  married  Mary  Riblet,  a  daughter  of 
Daniel  Riblet,  who  had  also  moved  to  Rich- 
land county,  from  Pennsylvania.  Daniel  Rib- 
let was  a  school  teacher  and  later  owned  and 
operated  a  stage  coach  line  between  Gallon  and 
Mansfield,  with  headquarters  six  miles  east  of 
Gallon.  For  some  years  he  was  postmaster  of 
Gallon  and  was  active  in  politics,  serving  in  the 
state  legislature.  After  marriage,  Charles  Mil- 
ler and  wife  lived  for  a  time  in  Ashland  county 
and  then  settled  in  Sandusky  township,  Rich- 
land county,  on  a  farm  adjoining  that  of  the 
Riblets,  and  remained  there  until  their  death, 
when  aged  about  75  years.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Lutheran  church.  Of  their  four 
children  who  reached  maturity,  all  married  and 
three  sons  survive :  Charles  R.,  William  W. 
and  Henry  F.,  the  two  younger  brothers  still 
living  on  the  old  homestead. 

Charles  R.  Miller  was  born  in  Ashland 
county,  O.,  and  was  reared  on  the  home  farm. 
Afterward  he  served  as  assistant  postmaster  at 
Gallon  and  later  became  a  landscape  decorator 
and  artist.  He  was  married  at  Crestline  to 
Miss  Mary  Lowe,  who  was  born  in  Denbeigh- 
shire,  Wales,  and  when  ten  years  old  accom- 
panied her  sister  Elizabeth  to  the  United  States 
to  join  their  step-father  and  guardian,  Charles 
Charlton,  who  formerly  was  well  known  in 
railroad  circles  in  the  United  States  and  Can- 
ada. To  Charles  R.  Miller  and  wife  the  fol- 
lowing children  were  born :  Mary,  who  is  the 
wife  of  J.  H.  Barr,  residing  at  Galion,  Mr. 
Barr  being  a  rural  mail  carrier,  they  having 
three    children — Jessie,    Howard    and    Ruth; 


908 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Inez  L. ;  Albert  E.,  who  is  a  merchant  at  Cleve- 
land; and  William  H.,  who  is  in  commercial 
art  work  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  who  married 
Margaret  DeNaux. 

Miss  Inez  Miller  was  creditably  graduated 
from  the  Galion  High  School  in  1887  and  be- 
gan teaching  in  1889,  and  for  the  past  four 
years  has  been,  also,  elementary  superintendent 
of  the  Crawford  County  Sunday  School  Asso- 
ciation. She  is  so  eminently  a  teacher  and  so 
thoroughly  qualified  in  every  way  to  be  an  in- 
structor, that  her  availability  is  recognized 
wherever  educational  work  is  proposed  and  on 
many  occasions  she  has  been  tendered  positions 
of  responsibility.  While  she  is  progressive  and 
ambitious  yet  she  is  careful  and  understanding 
and  the  advancement  made  by  her  pupils  is  on 
a  sound  foundation.  She  is  well  known  in  the 
city's  pleasant  social  life  and,  with  the  other 
members  of  her  family,  belongs  to  the  English 
Lutheran  church. 

MRS.  FRANCES  CRUM,  a  well  known 
and  highly  esteemed  resident  of  Liberty  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  C,  residing  on  her  well 
improved  farm  of  90  acres,  was  born  in  Lib- 
erty township  and  is  a  daughter  of  the  late 
Abraham  Grogg,  and  the  widow  of  D.  O. 
Crum. 

D.  O.  Crum  was  born  in  Dauphin  county. 
Pa.,  and  was  brought  in  childhood  to  Craw- 
ford county,  his  father  locating  in  Liberty 
township.  He  grew  to  manhood  ^on  his 
father's  farm  and  helped  to  clear  and  cultivate 
it,  in  the  meanwhile  attending  the  district 
schools  and  acquiring  a  fair  knowledge  of 
books.  For  some  three  years  after  his  mar- 
riage, he  worked  his  father-in-law's  farm  and 
then  settled  on  the  property  now  owned  by  his 
widow  and  here  he  lived  as  a  busy  and  con- 
tented farmer  until  his  death,  March  27,  1896, 
at  the  age  of  45  years.  In  everything  pertain- 
ing to  this  property  he  felt  an  interest  and  con- 
tinued to  make  improvements  which  included 
the  erection  of  new  and  substantial  buildings. 
He  was  widely  known  and  much  resjjected. 

In  1 87 1  D.  O.  Crum  and  Frances  Grogg 
were  united  in  marriage.  Her  father,  Abra- 
ham Grogg,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  but 
spent  the  larger  part  of  his  life  in  Crawford 
county.  Seven  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Crum,  namely:  Chester  C,  who  lives  at 


Mansfield,  O. ;  Maude,  who  is  the  wife  of  I. 
W.  Rodgers,  who  resides  at  Bucyrus  and  has 
three  children — David,  Donald  and  Mildred; 
E.  L.,  who  rharried  Emma  Loyer,  and  lives  in 
the  western  part  of  Liberty  township  and  who 
has  three  children — Lawrence,  Opal  and  Alice ; 
Estella,  who  is  deceased;  Fred,  who  resides 
with  his  mother;  Lulu,  who  married  Howard 
Gwinner,  and  has  two  children — Elmer  and 
Josephine;  and  McKinley,  who  lives  at  home. 
Mrs.  Crum  and  family  belong  to  the  United 
Brethren  church.  Mr.  Crum  was  a  Republican 
in  politics  but  he  was  a  quiet,  peaceful  man  and 
never  sought  office  nor  engaged  in  political 
campaigns. 

CLAUDE  B.  SHARER,  superintendent  of 
the  sales  department  of  the  American  Clay 
Machinery  Company  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  has  been 
connected  with  this  branch  of  one  of  the  large 
industries  of  the  city  since  1904,  coming  from 
Philadelphia,  Pa.  Mr.  Sharer  was  born  July 
30,  1871,  at  Delaware,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of 
George  W.  Sharer,  whose  name  has  been  car- 
ried to  many  sections  of  this  and  other  coun- 
tries as  the  inventor  of  modern  brickmaking 
machinery.  He  was  also  a  valiant  soldier  in 
the  Union  Army  during  the  Civil  War,  a  mem- 
ber of  Co.  C,  40th  O.  Vol.  Inf.  He  was  the 
patentee  of  the  Sharer  Brick-Dryer. 

Claude  B.  Sharer  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  and  then  became 
interested  in  brick  machinery  with  his  father, 
and  20  years  of  his  active  life  was  devoted  to 
introducing  and  establishing  modern  brick 
plants  with  improved  machinery.  He  is  a  prac- 
tical brick  man  and  probably  is  as  well  known 
in  that  trade  as  any  man  in  the  country,  of  his 
age,  and  has  also  had  foreign  experience,  hav- 
ing visited  the  great  brick  centers  of  Europe 
and  introduced  the  Sharer  and  other  patents. 
For  some  time  before  coming  to  Bucyrus  he 
had  maintained  his  headquarters  at  Philadel- 
phia, which  is  one  of  the  greatest  brick  mak- 
ing centers  of  the  country.  His  long  experi- 
ence as  sales  manager  has  made  him  a  man  .^ 
great  value  to  his  present  company  and  he  has 
charge  of  all  the  selling  interests  of  this 
concern. 

Mr.  Sharer  was  married  in  1895,  at  Phil- 
adelphia, to  Miss  Laetitia  Call,  who  was  born 
at  Philadelphia,  a  daughter  of  Morris  Call,  and 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


909 


they  have  four  children :  Beryl  W.,  Claude  B., 
Jr.,  Harvey  B.  and  Morris  C,  their  ages  rang- 
ing from  fourteen  to  eight  years,  and  all  are 
pupils  in  the  public  schools.  Mr.  Sharer  is  a 
Republican  but  no  politician,  nor  is  he  addicted 
to  the  club  habit.  His  family,  his  home  and 
his  business  afford  him  contentment. 

JACOB  HILDEBRAND,*  whose  excel- 
lent farm  of  30  acres  lies  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  has  resided 
here  since  1907  and  was  born  in  Liberty  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  Feb.  14,  .1851,  a  son 
of  John  and  Margaret  (Rapp)  Hildebrand. 

John  Hildebrand  was  born  in  Germany  and 
died  in  Liberty  township,  Crawford  county,  O. 
By  trade  he  was  a  butcher  and  he  also  followed 
farming  and  was  a  well  known  man  in  his  day 
in  his  neighborhood.  He  married  Margaret 
Rapp,  who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  both 
are  now  deceased.  The  following  children 
were  born  to  them :  Solomon,  George,  Mary, 
Emanuel,  Jacob,  Christian,  Matilda,  John,  and 
Sophia,  the  last  named  being  the  wife  of  Terry 
Tupps.  Mary,  who  is  now  deceased,  was  the 
wife  of  John  Green,  and  Matilda  is  the  wife  of 
John  Sheeley. 

Jacob  Hildebrand  obtained  his  education  in 
the  schools  of  Liberty  township  and  farming 
has  occupied  a  large  part  of  his  time  since  then, 
although  he  has  also  been  engaged  in  saw-mill 
work  and  also  has  traveled  with  a  threshing 
machine  in  the  threshing  seasons.  Prior  to 
coming  to  Whetstone  township  he  had  lived 
for  three  years  in  Cranberry  township  and  five 
years  in  Auburn  township,  and  in  the  latter 
served  as  road  supervisor  and  as  school  di- 
rector. He  has  always  been  an  industrious 
man  and  is  one  who  enjoys  the  respect  of  his 
neighbors. 

In  September,  1884,  Mr.  Hildebrand  was 
married  to  Miss  Maria  Utz,  who  was  born  in 
Canada,  a  daughter  of  Frederick  and  Gertrude 
(Hirnlein)  Utz,  natives  of  Germany.  Mrs. 
Hildebrand  has  two  brothers  and  one  sister: 
Daniel,  Augustus  and  Louisa.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hildebrand  have  four  children,  namely :  Fred- 
erick, who  married  Delia  Kile ;  Florence ;  Har- 
vey, who  married  Mabel  Raiser;  and  Paul. 
Mr.  Hildebrand  has  the  assistance  of  his  sons 
Florence  and  Paul  on  the  home  farm.  The 
family  belongs  to  the  German  Lutheran  church 


at    Bucyrus.      Mr.    Hildebrand    and    son    are 
Democrats  in  politics. 

REV.  THOMAS  J.  MONNETT,  1826- 
190 1.  From  pioneer  days  to  the  present  time 
the  Monnett  family  has  been  numerously  and 
honorably  represented  in  the  financial,  educa- 
tional and  religious  life  of  Crawford  county. 

Isaac  Monnett  was  the  first  of  the  name  to 
arrive.  In  1828  with  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Pit- 
tinger  Morris  Monnett,  and  their  family  of 
adult  children,  including  a  step-son,  Jeremiah 
Morris,  he  located  on  section  36,  Bucyrus 
township,  four  and  a  half  miles  south  of  the 
county  seat.  The  married  children  later 
located  on  adjacent  lands.  They  were  indus- 
trious, thrifty  and  religious  people  and  while 
seeking  personal  and  family  advancement,  ever 
had  in  mind  the  public  welfare.  Almost  co- 
existent with  a  place  of  abode  for  himself  and 
family,  provision  was  made  for  religious  serv- 
ices at  his  home,  which  was  continued  until 
better  facilities  could  be  arranged. 

In  1835,  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Monnett,  a 
brother  of  the  above,  arrived  and  located  in 
the  vicinity  near  what  is  now  Monnett  Memor- 
ial chapel.  His  family  was  composed  of  his 
wife  Aley  (Elsie)  Slagle  Monnett  and  a  num- 
ber of  adult  children,  most  of  whom  after  mar- 
riage settled  in  the  locality  and  thus  in  a  brief 
period  of  time  a  large  element  of  desirable 
citizens  was  implanted  in  the  community. 

These  brothers  had  come  from  Pickaway 
county,  O.,  and  were  respectively  the  oldest 
and  youngest  sons  in  a  large  family  born  to 
Abraham  and  Ann  (Hillary)  Monnett,  pio- 
neers from  Virginia  to  Pickaway  county,  O., 
at  the  beginning  of  the  last  century. 

For  generations  a  tradition  had  been  held 
that  the  family  had  descended  from  Huguenot 
refugees,  who  left  the  "vine-clad  hills  and 
sunny  vales"  of  their  beloved  France  upon  the 
Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  and  fled  to 
England  and  some  of  them  afterward  to 
America,  establishing  themselves  in  Virginia 
and  Maryland  from  whence  descendants  emi- 
grated to  Pickaway  county,  O.,  and  in  1828 
and  183  s  some  of  them  to  Crawford  county, 
as  stated. 

Within  the  past  two  years,  a  family  history, 
entitled :  "Monnett  Family  Geneaology,  A 
Huguenot   Lineage,"   has  been  compiled   and 


910 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


edited   by  the  Hon.   Orra  Eugene   Monnett, 
formerly   of   Bucyrus,   O.,   but  now   of   Los 
Angeles,  California.     He  brought  to  his  task 
an  equipment,  well-nigh  perfect  for  such,  an 
undertaking — ^youth,  health,  enthusiasm,  broad 
culture,  including  a  legal  training  and  ample 
financial   resources   to  cover  all   expenses   of 
travel  and  necessary  investigation  to  insure  ut- 
most accuracy  in  the  history.    Traveling,  per- 
sonally, over  the  grounds  of  the  various  re- 
movals and  migrations  in  America,  back  to 
England  and  France,  searching  records,  muster 
rolls,  records  of  historical  societies,  by  such 
earnest,  devoted  and  intelligent  services  unre- 
mittingly applied  for  several  years,  aided  by 
an  able  corps  of  expert  assistants  and  contrib- 
utors,   he    has    established,    incontrovertibly, 
that  the  traditions  were  founded  upon  fact — 
that  the  family  belonged  to  the  nobility,  eligible 
to  the  use  of  a  coat-of-arms,  with  a  most  sig- 
nificant motto :  "Florens  suo  orbe  Monet,"  and 
in  the  services  of  ancestors  in  the  land  of  their 
refuge,  in  colonial  and  revolutionary  days,  en- 
titled their  descendants  to  qualify  as  Sons  of 
Colonial   Wars,    Colonial    Dames,    Sons   and 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  Mem- 
bers of  the  Huguenot  Society  of  America,  etc. 
In  view  of  this  interesting  and  honorable  in- 
heritance, it  is  hoped,  there  will  be  nothing  of 
the  parvenu  in  the  kindred  of  this  and  later 
times;  and  it  is  trusted,  that  fidelity  to  prin- 
ciple; incorruptible  integrity;  self-sacrifice  and 
strong  self-reliance  which  has  made  the  name 
honorable,  down  the  centuries,  wherever  rep- 
resentatives have  lived  for  a  considerable  time, 
will  have  an  inspiring  effect  upon  descendants 
to  live  up  to  high  ideals  of  life. 

It  is  the  object  of  this  sketch  to  present,  in 
brief  review,  one  of  the  representative  mem- 
bers of  this  family — the  Reverend  Thomas 
Jefferson  Monnett,  the  youngest  son  and  thir- 
teenth child  born  to  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  and 
Aley  (Elsie)  Monnett. 

He  was  born  in  Pickaway  county,  0.,  Jan. 
i6,  1826.  In  1835,  he  came  to  Crawford 
county,  0.,  with  his  parents,  where  they  lo- 
cated four  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Bucyrus. 
Here  he  grew  to  manhood.  He  early  evi- 
denced a  keen  intellect,  a  fine  gift  of  language 
and  other  endowments  which  gave  promise  of 
a  successful  professional  career.  Officials  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  which  he  had 


joined  in  his  boyhood,  soon  recognized  his  fit- 
ness for  the  Christian  ministry  in  her  com- 
munion, and  at  eighteen  years  of  age,  he  was 
licensed  to  exhort,  and  recommended  for  ad- 
vancement in  the  ministry.     His  father,  also 
had  noted  with  interest  and  pleasure  the  same 
evidences  of  "a  call  to  preach"  and  in  further- 
ance of  a  good  foundation  for  the  work  had 
the  son  read  Clarke's  Commentaries  on  the 
Scriptures,   both   Old   and   New   Testaments. 
This   was   mainly   done   in   winter   evenings. 
Meanwhile,  young  Monnett  taught  the  district 
school,  worked  on  the  farm,  attended  a  select 
school  in  the  neighborhood  and  for  a  time,  the 
Ohio  Wesleyan  University  at  Delaware,  Ohio. 
As  the  "fields  were  white  to  the  harvest  and  the 
laborers  few,"  those  in  authority  urged  him  to 
enter  at  once,  the  active  ministerial  ranks  and 
trust  to  and  utilize  his  opportunities  for  acquir- 
ing academic   knowledge   while   fulfilHng  his 
studies  as  a  minister.    This  unwise  policy  made 
his  later  work  unduly  hard  and  had  much  to 
do  with  enfeebling  his  constitution,  which  had 
never  been  robust. 

Mr.  Monnett  joined  the  North  Ohio  Confer- 
ence of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in 
1852  and  for  the  full  period  of  time,  served 
successively,  in  the  following  order:  Melmore 
Circuit,  Fostoria,  Kenton,  Upper  Sandusky, 
Latimberville  Circuit,  which  at  the  time  em- 
braced a  wide  area  and  contained  nine  appoint- 
ments. He  was  an  extremely  hard  worker  in 
his  pastorates,  conducting  revivals  and  church 
building  or  repairing  enterprises  in  all  of  them. 
Finally,  in  the  rigorous  winter  of  1860-61, 
after  an  unusually  prolonged  series  of  meet- 
ings, at  most  of  the  appoinments  on  the  large 
circuit,  his  health  became  seriously  impaired, 
especially  from  a  siege  of  acute  bronchitis. 
This  trouble  afterward  became  chronic  and 
compelled  his  retirement  from  the  active  min- 
istry. In  taking  up  secular  work  from  1864 
to  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  ever  ready  to 
answer  the  calls  of  the  church  when  health  per- 
mitted. He  never  ceased  to  regard  the  min- 
istry as  his  calling  and  on  the  testimony  of  one, 
who  knew  conditions  better  than  anyone  else, 
his  secular  activities  were  largely  incidental 
and  not  studied  voluntary  business  enterprises, 
as  business  men  pursue  them. 

The   many   calls   for  services   at   quarterly 
meetings,  Sunday-school  conventions,  farmers' 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


911 


institutes,  temperance  and  many  other  organi- 
zations met  with  a  ready  response,  if  possible, 
and  his  services  were  in  recjuisition  to  the  time 
of  his  fatal  illness.  At  that  time  he  was  clos- 
ing his  thirteenth  consecutive  year  as  president 
of  the  Crawford  County  Sunday-school  Asso- 
ciation and  held  official  relations  to  other  relig- 
ious and  moral  organizations. 

Mr.  Monnett's  ministerial  services  were 
without  financial  consideration,  no  moneyed  re- 
w  ard  excepting  the  occasional  wedding  fee 
came  to  him,  and  no  minister,  in  the  region  of 
his  residence  rendered  so  much  gratuitous  min- 
isterial service  and  for  the  long  period  of  his 
life,  few,  if  any,  were  so  popular.  He  could 
only  cope  with  his  chronic  malady  by  leading 
an  out-of-door  life,  so  he  continued  on  his 
farm  and  by  this  course  he  maintained  a  fair 
average  of  health  and  accomplished  a  larger 
measure  of  work  for  the  Master's  Kingdom 
than  would  otherwise  have  been  possible. 

In  his  secular  work  he  was  for  twenty  years 
head  of  the  woolen  mills  of  Bucyrus ;  for  eigh- 
teen years  president  of  the  Bucyrus  Gas  com- 
pany, and  principal  owner  of  the  plant;  at  the 
same  time  he  was  interested  in  banking  and 
stock-raising  and  engaged  in  looking  after  his 
landed  estate.  He  spurned  all  sham  methods 
of  accumulating  wealth  and  in  commercial  and 
business  circles,  his  word  was  as  good  as  his 
bond. 

His  own  accjuaintance  with  the  hardships  of 
the  business  world,  on  account  of  the  fluctua- 
tions of  the  markets  and  the  intricacies  and 
uncertainties  of  trade,  greatly  broadened  his 
sympathies  for  business  men  and  they  under- 
stood and  honored  him  for  it. 

Notwithstanding  his  attention  given  to 
church  and  educational  work  he  amassed  a 
comfortable  fortune  as  well  as  endowing  his 
children  with  a  liberal  education  and  financial 
opportunities. 

Mr.  Monnett  died  of  bronchitis  at  his  home 
in  Bucyrus,  O.,  May  lo,  1901,  in  the  seventy- 
sixth  year  of  his  age  and  was  buried  in  Mon- 
nett cemetery.  His  last  sickness  indicated  a 
complication  of  diseases,  but  an  autopsy  re- 
vealed all  organs  normal  but  the  bronchial  sys- 
tem and  bronchitis  was  therefore  the  primary 
cause  of  his  death. 

Thomas  J.  Monnett  was  married  Oct.  17, 
T847,  to  Miss  Henrietta  Johnston,  daughter  of 


Esquire  Thomas  D.  and  Martha  (Walton) 
Johnston,  wealthy  and  highly  respected  pio- 
neers of  Marion  county,  O.  Seven  children 
were  born  of  this  union;  two  of  them,  Webster 
and  Agnes  J.,  died  in  infancy.  John  Gilbert, 
"Bertie,"  died  in  his  young  manhood,  March 
26,  1879.  A  daughter,  Mrs.  Effie  Monnett 
Bennett,  in  the  early  prime  of  a  noble  and  most 
beautiful  womanhood,  died  Oct.  27,  1898,  leav- 
ing a  husband,  Hon.  Smith  W.  Bennett  and 
two  children,  Hugh  Monnett  and  Grace  Liz- 
etta.  Mr.  Bennett,  who  is  a  highly  successful 
lawyer  and  who  was  for  ten  years  special  coun- 
sel in  the  attorney-general's  office  at  Columbus, 
by  a  second  marriage,  this  time  to  Miss  Anna 
Drought,  a  beautiful  and  accomplished  lady, 
well-fitted  for  such  a  position,  has  had  his 
home  sweetly  reestablished  and  with  his  fam- 
ily is  living  at  Columbus,  O. 

The  oldest  surviving  son,  Orin  Bruce,  mar- 
ried Anna  -  Hoffman,  daughter  of  Charles  and 
Catharine  (Snyder)  Hoffman  and  they  have 
two  children,  Ethel  and  Bessie,  both  married. 
Mr.  Monnett  is  in  the  real  estate  business  and 
the  family  home  is  at  Conroe,  Montgomery 
county,  Texas.  William  Arthur  married 
Annetta  Boyer,  daughter  of  Joshua  and  Char- 
lotte (Slough)  Boyer  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren, Kay,  Grace  and  Charlotte.  Kay  married 
Harriet  Homes  and  they  are  the  parents  of  six 
children.  William  Arthur  Monnett  and  fam- 
ily live  on  the  old  homestead  on  the  Sandusky 
Pike. 

Francis  Sylvester,  graduate  of  the  O.  W.  U. 
and  National  Law  School,  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
was  twice  attorney-general  of  Ohio ;  practicing 
now  in  all  the  courts  including  supreme  court 
of  the  United  States;  married  Ellen  Kate 
Gormly,  daughter  of  James  B.  and  Virginia 
(Qwingley)  Gormly  and  their  home  is  at 
Columbus,  O. 

The  devoted,  faithful  wife,  and  mother  of 
this  family,  Mrs.  Henrietta  Monnett,  lived 
with  her  husband  during  his  active  ministry 
and  was  a  constant  inspiration  to  him  and  the 
work.  She  was  ever  honored  and  greatly  be- 
loved by  all  who  made  her  acquaintance.  Her 
useful  life  came  to  a  close,  Nov.  20,  1871. 

Mr.  Monnett  was  twice  married.  His  sec- 
ond union  was  with  Miss  Sarah  Rexroth,  M. 
S.,  a  daughter  of  John  Nicholas  and  Anna 
Maria    (Rittmann)    Rexroth,    a   graduate   of 


912 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Mount  Union  college  and  late  principal  of  the 
Bucyrus  high  school.  She  brought  with  her 
into  the  family  life  a  rich  Christian  experience, 
a  well-trained  intellect  and  a  mind  and  heart 
full  of  noble  inspirations.  She  gave  the  best 
years  of  her  life  to  the  rearing  of  the  family 
and  fitting  them  for  the  serious  duties  of  life 
and  training  them  for  high  school  and  college 
education  along  with  her  other  arduous  family 
duties.  She  fully  sympathized  with  her  hus- 
band in  his  religious  activities  and  ever  strove 
to  make  his  work  successful.  She  was  a  de- 
voted companion  to  Mr.  Monnett  in  his  de- 
clining years. 

The  family  home  had  been  in  Bucyrus,  a 
number  of  years  before  Mr.  Monnett's  death 
and  here  Mrs.  Monnett  became  identified  with 
various  activities,  helping  to  establish  the  Cur- 
rent Events  Club  and  in  earlier  years  the  for- 
eign and  home  missionary  societies  of  the  First 
M.  E.  church,  and  in  recent  years  W.  F.  M. 
society  at  Monnett  Memorial  Chapel;  was  one 
of  the  nine  women  incorporators  of  the  Bucy- 
rus public  library  and  served  as  trustee,  was 
chairman  of  the  building  committee  of  Mon- 
nett Memorial  Chapel  and  administered  her 
husband's  estate.  Mrs.  Monnett  lives  at 
Bucyrus,  O. 

ALBERT  RENSCH,*  market  gardener  and 
proprietor  of  the  Renschville  Greenhouses,  lo- 
cated just  outside  the  city  limits  of  Galion,  O., 
is  carrying  on  a  business  which  was  established 
43  years  ago  by  his  late  father,  Jacob  Rensch. 
Albert  Rensch  was  born  July  i,  1863,  in  the 
large  brick  house  which  was  erected  here  in 
18^3,  and  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth 
(Deinkeldein)  Rensch. 

Jacob  Rensch  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany, 
in  1828,  and  in  1833  accompanied  his  parents 
to  the  United  States,  they  locating  on  the  pres- 
ent site  of  the  Renschville  plant,  just  outside 
of  Galion,  it  then  being  covered  with  native 
timber  and  entirely  a  wilderness.  They  had 
two  sons  and  one  daughter:  Jacob,  Frederick 
and  Martha,  all  of  whom  are  now  deceased, 
the  death  of  Jacob  Rensch  occurring  May  17, 
1903.  On  the  portion  of  the  home  land  which 
became  his,  he  started  a  market  garden  and  as 
he  prospered,  enlarged  the  scope  of  his  busi- 
ness and  in  i88g  built  the  first  hot  house.  He 
had  a  natural  leaning  in  the  direction  and  built 


up  a  large  business  which  he  continued  to  be 
interested  in  as  long  as  he  lived.    He  married 
Elizabeth  Deinkeldein,  who  was  born  in  Hesse- 
Darmstadt,  Germany,  and  was  seven  years  old 
when  her   parents,   Peter  and  Martha  Dein- 
keldein, came  to  Ohio  and  located  near  the 
Rensch  land,  under  similar  conditions.     She 
survived  until  April  23,  1900.     Jacob  Rensch 
and  wife  were  members  of  the  German  Re- 
formed church.     Of  their  family  of  ten  chil- 
dren all  survive  except  one,  Clara,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  17  years,  the  others  being:  Henry, 
Edward,  Janet,  Frank,  Albert,  Emma,  Mary, 
Emanuel  and  Amanda,  all  of  whom  have  mar- 
ried with  the  exception  of  Albert  and  all  are 
residents  of  Crawford  county. 

Albert  Rensch  with  his  brothers  and  sisters 
attended  the  country  schools  and  willingly  gave 
his  father  assistance  in  his  farming  and  gar- 
dening, having  a  taste  in  this  direction,  and 
before  his  father's  death  became  the  practical 
manager  of  the  business.  Since  the  property 
became  his  own  he  has  made  many  changes, 
tearing  down  the  old  buildings  and  erecting 
five  greenhouses  in  which  he  has  installed 
modern  equipments  and  carries  on  his  under- 
taking in  a  scientific  way.  He  is  a  good  busi- 
ness man  and  a  representative  citizen,  being  a 
member  of  the  Commercial  Club.  With  his 
brothers  he  is  identified  with  the  Democratic 
party,  and  with  the  other  members  of  his  fam- 
ily, was  confirmed  in  the  Reformed  church. 
He  has  assistants  in  his  brothers  and  they  cul- 
tivate 63  acres  and  in  the  greenhouses  have 
12,000  feet  of  glass  and  in  the  spring  their 
trade  is  very  heavy,  shipping  their  forced 
plants  to  outside  points,  while  their  local  trade 
is  very  satisfactory. 

JOSEPH  HEINLE.  One  of  the  substan- 
tial old  families  of  Holmes  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  is  the  Heinle  family  and  a 
member  of  the  same,  Joseph  Heinle,  lives  on 
the  old  homestead  which  his  father  acquired  as 
wild  land,  some  60  years  ago.  Mr.  Heinle 
was  born  on  this  farm  of  94  acres,  which  lies 
four  miles  west  of  Bucyrus,  May  26,  1857,  and 
is  a  son  of  John  G.  and  Maria  (Leittz)  Heinle. 

John  G.  Heinle  was  born  in  i8ig  in  Ger- 
many and  came  to  Crawford  county,  O.,  in 
1837,  engaged  first  in  farming  in  Bucyrus 
township  and  then  came  to  Holmes  township 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


913 


and  bought  the  present  place.  To  the  develop- 
ment and  improvement  of  this  property  he  de- 
voted many  years  of  life  and  lived  into  old  age, 
dying  in  1899,  when  80  years  old,  his  wife  sur- 
viving to  be  75  years  of  age.  They  had  eight 
children,  namely:  Eliza,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Adam  Brown;  Frances,  who  lives  in  Bucyrus 
township;  George,  who  also  lives  in  Bucyrus 
township;  Mrs.  Kate  Gibson,  of  Oceola,  O. ; 
Mrs.  Mary  Ann  Meyers,  of  Van  Wert,  O. ; 
John  and  Philip,  both  of  whom  live  in  Bucyrus 
township;  and  Joseph. 

Joseph  Heinle  obtained  his  education  in  the 
schools  of  Crawford  county  and  ever  since  has 
been  engaged  in  farm  pursuits  on  the  old  home- 
stead which  he  purchased.  In  addition  to  gen- 
eral farming  and  some  fruit  raising  he  gives 
attention  to  stock  raising  to  a  moderate  degree, 
and  through  his  systematic  methods  produces 
fine  returns. 

Mr.  Heinle  married  Miss  Emma  Snavely,  a 
daughter  of  David  Snavely  and  they  have  had 
four  children:  Kate,  who  married  Moses 
Steiger,  and  has  one  daughter,  Valeria ;  Agnes ; 
Mary  and  Stella,  the  youngest  daughter  being 
deceased.  Mr.  Heinle  and  family  belong  to  the 
Martin  Luther  church  in  Tod  township.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  has  served  in  the 
office  of  road  supervisor. 

JOHN  GRAU,  who  owns  113  acres  of  finely 
improved  land  situated  three  and  one-half 
miles  northeast  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  in  Liberty 
township,  Crawford  county,  is  a  careful  and 
competent  farmer  and  has  every  reason  to  feel 
satisfied  with  his  agricultural  success.  He  was 
born  in  1870,  in  Tuscarawas  county,  O.,  one 
of  a  family  of  nine  children  born  to  his  par- 
ents, who  were  Gottlieb  and  Dora  (Esterley) 
Grau.  Two  of  the  children  died  in  infancy, 
but  the  following  survive :  John ;  George,  who 
married  Mary  Crall,  lives  near  Bucyrus ;  Jacob, 
who  lives  in  Marion  county,  O.,  married  Mary 
Scherer;  Edward,  who  lives  two  miles  south 
of  Bucyrus,  and  married  Anna  Wise;  Albert, 
who  lives  at  Cleveland;  Mary,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Frederick  Metzger,  of  Bucyrus ;  and  Emma, 
who  resides  at  Cleveland. 

John  Grau  had  the  usual  district  school  ad- 
vantages of  a  farmer's  son  and  very  early  be- 
came acquainted  with  many  of  the  practical 
facts  that  are  foundation  stones  in  successful 


farming.  After  purchasing  the  property  on 
which  he  lives  he  did  considerable  improving 
and  has  one  of  the  most  valuable  and  attractive 
farms  in  this  section. 

Mr.  Grau  married  Miss  Rachel  McCullough, 
who  is  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Mc- 
Cleland)  McCullough,  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren, Louise  and  Earl.  Mr.  Grau  and  family 
are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He 
is  identified  with  the  Democratic  party  but 
takes  no  very  active  part  in  public  matters.  He 
is  interested,  however,  in  having  good  schools 
and  good  laws  concerning  the  construction  and 
repair  of  the  public  highways,  as  becomes  a 
good  citizen. 

J.  BERT  ROBINSON,*  one  of  the  enter- 
prising and  active  business  men  of  Gallon,  a 
member  of  the  transportation  firm  of  Walford 
&  Robinson,  proprietors  of  the  Central  Deliv- 
ery company,  with  business  stand  on  Ware- 
house Alley,  Gallon,  was  born  in  Polk  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  Jan.  23,  1876,  and 
is  a  son  of  J.  Chalmer  and  Emma  Robinson. 

Hon.  James  Robinson,  grandfather  of  J. 
Bert  Robinson,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  but 
spent  the  greater  part  of  his  active  life  in 
Crawford  county,  where  he  became  a  man  of 
large  estate  and  considerable  political  prom- 
inence, for  years  being  a  public  official  and  a 
member  of  the  state  legislature.  He  was  the 
founder  of  the  thriving  village  of  North  Rob- 
inson. His  death  occured  at  Gallon,  when  he 
was  75  years  of  age.  His  son,  J.  Chalmer 
Robinson,  was  born  in  Crawford  county  and 
has  been  a  successful  farmer  for  many  years, 
in  1885  moving  to  North  Bloomfield  township. 
Morrow  county,  where  he  now  resides.  His 
family  consists  of  four  sons :  James  H.,  a  prac- 
ticing physician  at  Selma,  Calif.,  who  married 
there  and  has  one  daughter;  J.  Bert,  our  sub- 
ject; Richard  W.,  a  civil  and  mechanical  en- 
gineer with  the  American  Bridge  company,  at 
Chicago,  who  has  one  son;  and  Karl,  a  pro- 
fessional ball-player  with  the  Western  League, 
who  has  his  home  at  Omaha,  Nebr.,  and  has 
one  daughter. 

J.  Bert  Robinson  attended  school  at  Gallon 
and  later  was  a  student  in  the  Tri-State  Nor- 
mal school,  at  Angola,  Ind.,  and  at  Ada,  O., 
and  for  a  time  taught  school  and  very  success- 
fully.    He  then  turned  his  attention  to  rail- 


914 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


reading  and  for  ten  years  was  fireman  and 
later  engineer  on  the  Erie  railway,  leaving  the 
road  to  embark  in  his  present  business  and  in 
partnership  with  Mr.  Walford  has  been  pro- 
prietor and  half  owner  of  the  Central  Delivery 
Company  here,  succeeding  the  Central  Deliv- 
ery Company,  a  corporation.  This  company  is 
well  equipped,  having  nine  wagons  and  nine 
drays,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  mer- 
chants. They  have  so  systemized  the  work  by 
dividing  the  city  into  five  routes,  their  schedule 
being  for  five  daily  deliveries  of  merchandise, 
that  both  the  public  and  the  merchants  are  ad- 
mirably served. 

Mr.  Robinson  was  married  in  Morrow 
county,  O.,  to  Miss  Ella  Walford,  who  was 
born,  reared  and  educated  there,  and  is  a  sister 
of  K.  J.  Walford,  Mr.  Robinson's  partner. 
Mr.  Walford  is  in  the  transfer  and  dray  busi- 
ness, at  Ashland,  O.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robinson 
have  three  sons :  B.  Austin,  a  manly  lad  of 
eleven  years ;  J.  Harold,  aged  nine  years ;  and 
Clarence  W.,  who  is  five  years  old.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Robinson  are  members  of  the  Christian 
church.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political 
views  but  his  tastes  lie  more  in  the  direction  of 
business  than  politics. 

O.  J.  KELLER,  who  is  engaged  in  the  mer- 
cantile business  at  Sulphur  Springs,  Crawford 
county,  C,  is  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of 
Liberty  township  and  is  an  honorable  veteran 
of  the  great  Civil  War.  He  was  born  in  North- 
ampton county.  Pa.,  in  1843,  and  is  a  son  of 
Joseph  and  Lavina  Keller.  There  were  1 1  chil- 
dren in  the  family,  namely:  O.  J.;  Jeremiah, 
who  lives  in  Pennsylvania;  Josiah,  who  is  de- 
ceased; Reuben,  who  died  at  Lindsay,  O.,  and 
who  was  a  Reformed  Lutheran  minister;  Mary 
Katherine,  who  is  deceased;  John  H.  and  Ma- 
tilda, both  of  whom  died  young,  and  four  who 
died  in  infancy. 

O.  J.  Keller  remained  at  home  through  his 
school  period  and  afterward  until  the  age  of 
18  years,  when  he  enlisted  for  service  in  the 
Civil  War,  becoming  a  member  of  Co.  C,  49th 
O.  Vol.  Inf.,  under  his  cousin,  Captain  Keller, 
and  Colonel  Gibson,  and  served  from  Aug.  15, 
1 86 1,  until  his  honorable  discharge  in  Texas,  in 
November,  1865.  He  has  a  bright  war  record 
which  proves  that  he  was  ever  at  his  post  of 
duty  and  participated  in  the  hardships  and  dan- 


gers of  his  comrades  on  every  occasion.  He 
took  part  in  the  battles  of  Shiloh,  Stone  River, 
Chickamauga,  Nashville,  Missionary  Ridge 
and  the  entire  Atlanta  campaign.  At  the  bat- 
tle of  Stone  River  he  was  captured  by  the  Con- 
federates but  was  paroled  six  months  after- 
ward and  later  rejoined  his  regiment. 

After  his  military  service  was  over,  Mr. 
Keller  returned  to  Crawford  county  and  em- 
barked in  the  mercantile  business  at  Sulphur 
Springs  in  which  he  has  been  engaged  ever 
since!  He  has  invested  in  village  property  and 
farm  land  in  the  vicinity  and  has  additional 
business  interests.  He  belongs  to  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  and  is  held  in  high  re- 
gard by  his  brother  veterans.  Mr.  Keller  is  a 
life  member  of  the  Reformed  church. 

WESLEY  BEAL,  a  substantial  citizen  of' 
Crawford  county,  O.,  proprietor  of  a  produc- 
tive farm  near  Bucyrus,  is  president  of  the 
Crawford  County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany and  is  active  in  all  public  spirited  move- 
ments in  his  section.  He  belongs  to  a  very 
highly  regarded  old  family  of  this  part  of 
Ohio,  one  that  has  many  representatives.  He 
was  born  in  Bucyrus  township,  Crawford 
county,  March  10,  1865,  and  is  a  son  of  Ben- 
jamin and  a  grandson  of  John  George,  and  a 
great-grandson  of  John  George  Beal. 

Benjamin  Beal  was  born  in  Lycoming 
county.  Pa.,  in  1840,  and  in  1843  accompanied 
the  family  to  Crawford  county,  where  he  was 
reared  and  attended  school  to  such  good  pur- 
pose that  he  was  a  satisfactory  teacher  in  early 
manhood,  afterward  becoming  a  farmer  and 
when  he  moved  to  Bucyrus,  in  1889,  in  order 
to  give  his  children  better  educational  oppor- 
tunities, he  was  the  owner  of  two  valuable 
farms.  Here  he  shortly  afterward  became  sec- 
retary of  the  Crawford  County  Mutual  Fire 
Insurance  company,  an  office  he  retained  until 
the  close  of  his  life,  in  1898.  He  was  a  Re- 
publican in  politics  and  was  interested  in  the 
election  of  suitable  men  to  office  but  he  never 
countenanced  irregular  methods  in  that  con- 
nection nor  in  any  other.  He  was  known  as  an 
honest  and  upright  man.  He  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  Bucyrus  Grange,  No.  705,  and 
was  master  and  secretary  for  some  years,  and 
was  identified  also  with  the  Masons  and  the 
order  of  the  Eastern  Star.    In  early  life  he  wa-s 


PHILIP  CRAMER 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


917 


a  member  of  the  German  Methodist  church  but 
at  the  time  of  death  and  some  years  before,  he 
was  united  with  the  EngHsh  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  and  was  an  official.  He  was  also 
secretary  of  the  Crawford  County  Agricultural 
Society  for  many  years. 

Benjamin  Beal  was  married  first  in  Bucyrus 
township,  Crawford  county,  to  Mary  Stoltz, 
who  was  born  in  Whetstone  township,  her  peo- 
ple having  come  to  this  county  from  Pennsyl- 
vania three  generations  ago.  She  died  in  iS68, 
and  in  1870  Mr.  Beal  was  married  to  Lydia  A. 
Rexroth,  who  died  in  1889,  the  mother  of  eight 
children,  the  following  of  whom  survive :  Ben- 
jamin, Jr.,  who  lives  in  Bucyrus  township  and 
has  three  childreh;  Mary  A.,  a  graduate  of  the 
Delaware  University,  who  is  the  wife  of  Rev. 
Thomas  Housel,  a  minister  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  at  DelaA\are  and  has  two 
children;  Edward  G.,  a  graduate  of  the  law 
department  in  the  Delaware  University,  who  is 
cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank  at  Bucyrus, 
and  who  married  Rachel  Monnett;  William  D., 
who  has  but  recently  returned  from  a  mission- 
ary labor  of  seven  years  in  India,  being  a 
Methodist  minister  and. who  married  a  daugh- 
ter of  Bishop  Robinson,  a  missionary  of  the 
Methodist  church  in  India;  and  Bertha  E.,  who 
is  a  graduate  of  the  Delaware  University  and 
later  a  teacher  in  the  Bucyrus  High  School. 
To  the  first  marriage  of  Mr.  Beal  three  chil- 
dren were  born:  Albertj  Wesley  and  Emma. 
The  eldest  son  died  in  1908.  He  was  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University  at  Del- 
aware and  then  spent  four  years  in  the  Boston 
Theological  Seminary  and  subsequently  served 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  as  a  minister 
for  eight  years  in  Massachusetts  and  then  was 
transferred  to  Ohio  and  continued  in  his  relig- 
ious, work  until  his  death.  He  married  Mary 
McCully,  who  survives  and  resides  with  her 
father  at  Crestline, 'and  has  one  daughter,  Bea- 
trice. Emma,  the  only  daughter,  is  the  wife  of 
Charles  E.  Ensminger  and  they  live  on  the  old 
Beal  homestead.  Their  children  are  Gertrude, 
Arthur  and  Edgar. 

Wesley  Beal,  after  completing  his  education, 
turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
In  1903  he  purchased  one  of  the  Beal  farms 
and  since  then  has  carried  on  farming  and 
stock  raising.  For  a  number  of  years  he  has 
been  a  director  of  the  Crawford- County  Mut- 


ual Fire  Insurance  company  and  since  igiohas 
been  its  president.  He  is  one  of  the  influential 
Republicans  of  the  county  and  is  a  man  of  high 
standing  in  business  and  politics,  as  well  as 
personally. 

In  1888  Mr.  Beal  was  married  in  Bucyrus 
township  to  Miss  Eva  Beall,  born  in  1868,  a 
daughter  of  James  P.  and  Mary  A.  (Keckler) 
Beall,  natives  of  Harrison  County,  O.  They 
came  to  Crawford  county  some  50  years  ago 
and  settled  in  Bucyrus  township,  where  he  be- 
came a  man  of  consequence.  He  died  in  1904 
and  was  survived  by  his  widow  until  191 1. 
They  were  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  Of  their  nine  children,  two  died 
in  infancy,  seven  grew  to  maturity  and  five  are 
yet  living.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beal  the  follow- 
ing children  have  been  born:  Ruth  M.,  Dorsey 
A.,  E.  Naomi  and  James  B.  The  family  as  a 
unit,  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 

PHILIP  CRAMER,  who  is  one  of  Craw- 
ford county's  (substantial  'citizens  '{and  well 
known  and  highly  respected  men,  resides  on 
one  of  his  seven  farms,  his  home  being  located 
in  section  6,  Auburn  township.  He  was  bom 
on  this  farm.  May  17,  1846,  a  son  of  Mathias 
and  Margaret  (Smith)  Cramer. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Cramer  were  born, 
reared  and  married  in  Germany.  When  they 
came  to  the  United  States  they  chose  Auburn 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  as  their  home 
and  here  Mathias  Cramer  secured  60  acres  of 
swamp  and  timber  land.  To  the  clearing  and 
subsequent  cultivating  of  this  land  he  devoted 
the  rest  of  his  life  and  through  his  industry 
made  it  into  a  farm  which  provided  well  for 
himself  and  family.  He  died  here  at  the  age 
of  56  years  and  his  burial,  as  also  that  of  his 
wife,  was  in  the  Catholic  cemetery  at  New 
Washington.  Both  were  devoted  members  of 
the  Catholic  church.  In  Germany  three  chil- 
dren had  been  born  to  them:  Christina,  and 
two  babes  that  died  in  infancy,  and  two  more 
were  born  after  coming  to  America :  Mrs. 
Catherine  Felter,  who  lives  in  Huron  county, 
O. ;  and  Philip,  our  subject. 

Philip  Cramer  was  only  nine  years  old  when 
his  father  died  and  afterward,  for  four  years, 
he  lived  with  his  uncle,  Peter  Yocum,  at  New 
Washington,  and  then  worked  on  farms  for 


918 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


eleven  years,  following  which  he  bought  an 
old  saw  mill  in  Cranberry  township.  He  then 
invested  in  a  horse-power  threshing  machine, 
which  he  operated  for  three  years  and  then 
bought  a  steam  thresher  and  operated  that 
through  the  county  for  five  years.  Mr. 
Cramer  continued  to  be  enterprising,  watching 
for  business  opportunities  and  then  taking 
them.  For  14  years  he  engaged  in  grain  buy- 
ing at  North  Auburn  and  for  ten  years  has 
been  a  buyer  of  stock  and  a  raiser  of  high 
grade  stock  and  cattle.  For  several  years 
after  the  death  of  his  parents,  the  home  farm 
was  rented  out  but  Mr.  Cramer  always  wanted 
to  make  it  his  permanent  home  and  when  the 
chance  came,  be  bought  the  interests  of  the 
other  heirs  and  has  resided  here  ever  since. 
He  is  one  of  the  heavy  tax  payers  of  the 
county,  his  seven  farms  aggregating  1,017 
acres,  situated  in  both  Cranberry  and  Auburn 
townships. 

Mr.  Cramer  married  Miss  Anna  Hetzer,  a 
daughter  of  Anthony  Hetzer,  and  they  have 
the  following  children:  Andrew,  Henry,  Ed- 
ward, Emma,  John,  Nora,  Jacob,  Frank,  and 
Fred,  and  Philip,  who  is  deceased.  Mr.  Cra- 
mer and  family  belong  to  St.  Mary's  Catholic 
church.  He  has  been  almost  a  lifelong  Dem- 
ocrat but  has  not  been  a  seeker  for  office,  his 
many  business  interests  sufficiently  occupying 
his  attention.  He  has  built  seven  large  barns, 
one  on  each  farm,  two  fine  residences,  and  has 
also  built  the  elevator  and  two  good  store 
rooms  at  North  Auburn,  besides  other  neces- 
sary farm  buildings.  AH  the  farms  were 
without  buildings  and  fences  when  he  bought 
them. 

G.  W.  GRAUER,  farmer  and  stock  raiser, 
is  one  of  the  leading  agriculturists  and  sub- 
stantial men  of  Holmes  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.  He  resides  just  north  of  Bucyrus, 
on  the  old  family  homestead  of  72  acres  and 
owns  an  adjacent  farm,  all  told  103  acres  of 
valuable  farming  land.  He  was  born  on  this 
place  in  1866  and  is  a  son  of  J.  George  and 
Mary  (Armburster)  Grauer. 

J.  George  Grauer  and  his  wife  were  both 
born  in  Germany  and  she  came  to  America  in 
1847  and  he  in  the  fifties.  Mr.  Grauer  ac- 
quired the  farm  that  has  ever  since  been  in  the 
family  and  erected  the  buildings  and  cleared 


it,  spending  the  rest  of  his  life  on  the  place,  an 
honest,  respected,  hard-working  man.  He 
died  here  in  1882,  when  aged  56  years.  His 
widow  still  survives  and  although  in  her  80th 
year,  is  active  in  both  mind  and  body.  They 
had  the  following  children :  Rickey,  who  is  the 
wife  of  John  A.  Knipp  and  lives  in  Henry 
county;  Christian,  who  lives  in  Colorado; 
Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Geiger;  G. 
W. ;  and  an  infant,  deceased. 

After  his  period  of  school  attendance  was 
over,  G.  W.  Grauer  took  upon  himself  the 
responsibilities  which  he  has  carried  ever  since, 
the  management,  care  and  development  of  his 
property.  The  improvements  he  has  made 
here  are  sensible  and  substantial  and  evidences 
of  thrift  are  seen  in  every  direction. 

Mr.  Grauer  married  Miss  Emma  Nagel, 
who  is  a  daughter  of  John  A.  Nagel,  who  is  a 
resident  of  Bellevue,  O.,  and  they  have  five 
children,  namely:  Filmore,  Carl,  Lawrence, 
George  and  Thelma.  Mr.  Grauer  and  family 
attend  the  German  Lutheran  church  at  Bucy- 
rus.   In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 

GEORGE  F.  LAYER,  a  leading  citizen  of 
Liberty  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  a 
representative  of  one  of  the  oldest  families,  re- 
sides on  his  farm  of  220  acres,  which  is  sit- 
uated eight  and  one-half  miles  northeast  of 
Bucyrus  and  two  miles  northwest  of  Sulphur 
Springs,  O.  He  was  born  in  Michigan  and  is 
a  son  of  John  A.  Layer. 

John  A.  Layer  was  born  in  Wittenberg,  Ger- 
many, and  was  four  years  old  when  his  par- 
ents brought  him  to  America.  They  located  in 
Liberty  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  and 
there  he  was  reared  and  remained  on  the  home 
place  until  he  married,  when  he  moved  to 
Michigan  and  lived  there  until  after  the  birth 
of  his  son,  George  F.,  when  he  returned  to 
Liberty  township.  He  had  the  following  chil- 
dren :  Elizabeth,  Louisa,  George  F.,  Frank  E., 
and  one  who  died  in  infancy. 

George  F.  Layer  was  yet  a  child  when  his 
parents  returned  to  Liberty  township  and  he 
remained  on  the  home  farm  until  he  was  26 
years  of  age,  when  he  married  and  bought  70 
acres  of  the  homestead.  After  the  death  of 
his  mother  he  returned  to  the  old  home,  bought 
the  remainder  of  the  land  and  his-'father  died 
here.    Mr.  Layer  has  one  of  the  best  improved 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


919 


farms  in  this  part  of  Crawford  county  and 
manages  his  land  according  to  modern  ideas. 
His  handsome  residence  is  equipped  with  city 
conveniences,  having  a  complete  water  system 
and  an  acetylene  plant  for  lighting,  and.  other 
buildings  of  substantial  construction. 

In  1 89 1  Mr.  Layer  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Emma  Ulmer,  a  daughter  of 
Gottlieb  Ulmer,  a  native  of  Germany,  and  they 
have  three  children :  Florence,  Harvey  and 
Frederick.  Mr.  Layer  and  family  are  mem- 
bers of  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  church.  In  politics 
Mr.  Layer  is  a  Democrat  but  he  has  never  ac- 
cepted any  public  office  other  than  membership 
on  the  school  board. 

CHARLES  HENKEL,*  who,  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  has  been  an  engineer  with  the 
Erie  Railway  company,  with  home  at  Gallon, 
O.,  was  born  March  4,  1853,  at  Brooklyn,  N. 
Y.,  and  is  a  son  of  Conrad  and  Elizabeth 
Henkel. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Henkel  were  born  in 
Hesse-Darmstadt,  Germany,  and  came  from 
there  in  1850  to  the  United  States  and  located 
at  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  where  the  father  died  in 
July,  1853,  aged  about  40  years.  In  ,1866  the 
mother  and  children  came  to  Gallon,  O.,  and 
here  she  survived  until  in  her  78th  year.  Both 
parents  were  members  of  the  German  Luth- 
eran church.  Of  their  children  there  are  four 
survivors,  namely:  Conrad;  John,  who  is  in 
the  butchering  business  at  Troy,  O.,  who  is  a 
widower  with  four  children;  Elizabeth,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Tobias  Mockel;  and  Charles,  who 
was  but  four  months  old  when  his  father  died. 

Charles  Henkel  is  a  self  made  man,  having 
to  contend  with  many  difficulties  in  boyhood 
and  youth,  incident  to  the  early  death  of  his 
father  and  the  establishing  of  the  family  in  a 
strange  city  and  country.  After  his  school 
days  were  over  he  applied  for  and  secured 
work  with  the  Erie  Railway  company  and  his 
faithfulness  and  industry  were  rewarded  by 
promotion  from  time  to  time,  and  in  1887  he 
became  freight  engineer  on  the  Fourth  Divis- 
ion running  between  Gallon  and  Dayton,  O. 
Mr.  Henkel  has  met  with  few  accidents,  being 
judicious  and  careful  and  never  taking  chances, 
and  enjoys  the  full  confidence  of  his  employers 
and  the  respect  and  esteem  of  his  comrades. 
He  is  popular  with  the  latter  and  is  a  member 


of  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers. 

Mr.  HenKel  was  married  at  Gallon,  to  Miss 
Amanda  Huffman,  who  was  born  in  Morrow 
county,  O.,  in  i8t)i,  a  daughter  of  Michael  and 
Susanna  (Bortner)  Huffman.  The  parents  of 
Mrs.  Henkel  were  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
came  to  Ohio  in  early  married  life,  where  the 
father  preempted  160  acres  of  land,  in  Morrow 
county.  That  was  the  family  homestead  and 
there  the  father  died  when  aged  81  years  and 
the  mother  in  her  79th  year.  They  were  kind, 
good  people  and  were  faithful  members  of  the 
English  Lutheran  church. 

Three  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Henkel :  Carrie,  born  in  1882,  who  mar- 
ried Jesse  Reinhart,  a  farmer  near  Gallon ;  El- 
mer, who  follows  the  trade  of  carriage  trim- 
mer at  Gallon,  and  who  married  Gertrude 
Eichman;  and  Allen,  who  is  a  sailor  in  the  U. 
S.  Navy  and  is  now  located  at  the  Brooklyn 
Navy  Yard,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Henkel  are  members  of  the  English  Lutheran 
church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  Some 
years  since  Mr.  Henkel  built  his  handsome  res- 
idence at  No.  563  Boston  street.  Gallon. 

EMANUEL  JOHNSON,  a  leading  citizen 
of  Holmes  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
serving  in  the  office  of  township  treasurer,  is 
owner  and  proprietor  of  Fairview  farm,  a 
valuable  tract  of  60  acres  which  lies  four  miles 
northwest  of  Bucyrus,  O.  He  was  born  in 
Fulton  county,.  Pa.,  in  1851,  and  is  a  son  of 
David  and  Susanna  (Masters)  Johnson. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Johnson  were  both  born 
in  Pennsylvania,  the  father  in  Fulton  county 
and  the  mother  in  Franklin  county  and  both 
died  in  Fulton  county  when  aged  about  80 
years.  They  had  a  family  of  12  children,  as 
follows:  Martin,  who  is  deceased;  John  F., 
who  still  lives  in  Pennsylvania;  Mary  and 
Luther,  both  of  whom  are  deceased ;  Emanuel ; 
Daniel  M.,  who  lives  south  of  Bucyrus ;  Jennie, 
who  is  deceased;  Ruhammah;  Gilbert,  who 
lives  at  Joliet,  111. ;  Joseph,  who  is  a  resident  of 
North  Ohio;  Albert  L.,  who  lives  at  Williams- 
port,  Md. ;  and  Edward,  who  is  a  resident  of 
Shelby,  O. 

Emanuel  Johnson  attended  the  public  schools 
in  youth,  afterward  taught  school  for  two 
years  and  assisted  on  the  home  farm.  In  1882 
he    came    to    Holmes    township,    Crawford 


920 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


county  and  has  resided  here  ever  since,  in  1900 
purchasing  his  present  farm  on  which  he  car- 
ries on  progressive  farming  and  raises  fine 
stock.  The  improvements  have  been  placed 
here  since  he  took  charge  and  these  include  the 
comfortable  residence. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  married  to  Miss  Hetty  D. 
Hiteshew,  who  was  born  in  Maryland,  and 
three  children  were  born  to  them:  Millard, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  five  years ;  Beulah,  who 
is  the  wife  of  D.  E.  Downing  of  Holmes 
township,  and  has  one  son,  Paul ;  and  Russell 
Sage,  who  assists  on  the  home  farm.  Politi- 
cally Mr.  Johnson  has  always  been  identified 
with  the  Democratic  party.  He  has  been  a 
useful  and  representative  citizen,  always  inter- 
ested in  public  matters  and  particularly  con- 
cerned in  the  advancement  of  the  public 
schools.  He  has  served  as  a  school  >  director 
and  at  present  is  township  treasurer.  Mr. 
Johnson  and  family  belong  to  the  Evangelical 
church  in  Holmes  township. 

CHARLES  M.  SHEEHE,  conductor  on 
the  Cincinnati  East,  the  Third  Division,  Erie 
railway,  has  been  identified  with  this  import- 
ant transportation  line  since  1890  and  is  num- 
bered with  its  most  valued  employes.  He  was 
born  at  Mingo,  Champaign  county,  C,  Feb. 
19,  1870,  and  is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Cathe- 
rine (McGraw)  Sheehe. 

The  parents  of  Air.  Sheehe  were  born  in  Ire- 
land but  were  married  in  New  York  city,  he 
having  come  to  America  when  aged  about  20 
years  and  she  when  16  years  of  age.  A  few 
years  after  marriage  they  moved  to  Mingo,  O., 
where  Mr.  Sheehe  was  employed  in  railroad 
construction,  being  foreman  of  a  gang  of 
workmen,  and  there  he  died  in  1879,  when  in 
his  57th  year.  His  widow  survived  until  April 
29,  191 1,  being  then  74  years  of  age.  They 
were  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
Their  family  colisisted  of  seven  sons  and  two 
daughters,  three  of  the  sons  and  one  of  the 
daughters  being  now  deceased.  Two  of  the 
sons  are  residents  of  Galion  and  railroad  men : 
Charles  M.  and  Henry,  the  latter  being  a 
brakeman  with  the  Erie  road. 

As  a  brakeman  with  the  road  he  still  serves, 
Charles  M.  Sheehe  entered  the  service  in  1890 
and  continued  in  that  position  until  1898,  when 
he  was  made  conductor  on  a  freight  train  with 


a  competent  crew  under  his  orders,  for  seven 
years  being  with  the  Cincinnati  West  Division 
and  since  then  with  the  Cincinnati  East.  He 
has  a  fine  record  as  to  carefulness  and  effi- 
ciency, never  having  had  any  serious  accidents, 
and  is  also  a  respected  citizen  of  Galion,  now 
his  home. 

At  Galion  Mr.  Sheehe  was  married  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Wildenthaler,  who  was  born  at  Ga- 
lion, Jan.  II,  1874,  where  she  was  educated  in 
St.  Joseph's  parochial  school.  Her  parents 
were  Andrew  and  Amanda  (Murray)  Wilden- 
thaler. After  Mr.  Wildenthaler  s  death,  the 
mother  subsequently  married  a  Mr.  Slabauch- 
and  both  are  now  deceased.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sheehe  the  following  children  have  been  born : 
Roy  L.,  who  is  a  brakeman  on  the  Erie  rail- 
road ;  Marie  C. ;  Charles  J.,  who  is  call  boy  at 
Galion  for  the  Erie;  George  H.  and  Floyd  P., 
both  of  whom  are  in  school ;  Dorothy  M.,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  eight  months;  and  Frank  A., 
John  E.  and  Jean  E.  Mr.  Sheehe  and  family 
are  members  of  St.  Joseph's  Roman  Catholic 
church.  He  is  identified  with  the  Brotherhood 
of  Railway  Trainmen  and  belongs  also  to  the 
Eagles,  Maccabees  and  Elks  and  has  served  of- 
ficially in  some  of  these  organizations.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 

WILLIAM  J.  WINANS,*  a  popular, 
trusted  and  esteemed  conductor  on  the  Erie 
railway,  with  home  at  Galion,  C,  was  born  in 
Douglas  township,  Effingham  county.  111.,  Oct. 
25,  1865.  Almost  from  boyhood  he  has  been 
connected  with  railway  life  and  for  a  number 
of  years  has  been  very  prominent  in  organized 
labor  circles. 

By  the  time  Mr.  Winans  was  12  years  old 
his  schooldays  were  over  and  he  was  practi- 
cally thrown  on  his  own  resources.  He  worked 
through  the  farming  sections  of  Illinois  until 
he  was  17  years  of  age  when  he  came  to  Ohio 
and  until  he  was  23  was  mainly  engaged  in 
farming  and  brick  making,  in  Richland  and 
Crawford  counties.  He  then  entered  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Erie  railroad  as  a  brakeman  and  by 
1896  had  reached  such  proficiency  that  he  was 
entrusted  with  a  freight  train  as  conductor  and 
as  such  has  watched  over  the  safe  transporta- 
tion of  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  commod- 
ities and  has  met  with  few  accidents.  He  has 
always  been  connected  with  the  Third  Divi- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


921 


sion,  which  is  also  known  as  the  Cincinnati 
East.  He  early  became  a  member  of  the  or- 
ganization kno\yn  as  the  railroad  trainmen  and 
since  1890  has  been  continuously  its  state  rep- 
resentative sent  again  and  again,  for  six 
successive  terms  as  a  delegate  to  the  state  leg- 
islature to  look  after  the  interests  of  all  rail- 
road employes  in  Ohio  and  he  has  been  faith- 
ful to  the  trust  reposed  in  him.  He  has  served 
on  the  city  council  at  Gallon  of  which  city  he 
has  been  a  resident  since  1889.  In  his  political 
affiliation  he  is  a  Democrat.  In  19 10  Mr. 
Winans  was  appointed  by  Governor  Harmon  a 
member  of  a  committee  to  draft  a  report  per- 
taining to  labor  compensation  and  in  the  sum- 
ming up,  Mr.  Winans  disagreed  with  the  other 
four  members  and  sent  in  a  minority  report 
and  when  the  bill  which  it  affected  was  passed 
and  became  a  law  it  was  seen  that  Mr.  Win- 
an's  report  presented  a  perfect  working  plan. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  State  Constitu- 
tional Convention  the  following  testimonial 
was  presented  to  Mr.  Winans  by  the  labor 
group  of  15  members  of  the  convention,  under 
date  of  May  23,  1912 : 

"We,  the  undersigned  members  of  organ- 
ized labor,  delegates  in  Ohio's  Fourth  Con- 
stitutional Convention  herewith  heartily  com- 
mend Mr.  W.  J.  Winans  for  his  efficient  and 
untiring  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  cause  of  labor 
as  presented  to  the  convention.  We  recog- 
nize that  labor  has  been  successful  in  having 
adopted  measures  which  will  give  the  people 
the  greatest  opportunity  for  progress  and  ad- 
vancement, and  we  submit  this  testimonial  to 
you  for  having  contributed  so  much  to  the 
passage  of  labor  measure.  The  labor  group 
in  the  convention  congratulated  the.  Brother- 
hood of  Railroad  Trainmen  in  having  a  rep- 
resentative who  has  faithfully  and  intelligently 
represented  them  at  the  convention.  This 
makes  a  new  era  in  the  advancement  for  the 
benefit  of  mankind."  This  document  bore  the 
signatures  of  the  fifteen  labor  delegates.  On 
the  day  following  the  receipt  of  the  above, 
Mr.  Winans  was  still  further  honored  by  the 
receipt  of  a  beautiful  fob  and  gold  watch 
charm,  suitably  engraved,  which  gift  was  espe- 
cially gratifying  at  this  time  as  indicative  of 
the  sincerity  of  its  donors. 

On  June  27,  1893,  Mr.  Winans  was  married 
at  Hamilton,  Canada,  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Mar- 

82 


latt,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  one  of  the 
towns  of  the  province  of  Ontario.  She  was 
born  Sept.  17,  1869,  and  died  at  Gallon,  O., 
May  9,  1909,  the  beloved  and  tender  mother 
of  three  children,  namely:  Hazel  E.,  who  was 
born  Feb.  28,  1895,  who  is  a  student  in  the 
Gallon  High  School;  Lawrence  J.,  who  was 
born  Dec.  8,  1897,  who  is  also  a  high  school 
student;  and  Bernice  J.,  who  died  when  aged 
ten  months  and  nine  days.  Mr.  Winans  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
to  which  his  wife  also  belonged,  and  the  chil- 
dren are  interested  in  Sunday-school  work. 

CARL  E.  COBB,  a  general  farmer  and  well 
known  resident  of  Liberty  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  was  born  in  1881  in  Liberty  town- 
ship and  is  a  member  of  one  of  the  old  Pio- 
neer families  of  Crawford  county,  residing  on 
the  farm  of  200  acres  which  his  grandfather 
entered  from  the  Government.  He  is  one  of 
three  heirs  to  this  property.  His  parents  were 
Charles  C.  and  Hannah  (Heckart)  Cobb. 

Charles  C.  Cobb  was  born  in  Ohio  and  was 
a  farmer  during  his  entire  mature  life.  He 
inherited  the  present  farm  from  his  father 
and  kept  it  intact  and  passed  it  on  to  his  chil- 
dren. It  is  a  fine  property  yet  undivided.  He 
married  Hannah  Heckart,  who  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  and  they  had  three  children : 
Ora  E.,  who  married  Philip  Russman  and  has 
four  children — Russell,  Pearl,  Cyril  and  Don- 
ald— and  resides  in  Whetstone  township;  Otis, 
who  resides  on  the  homestead  with  his  mother ; 
and  Carl  E.,  our  subject. 

Carl  E.  Cobb  attended  the  public  schools  and 
since  then  has  devoted  his  time  and  attention 
to  farm  pursuits.  He  owns  one-third  of  the 
undivided  estate.  The  heirs  have  made  num- 
erous improvements  on  this  property  and  have 
recently  completed  the  erection  of  a  substan- 
tial barn  and  are  carrying  out  their  agricul- 
tural operations  along  modern  and  progressive 
lines. 

On  Jan.  i,  1905,  Mr.  Cobb  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Elizabeth  C.  Sandham- 
mer,  a  member  of  an  old  family  of  this  sec- 
tion, one  of  three  children,  the  others  being: 
Maggie,  who  married  James  Maudsley  and  has 
had  five  children — Maud,  William,  Georgia, 
Joseph  and  an  infant,  deceased;  and  Ada, 
who  married  Harvey  Eaton,  residing  at  Bucy- 


922 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


rus,  and  has  two  children — ^Joseph  and  Melvin. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cobb  have  two  interesting  little 
sons:  Wallace  G.  and  Merril  W.  Mr.  Cobb 
votes  with  the  Republican  party  and  takes  a 
good  citizen's  interest  in  affairs  pertaining  to 
his  own  neighborhood. 

LEWIS  MILLER,  who  enjoys  the  distinc- 
tion of  being  the  oldest  teacher  now  living  in 
Crawford  county,  where  his  educational  work 
was  carried  on  for  a  number  of  years,  re- 
sides on  his  excellent  farm  of  i6o  acres,  sit- 
uated two  miles  northeast  of  Lemert,  O.  He 
was  born  in  1836,  in  Seneca  county,  C,  and 
is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Phebe  (Permington) 
Miller. 

Jacob  Miller  was  born  in  Fairfield  county, 
0.,  and  in  young  manhood  went  to  Seneca 
county  and  latter  came  to  Crawford  county. 
He  followed  farming  in  both  counties  and 
at  one  time  owned  almost  1,000  acres  of  land. 
His  death  occurred  in  his  82d  year.  He  mar- 
ried Phebe  Pennington  and  of  their  eight  chil- 
dren there  are  two  survivors :  Lewis  and 
Levi,  the  latter  being  a  resident  of  Benton,  O. 

Lewis  Miller  attended  school  in  boyhood 
in  both  Seneca  and  Crawford  counties  and 
afterward  taught  school  for  some  years  and 
there  are  many  yet  living  who  recall  him  as 
their  able  and  helpful  teacher.  For  four  years 
he  served  as  school  examiner,  has  been  a  school 
director  and  has  always  taken  much  interest 
in  the  public  schools.  After  coming  to  his 
present  farm  he  made  many  improvements 
and  erected  all  necessary  buildings  and  re- 
paired the  others.  He  still  keeps  up  his  in- 
terest in  his  farming  and  stock  raising  indus- 
tries and  has  the  assistance  of  his  son. 

Mr.  Miller  married  Miss  Crilley  A.  Hous- 
burg,  who  was  born  in  Crawford  county,  one 
mile  west  of  the  Miller  farm,  a  daughter  of 
Leonard  Housburg,  and  they  have  had  seven 
children,  namely :  Jesse,  who  married  Daisy 
Dewell,  and  has  one  son,  Wesley ;  Mary  Effie, 
who  married  A.  Horton,  and  has  four  chil- 
dren— Oscar,  Donald,  William  and  Nellie; 
Ira  J.,  who  assists  in  the  management  of  the 
home  farm;  Ruphena,  who  is  the  wife  of  J. 
Heinle;  Arietta  and  Lawrence,  both  of  whom 
live  at  home ;  and  a  babe  that  died.  In  politics 
Mr.  Miller  is  a  stanch  Democrat  and  has 
served  in  public  office  at  times  and  formerly 


was  township  clerk.    He  is  one  of  the  coanty's 
most  highly  respected  citizens. 

ALLEN  W.  OCKER,*  who  is  connected 
with  the  E.  M.  Freese  Works,  at  Gallon,  in 
the  capacity  of  blacksmith,  a  skilled  man  along 
this  line  and  one  of  large  experience,  was 
born  in  Richland  county,  O.,  Nov.  16,  1859, 
a  son  of  Josiah  and  Mary  A.  (Winters) 
Ocker. 

Josiah  Ocker  and  wife  were  born  in  Mary- 
land and  after  marriage  moved  from  Carroll 
county  in  that  state  to  Troy  township,  Rich- 
land county,  O.,  where  the  mother  of  Allen 
W.  Ocker  died  when  he  was  12  days  old.  The 
father  contracted  a  second  marriage  and  one 
son,  also  was  born  to  that  union.  The  father 
died  at  the  home  of  his  son,  Allen  W.,  in  191 1, 
when  aged  almost  78  years. 

Allen  W.  Ocker  remained  in  Richland 
county  and  obtained  his  education  in  Troy 
township,  in  1876  coming  to  Gallon,  where  he 
learned  the  blacksmith  trade,  later  going  to 
Bucyrus  where  he  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Bucyrus  Steam  Shovel  and  Dredge  Company 
and  remained  with  that  concern  for  12  years. 
On  Jan.  12,  1894,  he  came  to  Gallon  and  ac- 
cepted a  position  with  the  firm  of  E.  M.  Freese 
&  Co.  Mr.  Ocker  is  a  skilled  workman  along 
the  line  of  machine  blacksmithing  and  tool 
making. 

Mr.  Ocker  was  married  in  Crawford  county 
in  1888,  to  Miss  Carrie  Berger,  who  is  a  sis- 
ter of  Mrs.  E.  M.  Freese.  Mrs.  Ocker  was 
born  in  Switzerland  and  came  to  the  United 
States  with  her  parents  when  ten  years  of 
age.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ocker  three  children 
have  been  born,  namely:  Earl  J.,  who  grad- 
uated from  the  Gallon  High  School  in  the 
class  of  1909,  who  is  a  pattern  maker;  Olive 
B.  and  Howard  L.  Mr.  Ocker  and  family 
are  members  of  the  First  Reformed  church. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  fraternally 
he  is  identified  with  Gallon  Lodge  No.  15, 
Odd  Fellows. 

MRS.  LIZZIE  HIEBER,  who  resides  on 
her  well  cultivated  farm  of  140  acres,  situated 
in  Liberty  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  be- 
longs to  one  of  the  old  and  substantial  fam- 
ilies of  this  section,  the  Scheibers,  and  is  the 
widow  of  the  late  John  G.  Hieber,  for  many 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


923 


years  an  esteemed  and  respected  resident  of 
this  section. 

John  G.  Hieber  was  born  in  Crawford 
county,  O.,  April  8,  1867,  and  died  on  the 
present  farm,  May  19,  1903.  He  was  a  son 
of  Christian  and  Christiana  (Wagner)  Hieber 
and  was  reared  on  his  father's  farm  and  ob- 
tained his  education  in  the  district  schools. 
He  was  a  man  of  industry  and  excellent  busi- 
ness judgment  and  was  very  successful  in  his 
agricultural  operations  and  wise  in  his  invest- 
ments. At  the  time  of  death  he  was  able  to 
leave  a  valuable  farm  and  other  property  to 
his  widow  and  three  children.  In  his  death  the 
community  lost  a  worthy  citizen  and  his  fam- 
ily a  kind,  loving  and  careful  protector,  and 
the  Lutheran  church  a  consistent  member. 

On  Dec.  31,  1891,  John  G.  Hieber  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Lizzie  Schieber, 
who  is  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Eva  (Mauer) 
Schieber,  and  a  granddaughter  of  Gottlieb  and 
Magdalena  Schieber.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hieber  the  following  children  were  born: 
Roy  Ellis,  who  was  educated  in  the  Bucyrus 
High  School  and  in  an  agricultural  college, 
operates  the  home  farm;  Milo  W.,  who  is  a 
student  in  the  Bucyrus  High  School;  Grace 
Elizabeth,  who  resides  at  home;  and  Mary 
E.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  13  months.  Mrs. 
Hieber  and  family  are  members  of  the  Luth- 
eran church. 

ANDREW  W.  DENZER,  who  is  a  mem- 
ber of  one  of  the  old  and  substantial  families 
of  Tod  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  lives 
on  his  well  improved  farm  of  100  acres  ly- 
ing one  and  one-half  miles  northeast  of  Oce- 
ola,  O.,  was  born  in  Bucyrus  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  three  and  one-half  miles  from 
the  city  of  Bucyrus,  on  July  8,  1853.  His  par- 
ents were  Jacob  and  Matilda  (McNeal) 
Denzer. 

Jacob  Denzer  was  born  in  Germany  and 
was  13  years  old  when  his  parents  brought 
Him  to  the  United  States.  For  several  years 
he  lived  at  Tiffin,  O.,  and  then  came  to  near 
Bucyrus  and  for  several  more  years  worked 
for  farmers  in  that  neighborhood.  After  his 
marriage  he  secured  some  land  through  his 
own  labor  and  to  the  original  purchase  kept 
on  adding,  through  his  industry  and  prudence, 
imtil  he  owned  500  acres  and  at  the  time  of 


his  death  was  one  of  the  largest  land  owners 
in  this  section  of  the  county.  He  lived  to  the 
age  of  81  years  and  was  widely  known  and 
much  respected.  His  death  occurred  on  the 
farm  on  which  his  son,  Andrew  W.  was 
reared.  He  married  Matilda  McNeal,  who 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  probably  of  Scotch 
parents,  and  was  a  child  when  she  came  to 
Ohio.  Of  the  13  children  born  to  Jacob  Den- 
zer and  his  wife,  ten  are  yet  living. 

Andrew  W.  Denzer  went  to  the  district 
schools  in  his  boyhood  and  afterward 
gave  his  father  assistance  on  the  home 
farm  in  Bucyrus  township  In  1882  he 
purchased  the  farm  on  which  he  has  lived 
ever  since.  It  is  well  cared  for  and  finely  im- 
proved and  Mr.  Denzer  put  up  all  the  sub- 
stantial buildings  except  the  residence,  which 
he  remodeled  and  made  entirely  comfortable. 
The  property  is  very  valuable  and  Mr.  Denzer 
is  a  thoroughgoing  and  successful  farmer. 

Mr.  Denzer  married  Miss  Mary  Jane  ShroU, 
who  was  born  in  Bucyrus  township  and  is  a 
daughter  of  Samuel  Shroll,  who  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  here.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Denzer 
have  had  seven  children,  as  follows :  Violet, 
who  is  the  wife  of  William  Flocken,  and 
has  two  children — Corinne  and  Donald;  Wal- 
don,  who  is  engaged  in  farming  one  mile  west 
of  his  father,  and  who  married  Hazel  Young 
and  has  one  son,  Sherman  A. ;  Willis,  who  is 
his  father's  capable  assistant;  Delia  and  Hul- 
dah ;  Ethel,  who  died  at  the  age  of  eight  years ; 
and  an  infant,  deceased.  Mr.  Denzer  has  al- 
ways voted  the  Democratic  ticket.  On  sev- 
eral occasions  he  has  served  in  local  offices 
with  efficiency  and  has  been  school  director 
and  turnpike  road  commissioner. 

LEWIS  DAY  PICKERING,*  proprietor 
of  one  of  the  important  and  well  established 
business  houses  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  dealing  in  a 
full  line  of  agricultural  implements  and  car- 
riages and  wagons,  at  No.  321  North  San- 
dusky Avenue,  is  a  native  of  Bucyrus,  born 
here  36  years  ago,  and  has  been  more  or  less 
directly  connected  with  city  interests  all  his 
life.  His  parents  were  William  W.  and 
Martha  J.  (Phelps)  Pickering. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Pickering  was  born  in 
England  and  came  to  America  when  a  young 
man,  while  the  mother,  born  in  Carroll  county. 


924 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


O.,  was  of  direct  English  ancestry.  They 
came  to  Bucyrus  after  the  birth  of  their  eld- 
est child  and  spent  the  rest  of  their  lives  here, 
the  mother  dying  when  agfed  45  years  and 
the  father  surviving  her  four  years,  passing 
away  in  1882.  They  were  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church.  The  father  owned  farm 
land  near  Bucyrus  but  his  main  business  was 
that  of  stock  drover,  in  which  he  made  many 
long  trips  over  the  mountains  to  eastern  mar- 
kets. There  were  ten  children  in  the  family, 
five  sons  and  five  daughters,  and  the  following 
survive :  Emma,  who  is  the  wife  of  John 
Dodge,  of  Haverhill,  Mass.,  and  has  one  son 
and  two  daughters ;  Joseph  M.,  who  is  a  farmer 
residing  in  Michigan;  Grove  L.,  who  is  a 
farmer  in  Henry  county,  O. ;  Edward  C,  who 
lives  at  New  Comerstown,  C,  a  machinist, 
who  has  wife  and  two  daughters ;  Lewis  Day, 
our  subject;  Lula  A.,  twin  sister  of  Lewis 
Day,  who  married  Charles  Young  and  lives 
at  Winchester,  Mass. ;  Mary,  who  is  the  wife 
of  S.  Larkins,  and  who  resides  at  Alliance,  0., 
and  has  one  daughter.  The  names  of  those 
deceased  were :  Charles  C,  who  died  in  1910, 
at  Chicago,  and  is  survived  by  a  widow  and 
four  children;  Caroline,  who  died  young;  and 
Gertrude,  who  is  survived  by  her  husband,  J. 
C.  Brinkman. 

Lewis  Day  Pickering  was  left  an  orphan 
when  eight  years  old  and  motherless  when 
only  four  years  of  age.  He  grew  up  partly 
on  the  farm  and  partly  in  the  city  and  was 
educated  here  in  the  public  schools.  Since 
1897  he  has  been  proprietor  of  his  present  busi- 
ness, one  that  was  established  many  years 
earlier  by  W.  N.  Koons,  who  was  succeeded 
by  J.  M.  Pickering,  a  brother  to  the  present 
owner.  Mr.  Pickering  has  a  first  class  estab- 
lishment and  while  his  stock  is  very  large  and 
complete  in  every  line,  he  carries  only  the  best 
goods.  He  takes  pride  in  his  business  reputa- 
tion for  reliability  and  his  methods  have  made 
him  a  popular  merchant  with  the  class  from 
whom  his  patronage  comes.  Politically  he  is 
a  Republican  but  is  active  in  politics  only  to 
the  extent  of  good  citizenship.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  United  Commercial  Travellers'  As- 
sociation.    Mr.  Pickering  is  unmarried. 

JOHN  WESLEY  KRAUTER,  one  of  the 
representative  men  of  Liberty  township,  Craw- 


ford county,  O.,  resides  on  his  excellent  farm 
of  80  acres,  which  he  devotes  to  general  agri- 
culture. He  was  born  in  Liberty  township,  Dec. 
14,  1 87 1,  and  is  a  son  of  John  C.  and  Cathe- 
rine (Gebhardt)  Krauter. 

John  C.  Krauter  was  born  in  Germany  and 
his  parents  were  John  and  Catherine  Krauter. 
For  some  years  he  has  been  a  successful 
farmer  and  stock  raiser  in  Holmes  township, 
where  he  still  resides.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  politics  and  is  well  known  over  Crawford 
county.  Mr.  Krauter  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  married 
Catherine  Gebhardt,  who  was  born  in  Ohio 
and  died  July  4,  1906,  her  burial  being  in 
beautiful  Oak  wood  Cemetery  at  Bucyrus. 
To  this  marriage  the  following  children  were 
born:  Susan,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  K. 
Leimenstoll;  Dora,  who  is  the  wife  of  Amos 
Lust;  William  E. ;  Lydia;  Alma,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Herman  Portman;  Caroline;  Harry 
and  John  Wesley. 

John  Wesley  Krauter  attended  the  public 
schools  and  afterward  assisted  his  father  un- 
til his  25th  year  when  he  rented  .the  home- 
stead for  a  period  of  seven  years  and  at  the 
end  of  that  time  purchased  his  present  farm. 
It  is  a  fine  property  situated  three- fourth 
miles  east  of  the  Columbus  turnpike  road  and 
is  still  known  as  the  old  Gottlieb  Krauter  home- 
stead. Mr.  Krauter's  activities  include  farm- 
ing and  stock  raising  and  he  is  numbered  with 
the  prosperous  agriculturists  of  this  section. 

Mr.  Krauter  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah 
Leimenstoll,  who  was  born  in  Crawford  county 
and  is  a  daughter  of  the  late  Henry  and  So- 
phia Leimenstoll,  former  residents  of  Chat- 
field  township,  who  lived  and  died  there  and 
were  buried  in  the  Lust  Cemetery.  They  had 
the  following  children:  Mary,  who  is  de- 
ceased, was  the  wife  of  Henry  Geissman; 
Christian;  Sophia,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Geissman;  John;  Jacob;  and  Sarah,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Mr.  Krauter. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Krauter  three  children 
have  been  born,  namely:  John  Wesley  Paul, 
Carl  Edwin  and  Arthur  Harvey,  the  last 
named  dying  in  infancy.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Krauter  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  and  they  take  much  interest  in 
the  work  of  the  Sunday-school,  Mr.  Krauter 
serving  as  its  superintendent  for  a  number  of 


CHRISTIAN  S.  CRIM 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


927 


years.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  but  he 
has  never  been  willing  to  accept  the  responsi- 
bilities of  office,  with  the  exception  of  those  of 
township  trustee,  in  which  position  he  is  serv- 
ing very  acceptably  to  his  fellow  citizens. 

GEORGE  AURAND,  one  of  the  represen- 
tative agriculturists  of  Tod  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  who  owns  a  fine  farm  of  165 
acres,  situated  two  miles  north  of  Oceola,  O., 
was  born  two  miles  southeast  of  Bucyrus,  O., 
and  has  spent  his  life  in  his  native  state. 

After  his  school  period  was  over,  George 
Aurand,  in  1862,  came  to  his  present  farm 
where  he  has  remained  until  the  present.  He 
erected  the  comfortable  residence  here  and 
made  all  the  other  improvements,  having  com- 
pleted the  clearing  of  the  land.  He  operates 
all  of  his  165  acres  with  the  exception  of  25 
acres,  which  he  rents. 

Mr.  Aurand  married  Miss  Amanda  Mutch- 
ler  and  they  have  had  seven  children,  namely : 
Georgia,  deceased;  Albert,  who  died  young; 
Tillie,  who  is  the  wife  of  S.  Heft  and  has 
two  children — Russell  and  Laura ;  Stella,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Albert  Gingery  and  has  four 
children — Nora,  Willis,  Carl  and  Dorsey;  Ira 
B.,  who  died  when  aged  18  years;  Herbert  I., 
who  assists  his  father  on  the  farm  and  who 
married  Rosa  Laipply,  and  has  three  children 
— Ethel,  Wallace  and  George;  and  Esther, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Virgil  Starlin,  their  two 
children  dying  in  infancy.  Mr.  Aurand  is  a 
Methodist  in  religious  faith,  Mrs.  Aurand  be- 
longing to  the  U.  B.  church  at  Oceola.  Mr. 
Aurand  votes  with  the  Republican  party. 

CHRISTIAN  S.  CRIM,  deceased,  for 
many  years  was  a  prominent  business  man  of 
Galion  and  widely  known  in  banking  circles. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  First 
National  Bank,  its .  first  president  and  was 
continued  at  the  head  of  that  institution  for 
37  years,  its  prosperity  during  this  time  hav- 
ing largely  been  due  to  his  business  sagacity 
and  careful  and  conservative  banking  meth- 
ods. He  was  born  in  Lancaster  county.  Pa., 
in  1820,  and  died  at  Galion  in  September, 
1895.  His  parents  were  Jacob  and  Eliza 
(Smith)  Crim,  who  lived  and  died  in  Penn- 
sylvania, both  being  of  German  parentage. 

In  1839  Christian  S.  -Crim  left  his  father's 
farm  and  the  local  school.    He  made  his  way 


to  Lancaster,  O.,  and  engaged  in  merchandis- 
ing there,  later  at  Johnsville,  in  Morrow 
county,  and  in  185 1  reached  Galion.  Here, 
in  1854,  with  his  brother,  Levi  S.  Crim,  he 
went  into  the  dry  goods  business  and  remained 
a  resident  of  Galion  although  his  brother  sub- 
sequently went  to  Bucyrus  and  later  to  To- 
ledo. Christian  S.  Crim  decided  that  Galion, 
even  then,  offered  excellent  business  oppor- 
tunities and  he  quietly  kept  seeking  them  and 
built  up  a  large  trade  in  dry  goods.  Later  he 
built  the  first  grain  elevator  here  and  became 
a  factor  in  the  grain  trade  and  during  the 
Civil  War,  in  association  with  his  brother, 
they  handled  thousands  of  bushels  of  grain 
and  seed,  including  flax  seed.  They  also 
dealt  in  wool  and  in  horses  for  the  Govern- 
ment. Mr.  Crim  was  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Monroeville.  Dur- 
ing his  many  years  of  active  business  he  gained 
an  enviable  reputation,  for,  while  he  was 
credited  with  great  shrewdness,  he  was  known 
to  be  of  unquestioned  integrity.  His  judgment 
on  all  questions  was  so  invariably  correct  that 
it  was  frequently  sought  and  followed.  He 
believed  in  political  parties  and  was  a  strong 
Republican  but  business  always  interested  him 
to  such  an  extent  that  no  time  was  left  for 
acceptance  of  political  positions. 

Mr.  Crim  was  married  at  Galion,  O.,  to 
Miss  Martha  Rosianna  Casner,  who  was  born 
in  1 84 1,  in  Juniata  county.  Pa.,  and  was  four 
years  old  when  her  parents,  Thomas  and 
Sarah  (Steese)  Casner,  came  to  Galion. 
Later  they  moved  to  Missouri  and  Mr.  Casner 
served  in  a  Missouri  regiment  in  the  Federal 
Army  until  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  sev- 
eral times  being  wounded  and  probably  on 
this  'account  his  life  did  not  extend  much 
longer.  His  widow,  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Crim, 
died  in  the  same  year,  three  sons  and  two 
daughters  thus  becoming  orphans.  Mrs. 
Crim  and  two  brothers  are  the  sole  survivors. 
Four  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Crim:  Olie,  Ella,  Charles  and  Henry.  Mrs. 
Crim  is  an  unusually  capable  business  woman 
as  well  as  one  deeply  interested  in  benevolent, 
philanthropic  and  educational  movements. 
For  eight  years  she  was  vice  president  of  the 
First  National  Bank  and  since  her  husband's 
death  has  continued  a  member  of  the  board 
of  directors.  She  was  the  moving  spirit  in  th6 
organization   of   the   Galion   Public   Library, 


928 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


which  was  incorporated  March  26,  1901. 
This  community  has  much  reason  to  be  grate- 
ful to  Mrs.  Grim  in  this  connection.  She  was 
a  member  and  chairman  of  the  library  board 
and  largely  through  her  efforts  it  was  made 
possible  to  accept  Mr.  Carnegie's  gift  of 
$15,000  and  in  1902  the  beautiful  and  appro- 
priate library  building  was  completed.  She 
was  the  organizer  of  the  Current  News  Club, 
the  first  literary  society  in  this  city  and  has 
been  its  president.  Her  enthusiasm  and  help- 
fulness have  been  potent  in  the  founding  of 
other  organization  designed  for  a  better  social 
order  and  her  charities  have  been  generously 
bestowed  but  are  never  exploited. 

CHARLES  F.  BONEBRAKE,*  manufac- 
turer of  all  kinds  of  cement  supplies,  doing 
an  extensive  business  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  where 
he  occupies  the  building  at  No.  210  Jones 
street,  and  who  also  takes  contracts  for  stone 
work  and  sidewalk  making  and  additionally 
has  been  in  the  plastering  business  for  some 
ten  years,  is  one  of  the  busy  and  representa- 
tive men  of  this  city.  He  is  a  native  of  Bucy- 
rus, born  Nov.  24,  1880,  and  is  a  son  of 
Samuel  F.  and  Catherine  (Schepp)  Bone- 
brake. 

Samuel  F.  Bonebrake  was  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  accompanied  his  parents  to 
Crawford  county  during  the  Civil  War.  He 
followed  the  plasterer's  trade  all  his  active 
life  and  both  he  and  wife  still  reside  at  Bucy- 
rus. She  was  bom  in  Ohio,  of  German  ex- 
traction. They  had  two  children :  Nellie,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  20  years,  and  Charles  F. 

Charles  F.  Bonebrake  obtained  his  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools  and  the  High 
School  at  Bucyrus,  after  which  he  worked 
with  his  father  for  a  number  of  years  be- 
fore beginning  business  for  himself.  He  has 
been  in  the  cement  business  for  15  years  and 
brought  to  this  city  the  first  cement  block  ma- 
chine ever  used  in  this  section.  Mr.  Bone- 
brake has  been  sole  proprietor  of  his  busi- 
ness for  two  years  and  has  been  at  his  pres- 
ent excellent  location  for  four  years,  where 
he  has  a  plant  fully  equipped  with  modern 
machinery  for  his  line  of  work.  He  turns 
out  both  plain  and  decorated  cement  blocks 
and  has  a  large  dryhouse  which  ensures  the 
proper  amount  of  drying  that  is  necessary  in 


order  to  make  his  product  perfect.  His  trade, 
as  yet,  is  largely  local  but  there  is  every  reason 
to  anticipate  that  it  will  not  continue  so,  each 
year  with  its  progressive  developments  open- 
ing up  wider  and  wider  fields  for  the  use  of 
cement,  and  Mr.  Bonebrake  possesses  the  en- 
terprise to  take  advantage  of  every  oppor- 
tunity. 

Mr.  Bonebrake  was  married  at  Bucyrus,  to 
Miss  Ida  Deppler,  who  was  born  in  Ohio,  Feb. 
4,  1880,  and  was  educated  in  her  native  state. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bonebrake  have  no  children. 
They  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Politically  he  is  a  Democrat  and  fraternally 
he  is  identified  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
the  Eagles  and  the  National  Union. 

AARON  NEFF,  whose  valuable  farm  of 
113  acres  lies  in  Liberty  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  four  miles  northeast  of  Bucyrus, 
is  a  member  of  one  of  the  old  county  fam- 
ilies and  was  born  in  Holmes  township,  Feb. 
21,  1873,  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Sophia  (Yeiter) 
Neff. 

Joseph  Neff  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
came  to  Crawford  county,  O.,  when  about  25 
years  old,  ever  afterward  residing  here  and 
becoming  a  successful  farmer  and  respected 
citizen.  He  was  married  in  early  manhood 
to  Sophia  Yeiter,  who  was  born  in  Liberty 
township,  Crawford  county,  and  the  follow- 
ing children  were  born  to  them:  Emanuel, 
who  resides  in  Sandusky  township,  and  who 
married  Sarah  Krauter  and  has  one  daugh- 
ter, Elsie;  Lizzie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Joseph 
Durr  and  lives  in  Liberty  township;  Amos, 
a  twin  of  our  subject,  who  is  a  resident  of 
Bucyrus,  and  who  married  Anna  Sheiber; 
Jacob,  a  farmer  in  Liberty  township,  who 
married  Ella,  daughter  of  Jacob  Sheiber; 
Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  Abraham  Sheiber 
and  resides  at  Bucyrus;  Tillie,  who  is  de- 
ceased; Emma,  who  is  the  wife  of  Albert 
Sheiber  and  lives  in  Holmes  township;  Joseph, 
a  farmer  in  Holmes  township,  who  married 
Myrtle  Sheiber;  and  Aaron,  the  subject  of  this 
article. 

Aaron  Neff  obtained  his  education  in  the 
schools  of  Holmes  township  and  with  the  ex- 
ception of  one  year  spent  in  the  West,  has  al- 
ways lived  in  Crawford  county.  On  his  well 
improved  farm  in  Liberty  township  he  car- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


929 


ries  on  general  farming  and  raises  some  ex- 
cellent stock  and  in  the  management  of  his 
different  industries  finds  enough  work  to  make 
him  a  very  busy  man. 

On  Feb.  ii,  1904,  Mr.  Neff  was  married 
to  Miss  Cora  Orewiler,  who  is  a  daughter  of 
Jacob  and  Jennie  (Steen)  Orewiler,  and  they 
have  two  children,  son  and  daughter;  Carol 
Irene  and  Forest  A.  Mrs.  Neff  has  one 
brother,  Harry  N.  Orewiler,  who  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Bucyrus.  In  politics  Mr.  Neff  is  a 
Republican.  He  is  a  wide  awake,  intelligent 
citizen  and  keeps  thoroughly  posted  on  public 
affairs  and  well  informed  concerning  agricul- 
tural matters. 

H.  A.  LEA,  who  is  a  leading  and  substan- 
tial citizen  of  Tod  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  and  a  member  of  one  of  the  oldest  county 
families,  resides  on  his  well  improved  farm  of 
80  acres,  and,  with  his  son,  Don  Lea,  owns 
and  operates  an  additional  100  acres,  the  first 
farm  being  situated  one  mile  west  of  Lemert, 
O.,  and  the  second  farm  north  of  the  town. 
Mr.  Lea  was  born  on  the  old  homestead  in 
Tod  township,  in  1848,  and  is  a  son  of 
Thomas  and  Polly  (Miller)  Lea  and  a  grand- 
son of  Zacheus  Lea. 

Zacheus  Lea  was  born  in  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
England,  and  was  20  years  old  when  he  came 
to  the  United  States  and  took  up  his  residence 
near  Jersey  Shore,  Pa.,  where  he  became  a 
farmer  and  large  land  owner.  He  married  a 
member  of  one  of  the  neighboring  German 
families  and  about  1832  they  came  to  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  where  he  purchased  a  farm 
for  each  of  his  children.  He  lived  to  the 
age  of  79  years. 

Thomas  Lea  was  born  in  Lycoming  county, 
Pa.,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  Crawford 
county.  He  cleared  and  improved  the  farm 
in  Tod  township  that  his  father  gave  him  and 
continued  to  reside  here  until  the  close  of  his 
life,  dying  at  the  age  of  62  years.  He  mar- 
ried Polly  Miller,  who  was  born  in  Union 
county,  Pa.,  and  was  ten  years  old  when  her 
parents  came  to  Crawford  county  and  her 
death  occurred  on  the  homestead,  in  her  51st 
year.  They  had  ten  children,  as  follows : 
Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Armstrong;  Mrs.  Amanda 
Pease  Cook,  who  is  deceased;  Jane,  who  died 
in  1869;  H.  A.,  our  subject;  Isaac,  a  resident 


of  Oceola,  who  is  pastor  of  the  United  Breth- 
ren church;  James,  who  died  in  1910,  who 
was  a  physician  and  for  27  years  a  minister 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church ;  Mrs.  Mar- 
tha Cook,  who  died  in  1879;  Adella,  who  died 
in  1887;  Mrs.  Carrie  Coon,  who  is  deceased; 
and  Lucy,  who  died  in  infancy. 

H.  A.  Lea  attended  school  at  Lemert  and 
at  Heidelberg  College  and  prepared  himself 
to  teach  school  and  for  the  greater  part  of  15 
years  was  engaged  in  educational  work,  mainly 
in  this  section  but  also  teaching  for  a  few 
terms  in  three  different  states.  From  1878 
until  1903  he  lived  on  his  present  place  and 
then  moved  to  Fostoria  in  order  to  give  his 
children  the  best  of  educational  advantages 
and  remained  in  that  city  for  seven  years. 
Afterward  he  resided  for  two  years  at  Syca- 
more and  then  returned  to  the  home  farm  and 
in  association  with  his  son  general  farming 
and  stock-raising  is  carried  on  by  them  on 
both  farms. 

Mr.  Lea  was  married  to  Miss  Josephine 
Eyestone,  who  is  a  daughter  of  George  Eye- 
stone,  who  was  a  pioneer  in  Wyandot  county, 
O.,  and  they  have  two  children:  Don  and 
Clara,  the  former  of  whom  is  in  business  with 
his  father  as  indicated  above,  and  the  latter, 
who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Fostoria  High  school, 
resides  with  her  parents.  Don  Lea  married 
Miss  Cora  Markley  and  they  have  children: 
Jessie,  Josephine,  Arlene,  Dorothy  and  Hattie. 
In  politics  Mr.  Lea  prefers  to  be  independent. 
Being  an  educated  and  well  informed  man, 
he  feels  that  he  can  take  a  broad-minded  view 
of  policies,  principles  and  platforms  for  him- 
self and  therefor  casts  his  vote  as  his  own 
judgment  suggests.  He  has  served  on  the 
school  board  and  for  ten,  years  did  serve  as 
township  trustee. 

GEORGE  M.  MARQUART,  who  carries 
on  farming  and  stock  raising  in  section  i, 
Cranberry  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
where  he  owns  149  acres  of  fine  land,  situated 
one  and  three-fourth  miles  north  of  New 
Washington,  O.,  was  born  and  has  always 
lived  on  this  farm. 

Mr.  Marquart  obtained  a  good,  common 
school  education  and  ever  since  has  devoted 
himself  closely  to  his  farm  and  stock  inter- 
ests, succeeding  his  father,  Michael  Marquart, 


930 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


on  the  place.  He  has  done  a  large  amount  of 
improving  and  has  a  set  of  substantial  build- 
ings and  much  of  his  land  is  tiled.  All  is  cul- 
tivated with  the  exception  of  22  acres  which 
are  still  in  timber.  Mr.  Marquart  grows 
grain,  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs,  raising  and  feed- 
ing many  of  the  latter. 

Mr.  Marquart  married  Miss  Caroline  A. 
Leonhart,  a  daughter  of  John  Leonhart,  and 
they  have  six  children,  all  of  whom  were  born 
on  this  farm.  The  three  older  ones,  Estella 
O.,  Edna  M.,  and  Lester  G.,  are  attending 
school  and  are  making  rapid  progress,  while 
the  three  younger  ones,  lona  May,  Ralph  E. 
and  Lloyd  C,  remain  at  home.  Mr.  Mar- 
quart and  family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church  and  he  assisted  in  the  building  of  the 
present  church  edifice.  He  has  always  given 
his  political  support  to  the  Democratic  party, 
and  has  taken  a  good  citizen's  interest  in  all 
local  matters. 

JEROME  BLAND,. M.  D.,  a  well  known 
and  highly  respected  resident  of  Bucyrus,  O., 
who  is  now  living  retired  from  the  active  prac- 
tice of  his  profession,  was  born  on  a  farm  in 
Muskingum  county,  O.,  July  22,  1840.  He 
was  the  eldest  of  the  family  of  ten  children 
— three  daughters  and  seven  sons — of  Ebe- 
nezer  and  Harriet  (Lane)  Bland.  At  an 
early  day  the  Blands  were  prominent  and  rep- 
resentative people  in  the  states  of  Virginia, 
Kentucky  and  Missouri,  a  conspicuous  figure 
in  the  last  named  state  being  Congressman 
"Silver  Dick"  Bland. 

John  Bland,  the  paternal  grandfather  of 
our  subject,  was  a  native  Virginian  and  of 
Virginian  parentage.  He  came  from  his  na- 
tive state  to  Ohio  as  early  as  1798,  settling 
in  Muskingum  county,  and  the  land  which  he 
obtained  by  patent  from  the  general  govern- 
ment is  still  in  possession  of  his  descendants, 
who  are  numerous  in  that  county.  The  maiden 
name  of  his  wife  is  not  now  recalled.  They 
established  a  good  homestead  and  both  died  at 
an  advanced  age. 

Ebenezer  Bland,  the  Doctor's  father,  was 
born  in  Muskingum  county,  O.,  in  181 1,  and 
died  on  his  substantial  farm  in  Muskingum 
county  in  1888.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Harriet  Lane 
Bland,  was  a  native  of  Maryland. 

Jerome  Bland,  our  direct  subject,  spent  the 


first  23  years  of  his  life  on  the  farm,  where 
he  learned  most  useful   lessons   of   industry 
and  perseverance,  which  have  been  character- 
istic of  his  entire  career.     At  the  age  of  19 
he  began  teaching  in  the  country  schools,  and, 
in  all,  he  taught  nine  winter  terms.     In  1862 
he   became  a  student  in  Denison  College  at 
Granville,  O.,  where  he  remained  until  1864, 
after  which  date  he  taught  several  terms  of 
school.    In  1864  he  began  the  study  of  medi- 
cine under  the  preceptorship  of  Dr.  Joseph 
McCaan,   of   Irville,   O.     Later  he  attended 
one  term  of  lectures  in  Starling  Medical  Col- 
lege,  of  Columbus,   O.     He  then  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Hanover,  this 
state,  where  he  remained  two  years.    He  then 
reentered  Starling  Medical  College,  where  he 
graduated  in  1869. 

Settling  in  Crawford  county,  he  located  at 
Benton,  now  Poplar,  where  he  was  engaged 
in  a  most  active  and  lucrative  practice  for  14 
years,  being  "on  the  go"  almost  day  and  night. 
No  other  physician  of  the  county  even  had  a 
larger,  if  as  large  a  country  practice  as  had 
Dr.  Bland  while  he  was  located  at  Benton. 
From  that  place  he  came  to  Bucyrus  in  1883, 
from  which  time  until  1905,  the  year  of  his 
retirement,  he  was  numbered  among  the  most 
active  and  successful  physicians  and  surgeons 
of  the  city.  He  gave  up  his  practice  only  on 
account  of  extreme  ill  health,  which  unfitted 
him  for  the  arduous  labors  of  his  profession, 
with  its  urgent  calls  at  all  hours  of  the  day 
and  night.  As  an  item  of  family  history,  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  Dr.  Bland  had  two 
brothers,  Charles  and  John  Bland,  who  stud- 
ied medicine  under  him.  Both  entered  med- 
ical college  and  died  of  consumption  during 
the  last  year  of  their  studies  in  college,  and 
both  at  the  age  of  28,  though  their  deaths  oc- 
curred some  eight  years  apart.  A  third 
brother  of  the  Doctor's  also  died  of  consump- 
tion, though  his  other  brothers  and  himself 
were  large  and  robust  men. 

In  politics  Dr.  Bland  is  a  Democrat.  He 
served  five  years  as  county  coroner  and  was 
a  member  of  the  Pension  Board  of  Examiners 
under  the  second  administration  of  Grover 
Cleveland.  He  has  important  business  inter- 
ests, being  proprietor  of  Knisely  Springs  stock 
farm,  owning  and  breeding  high-bred  horses. 
On  his  farm  are  also  valuable  mineral  springs. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


931 


the  water  from  which  is  bottled  for  pubHc 
consumption  by  the  Knisely  Mineral  Springs 
Bottling  Works.  The  Doctor  is  a  member 
of  the  County,  State  and  National  medical 
associations. 

Dr.  Bland  stands  high  in  the  Masonic  order. 
Besides  holding  membership  not  only  in  the 
Blue  Lodge,  Chapter,  Council  and  Command- 
ery,  but  also  in  the  Mystic  Shrine,  Scottish 
Rite  (Al  Koran  Temple),  at  Cleveland.  He 
was  a  charter  member  and  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  Elk  lodge  in  Bucyrus  and  was 
voted  a  life  member  of  that  organization  on 
Dec.  23,  1909. 

Dr.  Bland  was  married  in  1867  to  Miss 
Lucy  Coon,  who  was  born  in  Hanover,  Lick- 
ing county,  O.,  Aug.  8,  1849,  and  who  was 
there  reared  and  educated.  Her  parents  were 
Israel  and  Maria  (Edwards)  Coon,  both  na- 
tives of  Ohio,  the  father  being  of  Pennsyl- 
vania parentage  and  the  mother  of  Welsh  an- 
cestry. Mr.  Coon  was  for  many  years  pro- 
prietor of  a  hotel  in  Hanover,  O.,  in  which 
place  he  and  his  wife  were  married,  and  where 
he  died  at  the  age  of  59  years.  His  wife  had 
preceded  him  to  the  grave  a  few  years  pre- 
viously leaving  two  children,  one  of  whom,  Is- 
rael, Jr.,  died  when  16  years  of  age.  The 
other,  Mrs.  Bland,  still  survives.  She  is  a 
member  of  the  M.  E.  church  and  is  active  in 
its  good  work. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bland  have  been  the  parents 
of  four  children — Harriet  Belle,  Ebenezer, 
Charles,  who  died  in  infancy,  and  Alice  Bar- 
bara, whose  further  record  is  briefly  as  fol- 
lows: Harriet  Belle  was  born  in  Benton,  O., 
June  21,  1870.  She  was  educated  in  the  Bucy- 
rus High  School  and  was  married  in  this  city 
in  189-^  to  A.  J.  Yawger,  who  was  born  in 
Elmira,  N.  Y.,  of  good  parentage.  May  26, 
1866.  He  graduated  from  Cornell  Univer- 
sity with  the  degree  of  C.  E.  and  later  became 
a  contractor  on  railroad  and  municipal  engi- 
neering work  in  various  parts  of  the  United 
States,  but  his  headquarters  for  some  time 
have  been  at  Indianapolis,  Ind.  He  is  a  Ma- 
son. Mrs.  Yawger  is  a  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist church.  She  is  a  lady  of  culture  and 
refinement  and  of  stroner  filial  affection  and 
resides  with  her  parents  in  Bucyrus.  She  has 
no  children. 

Ebenezer,  the  Doctor's  second  child,  was  a 


well  educated  young  man.  On  the  breaking 
out  of  the  War  with  Spain,  he  joined  Com- 
pany A,  Eighth  Regiment  O.  V.  I.,  as  a  pri- 
vate and  accompanied  his  regiment  to  Cuba, 
where  he  died  from  cholera,  JBly  11,  1898, 
when  within  a  few  days  of  being  24  years  of 
age.  He  is  buried  in  Arlington  Cemetery, 
at  Washington,  D.  C. 

Alice  Barbara  Bland  was  born  in  Benton, 
O.,  Dec.  14,  1882.  She  graduated  from  Bucy- 
rus High  School  and  has  since  remained  at 
home  with  her  parents,  to  whom  she  is  much 
attached.  She  is  unmarried.  She,  like  her 
married  sister,  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
church. 

HON.  J.  R.  MILLER,  mayor  of  New 
Washington,  O.,  and  president  of  the  Miller 
Merchandise  Company,  of  this  city,  is  a  rep- 
resentative citizen  of  Crawford  county  and 
practically  all  his  life  has  been  identified  with 
many  of  her  important  interests.  He  was 
born  at  New  Washington,  Jan.  19,  1861. 

Mr.  Miller  attended  school  at  New  Wash- 
ington and  afterward  took  a  Spencerian  Com- 
mercial course  at  Cleveland,  O.,  and  then  went 
into  the  grocery  business  under  the  firm  style 
of  J.  R,  &  G.  Miller.  In  1890  G.  Miller  re- 
tired and  a  general  store  was  opened,  Mr. 
Miller  admitting  A.  P.  Miller  and  the  busi- 
ness was  continued  under  the  name  of  J.  R. 
&  A.  P  Miller  until  April  9,  1906.  Mr.  Miller 
then  opened  his  present  store,  under  the  style 
of  the  Miller  Merchandise  Company,  which  is 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  complete  depart- 
ment stores  in  this  part  of  Ohio,  the  spacious 
building  being  three  stories  high,  including 
basement  and  covering  an  acre  of  ground. 
It  is  one  of  the  largest  business  enterprises  at 
New  Washington.  J.  R.  Miller  is  president 
of  the  company;  A.  O.  Miller  is  vice  presi- 
dent; and  Mrs.  A.  O.  Miller  is  secretary.  In 
addition  to  the  officers  there  are  three  other 
directors:  J.  W.  Kibler,  Dr.  C.  E.  Kimerline 
and  Frank  Derr.  The  first  officers  and  di- 
rectors were:  J.  R.  Miller,  president  and 
manager;  A.  P.  Miller,  vice  president;  F.  J. 
Miller,  treasurer;  C.  A.  Miller,  secretary,  and 
Jacob  Uhl,  J.  W.  Kibler  and  A.  O.  Miller, 
directors.  The  officers  and  directors  are  elected 
annually.  J.  R.  Miller  is  additionally  inter- 
ested in  the  Toledo  Life  Insurance  Company. 


932 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus 
and  was  reared  in  the  Roman  CathoUc  church. 
Mayor  Miller  was  married  to  Miss  Anna 
E.  Uhl,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Mag- 
gie Uhl,  old  residents  of  New  Washington. 
In  politics  Mr.  Miller  has  been  a  zealous  Demo- 
crat all  his  mature  life  and  has  held  many 
offices  of  responsibility  and  for  the  past  three 
years  has  been  mayor  of  New  Washington 
and  has  given  the  city  a  business  administra- 
tion that  has  been  very  popular  and  decidely 
beneficial. 

JACOB  F.  GUINTHER,*  a  representative 
farmer,  who  owns  and  operates  143  acres  of 
land,  53  of  which  are  located  in  Marion 
county  and  the  balance  in  Crawford  county, 
was  born  on  the  homestead  farm  on  which  he 
still  lives,  March  20,  1864.  His  parents  were 
Jacob  and  Catherine  (Shalenmiller)  Guinther, 
the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Wurtem- 
burg,  Germany,  and  the  latter  in  Lycoming 
county,  Pa.  Both  are  now  deceased  and  are 
buried  in  Sherer  cemetery. 

Jacob  Guinther  was  a  farmer  during  the 
time  he  spent  in  this  country.  He  was  a 
Democrat  in  politics  and  attended  the  German 
Reformed  church.  He  and  his  wife  were 
the  parents  of  the  following  children :  Mary, 
the  wife  of  George  K.  Ulmer;  John  George; 
Sophia,  deceased;  Catherine,  wife  of  Samuel 
Rexroth ;  Isaac  C. ;  Charlotte,  wife  of  S.  J. 
Stump;  and  Jacob  F.,  the  subject  of  this  arti- 
cle, who  was  the  youngest  born. 

Jacob  F.  Guinther  received  a  common 
school  education  and  then  went  to  work  on 
the  farm  where  he  has  spent  his  entire  life. 
His  father  died  when  he  was  20  years  of  age. 
After  the  death  of  his  parents,  he  bought  the 
farm  from  the  other  heirs  and  here  he  carries 
on  general  farming. 

On  Dec.  5,  1889,  Mr.  Guinther  married 
Jennie  Nungesser,  a  daughter  of  Christian  and 
Elizabeth  (Helfrich)  Nungesser.  Her  father 
was  born  in  Germany  where  he  learned  the 
shoemaker's  trade.  Upon  coming  to  the 
United  States  he  located  first  in  Cincinnati, 
but  later  moved  to  New  Winchester,  Craw- 
ford county,  and  purchased  a  farm  of  131 
acres  in  Whetstone  township,  which  he  still 
owns.  He  and  his  wife  live  retired  at  Galion. 
They  belong  to  the  German  Lutheran  church. 


Their  children,  besides  Mrs.  Guinther,  are  as 
follows:  Delilah  (Mrs.  Isaac  A.  Cook); 
Margaret,  widow  of  H.  P.  Rexroth;  and 
Melancthon  G. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jacob  F.  Guinther  have  had 
the  following  children:  Edith  Catherine, 
Ruth  E.,  Laura  M.,  and  Clara  M. 

Mr.  Guinther  has  served  as  township  as- 
sessor for  two  years  and  township  trustee 
for  six  years.  They  attend  St.  John's  Re- 
formed church. 

LINCOLN  HOOVER,  who  is  one  of  the 
substantial  citizens  and  prosperous  farmers  of 
Vernon  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  suc- 
cessfully carries  on  general  farming  and  stock 
raising  on  his  improved  tract  of  60  acres, 
which  lies  six  miles  northwest  of  Crestline,  O. 
He  was  born  in  Crawford  county  in  1864,  and 
is  a  son  of  Gideon  and  Nancy  (Teeter) 
Hoover. 

Both  the  Hoovers  and  Teeters  came  origin- 
ally from  Germany  and  many  of  the  name  can 
be  found  in  different  sections  of  the  United 
States.  Gideon  Hoover  was  born  in  Mary- 
land and  his  wife  in  Richland  county,  O.,  the 
Teeters  having  come  to  Ohio  from  Pennsyl- 
vania. To  Gideon  Hoover  and  wife  ten  chil- 
dren were  bom :  John,  Moses,  Lavina,  Aaron, 
Amos,  Alice,  Lincoln,  Frank,  Henry  and 
Lotta,  and  of  the  above,  Moses,  Aaron  and 
Amos,  are  all  deceased.  John  married 
Amanda  Buck  and  they  live  in  Vernon  town- 
ship and  have  five  children:  Wilson,  Ladena, 
Silas  B.,  Anna  and  Fern.  Lavina  married 
John  Parr  and  they  live  in  Sandusky  town- 
ship and  have  six  children:  Calvin,  Nancy, 
Gideon,  Amanda,  Bertha  and  Lotta.  Alice 
married  Quinn  Dewalt  and  they  live  in  Craw- 
ford county  and  have  four  children:  Stella, 
Clark,  Nancy  and  Mary.  Frank,  who  mar- 
ried Nellie  Dewalt,  lives  in  Sandusky  town- 
ship and  has  four  children:  Vance,  Lorin, 
Mary  and  Amos.  Henry  lives  in  Richland 
county  and  has  two  children:  Nancy  and 
Frank.  Nancy,  the  wife  of  Gideon  Hoover 
died  Jan.  4,  1900.  They  were  both  well  known 
people,  members  of  the  LTnited  Brethren 
church. 

Lincoln  Hoover  obtained  a  district  school 
education  and  continued  on  the  home  farm 
with  his  father  until  he  was  27  years  of  age 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


933 


and  then  bought  his  first  farm  but  sold  it  after 
operating  it  for  a  time  and  then  purchased 
his  present  more  desirable  one.  Here  he  has 
everything  convenient  and  in  good  shape,  his 
improvements  including  the  erection  of  sub- 
stantial buildings  and  keeping  them  in  order, 
and  investing  in  good  stock  and  improved 
farm  machinery.  His  time  and  attention  are 
mainly  devoted  to  his  agricultural  operations 
and  he  is  numbered  with  the  most  successful 
men  in  this  line  in  this  section. 

Mr.  Hoover  was  married  to  Miss  Minnie 
Bilsing,  a  daughter  of  Adam  and  Lavina 
(Swisher)  Bilsing.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Bil- 
sing had  the  following  children:  John  H., 
who  lives  in  Kansas;  Barnett,  who  lives  near 
Crestline,  O. ;  Albert,  who  lives  in  Vernon 
township;  a  son  that  died  in  infancy;  Mollie 
and  Anna,  both  of  whom  are  deceased ;  Eliza, 
who  lives  in  Washington ;  Flora,  deceased,  who 
married  Prof.  Frank  Brining,  a  college  pro- 
fessor in  India;  and  Minnie.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hoover  have  three  children:  Bessie,  Adam 
and  Ivan.  Bessie  is  the  wife  of  George  Wert, 
and  they  reside  in  Crawford  county.  Mr. 
Hoover  and  family  are  members  of  the  United 
Brethren  church,  of  which  he  is  a  trustee  and 
which  he  is  serving  as  treasurer.  Politically 
he  is  a  Republican  but  has  never  cared  for 
public  office,  serving,  however,  at  one  time, 
as  township  constable. 

MRS.  CATHERINE  GANGLUFF,  who 
for  45  years  has  resided  on  her  valuable  farm 
of  6i  acres,  which  is  situated  in  section  ii. 
Cranberry  township,  Crawford  couiity,  O., 
one  and  one-fourth  miles  west  of  New  Wash- 
ington, O.,  is  well  known  all  through  this  sec- 
tion and  is  held  in  high  regard.  She  was 
born  in  Seneca  county,  O.,  Nov.  17,  1847,  ^^'^ 
is  a  daughter  of  Frederick  and  Barbara  (Deis- 
ler)  Flexer,  and  the  widow  of  Henry  Gangluff. 

The  parents  of  Mrs.  Gangluff  were  born  in 
Germany  but  they  were  married  after  coming 
to  America.  They  settled  in  Seneca  county, 
O.,  where  the  father  engaged  in  farming  and 
died  there  in  his  60th  year.  The  mother  sur- 
vived to  be  74  years  of  age.  They  were  good, 
virtuous,  industrious  and  kind-hearted  people 
and  were  respected  by  all  who  knew  them. 
Of  their  family  of  five  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters there  are  but  two  survivors :     Mrs.  Gang- 


luff and  Mrs.  Christine  Blinn.  The  latter 
was  born  in  Seneca  county  and  when  she 
reached  womanhood  married  Charles  Blinn 
and  they  reside  in  Lykens  township,  Crawford 
county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blinn  have  had  five  chil- 
dren: Nora,  who  has  lived  with  her  aunt, 
Mrs.  Gangluff,  since  she  was  eight  years  of 
age;  Pearl,  who  is  the  wife  of  Frank  Shiefer, 
residing  in  Cranberry  township;  and  Bertha, 
Harvey  and  Alvin,  all  living  at  home. 

In  girlhood  Mrs.  Gangluff  attended  school 
with  her  sisters  and  brothers  and  was  reared 
to  womanhood  by  a  careful  and  loving  mother. 

In  April,  1867,  she  was  married  to  Henry 
Gangluff,  who  was  born  on  the  farm  she  now 
owns  and  occupies,  a  son  of  Philip  and  Annie 
(Reel)  Gangluff,  who  came  from  Germany 
and  settled  here  at  an  early  day.  Henry  Gang- 
luff grew  up  on  his  father's  farm  and  became 
a  good  judge  of  stock  and  a  very  capable 
farmer  and  also  engaged  in  threshing  during 
the  season,  until  he  met  with  an  accident  that 
fractured  his  thigh  and  that  more  or  less 
crippled  him  until  the  close  of  his  life.  After 
marriage  the  old  log  house  on  the  home  farm 
was  utilized  and  is  still  standing,  but  after- 
ward Mr.  Gangluff  erected  the  present  com- 
fortable farmhouse.  Here  his  death  occurred 
when  he  was  aged  71  years,  in  September, 
1908,  and  his  burial  was  in  the  Lutheran  ceme- 
tery at  New  Washington,  he  having  beeii  a 
member  of  the  Lutheran  church  since  youth. 
He  was  a  Democrat  in  his  political  opinions 
and  supported  Democratic  candidates,  but  he 
was  never  willing  to  accept  any  office  for  him- 
self although  he  was  a  man  gifted  with  many 
of  the  qualities  which  are  needed  in  public 
officials.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gangluff  the  fol- 
lowing children  were  born :  George,  who  lives 
near  Attica,  O.,  and  married  Rosa  Schimpf; 
John,  who  assists  his  mother  in  managing  the 
home  farm;  William,  who  lives  in  Chatfield 
township,  and  who  married  Emmeline  Leon- 
hart;  Christine,  who  is  the  wife  of  William 
Shoup,  and  resides  at  New  Washington;  and 
Lewis  and  Charles,  who  remain  on  the  home 
place  with  their  mother.  The  family  belongs 
to  the  Lutheran  church. 

WILLIAM  C.  SEELE,  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Holmes  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  re- 
siding on   his   finely   improved   farm   of    108 


934 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


acres,  which  lies  just  south  of  Brokensword, 
O.,  was  born  on  this  farm  Aug.  6,  1863,  and 
is  a  son  of  Emil  and  Catherine  (Spade)  Seele. 

Emil  Seele  was  born  in  Germany,  came  to 
America  when  a  boy  of  16  years  and  died  in 
Ohio  in  1896,  in  his  73d  year.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  he  followed  shoemaking  together 
with  farming  in  Holmes  township,  Crawford 
county,  and  erected  the  present  comfortable 
farm-house  on  this  place.  He  was  a  highly 
respected  man  and  reared  a  creditable  family. 
He  married  Catherine  Spade,  who  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania  and  the  following  children 
were  born  to  them:  Mrs.  Malinda  Gersten- 
berger,  Edward,  Airs.  Matilda  Ditty,  Delma, 
Albert  J.,  Airs.  Celesta  Smith,  William  C.  and 
Charles  W.,  all  of  whom  survive. 

William  C.  Seele  was  educated  in  the  coun- 
try schools  and  at  Ada  and  Xew  \\'ashington, 
O.,  and  afterward  taught  school  for  12  terms 
and  during  six  summers  engaged  in  the  ice 
business  at  Cleveland.  After  retiring  from 
the  educational  field  he  turned  his  attention 
to  farming  and  stock  raising,  follow^ing  these 
industries  along  modern  lines  and  meeting 
with  excellent  ■  results.  He  has  been  a  lead- 
ing factor  in  Democratic  politics  for  many 
years  in  Holmes  township  and  has  served  with 
the  greatest  efficiency  in  numerous  important 
public  positions,  for  four  and  one-half  years 
being  township  clerk,  for  four  years  township 
treasurer,  for  15  years  a  member  of  the  school 
board  and  for  nine  years  a  member  of  the 
turnpike  road  commission. 

Mr.  Seele  married  Aliss  Aletta  Margraff,  a 
daughter  of  Charles  Margraff,  who  resides 
just  east  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seele.  Mr.  Seele 
is  a  valued  member  of  the  Grange  at  Bucyrus 
and  is  identified  fraternally  with  the  Foresters 
and  the  knights  of  Alaccabee. 

FRANK  H.  SPILLETTE,  who  is  one 
of  the  representative  business  men  of  Xew 
Washington,  O.,  the  junior  member  of  a  com- 
pany that  owns  and  operates  three  elevators, 
was  born  in  Auburn  township,  Crawford 
county.  O..  Oct.  i.  1875,  and  is  a  son  of  James 
and  Lucinda  CGlosser)  Spillette,  old  residents 
of  that  township. 

Frank  H.  Spillette  attended  school  at  Xew 
\\"ashington  and  for  eleven  years  taught 
school  in   Auburn  and   Cranberry  townships. 


Later  he  went  into  the  elevator  business, 
handling  coal,  flour,  feed,  seed  and  building 
material  in  connection,  starting  first  at  North 
Auburn,  later  becoming  interested  on  the 
X'^orthern  Ohio  Railroad  and  later  at  the  pres- 
ent elevator  where  he  has  his  office  just 
across  the  track  from  the  passenger  depot  of 
the  Pennsyhania  Railroad.  He  has  other 
business  interests,  being  a  stockholder  in  the 
Toledo  Life  Insurance  Company;  in  the 
Underwriters  Security  Company;  in  the  Cran- 
berry X'ursery  Company  at  Xew  Washington, 
and  in  the  local  telephone  company.  He  is  a 
wide  awake  business  man  and  is  well  known 
all  through  the  county,  his  business  partner 
being  Jacob  Gottfried. 

Air.  Spillette  was  married  to  Miss  Laura 
Hoak,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Amanda 
Hoak,  the  latter  of  whom  died  in  Auburn 
township.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spillette  have  one 
son,  Gordon.  In  politics  Air.  Spillette  is  a 
Republican  but  somewhat  independent  in  his 
views,  but  is  no  seeker  for  office. 

GEORGE  W.  HARRIS,  an  honored  citizen 
of  Bucyrus,  O.,  has  been  engaged  in  the  prod- 
uce business  since  1875.  For  the  past  seven 
years  he  has  been  commander  of  Keller  Post, 
X'o.  128,  G.  A.  R.,  of  this  city,  being  a  veteran 
of  the  great  Civil  War.  He  was  bom  X"ov. 
25.  1847,  at  what  is  now  AA'aterville,  O.,  and  is 
a  son  of  AA'illiam  Henry  and  Sarah  E. 
(Hickox)  Harris. 

AA'illiam  Henry  Harris  was  born  in  1812, 
at  Hoosick  Falls,  X'.  Y.,  a  son  of  Asa  Harris, 
who  was  born  in  1780,  in  the  north  of  Ire- 
land. The  latter  was  of  Scotch-Irish  ances- 
try and  came  to  America  in  early  manhood 
and  settled  in  Xew  Hampshire.  He  ^^ as  one 
of  the  early  Baptists  of  that  section  and  was 
a  man  of  good  report.  It  was  known  that  he 
had  five  sons  and  possibly  there  were  daugh- 
ters. \\"illiam  Henry  Harris  grew  to  manhood 
in  X'ew  York  State  and  learned  the  trade 
of  wagonmaker  at  St.  Johnsboro,  Vt.,  from 
which  place  he  moved  to  Ohio  in  1833,  and  at 
Loudonville,  in  Ashland  county,  established 
the  first  wagonmaking  shop  in  that  section. 
He  was  married  there  to  Sarah  E.  Hickox, 
who  was  bom  at  Cuyahoga  Falls,  O.  in  1822, 
of  an  old  pioneer  family.  They  lived  in  that 
village  until  after  the  birth  of  their  first  daugh- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


935 


ter,  and  then  moved  to  Wauseon,  Fulton 
county,  O.,  and  lived  there  until  1857.  Mr. 
Harris  then  removed  with  his  family  to  Mans- 
field, O.,  where  he  established  himself  at  his 
trade  and  worked  at  the  same  until  after  the 
close  of  the  Civil  War.  He  then  spent  ten 
years  at  North  Fairfield,  O.,  after  which  the 
family  moved  to  Kansas,  settling  at  Chapman, 
and  there  Mr.  Harris  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  life,  his  death  occurring  in  1898,  at  the  age 
of  86  years.  In  principle  he  was  opposed  to 
human  slavery  and  was  a  great  admirer  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  He  was  a  man  of  exem- 
plary life  and  a  firm  believer  in  the  Baptist 
faith.  His  widow  survived  until  1902,  her 
death  occurring  at  Topeka,  Kan.  They  were 
parents  of  five  sons  and  two  daughters  and  the 
following  survive :  Emma",  bom  in  Ashland 
county,  O.,  who  is  the  widow  of  William 
Johns  and  is  a  resident  of  Newark,  N.  ].,  hav- 
ing a  son  and  daughter;  George  W.,  subject  of 
this  record;  William  H.,  who  is  a  coal  mer- 
chant and  owner  of  a  wheat  elevator  at  Rus- 
sell, Kan.,  and  who  resides  there  with  his  fam- 
ily; Grace,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Schwarts,  a  prominent  attorney  of  Belling- 
ham,  Wash.,  and  has  three  children;  Henry 
Franklin,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Mansfield,  O., 
who  formerly  resided  at  Bucyrus ;  and  Joseph 
Asa,  who  is  in  business  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  and 
has  three  children.  One  son,  Charles,  died  at 
the  age  of  five  years. 

George  W.  Harris  was  nine  years  old  when 
he  went  to  live  with  his  grandparents  and  later 
accompanied  them  to  Mansfield.  Those  \\'ere 
days  of  great  public  unrest  and  the  gravity  of 
the  danger  threatening  the  country  was  not 
only  recognized  by  men  of  years  and  discre- 
tion, but  also  by  the  young,  a  great  wave  of 
patriotism  sweeping  over  the  country  resulting 
in  the  enlistment  of  thousands  to  suppress  re- 
bellion. That  so  youthful  a  candidate  for  en- 
listment as  was  George  W.  Harris  at  that 
time,  should  have  been  accepted  as  a  member 
of  Co.  I,  32nd  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  may  be  explained 
by  the  fact  that  he  had  the  health  and  manly 
bearing  of  a  much  older  youth,  but  the  fact  re- 
mains that  when  he  was  enlisted  on  Aug.  8, 
1861,  he  was  aged  just  13  years,  8  months  and 
II  days.  His  officers  were  Capt.  J.  Dyer  and 
Col.  Thomas  H.  Ford.  This  regiment  was 
ordered  to  the  front  and  on  Oct.  4,  1861,  Mr. 


Harris  participated  in  the  battle  of  Greenbrier, 
Va.,  and  was  honorably  discharged  Dec.  10, 
1 86 1.  He  returned  to  Ohio  and  attended 
school  during  the  succeeding  winter,  but  in  the 
spring  determined  to  reenter  the  army  and  on 
March  6,  1862,  reenlisted,  entering  Co.  B,  6ist 
O.  Vol.  Inf.,  his  commanding  officers  being 
Capt.  P.  J.  Duffy  and  Col.  Stephen  J.  Mc- 
Groaty.  This  regiment  was  attached  to  the 
eastern  army  until  after  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg, when  it  was  transferred  to  Sherman's 
western  army,  and  took  a  prominent  part  in 
its  military  movements.  On  the  first  day  of 
the  fateful  battle  of  Gettysburg,  Mr.  Harris, 
who  had  been  made  a  corporal  and  color 
guard,  was  captured  by  the  enemy  and  for  five 
months  afterward  ■  was  a  prisoner  at  Libby 
prison  and  Belle  Isle.  He  was  young,  ingen- 
ious and  resourceful  and  as  he  had  nothing  to 
occupy  his  mind  during  the  terrible  days  and 
still  more  terrible  nights  than  a  hope  of  es- 
cape, he  finally  formed  a  plan  that  succeeded 
and  through  a  mistake  of  his  guards  succeeded 
also  in  being  paroled  in  December,  1863.  In 
May,  1864,  he  rejoined  his  company  at  Chat- 
tanooga, Tenn.,  and  continued  throughout  the 
whole  campaign,  which  ended  with  Sherman's 
march  to  the  sea.  He  saw  much  hard  fighting 
and  on  more  than  one  occasion  proved  himself 
a  brave  and  ready  man  and  at  Kenesaw 
Mountain,  by  ruse,  aided  by  darkness,  cap- 
tured single  handed,  three  Confederate  sol- 
diers. When  he  was  honorably  discharged, 
March  31,  1865,  he  had  served  three  years  and 
five  months  and  was  then  not  yet  18  years  of 
age.  Although  years  of  peaceful  pursuits  fol- 
lowed he  never  lost  interest  in  military  affairs 
and  still  retains  something  of  the  appearance 
of  a  military  man.  From  the  first  he  has  been 
interested  in  the  Grand  Army  movement  and 
has  been  identified  with  Keller  Post,  No.  128, 
ever  since  its  organization,  has  served  in  var- 
ious capacities  in  this  body  and,  as  noted  above, 
has  frequently  been  honored  by  election  to  the 
position  of  post  commander. 

After  his  return  from  the  army,  Mr.  Harris 
embarked  in  the  produce  business  at  Shiloh, 
O.,  in  the  employ  of  C.  W.  Wakefield,  where 
he  continued  until  187s,  when  he  came  to 
Bucyrus  and  here  established  his  own  produce 
business,  which  he  has  conducted  since.  Politi- 
cally he  is  a  Republican  but  he  has  never  been 


936 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


much  active  in  public  matters,  devoting  his 
time  and  attention  closely  to  the  successful 
advancement  of  his  private  affairs. 

Mr.  Harris  was  married  at  Shiloh,  0.,  to 
Miss  Isabel  R.   Crawford,  who  was  born  in 
Richland  county,  in  1853,  a  member  of  one  of 
the  old  and  honorable  families  of  that  section. 
Her    grandfather,    John    Crawford,    was    11 
years  old  when  he  accompanied  his  parents 
from    Ireland    to    Cumberland    county,    Pa., 
where  he  married  a  Miss  Eckles  and  they  came 
to    Richland   county,    O.      James    Crawford, 
father  of  Mrs.  Harris,  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania in  181 7  and  died  in  Richland  county, 
from  the  effects  of  an  accident,  March  3,  1853. 
He  was  married  first  to  Lydia  Guthrie,  who, 
at  death,  left  two  sons.     His  second  marriage 
was  to  Eleanor  J.  Torbett,  who  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  married  in  Huron  county,  O., 
and  died  at  Shiloh,  O.,  in  1900,  aged  81  years. 
Of  their  five  children  Mrs.  Harris  is  the  only 
survivor.     She  is  a  lady  well  known  in  social 
life  and  is  connected  with  numberless  benevo- 
lent activities  and  is  prominent  in  many  uplift- 
ing   organizations,    religious,    charitable    and 
literary.     She  is  an  active  member  of  the  mis- 
sionary societies  of  the  Lutheran  church,  was 
one  of  the  organizers  and  for  a  number  of 
years  president  of  the  North  Side  Reading 
Club,  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Woman's  Re- 
lief Corps,  No.  225,  of  which  she  was  the  first 
president,  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Li- 
brary Association,  holding  the  office  of  presi- 
dent for  four  years  prior  to  January,   1906, 
when  the  city  took  over  the  organization's  in- 
terests as  a  part  of  the  city  library,  and  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Bucyrus  Hospital  Association, 
a  member  of  the  board  of  lady  managers  of 
the  Bucyrus  City  Hospital  and  a  member  of 
the   juvenile    and    Correction   Visiting    Com- 
mittee of  the  county. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harris  four  children  were 
born,  the  three  survivors  being :  Fred  C,  who 
is  identified  with  the  Standard  Oil  company, 
and  lives  at  Gore,  O. ;  Judson  Gaylor,  who  is 
manager  of  the  American  District  Telegraph 
and  Messenger  company,  and  resides  at  New- 
ark, N.  J. ;  and  Warren  Dean,  who  is  engaged 
in  the  commission  produce  business  at  Toledo, 
and  makes  his  home  at  Bucyrus  and  has  a 
family.  Guarda  A.,  the  third  member  of  the 
family,  who  was  born  Oct.  30,  1878,  died  in 


1889.  Formerly  Mr.  Harris  was  very  active 
in  the  leading  fraternal  organizations  of  the 
country,  being  past  noble  grand  in  the  order  of 
Odd  Fellows  and  past  chancellor  commander 
in  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  still  retains 
active  membership  in  the  Union  Veteran  Le- 
gion and  the  United  Commercial  Travelers, 
being  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee 
of  the  latter  council. 

CHARLES  A.  MANN,*  who  owns  22 
acres  of  finely  cultivated  land,  situated  in  the 
northeastern  corner  of  Cranberry  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  in  section  one,  was  bom 
at  Tiffin,  in  Seneca  county,  O.,  Nov.  2,  1884, 
and  is  a  son  of  August  and  Maggie  (Hepp) 
Mann. 

August  Mann  was  born  in  Germany  and 
came  to  America  in  early  manhood,  locating 
in  Seneca  county,  O.  He  was  a  shoemaker  by 
trade  and  for  14  years  has  been  a  shoe  mer- 
chant, at  Attica,  O.  He  was  married  at  New 
Riegel,  O.,  to  Maggie  Hepp  and  ten  children 
were  born  to  them,  two  of  whom  reside  in 
Cranberry  township,  Charles  A.  and  a  sister. 
Rose,  who  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Alt,  who 
operates  the  George  Uhl  farm.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mann  are  members  of  the  Catholic  church. 

Charles  A.  Mann  attended  school  in  Seneca 
county  and  for  six  years  afterward  was  en- 
gaged there  in  farm  work  and  for  four  years 
more  followed  farming  in  Huron  county.  On 
Jan.  9,  1900,  he  came  to  Crawford  county  and 
settled  on  a  60-acre  farm  south  of  his  present 
one,  and  one  year  later  purchased  the  farm 
on  which  he  lives,  from  John  Forquer.  Mr. 
Mann  has  taken  a  great  deal  of  interest  in  his 
property,  making  many  improvements  and  in 
1910  erecting  his  comfortable  residence  and 
remodeling  the  other  farm  buildings. 

Mr.  Mann  married  Miss  Rose  Phiefer,  who 
was  born  in  southern  Cranberry  township,  a 
daughter  of  Joseph  Phiefer,  and  they  have  one 
son,  Frederick  Floran,  who  is  a  bright  student 
in  the  public  schools.  Mr.  ]Mann  and  family 
are  members  of  St.  Mary's  Catholic  church. 
Like  his  father  he  is  a  Democrat  in  politics. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mann  are  well  known  and  highly 
respected  in  Cranberry  township. 

FRANKLIN  P.  DICK,  ex-president  qi  the 
board  of  county  commissioners  of  Crawford 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


939 


county,  O.,  is  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of 
Dallas  township,  where  he  owns  a  finely  im- 
proved farm  of  lOO  acres.  He  was  born  Nov. 
i8,  185s,  in  Cass  township,  Richland  county, 
O.,  and  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Ann  (Bushey) 
Dick,  and  a  grandson  of  George  Dick,  who 
settled  in  Richland  county  in  1832. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Dick  are  long  since  de- 
ceased, the  mother  dying  early,  on  the  old  farm 
in  Richland  county,  and  the  father,  when  in 
middle  life,  in  Hancock  county.  The  father's 
death  took  place  in  February,  1870.  Franklin 
P.  Dick  was  only  seven  years  old  when  he  lost 
his  mother  and  was  14  when  he  left  home  to 
take  care  of  himself.  He  had  secured  a  coun- 
try school  education  and  was  a  youth  of  am- 
bition and  of  steady  habits,  and  for  the  next 
13  years  found  a  happy  home  with  his  uncle, 
Levi  Dick,  who  was  a  substantial  farmer  in 
Richland  county.  After  his  marriage,  in  1882, 
he  rented  farm  land  in  Dallas  township  for 
some  ten  years  and  then  purchased  his  present 
farm,  which  was  undoubtedly  fine  land  but 
was  much  in  need  of  improving.  Practical  in 
his  ideas  he  soon  made  all  needed  improve- 
ments, thereby  doubling  the  value  of  his  prop- 
erty, and  ever  since  has  devoted  himself  to 
general  farming  and  stock  raising.  He  is  one 
of  the  prominent  Democrats  of  Crawford 
county  and  frequently  has  been  tendered  pub- 
lic office.  He  was  first  elected  a  member  of 
the  board  of  county  commissioners  in  1905, 
with  a  majority  of  2,500  votes  and  was  later 
reelected,  and  during  his  second  term  was  made 
president  of  the  board.  In  this  position  he 
had  many  duties,  all  of  which  were  carefully 
attended  to,  Crawford  county  finding  in  him 
an  energetic  and  honest  official. 

Mr.  Dick  was  married  in  1882  to  Miss 
Lavina  Noecker,  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  and 
Lavina  (Van  Horn)  Noecker,  early  settlers  in 
Richland  county.  They  have  an  interesting 
family  and  all  are  members  of  the  United 
Brethren  church. 

The  children  are:  J.  J.,  May,  Alwilda  and 
Ruth. 

MOSES  PUGH,  who  carries  on  general 
farming  and  moderate  stock  raising  on  his 
valuable  tract  of  74  acres,  situated  in  section 
I,  Cranberry  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
was    born    in    Lykens    township,    Crawford 


county,  April  6,  1843,  and  is  one  of  the  justly 
honored  veterans  of  the  great  Civil  War.  His 
parents  were  Aaron  and  Mary  (Jackson) 
Pugh. 

Aaron  Pugh  was  born  in  Virginia,  50  miles 
from  Wheeling,  where  he  grew  to  manhood 
and  then  came  to  Crawford  county,  O.,  and 
here  purchased  40  acres  of  land  in  Lykens 
township,  on  which  he  erected  a  log  cabin. 
When  he  had  provided  this  home  he  returned 
to  Virginia  and  was  there  married  to  Mary 
Jackson,  and  then  returned  to  Lykens  town- 
ship and  in  the  following  year  his  father-in- 
law,  William  Jackson,  came  also  to  this  sec- 
tion. That  farm  continued  to  be  the  old 
homestead  until  1863,  when  Aaron  Pugh 
moved  to  Cranberry  township  and  bought  land 
in  the  northeastern  part  and  at  one  time  owned 
500  acres  here  and  in  Huron  county.  Later 
he  divided  his  land  among  his  children  and 
bought  property  at  New  Washington,  to 
which  he  retired  and  died  there  when  aged  ']'j 
years.  Notwithstanding  his  southern  birth 
and  parentage,  he  was  deeply  opposed  to  hu- 
man slavery  and  early  in  the  Civil  War  used 
his  influence  to  exterminate  such  traitorous 
organizations  as  the  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Circle.  He  became  a  man  of  consequence  in 
Lykens  township  and  served  as  township 
trustee  and  he  and  wife  were  active  members 
and  liberal  supporters  of  the  Baptist  church. 
She  died  at  the  age  of  68  years.  They  had 
eight  children,  as  follows :  Elizabeth,  who  re- 
sides at  New  Washington,  Crawford  county, 
who  is  the  widow  of  Wesley  King;  William, 
who  died  in  Huron  county,  when  aged  36 
years ;  Moses ;  James,  who  lived  but  two  years ; 
Anlason  and  Anson,  twins,  the  latter  of  whom 
lives  in  Plymouth,  O.,  and. the  former  in  Put- 
nam county,  O. ;  Alfred  B.,  who  lives  at  Chi- 
cago Junction,  O. ;  and  John,  who  lives  in 
Deshler,  O. 

Moses  Puejh  attended  the  district  schools 
near  his  father's  farm  in  Lykens  township 
and  then  assisted  at  home  until  he  was  17 
years  and  six  months  of  age.  The  Civil 
War  \>'as  then  in  progress  and  although  so 
young  he  determined  to  enter  the  Federal 
Army  and  enlisted  in  Company  H,  c;c;th  O. 
Vol.  Inf.,  in  which  he  served  two  years  and 
three  months.  He  then  reenlisted  and  served 
until  the  close  of  the  Rebellion  and  was  hon- 


940 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


orably  discharged.  Although  he  was  injured 
at  Stephenson,  Ala.,  in  the  right  leg  and  after- 
ward was  twice  slightly  wounded,  he  accom- 
panied his  company  and  regiment  into  every 
engagement  while  in  the  service.  The  injury 
to  his  leg  proved  a  serious  matter  and  con- 
tinued to  trouble  him  for  many  years  and 
finally  Mr.  Pugh  had  to  submit  to  amputa- 
tion on  Feb.  20,  1893.  This  was  a  heavy 
price  to  pay  for  patriotism,  but  Mr.  Pugh 
complains  little  of  it  but  has  much  to  say  of 
his  long  march  under  Sherman  to  the  sea. 
The  hero  element  is  yet  found  in  the  ranks  of 
the  veterans  of  every  G.  A.  R.  Post,  and  Mr. 
Pugh  is  a  valued  member  of  this  organization. 

After  his  discharge  from  the  army,  on  Aug. 
20,  1865,  Mr.  Pugh  returned  to  Crawford 
county  and  on  July  26,  1866,  was  married  to 
Miss  Martha  Johnston,  a  daughter  of  Jacob 
and  Mary  (Reed)  Johnston.  The  father  of 
Mrs.  Pugh  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  the 
mother,  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Mary  Reed, 
was  born  near  Canton,  O.  They  married  in 
Crawford  county  where  they  lived  ever  after- 
ward, the  mother  dying  in  Cranberry  town- 
ship at  the  age  of  36  years,  her  burial  being 
in  the  Sulphur  Springs  Cemetery.  The  father 
of  Mrs.  Pugh  died  in  Lykens  township,  when 
aged  63  years.  They  were  members  of  the 
Methodist  Protestant  church,  very  active  and 
faithful  in  church  work.  All  of  their  five 
children  survive,  namely:  Martha;  Nancy 
Jane,  who  is  the  wife  of  Samuel  Miller,  of 
Shelby,  O. ;  D.  D.,  who  also  lives  at  Shelby, 
O. ;  J.  R.,  who  is  a  school  teacher  and  a  justice 
of  the  peace  and  lives  in  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford  county;  and  Enoch,  who  lives  at 
Findlay,  O.  For  many  years  Mr.  Johnston 
served  faithfully  in  the  office  of  school  director 
and  made  it  his  business  to  visit  the  schools  in 
pursuance  of  what  he  deemed  one  of  his  duties. 
He  was  a  well  read,  intelligent  man  and  was 
widely  known. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pugh  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born :  Gertrude,  Effie,  Mary  Jane, 
Senate  A.,  Harry  Logan  and  William  Bur- 
dette.  Gertrude,  who  died  Aug.  22,  1905  at 
that  time  was  the  widow  of  Hale  Carpenter, 
who  died  Oct.  2,  1904.  Their  burial  was  in 
the  Swamp  burying  ground  at  Mt.  Pisgah 
church.  They  left  three  children:  Elwood, 
Helen  and  Russell,  who  live  with  their  mater- 
nal grandparents.     Effie,  the  second  daughter. 


lives  at  home.  Mary  Jane  married  V.  B.  Al- 
spach,  of  Cranberry  township  and  they  have 
two  children:  Martha  Evelyn  and  Marjorie 
Ruth.  Senate  A.  is  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Crawford  county  and  is  postmaster  at  New 
Washington.  Harry  Logan,  who  was  gradu- 
ated first  from  the  New  Washington  High 
School,  later  completed  a  business  course  at 
Oberlin  College.  He  married  Dora  Miller 
and  they  reside  three  miles  from  New  Wash- 
ington. William  Burdette,  the  youngest  son, 
lives  at  home.  Mrs.  Pugh  was  carefully  edu- 
cated and  taught  school  in  Cranberry  township 
until  the  death  of  her  mother  and  was  mar- 
ried in  the  following  year.  She  was  born 
June  10,  1843  and  is  a  woman  of  such  amiable 
character  that  she  is  universally  beloved. 

Since  marriage  Mr.  Pugh  has  resided  in  the 
northeastern  part  of  Cranberry  township,  lo- 
cating first  on  80  acres  which  he  improved 
and  then  sold  to  advantage,  afterward  buying 
a  second  tract  of  eighty  acres  and  at  present 
lives  on  his  farm  of  74  acres  situated  in  sec- 
tion I,  in  the  same  township.  This  land  is 
finely  cultivated  and  well  improved,  and  its 
management  is  largely  carried  on  by  his  young- 
est son.  Mr.  Pugh  has  always  given  his  pol- 
itical support  to  the  Republican  party  and  fre- 
quently, as  one  of  the  township's  substantial 
and  representative  men,  has  been  called  upon 
to  serve  in  public  office  and  has  been  very  use- 
ful as  township  supervisor  and  also  as  school 
director.  He  and  family  are  members  of  the 
Baptist  church,  although  Mrs.  Pugh  united 
with  the  Methodist  Protestant  church  when 
she  was  17  years  old  but  at  the  time  of  mar- 
riage, in  1866,  joined  the  Baptist  church  with 
her  husband.  She  has  always  been  very  active 
in  church  work,  belongs  to  the  Ladies'  Aid 
Society  and  for  38  years  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 
She  belongs  also  to  the  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union  and  additionally  to  the 
Woman's  Relief  Corps,  in  all  these  organiza- 
tions showing  womanly  sympathy  and  tender- 
ness coupled  with  the  good  judgment  and 
practical  views  that  have  assisted  her  in  rear- 
ing her  family  to  respected  and  useful  man 
and  womanhood.  In  every  relation  of  life  she 
is  an  estimable  woman. 

ALBERT  SHEIBLEY,  who  is  a  highly  re- 
spected resident  of  New  Washington,  O.,  a 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


941 


retired  farmer  and  a  former  superintendent  of 
the  Crawford  County  Infirmary,  was  bom  at 
Baden,  Germany,  April  6,  1837,  a  son  of  John 
B.  and  Mary  Ann  (Link)  Sheibley. 

John  B.  Sheibley  was  the  only  child  of  his 
parents  and  was  born  in  January,  1800,  in 
Baden,  Germany,  and  on  account  of  some  per- 
sonal characteristics,  was  called  John  the  Bap- 
tist, by  his  friends.  In  early  manhood  he 
learned  the  tailoring  trade  and  lived  until  the 
spring  of  1835  on  his  small  farm  in  Baden, 
where  he  worked  also  at  his  trade.  In  the 
meanwhile  he  married  Mary  Ann  Link,  who 
was  born  in  1802,  and  died  May  15,  1888.  On 
March  6,  1843,  Mr.  Sheibley  and  family  em- 
barked for  America,  at  Havre  de  Grace,  tak- 
ing passage  on  the  St.  Nicholas,  and  after  a 
voyage  of  36  days,  reached  the  harbor  of  New 
York.  This  was  the  last  voyage  the  old  St. 
Nicholas  ever  made,  the  ship  being  then  con- 
demned, it  having,  formerly  been  a  war  vessel. 
The  Sheibley  family  then  traveled  by  canal  to 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  by  canal  and  lake  and  later 
by  wagon  continued  their  journey  until  they 
reached  Galion,  O.  It  required  some  time  for 
Mr.  Sheibley  to  find  what  he  considered  de- 
sirable farm  land  and  for  awhile  he  hesitated 
between  what  is  now  the  site  of  Crestline  and 
the  forty-acre  tract  which  he  finally  decided 
upon.  In  a  business  way  the  former  land 
pleased  him  the  better  but  he  could  speak  but 
little  English  and  felt  that  he  would  be  at  a 
disadvantage  among  those  who  could  not  un- 
derstand German,  so  he  located  in  a  German 
settlement,  where  his  native  tongue  was  the 
general  language.  His  40  acres  in  Vernon 
township  was  then  in  Richland  county  but  is 
now  a  part  of  Crawford  county.  He  cleared 
ten  acres  of  his  land  and  set  out  an  orchard 
and  passed  a  number  of  years  there,  and  was 
the  first  farmer  to  introduce  artificial  drainage 
in  that  section.  He  later  moved  to  the  south- 
east corner  of  Cranberry  township,  where  he 
bought  80  acres  which  he  improved  and  then 
sold  and  afterward  bought  another  80  acres, 
'  situated  directly  east  of  New  Washington,  on 
which  he  lived  until  his  death,  in  January, 
1885.  He  was  a  faithful  member  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church. 

Albert  Sheibley  was  six  years  old  when  his 
parents  brought  him  to  America,  one  of  a  fam- 
ily of  eight  children,  one  of  whom  is  living. 


He  was  the  only  son  to  survive  childhood  and 
hence  had  to  give  his  father  assistance  just  as 
soon  as  he  was  old  enough"  and  strong  enough 
to  assume  responsibilities.  His  education  was 
not  neglected,  however,  and  as  opportunity  of- 
fered, he  attended  both  German  and  English 
schools,  and  afterward  learned  the  butcher's 
trade  with  William  Weaver,  a  neighbor. 
After  his  marriage  he  resided  for  five  months 
at  Shelby,  O.,  and  was  with  the  Anderson 
Slaughtering  Company,  and  then  returned  to 
the  home  farm,  one  and  a  quarter  miles  east 
of  New  Washington,  which  he  purchased  and 
his  parents  lived  with  him  during  the  re- 
mainder of  their  lives.  In  addition  to  the 
above  farm  he  owns  40  acres  southeast  of 
New  Washington,  which  is  considered  one  of 
the  finest  tracts  of  land  in  Crawford  county. 
Since  retiring  and  turning  over  his  farm  duties 
to  his  son  Mathias,  Mr.  Sheibley  has  lived  in 
his  exceedingly  comfortable  residence,  located 
on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Center  streets,  but 
he  keeps  up  his  old  interest  in  agricultural 
matters  and  makes  almost  daily  visits  to  the 
farm. 

On  Sept.  29,  1862,  Mr.  Sheibley  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Elizabeth  Karl,  who  was  born  in 
Bohemia,  a  daughter  of  Christopher  and  Ann 
(Mottlin)  Karl,  who  brought  her  to  the  United 
States  when  six  years  of  age.  Ten  children 
were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sheibley,  as  fol- 
lows: a  babe  that  died  in  infancy;  Mathias, 
who  resides  on  the  home  farm,  and  who  mar- 
ried Katherine  McMahon  and  has  four  living 
children — Edward,  Gertrude,  Ida  and  Bertha, 
and  two  deceased — Frank  and  Arthur;  A.  P., 
who  lives  at  Ottawa,  O. ;  Mary,  who  is  the 
widow  of  Joseph  Miller ;  Rosa,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Peter  Heydinger;  Catherine,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Frank  Goodman;  Fannie,  who  is  the 
wife  of  M.  E.  Lauerman,  of  Hammond,  Ind. ; 
John  B. ;  Margaret,  who  is  the  wife  of  Joseph 
Miller,  of  Van  Wert  county,  O. ;  and  Jacob. 

All  his  mature  life  Mr.  Sheibley  has  been  a 
Democrat  and  on  many  occasions  he  has  been 
tendered  public  offices  of  responsibility.  He 
was  serving  in  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace 
when  he  was  elected  superintendent  of  the 
Crawford  County  Infirmary  andheld  the  latter 
office  for  nine  years  and  nine  months,  when 
he  resigned  on  account  of  failing  health.  It 
was  with  many  testimonials  of  regret  that  Mr. 


942 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Sheibley  was  permitted  to  retire  to  private  life 
for  his  faithful  and  honest  performance  of 
public  duty  had  been  appreciated  by  his  fellow 
citizens.  For  13  years  he  served  as  a  trustee 
of  Cranberry  township  and  also  was  township 
supervisor  for  a  long  time.  Mr.  Sheibley  was 
reared  in  the  Catholic  church  and  has  been  a 
conscientious  member  throughout  life.  In  him 
New  Washington  has  a  most  worthy  citizen,  a 
man  of  good  influence,  always  a  supporter  of 
law  and  order  and  one  who  has  given  much  in 
the  way  of  benevolence. 

HARRY  J.  ULMER.  Crawford  county, 
O.,  has  many  old  and  substantial  families  here, 
members  of  which  are  leading  citizens  of  their 
communities  and  live  busy  but  independent 
lives  on  their  large  properties  which  have  been 
acquired  through  honest  industry.  One  of 
these  families  is  the  Ulmers,  which  has  been 
in  Crawford  county  through  several  genera- 
tions. Harry  J.  Ulmer,  a  member  of  this  re- 
spected old  family,  was  born  in  Cranberry 
township,  Crawford  county,  in  1874,  and  lives 
on  his  large  farm  containing  234  acres,  which 
lies  eleven  miles  northeast  of  Bucyrus.  His 
parents  are  David  and  Catherine  Ulmer. 

David  and  Catherine  Ulmer  were  both  born 
in  Crawford  county,  their  parents  having  come 
here  at  an  early  day.  They  had  six  children 
born  to  them,  namely :  Elsworth  F.,  Elmer  D., 
Charles  S.,  Louisa  M.,  Ida  E.  and  Harry  J. 
Of  these  Charles  S.  is  deceased.  Elsworth  F. 
resides  at  New  Washington,  O.,  married  Clara 
Bender  and  they  have  four  children:  Edna, 
Florence,  Helen  and  Orlo.  Elmer  D.  lives  at 
home  and  assists  his  father.  Louisa  M.  is  the 
wife  of  William  Ulrich  and  they  live  at  Gallon, 
O.,  and  have  one  child,  Alta.  Ida  E.  is  the 
wife  of  Howard  Stough  and  they  live  near 
Shelby,  O.,  and  have  one  daughter,  Naomi. 

Harry  J.  Ulmer  secured  a  good,  common 
school  education.  He  remained  at  home,  giv- 
ing his  father  help  on  the  home  farm,  until 
his  own  marriage  and  then  purchased  his  pres- 
ent farm  in  Sandusky  township  and  has  de- 
voted himself  to  its  improvement  and  culti- 
vation ever  since.  He  has  erected  substantial 
buildings,  has  purchased  all  necessary  machin- 
ery and  in  every  way  has  a  well  equipped  and 
up-to-date  farm. 

Mr.  Ulmer  married  Miss  Pearl  M.  Cleland, 


a  daughter  of  John  M.  and  Martha  M. 
(Francis)  Cleland,  and  they  have  one  daugh- 
ter, Lois  F.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ulmer  belong  to 
the  English  Lutheran  church.  He  is  not  very 
active  in  politics  but  always  gives  support  to 
the  Democratic  ticket. 

ABRAHAM  MONNETT,  a  former  resi- 
dent of  Bucyrus,  now  deceased,  was  for  many 
years  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of 
Crawford  county,  being  closely  connected  with 
its  financial  and  business  interests,  which  he 
did  much  to  conserve  and  promote.  He  was 
born  Oct.  12,  181 1,  in  the  state  of  Virginia, 
near  the  Maryland  line,  his  parents  being  Jere- 
miah and  Alcy  (Slagle)  Monnett.  He  was  a 
grandson  of  Abraham  Monnett,  who  with  his 
family  moved  from  Virginia  to  Ohio  in  the 
year  1800,  settling  near  the  village  of  Chilli- 
cothe.  Abraham's  family  numbered  eight 
children — Isaac,  Thomas,  Margaret,  Jeremiah, 
John,  William,  Osbom  and  Elizabeth. 

Jeremiah  Monnett,  father  of  our  subject,  re- 
turned to  Virginia,  where  he  married  Alcy 
Slagle,  and  they  settled  near  Cumberland,  on 
the  Potomac  river,  where  they  resided  until 
1814.  Then,  with  his  wife  and  five  children 
he  removed  to  Ohio  and  settled  in  Pickaway 
county.  Their  trip  from  Virginia  was  a  very 
hard  one,  and  probably  would  not  have  been 
undertaken  but  for  the  help  of  a  widow  Jones, 
with  whom  Mr.  Monnett  joined  teams.  Jere- 
miah Monnett  was  a  regularly  ordained  min- 
ister of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  On 
his  arrival  in  Pickaway  county  he  had  only  five 
dollars  in  money,  his  team,  and  a  small  supply 
of  household  goods.  He  remained  a  resident 
of  Pickaway  county  until  1835,  and  then  re- 
moved to  Crawford  county,  settling  four  and 
a  half  miles  south  of  Bucyrus,  where  he  re- 
sided until  his  death,  which  took  place  in  Sep- 
tember, 1863.  One  of  his  sons.  Rev.  Thomas 
J.  Monnett,  became  an  earnest  and  successful 
minister  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
belonging  to  the  North  Ohio  Conference; 
further  mention  of  him  will  be  found  in  this  ' 
volume. 

Abraham  Monnett,  our  direct  subject,  had 
but  limited  opportunities  in  early  life  for  ob- 
taining an  education,  but  made  the  best  of 
those  he  had  and  subsequently  improved  his 
education   considerably  by   reading   and   self 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


943 


study.  Always  active,  energetic,  and  endowed 
with  great  decision  of  character,  he  had  before 
leaving  Pickaway  county  with  his  father,  in 
1835,  taken  an  active  part  in  all  local  matters, 
and  while  residing  there  served  as  first  lieu- 
tenant in  a  company  of  militia.  Shortly  after 
his  father  moved  to  Crawford  county,  Abra- 
ham bought  40  acres  of  land  lying  in  Scott 
township,  Marion  county,  Ohio.  Here  also  he 
joined  the  militia  company,  being  elected  first 
lieutenant  under  Capt.  Beckley. 

In  June,  1836,  Mr.  Monnett  returned  to 
Pickaway  county,  where  on  the  9th  of  that 
month  he  was  married  to  Miss  Catharine 
Brougher,  who  had  been  an  orphan  from  her 
fourth  year  and  by  whom  he  received  $2,500, 
the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  land  of  which  she 
was  the  heir.  This,  with  the  exception  of 
$120,  given  him  by  his  father,  was  the  only 
money  received  by  him  and  the  only  part  of 
his  extensive  fortune  not  accumulated  by  his 
own  energy  and  industry  and  economy.  Soon 
after  his  marriage  Mr.  Monnett  took  up  his 
residence  in  Scott  township,  Marion  county. 
In  1838  he  began  the  handling  of  cattle,  many 
of  which  he  bought  in  Illinois  and  drove  to 
his  farm  in  Marion  county,  to  do  which  some- 
times required  a  thirty  days'  drive.  Later  he 
became  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Marion 
County  Bank,  which  afterwards  became  the 
Second  National  Bank,  and  was  its  president 
for  thirty  years.  He  was  also  president  for  a 
number  of  years  of  the  Farmers  Bank  of  Mar- 
ion, O.,  and  was  also  at  the  head  of  the  Craw- 
ford County  Bank  of  Bucyrus,  where  much  of 
his  time  was  spent.  Besides  his  interest  in 
these  financial  enterprises,  he  owned  no  less 
than  11,000  acres  of  fine  land  in  Crawford  and 
Marion  counties,  a  vast  accumulation  for  a 
man  whose  early  life  was  spent  amid  pioneer 
surroundings  and  whose  education  was  largely 
self  acquired.  This  wealth  was  chiefly  the  re- 
sult of  his  operations  in  live  stock  and  was  well 
earned  by  hard  work  and  good  business  man- 
agement. Indeed  Mr.  Monnett  was  one  of  the 
best  known  business  men  in  this  part  of  the 
state  and  was  moreover  a  man  of  sterling 
character  and  worth,  respected  by  all  who  had 
any  dealings  with  him  and  sincerely  esteemed 
by  a  wide  circle  of  friends.  His  death,  which 
took  place  March  19,  1881,  caused  a  void  in  the 
community  which  could  not  easily  be  filled. 


By  his  first  wife,  Catharine  Brougher  Mon- 
nett, he  was  the  father  of  twelve  children,  all 
of  whom  were  reared  to  honorable  manhood 
or  womanhood,  and  most  of  whom  are  still 
living.  They  were  as  follows:  Ephraim  B., 
a  farmer  living  in  Bucyrus;  Martha,  wife  of 
G.  H.  Wright  of  Marion,  O. ;  Oliver,  now  de- 
ceased, who  was  a  farmer  of  Marion  county, 
O. ;  John  T.,  farmer,  residing  in  Marion 
county,  O. ;  Alcy,  wife  of  James  Malcom  of 
Bucyrus;  Augustus  E.,  of  Colorado;  Marvin 
J.,  farmer,  stock  dealer,  miner  and  banker,  also 
interested  in  the  oil  business,  living  at  Los 
Angeles,  Cal. ;  Mary  J.,  deceased,  the  wife  of 
George  Hull,  banker,  Findlay,  O. ;  Madison 
W.,  of  Indianapolis,  Ind. ;  Nelson,  residing  on 
the  old  homestead  in  Marion  county;  Amina 
J.,  wife  of  Calvin  Tobias  of  Bucyrus;  and 
Kate,  wife  of  Louis  Ross,  farmer  of  Dallas 
township. 

Mrs.  Catharine  Monnett  died  on  Feb.  8th, 
1875,  and  on  May  30,  1877,  Mr.  Monnett  was 
again  married,  his  second  wife  being  Mrs.  Jane 
L.  Johnston.  She  was  born  Nov.  23,  1831,  in 
Bedford  county.  Pa.,  when  her  father,  Samuel 
Ludwig,  was  removing  from  Berks  county, 
that  state,  to  Crawford  county,  O.  It  was 
necessary  to  stop  by  the  way,  when  the  daugh- 
ter was  born,  and  the  heavy  wagons  proceeded 
to  Crawford  county,  the  mother  being  brought 
later  with  the  infant  girl  and  arriving  here  but 
two  days  after  the  wagons,  or  on  December 
14th.  The  history  of  the  Ludwig  family  is  an 
interesting  one  and  may  be  briefly  sketched 
here.  Ancestors  of  the  name  were  among  the 
500,000  Huguenots  who  were  obliged  to  fly 
from  France  on  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes  by  Louis  XIV  in  1685.  Two  Ludwig 
brothers  from  the  province  of  Alsace,  man- 
aged to  make  their  way  to  the  coast  and  took 
passage  to  America.  With  gold  that  had  been 
sewed  into  the  linings  of  their  clothes,  one  of 
them  on  arrival  bought  land  in  Berks  county, 
Pa.  The  other,  a  stone  mason  by  trade,  set- 
tled in  Philadelphia,  where  he  built  many  of 
the  quaint  brick  buildings  for  which  Philadel- 
phia was  noted  prior  to  the  Revolutionary 
war.  He  married  and  had  seven  sons,  one 
named  Michael.  At  the  age  of  22  years 
Michael  Ludwig  married  Sarah  Hanks,  a 
Quakeress  of  English  descent,  and  later  they 
moved  to  a  farm  in  Berks  county.  Pa.     Of 


944 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


their  six  children  the  youngest  was  Samuel, 
born  in  Berks  county,  Jan.  25,  1788.  When 
he  was  three  years  old  his  father  died  and  the 
mother  subsequently  married  a  wealthy  farmer 
in  the  neighborhood,  Nichalos  Yochem,  the 
father  of  Nicholas  and  Moses  Yochem,  who 
later  became  the  heaviest  iron  masters  in  east- 
ern Pennsylvania.  Samuel  Ludwig  worked 
on  the  Yochem  farm  and  was  educated  chiefly 
by  his  mother  at  night,  who  also  taught  her 
step-sons.  She  also  gave  lessons  to  a  young 
teacher  who  came  in  1805  to  teach  select  win- 
ter school  and  who  boarded  at  the  Yochems. 
This  teacher,  Francis  D.  Shunk  by  name, 
afterwards  studied  law  and  became  governor 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  between  him,  Samuel 
Ludwig  and  the  two  Yochem  brothers  a  life 
long  friendship  was  maintained. 

It  was  Samuel  Ludwig's  desire  to  study  for 
a  profession,  but  he  was  too  poor,  so  he  was 
apprenticed  to  a  wheelwright  and  learned  the 
trade.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  married  Eliza- 
beth Redcah,  daughter  of  Hon.  John  Redcah, 
a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  legislature. 
For  23  years  after  his  marriage  he  was  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  wagons  and 
plows  in  Reading,  Pa.,  building  up  an  exten- 
sive business.  He  became  a  prominent  and 
popular  citizen  and  might  have  been  elected  to 
the  legislature  but  declined  all  public  office.  He 
devoted  much  time  to  study  and  became  a  very 
well  educated  man,  even  in  some  of  the  higher 
branches  of  knowledge.  In  1831  he  came  on 
horseback  to  Bucyrus  and  bought  a  tract  of 
land  just  east  of  the  city.  He  then  returned 
home,  disposed  of  his  business  and  brought 
his  family  to  Crawford  county,  arriving  De- 
cember 1 2th  of  that  year.  In  the  spring  of 
1832  he  bought  80  acres  of  John  Coleman,  just 
east  of  Bucyrus  on  the  Mansfield  road,  and  a 
part  of  this  has  been  the  Ludwig  home  for  80 
years.  In  1849,  at  the  age  of  62,  he  went  over- 
land to  California,  returning  by  a  sailing  ves- 
sel to  Panama,  crossing  the  Isthmus,  and  home 
via  New  Orleans,  his  trip  costing  him  $4,000, 
but  he  was  then  financially  comfortable,  hav- 
ing about  3,000  acres  of  land  in  Crawford 
county,  besides  other  investments.  Mr.  Lud- 
wig and  wife  had  eleven  children.  He  spent 
the  closing  years  of  his  life  with  his  daughter 
Jane  (Mrs.  Abraham  Monnett)  and  at  her 
home  he  died  on  Dec.  20,  1876,  aged  88  years 
and  eleven  months. 


Jane  Ludwig,  whose  marriage  has  been  al- 
ready narrated  in  connection  with  the  biogra- 
phy of  Abraham  Monnett,  was  first  married  to 
Henry  D.  E.  Johnston,  a  son  of  Thomas  F. 
and  Martha  Johnston,  and  three  daughters 
were  born  to  this  union — Nora,  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Los  Angeles,  Cal. ;  Zua,  wife  of  Frank 
A.  Stivers  of  Ripley;  and  Mary  Agnes,  who 
married  Peter  G.  Powell  of  Lexington,  Ky., 
and  died  there  Dec.  12,  1905.  Mr.  Johnston 
died  April  19,  1870,  but  his  wife  continued  to 
live  on  the  farm  seven  miles  south  of  Bucyrus, 
which  she  managed  with  characteristic  ability, 
bringing  up  her  young  children  and  later  giv- 
ing them  every  advantage  of  home  and  colle- 
giate education.  Her  subsequent  marriage  to 
Mr.  Monnett,  May  30,  1877,  has  been  already 
recorded.  This  union,  though  a  happy  one, 
was  all  too  short,  owing  to  Mr.  Monnett's 
death  some  four  years  later.  Mrs.  Monnett 
was  well  qualified  to  preside  over  the  most  re- 
fined household.  Though  reared  amid  pioneer 
scenes  and  surroundings,  she  had  developed  in 
a  high  degree  an  innate  strength  of  character, 
as  an  accompaniment  to  physical  beauty  and 
grace,  early  the  art  of  social  conversation  and 
hospitality  which  made  her  so  interesting  up  to 
the  very  last  days  of  her  life.  During  her 
later  years  her  home  was  the  center  of  social 
interesti  The  entertainments  given  there  were 
lavish  and  elaborate,  yet  presided  over  with  a 
refinement  that  avoided  all  ostentation  and 
was  pervaded  with  a  sincere  and  genuine  hos- 
pitality. The  elegant  house  sheltered  many 
noted  guests  who  were  alike  charmed  with  the 
gracious  manners  and  pleasing  personality  of 
their  hostess.  A  broad  reader  and  careful 
thinker,  Mrs.  Monnett  was  a  gifted  conver- 
sationalist and  her  views  on  public  questions 
were  valuable.  At  her  last  birthday,  Nov.  23, 
191 1,  she  entertained  a  number  of  friends  at 
dinner,  presiding  at  the  table  with  a  gracious- 
ness  that  made  the  occasion  a  delightful  one 
to  all  present.  A  little  more  than  five  weeks 
later,  on  December  31st,  191 1,  she  died  after 
litle  more  than  a  week's  illness,  at  the  age  of 
80  years,  one  month  and  eight  days,  her  daugh- 
ter, Mrs.  F.  A.  Stivers,  of  Ripley,  administer- 
ing to  her  as  she  slipped  away  on  the  sea  of 
eternity.  The  funeral  services  were  conducted 
by  her  pastor,  Rev.  J.  Frank  Smith,  and  her 
burial  was  in  Oakwood  cemetery. 

Mrs.    Monnett   was    a   lavish   giver   to  all 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


945 


worthy  enterprises.  She  also  took  a  leading 
part  in  many  successful  campaigns  for  the  im- 
provement of  Bucyrus.  Her  life  was  one  of 
help  for  others,  her  counsel  and  judgment  were 
freely  given  when  called  for  and  her  purse  was 
ever  open  to  help  along  a  good  cause.  Time 
dealt  kindly  with  her,  her  eighty  years  of  life 
and  many  years  of  exceptional  cares  and  re- 
sponsibilities had  not  darkened  her  view  of  her 
surroundings  or  detracted  from  her  interest  in 
others.  She  had  a  broad  conception  of  duty 
and  was  strong  in  her  ability  to  encounter  and 
overcome  obstacles.  Her  life  was  an  inspira- 
tion to  all  who  knew  her  and  her  death  brought 
sadness  to  all.  It  will  be  long  ere  her  memory 
shall  pass  away,  and  still  longer  before  her  in- 
fluence for  good  and  the  effect  of  her  works 
shall  cease  to  be  visible  in  the  community  of 
which  she  was  so  bright  an  ornament,  and  so 
strong  a  stay. 

HENRY  D.  E.  JOHNSTON,  the  first  hus- 
band of  Mrs.  Jane  Monnett,  subject  of  the 
preceding  sketch,  was  born  in  Lycoming 
county,  Pa.,  August  8,  1825,  a  son  of  Thomas 
F.  and  Martha  L.  (Walton)  Johnston.  His 
father,  Thomas  F.  Johnston,  was  born  in  the 
same  county,  Feb.  3,  1800,  and  was  an  only 
child,  his  parents  coming  to  Pennsylvania 
from  Ireland.  Thomas  F.  learned  the  cabinet 
making  business.  On  Sept.  20,  1823,  he  mar- 
ried Martha  L.  Walton,  whose  parents  came 
from  England.  After  his  marriage  Mr.  John- 
ston continued  in  the  business  of  cabinet  mak- 
ing until  October,  1825,  when  he  started  for 
Ohio  one  morning  with  a  four  horse  covered 
wagon.  Besides  Mr.  Johnston  and  his  wife 
and  their  infant  son,  Henry,  the  party  included 
Benjamin  Warner,  a  brother-in-law  of  Mrs. 
Johnston,  with  his  wife  and  one  child.  Their 
objective  point  was  Dallas  township,  where 
George  Walton,  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Johnston, 
had  located  in  1823.  After  three  weeks  dififi- 
cult  travelling  they  reached  the  eastern  part  of 
the  state,  where,  on  account  of  the  condition 
of  the  roads,  and  also  because  Mr.  Johnston 
took  sick,  they  were  obliged  to  halt.  Here 
they  remained  until  the  spring,  when  they  re- 
sumed their  journev.  finally  reaching  the  plain 
in  Dallas  township,  where  the  wagon  became  so 
badly  mired  that  they  left  it  and  proceeded  to 
the  Walton  cabin  partly  on  foot,  the  women 


and  children  riding  the  horses.  The  wagon 
was  rescued  the  following  day.  A  few  days 
later  the  party  started  west,  avoiding  the 
swamps  as  much  as  possible,  and  turning  north 
on  the  Claridon  road  (later  the  Sandusky 
pike),  came  to  Bucyrus,  where  Mr.  Johnston 
decided  to  remain  and  establish  business  at  his 
trade  as  a  cabinet  maker.  The  town  then  con- 
sisted of  a  few  log  cabins  surrounded  with 
water  up  to  the  steps.  They  stopped  at  Bishop 
Merriman's  store,  which  looked  very  like  a 
river  boat  anchored  in  the  water.  Wild  ducks 
were  plentiful  and  also  deer  and  the  woods 
were  well  supplied  with  wolves.  Moving  into 
an  abandoned  cabin,  Mr.  Johnston  began  look- 
ing up  his  cabinet-making  business  and  found 
that,  with  woods  everywhere,  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  get  a  piece  of  lumber  dry  enough 
to  work  up,  so  he  determined  to  move  to  Col- 
to  work  up,  so  he  determined  to  move  to  Co- 
lumbus. His  neighbors,  however,  entreated 
him  to  remain,  Benjamin  Warner  promising 
him  a  forty  acre  farm  in  Whetstone  township, 
it  being  a  part  of  what  is  now  the  Jacob  Hurr 
farm.  This  offer  he  accepted  on  the  under- 
standing that  he  could  raise  wheat  on  the 
farm..  He  succeeded  in  raising  the  wheat,  but 
the  difficulty  of  getting  it  ground  and  the  im- 
pure water,  which  caused  much  sickness  in  his 
family,  prompted  him  in  1829  to  remove  to 
Findlay,  where  they  promptly*  elected  him 
county  auditor,  with  a  salary  of  $75  a  year. 
After  one  term  in  office,  however,  he  moved 
back  to  Crawford,  this  time  settling  in  Dallas 
township,  where  the  water  was  somewhat 
better.  He  now  devoted  his  attention  to  stock 
raising,  in  which  he  was  very  successful,  at 
one  time  having  as  many  as  6,000  head.  At 
the  time  of  his  death,  Nov.  i,  1862,  he  had 
about  1,300  acres  of  land.  After  his  death, 
and  even  before,  his  sons,  Henry  D.  E.  and  G. 
E.,  carried  on  the  stock  business,  prospering 
as  had  their  father  before  them. 

Henry  D.  Johnston  was  born  in  Lycoming 
county.  Pa.,  Aug.  8,  1825,  and  came  with  his 
parents  to  Crawford  county  when  but  an  in- 
fant. On  May  6,  1857,  he  married  Jane  Lud- 
wig,  youngest  child  of  Samuel  Ludwig.  After 
his  marriage  he  continued  farming  and  stock 
raising  in  Dallas  township  until  18'^g  when  he 
came  to  Bucyrus.  Here  he  devoted  his  atten- 
tion exclusively  to  the  stock  trade  for  three 
years,  when,  on  the  death  of  his  father,  he  re- 


946 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


turned  to  the  farm  in  Dallas  township,  con- 
tinuing in  business  there  until  his  death  on 
April  19,  1870.  At  the  time  of  his  death  the 
father  left  his  wife  and  daughters  about  515 
acres  of  land  and  other  property. 

SENATE  A.  PUGH,  who  was  appointed 
postmaster  at  New  Washington,  O.,  Feb.  i, 
191 1,  and  a  member  of  one  of  the  old  and  pa- 
triotic families  of  Crawford  county,  C,  was 
born  in  Cranberry  township,  Crawford  county, 
two  miles  east  and  one  mile  north  of  New 
Washington,  Jan.  15,  1883.  He  is  a  son  of 
Moses  and  Martha  (Johnston)  Pugh. 

Moses  Pugh  was  born  in  Lykens  township, 
Crawford  county,  and  there  attended  the  dis- 
trict schools  and  helped  his  father  clear  up  the 
farm  until  the  age  of  17  years,  when  he  left 
home  and  enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  Co.  H,  55th 
O.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  remained  in  the  army  all 
through  the  Civil  War,  although  so  severely 
wounded  that  he  lost  his  right  leg.  On  three 
different  occasions  he  was  promoted  on  ac- 
count of  unusual  bravery  and  when  he  was 
honorably  discharged  and  mustered  out  he  was 
second  lieutenant  of  his  company.  He  re- 
turned home  and  cleared  up  a  farm  of  eighty 
acres  in  Cranberry  township,  south  of  Cran- 
berry Chapel.  He  now  owns  76  acres  in  Cran- 
berry township.  He  is  a  valued  member  of 
the  G.  A.  R.  -at  New  Washington.  He  mar- 
ried in  Crawford  county  and  five  of  his  six 
children  survive. 

Senate  A.  Pugh  attended  the  Cranberry 
township  schools  and  the  New  Washington 
High  School,  graduated  from  Oberlin  Business 
College,  and  afterward  taught  school  for  eight 
months  at  Auburn  Center.  For  three  years  he 
engaged  in  farming  two  and  one-half  miles 
south  of  New  Washington,  where  he  owns  160 
acres  of  land  which  he  has  under  rental,  it 
formerly  being  owned  by  John  Remmle  but 
Mr.  Pugh  has  done  the  most  of  the  improv- 
ing. He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Cranberry 
Home  Nursery  Company  of  New  Washington 
and  has  resided  in  the  city  ever  since  his  mar- 
riage and  since  March  20,  1911,  has  been 
postmaster. 

Mr.  Pugh  was  married  to  Miss  Hazel  Cas- 
ner,  who  was  born  in  Seneca  county,  O.,  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Ella  Casner.  Po- 
litically he  is  stanch  in  his  adherence  to  the 


Republican  party.     He  belongs  to  the  frater- 
nal order  Knights  of  Pythias. 

SIMON  MATHIAS  HEINLEN,  whose 
fine  farm  of  84  acres  lies  in  Bucyrus  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  is  a  native  of  this  town- 
ship, born  June  3,  1853,  and  is  a  son  of 
Mathias  and  Elizabeth  (Bickle)  Heinlen. 

Mathias  Heinlen  and  wife  were  both  born 
in  Germany  and  came  young  to  Crawford 
county  and  married  here,  spent  their  lives  in 
Bucfyrus  township  and  now  rest  in  the  old 
cemetery  at  Nevada.  They  were  good  and 
virtuous  people,  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  It  is  said  that  no  call  for  help  in  their 
neighborhood  was  ever  disregarded  by  them 
and  on  their  farm  friends  and  strangers  found 
a  hospitable,  German  welcome.  They  had  the 
following  children :  Elizabeth,  who  is  the  wife 
of  A.  E.  Bolinger;  John,  Simon  Mathias; 
Samuel;  Frank;  Matilda,  who  was  twice  mar- 
ried, first  to  Harry  Ochse,  and  second  to  James 
Johnston;  Magdalena,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Byron  Kent;  and  Lucinda,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Smith  Murphy. 

Simon  Mathias  Heinlen  has  spent  his  life  in 
Crawford  county,  a  part  of  the  time  living  in 
Bucyrus  township  and  a  part  in  Tod  township. 
He  has  followed  farming  and  stock  raising 
ever  since  his  school  days  ended,  and  has 
brought  his  land  to  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 
On  Dec.  31,  1889,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Jennie  McConnell.  Her  parents,  Alexander 
and  Leanna  (Wortman)  McConnell,  are  both 
deceased.  They  were  born  in  Belmont  county, 
O.,  and  after  marriage  settled  on  a  farm  in 
Wyandot  county.  Mrs.  Heinlen  is  a  grand- 
daughter of  Isaac  Wortman,  who  served  in 
the  War  of  1812.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McConnell 
had  the  following  children:  Nettie,  deceased, 
who  married  Josh  Henry  of  Michigan ;  Rachel, 
who  married  John  McAllister;  Newton,  Jen- 
nie, who  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  Heinlen;  and 
Elmer.  Two  daughters  and  one  son  have  been 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Heinlen:  Edith  E., 
Ethel  V.  and  Herman  M.  The  family  attends 
the  Martin  Luther  church.  In  his  political 
views  Mr.  Heinlen,  like  his  late  father,  is  a 
Democrat.  Since  settling  on  his  present  farm 
he  has  accepted  no  public  office  but  served  two 
terms  as  assessor  while  residing  in  Todd  town- 
ship.   He  is  one  of  the  well  known  and  repre- 


L.  J.  LINN 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


947 


sentative   men   of   this   section    of  Crawford 
county. 

L.  J.  LINN,  whose  substantial  improve- 
ments and  fine  buildings  add  greatly  to  the 
value  of  his  beautiful  farm  of  355  acres,  which 
lies  six  miles  north  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  in  a  well 
irrigated  and  fertile  part  of  Holmes  township, 
Crawford  county,  was  born  in  this  township, 
in  November,  1858,  and  is  a  son  of  William 
and  Leah  (Fralick)  Linn. 

William  Linn  is  one  of  the  venerable  and 
highly  esteemed  residents  of  Holmes  town- 
ship, in  which  he  has  spent  a  useful  life.  His 
occupation  has  been  farming  and  he  found  suc- 
cess and  contentment  in  caring  for  his  fields 
and  flocks.  He  married  Leah  Fralick,  who 
also  survives,  and  seven  of  their  children,  as 
follows :  W.  G.,  who  lives  at  Bucyrus ;  and  L. 
J.,  Mrs.  Alice  James,  Mrs.  Lucy  Spore,  Mrs. 
Melissa  Brownshall,  Mrs.  Laura  Heileman,  and 
Mrs.  Clara  Sawyer.  The  Linn  family  is  one 
of  the  oldest  in  Crawford  county  and  early 
pioneers  in  Holmes  township. 

L.  J.  Linn  had  the  best  educational  advan- 
tages the  common  schools  offered  in  his  boy- 
hood and  afterward  he  engaged  in  farming. 
For  the  past  30  years  he  has  resided  on  his 
present  farm,  which  he  devotes  to  stock  rais- 
ing and  general  agriculture.  He  has  erected 
such  substantial  and  attractive  buildings  that 
favorable  comment  is  made  by  passing  visitors, 
while  they  add  greatly  to  the  general  appear- 
ance of  the  neigborhood  and  satisfy  a  local 
pride.  He  has  always  been  an  enterprising 
and  progressive  man  and  takes  a  just  pleasure 
in  the  ownership  of  such  desirable  property. 

Mr.  Linn  married  Miss  Lizzie  Heileman  and 
they  have  three  children :  Roy,  Jay  and  Vella. 
The  eldest  son  is  a  farmer  in  Holmes  town- 
ship. He  married  here  Miss  Laura  Ditty  and 
they  have  two  children :  Leslie  and  Pearson.. 
Jay,  the  second  son,  owns  a  farm  adjoining 
that  of  his  father.  He  married  Miss  Alta  Lust 
and  they  have  two  sons:  Marvin  John  and 
Dorsey.  Vella  is  the  wife  of  Minor  Schiefer 
and  they  have  one  son,  Ivan.  In  politics  Mr. 
Linn  and  sons  are  Republicans.  The  family 
belongs  to  the  Evangelical  church  at  Broken- 
sword.  As  a  recreation,  Mr.  Linn  enjoys 
hunting  and  although  he  has  never  visited 
game  regions  in  other  lands  he  has  pretty  well 
covered   those   in   his   own   country  and  has 


trophies  won  from  Maine  to  California,  by  his 
trusty  Winchester.  He  has  visited  states  from 
Maine  to  California  and  has  seen  much  of 
the  country  in  his  travels. 

Several  years  ago — in  1904 — Mr.  Linn  took 
his  entire  family  to  the  St.  Louis  Exposition, 
and  then  continued  his  tour  to  the  West,  look- 
ing up  the  early  settlers,  who  had  left  Craw- 
ford county  in  the  years  that  have  passed  to 
make  their  homes  beyond  the  Mississippi.  In 
Oklahoma,  Kansas,  Colorado,  California,  and 
other  of  the  western  states,  he  met  many  of 
those  who  had  been  associated  with  him  in  his 
youthful  days  in  the  development  of  his  native 
county  of  Crawford,  and  with  them,  during 
his  six  month's  trip,  he  exchanged  many  inter- 
esting reminiscences. 

HENRY  C.  SARGEL,*  who  enjoys  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  the  oldest  department  head 
connected  with  the  Toledo  &  Ohio  Central 
railway  shops,  located  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  is  the 
efficient  foreman  of  the  immense  blacksmith 
shops  here  having  been  advanced  to  his  pres- 
ent position  in  1893,  after  years  of  faithful 
service.  He  was  born  in  Marion  county  O., 
March  16,  1853. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Sargel  were  natives  of 
Bavaria,  Germany,  and  when  they  came  to 
America  settled  at  Marion,  O.,  where  the 
father  died.  The  mother,  now  88  years  of 
age,  resides  with  a  son  in  Crawford  county. 
The  family  is  of  the  German  Lutheran  faith. 
Of  the  seven  children,  four  are  deceased : 
Peter,  Louise,  Elizabeth  and  John.  The  sur- 
vivors are :    Henry  C,  Erhart  and  Jacob. 

Henry  C.  Sargel  was  reared  at  Marion,  O., 
attended  school  there  and  when  old  enough  for 
railroad  service,  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Erie  railroad  and  learned  the  blacksmith  trade 
in  the  Erie  shops.  In  1881  he  came  to  Bucy- 
rus to  work  in  the  shops  of  the  Toledo  &  Ohio 
Central  railroad  and  his  skill  and  dexterity 
soon  won  him  advancement  and,  as  mentioned, 
he  was  made  foreman  of  his  department  19 
years  ago.  In  everything  pertaining  to  the 
blacksmith  work  of  this  road  he  is  an  authority 
and  he  is  very  highly  estimated  by  the  com- 
pany. He  has  been  a  careful,  prudent  man 
and  at  times  has  made  property  investments 
and  owns  a  beautiful  residence  at  No.  428 
Gallon  street,  Bucyrus. 

Mr.  Sargel  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to  Miss 


948 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Louise  C.  Gerhart,  who  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, Sept.  19,  1858,  and  in  the  same  year  was 
brought  to  Galion,  O.,  "by  her  parents,  Angus 
an4  Catherine  (Kline)  Gerhart.  In  that  city 
Mr.  Gerhart  was  a  mechanic  in  the  shops  of 
the  Big  Four  railroad,  in  earlier  years  being  a 
cooper.  He  was  born  Sept.  26,  1830,  and  his 
wife  in  1836,  and  they  both  survive  and  are 
respected  and  esteemed  residents  of  Gallon. 
They  have  been  almost  lifelong  members  of 
the  German  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sargel  have  had  the  following  children :  Otho 
Orlando,  who  died  at  the  age  of  three  and 
one-half  years;  Edward  Arthur,  who  lives  at 
home  and  is  a  postal  clerk  on  the  Pennsylvania 
railroad;  C.  Irene,  who  is  the  wife  of  Carl 
Bechtel,  residing  at  Bucyrus ;  and  Roy  Alonzo, 
who  is  a  machinist  with  the  Big  Four  railroad, 
at  Bellefontaine,  O.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sargel  are 
members  of  the  German  Lutheran  church.  He 
belongs  to  the  beneficiary  order  of  Royal  Ar- 
canum, at  Bucyrus. 

JOHN  EDWARD  HOPLEY,  second  son 
of  John  Prat  and  Georgianna  Rochester  Hop- 
ley,  was  born  near  Elkton,  Todd  County,  Ken- 
tucky, August  25,  1850.  His  mother,  writing 
to  a  sister  when  he  was  eleven  months  old  said, 
"John  Eddie  has  eyes  as  blue  as  the  sky  and  as 
bright  as  the  stars ;  he  likes  to  play  with  books 
and  is  only  quiet  when  looking  at  the  pictures." 
This  early  love  of  books  continued  through 
life;  he  not  only  owns  a  large  library  but  with 
a  retentive  memory  possesses  a  knowledge  of 
its  contents. 

His  parents  returned  north,  to  Logan,  Ohio ; 
then  to  Bucyrus  when  he  was  six  years  old, 
his  father  being  superintendent  of  the  schools 
at  both  places.  He  attended  the  Bucyrus 
schools  until  the  fall  of  1867,  when,  his  father 
having  purchased  the  Bucyrus  Journal,  he  left 
school  and  learned  the  printing  business  in 
his  father's  office.  He  read  law  with  Hon.  Ja- 
cob Scroggs,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1876.  He  spent  several  years  in  New  York  at 
the  printing  business  and  in  1883  returned  to 
Bucyrus  and  was  associated  with  his  father  on 
the  Journal.  On  October  17,  1887,  he  started 
the  Evening  Telegraph.  He  was  attracted  to 
politics  early  in  life,  as  his  home  was  a  centre 
of  political  activity,  and  before  he  was  of  age 
he  was  mapping  out  plans,  with  his  father,  by 


which  majorities  might  be  achieved.  He  was 
one  of  the  organizers  of  the  League  of  Repub- 
lican Clubs  in  the  State,  as  well  as  the-  Asso- 
ciated Ohio  Dailies ;  was  State  Central  Commit- 
teeman for  four  years.  In  1894  he  managed 
the  campaign  which  resulted  in  the  election  of 
Hon.  S.  R.  Harris  to  Congress,  and  he  was  that 
gentleman's  private  secretary  for  two  years  at 
Washington;  in  1895  he  took  charge  of  the 
campaign  which  resulted  in  the  nomination  of 
Hon.  Frank  S.  Monnette  for  Attorney  Gen- 
eral. In  1897  he  took  an  active  hand  in  the 
exciting  campaign  which  resulted  in  the  elec- 
tion of  Hon.  M.  A.  Hanna  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  visiting  every  close  legislative  district 
in  the  state.  In  1898  he  was  appointed  by 
President  McKinley  as  United  States  Consul 
to  Southampton,  England,  and  five  years  later 
was  promoted  to  the  Consulate  at  Montevideo, 
South  America.  His  parents  both  died  in 
1904,  and  in  1905  he  returned  to  Bucyrus  to 
succeed  his  father  as  president  of  the  Hopley 
Printing  Company,  and  editor  of  the  Journal 
and  Telegraph.  In  19 12  he  was  nominatsd 
by  the  State  Convention  as  one  of  the  electors 
at  large  on  the  Republican  ticket. 

His  consular  service  made  him  an  exten- 
sive traveler;  he  has  crossed  the  ocean  fifteen 
times.  He  possesses  many  souvenirs  of  his  for- 
eign travels,  among  them  valued  testimonials 
given  him  in  recognition  of  faithful  and  popu- 
lar service,  his  first  consular  commission,  bear- 
ing the  signature  of  William  McKinley  and  its 
acceptance,  signed  "Victoria  R."  He  is  a  lover 
of  politics,  poetry  and  romance,  Joan  of  Arc 
and  Napoleon  being  his  favorite  characters  in 
history.  His  amusements  are  "whist"  and  puz- 
zles. He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Frater- 
nity and  the  Eastern  Star ;  also  of  the  Elks,  be- 
ing the  first  exalted  ruler  of  the  present  lodge. 
He  was  never  married  but  resides  at  the  home- 
•  stead  which  has  been  his  home  for  fifty-six 
years.  He  values  friends  above  money,  and 
his  wealth  is  in  his  friendships.  In  June,  191 1, 
he  was  engaged  to  write  the  History  of  Craw- 
ford County,  and  for  over  a  year  he  has  de- 
voted his  entire  time  to  the  work.  The  result 
of  his  research  and  labor  are  presented  in  this 
volume. 

T.  T.  TUPPS,  who  is  numbered  with  the 
successful  agriculturists  of  Liberty  township, 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


949 


Crawford  county,  O.,  owns  a  finely  improved 
farm  containing  105  acres,  on  which  he  has 
resided  for  some  years.  He  was  born  in  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  and  is  the  only  child  born  to 
his  parents,  who  were  Dr.  Uriah  and  Melissa 
(Jones)  Tupps. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Tupps  was  a  physician 
and  was  widely  known.  He  lived  in  Chatfield 
township,  until  his  death  and  was  survived  by 
his  widow.  Dr.  Tupps  had  one  brother  and 
one  sister:  Jaconiah,  who  lives  in  Whetstone 
township;  and  Mrs.  Campbell,  who  is  now 
deceased. 

T.  T.  Tupps  attended  the  district  schools 
and  remained  on  the  home  farm  until  he  was 
14  years  of  age,  when  he  learned  the  house 
painting  trade,  which  he  follows  in  connection 
with  farming.  After  purchasing  his  present 
farm  he  put  in  many  improvements  and  built 
a  very  handsome  residence. 

Mr.  Tupps  married  Miss  Sophia  Hilde- 
brand,  a  daughter  of  John  Hildebrand,  whose 
other  children  were :  Solomon,  George,  Jacob, 
Emanuel,  Christian  John  and  Tillie.  To  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Tupps  the  following  children  were 
born:  Tony  R.,  who  married  Grace  Baird, 
and  lives  in  Liberty  township  and  has  one 
child.  Milliard;  Carrie,  who  died  in  infancy; 
Howard,  who  died  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
years;  and  Idallas  and  Donald.  The  family 
belongs  to  the  German  Lutheran  church.  In 
politics  Mr.  Tupps  has  always  given  support 
to  the  Democratic  party  and  on  that  ticket  he 
has  been,  at  times,  elected  to  public  office  and 
has  served  satisfactory  to  all  concerned  as 
school  director  and  supervisor. 

J.  B.  ALT,  general  farmer,  successfully 
operating  160  acres  of  fine  land  situated  in  sec- 
tion 2,  Cranberry  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  devotes  considerable  attention  also  to  fine 
stock,  having  some  registered  animals.  Mr. 
Alt  was  born  in  Cranberry  township,  Sept.  2, 
1865,  and  is  a  son  of  Lewis  and  Elizabeth 
(Faeth)  Alt. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Alt  moved  from  Craw- 
ford to  Huron  county  when  he  was  young  and 
he  attended  school  there  before  the  family  re- 
moved to  Seneca  county  and  it  was  in  Reed 
township,  in  the  latter  county,  that  the  father 
died.  The  mother  continues  to  reside  in  the 
old  home  in  Reed  township.  They  had  a  fam- 
ily of  seven  sons  and  one  daughter. 


J.  B.  Alt  remained  in  Seneca  county  until 
1895,  having  grown  up  on  the  home  farm,  and 
then  came  to  Cranberry  township  once  more 
and  afterward  moved  to  a  farm  in  Auburn 
township.  Later  he  determined  to  return  to 
his  native  part  of  the  county  and  in  1902  lo- 
cated on  the  farm  on  which  he  has  resided 
ever  since,  renting  it  annually  from  its  owner, 
Frank  Wechter,  of  New  Washington.  Mr. 
Alt  is  an  industrious  and  experienced  farmer 
and  through  his  practical  methods  and  solid 
agricultural  knowledge,  has  brought  this  land 
to  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and  has  done 
much  to  bring  about  a  raising  of  the  standard 
of  stock  in  this  part  of  the  county. 

Mr.  Alt  was  married  in  Seneca  county,  O., 
to  Miss  Anna  L.  Hitz,  who  was  born  in  Michi- 
gan, a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  Hitz, 
and  they  have  a  family  of  seven  children,  four 
daughters  and  three  sons ;  Esther,  Albert.  Ed- 
win, Laura,  William,  Charlotte  and  Katherine. 
Mr.  Alt  and  family  are  members  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church  and  he  is  identified  with  the 
Catholic  Mutual  Benefit  Association.  He  is  a 
quiet,  law-abiding  man,  anxious  to  work  for 
the  good  of  the  community  and  country  at 
large,  but  not  seeking  public  office.  In  his 
political  views  he  is  a  Democrat. 

DANIEL  P.  WINCH,  a  representative  citi- 
zen and  prosperous  farmer  and  stock  raiser  of 
Dallas  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  where 
he  owns  80  acres  of  well  improved  land,  was 
born  in  Marion  county,  O.,  Jan.  2,  1864,  and 
is  a  son  of  Frederick  and  Mary  (Crissinger) 
Winch. 

Frederick  Winch  was  born  in  Germany  and 
came  to  Marion  county  as  a  young  man  and 
continued  to  live  here  and  follow  agricultural 
pursuits  until  his  death.  He  married  Mary 
Crissinger,  who  was  born  in  Marion  county 
and  now  resides  at  Martel,  Marion  county. 
They  were  parents  of  the  following  children: 
Henry,  John,  Daniel  P.,  James,  Charles,  Rich- 
ard, Matilda  and  Etta,  all  surviving  except 
James.  Matilda  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Dyson, 
and  Etta  is  the  wife  of  William  Kurtz.  Frede- 
rick Winch  and  wife  were  members  and  liberal 
supporters  of  the  Reformed  church. 

Daniel  P.  Winch  obtained  a  district  school 
education  and  has  always  been  interested  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  neighborhood  and  for 
eight  years  served  as  a  school  director.     His 


950 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


business  has  been  general  farming,  including 
the  raising  of  sufficient  stock  for  his  own  use, 
and  through  his  intelligent  methods  and  close 
attention  he  has  been  quite  successful.  In 
1901  he  settled  on  his  farm  in  Dallas  township, 
which  he  purchased  from  August  Linn,  and 
has  made  many  substantial  improvements  here. 
On  June  18,  1891,  Mr.  Winch  was  married 
to  Miss  Amanda  Stoltz,  a  daughter  of  David 
and  Elizabeth  (Eckard)  Stoltz.  The  parents 
of  Mrs.  Winch  were  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
came  to  Ohio  when  young.  They  had  the  fol- 
lowing children  born  to  them :  Ella,  George, 
Mary,  Amanda,  Anna,  Ida,  John,  Matilda,  Jay, 
Clarence,  Samuel  and  Callie,  the  last  named 
being  deceased.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Winch  have 
three  children :  Edna,  who  is  the  wife  of  Orra 
Linn;  and  Ralph  D.  and  Zola  Laverne.  Mr. 
Winch  and  family  are  members  of  the  Re- 
formed church.  In  politics  he  is  nominally  a 
Democrat  but  frequently  in  casting  his  vote, 
relies  on  his  own  judgment  as  to  a  candidate's 
fitness  for  office. 

GEORGE  NEDOLAST,*  who  carries  on 
general  farming  on  his  well  improved  80  acres, 
situated  in  section  24,  Cranberry  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  was  born  in  Auburn 
township,  Crawford  county,  Jan.  6,  1871,  and 
is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Annie  (Wenzelick) 
Nedolast,  natives  of  Germany. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Nedolast  was  born  in 
Germany  and  came  in  early  manhood  to  Ohio, 
where  he  married  Annie  ^^^enzelick,  who  was 
also  a  native  of  Germany.  They  settled  in 
Cranberry  township  when  this  land  was  in  its 
wild  state  and  not  only  cleared  off  this  tract 
but  an  adjoining  one  of  80  acres  and  on  both 
of  his  farms  carried  on  mixed  farming. 
George  Nedolast  is  the  .second  born  in  a  fam- 
ily of  eight  children,  the  others  being:  John, 
who  lives  south  of  New  Washington;  Nich- 
olas, who  is  a  farmer  in  Cranberry  township; 
Martin,  who  lives  south  of  New  Washington; 
Peter,  who  resides  in  South  Cranberry  town- 
ship; Mrs.  Lena  Raymond,  who  lives  at  Bar- 
low, O. ;  George,  who  lives  at  New  Washing- 
ton; and  Joseph,  who  lives  south  of  New 
Washington.  The  father  of  the  above  family 
died  at  the  age  of  56  years  and  his  burial  was 
in  the  Catholic  cemetery  at  New  Washington. 
The  mother  still  lives  on  the  home  farm. 


Since  the  ending  of  his  school  days,  George 
Nedolast  has  been  engaged  in  farming  and 
has  lived  on  his  present  place  for  about  ten 
years,  having  had  six  acres  to  clear.  He  mar- 
ried Kate  Siska,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Siska, 
and  they  have  four  children:  Helen,  Martin, 
Gerhart  and  Annie.  Mr.  Nedolast  is  a  quiet, 
industrious,  law  abiding  man,  one  of  good 
principles  and  a  faithful  member  of  the  Catho- 
lic church,  to  which  he  is  a  generous  contri- 
butor. In  politics  he  has  always  been 
a  Democrat. 

BENJAMIN  SHEARER,  a  well  known 
citizen  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  where  he  has  many  in- 
terests although  is  practically  retired  from  ac- 
tive business,  was  born  in  Whetstone  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  John  J. 
Shearer  and  a  grandson  of  Michael  Shearer. 

Michael  Shearer,  the  grandfather,  was  born 
in  Wertemmberg,  Germany  and  there  married 
Anna  Hipp.  In  1805  they  came  to  the  United 
States  and  settled  in  Lancaster  county,  Pa., 
moving  from  there  some  years  later  to  Lycom- 
ing county,  in  that  state,  and  in  1834  they 
came  to  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  purchasing  land  which  is  still  in  the 
family.  Michael  Shearer  survived  his  wife 
and  was  75  years  of  age  at  time  of  death. 

John  J.  Shearer  was  born  in  Lancaster 
county.  Pa.,  in  1808,  and  accompanied  his  par- 
ents to  Lycoming  county.  About  1832  his 
older  brother,  Jacob  Shearer,  ventured  as  far 
west  as  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  with  his  family,  and  in  1834,  John  J. 
Shearer,  accompanied  by  his  young  wife  and 
his  parents,  followed  the  other  members  of  the 
family  to  Ohio.  The  first  wife  of  John  J. 
Shearer  died  early  and  he  later  married  Cathe- 
rine Miller  and  they  lived  on  a  farm  of  300 
acres,  in  Dallas  township  for  16  years.  He 
then  sold  his  farm  to  his  sons  and  retired  to 
Bucyrus,  where  he  resided  until  his  death,  in 
1884,  having  survived  his  second  wife  since 
Jan.  I,  1869.  She  was  but  53  years  of  age  at 
that  time  but  was  the  mother  of  six  sons  and 
one  daughter:  Daniel,  who  died  in  Idaho,  un- 
married ;  Mary  A.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  nine 
years ;  Samuel,  who  died  when  aged  ten  years ; 
Isaac,  who  died  in  1907,  at  the  age  of  59  years, 
and  was  survived  by  three  brothers :  David, 
who  is  a  successful  farmer  in  Whetstone  town- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


951 


ship,  and  has  one  son,  Samuel  C. ;  Benjamin; 
and  George,  who  is  a  capitalist  at  Portland, 
Ore.,  and  has  a  family  of  three  children :  Wal- 
lace, Ruby  and  Alice. 

Benjamin  Shearer  was  reared  on  the  farm 
in  Dallas  township  and  attended  the -neighbor- 
hood schools  and  also  the  Bucyrus  schools, 
after  which  he  became  a  teacher  and  spent 
several  terms  in  Dallas  township  schools  as 
the  head  where  he  had  once  been  a  pupil.  In 
the  course  of  time  he  became  the  owner  of  200 
acres  of  the  family  estate  which  he  later  in- 
creased by  100  more  acres,  and  continued  to 
reside  in  Dallas  township  and  carry  on  general 
farming  and  stock  raising  until  1893,  when  he 
came  to  Bucyrus,  where  he  was  more  or  less 
interested  in  public  matters  and  business  affairs 
until  1904,  when  he  practically  eased  himself 
of  his  larger  responsibilities.  He  is  a  large 
stockholder  and  a  director  in  the  Second  Na- 
tional Bank  and  in  other  enterprises  and  was 
one  of  the  interested  capitalists  that  secured 
the  installation  of  the  Automatic  Telephone 
Company.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Shearer 
is  a  Democrat  and  he  was  a  director  of  the 
county  infirmary  from  January,  1888,  to  Jan- 
uary, 1894. 

Mr.  Shearer  was  married  in  Marion  county, 
O.,  to  Miss  Anna  Dawson,  who  was  born, 
reared  and  educated  in  that  county,  and  is  a 
daughter  of  James  and  Eve  (Miller)  Dawson, 
natives  of  Ross  and  Pickaway  counties  re- 
spectively. James  Dawson  secured  his  land 
during  the  administration  of  President  Jack- 
son and  the  deed,  which  was  not  recorded 
until  many  years  afterward,  bears  that  execu- 
tive's name.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dawson  lived  in 
Marion  county  many  years  and  then  moved 
to  Ross  county,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of 
87  and  she  died  later  at  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Shearer,  aged  86  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shearer 
have  had  two  children :  Mary  Ellen,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  eleven  years;  and  John  J.,  who 
is  a  resident  of  Houston,  Tex.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  New  York  to  Mildred  Faulter  and 
they  have  three  children:  DeWitt,  Anna 
Gladys  and  Floyd.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shearer  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

MRS.  MARGARET  HEYDINGER,  a  well 
known  and  highly  esteemed  resident  of  Cran- 
berry township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  where 


she  owns  a  valuable  farm  of  100  acres,  was 
born  in  Auburn  township,  Crawford  county, 
and  is  a  daughter  of  Peter  and  Eva  (Heartzer) 
Boblick,  and  the  widow  of  Frank  Heydinger. 
The  parents  of  Mrs.  Heydinger  were  born  in 
Germany  and  grew  up  there  and  married  and 
afterward  came  to  the  United  States  and  set- 
tled in  Auburn  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.  The  father  was  an  industrious  and  highly 
respected  man.  His  death  occurred  in  Au- 
burn township,  where  his  widow  still  lives,  on 
June  24,  1906. 

Mrs.  Heydinger  was  carefully  reared  by  her 
parents  who  were  members  of  St.  Mary's  Ca- 
tholic church,  to  which  she  and  children  be- 
long, and  attended  the  parochial  and  later  the 
public  schools  in  Auburn  township.  On  Nov. 
27,  1895,  she  was  married  to  Frank  Heydinger, 
who  was  born  May  8,  1865,  in  Cranberry 
township,  a  son  of  the  late  John  Heydinger. 
He  grew  to  manhood  on  his  father's  farm  and 
obtained  a  public  school  education.  About  the 
time  of  marriage,  he  bought  his  farm  of  100 
acres  from  his  father  and  partly  cleared  it 
and  made  many  improvements.  He  carried 
on  general  farming.  His  political  vote  was 
always  cast  with  the  Democratic  party  but  he 
took  no  great  interest  in  public  matters.  Mr. 
Heydinger  had  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and 
his  death,  which  occurred  May  19,  191 1,  was 
regretted  all  over  this  section.  He  was  a 
member  of  St.  Mary's  Catholic  church  and 
was  laid  to  rest  in  St.  Mary's  Cemetery.  He 
left  a  family  of  six  children,  namely :  Mary, 
Anthony,  Paul,  George,  Gertrude  and  Clara. 
Mrs.  Heydinger  continues  to  reside  on  her 
farm,  which  is  situated  four  and  one-half 
miles  northeast  of  New  Washington,  and  has 
her  land  cultivated  for  her. 

EDWARD  MILLER,  general  farmer  and 
stock  raiser,  who  until  recently  resided  on  his 
tract  of  115  acres  lying  in  Tod  township. 
Crawford  county,  O.,  one-half  mile  west  of 
Lemert,  O.,  now  resides  near  Chatfield,  O., 
on  a  tract  of  200  acres  which  he  has  ex- 
changed for  the  former.  He  was  born  in 
1864,  on  his  father's  farm  two  and  one-half 
miles  west  of  Bucyrus,  and  is  a  son  of  Henry 
and  Mary  (Kissel)  Miller. 

Henry  Miller  was  born  in  Dauphin  county, 
Pa.,  where  he  remained  until  he  was  35  years 


952 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


of  age,  when  he  came  to  Crawford  county 
and  located  on  a  farm  of  80  acres  west  of 
Bucyrus.  In  1870  he  moved  to  the  present 
homestead  in  Tod  township,  and  the  remain- 
der of  his  Hfe  was  passed  here,  his  death  oc- 
curring in  his  82d  year.  He  married  Mary 
Kissel,  who  was  also  born  in  Pennsylvania 
and  died  in  Crawford  county,  when  aged  j}^ 
years.  They  had  eleven  children  born  to  them, 
namely:  John  C,  Samuel,  Henry,  Mary, 
Ellen,  Elias,  Hiram,  Rufus,  Edward,  Grant 
and  Jacob;  four  of  these — Jacob,  Samuel, 
Henry  and  Mary — being  deceased.  John  C. 
served  three  years  in  Company  L,  loth  Ohio 
Vol.  Cav.,  and  Samuel  served  18  months  in 
Company  A,  12th  Ohio  Vol.  Cav.,  during  the 
Civil  War. 

Edward  Miller  attended  the  country  schools 
and  assisted  his  father  until  he  became  of  age 
and  then  spent  two  years  in  Missouri.  After 
he  returned  he  married  and  came  then  to  his 
present  farm,  making  improvements  here  which 
has  greatly  increased  its  value  and  cultivat- 
ing it  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it  exceedingly 
productive. 

Mr.  Miller  married  Miss  Celia  Dolon,  a 
daughter  of  William  Dolon,  who  is  in  the 
stone  quarry  business,  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren: Clarence  and  Esta,  both  of  whom  re- 
side at  home.  Mr.  Miller  and  family  belongs 
to  the  Methodist  Protestant  church  at  Lemert. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  is  an  active 
citizen  in  taking  an  interest  in  public  affairs 
in  his  neighborhood,  but  is  no  seeker  for  office, 
his  time  being  fully  engaged  in  looking  after 
his  large  farm. 

JAMES  H.  GREEN,  deceased,  for  many 
years  was  a  prominent  business  man  of  Gallon, 
O.  He  was  born  at  Norton,  near  Cardington, 
O.,  his  parents  being  Aaron  and  Nancy 
(Berry)  Green. 

The  Green  and  Berry  families  both  came 
very  early  in  Ohio  from  Pennsylvania.  The 
Berrys  settled  Berry  Hill,  which  is  now  a  part 
of  Marion,  O.  After  marriage,  Aaron  and 
Nancy  (Berry)  Green  began  life  on  a  farm 
near  Cardington,  O.,  in  Morrow  county,  and 
became  well  known  and  respected  people  and 
leading  members  of  the  Protestant  Methodist 
church.  They  had  two  sons  born  to  them, 
James  H.  and  Sanford,  the  latter  of  whom  has 


been  engaged  in  medical  practice  at  Carding- 
ton, O.,  for  many  years,  and  is  a  veteran  of 
the  Civil  War. 

James  H.  Green  grew  to  manhood  in  Mor- 
row county  and  had  such  educational  advant- 
ages as  were  obtainable  at  the  time,  and  began 
to  provide  for  himself  as  a  clerk  in  a  mer- 
chant's store  at  Mt.  Gilead,  O.,  and  was  so 
engaged  when  the  Civil  War  broke  out. 
Shortly  afterward  he  enlisted  for  service,  be- 
coming a  member  of  the  47th  O.  Vol.  Inf., 
an^  remained  in  the  Federal  Army  for  three 
years,  participating  in  all  the  hazards  to  which 
his  command  was  exposed  but  escaping  cap- 
ture by  the  enemy  and  receiving  but  one  wound 
which  did  not  seriously  incapacitate  him. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  Mr.  Green  re- 
turned to  Mt.  Gilead  where  he  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business  for  a  short  time  and  then 
came  to  Galion.  Here,  in  1866,  he  established 
the  Citizens  National  Bank,  of  which  he  be- 
came manager  and  cashier,  and  some  years 
lafterward  assumed  its  presidency,  subse- 
quently devoting  himself  entirely  to  the  in- 
terests of  this  financial  institution,  building  it 
up  into  a  high  state  of  efficiency.  Mr.  Green 
was  recognized  as  one  of  the  men  of  sterling 
character  and  honesty  and  uprightness  con- 
tinues to  be  associated  with  his  name  as  his 
fellow  citizens  recall  him.  He  was  a  Repub- 
lican in  his  political  opinions  but  was  more  of 
a  business  man  than  politician.  For  many 
years  he  took  pride  and  interest  in  his  Ma- 
sonic connections  and  belonged  to  the  high 
branch  of  the  fraternitv  known  as  the  Mystic 
Shrine. 

At  Galion,  O.,  Mr.  Green  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Leonora  Hathaway  Mc- 
Clain,  who  was  born  at  East  Liberty,  near 
Bellefontaine,  O.,  and  was  brought  to  Galion 
when  nine  years  old  by  her  parents,  Marcus 
H.  and  Lucy  (Reed)  McClain.  Both  were 
born  in  Ohio  of  Scotch-Irish  parents,  were 
married  on  Darby  Plains,  near  Milford,  and 
immediately  afterward  settled  at  East  Lib- 
erty. Mr.  McCIain  engaged  there  in  a  gen- 
eral mercantile  business  and  later  was  con- 
nected with  business  enterprises  at  Upper  San- 
dusky and  Wilmington  prior  to  coming  to  Ga- 
lion, in  1869.  Here  he  engaged  for  many 
years  in  the  drug  business  and  became  a  prom- 
inent citizen.    Dr.  McClain  still  lives  at  Galion 


>-         JAMES  II,  (iltKEX 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


955 


and  in  spite  of  his  87  years,  is  a  man  of  much 
business  ability  and  continues  to  be  the  presi- 
dent of  the  GaHon  Loan  'fend  Savings  Com- 
pany, which  is  an  incorporated  body  with  cap- 
ital of  $2,000,000.  Dr.  McClain  is  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  in  pol- 
itics is  a  Republican.  Of  his  children  two 
daughters  survive:  Mrs.  Green  and  Mary  J., 
who  is  the  wife  of  Joseph  Repine,  who  re- 
sides at  Ft.  Wayne,  Ind. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Green  four  sons  were 
born :  Howard  A.,  Frank  R.,  Dahl  and  James 
H.,  all  prominent  business  men  of  Gallon. 

ALBERT  C.  SCHAFSTALL,  V.  S.,*  who 
maintains  his  office  in  Mansfield  street,  New 
Washington,  O.,  has  been  engaged  in  the  ac- 
tive practice  of  his  profession  here  since  1910, 
one  that  covers  a  large  territory  and  includes 
every  branch  of  veterinary  practice.  He  was 
born  at  Donaldson,  Pa.,  Aug.  3,  1886,  and  is 
a  son  of  William  A.  and  a  grandson  of  Albert 
Philip  Schafstall. 

Albert  Philip  Schafstall  was  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania, of  German  ancestry,  and  there  mar- 
ried Eliza  Minning,  and  they  had  four  chil- 
dren: Levi  and  John,  both  of  whom  are  de- 
ceased; William  A.;  and  Minnie,  who  is  the 
wife  of  John  Haverock.  The  grandfather  of 
Dr.  Schafstall  was  a  leading  citizen  of  Donald- 
son, where  he  and  wife  died,  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  first  town  council  and  the  first  board 
of  health. 

WilHam  A.  Schafstall  was  a  carpenter  and 
practical  miner  and  for  a  number  of  years 
before  retiring,  was  manager  of  a  large  mine. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Long,  who  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  and  Esther  Long,  the  latter  be- 
ing of  English  ancestry,  and  they  have  four 
children,  namely:  Florence,  who  married  Lee 
Morgan  and  lives  at  Lincoln,  Pa. ;  Albert  C, 
subject  of  this  article;  Edith,  who  married 
James  Kissinger  and  lives  at  Lebanon,  Pa. ; 
and  Roy,  who  resides  with  his  parents.  They 
are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Mr.  Schafstall  is  a  Republican  in 
politics  and  for  a  number  of  years  has  been  a 
member  of  the  school  board. 

Albert  S.  Schafstall  attended  the  public 
schools  at  Tremont,  Pa.,  and  after  graduating 
from  the  High  School  went  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  secured  a  position  as  meat  inspector 


for  the  Government  and  in  the  meanwhile  he 
did  his  preparatory  studying  for  entrance  in 
the  Ontario  Veterinary  College,  at  Toronto, 
Canada,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1910.  In 
May  of  that  year  he  established  himself  at 
New  Washington,  O.,  and  his  regular  prac- 
tice covers  the  territory  from  Shiloh  to  Liver- 
more  and  from  Bucyrus  to  five  miles  north  of 
Attica,  O.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Ohio  State 
Veterinary  Medical  Association  and  of  the 
Erie  Medical  Association.  He  is  a  well  trained 
man  in  his  school  of  medicine  and  keeps  thor- 
oughly abreast  of  the  times  in  all  scientific 
study.  In  addition  to  his  practice,  Dr.  Schaf- 
stall is  a  charter  member  and  a  director  of  the 
Cranberry  township  nursery.  In  politics  he  is 
independent,  while  fraternally  he  belongs  to 
the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle  and  to  the 
Sons  of  America. 

A.  H.  LAUGHBAUM,  cashier  of  the  Com- 
mercial Savings  Bank  Company,  at  Gallon,  O., 
is  one  of  the  capable,  energetic  and  public 
spirited  men  of  this  city.  He  was  born  in 
Crawford  county,  in  1853,  ^^^  ^^  ^  ^^^  ^^ 
Henry  and  Nancy  (Pfeifer)  Laughbaum. 

Henry  Laughbaum  was  born  in  1828,  in 
Richland  county,  O.,  and  died  in  Polk  town- 
ship; Crawford  county.  May  8,  1901.  He  set- 
tled in  Polk  township  as  a  real  pioneer,  spend- 
ing a  number  of  years  in  the  woods,  operat- 
ing saw  mills  and  manufacturing  lumber.  In 
1865  he  settled  on  a 'farm,  on  which  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  until  the  close  of  his  life  and 
which  is  yet  the  home  of  his  widow.  It  was 
their  custom  for  many  years  to  attend  services 
in  the  United  Brethren  church  at  Gallon  and 
Mrs.  Laughbaum,  although  now  80  years  of 
age,  still  drives  in  from  the  farm,  three  miles 
distant,  every  Sunday. 

A.  H.  Laughbaum  began  to  teach  school 
when  he  was  but  15  years  of  age,  having  made 
the  most  of  his  rather  meager  educational  op- 
portunities, and  for  a  period  covered  by  24 
years  continued  as  an  educator  and  during  this 
time  was  twice  appointed  school  examiner. 
In  1891  he  was  first  elected  county  clerk,  serv- 
ing afterward  for  six  and  one-half  years  and 
for  two  years  as  assistant  to  his  successor,  W. 
B.  Forest.  He  then  became  clerk  in  the  Sec- 
ond National  Bank  of  Bucyrus  and  in  1907 
came  from  there  to  Gallon,  having  been  elected 


956 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


cashier  of  the  Commercial  Savings  Bank  Com- 
pany of  this  place.  He  is  widely  known  in 
financial  circles  and  is  extremely  popular  in 
his  relations  with  the  patrons  of  the  bank. 
Politically  a  Democrat  he  has  frequently  been 
honored  by  his  party  with  elections  and  ap- 
pointed to  office.  For  two  terms  he  served  as 
president  of  the  city  council  and  has  been  a 
member  of  both  the  county  and  executive  com- 
mittees that  organize,  manage  and  regulate 
political  movements  in  the  party.  A  delegate 
a  number  of  times  to  county  and  state  con- 
ventions, his  loyalty  to  his  party  and  to  his 
friends  is  proverbial  and  his  advice  on  party 
measures  is  known  to  have  been  sound. 

The  Commercial  Savings  Bank  Company 
of  Gallon,  O.,  was  organized  in  June,  1905, 
with  Mark  Cook  as  president;  R.  W.  John- 
ston as  vice  president ;  M.  A.  Curtiss  as  second 
vice  president;  and  Frank  Stout  as  teller. 
Since  1907,  A.  H.  Laughbaum  has  been  cash- 
ier and  E.  B.  Beall  has  been  assistant  cashier. 
The  report  of  the  condition  of  the  bank  issued 
Feb.  20,  19 1 2,  shows  a  vast  amount  of  busi- 
ness done  and  that  the  bank  is  in  a  very  pros- 
perous condition.  The  board  of  directors  are 
men  of  capital  and  high  standing,  as  follows : 
Mark  Cook,  R.  W.  Johnston,  M.  A.  Curtiss,  C. 
H.  Henkel,  W.  V.  Goshorn,  Dr.  E.  D.  Helf- 
rich,  C.  S.  Mooney,  J.  L.  Gugler  and  Mell  B. 
Talmadge. 

In  1874,  Mr.  Laughbaum  was  married  to 
Miss  B.  E.  Shumaker,  who  was  born  and 
reared  in  Crawford  county.  Her  father,  John 
J.  Shumaker,  was  the  first  white  child  born  in 
Crawford  county,  this  event  taking  place  in 
Polk  township,  April  13,  1828,  and  he  has  al- 
ways lived  within  one  mile  of  his  birthplace. 
Although  84  years  of  age  he  has  been  kindly 
treated  by  Father  Time  and  his  stature  of  six 
feet  and  two  inches  has  not  been  diminished 
by  the  weaknesses  of  old  age.  His  friends 
and  neighbors  tell  a  story  that  he  is  too  mod- 
est to  boast  of,  and  that  is  that  one  year  ago, 
in  one  day,  he  husked  fifty  bushels  of  corn, 
a  feat  that  a  much  younger  busker  might 
justly  be  proud  of.  He  married  Elizabeth 
Smith,  who  died  in  191 1,  aged  80  years.  Mr. 
Shumaker  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
church.  Five  children  have  been  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Laughbaum:  Malcolm  A.,  Thur- 
man  Ray,  Gurney  Y.,  Virgy  E.,  and  a  son  that 


died  in  infancy.  Malcolm  A.,  who  was  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Bucyrus  High  School  and  of  Ober- 
lin  College  and  president  of  his  class  (1901) 
in  the  medical  department  of  the  Western  Re- 
serve College,  died  in  1904.  He  was  a  bril- 
liant young  man  and  apparently  had  a  suc- 
cessful and  useful  career  before  him.  Thur- 
man  Ray  is  a  graduate  of  Otterbein  Univer- 
sity, attended  the  Ohio  State  University  at 
Columbus  and  was  graduated  from  Starling 
Medical  College  in  May,  1910,  and  is  now  in 
active  practice  at  Haysville,  O.  He  married 
Maude  Seamster  and  they  have  one  son,  Mal- 
colm A.  Gurney  Y.  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Northern  Ohio  University  and  is  a  pharmacist 
with  Caldwell  and  Bloor,  at  Mansfield,  O., 
Virgy  E.  is  the  wife  of  Charles  T.  Reid, 
formerly  of  Bucyrus  and  now  of  Ashland,  O. 
They  have  two  children:  Dorothy  E.  and 
John  Robert.  Mr.  Laughbaum  is  a  prominent 
member  of  the  U.  B.  church  at  Gallon,  being 
church  treasurer  and  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday-school.  On  three  occasions  he  has 
been  a  delegate  to  the  general  church  confer- 
ence, once  at  Fredericktown,  Md.,  four  years 
later,  at  Topeka,  Kans.,  and  in  1908  repre- 
sented the  First  United  Brethren  church  at 
Gallon,  at  Canton,  O.  Fraternally  he  is  identi- 
fied with  the  Odd  Fellows. 

MRS.  HARRIET  ZAEBST,  who  is  widely 
known  in  Cranberry  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  and  very  highly  esteemed,  resides 
on  her  excellent  farm  of  78  acres,  which  lies 
in  section  14,  in  the  western  part  of  this  town- 
ship. She  was  born  in  Columbiana  county,  O., 
Oct.  II,  1839,  one  of  five  children  born  to 
Joseph  and  Susann  (Firestone)  Harmon. 

When  Harriet  Harmon  was  eight  years  old 
her  father  died  in  Chatfield  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  where  the  family  had  been  living 
for  four  years.  The  mother  was  obliged  to 
find  homes  for  the  little  ones  when  she  was 
left  a  widow  and  when  she  later  married  Jere- 
miah Lloyd,  of  Mansfield,  still  left  Harriet  in 
the  home  of  the  latter's  uncle,  David  Harmon, 
of  Chatfield  township.  Mrs.  Lloyd  died  in 
Kaskaskia  county,  Ind.,  at  the  age  of  63  years. 
The  child  remained  in  her  uncle's  family  and 
was  taught  all  manner  of  housewifely  duties 
but  had  little  opportunity  to  go  to  school.  On 
April  3,  i860,  she  was  married  to  Adam  Zaebst, 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


957 


who  was  born  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  his 
widow,  a  son  of  John  and  Margaret  (Lantz) 
Zaebst.  After  marriage  they  Hved  on  this 
place,  the  young  daughter-in-law  assisting  to 
care  for  her  husband's  parents  until  the  end 
of  their  lives.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Zaebst  the 
following  children  were  born :  Frances,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Curtis  Brown,  residing  near  New 
Washington;  Aaron,  O.,  who  was  accidently 
killed  by  a  railroad  train  in  his  21st  year ;  John, 
who  married  Katherine  Huber  and  lives  at 
New  Washington ;  William,  who  married  Ada 
Reiter  and  lives  at  Bucyrus;  Adam,  who  mar- 
ried Alvira  Gangloff  and  lives  at  Akron,  O. ; 
Frank,  who  married  Jennie  Gosshorne  and 
lives  at  Ashtabula,  O. ;  Ottis,  who  married 
Rosa  Mough  and  resides  at  Ashtabula ;  Ruf us, 
who  married  Lulu  Fultz  and  lives  at  Gallon; 
Nora,  who  is  the  wife  of  Eikes  Gable  and  lives 
at  New  Washington,  and  Fred  E.,  who  man- 
ages the  home  farm  and  is  in  the  third  gen- 
eration to  occupy  it,  and  who  married  Clara 
Kessler. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Zaebst  passed  many  happy 
years  together  on  this  old  farm,  carrying  on 
its  industries,  rearing  their  children  and  offer- 
ing pleasant  hospitality  to  many  friends.  Here 
Mr.  Zaebst  died  in  his  66th  year  and  his  burial 
was  in  the  Lutheran  Cemetery,  he  having  been 
a  member  of  that  church.  He  was  a  quiet, 
home-loving  man,  careful  about  his  business 
affairs  and  a  good  neighbor  as  well  as  kind 
husband  and  father.  He  believed  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Democratic  party  and  voted  with 
that  organization.  Mrs.  Zaebst  is  a  member 
of  the  German  Lutheran  church.  She  has 
witnessed  many  changes  take  place  in  this  part 
of  the  country  and  can  recall  interesting  events 
that  have  come  under  her  own  notice. 

PETER  BOEHM,  furniture  dealer  and 
undertaker,  a  member  of  the  well  known  firm 
of  Roister  &  Boehm,  at  Gallon,  O.,  is  one  of 
this  city's  most  respected  citizens.  He  was 
born  in  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Germany,  in  1845, 
and  is  a  son  of  George  and  Lizzie  M.  (Klinger) 
Boehm. 

George  Boehm  was  born  in  Germany  and 
lost  his  own  father  when  two  years  of  age 
but  was  reared  by  a  kind  step-father,  became  a 
farmer  and  died  in  his  native  land  in  1854, 
when  aged  57  years.    He  married  the  daugh- 


ter of  a  neighbor,  Lizzie  M.  Klinger,  who  was 
born  in  1800  and  died  in  1862.  They  were 
members  of  the  State  Lutheran  church.  Their 
family  consisted  of  seven  sons  and  one  daugh- 
ter, and  the  daughter  and  three  of  the  sons 
came  to  the  United  States.  Of  these,  two 
sons  survive,  Peter  and  Henry,  both  being 
successful  business  men  of  Gallon  and  fathers 
of  families. 

Peter  Boehm  grew  to  manhood  in  his  na- 
tive province  and  then  fulfilled  the  law  of  his 
country  by  serving  three  years  as  a  soldier 
and  then  learned  the  cabinet  making  trade, 
working  afterward  as  a  journeyman.  He 
then  determined  to  come  to  the  United  States, 
Gallon,  O.,  being  the  point  where  he  proposed 
to  enter  into  business.  He  crossed  the  At- 
lantic Ocean  in  the  ship  Vera  Cruz,  and  was 
landed  at  New  York.  Mr.  Boehm  secured 
passage  to  Gallon  on  a  coal  train  and  gives 
some  idea  of  its  velocity  when  he  tells  in  an 
amusing  style,  how  he  and  other  passengers 
could  jump  off  the  car  as  it  passed  cherry 
orchards,  gather  some  fruit  and  then  catch 
up  with  the  train  by  a  little  speeding.  It  was 
fortunate  that  the  fruit  could  be  so  obtained 
as  there  was  little  food  to  be  secured  and  he 
paid  as  much  as  sixty-five  cents  for  a  loaf  of 
bread. 

After  reaching  Gallon,  Mr.  Boehm  worked 
as  a  journeyman  cabinet  maker  for  some  years, 
for  seven  years  was  employed  as  a  general 
carpenter,  and  for  two  years  engaged  as  car- 
penter contractor.  In  1882  he  formed  his 
present  partnership  with  Henry  Roister  and 
the  firm  has  been  continued  ever  since  and  as 
a  business  house  is  stable  and  reliable  in  every 
way.     In  his  political  views  he  is  a  Democrat. 

Mr.  Boehm  was  married  (first)  at  Gallon, 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Muth,  who  was  born  in  this 
city  in  1853  and  died  in  1880,  the  mother  of 
three  children,  namely:  Anna,  who  is  the 
wife  of  William  Karg,  residing  at  Shelby,  O., 
and  has  one  daughter,  Laura;  Katie,  who  is 
the  wife  of  William  Sickles,  of  Gallon,  and 
has  four  children — Lillian,  Wallace,  Magdaline 
and  Elizabeth;  and  Hammond,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  twenty-five  years.  Mr.  Boehm  was 
married  (second)  in  September,  1882,  to  Miss 
Felecedas  Bohl,  who  was  born  Feb.  21,  1853, 
at  Gallon,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Felecedas 
Bohl.     The  parents  of  Mrs.  Boehm  were  born 


958 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


and  educated  at  Baden  Baden,  Germany,  where 
they  married  when  they  reached  mature  age. 
They  joined  others,  friends  and  kindred,  who 
were  emigrating  to  America.  Among  the  arti- 
cles they  brought  with  them  was  a  comfortably 
filled  hay  wagon  and  this  supplied  them  with 
a  clean  bed  during  the  long  voyage,  and  after 
landing  at  the  port  of  New  York  they  still 
found  further  use  for  it.  Securing  an  ox-team 
they  attached  the  same  to  the  hay  wagon  and 
started  on  their  slow  way  to  Gallon,  O.  It 
took  some  weeks  to  make  the  overland  journey 
but  it  was  comfortably  accomplished,  camps 
being  made  on  the  way  as  occasion  or  inclina- 
tion demanded.  This  quiet  journey  over  the 
country  gave  them  a  better  knowledge  of  its 
topography  than  was  ever  afterward  afforded 
them,  for  Mr.  Bohl  soon  bought  a  tract  of 
wild  land  and  for  years  afterward  the  clearing 
and  cultivating  of  this  land  and  the  rearing  of 
their  children  centered  their  lives  in  one  place. 
On  their  old  farm  now  is  situated  a  part  of  the 
Gallon  Protestant  Cemetery.  Here  Henry 
Bohl  and  wife  died,  she  in  March,  1889,  aged 
'^y  years,  and  he  four  years  later,  in  his  8ist 
year.  They  were  among  the  founders  of  the 
German  Lutheran  church  at  Gallon.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Boehm  have  two  children:  Carl  and 
Minnie.  The  former  was  born  May  13,  1888, 
attended  the  public  schools  and  later  the  Barnes 
Sanitary  Science  and  Embalming  School,  at 
Chicago,  111.,  securing  his  license  from  this 
institution.  He  resides  at  home.  The  daugh- 
ter, Minnie,  is  the  wife  of  Harry  Albright, 
who  is  pay  roll  clerk  for  the  Erie  Railroad  at 
Gallon.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boehm  with  their  chil- 
dren, belong  to  the  German  Lutheran  church. 

J.  F.  SPONSELLER,  who  carries  on  mixed 
farming  in  sections  11  and  14,  Cranberry 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  where  he  owns 
120  acres  of  valuable  land,  resides  in  the 
former  section,  his  residence  standing  three- 
fourth  miles  west  of  the  center  of  New  Wash- 
ington, O.  He  was  born  in  Seneca  county,  O., 
Oct.  21,  1865,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Eliza- 
beth (Kirgis)  Sponseller. 

John  Sponseller  and  wife  were  born  in 
Seneca  county.  He  followed  farming  for 
some  years  but  his  death  occurred  at  the  early 
age  of  '^,2)  and  his  burial  was  in  the  Lutheran 
cemetery  in  Chatfield  township.     His  widow 


survives  and  makes  her  home  with  her  three 
children.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church. 

J.  F.  Sponseller  was  12  years  old  when  he 
came  to  Crawford  county  and  has  remained 
here  until  the  present  and  has  always  followed 
an  agricultural  life.  He  bought  his  farm  from 
the  heirs  of  old  residents,  a  part  being  known 
as  the  R.  Smith  farm  and  the  others  as  the 
Swope  and  Adam  High  farms.  Under  Mr. 
Sponseller's  methods  of  cultivation  all  the  land 
has  been  made  very  productive  and  he  raises 
cattle,  sheep  and  hogs  and  grows  grain  and 
hay. 

Mr.  Sponseller  married  Miss  Emma  Ott, 
who  was  born  at  New  Washington,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Gotfried  and  Caroline  Ott  and  they 
have  one  son,  Floyd  R.,  who  is  attending  col- 
lege at  Columbus.  In  politics,  Mrs.  Sponseller 
is  a  Democrat.  He  is  a  leading  citizen  of  his 
township,  interested  in  all  that  concerns  its 
welfare  and  for  ten  years  has  been  a  member 
of  the  village  school  board. 

FRANCIS  M.  SCHRECK,*  lumber  manu- 
facturer and  dealer,  with  sawmill  located  at 
Frederick,  Knox  county,  O.,  is  well  known 
in  the  lumber  industry  all  through  this  section 
of  Ohio,  having  been  interested  in  Knox, 
Crawford  and  Morrow  counties  for  22  years. 
He  was  born  at  Olentangy,  O.,  Nov.  11,  1854, 
and  is  a  son  of  David  and  Belinda  (Sherer) 
Schreck. 

David  Schreck  was  born  in  1829,  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  came  to  Ohio  with  his  parents, 
Andrew  and  Elizabeth  Schreck.  The  family 
located  first  at  Bucyrus  and  later  purchased 
an  unimproved  tract  of  land  in  Whetstone 
township,  Crawford  county.  Andrew  Schreck 
and  wife  both  died  in  Ohio.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Lutheran  church.  David  Schreck 
assisted  his  father  on  the  place  in  Whetstone 
township.  He  married  Belinda  Sherer,  who 
was  born  in  1832,  in  Crawford  county,  O., 
a  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  (Keiffer) 
Sherer.  She  died  at  the  age  of  58  years  but 
Mr.  Schreck  lived  into  his  73d  year.  He  was 
a  farmer  and  also  a  veterinary  surgeon.  They 
were  members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  They 
had  eleven  children  born  to  them,  six  sons 
and  five  daughters,  and  nine  of  these  grew  to 
maturity  and  married  and  eight  yet  survive. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


959 


Francis  M.  Schreck  started  to  work  in  a  saw- 
mill after  his  school  days  were  past  and  has 
been  a  lumber  manufacturer  since  1890,  and 
prior  to  locating  at  Frederick,  operated  for  a 
time  at  Mt.  Gilead,  in  Morrow  county,  but 
for  27  years  has  maintained  his  home  at  Ga- 
lion,  where  he  is  a  representative  and  respected 
citizen. 

Mr.  Schreck  was  married  at  Galion  to  Miss 
Anna  Rorick,  who  was  born  at  Winchester,  O., 
Feb.  12,  1854,  and  they  have  had  the  follow- 
ing children:  an  infant  that  died  unnamed; 
Lillian,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Kinson,  a 
farmer  in  Morrow  county;  Leslie,  a  sawmill 
operator,  who  resides  at  Mt.  Gilead  and  has  a 
family  of  one  son  and  two  daughters;  Rosa, 
who  died  when  aged  one  year;  Pearley,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  four  years;  Toney,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Clifford  Lacy,  who  is  in  the  real 
estate  business  at  Shelby,  O.,  and  has  one 
daughter  Bertha,  who  is  the  wife  of  Roy  Sny- 
der, and  has  one  daughter,  and  resides  at 
Shelby;  and  Irvin,  who  operates  his  father's 
fine  farm  of  240  acres,  situated  in  Morrow 
county,  one  of  the  best  farms  in  Washington 
township.  Mr.  Schreck  and  family  belong  to 
the  Martin  Lutheran  church  and  he  and  his 
sons  vote  with  the  Republican  party. 

PHILLIP  W.  COYER,  whose  finely  im- 
proved farms  of  116  acres  and  81  acres  of 
productive  land  lie  in  Vernon  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  four  and  one-half  miles  north- 
east of  Crestline,  is  a  leading  citizen  of  this 
section,  prominent  in  agricultural,  political  and 
chiu-ch  circles.  He  was  born  in  Crawford 
county  in  i860,  and  is  a  son  of  Paul  and  Sarah 
(Beach)  Coyer. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Coyer  were  also  born 
in  Crawford  county,  the  father  in  1838  and 
the  mother  in  1840.  Farming  was  the  occu- 
pation of  Paul  Coyer  throughout  life.  His 
family  consisted  of  five  children;  Phillip  W., 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Henry,  who  lived  on 
the  home  farm  until  his  death,  Feb.  17,  1910, 
married  Maggie  Mink;  Frederick,  who  lives 
in  Vernon  township,  married  Lizzie  Heckler; 
Lavina,  who  lives  at  Crestline,  married  David 
Bloom ;  and  Louisa,  who  is  the  wife  of  Henry 
Fisher,  lives  in  Vernon  township. 

Philip  W.  Coyer  attended  the  public  schools 
and  lived  on  the  home  farm  assisting  his  father 

64 


until  he  was  22  years  of  age,  after  which,  for 
one  year,  he  worked  by  the  month  for  other 
farmers,  then  married  and  came  to  the  pres- 
ent farm  which  then  contained  116  acres.  He 
has  since  purchased  a  farm  of  81  acres  and 
now  has  two  of  the  best  farms  in  all  this  sec- 
tion of  Crawford  county.  He  is  progressive 
and  enterprising,  has  made  many  improve- 
ments including  the  erection  of  a  fine  residence 
and  two  substantial  barns,  and  carries  on  all 
his  undertakings  with  a  large  measure  of  suc- 
cess. 

Mr.  Coyer  was  married  to  Miss  Caroline 
Fisher,  a  daughter  of  Louis  and  Barbara 
(Bauer)  Fisher,  and  they  have  four  children: 
Lizzie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Roy  Heckler  and 
lives  at  Crestline;  Edna,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Frank  Bilsing,  and  lives  two  miles  east  of  Ga- 
lion; and  Mada  and  Esther  who  reside  at 
home.  Mrs.  Coyer  has  the  following  brothers 
and  sisters :  John,  Adam,  Louis,  Henry,  Wil- 
liam, Catherine,  Anna  and  Elizabeth  and  one 
half  sister,  Mrs.  Margaret  Snyder.  Mr.  Coyer 
and  family  are  members  of  the  Luthean  church, 
of  which  he  has  long  been  a  trustee  and  is  a 
deacon  in  the  same.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat and  on  numerous  occasions  has  been 
elected  to  local  offices  and  has  served  with  effi- 
ciency as  road  supervisor  and  as  township 
trustee. 

JEFFERSON  MARQUART,  who  is  serv- 
ing in  his  second  term  as  township  trustee  of 
Cranberry  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  is 
one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  this  section  and 
a  member  of  an  old  Ohio  family.  He  was 
born  in  Cranberry  township,  Crawford  county, 
Oct.  4,  1858,  and  is-  a  son  of  Michael  and 
Caroline  W.   (Longyear)   Marquart. 

Michael  Marquart  was  born  in  Baden,  Ger- 
many, April  27,  1 81 7.  His  parents  were  Mi- 
chael and  Margaret  (Fechter)  Marquart,  and 
at  the  time  of  death  was  the  only  survivor 
of  their  five  children.  The  older  Michael  Mar- 
quart and  wife  spent  their  entire  lives  in  Ger- 
many. He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and 
during  the  financial  panic  of  1817  lost  his 
property  and  afterward  worked  for  wages  as 
a  farm  hand.  The  younger  Michael  remained 
in  his  parents'  home  until  18  years  of  age, 
when  he  apprenticed  himself  to  learn  the  brick 
and  stone  mason  trade,   and  later,  believing 


960 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


that  he  could  better  his  financial  condition  in 
the  United  States,  started  for  America  accom- 
panied by  a  sister.  They  took  passage  on  a 
steamer  that  conveyed  them  down  the  River 
Rhine  to  Havre-de-Grace,  and  there  embarked 
on  a  sailing  vessel  and  were  safely  landed  in 
New  York  harbor  Aug.  12,  1839,  after  a  voy- 
age of  51  days. 

When  Michael  Marquart  reached  New  York 
he  found  his  capital  had  dwindled  down  to 
about  two  dollars  but  he  was  fortunate  in  hav- 
ing made  a  friend  of  a  fellow  passenger  who 
offered  him  a  loan  if  he  would  accompany 
him  on  to  Ohio.     Accordingly  young  Michael 
and  his  sister  proceeded  on  their  way  to  Tus- 
carawas county,  0.,  where  he  found  work  in 
the  ore  mines  near  New  Philadelphia  and  with 
his  first  wage  he  honestly  returned  the  sum  he 
had  borrowed  from  his  new  found  friend.    He 
soon  secured  work  at  his  trade  and   found 
constant  employment  at  one  thing  or  another, 
providently  saving  his  money,  until,  when  he 
reached  Crawford  county  he  had  enough  cap- 
ital with  which  to  buy  69  acres  of  land  in 
Cranberry  township.     A  log  cabin  had  been 
erected  by  the  first  settler  but  little  clearing 
had -been  done,  and  that  cabin  served  as  his 
home  until  1861,  when  he  erected  a  substan- 
tial farm-house.     In  1862  he  bought  27  acres 
adjoining  his  first  purchase  and  later  added 
18  additional  acres  and  still  later  he  bought 
other  land :  one  farm  of  'j'j  acres  and  a  second 
one  of  80  acres,  both  in  Cranberry  township 
and  one  of  36  acres  in  Seneca  county.     He 
improved  his  land,  gave  it  careful  tillage  and 
reaped  abundant  harvests.     In  1844  he  mar- 
ried Catherine  Streile,  who  was  born  in  Ger- 
many and  they  had  five  children,   the  only 
survivor    being    Caroline,    wife    of    William 
Longyear.    This  wife  died  in  1854  and  in  1855 
he  married  Caroline  W.  Longyear,  who  was 
born  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  and  when  26 
years  of  age  accompanied  her  father,  Michael 
Longyear,  to  America.    Her  father  died  at  the 
home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marquart.    Seven  chil- 
dren were  born  to  the  second  union,  five  of 
whom  are  living,  namely:    August,  who  is  a 
farmer  in  Cranberry  township ;  Jefferson,  our 
subject;  George,  who  lives  on  the  old  farm; 
Wilhelmina,   wife  of   William   Beckstine,   of 
Cranberry  township;  and  Emma,  wife  of  Frank 
Leonhart,  of  Chatfield  township.    The  mother 


of  these  children  passed  away  March  13,  1900, 
she  being  in  her  72d  year. 

In  politics  Mr.  Marquart  was  a  Democrat. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  German  Evangelical 
Lutheran  church,  in  which  he  held  office  for 
many  years,  serving  as  trustee,  deacon  and 
elder. 

Jefferson  Marquart  attended  the  district 
schools  in  Cranberry  township  and  after  his 
school  days  were  over  engaged  in  farming 
and  after  his  first  marriage  located  on  his 
father's  Seneca  county  land,  where  his  wife, 
Maggie  Reidel  Marquart,  died  in  1884.  She 
was  born  in  Chatfield  township,  Crawford 
county,  a  daughter  of  Conrad  Reidel.  The 
only  child  born  to  that  marriage  is  deceased. 
Mr.  Marquart  was  married  second,  Jan.  2, 
1887,  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Shade,  who  was  born 
in  Seneca  county,  O.,  a  daughter  of  William 
and  Anna  (Deisler)  Shade,  and  they  have  one 
daughter,  Rosa  A.  C,  who  is  the  wife  of  Wil- 
liam Long,  who  is  a  resident  of  Cranberry 
township,  living  on  her  father's  farm  of  80 
acres,  which  lies  northeast  of  town. 

Mr.  Marquart  continued  to  live  in  Seneca 
county  for  four  more  months  and  then  moved 
to  Cranberry  township  settling  in  its  northern 
part,  and  now  resides  on  a  tract  of  eleven  and 
one-half  acres,  which  is  known  as  the  Andrew 
Smith  farm  and  lies  within  the  corporate 
limits  of  New  Washington.  He  erected  the 
buildings  here  and  has  an  attractive,  modern 
residence  at  the  end  of  East  Mansfield  street. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church  and 
has  served  as  a  member  of  the  church  coun- 
cil. In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  but  has  never 
accepted  any  office  except  that  of  school  di- 
rector in  Cranberry  township,  in  which  he 
served  usefully  and  conscientiously  for  six 
years.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  New  Wash- 
ington Lumber  and  Manufacturing  Company. 

JACOB  H.  PETRI,  a  prominent  clothing 
man  and  merchant  tailor,  at  Galion,  O.,  doing 
business  at  No.  133  East  Main  street,  has  been 
identified  with  commercial  affairs  here  under 
his  own  name,  for  the  past  37  years.  He  was 
born  Sept.  15,  1846,  at  Holtshossen,  Hesse 
Darmstadt,  Germany,  a  son  of  John  and  Eliza- 
beth (Yeider)  Petri. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Petri  were  natives  also 
of  Hesse  Darmstadt  and  the  father  died  there 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


961 


in  1855,  at  the  age  of  48  years,  and  the  mother 
when  aged  "j^,  years.  They  were  members  of 
the  Lutheran  church.  The  father  was  a  small 
farmer.  Of  their  family  of  six  children,  four 
reached  maturity  but  there  are  only  two  sur- 
vivors: Jacob  H.  and  John,  the  latter  still 
following  farming  in  Germany. 

Jacob  H.  Petri  attended  the  German  schools 
until  he  was  14  years  of  age  and  then  became 
apprenticed  to  a  tailor  and  continued  working 
at  that  trade  until  1866,  when  he  took  passage 
on  the  steamer  America,  for  the  United  States. 
He  was  safely  landed  at  Castle  Garden,  New 
York  City,  and  from  there  came  to  Ohio,  in 
the  city  of  Cleveland  finding  employment  at 
his  trade.  One  year  later  he  located  at  Hud- 
son, O.,  from  there  going  to  Akron,  where 
he  was  employed  as  a  cutter  in  tailoring  es- 
tablishments. He  then  came  to  Gallon  and  on 
March  i,  1875,  started  into  business  here  on 
South  Market  street,  for  the  first  ten  years 
confining  himself  to  merchant  tailoring  and 
then  adding  ready  made  clothing,  hats  and 
caps,  and  also  a  general  line  of  seasonable 
goods  to  his  stock,  in  1897  removing  to  his 
present  excellent  location.  He  is  one  of  the 
solid,  reliable  and  representative  business  men 
of  Gallon. 

Mr.  Petri  was  married  at  Akron,  O.,  to  Miss 
Margaretta  Byrider,  who  was  born  at  Akron, 
and  died  at  Gallon  at  the  age  of  55  years. 
Her  parents,  John  and  Elizabeth  (Strovel) 
Byrider  came  from  Bavaria,  Germany,  to  the 
United  States  in  1832,  settling  first  at  Cleve- 
land and  later  moving  to  Akron,  where  both 
died  in  old  age.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Petri  the 
following  children  were  born:  Edward  Wil- 
liam, a  business  man  of  Gallon,  who  married 
Lillie  Miller,  a  daughter  of  Herman  F.  Mil- 
ler, of  Bucyrus,  and  has  one  son,  Kenneth 
Miller,  a  bright  boy  of  five  years;  Otto  G., 
who  is  associated  with  his  father  and  is  an 
expert  cutter,  and  who  married  Louisa  Crow- 
ley of  Galion  and  has  one  daughter,  Elizabeth 
M. ;  Laura  E.,  who  resides  with  her  father; 
Stella  Anna,  who  is  the  wife  of  William  F. 
Lauer,  a  resident  of  Memphis,  Tenn.,  and  has 
one,  daughter,  Florence  G. ;  Florence,  who  re- 
sides at  home;  and  Richard,  who  died  when 
aged  16  months.  Mrs.  Petri  and  family  be- 
long to  the  German  Lutheran  church.  He  and 
sons  are  all  affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party, 


in  which  he  has  been  an  important  factor  for 
a  number  of  years.  For  four  years  Mr.  Petri 
served  on  the  city  council,  for  six  years  was 
a  trustee  of  the  township  and  seven  years 
served  as  county  commissioner.  He  was  one 
of  the  organizers  of  the  Galion  Building  and 
Loan  Association  and  is  yet  on  its  directing 
board. 

REV.  JOHN  P.  KUNNERT,  pastor  of  St. 
Bernard's  Roman  Catholic  church,  at  New 
Washington,  O.,  was  born  Oct.  2"],  1856,  in 
the  grand-duchy  of  Luxemburg,  Germany, 
and  is  a  son  of  Henry  and  Magdalena  (Scheu- 
rens)  Kunnert. 

Henry  Kunnert  lived  and  died  in  the  prov- 
ince in  which  he  was  born,  married  and  reared 
his  children.  Both  he  and  wife  were  faithful 
Catholics  and  were  good  and  worthy  people. 
They  lived  into  old  age,  the  father  dying  in 
his  76th  year  and  the  mother  still  lives,  being 
in  her  85th  year.  Of  their  family  of  seven 
children,  six  yet  survive  although  scattered 
in  their  homes,  one  son  living  in  South 
America. 

John  P.  Kunnert  remembers  well  the  old 
homestead  in  which  he  was  born  and  which 
had  been  the  birthplace  of  his  father,  grand- 
father and  great-grandfather.  He  was  of  an 
unusually  bright  mind  in  youth  and  was  af- 
forded excellent  educational  advantages,  at- 
tending school  in  Belgium  and  in  France  and 
completing  agricultural,  commercial  and  philo- 
sophical courses,  prior  to  coming  to  America 
to  enter  a  theological  seminary  at  Cleveland, 
O.  After  completing  his  studies  there  he  was 
appointed  pastor  of  the  church  at  Harrisburg, 
Stark  county,  O.,  where  he  remained  for  two 
and  one-half  years ;  then  for  one  and  one-half 
years  was  assistant  pastor  at  St.  Peter's  church 
at  Cleveland,  O.,  when  he  returned  to  Harris- 
burg and  remained  with  the  church  there  from 
1890  until  1899.  In  September  of  that  year 
he  was  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Bernard's 
church  at  New  Washington  and  has  continued 
here  ever  since. 

The  church  over  which  Rev.  Kunnert  pre- 
sides has  a  very  interesting  history.  In  1844 
about  twelve  German  Catholic  families,  living 
in  and  near  New  Washington,  were  detached 
from  St.  Stephen's  congregation,  in  Seneca 
county,  and  formed  into  a  separate  mission, 


962 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


and  Father  Trawin  Brunner  was  the  first 
priest  to  visit  this  now  congregation.  For 
nearly  two  years  mass  was  said  in  private 
houses.  In  1846  a  small  frame  edifice  was 
erected  for  church  purposes  built  on  land 
bought  May  21,  1846.  In  these  early  days 
the  present  site  of  New  Washington  was  cov- 
ered with  swamps  and  trees  and  the  first  priest 
who  passed  through  here,  Rev.  F.  N.  Tchen- 
hens,  in  1840,  said  mass  and  administered 
religious  consolation  in  the  house  of  a  Mr. 
Wurst,  which  stood  where  the  town  has  since 
been  built.  Mass  was  also  said  at  different 
times  in  the  house  of  John  Quit.  The  twelve 
heads  of  families  who  composed  the  congre- 
gation at  New  Washington  were:  Peter 
-Young,  John  Fortner,  Joseph  Wurst,  Mathew 
Saehnhoff,  John  Quit,  Timothy  McCarthy, 
Casper  Dellos,  Nicholas  Kiefer,  Peter  Mueller, 
Mathew  Kramer,  Peter  Gonlong  and  Benedict 
Uhl.  They  bought  a  lot  from  Mr.  Meier,  for 
the  sum  of  thirteen  dollars  and  in  1842  hewed 
the  timber  for  the  first  St.  Bernard  church  and 
the  first  church  was  built  in  1843  by  B.  Pratt, 
he  receiving  one  hundred  dollars  for  framing 
it.  In  the  next  year  it  was  roofed  and  by  1845 
the  little  church  was  completed  and  stood  as 
a  record  of  Catholic  zeal. 

In  1844  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop  Purcell 
paid  his  first  episcopal  visit  and  in  1850,  the 
Right  Reverend  Bishop  Rappe  visited  the  place 
for  the  first  time.  The  congregation  had  made 
preparations  to  give  their  bishop  a  formal  wel- 
come but  he  had  anticipated  them  and  was  at 
the  church  before  they  started  to  meet  him. 
During  his  visit  he  baptized  Margaret,  daugh- 
ter of  Peter  Young,  who  at  present  is  a  Sister 
in  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Mary  Convent,  at  Cleve- 
land, O.  Almost  immediately  plans  were  made 
for  the  establishing  of  a  school  in  connection 
with  the  church,  for  this  congregation  has  al- 
ways been  an  intelligent  one  and  school  ses- 
sions were  held  in  the  church  building  until 
1852.  Among  the  priests  who  visited  and  re- 
mained with  the  congregation  for  a  time  were 
the  following  clergy.  Rev.  F.  S.  Brunner 
came  May  27,  1844,  and  remained  until  June, 
1845.  Rev.  John  Wittmer  came  in  1847.  In 
1848  came  Rev.  John  Van  Benbrock,  and  in 
1852,  Rev.  Kreusch,  who  left  May  27,  1852. 
From  that  time  until  Oct.  14,  1852,  the  mis- 
sion was  visited  by  Rev.  Willibald  Willi  and 


from  then  until  his  return  in  the  same  year, 
it  was  visited  by  Rev.  P.  A.  Capeda.  Also, 
between  1841  and  1856  the  following  priests 
are  mentioned  in  the  church  annals  as  having 
attended  the  New  Washington  congregation: 
Rev.  August  Berger,  Rev.  Sebastian  Gan- 
ter.  Rev.  Clement  Sweitzer,  Rev.  John  Al- 
bright, Rev.  Andrew  Heibstridt,  Rev.  Nicholas 
Gales,  Rev.  Willibald  Willi,  from  Thompson, 
and  Rev.  Peter  Kruesch,  from  Shelby  settle- 
ment. In  May,  1856,  Rev.  Peter  Wilhelmy 
succeeded  and  in  the  same  year.  Rev.  Rochus 
Schnely  became  pastor.  From  December, 
1856,  until  Oct.  4,  1857,  Rev.  Erhardt  Glueck 
attended  the  congregation,  the  three  last  named 
priests  coming  from  Thompson,  O. 

The  first  resident  pastor  of  St.  Bernard  was 
Rev.  Andrews  Dambach  and  he  served  from 
Dec.  7,  1859,  until  May  9,  1865.  He,  like  all 
the  priests  who  had  preceded  him,  with  two 
exceptions,  was  a  Sanquinist  Father.  Rev.  M. 
Becker  was  the  next  resident  pastor  and  he 
served  from  July  24,  1865,  to  June,  1881.  Al- 
most immediately  after  taking  charge  he  began 
taking  up  subscriptions  for  the  building  of  a 
new  church,  which  was  rendered  necessary, 
as  the  congregation  by  this  time  had  far  out- 
grown the  first  little  church  which  had  been 
erected  by  such  hard  work.  He  sold  the  old 
place  on  March  31,  1868,  and  bought  a  five- 
acre  plat  of  ground,  comprising  ten  town  lots, 
fronting  on  Mansfield  street,  New  Washing- 
ton, paying  $1,400  for  the  same.  In  the  same 
year  the  work  was  started  and  the  bride  church 
was  completed  by  the  end  of  the  following 
year.  It  is  of  Gk)thic  architecture  and  its  cost 
approximated  $25,000.  It  was  dedicated  by 
Right  Reverend  Bishop  Gilmour,  Oct.  19,  1879. 
Father  Becker  made  many  more  improvements 
in  the  parish  before  his  departure.  In  June, 
1 88 1,  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Lawrence 
Heiland  and  it  was  during  his  pastorate  that 
an  acre  of  ground  was  bought  for  a  cemetery 
and  he  also  improved  the  church  property.  In 
1886  Rev.  John  George  Vogt  became  pastor 
and  remained  until  1899,  in  September  of 
which  year  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  John  P. 
Kunnert. 

Father  Kunnert  has  not  only  continued  the 
work  done  for  St.  Bernard  by  his  predecessors 
but  his  plans  have  far  outrun  them.  He  has 
improved  every  part  of  the  church  property. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


963 


has  put  in  a  beautiful  new  altar,  has  enlarged 
the  school  buildings  and  improved  the  parson- 
age, and  has  introduced  steam  heating  and 
electric  lighting.  From  this  congregation  a 
new  church  at  Honey  Creek  was  formed  but 
the  present  congregation  includes  85  families, 
there  are  94  pupils  in  the  parochial  school  and 
it  is  under  the  care  of  two  Sisters  of  St. 
Francis,  from  Tiffin,  O.,  while  Father  Kun- 
nert  teaches  the  Bible  and  catechism.  In  addi- 
tion to  attending  to  the  spiritual  needs  and 
looking  after  the  material  welfare  of  his 
church  here.  Father  Kunnert  developed  a 
church  from  a  mission  at  New  Auburn.  He 
owns  a  farm  at  Upper  Sandusky  and  takes  in- 
terest in  seeing  good  stock  through  the 
country. 

WILLIAM  T.  RESCH,  senior  member  of 
the  well  known  hardware  firm  of  Resch  & 
Casey,  at  Gallon,  O.,  is  a  native  of  this  city 
and  has  been  in  the  hardware  trade  since  he 
was  15  years  of  age.  He  was  born  Feb.  3,  1865, 
and  is  a  son  of  Adolph  and  Mary  (Purkey) 
Resch. 

Adolph  Resch  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany, 
in  1837,  and  was  nine  years  old  when  he  ac- 
companied his  parents  to  America.  Early  in 
the  forties  they  became  residents  of  (jalion, 
O.,  and  here  Adolph  grew  to  manhood  and 
learned  the  tinner's  trade,  one  that  he  fol- 
lowed for  the  rest  of  his  life,  doing  his  last 
bit  of  work  for  the  firm  of  Resch  &  Casey. 
He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  at  one  time 
was  connected  actively  with  the  Odd  Fellows 
and  at  the  time  of  death,  in  1904,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  English  Lutheran  church.  He  was 
married  at  Gallon  to  Mary  Purkey,  who  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  and  when  young  was 
brought  to  Gallon  by  her  parents,  Joseph  and 
Margaret  (Kern)  Purkey.  Joseph  Purkey 
was  well  known  in  business  circles  and  dealt 
extensively  in  horses  for  the  eastern  markets. 
Nine  children  were  born  to  Adolph  Resch  and 
wife,  two  of  whom  died  young,  and  all  of  the 
seven  survivors  but  one  live  in  Crawford 
county,  and  all  married  with  the  exception  of 
one  son. 

After  his  school  days  were  over,  William 
T.  Resch  learned  his  business  and  is  a  practical 
mechanic,  entirely  qualified  as  a  tinner  and 
plumber  and  also  thoroughly  acquainted  with 


the  entire  hardware  business.  On  April  i, 
1892,  William  T.  Resch,  with  his  brother, 
Harry  P.  Resch  and  Forest  Casey,  formed  a 
partnership  under  the  firm  style  of  Resch  Bros. 
&  Casey,  which  continued  as  such  until  1904, 
when  Harry  P.  Resch  withdrew  and  since 
then  the  other  partners  have  conducted  the 
business  under  its  present  name.  The  store 
is  located  at  No.  123  East  Main  street  and 
has  a  24-foot  frontage,  with  196  back,  run- 
ning entirely  across  the  lot  to  the  next  block, 
the  back  part  of  the  building  being  utilized 
as  a  tin  shop  and  warerooms.  A  heavy  stock 
is  carried  and  the  reputation  of  the  firm  is  so 
well  established  that  its  business  continues  pros- 
perous year  after  year. 

Mr.  Resch  was  married  to  Miss  Emma 
Rensch,  who  was  born  at  Gallon  and  is  a 
daughter  of  Henry  Rensch,  who  came  to  this 
city  from  Germany,  in  the  fifties.  By  trade 
he  was  a  boilermaker  and  for  many  years  was 
in  the  employ  of  the  railroad  companies  here. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Resch  are  members  of  the  Eng- 
lish Lutheran  church,  in  which  Mr.  Resch  is 
a  member  of  the  choir,  having  sung  in  the 
church  choirs  in  Gallon  since  boyhood.  Po- 
litically he  is  a  Democrat  and  fraternally  is 
a  Mason,  Knight  of  Pythias  and  Elk. 

ADAM  F.  HIGH,  one  of  the  most  progress- 
ive and  successful  agriculturists  of  Crawford 
county,  O.,  owns  154  acres  of  fine  improved 
land,  situated  in  section  25,  Cranberry  town- 
ship, where  he  resides  and  has  all  the  com- 
forts and  conveniences  of  modern  life.  He 
was  born  northwest  of  New  Washington,  O., 
Jan.  12,  1864,  and  is  a  son  of  Michael  and  a 
grandson  of  Adam  High,  an  old  and  substan- 
tial family  of  this  section. 

Adam  F.  High  started  to  school  in  Cran- 
berry township  and  then  attended  the  High 
School  at  New  Washington  and  was  graduated 
in  the  class  of  1884,  after  which  he  took  a 
course  in  the  Ohio  Normal  School  at  Ada,  O. 
For  some  ten  years  afterward  he  engaged  in 
teaching  school,  both  in  Cranberry  and  Lykens 
townships,  and  then  turned  his  attention  to 
insurance  and  undertaking,  in  which  lines  he 
continued  for  nine  years.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  he  sold  to  High  &  De  Roche  and  then 
engaged  in  farming  on  the  place  on  which 
Jacob  Lererer  now  lives,  in  Cranberry  town- 


964 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ship,  and  remained  there  for  four  years.  After 
selling  that  farm  he  removed  to  New  Wash- 
ington and  for  one  year  was  engaged  in  sell- 
ing farm  machinery.  Mr.  High  then  pur- 
chased his  present  property  from  the  Harris 
heirs.  It  is  known  as  Cloverdale  Farm  and  is 
situated  two  miles  south  of  New  Washington. 
One  of  the  first  undertakings  he  entered  into 
after  taking  possession  was  to  remodel  all  the 
buildings  and  perhaps  there  are  no  better  farm 
and  stock  structures  in  all  Crawford  county 
than  on  Mr.  High's  place.  He  has  built  a 
thoroughly  modern  and  sanitary  barn  and  has 
introduced  a  water  system  so  that  his  stock 
can  be  watered  in  their  stalls.  He  has  the 
reputation  of  being  a  farmer  who  can  produce, 
from  his  well  tiled  and  scientifically  fertilized 
land,  two  bushels  of  grain  where  other  less 
enterprising  agriculturists  could  raise  but  one, 
but  the  main  feature  of  the  farm  is  the  raising 
and  feeding  of  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs,  large 
shipments  being  made  annually. 

Mr.  High  married  Miss  Caroline  Asch- 
bacher,  a  daughter  of  William  Aschbacher, 
and  they  have  eight  children:  Laurie  A.,  J. 
Proctor,  Russell  F.,  E.  Ferdinand,  C.  Milton, 
Chester  A.,  Herbert  L.  and  Ruth  P.  Mr. 
High  and  family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  He  is  a  prominent  factor  in  Demo- 
cratic politics  in  Crawford  county  having 
served  as  a  delegate  to  state  conventions,  and 
served  two  terms  as  a  member  of  the  New 
Washington  School  Board,  being  clerk  of  that 
body.  He  has  served  two  terms  as  clerk  of 
the  corporation. 

ELI  AS  STIGER,  who  owns  122  acres  of 
some  of  the  choicest  land  in  Dallas  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  on  which  he  successfully 
carries  on  farming,  is  one  of  the  self-made 
men  who  can  attribute  his  financial  independ- 
ence entirely  to  hi  s  own  industry  and  good 
management.  Mr.  Stiger  was  born  in  Lycom- 
ing county,  Pa.,  April  20,  1857,  and  is  a  son 
of  Jacob  and  Sophia  (Entz)  Stiger. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Stiger  were  also  born 
in  Lycoming  county  and  died  on  their  farm 
there,  the  mother  in  middle  age  and  the  father 
when  farther  advanced.  He  was  twice  mar- 
ried, first  to  Sophia  Entz  and  second  to  Mary 
Plankenhorn.  The  children  of  the  first  union 
were:    Elias,  Levi,  George  W.,  Samuel,  Wil- 


liam and  Julia,  while  those  of  the  second  mar- 
riage were :    Pierce,  Henry,  Mary  and  Lydia. 

Elias  Stiger  was  given  common  school  ad- 
vantages in  his  native  section  and  remained 
with  his  father  until  he  was  about  20  years 
of  age  when  he  came  to  Ohio.  He  found 
himself  in  Crawford  county,  among  strangers, 
with  a  capital  of  seven  dollars  in  his  pocket, 
but  he  did  not  long  remain  a  stranger,  for  he 
readily  made  friends,  and  as  he  immediately 
secured  farm  work  with  James  Miller,  he  was 
able  to  add  to  his  capital.  After  one  year  with 
Mr.  Miller  he  engaged  to  work  by  the  month 
for  Anthony  Houser,  with  whom  he  remained 
for  three  years  and  then  worked  for  one  year 
for  Dr.  Miller.  About  this  time  Mr.  Stiger 
married  and  then  rented  land  until  1896,  when 
he  purchased  his  present  farm  from  Oliver 
Monnett.  On  the  land  at  that  time  stood  a 
small  house  and  barn  but  in  his  improving, 
Mr.  Stiger  has  repaired  the  former  and  re- 
placed the  latter  with  a  very  commodious  and 
substantial  one.  He  carries  on  general  farm- 
ing and  raises  enough  stock  for  his  own  use 
and  is  numbered  with  the  prosperous  agricul- 
turists of  the  township. 

Mr.  Stiger  was  married  in  1881  to  Miss 
Emma  Crissinger,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam Crissinger,  and  they  have  the  following 
children :  Loma,  who  was  a  successful  school 
teacher  before  marriage,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Walter  Schiefer,  and  has  two  children — Ellis 
and  Weldon;  Bertha,  who,  like  her  sister, 
taught  school  acceptably  for  several  years,  and 
is  now  the  wife  of  Loren  Spiece  and  has  one 
daughter,  Esther;  and  Gerald  and  Zella,  both 
of  whom  are  at  home.  Mr.  Stiger  and  fam- 
ily attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He 
gives  his  political  support  to  the  Democratic 
party. 

ROBERT  W.  JOHNSTON  was  born  near 
Hayes ville,  Ashland  county,  O.,  where  he  re- 
sided until  1876,  when  he  became  a  student  in 
the  law  office  of  the  late  H.  C.  Carhart,  at  Ga- 
lion.  After  the  usual  time  spent  at  district 
school,  he  attended  Vermillion  Institute,  at 
Hayesville,  and  pursued  his  professional  studies 
during  the  full  course  at  the  law  school  of  Cin- 
cinnati College.  Upon  admission  to  the  bar  in 
Hamilton  county,  in  May,  1879,  he  entered 
into  partnership  with  his  preceptor,  Mr.  Car- 
hart,  and  has  continuously  resided  at  Gallon, 


JOHN  K.  ZEEBE 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


967 


but  for  several  years  has  devoted  much  of  his 
time  to  business  interests  at  Columbus.  He 
has  served  his  city  as  solicitor  and  mayor. 

His  father,  Thomas  Johnston,  vi^as  born  at 
Frederick,  Md.,  soon  after  the  arrival  of  his 
parents  from  County  Fermanagh,  Ireland,  the 
family  later  moving  to  Uniontown,  Pa.  In 
1828,  when  eighteen,  Thomas  came  to  that 
part  of  Richland  county  now  included  in  Ash- 
land county,  walking  the  entire  distance.  Soon 
after  becoming  of  age  he  became  what  is 
commonly  known  as  a  "Wagoner,"  and  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  till  the  advent  of  the 
railroad,  engaged  in  wagoning,  with  six  horse 
teams,  the  products  of  the  west  to  Pittsburg, 
Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  returning  with 
merchandise  from  these  cities  to  the  merchants 
of  Ohio.  Later,  farming  became  his  occupa- 
tion, and  he  was  among  the  first-  in  his  part 
of  the  state  to  engage  in  raising  Durham  or 
Short  Horn  cattle. 

Sarah  (Workman)  Johnston,  mother  of 
Robert  W.,  was  born  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  her 
father  settling  in  the  eastern  part  of  Richland, 
now  Ashland,  county  in  181 5,  when  he  pur- 
chased land  from  Baptiste  Jerome,  from  whom 
Jerome's  Town,  an  Indian  town  or  village  lo- 
cated near  the  present  village  of  Jeromeville, 
derived  its  name.  She  died  at  Galion,  Jan.  27, 
1893,  in  her  eightieth  year.  Her  father,  Jo- 
seph Workman,  was  born  in  County  Mona- 
ghan,  Ireland,  and  came  to  America  when  quite 
young  with  his  father,  who  was  one  of  a  class 
who  holds  an  honored  place  in  our  country's 
history,  "The  Irish  School-Master."  Joseph 
Workman  was  justice  of  the  peace  in  an  early 
day  in  Richland  county,  and  was  the  first 
president  of  the  Ashland  County  Agricultural 
Society.  He  served  with  a  Pennsylvania  regi- 
ment in  the  War  of  1812,  and  two  of  his 
uncles,  Hugh  Workman  and  James  Workman, 
were  with  Col.  Crawford  in  his  disastrous 
campaign  against  Sandusky. 

JOHN  K.  ZERBE,  one  of  the  highly  re- 
spected retired  citizens  of  Sulphur  Springs, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  and  a  valued  member 
of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  post  at 
Bucyrus,  was  born  in  1838,  in  Schuylkill 
county.  Pa.,  and  is  a  son  of  George  and  Han- 
nah Zerbe. 

In  1856  Mr.  Zerbe  came  to  Crawford 
county,  O.,  and  began  to  learn  the  carpenter 


trade  with  Jacob  Shull  and  continued  work  as 
a  carpenter  and  on  his  father's  farm  for  five 
years.  In  1862  he  began  work  in  the  coal 
mines  in  Pennsylvania  and  in  the  fall  of  the 
same  year  was  drafted  into  service  for  the 
Civil  War  on  the  nine-months  call,  was  ac- 
cepted and  served  as  corporal  of  Co.  F,  173rd 
Pa.  Inf.,  and  at  the  expiration  of  ten  months 
received  an  honorable  discharge  and  returned 
home,  but  on  Feb.  29,  1864,  he  enlisted  in  Co. 
A,  50th  Pa.  Vol.  Inf.,  which  belonged  to  the 
First  Div.,  Ninth  Army  Corps.  He  remained 
in  the  army  until  the  close  of  the  war  and  was 
a  second  time  honorably  discharged,  on  April 
30,  1865.  During  his  second  period  of  ser- 
vice he  took  part  in  the  battles  of  the  Wilder- 
ness, Nye  River  and  Spottsylvania  Court 
House  and  at  the  last  named  place  he  was 
made  a  prisoner  and  only  by  good  fortune  and 
quick  action  escaped.  When  a  squad  of  Union 
soldiers,  by  chance  met  the  Confederates  by 
whom  he  was  held,  he  suddenly  made  a  dash 
frorn  the  ranks  of  prisoners  and  soon  after 
rejoined  his  regiment. 

In  1868  Mr.  Zerbe  moved  to  Crawford 
county,  buying  a  farm  of  76  acres  and  later 
purchasing  120  acres  and  engaged  in  farming 
and  stock  raising  for  some  years  and  then 
came  to  Sulphur  Springs  and  here  followed 
his  trade.  In  the  meanwhile  he  bought  the 
hotel  property  of  M.  Heiby  and  three  other 
desirable  properties,  all  of  which  he  still  owns. 
In  1894  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Sul- 
phur Springs  and  during  his  term  he  was  also 
engaged  here  in  the  hardware  business.  He 
then  retired  and  spent  three  years  at  Bucyrus 
but  for  the  past  four  years  has  maintained 
his  home  at  Sulphur  Springs. 

In  1859  Mr.  Zerbe  was  married  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Mundinger,  a  daughter  of  Leonard 
and  Hannah  (Wolf)  Mundinger,  and  eight 
children  were  born  to  them,  as  follows :  Alvin 
P.,  who  married  Emma  Berry,  who  died  in 
1900,  has  one  son,  Charles  Henry;  Henry 
Albert,  who  died  Dec.  12,  1870,  at  the  age 
of  18  years;  John  Wesley,  who  resides  at  New 
Washington,  Crawford  county,  married  Tillie 
Gossman  and  their  one  son,  Ora,  married 
Huldah  Marks  and  have  two  children — Helen 
and  Beta  Irene;  Lewis  Washington,  who  re- 
sides at  Cleveland,  O.,  married  Jane  Flick- 
inger;  William  P.,  who  lives  at  Shelby,  O., 
married  Letta  Weidemyer  and  their  one  son. 


968 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Frank  E.,  married  Grace  Overlander  and  they 
reside  at  Bucyrus;  Grant  A.,  who  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Sandusky  City,  O.,  married  Frances 
Teel  and  they  have  one  son,  Claude;  Ida,  who 
died  when  aged  one  year  and  four  months; 
and  Laura  S.,  who  married  H.  Frank  Snyder, 
and  they  Uve  at  Wadsworth,  O.  Mr.  Zerbe 
has  always  been  a  good  and  reliable  citizen  and 
is  known  all  over  Crawford  county  and  for 
two  terms  was  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
Crawford  County  Infirmary. 

GEORGE  H.  KICHLINE,  who  is  sole 
proprietor  and  manager  of  The  Old  Honesty 
Hatchery,  which  occupies  over  ten  acres  on 
the  town  limits  of  New  Washington,  O.,  at 
the  end  of  East  Mansfield  street,  and  is  an 
important  business  enterprise  of  this  place, 
was  born  in  Northampton  county.  Pa.,  Aug. 
5,  1862. 

Mr.  Kichhne  came  first  to  Crawford  county 
in  1884  and  spent  two  years  as  a  farmer  three 
and  one-half  miles  southeast  of  New  Wash- 
ington. He  was  unmarried  and  free  to  follow 
his  own  fancy  so  he  concluded  to  visit  Florida 
but  six  months  convinced  him  that  for  a  man 
of  his  energy  a  different  section  of  the  coun- 
try would  be  more  congenial.  He  then  went 
back  to  Hellertown,  his  native  place,  and 
worked  there  in  the  steel  mill  and  a  planing 
mill,  and  also,  for  two  years,  was  a  brakeman 
on  a  railroad.  From  there  he  drifted  to  Tiffin, 
O.,  and  in  that  city  secured  employment  as 
conductor  on  a  street  car  line,  that  being  be- 
fore electricity  had  been  introduced  as  a  mo- 
tive agent,  and  drove  a  car  for  three  years. 
After  marriage  he  lived  for  seven  years  at 
Northampton  Heights  and  New  Bethlehem, 
Pa.,  and  then  moved  to  Rockaway,  in  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  where  he  operated  a  farm 
of  100  acres  for  a  time.  In  the  meanwhile 
Mr.  Kichline  had  been  carefully  looking  into 
the  profits  of  the  hatchery,  or  egg  and  poul- 
try business,  and  had  convinced  himself  that 
the  undertaking,  if  property  conducted,  could 
not  fail  of  success.  He  moved  then  to  his 
present  place  on  East  Mansfield  street,  where 
he  built  his  hatchery,  doing  all  the  grading 
and  constructing  himself.  He  started  with 
P.  F.  Lantz  as  a  partner,  who  did  the  office 
work  and  correspondence,  while  Mr.  Kichline 
was  general  overseer  and  manager.  Mr.  Kich- 
line bought  this  land  in   1907  and  since  the 


fall  of  1910  has  been  sole  proprietor,  and 
outside  of  his  own  family  conducts  an  im- 
mense business  with  the  assistance  of  two 
men.  His  two  ell-shaped  buildings  are  20  x 
50  feet,  with  an  addition  of  20  x  33  feet,  all 
under  one  roof,  and  another  with  dimensions 
of  10  x  31.  The  business  is  providing  pure 
grade  eggs  for  hatching  and  early  chickens 
for  market  and  sales  are  made  all  over  the 
United  States,  in  Argentine  Republic,  South 
America  and  in  Canada,  the  trade  mark.  The 
Old  Honesty  Hatchery,  bearing  with  it  the  cer- 
tainty of  goods  being  just  as  represented. 

At  South  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  in  1891,  Mr. 
Kichline  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Hepp,  a 
daughter  of  George  Hepp,  who  died  at  New 
Washington,  O.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kichline 
five  children  have  been  born:  Gertrude,  who 
died  in  1903,  aged  ten  years ;  Warren  Wilfred, 
who  assists  his  father;  and  Catherine,  Anna 
Isabelle  and  Mary  Elizabeth.  This  is  a  musi- 
cal family  and  the  home  concerts,  with  piano, 
violin  and  banjo  selections,  are  worth  going 
many  miles  to  enjoy.  Mr.  Kichline  is  a  stock- 
holder and  director  in  the  Cranberry  Nursery 
Company,  of  New  Washington.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Democrat  but  has  always  been  too  much 
of  a  business  man  to  be  willing  to  add  to  his 
cares  the  responsibilities  of  office.  The  family 
belongs  to  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 

JULIUS  BRACHER,  a  retired  merchant, 
capitalist  and  useful  citizen  of  Gallon,  O., 
owner  of  valuable  real  estate  and  vice  presi- 
dent of  the  Home  Insurance  Company  of  Ga- 
llon, was  born  in  the  Prussian  province  of 
Nassau,  Prussian-Germany,  Aug.  9,  1843,  and 
is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Krey) 
Bracher. 

Jacob  Bracher  was  born  also  at  Nassua  and 
when  he  reached  the  proper  age  entered  the 
army  for  the  necessary  term  of  military  serv- 
ice and  after  it  was  over  engaged  with  a  local 
produce  firm  that  supplied  a  number  of  cities 
with  its  commodities.  Three  years  after  mar- 
riage he  decided  to  seek  better  fortune  in 
America  and  in  1854  set  sail  with  his  family 
for  the  United  States,  embarking  at  Havre, 
France  and  after  many  weeks  on  the  ocean, 
landed  safely  in  New  York  harbor.  From 
there  Jacob  Bracher  brought  his  family  with 
him  to  Alliance,  O.,  finding  employment  in 
that  city  and  subsequently  becoming  a  brick 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


969 


contractor  there,  prospered  and  at  the  time  of 
death,  in  1865,  was  on  the  highway  to  a  com- 
fortable competency.  He  was  reared  in  the 
Reformed  church  but  at  time  of  death  was  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Shortly  after  reaching  Alliance  his  wife  had 
died  of  cholera,  an  epidemic  then  sweeping 
the  country.  She  left  three  children:  Julius, 
subject  of  this  article;  Charlotte,  who  married 
William  Barr  and  has  one  daughter,  Myrtle; 
and  Victor,  who  died  in  California,  when  aged 
56  years.  After  the  death  of  his  first  wife, 
Jacob  Bracher  married  Soloraa  Binkert,  who 
died  in  1907,  at  Alliance,  O.,  when  aged  76 
years.  She  left  two  sons:  John,  a  resident 
of  Alliance,  who  is  married  and  has  two  chil- 
dren; and  Frank,  who  also  resides  with  his 
family  at  Alliance. 

Julius  Bracher  was  reared  at  Alliance,  O., 
and  obtained  his  schooling  there.  When  he 
left  school  he  learned  the  machinist's  trade  but 
before  he  had  a  chance  to  establish  a  business 
the  Civil  War  broke  out  and  in  1861  he  en- 
listed for  service,  entering  Co.  H,  19th  O.  Vol. 
Inf.,  as  a  private  under  Capt.  P.  A.  Lobby, 
now  Judge  Lobby,  of  Salem,  O.  From  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  in  April,  1862,  until  the  fall 
of  Atlanta,  in  July,  1864,  he  participated  in 
all  the  battles  in  which  his  regiment  took  part, 
including  Stone  River,  Chickamauga,  Mission- 
ary Ridge  and  Kenesaw  Mountain,  his  hon- 
orable discharge  being  given  him  on  Oct.  5, 
1864,  after  the  battle  of  Atlanta  in  which  he 
proved  himself  a  brave  and  helpful  soldier. 
Although  many  of  his  comrades  were  either 
killed,  captured  or  injured,  he  was  fortunate 
enough  to  escape  all  these  perils  and  returned 
home  practically  unharmed. 

Mr.  Bracher  then  went  to  work  at  his  trade, 
continuing  to  live  at  Alliance  until  his  mar- 
riage, in  1876,  when  he  moved  to  Gallon  and 
here  went  into  the  grocery  business  for  three 
years  and  afterward,  for  25  years  was  in  the 
clothing  business,  at  the  end  of  which  period 
he  retired  from  active  business  life.  In  all 
his  undertakings  Mr.  Bacher  displayed  excel- 
lent judgment  and  prospered,  and  at  the  same 
time,  retained  the  respect  and  esteem  of  his 
fellow  citizens  on  account  of  his  business  in- 
tegrity. He  erected  the  Bracher  Block  in  1877 
and  still  owns  that  property.  In  public  matters 
he  has  been  active  and  influential,  serving  at 
times  in  the  city  council  and  under  a  late  law 


was  made  a  member  of  the  board  of  sinking 
fund  commissioners. 

Mr.  Bracher  was  married  at  Gallon  to  Miss 
Hattie  Riblet,  who  was  born  at  Galion  in  1850, 
her  people  being  old  settled  ones  in  this  sec- 
tion, and  they  have  two  children:  Ora  and 
Maybell.  Both  ladies  have  been  carefully  edu- 
cated and  the  latter,  after  completing  her  col- 
lege course  at  Springfield,  taking  first  honors 
in  her  class,  engaged  in  teaching  and  was  very 
successful  and  exceedingly  popular,  both  at 
Bucyrus  and  McKeesport,  Pa.  Mr.  Bracher 
and  family  are  members  of  the  First  English 
Lutheran  church  at  Galion.  Mr,  Bracher  is  a 
Mason,  belonging  to  the  Blue  Lodge  at  Galion, 
and  is  identified  also  with  Dick  Morris  Post 
G.  A.  R. 

ANDREW  KAPLE,  general  farmer  and 
highly  respected  citizen  of  Crawford  county, 
O.,  resides  on  his  valuable  farm  of  81  acres, 
which  is  situated  in  section  3,  Cranberry  town- 
ship, one  mile  north  of  New  Washington,  was 
born  Nov.  9,  1836,  in  Germany,  a  son  of 
Andrew  and  Catherine  Kaple. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Kaple  came  to  America 
in  1850  and  located  in  Ohio,  acquiring  a  farm 
in  Cranberry  township,  Crawford  county,  on 
which  they  lived  for  six  years  and  then  sold 
and  moved  to  Putnam  county,  where  they 
spent  the  rest  of  their  lives. 

Andrew  Kaple  was  14  years  old  when  the 
family  came  to  Crawford  county  and  the 
larger  portion  of  his  life  since  then  has  been 
passed  in  the  same  county.  For  one  year  after 
marriage  he  continued  to  live  in  Cranberry 
township  and  then  moved  to  Huron  county, 
but  eight  years  later  came  back  to  Cranberry 
township,  where  he  subsequently  bought  the 
farm  of  Paul  Miller.  This  is  excellent  prop- 
erty and  Mr.  Kaple  has  it  all  under  cultivation 
with  the  exception  of  a  valuable  ten-acre  tim- 
ber tract,  and  the  farm  is  drained  by  tiling. 
He  found  the  buildings  in  fair  condition,  the 
residence  only  requiring  remodeling. 

Mr.  Kaple  was  married  to  Miss  Caroline 
Wachter,  who  was  bom  at  Rochester,  N.  Y., 
a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Madeline  Wachter, 
and  the  following  children  have  been  born  to 
them:  Catherine,  who  is  the  wife  of  Joseph 
WeWe,  of  Henry  county ;  Frank,  who  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Crestline,  O.,  Bernard,  who  lives  at 
New  Washington;  Albert,  who  lives  on  the 


970 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


home  farm ;  and  Josephine,  Cecil  and  Rose,  all 
of  whom  live  at  home,  the  youngest  daughter 
being  engaged  as  a  clerk  with  the  Miller  Mer- 
chandise Company  at  New  Washington.  Mr. 
Kaple  and  family  are  members  of  St.  Bernard's 
Catholic  Church  at  New  Washington.  Mr. 
Kaple  has  never  accepted  any  political  office 
but  he  has  been  a  strong  Democrat  all  his 
mature  life. 

ALFRED  E.  WISMAN,  whose  highly  cul- 
tivated farm  of  8i  acres  lies  four  and  one-half 
miles  west  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  in  Holmes  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  on  the  Oceola  road, 
was  born  in  this  township,  Dec.  3,  1863,  and 
is  a  son  of  Frederick  and  Melissa  (Aumiller) 
Wisman. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Wisman  were  also 
born  in  Crawford  county,  the  family  being 
pioneer  ones  in  this  section.  Frederick  Wis- 
man is  now  retired  but  still  retains  his  farm 
of  140  acres  in  Bucyrus  township,  on  which 
he  led  a  busy  life  for  many  years.  He  mar- 
ried Melissa  Aumiller,  a  daughter  of  Daniel 
and  Sarah  Aumiller,  and  they  had  three  chil- 
dren born  to  them,  two  sons  and  a  daughter, 
namely:  Alfred  E. ;  Alice,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Joseph  Starner,  residing  at  Bucyrus;  and 
Charles,  who  lives  in  Bucyrus  township. 

Alfred  E.  Wisman  went  to  school  in  Bucy- 
rus township,  where  he  grew  up,  and  then 
helped  his  father,  remaining  at  home  for  some 
time  after  his  marriage  and  then  lived  for  one 
year  at  Bucyrus.  In  1894  he  came  to  his 
present  farm  and  on  this  place  erected  all  the 
substantial  structures  except  the  barn.  He  has 
so  enriched  his  land  and  so  carefully  culti- 
vated it  that  it  is  numbered  with  the  best 
farms  of  the  township.  Mr.  \\^isman  raises 
the  usual  crops  of  this  section  of  the  state  and 
each  year  puts  out  a  fine  lot  of  stock  and  if 
he  is  more  successful  than  many  of  his  neigh- 
bors it  is  because  he  devotes  closer  attention 
to  these  industries,  having  made  this  his  life 
work.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  con- 
nection but  has  never  accepted  any  office  ex- 
cept that  of  being  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Education. 

Mr.  Wisman  was  married  Dec.  6,  1888,  to 
Miss  Kathryn  Brown,  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Kathryn  (Christman)  Brown,  who  for- 
merly lived  just  east  of  Mr.  AMsman.  Mr. 
and  ^Irs.  AA^israan  are  members  of  the  Luth- 


eran   church    in    Tod    township,    Crawford 
county. 

A.  G.  LEDERER,  whose  fine  stock  farm  of 
86  acres  lies  in  section  14,  Cranberry  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  on  the  south  side 
of  the  east  and  west  road,  one-half  mile  east 
of  New  Washington,  O.,  is  one  of  the  pro- 
gressive, enterprising  and  successful  men  of 
this  county.  He  was  bom  in  Cranberry  town- 
ship, Dec.  19,  1852,  and  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and 
Magdalena  (Domenwirth)  Lederer,  a  grand- 
son of  Charles  Lederer  and  George  Domen- 
wirth. 

Jacob  Lederer  was  born  in  Wurtemberg 
and  his  wife  in  Alsace,,  Germany,  and  they 
about  five  years  old  when  they  accompanied 
their  parents  to  America.  Jacob  Lederer  was 
reared  in  Stark  county  and  before  coming  to 
the  vicinity  of  New  Washington,  was  em- 
ployed in  a  livery  stable  at  Wooster,  O.  Here 
he  entered  80  acres  of  land  situated  one  mile 
south  and  one  mile  east  of  New  Washington, 
and  here  he  became  a  well  known  and  highly 
respected  man  and  his  death  was  felt  a  loss, 
when  it  occurred  Aug.  19,  1857.  His  widow 
lived  to  be  81  years  and  six  months. 

A.  G.  Lederer  attended  school  in  Cranberry 
township  and  afterward  at  Lexington  and 
Ada,  O.,  folowing  which  he  engaged  in  educa- 
tional work  and  taught  two  terms  in  Chatfield 
township  and  13  terms  in  Cranberry  township, 
proving  to  be  a  very  competent  and  popular 
teacher.  For  some  15  years  he  was  engaged 
in  a  livery  business  at  New  Washington  under 
the  firm  name  of  J.  &  A.  G.  Lederer.  In 
1905  he  came  to  his  present  farm  which  he 
purchased  from  a  Mr.  Unger  and  which  was 
formerly  known  as  the  Jane  Hopkins  farm. 
Here  Mr.  Lederer  has  pleased  himself  in  mak- 
ing extensive  improvements,  erecting  modem 
buildings  and  installing  furnaces  for  heating 
and  electric  light  for  illumination.  He  raises 
Shorthorn  cattle  and  Shropshire  sheep  and 
carries  on  his  operations  in  a  scientific  manner. 
For  18  years  Mr.  Lederer  has  also  been  an 
auctioneer.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Toledo 
Life  Insurance  company  of  Toledo,  O. 

Mr.  Lederer  was  married  at  Mansfield,  O., 
to  Miss  Ella  A.  Hartupee,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  55  years.  She  was  a  consistent  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  her  burial 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


971 


was  in  the  Union  cemetery  at  New  Washing- 
ton. She  was  the  mother  of  five  children,  the 
two  survivors  being :  Ora  D.,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Dr.  Sarbo,  of  New  Washington;  and  Es- 
tella  A.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Fred  Assenheimer, 
a  druggist,  at  Woodville,  O.  Mr.  Lederer  was 
married  (second)  to  Mrs.  Emma  Barnes,  of 
Toledo,  O.,  who  in  maiden  life  was  Emma 
Bell,  being  the  widow  of  George  Barnes,  at  the 
time  of  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Lererer.  The 
father  of  Mr.  Lederer  was  a  Democrat  as  is 
our  subject  but  he  prefers  to  keep  an  independ- 
ent attitude,  voting  according  to  his  own  judg- 
ment. He  belongs  to  the  Cranberry  Grange 
and  is  active  in  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  His 
parents  were  of  the  Lutheran  faith  but  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

PHILIP  HERBOLD,  a  well  known  busi- 
ness man  of  Gallon,  O.,  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  The  Herbold  Company,  dealers  in  furniture 
at  No.  205  West  Main  street,  was  born,  reared 
and  educated  at  Gallon  and  furthermore  has 
always  lived  in  the  same  city  block  which  con- 
tinues to  be  his  home.  He  is  a  son  of  Philip 
and  Fredericka  (Feldman)  Herbold. 

Philip  Herbold,  the  elder,  was  born  in 
Baden,  near  Heidelberg,  Germany,  Feb.  20, 
1820,  and  died  at  Gallon,  O.,  Jan.  18,  191 1, 
when  aged  almost  90  years.  His  life  was  note- 
worthy on  account  of  his  successful  struggle 
against  adversity  and  his  subsequent  useful- 
ness to  his  fellow  citizens  in  his  adopted  coun- 
try. Left  an  orphan  at  the  age  of  six  years, 
he  grew  up  in  the  careless  hands  of  strangers 
and  early  was  thrown  entirely  upon  his  own 
resources.  He  learned  the  cabinet  making 
trade  and  afterward  traveled  over  a  large  part 
of  Germany  working  as  a  journeyman,  ac- 
cording to  the  law,  and  it  was  after  his  mar- 
'riage  that  he  determined  to  seek  more  favor- 
able opportunities  in  America.  On  a  sailing 
vessel  he  and  his  wife  crossed  the  Atlantic 
ocean  and  were  safely  landed  in  the  harbor  of 
New  York  city,  in  184s,  immediately  crossing 
the  country  to  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  where  he  found 
work  in  a  piano  factory.  Although  his  wages 
there  were  but  fifty  cents  a  day,  so  careful  and 
frugal  were  he  and  wife  that  in  the  space  of 
three  years  they  saved  the  sum  of  $65  out  of 
this  small  income  and. despite  the  expenses  in- 
cident to  a  slight  attack  of  cholera,  during  the 


epidemic,  this  sum  was  kept  intact  and  it  was 
Mr.  Herbold's  sole  capital  when  he  started  into 
business  at  Gallon,  O.  He  opened  a  shop  on 
East  Main  street,  near  the  present  city  hall, 
but  shortly  afterward  secured  better  quarters, 
on  West  Main  street  and  there  he  labored  hard 
for  many  years.  At  first  the  larger  part  of  his 
work  was  the  making  of  cofiins  and  it  often 
entailed  all-night  and  Sunday  work.  Later,  as 
people  came  to  realize  the  excellence  of  his 
furniture  making,  prosperity  came  to  him  and 
in  the  course  of  time  he  acquired  considerable 
property  and  built  the  fine  Herbold  block  on 
West  Main  street.  He  was  a  quiet,  industrious 
man  all  his  active  life,  reliable  in  every  situa- 
tion and  liberal  in  the  support  he  gave  to  the 
Reformed  church  and  at  the  time  of  death  was 
the  only  trustee  left  of  the  original  board  when 
the  church  was  organized.  He  survived  his 
wife  many  years,  her  death  occurring  in  No- 
vember, 1893,  her  age  being  68  years.  They 
had  eleven  children  born  to  them  and  the  fol- 
lowing survive:  Sophia,  who  is  the  widow  of 
Conrad  Bohl,  who  died  in  191 1,  having  been 
a  prominent  contracting  carpenter  at  Gallon; 
Philip;  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  G.  H.  Sny- 
der, a  machinist  at  Gallon,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren— Walter  and  Leona;  Fredrica;  and 
Adam  J.,  who  is  associated  in  business  with 
his  brother  Philip.  One  daughter,  Rosa,  died 
at  the  age  of  sixteen  years;  one  son,  August, 
was  survived  by  wife  and  two  children;  and 
another  son,  John,  who  died  in  August,  1910, 
is  survived  by  his  widow,  who  continues  his 
undertaking  business.  The  others  died  in 
infancy. 

Philip  Herbold  attended  the  public  schools 
at  Gallon  in  boyhood  and  practically  grew  up 
in  his  present  business,  giving  his  father  as- 
sistance and  learning  all  the  details  of  furni- 
ture manufacturing  and  handling.  He  has  fine 
quarters,  occupying  two  floors  of  the  building 
at  No.  205  West  Main  street,  his  display  room 
having  dimensions  of  100x21  feet,  and  he  does 
an  extensive  business. 

Mr.  Herbold  was  married  at  Gallon  to  Miss 
Mabel  Wineland,  who  was  born  at  Upper  San- 
dusky, O.,  but  was  educated  at  Galion.  They 
have  one  daughter,  Muriel,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Rev.  R.  J.  Riblet,  who  is  rector  of  Christ  Epis- 
copal church  at  Oberlin,  O.  Mr.  Herbold  is 
independent  in  politics  and  belongs  to  no  fra- 


972 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ternal  organization.  He  is  a  very  practical 
business  man.  The  younger  member  of  the 
firm,  Adam  J.  Herbold,  belongs  to  the  Elks. 
Philip  Herbold  is  of  an  inventive  turn  of  mind 
and  has  invented  many  things. 

JOHN  A.  PUCHTA,  who  is  a  well  known 
and  highly  respected  resident  of  Crawford 
county,  O.,  resides  on  his  carefully  cultivated 
farm  of  30  acres,  which  lies  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  Section  12,  Cranberry  township  on  the 
east  and  west  road,  which  he  has  owned  for 
the  past  27  .years.  He  was  born  in  Bohemia, 
which  is  now  a  province  of  the  Austria-Hun- 
garian monarchy,  Nov.  29,  1847,  and  was  20 
years  of  age  when  he  left  his  lofty  mountains 
and  fertile  plains  for  a  home  in  a  far  distant 
country. 

John  A.  Puchta  had  learned  the  blacksmith 
trade  and  when  he  reached  New  Washington, 
O.,  found  work  at  the  same,  working  also  at 
Chatfield,  O.  After  two  years  of  blacksmith- 
ing  at  New  Washington,  he  went  to  Indiana 
as  a  blacksmith,  and  from  there  to  Michigan 
and  then  back  to  Ohio  and  worked  at  his  trade 
at  Waynesburg  until  1885,  when  he  bought  his 
present  farm  in  Cranberry  township.  He  built 
a  new  house  and  made  other  improvements 
including  fencing  his  estate  and  has  carried  on 
general  farming  here  until  the  present  but  is 
now  somewhat  retired. 

Mr.  Puchta  married  Miss  Annie  Levy,  who 
was  born  also  in  Bohemia,  a  daughter  of  Pow- 
ell Levy,  and  they  have  the  following  living 
children:  Mary,  Annie,  Cecelia,  Katie  and 
Frank.  One  son  and  one  daughter  died  in  in- 
fancy, and  Telia,  Lena,  and  Lucy,  before  they 
were  14  years  old.  Mr.  Puchta  and  family  be- 
long to  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  Since 
coming  to  the  United  States  he  has  been  a 
hard  working  man  and  through  his  own  efforts 
has  gained  a  competency  and  comfortably 
reared  his  family.  He  has  never  joined  any 
political  party  but  may  be  counted  on  to 
cast  his  vote  in  support  of  all  law-abiding 
measures. 

MICHAEL  LONG,  a  leading  citizen  of 
Sandusky  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
township  trustee  and  successful  agriculturist, 
owns  160  acres  of  fine  land  which  is  situated 
ten    miles    northeast    on    the    Bucyrus    and 


Shelby  road.  Mr.  Long  was  born  in  1879,  in 
Chatfield  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  and 
is  a  son  of  Daniel  Long. 

Daniel  Long  and  wife  were  both  born  in 
Ohio  and  for  many  years  have  been  well 
known  and  substantial  farming  people  in  Chat- 
field township.  They  have  had  the  following 
children:  George,  Michael,  Daniel,  Mary, 
Samuel,  Katie,  Regina,  William,  Lydia  and 
Frederica  and  John,  twins.  Of  the  above  fam- 
ily, George,  who  married  Georgina  Scheiber,  is 
a  farmer  in  Midland  county,  Mich.  Daniel 
was  killed  by  an  accident,  at  the  age  of 
23  years.  Mary  is  the  wife  of  F.  B.  Durr 
and  they  live  at  Bucyrus.  Samuel  lives  in 
Michigan.  He  married  Carrie  Lust.  Katie  is 
the  wife  of  George  Kalb  and  they  live  in  Lib- 
erty township,  Crawford  covmty.  Regina  is 
the  wife  of  Frederick  Leonhard  and  they  live 
in  Morrow  county,  O.  The  other  members  of 
the  family,  with  the  exception  of  Michael,  live 
on  the  old  homestead  in  Chatfield  township. 

Michael  Long  obtained  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  and  remained  with  his  father 
until  his  majority  and  then,  before  settling 
down  for  himself,  spent  some  time  in  travel 
and  visited  Canada,  New  York  and  a  number 
of  the  western  states  but  found  no  section  that 
pleased  him  better  than  Crawford  county. 
Since  his  marriage  he  has  devoted  himself  to 
agricultural  pursuits  and  according  to  the  land 
appraiser's  report,  owns  one  of  the  best  farms 
in  Sandusky  township.  It  is  well  improved 
and  carefully  cultivated. 

Michael  Long  married  Miss  Sarah  E.  Kalb, 
who  is  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Magdalena 
(Hoss)  Kalk,  to  whom  were  born  four  chil- 
dren: Calvin  D.,  Milton  M.,  Martha  M.  and 
Clinton  C.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Long  are  church 
people,  and  have  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and, 
acquaintances.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat 
and  is  serving  as  township  trustee  and  also  as 
a  member  of  the  special  district  school  board. 

L.  F.-  MOLLENKOPF,  who  owns  157 
acres  of  fine  land,  situated  in  section  23,  Cran- 
berry township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Germany,  where  he  was  bom  Nov.  29, 
1870,  a  son  of  John  and  Katie  MoUenkopf. 

In  his  native  land  Mr.  MoUenkopf  attended 
school  until  he  was  16  years  of  age,  when  he 
prevailed  upon  his  parents  to  permit  him  to 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


973 


come  to  America  where  better  chances  might 
be  found  for  young  men  with  little  capital. 
Thus  he  crossed  the  Atlantic  ocean  unaccom- 
panied by  any  member  of  his  own  family  and 
landed  in  the  harbor  of  New  York,  going  from 
there  to  Newark,  N.  J.,  where  he  remained  one 
year  and  then  made  his  way  to  Cleveland, 
O.  In  that  city  he  remained  for  17  years 
and  then  settled  west  of  Bucyrus  for  six 
years  and  then  left  that  farm  and  bought  the 
one  he  has  ever  since  occupied,  in  Cranberry 
township,  from  Jacob  Lederer.  He  has  taken 
a  great  deal  of  pride  in  his  property  and  has 
put  many  improvements  on  it  in  the  way  of 
building,  repairing  and  fencing.  His  farm  has 
a  fine  situation,  being  located  but  one  and  one- 
half  mile  from  New  Washington,  O.,  on  the 
south  side  of  the  east  and  west  road.  He  de- 
votes his  land  to  general  farming.  Mr.  Mol- 
lenkopf  has  made  his  own  way  in  the  world 
and  has  secured  his  present  independence 
through  his  industry  and  perseverance. 

Mr.  Mollenkopf  was  married  (first)  to 
Pauline  Pfester,  who  was  born  in  Germany 
and  who  left  four  children :  Lewis  John, 
Freda,  Alma  and  Florence.  He  was  married 
(second)  to  Christine  Streib,  who  was  born 
in  Holmes  township,  Crawford  county.  They 
attend  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Mollenkopf 
is  a  Democrat  in  politics  but  is  inclined  to  be 
independent  in  his  views  on  public  questions. 

JAMES  W.  COULTER,  whose  sudden 
death  on  Sept.  2d,  19 10,  caused  a  shock,  not 
only  to  the  people  of  Galion,  among  whom  he 
lived,  but  also  throughout  Crawford  county 
generally,  was  a  lawyer  of  prominence  and 
was  highly  esteemed  as  a  man  and  citizen.  He 
was  bom  in  West  Bedford,  Coshocton  county, 
O.,  July  4,  1846,  a  son  of  Richard  M.  and 
Phoebe  (Greer)  Coulter.  The  father,  long 
since  deceased,  was  a  native  of  Cumberland 
county.  Pa.,  and  of  German  ancestry.  His 
wife,  Phoebe,  whom  he  married  in  Ohio,  was 
born  in  Belfast,  Ireland,  her  people  being 
prominent  and  well-to-do  residents  of  that 
city.  Coming  to  America,  they  settled  in 
Coshocton  county,  O.,  where  they  spent  the 
rest  of  their  lives,  except  that  Mrs.  Phoebe 
Greer,  after  her  husband's  death,  went  to  live 
with  her  son-in-law,  O.  W.  Aldrich,  LL.  D., 
editor  of  the  Monthly  Jurist,  at  Bloomington, 
Illinois. 


James  W.  Coulter  was  educated  at  Spring 
Mountain,  Coshocton  county,  O.,  and  later 
at  Mt.  Vernon,  O.,  He  subsequently  took 
up  his  residence  in  Bucyrus  and  read  law  with 
Hon.  A.  M.  Jackson  and  Hon.  Thomas  Beer, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1866.  He  im- 
mediately located  in  Galion,  where  he  subse- 
quently practiced  his  profession  until  the  close 
of  his  life — a  period  of  44  years.  He  was  a 
highly  successful  lawyer  and  an  active  and  use- 
ful citizen,  serving  four  years  as  prosecuting 
attorney  of  the  county,  six  years  as  a  member 
of  the  board  of  county  school  examiners,  also 
four  years  a  member  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion, being  president  of  that  body  for  a  part 
of  the  time.  Several  years  previous  to  his 
death  he  became  associated  professionally  with 
Attorney  Frank  Pigman,  of  Coshocton  county, 
the  firm  being  known  as  Coulter  &  Pigman. 
As  a  lawyer  Mr.  Coulter  was  keenly  percep- 
tive, incisive,  logical,  and  spirited  in  debate, 
yet  courteous,  and  was  generally  recognized  as 
the  head  of  the  Galion  bar.  He  is  also  an  ex- 
cellent business  man,  was  the  owner  of  several 
farms,  a  director  in  the  bank  and  a  stockholder 
in  many  of  Galion's  industries.  His  sound 
judgment  was  manifested  both  in  the  conduct 
of  his  own  affairs  and  in  those  of  others  that 
were  entrusted  to  him.  His  opinions  had  much 
weight  with  local  capitalists  and  he  uniformly 
seconded  his  views  by  liberal  donations  on  in- 
vestments, and  habitually  helped  to  advance  the 
private  enterprises  of  his  fellow  citizens,  as 
far  as  he  could  do  so  consistently  with  correct 
business  principles. 

Previous  to  the  last  twelve  years  of  his  life 
he  was  active  in  the  management  of  the  affairs 
of  the  Democratic  party,  to  which  he  belonged ; 
was  the  choice  of  his  county  some  years  ago 
for  the  congressional  nomination  and  was  fre- 
quently suggested  as  an  available  man  for  a 
judgeship,  at  one  time  declining  to  be  the  can- 
didate, although  nomination  meant  election. 
He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  and  a  member  and  active  worker 
in  the  First  Methodist  church.  On  Friday 
night,  Sept.  2d,  1910,  he  attended  a  meeting  of 
the  council  board  of  the  church  and  took  part 
in  its  proceedings.  He  complained  of  not  feel- 
ing very  well  and  on  the  way  home  he  and  his 
wife  stopped  at  the  office  of  Dr.  G.  C.  Marsh. 
While  here  he  was  taken  very  ill  and  in  about 
half  an  hour  afterward  expired  on  a  couch  in 


974 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


the  Marsh  home,  in  spite  of  the  administra- 
tions of  Dr.  Marsh  and  Dr.  O.  L.  Hoffman, 
who  had  been  called  in.  The  cause  of  his 
death  was  a  serious  disorder  of  the  stomach. 

James  W.  Coulter  was  married  Feb.  24, 
1886,  to  Miss  Flora  Hetrick,  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Parintha  (Pancoast)  Hetrick, 
born  April  14,  1865,  the  night  that  President 
Lincoln  was  assassinated.  Her  paternal  grand- 
father was  Jacob  Hetrick,  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, who  with  four  brothers,  came  to  the 
United  States  more  than  a  century  ago,  locat- 
ing in  Cumberland  county.  Pa.  Jacob  there 
married  Lydia  Winter,  daughter  of  John  and 
Catherine  (Mickley)  Winter,  who  were  of 
German  descent.  They  had  four  sons  and  five 
daughters — John,  Jacob,  Michael,  Samuel, 
Catherine,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Lydia  (Mrs.  Het- 
rick) and  Susan. 

The  family  of  Winter,  Wintour,  Gwyntor 
or  Wintor — according  to  the  different  spellings 
of  the  name — descended  from  Winter,  the 
Castellan  of  Carnarvon,  Wales.  Their  name 
was  originally  Gwyntor,  and  their  crest  was  a 
falcon  mounted  on  a  white  tower.  The  fam- 
ily settled  at  Wynch,  in  the  reign  of  Edward 
I,  eventually  spreading  to  all  parts  of  Great 
Britain  and  to  Germany.  It  numbers  among 
its  descendants  many  famous  personages — 
statesmen,  warriors,  admirals,  writers,  divines, 
bankers  and  many  men  of  culture.  There  are 
numerous  coats  of  arms  in  the  Winter  family. 
The  Worcester  branch  has  a  crest  consisting 
of  three  ostrich  plumes.  The  coat  of  arms  of 
the  German  branch  is  as  follows :  Argent — In 
fess  a  bar  bearing  five  helmets,  proper.  In 
chief  checquery,  O,  and  azure — in  base  the 
same  wreath  O,  and  azure.  Crest — Three 
ostrich  plumes  O,  and  azure.  Motto — Omnia 
Vincit  Veritas  (Truth  conquers  all  things). 
Helmets — war — peace.  Ground  banner — (yel- 
low) and  blue.  Motto — yellow  and  blue. 
Helmet — grey,  blue  and  yellow.  Paulet  ban- 
ner— red,  blue  and  white.  Feathers — ^blue, 
shading  to  yellow.  Long  Bar — indigo  blue. 
Wreath  of  pink  roses — rose  mixed  with  scar- 
let, very  light  grew  for  shading. 

Jacob  Hetrick  and  wife  removed  from 
Pennsylvania  to  Morrow  county,  Ohio,  where 
they  were  among  the  pioneer  settlers.  They 
subsequently  settled  in  Johnsville,  O.,  where 
he  followed  the  trade  of  blacksmith  and  wagon 


maker  until  advanced  in  years.  He  died  in 
Johnsville  at  the  age  of  78  and  his  wife  at  that 
of  83  years.  They  were  members  of  the 
United  Brethren  church,  and  in  politics  he  was 
a  Democrat.  Their  children,  so  far  as  the  rec- 
ord shows,  were  Sarah,  Eliza  and  Samuel. 

Samuel  Hetrick  was  born  in  Morrow  county, 
O.,  March  6,  1842.  He  was  a  stock  dealer  and 
breeder,  doing  an  extensive  business  along 
these  lines  for  many  years.  In  1865  he  came 
to  Gallon  and  opened  the  first  livery  barn  in 
the  place.  So  much  interested  was  he  in  the 
breeding  of  fine  horses  that  he  built  a  race 
course  here  in  1876.  For  twenty  years  he  was 
chief  of  the  fire  department  and  broke  the  first 
team  of  horses  to  the  fire  truck  on  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  department.  By  the  fire  lad- 
dies he  was  known  as  Captain  Hetrick  and  he 
proved  himself  an  able  man  in  this  line  of 
work  and  was  universally  respected  as  a  useful 
and  enterprising  citizen.  He  was  a  Republican 
in  politics  and  was  the  only  man  of  his  party 
to  be  elected  to  office  in  this  Democratic  city. 
Born  March  6,  1842,  he  died  in  April,  1905,  at 
the  age  of  63  years.' 

He  was  married  in  Morrow  county  to  Miss 
Parintha  Pancoast,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Heze- 
kiah  Pancoast,  who  was  prominent  as  a  physi- 
cian in  the  early  history  of  this  section.  In. 
her  young  womanhood  Miss  Pancoast  taught 
school  at  Rocky  Fork,  in  Lincoln  county,  O., 
and  this  school  and  its  teachers  were  after- 
wards made  the  subjects  of  a  novel  by  Mary 
Hartwell  Catherwood,  under  the  title  of 
"Rocky  Fork."  The  teacher,  Mrs.  Hetrick, 
died  in  Gallon  May  6,  1898,  at  the  age  of  65 
years.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
church.  Two  of  her  children  are  now  living — 
Flora  (Mrs.  Coulter),  and  a  son,  C.  S.  Het- 
rick, formerly  city  auditor  of  Gallon.  The 
latter  is  married  but  has  no  children. 

Mrs.  Coulter  is  an  educated  and  cultured 
lady  and  is  prominent  in  Gallon  society.  She 
is  a  member  of  the  official  board  and  at  present 
is  president  of  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  of  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  In  1893  she  was 
one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Current  News 
Club.     She  has  no  surviving  children. 

JOHN  C.  PFAHLER,  who  is  a  general 
farmer  residing  in  Cranberry  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  where  he  owns  80  acres  of 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


975 


well  improved  land  lying  in  sections  25  and  26, 
is  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  this  township 
and  was  born  here  Aug.  25,  1861.  He  is  a 
son  of  Mathias  and  Margaret  (Gossman) 
Pfahler. 

Mathias  Pfahler  was  born  in  Germany  and 
was  three  years  old  when  his  parents  brought 
him  to  America,  locating  in  Crawford  county. 
He  grew  up  on  his  father's  farm  and  at  matur- 
ity married  Margaret  Gossman,  who  was  born 
in  Cranberry  township,  a  daughter  of  John 
Gossman.  They  became  the  parents  of  three 
sons  and  two  daughters,  namely:  Mary  Jane, 
Irene,  John  C,  Jefferson  and  Charles  M. 
After  marriage,  Mathias  Pfahler  came  to  the 
farm  which  his  son,  John  C,  now  owns,  and 
here  his  death  occurred  at  the  age  of  41  years, 
his  burial  being  in  the  Liberty  township  ceme- 
tery. His  widow  survived  to  the  age  of  68 
years.  They  were  members  of  the  United 
Brethren  church. 

John  C.  Pfahler  obtained  his  schooling  in 
Crai^berry  township  and  in  the  meanwhile  as- 
sisted his  father  on  the  home  farm  and  re- 
mained with  him  and  has  followed  farming  all 
his  life.  Forty  acres  of  his  land  is  a  part  of 
the  old  homestead.  Although  his  farm  had 
been  cleared  before  he  came  into  possession, 
Mr.  Pfahler  found  plenty  of  improving  to  do 
and  the  substantial  building,  erected  according 
to  modern  ideas  of  comfort  and  convenience, 
were  put  here  by  him.  He  is  progressive  also 
in  his  farming  methods  and  is  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  the  Cranberry  Grange.  His  nearest 
market  is  New  Washington,  his  land  lying 
three  and  one-half  miles  southeast  of  that  city. 

Mr.  Pfahler  married  Miss  Ida  B.  Cooper, 
who  was  born  in  Liberty  township,  a  daughter 
of  Henry  C.  Cooper.  They  are  members  of 
the  Methodist  Protestant  church.  In  politics  a 
Democrat,  as  was  his  father,  Mr.  Pfahler  has 
frequently  been  elected  to  important  local  of- 
fices on  his  party  ticket  and  as  township  trustee 
served  continuously  for  six  years  and  nine 
months.  He  also  filled  the  office  of  Central 
Committeeman  for  four  years.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  attends  his 
lodge  at  New  Washington. 

JAMES  E.  HEINLEN,*  a  dealer  in  but- 
tci")  eggs  and  livestock,  at  Gallon,  O.,  belongs 
to  one  of  the  old  and  substantial  families  of 


Crawford  county,  and  was  born  on  the  family 
homestead  in  Whetstone  township,  Aug.  5, 
1869.  He  is  a  son  of  Lewis  B.  and  Mary 
(Fink)  Heinlen. 

Lewis  B.  Heinlen  was  born  in  Pickaway 
county,  O.,  a  son  of  Lewis  Heinlen,  but  was 
reared  in  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  where  he  followed  farming  all  his  ac- 
tive life.  He  died  on  Easter  Sunday,  1910, 
when  aged  86  years.  In  politics  he  was  an 
old-time  Democrat,  and  in  religious  connection 
he  belonged  to  the  United  Brethren  church. 
He  married  Mary  Fink,  who  survives,  and, 
now  in  her  77th  year,  resides  at  Winchester, 
O.  She  is  still  interested  in  family  affairs, 
local  happenings  and  church  work.  Of  the 
family  of  four  sons  and  three  daughters,  the 
following  survive :  Henry,  who  is  now  a  wid- 
ower, who  lives  with  his  mother  at  Winchester 
and  has  one  son  and  two  daughters;  Lavina, 
living  at  Bucyrus,  who  is  the  widow  of  Byron 
Neish,  and  has  one  daughter ;  Amanda,  who  is 
the  wife  of  William  G.  Roberts,  of  Bucyrus, 
has  one  daughter;  James  E. ;  and  Edward  C, 
a  farmer  residing  in  Whetstone  township,  who 
has  one  son  and  one  daughter. 

James  E.  Heinlen  grew  to  manhood  on  his 
father's  farm  in  Whetstone  township  and  car- 
ried on  agricultural  operations  there  until 
1904,  when  he  came  to  Gallon,  where  he  en- 
tered a  grocery  store  as  a  clerk  and  remained 
for  three  years  and  then  went  into  business 
for  himself  in  his  present  line,  dealing  in  the 
staples  for  which  there  is  a  never  failing 
demand. 

Mr.  Heinlen  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to 
Miss  Edna  Warrick,  who  was  born  in  Whet- 
stone township,  and  they  have  three  children : 
Hilda  L,  who  was  born  January  20,  1896; 
Mildred  Olefa,  who  was  born  January  28, 
1900;  and  Iva  W.,  who  was  born  August  10, 
1904.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Heinlen  are  members  of 
the  United  Brethren  church.  Politically  he  is 
identified  with  the  Democratic  party.  As  a 
business  man  Mr.  Heinlen  has  met  with  a  large 
degree  of  success,  and  as  a  citizen  of  his  com- 
munity commands  general  respect. 

FRANK,  SPROW,  the  leading  general 
merchant  at  Brokensword,  O.,  and  a  repre- 
sentative citizen  of  this  place,  justice  of  the 
peace  and  owner  of  valuable  real  estate,  was 


976 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


bom  in  Jackson  township,  Crawford  county, 
C,  Oct.  24,  1852,  and  is  a  son  of  Martin  and 
Hannah  (Rhodes)  Sprow. 

Martin  Sprow  was  born  in  Germany  and 
was  brought  to  America  when  one  year  old, 
his  parents  settling  in  Vernon  township,  Craw- 
ford county.  After  his  marriage  he  moved 
into  Jackson  township  and  later  to  Liberty 
township,  and  died  in  the  latter  on  his  well- 
improved  farm,  when  aged  64  years.  He  mar- 
ried Hannah  Rhodes,  who  was  born  in  the 
state  of  Pennsylvania,  and  died  in  Liberty 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  when  aged  68 
years.  They  had  children  as  follows :  Frank, 
born  Oct.  24,  1852;  G.  W.,  who  was  born  in 
May,  1855;  W.  F.,  who  was  born  Aug.  2, 
1858;  Sarah,  who  was  born  Nov.  3,  i860,  and 
died  at  the  age  of  28  years;  H.  J.,  who  was 
born  July  2,  1863,  and  died  in  191 1;  Mary, 
who  was  born  Oct.  11,  1867,  who  married 
Harry  Sell;  Flora,  born  April  26,  1871,  who 
married  Samuel  Gardner;  and  Ida,  now  Airs 
Bender,  who  was  born  Oct.  2,  1874. 

Frank  Sprow  secured  a  district  school  edu- 
cation and  afterward  engaged  in  farming  in 
Liberty  township  for  about  14  years  and  later 
for  seven  years,  in  Chatfield  township.  After 
four  years  in  business  in  Bucyrus  township,  in 
1903  he  purchased  his  present  store  at  Broken- 
sword,  from  A.  Muth,  and  is  doing  a  large  but 
safe  business.  He  carries  a  heavy  stock  of  dry 
goods,  boots,  shoes  and  groceries  and  supplies 
the  local  demand  and  sells  over  a  considerable 
outlying  territory. 

Mr.  Sprow  was  married  in  1875,  to  ]\Iiss 
Elizabeth  Zimmerman,  of  Richland  county,  O., 
a  daughter  of  Peter  Zimmerman,  and  a  family 
of  seven  children  have  been  born  to  them,  as 
follows :  Emma,  who  married  AI.  C.  Muth,  of 
Cle^■eland,  O.,  and  has  twin  children,  Victor 
and  Ethel ;  Albert,  who  is  now  deceased ;  Ellen, 
who  married  Ellsworth  Overlander,  and  has 
one  daughter,  Bernice;  Edward,  who  married 
Alyrtle  Gearhart ;  John,  who  assists  his  father ; 
Reuben,  who  is  deceased;  and  Bertha,  who  is 
the  wife  of  W.  H.  Smith.  'Sir.  Sprow  is  a 
member  of  the  Evangelical  Association  in 
Lykens  township  while  his  wife  is  a  Methodist. 
For  a  number  of  years  INIr.  Sprow  has  served 
in  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  his  decis- 
ions being  seldom  reversed.  In  politics  he  is 
a  Democrat,  and  fraternally  he  is  connected 
with  the  order  of  Alaccabees. 


F.  X.  BLUM,  a  well  known  general  farmer, 
residing  in  Cranberry  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  where  he  has  two  80-acre  farms, 
both  situated  in  Section  23,  was  born  in 
Alsace-Loraine,  France,  Dec.  27,  1853,  a  son 
of  Joseph  and  Mary  Blum,  the  latter  of  whom 
died  when  he  was  nine  years  old. 

In  1872  F.  X.  Blum  came  along  to  the 
United  States  and  located  at  first  in  Seneca 
county,  O.,  and  continued  to  live  there  for 
three  years  after  he  married,  when  he  came  to 
Crawford  county.  Here  he  bought  one  farm 
of  Horatio  Markley,  on  which  the  only  im- 
provements were  a  house  and  stable,  and  the 
other  land  of  J.  M.  Beiber  and  Adam  Zaebst. 
He  immediately  began  to  improve  his  farms 
and  has  built  all  the  substantial  buildings 
which  make  them  attractive  and  increase  their 
value. 

Mr.  Blum  was  married  at  New  Washington 
to  Miss  Madeline  Kreim,  who  was  bom  in 
Austria  and  was  brought  to  America  by  her 
parents  when  two  months  old.  They  were 
Joseph  and  Barbara  Kreim  and  they  located 
at  Plymouth,  O.  To  !Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blum  four 
children  were  born,  namely:  John,  who  mar- 
ried Josephine  Hatzer,  and  lives  on  his  father's 
north  farm,  having  two  children — Agnes  and 
Qaude;  Barbara;  Joseph,  who  is  proprietor  of 
the  Twentieth  Century  Hatchery;  and  Frank, 
who  assists  his  father.  Mr.  Blum  and  family 
are  members  of  the  Catholic  church.  On  Sept. 
6,  1904,  the  beloved  wife  and  mother  passed 
away  and  her  burial  was  at  New  Washington. 
Air.  Blum  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  but  uses 
his  own  judgment  in  casting  his  vote;  he  has 
served  in  the  office  of  road  superintendent  in 
Cranberry  township. 

JACOB  F.  ULAIER,  who  owns  a  valuable 
and  well  improved  farm  of  120  acres,  which  is 
situated  seven  miles  northeast  of  Bucjttis,  O.. 
and  one  and  one-fourth  miles  west  of  Sulphur 
Springs,  is  a  representative  citizen  of  Liberty 
township,  Crawford  county,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  school  board.  He  was  bom  in  Liberty 
township,  in  1858,  and  is  a  son  of  Gottlieb 
Ulmer,  who  was  bom  at  \\'^ittenberg,  Ger- 
many, and  came  in  early  manhood  to  the 
United  States. 

Jacob  F.  Ulmer  remained  with  his  father  on 
the  home  farm  until  he  was  21  years  of  age, 
after  which  he  worked  for  other  farmers  by 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


977 


the  month,  for  two  years,  and  then  rented  land 
for  two  years  more  and  later  bought  a  farm 
of  60  acres.  For  two  years  he  operated  that 
farm  and  then  sold  it  to  advantage  and  pur- 
chased his  present  one  of  120  acres.  Here  he 
has  made  many  admirable  improvements  in- 
,  eluding  the  remodeling  of  house  and  barn,  and 
the  place  gives  evidences  of  careful  and  intelli- 
gent cultivation. 

Mr.  Ulmerv.  was  married  to  Miss  Leonora 
Pfleiderer,  who  is  a  daughter  of  David  and 
Mary  Pfleiderer.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Ulmer 
was  born  in  Germany  and  the  mother  in 
Columbiana  county,  O.  Mrs.  Ulmer  has  seven 
sisters  and  three  brothers :  Anna  Mary,  Mag- 
daline,  Margaret,  Barbara,  Lydia,  Caroline, 
Clara,  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  all  of  who 
reside  in  Liberty  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  with  the  exception  of  Abraham,  whose 
home  is  in  Indiana. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ulmer  have  three  children: 
Lester  E.,  a  resident  of  Whetstone  township, 
who  married  Miss  Iva  V.  Meek  and  has  one 
daughter,  Margaret;  and  Catherine  E.  and 
John  F.,  both  of  whom  live  at  home.  Mr. 
Ulmer  and  family  are  members  of  the  Evan- 
gelical church. 

The  farm  on  which  Mr.  Ulmer  is  located 
is  known  as  the  Pfleiderer  homestead,  having 
first  been  owned  by  Mrs.  Ulmer's  grandfather. 
Christian  Pfleiderer,  who  entered  it  from  the 
government. 

J.  J.  HIGH,  whose  excellent  farm  of  40 
acres  lies  in  section  10,  in  the  southeast  corner 
of  Cranberry  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
three-fourths  miles  east  of  New  Washington, 
O.,  was  born  April  26,  1861,  in  the  northwest 
corner  of  this  township,  and  is  a  son  of  Mi- 
chael and  a  grandson  of  Adam  High. 

Adam  High  and  his  wife,  Madeline,  were 
both  born  in  Germany  as  were  the  following 
children:  Valentine,  Michael,  Adam,  Margaret 
and  Elizabeth.  In  the  fall  of  1832  he  came 
with  his  family  to  the  United  States  and  settled 
in  Crawford  county  and  cleared  and  cut  the 
logs  with  which  he  built  his  log  house.  He 
was  a  shoemaker  by  trade  and  here  he  plied  it 
during  his  entire  active,  life  afterward,  mov- 
ing late  in  life  to  the  home  of  a  daughter  north 
of  New  Washington,  where  he  died. 

Michael  High  was  twelve  years  old  when  his 


parents  moved  to  Crawford  county  and  after- 
ward had  little  chance  to  attend  school.  He 
learned  the  blacksmith  trade  at  which  he 
worked  for  several  years  and  then  was  forced 
to  give  it  up  on  account  of  an  injury  he  had 
received  from  an  unruly  horse.  He  then 
'turned  his  attention  to  farming,  locating  in 
the  northwest  corner  of  Cranberry  township 
and  there  his  death  occurred  at  the  age  of  63 
years.  He  was  a  lifelong  member  of  the 
Lutheran  church  and  his  burial  was  in  the 
Lutheran  cemetery.  It  was  in  the  house  of 
his  father  that  the  Lutheran  church  organiza- 
tion at  New  Washington  was  effected  and 
Adam  High  was  one  of  the  first  members  and 
church  officials.  Michael  High  married  Mary 
Donnenwirth  and  they  had  nine  children,  eight 
of  whbm  survive.  She  was  born  east  of  Can- 
ton, O.,  near  Waynesburg,  and  died  on  the  old 
homestead  in  the  northwest  corner  of  Cran- 
berry township  when  aged  75  years,  70  of 
which  had  been  spent  there.  Michael  High 
was  a  very  strong  Democrat  in  his  political 
opinions  but  cared  little  for  public  office  al- 
though occasionally  serving  as  a  trustee  of  the 
township. 

J.  J.  High  attended  the  Klein  school  in 
Cranberry  township  and  afterward  settled 
down  to  farm  life  and  has  continued  his  inter- 
est. After  marriage  he  resided  on  a  farm  that 
he  owned  in  Chatfield  township,  for  17  years, 
and  then  came  to  Cranberry  township  and  in 
the  spring  of  191 1  bought  his  present  farm 
from  Andrew  Krebs.  It  was  originally  owned 
by  his  uncle,  George  Donnenwirth,  who  paid 
$400  for  it  but  when  Mr.  High  purchased  it  he 
paid  a  large  sum  for  the  same  property,  al- 
though it  had  in  the  meanwhile,  been  finely  im- 
proved, this  of  course  being  taken  into  consid- 
eration. It  remains  a  very  valuable  property 
and  here  Mr.  High,  through  modern  methods 
of  agriculture,  is  continually  adding  to  its  pro- 
ductive possibilities. 

At  New  Washington,  Mr.  High  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Ella  Tribolet,  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Louisa  Tribolet,  and  they  have  five  chil- 
dren: Bertha  May,  Carl  Frederick,  Marie 
Louise,  John  Michael  and  Emma  Margaret. 
Mr.  High  and  family  are  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church.  In  politics  he  has  always 
been  identified  with  the  Democratic  party  and 
has  been  a  prominent  man  in  township  affairs, 


97a 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


serving  for  nine  years  as  a  member  of  the 
Chatfield  township  school  board  and  at  pres- 
ent is  road  supervisor  of  the  northeast  side  of. 
Cranberry  township. 

JOSIAH  H.  G.  KECKLER,  who  is  one  of 
Bucyrus  township's  most  respected  and  best 
known  residents,  having  spent  a  half  century. 
here,.aw:ns  a  large  body  of  land,  331  acres,, 
all  of  which  is  \-aluable  and  so  situated  that  it 
is  adapted  to  general  farming.  He  was  born 
in  Adams  county.  Pa.,  Feb.  16,  1829,  and  is  a 
son  of^John  .and  Rosana  (Gordon)   Keckler. 

In  1837  the  parents  of  Mr.  Keckler  decided 
to  move  to  Ohio  and.  the  only  means  of  trans- 
portation over  the  mountains  was  by  wagon. 
^Ir.  Keckler  was  then  a  boy  of  eight  years 
and  can  remember  the  many  adventures  of 
that  long  trip,  the  family  being  15  days  on 
the  way  before  reaching  Harrison  county, 
where  the  father  established  himself  on  a 
farm  and  opened  his  blacksmith  shop.  The 
mother  died  in  Harrison  county  and  afterward 
the  father  went  to  Kansas  and  there  his  death 
occurred.  They  were  members  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church.  Their  children  were :  Martha, 
who  married  Jacob  Barger;  Mary  Ann,  who 
was  the  wife  of  James  P.  Beall ;  Josiah  H.  G., 
subject  of -this  sketch;  Rosanna,  who  married 
John  Rogers;  and  Alalinda,  who  married 
Henry  Vincent. 

The  schools  in  Harrison  county,  when 
Josiah  H.  G.  Keckler  was  a  boy  did  not  offer 
the  advantages  that  those  of  the  present  day 
present,  but  he  was  grounded  in  the  necessary 
elements  before  he  had  to  start  out  to  take 
care  of  himself.  For  nine  years  he  worked 
by  the  month  for  farmers  in  Harrison  county 
and  then  came  to  Crawford  county  and  bought, 
in  partnership  with  James  P.  Beall,  his 
brother-in-law,  120  acres  and  they  remained 
together  for  about  five  years,  when  he  sold  to 
his  partner  and  bought  80  acres  on  Mud  Run. 
That  land  he  traded  for  320  acres  in  Pike 
county.  III.  In  1862  ]\Ir.  Keckler  located  in 
Bucyrus  township,  purchasing  his  first  land, 
104  acres,  and  gradually  adding  to  it  until,  as 
stated  above,  he  now  has  331  acres.  He  has 
been  a  careful  buyer  and  has  no  useless  land, 
all  being  productive,  and  it  is  devoted  to  gen- 
eral farming  and  moderate  stock  raising. 

On  April  3,  1872,  Mr.  Keckler  was  married 


to  Miss  Juliet  Parcher,  a  daughter  of  Daniel 
and  Mary  (McXeal)   Parcher.     Mr.  Parcher 
was.  born  in  Crawford  county  but  his  wife  was 
a  native  of  Huntington  county.  Pa.    They  had 
the  iollowing  children :  John,  Juliet,  ^Velling- 
ton,   Benjamin,   Allison,   Edith,   George  and 
Daniel.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Keckler  had  four  chil- 
dren born  to  them,  namely :  John  F.,  who  is 
deceased;   Agnes,    who   is   the   wife   of   Roy 
Crisinger   and   has   two   children — ^Julia   and 
Frank;  Orie  G.,  who  married  Maggie  Rogers 
arid  has  one  son,  Anderson;  and  George,  who 
married  Flora  Clark  and  has  one  son,  Clark. 
l\Ir.  Keckler  and  family  belong  to  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  church.     In  his  early,  manhood 
]\Ir.  Keckler  was  a  Whig  in  politics  but  later 
identified  himself  with  the  Republican  party. 
He  has  seen  many  changes  come  over  this  sec- 
tion since  he  first  located  here  and  in  many 
ways  life  is  easier  and  more  comfortable  than 
in  the  old  days,  but  he  does  not  believe  that 
all  the  modern  methods,  in  farming  or  in  other 
directions,  are  more,  sensible  or  reliable  than 
those  which   prevailed   when  he  was   a  boy. 
He  can  relate,  many  interesting  tales  of  early 
days  in  Ohio. 

WILLIAM  LAH:\IAX,  residing  eight 
miles  north  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  operating  his  ex- 
cellent farm  of  108  acres,  situated  in  Holmes 
township,  is  widely  known  in  Crawford  county 
as  an  educator,  for  32  years  having  devoted 
himself  to  work  in  that  line.  He  was  bom  in 
Holmes  township,  Dec.  2.^,  1861.  and  is  a  son 
of  Jonas  and  Phoebe  (Uhl)  Lahman. 

Jonas  Lahman  was  born  in  Baden,  Ger- 
many, and  after  coming  to  the  United  States 
passed  his  life  mainly  engaged  in  farming  in 
Holmes  township,  Crawford  county,  O.  Here 
he  died  in  honored  old  age,  ha^"ing  attained  his 
85th  year.  He  married  Phoebe  Uhl,  who  was 
born  in  Alsace  Loraine  and  died  at  the  age  of 
79  years,  having  passed  her  life  from  girlhood 
in  Ohio.  Two  of  their  children  died  in  in- 
fancy and  six  survived  to  maturity,  six  still 
living:  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Rupert;  John;  Mrs. 
Caroline  ^\'augh;  George;  ^Villiam,  and  ^Irs. 
Sarah  C.  Hurless. 

\\'illiam  Lahman  secured  his  primary  educa- 
tion in  the  schools  of  Holmes  township  and 
afterward  attended  at  both  Lebanon  and  Ada, 
O.  Unusually  intellectual  he  then  turned  his 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


981 


attention  to  an  intellectual  profession  and  be- 
came a  teacher.  In  that  field  he  met  with  such 
success  that  for  32  years  he  continued  as  a 
teacher  in  Holmes  township,  making  a  record. 
It  is  doubtful  if  Mr.  Lahman  can  tell  how 
many  pupils  have  been  under  his  instruction, 
but  it  must  be  gratifying  for  him  to  realize 
that  many  of  these  have  gone  from  under  his 
care  into  successful  and  honorable  life  careers. 
Mr.  Lahman  was  married  to  Miss  Emma  J. 
Fralick,  a  daughter  of  David  Fralick,  and  they 
have  three  children :  Mamie  Floy,  Rollo  G.  and 
Cloden  J.  D.,  thelast  named  being  his  father's 
capable  assistant.  In  politics  Mr.  Lahman  has 
always  been  a  Democrat  and  for  six  years  was 
a  justice  of  the  peace  and  at  present  is  a  notary 
public.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the 
Odd  Fellows  and  the  Maccabees. 

JOHN  W.  FRENCH,  who  is  a  well  known 
citizen  of  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  a  re- 
spected retired  resident  of  Cranberry  town- 
ship, residing  on  his  valuable  farm  of  11 1 
acres,  situated  in  section  11,  on  the  west  side 
of  the  north  and  south  road,  was  born  at  Col- 
umbiana county,  O.,  Nov.  8,  1832,  and  is  a  son 
of  Samuel  and  Rebecca  (Welch)  French. 

Samuel  French  was  born  in  Columbiana 
county,  O.,  and  there  was  reared  and  married 
Rebecca  Welch,  who  was  born  at  Wellsville, 
on  the  Ohio  river,  a  daughter  of  James  Welch. 
Her  grandfather,  Erastus  Welch,  was  born  in 
Ireland  and  was  the  first  white  man  to  settle 
near  Rocky  Creek  church  in  Seneca  county, 
O.,  not  far  from  Tiffin.  After  marriage 
Samuel  French  and  wife  came  to  Crawford 
county,  with  the  family,  in  1848,  and  settled 
in  Lykens  township  and  lived  there  for  12 
years  and  then  moved  to  Huron  county,  O., 
and  he  died  on  his  farm  there  at  the  age  of  57 
years,  his  widow  surviving  to  the  age  of  65 
years  and  their  burial  was  in  Seneca  county. 
They  were  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  At  the  time  of  death  Samuel  French 
owned  no  land  in  Crawford  county.  They  had 
the  following  children:  Rebecca  and  Kathe- 
rine,  both  of  whom  died  in  Wood  county ; 
James,  who  lived  and  died  in  Seneca  county; 
John  W. ;  Joseph ;  Reason,  who  died  in  Craw- 
ford county;  Elizabeth,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Martin  Corbett,  and  lives  at  Chicago  Junction ; 
and  Esther,  who  died  in  Huron  county. 


John  W.  French  wasi  eight  years  old  when. 
his  parents  moved  to  Wood  county,  and  after 
that  he  had  no  chance  to  attend  school  and 
when  he  was  24  years  of  age  educated  himself 
by  using  the  school  books  of  his  younger 
brothers  and  sisters.  He  was  the  only  one  of 
the  sons  to  learn  a  trade,  becoming  a  skilled 
carpenter,  and  for  a  number  of  years  worked 
with  a  Mr.  Waller  in  general  building,  partic- 
in  Lykens  township  and  was  in  partnership 
ularly  barns.  When  Mr.  Waller  married,  Mr. 
French  went  to  Tiffin  and  there  was  engaged 
with  a  Mr.  Chamberlain,  a  contractor  there. 
In  1 86 1  he  married  and  then  settled  in  Lykens 
township  once  more,  in  1866  moving  to  Huron 
county.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  he 
enlisted  in  a  home  guard  organization,  Co.  E, 
136th  Regiment  and  served  for  four  months, 
when  he  returned  to  Lykens  township  and 
went  to  farming.  His  health  broke  down  two 
years  later  so  that  work  at  his '  trade  was  im- 
possible but  after  moving  to  Huron  county  he 
steadily  at  the  same  for  six'  years.  He  then 
sold  his  interests  in  Huron  county  and  bought 
his  present  farm  in  Cranberry  township.  He 
again  resumed  carpenter  i  work  and  continued 
had  some  of  -the  clearing  and  considerable 
draining  to  do  and  put  up  the  present  substan- 
tial.farm  buildings  and  has  a  valuable  property. 

On  Feb.  24,  1861,  Mr.  French  was  married 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Jane  Perky,  who  was  born 
in  Seneca  county,  O.,  Nov.  17,  1837  and  prior 
to  marriage  was  a  teacher  in  Crawford  county. 
Her  parents  were  David  and  Mary  (Seitz) 
Perky,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  April 
I,  181 1,  in  Westmorland  county.  Pa.,  and  died 
Feb.  13,  1896.  He  came  to  Seneca  county  in 
1827  and  married  Mary  Seitz,  who  was  born 
March  3,  1814,  in  Fairfield  county,  O.,  and 
died  July  15,  1853,  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Madelene  Seitz.  After  their  marriage  they 
lived  in  Seneca  county  until  1848  and  then 
moved  to  Lykens  township,  Crawford  county. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Perky  had  eleven  children,  two 
of  whom  are  living:  Mrs.  French  and  Mrs. 
Abigail  Corey,  who  lives  in  Stone  county,  Mo. 
Four  of  the  sons  served  in  the  Civil  war,  two 
in  the  55th  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  one  in  the  25th  and 
the  other  in  the  136th  and  the  only  one  who 
returned  was  the  one  who  belonged  to  the  25th 
regiment.  Ohio  sent  many  volunteers  into  the 
Civil  war  and  in  the  school  district  in  which 


982 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Mr.  French  then  Hved,  28  men  offered  their 
services. 

Two  sons  were  born  to  jSIr.  and  ]Mrs. 
French :  Sherman  L.  and  David  P.  The  latter 
resides  on  the  home  farm.  He  married  Cora 
Cummins,  a  daughter  of  W^ilHam  and  Matilda 
Cummins  and  they  have  two  daughters :  Mary 
Elizabeth  and  Esther  Matilda.  Mr.  French 
and  wife  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  He  has  always  been  a  good, 
law-abiding  citizen  but  prefers  to  cast  an  in- 
dependent vote,  not  identifying  himself  with 
any  political  party  and  has  never  accepted  any 
office  except  that  of  school  director. 

JOHN  ENGLISH,  a  retired  merchant  re- 
siding in  Gallon,  C,  who  is  also  a  veteran  of 
the  Civil  war,  was  born  in  Johnsville,  Mor- 
row county,  Ohio,  April  9,  1840,  a  son  of 
Samuel  and  Sarah  (Hall)  English.  His  pa- 
ternal grandfather  was  Abel  English,  who  was 
bom  in  Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  as  early  as  1785, 
and  who  died  in  his  native  county  while  still 
a  young  man.  Abel  married  Margaret  !Mutch, 
a  Pennsylvania  girl,  who  was  afterwards  three 
times  married,  and  who  late  in  life  went  to  re- 
side in  Xaperville,  111.,  where  she  died  in  1866 
at  the  age  of  76  years.  She  had  children  by 
each  husband,  except  the  last — Adam  Shifler. 
She  w  as  a  woman  remarkable  for  her  strength 
and  activity. 

Samuel  English,  the  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  bom  Aug.  7,  1813,  in  Elizabeth 
township,  Lancaster  county.  Pa.  He  grew  up 
in  his  nati\-e  place  and  learned  the  trade  of 
shoemaker.  At  the  age  of  20  years  he  came 
to  Ohio,  locating  in  Johns\ille,  ]\Iorrow  county, 
where  he  followed  his  trade  and  was  thus  en- 
gaged for  some  years.  He  then  changed  his 
occupation  and  followed  farming  for  several 
years.  Afterwards  he  engaged  in  the  stone 
quarrying  industry,  which  was  his  final  occu- 
pation. He  died  in  Gallon,  O..  in  1896.  When 
48  years  old,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Co. 
K,  23d  O.  V.  I.,  and  as  teamster  and  ambul- 
ance driver  he  remained  for  three  years  in  the 
service,  escaping  injury.  He  was  a  man  re- 
markable for  physical  strength  and  was  of  a 
religious  disposition,  a  consistent  member  of 
the  M.  E.  church.  At  first  a  ^^'hig  in  politics, 
he  later  became  a  Republican.  In  that  section 
of  Ohio  now  know  as  Morrow  county,  he  was 


married  to  Miss  Sarah  Hall,  who  was  born  in 
that  locality  in  1817,  her  father  being  William 
Hall  and  her  mother,  in  maidenhood,  Mary  A. 
Cook.     The  latter  was  a  New  Jersey  woman, 
whose  father,  a  life-long  resident  of  that  state, 
had  served  in  the  Colonial  army  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.    William  and  Mary  A.  Hall  were 
pioneer  settlers  in  Morrow  county,  where  they 
were  probably  married,  and  where  they  fol- 
lowed farming.     William  died  there  in  middle 
life.     His  widow,  surviving  him  many  years, 
died  at  Iberia,  Morrow  county,  O.,  at  the  home 
of  her  son  Isaac,  she  being  then  past  85  years 
of  age.     She  was  the  mother  of  seven  chil- 
dren, a  good  woman  and  a  life-long  Methodist. 

Samuel  English  and  wife  were  the  parents 
of  five  sons  and  five  daughters,  all  of  whom 
married  and  all  but  one  had  issue:  Four  of 
the  sons  and  three  of  the  daughters  are  slill 
living.  The  mother,  Mrs.  Sarah  English,  sur- 
vived her  husband  and  died  near  Gallon,  O., 
at  the  age  of  90  years  and  four  months.  She 
was  a  ^lethodist  in  religion. 

John  English  was  the  second  son  and  child 
of  his  parents  and  is  the  eldest  now  living.  He 
was  reared  and  educated  in  Johnsville,  O.  On 
Feb.  26,  1862,  when  in  his  22d  year,  he  en- 
listed in  Company  D,  23d  O.  V.  I.  and  was  or- 
dered to  the  front  with  his  regiment.  In  Sep- 
tember of  that  year  he  took  part  in  the  battle 
of  Antietam  and  there  received  three  gunshot 
wounds  within  five  minutes.  At  the  hospital 
he  was  found  to  be  seriously  hurt  and  on  Octo- 
ber 23d  his  leg  was  amputated.  Discharged  on 
March  3.  1863,  he  returned  to  his  home  in 
Gallon  and  has  since  resided  in  this  city.  He 
was  for  some  time  engaged  in  mercantile  busi- 
ness and  for  35  years  has  been  a  notary  public. 
He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Republican 
party  and  belongs  to  Dick  Morris  Post,  G.  A. 
R.  Xo.  130,  having  served  the  Post  as  quar- 
termaster two  terms. 

He  was  first  married  to  Maria  Xoblet,  a 
daughter  of  Adam  Xoblet.  She  died  in  1881, 
leaving  a  child  that  is  now  living — Anna  ^lay 
Burgener,  wife  of  Charles  E.  Burgener  of 
^Marion.  O.  Mr.  English  married  secondly 
Mary  C.  ^^'est,  who  died  Jan.  12,  1906,  leav- 
ing no  children. 

BERXARD  YOUXG,  who  is  one  of  the 
representative    men    of    Cranberry   township. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


983 


Crawford  county,  O.,  valued  in  public  councils 
and  respected  in  private  life,  carries  on  large 
agricultural  operations  on  his  valuable  farm 
of  97  acres,  and  is  serving  in  his  second  term 
as  township  trustee.  He  was  born  on  this 
farm,  Jan.  i,  1855,  and  is  a  son  of  Peter  and 
Mary  (Stein)  Young  and  a  grandson  of  Lewis 
Young. 

Lewis  Young,  the  grandfather,  was  the 
pioneer  of  the  family  in  America,  coming  from 
his  native  land  Alsace,  then  in  France,  in 
1833,  and  settling  in  Crawford  county,  then 
Richland,  on  the  west  township  line  of  Auburn 
township.  In  later  years,  after  his  wife  died, 
he  went  back  to  visit  the  scenes  of  his  youth 
and  died  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  old  home 
and  was  interred  there. 

Peter  Young,  father  of  Bernard  Young, 
was  16  years  of  age  when  he  accompanied  his 
parents  to  the  United  States  and  died  in  Craw- 
ford county,  in  1867,  when  aged  51  years,  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  having  been  spent  on 
the  present  farm.  His  burial  was  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  cemetery  at  New  Washington.  He 
left  an  estate  of  320  acres  of  valuable  land. 
He  married  Mary  Stein  and  they  had  ten  chil- 
dren, four  of  whom  survive  and  two  of  whom 
live  in  Crawford  county.  His  wife  died  in 
1886,  when  aged  67  years. 

Bernard  Young  attended  school  with  his 
brothers  and  sisters  in  boyhood,  after  which 
he  helped  his  father  and  also  worked  for  other 
farmers  by  the  month  and  additionally  en- 
gaged in  teaming.  After  marriage  he  became 
the  home  farmer  and  subsequent  owner  of 
this  property  and  has  continued  here,  making 
improvements  as  they  have  become  necessary 
and  building  and  remodeling  as  he  has  deemed 
advantageous.  His  father  owned  about  one 
square  mile  of  land  and  made  things  comfort- 
able about  his  home  and  the  barn  he  built  is 
yet  standing.  The  Northern  Ohio  Railroad 
passes  through  his  land  and  the  station  is  lo- 
cated on  the  next  farm  to  the  east.  Mr. 
Young  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Toledo  Life  In- 
surance Company,  of  Toledo,  O. 

Mr.  Young  married  Miss  Catherine  Kast- 
ner,  a  daughter  of  Andrew  Kastner,  and  they 
have  four  children :  Charles,  Frank,  Cecil  and 
Joseph,  all  of  whom  were  born  and  reared  on 
his  farm.  Mr.  Young  and  family  belong  to 
the  Roman  Catholic  church.     In  politics  he 


has  always  cast  his  vote  with  the  Democratic 
party. 

GEORGE  P.  MARTIN,  whose  exceedingly 
valuable  farm  of  219  acres,  belonging  to  the 
Bucyrus  Development  Company,  lies  in  Liberty 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  two  and  a  half 
miles  northeast  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  is  one  of  the 
reliable  and  representative  men  of  Crawford 
county.  Mr.  Martin  has  charge  of  the  city 
reservoir  and  leases  the  farm.  He  was  born 
in  1857,  in  Marion  county,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of 
Benjamin  F.  and  Elizabeth  (Culver)  Martin. 
He  has  three  sisters  and  one  brother :  Ruth, 
Anna,  Robert  A.  and  Sarah.  Ruth  is  the  wife 
of  Clayton  Andrews,  residing  at  Hartford 
City,  Ind.,  and  they  have  had  four  children — 
Otto,  Wanzo,  Carrie  and  Bartlett,  the  last 
named  being  deceased.  Anna  is  the  wife  of  L. 
J.  Pooler,  also  residing  at  Hartford  City,  and 
they  have  one  son,  Phineas.  Robert  A.,  who  is 
in  business  at  Hartford  City,  Ind.,  married 
Eva  Lockwood  and  they  have  had  the  follow- 
ing children :  Henry,  Inez,  Blanche,  Claudia, 
Robert,  Goldie,  Walter,  James,  Princess  and 
Rose,  the  last  two  being  deceased.  Sarah  is 
the  wife  of  Frank  Collins  and. they  live  at 
Bucyrus  and  have  had  five  children:  Benjamin, 
Isaiah,  Howard,  Danzel  and  an  infant,  de- 
ceased. 

George  P.  Martin  obtained  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  and  has  been  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  ever  since.  His  large  estate 
is  devoted  to  general  farming  and  stock  rais- 
ing. The  Bucyrus  City  Reservoir  is  located 
on  his  farm  and  he  is  overseer  of  the  same. 

Mr.  Martin  married  Miss  Emma  Schurr,  a 
daughter  of  George  and  Mary  (Koop)  Schurr. 
Mrs.  Martin  has  three  brothers  and  one  sister : 
George  J.,  Christian  F.,  Charles  Robert  and 
Mary  Catherine.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin 
five  children  were  born:  Ora  Cozetta,  Lulu  A., 
Minnie,  Ruth  and  George,  and  of  these  Ruth 
and  George  still  reside  at  home.  Ora  Cozetta 
is  the  wife  of  Garfield  McMichael,  of  Bucyrus, 
and  they  have  one  son,  Robert.  Lulu  A.  mar- 
ried Elger  Pfleiderer,  a  farmer  in  Liberty 
township  and  they  have  one  son,  Richard. 
Minnie  is  the  wife  of  Prof.  Lycurgus  Mar- 
shall, who  is  principal  of  the  Crestline,  O., 
High  School.  Mr.  Martin  and  family  belong 
to  the  Lutheran  church.     He  is  a  stanch  Re- 


984 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


publican   and   is  a   useful   and   conscientious     somewhat  independent  but  nominally  was  a 
member  of  the  township  school  board.  Democrat. 


MRS.  MARY  UTZ,  whose  valuable  farm 
of  105  acres  lies  in  section  12,  Cranberry  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  is  one  of  the  best 
known  and  mqst,  highly,  esteemed  residents  of 
this  section,  in  which  she  has  practically  passed 
her  entire  life.  Mrs.  Utz  was  born  in  Cran- 
berry township,  on  what  was  known  as  the 
George  M.  Klein  farm,  July  16,  1854,  and  is 
a  daughter  of  Conrad  and  Margaret  (High) 
Klein. 

As  a  girl,  Mrs.  Utz  attended  the  Cranberry 
township  schools  near  her  home  and  was  care- 
fully reared  by  a  capable  mother  and  reached 
young  womanhood  proficient  in  all  housekeep- 
ing arts.  On  Feb.  13,  1873,  ^^^  ^""'^^  married 
to  John  L.  Utz,  who  was  born  on  the  farm 
'that  she  now  owns,  July  19,  1850,  and  died 
here  May  30,  191 1.  His  parents  were  Jacob 
and  Helena  (Fredericks)  Utz.  After  mar- 
riage, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Utz  settled  on  this  farm 
and  many  years  of  happy  wedded  life  fol- 
lowed. Mr.  Utz  completed  the  clearing  of  the 
farm  which  his  father  had  commenced,  made 
many  improvements  here  and  successfully  car- 
ried on  farming  and  stock  raising,  remaining 
active  until  the  time  of  his  death,  in  his  6ist 
year.  He  was  one  of  the  influential  men  of  his 
township  and  was  often  called  upon  to  give  ad- 
vice concerning  public  movements  and  fre- 
quently has  offices  tendered  him,  serving  at 
times  as  school  director  and  as  township  trus- 
tee. 

Seven  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  ]Mrs. 
Utz,  as  follows :  Jacob  F.,  who  married  .Amelia 
Loy,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  Loy,  of  Chatfield 
township,  who  resides  in  section  2,  Cranberry 
township,  and  has  had  two  children — Paul  and 
Carl  Franklin,  the  latter  dying  when  aged  but 
five  days;  Louisa,  who  is  the  wife  of  Patrick 
McCarty,  living  in  Cranberry  township,  and 
has  three  children — Lewis,  George  and  Edna 
Isabella;  Margaret  E.,  who  married  Theodore 
Kahler,  of  Seneca  county,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren— Clarence  and  Glendo;  and  Adolph;  Al- 
bert, Franklin  Carl,  deceased;  and  Adam,  last 
three  living  residing  at  home  and  operating 
the  farm  for  their  mother.  Mrs.  Utz  is  a  meni- 
ber  of  the  Lutheran  church,  to  which  Mr.  Utz 
also  belonged.     In  his  political  views  he  was 


THOMAS  W.  LOXGSTRETH,  monument 
maker  and  dealer,  who  has  occupied  his  busi- 
ness quarters  at  No.  134  West  Main  Street, 
Galion,  O.,  for  43  years,  is  one  of  the  city's 
best  known  and  most  respected  citizens.  He 
was  born  in  Muskingum  county,  O.,  March  4, 
1848,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  A.  (Pat- 
ten) Longstreth. 

•John  Longstreth  was  born  March  i,  1816, 
in  Morgan  county,  O.,  and  was  a  son  of  Bar- 
tholamew  Longstreth,  who  was  a  son  of  John 
Longstreth.  The  last  named  died  in  Pennsyl- 
vania but  his  four  sons,  Bartholamew,  Mi- 
chael, James  and  Philip,  all  came  to  Ohio  in 
1 81 2  and  settled  in  York  township,  Alorgan 
county,  and  were  among  the  first  permanent  set- 
tlers in  that  section.  Bartholamew  died  in 
1824,  when  aged  35  years.  He  had  been  mar- 
ried in  Pennsylvania  to  Margaret  O'Hara,  who 
sur\'ived  him  many  years,  dying  in  Morgan 
county  in  1866.  They  were  interred  in  the 
old  family  burying  ground.  They  were  par- 
ents of  five  sons  and  four  daughters,  the  last 
child  being  posthumous,  and  all  lived  to  be 
heads  of  families.  Although  all  have  passed 
away  in  the  course  of  Nature,  nine  of  the  chil- 
dren survived  to  the  age  of  70  years  and  sev- 
eral were  in  the  eighties  at  time  of  death. 

John  Longstreth  settled  on  80  acres  of  Gov- 
ernment land  that  he  received  from  his 
mother,  in  Brush  Creek  township,  Muskingum 
county,  and  spent  his  entire  subsequent  life 
there  as  a  farmer,  his  death  occurring  April 
19,  1887,  when  he  was  aged  81  years.  He  was 
a  Democrat  in  his  political  opinions.  He  mar- 
ried !Mary  A.  Patten,  who  was  born  in  Morrow 
county,  O.,  Sept.  22,  1822,  and  died  inDecem- 
ber,  1892.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Elizabeth  (Porter)  Patten,  the  former  of 
whom  was  a  native  of  Ireland  and  the  latter  of 
]\Iaryland.  They  were  married  in  Chester 
county.  Pa.,  and  came  to  ^lorrow  county,  O., 
in  pioneer  days  and  spent  long  and  useful 
lives  in  that  section.  Of  their  children  but  one 
survi\es,  he  being  James  Patten,  a  venerable 
resident  of  Des  Moines,  la.,  who  is  now  in 
his  87th  year.  To  John  and  Mary  A.  Long- 
streth six  children  were  born,  two  of  whom 
died  as  infants.    The  survivors  are :  ^Margaret, 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


985 


who  is  the  wife  of  Lewis  Miller,  residing  on  a 
farm  in  Morrow  county  and  has  six  children; 
Tamzen,  who  is  the  widow  of  George  Brown, 
and  resides  in  Morrow  county  and  has  six 
children;  Thomas  W.,  our  subject;  and  Abi- 
gail, who  is  the  widow  of  Porter  Kirkpatrick, 
and  is  resident  of  Galion,  having  one  son. 

Thomas  W.  Longstreth  had  district  school 
opportunities  until  he  was  i6  years  of  age, 
when  he  left  home  and  went  to  Mt.  Gilead,  in 
Morrow  county,  where  he  served  an  appren- 
ticeship to  a  marble  cutter.  Five  years  later, 
December,  1868,  he  came  to  Gabon  and  started 
in  the  marble  and  monument  business,  as  noted 
above,  and  his  stand  is  one  of  the  city's  land- 
marks. In  1880  he  introduced  the  first  granite 
monuments  and  at  present  this  stone  replaces 
almost  every  other  for  monumental  purposes. 
Mr.  Longstreth  favoring  it  for  his  most  beauti- 
ful designs. 

In  Muskingum  county,  in  1873,  Mr.  Long- 
streth was  married  to  Miss  Euphemia  Ann 
Swingle,  who  was  born  and  reared  there,  a 
daughter  of  old  pioneer  settlers.  They  have 
two  sons;  E.  Homer,  the  older,  learned  the 
marble  cutting  trade  with  his  father  but  at 
present  is  bookkeeper  for  a  gas  company  oper- 
ating at  Dunkirk,  N.  Y.  He  married  Miss 
Maybell  Atkinson  and  they  have  one  son,  Mer- 
rill, a  bright  lad  of  five  years.  Earl,  the 
younger  son,  is  a  graduated  pharmacist  and  at 
present  is  in  the  drug  business  at  Sacramento 
City,  Calif.  He  married  there  and  has  one  son, 
Roy.  Mrs.  Longstreth  and  her  two  sons  are 
members  of  the  English  Lutheran  church.  The 
name  is  a  well  known  one  in  Pennsylvania  to 
this  day  and  many  of  those  bearing  it  are  prom- 
inent in  the  Society  of  Friends.  Mr.  Long- 
streth has  seen  many  changes  come  about 
since  he  first  selected  Gabon  as  his  home  and 
he  has  done  his  part  in  assisting  general  prog- 
ress and  is  an  interested  member  of  the  Com- 
mercial Club.  In  politics  he  has  always  been 
affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party. 

JACOB  LEDERER,  proprietor  of  the  Jacob 
Lederer  &  3on's  livery,  feed  and  sales  stables 
at  New  Washington,  O.,  is  one  of  the  best 
known  men  of  Cranberry  township,  Crawford 
county,  where  his  valuable  farm  of  53  acres, 
known  as  Middlebrook  Farm,  is  situated,  ly- 
ing in  section  11,  along  its  western  border.    He 


was  born  April  30,  1848,  in  Cranberry  town- 
ship, two  miles  southwest  of  New  Washington, 
and  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Magdalena  (Don- 
nenwirth)    Lederer, 

Jacob  Lederer  the=younger  remained  on  the 
old  homestead  for  62  years  but  in  the  spring 
of  191 1  he  purchased  and  moved  on  the  old 
Adam  High  farm,  which  had  been  well  im- 
proved. With  the  assistance  of  his  sons  he 
carried  on  general  farming  but  has  additional 
interests.  On  Aug.  11,  1910,  he  purchased  his 
livery  and  feed  and  sale  barn  at  New  Wash- 
ington, succeeding  Edward  Donnenwirth,  and 
is  here  associated  in  business  with  his  son,  un- 
der the  firm  name  of  Jacob  Lederer  &  Son. 
The  livery  business  is  carried  on  with  all  kinds 
of  vehicles,  including  automobiles,  two  men 
are  kept  busy  at  the  barn  and  the  business  is 
prospering  under  the  direct  management  of 
the  junior  member  of  the  firm. 

Jacob  Lederer  was  married  to  Miss  Mary 
Guiss,  who  was  born  in  the  same  school  dis- 
trict in  Cranberry  township  as  himself,  a 
daughter  of  Henry  Guiss,  and  they  have  the 
following  children :  Ada  Matilda ;  Ella,  who 
for  15  years  has  been  a  successful  teacher  in 
the  public  schools  of  New  Washington  and 
also  for  four  years  in  Cranberry  township,  a 
highly  educated  lady;  Glenn  T.,  who  resides  at 
Toledo,  O.,  where  he  is  connected  with  the 
American  Express  Company ;  Elmer,  who  lives 
on  the  home  farm ;  Lee,  who,  in  addition  to 
managing  the  livery  stable  and  feed  and  sales 
barn,  is  an  auctioneer;  L.  W.,  who  is  employed 
at  Tiffin,  O. ;  and  Ivan,  who  lives  at  home.  Mr. 
Lederer  is  a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church.  He  has  never  considered  himself  a 
politician  but  usually  votes  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  although  occasionally  inclined  to 
be  independent  in  his  choice  as  to  public  rep- 
resentatives. 

DANIEL  W.  HOOT,*  who  has  been  in 
the  employ  of  the  Erie  Railway  for  the  past 
34  years  and  is  now  conductor  on  one  of  its 
speedy  passenger  trains,  with  home  at  Gabon, 
O.,  has  won  promotion  by  close  attention  to 
his  duties  and  faithful  service  in  every  posi- 
tion to  which  he  has  been  assigned.  He  was 
born  at  Reedsburg,  O.,  Nov.  30,  1854,  and  is 
a  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Susan  (Zewmy)  Hoot. 

Nathaniel  Hoot  was  born  in  Pennsylvania, 


986 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


May  17,  1817,  and  died  at  Galion,  O.,  about 
1885.  He  was  a  custom  shoemaker  and  was 
considered  very  skillful.  After  leaving  Penn- 
sylvania he  lived  in  different  parts  of  Ohio,  in 
Ashland,  Richland,  Morrow  and  Crawford 
counties,  coming  to  Galion,  April  6,  1879.  He 
was  married  first  to  Phebe  Ostadit,  who,  at 
death,  left  one  son,  J.  B.,  who  is  a  resident  of 
Columbus,  O.,  and  has  a  family  of  eight  chil- 
dren. The  second  marriage  of  Nathaniel  Hoot 
was  to  Margaret  Frye,  who  died  without  chil- 
dren. His  third  marriage  was  to  Susan 
Zewmy,  who  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1823  and 
died  in  1856,  leaving  three  children,  namely: 
E.  N.,  who  is  a  resident  of  Warsaw,  Ind., 
where  he  married  and  has  one  son ;  Anna,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Shunk  Youngblood,  of  Nankin, 
O.,  and  has  two  sons  and  two  daughters;  and 
Daniel  W.  Nathaniel  Hoot's  fourth  marriage 
was  with  Mary  Golady,  who  died  without 
issue. 

In  his  boyhood,  Daniel  W.  Hoot  had  the 
usual  school  opportunities  and  as  soon  as  old 
enough  began  to  take  care  of  himself.  For 
three  years  he  worked  as  a  fence-maker  before 
becoming  a  brakeman  on  the  Erie  Railroad,  in 
1878,  being  assigned  to  what  was  called  the 
Cincinnati  Division.  In  1880  he  was  made 
freight  conductor  and  in  1884  became  passen- 
ger conductor  and  is  one  of  the  best  known 
and  highly  valued  conductors  in  the  employ  of 
the  company,  relied  on  by  his  employers  and 
esteemed  for  his  courtesy  and  efficiency  by  the 
traveling  public. 

Mr.  Hoot  was  married  at  Galion,  to  Miss 
Emma  Myers,  who  was  born  in  1859,  at  Mans- 
field, O.,  but  was  reared  and  educated  at  Gal- 
ion. Her  parents  were  Jeremiah  and  Sarah 
J.  (Long)  Myers,  both  of  whom  were  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  the  former  Nov.  24,  1819. 
After  marriage,  in  1841,  Jeremiah  Myers 
came  to  Mansfield,  O.,  where  he  later  became 
well  known,  a  pioneer  railroad  man.  He  was 
one  of  the  oldest  railroad  engineers  in  the  state 
and  ran  the  first  engines  on  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  and  on  the  Bee  line,  now  known  as  the 
Big  Four.  He  closed  his  railroad  life  as  fore- 
man of  the  round-house  of  the  Big  Four  Rail- 
road, at  Galion,  where  he  died  Jan.  21,  1875, 
when  aged  75  years  and  two  months.  Al- 
though never  an  aspirant  for  public  office,  he 
was  in  sympathy  with  the  principles  of  the  old- 


time  Republican  party.  The  mother  of  Mrs. 
Hoot  survived  until  Dec.  i,  1897,  dying  when 
aged  74  years,  three  months  and  two  days. 
She  was  a  devoted  member  of  the  Baptist 
church.  Ten  children  were  born  to  Jeremiah 
Myers  and  wife,  three  of  whom  died  in  in- 
fancy. One  son,  Samuel,  was  killed  in  a  rail- 
road collision  at  Mansfield  and  was  survived 
by  a  widow  and  three  children.  The  survivors 
are  the  following:  Elizabeth,  who  is  the 
widow  of  Zibp  Huntington,  a  railroad  en- 
gineer, who  was  killed  in  the  line  of  duty;  De- 
witt,  who  is  a  railroad  engineer,  living  at 
Toledo,  and  has  one  son;  Mrs.  Hoot;  and 
Daniel  N.,  who  is  an  engineer  and  resides  at 
Gary,  Ind.,  and  has  wife  and  two  sons.  All 
of  the  sons  of  Jeremiah  Myers  became  en- 
gineers when  they  reached  maturity  and  after 
serving  a  proper  apprenticeship  all  became  men 
of  reliability  and  trustworthiness. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hoot  have  had  four  children : 
Burt  O.,  Harry  Clayton,  Melvin  C.  and  Wade 
Morris.  Burt  O.,  who  was  born  October  25, 
1 88 1,  completed  the  high  school  course  at  Gal- 
ion and  then  studied  practical  mechanics  and 
is  employed  in  West  Virginia.  Harry  Clay- 
ton, who  was  born  June  26,  1883,  after  grad- 
ating from  the  Galion  High  School  entered  the 
employ  of  a  railroad  company  and  is  yard- 
master  at  Joliet,  111.  Melvin  C,  who  was  born 
July  26,  1887,  is  an  automobile  chauffeur,  and 
resides  at  Adena,  O.  He  married  Nellie  Ham- 
ilton, of  Galion  and  they  have  two  sons,  Ken- 
neth and  Lorain.  Wade  Morris,  who  was  born 
Oct.  29,  1900,  died  Aug.  25,  1910.  He  was 
a  natural  musician  and  had  he  lived,  no  doubt 
would  have  been  heard  of  in  the  musical  world. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hoot  attend  the  Baptist  church. 
He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  fraternally 
is  an  Odd  Fellow  and  a  member  of  the 
O.  R.  C. 

CHARLES  HEYDINGER,  who  conducts  a 
furniture  and  undertaking  business  at  New 
Washington,  O.,  was  born  in  Cranberry  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  March  24,  1883, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Gullong) 
Heydinger. 

John  Heydinger  was  born  in  Germany  and 
came  to  Crawford  county  and  settled  in  Cran- 
berry township  when  he  was  20  years  old.  In 
early  manhood  he  married  Mary  Gullong,  a 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


987 


native  of  that  township,  a  daughter  of  Peter 
and  Barbara  GuUong,  who  came  to  this  county 
in  about  1834  or  1835.  In  Germany,  John 
Heydinger  worked  at  the  trade  of  nailsmith 
but  after  coming  to  America  engaged  always 
in  farming.  After  marriage  he  and  wife  con- 
tinued to  Hve  in  Cranberry  township  and  there 
their,  family  of  ten  children  were  born, 
Charles  being  the  youngest.  John  Heydinger 
was  a  highly  respected  man,  a  faithful  member 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  at  New  Wash- 
ington, and  always  gave  support  to  the  Demo- 
cratic party  because  he  believed  in  its  prin- 
ciples. His  death  occurred  on  his  farm  of  109 
acres,  in  his  67th  year.  For  35  years  this  farm 
has  been  the  family  homestead  and  the  mother 
and  three  of  the  sons  still  live  on  it,  one  of 
whom  is  married. 

After  attending  the  country  schools  and 
graduating  from  High  School  at  New  Wash- 
ington, Charles  Heydinger  took  a  short  busi- 
ness course  at  Toledo,  O.,  and  then  became  a 
clerk  in  a  business  house  at  New  Washington 
and.  continued  from  the  spring  of  1904  until 
November,  1907,  when  he  bought  a  one-half 
interest  in  the  Miller  hardware  and  furniture 
business  at  New  Washington.  This  partner- 
ship was  continued  for  18  months  when  a  di- 
vision was  made,  Mr.  Heydinger  taking  over 
the  furniture  stock  and  Mr.  Miller  the  hard- 
ware stock.  In  November,  191 1,  Mr.  Hey- 
dinger came  to  his  present  excellent  business 
location  and  now  occupies  the  first  and  second 
floors  of  the  Bordner  Block,  which  was  for- 
merly the  old  Lutheran  church  building.  He 
has  a  fine  stock  of  furniture  on  hand  at  all 
times,  including  sewing  machines,  while  his 
undertaking  department  is  specially  fitted  for 
that  purpose  and  he  has  graduated  embalmers 
in  charge. 

On  Feb.  24,  1908,  Mr.  Heydinger  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Mary  Kanney,  who  was  born  in 
Seneca  county,  O.,  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Mary  (Book)  Kanney,  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren :  Dorothy  and  Earl.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hey- 
dinger are  members  of  the  Catholic  church. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  while  fraternally 
he  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Columbus  and  the 
Catholic  Mutual  Benefit  Association.  The 
family  has  an  attractive  home  situated  on  the 
corner  of  Mansfield  and  Center  streets.  New 
Washington. 


CHARLES  E.  TRIMBLE,  M.  D.,  physi- 
cian and  surgeon  and  specialist  in  diseases  of 
the  eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat,  has  been  in  ac- 
tive practice  at  Crestline,  O.,  for  more  than  20 
years  and  has  a  professional  reputation  that 
extends  all  through  this  section  of  Ohio.  He 
was  born  in  Richland  county,  O.,  Nov.  15, 
1863,  and  is  a  son  of  James  S.  and  Lucinda 
(Murphy)  Trimble. 

Davis  S.  Trimble,  grandfather  of  Dr. 
Trimble,  was  born  in  1793,  in  Lancaster 
county,  Pa.,  where  he  married  Margaret  Ster- 
rett,  who  was  born  there  in  1795.  In  early 
married  life  they  came  to  Ohio  and  settled  in 
Richland  county,  taking  up  Government  land 
near  Mansfield,  and  there  their  subsequent  lives 
were  spent,  the  death  of  Mr.  Trimple  being  oc- 
casioned by  an  accident,  but  his  wife  survived 
into  old  age.  They  had  a  family  of  13  child- 
ren. 

James  S.  Trimble,  father  of  Dr.  Trimble, 
was  born  in  1826  and  still  survives,  being  one 
of  the  venerable  residents  of  Richland  county, 
where,  for  many  years  he  successfully  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits  and  took  a  good  cit- 
izen's part  in  advancing  the  welfare  of  his  com- 
munity. In  Richland  county  he  was  married 
to  Lucinda  A.  Murphy,  who  was  born  there 
Nov.  8,  1825,  and  died  in  the  old  home  in 
Springfield  township,  Feb.  16,  1902.  Her 
parents  were  John  and  Rachel  (Gedis)  Mur- 
phy, natives  of  Pennsylvania,  but  of  Irish  ex- 
traction. They  came  to  Madison  township, 
Richland  county,  at  an  early  day  and  their 
farm  is  the  present  site  of  the  State  Reform- 
atory. 

Dr.  Charles  E.  Trimble  of  Crestline,  is  the 
third  youngest  in  a  family  of  seven  sons  and 
two  daughters,  four  of  whom  are  yet  living, 
namely:  David  F.,  who  lives  in  the  State  of 
Washington,  and  is  engaged  there  as  a  stock 
raiser  and  dealer;  Willard  L.,  a  farmer  in 
Springfield  township,  who  is  married  and  has 
ten  children;  Delia,  who  married  W.  S. 
Brooks,  a  farmer  in  Springfield  township,  and 
has  six  children;  and  Charles  E.  The  stvidies 
of  the  last  named,  from  youth,  were  more  or 
less  directed  in  the  line  of  his  profession  and 
he  is  a  graduate  of  Starling  Medical  College, 
at  Columbus,  0.,-and  in  1905  was  graduated 
from  the  Eye,  Ear,  Nose  and  Throat  College, 


988 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


at  Chicago,  111.,  and  has  been  in  active  practice 
at  Crestline  since  1891. 

Dr.  Trimble  was  married  in  Richland 
county,  O.,  to  Miss  Cora  A.  Condon,  who  was 
born  there  Feb.  13,  1868,  a  daughter  of  Mar- 
shall and  Maria  (Walters)  Condon,  who  were 
natives  of  Richland  county,  the  father  being  a 
prosperous  farmer  there  for  years.  He  died 
in  Springfield  township  when  aged  84  years, 
and  his  wife  at  the  age  of  57  years.  Formerly 
they  were  Presbyterians  but  later  united  with 
the  Methodist  church.  To  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Trimble  two  children  were  born :  Cecil  Maria, 
who  was  born  April  10,  1891,  and  Starling  F., 
who  was  born  May  6,  1893.  The  daughter 
completed  the  High  School  course  and  a  busi- 
ness college  course,  while  the  son,  after  grad- 
uating with  the  class  of  1912,  from  the  Crest- 
line High  School,  has  entered  the  medical  de- 
partment of  Wooster  University.  Dr.  Trim- 
ble is  identified  with  the  Elks  at  Bucyrus.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican. 

LOUIS  KIEFFER,  whose  death  in  Galion, 
Aug.  28,  1902,  removed  a  worthy  and  re- 
spected citizen  from  the  community,  was  a 
native  Ohioan,  born  in  Stark  county,  July  3, 
1827,  a  son  of  Adam  and  Elizabeth  (Rine- 
hart)  Kieffer.  The  parents  of  our  subject  were 
of  Pennsylvania-German  stock,  coming  to 
Stark  county  at  an  early  day  and  soon  after 
their  marriage.  They  later  removed  to  Craw- 
ford county,  settling  on  a  farm  on  "the 
plains,"  where  they  resided  for  some  years. 
Subsequently,  however,  they  went  to  Wyan- 
dot county,  where  Adam  Kieffer  bought  100 
acres  of  land  near  the  town  or  village  of 
Nevada,  which  he  improved  into  a  fine  home- 
stead, and  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  86 
years.  His  wife  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
four.  They  were  hardworking,  thrifty  people 
and  their  efiforts  to  succeed  in  life  were  re- 
warded by  prosperity.  They  were  members 
of  the  Lutheran  church.  Their  children  were 
seven  in  number,  of  whom  five  are  still  living. 
All  married  and  had  issue. 

Louis  Kiefifer,  the  direct  subject  of  this 
notice,  was  yet  a  young  man  when  his  father 
gave  him  a  good  farm  in  Wyandot  county, 
which  he  cultivated  and  improved.  Later  he 
became  the  owner  of  substantial  farm  prop- 
erty in  Crawford  county  and  took  up  his  resi- 


dence here.  From  his  parents  he  had  learned 
the  lessons  of  thrift  and  industry  and,  like 
them,  he  attained  success.  He  was  a  member 
of  and  an  officer  in  the  Luthern  church  and  in 
politics  he  was  a  Democrat. 

He  was  married  in  Whetstone  township  to 
Mary  Ann  Christman,  who  was  born  near 
Salem,  N.  J.,  April  3,  1835,  and  who  was  six 
years  old  when  she  came  to  Whetstone  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  with  her  parents,  Adam 
and  Elizabeth  (Snyder)  Christman,  they  ar- 
riving here  in  1841.  Her  parents  were  born 
and  married  in  Germany  and  came  to  the 
United  States  after  the  birth  of  their  three 
first  children.  Their  daughter,  Mary  Ann 
(Mrs.  Kieffer)  was  the  only  one  of  the  family 
born  in  New  Jersey.  After  coming  to  Craw- 
ford county,  they  purchased  a  farm,  on  which 
Mr.  Christman  subsequently  died  before  at- 
taining the  age  of  50  years,  his  death  being 
the  result  of  an  injury.  His  widow  took  up 
her  residence  in  Galion,  living  to  be  over  79 
years  old.  They  were  earnest  Christian  peo- 
ple, active  in  good  works,  and  exemplifying 
their  religion  in  their  lives  and  character. 
They  were  the  parents  of  13  children,  of  whom 
five  are  still  living,  all  being  married. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kieffer  have  been  the  parents 
of  seven  children,  as  follows:  Franklin,  a 
Crawford  county  farmer,  is  married  and  has 
three  children — Hazel,  a  school  teacher,  Gladys 
and  Mercil.  William  H.  lives  at  Battle  Creek, 
Mich.  David  W.,  who  is  conducting  his 
mother's'  farm  of  152  acres,  is  married  but  has 
no  children.  Lewis  M.  is  a  photographer  in 
Toledo,  O.  He  is  married  and  has  five  chil- 
dren— Don,  Mabel,  Russell,  Harland  and  Mary 
C.  Clara  E.  is  the  wife  of  Edward  Lowmil- 
ler,  a  farmer  residing  near  Bucyrus ;  has  no 
children.  Mrs.  Kieffer  is  a  devoted  member 
of  the  English  Lutheran  church.  She  is  a 
lady  well  known  in  Galion  and  the  vicinity  and 
is  as  highly  esteemed.  She  has  brought  up 
a  worthy  family,  who  are  creditable  mem- 
bers of  the  communities  in  which  they  respec- 
tively reside  and  has  the  right  to  feel  that  she 
has  well  and  faithfully  performed  her  task  in 
life. 

HENRY  POISTER,  proprietor  of  a  fur- 
niture store  and  also  engaged  in  the  under- 
taking business  at  Galion,  O.,  in  connection 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


989 


:with  Peter  Boehm,  has  been  established  in  this 
.city  for  some  30  years  and  stands  high  in  com- 
mercial circles  and  as  a  private  citizen.  He 
was. born  Oct.  16,  1845,  in  one  of  the  Rhine 
provinces,  in  Prussia,  and  is  a  son  of  Theodore 
and  Margaret  (Schmidt)  Poister,  and  a 
.grandson  of  Christian  Poister. 

Christian  Poister  was  born  in  Prussia  and 
.was  a  quiet,  peaceful,  hard-working  man  when 
he  was  conscripted  and  went  as  a  soldier  from 
his  country  when  it  made  the  compact  with 
Napoleon  and  marched  to  Moscow.  He  sur- 
vived the  horrors  of  that  unfortunate  cam- 
paign and  returned  for  a  few  years  to  his 
cabinetmaking  business  in  his  old  home,  but, 
in  1856,  with  his  wife  came  to  the  United 
States  and  joined  the  sons  who  had  come  to 
Gabon,  O.,  two  years  previously.  Both  died 
at  Gabon  in  old  age;  worthy  and  respected 
people  and  devout  attendants  of  the  Peace 
Lutheran  church. 

Theodore  Poister  was  born  in  Prussia  in 
1822  and  learned  his  father's  trade  and  then 
served  three  years  in  the  regular  service  in 
the  Prussian  army.  In  his  own  neighborhood 
he  married  Margaret  Schmidt,  who  was  born 
in  1828,  and  in  1854,  with  their  three  children, 
Henry,  Sophia  and  Catherine,  they  set  sail 
for  America  in  search  of  more  favorable  liv- 
ing conditions.  The  vessel,  the  Rio  de  Ja- 
neiro, landed  them  safely  in  the  harbor  of 
New  York,  after  a  voyage  of  seven  weeks. 
They  yet  had  quite  a  long  distance  to  travel 
for  transportation  facilities  were  not  then  so 
numerous  and  a  round  about  way  had  to  be 
taken  in  order  to  reach  Gallon,  O.,  their  ob- 
jective point.  They  sailed  up  the  Hudson 
River  to  Albany,  then  crossed  the  state  to  Buf- 
falo on  the  Erie  Canal,  then  to  Cleveland  by 
lake  and  then  over  the  Big  Four  Railroad, 
which  had  but  lately  been  constructed,  to 
Galion.  Theodore  Poister  secured  work  in  the 
railway  shops  and  later  bought  a  farm  which 
he  operated  for  11^  years  and  then  retired  to 
Galion,  where  his  death  occurred  in  1894,  hav- 
ing survived  his  wife  some  years.  Her  father, 
Philip  Schmidt,  had  served  with  the  German 
army,  under  the  Duke  of  Wellington  at  Water- 
loo. Theodore  Poister  and  wife  were  fnem- 
bers  of  the  German  Reformed  church.  Of 
their  family  of  children  three  sons  and  two 
daughters  are  yet  living. 


Henry  Poister  learned  the.  trade  of  cabinet- 
maker and  was  employed  in  the  shops  of  the 
Big  Four  Railroad  for  15  years  and  assisted 
in  building  and  finishing  the  first  sleeping 
coaches  put  out  by  that  company.  Afterward 
he  went  into  business  for  himself,  purchasing 
the  interests  of  Campbell  &  Bryant,  who  had 
started  the  business  in  1876.  The  present 
firm,  Poister  &  Boehm,  has  been  in  existence 
for  30  years.  Its  location  has  always  been 
on  East  Main  Street  and  in  1889,  Mr.  Poister 
erected  the  present  commodious  building,  di- 
mensions being  44x80  feet,  at  Nos.  243-45, 
East  Main,  where  a  fine  stock  of  furniture  is 
carried,  and  in  which  are  located  the  funeral 
directing  parlors. 

In  1870,  in  this  city,  Mr.  Poister  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Louisa  Beck,  who  was 
born  in  Ashland  county,  O.,  in  1849  and  died 
in  1 90 1.  Two  daughters  were  born  to  them: 
Clara  F.  and  Laura  N.,  both  of  whom  are 
graduates  of  the  Galion  High  School.  Mr. 
Poister  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  has 
served  as  a  member  of  the  city  council  and 
in  other  offices.  Fraternally  he  is  a  Royal 
Arch  Mason. 

HUGH  O.  DOBBINS,*  deceased,  for  many 
years  was  a  well  known  citizen  of  Bucyrus 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  where  he 
owned  and  conducted  the  old  Dobbins  home- 
stead farm.  He  was  born  in  Wayne  county, 
O.,  Feb.  II,  1830,  and  died  on  the  above  farm. 
His  parents  were  John  and  Annie  (McCul- 
■  lough)  Dobbins. 

John  Dobbins  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
accompanied  his  parents  when  young  to  Ma- 
honing county,  O.  He  was  married  in  Har- 
rison county  to  Annie  McCullough,  who  was 
also  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  six  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them.  From  Harrison  they 
moved  to  Wayne  county,  where  John  Dob- 
bins secured  72  acres  of  land,  on  which  he 
lived  until  1834,  although,  two  years  pre- 
viously, he  had  entered  160  acres  in  section  4, 
Bucyrus  township,  Crawford  county.  To  this 
land  the  family  came  in  1834.  A  dense  for- 
est surrounded  this  pioneer  home  and  the 
family  endured  many  of  the  hardships  inci- 
dent to  life  in  a  new  section  to  which  civiliza- 
tion had  scarcely  penetrated.  In  1858  John 
Dobbins  and  his  wife  retired  to  Bucyrus  and 


990 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


there  he  died  in  1859,  his  widow,  of  more 
robust  constitution,  surviving  until  1880. 
They  left  descendants  who  have  perpetuated 
the  family  and  have  maintained  its  reputation 
for  the  solid  virtues  that  marked  their  lives. 

Hugh  O.  Dobbins,  the  eldest  son  of  John 
and  Annie  Dobbins,  had  but  indifferent  edu- 
cational opportunities  in  his  youth  but  he  had 
much  practical  teaching  as  to  the  management 
of  a  farm  and  the  carrying  on  if  its  various 
activities,  and  this  acquired  knowledge  he  put 
to  good  use  and  brought  the  old  homestead 
farm  to  a  fine  state  of  cultivation.  He  was 
a  man  of  quiet  tastes,  was  honorable  in  his 
business  transactions  and  was  kind  and  neigh- 
borly in  his  community.  While  thoroughly 
identified  with  the  Democratic  party,  he  never 
was  willing  to  accept  political  office. 

Hugh  O.  Dobbins  was  married  in  1859  to 
Miss  Rachel  Cleland,  who  was  born  in  Craw- 
ford county  in  1836,  a  daughter  of  William 
Cleland,  who  was  an  early  settler'  in  Vernon 
township.  Eight  children  were  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Dobbins.  One  of  the  surviving 
sons,  Hugh  M.,  is  a  substantial  farmer  and 
stock  raiser  and  is  a  valued  member  of  the 
board  of  county  commissioners  of  Crawford 
county. 

GEORGE  DOXNEXWIRTH,  president  of 
the  Bucyrus  City  Bank,  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  has 
been  identified  with  the  business  interests  of 
this  place  for  over  a  half  century  and  occupies 
an  enviable  position  in  the  esteem  of  his  fel- 
low citizens  that  he  has  won  through  his  per- 
sonal characteristics.  He  is  a  man  of  broad 
and  abundant  sympathies,  keeping  ever  in 
memory  the  struggles  of  his  own  youth,  and 
has  so  built  up  his  own  fortunes  that  the  path 
he  has  traveled  lies  plain  for  another  to  fol- 
low, through  the  exercise  of  the  same  industry, 
frugality  and  integrity.  The  life  of  such  a 
man  is  always  interesting. 

George  Donnenwirth  was  born  Jan.  28,  1835, 
at  Columbus,  O.  His  parents  were  George  and 
Sophia  (Anthony)  Donnenwirth,  and  his 
grandparents  were  George  and  Magdalene 
(Ruth)  Donnenwirth.  It  was  in  1827  that  the 
grandparents  left  France  and  came  to  Amer- 
ica, making  their  first  stop  at  Buffalo,  X.  Y., 
and  from  there  moving  to  Stark  county,  O. 
The  grandfather  was  seeking  farm  land  and 


this  he  secured  to  his  satisfaction  when  he 
came  to  Crawford  county,  in  1834,  settling"  in 
Cranberry  township. 

Of  their  five  children,  one  son,  George,  was 
born  at  Strasburg,  France,  (now  in  Germany) 
in  18 10,  and  in  1827  accompanied  his  parents 
to  the  United  States.  Prior  to  1833  he  worked 
as  a  blacksmith  at  several  points  and  also  as- 
sisted in  the  construction  of  the  Ohio  Canal.' 
In  1838  he  came  to  New  Washington,  Craw- 
ford county,  where  he  opened  his  blacksmith 
shop  and  also  invested  in  property,  and  ere 
long  was  recognized  as  an  enterprising  and 
worthy  citizen,  1846  being  elected  a  repre- 
sentative to  the  state  legislature.  Subse- 
quently, in  1855,  when  elected  county  treasurer, 
he  moved  to  Bucyrus,  where  the  remainder  of 
his  life  was  spent  and  there  he  was  twice 
elected  mayor. 

Until  he  was  14  years  of  age,  George  Don- 
nenwirth, Jr.,  attended  school,  but  his  father 
was  a  very  practical  man  and  in  accordance 
with  his  decision  the  son  began  to  learn  a 
self-supporting  trade  and  spent  four  years  at 
his  father's  forge.  He  then  went  to  Sandusky 
and  worked  in  a  grocery  store  for  almost  two 
years  and  afterward  became  a  clerk  at  Bur- 
lington, la.,  from  there  returning  to  Ohio  and 
locating  in  Bucyrus.  Deciding  to  make  this 
city  the  seat  of  his  business  efforts  he  shortly 
afterward  entered  into  partnership  with  Henry 
Anthony  in  the  establishing  of  a  brewery. 
This  partnership  continued  for  but  a  brief 
time,  however,  Mr,  Dormenwirth's  father  then 
buying  the  Anthony  interest  and  becoming  the 
senior  partner.  The  business  was  conducted 
under  the  style  of  George  Donnenwirth  &  Son 
until  1875,  when  the  senior  partner  retired. 
At  this  time  the  junior  member  of  the  firm 
became  the  senior;  he  admitted  his  half- 
brother,  Frank  P.  Donnenwirth,  and  the  busi- 
ness was  continued  until  1889. 

In  the  meanwhile,  George  Dormenwirth  had 
become  a  banker  in  a  small  way,  and  in  1881 
was  one  of  the  organizers  and  vice  president 
of  what  was  known  as  the  Monnett  Bank  of 
Bucvrus.  January  i,  1892,  the  investment  was 
increased  and  the  style  of  the  concern  was 
changed  from  the  ^lonnett  Bank  to  the  Bu- 
cyrus Cit\'  Bank.  Mr.  Donnenwirth  was 
elected  president  of  the  institution  Jan.  2,  1888 
which   position,   as   above   indicated,   he   still 


GEORGE  DONNENWIRTH 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


993 


holds.  He  has  been  a  member  of  its  directing 
board  from  its  organization.  Aside  from  the 
importance  of  his  business  interests,  Mr.  Don- 
nenwirth  has  been  in  other  ways  a  foremost 
citizen.  For  years  he  has  served  as  a  city 
councilman;  he  was  a  member  of  the  school 
board  25  years  and  treasurer  of  the  same  for 
20  years  ;and  at  all  times  has  been  ready  to 
heartily  cooperate  with  other  citizens  in  pro- 
moting the  general  welfare.  In  politics  a 
Democrat,  his  influence  in  party  councils  has 
been  valuable  on  many  important  occasions. 
He  is  a  Mason  and  an  Elk. 

C.  C.  COYLE,  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
The  Gabon  Lumber  Company,  and  a  member 
of  the  board  of  education,  of  Gabon,  O.,  is 
one  of  the  reliable  and  representative  business 
men  of  this  city.  He  was  born  in  1863,  in 
Jefferson  county,  O.,  but  was  brought  to  Gabon 
when  a  child  of  two  years  and  largely  the 
business  life  of  Mr.  Coyle  has  been  associated 
with  Gabon  interests.  He  is  a  son  of  Dr.  C. 
L.  and  Julia  (Rinehart)  Coyle. 

Dr.  C.  L.  Coyle  was  a  native  of  Ohio  and 
died  at  Gabon  in  1892,  when  aged  65  years. 
After  completing  his  medical  education  at 
Philadelphia,  he  returned  to  Ohio  and  in  1865 
opened  his  practice  at  Gabon  where  he  became 
a  physician  of  high  standing.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  Rev.  John  Rinehart,  a  minister 
of  the  Lutheran  faith  who  was  also  a  farmer 
in  Jefferson  county.  Mrs.  Coyle  survives  and 
resides  with  her  son,  C.  C.  Coyle.  He  has  two 
sisters :  Estella,  who  is  a  highly  educated  lady 
and  is  city  librarian,  at  Gabon;  and  Cordelia, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Ross  W.  Funck,  who  is  an 
attorney  at  Wooster,  O.,  and  has  one  son  and 
three  daughters. 

C.  C.  Coyle  attended  school  in  Gabon.  He 
was  with  the  Citizens  National  Bank  and  later 
was  a  bookkeeper  in  a  wholesale  house  in 
Cleveland  and  subsequently  was  southern  agent 
for  five  years  for  the  Stirling  Water-tube  boil- 
ers, with  headquarters  in  Cincinnati,  and  after 
returning  to  Gabon  he  entered  into  the  lumber 
business.  When  The  Gabon  Lumber  Com- 
pany was  merged  from  a  firm  into  a  corpora- 
tion in  1902,  Mr.  Coyle  was  made  secretary 
and  treasurer  and  became  one  of  the  five  di- 
rectors. The  business  is  an  extensive  one,  is 
well  financiered  and  ably  managed,  the  manu- 


facturing output  being  all  kinds  of  builders' 
supplies  and  store  and  bank  furniture,  employ- 
ment being  "given  twenty  workmen,  trade  be- 
ing largely  local.  The  company  deals  also  in 
masons'  supplies  and  coal. 

Mr.  Coyle  was  married  at  Toledo,  O.,  to 
Miss  Lulu  Winter,  who  was  born  at  Bucyrus, 
O.,  and  they  have  two  children:  Elizabeth 
Eleanor,  who  was  born  July  8,  1905 ;  and 
Charles  Winter,  who  was  born  August  8,  1908. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Coyle  are  members  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican 
and  fraternally  belongs  to  the  Knights  of 
Pythias.  He  is  president  of  the  Commercial 
Club. 

ADAM  DONNENWIRTH,  a  highly  re- 
spected citizen  of  Cranberry  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  a  retired  farmer  residing  two 
miles  south  and  east  of  New  Washington,  O., 
where  he  owns  70  acres  of  well  improved  land, 
was  born  at  Columbus,  O.,  Jan.  28,  1835,  and 
is  a  son  of  George  and  Sophia  Donnenwirth. 

Adam  Donnenwirth  attended  school  at  Co- 
lumbus and  also  in  Cranberry  township  after 
his  father  moved  here  with  his  family,  and 
then  decided  to  devote  his  attention  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits  and  ever  since  has  been  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  stock  raising,  retiring 
from  the  active  management  of  his  industries 
after  many  years  of  success.  After  marriage 
he  settled  one-half  mile  east  of  New  Washing- 
ton and  remained  on  that  farm  for  ten  years, 
when  he  came  to  his  present  one  and  operated 
it  until  1907,  when  he  practically  retired.  He 
not  only  followed  farming  methods  that  en- 
riched his  land  and  made  it  more  productive 
but  he  took  a  deep  interest  in  improving  his 
surroundings  and  after  erecting  a  handsome 
residence,  turned  his  attention  to  bis  other 
farm  buildings  and  a  substantial  bank  barn 
soon  replaced  the  earlier  one. 

Mr.  Donnenwirth  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Shaffer,  a  daughter  of  George  Shaffer,  and  a 
member  of  one  of  the  old  county  families. 
Mrs.  Donnenwirth  died  in  April,  iqii  ,and  her 
burial  was  at  New  Washington.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Donnenwirth  11  children  were  born,  as 
follows:  Jefferson,  who  lives  in  California: 
Charles,  who  died  at  Bucyrus ;  John,  who  died 
in  1908;  Annie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Jacob 
Biber  and  resides  in  Cranberry  township ;  Ed- 


994 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ward,  who  lives  in  Holmes  township;  Martin, 
who  lives  near  Crestline;  Robert,  who  carries 
on  the  home  farm;  and  the  others' died  in  in- 
fancy. Air.  Donnenwirth  and  family  attend 
the  Lutheran  church. 

EAIERY  RUPERT,  who  resides  on  the  old 
Rupert  homestead  situated  in  Lykens  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  a  valuable  tract  of 
eighty  acres,  was  born  here  Dec.  12,  1866,  and 
is  a  son  of  Solomon  and  Lydia  (Haas)  Rupert. 

Solomon  Rupert  was  born  in  Stark  county, 
O.,  and  after  coming  to  Crawford  county,  O., 
followed  farming  in  Lykens  township.  He 
married  Lydia  Hass,  who  was  born  in  Craw- 
ford county,  and  here  their  three  children 
were  born,  namely :  Aaron ;  Ellen,  wife  of  A. 
J.  Seele;  and  Emery.  Air.  Rupert  and  wife 
were  members  of  the  Pietist  church  in  Chat- 
field  township.  Their  burial  was  at  Broken- 
sword. 

Emery  Rupert  attended  the  public  schools 
in  Lykens  township  and  then  during  one  term 
was  a  student  at  Ada,  O.,  after  which  he 
returned  and  gave  his  father  assistance  on  the 
farm  until  the  latter's  death.  A  few  years 
later  he  purchased  the  homestead  and  has  con- 
tinued here.  He  carries  on  general  farming. 
He  is  enterprising  and  progressive  in  his  meth- 
ods and  succeeds  in  making  every  acre  of  his 
land  profitable. 

On  March  19,  191 1,  Air.  Rupert  was  mar- 
ried to  Airs.  Alice  (Angene)  Hawkins,  widow 
to  \\^alter  Hawkins,  and  daughter  of  Adam 
and  Alary  (Gerhart)  Angene.  To  her  first 
marriage,  Airs.  Rupert  had  five  daughters  born, 
namely:  Irene,  Ruth,  Irma,  Elizabeth  and 
Helen.  Air.  Rupert  and  family  attend  church 
at  Brokensword.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat 
and  he  has  served  two  terms  as  township  as- 
sessor. He  belongs  to  the  Patrons  of  Hus- 
bandrv  at  Broken s^^•ord  and  to  the  Knights  of 
Pj-thias  at  Likens. 

TOHX  LUST,  a  retired  farmer  and  highly 
respected  citizen  of  Cranberry  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  where  he  owns  104 
acres  of  verv  valuable  land  which  is  situated 
in  section  i ;  and  lies  two  miles  southeast  of 
Xew  \\'ashington,  O.,  was  born  in  Chatfield 
township,  Crawford  county,  June  5,  1845. 
His  parents  were  Conrad  and  Alagdalena 
rAIyer)  Lust. 


Conrad  Lust  was  born  in  Germany  but  came 
to  -the  United  States  when  about  five  years 
old,  his.  parents  settling  first  in  Pennsylvania 
and  later  coming  to  Ohio,  where  Conrad  at- 
tended school  in  Alarion  county.  He  married 
Alagdalena  Myer,  who  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  was  reared  in  Columbiana  county, 
O.  After  marriage.  Air.  and  Airs.  Lust  settled 
in  Chatfield  township,  and  continued  to  live 
there  throughout  hfe,  the  death  of  Conrad 
Lust  occurring  in  his  64th  year,  while  his 
widow  survived  to  the  age  of  seventy-three. 
They  were  members  of  the  Pietist  church. 
Of  their  nine  children,  eight  reside  in  Craw- 
ford county,  Daniel  and  Solomon,  together 
with  John  Beal,  a  son-in-law,  residing  on  the 
old  homestead  of  333  acres. 

John  Lust  has  been  engaged  in  farming  all 
his  mature  life,  first  on  the  home  place  and 
later  for  himself.  For  seven  years  he  re- 
mained in  Chatfield  township,  but  in  1875 
moved  to  the  present  farm  in  Cranberry  town- 
ship, from  which  he  moved  to  Liberty  town- 
ship in  1886  and  remained  for  five  and  one- 
half  years  and  then  returned  to  his  Cranberry 
township  property. 

Air.  Lust  married  Aliss  Susanna  Pfleiderer, 
a  daughter  of  Jacob  Pfleiderer  of  Liberty  town- 
ship and  two  children  were  born  to  them:  an 
infant  son,  deceased;  and  \\'^illiam,  who  lived 
to  the  age  of  eight  months.  Air.  and  Airs. 
Lust  are  members  of  the  Pietist  church. 
While  Air.  Lust  has  never  been  active  in  pol- 
itics, he  has  always  been  interested  in  the  sub- 
stantial progress  made  by  his  community  and 
has  lent  his  influence  in  the  direction  of  tem- 
perance, education  and  religion. 

A.  W.  AIOXROE,  one  of  Gabon's  able  and 
representative  business  men,  secretary  of  the 
Home  Savings  &  Loan  Company,  at  Galion, 
O.,  a  capitalized  concern  of  $2,000,000,  and 
for  many  years  additionally  interested  in  en- 
terprises of  large  importance,  was  bom  in 
Ohio,  and  in  1877  was  graduated  from  the 
Galion  High  School. 

His  business  career  began  early  and  for  a 
long  period  he  was  cashier  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Galion,  severing  his  relations 
in  1905  in  order  to  devote  more  attention  to 
his  many  other  interests.  He  is  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  Galion  Metallic  \''ault  Com- 
pany,  which   is  capitalized  at  S  100,000,   and 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


995 


has  been  manufacturing,  steel  burial  vaults 
since  1905,  a  successful  business  being  done 
all  over  the  country,  seven  traveling  men  be- 
ing on  the  road  and  employment  being  af- 
forded 50  persons.  Mr.  Monroe  is  concerned 
officially  ,or  otherwise,  with  numerous  other 
manufacturing  concerns  but  probably  is  best 
known  in  his-  connection  with  the  Home  Sav- 
ings &  Loan  Company  of  Gallon.  The  organ- 
ization of  this  company  took  place  in  1891, 
with  a  capital  of  $300,000,  \\hich  was  first 
increased  to  $600,000,  and  in  1903  was  again 
increased  to  $1,000,000  and  since  then  has 
again  doubled  its  capital.  It  was  organized 
as  a  State  institution  under  State  laws  and 
under  its  original  officers  has  made  remark- 
able progress  and  in  all  that  has  been  done, 
Mr.  Monroe  has  been  the-  moving  spirit.  He 
came  to  Gallon  in  1870,  from  Norwalk,  where 
he  was  born  in  1859,  in  company  with  his 
parents,  Orin  and  Julia  (Pettis)  Monroe,  and 
has  occupied  a  representative  position  here  for 
many  years,  not  only  in  the  business  world  but 
as  an  interested  and  responsible  citizen. 

In  1880,  Mr.  Monroe  was  married  at  Gallon, 
O.,  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Armacost,  who  was  born 
in  Darke  county,  O.,  attended  the  Gallon  pub- 
lic schools  and  pursued  her  musical  and  artistic 
studies  in  the  Wesleyan  University  at  Dela- 
ware, O.,  and  Baldwin  University  near  Cleve- 
land and  for  some  time  prior  to  her  marriage 
was  a  teacher  of  music,  possessing  great  nat- 
ural ability  in  this  direction.  Her  early  life 
was  partly  spent  in  Indiana.  Her  parents  were 
William  M.  and  Hannah  Britton  (Young) 
Robbins  Armacost.  Her  father  was  born  near 
Baltimore,  Md.  For  a  number  of  years  he 
was  a  merchant  tailor  in  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton and  many  notable  names  were  on  his  books 
as  patrons.  He  was  twice  married,  his  second 
wife  beino-  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Monroe.  He 
was  born  in  1800  and  died  in  Darke  county, 
O.,  in  i86t;.  The  mother  of  Mrs.  Monroe  was 
born  in  18 19,  at  Lancaster,  Pa.,  and  died  in 
1900,  at  Gallon,  O.  She  was  married  first  to 
Isaac  Robbins  and  the  two  children  born  to  that 
union  survive.  To  her  second  marriage  two 
children  were  born :  Mrs.  Monroe  and  James 
Murray,  the  latter  residing  with  his  family  at 
Barberton,  O. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Monroe  have  two  sons :  Otho 
Lee   and   E.    Paul.     Otho   Lee   Monroe   was 


graduated  from  the  Galion  High  School  and 
then  entered  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University  at 
Delaware,  O.,  where  he  was  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1904,  and  four  years  later  was  grad- 
uated from  the  medical  department  of  Colum- 
bia University,  New  York,  with  his  degree. 
Subsequently  he  took  a  post  graduate  course 
of  two  years  in  St.  Luke's  Hospital,  New 
York  City.  He  is  at  present  engaged  in  pro- 
fessional work,  having  a  large  practice  in  the 
metropolis.  The  second  son,  E.  Paul  Monroe, 
was  graduated  from  the  Galion  High  School 
in  the  class  of  1903  and  from  the  Ohio  Wes- 
leyan University  in  the  class  of  1907,  both  he 
and  brother  taking  high  honors  as  students. 
He  is,  at  present,  occupying  a  clerical  position- 
with  the  Galion  Metallic  Vault  Company  and 
with  the  Home  Savings  &  Loan  Company  of 
Galion.  He  married  Miss  Georgetta  Pavey,  of 
Leesburg,  O.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Monroe  are  mem- 
bers of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Galion,  with  which  he  has  been  connected 
as  Sunday-school  superintendent  for  21  years, 
while  Mrs.  Monroe  has  been  church  organist 
for  18  years.  They  have  many  social  duties 
to  perform,  beins^  leaders  in  many  circles,  and 
Mrs.  Monroe  has  been  a  trustee  of  the  Public 
Library  since  its  incorporation  in  1901,  a  very 
active  and  efficient  member  of  this  body. 

JACOB  UHL,  who  is  one  of  the  highly  re- 
spected citizens  of  New  Washington,  O.,  re- 
siding in  his  comfortable  home,  which  is  sit- 
uated on  East  Mansfield  Street,  has  been  re- 
tired from  agricultural  activities  since  1907, 
but  still  retains  valuable  properties  in  Cran- 
berry township,  Crawford  county.  He  was 
born  at  Offenbach,  Bavaria,  Germany,  Jan. 
25,  1833,  and  was  brought  to  Cranberry  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  when  three  and 
one-half  years  old,  by  his  parents,  Benedict 
and  Anna  Mary  (Mesmer)  Uhl.  Jacob  Uhl's 
paternal  grandfather  was  John  Uhl  and  the 
maternal  grandfather  was  Benedict  Mesnier; 
the  former  died  in  1801,  never  having  come  to 
the  United  States. 

Benedict  Uhl  and  a  fellow  countryman  pur- 
chased 80  acres  of  land  in  partnership  and 
when  an  equal  division  was  made,  Mr.  Uhl 
took  that  portion  which  is  the  present  site  of 
New  Washington  and  he  lived  in  one  of  the 
seven  cabins  in  the  place,  his  home  being  one 


996 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


mile  north  of  town.  There  is  always  some 
particular  reason  to  account  for  the  naming  of 
a  village  and  in  the  case  of  New  Washington 
it  perpetuates  the  name  of  George  W'ashmg- 
ton  Meyer,  who  laid  out  the  plan  and  secured 
the  services  of  a  surveyor  to  divide  the  land 
into  lots  and  then  gave  his  name  to  the  set- 
tlement. It  might,  with  good  reason,  have 
been  named  for  the  Uhl  family  as  this  one  has 
been  identified  with  its  development  from  the 
beginning.  Benedict  Uhl  was  a  \\'heelwright 
by  trade  and  in  many  a  household  in  this 
neighborhood  may  be  found  spinning  wheels 
of  his  constructing,  this  domestic  industry  be- 
ing one  of  importance  in  almost  every  family  in 
his  day.  He  resided  north  of  New  Washing- 
ton for  two  years  and  then  moved  on  his  farm 
of  40  acres,  which  he  cleared  and  here  built  a 
round  log  house  which  was  later  replaced  by 
a  large  frame  one,  and  to  his  original  pur- 
chase subsequently  added  fifty  acres  of  the 
Daniel  Murphy  farm.  His  death  occurred  on 
the  first  farm,  in  August,  1863,  and  was  sur- 
vived by  his  wife  for  a  few  years,  their  burials 
being  at  New  Washington.  They  had  the 
following  children  born  to  them:  Appleonia, 
Catherine,  Benedict,  Jacob,  Daniel  and  Mary 
Ann,  the  last  named  dying  at  the  age  of  18 
years.  The  parents  were  members  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  church. 

Jacob  Uhl  with  his  brothers  and  sisters 
were  reared  near  New  ^^'^ashington  and  there 
attended  the  early  schools.  He  spent  a  busy 
boyhood  and  youth,  working  at  the  carpenter 
trade  and  on  the  home  and  neighboring  farms 
and  worked  also  as  a  farm  hand  in  Huron 
county  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  \\'ar, 
when  he  enlisted  for  army  service  and  served 
through  the  Rebellion  as  a  member  of  Co.  C, 
49th  O.  Vol.  Inf.  His  first  enlistment  was  in 
1 861,  he  reenlisting  in  1863  to  serve  through 
the  war.  His  commanding  officer  was  Captain 
Keller  of  Sulphur  Springs.  He  was  seriously 
wounded  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  June  27,  1864,  by  a 
shot  through  the  neck,  which  kept  him  in  the 
hospital  until  the  following  February,  when 
he  reioined  his  regiment  and  received  his  hon- 
orable discharge  in  January,  1866,  at  Colum- 
bus. 

Mr.  Uhl  returned  then  to  New  \\''a5hine:ton 
and  was  married  here  to  Miss  ^Margaret  Nedo- 
last,  who  was  born  in  Rocheway,  Bohemia,  a 


daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Nedolast,  who 
settled  in  Cranberry  township  in  1854.  They 
became  well  known  people  there.    To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Uhl  the  following  children  were  bom 
Elizabeth,  who  is  the  wife  of  J.  R.  Miller 
George    Jacob,    who    married    Mary    Shell 
Michael  B. ;  Joseph,  who  is  a  teacher  at  Day 
ton,  0.;  Lawrence,  who  married  Mary  Ray- 
mond ;  and  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  Cornelius 
Miller,  of  Toledo,  O. 

After  marriage,  Mr.  Uhl  settled  on  his 
farm  of  80  acres  one  mile  north  east  of  New 
Washington  and  to  his  first  farm  added  twenty 
adjoining  acres  and  later  ninety  acres,  situated 
near  Waynesburg,  and  still  later  the  eighty- 
acre  farm  now  owned  by  his  son,  George  Uhl. 
As  noted  above  Mr.  Uhl  has  lived  retired  from 
business  care  for  the  last  five  years.  He  has 
never  been  a  very  active  politician  but  served 
one  term  as  supervisor  of  Cranberry  township, 
elected  on  the  Republican  ticket.  Mr.  Uhl  and 
family  belong  to  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 

WTLLIA:M  H.  SONGER,  a  thoroughly 
representative  citizen  of  Crawford  county,  a 
man  of  large  means  and  public  prominence  in 
his  community,  resides  on  his  finely  improved 
farm  of  160  acres,  which  is  situated  in  San- 
dusky township,  ten  and  one-half  miles  north- 
east of  Bucyrus.  His  other  269  acres  in  this 
county  lie  in  Whetstone  and  Liberty  town- 
ships. He  was  born  in  1873,  ™  Sandusky 
township  and  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Lydia 
(  Schreck  )   Songer. 

Jacob  Songer  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
he  had  eight  brothers  and  sisters,  namely: 
Daniel  J.,  John,  Jonathan,  Rose,  Elizabeth, 
Sophia,  Sarah  and  !Mary,  the  surviving  ones 
being:  Daniel  J.,  Rose,  Elizabeth  and  Sarah. 

^\'ilIiam  H.  Songer  was  reared  on  his 
father's  farm  in  Sandusky  township  and  at- 
tended the  public  schools.  He  married  ^liss 
Marie  E.  Reiff,  who  was  one  of  the  following 
family  born  to  her  parents :  Charles  A.  F., 
living  in  Holmes  township,  who  married  !ilin- 
nie  Snavely  and  has  four  children — Lulu, 
Floy,  Arthur  and  Clan;  Marie  E.,  wife  of  our 
subject;  Paul  O.,  deceased;  John  C,  who  lives 
in  Holmes  township  and  who  married  Estie 
Frost  and  has  two  children — Chester  and  Rus- 
sell; Hannah  M.,  the  wife  of  W.  O.  Taylor, 
who  lives  in  Andrews,  Ind..  and  has  three  chil- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


997 


dreii — Earl,  Ralph  and  Mary;  Henry  J.,  who 
married  M.  Miller  and  lives  in  Bucyrus ;  Rosa, 
widow  of  Lawrence  Messnard,  who  lives  in 
Andrews,  Ind.,  and  has  one  son,  Donald;  and 
Lewis  W.,  who  married  Hazel  Schotield,  and 
lives  in  Andrews,  Ind.,  and  has  a  daughter, 
Edith. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Songer  have  two  children: 
Lloyd  and  Delvvyn,  both  of  whom  live  at  home. 
In  politics  Mr.  Songer  is  a  stanch  Democrat 
and  is  an  influential  man  in  many  directions 
in  the  county.  He  is  one  of  the  trustees  of 
Sandusky  township  and  is  also  treasurer  of 
the  township  school  board.  His  farm  home  is 
considered  the  finest  rural  residence  in  San- 
dusky township,  being  beautifully  situated  and 
fitted  with  modern  comforts  and  conveniences. 

CAPT.  WILLIAM  R.  DAVIS,  a  veteran 
of  the  Civil  war,  who  was  formerly  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits  but  is  now  living  retired 
in  Galion,  is  a  native  of  Crawford  county,  born 
in  Sandusky  township,  April  7,  1835.  He  is  a 
son  of  John  and  Mary  (Hamilton)  Davis, 
the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Maryland  in 
1797,  and  the  latter  in  Pennsylvania  in  1802, 
she  being  a  relation  of  Alexander  Hamilton. 
They  were  early  settlers  in  Columbiana  county, 
Ohio,  where  they  lived  until  after  the  birth  of 
their  ninth  child.  In  1829  or  1830  they  set- 
tled in  Crawford  county,  locating  in  Sandusky 
township  on  partly  improved  land,  where  they 
built  up  a  substantial  home.  His  land  con- 
sisted of  240  acres,  which  he  brought  to  a 
high  state  of  cultivation.  During  their  early 
residence  here  they  had  many  hard  experiences, 
being  obliged  to  haul  their  grain  to  the  Lakes 
to  market  it,  and  drive  their  live  stock  to 
Philadelphia.  John  Davis  died  in  Sandusky 
township,  this  county,  in  1883  at  the  age  of 
88  years,  his  wife  having  previously  passed 
away,  in  1878.  They  were  Methodists  in 
religion  and  he  was  a  Whig  and  later  a  Re- 
publican in  politics.  They  were  the  parents 
of  13  children — seven  sons  and  six  daughters 
— all  of  whom  married  and  had  children,  ex- 
cept one  daughter.  All,  however,  are  now  de- 
ceased, except  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

William  R.  Davis  was  the  eleventh  child  of 

his  parents.     He  was  reared  and  educated  in 

the  district  schools  and  when  21  years  of  age 

entered  the  employ  of  the  Big  Four  Railroad 

se 


as  conductor,  residing  at  Galion.  In  1885, 
he  removed  to  Marshall  county,  Ind.,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  farming  trom  that  time 
until  19 10.  He  then  returned  to  Galion  and 
took  possession  of  his  present  residence  at  314 
Orange  street,  where  he  now  lives  retired. 

On  Aug.  15,  1862  he  enlisted  from  Galion 
in  Company  E,  loist  Regt.,  O.  V.  I.,  under 
Capt.  William  C.  Parsons  and  Col.  Leander 
Stem,  and  was  made  corporal  of  his  company. 
The  regiment  formed  a  part  of  the  Army  of 
the  Cumberland,  under  Gen.  Rosecrans,  after- 
ward under  Gen.  George  H.  Thomas,  and 
after  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  on  the  reor- 
ganization of  the  army  it  was  assigned  to  the 
First  Division,  First  Brigade  and  Fourth 
Corps.  With  it  Mr.  Davis  did  gallant  service 
until  his  discharge  on  June  12,  1865,  remain- 
ing a  member  of  the  regiment  from  muster  in 
to  muster  out,  was  never  on  the  sick  list  a 
day,  and  was  never  wounded  or  captured,  be- 
ing the  only  member  of  the  regiment  living 
today  who  can  say  as  much.  He  took  part  in 
the  battles  of  Perryville,  Ky.,  Oct.  8,  1862; 
Stone  River,  Dec.  31,  1862,  Jan.  ist  and  2nd, 
1863,  where  the  colonel  and  lieutenant-colonel 
were  both  killed;  afterwards  was  in  several 
minor  engagements;  then  in  the  great  and 
bloody  battle  of  Chickamauga,  Sept.  19-20, 
1863 ;  and  afterwards  in  the  battles  at  Rock 
Face  Ridge,  Ball  Knob,  Resaca  and  Atlanta, 
Love  joy  Station,  Franklin  and  Nashville,  be- 
sides many  skirmishes.  He  was  made  com- 
missary sergeant,  in  November,  1862;  first 
lieutenant,  Sept,  29,  1864,  with  the  rank  of 
captain,  and  held  this  rank  at  the  time  of  his 
discharge.  At  the  battle  of  Franklin  he  cap- 
tured a  dozen  Confederates  with  the  men  under 
his  command.  He  had  many  marvelous  es- 
capes, some  so  narrow  that  at  times  he  almost 
thinks  he  must  have  had  a  charmed  life  to 
have  avoided  death,  injury  or  capture.  As 
may  be  supposed,  Capt.  Davis  can  tell  many 
interesting  stories  of  the  war — stories  the  in- 
terest of  which  is  enhanced  by  the  fact  that 
they  describe  a  part  of  his  own  personal  ex- 
perience and  are  therefore  of  unimpugned 
veracity. 

Capt.  Davis  was  married  in  Galion,  O.,  Oct. 
14,  1856,  to  Miss  Leah  M.  McCrady,  who 
was  born  in  Polk  towttshio,  near  Galion,  this 
county,  June  8,   1838,  and  who  was  brought 


998 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


up  in  this  locality.  Her  parents  were  Isaac 
and  Margaret  (Parsons)  AlcCrady,  of  Lan- 
caster county.  Pa.,  who  were  there  married 
and  who  resided  there  until  1837,  when,  after 
the  birth  of  three  children,  they  came  to  Craw- 
ford county,  Ohio,  where  the  remainder  of 
their  lives  were  spent.  Mr.  McCrady  died  at 
the  Old  Olentanga  Tavern,  near  Gallon,  in 
1841  when  in  the  prime  of  life.  His  wife  sur- 
vived him  many  years,  being  married  25  years 
after  his  death  to  Jesse  Perkypile,  with  whom 
she -lived  for  18.  years. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis  have  been  the  parents  of 
eight  children — Frank  D.,  Charles,  Henry, 
Belle,  Louisa  Lee,  James  J.,  Augusta,  and 
Jean,  of  whom  the  following  is  a  partial  rec- 
ord. Frank  died  in  early  manhood.  Charles 
died  at  the  age  of  three  years.  Henry  died  in 
early  manhood.  Belle  is  the  widow  of  Andrew 
Mould  and  lives  in  Omaha,  Xeb.  She  has 
three  children^Mabel,  Addison  and  Harriet, 
of  whom  the  last  mentioned  married  a  Mr. 
Jaschka.  Louisa  Lee  is  a  widow ;  has  no  chil- 
dren. James  J.  resides  in  Columbus,  O.,  is 
married  and  has  a  son,  Robert.  Augusta  is 
the  wife  of  ^^'illiam  'M.  AlcXeil,  and  lives  in 
Marion,  O.  She  has  a  daughter,  IMarian. 
Jean  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  ^Morton  W.  Bland  of 
Bellevue,  O..  and  has  a  daughter,  Florence. 
Capt.  Davis  is  a  charter  member  of  Dick  Mor- 
ris Post,  no,  130,  G.  A.  R.,  which  he  served  as 
first  adjutant  and  later  as  senior  vice  com- 
mander. He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and 
attends  the  Presbyterian  church. 

JOHX  I.  \\'EXTZ,*  one  of  the  enterprising 
and  educated  men  and  progressive  agricultur- 
ists of  Holmes  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  resides  on  his  fine  farm  of  138  acres,  which 
lies  one  and  one-half  miles  west  of  Bucatus, 
this  being  the  old  ^'\'^entz  homestead.  He  was 
born  here,  X'ov.  27,  1878,  and  is  a  son  of  John 
W'entz,  formerly  a  well  known  man  of  this 
township. 

John  I.  ^^^entz  completed  the  common  school 
course  in  Holmes  townshio  and  then  spent  one 
year  as  a  student  at  the  Ohio  State  University 
at  Columbus  and  after^vard  took  an  agricult-' 
ural  and  eneineering  course  at  the  Ohio  X'or- 
mal  Universitv  at  Ada.  ^Ir.  ^^^entz  was  thus 
well  equipped  for  farming,  just  as  he  would 
have  been  had  his  intentions  been  for  law  or 


medicine,  and  in  the  success  that  has  attended 
his  farm  activities,  there  is  proof  that  his  time 
was  well  employed.  He  assisted  his  father 
until  his  own  marriage,  when  he  purchased 
the  homestead  and  has  carried  on  farming 
and  stock  raising  here  ever  since.  With  the 
exception  of  erecting  the  farm  residence,  Mr. 
Wentz  has  made  all  the  other  substantial  im- 
provements on  the  place  and  has  a  well  kept, 
up-to-date  farm. 

Mr.  Wentz  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Lillian  Florence  Miller,  a  daughter  of 
Frank  and  Effie  Miller,  the  latter  of  whom 
survives.  Frank  Miller  was  born  in  Richland 
county,  O.,  came  in  early  manhood  to  Craw- 
ford county  and  engaged  in  farming,  his  death 
occurring  at  the  age  of  42  years.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  ^liller  had  eight  children  born  to  them, 
namely:  Irvin,  who  lives  in  South  Dakota; 
^Irs.  Wentz ;  Carl,  who  is  a  resident  of  Bucy- 
rus  and  Harry,  of  Chicago ;  Ina  who  lives  with 
her  mother;  Mrs.  Samuel  Lenthold;  Frank 
and  Eleanor,  both  of  whom  live  at  home. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wentz  have  three  children; 
Richard  George,  Florence  Eleanor  and  James. 
Mr.  ^\'^entz  and  family  attend  the  Presb}'terian 
church  at  Bucyrus.  In  his  views  on  public 
questions  he  maintains  an  independent  atti- 
tude and  the  only  political  office  he  has  ever 
accepted  was  that  of  justice  of  the  peace,  in 
1906,  and  served  one  term.  His  interest  in 
agricultural  interests  is  hearty  and  he  is  a 
valued  member  of  the  local  Grange. 

CHARLES  E.  STIXE,  cashier  of  the 
Babst  Banking  Company,  at  Crestline,- O.,  was 
born  here,  July  3.  1868,  and  is  a  son  of  Adam 
and  Hannah  (\^'entz)  Stine. 

Adam  Stine  was  bom  in  Bucks  county,  Pa., 
and  came  to  Shelby,  O.,  and  was  reared  in 
Richland  county  from  youth.  In  Richland 
county  he  married  Hannah  Wentz,  who  was 
born  in  Pern,-  county.  Pa.,  and  then  came  to 
Crestline,  about  the  time  the  railroad  now 
known  as  the  Big  Four  line  was  being  built. 
He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  assisted  in  the 
construction  of  the  bridges  and  station  build- 
ings then  being  constructed  by  the  railroad 
company.  Later  he  went  to  Delaware.  O., 
and  helped  to  build  the  old  coUeee  buildings 
there,  and  in  I8^_t  returned  to  Crestline  and 
started  a  planing  mill  here,  which  he  operated 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


999 


until  he  retired  in  1892,  about  the  time  of 
death  which  occurred  in  1892,  his  wife  surviv- 
ing until  1901.  They  were  charter  members 
of  the  English  Lutheran  church.  Of  their 
seven  children,  five  were  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters and  all  survive. 

Charles  E.  Stine  attended  the  public  schools 
at  Crestline  until  the  age  of  16  years  and  then 
entered  the  Babst  Banking  House  as  an  em- 
ploye and  has  continued  to  be  identified  with 
this  firm  and  is  held  in  such  very  high  regard 
by  Mr.  Babst,  that  he  fills  the  office  of  cashier 
without  any  bonds.  He  is  well  known  in 
financial  circles  throughout  the  country  and 
has  proven  himself  an  accurate  and  astute 
business  man. 

Mr.  Stine  was  married  to  Miss  Grace  A. 
Reed,  who  was  born  and  educated  here.  They 
have  one  daughter,  Dorothy,  who  was  born 
Aug.  9,  1903.  Mr.  Stine  is  a  responsive  cit- 
izen but  ia  not  particularly  active  in  politics. 

C.  P.  FRANK,  for  many  years  connected 
with  the  Pittsburg,  Fort  Wayne  &  Chicago 
Railway  Company  as  foreman  of  the  copper 
shops,  at  Crestline,  now  retired  from  railroad 
life  but  still  active  in  business  affairs,  is  presi- 
dent of  the  Crestline  Building  and  Loan  Asso- 
ciation, one  of  the  city's  important  commer- 
cial enterprises.  Mr.  Frank  was  born  in  But- 
ler county.  Pa.,  Jan.  21,  1839,  and  is  a  son  of 
John  G.  and  Mary  (Schneider)  Frank. 

John  G.  Frank  was  born  and  reared  in  Ger- 
many and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1835, 
locating  at  Saxonburg,  in  Butler  county,  Pa., 
where  he  engaged  in  farming  and  also  con- 
ducted a  tannery.  He  died  there  in  1870,  in 
his  seventieth  year  and  was  a  member  of  the 
German  Lutheran  church  during  the  greater 
part  of  his  life.  He  married  the  widow  of 
Carl  Hahn  and  a  daughter  of  Christian 
Schneider.  She  also  was  a  native  of  Germany 
and  was  the  mother  of  ten  children,  five  born 
to  her  first  and  five  to  her  second  union. 

C.  P.  Frank  was  the  eldest  son  and  second 
child  of  his  parents  and  in  boyhood  attended 
the  district  schools  for  about  three  months  dur- 
ing the  year,  in  the  meanwhile  making  him- 
self useful  to  his  father.  When  17  years  old 
he  went  to  Pittsburg  and  there  entered  a 
foundry  to  learn  the  trade  of  coppersmith  and 
served  an  apprenticeship  of  four  years,  after 


which  he  entered  the  employ  of  Prior,  Har- 
beck  &  Co.,  a  Cleveland  firm.  He  continued 
work  at  his  trade  there  for  nine  months  and 
then  came  first  to  Galion,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged with  the  old  Bee  line  railroad  company 
for  four  years,  and  from  there,  in  1863,  came 
to  Crestline  and  this  city  has  continued  his 
home  ever  since.  For  45  years  Mr.  Frank  was 
foreman  of  the  coppersmith  department  in  the 
shops  of  the  Pittsburg,  Fort  Wayne  &  Chicago 
Railroad  Company,  now  the  Pennsylvania 
Lines  west  of  Pittsburg,  a  fact  which  speaks 
for  itself  in  proving  his  capacity  in  his  trade. 
He  had  a  long  and  successful  business  career 
with  this  corporation  and  reliance  was  placed 
on  his  skill  and  experience  while  personal 
esteem  was  felt  for  him  by  his  employers. 
Since  retiring  from  railroad  work,  Mr.  Frank 
has  continued  his  active  interest  in  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Crestline  Building  and  Loan  As- 
sociation, has  displayed  excellent  judgment,  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  realty  values  and  an 
energy  that  might  be  envied  by  a  much  younger 
man. 

On  Feb.  4,  1862,  Mr.  Frank  was  married 
to  Miss  Elen  A.  Keen  who  was  three  years  old 
when  she  was  brought  to  America  by  her  par- 
ents, who  settled  among  other  German  pio- 
neers in  Crawford  county  and  became  well 
known  and  respected  people  of  this  section. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frank  have  four  children  living, 
namely:  John  E.,  who  is  assistant  to  the  chief 
clerk  in  the  general  freight  office  of  the  Pere 
Marquette  Railroad  at  Toledo,  O. ;  Mary  M., 
the  widow  of  I.  W.  Tarkworthy,  who  lives  in 
Cleveland,  O. ;  Willard  A.,  machinist,  living 
at  Galion,  O. ;  and  Frederick  G.,  who  suc- 
ceeded his  father  as  foreman  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Lines  shops  at  Crestline.  Two  children 
died,  Nelly  C.  and  Alice  J.,  aged  two  and  six 
years  respectively.  Mr.  Prank  and  family 
are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Politically  he  is  a  Republican  and  fraternally 
is  identified  with  the  Masons  and  Odd  Fel- 
lows. 

JOSEPH  GILBERT  SMITH,  a  retired 
farmer  and  well  known  citizen,  residing  in 
Galion,  O.,  was  born  in  Jefferson  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  Dec.  ik,,  1839,  a  son  of 
Joseph  and  Mary  (Kirkpatrick)  Smith.  His 
paternal  grandfather,  John  Jacob  Smith,  was 


1000 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


a  native  of  Germany,  who  married  in  his  na- 
tive land  and  came  to  America,  settUng  in 
Perry  county,  Pa.,  about  1798,  he  and  his  wife 
dying  in  that  state  at  an  advanted  age.  They 
were  farmers  by  occupation,  Mrs.  Smith  be- 
ing a  Presbyterian  in  rehgion. 

The  parents  of  our  subject  were  both  born 
in  Perry  county.  Pa.  Joseph  Smith  (the 
father)  was  brought  up  to  farming  and  mar- 
ried his  first  wife,  Mary  Kirkpatrick,  in  Perry 
county.  After  the  birth  of  their  first  two  chil- 
dren— Leonard  and  Mary  E. — they  removed, 
in  1837,  to  Ohio,  making  the  journey  with 
teams,  and  stopping  here  and  there  by  the 
wayside.  \yhen  they  reached  Crawford 
county,  Joseph  Smith  selected  and  entered  150 
acres  of  solid  timber  land,  in  Jefferson  town- 
ship, and,  being  a  practical  carpenter,  he  cut 
out  timber  and  built  himself  quite  a  comfort- 
able home.  There  were  no  roads  in  the  local- 
ity at  that  time,  so  for  some  years  the  family 
liver  a  real  pioneer  existence  in  the  wilder- 
ness. His  first  wife  Mary,  who  had  accom- 
panied him  to  this  section,  did  not  long  sur- 
vive, dying  on  the  day  that  her  last  child,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born,  Dec.  17,  1839. 
She  was  only  23  years  old.  Joseph  later  mar- 
ried in  this  county  a  cousin  of  hers,  Nancy 
Kirkpatrick,  who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  she  died  on  the  homestead  at  the  age  of 
58,  leaving  two  children,  Alvin  and  Matilda, 
the  former  of  whom  now  resides  on  the  home- 
stead, is  married  and  has  a  family.  Matilda 
married  William  Michaels,  who  is  now  de- 
ceased, and  died  herself  when  over  69  years 
old,  leaving  two  children.  Joseph  Smith,  after 
the  death  of  his  second  wife,  contracted  a 
third  marriage,  this  time  to  Sarah  Welsh,  nee 
Kirkpatrick,  who  was  a  sister  of  his  second 
wife.  She  died  without  issue,  and  her  hus- 
band Joseph,  died  April  26,  1870. 

Joseph  Gilbert  Smith  grew  up  on  his  father's 
farm  and  was  trained  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
He  conducted  a  farm  for  his  father  until  1870, 
when  he  came  to  Gallon,  where  he  remained 
five  vears.  He  then  purchased  a  farm  near 
No.  Robinson,  in  Whetstone  township,  this 
county,  which  was  his  home  until  October, 
191 1.  He  then  sold  64  of  the  84  acres  he 
owned  there  and  took  up  his  residence  again  in 
Gallon,  purchasing  his  fine  home  at  No.  225 
No.  Union  street,  where  he  is  enjoying  a  well 
earned  respite  from  hard  labor. 


He  was  married  in  Jefferson  township,  this 
county,  Nov.  8,  1863,  to  Miss  Amanda  Van 
Voorhis,  who  was  born  at  Olentazie,  this 
county,  April  20,  1843,  a  daughter  of  William 
R.  and  Almeda  (Johnson)  Van  Voorhis.  Her 
paternal  grandparents  were  Samuel  N.  and 
Sarah  (Meyers)  Van  Voorhis,  who  came  to 
this  section  in  the  second  decade  of  the  19th 
century,  locating  at  the  early  settlement  known 
as  Olentazie,  south  of  Bucyrus,  and  on  the 
plains.  Samuel  N.  Van  Voorhis  assisted  in 
laying  out  the  city  of  Bucyrus,  the  site  of 
which  lay  partly  on  his  early  farm.  He  helped 
to  organize  the  first  Christian  (or  Campbell- 
ite)  church  in  this  county,  and  was  a  member 
of  that  faith  at  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
took  place  when  he  had  attained  an  advanced 
age.     His  wife  died  several  years  before  him. 

William  R.  Van  Voorhis  was  born  near 
Schuylkill,  N.  Y.,  May  25,  1802,  the  early 
Dutch  ancestors  of  the  family  having  settled 
on  the  Hudson  and  Mohawk  rivers  several 
generations  before.  After  coming  to  Ohio 
with  his  parents  he  grew  up  on  the  homestead 
in  Bucyrus  township,  where  he  remained  until 
after  his  marriage.  He  then  purchased  a  new 
timber  farm  in  Whetstone  township,  where  he 
lived  for  several  years.  He  then  went  to 
Michigan  and  while  living  there,  not  far  from 
St.  Joseph,  he  lost  hiswife,  who  was  in  maid- 
enhood Miss  Hannah  Jones.  She  left  him  with 
five  children.  He  returned  with  them  to  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  where  later  he  married  his 
second  wife,  Almeda  Johnson.  Here  they 
spent  the  rest  of  their  lives,  Mr.  Van  Voorhis 
dying  Aug.  4,  1893,  and  his  wife  at  the  home 
of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Smith,  on  July  7,  1910. 
She  was  over  92  years  old,  having  been  born 
March  19,  1818.  They  were  lifelong  members 
of  the  Christian  church  and  he  was  a  strong 
Democrat  in  politics.  They  had  a  family  of 
twelve  children,  of  whom  five  are  still  living 
and  one  is  yet  unmarried. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  have  been  the  parents 
of  eleven  children,  as  follows :  ( i )  Lora  A., 
born  Aug.  11,  1864,  is  the  wife  of  Henry  S. 
Evert,  of  Galion  and  has  three  children  — 
Beatrice,  Stewart  and  Arthur.  (2)  Alice  E., 
born  Oct,  2,  1867,  is  the  wife  of  Newton 
Evert,  a  farmer  of  Whetstone  townshin  and 
has  two  children — Marion  A.  and  Paul  G. 
(3)  Bertha,  who  has  been  a  public  school 
teacher  in  Galion  for  some  years  and  who  re- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1001 


sides  at  home.  (4)  Jessie  E.,  born  1872,  July 
12,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles  A.  Throckmor- 
ton and  lives  in  Columbus,  O.  Her  children 
are  Warren  S.  and  Maxwell  H.  (5)  Eva  E., 
born  Nov.  5,  1875,  who  is  the  wife  of  Michael 
Eusey  and  lives  in  Galion.  She  has  three  chil- 
dren— Cora,  Fred  and  Gordon.  (6)  Charles 
B.,  a  farmer  in  Chatfield  township,  who  is  un- 
married. (7)  Lettie  E.,  a  school  teacher,  un- 
married, who  resides  at  home.  (8)  Helen  M., 
who  married  Orvin  Braden,  resides  in  Woo- 
ster,  O.,  and  has  a  son  Donald.  (9)  Ethel  T., 
who  died  at  the  age  of  eleven  years.  (10) 
Edna  L.,  unmarried,  who  is  a  stenographer 
and  resides  in  Cleveland,  O.  (11)  Josephine, 
bom  in  September,  1878,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Dorsey  Littler  and  resides  in  Galion,  has  no 
children.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  are  members 
of  the  English  Lutheran  church.  They  are 
well  known  and  have  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 
Mr.  Smith  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 

PEARL  J.  HILLS,  whose  well  cultivated 
farm  of  100  acres  is  situated  in  section  21, 
Auburn  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  is  a 
native  of  Auburn  township,  born  June  24, 
1878,  and  is  a  son  of  Julius  and  Alvira  Hills, 
both  of  whom  are  now  deceased. 

Pearl  J.  Hills  was  reared  in  Auburn  town- 
ship and  attended  the  public  schools  and  began 
his  farm  training  on  his  paternal  grandfather's 
estate,  where  he  grew  up.  For  four  years 
after  his  marriage  he  rented  land,  after  which 
he  purchased  his  present  valuable  place.  He  is 
an  up-to-date,  progressive  agriculturist  and 
has  drained  and  tiled  his  land  at  an  expense  of 
hundreds  of  dollars  and  has  it  all  under  till- 
age except  14  acres  woodland  and  pasture.  He 
devotes  some  attention  to  raising  fine  Jersey 
cattle,  feeds  from  eight  to  twelve  horses  a 
year  and  never  sells  hay,  finding  it  more  prof- 
itable to  feed  the  crop  and  in  this  way  return 
to  the  soil  what  is  taken  out  of  it.  Mr.  Hills 
is  one  of  the  well  informed  farmers  who  own 
and  value  a  silo  and  he  is  confident  that  it 
saves  him  three  hundred  dollars  worth  of  feed 
a  year.  He  has  taken  pride  in  the  appearance 
of  his  property  and  all  the  buildings  have  been 
remodeled  and  all  surroundings  are  attractive. 
Mr.  Hills  is  also  agent  for  the  Overland  Auto- 
mobile for  Auburn,  Vernon  and  Cranberry 
townships  and  has  disposed  of  a  number  of 
these  fine  cars. 


Mr.  Hills  married  Miss  Mary  E.  Melick, 
who  was  born  in  Richland  county,  O.,  and  they 
have  four  children :  Harry,  Florence,  Otis  and 
Ross.  In  politics  Mr.  Hills  is  a  Democrat  and 
is  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  at  the 
present  time  and  served  previously  in  the  same 
office  for  two  terms.  He  belongs  to  the  local 
Grange  and  also  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and 
to  the  Odd  Fellows,  at  Tiro.  With  his  family 
he  attends  the  Baptist  church. 

FRANK  E.  LAMB,  a  representative  and 
substantial  citizen  of  Bucyrus,.  O.,  property 
owner  and  civic  official,  was  born  in  Ingham 
county,  Mich.,  March  11,  1850,  and  is  a  son 
of  George  S.  and  Laura  (Silsby)  Lamb. 

George  S.  Lamb  was  a  well  known  man  in 
several  sections  of  the  country.  He  was  born 
in  Ohio  and  for  a  number  of  years  engaged  in 
farming,  after  which  he  became  an  Indian 
trader  and  subsequently  located  in  Murray 
county,  Minn.,  his  being  the  eighth 'family  to 
settle  there.  It  was  a  wild  region  at  that  time 
and  Mr.  Lamb's  business  often  left  him  un- 
protected and  on  one  of  his  trips  he  was  killed 
by  the  Indians,  this  occurring  in  what  is 
known  as  the  Little  Crow  massacre.  He  mar- 
ried Laura  Silsby,  who  was  born  in  New 
York,  a  daughter  of  Felix  Silsby,  and  three 
children  were  born  to  them :  Frank  E. ; 
Emma,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  San- 
ford  Peck;  and  a  child  that  died  when  five 
years  old. 

Frank  E.  Lamb  had  but  meager  educational 
opportunities,  growing  up  on  a  farm  that  was 
65  miles  distant  from  any  town.  He  was  only 
a  boy  of  14  years  when  he  succeeded  in  enlist- 
ing for  service  in  the  Civil  War  and  was  out 
for  nine  months  and  fifteen  days  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Co.  C,  195th  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  from  Wil- 
liams county,  O.  He  then  returned  to 
Williams  county  and  was  but  18  years  old 
when  he  was  married,  on  Nov.  19,  1868,  to 
Miss  Mary  Ogle.  She  was  born  in  Williams 
county,  where  her  grandfather,  Robert  Ogle, 
was  the  fifth  settler  in  its  early  days.  Her  par- 
ents were  Thomas  and  Jerusha  (Clark)  Ogle, 
the  former  of  whom  was  a  native  of  Colum- 
biana county,  O.,  a  civil  engineer  and  a  farmer. 
The  mother  of  Mrs.  Lamb  was  born  in  Penn- 
svlvania.  They  had  three  children :  Robert, 
Eliza,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  Henry 
Champion;  and  Mary. 


1002 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lamb  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born:  Cora,  the  widow  of  Neal 
Sullivan,  who  has  four  children — Eunice, 
Frank,  Clyde  and  Russell;  Edgar  F.,  who 
married  Mary  Quinn,  and  has  ten  children — 
Herbert,  Cora,  Howard,  Elsie,  Maurice,  Ed- 
gar, Hilda,  Vivian,  Ralph  and  Glen;  Laura, 
who  married  Milo  R.  Haynes,  and  has  two 
children — Donald  and  Naomi;  Nellie,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Clarence  N.  Haynes,  and  has  one 
daughter,  Lila;  and  Mary,  who  is  a  popular 
and  successful  teacher  at  Bucyrus. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Lamb  has  been  prom- 
inent in  political  life  at  Bucyrus  and  at  pres- 
ent is  serving  in  his  second  term  as  a  member 
of  the  city  council.  He  is  also  in  his  fourth 
year  as  probation  officer  and  formerly  offici- 
ated as  constable  and  for  a  long  time  as  a  jus- 
tice of  the  peace.  He  has  property  invest- 
ments at  Bucyrus  that  include  two  handsome 
and  valuable  residences.  He  is  a  member  of 
Keller  Post  No.  128,  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, of  which  he  is  the  present  quarter- 
master, having  been  interested  in  this  post  ever 
since  it  was  organized.  His  family  attends 
the  United  Brethren  church.  He  is  identified 
politcally  with  the  Democratic  party.  On 
August  3,  19 1 2,  Mr.  Lamb  was  appointed 
justice  of  the  peace  in  Bucyrus  township. 

GEORGE  R.  FOSTER,  whose  well  culti- 
vated farm  of  79  acres  lies  in  sections  14  and 
23,  Cranberry  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
two  and  one-fourth  miles  southeast  of  Xew 
\\'^ashington,  was  born  in  Richland  county,  O., 
Jan.  25,  1877,  a  son  of  Reuben  H.  and  Sarah 
E.  Foster,  who  still  reside  in  Richland  county. 

After  his  school  days  were  over,  George  R. 
Foster  lived  for  five  years  in  Richland  county, 
following  farming.  In  March,  1907,  he  set- 
tled on  his  present  farm,  which  he  bought 
from  his  father-in-law  and  the  Cox  heirs.  He 
has  greatly  improved  his  property,  erecting 
the  substantial  buildings,  fencing  and  drain- 
ing, and  raises  hay,  grain,  cattle  and  hogs. 
He  follows  modern  methods  and  believes  in 
the  best  kind  of  farm  machinery.  Mr.  Foster 
is  a  stockholder  in  the  Toledo  Life  Insurance 
Company,  of  Toledo,  O. 

On  Oct.  24,  1 89 1,  Mr.  Foster  was  married 
to  Miss  Maude  E.  Hageman,  who  was  born  on 
this  farm,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Martha 


Hageman.  Mrs.  Foster  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  which  Mr.  Fos- 
ter attends  and  liberally  supports.  He  is  iden- 
tified with  the  Knights  of  rythias  and  belongs 
also  to  Cranberry  Grange.  He  is  not  very 
active  in  politics  Out  has  always  been  identified 
with  the  Democratic  party  and  never  fails  in 
the  duties  of  a  good  citizen. 

T.  E.  HILBORN,*  who  is  serving  in  his 
second  term  as  trustee  of  1  od  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  residing  on  the  old  Hilborn 
homestead,  situated  two  miles  south  of  Oce- 
ola,  O.,  was  born  here  in  1874  and  is  a  son  of 
Samuel  and  Mary  (Rhinehart)  Hilborn. 

Samuel  Hilborn  was  born  in  Ashland 
county,  O.,  and  came  to  the  present  home  farm 
when  a  young  man,  cleared  it,  developed  its 
agricultural  possibilities  and  erected  the  sub- 
stantial buildings.  His  death  occurred  here 
when  he  was  aged  68  years.  He  married 
^lary  Rhinehart,  who  is  now  in  her  70th  year 
and  resides  at  Nevada,  O.  Ten  children  were 
born  to  them,  namely:  Mrs.  Krickbaum,  of 
^^'yandot  county;  Charles  and  Joseph,  both  of 
Bucyrus;  Clara,  deceased;  ;Mrs.  Stella  Gregg, 
of  Nevada;  Z^Irs.  Floe  Gingery;  T.  E. ;  Mrs. 
Hilborn,  of  Iowa;  Royal,  of  Nevada;  and 
Mabel,  living  at  home. 

T.  E.  Hilborn  has  been  engaged  in  farming 
ever  since  his  school  days  and  operates  the 
home  place  of  120  acres  for  his  mother.  He 
is  known  as  a  capable  and  successful  farmer 
and  as  a  good  business  man.  He  married 
Mabel  Todd,  of  Tiro,  O.,  whose  mother  re- 
sides at  Akron.  In  politics  Air.  Hilborn  is  a 
strong  Democrat  and  as  township  trustee  is 
a  valuable  township  official.  He  is  identified 
with  the  Junior  Order  of  American  Mechanics 
and  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  \\'ith  his 
wife  he  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  at  Nevada,  O. 

WILLIAM  J.  GEER,  one  of  the  oldest 
practicing  lawyers  at  Gallon,  O.,  may  easily 
be  numbered  with  the  leading  members  of  the 
bar  and  at  the  same  time  is  more  or  less  prom- 
inent in  other  lines  of  business.  He  was  born 
at  Clermont  county,  O.,  Oct.  8,  1858,  and  is  a 
son  of  Rev.  John  J.  and  Sarah  (Smith)  Geer. 

Rev.  John  J.  Geer  was  borii  in  1833,  in 
Rockbridge  county,  Va.,  where  his  fathier  and 


WILLIAM  J.  GEMR 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1005 


grandfather  were  native  born,  the  family 
having  been  established  there  prior  to  the  Re- 
volutionary War.  Grandfather  Geer  became 
convinced  of  the  injustice  of  slavery  and  after 
liberating  his  negroes  came  to  Ohio  and  in  the 
late  30's  settled  near  Sidney,  in  Shelby  county, 
where  he  died  in  1870.  He  and  wife  were 
Wesleyan  Methodists.  Their  son,  John  J. 
Geer,  grew  up  mainly  in  Shelby  county  and 
when  he  united  with  a  religious  body  it  was 
with  the  Protestant  Methodists,  in  which  he 
became  a  preacher  and  was  pastor  of  the  old 
George  Street  Church,  Cincinnati,  when  the 
Civil  War  broke  out.  In  May,  1861,  he  en- 
listed as  chaplain  in  the  48th  O.  Vol.  Inf.  At 
the  battle  of  Shiloh  he  was  captured  by  the 
Confederates  and  with  his  unfortunate  com- 
rades was  afterward  incarcerated  in  Anderson- 
ville  Prison.  In  some  way  he  managed  to  es- 
cape but  was  pursued  by  the  blood  hounds 
kept  by  Capt.  Werz  for  tha!t  purpose  and  was 
recaptured  and  again  made  to  suffer  within  that 
terrible  stockade.  When  he  was  finally  ex- 
changed there  was  little  hope  entertained  by  his 
friends  that  he  would  recover  his  health,  but 
his  constitution  at  that  time  was  strong  and  in 
1863  he  determined  to  again  face  the  dangers 
and  hardships  that  so  many  of  his  fellow  men 
were  bravely  enduring.  Although  he  had  en- 
listed as  chaplain  it  was  his  own  wish  that  he 
be  given  an  active  place  in  the  command  and 
the  company  elected  him  captain  and  later  be- 
came adjutant  general  on  the  staff  of  General 
Buckland.  He  enlisted  a  second  time  as  a 
member  of  the  183rd  O.  Vol.  Inf.  and  at  the 
close  of  the  war  was  made  chaplain  and  sup- 
erintendent of  the  Geer  Hospital  at  Wilming- 
ton, N.  C,  and  was  honorably  discharged  in 
1865.  He  was  the  author  of  a  stirring  story 
of  those  memorable  days,  relating  his  per- 
sonal experiences,  the  title  of  it  being  "Beyond 
the  Lines"  or  "Yankee  Prisoner  Loose  in 
Dixie."  These  hardships  had  shattered  his 
health  to  such  an  extent  that  he  never  recov- 
ered and  two  years  after  the  close  of  the  war, 
on  Aug.  25,  1867,  this  brave  and  good  man 
passed  away,  a  true  martyr  in  the  cause  of  his 
country. 

John  J.  Geer  married  Sarah  Smith,  who  was 
■born  Jan.  25,  1836  and  died  on  the  old  farm 
o'n  which  she  was  born  in  Clermont  county, 
O.,  July  7,  1880.     She  was  a  woman  of  suc'h 


rare  qualities  that  she  impressed  her  personal- 
ity on  all  who  knew  her  and  in  loving,  rev- 
erent remembrance  her  son,  William  J.  Geer, 
bears  testimony  that  all  he  is  and  has  been  of 
good  is  due  to  her.  She  came  of  worthy  an- 
cestry. Her  parents  were  David  and  Sarah 
(Conklin)  Smith,  who  came  from  New  Jersey 
to  Ohio  in  1798,  and  settled  at  what  is  now 
known  as  Walnut  Hill.  The  Smiths  of  Smith- 
ville  and  the  Conklins  and  Cranes  of  Crane's 
Mills,  N.  J.  were  kindered  through  intermar- 
riage and  their  ancestors  were  Revolutionary 
soldiers.  David  Smith  was  an  early  pork 
packer,  a  pioneer  in  that  great  industry  and 
formerly  it  was  his  custom  to  take  his  meats 
down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers  on 
rafts.  Late  in  life  he  retired  to  a  farm  in 
Clermont  county,  O.,  where  he  died.  His  wife 
subsequently  remarried  but  her  last  days  were 
spent  with  a  daughter  at  Gallon.  To  John  J. 
Geer  and  wife  four  children  were  born,  the 
two  survivors  being:  William  J.  of  Galion, 
and  Charles  E.,  of  Cincinnati,  O. 

William  J.  Geer  was  an  ambitious  boy  and 
is  largely  a  self  made  man.  While  still  on  the 
farm  and  facing  many  early  problems  relating 
to  his  future  advancement,  he  determined  in 
some  way  to  secure  an  education  in  the  law. 
His  opportunities  were  meager  indeed,  but  he 
secured  some  law  books  and  absorbed  the 
foundation  principles  before  he  ever  left  the 
farm.  He  then  earned  the  money  which  in- 
sured him  a  course  in  the  Normal  School  at 
Lebanon,  O.,  and  afterward,  for  seven  years 
he  taught  school,  in  the  meanwhile  devoting 
all  possible  time  to  his  law  studies.  On  May 
27,  1886,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  im- 
mediately opened  his  law  office  at  Galion  and 
has  occupied  the  same  quarters  in  the  Citizens 
Bank  Building  since  June  of  that  year.  For 
many  years  Mr.  Geer  has  stood  at  the  head  of 
the  bar  here  and  many  honors  have  been  ten- 
dered him  by  his  associates  during  this  long 
period.  They  recognize  his  personal  as  well 
as  professional  qualities  and  know  that  no 
lawyer  in  the  State  is  readier  with  his  legal 
knowledge  nor  better  qualified  for  professional 
advancernent.  At  one  time  he  was  the  nominee 
for  Common  Pleas  judge  for  three  counties  and 
for  four  years  he  served  as  city  solicitor.  Pol- 
itically he  is  a  Republican  and  for  six  years  he 
was  mayor  of  Galion,  his  long  administration 


1006 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


being  nqted  for  its  many  admirable  things  ac- 
complished; 

Mr.  Geer  w  as  married  at  Plymouth,  O.,  to 
Miss  Edith  Katherine  Drenan,  who  was  born  in 
Richland  county  and-  educated  at  Delaware 
University.  She  is  a  daughter  .of-  W.  W.  and 
Hannah  (Brinkerhoff)  Drennan  and  a  niece 
of  the  late  General  Roeliff  Brinkerhoff,  for- 
merly of  Mansfield,  O.,  well  known  for  his 
philanthropies.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Geer  have  two 
sons :  William  Drenan  and  David  Smith.  Mrs. 
Geer  was  reared  in  the  Presbyterian  church 
but  Mr.  Geer  retains  his  Methodist  member- 
ship. He  is  identified  fraternally  with  the 
leading  organizations,  is  a  Knight  Templar 
Mason,  has  been  exalted  ruler  of  the  Elks  at 
Gallon  since  its  organization,  and  is  one  of  the 
oldest  members  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  in 
this  city,  having  united  with  this  body  in  1887. 
He  belongs  to  the  Commercial  Club  and  is 
secretary  of  the  Gallon  Building  &  Loan  As- 
sociation. He  has  numerous  other  business  in- 
terests and  belongs  to  various  charitable  and 
benevolent  bodies. 

FRANK  J.  KREIM,  who  resides  on  his 
well  improved  and  carefully  tilled  farm  of 
100  acres,  which  lies  in  section  23,  Cranberry 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  one  mile 
south  and  one  mile  west  of  New  Washington, 
is  one  of  the  enterprising  agriculturists  of  this 
section  of  the  county.  He  was  born  in  Huron 
county,  O.,  March  31,  1861,  and  is  a  son  of 
Joseph  and  Barbara  (Holley)  Kreim. 

Joseph  Kreim  was  born  in  Germany  and 
there  learned  the  trade  of  nailsmith.  He  mar- 
ried in  Germany  and  when  he  came  to  Amer- 
ica he  was  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  their 
three  children:  Catherine,  Philip  and  Made- 
line. After  reaching  the  United  States  he 
worked  as  a  general  laborer  for  a  time  and 
then  bought  40  acres  of  the  present  home 
farm,  on  which  his  family  lived  during  the 
nine  months  he  served  as  a  soldier  in  the 
Union  Army  during  the  Civil  war.  After  his 
safe  return  he  resumed  farming  and  continued 
until  he  retired,  some  15  years  before  his 
death,  when  aged  75  years.  His  widow  sur- 
vived into  her  84th  year,  for  some  ten  years 
before  her  death  having  made  her  home  with 
her  daughter,  Mrs.  Shell,  in  Cranberry  town- 
ship.     They    were    devout    members    of    the 


Roman  Catholic  church  at  New  Washington. 
After  reaching  America  they  had  six  other 
children  born  to  them:  Joseph,  Frank  J., 
Amelia  and  Annie,  and  two  that  died  in 
infancy. 

Frank  J.  Kreim  remained  on  the  home  farm 
after  his  school  days,  his  father  adding  40 
more  acres  and  as  fnuch  of  it  was  swampy 
there  was  a  great  deal  of  work  to  be  done  be- 
fore it  was  ready  for  cultivation  and  the  serv- 
ices of  the  sons  were  needed.  Later  Frank  J. 
bought  the  homestead  and  alSo  an  additional 
20  acres  that  adjoins  it  and  has  put  the  greater 
number  of  the  improvements  here,  including 
buildings,  fences,  laying  drains  and  putting 
down  tiling.  All  the  land  is  now  under  culti- 
vation except  eight  acres  still  in  valuable  tim- 
ber. A  general  farming  line  is  carried  on  and 
Mr.  Kreim  has  every  reason  to  be  satisfied 
with  the  prosperity  he  enjoys. 

Mr.  Kreim  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Nieder- 
meier,  a  daughter  of  Peter  and  Barbara 
Niedermeier,  of  Cranberry  township,  and  they 
have  eight  children,  namely:  Clemens  L.,  Ed- 
ward M.,  Petronilla,  Alphonse  A.,  Reinald  J., 
Rozena  A.,  Marie  C.  and  Walter  A.  Mr. 
Kreim  and  family  are  meinbers  of  the  Cath- 
olic church  and  he  belongs  to  the  Knights  of 
Columbus.  He  has  always  given  his  political 
support  to  the  candidates  of  the  Democratic 
party. 

JOHN  S.  ZIMMERMAN,  who  is  some- 
what retired  from  business  activity  although 
he  keeps  interested  in  many  former  avenues 
of  activity,  gives  considerable  attention  to  su- 
perintending his  well  improved  farm  of  118 
acres,  which  is  situated  in  Whetstone  town- 
ship, Crawford  county.  He  was  born  in  that 
township,  Dec.  28,  1840,  and  is  a  son  of  Rev. 
Daniel  and  Charlotte  (Schneider)  Zimmer- 
man. 

Daniel  Zimmerman  and  wife  were  born  in 
one  of  the  Rhine  provinces,  Prussia,  and  were 
married  before  starting  for  the  United  States 
in  1834.  They  took  passage  in  one  of  the 
old-time  sailing  ships  that  offered  no  luxuries 
but  took  60  days  to  make  its  slow  way  across 
the  mighty  Atlantic  and  safely  landed  its  pas- 
sengers at  Baltimore,  Md.  Their  objective 
point  being  Crawford  county,  0.,  they  made 
the  land  journey  by  means  of  ox-teams  per- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1007 


haps,  as  the  roads  were  difficult  to  travel  over 
at  that  time,  but  they  finally  reached  Whet- 
stone township  with  the  babe  that  had  been 
born  on  the  ocean.    It  did  not  long  survive. 

Daniel  Zimmerman  was  the  only  member 
of  his  family  to  come  to  America  but  there 
was  quite  a  party  made  up  of  members  of  his 
wife's  people,  the  Schneiders,  who  had  been 
of  consequence  in  Germany  and  who  became' 
good  citizens  of  Ohio.  At  the  head  of  the 
family  was  John  Schneider,  the  father  of 
Mrs.  Zimmerman,  and  he  was  accompanied  by 
his  wife,  four  sons  and  four  daughters.  Two 
of  these  sons,  John  and  Peter  J.,  both  became 
widely  known  as  preachers  in  the  German 
Methodist  church  in  Ohio.  The  father  of 
Mrs.  Zimmerman  was  a  man  of  such  fine  char- 
acter that  in  1852  his  son,  Rev.  Peter  J. 
Schneider,  published  a  memorial  book  of  325 
pages  setting  forth  his  life  as  an  encourage- 
ment and  inspiration  to  others.  The  Zimmer- 
mans  and  Schneiders  finally  settled  on  a  tract 
of  160  acres  which  is  now  in  Polk  township, 
for  which  they  paid  the  sum  of  $350. 

Shortly  afterward,  however,  Daniel  Zim- 
merman purchased  a  separate  farm,  in  Whet- 
stone township,  all  of  which  was  wild  land, 
and  this  he  cleared  and  on  this  property  he  and 
his  wife  lived  for  many  years,  moving  to 
Galion  late  in  life,  where  she  died  in  1882,  in 
her  70th  year  and  he  in  1884,  when  aged  72 
years.  During  the  entire  period  of  his  life  in 
Ohio  he  was  a  minister  in  the  Reformed 
church  and  continued  to  preach  up  to  within  a 
year  of  his  death.  He  was  a  man  of  high 
character  and  consistent  in  every  relation  of 
life.  He  was  the  father  of  ten  children,  four 
of  whom  survive,  namely:  Elizabeth,  who  is 
the  widow  of  Daniel  Stump,  of  Whetstone 
township,  and  has  two  children;  John  S., 
whose  name  heads  this  sketch;  William,  who 
resides  with  his  family  on  West  Main  street, 
Galion,  and  has  one  son;  Anna,  who  resides 
with  her  brother,  John  S.,  at  Galion. 

John  S.  Zimmerman  grew  up  in  Whetstone 
township  and  attended  the  district  schools, 
afterward  assisting  his  father.  For  twelve 
years  prior  to  1877  he  engaged  in  farming 
and  then  moved  to  Galion,  where,  in  partner- 
ship with  a  brother-in-law,  Wendell  Helfricb. 
he  went  into  the  shoe  business  and  continued 
for  seven  years.  Failing  health  then  caused 
him  to  retire  and  prudence  has  made  him  give 


considerable  attention  to  interests  that  require 
his  being  in  the  open  air.  On  his  farm  he  has 
made  many  improvements  and  it  is  one  of  the 
fine  properties  lying  adjacent  tp  the  Win- 
chester road. 

Mr.  Zimmerman  was  married  in  Whetstone 
township,  to  Miss  Eliza  J.  Kester,  who  was 
born  there  May  13,  1844,  a  daughter  of  Jacob 
and  Salome  (Wise)  Kester.  They  were  born 
in  Pennsylvania  and  came  to  Crawford  county 
in  the  late  thirties  and  spent  the  rest  of  their 
lives  in  Whetstone  township,  the  mother  of 
Mrs.  Zimmerman  dying  at  the  age  of  62  years 
and  the  father  when  aged  82  years.  They 
were  good.  Christian  people,  members  of  the 
Reformed  church.  Of  their  eight  children 
two  died  young,  six  grew  to  maturity  and  two 
survive.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Zimmerman  three 
children  were  born,  namely:  Mary  E.,  who 
died  in  infancy;  Sarah  C,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Louis  Martin  and  has  three  children,  Carl, 
Aurelia  and  Mary;  and  Clara  E.,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Rev.  Benjamin  Stern,  a  minister  in 
the  Reformed  church,  in  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
and  has  one  son,  Adiel,  who  is  a  student  of 
architecture.  Mr.  Zimmerman  and  family  are 
all  members  of  the  Reformed  church. 

MRS.  PHEBE  GRAFMILLER,  one  of 
the  well  known  and  highly  esteemed  residents 
of  Auburn  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
who,  for  38  years  has  lived  on  her  present 
farm  of  100  acres,  situated  in  section  5,  was 
born  in  this  township,  and  is  a  daughter  of 
Enoch  and  Sarah  (Hutchinson)  Baker,  the 
former  of  whom  died  in  Knox  county,  O., 
and  the  latter  in  Auburn  township,  Crawford 
county. 

Mrs.  Grafmiller  was  reared  to  womanhood 
in  Auburn  township  and  attended  the  public 
schools.  She  was  married  on  Nov.  5,  1878, 
to  August  Grafmiller,  who  was  born  at  Can- 
ton, Wayne  county,  O.,  a  son  of  Andrew 
Grafmiller,  who  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany. 
In  Stark  county,  O.,  Andrew  Grafmiller  was 
married  to  Salome  Weisard,  who  was  also  a 
native  of  Germany.  They  settled  on  a  farm 
in  Auburn  township,  Wayne  county,  and  they 
had  six  children:  Andrew,  August,  Christian, 
Jacob,  Adolphus  and  Caroline.  Andrew 
Grafmiller  died  at  the  age  of  76  years  and  his 
burial   was   in   Auburn   township.     His   wife 


1008 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


was  66  years  old  at  time  of  death  and  her 
burial  was  at  New  Washington. 

To  August  Grafmiller  and  wife  the  follow- 
ing children  were  born:  Frederick,  who  car- 
ries on  the  industries  of  the  home  farm;  Otis, 
who  is  a  rural  mail  carrier ;  Etta  Matilda,  who 
is  the  wife  of  George  Coffee,  of  Creston, 
Wayne  county.  After  marriage,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Grafmiller  lived  for  one  year  on  the 
Baker  homestead  and  then  came  to  the  present 
farm,  where  Mrs.  Grafmiller  has  lived  ever 
since.  Mr.  Grafmiller  was  an  industrious  and 
judicious  farmer  and  was  very  successful  in 
his  business,  carried  on  general  farming  and 
made  many  substantial  improvements  on  his 
land.  He  died  in  November,  1907,  at  the  age 
of  66  years,  and  his  burial  was  at  Plymouth, 
O.  He  was  a  well  known  and  much  respected 
man  and  was  a  member  of  the  Church  of  God. 
He  was  interested  in  supporting  the  laws  and 
in  assisting  in  making  his  neighborhood  one  of 
moral  influence  but  was  never  active  in  pol- 
itics, although,  as  a  citizen  he  cast  his  vote,  a 
Republican  in  his  preferences.  Mrs.  Graf- 
miller and  family  belong  also  to  the  Church 
of  God. 

CHRISTOPHER  ALBRECHT,  a  repre- 
sentative business  man  of  Gallon,  O.,  who 
established  himself  in  the  grocery  business  at 
No.  123  Parsons  street,  Galion,  some  15  years 
since  and  has  continued  at  the  same  location, 
was  born  Nov.  18,  1856,  in  Neckarbischofs- 
heim  in  Baden,  Germany,  a  son  of  Johann  and 
Margaret  (Kessler)  Albrecht. 

Johann  Albrecht  spent  his  entire  life  in  his 
native  village  in  Baden,  a  cabinetmaker  by 
trade  and  a  Lutheran  in  religious  faith.  He 
died  in  February,  191 1,  when  aged  92  years. 
His  father,  Henry  Albrecht,  was  with  Na- 
poleon's Prussian  Army  and  assisted  in  the 
storming  ■  of  Moscow.  He  was  one  of  the 
comparatively  few  soldiers  of  that  unhappy 
and  disastrous  campagn  that  lived  to  return. 
He  survived  into  old  age,  being  in  his  90th 
year  at  time  of  death.  Johann  Albrecht  mar- 
ried Margaret  Kessler,  who  was  born  in 
Hessen,  Germany,  and  died  in  Baden,  in  Oc- 
tober, 1904,  being  then  aged  87  years  and  the 
mother  of  14  children.  Eight  of  this  family 
grew  to  maturity,  all  of  these  married  and  six 
are  yet  living. 


Christopher  Albrecht  was  reared  in  a  home 
of  considerable  comfort  and  was  given  good 
educational  opportunities.  When  he  decided 
to  come  to  the  United  States  in  1881  he  was 
25  years  of  age,  reaching  Ohio  and  joining  his 
brother,  John  Albrecht,  who  had  come  ten 
years  previously.  This  brother  carried  on  a 
baking  business  for  some  years  afterward,  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  where  he  died  and  is  survived 
by  his  widow  and  seven  children.  Christopher 
Albrecht  came  to  Galion  in  1883  and  for  sev- 
eral years  was  connected  with  a  business  house 
here  in  a  clerical  capacity  and  for  two  years 
was  with  the  Erie  Railway  Company,  after- 
ward establishing  his  present  grocery  business 
and  has  carried  it  on  with  very  satisfactory 
results.  He  has  a  large  trade  and  necessarily 
carries  a  well  assorted  stock  both  in  staple  and 
fancy  goods  in  his  line. 

Mr.  Albrecht  was  married  at  Galion,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  in  1884,  to  Miss  Marie  Eliza- 
beth Kehrwecker,  who  was  born  at  Carding- 
ton,  May  24,  1864,  a  daughter  of  Christian 
and  Sophia  (Benz)  Kehrwecker.  They  were 
born,  respectively,  in  Schuetzingen  in  Wer- 
temberg  and  Neckarbischofsheim,  Baden, 
Germany,  and  both  came  to  the  United  States 
when  young  people  and  were  married  in  Mor- 
row county,  where  they  spent  their  subsequent 
lives  and  died  so  near  together  that  their  burial 
was  in  one  grave,  on  Jan.  7,  191 2.  They 
were  members  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church.  In  politics  the  father  was  a  Demo- 
crat. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Albrecht  have  one  son. 
Henry  Ludwig,  who  was  born  Feb.  16,  1889. 
After  graduating  at  the  Galion  High  School, 
he  became  a  railroad  man  and  now  fills  the 
important  position  of  chief  timekeeper  for  the 
Erie  Railroad  Company,  at  Marion,  O.  He 
was  married,  however,  at  Galion,  to  Miss 
Minnie  Boehm,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Peter 
Boehm,  one  of  this  city's  highly  respected 
citizens  and  one  of  the  head  men  in  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  Peace  church.  Mr.  Albrecht 
and  son  are  both  identified  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  The  family  belongs  to  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church,  where  the  son  Harry 
is  still  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school. 
He  has  from  his  boyhood  up  taken  an  especial 
interest  in  his  church  affairs,  filling  the  place 
as  organist  and  choir  leader  at  different  times. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1009 


A.  A.  LOUDON,  whose  valuable  farm  of 
J  20  acres  lies  in  section  14,  Cranberry  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  was  born  near 
Wayneburg,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  James  and 
Sarah  Loudon,  both  of  whom  died  in  Auburn 
township,  Crawford  county. 

A.  A.  Loudon  was  about  15  years  of  age 
when  his  parents  moved  to  Auburn  township 
and  he  completed  his  school  attendance  there. 
Since  his  marriage  he  has  resided  on  his  pres- 
ent farm  and  here  carries  on  a  general  agri- 
cultural line,  working  according  to  modern 
methods,  as  Mr.  Loudon  is  a  thoroughly  in- 
formed farmer  and  a  very  progressive  man. 

On  Jan.  18,  1885,  Mr.  Loudon  was  married 
to  Miss  Cora  M.  Cox,  who  was  born  on  this 
farm  and  was  educated  in  the  local  schools, 
and  also  the  High  school  at  New  Washington. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Luther  and  Lucinda  Cox, 
old  residents  of  this  section.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Loudon  have  four  children :  Ray  E.,  now 
at  Toledo,  O. ;  Vera ;  Ivan  W.,  and  Wil- 
lard  C.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Loudon  have 
been  prominent  in  the  Grange  movement  in 
this  section  and  are  charter  members  of  the 
Cranberry  Township  Grange,  assisting  in  its 
organization  in  the  winter  of  1895.  At  that 
time  the  membership  was  about  28  but  the 
interest  has  spread  and  at  present  the  lodge  is 
in  a  prosperous  condition,  with  a  membership 
of  fifty.  Mr.  Loudon  is  grange  lecturer  and 
Mrs.  Loudon  is  an  ex-official.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Loudon  have  given  their  hospitable  residence 
as  a  meeting  place  for  the  order  for  the  past 
three  years.  Nominally  Mr.  Loudon  is  a 
Republican. 

PROF.  SIMEON  R.  WACHS,  one  of  the 
best  known  and  most  highly  respected  citizens 
of  Crawford  county,  O.,  who  now  lives  in 
comfortable  retirement  on  his  farm  in  Jackson 
township,  not  far  from  Crestline,  O.,  for 
many  years  was  a  valued  and  successful  edu- 
cator and  for  five  years  ser^^ed  with  the  great- 
est efficiency  as  superintendent  of  the  Crest- 
line schools.  He  was  born  on  his  present 
farm,  April  26,  1840,  a  son  of  Peter  and 
Lydia  (Bell)  Wachs.' 

Peter  Wachs,  the  first  of  the  name  known 
in  America,  was  a  native  of  Switzerland  and 
crossed  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  settled  in 
Pennsylvania  prior  to  the  Revolutionary  war, 


spending  his  subsequent  life  as  a  farmer  in 
Perry  county.  Of  his  family  of  sons,  Philip, 
the  grandfather  of  Simeon  R.  Wachs,  was  a 
farmer  in  Perry  county,  and  died  there  when 
aged  60  years.  His  widow  subsequently  mar- 
ried a  Mr.  Bruner,  all  natives  of  Pennsylvania.. 
Philip  Wachs  left  four  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters, the  eldest  child,  Peter,  being  the  father 
of  Prof.  Wachs  of  Crawford  county. 

Peter  Wachs  (2)  was  born  in  Perry  county, 
Pa.,  Dec.  2,  1807,  ^"d  grew  up  on  his  father's 
farm.  In  those  days  work  in  the  woods,  lum- 
bering and  logging,  was  usually  a  part  of  a 
young  man's  industrial  training,  in  Perry 
county,  and  Peter  Wachs  was  somewhat  noted 
for  his  strength  and  skill  in  wielding  his  axe, 
thinking  nothing  of  cutting  down  a  tree  and 
making  it  into  stove  wood  or  preparing  it  for 
the  fireplace,  for  25  cents  a  cord.  He  also 
skillfully  made  use  of  the  flail  and  through 
thus  threshing  out  rye,  for  three  cents  a 
bushel,  secured  enough  money  to  enable  him 
to  accompany  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  to  Ohio,  in 
1832.  Here  he  subsequently  purchased  80 
acres  of  wild  land,  situated  in  Jackson  town- 
ship, from  the  man  who  had  entered  the  same 
from  the  Government,  and  here  he  continued 
to  live  until  his  death,  July  31,  1884.  He  was 
well  preserved  in  mind  and  body  notwith- 
standing a  very  laborious  life,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  being  quite  deaf  and  it  was  through 
this  misfortune  that  his  death  was  caused  by 
a  railroad  train,  not  far  from  his  home.  He 
was  widely  known  among  the  pioneers  and 
had  helped  to  build  the  first  log  house  that 
was  ever  erected  in  the  city  of  Gallon.  His 
own  land  was  mainly  cleared  by  himself,  with 
the  aid  of  his  trusty  axe.  In  politics  he  was 
a  Democrat  and  all  his  life  held  connection 
with  the  United  Brethren  church,  with  which 
his  people  were  associated  in  Pennsylvania. 

Peter  Wachs  was  married  near  Galion.  O., 
to  Lydia  Bell,  who  was  born  in  181 3,  in  York 
county.  Pa.,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah 
(Ritchie)  Bell.  She  was  one  of  a  large  fam- 
ily, and  as  she  was  a  twin,  she  was  taken  by 
an  aunt  to  be  reared,  who  brought  her  to  Ohio 
when  young,  all  the  other  members  of  the 
family  remaining  in  Pennsylvania.  She  died 
in  Jackson  township  after  the  celebration  of 
her  Golden  Wedding  anniversary  with  her 
husband,     A  lifelong  member  of  the  United 


1010 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Brethren  church,  she  was  noted  for  her  nat- 
ural gifts  as  a  vocaHst  and  could  remember 
lOO  hymns  and  sing  them  in  church  or  for  the 
pleasure  of  family  and  friends.  She  was  the 
mother  of  eight  children,  six  of  whom  grew 
.  to  maturity  and  four  of  these  survive :  Philip, 
a  farmer  in  ^lichigan,  who  has  lost  his  wife 
but  has  a  married  daughter  and  three  grand- 
children ;  Daniel  C,  living  retired  at  Grand 
Haven,  ^lich..  who  for  years  was  a  justice  of 
the  peace  and  city  recorder,  and  has  a  married 
daughter  and  two  grandsons;  Sarah  E.,  who 
now  owns  and  occupies  a  part  of  the  old  home- 
stead, who  has  been  twice  married  and  twice 
widowed.     She  has  no  children. 

Simeon  R.  W'achs  is  the  third  child  of  his 
parents'  family  of  those  who  survived  infancy. 
In  his  boyhood  and  youth  this  was  yet  a  new- 
country,  to  a  large  extent,  and  Jackson  town- 
ship still  was  included  in  Richland  county. 
He  early  showed  a  quickened  intellect  and  was 
given  educational  opportunities,  attending  the 
local  schools  and  afterward  the  Gallon  High 
School,  and  in  1872  was  graduated  from  the 
Xational  Xormal  School  at  Lebanon,  O.  He 
began  to  teach  school  in  Vernon  township, 
Crawford  county,  and  his  activities  as  a 
teacher  covered  about  51  years,  mainly  in 
Crawford  county  and,  with  one  exception,  he 
is  the  oldest  teacher  in  years  of  service  here. 
In  1876  he  went  to  ^Missouri  and  spent  one 
year  teaching  in  Johnson  county,  later  uas 
principal  of  the  schools  of  Upper  Sandusky; 
for  one  year,  in  the  seventies  was  superintend- 
ent of  the  schools  of  Crestline  and  continued 
acti\-e  in  the  educational  field  until  1908.  He 
has  served  on  the  board  of  school  examiners 
and  in  1864  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Crawford  County  Teachers'  Institute,  and  its 
first  secretary,  and  ever  since  has  been  more 
or  less  a  leader  in  local  educational  bodies. 

In  1868  Mr.  \\'achs  was  married  (first)  in 
Crawford  county,  to  ^^liss  Ruth  A.  Reinehart, 
who  was  born  Oct.  8,  1843,  and  died  at  Crest- 
line, Sept.  6,  1878.  Their  one  child.  Tycho  C, 
died  at  the  age  of  eight  months.  Mr.  \\''achs 
was  married  (second)  at  Crestline,  to  Miss 
Ida  J.  Newell,  who  was  bom  at-  Elyria.  O., 
March  13,  1857,  where  she  was  reared.  She 
was  of  English  and  Irish  ancestry,  a  daughter 
of  Edmund  and  ■Margaret  (Gafifney)  Xewell. 
Her  father  was  born  in  Ohio  and  her  mother 


in  Ireland  and  they  were  married  at  Lorain, 
O.,  and  after  some  years  at  Elyria  they  moved 
to  Oberlin,  \\here  the  father  died  in  1909, 
when  aged  82  years.  The  mother  still  lives 
there  and  is  now  in  her  77th  year. 

To  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Wachs  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born:  Victor  H.,  Ferriden  N., 
El  Rito,  Ruth,  Milo,  and  Paul.  The  eldest 
son  prepared  for  an  active  and  useful  life. 
After  graduating  from  the  Crestline  High 
School  he  spent  five  years  at  Oberlin  College 
and  three  years  at  the  University  of  Boston, 
^lass.,  and  in  1905  was  ordained  a  minister  in 
the  Alethodist  Episcopal  church  and  volun- 
teered to  go  as  a  missionary  to  the  Orient  and 
is  stationed  in  Korea.  He  married  Sylvia 
Allen,  who  was  also  educated  at  Oberlin  Col- 
lege and  they  have  a  daughter.  El  Rito,  and  a 
son.  Miller  Allen,  who  was  bom  in  Korea, 
Alay  13,  19 1 2.  The  second  son,  Ferriden  X., 
adopted  a  trade  as  his  life  work  and  is  a  skilled 
machinist  residing' at  Crestline,  but  he  also  is 
a  great  student  of  the  Scriptures  and  is  deeply 
interested  in  his  brother's  missionary  work. 
He  married  Byrda  Richey  and  they  have  three 
living  children :  ^Mildred  and  Wilbur  and  Dale, 
twins.  El  Rito,  the  eldest  daughter,  who  is  a 
High  School  graduate,  is  the  wife  of  Daniel 
Pry,  a  farmer  in  \'ernon  township,  and  they 
have  an  infant  daughter,  Florence  Ruth, 
Milo  and  Paul,  all  reside  at  home,  Ruth  and 
Paul  being  High  School  graduates  and  Milo, 
still  a  High  School  student.  Mr.  and  [Mrs. 
^^'^achs  have  always  been  hearty  church  work- 
ers and  supporters  of  all  moral  movements  in 
which  opportunity  has  been  aflforded  them  to 
exert  influence.  He  has  long  been  a  class 
leader  and  other  official  in  the  church  at  Crest- 
line. In  his  political  sentiments  he  is  nom- 
inally a  Democrat  but  considers  favorably  the 
claims  of  the  Prohibition  party. 

E.  J.  BREHMAX,*  a  well  known  agricul- 
turist of  Liberty  township,  Crawford  county, 
who  lives  on  his  farm  of  50  acres  located  two 
miles  south  of  Sulphur  Springs,  was  bom  in 
W^hetstone  township,  this  county.  April  28, 
1875.  His  father,  Stephen  Brehman,  owns  a 
farm  of  no  acres  adjoining  that  of  our  sub- 
ject. 

E.  J.  Brehman  was  one  of  eight  children 
bom  to  his  parents  and  was  brought  up  on  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1011 


farm.  After  completing  his  education  in  the 
district  schools  he  went  to  work  on  a  farm 
two  miles  west  of  where  he  lives  at  present. 
He  also  worked  two  years  for  Mr.  Jerry 
Hopple  and  then  bought  his  present  farm,  on 
which  he  has  successfully  carried  on  general 
farming  and  stock  raising  since.  He  has  built 
a  new  house  and  barn  and  other  buildings. 

Mr.  Brehman  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Hattie  Grogg,  a  native  of  Liberty  town- 
ship. To  them  have  been  born  two  children, 
Mary  and  Belva  May,  the  former  of  whom  is 
deceased. 

Our  subject  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political 
views  and  with  his  wife  belongs  to  the 
Lutheran  church  of  Sulphur  Springs. 

ALBERT  HAWORTH,  who  has  served 
continuously  as  postmaster  of  Crestline,  O., 
since  April,  i8g8,  has  been  a  resident  of  this 
city  since  boyhood,  but  his  birth  took  place  in 
Manchester,  England,  March  22.  1848,  a  son 
of  Benjamin  and  Martha  A.  Haworth. 

When  Benjamin  Haworth  brought  his  fam- 
ily to  the  United  States  in  1848,  he  settled  at 
Providence,  R.  I.,  subsequently  moving  from 
there  to  Cleveland,  O.  In  186 1,  when  the  call 
was  issued  for  volunteers  for  army  service  for 
three  months,  Mr.  Haworth  went  to  Massa- 
chusetts and  there  enlisted  as  a  private  soldier 
in  the  First  Mass.  Vol.  Inf.,  later  reenlisting 
and  at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  a  veteran 
through  three  enlistments,  started  for  home, 
in  1865.  While  crossing  the  State  of  Tennes- 
see, he,  with  others,  met  death  from  the 
muskets  of  bushwackers,  not  far  from  the  city 
of  Chattanooga.  He  had  been  a  brave  and 
cheerful  soldier  throughout  the  long  struggle 
and  on  several  occasions  had  been  wounded, 
and  it  was  a  sad  ending  to  the  career  of  one 
who  had  so  continuously  done  his  dutv  to  his 
adopted  country.  On  account  of  the  disorder 
of  the  times,  his  assailants,  border  ruffians  as 
they  were,  were  never  brought  to  jtistice.  The 
widow  of  Benjamin  Haworth  survived  until 
June,  1892,  dying  at  Cleveland,  when  aged 
about  y^  years,  having  been  a  faithful  member 
of  the  Catholic  church  all  her  life,  while  Mr. 
Haworth  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
church.  They  were  parents  of  eleven  chil- 
dren, seven  of  whom  grew  to  maturity  and  six 
of  whom  survive.    One  son,  Joseph  Haworth, 


who  died  unmarried,  was  a  well  known  actor 
and  for  many  years  was  connected  with  the 
Boston  (Mass.)  Museum.  The  four  daugh- 
ters all  live  in  the  city  of  Cleveland,  the  eldest, 
Kate,  being  unmarried.  Martha  is  the  wife 
of  George  Schneider;  Nora  is  the  wife  of 
John  E.  O'Conner;  and  Emma,  the  wife  of 
M.  Kelly. 

Albert  Haworth  came  to  Crestline  when 
Cleveland  capitalists  opened  the  Continental 
Hotel,  and  he  became  its  manager  in  1886, 
conducting  it  until  1891.  Prior  to  becoming 
manager  he  had  been  chief  clerk  for  many 
years  and  was  interested  in  other  activities,  in 
the  meanwhile  completing  his  eudcation  in  the 
night  schools  and  for  some  years  being  the 
chief  support  of  the  family.  Later  Mr. 
Haworth  purchased  and  operated  the  Central 
Hotel  for  some  time,  closing  out  his  hotel  in- 
terests one  year  before  he  became  postmaster. 
He  has  always  been  active  in  the  Republican 
ranks  and  for  20  years  has  been  a  member  of 
the  county  organizations.  For  41  years  he 
has  been  identified  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
here  and  belongs  also  to  the  Elks,  at  Bucyrus. 

Mr.  Haworth  was  married  at  Youngstown, 
O.,  to  Miss  Magdaline  McCutcheon,  who  was 
born  at  Montreal,  Canada,  being  of  Scotch  an- 
cestry, and  they  have  two  children;  William 
Joseph  and  Effie  A.  William  Joseph 
Haworth,  who  is  in  the  marble  and  mosaic 
business  at  Cleveland  and  a  representative 
business  man  of  that  city,  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Crestline  High  School  and  also  of  Kenyon 
College,  of  the  class  of  1896.  He  married  and 
has  two  children,  Martha  and  Marion.  He  is 
a  Knight  Templar  Mason,  belonging  to  the 
Commandery  at  Cleveland.  The  daughter  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Haworth,  is  the  wife  of  Carl 
Martin  Babst,  a  son  of  Judge  Daniel  Babst,  a 
prominent  jurist  of  Crawford  county.  Mr 
Babst  is  a  graduate  of  Oberlin  and  Kenyon 
Colleges  and  is  a  member  of  the  Crestline  bar. 
Mr.  Haworth  is  paymaster  for  the  railway 
mail  clerks  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  be- 
tween Pittsburgh  and  Chicago.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Haworth  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  and  he  is  serving  on  its  board  of  trus- 
tees. He  has  been  a  citizen  of  activity  and 
public  spirit,  and  is  a  marked  example  of  self 
made  man. 


1012 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


WILLIAM  SIEFERT,  one  of  the  substan- 
tial and  well  known  citizens  of  Crawford 
county,  0.,  resides  on  his  valuable  farm  of  224 
acres,  situated  in  section  11,  Cranberry  town- 
ship, on  the  north  side  of  Angling  road,  one 
and  one- fourth  miles  northwest  of  New 
Washington.  On  this  farm  he  was  born,  Oct. 
26,  1863,  and  is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Christine 
(Hoffses)  Siefert. 

Michael  Siefert  was  born  in  Stark  county, 
O.,  Oct.  8,  1830,  and  died  at  New  Washing- 
ton, O.,  June  17,  1904.  He  was  a  son  of  John 
and  Salome  (Lantz)  Siefert,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Germany.  They  were  mar- 
ried in  Stark  county,  O.,  and  had  four  sons 
and  two  daughters:  Michael,  George,  John, 
Jacob,  Anna  and  Catherine.  From  Stark 
county  they  came  to  Crawford  county,  when 
Michael  Siefert  was  four  years  old,  and  here 
John  Siefert  secured  land  from  the  Govern- 
ment, located  in  Cranberry  township,  which 
was  then  the  home  of  many  Indians.  At  that 
time  New  Washington  was  little  but  a  hamlet. 
When  Michael  Siefert  entered  into  business  it 
was  first  as  a  farmer  in  Cranberry  township, 
where  he  lived  until  1882,  moving  then  into 
New  \\^ashington,  where  he  had  an  elevator 
and  conducted  a  large  grain  business  and  also 
baled  hay.  He  was  an  excellent  business  man 
and  an  honorable  and  upright  citizen.  In  his 
political  preference  he  was  a  Republican. 

In  January,  1856,  Michael  Siefert  was  mar- 
ried to  Christine  Hoffses,  who  was  born  in 
Germany,  Aug.  12,  1834,  attended  school 
there  and  was  19  years  of  age  when  she  ac- 
companied her  mother  to  America.  Her  par- 
ents were  George  Jacob  and  Catherine  Hoff- 
ses. The  father  died  in  Germany  and  it  was 
in  1853  that  the  mother  and  daughter  crossed 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  began  life  in  a  new 
country.  The  mother  had  also  a  son, 
Matthew,  who  is  deceased.  From  Shelby,  O., 
Mrs.  Hoffses  and  daughter  walked .  to  New 
\\'ashington  and  within  two  days  the  latter 
secured  a  situation  at  Plymouth,  O.,  in  which 
she  remained  until  her  marriage  with  'Mr. 
Siefert,  when  she  was  reluctantly  parted  with 
by  those  who  had  become  her  attached  friends 
as  well  as  her  employers.  The  mother  sur- 
vived to  be  8r  years  old,  dyin^  at  New  \\'ash- 
ington  and  her  burial  was  in  the  Lutheran 
Cemeterv,  she  having  been  a  devout  member 
of  the  Lutheran  church  for  years. 


To  Michael  Siefert  and  wife  the  following 
children  were  born:  Jacob,  a  resident  of 
Gallon,  O.,  who  married  Mary  Rhoades  and 
has  three  children — Dora,  Malinda  and 
Josephine;  John,  who  died  when  aged  four 
and  one-half  years;  Michael,  who  died  when 
aged  three  years;  Caroline,  who  is  the  wife  of 
John  Knodle,  of  New  Washington,  and  has 
eight  children — Emma,  Ella,  William,  Ralph, 
Nora,  George,  Paul  and  Frederick;  George, 
who  resides  at  New  Washington,  and  married 
Sarah  Sutter  and  has  had  four  children — Or- 
lando, Sylvester,  Alva,  deceased,  and  Chris- 
tian; William,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Anna,  who  is  the  wife  of  Frederick  Michael- 
felder,  of  New  Washington,  and  has  three 
children — Carl,  Lydia  and  Walter;  John  (2), 
who  married  Ada  Sheets,  and  has  four  chil- 
dren— Christine,  Ernest,  Carl  and  Esther; 
Michael,  who  died  when  one  year  old;  Adam, 
who  died  when  aged  two  years;  Clara,  who  is 
the  wife  of  George  Sheets,  of  New  Washing- 
ton, and  has  four  children — Mary,  Margaret, 
Jacob  and  Martin;  Emma,  who  is  the  wife  of 
A.  F.  Donnenwirth,  of  Tiro,  O.,  and  has  four 
children — Oliver,  Helen,  Walter  and  Ruth; 
and  Frederick,  who  married  W^ilhelmine 
Mohrhoff  and  resides  at  New  \Vashington, 
and  has  three  children — David,  Mildred  and 
Paul. 

^^^illiam  Siefert  attended  school  in  Cran- 
berry township  and  later  at  New  \\'^ashington, 
in  the  meanwhile  performing  the  usual  duties 
that  fall  to  youths  on  the  farm  and  in  this  way 
securing  the  training  that  prepares  them  for 
the  very  serious  business  of  later  years  when 
they  assume  the  management  of  large  estates 
of  their  own.  For  nine  years  Mr.  Siefert 
worked  as  a  farm  hand  and  then  settled  for 
himself  on  the  homestead,  of  which  he  is  the 
owner,  in  the  third  generation.  His  grand- 
father secured  the  original  80  acres  from  the 
Government,  in  1826,  and  this  80  is  included 
in  Mr.  Siefert's  present  farm  of  224  acres. 
He  has  done  a  great  deal  of  improving  here 
and  built  the  first  brick  house  in  the  north- 
western part  of  this  township,  a  modern  resi- 
dence with  city  comforts  and  conveniences, 
including  a  hot  and  cold  water  system  and 
electric  lighting.  ]\Ir.  Siefert  carries  on  gen- 
eral farming  and  makes  something  of  a  spe- 
cialtv  of  producing  hay. 

Mr.  Siefert  was  married  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1013 


(Schafer)  Mohrhoff,  who  was  born  in  Chat- 
field  township,  Crawford  county,  a  daughter 
of  Jacob  and  Catherine  Schafer  and  widow 
of  William  Mohrhoff.  The  latter  was  sur- 
vived by  two  children:  David,  who  married 
Louetta  Sutter;  and  Wilhelmine,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Frederick  Siefert.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Siefert  have  two  sons :  Freeman  and  Arnold, 
both  of  whom  reside  at  home.  Mr.  Siefert 
and  family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  He  casts  his  political  vote  with  the 
Democratic  party. 

THOMAS  BENTON  BURGERT,  who  has 
been  a  continuous  resident  of  Gabon,  O.,  since 
about  1856,  and  for  many  years  a  prosperous 
business  man  here,  now  lives  in  comfortable 
retirement  but  has  not  lost  interest  in  all  that 
contributes  to  the  progress  and  development 
of  this  city.  He  was  bom  in  1838,  at  Paris, 
in  Stark  county,  O.  and  comes  from  German 
stock  and  old  and  responsible  settlers  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

John  Burgert,  grandfather  of  Thomas  B., 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  in  early  man- 
hood married  there  and  early  in  the  twenties 
came  as  a  pioneer  to  Stark  county,  O.,  where 
he  and  wife  both  died  in  their  seventies.  He 
was  a  weaver  by  trade,  an  excellent  one  in 
those  days,  but  by  the  time  his  sons  had  reached 
manhood  other  occupations  paid  them  better 
and  David,  his  eldest  son,  who  subsequently  be- 
came the  father  of  Thomas  Benton,  became  a 
wood  worker  and  established  the  Burger  Fan- 
ning mills.  He  was  yet  youthful  wnen  the 
family  came  to  Stark  county,  where  he  lived 
until  i860,  when  he  moved  to  Crestline,  and 
worked  for  the  Pennsylvania  railway  company, 
and  there  his  life  was  lost  through  an  accident 
when  he  was  aged  55  years.  He  was  an  active 
and  enterprising  man,  highly  respected  by  his 
business  associates  and  useful  as  a  citizen.  He 
was  married  in  Jefferson  county,  O.,  to  Mar- 
garet Shultz,  who  died  at  Tiro,  O.,  in  her  76th 
year.  Thev  were  members  of  the  Christian 
church.  Eight  sons  and  one  daughter  were 
born  to  them,  all  of  whom  reached  maturity 
and  married,  and  four  sons  and  the  daughter 
still  survive,  Thomas  Benton  being  the  eldest 
born. 

Thomas  Benton  Burgert  had  the  usual 
school  advantages  that  were  afforded  children 
in  his  bovhood,  and  then  was  apprenticed  to  a 


tinner  at  Canton,  O.,  where  he  learned  the 
trade.  In  1856  he  came  to  Gallon  and  worked 
at  his  trade  until  i8bo,  when  he  went  to  Crest- 
line with  his  father's  family,  but  five  years 
later  returned  to  Gallon  and  then  established 
himself  in  business  here,  as  tinner  and  hard- 
ware dealer,  subsequently  admitting  L.  W. 
Banister  as  a  partner.  They  continued  this 
business  association  for  17  years,  but  in  1906 
sold  out  to  the  Diamond  Hardware  Company, 
both  partners  then  retiring.  Mr.  Banister  re- 
moved to  Springfield,  O.,  where  his  death  oc- 
curred in  1909.  For  many  years  the  firm  had 
led  the  trade  in  their  line  and  both  partners 
enjoyed  the  confidence  of  all  dealers  and  their 
fellow  citizens  as  honorable  business  men. 

Mr.  Burgert  was  married  at  Gallon  to  Miss 
Mary  A.  Riblet,  who  was  born  in  1840,  in 
Richland  county,  O.,  and  three  children  were 
born  to  them,  namely:  Harley  J.,  Lulu  and 
Olie.  Harley  J.  Burgert  is  in  the  hardware 
business  at  Cleveland,  O.  He  married  Maude 
Flagel  and  they  have  two  children,  Mary  L. 
and  Ruth.  Lulu  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Hause, 
a  conductor  on  the  Erie  Railway.  Olie,  who 
died  in  1907,  was  the  wife  of  Charles  Hall, 
and  is  survived  by  two  children,  Howard  B. 
and  Mildred. 

In  politics  Mr.  Burgert,  like  his  deceased 
father,  is  a  Republican  and  served  one  term 
as  a  member  of  the  city  council.  He  was  in- 
terested in  many  of  the  earlier  enterprises  of 
the  city  of  a  public  nature  and  belonged  to 
the  Gallon  Fire  Department  when  the  com- 
pany was  organized  as  the  Phoenix  Fire  Com- 
pany and  continued  with  it  under  its  later  title 
of  the  Niagara  Fire  Company,  and  is  still  in 
the  service  as  fireman.  His  period  of  service 
covers  57  years,  he  first  joining  in  Canton,  the 
father  of  President  McKinley's  wife  being  the 
secretary  of  that  company  and  then  later  while 
in  Crestline  he  organized  the  fire  department 
there.  For  many  years  he  has  employed  his 
spare  moments  in  working  out  inventions  of 
different  kinds  and  a  railway  lantern  that  he 
invented  and  patented  in  1862,  is  still  in  use 
on  many  railroad  lines,  no  later  invention  hav- 
ing displaced  it,  its  utility  being  so  evident. 
On  Feb.  22,  1910,  Mr.  Burgert  was  granted  a 
patent  for  water  cut  off  for  cisterns  with  a 
special  feature  to  filter  the  water  before  it  goes 
into  the  cistern. 


1014 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


JAMES  M.  SPILLETTE,  one  of  the  sub- 
stantial citizens  and  successful  farmers  of  Au- 
burn township,  Crawford  county,  0.,  where  he 
owns  60  acres  of  well  improved  land,  is  a  na- 
tive of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  born  Jan.  31, 
1849,  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Lydia  (Laddich) 
Spillette. 

Samuel  Spillette  was  born  and  reared  in 
England  and  left  his  native  land  for  Canada 
in  early  manhood,  and  later  learned  the  manu- 
facture of  brick.  He  was  married  in  Canada 
to  Lydia  taddich,  also  a  native  of  England, 
and  they  had  eight  children,  all  but  the  young- 
est being  born  in  Canada :  Charlotte,  Richard, 
Martha,  Samuel,  Stanley,  James,  Amy  and 
Laura.  From  Canada  the  family  moved  to 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.  and  from  there  to  Cleveland 
and  afterward  to  Bucyrus,  O.,  Mr.  Spillette 
working  at  his  trade  and  in  other  lines,  for  35 
years  his  main  business  being  brick  making. 
For  two  years  he  made  brick  and  also  followed 
ditching  at  Sulphur  Springs.  In  1861  he  came 
to  the  present  family  farm  in  Auburn  town- 
ship and  improved  the  place  to  a  considerable 
extent  and  at  the  time  of  death,  in  his  75th 
year,  owned  about  200  acres.  He  \\as  a  man 
of  sterling  character,  honest  and  upright  and 
was  a  member  of  the  Church  of  God.  His 
wife  died  at  the  age  of  54  years  and  both  were 
buried  in  the  Goodwill  Cemetery. 

James  M..  Spillette  obtained  his  education  in 
the  district  schools  and  afterward  assisted  his 
father  and  later,  when  farming  became  the 
family  occupation,  took  the  most  of  the  re- 
sponsibility on  himself,  as,  bv  that  time,  his 
father  was  past  middle  life.  Mr.  Spillette  has 
remained  here  and  has  always  given  his  main 
attention  to  agricultural  pursuits. 

On  Dec.  25,  1874,  Mr.  Spillette  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Lucinda  Glosser,  who  was  born 
in  Wyandot  county,  O.,  Sept.  10,  1855,  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Barbara  f  Graffmiller) 
Glosser.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Spillette  were 
born  in  Germany  and  were  married  in  Wayne 
county,  O.,  afterward  moving  to  ^^^vandot 
county,  where  they  died,  the  father  at  the  age 
of  J7  years  and  the  mother  when  aged  54  years. 
Their  burial  was  in  Salem  Cemetery,  near  San- 
dusky, in  Wyandot  county,  O.  They  were 
good.  Christian  people,  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Reformed  church.  Thev  had  the  follow- 
ing  children:     Elizabeth,    Barbara.    Rosanna, 


Henry,  Catherine,  Caroline  and  Lucinda.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spillette  the  following  children 
were  born :  Frank  H.  who  is  married  and  has 
a  son;  Olive  May,  who  is  the  wife  of  Jacob 
Godfried  and  has  two  children — Norman  and 
Theora;  and  Pearl  and  Ina  Merl,  twins.  The 
former  married  Ethel  Carson  and  they  have 
two  children — Elaine  and  Vivian  L.  The  lat- 
ter is  the  wife  of  Daniel  Bordner  of  Auburn 
township,  and  they  have  three  children — Gra- 
don  S.,  Thoburn  E.  and  Evelyn  A.  Mr. 
Spillette  and  family  are  members  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church.  Politically  he  is  affi- 
liated with  the  Republican  party. 

PHILIP  TRAUTMAN,*  who  occupies  the 
important  office  of  chief  of  police,  at  Bucyrus, 
O.,  has  been  identified  with  the  public  guar- 
dianship of  this  city,  for  the  past  14  years, 
gaining  merited  promotion  at  different  times 
and  during  the  administration  of  Mayor  Val- 
entine, in  1903,  was  appointed  to  his  present 
position.  Chief  Trautman  was  born  50  years 
ago,  in  Bavaria,  Germany,  a  son  of  George 
and  a  grandson  of  George  Trautman. 

The  grandfather  of  Chief  Trautman  was  a 
small  German  farmer  and  he  married  in  Bava- 
ria and  both  he  and  wife  died  there.  Three 
of  their  children  lived  to  maturity,  two  daugh- 
ters who  spent  their  lives  in  Germany,  and 
George,  the  only  son.  They  were  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  faith. 

George  Trautman,  Jr.,  was  born  in  1835, 
attended  the  village  schools  and  then  learned 
the  milling  trade.  He  there  married  Catherine 
Becker  and  after  the  birth  of  two  sons,  George 
and  Philip,  decided  to  emigrate  to  America 
where  he  believed  existed  better  business  op- 
portunities for  a  man  of  family.  Hence  he 
reached  the  United  States,  in  1862,  and  al- 
most immediately  secured  a  position  as  an 
army  cook  in  a  New  York  regiment  serving 
in  the  Civil  \^zx,  and  he  continued  with  this 
military  body  for  two  years,  when  he  came  to 
Bucvrus.  Here  he  engaged  first  in  the  milling 
business  and  then,  with  rare  foresight,  opened 
up  an  ice  business,  being  the  pioneer  in  what 
is  now  one  of  the  important  industries  of  the 
city.  He  continued  to  handle  ice  as  long 'as 
he  was  engaged  in  business,  his  death  occur- 
ring in  1877,  having  survived  his  wife  for  two 
years.    When  he  found  his  business  prospects 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1015 


promising,  he  sent  for  his  wife  and  sons  to 
join  him  at  Bucyrus  and  they  crossed  the  At- 
lantic Ocean  in  the  steamer  Harmony.  Three 
more  children  were  born  to  George  Traut- 
man  and  wife,  in  America,  making  five  in  all, 
Philip  being  the  eldest  of  the  family.  The 
second  son,  George,  is  yard  master  at  Bucyrus 
for  the  T.  &  O.  C.  Railroad,  and  has  two  sons, 
George  and  Fred.  John,  who  was  born  in 
America,  died  in  1896,  at  Denver,  Colo.,  his 
widow  being  a  resident  of  Chicago,  111.  Anna, 
the  only  dauhgter,  is  the  wife  of  Fred  K. 
Petersilge,  and  they  have  two  children:  Au- 
gusta and  Ralph.  Frank,  the  youngest  of  the 
family,  is  a  plaster  contractor  doing  business 
at  Bucyrus. 

Philip  Trautman  was  about  four  years  old 
when  his  mother  brought  him  to  America  and 
was  16  years  of  age  when  this  good  mother 
died.  Four  years  later  he  lost  his  father.  He 
attended  school  during  the  life  of  his  mother, 
who  was  concerned  in  the  education  of  her 
children,  and  afterward  learned  the  plastering 
trade,  which  he  followed  continuously  for  four 
years.  He  was  engaged  in  contract  plastering 
during  the  building  of  the  beautiful  White 
City  of  Chicago,  for  the  World's  Fair.  After 
his  business  was  concluded  there  he  returned 
to  Bucyrus  accompanied  by  William  Lutz,  his 
partner  of  Chicago,  and  together  they  con- 
tinued in  business  at  Bucyrus.  When  the  part- 
nership was  dissolved,  Mr.  Lutz  returned  to 
Chicago,  and  in  1897,  Mr.  Trautman  was  ap- 
pointed a  patrolman  of  the  police  force  at 
Bucyrus.  He  served  on  his  beat  until  1902, 
when  he  was  elected  city  marshal  by  a  major- 
ity of  500  votes,  and  in  the  following  year,  on 
account  of  a  change  in  the  law,  the  mayor  ap- 
pointed him  to  a  second  term  as  marshal  and 
in  1904  made  him  chief  and  head  of  the  force. 
Since  taking  full  charge  Chief  Trautman  has 
introduced  many  changes,  all  for  the  good  of 
the  public,  and  all  progressive  in  character. 
He  not  only  gives  extreme  satisfaction  to  the 
citizens  of  Bucyrus,  but  impresses  strangers 
with  his  efficiency,  the  following  being  a  quo- 
tation from  a  leading  newspaper  in  another 
part  of  the  state :  "Perhaps  no  man  in  the 
State  of  Ohio,  who  holds  the  position  of  chief 
of  police  of  a  city,  is  more  higfhlv  respected 
and  more  universally  esteemed  than  Philip 
Trautman  of  Bucyrus."     It  is  gratifying  for 

B7 


a  public  official  to  read  such  words  of  sincere 
praise,  for  often  an  elevated  position  is  a 
thankless  one,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  is 
heavy  with  responsibility. 

Chief  Trautman  was  married  at  Bucyrus, 
in  1882,  to  Miss  Lucy  Metzger,  who  was  born 
in  Bucyrus  township,  Crawford  county,  a 
daughter  of  Charles  Metzger,  formerly  a  well 
known  farmer  in  Bucyrus  township.  He  and 
wife  had  come  to  this  section  from  Baden, 
Germany,  and  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Trautman 
died  when  her  daughter  was  but  two  years  old. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Trautman  have  two  daughters : 
Blanche  and  Mazie.  The  former  graduated 
from  the  Bucyrus  High  School  in  the  class 
of  1902  and  afterward  attended  the  Ohio  Nor- 
mal University  at  Ada,  O.  She  is  an  accom- 
plished and  capable  young  woman  and  for  the 
past  four  years  has  been  a  stenographer  in  the 
Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  Electric  Works.  Mazie,  the 
second  daughter,  is  a  graduate  of  the  class  of 
1904,  Bucyrus  High  School,  and  is  a  stenog- 
rapher in  the  employ  of  the  American  Clay 
Machinery  Company,  Bucyrus.  The  one  son, 
a  youth  of  ten  years,  Robert  Trautman,  is  a 
bright  student  in  the  city  schools.  The  family 
attends  the  German  Lutheran  church. 

Politically  Chief  Trautman  is  a  stanch 
Democrat  and  is  a  member  of  the  Crawford 
County  Democratic  Committee.  From  1882 
until  1900,  he  was  identified  with  the  Ohio 
National  Guards  and  was  a  sergeant  in  the  Stli 
Infantry  from  the  time  of  its  organization  in 
1884.  His  fraternal  connections  are  with  the 
Eagles  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

PETER  BAUER,  who,  for  seven  years 
served  with  honesty  and  efficiency  as  a  county 
commissioner  of  Crawford  county,  O.,  is  one 
of  the  well  known  and  highly  respected  cit- 
izens of  this  section  of  Ohio  and  a  substantial 
retired  farmer  of  Jackson  township.  He  was 
born  in  Vernon  township,  Crawford  county, 
Feb.  23,  1837,  and  is  a  son  of  John  Philip  and 
A.  Catherine  (Fike)  Bauer. 

John  Philip  Bauer,  the  father,  was  a  soldier 
under  Napoleon,  suffered  capture  and  as  he 
was  put  in  the  ranks  to  fight  against  his  own 
people  and  country,  took  advantage  of  the  first 
opportunity  to  desert  and  made  good  his  es- 
cape. John  Philip  Bauer,  father  of  Peter 
Bauer,    was    born   in    Hesse-Darmstadt,    Ger- 


1016 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


many,  and  in  his'  native  section  learned  the 
cabinetmaker's  trade.  He  married  in  his 
neighborhoood  and  he  and  wife  remained 
there  until  after  the  birth  of  all  but  their  young- 
est child.  In  order  to  secure  better  opportu- 
nities for  these  children,  'Sir.  and  Mrs.  Bauer 
decided  to  undertake  the  long  journey  to  the 
United  States,  which,  at  that  time,  when  only 
sailing  vessels  ^-entured  on  the  ocean,  was  a 
formidable  enterprise  and  very  different  from 
the  camparatively  easy  conditions  under  which 
people  of  other  lands  now  reach  America. 
After  y2  days  of  buffeting  on  the  water,  the 
Bauer  family  was  safely  landed  at  Baltimore, 
Md.  Their  objective  point  was  Crawford 
county  and  many  miles  had  to  be  covered  be- 
fore it  was  reached.  The  small  capital  that 
the  family  possessed  was  pretty  well  exhausted 
by  the  time  the  city  of  Pittsburg  was  attained 
and  from  there,  to  Leesville,  O.,  the  distance 
was  covered  on  foot.  They  paused  long 
enough  here  for  the  mother  to  recuperate  from 
the  birth  of  their  youngest  son,  Peter,  and  then 
moved  to  the  40-acre  wild  land  which  Mr. 
Bauer  secured  in  \'"ernon  township.  By  this 
time  they  were  so  accustomed  to  hardships  and 
depri\ations  that  they  patiently  awaited  the 
building  of  their  first  log  cabin  shelter,  the 
gradual  clearing  of  their  land  and  its  subse- 
quent cultivation.  A  comfortable  hewn-log 
house  supplanted  the  first  one,  more  land  was 
alcquired  and  through  German  industry  and 
thrift,  they  prospered  and  saw  many  years  of 
ease  in  their  old  age.  This  land  is  still  owned 
by  the  family  and  the  old  hewn-log  house  yet 
stands.  Of  their  children  the  youngest  is  the 
qrih-  survivor. 

Peter  Bauer  grew  up  on  his  father's  farm  in 
\'ernon  township  and  had  district  school  op- 
portunities. For  many  years  he  successfully 
carried  on  farming  and  stock  raising  and,  al- 
though retired  for  some  years,  still  owns  many 
acres  of  valuable  and  productive  land,  mainly 
situated  near  Crestline.  He  has  been  a  very 
active  and  useful  citizen,  a  lifelong  Democrat, 
and  frequently  has  been  called  to  public  of- 
fice. In  1873  he  was. elected  a  county  commis- 
sioner and  served  continuously  until  1880. 
^^'hen  he  retired  from  this  office,  a  mark  of 
confidence  and  appreciation  was  shown  him 
by  the  presentation  of  a  fine  gold-headed  cane, 
which  he  values  very  highly. 


jNlr.  Bauer  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Cook,  who  was  born  in  Richland  county,  O., 
Aug.  4,  1842,  and  died  Aug.  14,  1900.  Mrs. 
Bauer  attended  a  picnic  and  afterward  was  at- 
tacked by  what  was  probably  ptomaine  poison- 
ing, which  caused  her  death.  She  was  be- 
loved by  family  and  friends  and  was  a  faith- 
ful member  of  the  German  Reformed  church. 

Six  children  were  born  to  ^Ir.  and  ^Irs. 
Bauer,  namely:  Alargaret,  who  is  the  widow 
of  Jacob  Eichorn,  and  has  one  son,  George 
Tred,  a  resident  of  Crestline;  Elizabeth,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Frank  S.  Shepard,  a  conductor 
on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  and  has  six  chil- 
dren; Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  William  T. 
IMuntis,  a  farmer  in  Jefferson  township,  and 
has  two  sons  and  one  daughter;  Carolina,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Joseph  E.  Winters,  a  rural  mail 
carrier,  and  has  three  daughters;  Catherine, 
who  is  the  widow  of  George  B.  Scott,  a  resi- 
dent of  Crestline  and  has  one  child ;  and 
Emma  L.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Joseph  E.  ^lit- 
chell,  a  railroad  man,  and  has  four  children. 
ilr.  Bauer  is  a  leading  member  of  the  Ger- 
man Reformed  church  and  has  been  a  liberal 
contributor  to  all  its  different  benevolent  and 
charitable  movements.  He  is  recognized  as 
one  of  the  sterling  men  of  Jackson  township. 

AIRS.  THOMAS  XEDOLAST,  who  is  a 
well  known  and  highly  esteemed  resident  of 
Cranberry  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
residing  on  her  farm  of  152  acres,  located  in 
section  13,  owns  470  acres  of  land.  She  was 
born  in  Germany,  in  June,  1856,  and  is  a 
daughter  of  Andrew  and  Lena  (Schiefer) 
^^'enzelick,  and  the  widow  of  Thomas  Xedo- 
last. 

Andrew  \\'enzelick,  father  of  Mrs.  Xedo- 
last,  was  born  in  Germany,  Feb.  28,  1808.  and 
died  on  his  farm  two  miles  north  of  Xew 
^^^ashington,  O.,  Xov.  30,  1867,  and  his  bur- 
ial was  in  the  Catholic  Cemetery  at  Xew 
^^'ashington.  He  married  Lena  Schiefer,  and 
after  the  birth  of  their  children  they  came  to 
the  United  States  and  spent  the  rest  of  their 
lives  in  Crawford  county,  O.  They  were  well 
known  people,  kind  and  hospitable,  and  were 
liberal  supporters  and  faithful  members  of 
the  Catholic  church.  To  them  were  bom  the 
foUowingr  children :  ^Marearet,  who  became  the 
wife  of  George  Hepp;  Barbara,  who  married 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1017 


Peter  Rtiebuck;  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Martin  Durnwald;  Barto,  who  married  Mar- 
tin Durwent;  Anna,  who  married  Thomas 
Nedolast;  Lizzie;  and  Lena,  who  is  the  wife 
of  PhiHp  Studer. 

In  January,  1872,  Anna  Wenzelick' was  mar- 
ried to  Thomas  Nedolast,  who  was  born  in 
Germany,  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Yocka- 
land)  Nedolast,  the  former  of  whom  was  born 
in  1812.  He  settled  east  of  New  Washing- 
ton, in  Crawford  county,  O.  He  and  family 
were  members  of  the  Catholic  church.  To  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Thomas  Nedolast  the  following 
children  were  born;  John,  who  resides  on  the 
home  farm;  George,  who  lives  in  Cranberry 
township,  who  married  Kate  Schister,  and  has 
four  children — Helen,  Martha,  Gerhart  and 
Anna;  Nicholas,  who  married  Elizabeth  Yack- 
land,  and  has  three  children — Lucy,  Dora  and 
Albert;  Martin,  who  lives  on  the  home  farm; 
Peter,  who  married  Dora  Studer,  and  has  two 
children — Gilbert  and  Frederick;  Lena,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Joseph  Raymond,  and  has  two 
children — Isabel  and  William;  and  Leo  and 
Joseph,  who  remain  with  their  mother  on  her 
farm.  After  marriage,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nedo- 
last lived  for  a  time  four  miles  southeast  of 
New  Washington  and  then  came  to  this  place, 
on  which  his  death  occurred.  He  was  a  well 
known  and  highly  respected  man,  a  good  far- 
mer, kind  neighbor  and  loving  husband  and 
father  and  gave  faithful  service  to  the  Cath- 
olic church  to  which  he  and  all  his  family  be- 
longed. 

CHRISTIAN  P.  SHAFTSTALL,*  a  well 
known  agriculturist  of  Bucyrus  township,  is 
the  owner  of  82  acres  of  land.  He  was  born 
Nov.  23,  1845,  being  a  son  of  Peter  and 
Elizabeth  (Frantz)  Shaftstall,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  where  they 
were  married  but  came  to  Crawford  county, 
being  among  the  early  settlers.  Both  are  now 
deceased  and  are  buried  in  Mt.  Zion  cemetery. 

Peter  Shaftstall  was  a  farmer  all  his  life 
and  a  Republican  in  his  political  views.  To 
him  and  his  wife  were  born  a  number  of  chil- 
dren, namely :  Susan ;  Elizabeth,  who  was  mar- 
ried first  to  James  Banks  and  second  to  J.  S. 
Cook ;  Christian  P. ;  Frederick ;  Rebecca,  the 
wife  of  John  Marvel;  Catherine;  Mary  El- 
len, the  wife  of  T.  J.  Williams;  and  Sarah,  the 
wife  of  Frank  Sweitzer. 


Christian  P.  Shaftstall  grew  up  on  the  home 
farm  and  was  given  a  common  school  educa- 
tion. He  then  learned  the  carpenter's  trade 
and  was  engaged  in  this  occupation  for  nine 
years  when  he  turned  his  attention  to  farm- 
ing, in  which  he  has  since  been  interested.  He 
bought  28  acres  of  land  in  1874  and  2'jy2 
acres  in  1880  and  in  1883  he  added  to  this  so 
that  he  now  owns  82  acres  and  on  this  land- 
he  successfully  carries  on  general  farming.  He 
has  remodeled  his  house  and  built  a  new  barn 
after  the  first  burned  down. 

Christian  P.  Shaftstall  was  married  first  in 
1873  to  Miss  Irene  Morehead  who  died  in 
1874.  To  them  was  born  one  child  who  died 
in  infancy.  Irene  Morehead  was  a  daughter  of 
George  Morehead.  Mr.  Shaftstall  was  mar- 
ried secondly  in  1885  to  Miss  Esther  Shemer, 
whose  parents,  John  and  Mary  Shemer,  were 
farmers  in  this  county,  and  had  the  follow- 
ing children,  besides  Mrs.  Shaftstall;  Levi, 
Garrison,  George,  Corvin,  Priscilla,  Delilah, 
Anna  and  Amanda.  To  our  subject  and  his 
wife  were  born:  Clarence  Otto,  who  married 
Blanche  Wilson  and  has  a  son,  Russell;  and 
Lester  Earl,  who  is  at  home. 

Mr.  Shaftstall  is  a  Republican  in  politics 
and  he  and  his  family  attend  the  U.  B.  church. 

JOHN  A.  QUIG,  who  is  one  of  the  prom- 
inent men  of  Auburn  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  a  member  of  its  school  board  for 
ten  years  and  during  seven  of  these  president 
of  this  body,  resides  on  his  excellent  farm  of 
80  acres,  which  lies  in  section  30,  Auburn 
township.  He  was  born  three  miles  northeast 
of  New  Washington,  O.,  Nov.  12,  1849,  and  is 
a  son  of  John  and  Hannah  (Dickson)  Quig. 

John  Quig  was  born  in  Ireland  and  was  a 
young  man  when  he  accompanied  his  mother 
to  the  United  States,  locating  in  New  Jersey. 
Later  he  came  to  Crawford  county,  O.,  and 
went  to  work  for  John  Dickson,  a  substantial 
farmer  in  Vernon  township,  whose  daughter, 
Hannah  Dickson,  he  subsequently  married. 
They  became  parents  of  seven  children,  two 
of  whom  died  in  infancy,  John  A.  being  the 
third  in  order  of  birth.  After  marriage  John 
Quig  and  wife  lived  in  Cranberry  township 
for  ten  years,  during  which  time  John  A.  was 
born,  and  then  moved  to  Sandusky  township, 
where  he  died  when  his  above  named  son  was 
nine  years  old,  his  age  being  52  years.     His 


1018 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


widow  survived  to  the  age  of  66  years.  They 
were  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
and  were  people  who  were  highly  respected  in 
their  neighborhood  and  long  were  remembered 
for  their  many  good  qualities. 

John  A.  Quig  attended  the  district  school  in 
Sandusky  township  and  ever  since  then  has 
been  engaged  in  farming.  After  he  married 
he  lived  for  six  years  in  V^ernon  township  and 
then  moved  to  his  present  place  which  he  bought 
from  Thomas  Bear.  It  was  partly  improved 
and  he  remodeled  the  buildings  and  added 
others  as  his  farm  industries  demanded  and 
now  has  all  his  land  under  cultivation  except 
twelve  acres  which  are  in  valuable  timber. 

Mr.  Quig  married  Miss  Maggie  Smith,  who 
was  bom  in  Ashland  county,  a  daughter  of 
Jacob  Smith,  and  they  have  the  following  chil- 
dren: F.  J.,  L.  M.,  C  G.,  A.  E.,  O.  L.,  and 
C.  L.  Mr  Quig  and  family  belong  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  has  been 
practically  a  lifelong  Democrat  and  has  been 
one  of  the  most  interested  citizens  of  his  town- 
ship in  educational  matters. 

DAVID  F.  ABGER,  M.  D.,  deceased,  who 
was  once  a  well  known  physician  in  several  sec- 
tions of  Ohio,  and  \\hose  descendants  are  rep- 
resentative people  of  Crawford  county,  was 
born  in  New  Jersey,  in  1829.  The  early  rec- 
ords of  his  fainily  have  not  been  preserved 
but  they  were  substantial  people  and  he  en- 
joyed educational  advantages  and  was  grad- 
uated from  a  medical  college,  following  w  hich 
he  entered  into  practice  at  Wapakoneta,  in 
Auglaize  county,  O.  At  the  commencement  of 
the  Civil  War,  Dr.  Abger  entered  the  Federal 
Army  as  a  surgeon,  enlisting  at  McComb,  in 
Hancock  county  O.,  and  served  out  a  first 
enlistment  of  three  months.  During  this 
period  he  so  fully  realized  the  pressing  neces- 
sity of  skilled  medical  men  in  the  army  that 
at  Galion,  O.,  he  reenlisted  and  after  serving 
as  a  surgeon  again  for  six  months,  was  sent  to 
a  Western  post  and  after  that  was  lost  to  his 
family,  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  whole 
country  at  that  time  easily  explaining  this  dis- 
appearance, which  was  harrowing  in  the  ex- 
treme to  wife  and  children. 

In  Crawford  county,  O.,  Dr.  Abger  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  Shawber,  who  was  born 
in  this  county,  Sept.  11,  1831,  a  daughter  of 


John  and  Rebecca  (Rhinehart)  Shawber.  The 
lather  of  Mrs.  Abger  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  grew  up  on  a  farm  and  then 
came  to  Columbiana  county,  O.  Here  he  mar- 
ried /Rebecca  Rhinehart,  who,  like  himself, 
was  of  German  ancestry.  After  they  had  two 
children  born  to  them  they  left  Columbiana 
county  and  in  the  early  twenties  moved  into 
Crawford  county,  settling  in  a  great  belt  of 
imbroken  timber,  which  is  now  a  part  of  Jack- 
son township.  Their  first  house  was  built  of 
iogs  with  a  mud  and  stick  chimney,  all  hastily 
put  together  as  it  was  necessary  to  get  ground 
cleared  on  which  to  plant  com.  The  rich  soil 
easily  responded  and,  although  the  hills  of 
corn  were  located  here  and  there  between 
stumps  of  trees,  a  fair  crop  was  harvested  and 
thus  life  began  for  them  in  the  wilderness. 
Wild  game  abounded"  and  for  this  reason 
many  Indians  came  into  their  neighborhood. 
Mansfield,  14  miles  distant,  was  the  nearest 
purchasing  point.  The  first  log  cabin  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  comfortable  brick  house,  built  in 
1835,  which  still  stands  and  is  at  present  oc- 
cupied by  a  grandson.  Grant  Shawber.  After 
many  years  John  Shawber  and  wife  left  the 
farm  and  retired  to  Wapakoneta,  where  his 
death  occurred  at  the  age  of  68  years,  while 
his  widow  survived  to  be  83  years  of  age. 
They  were  faithful  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church  an  he  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
First  Lutheran  Church  at  Galion.  Of  their 
12  children,  all  reached  maturity  and  married 
and  one  daughter  became  the  mother  of  12 
children  like  her  own  mother.  Of  this  fam- 
ily there  are  but  two  survivors:  Mrs.  Abger 
and  Mrs.  Margaret  Shick,  wife  of  John  Shick, 
substantial  people  of  Bellefontaine,  O. 

Four  children  were  born  to  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Abger,  namely:  John  V.,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  20  years;  Eugene,  who  died  in  California; 
survived  bv  a  widow  and  two  children:  Ed- 
win, who  died  in  Indiana ;  and  M.  Olivia,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Rev.  George  Butterfield,  who  is 
a  missionary  minister  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  with  home  at  Los  Angeles,  Calif. 
They  have  one  daughter,  Dorothy  C,  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Occidental  College,  a  music  teacher 
and  church  organist.  ^Irs.  Abger  has  traveled 
considerably  and  has  lived  in  Iowa,  Kansas, 
Missouri,  Califomio  and  Ohio.  Additionally 
she   is   well   informed   in   young  womanhood 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1019 


having  prepared  herself  for  a  teacher's  career 
and  for  some  years  prior  to  her  marriage  with 
Dr.  Abger  taught  school  with  marked  success. 
When  young  she  was  baptized  and  confirmed 
in  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  and  has 
ever  since  retained  her  membership. 

ANDREW  FRAZEE,  one  of  the  leading 
citizens  of  Auburn  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  who  is  chairman  of  the  township 
board  of  trustees,  on  which  body  he  is  serving 
in  his  third  year,  resides  in  section  i6,  where 
he  owns  a  well  cultivated  farm  of  5254  acres. 
He  was  born  in  Cranberry  township,  Crawford 
county,  Sept.  28,  1867,  and  is  a  son  of  George 
and  Caroline  (Goodyear)   Frazee. 

George  Frazee  was  reared  in  the  southwest 
comer  of  Auburn  township  and  after  marriage 
resided  on  several  different  farms  and  owned 
the  one  ^adjoining  Andrew  Frazee's  farm  on 
the  west.  After  the  death  of  his  wife,  who 
was  a  daughter  of  Andrew  Goodyear,  George 
Frazee  moved  to  Gabon,  where  he  now  lives 
retired.     Of  their  seven  children  five  survive. 

Andrew  Frazee  attended  school  in  Auburn 
township  and  his  first  wage-earning  work  was 
cutting  stone,  which  he  continued  for  two 
years,  since  when  has  mainly  been  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  He  has  his  farm  well 
drained  and  tiled  and  all  is  under  cultivation 
with  the  exception  of  eight  acres  in  valuable 
timber.  He  is  progressive  in  his  ideas  and 
follows  modern  methods  in  cultivating  his  land 
and  selecting  his  stock. 

Mr.  Frazee  was  married  June  16,  1898,  to 
Miss  Temperance  Wilt,  who  was  born  July  6, 
1873,  at  Oceola,  O.,  a  daughter  of  James  and 
Melvina  fCanable)  Wilt  and  a  granddaughter 
of  John  Wilt,  all  of  Fulton  county.  Pa.  Dur- 
ing the  Civil  War,  James  Wilt  served  one 
year  as  a  member  of  the  i68th  O.  Vol.  Inf., 
and  until  the  close  of  his  life  was  a  member  of 
Marker  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  at  Defiance,  O.  While 
living  at  New  Washington,  O.,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wilt  had  two  children  born  to  them  and  later, 
after  moving  to  Oceola,  four  more  children 
were  born.  The  family  lived  at  Oceola  when 
Mrs.  Wilt  died,  at  the  aee  of  42  years.  For 
some  eight  years  Mr.  Wilt  lived  at  the  home 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frazee.  He  was  a  black- 
smith bv  trade  and  worked  at  different  places, 
his  death  occurring  in  January,  1909,  at  Day- 


ton, O.,  and  his  burial  was  in  the  Greenlawn 
Cemetery.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frazee  have  one 
son,  George  Rowland,  who  is  attending  the 
public  schools,  a  bright  and  satisfactory  pupil. 
The  family  belongs  to  the  United  Brethren 
church  at  Tiro,  O.  He  is  somewhat  prominent 
in  local  political  circles  and  is  a  valued  office 
holder  as  above  indicated.  Both  he  and  wife 
are  interested  in  the  order  of  Patrons  of  Hus- 
bandry and  for  two  years  Mrs.  Frazee  has  been 
master  of  the  Auburn  Township  Grange,  of 
which  Mr.  Frazee  is  the  present  treasurer. 

HENRY  LEPP,  a  retired  farmer  and  for 
many  years  a  successful  agriculturist  in  Ma- 
rion and  Crawford  counties,  O.,  has  been  a 
resident  of  Gallon  for  about  13  years  but  re- 
tains possession  of  a  large  body  of  valuable 
farm  land  in  the  latter  county.  He  was  bom 
June  14,  1830,  in  Baden,  Germany,  where  his 
father  died  in  middle  age.  The  mother,  late 
in  life,  came  to  America  and  died  at  Gallon, 
O.,  when  aged  72  years. 

Henry  Lepp  grew  to  manhood  in  his  own 
German  province  and  became  a  small  farmer 
and  then  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Ikon,  who 
was  born  on  a  neighboring  farm,  in  April, 
1830.  In  1853  t'lsy  set  out  for  America, 
crossing  the  Atlantic  Ocean  in  one  of  the  old- 
time  sailing  ships,  and  after  42  days  on  the 
water,  were  safely  landed  on  American  soil, 
in  October  of  the  above  year.  Their  objective 
point  was  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  when 
they  reached  here  Mr.  Lepp  and  wife  both 
found  work,  his  wages  being  six  dollars  a 
month  and  hers  one  dollar  a  week.  Both  were 
industrious  and  frugal  and  little  by  little  their 
combined  capital  grew  sufficiently  until  they 
were  able  to  rent  a  farm.  On  that  farm  they 
again  combined  their  efforts  and  after  nine 
years  of  saving  and  hard  work  had  $1,200. 
and  with  that  money  Mr.  Lepp  bought  157 
acres  of  land  in  Marion  county.  He  kept  that 
farm  for  18  years  and  then  traded  it  for  270 
acres  situated  in  Crawford  county,  five  miles 
from  Gabon  and  later  increased  the  acreage 
to  700  acres.  This  land  was  all  placed  under 
the  finest  possible  cultivation  before  Mr.  Lepp 
consented  to  retire,  which  he  did  in  1899.  In 
addition  to  his  acquisition  of  land  Mr.  Lepp 
has  been  so  excellent  a  manager  of  finance  that 
he  has  saved  an  additional  $10,000.     He  gives 


1020 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


credit  to  his  faithful  wife,  who  was  a  help- 
mate indeed,  for  a  part  of  his  success.  She 
lived  long  enough  to  share  in  the  ease  that 
came  to  herself  and  husband  as  a  result  of 
their  industry  and  saving,  her  death  occurring 
Sept  22,  19 ID.  Five  sons  and  two  daughters 
were  bom  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lepp,  namely: 
John,  of  Morrow  county,  0.,  who  mar- 
ried there  and  has  one  son  and  two  daugh- 
ters; Henry  H.,  who  owns  an  excellent 
farm  in  Morrow  county,  who  is  married 
and  has  one  son  and  three  daughters;  ^^'il- 
liam,  also  is  an  independent  farmer  in  Mor- 
row county,  who  is  married  and  has  two  sons ; 
George,  who  also  owns  much  land  in  Morrow 
county,  who  is  married  and  has  one  son  and 
six  daughters;  Charles,  who  is  also  a  success- 
ful farmer;  Margaret,  the  wife  of  Leopold 
Long,  a  farmer  in  Crawford  county,  who  has 
two  sons  and  one  daughter;  and  Elizabeth, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Wesley  Messmore,  a  sub- 
stantial farmer  in  Morrow  county,  and  has 
three  sons.  The  five  sons  and  one  daughter 
own  1,175  acres  in  Morrow  county,  in  pol- 
itics Mr.  Lepp  and  sons  are  Democrats.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Reformed  church. 

JOHN  J.  HEIXLEX,*  a  retired  farmer  and 
highly  respected  citizen  of  Holmes  township, 
Crawford  count}-,  O..  residing  on  his  farm  of 
80  acres,  situated  three  miles  north  of  Bucy- 
rus,  O.,  was  bom  in  ^^'urtemberg.  Germany, 
in  1845. 

In  his  own  land  Air.  Heinlen  attended  school 
and  lived  until  he  was  24  years  of  age  and 
then  he  came  to  the  United  States  and  on  com- 
ing to  Ohio,  located  in  Bucyrus  township, 
Crawford  county.  There  he  engaged  in  gen- 
eral farming  until  1902.  when  he  moved  to 
his  present  place  in  Holmes  township.  He 
married  Aliss  Catherine  Rilling,  who  was  also 
bom  in  Germany  and  died  in  Ohio,  in  191 1, 
when  aged  58  years.  They  had  the  follow- 
ing children  bom  to  them:  Frederick.  Jacob. 
Emanuel,  Mrs.  [Mary  Spade,  [Mrs.  Catherine 
BurAvell.  Alartha  and  John,  the  last  named  mar- 
rying Marie  Rapp,  of  Cincinnati.  Since  his 
father's  retirement.  Jacob  Heinlen  has  been 
operating  the  farm  and  also  follows  the  car- 
penter trade.  His  birth  took  place  in  Bucyrus 
township  in  1886.  In  politics  the  Heinlens 
are  Democrats  and  as  a  family  they  belong  to 
the  German  Lutheran  church  at  Buc^nnis. 


AMOS  BAER,  who  was  a  conductor  in  the 
service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  for  al- 
most 40  years,  retiring  on  account  of  age  limit 
on  July  I,  1909,  and  is  also  an  honored  veteran 
of  the  Civil  War,  has  been  a  resident  of  Crest- 
line, O.,  since  1870,  in  which  city  he  is  quar- 
termaster of  Snyder  Post  Xo.  129,  Crestline, 
Department  of  Ohio.  He  was  bom  near  Ma- 
pleton.  Stark  county,  O.,  [March  31,  1844,  a 
son  of  David  and  Mary  (Doll)  Baer,  both  of 
whom  died  on  their  farm  in  Stark  county. 

Amos  Baer  was  a  little  over  17  years  of  age 
when  he  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  \\'ar, 
Sept.  6,  1861,  entering  Co.  I,  19th  O.  Vol.  Inf., 
as  a  private,  and  when  he  was  honorably  dis- 
charged and  mustered  out  at  San  .\ntonio, 
Tex.,  on  Oct.  24,  1865,  he  held  the  rank  of 
second  sergeant  in  his  company.  He  took 
part  in  the  great  battles  of  Shiloh  and  Corinth, 
Murfreesboro  and  Chickamauga,  went  through 
the  Atlanta  campaign,  fought  at  Franklin, 
X'ashville  and  Missionary  Ridge  and  all  other 
points  where  his  company  was  engaged,  ever 
being  at  the  post  of  duty,  but  was  fortunate 
enough  to  escape  both  wounds  and  imprison- 
ment. In  1866  he  came  to  Crestline,  where  he 
entered  the  Pennsylvania  Railway  senice  and 
from  December  31st  of  that  year  until  Sept. 
13,  1869,  served  as  local  freight  brakeman, 
when  he  was  made  freight  conductor.  During 
his  long  term  of  service,  which  was  42  years 
and  6  months,  he  had  almost  a  clear  record, 
several  minor  and  unavoidable  accidents  only 
occurring,  none  of  these  in  any  way  reflecting 
on  his  carefulness  or  lack  of  railroad  knowl- 
edge. His  retirement,  with  the  usual  pension 
accorded  faithful  employes,  came  according 
to  the  established  railroad  law.  and  it  was  with 
regret  that  he  severed  connections  with  em- 
ployers, with  whom  mutual  esteem  existed,  and 
with  the  comrades  of  many  years. 

On  Oct.  2.  1870.  at  Crestline,  Air.  Baer  was 
married  to  Aliss  Margaret  C.  Lienstarger,  who 
was  born  in  Richland  county,  O.,  but  was 
reared  and  educated  at  Crestline.  Mr.  and 
Airs.  Baer  have  the  following  children:  Olive 
A.,  who  was  educated  here  in  the  common  and 
High  schools  and  resides  at  home;  E.  Pearl, 
who  conducts  a  milliner\-  business  at  L^rbana. 
O. ;  Edgar  G..  who  is  a  freight  conductor  on 
the  Pennsylvania  line  and  lives  at  home:  and 
Curtis  C.  who  married  Laura  Cummings  and 
has  a  daughter,  Alargaret  L..  who  was  bom 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1021 


July  26,  191 1.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baer  have  also 
reared  Myrtle  Brownsburger,  who  is  now  14 
years  of  asfe.  The  family  belongs  to  the  Luth- 
eran church.  Mr.  Baer  and  son  are  members 
of  the  Railway  Association  of  Conductors  and 
of  the  Volunteer  Relief  Society.  All  are  peo- 
ple of  high  standing  at  Crestline  and  are  widely 
known. 

D.  C.  BOYD,  secretary  and  general  man- 
ager of  the  Gallon  Iron  Works  Company,  of 
Gabon,  O.,  a  prosperous  manufacturing  con- 
cern, was  born  and  reared  in  Mercer  county. 
Pa.  He  obtained  his  education  in  his  native 
county  and  at  the  age  of  18  years  began  to 
teach  school.  His  first  business  experience 
was  gained  as  salesman  in  a  local  store,  and 
subsequently  he  was  for  seven  years  a  dealer 
in  hardware  and  machinery.  He  then  went 
to  Orville,  Wayne  county,  O.,  where  he 
established  a  large  trade  in  road  machinery 
and  supplies  and  developed  a  very  good  busi- 
ness. While  here  he  also  invented  an  im- 
proved culvert  or  sluice-pipe  device  possessing 
unusual  strength  and  efficiency,  with  a  min- 
imum of  parts — a  simple  and  valuable  con- 
trivance. He  has  also  invented  and  patented 
other  useful  inventions.  He  organized  the 
Gallon  Iron  Works  Company  with  which  he 
is  now  connected,  it  being  incorporated  in 
February,  1907,  with  a  capital  of  $100,000, 
which  was  increased  in  19 12  to  $150,000. 
The  company  started  with  a  small  plant,  hav- 
ing a  building  200x60  feet,  which  was  in- 
creased the  second  year  by  the  addition  of  50 
feet  more.  The  third  year  another  addition, 
of  100  feet  in  length  was  added  and  again, 
in  191 1,  an  extension  of  108  feet  was  con- 
structed, these  buildings  all  being  two  stories 
high,  with  fire-proof  out-shops  for  oils,  paints, 
etc.  Another  larger  building  is  used  for  a 
pattern  storage  house.  The  works  are  sup- 
plied with  a  powerful  electric  plant  to  operate 
the  massive  machinery  used  in  the  manufact- 
ure of  their  heavy  road  machines,  their  large 
corrugated  drainage  sluice-pipes  and  Mr. 
Boyd's  own  patent  culvert,  or  sluice-way  pipe 
of  all  sizes.  All  these  products  find  a  readv 
market.  Their  road  machines  are  sold  all 
over  America.  Every  practical  device  is  used 
in  the  shops  to  promote  the  convenience  and 
safety  of  the  employees.  The  company  now 
employs   200  people,   with  ten   salaried   men 


on  the  road.  They  have  branch  offices  at 
Pittsburg,  Pa.,  Memphis,  Tenn.,  and  Atlanta, 
Ga.  The  officers  of  the  company  are  H.  Got- 
tinger,  president;  Frank  W.  Faber,  vice  presi- 
dent; D.  C.  Boyd,  secretary  and  manager; 
and  G.  L.  Steeffel,  treasurer. 

Mr.  Boyd  married  Miss  Lizzie  May  Find- 
ley,  a  native  of  Mercer  county,  Pa.,  and  they 
are  the  parents  of  six  children,  namely:  Hazel, 
John  Scott,  Findley,  Ruth,  Ralph  and  Theo- 
dore. Hazel,  who  was  well  educated  in  Orr- 
ville,  O.,  is  the  wife  of  George  E.  Stenson  and 
resides  in  Cleveland,  O.  She  has  no  children. 
John  Scott,  who  was  graduated  from  the  We- 
nomona  Technical  Institute  at  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  took  a  business  course  at  Mansfield,  O., 
and  is  now  shop  superintendent  of  the  Gallon 
Iron  Works  Company;  he  married  Gladys 
Oice.  Findley  is  attending  the  Gabon  high 
school.  Ruth,  Ralph  and  Theodore  are  attend- 
ing school  in  Gallon.  Mr.  Boyd  is  a  capable 
business  man  and  an  active,  enterprising  cit- 
izen. He  has  great  mechanical  ability,  as  his 
various  patents  prove.  He  and  his  family 
are  well  known  and  highly  respected  residents 
of  Gallon. 

JOHN  P  SHECKLER,  one  of  the  well 
known  retired  residents  of  Crawford  county, 
O.,  resides  on  the  farm  on  which  his  birth 
took  place,  in  section  22,  Auburn  township,  on 
March  3,  1829,  this  property  lying  three  and 
one-half  miles  northeast  of  Tiro  and  consist- 
ing of  222  acres.  His  parents  were  John  and 
Rachel  (Pettit)  Sheckler. 

John  Sheckler  was  born  in  Huntington 
county,  Pa.,  and  remained  with  his  father  until 
he  was  21  years  of  age,  when  he,  in  company 
with  his  brother.  David  Sheckler.  left  home 
and  started  for  Ohio  on  foot,  passing  through 
Mansfield,  then  a  village,  in  1812.  They 
worked  at  carpentering  or  farming  or  anv- 
thine'  that  came  their  way,  and  finding  the 
people  friendlv  and  plenty  of  fine  land  to  be 
secured,  decided  to  return  to  Pennsvlvania 
and  make  arrangements  to  return  and  become 
home  builders  in  Ohio.  Thev  returned  on 
foot  to  Pennsylvania  but  in  181Q  came  back, 
again  on  foot,  and  David  secured  his  land 
south  of  Mansfield,  while  John  entered  160 
acres,  a  part  of  the  farm  no"'  owned  bv  his 
son.  It  was  then  covered  with  forest  and  he 
secured  it  for  $i.2q  per  acre.     His  first  log 


1022 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


cabin  was  built  southeast  of  the  present  house 
site  on  account  of  a  large  spring  being  sit- 
uated there,  to  which  the  deer  came  to  slake 
their  thirst  in  those  early  days.  He  married 
Rachel  Pettit,  who  was  born  in  Virginia,  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  Pettit,  later  a  resident  of 
Richland  county.  She  was  the  mother  of 
eight  children,  four  of  whom  survive :  Thomas, 
John  P.,  George  and  Christina.  Here  John 
Sheckler  lived  from  1821  until  his  death  in 
1859,  being  then  aged  69  years  and  his  burial 
was  in  the  Hanna  Cemetery  in  Auburn  town- 
ship, where  his  wife  rested,  she  having  died  at 
the  age  of  35  years.  They  were  members  of 
the  Baptist  church.  In  his  earlier  years  Mr. 
Sheckler  was  a  Democrat  but  later  approved 
of  the  principles  on  which  the  Republican 
party  was  founded. 

John  P.  Sheckler  and  his  brothers  and  sis- 
ters had  such  educational  opportunities  as  the 
Center  school,  in  Auburn  township,  offered  at 
that  time.  He  remained  with  his  father  and 
has  followed  an  agricultural  life  and  spent  it 
all  in  this  section  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
months  passed  in  Indiana.  About  50  acres  of 
his  land  is  yet  timbered,  all  being  exceedingly 
valuable. 

Mr.  Sheckler  married  ]\Iiss  Leonora  Ashley, 
who  was  born  in  Auburn  township,  a  daughter 
of  Ebenezer  and  Mary  (Aumend)  Ashley. 
The  Ashley  family  came  to  America  from  Eng- 
land in  1630,  the  first  of  the  name  being  Robert 
Ashley,  who  had  the  following  sons :  Elkanah, 
John,  Jonas,  Thomas,  Solomon,  and  a  daugh- 
ter, Sylvia. 

Jonas  Ashley  married  Elizabeth  Eaton  and 
they  had  the  following  children:  Jonas,  Jr., 
born  ;May  20,  1797,  who  married  Sarah 
Hawks;  Salmon,  born  Dec.  13,  1799;  Horace, 
born  Dec.  23,  1801 ;  Ebenezer,  bom  May  6, 
1804,  in  Xew  York,  who  came  unmarried  to 
Ohio,  and  in  1830  married  Mary  Aumend. 
born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1812,  and  died  July 
28,  1843 ;  Almira,  born  Aug.  29,  1806,  died 
May  6,  1886;  Clarissa,  born  Dec.  23,  1809, 
died  May  4,  1886;  Eaton,  born  June  i,  181 1: 
Elisha  and  Elijah,  twins,  born  Dec.  31.  181J., 
the  former  of  whom  died  in  1894  and  the  lat- 
ter in  1850;  Elizabeth,  born  July  6,  1817,  who 
died  in  1820:  Delilah,  bom  Scot.  22,  1819, 
who  died  Ausfust  20,  1820:  Phila  Ann,  Avho 
was  born  Xov.  4,   182 1,  and  died  Aug.   28, 


1 901;  and  William  Henry  Harrison,  who  was 
born  May  5,  1824,  and  died  Sept.  18,  1856. 
This  was  one  of  the  best  known  families  of  this 
section  of  Crawford  county,  O. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sheckler  the  following 
children  were  born:  Rachel  Elida,  who  died 
when  aged  one  and  one-half  years;  Mary, 
w  ho  resides  at  home ;  and  Edith  Blanche,  who 
is  the  wife  of  D.  F.  Grove,  who  carries  on  the 
farm  for  Mr.  Sheckler.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grove 
have  seven  living  children  and  one  deceased. 
For  many  years  Mr.  Sheckler  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Auburn  Baptist  church.  Formerly 
he  was  interested  in  the  Grange  and  in  all 
other  movements  that  promised  to  benefit  his 
neighborhood.  He  belongs  to  the  progres- 
sive wing  of  the  Republican  party  but  has 
never  accepted  any  public  office  except  that  of 
supervisor.  In  his  long  life  he  has  seen  many 
changes  take  place  in  his  immediate  com- 
munity as  well  as  in  the  country  at  large,  his 
years  having  bridged  a  very  important  period 
in  the  history  of  the  world. 

JONATHAN  F.  KIMERLINE,*  formerly 
county  auditor  of  Crawford  county,  O.,  for 
many  years  has  been  prominently  identified 
with  public  affairs  and  business  interest  of 
Bucyrus  as  well  as  other  places  of  former 
residence,  and  may  be  said  to  bear  a  name  that 
is  a  household  word  in  educational  circles 
throughout  the  county.  And  yet  no  man  ever 
had  to  face  more  difficulties  or  overcome 
harder  conditions  than  he  in  his  efforts  to  se- 
cure an  education  for  himself.  He  was  born 
December  6,  1855,  at  Wooster,  O.,  and  is  a 
son  of  John  and  Hannah  (Derr)  Kimerline. 

John  Kimerline  was  born  at  Stuttgart  and 
his  wife  at  Baden,  Germany,  and  after  their 
marriage  in  the  latter  place  and  the  birth  of 
four  children — \\'illiam,  Louis,  John  and  IMar- 
garet — they  decided  to  emigrate  to  America. 
In  1854  they  left  Hamburg,  Germany,  on 
board  a  sailing  vessel  which  landed  them,  52 
days  later,  in  the  harbor  of  New  York.  A 
brother  had  already  established  himself  at 
\\'ooster,  O.,  and  to  that  place  the  German 
family  proceeded.  John  Kimerline  followed 
the  shoemaking  trade  during  the  rest  of  his 
acti^•e  life  at  Wooster.  He  came  to  Bucyrus 
in  1804  to  spend  his  last  days  with  his  son, 
Jonathan  F.,  and  died  there  in  1895  ™  his 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1023 


79th  year,  having  survived  his  wife  since  1881. 
Both  he  and  wite  were  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church.  They  had  seven  chil- 
dren, three  having  been  born  in  America. 
William,  the  eldest  son,  became  a  confectioner 
at  Findlay,  O.,  where  he  died  in  1865.  Louis, 
who  is  a  retired  drover  and  butcher,  resides 
at  New  Washington,  O.,  and  has  a  family  of 
two  sons  and  four  daughters.  John  died  at 
Cleveland,  O.,  in  1889.  He  had  been  assistant 
cashier  for  14  years  with  the  Cleveland  Pro- 
vision Company.  Margaret  married  Anthony 
Gillis,  a  provision  dealer  at  Half  Moon  Bay, 
Calif.  Christina  died  at  New  Washington, 
Crawford  county,  while  her  parents  were 
visiting  there.  Jonathan  F.  was  the  sixth  in 
order  of  birth.  The  youngest  child,  Elizabeth, 
died  in  1866,  when  aged  seven  years. 

Jonathan  F.  Kimerline  was  the  one  member 
of  the  family  that  determined  to  have  a 
thorough  education  and  living  in  a  college  town 
but  stimulated  this  ambition.  He  attended  the 
common  schools  regularly  until  he  was  16 
years  of  age  but  his  father  was  not  able  to 
help  him  on  the  way  to  further  education  and 
for  a  time  the  youth  had  to  contend  with  many 
obstacles.  However,  he  later  made  arrange- 
ments by  which  he  was  able  to  clothe  himself 
decently  and  pay  his  way  through  college,  and 
long  ago  has  settled  all  the  obligations  he 
then  assumed.  He  passed  through  Smith- 
ville  College  and  then  took  a  course  in  the  Ohio 
Normal  School  at  Ada,  O.,  and  in  1874  was 
called  to  Chatfield  township,  Crawford  county, 
to  become  principal  of  the  schools  and  this 
position  he  satisfactorily  filled  for  two  years 
and  then  became  principal  of  the  schools  of 
New  Washington  and  for  20  years  thereafter 
he  was  principal  and  superintendent.  During 
this  time  he  made  many  changes  all  progres- 
sive ones  and  when  he  left  that  city  a  fine 
school  building  and  many  graduates  testified 
to  his  educational  an  executive  ability.  In 
1895  ^i"-  Kimerline  was  elected  county  au- 
ditor of  Crawford  county  and  served  efficiently 
in  that  ofiice  for  six  years  and  afterward  for 
seven  years  was  deputy  auditor,  under  his 
brother-in-law,  J.  I.  Smith.  Later  he  became 
clerk  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners, 
an  office  he  holds  at  the  present  time.  While 
still  engaeed  in  aducational  work  he  was  a 
member  of  the  State  Board  of  State  Examiners 


and  at  present  is  clerk  of  the  Bucyrus  Board 
of  Education.  He  is  interested  in  everything 
along  educational  lines  and  for  the  past  five  - 
years  has  been  a  member  of  the  Public  Library 
Board.  For  four  years  he  has  had  charge  of 
the  educational  department  of  the  Crawford 
County  Agricultural  Society  and  is  a  member 
of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Bucyrus  Y. 
M.  C.  A.,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers. 

Mr.  Kimerline  was  married  in  1881,  at 
Congress,  O.,  to  Miss  Ida  M.  Brenneman,  a 
popular  teacher  and  accomplished  lady,  a  na- 
tive of  Wayne  county,  O.,  and  a  daughter  of 
J.  H.  and  Lydia  Brenneman,  formerly  of  West 
Virginia.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kimerline  have  had 
four  children,  two  of  whom,  Florence  and 
Clifford  Dale,  died  on  the  same  day,  in  1890, 
aged  respectively  five  and  six  years.  The 
two  survivors  are  Marie  L.  and  Harry  B. 
Marie  L.  graduated  in  the  class  of  1908  from 
the  Bucyrus  High  School.  She  is  talented  in 
music  and  makes  use  of  her  gifts  as  a  teacher. 
Harry  B.  Kimerline  is  making  a  name  for 
himself  as  a  mining  chemist  and  at  present  is 
prospecting  in  the  Altai  mining  district  of 
Mexico.  He  graduated  from  the  Bucyrus 
High  School  in  the  class  of  1904  and  later 
took  a  course  in  applied  science  at  Case  Col- 
lege and  then  spent  one  year  at  Ann  Arbor, 
Mich.,  and  subsequently  graduated  at  Perdue 
University  of  Ind.,  taking  his  degree.  Mr. 
Kimerline  is  prominent  in  two  fraternal  or- 
ders, having  filled  all  the  chairs  of  Lodge  No. 
661,  Knights  of  Pythias,  at  New  Washington, 
and  being  past  chief  of  the  order  of  Ben  Hur. 

CHARLES  FREMONT  MONROE,  pro- 
prietor of  the  Commercial  Printing  Company, 
at  Galion,  O.,  is  a  well  known  newspaper  man 
of  this  section  and  is  widely  known  all  over 
Crawford  county.  He  was  born  in  Franklin 
county,  O.,  Oct.  18,  181; 7,  and  is  a  son  of  Isaac 
and  Mary  (Vorys)  Monroe. 

The  name  Monroe  has  been  one  of  distinc- 
tion in  the  United  States  and  in  all  probability 
the  bearers  of  this  name  descended  from  three 
brothers  who  came  together  from  across  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  one  of  these  locating  in  New 
England,  one  in  Virginia  and  the  tliird  in 
what  is  now  Ohio.  Leonard  Monroe  was  the 
name  of  the  Ohio  settler.     Possibly  he  was 


1024 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


born  in  1755  and  it  is  known  that  he  served  in 
the  War  of  the  American  Revolution  and  that 
he  died  in  Delaware  county,  0.,  where  he  had 
long  been  a  resident.  Names  of  his  children 
as  follows  have  been  preserved:  Lemuel 
Franklin,  Alonzo,  Samuel,  Isaac  and  Elsie. 

Lemuel  Franklin  Monroe  was  born  in  Dela- 
ware county,  O.,  May  18,  1790,  served  in  the 
War  of  1 81 2  and  later  became  a  Universalist 
minister.  On  Dec.  29,  1814,  he  married  Mar- 
garet Brown,  who  was  born  ^larch  7,  1798, 
and  to  this  union  twelve  children  were  born. 

Isaac  ^lonroe,  the  eldest  son  of  Rev.  Lemuel 
Franklin  and  Alargaret  Monroe,  was  born  in 
Delaware  county,  O.,  July  17,  1816,  and  died 
April  28,  1887,  in  Knox  county,  O.  He  be- 
came a  school  teacher  and  even  at  that  day  this 
profession  was  considered  one  of  extreme  im- 
portance and  formidable  contracts  were  drawn 
up  between  teacher  and  patrons.  From  school 
records  of  that  day  the  following  is  copied  as 
an  interesting  bit  of  family  history. 

"An  article  of  agreement  made  and  con- 
cluded this  i6th  day  of  April,  1824,  between 
Isaac  Monroe  of  the  county  of  Delaware  and 
the  State  of  Ohio  of  the  one  part  and  we,  the 
undersigned  subscribers  of  the  other  part,  wit- 
nesseth  that  the  said  Monroe  doth  agree  to 
teach  a  regular  English  school,  for  the  term  of 
one  year,  consisting  of  reading,  writing  and 
arithmetic,  in  a  school  house  in  the  district 
near  Leonard  Monroe's  where  the  majority 
of  the  subscribers  may  think  proper,  in  con- 
sideration of  which  we,  the  subscribers  do 
agree  to  pay  the  said  ^lonroe  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars,  to  be  paid  in  wheat,  rye, 
corn,  linen,  tallow  or  beeswax,  to  be  paid  at 
the  expiration  of  each  quarter,  at  cash  price, 
also  to  furnish  a  sufficient  supply  of  fire  wood 
for  the  use  of  said  school,  likewise  to  make  and 
keep  said  house  comfortable.  Said  teacher  is 
to  keep  six  hours  in  each  day  and  five  days 
and  one-half  each  week,  school  to  commence 
the  third  day  of  ]\Iav  next.  The  trustees  of 
said  school  may  discharge  the  teacher  at  the 
expiration  of  any  quarter  if  he  neglect  his 
duty  in  any  respect.  Said  teacher  may  quit 
the  school  at  the  end  of  any  quarter  if  he 
thinks  proper."  This  paoer  was  sigjied  by  a 
dozen  patrons  who  agreed  to  pay  sums  ransr- 
insf  from  fiftv  cents  to  Sji.  Educators  of  the 
present  dav  might  hesitate  to  sien  documents 


like  the  above  and  it  is  doubtful  if  many  of 
them  would  be  led  from  other  occupations  by 
the  compensation  offered.  For  a  number  of 
years,  however,  Isaac  Monroe  appears  to  have 
engaged  in  teaching  and  he  also  became  prom- 
inent in  the  work  of  the  Union  Sunday-school, 
He  married  Mary  Vorys,  who  was  born  March 
26,  1824,  in  Washington  county,  Pa.,  and 
died  at  Gallon,  March  6,  1907.  They  were  the 
parents  of  nine  children. 

Charles  Fremont  Monroe  was  well  in- 
structed in  boyhood  and  youth  and  at  the  age 
of  19  years  began  to  teach  school,  later  at- 
tending Prof.  Holbrook's  Normal  School  at 
Lebanon,  O.,  and  was  graduated  in  the  teach- 
ers' class  from  that  institution  in  1881.  For 
15  years  Mr.  ^lonroe  was  superintendent  of 
the  Taylor  Township  High  School  in  Union 
county.  For  seven  years  he  resided  at  !Mil- 
ton  Center,  O.,  where  he  was  mayor  and  editor 
and  proprietor  of  the  "Milford  Center 
Ohioan,"  and  from  there,  in  1904,  came  to 
Gallon,  where,  in  association  with  John  \\' 
Cupp,  he  embarked  in  the  newspaper  business. 
He  became  editor  of  two  old  established  jour- 
nals, the  "Daily  Leader"  and  the  "Sun-Re- 
view," then  operated  by  the  Sun-Review  Com- 
pany. The  former  newspaper  was  established 
by  Christian  F.  Else,  in  1891  and  in  1896  had 
been  taken  over  by  the  Sun-Review  Company. 
In  1909  Mr.  Monroe  and  ^Ir.  Cupp  sold  their 
newspaper  interests  and  organized  the  Com- 
mercial Printing  Company,  of  which  Mr. 
Alonroe  became  sole  proprietor  in  19 10. 

Mr.  Monroe  was  married  Dec.  21,  1886,  to 
Miss  Mary  Josephine  Burson,  and  they  have 
had  the  following  children:  Florence  Olive, 
who  was  born  at  Broadway,  L'nion  county, 
O.,  ^larch  13,  1887,  and  is  the  wife  of  E. 
Flickinger,  Jr.,  of  Gallon;  Willard  Taylor, 
who  was  bom  at  Broadway,  July  31,  1891, 
and  died  at  Gabon,  Nov.  17,  1894;  Rovvena, 
who  was  born  Oct.  3,  1901,  at  Milton  Center, 
O. ;  and  Charles  Fremont,  who  was  born  Dec. 
8,  1903. 

Ever  since  reaching  manhood  ^Ir.  Monroe 
has  been  an  interested  and  active  citizen  and 
has  been  prominently  identified  with  the  Repub- 
lican partv.  During  1908  and  iqo9  he  served 
as  chairman  of  the  Crawford  County  Repub- 
lican Central  Committee,  and  in  igio  became 
a  member  of   the   State   Republican  Central 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1025 


Committee  representing  the  13th  Congres- 
sional District.  He  is  a  past  master  Mason 
and  a  member  of  Galion  Lodge  No.  414  F.  & 
A.  M.  and  belongs  also  to  the  Elks  and  Knights 
of  Pythias.  He  takes  a  public  spirited  inter- 
est in  everything  tending  toward  the  develop- 
ment of  Galion  and  looking  to  the  welfare  of 
the  people,  and  is  a  needed  and  valued  citizen. 

JAMES  M.  HANNA,  one  of  the  leading 
growers  and  shippers  of  thoroughbred  stock 
and  cattle  in  Crawford  county,  O.,  resides  on 
his  farm  of  115  acres,  which  lies  in  section  21, 
Auburn  township,  was  born  on  a  farm  that 
adjoins  his  own  on  the  east,  June  27,  1852,  and 
is  a  son  of  James  and  a  grandson  of  Samuel 
and  Elizabeth  Hanna. 

When  Samuel  Hanna  came  to  Crawford 
county  from  Harrison  county,  O.,  he  entered 
160  acres  of  land  in  Auburn  township,  the  rec- 
ord of  which  is  preserved  at  Wooster,  O.  His 
subsequent  life  was  spent  on  his  property  and 
he  died  there,  having  lived  retired  for  some 
years  previously.  Both  he  and  wife  were  laid 
to  rest  in  what  is  known  as  the  Hanna  Cem- 
etery, land  that  he  donated  for  cemetery  pur- 
poses. His  children  were :  James ;  Samuel, 
who  resides  on  the  east  half  of  his  father's 
old  farm;  John,  who  followed  the  blacksmith 
trade  at  Decalb,  O. ;  Margaret,  who  married 
Andrew  Dixon  of  Vernon  township,  Craw- 
ford county;  Thomas,  who  died  while  serving 
in  the  Civil  War;  William,  deceased,  who  lived 
on  a  farm  in  Hancock  county;  Archibald,  de- 
ceased, who  also  lived  in  Hancock  county ; 
and  Eliza  Jane,  who  died  and  is  buried  in 
Hancock  county. 

James  Hanna,  son  of  Samuel  and  father  of 
James  M.,  was  six  months  old  when  his  par- 
ents came  to  Crawford  county  and  he  grew  to 
manhood  in  Auburn  township  and  later  se- 
cured 80  acres  of  the  western  part  of  the  old 
farm  and  lived  there  until  within  a  few  years 
of  his  death,  when  he  retired  to  Tiro.  He  was 
a  leading  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
church,  there  and  was  a  member  of  the  build- 
ing committee  which  erected  the  church  ed- 
ifice. He  was  one  of  the  solid  and  reliable 
men  of  both  township  and  town  and  was  held 
in  great  esteem.  He  married  Clarissa  Scott 
and  all  their  children  were  born  in  Auburn 
township,  namely:  Catherine,  now  deceased, 
who  was  the  wife  of  James  Cahill;  James  M., 


subject  of  this  article;  and  William  Scott,  who 
is  the  present  owner  of  the  old  homestead  of 
his  father  and  is  a  resident  of  Tiro.  He  com- 
pleted his  education  at  Ada,  O.,  while  his 
brother  and  sister  attended  the  Savanna  High 
School,  all  having  enjoyed  excellent  advan- 
tages. 

After  completing  his  education  James  M. 
Hanna  married  and  then  settled  on  his  pres- 
ent farm,  which  was  then  known  as  the  Jonah 
Ashley  farm,  although  Mr.  Hanna  had  pur- 
chased the  property  from  his  father.  He  has 
his  land  all  under  cultivation  with  the  excep- 
tion of  15  acres  fenced  ofT  as  a  woodland  past- 
ure, and  this  is  needed  as  Mr.  Hanna  has  made 
a  specialty  of  raising  fine  cattle  and  stock  and 
owns  the  only  herd  of  thoroughbred  Short- 
horns in  this  section.  He  devotes  consider- 
able attention  to  raising  Chester  White  hogs 
and  for  some  twelve  years  has  grown  Shrop- 
shire sheep  that  have  become  so  standard  that 
he  is  called  on  to  ship  them  all  over  the  state. 
His  place  shows  that  many  substantial  im- 
provements have  been  made  here  and  that  Mr. 
Hanna  is  a  careful  as  well  as  successful  agri- 
culturist. 

On  Sept.  29,  1874,  in  Plymouth  township, 
Mr.  Hanna  was  married  to  Miss  Harriet  I. 
Chambers,  who  was  born  in  Morrow  county, 
O.,  March  30,  1853,  ^  daughter  of  William 
Park  and  Mary  Jane  (Dougal)  Chambers. 
They  were  born  and  reared  in  Springfield 
township,  Richland,  county,  and  during  life 
made  several  removals,  living  mainly  in  Rich- 
land county.  Mrs.  Chambers  died  in  Jackson 
township,  when  aged  52  years  and  her  burial 
was  at  Shiloh,  O.  Mr.  Chambers  survived 
her,  dying  at  Cleveland,  when  aged  69  years 
and  six  months.  They  were  members  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  church. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hanna  the  following  chil- 
dren have  been  born :  Jennie  Wilson,  who  is 
the  wife  of  John  F.  Sawyer;  Charles  M.,  who 
resides  two  miles  south  of  his  father,  and  who 
married  Jenette  Carouthers  and  has  two  chil- 
dren— Sarah  Harriet  and  Robert  Laird ; 
Grace  Dora ;  Martha  May,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Orian  Armstrong  of  Youngstown,  O. ;  and 
Robert  R.  and  Ida  Marie,  both  of  whom  live 
at  home.  The  family  belongs  to  the  United 
Presbyterian  church  at  Mansfield.  In  politics 
Mr.  Hanna  is  a  Republican. 


1026 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


A.  A.  STARNER,  M.  D.,  proprietor  of  the 
Starrier  Hospital,  at  Galion,  O.,  and  a  well 
known  general  practitioner  of  medicine  and 
surgery,  was  born  at  Glenmont,  Holmes 
county,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  Alexander  and 
Margaret  (Ulrich)  Starner. 

Alexander  Starner  was  born  on  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  during  the  voyage  of  his  parents  from 
Germany  to  America,  and  he  died  in  Ohio, 
Dec.  21,  1894.  In  this  state  he  married  Mar- 
garet Ulrich,  who  was  also  of  German  par- 
entage but  was  born  in  Ohio.  On  March  17, 
1912.  Mrs.  Starner  celebrated  her  70th  birth- 
day. 

In  the  schools  of  Glenmont,  Millersburg  and 
Ada,  O.,  A.  A.  Starner  received  his  early  edu- 
cational training,  afterward  teaching  school 
two  years.  He  then  entered  the  office  of  the 
late  Dr.  Joel  Pomerene,  of  Mt.  Hope,  O.,  who 
was  one  of  the  best  known  surgeons  of  that 
part  of  the  state  and  with  him  received  his 
preliminary  medical  reading,  continuing  there 
for  two  years.  In  1892  he  became  a  student 
in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  at 
Chicago,  111.,  where  he  was  a  brilliant  student 
and  was  graduated  in  1896.  At  the  end  of  his 
first  year.  Dr.  Starner  was  the  head  of  his  class 
in  anatomy  and  at  the  end  of  his  third  year  re- 
ceived the  Byford  prize  in  gynecology,  and  at 
the  end  of  his  senior  year  was  one  of  the  six 
graduates  of  his  class  who  carried  off  the  high- 
est honors.  At  the  end  of  his  junior  year  he 
practiced  to  some  extent  in  Chicago,  having 
one  district  in  Cook  county,  and  at  the  end  of 
his  senior  year,  by  competitive  examination, 
won  the  desired  position  of  interne  in  the 
Alexian  Brothers  Hospital,  Chicago.  Prior 
to  coming  to  Galion,  in  1892,  Dr.  Starner 
practiced  his  profession  at  Danville,  O.  In 
1906  he  opened  his  private  hospital  in  this 
city,  erecting  a  commodious  building  in  a  fa- 
vorable situation,  fitting  it  up  with  all  modern 
conveniences  and  appliances  for  hospital  pur- 
poses. Here  patients  are  treated  with  pro- 
fessional skill  and  they  come  from  every  sec- 
tion of  the  country.  Dr.  Starner  keeps  fully 
abreast  with  scientific  progress,  having  taken 
two  post  graduate  courses  under  the  famous 
Mavo  Brothers,  surgeons  of  world-wide  fame, 
at  Rochester,  Minn.,  since  opening  his  hospital, 
and  prior  to  this  time  took  two  courses  in  the 
great  medical  centers  of  Chicago. 


Dr.  Starner  was  married  to  Miss  Emma  C. 
Snyder,  who  was  born  and  reared  at  Mt. 
Hope,  O.,  and  completed  her  musical  education 
at  Evanston,  111.,  after  which  she  taught  music 
for  a  time.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Starner  have  five 
children:  Genevieve,  Kathleen,  Joel,  Virginia 
and  Mary.  The  eldest  daughter  was  so  pro- 
ficient in  her  studies  that  last  year  at  school 
she  was  awarded  a  gold  medal.  Dr.  Starner 
and  family  are  members  of  St.  Patrick's  Ro- 
man Catholic  church.  He  belongs  to  the 
Knights  of  Columbus  and  is  identified  with  the 
leading  medical  organizations  of  county  and 
state. 

JOSEPH  NIEDERMEIER,  who  carries 
on  general  farming  on  section  23,  Cranberry 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  where  he 
owns  80  acres  of  valuable  land,  situated  on  the 
south  side  of  the  East  and  West  road,  was 
born  on  this  farm,  June  28,  1866,  and  is  a  son 
of  Peter  and  Barbara  (Rauner)  Niedermeier. 

Peter  Niedermeier  was  born  in  Australia 
and  married  there  and  then  came  to  America 
and  settled  in  Auburn  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  where  they  lived  until  they  moved 
to  the  farm  above  mentioned.  When  Peter 
Niedermeier  took  possession  of  this  farm  it 
was  covered  with  a  native  forest  growth  and 
it  took  much  hard  work  and  a  number  of 
years  to  place  it  in  its  present  high  state  of 
cultivation,  it  now  being  one  of  the  best  farms 
in  the  township.  Mr.  Niedermeier  and  wife 
finally  retired  to  New  Washington  and  lived 
there  for  four  years,  and  there  his  wife  died, 
June  -zy,  1898,  aged  76  years.  After  her 
death  he  returned  to  the  old  homestead  and 
his  last  years  were  spent  with  his  son  Joseph, 
and  here  he  died  June  27,  1903,  his  birth  hav- 
ing taken  place  May  23,  1825.  Both  he  and 
wife  were  faithful  members  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church  and  they  were  interred  in  the 
church  cemetery  at  New  Washington.  There 
were  seven  children  in  the  family  and  five  of 
these  survive. 

Joseph  Niedermeier,  with  his  brothers  and 
sisters,  attended  school  in  Cranberry  town- 
ship. While  the  others  left  home  when  they 
formed  domestic  ties  of  their  own,  he  re- 
mained with  his  parents  and  later  purchased 
the  farm  and  has  continued  here  ever  since. 
He  has  already  done  much  improving  and  at  the 


A.  A.  STARNER,  M.  D. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1029 


time  of  writing  (1912)  is  erecting  a  fine  brick 
residence,  with  modern  improvements  which 
will  be  a  beautiful  home. 

Mr.  Niedermeier  married  Miss  Rosa  Big- 
lin,  who  was  born  in  the  Shelby  Settlement,  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  Biglin,  and 
they  have  five  children:  Frank,  Linus,  Clar- 
ence, John  and  Edward.  The  family  belongs 
to  St.  Bernard  Catholic  church.  In  politics  he 
is  a  Democrat. 

Andrew  Niedermeier,  a  brother  of  Joseph, 
has  recently  purchased  90  acres  in  section  11, 
Cranberry  township,  two  and  one-half  miles 
northeast  of  New  Washington.  He  married 
Margaret  Bigley  of  Richland  county,  a  daugh- 
ter of  John  Bigley,  and  they  have  ten  chil- 
dren: Rosa,  Roman,  Blanche,  George,  Mary, 
Clara,  Joseph,  Alfred,  Carl  and  Arthur.  Mr. 
Niedermeier  resided  on  a  40-acre  farm  west 
of  the  homestead,  for  20  years.  Like  his 
brother  Joseph,  he  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and 
a  member  of  the  Catholic  church.  The  Nie- 
dermeier family  is  known  and  highly  respected 
all  over  Cranberry  township. 

JOHN  W.  STUCKMAN,*  who  owns  and 
operates  160  acres  in  Bucyrus  township  and 
40  acres  in  Tod  township,  Crawford  county, 
and  who  is  also  a  stock  holder  in  the  Farmers 
&  Citizens  Bank,  was  born  in  Bucyrus  town- 
ship, Feb.  23,  1867,  a  son  of  Peter  and  Mar- 
garet (Bickel)  Stuckman.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peter 
Stuckman  had  the  following  children :  George 
P.;  Anna,  the  wife  of  Rev.  J.  H.  Patterson, 
a  minister  of  the  U.  B.  church,  who  is  an  elder 
of  the  Eastern  Ohio  Conference ;  John  W. ; 
Maggie,  the  wife  of  John  C.  Kraner;  Aaron 
A. ;  and  Esther,  deceased. 

After  his  education  in  the  common  schools 
of  his  locality  was  over  John  W.  Stuckman 
entered  the  Ohio  Northern  University  at  Ada 
and  spent  one  year  there.  He  then  learned 
telegraphy  and  for  two  years  was  engaged  in 
that  work  in  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  of- 
fice in  Bucyrus.  He  then  turned  his  attention 
to  agriculture  and  has  since  devoted  himself 
to  that  occupation  in  connection  with  stock 
buying.  His  live  stock  trade  is  carried  on  the 
markets  of  Buffalo  and  Pittsburg  and  he  also 
deals  extensively  in  poultry  in  the  eastern 
markets. 

On  March  27,  1895,  Mr.  Stuckman  was  mar- 


ried to  Grace  L.  Albright,  a  native  of  this 
township  and  a  daughter  of  Emanuel  and 
Catherme  (Kexroth)  Albright.  Emanuel  Al- 
bright was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  his  wife 
m  Germany.  He  was  a  Republican  in  politics 
and  with  ,his  wife  attended  the  Methodist 
church.  They  were  the  parents  of  the  follow- 
ing children:  William,  Joseph,  George,  Mary 
(the  wife  of  Lewis  Kissling),  Gertrude  (the 
wife  of  John  Kissling),  Grace  L.  (the  wife  of 
our  subject),  Nellie  (the  wife  of  George 
Fahl),  Frederick  and  Margaret  (the  wife  of 
Henry  Gushman). 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Stuckman  have  the  fol- 
lowing children:  Hazel,  Harlan,  Helen  and 
Hester.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He 
served  as  central  committee  man  of  this  dis- 
trict for  several  terms,  was  a  member  of  the 
school  board  for  about  20  years  and  is  now 
president  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  Craw-  ■ 
ford  county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  F.  &  A. 
M.,  K.  of  P.  and  F.  O.  E.,  all  at  Bucyrus. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stuckman  are  members  of  the 
U.  B.  church. 

MRS.  CATHERINE  SHELL,  who  is  a 
well  known  and  very  highly  esteemed  resident 
of  Cranberry  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
was  born  in  Germany,  Nov.  28,  1849,  ^^^  ^^ 
a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Barbara  (Holly) 
Kreim. 

Joseph  Kreim  was  born  in  Bohemia,  Aus- 
tria, a  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Ann  Kreim, 
the  youngest  of  their  five  children.  He  and 
his  brother  Philip  came  to  America  and  the 
latter  lived  two  miles  west  of  Plymouth,  O. 
on  the  VVestfall  farm.  He  was  a  weaver  of 
cloth  in  Germany  and  after  coming  to  the 
United   States  learned  to  weave  rag  carpets. 

In  Germany  Joseph  Kreim  was  married  to 
Barbara  Holly,  who  was  born  there  June  1 1 , 
1826,  and  died  Aug.  17,  1910.  For  six  years 
after  marriage  they  lived  in  Germany  and  then 
came  to  America  and  joined  his  brother 
Philip,  near  Plvmouth.  Afterward  he  moved 
to  Sandusky,  O.,  prior  to  the  Civil  War,  and 
there  assisted  to  build  the  Ohio  Canal.  For 
five  years  afterward  he  and  family  lived  on  a 
small  farm  near  Ripley  and  then  moved  on 
the  Westfall  farm  near  Plymouth.  He  then 
bought  40  acres  of  land  in  Cranberry  town- 
ship on  which  his  family  lived  during  his  ab- 


1030 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


sence  of  nine  months  in  the  army,  during  the 
Civil  War.  After  he  received  his  honorable 
discharge  he  was  so  anxious  to  reach  home 
that  he  walked  the  entire  distance  from  Shelby 
and  Mrs.  Shell  remembers  how  she  was  the 
one  that  met  him  at  the  door  in  the  middle  of 
the  night.  Later  he  erected  another  house  on 
the  place  and  it  was  in  that  residence  that  he 
died  on  Feb.  i,  1897.  Both  he  and  wife  were 
devoted  members  of  the  Catholic  church  and 
it  was  a  source  of  great  pleasure  to  them  that 
all  their  children  became  devout  church  mem-  , 
bars. 

The  eldest  child  of  Joseph  and  Barbara 
Kreim  was  an  infant  that  lived  but  four  days. 
Catherine  was  the  second  born.  Philip,  who 
was  twoyears  old  when  his  parents  came  from 
Germany,  married  Caroline  Weis  and  they  live 
near  Cleveland,  0.,  and  have  nine  children: 
Leo,  Louisa,  Frederick,  Fredericka,  Rose, 
Theresa,  William  and  John.  Mary  Madeline, 
who  was  three  months  old  when  the  family 
came  to  America,  married  F.  X.  Blum,  of 
Cranberry  township.  Joseph,  the  fifth  in  or- 
der of  birth,  never  married.  He  died  in  Penn- 
sylvania on  April  25,  1909,  at  the  age  of  53 
years  and  was  buried  by  his  family  in  the 
Catholic  cemetery  at  New  Washington.  Frank 
J.,  resides  in  Cranberry  township.  Amelia, 
deceased,  was  the  wife  of  John  Muhr,  who 
lives  in  Cranberry  township.  Anna  Mary 
married  Joceph  Lang,  of  Crestline,  O.,  and 
they  have  two  children,  Walter  and  Anna. 
Two  children,  Anthony  and  Mary,  died  in  in- 
fancy. 

Catherine  Kreim  was  educated  at  Ripley  and 
at  Plymouth,  O.,  and  under  a  good  mother's 
supervision,  learned  all  housekeeping  mys- 
teries. On  Nov.  12,  1868,  she  was  married 
to  Joseph  M.  Shell,  who  was  born  in  Austria, 
Sept.  17,  1845,  and  they  had  ten  children  born 
to  them,  the  survivors  being:  Mrs.  Rose  B. 
Alt,  Edward  W.,  Mrs.  Mary  M.  Uhl,  Mrs. 
Catherine  Emlinger,  and  Frank  Joseph  and 
Leon  Francis,  both  of  whom  live  at  home. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shell  lost  the  following  chil- 
dren: an  unnamed  infant;  Joseph  A.,  who 
died  when  aged  three  years  and  nine  months; 
Mary  Celesta,  who  was  but  two  weeks  old; 
and  Amelia  Josephia,  who  lived  to  the  age  of 
18  years. 

Joseph   M.   Shell   is   a  son  of  Joseph   and 


Catherine  (Lautner)  Shell.  His  father  was 
born  in  Austria  in  1824,  a  son  of  Frank  Shell,, 
a  potter  by  trade.  Joseph  Shell,  Sr.,  came  to 
America  in  1872  and  located  in  Venice  town- 
ship, Seneca  county,  O.,  where  he  bought  26 
acres  of  land,  on  which  he  lived  until  his 
death,  April  i,  1877.  He  was  a  faithful  mem- 
ber of  the  Catholic  church.  His  wife  was  born 
in  1825,  a  daughter  of  John  Lautner,  who 
was  a  potter  by  trade.  She  died  in  1896,  the 
mother  of  eleven  children. 

Joseph  M.  Shell  attended  school  before  com- 
ing to  the  United  States  and  afterward  at- 
tended three  months  in  order  to  learn  the 
language.  In  1865  he  came  to  America,  land- 
ing at  New  York  and  when  he  reached  Cleve- 
land, O.,  he  had  two  dollars  as  his  sole  capital. 
He  immediately  found  work  as  a  potter,  and 
after  two  years  at  his  trade,  embarked  in  the 
pottery  business  for  himself,  at  Shenandoah, 
Richland  county,  O.,  where  he  remained  until 
the  spring  of  1868,  when  he  came  to  New 
Washington,  where  he  erected  a  residence  and 
shop  and  engaged  in  the  pottery  business. 
By  this  time,  however,  industrial  life  and 
methods  had  been  changed  by  the  concentration 
of  capital  and  he  found  his  venture  unprofit- 
able. He  then  went  to  work  on  the  railroad 
then  in  course  of  construction  here,  and  con- 
tinued until  1874,  when  he  bought  40  acres  of 
land  situated  one  mile  west  of  his  present  farm 
in  section  24,  Cranberry  township.  He  sold 
his  first  land  for  $100  per  acre,  and  in  1884 
purchased  the  first  80  acres  of  his  present  farm, 
to  which  he  has  added  two  adjoining  tracts 
and  now  has  no  acres,  situated  three  miles 
southeast  of  New  Washington.  Mr.  Shell 
has  always  been  an  industrious  and  enterpris- 
ing man  and  a  good,  law  abiding  citizen.  He 
is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  has  served  as  a 
trustee  of  Cranberry  township  for  six  years 
and  in  1900  was  appointed  land  appraiser.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church. 

CHRISTIAN  A.  NUNGESSER,  who,  for 
many  years  contributed  to  the  agricultural 
prosperity  of  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  where  his  farm  of  100  acr^s  is 
situated,  has  lived  retired  since  1898,  and  has 
occupied  his  comfortable  residence  on  the  cor- 
ner of  West  Main  Street  and  Klymer  Avenue, 
Gallon,  O.     He  was  born  at  Auerbach,  Ger- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1031 


many,  in  the  province  of  Hesse  Darmstadt, 
Feb.  i6,  1833,  and  is  a  son  of  George  and 
Eva  (Kyle)  Nungesser. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Nungesser  lived  and 
died  in  Hesse  Darmstadt.  The  father  fol- 
lowed the  shoemaking  trade  and  by  that 
means  was  able  to  take  care  of  his  family  al- 
though he  could  afford  them  no  luxuries.  The 
parents  were  members  of  the  Lutheran  church. 
Three  sons  were  born  to  them:  Peter,  who 
learned  his  father's  trade,  and  spent  his  en- 
tire life  in  Germany;  Christian  A.,  our  subject; 
and  George,  who  spent  his  life  as  a  farmer  in 
Germany. 

Christian  A.  Nungesser  was  taught  the 
trade  of  shoemaker  by  his  practical  father  and 
before  he  left  his  native  land  had  become  a 
skilled  workman.  Those  were  the  days  when 
all  footwear  was  made  by  hand  and  the  de- 
mand was  greater  in  many  sections  than  the 
supply.  In  June,  1852,  the  youth  embarked 
for  America  on  a  sailing  vessel  and,  although 
he  was  compelled  to  be  on  the  water  for  47 
days,  he  was  safely  landed  in  the  harbor  of 
New  York.  He  soon  made  his  way  to  Cincin- 
nati, O.,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  for  three 
years,  after  which  he  located  at  Winchester, 
in  Crawford  county,  where  he  conducted  a  shop 
until  he  was  married,  when  he  moved  on  a 
farm  in  Whetstone  township  and  developed 
his  land  into  one  of  the  fine  farms  of  that 
section. 

Mr.  Nungesser  was  married  in  Whetstone 
township,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Helfrich,  who 
was  born  at  Gallon,  May  22,  1840,  and  has 
always  been  a  resident  of  her  native  county. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Peter  and  Margaretta 
(Barmouth)  Helfrich,  natives  of  Wurtem- 
berg,  Germany,  who  came  to  the  United  States 
and  became  farmers  in  Whetstone  township, 
settling  there  in  1833.  They  had  a  family  of 
three  sons  and  two  daughters  and  two  sons 
and  two  daughters  still  survive.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Nungesser  four  children  were  born : 
Lila,  who  is  the  wife  of  Isaac  Cook,  residing 
in  Whetstone  township  and  has  a  son  and  a 
daughter;  Maggie,  who  is  the  widow  of  Henry 
Rexroth,  and  who  lives  in  Whetstone  town- 
ship and  has  six  children;  Jennie,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Jacob  Guinther  and  resides  on  a  farm 
near  Winchester  and  has  four  daughters ;  and 
M.  G.,  who  is  a  prominent  citizen  and  well 


known  farmer  in  Whetstone  township,  a 
leading  Democratic  politician  and  his  party's 
nominee  for  state  representative.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Nungesser  are  valued  members  of  the 
German  Lutheran  church.  They  are  kind  and 
hospitable  people  and  have  a  wide  circle  of 
friends  both  at  Gabon  and  in  the  country  where 
they  lived  so  long. 

A.  R.  CRIDDLE,  a  leading  citizen  and 
representative  business  man  of  Tiro,  O.,  man- 
ager and  owner  of  the  Tiro  Handle  Factory 
of  this  place,  one  of  the  town's  most  important 
industrial  enterprises,  was  born  at  Coal  Brook, 
Ashtabula  county,  O.,  Dec.  30,  1867,  and  is 
a  son  of  Robert  F.  and  Charity  (York)  Grid- 
dle. Of  their  nine  children  there  are  seven  yet 
living. 

A.  R.  Griddle  was  reared  and  educated  in 
his  native  county  and  was  engaged  there  in 
business  until  he  came  to  Tiro,  in  August, 
1 910,  and  built  his  present  plant,  locating  in 
the  northwestern  part  of  the  town,  employ- 
ment being  given  16  men  and  the  product  being 
all  kinds  and  sizes  of  wood  handles,  a  sta- 
tionary boiler  being  used  and  the  motive  power 
being  steam.  Mr.  Griddle  is  a  very  enterpris- 
ing and  far  sighted  business  man  and  has 
much  manufacturing  experience. 

In  Ashtabula  county,  Mr.  Griddle  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Carrie  B.  Fobes,  who  was  born 
in  Wayne  township,  Ashtabula  county,  a 
daughter  of  Riveris  and  Dila  (Albridge) 
Fobes,  and  they  have  five  children :  Robert 
Carl  and  Riveris,  both  of  whom  are  employed 
in  the  factory;  Ethel,  who  is  a  student  in  the 
Tiro  High  School;  Ruby,  who  still  is  in  the 
common  school ;  and  Raymond.  Mr.  Criddle 
and  family  are  members  of  the  Brethren 
church.  He  belongs  fraternally  to  the  Odd 
Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Re- 
beccas. Mr.  Criddle  is  not  actively  interested 
in  politics. 

HENRY  BIEBIGHAUSER,  for  a  number 
of  years  an  active  business  citizen  of  Gallon, 
O.,  now  practically  retired,  was  born  in 
Hesse-Darmstadt,  Germany,  March  10,  1848, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Ephra  (Rauth)  Bie- 
bighauser.  The  father,  a  horseshoer  by 
trade,  spent  his  life  in  Hesse-Darmstadt, 
where  he  died  in   1857,  aged  55  years.     His 


1032 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


widow  survived  until  1880,  dying  when  aged 
70  years.  Ihey  were  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church.  Of  their  family  of 
two  sons  and  five  daughters,  Henry  was  the 
youngest.  One  sister,  Kate,  who  is  the  widow 
of  John  Sozten,  and  his  brother,  August,  also 
came  to  the  United  States  and  all  live  at 
Gallon. 

Henry  Biebighauser  was  nine  years  old 
when  his  father  died.  He  attended  a  German 
school  in  boyhood  and  then  learned  the  shoe- 
making  trade  and  in  1866  came  to  America  and 
joined  his  brother  at  Upper  Sandusky,  O., 
and  in  1867  they  came  to  Gallon.  He  worked 
for  one  year  at  his  trade  and  for  another  year 
was  with  his  brother  in  the  blacksmith  busi- 
ness, but  in  1869  he  went  into  the  butchering 
business  and  successfully  continued  in  the 
same  until  1905,  when  he  retired,  turning 
over  his  heaviest  responsibilities  to  his  son. 
In  business  circles  he  gained  the  respect  of  his 
fellow  citizens  for  his  honest  and  upright 
methods  and  in  all  that  has  concerned  the  pub- 
lic good  of  the  city  since  he  has  been  a  resi- 
dent, he  has  been  enterprising  and  public 
spirited. 

On  Feb.  6,  1873,  Mr.  Biebighauser  was 
married  to  Miss  Margaret  Helfrich,  who  was 
born  in  Crawford  county,  O.,  where  her  life 
has  been  passed.  Her  parents  were  Philip  and 
Catherine  (Rhinemuth)  Helfrich,  who  came 
from  Hesse-Darmstadt,  Germany,  to  the 
United  States  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Whet- 
stone township,  Crawford  county.  The 
father  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade.  He  and  his 
wife  died  at  Gallon.  Nine  children  were  born 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Biebighauser,  the  survivors 
being:  Carl,  who  operates  the  meat  market 
located  at  No.  322  East  Main  Street,  which 
his  father  established,  and  who  married  at 
Gallon  and  has  three  children — Helen,  Fred- 
erick and  Isabel;  Emma,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Leon  Zigler,  of  Gallon,  and  has  two  children — 
Margaret  and  Ida;  Ida,  the  wife  of  Harry 
Beach,  who  is  in  the  employ  of  the  Erie  Rail- 
way Company;  and  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of 
Clyde  Smith,  who  is  associated  with  her 
brother  in  the  meat  business.  They  have  one 
son,  Henry.  The  family  belongs  to  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church.  In  politics  Mr.  Bie- 
bighauser and  sons  are  Democrats  and  fra- 
ternally he  is  identified  with  the  Odd  Fellows 
and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 


MRS.  AMELIA  WECHTER,  a  property 
owner  and  a  very  highly  esteemed  resident  of 
Auburn  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  her 
farm  of  150  acres  lying  in  section  7,  was  born 
at  Milan,  O.,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Anthony 
and  Josephine  Fisher,  both  of  whom  died  at 
Milan,  O. 

Amelia  Fisher  was  reared  at  Milan  and  at- 
tended school  there.  On  Oct.  10,  1872,  she 
was  married  to  Joseph  A.  Wechter,  who  was 
born  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  a  son  of  Joseph  and 
^  Magdalena  Wechter,  and  died  at  Toledo,  O., 
suffocated  by  gas.  He  was  buried  at  New 
Washington,  Crawford  county,  Dec.  i,  1897. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  aged  48  years, 
six  months  and  fourteen  days.  After  mar- 
riage, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wechter  settled  on  a  farm 
in  Cranberry  township,  two  miles  east  of  New 
Washington,  and  after  the  birth  of  two  of  their 
children,  moved  to  east  of  Norwalk,  O.,  where 
there  were  three  children  born.  They  moved 
then  to  Chatfield  township  where  they  re- 
mained 16  years,  when  they  came  to  the  pres- 
ent farm,  known  as  the  old  Curtis  place,  which 
was  partly  improved,  but  Mrs.  Wechter  and 
children  remodeled  the  buildings  and  made 
many  additional  improvements.  All  the  farm 
is  under  cultivation  except  30  acres  still  in 
valuable  timber. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wechter  the  following 
children  were  born :  Josephine,  who  is  the  wife 
of  John  Fries  and  lives  near  Norwalk,  O. ; 
John,  who  also  lives  near  Norwalk;  Elizabeth, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Martin  Kramer,  and  lives 
near  Milan,  O. ;  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  Au- 
gust Heydinger,  of  Auburn  township;  Frank, 
who  married  Clara  Pifher  and  lives  in  Auburn 
township;  Rose,  who  is  the  wife  of  Searl 
Daugherty  and  lives  in  Huron  county;  Willie 
and  Millie,  twins,  the  former  of  whom  married 
Rose  Landoll,  of  Huron  county,  and  the  latter 
of  whom  married  Phillip  Mellein  and  lives  at 
Milan;  Charles,  who  operates  the  home  farm; 
Patronillia,  who  is  a  successful  teacher  in  Au- 
burn township ;  Linus,  who  assists  on  the  home 
farm;  and  Gertrude,  who  lives  with  her 
mother.  Mrs.  Wechter  and  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Catholic  church,  as  was  Mr.  Wech- 
ter. In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat  and  while 
living  in  Chatfield  township,  served  two  terms 
as  road  supervisor.  He  was  an  industrious 
and  successful  farmer  and  was  well  known  all 
through  this  section  and  had  many  friends. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1033 


JOHN  FAILE,  deceased,  was  a  member  of 
one  of  the  old  German  families  that  came  early 
to  Crawford  county,  O.,  where  through  in- 
dustry, sobriety  and  thrift  they  became  people 
of  substance  and  of  esteem  in  the  commu- 
nities in  which  they  lived.  He  was  born  in 
Wurtemberg,  Germany,  Jan.  i8,  1822,  and 
was  eight  years  old  when  he  accompanied  his 
parents,  William  and  Mary  Faile,  to  the 
United  States. 

In  1830,  when  the  Failes  came  to  America 
the  only  means  of  reaching  the  Aemrican 
shore  was  by  way  of  the  slow  sailing  ships 
and  the  family  spent  two  long  months  on  the 
water.  After  landing,  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
they  came  on  to  Crawford  county  and  settled 
on  wild  land  in  what  is  now  Chatfield  town- 
ship. There  his  first  wife  died  and  he  married 
Mrs.  Caroline  Jacob,  who  had  two  children : 
Hester  and  Caroline,  who  reside  in  Iowa.  To 
the  first  marriage  of  William  Faile  five  chil- 
dren were  born,  all  of  whom  are  now  deceased. 
John  Faile  was  the  eldest  born.  Christian 
was  accidentally"  killed  by  a  fractious  horse 
when  aged  30  years.  Adam  was  accidentally 
burned  when  young,  at  a  maple  sugar  camp. 
Daniel  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  War  and  was 
accidentally  killed  by  an  exploding  shell. 
William  followed  his  trade  of  brickmaker,  at 
Gallon,  where  he  died  in  middle  life.  To  the 
second  marriage  of  William  Faile  a  daughter 
was  born,  who  now  resides  in  Iowa.  Late  in 
life  William  Faile  retired  to  Galion,  where  his 
death  occurred  when  aged  80  years,  his  wife 
surviving  to  the  age  of  75  years. 

John  Faile  was  a  quiet,  industrious  man  and 
followed  farming  all  his  active  life,  meeting 
with  a  large  degree  of  success.  At  the  time 
of  death,  which  occurred  at  Galion,  April  1.3, 
1899,  one  year  after  retiring  to  this  city,  he 
was  able  to  leave  to  his  widow  a  valuable  farm 
of  100  acres,  which  is  situated  in  Polk  town- 
ship. In  politics  he  had  always  been  a  strong 
Democrat  and  as  a  man  of  good  judgment  and 
high  standing  in  his  community,  had  been 
elected  at  times  to  township  offices.  He  was  a 
faithful  member  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church. 

On  April  i,  1851,  Mr.  Faile  was  married  in 
Whetstone  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  to 
Miss  Julia  Ann  •  Snyder,  who  was  born  in 
York  county,  Pa.,  Oct.   15,  1831,  a  daughter 


58 


of  Rev.  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Spotts)  Snyder. 
The  parents  of  Mrs.  Faile  were  born  and  mar- 
ried in  Pennsylvania  and  the  father  was  a 
teacher  and  also  a  preacher  in  the  United 
Brethren  church.  He  was  born  in  York 
county,  Oct.  30,  1794,  and  spent  his  entire 
life  of  60  years  there.  His  wife  was  born 
Oct.  23,  1794,  and  died  in  1870.  Mrs.  Faile 
was  carefully  educated  by  her  father  and  in 
the  public  schools.  She  was  18  years  of  age 
when,  in  1849,  she  accompanied  her  married 
sisters,  Sarah  and  Elizabeth,  to  Galion  and 
with  the  exception  of  her  years  of  married  life 
spent  on  the  farm,  has  ever  since  been  a  resi- 
dent of  this  city.  She  is  well  known  and 
greatly  esteemed,  being  an  active  Christian 
worker  wherever  she  sees  her  services  needed. 
She  has  been  almost  a  lifelong  member  of  the 
United  Brethren  church.  Of  her  ten  children, 
eight  grew  to  maturity  and  six  survive.  Ida 
M.,  who  is  now  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Al- 
bert Newhouse  and  left  one  son.  Amanda, 
who  is  now  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Frank 
Ness,  a  carpenter  at  Galion,  and  she  had  two 
sons,  Luther  Ness,  and  Roy,  deceased.  Those 
living  are :  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  Daniel 
Dye,  of  Galion,  and  has  had  two  children — 
Archie  Leroy,  and  one  who  died  when  aged 
14  months;  Lucinda  Ann,  who  is  the  wife  of 
John  Raymond,  of  Alvordton,  O.,  and  has 
one  daughter,  Olive,  who  is  married  and  has 
two  children;  Susan,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Emanuel  Crissinger,  of  Galion,  and  has  two 
sons,  William  and  Addison;  Henrietta,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Samuel  Christman,  of  Galion, 
and  has  one  daughter,  Julia  I.,  who  was  born 
Sept.  3,  1900;  Ella  Elizabeth,  who  is  the  sec- 
ond wife  of  Frank  Ness;  and  William,  who 
conducts  a  boot  and  shoe  business  at  Bucy- 
rus,  and  married  Elizabeth  Andrews.  All 
these  children  were  given  good  educational  op- 
portunities and  are  representative  people  who 
reflect  credit  on  their  parentage. 

JACOB  ANSON  DENZER,*  a  prosperous 
farmer  of  Bucyrus  township,  who  in  company 
with  his  sister  Jennie,  owns  126  acres  of  land, 
the  latter  being  one-third  owner  of  same,  was 
born  in  this  county,  Dec.  31,  1857,  a  son  of 
Jacob  and  Matilda  (McNeal)  Denzer.  He  is 
a  grandson  of  Andrew  Denzer,  who  was  born 
and    reared    in    Baden,    Germany,    and    who 


1034 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


fought  as  a  soldier  under  the  great  Napoleon, 
taking  part  in  the  disastrous  Russian  cam- 
paign. Andrew  survived  the  horrors  of  that 
campaign,  where  so  many  thousands  of  his 
comrades  fell  or  perished  from  cold,  and  about 
1833  came  to  America  with  his  family.  Here 
he  lived  seven  years,  dying  about  1840.  He 
married  in  Germany,  Hester  A.  Finfgelt  and 
they  had  four  sons  and  one  daughter,  namely : 
Andrew,  George,  Jacob,  Mary  and  Simon. 
Two  of  the  number  died  in  the  Fatherland  and 
were  buried  in  Upfingen,  Baden.  The  mother" 
survived  her  husband  many  years,  passing  away 
in  1876  at  the  age  of  ninety- four. 

Jacob  Denzer,  father  of  our  subject,  was  a 
lad  of  13  years  when  he  accompanied  his  par- 
ents to  the  New  World.  Not  long  after  their 
arrival  they  became  residents  of  Crawford 
county,  the  father  (Andrew)  purchasing  15 
acres  of  timber  land  in  Liberty  township, 
which  he  cleared  and  on  which  he  build  a  log 
cabin.  In  the  following  spring  Jacob  began  to 
earn  his  own  living  by  working  as  a  farm  hand. 
He  was  thus  employed  until  he  was  25  years 
of  age,  giving  his  wages  to  his  parents  until 
he  attained  his  majority.  At  the  age  of  25  he 
began  farming  on  rented  land,  which  he  oper- 
ated for  three  years.  On  March  13,  1850,  he 
married  Matilda  McNeal,  of  Crawford  county. 
She  was  born  in  Huntingdon  county.  Pa.,  Dec. 
6.  1826,  and  was  a  woman  of  energy  and 
thrift,  proving  of  great  assistance  to  her  hus- 
band. After  his  marriage  Mr.  Denzer  rented 
a  farm  for  six  years  and  in  the  meanwhile 
purchased  38  acres  of  land.  In  1863  he  pur- 
chased his  fine  homestead — one  of  the  best 
farms  in  the  county — as  a  result  of  his  energy 
and  thrift  and  that  of  his  wife.  Besides  car- 
rying on  general  farming  he  operated  a  saw- 
mill for  some  ten  years.  He  was  prosperous 
and  became  one  of  the  representative  fanners 
and  stock  raisers  of  the  county.  He  was  con- 
tinually improving  his  farm  and  erected  all 
the  substantial  and  commodious  buildings 
which  stand  on  it  today.  When  well  advanced 
in  vears  he  retired  from  active  labor  and  he 
and  his  wife  spent  their  last  years  on  this 
homestead,  seeing  their  children  growing  up 
around  them  and  becoming  worthy  and  re- 
spected members  of  the  community.  These 
children  were  Mary  L.,  Jennie,  Andrew. 
Esther,  Simon  J.,  Anson  J.,  Ella,  Alexander, 


Maggie,  Lewis  I.  and  Electa  V.    Two  died  in 
childhood — Florence  and  an  infant  son. 

Jacob  Anson  Denzer  attended  the  common 
schools  in  his  boyhood  and  was  brought  up 
on  the  farm,  being  trained  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits. He  has  spent  all  his  life  up  to  the  pres- 
ent time  on  the  farm  on  which  he  now  resides 
with  the  exception  of  three  years  when  he  was 
farming  in  the  West.  His  sister  Jennie,  who, 
as  already  stated,  owns  one-third  of  the  prop- 
erty, has  charge  of  the  household,  which  she 
manages  capably,  there  being  no  idlers  in  the 
Denzer  family.  The  other  children  are  mostly 
married,  Mary  being  the  wife  of  Stephen 
Brehman,  Esther,  the  wife  of  James  Dobbins, 
Ella,  the  wife  of  Myron  Andrews,  Margaret, 
the  wife  of  Ira  Quaintance,  and  Electa,  the 
wife  of  Lewis  Beard.  Mr.  Denzer  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat politically,  as  was  also  his  father,  but 
is  not  an  active  politician. 

CHARLES  HESS,  one  of  the  leading 
business  men  of  Gallon,  O.,  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Hess  Brothers,  conducting  a  large 
meat  market  at  No.  229  South  Market  Street, 
successors  of  their  father  who  established  the 
business  at  this  location,  was  born  at  Gallon, 
July  29,  1864,  a  son  of  Henry  and  a  grandson 
of  Henry  and  Mary  (Snyder)  Hess. 

The  grandparents  of  Mr.  Hess  were  born 
in  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Germany,  and  came  from 
there  with  their  children  in  185 1,  on  a  sailing 
vessel  to  New  York  City,  and  from  there  by 
team,  to  Gallon,  O.  They  prospered  and 
owned  a  small  farm  which  is  now  included  in 
the  city  limits,  on  West  Main  Street,  which 
property  is  yet  owned  by  their  descendants. 
Only  one  of  their  sons  survive,  Daniel  Hess, 
who  lives  retired. 

Henry  Hess,  jr.,  father  of  Charles  Hess, 
was  born  in  1832,  in  Germany,  and  was  19 
years  old  when  he  came  to  Gallon.  For  some 
years  he  was  in  the  grocerv  business  in  part- 
nership with  Jacob  J-  Schafifer,  but  afterward 
went  into  the  meat  business  and  for  more  than 
40  years  conducted  his  market,  being  probably 
one  of  the  first  men  in  the  city  to  conduct  the 
same  along  modern  lines.  He  was  a  useful  and 
respected  citizen.  He  survived  his  wife,  dying 
in  1905,  she  having  passed  away  in  1876.  She 
was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Of 
their  children  two  died   iii   infancy  and  one 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1035 


daughter,  Mary,  some  years  after  her  marriage 
to  William  Weisterman  and  is  survived  by 
two  daughters.  The  survivors  are :  Henry,  - 
who  resides  at  Galion;  Charles,  our  subject; 
Emma  and  Lizzie,  all  of  whom  reside  together 
on  the  old  homestead  on  West  Main  Street 
and  all  are  members  and  liberal  supporters  of 
the  German  Lutheran  church. 

Charles  Hess  obtained  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  city,  grew  up  in 
his  father's  business  and  in  1888,  in  partner- 
ship with  his  brother,  succeeded  to  the  busi- 
ness, at  which  time  the  present  firm  name  was 
adopted.  Both  partners  are  practical  meat 
men  and  carefully  supervise  their  output  and 
direct  their  15  helpers.  Both  brothers,  like 
their  late  father,  are  Democrats.  Charles 
Hess  is  identified  with  the  fraternal  order  of 
Elks,  while  Henry  belongs  to  the  Eagles  and 
also  to  a  German  order.  They  stand  high  as 
reliable  and  enterprising  business  men. 

HENRY  A.  KINSEY,  fpreman  of  the 
erecting  department  of  the  Erie  Railway  shops 
at  Galion,  O.,  came  to  this  city  in  1874  and 
has  been  identified  with  these  shops  since  1888. 
He  was  born  in  Morrow  county,  O.,  Dec.  7, 
1855,  a  son  of  Christian  and  Mary  (Kinsey) 
Kinsey. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Kinsey  were  born  in 
Switzerland  and  the  father  came  to  the  United 
States  when  a  young  man  and  the  mother, 
with  her  parents.  Her  father,  John  Kinsey, 
was  a  well  known  pioneer  and  gunsmith  in 
Morrow  county,  O.,  and  there  he  and  wife 
lived  and  died,  members  of  the  Reformed 
church.  The  parents  of  Henry  A.  Kinsey 
were  married  in  Bloomfield  township,  Morrow 
county,  and  began  married  life  there  and  passed 
the  remainder  of  their  days  in  that  neighbor- 
hood, becoming  people  of  property  and  known 
and  respected  far  and  wide.  They  were  not 
long  separated  by  death,  only  a  few  weeks  in- 
tervening, the  father  passing  away  in  March, 
1907,  when  aged  80  years,  and  the  mother  in 
May  following,  when  aged  76  years,  their 
burial  being  in  Fairview  Cemetery.  They 
were  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  They  had  three  sons :  Daniel,  who 
still  lives  in  Bloomfield  township,  who  is  mar- 
ried and  has  two  children — Frank  and  Lulu ; 
Jacob,  who  is  unmarried;  and  Henry  A.,  our 
subject. 


Henry  A.  Kinsev  was  reared  and  obtained 
his  education  in  his  native  place  and  in  early 
manhood  came  to  Galion  desirous  of  learning 
the  machinist's  trade,  and  entered  the  shops  of 
the  C.  C.  &  I.  Railroad.  In  1876  he  decided 
to  return  to  farming  and  was  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits  until  1880,  when  he  went 
to  work  for  Squires  &  Horner,  foundrymen. 
In  1888  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Erie 
people  and  has  continued  here,  being  gradually 
advanced  until  he  now  fills  a  position  of  recog- 
nized responsibility. 

Mr.  Kinsey  was  married  in  Morrow  county 
to  Miss  Anna  A.  Cronnenweth,  a  granddaugh- 
ter of  Frederick  Cronnenweth,  who  was  born 
in  Germany,  May  19,  1793,  and  came  to  the 
United  States  and  settled  in  Morrow  county 
in  1848,  where  he  died  Sept.  19,  1884,  one  of 
the  Old  Guard  of  Napoleon,  under  whom  he 
had  enlisted  for  the  Russian  campaign,  in 
181 5.  He  served  14  years  and  was  at  the  battle 
of  Waterloo.  His  son,  Frederick,  was  the 
father  of  Mrs.  Kinsey  and  was  born  in  Ger- 
many. He  married  Elizabeth  Baker  in  Mor- 
row county,  who  died  there  when  aged  75 
years,  her  husband  passing  at  the  age  of  72 
years.  They  were  members  of  the  German 
Lutheran  church.  Two  sons  were  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kinsey:  Harry  G.  and  Roy  E. 
The  former,  after  graduating  from  the  Galion 
High  School  in  1898,  learned  the  machinist 
trade  and  later  became  editor  of  the  Galion 
Leader,  a  position  he  resigned  in  order  to  be- 
come advertising  man  for  the  Canton  Republi- 
can-News, of  which  he  later  became  editor. 
Roy  E.  graduated  from  the  Galion  High 
School  in  1909  and  in  the  same  year  became 
teller  in  the  Citizens  National  Bank.  Mr. 
Kinsey  and  sons  are  all  Republicans.  The  fam- 
ily belongs  to  the  English  Lutheran  church 
and  the  sons  are  both  identified  with  the  fra- 
ternal order  of  Elks. 

JOHN  F.  SAWYER,  who  is  one  of  the 
leading  men  of  Atiburn  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  treasurer  of  Special  School  Dis- 
trict at  Maple  Grove,  resides  on  his  farm  of 
160  acres,  situated  in  section  21,  one  and 
three-fourths  miles  north  and  one  mile  east 
of  Tiro,  O.  He  was  born  in  Auburn  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  Jan.  31,  1871,  and  is 
a  son  of  Albanus  and  a  grandson  of  Erastus 


1036 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Sawyer,    who    came   to   this   section   in   very 
early  days. 

John  F.  Sawyer  was  reared  on  the  home 
farm  in  Auburn  township  and  in  boyhood  at- 
tended the  pubHc  schools,  afterward  the 
New  Washington  High  School  and  completed 
his  education  in  the_  Normal  School  at  Ada, 
O.,  where  he  profitably  spent  two  terms.  Mr. 
Sawyer  returned  to  Auburn  township  and 
has  carried  on  his  agricultural  activities  here 
ever  since,  general  farming  and  raising  hogs 
and  sheep.  He  remodeled  the  old  residence ' 
which  had  been  built  by  his  father  and  also 
built  a  house  on  the  adjoining  80  acres  and 
has  everything  in  good  .shape  around  him. 
He  cultivates  all  his  land  with  the  exception 
of  about  30  acres  yet  in  timber. 

On.  Jan.  i,  1900,  Mr.  Sawyer  was  married 
to  Jennie  Wilson  Hanna,  who  was  born 
March  6,  1876,  a  daughter  of  J.  M.  and  Har- 
riet Adora  (Chambers)  Hanna,  and  they  have 
three  children :  Waldo  Verne,  Dwight  Frank- 
lin and  Mildred  Winona.  Mr.  Sawyer  and 
family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church 
at  Tiro.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican  and 
fraternally  a  Knight  of  Pythias,  attending 
the  lodge  at  Tiro,  O. 

AUSTIN  F.  LOWE,  cashier  of  the  Citi- 
zens National  Bank  of  Galion,  O.,  with  which 
institution  he  has  been  identified  in  his  pres- 
ent relation,  since  1880,  is  a  native  of  Ohio 
and  was  born  at  Galion,  in  18 q8.  His  parents 
were  Lloyd  and  Elizabeth  (Mason)  Lowe. 

Lloyd  Lowe  and  wife  were  both  born  in 
Pennsylvania  and  in  1834  they  were  married 
near  York,  Pa.,  and  at  once  started  by  team, 
for  Galion,  O.,  where  he  went  into  the  con- 
tracting business.  Here  his  death  occurred 
in  1883,  at  the  age  of  76  years,  his  wife  sur- 
A^ving  him  for  two  years.  They  were  well 
known  and  highly  respected  people.  Of  their 
family  of  six  children,  Austin  F.  was  the 
youngest  born,  the  others  being  as  follows: 
John  W.,  deceased,  who  ser\-ed  four  years  in 
the  Confederate  Army  during  the  Civil  war; 
Isabel,  who  is  the  wife  of  Clinton  Payne,  re- 
siding at  Decatur,  111. ;  Isaac,  who  died  at  De- 
catur and  who  was  a  veteran  of  the  Union 
army  in  the  Civil  war;  Lewis  S.,  who  enlisted 
for  service  in  the  Civil  War  in  1862,  and  was 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  in  1863, 


being  the  first  enlisted  soldier  of  Galion  to 
give  up  his  life  for  his  country;  and  Mary, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Alvin  P.  Paul,  residing  at 
Santa  Anna,  Calif. 

Austin  F.  Lowe  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Galion  and  from  the  school  room 
entered  the  Citizens  National  Bankli»  a  cleri- 
cal capacity  and  has  been  connected  continu- 
ously with  this  institution  up  to  the  present. 
The  Citizens  National  Bank  of  Galion  was 
established  in  1866  and  was  chartered  as  a 
National  bank  in  1872,  with  ample  capital. 
John  Beatty,  now  a  resident  of  Columbus,  O., 
was  its  first  president  and  J.  H.  Green,  its 
first  cashier,  the  latter  succeeding  Mr.  Beatty 
as  president,  and  dying  in  1894*  The  present 
condition  of  the  bank  is  prosperous  and  its 
officers  and  board  of  directors  are  all  men  of 
capital  and  known  responsibility. 

Mr.  Lowe  was  married  at  Galion,  O.,  to 
Miss  Emma  E.  Cave,  who  was  born  at  Crest- 
line, O.,  a  lady  of  culture  and  education,  who 
had  been  a  teacher  for  several  years  prior  to 
her  marriage.  'She  is  a  daughter  of  Francis 
and  Margaret  Ca\'e,  former  residents  of 
Crestline  and  later  of  Galion.  The  father  of 
Mrs.  Lowe  served  in  a  Pennsylvania  regiment 
in  the  Civil  War.  His  death  occurred  at  Galion 
in  January,  191 1,  where  his  widow  resides, 
being  now  in  her  80th  year.  She  has  been  a 
lifelong  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  having  been  reared  in  the  faith.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Lowe  have  one  daughter,  Edna  E., 
who  was  educated  at  Roanoke,  Va.,  and  at 
Washington,  Pa.,  and  is  a  college  graduate. 
Politically  Mr.  Lowe  is  zealous  in  his  support 
of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party  but 
has  never  been  willing  to  consider  any  political 
office  for  himself.  In  his  fraternal,  connec; 
tions,  Mr.  Lowe  has  long  been  identified  with 
the  Masons  and  Knights  of  P)d;hias  at  Gallon; 
having  been  senior  warden  in  the  former  or- 
ganization and  a  charter  member  since  the 
founding  of  the  latter  order  here,  in  1884. 

R.  E.  SAWYER.  Among  the  old  and 
substantial  families  of  Auburn  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  may  be  counted  that  of 
Sawyer,  a  worthy  member  of  which  is  R.  E. 
Sawyer,  who  resides  on  his  well  improved 
farm  of  105  acres,  which  is  situated  in  sec- 
tion 21,  and  who  -is  known  throughout  the 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1037 


county  additionally  as  an  insurance  agent, 
representing  .  a  number  .of  .  mutual  insurance 
companies.  He  was  born  on  a  farm  that  ad- 
joins his  own  on  the  west,  June  4,  i860,  and 
is  a. son  of  Albanus  and  Anna  Maria  (Winn) 
Sawyer. 

Albanus  Sawyer  was  born  in  Auburn  town- 
ship, where  he  spent  his  long  and  useful  life, 
his  death  occurring  Feb.  7,  1903,  when  aged 
79  years,  four  months  and  twenty-one  days. 
His  parents  were  Erastus  and  Sally  Sawyer, 
the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Schuyler 
county,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  10,  1800,  and  died  July 
12,  1870.  His  wife  was  born  in  Cayuga 
county,  N.  Y.,  April  27,  1802,  and  died  Aug. 
22,  1873,  and  their  burial  was  in  the  Auburn 
Cemetery.-  At  one  time  Albanus  Sawyer  was 
a  very  large  landowner,  having  100  acres  in 
Henry  county  and  a  very  large  body  in  Craw- 
ford county,  and  a  great  deal  of  this  land  is 
still  held  by- his  heirs.  He  was  a  man  of  ster- 
ling character  and  was  held  in  the  highest 
regard  by  his  fellow  citizens.  In  earlier  days 
he  was  a  Whig  but  later  became  a  Republican 
and  at  different  times  served  in  township  of- 
fices with  credit  to  himself  and  with  advan- 
tage to  the  community.  He  was  interested  in 
the  public  schools  and  donated  the  land  which 
is  known  as  Maple  Grove  Special  School  land. 
He  was  one  of  the  leading  members  and  lib- 
eral supporters  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
thurch  -in  Auburn  township.  He  married 
Anna  Maria  Winn,  who  was  born  in  Cran- 
berry township,  Crawford  county,  a  daughter 
of  John  and  Rebecca  Winn,  natives  of  Penn- 
sylvania. She  died  July  7,  1890,  when  aged 
70-  years,  7  months  and  18  days.  The  fol- 
lowing children  were  born  to  them : .  Cornelia, 
who  married  William  Bender;  R.  W.,  who 
lives  at  Richmond,  Ind. ;  Asa,  who  died  Dec. 
5,"  1884,  aged  27  years,  11  months  and  15 
days;  R.  E. ;  Clara,  who  died  Jan.  4,  1885, 
aged  20  years,  8  months  and  12  days;  Anna, 
who  married  I.  W.  Loudon,  of  Liberty  Cen- 
ter, O. ;  Lottie  E.,  who  is  the  wife  of  James 
Morrow;  Erastus,  who  died  when  two  years 
old;  and  John  F.,  who  resides  on  the  home 
farm. 

R.  E.  Sawyer  attended  the  local  schools 
through  boyhood  and  then  spent  two  years 
in  the  Ohio  Northern  University  at  Ada,  O., 
and    after    his    return   to    Auburn    township 


taught  the  winter  school  for"  nine  successive 
terms  in  the  home  district  and  taught  also  in 
the  Tiro  High  School,  13  terms  in  all.  Dur- 
ing all  this  time  he  had  resided  on  his  present 
farm,  on  which  he  has  made  the  improvements 
including  about  five  miles  of  tiling.  With  the 
exception  of  12  acres,  which  he  devotes  to 
pasturage,  his  farm  is  all  under  fine  cultiva- 
tion. He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Shelby  Tele- 
phone Company.  To  his  insurance  business 
he  devotes  usually  the  first  three  days  of  the 
week  and  writes  risks  for  the  Crawford 
County  Mutual  Fire  and  Lightning  Company, 
and  the  Ohio  Mutual  Wind,  Storm  and  Tor- 
nado Insurance  Company,  his  territory  cover- 
ing four  townships  in  Richland  county,  two 
in  Crawford  and  four  in  Huron  county. 

Mr.  Sawyer  was  married  to  Miss  Eunice 
L.  Trago,  who  was  born  in  Auburn  township, 
a  daughter  of  S.  W.  and  Amelia  Trago,  and 
four  children  have  been  born  to  them,  namely  : 
Huron  E.,  who  resides  with  his  family  at 
Dayton ;  Porter,  who  operates  the  home  farm, 
and  married  Carrie  Mae  Bender,  of  Sandusky 
township;  Kenneth  E.,  who  formerly  was  a 
teacher  in  Crawford  county  and  is  now  in  the 
employ  of  the  First  National  Bank  at  Port- 
land, Ore. ;  and'Milo  B.,  who  is  a  student  in 
the  Tiro  High  School.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sawyer 
belong  to  the  Lutheran  church  at  Tiro.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  of  the  progressive 
type.  For  many  years  Mr.  Sawyer  has  been 
prominent  in  the  work  of  the  Crawford 
County  Grange  and  has  been  county  deputy 
for  twelve  years  and  served  as  first  chan- 
cellor of  Tiro  Lodge  No.  593,  Knights  of 
Pythias.  He  has  filled  numerous  responsible 
positions,  for  six;  years .  being  a  member  and 
director  of  the  Crawford  County  Mutual  In- 
surance Co.,  and  for  ten  years  was  president 
of  the  Northeastern  Ohio  Farm  Institute  As- 
sociation. For  several  years  he  served  as  a 
member  of  the  township  board  of  education 
and  was  clerk  of  that  body. 

WILLIS  PRENTICE  KIMBLE,  a  well- 
known  resident  of.  Gallon,  O.,  is  the  oldest 
division,  engineer  in  term  of  service  on  the 
Erie  Railroad.  He  was  born  at  Paris,  Edgar 
county,  HI.,  April  6,  1858,  a  son  of  George  W. 
and  Sarah  J.  Kimble., 

Mr.    Kimble    attended    public    and    private 


1038 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


schools  in  Paris,  and  in  1879  graduated  from 
the  College  of  Engineering,  University  of  Illi- 
nois.    In  August  of  that  year  he  entered  the 
engineering  department  of  the  Atchison,  To- 
peka  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad  at  Las  Vegas, 
New  Mexico,  and  continued  in  various  posi- 
tions with  that  railroad  until  January,   1881, 
when  he  became  connected  with  the  Mexican 
Central   Railroad,   remaining   with   that   line 
until    August,    1884,    during   this   time   being 
principally  employed  as  locating  and  division 
engineer  in  charge  of  construction.     It  was 
while  he  was  with  the  Mexican  Central  that  * 
they  ran  the  first  line  of  railroad  from  the 
United   States   acrpss   the   line   into   Mexico. 
From   August,    1884,  to   Jan.    i,    1886,   Mr. 
Kimble  was  engaged  in  municipal  and  county 
engineering  at  Paris,  111.,  but  on  the  latter  date 
he    reentered    the    service    of    the    Atchison, 
Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad  on  the  Kan- 
sas City  to  Chicago  extension,  filling  the  posi- 
tion of  locating  engineer  and  division  engineer 
in   charge   of   construction.      He   afterwards 
was   division   roadmaster,   Kansas   City   east, 
and  later  general  roadmaster  from  Chicago  to 
Kansas  City  and  St.  Joseph,  Mo.     In  March, 
1894,  he  entered  the  service  of  the  New  York, 
Lake  Erie  &  Western  Railroad  (now  the  Erie) 
as  division  roadmaster  and  in   1897  he  was 
made    division    engineer    of    the    Cincinnati 
Division  of  the  Erie  and  has  continued  in  that 
capacity  until  the  present  time. 

Mr.  Kimble  was  married  on  Nov.  8,  1888. 
to  Miss  Sara  S.  Gates,  of  La  Platta,  Mo. 

G.  M.  KLEIN,  who  carries  on  general 
farming  in  section  i,  Cranberry  township, 
Crawford  county,  O.,  where  he  owns  107 
acres  of  valuable  and  well  improved  land,  is 
one  of  the  representative  citizens  of  this  part 
of  the  county.  He  was  born  on  this  farm, 
Jan.  23,  1849,  and  is  a  son  of  Conrad  and 
Margaret  (High)  Klein. 

Conrad  Klein  and  wife  were  both  born  in 
Wittenberg,  Germany.  They  came  to  Amer- 
ica and  were  married  in  Cranberry  township, 
Crawford  county,  on  the  day  preceding  Mr. 
Klein's  30th  birthday.  They  then  settled  on 
the  farm  above  mentioned,  all  of  which  Con- 
rad cleared,  and  here  he  engaged  in  farming 
for  many  years  and  then,  with  his  wife  retired 
to   New   Washington.     There  he   died   some 


four  years  later,  at  the  age  of  'j't^,  she  surviv- 
ing to  the  age  of  74  years.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Lutheran  church  and  their  burial 
was  in  the  Lutheran  cemetery.  They  were 
parents  of  four  daughters  and  two  sons, 
namely:  Elizabeth,  who  is  the  wife  of  John 
Lederer,  residing  near  Toledo;  Matilda,  de- 
ceased, who  was  the  wife  Of  Benjamin 
Guiss;  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  Utz; 
Caroline,  who  is  the  wife  of  Jacob  Michel- 
f elder;  Adam,  who  died  at  the  age  of  five 
years;  and  G.  M.,  who  was  the  second  in 
order  of  birth. 

G.  M.  Klein  attended  the  district  school 
when  his  father  could  spare  him  and  remained 
at  home  as  the  only  son  to  grow  to  maturity. 
This  property  has  undergone  much  improve- 
ment and  in  1900  Mr.  Klein  erected  his  com- 
fortable residence,  his  other  buildings  being 
equally  substantial. 

Mr.  Klein  was  married  (first)  to  Miss  Mary 
Herr,  a  daughter  of  George  Herr.  Mr.  Klein 
was  married  (second)  to  Miss  Mary  Vollmer, 
a  daughter  of  Jacob  Vollmer.  Mrs.  Klein 
died  Sept.  18,  1905,  when  aged  44  years,  5 
months  and  23  days.  She  was  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  church  and  her  burial  was  at  New 
Washington.  No  children  were  born  to  his 
first  marriage,  but  Mr.  Klein  has  five  children 
of  his  second  union:  Theodore,  who  married 
Jennie  John,  and  lives  at  Mansfield,  O. ;  and 
Lydia,  Emma,  Alfred  and  Paul.  The  family 
belongs  to  the  Lutheran  church.  In  politics 
Mr.  Klein  is  a  stanch  Democrat  and  on  the 
Democratic  ticket  he  has  frequently  been 
elected  to  important  offices.  For  some  years 
he  served  as  school  director,  four  successive 
years  was  road  supervisor  and  two  terms 
was  township  trustee. 

ANDREW  HETICH  GIBSON,  who  owns 
and  manages  his  own  farm  of  80  acres  and  also 
attends  to  his  wife's  farm  of  356  acres,  both 
situated  in  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  is  one  of  the  representative  citizens 
of  this  section  and  a  member  of  one  of  its  old 
and  substantial  families.  He  was  born  in 
Whetstone  township.  May  27,  1846,  and  is  a 
son  of  John  and  Mary  Ann  (Kerr)  Gibson. 

John  Gibson,  who  is  now  deceased,  was 
born  in  Franklin  county,  Pa.,  and  was  a  son 
of  George   and   Mary    (Buchannon)    Gibson. 


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AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1041 


For  many  years  John  Gibson  was  a  farmer  in 
Crawford  county  and  died  on  his  farm  in 
Whetstone  township.  He  married  Mary  Ann 
Kerr,  who  was  also  born  in  FrankHn  county, 
a  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Margaret  (Camp- 
bell) Kerr,  old  Pennsylvania  families  of 
Scotch  extraction.  To  John  Gibson  and  wife 
the  following  children  were  born:  Margaret 
Ann,  who  married  John  Campbell;  Hannah  E., 
who  was  married  (first)  to  A.  R.  Walker,  and 
(second)  to  Peter  Helfrick;  Andrew  Hetich; 
George  B. ;  J.  M.,  who  is  a  physician  engaged 
in  medical  practice  in  West  Virginia;  Mary 
Belle,  who  is  deceased;  and  John  Edwin, 
Charles  E.,  Delia  J.  and  Leaffe  L. 

Andrew  H.  Gibson  attended  the  district 
schools  in  Whetstone  township  and  the  Bu- 
cyrus  High  School  for  one  term,  afterward  as- 
sisting his  father  on  the  home  place  and  lived 
on  the  homestead  until  he  was  about  30  years 
of  age.  During  this  time  he  had  served  in  the 
Civil  War  in  Co.  E,  136th  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  and 
was  out  for  100  days.  Farming  and  moderate 
stock  raising  have  ever  since  engaged  his  at- 
tention and  along  this  line  he  is  considered 
one  of  the  successful  men  of  Whetstone  town- 
ship, his  judgment  in  agricultural  matters  be- 
ing generally  accepted  as  the  result  of  mature 
experience. 

On  April  18,  1877,  Mr.  Gibson  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Letta  J.  Campbell,  who  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Edward  and  Amanda  (Tupps)  Camp- 
bell, and  a  granddaughter  of  John  and  Mary 
(Jones)  Campbell.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Gibson 
were  among  the  leading  people  of  Whetstone 
township  and  it  was  from  her  father  that 
Mrs.  Gibson  inherited  her  large  estate,  being 
the  youngest  daughter.  Other  members  of 
her  family  were:  Catherine,  deceased,  who 
was  the  wife  of  Franklin  Keifer;  Samuel 
K.,  who  is  deceased;  and  John  B.  To  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Gibson  the  following  children  were 
born :  Iva  May,  who  is  the  wife  of  J.  A.  Low- 
miller  and  has  three  children — Roland  A., 
Florence  Helen  and  Earl  Gibson;  Mervin  J., 
who  married  Austie  Sife,  and  has  one  daugh- 
ter, Edith  Carrie;  Amanda  Vianna,  who  is 
deceased;  and  Claud  M.,  who  resides  at  home. 
Mr.  Gibson  and  family  attend  the  Presbyterian 
church  at  Bucvrus.  He  is  a  Republican  as  was 
his  father,  and  has  served  as  a  member  of  the 
township  school  board  and  as  road  supervisor. 


LEROY  McMICHAEL,*  one  of  Whet- 
stone township's  well  known  and  highly  re- 
spected men,  was  born  Sept.  19,  1874,  on  the 
farm  on  which  he  lives  and  of  which  he  is 
half  owner,  230  acres  situated  five  miles  east 
of  Bucyrus,  Crawford  county,  O.  He  is  a 
son  of  John  A.  and  Mary  A.  (Trimble)  Mc- 
Michael. 

John  A.  McMichael  and  wife  were  both 
born  in  Crawford  county,  O.,  he  in  Liberty 
township  and  she  on  the  present  farm,  the  old 
Trimble  homestead,  which  has  been  in  the 
family  since  it  was  entered  from  the  Govern- 
ment. John  A.  McMichael  was  a  veteran  of 
the  Civil  War,  having  served  in  Co.  E,  loist 
O.  Vol.  Inf.,  afterward  engaging  in  farming 
until  his  death,  in  April,  1901.  He  was  quite 
prominent  in  local  politics  and  was  widely 
known.  His  widow  survives  and  resides  on 
East  Mansfield  Street,  Bucyrus.  They  had  the 
following  children :  Mary  Jane,  deceased,  who 
was  the  wife  of  Frank  E.  Miller;  Eugene  T. ; 
John  Lawrence ;  Emma,  deceased,  who  was  the 
wife  of  Leonard  F.  Quaintance;  Ernest  Way- 
land  ;  Leroy ;  Bessie,  who  lives  with  her 
mother;  and  Garfield  and  Oren  A. 

Leroy  McMichael  had  school  advantages  in 
Whetstone  township  until  he  was  about  20 
years  of  age,  attending  mainly  during  the  win- 
ters and  assisting  his  father  in  the  summers. 
He  continues  his  agricultural  activities  during 
the  growing  season  and  in  the  winter  time  is 
mainly  interested  in  contract  work  on  turn- 
pike roads  and  in  street  paving.  He  is  a  man 
of  much  energy  and  business  enterprise  and 
counts  largely  as  a  useful  and  dependable  citi- 
zen. He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  but  in 
local  elections  reserves  the  right  to  vote  in- 
dependently. 

On  May  19,  1898,  Mr.  McMichael  was 
married  to  Miss  Daisy  L.  Beck,  a  daughter  of 
William  and  Sarah  (Kelley)  Beck,  the  former 
of  whom,  in  life,  was  a  farmer  in  Jefferson 
township,  Crawford  county,  and  the  latter  of 
whom  lives  at  Leona,  Mich.  Mrs.  McMichael 
has  brothers  and  sisters  as  follows :  Shannon, 
who  is  deceased ;  Verna,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Mack  Gledhill;  Clark;  Harold;  Carrie,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Orlo  Charlton ;  and  Elizabeth,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Harry  Middlebrook.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  McMichael  have  three  sons :  Ralph  Em- 
mett,  who  was  born  March  17,  1900;  Harold 


1042 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Glenn,   who  was   born  August  7,    1903 ;  and 
Maurice-  Eldon,  who  was  born  June  7,  1906.    - 

C.  F.  FIKE,*  one  of  the  leading  business 
men  of  New  Washington,  conducting  a 
plumbing,  heating  and  lighting  establishment 
and  dealing  in  plumbing  supplies,  was  born 
in  Seneca  county,  O.,  Jan.  31,  1879,  and  is  a 
son  of  David  and  Mary  Fike,  who  now  reside 
at  New  Washington. 

After  his  school  days  were  over,  C.  F.  Fike 
made  himself  generally  useful  up  to  1900, 
when  he  came  to  New  Washington  and  learned 
his  trade  with  S.  J.  Kible  and  remained  with 
that  firm  for  ten  years,  when  he  started  into 
the  plumbing  business  for  himself  with 
Thomas  Klein  as  partner,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Fike  &  Klein,  which  cpntinued  from  June 
until  January  in  the  following  year.  Mr. 
Fike  then  operated  under  the  firm  name  of 
C.  F.  Fike  &  Company  in  a  general  contract- 
ing business  with  one  helper,  in  the  Bordner 
Block  until  Nov.  i,  191 1,  when  he  secured  his 
present  large  quarters  which  are  well  situated 
and  equipped  for  the  volume  of  business  that 
he  commands.  Mr.  Fike  has  been  a  member 
of  the  town  council  since  January,  1912,  a 
good,  reliable,  dependable  business  man,  but 
is  identified  with  no  particular  political  party. 

Mr.  Fike  married  Miss  Lydia  Schwab,  a 
daughter  of  Christian  and  Sarah  Schwab, 
residents  of  Sulphur  Springs,  and  they  have 
six  children:  Elsworth,  Helen,  Odeal, 
Charles,  Alice,  and  Ruth,  the  fourth  in  order 
of  birth,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Fike  and 
family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church. 
The  family  residence  is  on  East  Main  Street. 

JOHN  B.  SHUMAKER,  a  retired  farmer 
residing  in  Gabon,  was  born  in  Polk  town- 
ship Crawford  county,  O.,  Jan.  11,  1841.  His 
parents  were  John  and  Lydia  (Beltz)  Shu- 
maker,  and  he  is  a  grandson  of  Jonas  Shu- 
maker,  who  at  an  early  day  came  to  this  sec- 
tion from  Pennsylvania,  making  the  journey 
overland  by  team  and  accompanied  by  his 
family..  This  region  was  at  that  time  entirely 
uncultivated  and  the  Wyandot  Indians  were 
still  residing  here.  For  their  meat  supply  the 
family  depended  largely,  if  not  entirely,  upon 
the  wild  game  which  fell  before  the  pioneer's 
rifle.     Jonas   Shumaker  died  when  85   years 


old,  living  long  enough  to  see  many  changes 
and  improvements  in  the  county.  His  first 
wife  had  died  in  early  life,  and  he  was  twice 
married  subsequently. 

John  Shumaker,  father  of  our  subject,  came 
to  Ohio  with  his  parents  in  the  early  thirties 
of  the  last  century,  and  here,  when  arrived  at 
years  of  maturity  he  married  Lydia  Beltz, 
beginning  domestic  life  in  Polk  township. 
He  was  not,  however,  destined  to  long  enjoy 
the  fruits  of  his  labors,  as  he  died  at  the  early 
age  of  23  years,  when  his  only  son,  John  B., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  four  months 
old. 

John  B.  Shumaker  was  reared  on  a  farm  in 
Polk  township.  In  addition  to  acquiring  a 
competent  knowledge  of  agriculture,  he  became 
a  carpenter,  but  abandoned  this  latter  trade 
after  following  it  for  a  few  years.  He  pur- 
chased his  first  land— a  tract  of  46  acres — in 
Polk  township,  where  he  resided  for  some 
years,  or  until  the  spring  of  191 1,  when  he 
retired  from  active  labor  and  took  up  '  his 
residence  in  Gallon.  He  owns  land  also  in 
W^hetstone  township  and  has  been  successful  in 
his  business  and  agricultural  operations.  A 
Democrat  in  politics,  he  has  held  several  local 
offices. 

He  was  first  married  in  Defiance  county,  to 
Catherine  Dickerhoof,  who  was  born  in  De- 
fiance, O.,  June  II,  1840.  She  died  in  Gallon 
in  1903.  She  was  a  member  of  the  German 
Lutheran  church.  Of  this  marriage  there 
were  four  children  born,  namely:  Belle,  wife 
of  Allen  Morrow,  a  farmer  in  Crawford 
county;  Clara,  wife  of  Michael  Bair,  a  farmer 
of  Bucyrus  township;  Mary,  wife  of  Frank 
Tracht,  also  a  Crawford  county  farmer;  and 
Andy,  who  died  unmarried  when  26  years  of 
age. 

July  21,  1904,  Mr.  Shumaker  married  for 
his  second  wife,  Jemima  Kieffer,  nee  Beltz, 
who  was  born  in  Polk  township^  this  county, 
and  was  here  reared  and  educated.  By  a 
previous  marriage  to  Charles  Kieffer,  now 
deceased,  she  had  a  daughter,  Cora,  who  mar- 
ried and  had  a  daughter,  who  is  now  Mrs. 
Bessie  Filsinger.  They  all  reside  in  Toledo 
and  the  Filsingers  have  a  son,  Levern.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Shumaker  attend  the  Lutheran 
church.  They  have  many  friends  in  Gallon 
and  elsewhere  throughout  the  county  and  are 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1043. 


people  of  substance  and  worth — good  neigh- 
bors and  -faithful  to  their  duties  in  life. 

F.  L.-  KEMP,  a  leading  citizen  of  Auburn 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  formerly  a 
justice  of  the  peace  for  a  period  covered  by 
ten -years,  resides  on  his  valuable  farm  of  io8 
acres,  which  is  situated  in  section  3,  Auburn 
township.  He  was  born  in  Venice  township, 
Seneca  county,  O.,  May  3,  1859,  a  son  of 
Thomas  and  Elizabeth  E.  (Moor)  Kemp. 

Thomas  Kemp  was  reared  in  Seneca  county 
and  married  there,  the  Moor  family  being 
among  the  earliest  settlers.  Nine  children 
were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kemp  and  two 
sons  saw  service  in  the  Civil  War.  F.  L. 
Kemp  was  the  sixth  born  in  the  family  and  is 
the  only  one  living  in  Crawford  county. 

F.  L.  Kemp  attended  the  district  schools  in 
Seneca  county  and  afterward  the  Normal 
School  at  Ada,  O.,  turning  his'  attention  then 
to  teaching  school,  a  profession  he  followed 
more  or  less  continuously  for  25  years,  in 
Huron  and  Crawford  counties.  In  1885  he 
came  to. settle  permanently  in  the  latter  county 
and  was  married  to  Miss  Clara  West,  who  was 
born  on  the  present  home  farm  in  Auburn 
township^  a  daughter  of  H.  A.  and  Ellen 
West.  H.  A.  West  was  born  also  on  this  farm, 
a.  son  of,  John  .and  Elizabeth  (McFarland) 
West,  the  former  of. whom  was  born  in  Eng- 
land and  the  latter  in 'Scotland.  Grandfather 
West  secured  this,  land  and  his  deed,  dated 
Aug.  6,  1834,  vvas  signed  by  Andrew  Jack- 
son, President  of  the  United  States.  He  died 
here  but.- his  widow  survived  until  1884  and 
died  in  Richland  county,  O.  Mrs.  Kemp  was 
the  .third  born  of  her  parents'  five  children 
and  is  the  only  one  living  in  Crawford  county 
at  the  present  time.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kemp  have 
one  son,  Harry,  who  was  born  in  Plymouth 
township,  Richland  county,  Oct.  13,  1888. 
He  has  been .  thoroughly  educated  and  after 
graduating  from  the  Tiffin  High  School',  took 
a  course  in  civil  engineering  at  the  Tri-State 
College  and  then,  located  at  'Winchester,  Ind., 
where  he  follows  his  profession  as  civil  en- 
gineer. 

Since  locating  on  this  farm,  Mr.  Kemp  has 
engaged  in  general  agriculture  and  has  done  a 
large  amount,  of  improving.  He  has  been  a 
lifelong  Republican  and  has   frequently  been 


called  to  public  office  by  his  fellow  citizens. 
He  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  school 
board  of  Auburn  township  and  in  every  way 
has  demonstrated  his  interest  in  his  commu- 
nity which  is  a  part  of  good  citizenship. 

Vera  De  Vail,  when  nine. years  old,  was. 
taken  into  the  home  of  F.  L.  Kemp  and  was 
reared  as  carefully  as  his  own  child.  She  was 
educated  in  this  township  and  is  still  regarded 
as  one  of  the  Kemp  family.  She  was  born 
Feb.  II,  1895.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Jennie  De  Vail. 

CURTIS  J.  BAKER,  a  prominent  con- 
tractor and  builder  at  Gabon,  O.,  is  one  of  the 
successful  self-made  men  of  this  city  and  one 
who  commands  the  respect  of  the  business 
world  and  enjoys  the  esteem  of. his  fellow 
citizens  in  general.  He  was  born  in  Morrow 
county,  O.,  in  May,  1866,  and  lost  his  par- 
ents when  13  years  of  age. 

An  orphan  has  fewer  early  opportunities 
than  are  afforded  those  in  happier  circum- 
stances and  while  Curtis  J.  Baker  had  some 
educational  opportunities  at  Blooming  Grove, 
the  necessity  of  earning  his  own  living  when 
only  a  boy  in  years,  greatly  curtailed  his 
school  attendance.  On  being  questioned  as  to 
the  main  element  that  contributed  to  his  suc- 
cess, he  replied  that  when  he  had  work  to  do 
he  did  it  well,  from  boyhood  to  manhood. 
The  terse  reply  explains  the  situation.  For 
eight  years  he  worked  to  learn  the  building 
trade,  under  M.  B.  Henderson,  at  Mt.  Gilead, 
and  after  coming  to  Gabon,  in  1890,  worked  as 
a  journeyman  for  eight  years  more  and  then 
went  into  the  building  and  contracting  busi-r 
ness  for  himself.  His  good  work  inay  be 
pointed  out  in  many  parts  of  the  city,'  a  "re- 
cent handsome  structure  being  the'  Enquirer 
building.  He  has  erected  many  of  the  hand- 
some private  residences,  built  the  Ebenezer 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  near  Gabon  and 
at  Crestline  erected  the  Newman'  block  and  the 
parochial  school  and  parish  house.  He  erected 
his  own  handsome  modern  residence  which 
stands  at  No.  336  South  Market  Street. 

Mr.  Baker  was  married  at  Bellville,  in  Rich- 
land county,  to  Miss  Ada  A.  Grogg,  who  was 
born  and  educated  in  Morrow  county',  and 
died  at  Gabon,  March  12.  191 1,  when  aged  35; 
years.     She  is  survived  by  three  sons :  Fleet 


1044 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


L.,  Jay  and  Charles  C.  Mr.  Baker  was  mar- 
ried second  to  Miss  Myrtle  Faine,  who  was 
born  and  reared  in  Crawford  county.  She  is 
a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  but  Mr.  Baker 
belongs  to  the  United  Brethren  body.  He  is 
a  Democrat  in  politics. 

MICHAEL  UHL,  who  is  manager  of  the 
Uhl  Hatchery,  at  New  Washington,  0.,  and 
widely  known  as  a  poultry  raiser  and  fancier, 
was  born  in  Cranberry  township,  Crawford 
county,  July  30,  1871,  and  is  a  son  of  Jacob 
and  Margaret  (Nedolast)  Uhl.  Jacob  Uhl 
came  to  New  Washington  in  boyhood  and  his 
four  sons  all  live  in  this  place. 

Poultry  raising  has  been  a  successful  in- 
dustry on  the  Uhl  farm  since  Michael  Uhl 
was  a  boy.  He  is  now  associated  with  his 
brothers,  George  and  Lawrence,  in  the  poultry 
business  which  has  assumed  large  proportions. 
In  1900  the  firm  of  Uhl  Brothers  started  the 
Uhl  Hatchery  in  a  small  way,  with  one  incu- 
bator, while  their  present  plant  covers  five 
acres  and  has  a  120,000  egg  capacity  in  their 
three  buildings.  On  an  average  from  30,000  to 
35,000  chickens  are  hatched  a  week,  all  pure 
bred,  of  18  different  breeds  and  for  these  they 
get  fancy  prices,  sometimes  $25  per  hundred. 
Chick  shipments  are  made  by  express,  in  spe- 
cially prepared  boxes,  and  they  begin  about 
Feb.  ist  of  each  year  to  cover  their  territory 
which  includes  the  New  England  states  and  as 
far  south  as  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  and  as 
far  west  as  Nebraska,  their  shipments  closing 
about  the  first  of  September.  This  enterprise 
has  been  successful  from  the  start  and  the  busi- 
ness is  constantly  growing.  Michael  Uhl  lives 
at  the  hatchery  and  employment  is  afforded 
eight  girls  and  seven  men. 

Mr.  Uhl  married  Miss  Mamie  Strausbaugh, 
a  daughter  of  James  and  Eva  Strausbaugh, 
former  residents  of  Tiffin,  O.,  but  now  of  New 
Washington.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Uhl  have  one 
son,  Robert.  They  are  members  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church. 

CHARLES  EDLER,  a  retired  farmer  now 
living  quietly  at  Galion,  O..  where  he  has  very 
comfortable  surroundings  and  many  warm 
friends,  was  born  near  Heidelberg,  Baden.  Ger- 
manv,  June  24,  1830.  a  son  of  Martin  and 
Margaret  (Shrake)  Edler. 


For  many  generations  the  ancestors  of  Mr. 
Edler,  lived  and  died  in  the  province  of  Sins- 
bein,  Germany.  There  Martin  Edler  followed 
mechanical  pursuits  during  his  active  life,  liv- 
ing to  the  great  age  of  95  years.  His  wife 
died  when  aged  53  years.  Of  their  family  of 
nine  sons  and  three  daughters,  but  two  sur- 
vive :  Charles  and  a  daughter,  the  latter  a  resi- 
dent of  Germany. 

Charles  Edler  was  the  second  born  of  his 
parents'  children  and  attended  school  in  his 
own  province  and  when  18  years  of  age,  ful- 
filled the  law  of  the  land  by  entering  the  Ger- 
man army.  When  released  from  this  patriotic 
service,  being  then  21  years  of  age,  he  took 
passage  on  a  steamer  to  Havre,  and  from  there 
on  a  sailing  vessel  for  America  and  27  days 
later  ^^'as  landed  at  the  port  of  New  York. 
He  came  on  to  Crawford  county,  this  being  in 
1852.  Charles  Edler  secured  farm  work  at 
which  he  continued  for  four  years  and  then 
rented  land  for  himself,  subsequently  pur- 
chasing a  tract  in  Whetstone  township.  Dur- 
ing the  Civil  War  he  sold  his  Crawford  county 
land  and  bought  120  acres,  situated  in  Tully 
township,  Marion  county,  on  which  he  lived 
for  ten  years  and  then  returned  to  Crawford 
county  and  bought  120  acres  in  Jefferson  town- 
ship. This  land  he  greatly  improved  and  still 
owns,  continuing  his  residence  on  it  until 
March,  1904,  when  he  retired  to  Galion.  Al- 
though Mr.  Edler  has  always  been  an  inter- 
ested citizen  and  law  abiding  in  every  partic- 
ular, he  has  never  desired  public  office,  his 
political  activity  being  covered  by  his  vote,  cast 
with  the  Republican  party.  He  is  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  Lutheran  church  at 
Galion. 

On  July  31,  1856,  four  years  after  reaching 
Crawford  county,  Mr.  Edler  was  married  to 
Miss  Martha  Beach,  who  was  bom  within 
four  miles  of  Galion,  May  8,  1836,  and  has 
spent  her  life  in  this  part  of  the  county.  Her 
parents,  George  and  Mary  (Zimmerneaker) 
Beach,  were  natives  of  Hesse-Darmstadt,  Ger- 
many and  came  to  the  United  States  before 
marriage,  both  locating  in  Richland  county, 
O.,  where  they  were  subsequently  married. 
The  father  was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  as- 
sisted in  the  erection  of  many  of  the  first  frame 
houses  in  Richland  county.  He  also  was  a 
coffin  maker  and  on  many  occasions  he  would 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1045 


carry  the  completed  coffin  on  his  back  to  the 
house  of  bereavement.  The  Beach  family  ex- 
perienced and  overcame  all  the  ordinary  hard- 
ships of  pioneer  life.  The  father  died  in 
October,  1862,  his  birth  having  taken  place  in 
February,  1812.  When  Mrs.  Beach  died  in 
1840,  two  children  survived  her:  Mrs.  Edler 
and  a  son,  John,  who  resides  in  Marion  county. 
Twelve  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Edler,  three  of  whom  died  in  infancy  and  one 
daughter,  Irena,  at  the  age  of  17  years.  The 
survivors  are  as  follows :  Amelia,  who  is  the 
wife  of  William  Ricker,  residing  at  Bucyrus; 
Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  Samuel  Ickhorn,  a 
farmer  living  in  this  county,  and  has  two 
sons;  Katie,  who  is  the  widow  of  Levi  Smith, 
who  lives  at  Gallon  and  has  one  son ;  Amqnda, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Ise,  and  lives  at 
Newcastle,  Pa. ;  Edward,  a  resident  of  Gallon, 
who  has  one  son;  George,  who  is  a  musician, 
and  with  his  two  sons  are  leaders  of  a  band  at 
Gallon;  Maggie,  who  is  the  wife  of  William 
Dickerhoof,  and  lives  at  Bucyrus,  having 
three  children;  and  Karl,  who  resides  with  his 
family,  at  Gallon.  Mr.  Edler  has  witnessed 
many  changes  take  place  since  he  first  came  to 
Crawford  county  and  his  recollections  of  early 
days  are  very  interesting. 

JOSEPH  PIFHER,  whose  fine  farm  of 
135  acres  is  situated  in  section  6,  Auburn  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  is  one  of  the  well 
known  citizens  of  this  section  and  is  a  veteran 
of  the  great  Civil  War.  He  was  born  in 
Thompson  township,  Seneca  county,  O.,  Aug. 
7,  1842,  and  is  a  son  of  Mathias  and  Otella 
(Zenk)  Pi  f her. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Pifher  sold  his  farm  of 
20  acres  in  Seneca  county  and  then  bought  62 
acres  in  Cranberry  township,  Crawford  county, 
which,  at  that  time  was  all  swamp  and  wood- 
land. With  the  help  of  his  son  the  father 
cleared  and  improved  the  place  and  lived  there 
until  his  death,  at  the  age  of  86  years  and  three 
months.  He  was  a  member  of  St.  Mary's 
Catholic  church  at  North  Auburn.  The 
mother  of  Mr.  Pifher  died  in  her  80th  year  and 
she  also  was  a  faithful  member  of  the  Catholic 
church. 

Joseph  Pifher  did  not  have  many  advan- 
tages in  his  youth  as  he  was  obliged  to  assist 
his  father  and  as  soon  as  old  enough  he  learned 


the  carpenter  trade,  mastering  every  detail  so 
that  all  kinds  of  carpenter  work  came  easy  to 
him.  He  assisted  to  build  the  largest  hotel  at 
New  Washington,  O.,  and  continued  to  follow 
his  trade  for  21  years.  During  the  Civil  War 
he  served  almost  one  year  as  a  member  of  Co. 
F,  64th  O.  Vol.  Inf.  Mr.  Pifher  was  ten 
years  old  when  his  parents  moved  to  Cranberry 
township  and  he  lived  there  until  marriage, 
since  when  he  has  resided  on  his  present  place 
in  Auburn  township,  and  has  made  many  im- 
provements here. 

Mr.  Pifher  was  married  Feb.  22,  1870,  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Dewitt,  who  was  born  on  the 
present  farm,  a  daughter  of  Alfred  and  Sarah 
(Frey)  Dewitt.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Pifher 
was  of  German  extraction,  while  the  mother 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania.  She  was  a  child 
V,  hen  her  parents  moved  to  Ohio  and  spent  the 
remainder  of  her  life  here.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Pifher  three  children  were  born,  namely : 
Charles,  who  married  Frances  Forquer  and 
has  had  three  children,  two  of  whom  survive 
— Clarence  and  Grover — and  who  resides  on 
the  home  farm  and  assists  his  father;  Rose, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Mann;  and  Mary, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Peter  Alt,  who  lives  in  Au- 
burn township.  Mr.  Pifher  and  family  are 
members  of  St.  Mary's  Catholic  church.  He 
is  a  good  citzen  and  in  every  public  matter 
acts  for  the  general  welfare,  but  he  casts  an 
independent  vote. 

GEORGE  J.  DIETRICH,  deceased,  was 
born  at  Shippensburg,  Pa.,  in  1837,  a  son  of 
Philip  and  Margaret  Dietrich,  who  were  na- 
tives of  Pennsylvania  but  of  German  ancestry. 
They  were  good  people  and  belonged  to  the 
German  Lutheran  church. 

George  J.  Dietrich  was  an  only  son  but 
there  were  two  daughters,  both  of  whom  mar- 
ried dukes.  Mr.  Dietrich  grew  to  manhood 
in  his  native  section  and  about  the  close  of  the 
Civil  War,  embarked  in  the  hardware  business 
and  continued  until  1874,  when  he  disposed  of 
it  and  came  to  Gallon.  O.  Here  he  established 
the  hardware  store  with  which  he  was  cout 
nected  for  so  many  vears  and  in  this  city  be- 
came a  well  known  citizen  and  successful  busi- 
ness man.  acquiring  valuable  propertv  in  real 
estate  and  securing  the  confidence  of  his  fel- 
low citizens.      His   death   occurred   March   7, 


1046 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


1904.  Although  thoroughly  in  sympathy 
with  all  public  movements  that  meant  progress 
and  reform  and  never  failing  to  give  support 
to  the  Republican  party, -he  never  consented  to 
accept  any  public  office  for  himself.  In  his 
fraternal  connections  he  was  a  Mason  and  an 
Odd  Fellow.- 

Mr.  Dietrich  was  married  at  Shippensburg, 
Pa.,  to  Miss  Josephine  Boher,  who  was  born, 
reared  and  educated  there,  and  is  a  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Mary  (Pague)  Boher.  The 
parents  of  Mrs.  Dietrich  were  of  German  ex- 
traction but  were  born- in- Pennsylvania.-'" ^he 
father  was  a  coOper  by  trade* and  for  many 
years  conducted  a  large  cooperage  plant  at 
Shippensburg,  where  whisky  and  flour  and  oil 
barrels  were  manufactured.  He  died  in  1895, 
when  aged  78  years,  his  widow  surviving 
until  1904,  when  then  being  aged  81  years. 
They  attended  the  German  Reformed  church. 
Mr.  Boher  was  a  Democrat.  Of  their  13  chil- 
dren there  are  four  sons  and  three  daughters 
living,  Mrs.  Dietrich  being  the  only  one,  how- 
ever, who  resides  in  Ohio,  her  residence  being 
situated  at  No.  231  Boston  Street,  Gabon. 

Five  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dietrich,  two  of  whom,  Harry  and  Clarence, 
died  in  early  childhood.  Mary,  the  eldest 
daughter,  is  the  wife  of  Harry  W.  Brown,  a 
commercial  traveler,  and  they  reside  at  Logan, 
O.,  and  have  one  son,  Clarence  Mert,  who  is 
a  registered  pharmacist,  a  graduate  of  the 
Ohio  Southern  University  at  Columbus. 
Myrtle,  who  is  the  widow  of  Frank  Dehn,  lives 
with  her  mother.  Josephine  is  the  wife  of 
William  O'Neil,  a  hardware  merchant  of 
Columbus,  O.  Mrs.  Dietrich  is  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  as  was  Mr. 
Dietrich. 

JAMES  WILLIAM  MILLER,*  a  well 
known  member  of  the  Bucyrus  bar  and  for  six 
years  secretary  of  the  Bucyrus  Loan  and 
Building  Association,  an  important  enterprise 
of  this  section,  was  born  at  Bucyrus,  Aug.  5, 
1878,  and  has  always  maintained  his  home  in 
his  native  city. 

The  grandparents  of  Mr.  Miller  were  Joseph 
and  Sarah  (Henry)  Miller,  and  while  they 
were  of  Scotch  extraction  they  were  born  in 
Londonderry,  Ireland.  They  married  and 
lived  there  until  1844,  when,  with  their  three 


children,  they  -crossed  -the  Atlantic  Ocean  to 
Canada  and  established  themselves  in  Strat- 
ford, Ontario;  and  both  died  on  their  farm 
there,  the  grandmother  in  1895  ^"^  the  grand- 
father in  1905,  he  being  then  in  his  92nd  year. 
They  were  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  They  had  six  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters born  to  them,  some  of  whom  still  reside  in 
Canada,  while  others  are  residents  of-  the 
United  States. 

John  Robert  Miller,  the  eldest  son,  was  born 
ip  Ireland,  Nov.  13,  1839,  and  was  about  eight 
years  old  when  his  parents  came  to  Canada, 
where  he  grew  to  manhood  and  assisted  his 
father  in  farming  and  dealing  in  horses.  As 
his  father's  representative  he  came  to  Ohio 
for  .the  purpose  of  buying  horses  to  send-to 
Canada,  and  on  one  of  his  numerous  visits  he 
met  Miss  Mary  E.  McKinstry,  who  was  then 
a  teacher  at  Bucyrus.  She  was  born  Jan.  28, 
1849,  in  Marion  county,  O.,  and  still  survives, 
residing  at  No.  856  South  Sandusky  Street, 
Bucyrus,  which  city  has  been  her  home  for  50 
years.  She  is  a  daughter  of  James  and  Re- 
becca (Garberson)  McKinstry,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  June  18, 
181  r,  and  in  1831  came  to  Knox  county,  O. 
He  was  of  Scotch  ancestry  while  his  wife  was 
of  German  extraction.  In  1861  they  moved  to 
Bucyrus,  where  Mr.  McKinstry  died  in  1902, 
the  death  of  his  wife  haVing  occurred  ih 
1869.  They  were  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian church.  Three  of  their'  children  are  yet 
living,  namely :  Amanda,  who  is  the  wife  of 
T.  F.  Shotwell,  who  is  an  attorney  at  Detroit, 
Mich. ;  Mathew,  who  is  in  the  real  estate  busi- 
ness in  Colorado,  and  who  married  Kaitherine 
Mealer  and  has  one  daughter,  Myrtle  Amanda ; 
and  Mrs.  Miller.  On  May  5,  1874,  John  R. 
Miller  was  married  to  Mary  E.  McKinstry  and 
then  came  to  Bucyrus  to  live,  establishing  hiin- 
self  in  the  lumber,  carpenter  and  building 
business.  His  death  was  caused  by  an  acci- 
dent, on  Aug,  21,  1884,  he  being  injured  on 
his  father-in-law's  farm  by  some  Jersey  cattle. 
His  children  all  survive.  Gertrude,  who  was 
born  June  7,  1878,  is  the  widow  of  Frank  W. 
Cory  and  resides  at  Cleveland,  O.  James 
William  is  the  second  born.  Sarah,  who"  was 
born  in  December,  1880,  married"  G.''M. 
Meridith,  of  Indiana,  and  he  is  now  a  book- 
keeper  with   the   American   Clay   Machinery 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS  - 


1047 


Company,  at  Bucyrus.  John  Robert,  Jr.,  who 
was  born  May  23,  1884,  is  a  civil  engineer  on 
the  West  Division  of  the  Ohio  Central  Rail- 
road, with  headquarters  at  Columbus. 

After  completing  the  High  School  course  at 
Bucyrus,  James  William  Miller  entered  the 
law  department  of  the  Ohio  State  University 
at  Columbus,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1901 
and  was  admitted  to  the  Ohio  bar.  He  has 
been  interested  in  the  Bucyrus  Loan  and  Build- 
ing Association  since  its  organization  in  Feb. 
^■uary,  1887.  Its  present  officers  are:  W.  F. 
Earth,  president;  Frank  L.  Hopley,  vice  presi- 
dent; George  C.  Gormley,  treasurer;  and 
James  .William  Miller,  secretary:  The  busi- 
ness is  capitalized  at  $200,000,  and  the  com- 
pany operates  mainly  in  Crawford  county. 

Mr.  Miller  was  married  at  Bucyrus  to  Miss 
Edith  Tapling,  who  was  born  June  23,  1880, 
at  Lindsay,  England,  and  was  two  years  old 
when  she  was  brought  to  Bucyrus  by  her  par- 
ents, Francis  E.  and  Elizabeth  (Rose)  Tap- 
ling.  They  reside  at  Bucyrus,  the  father  be- 
ing a  carpenter  by  trade.  Mrs.  Miller  grad- 
uated from  the  Bucyrus  High  School  in  1898 
and  was  a  successful  and  popular  teacher  pre- 
vious to  her  marriage.  They  have  one  daugh- 
ter, Elizabeth  Mary,  who  wa:s  born  June  ir, 
1910.  They  are  active  members  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church.  Mr.  Miller  belongs  to  the 
Masonic  Blue  Lodge,  Chapter  and  Council,  at 
Bucyrus,  and  for  six  years  was  secretary  of 
the  Blue  Lodge,  and  also  is  past  chancellor  of 
Demas  Lodge,  No.   108,  Knights  of  Pythias. 

D.  M.  PEPPARD,  one  of  the  retired  en- 
gineers of  the  Pennsylvania  system,  residing 
at  Crestline,  O.,  may  be  numbered  with  the 
old  railway  men  of  the  State  as  his  connec- 
tion with  railroading  began  in  1853,  about  the 
time  the  Pennsylvania  Hne  was  completed  to 
this  place,  then  known  as  the  Ohio  &  Penn- 
sylvania. He  was  born  near  Crestline,  Dec. 
25,  1834,  and  has  always  lived  in  or  near  this 
city,  a  son  of  Francis  and  Mary  A.  (Morri- 
son) Peppard. 

Francis  Peppard  was  born  in-  Pennsylvania 
and  in  1831  came  to  near  Mansfield,  O.,  where 
he  married  Mary  A.  Morrison,  who  was  of 
Irish  extraction,  her  people  being  pioneers  in 
Richland  county.  After  marriage  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Peppard  lived  mainly  at  Crestline,  where 


his  death  occurred  when  almost  78  years  of 
age,  she  having  passed  away  at  the  early  age  of 
36  years.  They  were  of  the  Methodist  faith, 
worthy  people  in  every  relation  of  life.  Their 
family  consisted  of  two  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters, all  of  whom  survive,  are  married  and 
have  families. 

D.  M.  Peppard  was  the  eldest  born  of  his 
parents'  children  and  soon  after  his  school 
days  in  1853  went  to  work  in  the  yards  of  the 
old  Ohio  &  Pennsylvania  Railroad;  and  in 
1854  was  made  a  fireman  and  in  1859  was 
promoted  to  the  position  of  engineer,  first  on 
freight  trains  and  after  more  experience,  a 
passenger  engineer.  From  1873  until  1882 
he  had  charge  of  the  round  house  at  Crestline 
and  in  the  latter  year  .was  promoted  to  be  a 
master  mechanic,  a  position  he  filled  until  1891, 
having  had  charge  of  Division  B  of  the  Eastern 
lines  and  control  of  the  lines  from  Toledo  to 
Crestline.  In  1892  he  took  an  engine  again 
and  continued  until  1897,  when  he  became  an 
engine  shifter,  which  place  of  responsibility 
he  held  until  his  age  retirement,  Sept.  i,  1902. 
In  Feb.  1893,  Mr.  Peppard  met  with  a  serious 
accident  in  a  collision  between  Perrysville 
and  Leonardsville,  resulting  in  injuries  that 
confined  him  to  his  home  for  seven  months, 
and  this,  with  one  other,  were  the  only  disas- 
trous ones  in  his  long  career  and  neither  were 
because-  of  any  lack  of  care  or  caution  on  his 
part  for  he  was  known  to  have  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  every  signal  used  in  the  service 
and  to  be  unusually  observant  of  every  detail 
of  his  work. 

At  Crestline  Mr.  Peppard  was  married  to 
Miss  Maria  A.  Huffman,  who  was  born  in 
Knox  county,  O.  and  was  four  years  old 
when  her  parents,  Nathan  and  Electa  (Par- 
rott)  Huffman,  came  to  Crestline.  Mr.  Huff- 
man was  born  in  Ohio  and  his  wife  in  New 
Jersey.  After  marriage  he  engaged  in  work 
at  the  blacksmith  trade  and  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. He  was  born  in  18 1 3  and  died  at  Crest- 
line in  1870,  while  his  widow  survived  until 
1900.  They  were  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  Sixteen  children  were  born 
to  them,  Mrs.  Peppard  being  the  second  in 
order  of  birth,  and  ten  of  these  grew  to  ma- 
ture years,  and  eight  married  and  have  fam- 
ilies of  their  own. 

Eight  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 


1048 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Peppard,  as  follows:  Mary,  who  is  the  wife 
of  George  Welshons,  a  farmer  in  Crawford 
county  and  has  two  children;  Kate,  who  mar- 
ried E.  West,  who  is  connected  with  the  Tube 
Works  at  Shelby,  0.,  and  has  three  children; 
Frank,  who  died  at  the  age  of  26  years,  sur- 
vived by  a  widow  and  one  child;  William  E., 
a  merchant  at  Marysville,  O.,  who  married 
Lillian  Gardner  and  has  six  children;  Grant, 
who  resides  with  his  wife  and  seven  children 
at  Shelby,  0.;  Edwin,  who  owns  a  claim  on 
which  he  resides,  in  Mexico;  Harry,  who  died 
as  the  result  of  an  accident  when  39  years  of 
age ;  and  Samuel,  who  is  a  house  decorator  and 
still'lives  with  his  parents.  Mr.  Peppard  and 
family  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  but 
has  never  accepted  public  office.  He  is  a  mei-n- 
ber  of  the  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Crestline;  and  is  a 
charter  member  of  Division  No.  306,  formerly 
No.  8,  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers 
and  in  1866  was  a  delegate  to  a  convention  of 
this  body. 

RENO  R.  SEERY,  general  farmer  and  one 
of  the  representative  citizens  of  Lykens  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  who  is  operating 
156  acres  of  land  for  his  father,  which  is  the 
old  homestead  on  which  he  was  born  June  2, 
1872,  and  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Lavinia 
(Coon)  Seery. 

Jacob  Seery  was  born  in  Ross  county,  O., 
and  during  his  active  life  carried  on  farming. 
He  has  always  been  a  Republican  in  his  polit- 
ical views  and  a  prominent  man  of  his  sec- 
tion. He  married  Lavinia  Coon,  who  was  born 
in  Canada,  and  four  children  were  born  to 
them :  Alvaro,  who  is  deceased ;  D.  B. ;  L.  M. 
D.,  who  is  now  deceased;  and  Reno  R. 

Reno  R.  Seery  attended  the  public  schools 
in  boyhood  and  before  he  took  upon  himself 
his  present  responsibilities,  traveled  all  through 
the  West,  visiting  points  of  interest  and  hav- 
ing a  very  enjoyable  pleasure  trip.  He  is  a 
progressive,  well  informed  agriculturist,  suc- 
cessfully cultivating  the  land  and  raising  some 
excellent  stock.  Sugar  making  is  also  one  of 
the  farm  industries,  a  fine  grove  of  sugar 
maples  being  on  the  fann. 

Mr.  Seery  was  married  Sept.  18,  1894,  to 
Miss  Caroline  Heinlen,  a  daughter  of  Henry 
and  Elizabeth  (Auck)  Heinlen,  who  were  sub- 
stantial and  respected  people  of  Holmes  town- 


ship and  parents  of  three  children;  Emanuel, 
Clara  and  Caroline.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seery 
a  son  was  born,  Orlo  Dale,  who  died  when  six 
months  old.  They  are  members  of  the  United 
Brethren  church.  Politically  he  is  a  Re- 
publican and  has  served  several  terms  on  the 
school  board.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Grange 
at  Brokensword  and  of  the  K.  O.  T.  M.  at  the 
same  place. 

EDWIN  G.  BEAL,  cashier  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Bucyrus  and  an  official  who 
has  had  much  to  do  with  the  prosperity  of  this 
institution  was  born  near  Bucyrus  on  his  fa- 
ther's farm  Sept.  i,  1876.  He  is  a  son  of  Ben- 
jamin and  Lydia  (Rexroth)  Beal  both  of 
whom  were  members  of  prominent  pioneer 
families  of  this  community. 

Edwin  G.  Beal  was  graduated  from  the  Bu- 
cyrus High  School  in  1893.  In  the  same  year 
he  became  assistant  to  his  father  in  the  office 
of  the  Crawford  county  Farmer's  Mutual  Fire 
Insurance  Company  of  which  company  his 
father  was  then  secretary.  Upon  the  death 
of  his  father  in  March,  1898,  he  was  appointed 
secretary  of  this  company  which  position  he 
filled  acceptably  until  the  end  of  the  com- 
pany's fiscal  year.  In  1896  he  began  his  train- 
ing in  practical  banking  in  the  Second  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Bucyrus  being  made  assist- 
ant cashier  of  that  institution  in  January, 
1898.  In  September,  1898,  he  entered  the 
Ohio  Wesleyan  University  at  Delaware,  O., 
where  he  was  graduated  from  the  classical 
course  in  1901  with  his  A.  B.  degree.  From 
this  institution  he  received  the  A.  M.  degree 
in  1904.  After  his  graduation  from  the  Ohio 
Wesleyan  University  he  entered  the  senior 
class  of  the  Law  School  at  Ohio  State  Uni- 
versity in  September,  1901,  from  which  insti- 
tution he  was  graduated  in  1902  with  the  de- 
gree of  LL.  B.  In  June,  1902,  Mr.  Beal  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  Ohio.  After  complet- 
ing his  education  he  accepted  a  position  with 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Bucyrus  and  con- 
tinued until  January,  1903,  when  he  was  elected 
assistant  cashier  of  the  bank.  In  November, 
1904,  Mr.  Beal  was  appointed  cashier  of  the 
same  institution  and  has  continued  in  this 
important  position  ever  since,  being  now  also 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
bank. 

On  Sept.  20,  191 1,  Mr.  Beal  married  Miss 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1049 


Rachel  Monnett,  who  was  born  at  Bucyrus, 
was  graduated  from  the  Bucyrus  High  School 
and  later  from  the  Cincinnati  School  of  Ora- 
tory. Mrs.  Beal  is  favorably  known  as  an 
elocutionist,  having  frequently  appeared  in 
public  and  on  many  occasions  has  given  en- 
tertainments for  charitable  purposes.  She  is 
a  daughter  of  Abram  C.  and  Jane  (Walwork) 
Monnett,  a  granddaughter  of  Col.  William 
Monnett  and  a  great-granddaughter  of  Isaac 
Monnett,  who  came  to  Crawford  county  in 
1828.  Since  its  establishment  in  Ohio  the 
Monnett  family  has  been  prominent  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  communities  in  which  they  have 
lived. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beal  are  interested  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  both  are 
active  and  appreciated  workers  in  the  Sunday 
School,  Mr.  Beal  at  present  being  its  Super- 
intendent. Mr.  Beal  is  a  member  of  the  Phi 
Kappa  Psi  college  fraternity.  Mrs.  Beal  is  a 
member  of  Hannah  Crawford  Chapter, 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution. 

E.  C.  ASSENHEIMER,  merchant  tailor, 
one  of  the  prosperous  and  representative  busi- 
ness men  of  Crestline,  O.,  who  established  his 
present  store  in  1906,  has  been  connected  with 
tailoring  interests  here,  however,  since  1895. 
He  was  born  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  in  1872,  and  is  a 
son  of  Christian  and  Bertha  (Marggraf)  As- 
senheimer. 

Christian  Assenheimer  was  born  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  Aug.  12,  1834,  his  parents  be- 
ing Germans.  As  a  young  man  he  came  to 
Bucyrus  and  has  ever  since  lived  in  Crawford 
county,  being  now  in  his  78th  year.  He  mar- 
ried Bertha  Marggraf,  who  was  born  in  Ger- 
many in  1838,  but  has  spent  the  greater  part 
of  her  .life  in  Crawford  county.  They  are 
faithful  members  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church.  Eight  children  were  born  to  them, 
seven  of  these  still  surviving. 

E.  C.  Assenheimer  was  reared  on  a  farm 
and  attended  the  public  schools  prior  to  learn- 
ing his  trade,  at  Crestline,  after  which  he 
worked  at  his  trade  and  for  three  years  was  in 
partnership  in  the  merchant  tailoring  business 
with  Jacob  Sutz.  In  igo6,  Mr.  Assenheimer 
embarked  in  business  for  himself  and  has  a 
commodious  store  well  situated,  the  dimen- 
sions of  which  are  80x16  feet,  on  Railroad 


Avenue.  He  carries  a  large  stock  of  both 
foreign  and  domestic  goods  and  has  every 
facility  for  doing  a  first  class  business  in  his 
line.  He  has  a  wide  city  acquaintance  and 
his  patronage  comes  from  the  most  fastidious 
class.  Like  his  father,  Mr.  Assenheimer  has 
always  been  a  stanch  Democrat.  Mr.  Assen- 
heimer is  unmarried. 

JAMES  B.  GORMLY,  president  of  the 
First  National  Bank,  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  and  for 
years  identified  with  numerous  very  impor- 
tant business  enterprises  of  this  section,  has 
been  connected  with  this  financial  institution 
since  its  organization,  and  has  been  at  its  head 
for  a  period  of  53  years.  He  was  born  at  Bu- 
cyrus, Nov.  23,  1836,  and  is  a  son  of  John  A. 
and  Louisa  (Bowman)  Gormly. 

John  A.  Gormly  was  born  at  Pittsburg,  Pa., 
July  19,  1804,  a  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth 
(Gill)  Gormly,  the  ancestry  being  Irish  on  the 
paternal  side  and  Scotch  on  the  maternal. 
John  A.  Gill,  the  maternal  grandfather, 
served  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  In  1830 
John  A.  Gormly  removed  from  Pittsburg  to 
Brownsville,  Pa.,  where  he  embarked  and 
continued  in  a  mercantile  business  until  1836, 
when  he  moved  to  Bucyrus  and  conducted  a 
store  on  Sandusky  Avenue.  He  was  a  man 
of  excellent  business  perception  and  his  fore- 
sight was  shown  in  his  acquisition  of  much 
property,  both  in  the  growing  town  and  in 
"the  adjacent  region,  and  in  addition  to  his 
subsequent  holdings  in  city  realty,  he  had 
1,000  acres  of  land  which  became  valuable  for 
farming  purposes.  He  established  one  of  the 
earliest  financial  institutions  here,  founding 
the  Peoples'  Deposit  Bank,  in  1859,  in  asso- 
ciation with  his  son,  James  B.  Gormly,  and 
continued  the  same  until  he  found  the  time 
ripe  for  still  broader  business  dealings,  and  in 
1864  organized  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Bucyrus.  His  business  acumen  and  sterling 
honesty  contributed  to  the  success  of  this  in- 
stitution as  they  had  to  his  other  undertak- 
ings, and  he  continued  at  the  head  of  this  bank 
until  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  May 
8,  1878.  He  was  a  ruling  elder  in  the  Pres- 
byterian church  and  served  in  public  capac- 
ities at  important  conventions  of  this  religious 
body,  both  in  Ohio  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
country.    In  1833  ^^  married  Louisa  Bowman, 


1050 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


who  died  Alay  6,  1872.  They  had  three  chil- 
dren: James  B.,  George  C.  and  Mary  L.,  the 
last  named  becoming  the  wife  of  Rev.  James 
.G.  D.  Findley. 

James  B.  Gormly  was  educated  at  Bucyrus 
.and  continued  at  school  until  he  was  17  years 
-of  age,,  when  his  uncle,  James  P.  Bowman, 
offered  him  a  clerkship  in  his  mercantile  store, 
and  he  remained  there  for  one  year.  Later 
he  entered  Bartlett's  Commercial  College,  at 
.Cincinnati,  >vhere  he  wa.s  graduated  in  1856, 
-and  then  became  bookkeeper  and  teller  of  the 
.Exchange  Bank  at  Bucyrus,  ^yhere  he  gained 
.his  first  banking  experience.  ..He  continued 
;thete  .until.  1859,  when  he  became  asspciated 
-with  his  father  in .  financial  affairs,  which, 
.under  careful  and.  conservative  rnanagement, 
developed  into  enterprises  of  vast  importance. 
.Mr.  Gormly's  name  and  activities  .haye  been 
.of  great  value  to  many_other  business  con- 
.cerns.  He  served  for  spme  .years  officially 
with  the  Gas  and  Electric  Light  Company  of 
.Bucyrus  and  later  .as  president  of  the  Bucyrus 
Water  Company;  in  1893  was  made  and  served 
as  assignee  of  the  estate  of  the  late  Governor 
.Foster,  of  Ohio;. from  1871  until  1875  was 
.secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Ohio  Central 
Railroad  Company ;  and  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  what  is  now  known  as  the  American 
-Clay  \\'prking  Machinery  Company,  of  which 
he  also  served  as  treasurer.  In  local  affairs, 
where  the  public  welfare  is  a  matter  of  con- 
cern, Air.  Gormly  has  never  failed  to  per- 
form a  good  citizen's  duty,  and  has  served  on 
many  charitable  boards  and  has  liberally  con- 
tributed to  benevolent  movements. 

In  iSqg  'Sir.  Gormly  was  married  to  Miss 
E.  A'^irginia  Swingly,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Fred- 
erick and  Alary  (Denman)  Swingly,  and  two 
daughters  and  one  son  have  been  born  to 
them :  Ella  K.,  who  became  the  wife  of  F.  S. 
Monnett,  of  Columbus,  O.,  a  prominent  public 
man,  once  attorney-general  of  the  state; 
Susan  E.,  who  became  the  wife  of  W.  H. 
Pickering,  a  representati^'e  business  man  of 
Bucyrus;  and  James  B.,  who  is  now  deceased. 
Mr.  Gormly  and  family  attend  the  Presby- 
terian church  and  they  are  people  of  social  im- 
portance, not  only  at  Bucyrus,  but  also  at  the 
state  capital  and  in  other  cities. 

JAMES  SO^^'ASH.  general  manager  of 
the   Crestline    Pump   ^^■orks,    very   important 


business  enterprise  of  Crestline,  O.,  one  that  is 
well  financed  and  ably  officered,  was  born  at 
Mansfield,  O.,  in  the  spring  of  1872,  where  he 
was  educated. 

Mr.  Sowash  has  been  in  his  present  line  of 
business  since  he  was  19  years  of  age  and  after 
learning  his  trade  was  foreman  for  some  years 
for  the  Humphrey  Company  of  Mansfield  and 
afterward,  for  seven  years,  was  with  the 
Barnes  Manufacturing  Company  of  the  same 
city,  coming  from  there  to  Crestline  in  1903, 
when  the  Crestline  Pump  W'orks  business  was 
started.  This  company  has  officers  as  follows : 
Judge  Daniel  Babst,  president  and  a  director; 
Jacob  Babst,  treasurer  and  a  director;  John 
H.  Warden,  secreta:ry;  and  James  Sowash, 
general  manager.  In  addition  Mr.  Sowash 
has  been  chief  designer  of  all  the  pumps, 
which  include  250  varieties,  manufactured  by 
this  company.  Additional  directors  of  the 
company  are:  J.  W.  Ross,  who  is  also  vice 
president;  Jacob  Flowers,  Abraham  Seib,  R. 
M.  Taylor,  and  John  H.  Warden,  all  men  of 
capital  and  high  business  standing.  They 
manufacture  and  handle  as  jobbers  all  water 
supply  goods  and  utensils  and  in  addition  to 
manufacturing  hand,  power  and  spray  pumps, 
they  cast  sinks,  traps,  brackets,  etc.  The 
plant  is  extensive,  135  pumps  alone  bfeing 
turned  out  per  day,  and  employment  is  af- 
forded 65  skilled  men.  In  advancing  the  in- 
terests of  his  house,  Air.  Sowash  displays 
those  •  enterprising  qualities  which  mark  the 
successful  American  business  man  all  over  the 
eWorld. 

Air.  Sowash  was  married  at  Mansfield,  O.,  to 
Aliss  Alice  Burns,  who  was  born  and  reared 
there  and  their  one  son,  Russell,  now  16  years 
of  age,  is  a  student  in  the  Crestline  High 
School:  Air.  and  Airs.  Sowash  are  piembers 
of  the  Presbyterian  chtu-ch.  Politically  Air. 
Sowash  is  a  Republican  and  fraternally  be- 
longs to  the  order  of  Knights  of  Pythias,  the 
Blue  Lodge  at  Crestline  and  Council  and 
Chapter  at  Alansfield. 

ALBE  MCE,  vice  president  of  the  Home 
Savings  &  Loan  Company,  at  Gallon,  C,  of 
which  city  he  is  a  leading  business  man,  was 
born  at  French  Creek,  Lorain  county,  C  Alay 
22,  1840,  and  is  a  son  of  Husted  and  Hannah 
Aloe  and  a  descendant  of  an  old  French  family 
that  came  to  the  L'nited  States  very  early,  set- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1053 


tling  in  Vermont  before  the  Revolutionary 
War. 

Husted  Moe  was  born  in  Genesee  county, 
N.  Y.,  and  was  young  in  years  when  the  fam- 
ily settled  in  what  was  then  the  wilderness  of 
Lorain  county,  O.  He  engaged  in  farming 
and  later  conducted  a  stage  route  hotel  at 
French  Creek.  His  death  occurred  in  1850, 
when  aged  about  45  years.  He  married  Han- 
nah Moe,  who  was  born  also  in  New  York  and 
was  a  daughter  of  Isaac  Moe,  who  engaged 
in  farming  near  French  Creek.  Both  he  and 
wife  lived  into  extreme  old  age.  Mrs.  Husted 
Moe  survived  her  husband  for  many  years,  be- 
ing aged  almost  89  years  at  the  time  of  her 
death.  She  was  a  devoted  member  of  the 
Baptist  church.  Of  her  five  children  four  lived 
to  maturity  and  all  married  and  had  children. 

Albe  Moe  was  reared  and  attended  school  at 
French  Oreek.  He  and  his  older  brother, 
Perry  Moe,  who  still  survives  and  resides  at 
Cleveland,  entered  the  Union  Army  in  May, 
1 861,  the  latter  enlisting  while  Albe  became  a 
teamster  and  after  one  year  in  the  transporting 
department,  became  team  foreman  in  the  com- 
missary department  and  later  was  made  as- 
sistant superintendent  of  the  horse  corrals  at 
Washington,  D.  C.  Mr.  Moe  has  a  record  of 
sending  out  more  than  25,000  horses  during 
the  time  this  important  assisting  office  to  the 
efficiency  of  the  Government  was  in  his  charge. 
After  the  war  was  over  he  was  tendered  a  posi- 
tion in  the  quartermaster's  department  but  by 
that  time  he  was  tired  of  war  and  its  trappings 
and  a  home  in  the  North,  amid  peaceful  sur- 
roundings appealed  to  him  a:nd  finally  he  locat- 
ed at  Gallon  and  for  some  years  afterward  was 
in  the  restaurant  business  here.  Afterward  he 
began  to  deal  in  real  estate  and  carry  insur- 
ance risks  and  subsequently  entered  politics 
and  served  in  the  city  council  in  1888-9.  In 
1890  he  was  appointed  city  appraiser  and  in 
1892  was  elected  mayor;  in  1894  was  elected 
county  commissioner  and  served  six  years  in 
that  ofiSce.  In  1900  he  was  made,  a  member 
of  the  city  board  of  Review,  a  position  he  has 
continued  to  fill,  being  remarkably  well  quali- 
fied for  the  same.  He  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  Home  Loan  &  Savings  Company, 
with  a  capital  of  $2,000,000,  of  which  he  is  a 
director  and  for  the  past  11  years  has  been 
vice  president.    Mr.  Moe  has  been  exceedingly 


active  along  many  lines  and  has  so  conducted 
his  undertakings  that  they  have  been  success- 
ful. 

At  Gallon,  O.,  Mr.  Moe  was  married  to 
Miss  Sarah  C.  Blosier,  who  has  always  lived  in 
Crawford  county  and  is  a  daughter  of  David 
and  Leah  (Rex)  Blosier,  who  came  from 
Pennsylvania  and  settled  in  Vernon  township, 
Crawford  county.  One  son,  Ralph,  was  born 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moe,  but  he  died  early.  Mr. 
Moe  is  a  Democrat  in  politics. 

JACOB  F.  ROSS,  one  of  the  leading  citi- 
zens of  Lykens  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  where  his  valuable  farm  of  119  acres  is 
situated,  was  born  in  this  township,  Sept.  4, 
1 87 1,  and  is  a  son  of  Peter  and  Elizabeth 
(Schimpf)  Ross. 

Peter  Ross  and  wife  were  both  born  in 
Germany  and  he  yet  survives  and  resides  on 
his  farm  in  Lykens  township.  She  passed 
away  in  191 1.  They  had  the  following 
children  born  to  them:  Philip,  who  is  de- 
ceased; Jacob  F. ;  Charles;  Matilda,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Chirstian  Brown;  Adam;  Chris- 
tian; Henry;  and  Martha,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Jacob  Kalb. 

Jacob  F.  Ross  attended  the  district  schools 
when  he  was  a  boy  and  ever  since  then  has 
given  a  large  part  of  his  time  to  general  farm- 
ing, prior  to  his  marriage  working  by  the 
month  but  since  then  has  operated  his  own 
land.  He  is  a  practical,  industrious  man,  not 
given  to  experimenting  but  rather  keeping  to 
methods  which  he  has  proved  to  be  sensible 
and  safe,  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
successful   agriculturists   of  this   section. 

In  1884,  Mr.  Ross  was  married  to  Miss 
Anna  Shafer,  a  daughter  of  Valentine  and 
Elizabeth  (Schaaf)  Shafer,  formerly  farm- 
ing people  in  Chatfield  township  but  now  liv- 
ing retired  in  Chatfield  village.  The  parents 
of  Mrs.  Ross  had  the  following  children: 
Catherine;  William  Leonard;  Mary,  who  was 
married  (first)  to  Benjamin  Zucker,  and 
(second)  to  Daniel  Koch;  Anna,  who  became 
Mrs.  Ross;  Sophia,  who  is  the  wife  of  Albert 
Hartchue;  Henry;  Arlena,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Harrison  Kibler;  and  Frank,  George  and 
Harvey. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rotes  have  one  daughter, 
Marie.     They  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 


1054 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


church.  In  politics  Mr.  Ross  is  a  Democrat 
and  has  served  as  supervisor  of  Lykens 
township. 

REV.  A.  H.  SCHRIENER,  pastor  of  St. 
Joseph's  Roman  CathoHc  Church  at  Galion, 
O.,  has  been  an  active  and  earnest  worker 
in  his  present  field  for  a  number  of  years  and 
has  been  permitted  to  witness  both  spiritual 
and  material  growth  in  his  congregation  as 
a  compensating  result.  Father  Schriener  was 
scarcely  i8  years  of  age  when  he  entered  St. 
Mary's  Seminary,  at  Cleveland,  O.,  com- 
pleting his  classical  course  at  St.  John's  Col- 
lege, Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Father  Schriener  was  appointed  assistant 
priest  at  St.  Peter's,  Cleveland,  later  was  pas- 
tor of  the  Immaculate  Conception  Church  at 
Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county,  O.,  where  he 
remained  two  years  and  then  had  charge  of 
the  Catholic  church  at  Bowling  Green,  O., 
for  four  and  one-half  years,  coming  from 
there  to  Galion  in  January,  1899.  St.  Jo- 
seph's German  Roman  Catholic  Church  or- 
ganization is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  city, 
having  been  founded  in  1854  and  ever  since 
has  been  administered  to  by  a  regular  priest. 
At  present  Father  Schriener  has  a  congrega- 
tion of  500  souls  and  the  flourishing  parochial 
school  has  85  pupils.  He  is  deeply  beloved 
by  his  own  people  and  commands  the  respect 
of  the  citizens  of  Galion,  irrespective  of 
religious  faith,  who  recognize  his  spiritual 
influence  and  his  zeal  in  the  cause  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

WILLIAM  W.  BUCK,*  chief  clerk  of  a 
division  of  the  railway  mail  service,  is  a  well 
trained  and  experienced  man  in  his  line  and 
in  January,  1905,  was  appointed  chief  clerk 
of  the  Pittsburg,  Fort  Wayne  &  Chicago 
Division  on  the  Pennsylvania  road,  his  juris- 
diction covering  a  wide  territory,  with  office 
at  Crestline,  O.  He  was  born  at  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.,  in  February,  1855,  where  he  was 
reared  and  was  graduated  from  the  High 
School. 

In  his  native  city  Mr.  Buck  was  appointed 
a  postal  clerk,  and  has  been  in  the  Govern- 
ment service  for  23  years,  serving  with 
efficiency  in  every  department  into  which 
he  was  promoted,  his  first  run  being  between 


Pittsburg  and  Chicago.  The  work  of  thci 
Crestline  office,  as  above  stated,  covers  a 
wide  territory,  there  being  260  postal  clerks 
under  its  direction.  When  he  was  appointed 
to  his  present  position  he  succeeded  W.  L. 
Poe,  who  became  assistant  superintendent 
with  headquarters  at  Cincinnati.  Mr.  Buck 
has  been  very  loyal  to  both  employers  and 
comrades  and  is  justly  held  in  high  esteem. 
He  is  prominent  in  Masonry,  belonging  to 
Blue  Lodge,  No.  2^2,  at  Crestline,  and  to 
,  Chapter  No.  88  of  this  city,  being  treasurer 
of  both  branches;  belongs  to  the  Command- 
ery  at  Mansfield  and  the  Shrine  at  Dayton. 

In  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Buck  was 
married  to  Miss  Sara  K.  Hayes,  who  was 
born  at  Camden,  N.  J.,  and  at  that  time  was 
a  successful  teacher  in  the  public  schools. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Buck  have  one  daughter,  Leah 
M.,  who  graduated  in  music  from  the  Wes- 
leyan  University,  at  Delaware,  O.,  in  the  class 
of  19 1 2.  Mr.  Buck  and  family  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  is  a 
Republican  in  his  political  affiliation. 

GEORGE  J.  STRAUCH,  one  of  the  rep- 
resentative men  in  the  hardware  line  at  Crest- 
line, O.,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Strauch 
Bros.,  the  oldest  hardware  dealers  in  this  city, 
with  commodious  quarters  on  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Seltzer  Streets,  was  born  in  Rich- 
land county,  O.,  Aug.  19,  1862,  a  son  of 
Conrad  and   Elizabeth    (Lippert)    Strauch. 

Christian  Strauch,  the  grandfather,  was 
born  in  1802  in  Germany,  and  in  1848  came 
to  America  with  his  family  and  settled  in 
what  is  now  Crawford,  then  Richland  county, 
O.,  where  he  and  wife  died,  about  1888,  hav- 
ing been  farmers  ever  since  coming  to  Ohio. 

Conrad  Strauch  was  born  in  Bavaria,  Ger- 
many, and  was  14  years  of  age  when  his 
parents  came  to  the  United  States  and  had 
followed  agricultural  pursuits  ever  since.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  was  reared  in 
the  German  Reformed  faith.  He  married 
Elizabeth  Lippert,  who  was  born  and  reared 
in  Ohio,  of  German  parentage.  They  died  of 
cholera,  in  Auglaize  county,  O.,  when  she 
was  two  years  old.  Mrs.  Strauch  still  sur- 
vives, the  mother  of  ten  children,  eight  of 
whom  survive  and  seven  of  these  have  mar- 
ried. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1055 


George  J.  Strauch  was  two  years  old  when 
his  parents  came  to  Crawford  county,  where 
he  was  reared  and  educated  and  later  fol- 
lowed the  carpenter  trade  for  15  years,  when 
he  went  into  the  hardware  business  with  his 
brother,  Michael  Strauch.  The  latter  is  a 
graduate  of  a  business  college  at  Ada,  O.,  and 
is  bookkeeper  for  the  present  fimi  and  serv- 
ing in  his  second  term  as  city  clerk.  In  1892 
George  J.  and  Michael  Strauch  embarked  in 
their  present  business,  succeeding  a  Mr.  Frye, 
which  business  was  founded  by  Mr.  Frengel 
in  1862.  They  have  commodious  quarters, 
their  main  store  having  dimensions  of  160x22 
feet  and  additionally  have  two  warehouses 
for  storage  and  exhibition  of  buggies  and 
farm  wagons.  They  carry  a  full  line  of 
heavy  and  shelf  hardware,  tin  roofing  and  do 
gas  and  sanitary  plumbing,  carrying  all  sup- 
plies. 

George  J.  Strauch  was  married  in  Craw- 
ford county  to  Miss  Sarah  E.  Schwarer,  who 
was  born  in  Vernon  township,  in  1864,  a 
daughter  of  Jacob  Schwarer,  and  the  follow- 
ing children  have  been  born  to  them :  Estella, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Pry  and  lives  at 
Crestline,  having  one  son,  Harold ;  Erie  E., 
who  was  educated  in  the  Crestline  schools 
and  Wooster  University,  and  who  is  a  teacher 
in  the  public  schools ;  Frank  B.,  who  is  a 
clerk  for  his  father;  Clarence  J.,  a  student 
at  Wooster  University,  who  is  agent  for  the 
Cleveland  Press,  at  Crestline;  and  Ruth, 
Eleanor  M.,  Alvin  and  Jacob,  all  at  home. 
Michael  Strauch  is  unmarried.  Both  broth- 
ers belong  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and 
the  latter  also  to  the  Elks.  They  are  Demo- 
crats politically  and  for  some  years  George  J. 
has  been  a  township  trustee  and  a  member 
of  the  school  board.  In  their  various  busi- 
ness relations  and  in  public  ofifice,  both  men 
command  the  respect  and  have  the  confidence 
of  their  fellow  citizens. 

REV.  G.  M.  SCHMITZ,  first  resident 
pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Catholic  Church,  at 
North  Auburn,  Crawford  county,  O.,  was 
born  at  Luftelberg,  Germany,  Sept.  13,  1880, 
a  son  of  Joseph  and  Margaret  (Welter) 
Schmitz.  The  parents  of  Father  Schmitz 
were  born  in  Germany  and  the  father  died 
there  when  his  son  was  nine  years  old.     The 


mother  came  to  America  in  igo6  and  resides 
with   Father   Schmitz   at   North   Auburn. 

St.  Mary's  Catholic  Church,  like  other 
congregations,  was  developed  from  a  mission 
and  attained  its  present  standing  and  impor- 
tance through  the  zealous  Christian  efforts  of 
its  priests  and  the  generosity  of  its  faithful 
members.  It  was  in  the  spring  of  1879  that 
the  Catholics  living  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Waynesburg,  O.,  called  a  meeting  to  en- 
deavor to  make  some  plans  whereby  services 
could  be  held  on  Sunday  and  a  Sunday-school 
started  nearer  than  New  Washington,  to  reach 
which  place  was  often  a  tax  on  both  sick  and 
well.  The  decision  was  to  erect  a  suitable 
building,  hence  arose  a  frame  structure  on  a 
corner  of  the  old  Faeth  farm  and  from  1880- 
81  Rev.  Amadeus  Dambach  was  pastor  of 
what  was  the  beginning  of  St.  Mary's  Church. 
He  was  called  away  in  the  summer  of  1881 
and  the  church  was  then  made  a  mission  of 
the  New  Washington  Church  and  from  1881 
to  1888,  Rev.  Laurence  Heiland  administered 
to  the  two  congregations.  The  summer  of 
1888  brought  Rev.  George  Vogt,  who,  while 
serving  as  priest  inaugurated  many  improve- 
ments and  it  was  during  his  term  as  pastor 
that  the  church  was  frescoed  and  the  stained 
glass  windows  replaced  the  old  plain  glass 
panes,  Father  Vogt  donating  one  window  and 
Father  Horstman  another.  In  1899  Rev.  Vogt 
left  for  a  larger  field  and  Rev.  John  Kunnert 
took  charge  of  the  church  at  New  Washington 
and  the  mission  of  St.  Mary's  and  during 
his  administration  a  basement  was  dug  and 
the  building  equipped  with  a  furnace,  the 
roofs  of  both  church  and  priest's  house  were 
slated  and  the  church  tower,  which  had  for- 
merly been  too  high  for  safety,  was  somewhat 
lowered. 

On  July  5,  1906,  the  members  of  St.  Mary's 
heard  the  welcome  news  that  they  were  to 
have  a  resident  priest,  a  favor  they  had  long 
besought  of  the  Bishop,  and  Rev.  G.  M. 
Schmitz  was  sent  and  as  been  in  charge  ever 
since.  He  met  with  a  hearty  reception  from 
the  majority  of  his  parish,  although  there 
were  a  few  who  doubted,  at  that  time,  the 
financial  ability  of  the  congregation  to  give 
adequate  support,  but  long  since  then  all 
these  fears  have  been  dispelled  and  the  parish 
is  in  an  exceedingly  prosperous  condition.    He 


1056 


mSTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


has  not  only  looked  carefully  after  the  spir- 
itual welfare  of  his  people  but  has  been  a 
wise  executive  and  the  improvements  that 
have  been  brought  about  under  his  direction 
and  encouragement,  have  added  greatly  to 
the  value  of  the  property.  Under  his  foster- 
ing care  various  church  organizations  have 
become  a  part  of  St.  Mary's  life.  The  Chris- 
tian Mother  Society  was  canonically  estab- 
lished with  the  sanction  of  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Bishop  Horstman  and  a  membership  of  37 
enrolled.  In  May,  1907,  the  young  ladies 
and  young  men  of  the  parish  were  enrolled 
into  the  Sodality  of  B.  M.  V.  under  the  name 
of  St.  Agnes  Sodality  and  St.  Aloysius 
Sodality,  respectively.  At  different  times 
eloquent  members  of  the  Catholic  clergy  have 
visited  the  parish  and  have  carried  away 
good  reports. 

Father  Schmitz  has  about  60  families  in 
his  parish  and  also  supplies  St.  Anthony's 
Church,  which  he  organized  three  years  since. 
In  connection  with  St.  Mary's  there  is  a 
successful  parochial  school.  The  church  owns 
two  and  one-half  acres  of  land,  which  is 
conveniently  located  and  on  which  stands 
the  church,  the  priest's  house  and  the  ceme- 
tery. Father  Schmitz  is  one  of  the  younger 
members  of  the  Catholic  clergy  in  this  section 
and  is  a  man  of  scholarly  attainments.  He 
was  educated  in  Europe  and  completed  his 
theological  studies  at  Washington,  D.  C,  and 
was  ordained  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  Dec.  17, 
1904,  by  Cardinal  Gibbons.  Prior  to  coming 
to  St.  Mary's'  he  was  in  charge  at  Cleve- 
land, O. 

BURT  E.  PLACE,  general  manager  for 
the  firm  of  E.  M.  Freese  &  Co.,  Brick,  Tile 
and  Fire  Proofing  machinery  manufacturers 
at  Gallon,  O.,  has  been  identified  with  this 
concern  for  23  consecutive  years.  He  was 
born  Sept.  7,  1870,  at  Grand  Rapids,  Mich., 
and  is  a  son  of  Rev.  Horace  Place.  The  fam- 
ily is  of  old  New  England  stock  and  Rev. 
Horace  Place  was  born  in  Vermont.  From 
there,  in  early  manhood  he  came  to  Ohio, 
where  he  worked  at  the  trade  of  cabinetmak- 
ing  and  later  became  a  preacher  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  body,  in  which  work  he  con- 
tinued for  30  years,  his  death  occurring  at 
Cleveland,    O.      He    was    married    while    in 


charge  of  a  church  in  Michigan,  and  his  wife 
died  in  Shelby  county,  O.  Of  their  family 
three  yet  survive. 

Burt  E.  Place  was  educated  at  Bellevue,  O., 
and  attended  school  also  at  other  points  where 
his  father  was  located.  When  he  first  entered 
the  business  house  with  which  he  has  ever 
since  been  identified,  it  was  in  a  minor  posi- 
tion and  through  ability,  intelligence  and 
fidelity  he  has  steadily  advanced  and  not  only 
is  indispensable  to  the  firm  of  E.  M.  Freese 
&  Co.,  but  is  also  interested  in  other  business 
enterprises  which  indicate  his  reliability  as  a 
citizen  and  business  man.  He  is  vice  presi- 
dent of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Gallon 
and  a  member  of  its  board  of  directors. 

Mr.  Place  was  married  at  Plymouth,  O.,  to 
Miss  Mabel  Swope,  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren: Lawrence,  Margaret  and  Horace.  The 
eldest  son  is  employed  in  the  First  National 
Bank  in  this  city.  Mr.  Place  and  family  at- 
tend the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  is 
identified  with  a  number  of  the  leading  frater- 
nal organizations  and  belongs  to  committees 
appointed  to  promote  commercial  progress, 
and,  with  other  leading  men  accepts  the  re- 
sponsibility of  citizenship  along  the  line  of 
charity  and  benevolence. 

BENJAMIN  HEFFELFINGER,  deceased, 
was  one  of  the  early  business  men  and  prom- 
inent and  useful  citizens  of  Crestline,  O.  He 
was  born  in  Washington  township,  Richland 
county,  O.,  Dec.  26,  1833,  and  died  at  his 
home  in  Crestline,  Dec.  30,  1908.  He  was  a 
son  of  Jacob  and  Esther  (Lime)  Heffelfinger. 

Jacob  Heffelfinger  and  wife  were  of  Ger- 
man ancestry  and  Pennsylvania  parentage. 
Soon  after  marriage,  about  1820  they  came 
to  Ohio  and  settled  on  wild  land  in  Washing- 
ton township,  Richland  county,  securing  40 
acres,  and  to  the  clearing,  cultivating  and  im- 
proving of  this  property,  Jacob  Heffelfinger 
devoted  his  after  life.  He  was  an  honest, 
upright,  industrious  man,  qualities  which  be- 
long to  his  descendants.  She  lived  to  the  age 
of  72  years  and  he  until  about  78  years  old, 
both  dying  in  the  faith  of  the  German  Luth- 
eran church.  Of  their  eight  children  all  sur- 
vived to  be  about  70  years  of  age,  with  the 
exception  of  one  who  died  in  his  i6th  year. 
The   one   survivor,   Jacob,   Jr.,   a  millwright 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1057 


living  at  Brighton,  la.,  has  passed  his  86th 
birthday. 

Benjamin  Heffelfinger  remained  on  the 
home  farm  until  21  years  of  age  and  then 
learned  the  trade  of  shingle  maker.  In  April, 
1 86 1,  he  embarked  in  the  grocery  business 
on  East  Main  Street,  Crestline,  where  he  con- 
tinued for  30  years,  during  this  period  erect- 
ing his  own  business  house  and  investing  in 
other  property,  including  five  acres  of  valu- 
able realty  and  owning  a  handsome  residence 
situated  at  No.  716  West  Bucyrus  Street, 
where  he  spent  the  closing  years  of  his  life, 
in  comfortable  retirement.  He  was  identified 
with  many  of  the  progressive  movements  that 
contributed  to  the  city's  advancement,  was 
one  of  the  early  members  of  the  city  council 
and  for  years  served  as  treasurer  of  the  school 
board.  In  his  political  views  he  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat. 

Mr.  Heffelfinger  was  27  years  old  when  he 
was  married,  in  Washington  township,  Rich- 
land county,  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Kerr,  who  was 
born  at  Rensselaer,  Jasper  county,  Ind.,  April 
II,  1843,  3.  daughter  of  John  and  Susan 
(Piper)  Kerr,  natives  of  Richland  county,  of 
Scotch-Irish  extraction.  They  were  married 
in  Ohio  and  in  the  thirties  moved  to  Jasper 
county,  Ind.,  where  they  both  died  early,  the 
father  of  Mrs.  Heffelfinger  when  aged  but 
36  years  and  his  wife,  when  but  35.  They 
left  one  daughter  and  two  sons,  Thomas  and 
John,  both  of  whom  married  and  died  when 
aged  about  66  years. 

A  family  of  eight  children  was  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mts.  Heffelfinger,  namely:  Melvin  C, 
who  resides  with  wife  and  children  at  Bu- 
cyrus; Martha  J.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  40 
years,  who  was  the  wife  of  Henry  Foltz  and 
was  survived  by  four  children;  Elihu  E.,  who 
is  a  resident  of  Crestline  and  a  conductor  on 
the  Pennsylvania  Railway;  Charles  A.,  who 
is  an  engineer  on  the  same  road  lives  at  Crest- 
line and  has  a  family  of  wife,  son  and  three 
daughters;  Thomas  D.,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  eight  months;  Lavina  B.,  who  is  the  wife 
of  John  Cook,  of  Pensacola,  Fla. ;  and  Dora 
and  Rosa,  twins,  who  died  near  together, 
when  aged  19  months.  Mrs.  Heffelfinger 
and  family  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church. 


HORACE  J.  SMITH,  a  leading  citizen  of 
Lykens  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  who 
owns  160  acres  of  well  situated  land,  which 
he  devotes  to  general  agriculture,  was  born 
in  Holmes  township,  Crawford  county,  July 
3,  1869,  and  is  a  son  of  John  F.  and  Malinda 
(Shupp)  Smith. 

John  F.  Smith  and  wife  were  born  in 
Crawford  county,  members  of  old  families  of 
this  section,  and  spent  their  lives  here  into 
advanced  years.  Mr.  Smith  still  resides  in 
Holmes  township  but  his  wife  died  in  1887. 
They  had  the  following  children  born  to  them : 
Lulu,  who  is  the  wife  of  W.  E.  Pf etcher; 
Laura,  who  is  the  wife  of  Wesley  Lust;  Hor- 
ace J. ;  Edith  and  Sylvanus,  both  of  whom  are 
deceased;  Leary,  who  is  the  wife  of  George 
Lecrone;  Lottie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Edward 
Pfeifer;  Celesta,  who  is  the  wife  of  Harry 
Chester;  and  Lena,  who  is  deceased. 

Horace  J.  Smith  attended  the  public  schools 
and  remained  at  home  giving  his  father  assist- 
ance on  the  farm  until  he  was  22  years  of 
age,  after  which,  for  14  years,  he  rented  land 
from  his  father.  In  1908  he  purchased  his 
present  farm  from  his  father  and  here  suc- 
cessfully engages  in  farming  and  raising  some 
excellent  stock,  not  much  more,  however,  that 
he  needs  for  himself.  His  surroundings  show 
thrift  and  good  management,  an  interest  in 
public  affairs,  schools  and  good  roads  and  the 
presence  of  reading  matter,  go  far  to  prove 
the  opening  statement,  that  Mr.  Smith  is  a 
leading  citizen  in  his  community.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Grange  at  Brokensword,  is 
serving  as  school  director,  and  for  three  con- 
tinuous terms  was  a  trustee  of  the  township. 

In  1 89 1,  Mr.  Smith  was  married  to  Miss 
Ida  C.  Fralick,  a  daughter  of  David  and  Eliza- 
beth (Hass)  Fralick,  one  of  the  old  families 
of  the  county.  Mrs.  Smith  died  Feb.  29, 
1912.  The  other  members  of  her  parents' 
family  were:  Emma,  wife  of  William  Lah- 
man;  Benjamin;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  J.  Shawk; 
and  Edward  and  Harrison.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Smith  four  children  were  born,  namely:  Al- 
fred, Lula,  Mabel  and  Alton.  In  politics  Mr. 
Smith  is  a  Democrat.  He  and  family  attend 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Broken- 
sword. 


1058 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


DAVID  H.  CASSEL,  a  retired  merchant 
of  Crestline,  O.,  occupying  a  beautiful  resi- 
dence which  is  situated  at  No.  211  Pearl  Street, 
has  made  this  place  his  continuous  home  for 
the  past  17  years  and  has  been  active  in  both 
business  and  political  circles.  He  was  born 
on  his  father's  pioneer  farm,  in  Sandusky 
township,  Crawford  couity,  O.,  Aug.  6,  1844, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  and  a  grandson  of  Fred- 
erick Cassel. 

Frederick  Cassel  was  of  German  parentage 
but  was  bom  in  the  United  States,  not  far 
from  Pittsburg,  Pa.  He  grew  to  manhood 
there  and  married  Sarah  A.  Steel,  and  late 
in  the  thirties  the  family  came  to  Richland 
county,  0.,  settling  in  Springfield  township 
and  both  Frederick  Cassel  and  wife  died  there, 
in  advanced  years.  They  were  members  of 
the  Lutheran  church. 

John  Cassel,  son  of  Frederick  and  father 
uf  David  H.  Cassel,  was  the  eldest  born  of 
his  parents'  large  family,  his  birth  taking  place 
in  Pennsylvania,  in  1821  and  he  was  in  early 
manhood  when  he  accompanied  his  parents  to 
Ohio.  He  learned  the  carpenter  trade  under 
John  Stough,  completing  his  apprenticeship 
before  he  was  21  years  old.  The  Stough  fam- 
ily came  to  Richland  county  at  the  same  time 
as  the  Cassel  family  and  they  became  ac- 
quainted while  crossing  the  mountains  and 
settled  on  adjacent  farms  in  Springfield  town- 
ship. The  families  prospered  together  and 
both  were  well  thought  of  in  Springfield  town- 
ship, where  the  Stoughs  also  lived  to  be  old 
people.  John  Cassel  married  Sarah  Stough 
and  continued  to  work  at  his  trade  in  Rich- 
land county  until  1843  when  he  bought  a  farm 
in  Sandusky  township,  all  of  which  was  un- 
cleared but  se\'en  acres  and  on  which  the  only 
improvement  was  a  log  cabin.  Here  the 
Cassel  family  increased  and  thrived  and  the 
parents  lived  into  honored  old  age,  passing 
away  with  the  neighborly  esteem  that  their 
kind  and  useful  activities  during  life  had  won 
for  them.  Ele\-en  children  were  born  to  them 
and  all  but  one  grew  to  maturity,  nine  of  these 
married  and  four  sons  and  two  daughters  are 
vet  living. 

David  H.  Cassel  was  the  fourth  child  and 
carlv  became  inured  to  hard  work,  his  father 
needing  his  almost  constant  assistance.  As 
opportunity  afforded,  he  went  to  the^  district 


-school,  but  had  but  meagre  advantages.  When 
he  secured  work  from  neighboring  farmers, 
his  wages  were  25  cents  a  day  and  they  were 
well  earned.  In  May,  1862,  he  left  the  farm 
and  came  to  Crestline  and  became  an  appren- 
tice to  the  tinner's  trade,  with  G.  W^  Pierce, 
receiving  for  his  first  year's  work  the  sum  of 
?35>  $50  for  the  second  year,  and  $75  for 
the  third  year,  this  including  his  board.  For 
five  years  afterward  he  worked  as  a  journey- 
man and  in  1871  embarked  in  business  on  his 
own  account  and  at  that  time  established  a 
hardware  store,  which  he  continued  until 
1908,  when  he  retired  after  a  long  and  pros- 
perous business  career.  A  strong  Democrat 
all  his  life,  he  has  been  active  in  party  move- 
ments in  the  county  and  city  and  has  served 
as   a  member  of  the  city  council. 

Mr.  Cassel  was  married  (first)  at  Upper 
Sandusky,  O.,  to  Miss  Maggie  Cramer,  who 
was  born  in  Seneca  county,  O.  Her  death 
occurred  in  1869,  from  the  effects  of  a  fire 
which  attacked  the  home.  She  was  the  mother 
of  two  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy, 
the  other  being  the  wife  of  H.  C.  Cotner,  of 
Crestline,  and  they  have  one  son,  Robert,  who 
is  a  promising  student  in  the  public  schools. 
Mr.  Cassel  was  married  (second)  in  Richland 
county,  to  Miss  Maggie  ^McGuire,  who  was  a 
teacher.  They  have  two  children:  Daisy  AL, 
who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Crestline  High 
School;  and  Dotty  D.,  who  is  the  wife  of  E. 
E.  Meister,  ^^•ho  is  connected  with  a  large 
mercantile  firm  at  Columbus.  Mrs.  Cassel  and 
daughters  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church. 

GEORGE  SXYDER,  a  retired  business 
man  of  Gallon,  O.,  and  one  of  the  city's  most 
respected  citizens,  was  born  at  Washington, 
Pa.,  Feb.  7,  1835,  and  is  a  son  of  John  M. 
and  Anna   (Heist)    Snyder. 

John  M.  Synder  was  born  at  W'inkle,  Hesse 
Darmstadt,  Germany,  and  his  father  had 
sen-ed  under  the  great  Napoleon  for  six 
years.  In  early  manhood  John  'SI.  Snyder  de- 
cided to  emigrate  to  America  and  after  com- 
pleting his  trade  of  custom  boot  and  shoe 
maker,  he  joined  his  brother-in-law,  George 
Bower,  who  had  established  himself  in  Wash- 
ington, Pa.,  in  the  blacksmith  business.  It 
was  while  living  at  Washington  that  John  M. 


AND  REPRESE'NTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1059 


Snyder  was  married  to  Anna  Heist,  who  was 
from  his  own  German  province,  and  they  re- 
mained at  Washington  until  their  son,  George 
Snyder,  was  one  year  old,  when  a  family  re- 
moval was  determined  on,  to  what  was  then 
the  far  West.  Mr.  Snyder  and  Mr.  Bower 
provided  the  heavy  wagons  and  strong  teams 
that  hauled  the  household  goods  over  the  hills 
and  mountains  between  Washington  and  Ga- 
llon, O.  They  were  disappointed  in  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  latter  place,  at  that  time  only 
a  few  scattered  dwellings  making  up  the  ham- 
let, and  as  an  encouraging  business  point  they 
found  it  totally  deficient.  In  considering 
whether  to  choose  Columbus  or  Mansfield  for 
a  perinanent  home,  they  tossed  up  a  penny 
and  as  Mansfield  was  indicated  they  started 
on  foot  to  have  a  view  of  the  place  before 
moving  their  families.  Apparently  they  were 
satisfied  with  the  appearance  of  that  village 
for  they  concluded  to  make  it  their  home  and 
shortly  afterward  found  employment  and  in 
the  course  of  time  were  well  established  in 
their  trades.  George  Bower  lived  to  be  92 
years  old,  grew  wealthy  and  locally  important. 
Both  Mr.  Snyder  and  Mr.  Bower  were  musical 
and  both  were  fine  singers  and  their  musical 
gifts  served  to  introduce  them  to  the  hos- 
pitable people  and  for  a  long  time  no  enter- 
tainment at  Mansfield  or  in  the  vicinity  was 
considered  complete  without  their  attendance 
and  songs. 

After  some  years  John  M.  Snyder  and  wife 
moved  on  a  farm  in  Congress  township.  Mor- 
row county,  O.,  and  there  they  passed  the 
rest  of  their  lives.  The  land  was  unimproved 
when  Mr.  Snyder  purchased  it  but  persever- 
ance and  industry  soon  changed  the  wild  land 
into  cultivated  fields.  They  were  devoted 
members  of  the  Reformed  church  and  while 
living  at  Mansfield,  through  Mr.  Snyder's 
efforts  a  church  was  built.  He  lived  to  the  age 
of  76  years  and  three  months  but  his  wife 
passed  away  at  the  age  of  64  years.  They 
were  people  who  were  well  beloved,  their 
sympathy  and  kindness  to  every  one  arousing 
affection  and  respect.  They  had  four  sons 
and  four  daughters  born  to  them  and  four 
sons  and  one  daughter  still  survive. 

George  Snyder  was  the  second  child  of  his 
parents  and  was  a  babe  when  the  family  came 
to  Ohio  and  was  17  years  old  when  removal 


was  made  to  Morrow  county.  Under  his  fa- 
ther, who  was  a  man  of  great  skill  in  the 
trade,  he  had  learned  to  manufacture  custom 
boots  and  shoes,  his  father  having  made  the 
first  pair  of  stitched  boots  ever  used  at  Mans- 
field. For  some  years  George  Snyder  worked 
at  the  trade  and  then  was  married,  after  which 
he  became  a  farm,er,  continuing  until  Sept.  i, 
1865,  when  he  came  to  Gallon  and  embarked 
in  the  grocery  business  near  the  Public  Square, 
on  West  Main  Street,  and  carried  it  on  until 
his  sons  had  grown  old  enough  to  succeed 
him  and  they  still  conduct  it.  Mr.  Snyder 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  old  Hayes 
National  Bank  and  was  its  first  president  and 
later  its  vice  president. 

In  Morrow  county,  O.,  Mr.  Snyder  was 
married  to  Miss  Harriet  Mitchell,  who  was 
born  near  Iberia,  O.,  Jan.  12,  1840.  More 
than  52  years  have  passed  with  their  joys 
and  sorrows  but  the  tie  has  never  been  severed 
and  on  April  12,  1910  these  good  people  cele- 
brated their  50th  anniversary,  an  occasion 
long  to  be  remembered  with  pleasure  by  all 
who  were  permitted  to  attend.  The  follow- 
ing children  have  been  born  to  them;  Frank 
J.,  who  conducts  the  grocery  business  which 
was  established  by  his  father,  and  who  mar- 
ried Nina  Wineland  and  has  two  daughters, 
Naomi  and  Maud;  Alonzo  M.,  who  gradu- 
ated from  Kenyon  College  and  took  first 
honors  in  the  class  to  which  he  belonged  in 
the  Cincinnati  Law  College,  and  who  is  en- 
gaged in  practice  at  Cleveland,  and  is  married, 
having  one  son,  Gaylord;  Charles  A.,  who 
is  superintendent  of  the  iron  works  of  Piatt 
&  Crady,  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  has  two 
sons,  Russell  G.,  who  lives  with  his  grand- 
parents, and  George  Barry,  who  lives  with 
his  father. 

Mr.  Snyder  and  his  brother  were  both  sol- 
diers in  the  Civil  War,  Mr.  Snyder  serving 
for  100  days.  He  has  always  been  a  patriotic 
and  useful  citizen  and  in  local  affairs  has  been 
continuously  active,  serving  as  a  member  of 
the  city  council  and  as  a  member  of  the  school 
board  for  two  terms,  and  when  made  the  can- 
didate of  the  Republican  party  for  county 
treasurer,  ran  far  ahead  of  his  ticket.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  board  of  Review  for  the 
county.  Both  he  and  wife  attend  the  Presby- 
terian church.     He  is  a  Mason  of  high  de- 


1060 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


gree,  a  member  of  the  Blue  Lodge,  Chapter, 
Council  and  Commandery  at  Mansfield  and 
the  Shrine  at  Cleveland. 

JOSEPH  E.  SUTTER,  who  is  in  the  meat 
and  grocery  trade  at  Crestline,  O.,  located  on 
the  corner  of  Bucyrus  and  Seltzer  Streets, 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Sutter  Bros.,  is  one 
of  the  enterprising  young  business  men  of  this 
city.  Both  he  and  brother.  Otto  Sutter,  who 
is  his  partner,  are  natives  of  Vernon  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  and  there  he  was  born 
June  29,  1885.  The  parents  are  Joseph  F. 
and  Theresa   (Becker)   Sutter. 

Joseph  F.  Sutter  was  born  at  Crestline,  O., 
in  1856  and  has  been  a  farmer  all  his  life. 
His  people  came  from  Switzerland  and  died 
in  old  age  in  Crawford  county.  Joseph  F. 
Sutter  was  married  in  Shelby  county,  O.,  to 
Theresa  Becker,  who  was  born  in  Bohemia, 
Germany,  in  1858,  and  was  five  years  old 
when  her  parents  came  to  Ohio  and  spent  the 
rest  of  their  lives  in  Shelby  county.  Nine 
children  were  born  to  Jacob  F.  Sutter  and 
wife,  Joseph  E.  being  the  fourth  in  order  of 
birth,  all  surviving  with  one  exception:  Al- 
bert, Susanna,  Joseph  E.,  Dorothy,  Otto, 
Herman,  Olivia  and  Henrietta,  and  Alfonso, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  18  months. 

The  firm  of  Sutter  Bros,  has  been  operating 
at  Crestline  since  1910,  the  partners  purchas- 
ing their  present  store  and  market  from  W. 
D.  Cover.  Through  a  careful  study  of  the 
demands  of  their  patrons,  through  honest  and 
courteous  dealings  and  the  handling  of  su- 
perior stock  only,  this  firm  has  been  success- 
ful from  the  beginning  and  occupies  a  recog- 
nized position  in  commercial  circles  here. 

At  Crestline,  O.,  Mr.  Sutter  was  married 
to  Miss  Agnes  Link,  who  was  bom  at  Gallon, 
April  13,  1886  and  was  educated  at  Dayton 
and  Crestline.  Her  father,  John  Link  was 
born  in  Montgomery  county,  O.,  and  for 
many  years  has  been  in  the  meat  business  at 
Crestline.  He  married  Anna  M.  Rock,  who 
was  born  in  Germany  and  came  alone  to  the 
United  States,  when  19  years  of  age.  Both 
families  are  members  of  the  German  Roman 
Catholic  Church. 

JOHN  H.  ZIMMERMAN,*  a  well  known 
business  man  at  Gallon,  O.,  his  hardware  and 


plumbing  establishment  being  located  at  No. 
218  East  Main  Street,  was  born  at  Williams- 
burg, New  York,  in  December,  1855,  and  is 
a  son  of  John  A.  and  Anna  M.  (Miller)  Zim- 
merman. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Zimmerman  were  born 
in  Baden,  Germany,  and  both  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  1850,  and  were  married  in  the  State 
of  New  York.  After  they  came  from  there 
to  Gallon,  O.,  the  father  followed  his  trade 
of  cabinetmaker  with  the  Big  Four  Railroad 
and  for  other  firms.  He  was  a  careful,  re- 
liable and  skilled  workman.  Both  he  and  wife 
lived  to  be  81  years  of  age,  and  they  both 
were  members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Of 
their  four  children,  three  survive  and \ll  live 
at  Gallon. 

John  H.  Zimmerman  was  one  year  old  when 
his  parents  came  to  Gallon  and  here  he  was 
reared  and  attended  school.  He  served  his 
apprenticeship  to  his  trade  of  tinner  and 
plumber  and  for  several  years  worked  as  a 
journeyman  but  otherwise  has  always  resided 
in  this  city.  In  i8gi  he  established  himself 
as  a  plumber  and  tinner  and  three  years  later, 
admitted  F.  H.  Eise  as  a  partner  and  at  the 
same  time  added  a  hardware  department,  and 
for  II  years  a  prosperous  business  was  car- 
ried on  under  the  firm  style  of  Zimmerman  & 
Eise,  since  when  Mr.  Zimmerman  has  been 
sole  proprietor  and  former  conditions  con- 
tinue. 

Mr.  Zimmerman  is  a  well  known  Mason, 
belonging  to  the  Blue  Lodge  and  Council  at 
Gallon  and  the  Chapter  and  Commandery  at 
Mansfield.  He  is  identified  also  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Elks  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Country  Club.  Politically  he 
is  a  Democrat.    He  has  never  married. 

JACOB  R.  BISHOP,  an  enterprising  and 
successful  farmer  and  stock  raiser,  owns  a 
large  body  of  valuable  land,  resides  in  section 
15,  Cranberry  township,  his  property  border- 
ing the  southeast  side  of  the  corporation  limits 
of  New  Washington,  O.  He  was  born  in 
Peru  township,  Huron  county,  O.,  Feb.  11, 
i860,  and  is  a  son  of  Arsaineus  and  Theresa 
Bishop,  natives  of  Huron  county  and  both 
now  deceased. 

After  his  marriage  in  1891,  Mr.  Bishop 
bought  yj)  acres  in  Cranberry  township.  Craw- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1061 


ford  county,  of  the  Springer  heirs,  paying  fifty 
dollars  an  acre  for  the  same.  It  was  good  land 
but  was  not  improved  to  please  Mr.  Bishop 
who  immediately  began  his  own  improve- 
ments, including  a  system  of  drainage,  in  1903 
erecting  a  new  barn,  with  other  structures,  and 
the  entire  remodeling  of  the  house  which  had 
been  erected  in  1858.  Mr.  Bishop,  in  1905, 
bought  "jy  acres,  from  his  father-in-law, 
George  Miller,  a  well  improved  body  of  land 
adjoining  his  other  farm  on  the  west.  All  of 
it  had  been  cleared  by  Mr.  Miller  with  the  ex- 
ception of  eight  acres  of  maple  grove  and 
every  year  a  large  quantity  of  maple  sugar  is 
made  on  the  place.  Mr.  Bishop  raises  grain, 
especially  wheat,  having  at  the  present  date 
of  writing  17  acres  of  as  fine  wheat  as  can  be 
found  in  Cranberry  township,  and  has  a  large 
acreage  in  hay.  He  also  raises  cattle,  horses 
and  hogs,  disposing  of  $800  worth  of  the  lat- 
ter every  year.  A  large  number  of  fowls  are 
produced  here  yearly  also,  Mrs.  Bishop  taking 
just  pride  in  her  Barred  Plymouth  Rocks  and 
White  Orphingtons,  thorough-bred  stock.  She 
sells  eggs  to  the  Uhl  Hatchery  Company,  of 
New  Washington,  O.,  and  has  made  this  an 
important  feature  of  the  farm  industries. 

Mr.  Bishop  was  married  Jan.  27,  1891,  to 
Miss  Mary  Miller,  who  was  born  in  Cranberry 
township,  north  of  New  Washington,  O.,  a 
daughter  of  George  and  Margaret  (Heydinger) 
Miller.  George  Miller  was  bom  in  Germany, 
Feb.  2,  1835,  and  came  to  Crawford  county  and 
settled  one-half  mile  north  of  New  Washing- 
ton, where  he  lived  for  four  years  and  then 
bought  a  farm  south  of  that  place  and  there 
built  a  brick  house  for  hotel  purposes  in  1871, 
naming  it  the  Washington  House,  which  he 
conducted  for  20  years,  then  retired  and  now 
lives  at  Chicago,  III.  His  wife,  Margaret  Hey- 
dinger, was  born  in  France,  a  daughter  of 
John  Adam  Heydinger,  who  probably  came  to 
New  Washington  in  1835.  She  was  one  of 
three  children :  John,  Margaret  and  Mary,  the 
brother  marrying  Mary  Gulong,  and  the  sister, 
Frank  Wechter.  Mrs.  Miller  died  July  7, 
1905,  and  her  burial  was  in  the  Catholic  cem- 
etery at  New  Washington.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Miller  the  following  children  were  born :  Mary, 
who  married  Jacob  R.  Bishop;  John  R.,  who  is 
manager  of  the  Miller  Department  Store  at 
New  Washington;  Catherine,  who  is  the  wife 


of  Matthew  Burger,  residing  east  of  New 
Washington;  Ignatius,  who  lives  in  Cranberry 
township;  Rosa,  who  lives  at  Chicago,  111.; 
Adam,  who  is  interested  at  New  Washington 
in  the  Miller  Merchandise  Company,  and  who 
married  Amelia  Burger;  Cecelia,  who  is  mar- 
ried and  lives  in  the  city  of  Chicago;  and  Til- 
lie,  who  is  the  wife  of  George  Schmidt,  of 
New  Washington. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bishop  have  two  children : 
Verona  and  Otto,  the  latter  of  whom  is  a  stu- 
dent in  the  New  Washington  High  School. 
The  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bishop  is  tal- 
ented in  music  and  devotes  a  part  of  her  leisure 
time  to  teaching  music.  She  graduated  from 
the  New  Washington  High  School  when  only 
16  years  of  age  and  afterward  attended  col- 
lege for  one  year  at  Tiffin,  O.  She  then  taught 
school  for  two  years  and  at  present  is  book- 
keeper for  the  Uhl  Hatchery  Company.  Mr. 
Bishop  and  family  are  members  of  St.  Ber- 
nard's Catholic  church  at  New  Washington. 
Mr.  Bishop  votes  with  the  Democratic  party 
but  is  not  unduly  active  in  politics  and  has 
never  accepted  any  public  oflfice  except  that  of 
road  supervisor,  in  which  he  served  two  terms. 

JOHN  F.  MORKEL,  who  justly  claims  the 
distinction  of  being  the  oldest  grocer,  in  point 
of  service,  doing  business  at  Crestline,  O.,  es- 
tablished himself  here  in  1887  and  has  con- 
tinued uninterruptedly  ever  since.  He  was 
born  in  Crawford  county,  one  mile  west  of 
Crestline,  Dec.  7,  1853,  and  is  a  son  of  Chris- 
tian and  a  grandson  of  Peter  Morkel. 

About  1829  or  1830,  grandfather  Morkel 
and  family  came  from  Germany  to  the  United 
States  and  located  in  Franklin  county,  Pa.,  and 
from  there,  in  1832,  started  for  Crawford 
county,  O.  The  means  of  transportation  was 
a  wagon,  drawn  by  a  blind  horse,  and  naturally 
but  slow  progress  was  made  over  the  moun- 
tains and  through  uncleared  lands,  dense  tim- 
ber tracts  and  unbridged  streams,  and  it  took 
many  weeks  for  the  pioneers  to  reach  their 
proposed  home.  They  settled  on  virgin  land, 
in  what  was  called  the  wind  fall,  and  there  a 
log  cabin  was  erected  and  life  was  begun 
anew.  Many  Indians  were  visitors  to  this 
section,  attracted  by  the  abundance  of  wild 
game  and  the  pioneers  soon  learned  wood 
craft  from  them  and  in  the  early  days  partly 


imi 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


sustained  life  by  hunting,  trapping  and  fish- 
ing. A  valuable  farm  w  as  developed  through 
jjersevering  labor  and  Peter  Morkel  and  wife 
l!\"ed  long  enough  to  enjoy  peace  and  comfort 
in  their  last  days. 

Christian  Morkel,  son  of  Peter  and  father 
of  John  F.  Morkel.  was  born  in  Hesse  Darm- 
stadt, Germany,  July  i8,  1823,  the  eldest  of 
seven  children,  and  died  in  Richland  county, 
O.,  in  Febraury,  1906,  when  aged  83  years. 
He  learned  the  trade  of  wagonmaker  and  was 
able  to  construct  an  entire  wagon  from  the 
cutting  down  of  the  tree  to  its  completion  as 
a  useful  vehicle,  and  in  addition  owned  and 
operated  a  saw  mill  and  engaged  in  farming. 
He  spent  his  closing  years  in  Richland  county, 
near  Crestline,  a  man  widely  known  and  very 
highly  respected.  In  Crawford  county  he  mar- 
ried Mary  Ann  Purkey,  who  was  bom  in  Lan- 
caster county.  Pa.,  Dec.  10,  1835,  and  was 
brought  to  Crawford  county  by  her  parents 
in  the  forties,  they  settling  also  in  the  wind 
fall,  where  her  father  followed  farming.  She 
died  April  30,  1898,  in  Richland  county.  She 
was  reared  in  the  German  Reformed  faith  but 
after  marriage  united  with  her  husband's 
church,  the  German  Lutheran.  Thirteen  chil- 
dren were  bom  to  this  marriage,  twelve  of 
whom  reached  maturity,  ten  of  whom  mar- 
ried and  all  these  survive. 

John  F.  Morkel  was  the  eldest  bom  of  his 
l^arents'  children  and  was  reared  and  educated 
in  his  native  county  about  two  miles  east  of 
Crestline.  After  some  years  on  the  farm  he 
learned  the  blacksmith  trade  at  Mansfield  and 
for  two  years  followed  the  same  in  Delaware 
county  and  then  came  to  Crawford  county  on 
a  farm  for  seven  years,  and  then  came  to 
Crestline  and  embarked  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness, for  the  first  eleven  years  being  located 
on  Main  Street  and  since  then  has  occupied 
his  commodious  store,  with  dimensions  of 
22x67  f^ct,  on  the  corner  of  Crestline  and 
Bucyrus  Streets.  He  carries  a  full  line  of 
staple  goods  and  all  fancy  goods  for  which 
there  is  a  demand,  and  does  a  safe  and  satis- 
factory business  being  able  to  meet  all  com- 
petition without  recourse  to  any  questionable 
methods.  He  is  one  of  the  reliable  and  rep- 
resentative business  men  of  the  city. 

Mr.  Morkel  was  married  at  Massilon,  C,  to 
^fiss  Helen  Mathien  who  was  born  in  A\'ayne 


county,  July  8,  1853,  and  was  there  reared  and 
educated.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morkel  have  three 
children:  Edith  Dora,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Lewis  Smith,  a  Pennsylvania  Railroad  en- 
gineer residing  at  Crestline,  and  has  one  son, 
Neil;  Clarence  Lee,  who  lives  at  Galion,  and 
who  married  Daisy  Snyder,  who  died  when 
their  daughter  Ruth  was  eight  days  old;  and 
Estelle  May,  who  is  the  wife  of  Howard 
Ackerman,  of  Mansfield,  and  has  one  son, 
Franklin  Kenneth.  Mr.  Morkel  and  family 
attend  the  Lutheran  church.  In  politics  Mr. 
Morkel  is  a  Democrat  and  he  has  been  active 
and  useful  as  a  citizen,  serving  for  nine  years 
as  a  member  of  the  school  board  and  serving 
also  on  the  water  works  board.  He  is  prom- 
inent in  Ohio  Masonry,  belonging  to  the  Blue 
Lodge  and  Chapter  at  Crestline  and  the  Council 
at  Mansfield  and  serving  officially  at  different 
times. 

RICHARD  HOLCKER,  senior  member  of 
the  firm  of  Richard  and  Herman  Holcker,  suc- 
cessful hardware  merchants  and  represent- 
ative business  men  of  Crestline,  O.,  was  born 
in  Germany,  Oct.  26,  1866,  and  is  a  son  of 
George  and  Elizabeth  (Huebsch)  Holcker. 
His  brother,  Herman  Holcker,  the  younger 
member  of  the  firm,  was  born  in  1868,  also  in 
Bavaria,  and  there  the  brothers  grew  to  man- 
hood and  both  learned  trades,  the  older  becom- 
ing a  machinist  and  the  younger  a  carriage- 
smith. 

The  parents,  George  Holcker  and  wife,  were 
born  and  reared  in  the  same  Rhine  province 
and  married  there  and  for  many  years  Mr. 
Holcker  followed  the  machinist  trade.  In 
1901  he  and  wife  came  to  America  and  joined 
their  children  at  Crestline,  O.,  where  the 
father  of  Richard  and  Herman  Holcker  died  in 
Februarv,  1912,  when  aged  75  years,  having 
lived  retired  after  reaching  this  city.  His 
widow,  now  in  her  73rd  year,  resides  with  her 
children  at  Crestline.  They  had  ten  children 
and  all  came  to  the  United  States  and  all  but 
one,  to  Crawford  county,  O.  and  all  married 
but  two. 

The  hardware  business  now  conducted  by 
the  firm  of  Holcker  Brothers,  is  one  of  the 
old  established  ones  of  Crestline,  having  been 
founded  about  60  years  ago,  on  the  comer  of 
Seltzer  and  Main  Streets.  The  present  firm,  in 


THOMAS  S.  KENNEDY 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1065 


1892,  succeeded  Jacob  Sosenheimer,  and  a 
large  business  has  been  built  up  here,  an  im- 
mense stock  of  goods  being  carried,  including 
all  kinds  of  hardware,  tin  roofing  and  farm 
implements.  Business  honesty  is  the  watch- 
word of  this  firm  and  it  has  proved  good  policy. 

Both  members  of  the  above  firm  have  mar- 
married  and  each  household  has  children. 
Richard  Holcker  was  married  at  Crestline  to 
Miss  Catherine  (Gehrisch),  who  was  born  in 
Hesse  Darmstadt,  Germany,  in  1874,  and  was 
18  years  of  age  when  she  came  to  Crestline. 
She  is  a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church.  One  child  has  been  born  to  Richard 
Holcker  and  wife,  Frederick,  who  is  two  years 
old. 

Herman  Holcker  was  married  at  Crestline  to 
Miss  Ida  Eckstein  who  was  born,  reared  and 
educated  here.  They  have  one  son  and  one 
daughter:  Albert  G.,  born  March  31,  1896, 
who  is  a  student  in  the  Crestline  High  School ; 
and  Martha,  who  was  born  June  19,  1900. 
Mr.  Holcker  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Reformed  church.  In  politics  both  broth- 
ers are  nominally  Democrats,  but  with  inde- 
pendent tendencies.  Both  brothers  are  identi- 
fied with  the  order  of  Macabees  and  both  are 
stockholders  in  many  of  the  successful  local 
industries  of  the  city,  while  Richard  is  also  a 
director  of  the  First  National  Bank.- 

HORACE  ANGENE,  one  of  the  represent- 
ative citizens  and  large  tax  payers  of  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  was  born  in  Lykens  township, 
June  2,  1861,  and  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Louisa 
(Barrett)  Angene.  The  father  is  now  deceased. 
He  was  a  native  of  Germany  and  after  coming 
to  Ohio  engaged  in  farming.  The  mother, 
who  is  now  in  her  73rd  year,  resides  in  Lykens 
township.  They  had  two  sons :  Horace  and 
Albert. 

Horace  Angene  obtained  an  excellent  public 
school  education  and  then  attended  the  Nor- 
mal School  at  Lebanon,  O.,  for  one  term,  and 
before  settling  down  to  agricultural  pursuits, 
taught  five  terms  of  school.  Although  he  was 
entirely  successful  as  an  educator,  he  had  de- 
termined on  an  agricultural  life  and  ever  since 
has  devoted  his  attention  to  general  farming 
and  stock  raising.  He  owns  370  acres  of  fine 
land  situated  in  Crawford  county  and  a  body 
of  1840  acres,  situated  in  Texas. 


In  1883,  -Mr.  Angene  was  married  to  Miss 
Sarah  Kalb,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Mary 
Kalb,  substantial  farming  people  in  Chatfield 
township.  Mrs.  Angene  has  two  brothers: 
Daniel  and  Emanuel.  Four  children  have  been 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Angene:  Orestus,  who 
married  Mabel  Meek ;  and  Sylvanus,  Anita  and 
Amy.  Mr.  Angene  and  family  attend  the 
Pietist  church  at  Chatfield.  In  politics  a  life- 
long Democrat,  Mr.  Angene  has  frequently 
been  elected  to  public  offices,  in  which  men  of 
high  personal  standing  and  education  are  re- 
quired, and  he  has  served  on  the  school  board 
and  also  as  a  justice  of  the  peace. 

THOMAS  S.  KENNEDY,  who  is  one  of 
Crawford  county's  leading  citizens  and  sub- 
stantial and  representative  men,  resides  on  one 
of  his  farms  in  Dallas  township,  containing  280 
acres,  and  owns  a  second  one,  comprising  80 
acres.  Additionally  he  has  175  acres  in  Ma- 
rion county,  and  139  acres  in  Trumbull  county, 
and  is  one  of  the  stockholders  in  the  Farmers 
and  Citizens  Bank  of  Bucyrus.  Mr.  Kennedy 
was  born  in  Tully  township,  Marion  county, 
O.,  Oct.  23,  1848,  and  is  a  son  of  William  and 
Margaret  (Shank)  Kennedy. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Kennedy  were  born  in 
Pennsylvania  and  both  died  in  Marion  county, 
O.  They  came  to  Ohio  when  young  and  were 
reared  and  educated  here  and  later  married 
and  settled  down  to  an  agricultural  life  in 
Marion  county.  The  mother  was  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  they  were 
respected  and  esteemed  in  the  section  which 
was  their  home  for  many  years.  They  were 
parents  of  a  large  family.  After  the  mother 
of  Mr.  Kennedy  died  the  father  married 
Mary  A.  Lance  and  they  had  one  daughter 
born  to  them,  Samira,  who  is  the  wife  of  Ells- 
worth J.  Jones.  Thomas  S.  Kennedy  was  the 
third  born  of  his  father's  first  family,  the 
others  being:  Nancy,  who  died  aged  three 
years:  Lydia  Jane,  who  is  the  widow  of  Sam- 
uel Baker;  Martha,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife 
of  George  Watts ;  James  William :  Emma,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Madison  Roberts,  Anzila,  who  is 
the  wife  of  George  Watts:  and  Margaret 
Ellen,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  Hill.  The 
paternal  grandparents  of  the  above  children 
were  Thomas  and  Nancy  Kenedv,  and  the 
maternal  were  Jacob  and  Lydia  Shank. 


1066 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Thomas  S.  Kennedy  attended  the  district 
schools  in  boyhood  and  improved  his  opportu- 
nities so  that  afterward  he  taught  a  term  of 
school  in  Marion  county.  He  found,  how- 
ever, that  his  natural  inclinations  led  more  in 
the  direction  of  an  agricultural  life  and  there-  . 
fore  became  a  farmer,  in  which  line  of  activity 
he  has  continued  and  has  been  exceedingly 
successful.  In  1882  he  bought  the  farm  on 
which  he  lives,  from  J.  George  Heinlen,  and 
this  land  as  all  the  other  that  he  owns  has  been 
improved  and  brought  to  a  high  productive, 
state. 

In  1874  Mr.  Kennedy  was  married  to  Miss 
Esther  F.  Monnette,  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Esther  Ann  (Gulp)  Monnette.  The  par- 
ents of  Mrs.  Kennedy  were  early  settlers  and 
for  many  years  prominent  people  of  Marion 
county.  Mrs.  Kennedy  has  but  one  sister: 
Vansanelia,  who  is  the  wife  of  G.  W.  Sipe. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kennedy  the  following  chil- 
dren have  been  born :  Mervin,  assistant  cashier 
of  The  Farmers  &  Citizens  Bank,  at  Bucyrus, 
who  married  Juna  Ethel  Newland,  and  has 
had  three  children — Evelyn  Lucile,  Frances 
Bernice  and  an  infant,  deceased;  William,  a 
farmer  in  Marion  county,  O.,  who  married 
Mary  Mertie  Heinlen,  and  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them — Flossie  Marie,  an  in- 
fant, deceased;  Clarence  Eugene,  Harold 
Stephen,  Melvin  Oben,  Mabel  Mertie  and  an 
unnamed  infant;  Otho  W.,  city  solicitor  of 
Bucyrus,  O.,  who  married  Edna  Burke ;  Orarige 
D.,  a  farmer  in  Marion  county,  who  married 
Blanche  Fink,  and  has  the  following  children 
— Milford,  Almeda,  Vancenella  Catherine; 
Myron  G.,  who  is  in  the  drug  business  at  Niks, 
Trumbull  county,  0.,  who  married  Daisy 
Knowles,  and  has  the  following  children — 
James  Thomas,  Marion  Elizabeth  and  Richard 
Knowles;  Amy  Elva,  who  married  Samuel 
Stump,  a  farmer  in  Whetstone  township; 
James  Corbin,  a  farmer  in  Trumbull  county, 
who  married  Eleanora  Culler,  of  Indiana,  and 
has  three  children — Myron  Samuel,  George 
William  and  Pauline  Esther;  Olive  Edna,  who 
is  a  member  of  the  class  of  19 13,  at  college,  at 
Ada,  O. ;  Ralph  C,  who  is  a  student  at  Fort 
Wayne,  Ind. ;  Myrtle  Flossie,  who  is  a  student 
at  Ada;  Almet  E.,  who  lives  at  home;  and 
Jay  Monnette,  who  died  at  the  age  of  two 
years.    This  is  one  of  the  representative  fam- 


ilies of  Crawford  county,  not  only  in  numbers 
but  in  intelligence  and  business  capacity.  Mr. 
Kennedy  and  his  sons  are  Democrats  in  their 
political  allegiance  and  are  deeply  interested  in 
public  affairs  at  the  present  time  of  writing 
(1912).  Mr.  Kennedy  has  served  on  the 
township  school  board,  of  which  he  has  been 
clerk  and  has  been  land  appraiser  for  one  term 
and  also  trustee.  Both  he  and  wife  were 
reared  in  the  Methodist  faith  and  in  this  church 
their  children  also  have  received  their  religious 
instruction. 

AUGUST  MARQUART,  one  of  the  well 
known  citizens  of  Crawford  county,  O.,  own- 
ing 238  acres  of  valuable  land  in  section  12, 
Cranberry. township,  has  been  a  member  of  the 
school  board  for  four  years  and  during  three 
of  these  has  been  its  president.  He  was  born 
in  Cranberry  township,  one  mile  north  of  the 
old  homestead  of  Michael  Marquart,  July  31, 
1856. 

August  Marquart  obtained  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  Cranberry  township  and 
has  devoted  many  years  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits. The  farm  located  three-fourth  miles 
from  New  Washington,  on  which  he  lives, 
contains  seventy-eight  acres.  He  also  owns  80 
acres  which  he  purchased  from  A.  G.  Lederer, 
this  being  previously  the  Anderson  farm  and 
he  has  also  bought  the  Rapp  farm  of  80  acres. 
His  home  farm  was  formerly  owned  by  Daniel 
Uhl.  All  this  land  Mr.  Marquart  has  im- 
proved as  he  has  thought  desirable  and  has 
lived  on  the  78-acre  farm  since  Oct.  i,  1880. 
He  carries  on  a  general  farming  line  and  also 
raises  hogs,  sheep  and  Durham  cattle,  all 
good  stock,  and  his  methods  are  those  which 
experience  has  taught  him  to  be  most  satis- 
factory. 

Mr.  Marquart  married  Miss  Mary  Jane  Til- 
ton,  who  was  born  in  Cranberry  township,  a 
daughter  of  Arthur  Tilton,  and  they  have 
seven  children,  namely:  Ida,  Minnie,  Elmer, 
Ora,  Emma,  Arthur  and  Lilly.  All  have  been 
given  educational  and  other  advantages.  The 
family  belongs  to  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr. 
Marquart  is  not  bound  by  politics  to  any  partic- 
ular party,  preferring  to  use  his  own  judg- 
ment as  to  the  worthiness  of  candidates  when 
he  casts  his  vote. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1067 


HON.  FRANK  MILLER,  whose  prom- 
inence and  usefulness  both  in  public  life  and  in 
business  affairs  justifies  the  assertion  that  he 
is  one  of  the  leading  men  of  Crawford  county, 
O.,  served  with  distinction  for  five  years  in  the 
Ohio  State  Legislature,  and  from  1896  until 
1900,  was  mayor  of  the  city  of  Crestline,  dur- 
ing which  period  municipal  growth  and  prog- 
ress was  notable.  Mr.  Miller  was  born  at 
Cresthne,  March  11,  1863,  and  is  a  son  of 
C.  H.  Miller,  long  a  prominent  citizen  here. 

Frank  Miller  attended  the  Crestline  schools 
and  the  State  University  at  Columbus,  O.,  and 
in  1887  was  admitted  to  the  Ohio  bar  and  prac- 
ticed law  until  1892.  While  he  has  been  very 
active  in  politics  he  has  been  no  less  so  in  the 
business  world.  He  is  a  director  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Crestline  and  also  of  the 
Burch  Plow  Works,  and  is  vice  president  and 
treasurer  of  Schil  Bros.  Co.,  manufacturers 
of  stoves  and  steel  ranges.  The  above  busi- 
ness was  incorporated  in  1900,  with  a  capital 
of  $150,000,  and  the  present  officials  are:  W. 
H.  Weaver,  president;  Frank  Miller,  vice 
president  and  treasurer ;  and  W.  D.  Cover,  sec- 
retary and  manager.  The  board  of  directors 
is  made  up  of  the  following  capitalists :  W.  H. 
Weaver,  C.  F.  Frank,  J.  M.  Martin,  J.  A.  Mc- 
Callum,  C.  A.  Simeonton  and  John  Schil.  Mr. 
Miller  owns  and  operates  the  stockyards  at 
Crestline  and  has  the  contract  for  the  manag- 
ing and  cleaning  of  the  stock  cars  on  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad.  Mr.  Miller  was  reared  a 
Democrat  and  has  always  been  a  loyal  party 
man  and  for  years  has  served  as  a  delegate  to 
all  important  conventions  and  been  prominent 
in  county  organizations. 

In  1889  Mr.  Miller  was  married  in  Logan 
county,  O.,  to  Miss  Short,  who  was  born, 
reared  and  educated  there.  Fraternally  he  is 
identified  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  at 
Crestline,  and  with  the  Elks,  at  Bucyrus. 

BENJAMIN  L.  SITES,  pharmacist,  who 
conducts  a  well  equipped  drug  store  at  No.  138 
South  Market  Street,  Gallon,  O.,  has  had  a 
wide  experience  in  his  profession  and  in  un- 
usually well  qualified  for  the  important  posi- 
tion the  pharmacist  fills  in  a  community.  He 
was  born  at  Dakota,  Stephenson  county,  111., 
but  was  mainly  educated  in  Ohio  and  after 
spending  some  years  at  Wooster  and  Heidel- 


berg Universities,  entered  the  Ohio  Normal 
University  at  Ada  and  was  graduated  from 
the  School  of  Pharmacy  in  the  class  of  1896. 
He  then  became  a  clerk  in  the  drug  store  of 
C.  E.  Ashbrook,  at  Ada,  where  he  remained 
for  five  years,  as  prescription  clerk  for  this 
house. 

In  1 90 1,  an  opportunity  presented  for  a  po- 
sition in  his  professional  capacity,  under  the 
Bureau  of  Medicine  &  Surgery,  U.  S.  Navy. 
After  passing  a  very  satisfactory  examination, 
he  was  attached  to  the  recruiting  party  as  as- 
sistant to  the  medical  examiner,  and  later  was 
sent  to  New  York  where  he  was  given  his 
first  assignment,  aboard  the  U.  S.  Training 
Ship  "Aliance."  This  vessel  made  a  number 
of  lengthy  foreign  cruises,  not  being  hampered 
by  the  usual  fleet  routine. 

When  military  occupation  was  made  of  the 
Panama  Canal  Zone,  he  was  one  of  the  two 
pharmacists,  out  of  40,  selected  for  duty  there 
in  the  establishment  of  marine  hospitals.  In 
this  capacity,  he  was  professionally  associated 
with  the  most  skilful  medical  men  in  the  ser- 
vice and  enjoyed  experiences  which  were  ex- 
ceptionally valuable  in  following  work.  At  the 
time  his  enlistment  expired,  he  was  serving 
with  Dr.  J.  D.  Gatewood,  formerly  head  of 
the  Bureau  at  Washington,  and  then  attached  to 
the  U.  S.  S.  "Yankee." 

Dr.  Sites  then  came  to  Galion  and  in  1905 
succeeded  one  of  the  oldest  druggists  of  this 
city — L.  K.  Reisinger — and  has  continued  in 
business  here  ever  since.  He  is  an  enterpris- 
ing citizen,  an  active  member  of  the  Commer- 
cial Club,  having  served  as  one  of  its  presi- 
dents and  at  present  is  chairman  of  the  in- 
dustrial committee.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
State  and  National  Pharmaceutical  Associa- 
tions, is  treasurer  of  the  Crawford  County 
Pharmacists  Association  and  belongs  to  nu- 
merous fraternal  bodies  including  the  Elks  and 
Knights  of  Pythias. 

WILLIAM  DITTY,  who  is  serving  in  his 
second  term  as  township  clerk  of  Lykens  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  is  well  known  all 
over  the  county,  for  15  years  having  been  a 
prominent  and  popular  school  teacher.  He 
was  born  in  Lykens  township,  Feb.  17,  1874, 
and  is  a. son  of  Levi  William  and  Catherine 
(Haas)  Ditty. 


106b 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Levi  William  Ditty,  whose  death  occurred 
Aug.  8,  1901,  was  well  known  all  through 
LyKcns  township,  where  he  followed  fanning. 
His  widow  survives  and  resides  with  her  son 
William,  who  was  the  second  born  in  the  fam- 
ily ot  children,  the  others  being:  Susan,  now 
deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  Arthur  Jay 
Stevenson;  Conrad  M.,  who  is  deceased;  and 
Mattie  M.,  who  resides  with  her  mother  and 
brother. 

William  Ditty  completed  the  common  school 
course  in  Lykens  township,  after  which  he  took 
a  commercial  course  at  Ada,  O.  Teaching  has 
been  his  main  interest  for  many  years  and  as 
an  educator  he  is  held  in  high  esteem  in  Craw- 
ford county.  During  the  summer  season  he 
cultivates  his  two  acres  of  fertile  land,  at- 
tached to  his  comfortable  residence,  and  does 
gardening  and  trucking.  He  is  identified  with 
the  Democratic  party  and  was  elected  on  that 
ticket  to  the  office  of  township  clerk  and  gives 
intelligent  attention  to  his  official  duties.  He 
belongs  to  Lodge  No.  859,  Independent  Order 
of  Foresters,  at  Brokensword,  and  with  his 
mother  and  sister,  attends  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.    Mr.  Ditty  is  unmarried. 

THO^L\S  H.  B.  CLUTTER,  M.  D.,  who 
stands  at  the  head  of  the  medical  profession  at 
Crestline,  O.  and  is  the  oldest  physician  and 
surgeon  here,  has  been  a  resident  since  boy- 
hood, but  was  born  in  Washington  county. 
Pa.,  and  is  a  son  of  John  P.  and  Margaret 
(Andrews)  Clutter. 

The  Clutter  family  can  be  clearly  traced  as 
far  back  as  1623,  in  Holland,  from  which 
country  his  forefathers  came  and  settled  at 
New  Amsterdam,  X.  Y.  From  Morristown, 
N.  J.,  his  great-grandfather,  John  Clutter,  en- 
listed for  senice  in  the  Revolutionary  War, 
in  which  he  was  a  soldier  for  seven  years  and 
was  with  General  Washington  during  the 
memorable  winter  at  Valley  Forge,  his  son, 
John  Clutter,  being  also  an  enlisted  soldier 
from  the  same  place.  After  the  trouble  with 
Great  Britain  was  settled  the  great-grandfather 
located  in  a  wild  section  of  \\'ashington  county. 
Pa.,  one  of  the  first  settlers  there,  his  estate 
lying  within  12  miles  of  the  present  county 
seat.  The  Clutter  familv  experienced  the  most 
of  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  pioneer  life, 
being  driven  to  block  houses  for  shelter  from 


Indians — these  houses  being  the  first  thing 
they  were  compelled  to  build.  They  also  suf- 
fered loss  of  stock  from  wild  animals  and  had 
to  surround  their  cabin  at  night  with  blazing 
fires  to  drive  off  hungry  and  voracious  wolves. 
They  lived  through  all  these  trials,  increased 
in  numbers  and  prospered  in  their  business  en- 
terprises, accumulating  much  land  and  many 
herds  of  cattle. 

John  Clutter,  son  of  John,  and  grandfather 
of  Dr.  Clutter,  became  famous  locally  as  an  In- 
diana fighter.  He  was  a  robust  man  even  up 
to  80  years  and  possessed  as  much  knowledge 
of  woodcraft  as  the  most  wily  savage  and 
when  one  of  the  latter  had  committed  some 
depredation,  John  Clutter  pursued  him  for 
weeks  until  he  had  brought  the  Indian  to 
justice.  He  married  Phebe  Headley,  who  also 
survived  into  old  age. 

John  P.  Clutter  (3),  son  and  grandson  of 
John  Clutter  and  father  of  Dr.  Thomas  H.  B. 
Clutter,  was  bom  in  Washington  county.  Pa., 
Jjan.  I,  1806,  and  lived  and  died  on  his  grand- 
father's farm,  when  aged  80  years.  He  was 
one  of  the  younger  members  of  a  family  of  12 
children,  all  of  whom  have  now  passed  away. 
He  married  Margaret  Andrews,  who  was  born 
near  the  old  block-house  in  \A'^ashington  county, 
in  1816,  and  died  Oct.  10,  1885,  a  daughter  of 
James  and  Anna  (Van  \'oorhees)  Andrews, 
who  came  from  Xew  Jersey  to  Washington 
county,  Pa.  John  Clutter,  grandfather  of  our 
subject,  was  a  carpenter  and  wagonmaker  and 
was  skillful  with  tools.  He  was  a  busy  and 
useful  man  in  the  neighborhood  at  the  time 
when  the  hand  was  the  only  machine.  The 
Andrews  were  all  members  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church,  while  the  Clutters  were 
Baptists.  Thomas  H.  B.  Clutter  is  one  of 
se^■en  children  born  to  his  parents,  namely: 
Jasper,  who  left  a  widow  at  death:  Thomas 
H.  B. ;  Samuel,  who  lives  with  wife  and  two 
children,  at  Akron,  O. :  John  P..  Jr.,  who  lives 
with  his  family  in  Charleroi,  Pa. ;  Robert  Mor- 
ris, who  is  a  resident  of  \A'aynesburg  and  has 
one  son  and  one  daughter ;  and  two  deceased. 

Thomas  H.  B.  Clutter  came  to  Crestline  in 
1 86 1,  was  reared  here  and  served  an  appren- 
ticeship in  a  durg  store,  after  which  he  studied 
medicine  for  a  time  with  Drs.  A.  &  A.  E.  Jen- 
ner,  with  whom  he  prepared  for  Starling  Med- 
ical College,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1865. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1069 


Later  he  returned  to  Crestline  and  with  the 
exception  of  a  period  of  practice  at  Leesville, 
Crawford  county,  has  been  at  Crestline.  In 
February,  1889  he  purchased  the  practice  of 
Dr.  C.  W.  Jenner,  of  this  place  and  has  been 
actively  engaged  here  ever  since. 

Dr.  Clutter  was  married  (first)  in  1867,  in 
Pennsylvania,  to  Miss  Joanna  Day,  who  was 
born  there  in  1842,  and  died  in  the  Columbus 
Hospital,  Nov.  15,  1886.  Dr.  Clutter  was 
married  (second),  to  Miss  Ida  L.  Mapes,  who 
was  born  and  reared  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  a  daughter 
of  Richard  Mapes.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Clutter  at- 
tend the  Presbyterian  church.  He  is  prominent 
in  Masonry,  belonging  to  the  Blue  Lodge  and 
Chapter  at  Crestline;  the  Commandery  at 
Mansfield,  the  Consistory  at  Cincinnati  and  the 
other  branches  at  Dayton.  He  is  a  charter 
member  of  the  Dayton  Consistory,  S.  P.  R. 
S.,  No.  32,  and  a  charter  member  of  the  Home 
for  Masons  at  Springfield,  being  one  of  the 
first  contributors  of  one  hundred  dollars  to  this 
worthy  object.  Professionally  he  is  widely 
known,  financially  he  is  independent  and  per- 
sonally is  a  man  of  sterling  character. 

HENRY  HAGEMAN,  who  is  one  of  the 
most  progressive  agriculturists  of  Crawford 
county,  O.,  resides  on  his  finely  improved  farm 
in  Cranberry  township,  where  he  has  100  acres 
situated  in  section  24,  and  an  additional  100 
acres  adjoining  the  home  farm  on  the  north, 
was  born  here  March  13,  1848,  and  is  a  son 
of  Charles  and  Catherine  (Fredline)  Hage- 
man. 

Charles  Hageman  was  born  in  Somerset 
county,  Pa.,  and  was  twelve  years  old  when 
he  accompanied  his  parents,  Barnett  and  Susan 
Hageman,  to  Wayne  county,  O.  Barnett 
Hageman  served  as  a  private  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  and  died  in  Crawford  county  and 
his  burial  was  in  Goodwill  Cemetery.  Charles 
Hageman  grew  to  manhood  in  Wayne  county 
and  then  married  Catherine  Fredline.  He  was 
a  house  carpenter  and  a  skilled  workman  and 
after  marriage  he  built  a  residence  in  Wayne 
county  which  his  son  Henry  visited  in  later 
years  and  was  surprised  to  see  how  skillfully 
and  substantially  it  had  been  constructed,  all 
its  finishing  having  been  done  by  hand.  After 
the  birth  of  three  children — Sarah,  Mary  and 
Catherine — Charles  Hageman  and  wife  moved 


to  Crawford  county,  in  1842  reaching  the 
present  farm  of  Henry  Hageman,  in  Cran- 
berry township.  It  must  have  been  a  stern 
sense  of  duty  that  made  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hage- 
man willing  to  give  up  their  comfortable  home 
in  Wayne  county  and  settle  here,  where  but 
three  acres  of  the  100  had  been  cleared  and 
the  only  house  was  a  log  cabin.  In  the  course 
of  time,  however,  Mr.  Plageman  erected  the 
frame  residence  which  is  yet  standing  and 
cleared  70  acres  of  the  land  and  here  the  rest 
of  the  children  were  born,  namely:  William, 
Martha,  George,  Henry,  David  and  John.  The 
survivors  are  William,  John  and  Henry,  the 
last  named  being  the  only  one  living  in  Craw- 
ford county.  The  father  died  on  this  farm 
when  aged  81  years,  one  month  and  21  days, 
and  the  mother  when  aged  76  years.  They 
were  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 

Henry  Hageman  had  the  school  opportu- 
nities then  offered  in  Cranberry  township,  these 
being  somewhat  meager  in  his  boyhood,  and 
afterward  followed  farming  and  the  carpenter 
trade,  acquiring  a  farm  of  40  acres  situated 
northwest  of  the  homestead.  When  his  mother 
died  he  came  with  his  family  to  the  home  farm, 
which  he  purchased,  and  here  the  aged  father 
had  kind  care  until  the  close  of  his  life.  Mr. 
Hageman  cleared  off  the  remaining  30  acres  of 
the  land  and  made  the  repairs  to  the  buildings 
which  he  deemed  necessary  and  has  added  many 
improvements.  He  is  a  self  made  man,  never 
having  received  any  portion  of  his  father's 
estate  which  he  did  not  pay  for.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Grange  and  in  his  agricultural 
methods  follows  modern  teachings  and  with 
great  success.  His  residence  is  situated  on 
the  East  and  West  road,  four  and  one-half 
miles  south  and  east  of  New  Washington,  O. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 

Mr.  Hageman  married  Miss  Martha  A. 
Garberich,  who  was  born  in  Crawford  county, 
west  of  Galion,  a  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Susan 
Garberich,  and  they  have  six  children :  Ger- 
trude Pearl,  who  married  Orval  Stern  and 
lives  at  Helena,  O. ;  William,  who  married  a 
Laura  Cole,  and  lives  at  Shelby,  O. ;  Maude, 
who  is  the  wife  of  George  Foster;  Howard, 
who  married  Cora  Derfler;  Eva,  who  was  a 
teacher  for  five  years,  and  is  in  a  nurse's  train- 
ing school ;  and  Anna,  who  has  been  a  success- 


1070 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


f ul  teacher  for  some  years.  Mr.  Hageman  and 
family  belong  to  the  M.  E.  church  in  which 
he  is  a  steward  and  one  of  the  trustees. 

GEORGE  JACOB  BAUER,*  whose  fine, 
well  stocked  farm  of  47  acres  is  situated  in 
Vernon  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  has 
been  a  lifelong  resident  of  this  township  and 
was  born  near  his  present  place,  July  12,  1858, 
a  son  of  John  J.  and  Julia  (Harrience)  Bauer. 

John  J.  Bauer  was  born  in  Germany,  Nov. 
19,  1828,  and  came  to  the  United  States  with 
his  parents  in  1836.  They  were  John  Philip 
and  Catherine  (Frick)  Bauer,  who  settled  as 
pioneers  in  Vernon  township,  where  they 
cleared  and  improved  land  and  occupied  it 
into  old  age.  This  same  farm  was  owned  by 
their  son,  John  J.,  for  a  period  of  45  years  and 
on  that  place  his  death  occurred  May  6,  191 1. 
He  was  a  well  known  and  highly  esteemed 
man,  well  read  and  possessed  of  the  sound 
judgment  that  led  others  to  consult  him  on 
matters  important  to  themselves  and  the  com- 
munity. Politically  he  was  a  Democrat  and 
a  worthy  member  of  the  German  Reformed 
church.  By  trade  a  carpenter,  he  assisted  in 
the  erection  of  the  first  Reformed  church 
building  in  Vernon  township. 

At  Sandusky,  O.,  John  J.  Bauer  was  mar- 
ried to  Julia  Harrience,  who  died  in  1856,  in 
the  prime  of  life,  in  Vernon  township,  the 
mother  of  the  following  children :  Emma,  who 
married  William  Beach,  of  Vernon  township, 
and  has  eight  children ;  George  Jacob,  our  sub- 
ject; and  Phebe,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Pauffenbach,  a  carpenter  in  Toledo,  G.,  and 
has  six  children.  Mr.  Bauer  was  married  (sec- 
ond) in  Crawford  county,  to  Julia  Unckrich, 
who  was  born  at  Massillon,  O.,  and  died  in 
Vernon  township  in  February,  1904,  when 
aged  63  years,  the  mother  of  eight  children, 
all  of  whom  married  but  one :  Mary,  deceased ; 
John  F. ;  Elizabeth,  deceased ;  Frederick,  un- 
married; Amelia;  Theodore;  and  Alice,  a 
widow. 

George  Jacob  Bauer  attended  the  district 
schools  in  boyhood  and  youth  and  has  fol- 
lowed general  farming  and  moderate  stock 
.  raising  ever  since,  with  satisfactory  results. 
The  farm  on  which  he  lives  is  well  improved, 
Mr.  Bauer  being  progressive  in  his  ideas,  and 
he  has  one  of  the  fine  orchards  of  the  town- 


ship. He  also  has  an  interest  in  his  father's 
farm  of  240  acres  and  in  a  farm  of  200  acres, 
which  is  owned  by  five  people. 

Mr.  Bauer  was  married  in  Jefferson  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  to  Miss  Mary  Ni- 
graiench,  who  was  born  in  this  county,  Dec. 
25,  1867,  a  daughter  of  Christian  and  Mar- 
garet (Steffhom)  Nigraiench.  He  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  German  army  but  found  condi- . 
tions  so  hard  that  he  deserted  and  managed 
to  hide  himself  for  three  days  in  the  sails  of 
a  vessel,  in  which  he  escaped  to  America,  and 
on  the  same  vessel  Margaret  Steffhom  came 
to  the  United  States.  After  reaching  Crawford 
county,  O.,  they  were  married  and  afterward 
spent  a  long  and  happy  life  on  their  farm  in 
Jefferson  township.  In  1861,  when  civil  war 
was  declared,  he  again  became  a  military  man 
and  displayed  all  the  qualities  of  a  good  sol- 
dier during  his  four  years  of  service  in  his 
adopted  country.  Both  he  and  wife  were 
members  of  the  German  Lutheran  church  at 
Crestline. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bauer  the  following  chil- 
dren have  been  born:  Julia,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Samuel  Beach,  a  groceryman,  at  Crestline; 
and  Hattie,  Mada,  John  P.  and  Boston  N.  F., 
all  living  at  home.  In  politics  Mr.  Bauer  is  a 
Democrat  and  has  served  in  local  offices  and 
while  trustee  of  Vernon  township  had  much  to 
do  in  the  matter  of  ditching  and  building  the 
excellent  turnpike  roads  for  which  Vernon 
township  is  justly  noted.  For  three  succes- 
sive years,  Mr.  Bauer,  his  father  and  his  uncle, 
Peter  Bauer,  were  drawn  to  serve  as  jurors, 
in  the  State  Supreme  Court,  at  Cleveland,  the 
whole  family  having  high  standing  in  Craw- 
ford county.  Mr.  Bauer  and  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Reformed  church. 

P.  C.  THOMAS.  Among  the  substantial 
and  representative  business  men  of  long  stand- 
ing at  Galion,  O.,  is  P.  C.  Thomas,  who  has 
been  in  the  hardware  line  here  for  the  last  30 
years,  his  store  being  one  of  the  largest  and 
best  stocked  in  this  section  of  the  state.  He 
was  born  at  West  Becket,  Berkshire  county, 
Mass.,  and  is  a  son  of  George  Milton  and  Al- 
meda  (Baird)  Thomas,  and  a  grandson  of 
George  Milton  Thomas,  Sr. 

George  Milton  Thomas,  Jr.,  was  born  also 
in  the  Berkshire  hills  and  died  in  1862,  when 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1071 


aged  56  years.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade 
and  also  managed  a  small  farm.  In  early 
days  he  was  a  Whig  and  later  a  Republican. 
He  married  Almeda  Baird,  who  was  a  mem- 
ber also  of  an  old  Massachusetts  family.  After 
her  husband  died,  Mrs.  Thomas  moved  to 
Lorain  county,  O.,  where  her  death  occurred 
in  1876,  when  aged  68  years.  She  had  two 
children,  a  son  and  a  daughter.  The  daughter 
died  in  infancy  and  the  son  accompanied  his 
mother  to  Ohio. 

P.  C.  Thomas  was  eight  years  old  when  his 
father  died  and  the  larger  part  of  his  school 
period  was  passed  at  Wellington,  O.  As  soon 
as  he  was  old  enough  he  worked  for  neighbor- 
ing farmers  and  then  learned  the  carriage 
blacksmith  trade,  in  which  he  engaged  until 
1 88 1,  when  he  came  to  Gallon,  immediately 
becoming  connected  with  the  store  of  which 
he  is  proprietor.  For  19  years  he  was  on  the 
road  for  its  owners,  O.  R.  Cox  &  Company, 
they  doing  a  jobbing  business.  Since  1901 
Mr.  Thomas  has  been  sole  proprietor.  His 
quarters  are  commodious,  the  dimensions  of 
his  store  being  24x196  feet,  and  the  stock  he 
carries  includes  shelf  hardware  of  every  de- 
scription together  with  all  lines  of  general 
hardware  known  to  the  trade.  He  has  many 
of  the  qualities  credited  to  his  old  Welsh  an- 
cestors, among  these  being  a  fine  sense  of 
business  integrity  which  has  been  no  small 
factor  in  his  success. 

At  Wellington,  O.,  Mr.  Thomas  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Mary  Daughterty,  who  was  born 
in  Medina  county,  O.,  a  daughter  of  William 
and  Adelaide  (Mariam)  Daughterty,  the  for- 
mer of  whom  died  at  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Thomas,  at  the  age  of  78  years.  The  mother 
of  Mrs.  Thomas  survives.  She  is  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Thomas  have  the  following  children: 
Frank,  born  at  Wellington,  O.,  who  is  a  sales- 
man for  his  father  and  who  married  Fay  Cole- 
man and  has  two  daughters — Ethel  and  Helen ; 
George  Milton,  named  after  both  his  grand- 
father and  great-grandfather,  who  is  book- 
keeper for  his  father,  and  who  married  Nellie 
Bland  of  Gallon  and  has  one  daughter,  Ruth 
Lilian;  Addie,  born  at  Gallon,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Stewart  Booth,  of  Greenwich,  O. ;  and 
Ralph  R.,  who  lives  at  home.  Mr.  Thomas  and 
his  two  older  sons  are  all  members  of  the  Blue 

60 


Lodge  in  Masonry,  of  which  Mr.  Thomas  is 
past  master  and  treasurer,  and  he  belongs  also 
to  the  Chapter  at  Gallon,  and  Council  at  Bu- 
cyrus,  in  all  of  which  he  has-  been  an  official. 
With  his  sons  Mr.  Thomas  is  also  a  Republi- 
can, all  being  strong  party  men.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Thomas  are  members  of  the  First  M.  E.  church. 

HARVEY  G.  ZELLNER,  owner  and  pro- 
prietor of  the  Lykens  Township  Tile  Factory, 
together  with  17  acres  of  adjacent  land,  was 
born  in  Lykens  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  Feb.  22,  1879,  and  is  a  son  of  Edward  and 
Emma  (Ohl)  Zellner. 

The  father,  Edward  Zellner,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  has  followed  an  agricultural 
life  and  now  lives  retired  at  Brokensword,  O. 
His  wife  is  deceased,  her  burial  having  been 
in  Baseline  Cemetery.  They  had  the  following 
children  born  to  them:  William,  Charles  A., 
Henry,  Laura,  Harvey  G.,  Anna  and  Walter. 
Laura  is  deceased  and  Anna  is  the  wife  of 
William  Park. 

Harvey  G.  Zellner  had  no  other  educational 
advantages  than  those  offered  by  the  public 
schools.  In  early  manhood  he  began  farm 
work,  by  the  month,  which  he  continued  for 
about  ten  years  and  then  purchased  his  present 
plant  from  Harvey  Candel.  The  enterprise  is 
an  important  one  in  this  section,  employment 
being  given  to  from  five  to  ten  hands,  the 
product  being  building  blocks  and  tile  from 
three  to  fifteen  inches.  The  business  is  pros- 
perous. 

On  Feb.  22,  191 1,  Mr.  Zellner  was  married 
to  Miss  Clara  Laipply,  a  daughter  of  Emory 
Laipply,  a  general  farmer  in  Crawford  county, 
Mrs.  Zellner  has  the  following  brother  and 
sisters :  Amanda,  who  is  the  wife  of  George 
Green;  Emma,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  Smith; 
and  Laura,  Grace  and  Jonas.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Zellner  are  members  of  the  Reformed  church. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  at  present  is 
serving  acceptably  in  the  office  of  road  com- 
missioner. 

PETER  ECKSTEIN,  deceased,  for  many 
years  was  a  leading  business  man  at  Crestline, 
O.,  and  was  the  founder  of  the  grocery  store 
now  conducted  by  his  sons  and  successors, 
Henry  E.  and  George  P.  Eckstein,  at  Nos. 
from   106-112,  West  Main  Street.     He  was 


1072 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


born  in  Kleinbieberau,  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Ger- 
many, April  8,  1848,  and  was  but  two  months 
old  when  his  parents,  George  and  Mary  Cath- 
erine Eckstein,  brought  him  to  the  United 
States,  following  his  baptism  in  his  father's 
church,  in  the  village  where  he  was  born. 

George  Eckstein  settled  first  with  wife  and 
child  in  Richland  county,  O.,  and  afterward 
moved  into  Crawford  county,  securing  land  in 
Vernon  township,  on  which  he  and  wife  spent 
the  rest  of  their  lives.  They  were  quiet.  God- 
fearing people,  devout  members  of  the  Re-, 
formed  church. 

When  Peter  Eckstein  had  reached  his  i6th 
year,  he  left  the  home  farm  and  went  to  San- 
dusky, O.,  where  he  learned  the  carpenter  trade 
and  afterward  followed  the  same  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  at  Crestline.  In  1875  he  embarked 
in  the  grocery  business,  conducting  the  same 
for  the  first  year  with  Benjamin  Spell  for  a 
partner,  but  after  that  until  he  retired  in  igo6, 
was  sole  proprietor.  He  was  a  man  of  busi- 
ness integrity  and  a  most  worthy  and  useful 
citizen  and  his  memory  is  held  in  universal 
esteem.  Although  he  never  sought  public 
office  his  judgment  and  business  qualifications 
were  so  approved  by  his  fellow  citizens  that 
they  desired  the  benefit  of  these  in  civic  mat- 
ters and  elected  him  a  member  of  the  city 
council.  In  his  political  views  he  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat. His  death  occurred  in  his  home  at  Crest- 
line, May  10,  1910,  a  member  of  the  German 
Reformed   church. 

In  1872  Peter  Eckstein  was  married  at  Crest- 
line, to  Miss  Catherine  B.  Huber,  who  was 
born  near  Leesville,  Crawford  county,  Nov. 
15,  1849,  and  is  yet  a  resident  of  this  city. 
Her  parents,  Peter  and  Christiana  (Knapp) 
Huber,  came  to  the  United  States  from  Ger- 
many and  afterward  lived  on  their  farm  in 
Crawford  county  and  died  there  in  old  age. 
Seven  children  were  born  to  Peter  Eckstein 
and  wife:  John,  who  died  in  infancy;  C.  Wil- 
liam, who  is  in  the  grocery  business  at  Gallon 
and  has  a  family;  Ida,  who  married  Herman 
Holcker,  who  is  in  the  hardware  line  at  Crest- 
line, and  has  two  children — Albert  and  Martha ; 
Julia,  who  resides  with  her  mother;  Henry 
E. ;  George  P.,  who,  with  his  older  brother, 
is  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Eckstein  Bros.,  and 
who  married  Lulu  Hetrick,  of  Shelby,  O. ;  and 
Fred  O.,  the  youngest,  who  is  a  student  in  the 
Ohio  State  College. 


Henry  E.  Eckstein,  the  older  member  of  the 
firm  of  Eckstein  Bros.,  was  born  at  Crestline, 
■Sept.  9,  1 88 1  and  obtained  his  education  in 
the  schools  of  this  city.  He  practically  was 
reared  in  his  father's  store  and  learned  the 
grocery  trade  at  first  hand,  as  may  also  be  said 
of  his  brother  and  partner,  George  P.  When 
the  father  retired,  July  i,  1906,  after  his  long 
and  honorable  business  career,  it  was  with 
feelings  of  satisfaction  that  he  turned  his  in- 
terests, over  to  sons  so  capable  and  well  quali- 
fied to  succeed  him.  A  very  large  volume  of 
trade  is  handled  here,  there  being  customers 
who  dealt  with  the  father  and  continue  their 
patronage  to  the  sons,  the  enterprise  of  the 
younger  men  having  opened  up  new  avenues 
that  have  contributed  to  business  expansion. 

Henry  E.  Eckstein  was  married  May  5, 
1909,  to  Miss  Blanche  Topping,  who  was  born 
at  Gallon,  O.,  in  1884  and  was  educated  in  that 
city.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eckstein  have  one  son, 
Robert  E.,  who  was  born  June  14,  1910.  As  a 
family  the  Eckstein's  are  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Reformed  church.  Both  members  of  the 
firm  of  Eckstein  Bros,  are  Democrats  in  their 
political  sentiments,  while  fraternally  they  be- 
long to  the  order  of  Elks,  at  Gallon.  They 
are  not  only  able  business  men  but  public 
spirited  and  progressive,  proud  of  the  extent 
and  high  standing  of  their  business  interests 
and  ever  ready  to  assist 'in  fostering  that  local 
spirit  that  arouses  emulation  and  results  in 
more  general  prosperity.  Crestline,  as  every 
other  city,  values  such  citizens. 

WILLIAM  J.  STUCKEY,  a  representative 
business  man  of  Lykens  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  owner  and  proprietor  of  the  ele- 
vator at  Plankton,  where  he  deals  in  feed  and 
grain  and  all  kinds  of  farming  implements, 
was  born  in  this  township,  Jan.  20,  1870,  and 
is  a  son  of  Carl  and  Louisa  ( Keller)  Stuckey, 
both  now  deceased. 

Carl  Stuckey  was  of  German  extraction  and 
his  business  was  farming  and  for  many  years 
he  lived  in  Lykens  township,  where  occurred  his 
death  and  burial.  He  was  twice  married  and 
to  his  first  union  were  born :  Henry,  and  Mary 
who  is  the  wife  of  John  Ohls.  To  his  second 
marriage  the  following  children  were  born: 
Lena,  who  is  the  wife  of  Frank  Dennis; 
Charles;  Elizabeth,  who  is  the  wife  of  Lewis 
"^^oung;   Hattie,   who   is  the  wife  of  Charles 


A.\l)  REPRESliiXTATlVE  CITIZENS 


107:3 


Moore ;  George ;  William  J. ;  Laura,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Cyrus  Ohls;  and  Janela,  who  is 
the  wife  of  L.  J.  Shoots. 

William  J.  Stuckey  attended  the  public 
schools  and  then  spent  five  terms  in  the  Ohio 
Normal  University  at  Ada  and  after  this 
taught  school  for  five  years  in  Crawford  and 
Seneca  counties.  For  ten  more  years  he  fol- 
lowed farming  but  in  1908  bought  his  elevator 
and  has  been  engaged  in  business  at  Plankton 
ever  since.  He  shows  an  active  and  intelligent 
interest  in  public  matters,  aiding  all  movements 
that  promise  to  be  beneficial  to  the  village  and 
is  valued  as  a  citizen. 

In  1893  ^^-  Stuckey  was  married  to  Miss 
Mattie  Mesnard,  who  was  born  in  Seneca 
county,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Eliza  (Mc- 
Claughlin)  Mesnard.  To  the  parents  of  Mrs. 
Stuckey  the  following  children  were  born: 
Emma,  wife  of  Charles  Stuckey;  Edward; 
Delia,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  Daniel 
Stuckey;  Cora,  wife  of  Donald  Swalley;  Mat- 
tie,  wife  of  William  J.  Stuckey;  and  Lloyd  and 
Duff. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stuckey  have  two  children: 
Verle,  who  is  associated  with  his  father;  and 
Velma.  They  attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Politically  Mr.  Stuckey  is  a  Democrat 
and  is  serving  in  the  office  of  clerk  of  Texas 
township.  He  is  identified  with  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows at  Melmore,  Seneca  county. 

MRS.  MINNIE  C.  BECHSTEIN,  who  is 
a  member  of  one  of  the  old  families  of  Cran- 
berry township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  where 
she  was  born,  reared  and  educated,  resides 
two  and  one-half  miles  northeast  af  New 
Washington,  her  valuable  farm  of  116  acres 
being  situated  in  section  2  of  this  township. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Michael  and  Caroline 
Marquart,  both  of  whom  died  in  Cranberry 
township,  and  the  widow  of  William  C.  Bech- 
stein. 

Mrs.  Bechstein  grew  to  young  womanhood 
in  her  parents'  home  and  in  girlhood  attended 
school  at  what  is  called  the  Klein  school-house, 
in  Cranberry  township  and  also  attended  Ger- 
man school  at  New  Washington,  O.  On  May 
22,  1891,  she  was  married  to  William  C.  Bech- 
stein, who  was  born  in  Germany,  a  son  of  Ern- 
est and  Louisa  Bechstein.  After  marriage, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bechstein  lived  on  J.  Wright's 


farm  near  Bellevue,  O.,  afterward  moving  to 
the  Yingling  farm  north  of  Monroeville,  and 
from  there  came  to  the  present  farm,  which 
Mr.  Bechstein  bought  from  Henry  Rapp,  in 
1899.  The  land  had  been  partly  cleared  but  the 
only  attempts  at  improvement  were  two  log 
stables.  Mr.  Bechstein  was  a  very  industrious 
man  and  an  excellent  farmer  and  soon  had 
many  improvements  under  way,  his  death,  at 
the  comparatively  early  age  of  44  years  inter- 
rupting many  of  the  plans  he  had  in  view.  He 
was  a  highly  respected  citizen  of  Cranberry 
township,  a  good  neighbor  and  kind  husband 
and  father.'  A  son  and  daughter  survive  him, 
Elmer  and  Ora,  both  of  whom  live  with  their 
mother.  Since  Mr.  Bechstein's  death,  on  Feb. 
20,  1910,  Mrs.  Bechstein  has  erected  the  pres- 
ent comfortable  farm  residence  and  the  farm 
industries  are  carried  on  under  her  capable 
management.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Luth- 
eran church  as  was  her  husband. 

GEORGE  WOOD  NICKELS,  postmaster 
at  Gabon,  O.,  to  which  place  his  parents  came 
in  i8s4,  was  born  in  this  city  July  10,  1869, 
and  is  the  sixth  son  of  George  Wood  and  Mar- 
garetta  R.  (Webber)  Nickels.  The  elder 
George  Wood  Nickels  was  born  in  Marion 
county,  O.,  in  1820,  and  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Mexican  War  in  1846.  In  1854  he  was  mar- 
ried at  Mansfield,  O.,  to  Margaretta  R.  Web- 
ber, a  native  of  Cumberland  county.  Pa.,  and 
they  came  then  to  Gabon,  where  he  followed 
his  trade  of  carpenter  and  car  builder  and  for 
a  number  of  years  was  one  of  the  most  highly 
valued  mechanics  in  the  (now)  Big  Four  Bee 
Line  Railway  employ.  He  died  at  Gabon,  O., 
in  1873.  Politically  he  was  a  Republican  and 
fraternally  a  Mason.  His  widow,  who  was 
born  in  1834,  still  survives.  Three  of  their 
children  are  living:  George  W.,  subject  of 
tlys  sketch ;  Webber,  who  is  a  sheet  metal 
worker,  resides  at  Gabon  with  his  mother; 
and  Guy,  who  is  an  upholsterer  and  carriage 
trimmer,  resides  also  at  Gabon. 

At  the  age  of  18  years  George  Wood  Nick- 
els, Jr.,  left  school  to  learn  the  trades  of  boiler- 
maker  and  machinist  with  the  Erie  Railway 
Comoany  and  was  so  employed  until  he  was 
appointed  assistant  postmaster  under  Post- 
master J-  W  CuDO,  who  filled  the  office  for 
seven  years.     Mr.  Nickels  has  always  been  an 


1074 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


active  Republican  and  on  July  i,  1905,  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  by  President  Roosevelt 
after  a  special  election  to  determine  the  peo- 
ple's choice  and  was  reappointed  by  President 
Taft.  He  has  devoted  all  his  energies  to  ad- 
vancing and  improving  the  efficiency  of  his 
office,  paying  particular  attention  to  expediting 
the  mails  in  order  to  give  satisfaction  to  the 
citizens  and  also  carefully  regulating  the  rural 
mail  service.  This  is  an  office  of  the  second 
class  and  a  large  volume  of  business  passes 
through  it,  some  12,000  residents  being  served. 
He  has  a  competent  force  and  the  office  is  con- 
ducted carefully  and  economically. 

In  1896,  Mr.  Nickels  was  married  to  Miss 
Laura  Case,  a  daughter  of  Philip  Franklin  and 
Dora  (Monnett)  Case,  the  latter  a  native  of 
Gallon.  The  former  died  here  in  1884.  The 
mother  of  Mrs.  Nickels  lives  at  No.  222  Gill 
Avenue,  Galion.  Mr.  Nickels  is  a  charter 
member  of  Star  Council  of  Junior  American 
Mechanics,  chartered  in  1890,  and  for  many 
years  has  been  identified  with  the  Masonic 
bodies,  being  past  master  of  Galion  Lodge  414, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  is  active  as  an  officer  in  Galion 
Chapter  142,  and  belongs  to  the  Commandery 
No.  21,  K.  T.,  at  Mansfield.  In  large  measure 
Mr.  Nickels  is  a  self  made  man  and  is  entitled 
to  the  respect  and  esteem  in  which  he  is  uni- 
versally held. 

FRANK  B.  KEHRER,  proprietor  of  the 
largest  and  most  complete  jewelry  store  at 
Bucyrus,  C,  a  business  house  that  was  founded 
by  his  father  some  40  years  ago,  was  born  in 
Ohio,  in  1862,  and  is  a  son  of  George  J.  and 
Leah  (Haller)  Kehrer. 

George  J.  Kehrer  was  born  in  Wurtemburg, 
Germany,  in  1839,  and  died  at  his  home  in  Bu- 
cyrus, in  1 89 1.  He  was  born  possessing  many 
talents  and,  probably,  with  training  would 
have  become  a  musical  genius,  and  all  his  li^ 
was  naturally  proficient  in  mechanical  arts. 
In  1850  he  came  to  America  but  after  a  few 
years  returned  to  Germany  but  came  back  to 
the  United  States  before  the  Civil  War  and  in 
the  latter  part  of  this  struggle  served  as  a  pri- 
A^ate  in  an  infantry  regiment  under  command  of 
Captain  Diller  of  Bucyrus.  About  1872  he 
went  into  the  repair  business,  on  Sandusky 
A\'enue,  Bucyrus,  beginning  in  a  small  way  as 
a  tinker  and  mender  of  clocks,  watches  and 


jewelry.  In  his  spare  moments  he  constructed 
a  wonderful  clock  that  worked  automatically 
and  that  not  only  recorded  the  passing  of  the 
hours  but  had  many  devices  that  made  it  a  re- 
markable piece  of  workmanship.  This  clock 
still  is  exhibited  in  the  store  which  his  sons 
conduct  and  probably  is  unique  as  a  sample  of 
inventive  skill  along  this  line.  He  was  what, 
in  these  days,  is  called  a  wizard,  when  he  un- 
dertook the  manipulating  of  clocks  and 
watches.  All  his  skill  in  this  direction  was  a 
■natural  gift  as  he  had  never  been  instructed 
in  mechanics  of  any  kind,  his  education,  which 
was  liberal,  having  been  directed  more  in  the 
line  of  a  profession.  In  politics  he  was  a 
Democrat  and  in  religion  was  a  member  of  the 
German  Lutheran  church.  Fraternally  he  was 
identified  with  the  leading  German  organiza- 
tions of  the  city. 

George  J.  Kehrer  was  married  in  Colum- 
biana county,  O.,  to  Leah  Haller,  who  was  of 
German  ancestry  but  was  born  in  Ohio.  She 
still  survives  and  is  now  in  her  70th  year. 
They  had  the  following  children:  Frank  B., 
Laura,  Charles,  George  J.,  Frederick,  Emma 
and  Harry,  the  last  named  dying  in  1890,  at  the 
age  of  five  years.  The  eldest  daughter  as  well 
as  the  youngest  reside  with  their  mother. 
Charles,  who  is  a  member  of  the  jewelry  firm 
of  Kehrer  Bros.,  married  Desta  Sprow. 
George  J.  was  bom  at  Bucyrus  in  1876  and 
since  his  graduation  from  the  Bradley  Poly- 
technic School  of  Peoria,  111.,  has  been  in  the 
jewelry  business  at  BUC3TUS.  In  1898  he  en- 
listed for  sen'ice  in  the  Spanish- American 
\'\''ar  and  with  the  8th  O.  Inf.,  went  to  Cuba, 
from  which  island  he  returned  with  the  com- 
mand in  1899.  He  became  second  lieutenant 
of  Co.  A,  O.  N.  G.,  resigning  in  1901.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Kehrer  Bros.  Fred- 
erick, who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Ohio  Medical 
University  of  Columbus,  is  a  well  known  prac- 
titioner of  this  city,  a  specialist  in  diseases  of 
the  eye,  nose  and  throat.  He  married  Cady 
Coxgrove,  and  they  have  one  son,  Harry. 

Frank  B.  Kehrer  began  to  work  in  his 
father's  shop  as  soon  as  his  school  days  were 
over  and  thus  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  trade.  In  1887  he  succeeded  to  the  busi- 
ness and  immediately  began  its  expansion  and 
within  five  years  found  his  quarters  inad- 
equate and  after  several  removals,   in   1897, 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1075 


with  Mr.  Blicke,  purchased  what  is  now  the 
Kehrer  Block,  on  Oct.  5,  1905,  becoming  sole 
owner.  This  is  a  handsome  and  valuable  prop- 
erty situated  at  Nos.  112-114  North  Sandusky 
Avenue,  with  dimensions  of  48x72  feet.  He 
carries  a  very  large  stock  including  jewels,  gold 
and  silver  and  silverware,  clocks  and  watches 
and  choice  objects  of  art  and  his  trade  rela- 
tions make  it  possible  for  him  to  procure  for 
his  customers  any  jewel  or  desired  object  of 
value  or  fine  workmanship  that  he  may  not 
have  among  his  own  treasures.  Mr.  Kehrer 
is  looked  upon  as  a  dependable  man  in  his  line, 
to  which  he  has  devoted  his  attention  con- 
tinuously for  38  years.  In  19 12  he  admitted 
his  brothers,  George  J.  and  Charles,  to  the 
firm. 

MiTi.  Kehrer  has  never  married,  residing 
with  his  mother  and  sisters.  He  is  identified 
with  the  Masons,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and 
the  Elks.  Politically  he-  is  a  Democrat  but 
has  never  accepted  any  tender  of  public  office. 

CHARLES  H.  MILLER,  whose  long,  effi- 
cient and  honorable  service  made  him  one  of 
the  best  known  railroad  men  for  many  years 
connected  with  the  Pennsylvania  system,  has 
been  a  resident  of  Crestline,  O.,  since  i860, 
and  now  lives  retired,  his  home  being  located 
on  the  corner  of  Seltzer  and  Main  Streets, 
Crestline.  He  was  born  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  June  9,  1829,  and  is  a  son  of  John  F. 
and  Barbara  (Giunder)  Miller. 

John  F.  Miller  was  born  at  Hamburg,  Ger- 
many, Oct.  5,  1805,  and  died  at  Carrolton,  O., 
July  2,  1897.  When  12  years  old  he  came  to 
the  United  States  on  a  cattle  ship.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  lived  in  the  city  of  New 
York  and  became  a  custom  tailor,  later  in 
life  moving  to  Carroll  county,  O.  In  New 
York  City  he  married  Barbara  Giunder,  who 
was  born  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean  when  her  par- 
ents, Jacob  Giunder  and  wife,  were  coming 
from  Switzerland  to  America.  The  mother 
died  after  the  birth  of  her  child  and  her  burial 
was  at  seat.  The  father  continued  the  journey 
with  his  motherless  children,  to  Philadelphia, 
from  there  coming  to  Carrol  county,  O.  In 
Switzerland  he  had  been  a  linen  manufacturer. 
His  death  occurred  there  when  he  was  almost 
100  years  old.  Mrs.  Miller  was  reared  by  her 
brother  and  sister,  mainly  in  New  York  State. 


Her  death  occurred  in  Carroll  county,  O.,  when 
aged  84  years.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Luth- 
eran church.  Four  sons  and  three  daughters 
were  bom  to  John  F.  and  Barbara  Miller. 
One  son,  Benjamin,  died  at  the  age  of  75  years. 
Thomas  J.  left  a  son  at  death.  John  F.  died 
without  issue.  All  the  sons  and  daughters 
reached  maturity  and  the  two  survivors  are: 
Charles  H.  and  Mary,  the  latter  of  whom 
never  married  and  who  still  occupies  the  old 
homestead  in  Carroll  county. 

Charles  H.  Miller  grew  to  manhood  in  Car- 
roll county  and  secured  his  education  there. 
In  1 85 1  he  entered  railroad  life,  becoming  con- 
nected with  the  C.  &  P.  Railroad,  and  worked 
on  a  construction  train  until  1853,  when  he 
went  to  Pittsburgh,  where  he  engaged  in  mer- 
chandising- for  four  years.  He  then  returned  to 
railroading  and  was  conductor  on  a  Penn- 
sylvania line  road  until  i860,  when  he  came  to 
Crestline.  Here  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
company's  business  with  the  title  of  dispatcher, 
but  at  that  time  his  duties  included  a  much 
wider  territory  than  at  present.  In  February, 
1868,  he  was  assigned  to  the  position  of  live- 
stock agent  at  Chicago,  111.,  but  still  retained 
his  home  at  Crestline.  The  company  appre- 
ciated his  services  and  gave  him  full  credit  for 
what  had  been  accomplished.  When  he  left 
the  railroad  service  an  elaborate  dinner  was 
tendered  him  by  his  fellow  livestock  agents  of 
the  Union  Stockyards,  at  Chicago,  on  Dec.  29, 
1900.  He  stood  high  in  the  regard  of  both 
employers  and  comrades  and  was  given  the 
privilege  of  naming  his  successor,  his  son-in- 
law,  Ernest  A.  Oliver  being  subsequently 
named  to  succeed  him.  He  has  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  railroad  history  running  back 
'sixty-one  years.  Politically  Mr.  Miller  is, 
like  his  father  before  him,  a  Democrat.  He 
is  a  third  degree  Mason. 

Mr.  Miller  was  married  at  Carrolton,  O., 
to*  Miss  Caroline  Jackson,  who  was  born  there 
May  26,  1833,  and  died  at  her  home  in  Crest- 
line, Jan.  8,  1908.  Although  quiet  and  domes- 
tic in  her  tastes  she  was  widely  known  for  her 
sympathy  and  charity  were  given  wherever 
needed  and  the  circle  of  those  who  sincerely 
mourn  her  is  large.  She  was  the  beloved 
mother  of  the  following  children:  Ada,  who 
married  A.  J.  Wire,  and  died  twelve  years 
later;  Carrie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Ernest  A. 


1076 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Oliver;  Frank,  who  formerly  was  a  member 
of  the  Ohio  State  Legislature,  and  is  now  en- 
gaged in  the  livestock  business  at  Crestline; 
and  Fannie,  who  is  her  father's  housekeeper 
and  devoted  attendant. 

CAREY  A.  MICHENER,  postmaster  ai 
Lykens,  O.,  and,  in  partnership  with  his 
brother,  Alva  J.  Michener,  owner  and  .pro- 
prietor of  a  general  store  here,  was  born  in 
Venice  township,  Seneca  county,  O.,  in  1881, 
and  is  a  son  of  William  and  Laura  (Richie) 
Michener.  The  parents  and  their  two  sons  all 
live  in  Crawford  county,  Alva  J.  being  also  a 
school  teacher  in  addition  to  being  associated 
with  his  brother  in  the  store  enterprise. 

Carey  A.  Michener  attended  the^  local 
schools  and  afterward  enjoyed  three  terms  of 
Normal  School  training  at  Ada,  O.,  and  then 
went  into  educational  work,  for  ten  years 
afterward  being  a  teacher  in  Lykens  to\\n- 
ship.  After  retiring  from  the  educational 
field  he  turned  his  attention  to  merchandising 
and  embarked  in  his  present  business  on  Dec. 
I,  1909,  when  he  bought  the  same  from  M. 
L.  Aurand,  in  association  with  his  brother. 
The  firm  enjoys  a  large  volume  of  patronage, 
their  honest  methods  and  pleasant  personality 
contributing  largely  to  this  prosperity.  For 
the  past  three  years  Mr.  ikichener  has  served 
also  as  postmaster  and  as  a  public  ofificial  has 
given  entire  satisfaction. 

On  Sept.  I,  1909,  Mr.  Michener  was  married 
to  Miss  Hattie  Hartzell,  who  was  born  at 
Bloomville,  O.,  a  daughter  of  Alvin  and  Sav- 
annah (Miller)  Hartzell.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
Michener  was  a  boiler  maker  by  trade.  His 
death  occurred  in  1908  and  his  burial  was  in 
Bloom  township,  Seneca  county.  Mrs.  Mich- 
ener has  sisters  and  brothers  as  follows: 
Agnes,  wife  of  Albert  Owen;  Elizabeth,  wife 
of  Reed  Marquis ;  and  Cora,  William  and  Ed- 
ward. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Michener  attend  the 
Evangelical  church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Re- 
publican and  fraternally  is  identified  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  at  Lykens,  O. 

GEORGE  W.  MILLER,  president  of  the 
Farmers  and  Citizens  Bank  and  Savings  Com- 
pany, at  Bucyrus.  O.,  and  also  president  of  the 
Home  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company,  has 
long  been  a  leading  citizen  of  Bucyrus  and  of 


Crawford,  his  native  county.  He  was  born 
in  1^59,  m  i'oda  township,  and  is  a  son  of 
John  D.  and  Mary  (Kahlj  Miller. 

John  D.  MiUer  was  born  in  181 3,  in  Cum- 
berland county.  Pa.,  a  son  of  George  and 
Catherine  (Kex)  Miller,  who  moved  in  1837 
to  Richland  county,  O.  Farming  was  the  oc- 
cupation of  father  and  sons.  John  D.  Miller 
continued  to  reside  in  Richland  county  until 
1852,  when  he  moved  into  Crawford  county, 
securing  a  farm  north  of  Oceola,  to  the  culti- 
\ation  and  improvement  of  which  he  devoted 
the  rest  of  his  active  years,  surviving  until 
1896,  passing  away  at  the  age  of  eighty-three. 
His  first  marriage  took  place  in  1840,  to  Mary 
Deal,  who  died  in  1852,  having  been  the 
mother  of  five  children.  In  1855  Mr.  Miller 
married  Mrs.  Mary  (Kahl)  Barga,-a  daughter 
of  Henry  and  Susan  (Rank)  Kahl,  a  widow 
vv'ith  two  children.  To  this  marriage  was  born 
one  son,  George  W.  Miller,  now  of  Bucyrus. 

After  securing  a  fair  common  school  edu- 
cation, George  W.  Miller  attended  the  North- 
western Normal  School  at  Fostoria  and  then 
engaged  in  teaching  school,  continuing  in  edu- 
cational ^^•ork  for  a  part  of  each  year,  for  a 
protracted  period.  During  the  last  three 
years  of  his  career  as  an  instructor,  he  had 
charge  of  the  Oceola,  O.,  schools.  He  has 
always  been  greatly  interested  in  the  educa- 
tional advancement  of  his  county  and  in  order 
to  further  it  has  frequently  consented  to  serve 
on  educational  bodies.  For  a  number  of  years 
his  business  interests  have  been  important,  and 
as  the  head  of  the  Farmers  and  Citizens  Bank 
and  Savings  Company,  he  has  become  relied 
on  as  a  financier.  The  security  felt  by  the 
public  in  this  institution  is  largely  due  to  his 
careful  )and  conservative  attitude.  He  has 
been  officially  connected  with  local  fire  insur- 
ance organizations  since  1898  and  is  now 
president  of  one  of  the  prosperous  and  sub- 
stantial companies  of  Crawford  county.  In 
politics  Mr.  Miller  was  reared  a  Democrat  by 
a  father  w-ho  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  success 
of  Democratic  principles.  He  has  frequently 
been  elected  to  important  township  offices  and 
served  two  terms  as  treasurer  of  Crawford 
county,  and  in  the  fall  of  191 1  was  elected  a 
delegate  to  the  Constitutional  Convention,  and 
made  chairman  of  the  Agricultural  Committee. 

Mr.  Miller  was  married  in  1880  to  Miss  Dell 


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GEORGE  W.  MILLER 


AND  REPKKSEXTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1079 


A,  Sigler,  a  daughter  of  George  E.  and  Har- 
riet (Horrock)  Sigler,  who  were  highly  re- 
spected residents  of  Todd  township.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Miller  lost  their  only  child.  They  are 
interested  in  the  quiet  social  life  of  the  city, 
are  hospitably  inclined  and  have  a  wide  circle 
of  attached  friends. 

JACOB  BOLLERER,  who  is  engaged  in 
the  bakery  business,  at  No.  740  East  Church 
Street,  Gallon,  O.,  is  a  thoroughly  experienced, 
practical  baker,  having  been  in  the  business 
for  more  than  30  years,  learning  his  trade  at 
Wiesloch,  in  Baden,  Germany,  where  he  was 
born  Feb.  10,  1863.  He  is  a  son  of  Jacob 
and  Catherine  (Metz)  Bollerer. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Bollerer  were  lifelong 
residents  of  Baden  and  the  father  was  in  busi- 
ness there  during  the  entire  space  of  his  active 
life.  His  death  occurred  in  1888,  in  his  74th 
year,  he  having  survived  his  wife  since  1877. 
They  were  members  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church  and  in  that  faith  they  reared  their 
three  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of  whom 
survive,  only  two  of  them,  however,  living  in 
the  United  States :  Jacob  and  George,  the  lat- 
ter being  with  the  Erie  Railway  Company,  in 
the  Gallon  shops. 

After  completing  his  apprenticeship  to  the 
baking  trade,  in  his  native  land,  Jacob  Bollerer, 
entered  the  German  Army  in  which  he  served 
faithfully  for  three  years  as  the  laws  of  his 
country  demand.  Believing  that  the  United 
States  offered  better  business  opportunities  to 
young  men  than  Germany  or  other  countries 
of  Europe,  in  1888  he  left  Germany  and  landed 
at  the  harbor  of  New  York  and  from  there 
came  on  to  Gabon.  With  the  exception  of 
seven  years  he  has  been  continuously  in  the 
baking  business.  He  carries  on  a  wholesale 
and  retail  business,  arranging  for  an  output  of 
700  to  800  loaves  of  bread  daily,  the  excel- 
lence of  which  has  carried  his  name  over  a 
wide  territory  and  has  caused  frequent  en- 
largement of  his  original  plant.  He  has  first- 
class  ovens  and  all  the  equipment  which  go  to 
make  up  a  modern  bakery  according  to  sanitary 
regulations.  In  1903  he  purchased  two  acres 
of  land  on  which  site  stand  his  buildings  and 
he  thus  has  space  for  still  further  expansion. 

Mr.  Bollerer  was  married  at  Gallon  to  Miss 
Johanna   Schnautz   who   was   born   near   the 


birthplace  of  her  husband,  Nov.  29,  1865,  a 
daughter  of  Lonkin  and  Marie  (Steinbrenner) 
Schnautz,  who  came  from  Baden,  Germany, 
to  America  in  1883  and  located  at  Gallon,  O., 
where  the  father  died  at  the  age  of  73  years. 
He  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade  and  both  he 
and  wife  were  faithful  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Catholic  church.  They  had  a  family  of 
three  sons  and  four  daughters,  all  of  whom 
married.  Nine  children  were  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Bollerer,  as  follows :  Catherine,  who 
lives  at  home;  Frederick,  who  assists  his 
father  in  the  business;  Albert,  who  also  as- 
sists in  the  same  business;  and  Emily,  Edna, 
Mary,  Johanna,  Loretta  and  Esther.  Mr.  Bol- 
lerer and  family  are  members  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church.  Politically  he  is  a  Democrat, 
while  fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Owls 
and  the  Moose.  As  a  business  man  Mr.  Boll- 
erer stands  very  high  in  the  city  and  equally 
so  as  a  citizen. 

DAVID  BATCHELDER,  president  of  the 
Citizens  National  Bank,  at  Gallon,  O.,  has  hon- 
orably and  ably  filled  this  position  for  the 
past  17  years.  He  was  born  in  Richland 
county,  O.,  March  22,  1839,  where  he  was 
reared  and  had  school  advantages. 

Mr.  Batchelder  was  23  years  old  when  the 
Civil  War  opened  and  he  was  one  of  the 
patriotic  young  men  who  answered  the  first  call 
of  President  Lincoln  for  soldiers,  enlisting  as 
a  private  and  being  continuously  promoted 
until  he  was  commissioned  captain  on  Nov.  18, 
1864,  being  mustered  out  on  Nov.  23,  1864. 
He  has  a  fine  record  and  participated  in  the 
battles  of  Chickasaw  Bayou,  Siege  of  Vicks- 
burg,  Jackson,  Grand  Couteau,  Sabine  Cross 
Roads,  Cane  River,  and  Forts  Gaines  and  Mor- 
gan. After  the  war  was  over  he  engaged  in 
the  shoe  business  at  Johnsville,  O.,  until  1870, 
when  he  came  to  Gallon,  where  he  embarked 
in  the  fire  insurance  business,  in  which  he  con- 
tinued until  he  became  identified  with  the  Citi- 
zens National  Bank  of  'Gallon.  For  eight 
years  he  traveled  as  adjuster  for  the  Pacific 
Fire  Insurance  Company  and  then  admitted 
the  late  A.  M.  Mathena  to  a  partnership,  the 
latter's  son  continuing  the  old  business. 

The  Citizens  National  Bank  of  Gabon  was 
established  in  1866  and  on  March  9,  1872, 
was  chartered,  its  present  capital  being  $60,000, 


1080 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


with  $41,000  as  surplus.  For  some  time  prior 
to  being  elected  president  of  this  old  institu- 
tion, Mr.  Batchelder  was  vice  president.  The 
report  of  its  condition  at  the  close  of  business 
on  Feb.  20,  1912,  shows  that  the  affairs  of  the 
bank  are  in  a  very  prosperous  condition.  The 
officers  are  all  capitalists,  the  cashier  being  A. 
F.  Lowe,  and  the  board  of  directors :  D.  Batch- 
elder,  J.  J.  Schafer  and  H.  Gottdiener. 

Mr.  Batchelder  married  Miss  Anna  E.  Ross, 
who  was  born  in  Wyoming  county.  Pa.,  and 
they  have  two  children :  Alice  Adelia,  who  is  . 
a  graduate  of  a  college  at  Painesville,  O.,  and 
is  the  wife  of  C.  S.  Northrup,  formerly  city 
solicitor  of  Toledo,  O.,  where  they  reside, 
they  having  two  children — Katherine  M.  and 
John  D. ;  and  Henry  J.,  who  is  in  business  at 
Gallon.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Batchelder  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  church.  He  is  a  Knight 
Templar  Mason  and  belongs  to  the  Blue  Lodge 
and  Chapter  at  Gallon.  He  is  a  Democrat  in 
National  politics  but  in  local  matters  exercises 
his  own  judgment.  Mr.  Batchelder  is  num- 
bered with  the  public  spirited  citizens  and  be- 
longs to  the  Commercial  Club. 

WILLIAM  H.  McWHERTER,  who  is  con- 
nected with  the  blacksmith  department  of  the 
Erie  Railway  shops  at  Gallon,  O.,  was  born  in 
Marion  county,  O.,  Sept.  5,  1846,  a  son  of 
Peter  and  Mary  (Swisher)   McWherter. 

Peter  McWherter  was  born  in  Marion  coun- 
ty, 0.,  where  his  Scotch  parents  had  settled  as 
pioneers.  He  grew  up  on  the  old  home  farm 
and  was  28  years  of  age  when  he  married 
Mary  Swisher,  a  native  of  Cumberland  county, 
Pa.,  who  was  brought  to  what  is  now  Crawford 
county  in  1823.  After  the  death  of  her  first 
husband  she  married  Henry  Bilsing  and  sur- 
vived until  1905,  dying  at  the  age  of  81  years, 
the  death  of  Mr.  Bilsing  occurring  in  1909, 
when  aged  83  years.  In  1867  they  had  moved 
to  Gallon.  To  Peter  McWherter  and  wife 
three  children  were  born,  two  daughters  and 
one  son.  One  daughter,  Ellen,  was  the  wife  of 
John  Seanor  and  at  death  left  seven  children. 
The  other,  Samilda,  resides  at  Gallon. 

William  H.  McWherter  was  married  (first) 
to  Miss  Alice  Nefif,  who  was  born  at  Gallon,  a 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Isabel  (Buckingham) 
Nefif,  who  came  to  Galion  in  1841,  after  their 
marriage  in  Pennsylvania.     Mr.   Neff  was  a 


member  of  the  Lutheran  church  which  he  at- 
tended until  his  death,  in  1884,  when  aged  71 
years.  Mrs.  Neff  was  69  years  old  when  she 
died  in  1882,  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren 
church.  Mrs.  McWherter  was  born  in  1854 
and  died  in  1896,  the  mother  of  one  daughter. 
May,  who  was  born  in  1878.  She  married 
Charles  King  and  died  in  the  State  of  Wash- 
ington after  a  residence  of  16  months,  leaving 
no  issue.  Mr.  McWherter  was  married  (sec- 
ond) in  1908,  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  to  Miss  Flor- 
ence A.  Reagle,  who  was  born  at  Manchester, 
Md.,  in  1872,  a  daughter  of  Henry  Reagle. 
The  latter  was  born  at  Manchester,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1819,  and  worked  there  as  a  carpenter 
until  1909,  when  he  came  to  the  home  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  McWherter,  where  he  died  June  3, 
191 1.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McWherter  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Politically  he  is  a  Republican  and  for  23  years 
he  was  active  in  the  order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

PETER  H.  KEIFER,  whose  fine  farm  of 
76  acres  lies  in  Lykens  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  is  one  of  the  representative  citizens 
of  this  section,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War  and 
a  man  who,  through  industry  and  prudence, 
has  been  successful  in  his  various  undertak- 
ings. He  was  born  in  Bavaria,  Germany,  Nov. 
12,  1843,  ^"d  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Anna 
(Bool)  Keifer. 

Jacob  Keifer  and  wife  were  natives  of  Ger- 
many and  the  former  died  in  that  country  when 
his  son,  Peter  H.,  was  eight  years  old.  By 
trade  he  was  a  millwright.  In  1853  the  mother 
came  to  America  with  her  children  and  subse- 
quently located  in  Ohio. 

Peter  H.  Keifer  was  ten  years  old  when  he 
accompanied  his  mother  to  the  United  States. 
He  was  one  of  the  following  children  born  to 
his  parents:  Emma,  deceased,  who  was  the 
wife  of  Charles  Stuckey;  Mary  and  Jacob, 
both  of  whom  are  deceased;  Adam;  Louise, 
who  is  the  widow  of  John  Wax;  Peter  H. ; 
and  Margaret. 

While  attending  school,  Peter  H.  Keifer 
provided  for  himself  by  working  for  his  board 
and  lived  on  a  farm  until  January,  1864,  when 
he  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  War,  enter- 
ing Co.  H,  55th  O.  Vol.  Inf.  in  which  he  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war  and  was  honorably 
discharged  in  June,  1865,  at  Louisville,  Ky., 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1081 


having  participated  in  the  great  march  to  the 
sea  under  General  Sherman.  He  then  learned 
the  carpenter  trade,  which  he  followed  about 
25  years.  Mr.  Keifer  then  bought  40  acres  of 
land  in  Lykens  township  and  began  farming 
for  himself  and  later  added  40  more  acres, 
but  subsequently  sold  four  acres  to  the  rail- 
road company,  which  reduced  his  farm  to  76 
acres,  all  of  which,  with  the  exception  of  three 
acres,  is  tillable.  He  carries  on  a  general 
farming  line  and  raises  sufficient  good  stock 
for  home  use. 

On  June  28,  1870,  Mr.  Keifer  was  married  to 
Miss  Sarah  Feighner,  who  was  born  in  Stark 
county,  O.,  but  was  reared  in  Crawford  county, 
a  daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  (Gratz) 
Feighner,  both  now  deceased.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Feighner  the  following  children  were 
born:  Sarah;  Ellen,  deceased,  who  was  the 
wife  of  Lewis  Angene ;  James ;  L.  C.  and  El- 
len. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Keifer  have  two  sons  Richard 
and  Charles.  The  former  who  is  superin- 
tendent of  the  Upper  Sandusky  schools,  mar- 
ried Ida  Sanford  and  they  have  had  the  fol- 
lowing children — Herbert,  Homer,  Walter, 
Paul  and  Helen,  deceased,  Charles,  the  younger 
son,  is  ticket  agent  with  the  Big  Four  Rail- 
road, and  he  married  Nettie  Rhodes  and  has 
one  son,  Herold.  Mr.  Keifer  and  family  at- 
tend the  Baptist  church.  Politically  he  has 
always  been  a  Republican  and  for  18  con- 
secutive years  served  as  a  justice  of  the  peace 
and  has  held  other  responsible  offices,  for  two 
years  being  assessor,  three  years  township 
clerk  and  one  year  constable.  He  belongs  to 
Robert's  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  to  the  Odd  Fellows 
at  Lykens  and  to  the  Masons  at  Bloomville,  O. 

HOMER  COX,  one  of  the  trusted  and  val 
ued  employes  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company,  a  corporation  that  is  noted  for  the 
care  with  which  it  selects  its  men  and  also  for 
the  just  treatment  it  accords  them,  has  been  in 
the  service  since  August,  1890,  when  he  began 
as  a  fireman,  being  steadily  advanced  until  he 
now  is  engineer  on  the  longest  run  in  the  whole 
system.  He  has  spent  the  greater  part  of  his 
life  at  Crestline,  and  was  born  in  Crawford 
county,  April  23,  1862,  a  son  of  William  and 
Elizabeth  (Bleeks)  Cox. 

William  Cox  and  wife  were  born  in  Wayne 


county,  O.,  both  being  of  Pennsylvania  parent- 
age. They  were  reared  in  Ohio  and  married  in 
Crawford  county  and  spent  the  rest  of  their 
lives  on  their  farm  in  Crawford  township, 
where  his  death  occurred  in  December,  1900, 
at  the  age  of  70  years.  His  widow  survived 
him  four  years,  being  then  aged  about  75 
years.  They  were  parents  of  five  children: 
Maria,  who  died  after  marriage,  leaving  no 
issue;  Mary,  who  married  Madison  Flohr, 
lives  at  Newton  Falls,  O.  and  has  two  daugh- 
ters— Maybell  and  Hazel ;  Adelaide,  who  is  sur- 
vived by  her  husband,  Henry  Orewiler; 
Homer,  our  subject;  and  Everett,  who  resides 
in  the  far  West. 

Homer  Cox  attended  school  in  Liberty  town- 
ship and  then  entered  railroad  life  with  which 
he  has  been  identified  continuously  ever  since. 
After  serving  for  eight  years  as  a  fireman  for 
the  present  company,  he  \yas  promoted  to  be 
an  engineer  and  has  continued  his  connection 
with  the  freight  department,  and  his  appoint- 
ment, two  years  ago,  to  the  Pitcairn  run,  was 
an  evidence  of  confidence  and  appreciation.  He 
has  never  had  a  serious  accident  and  has  never 
been  injured  and  his  record  speaks  for  itself 
of  his  carefulness,  caution  and  railroad  effi- 
ciency. He  is  an  active  and  valued  member  of 
the  B.  L.  of  E.,  belonging  to  Division  No. 
306,  and  for  four  years  has  been  chief  of  this 
division  and  has  been  a  delegate  to  the  last  two 
Biennial  Conventions.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  the  General  Committee  of  the  Adjustment 
of  the  entire  northwest  system  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania, and  this  indicates  that  he  is  a  broad 
minded  and  well  informed  man. 

Mr.  Cox  was  married  in  Richland  county, 
O.,  to  Miss  Carrie  Brown,  who  was  born  in 
Crawford  county  in  1864  but  was  reared  and 
educated  in  Richland  county,  a  daughter  of 
G.  C.  and  Caroline  (Richardson)  Brown.  The 
father  of  Mrs.  Cox  is  a  retired  merchant  liv- 
ing at  Shelby,  O.,  but  her  mother  died  in  1908, 
at  the  age  of  67  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cox 
have  two  children:  Harry  A.  and  Ethel  May. 
Harry  A.,  who  will  celebrate  his  27th  birthday 
in  February,  19 13,  is  chief  engineer  of  the  heat- 
ing and  electric  lighting  company  of  Middle- 
town,  N.  Y.,  married  Myrtle  Shumaker  of 
Crawford  county,  and  they  have  one  daughter, 
Mary  E.,  who  was  born  Aug.  9,  191 1.  Ethel- 
May,  who  was  born  at  Richmond,  Va.,  gradu- 


1082 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ated  with  her  brother  from  the  CrestHne  High 
School  in  the  class  of  1908.  She  is  the  wife  of 
VVilber  Jones,  who  is  an  engineer  with  the 
Pennsylvania  Railway,  on  the  Conway  Divi- 
sion. Mr.  Cox  erected  the  first  residence  in  the 
block  in  which  he  lives,  his  home  being  at  No. 
623  West  Bucyrus  Street. 

A.  A.  ARNOLD,  superintendent  of  the 
Gallon  Metallic  Grave  Vault  Company,  of 
Gallon,  O.,  and  one  of  its  organizers,  in- 
corporators and  directors,  was  born  at  Mt. 
Vernon,  O.,  Aug.  7,  1862,  and  is  a  son  of 
George  William  and  Elizabeth  (Austin) 
Arnold. 

Both  parents  of  Mr.  Arnold  were  born  in 
England,  the  father  in  the  great  city  of 
London,  and  the  mother  in  beautiful  County 
Kent.  They  were  married  in  the  city  of 
London  and  when  they  started  for  the 
United  States  in  1856,  they  had  one  daugh- 
ter, Ellen,  the  eldest  of  their  children.  She 
is  the  wife  of  John  Dice,  a  locomotive  engi- 
neer, and  they  reside  at  Gallon  and  have  two 
children.  Four  more  children  were  born,  the 
two  survivors  being:  Mamie,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Frank  Brown,  a  barber,  and  lives 
at  Muncie,  Ind.,  having  two  daughters;  and 
A.  A.,  of  Gallon.  The  Arnold  family  resided 
at  first  in  Cleveland,  O.,  and  from  there 
moved  to  Mt.  Vernon,  and  in  1864  to  Ga- 
llon, where  the  father  died  in  1876  and  the 
mother  in  1894.  They  were  members  of 
the  Episcopal  church. 

A.  A.  Arnold  attended  school  at  Gabon 
until  he  was  14  years  of  age  and  then  en- 
tered upon  an  apprenticeship  to  the  ma- 
chinist's trade,  afterward  entering  the  Erie 
Railroad  shops  and  two  years  later  was  pro- 
moted to  be  foreman  of  a  department,  after- 
ward general  foreman  and  still  later  re- 
ceived his  deeree  of  master  mechanics.  In 
1904  Mr.  Arnold  became  interested  in  his 
present  enterprise  and  the  Gabon  Metallic 
Grave  Vault  Company  was  organized  as  a 
corporation,  its  business  being  the  manufac- 
turing of  steel  grave  vaults  and  was  the  first 
to  construct  an  open  end  grave  ^-ault. 
These  vaults  are  made  of  the  best  steel 
and  in  sizes  ranging  from  a  child's  body  to 
what  is  called  the  Mammoth,  the  last  named 
weighing   as   much    as    500  pounds.      Fifty 


people  are  given  employment  at  the  plant 
and  in  the  business,  and  sales  are  pushed 
all  over  the  country,  Mr.  Arnold  finding  his 
time  fully  occupied  in  looking  after  the 
same. 

At  Gallon,  O.,  Mr.  Arnold  was  married  to 
Miss  Ella  Johnson,  who  was  born  in  Ontario, 
Canada,  in  i8b8,  came  to  Gallon  in  her  19th 
year  and  died  here  Aug.  30,  1910.  She  was 
a  devout  member  of  the  Episcopal  church,  to 
which  Mr.  Arnold  and  their  one  son  also  be- 
long. The  latter,  Roy  J.,  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Gallon  High  School.  Mr.  Arnold  was  mar- 
ried (second)  to  Mrs.  Emma  Louise  (Biehl) 
Fox,  who  has  been  a  lifelong  resident  of  Ga- 
llon. By  her  first  marriage  she  had  one  son, 
William  Fox,  who  is  a  student  in  the  Gallon 
High  School.  In  politics  Mr.  Arnold  is  mod- 
erately active  and  votes  with  the  Republican 
party.  He  beldngs  to  the  Masonic  Blue  Lodge 
and  Chapter. 

CHARLES  ODER,  who,  in  association 
with  his  wife,  owns  a  fine  farm  of  160  acres, 
which  lies  in  Texas  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  was  born  in  Seneca  County,  O., 
a  son  of  Edward  and  Elizabeth  (Chamber- 
lain) Oder. 

One  of  the  early  settlers  in  Seneca  county 
was  Edward  Oder,  who  was  born  in  Logan 
county,  O.  After  marriage  in  Seneca  county 
he  followed  farming  there  and  as  a  respected 
and  reliable  man,  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  and  one  of  the  leading  Dem- 
ocrats in  his  neighborhood.  His  family  con- 
sisted of  the  following  children :  Nancy,  who 
is  the  wife  of  D.  M.  Eastman;  and  Charles, 
the  subject  of  this  article.  The  mother  of 
these  children  died  in  March,  1865,  and  later 
he  married  Elizabeth  Pfau  and  they  had  two 
children:  Jennie,  who  is  the  widow  of  Elmer 
Rhodes,  and  Frederick. 

Charles  Oder  has  devoted  himself  entirely 
to  his  farm  pursuits  since  his  school  days  and 
for  the  past  17  years  has  lived  on  this  farm, 
which  he  purchased  from  his  father-in-law, 
H.  Shakers.  He  cultivates  the  grains  which 
experience  has  proved  do  best  in  this  section 
and  sufficient  stock  is  raised  for  his  own  use. 
He  is  an  industrious,  sensible  man,  well  in- 
formed as  to  public  matters  and  interested  in 
all  things  that  are  important  to  this  particular 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1083 


part  of  his  native  state.  He  votes  the  Re- 
pubHcan  ticket,  and  is  serving  in  his  second 
term  as  township  trustee. 

In  1884  Mr.  Oder  was  married  to  Miss 
Laura  hhalters,  a  daughter  of  H.  and  Mary 
(Clark)  Shalters.  Mrs.  Oder  has  one  brother, 
Frank.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oder  three  chil- 
dren were  born,  namely :  Glenn,  who  mar- 
ried Florence  Sponseller,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren— Kenneth  and  Evelyn;  Mary,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Albert  Gregg;  and  Clark,  who  mar- 
ried Hazel  Lee,  and  has  one  son,  Lee  Albert. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oder  attend  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church. 

PORTER  F.  RHOADS,  whose  connection 
rtith  the  great  Pennsylvania  Railroad  system 
dates  back  to  May  17,  1872,  has  a  clear  record 
for  fidelity  and  efficiency  during  all  these  years 
and  the  confidence  and  esteem  that  he  feels 
for  his  company  is  mutually  felt  by  its  officers. 
He  was  born  at  Haney  Creek  Junction,  Sen- 
eca county,  O.,  Nov.  19,  1853,  and  in  1859 
was  brought  to  Crestline,  by  his  parents,  Wil- 
liam and  Julia  A.   (Shade)   Rhoads. 

William  Rhoads  was  born  in  Pennsylvania 
and  his  wife  in  Columbiana  county,  O.  They 
were  married  in  Seneca  county  and  afterward 
he  followed  his  trade  of  carpenter  at  Haney 
Creek  until  1859,  when,  as  noted  above,  he 
came  to  Crawford  county  and  continued  to 
work  at  his  trade  here  almost  to  the  time  of 
his  death,  in  1900.  He  as  a  stanch  Repub- 
lican and  with  his  wife  belonged  to  the  Eng- 
lish Lutheran  church.  His  widow,  born  in 
1829,  survived  him  for  eight  years.  They 
had  five  children,  as  follows :  Eliza,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Frank  Reeves  of  Columbus,  O., 
and  has  six  children;  Porter  F.,  subject  of 
this  article;  Frank,  who  has  been  with  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  at  Crestline  since  1879, 
and  who  is  married  and  has  a  family;  Ella, 
deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  John  Sears  of 
Mansfield;  and  Sherman,  who  is  a  resident 
of  Mansfield  and  a  commercial  traveler. 

Porter  F.  Rhoads  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Crestline  and  since  then  has  been 
continuously  connected  with  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad.  In  1872  his  name  went  first  on  the 
books  of  this  road,  in  1873  he  was  made  a 
yard  brakeman  and  in  1875  began  as  brake- 
man  of  Division  B,  Crestline  to  Alliance.     On 


May  17,  1 881,  he  was  made  conductor  on  Di- 
vision B,  and  eight  years  afterward  was  given 
a  crew  and  a  run  from  Crestline  to  Conway, 
Pa.  In  June,  1910,  appreciation  and  con- 
fidence was  shown  him  by  his  appointment  to 
what  is  considered  the  best  run  on  the  road, 
that  being  to  Pitcairn,  Pa.,  consisting  of  208 
miles.  Railroad  life,  at  best,  is  one  of  hazard 
and  to  avoid  accident  year  after  year,  under 
all  conditions,  including  weather,  indicates  a 
caution  and  measure  of  judgment  that  marks 
the  highest  type  of  railroad  man. 

Mr.  Rhoads  was  married  (first)  to  Miss 
Lucretia  Dodane,  who  was  born  and  reared 
in  Crawford  county  and  died  at  her  home  at 
Crestline,  in  1901,  at  the  age  of  42  years,  sur- 
vived by  no  issue.  Mr.  Rhoads  was  married 
(second)  to  Mrs.  Carrie  (Perman)  Carlin, 
who  was  born  in  1856,  in  Morrow  county,  O., 
where  her  parents,  Michael  and  Margaret 
(Fisher)  Perman,  had  settled  when  theycame 
from  Germany.  The  Permans  secured  Gov- 
ernment land  and  the  father  developed  it  into 
a  valuable  farm.  Mrs.  Rhoads  was  reared 
by  her  parents  in  the  German  Reformed 
church.  She  was  married  (first)  to  Edward 
Carlin  and  the  following  children  were  born 
to  them:  Margaret,  who  is  the  wife  of  Albert 
Menes  of  Crestline  and  has  one  daughter. 
Norma;  Bertha,  who  is  the  wife  of  George 
Gresmer,  of  Crestline,  and  has  one  son,  Roy; 
Nora,  who  is  the  wife  of  Barley  Neff,  resid- 
ing in  Canton,  and  has  five  children — Ray, 
Harold,  Maria,  Ralph  and  Donald;  Abaline, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Richard  Freeman,  of  Crest- 
line; Charles,  who  lives  at  home;  Lena,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Clyde  Kirby,  and  has  one  son, 
Kenneth;  Agnes,  who  is  the  wife  of  Robert 
Nelson,  of  Pittsburg,  Pa. ;  and  Louis,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  21  years.  Mr.  Rhoads  and 
wife  have  no  children.  He  belongs  to  the 
English  Lutheran  church.  Since  1882  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Railway  Conductors' 
organization  and  belongs  also  to  the  Knights 
of  Pythias. 

ALLEN  A.  CRAWFORD,  a  member  of 
the  board  of  county  commissioners  of  Craw- 
ford couity,  O.,  was  born  near  Mt.  Gilead, 
Morrow  county,  O.,  May  20,  1856,  six  months 
after  the  death  of  his  father.  His  parents 
were  Allen  and  Ann  (McAtee)  Crawford  and 


1084 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


on  both  sides  of  the  family  his  ancestry  is 
Irish. 

Alexander  Crawford,  the  grandfather,  who 
was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  this  family  in  Ohio, 
was  born  in  Ireland.  His  parents  came  to 
America  and  settled  in  Licking  county,  O., 
and  moved  from  there  to  Morrow  county,  at 
a  very  early  day,  Alexander  crossing  the  At- 
lantic Ocean  some  years  afterward  and  join- 
ing the  other-  members  of  the  family.  He 
followed  an  agricultural  life  and  lived  to  the 
age  of  75  years.  His  wife,  Mary  Eckles, 
probably  was  born  in  West  Virginia,  and  they' 
had  a  family  of  four  sons  and  three  daughters. 
The  only  survivor  of  that  family  is  the  young- 
est born,  Joseph,  now  in  his  87th  year,  resid- 
ing at  Cameron,  Mo. 

Allen  Crawford,  the  eldest  son  of  Alexan- 
der Crawford,  was  born  in  1818,  either  in 
Licking  or  Morrow  county,  being  reared  in 
the  latter  and  at  the  age  of  23  years  was  mar- 
ried at  Mt.  Gilead,  O.,  to  Ann  McAtee,  who 
was  bom  in  1817,  in  Loudoun  county,  Va.,  a 
daughter  of  Colley  and  Delia  (Ashford)  Mc- 
Atee. They  moved  from  Virginia  to  Morrow 
county  in  1829.  Allen  Crawford  died  in 
Boone,  Boone  coimty,  la.,  Oct.  4,  1855,  leaving 
four  sons :  Theodore,  who  is  engaged  in  farm- 
ing in  Holt  county.  Neb.,  and  who  married 
Sarah  Berry,  and  has  five  sons  and  one  daugh- 
ter ;  James,  who  owns  a  fine  farm  on  the  state 
line  between  South  Dakota  and  Nebraska,  who 
married  Nancy  Johnson  and  has  two  sons 
and  two  daughters;  William,  who  is  located 
near  his  brother,  in  South  Dakota,  and  who 
married  Mary  Sparks;  and  Allen  A.,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch. 

Allen  A.  Crawford  was  reared  by  an  uncle, 
Floyd  McAtee,  and  obtained  a  good,  common 
school  education.  A  natural  inclination  di- 
rected his  early  business  efforts  to  agricultural 
pursuits,  including  the  raising  of  stock,  par- 
ticularly horses,  and  in  the  course  of  years 
he  became  widely  known  over  the  state  as  a 
successful  breeder  of  fine  livestock.  He  gave 
much  attention  to  the  improvement  of  horse 
stock  in  his  section  and  for  a  long  period  was 
considered  an  authority  along  this  line,  and 
has  been  officially  connected  with  agricultural 
associations  and  those  bodies  that  encouraged 
the  development  of  speed  in  horseflesh,  and 
in  this  connection  has  owned  many  valuable 


animals.  Mr.  Crawford  is  an  ardent  Dem- 
ocrat and  his  party  in  Morrow  county  first 
elected  him  a  county  commissioner,  where  he 
overcame  a  large  Republican  majority,  and  in 
November,  19 10,  he  was  elected  a  county 
commissioner  of  Crawford  county. 

Mr.  Crawford  was  married  first  in  1877, 
to  Miss  Jennie  James,  who  died  in  1883.  In 
1888  he  married  Miss  Cora  Thomas,  who  was 
born  and  reared  near  Mt.  Gilead,  O.  They 
enjoy  a  beautiful  home  at  Gallon,  O.,  and  they 
are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  in  that  city  .  Mr.  Crawford  is  identi- 
fied with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows and  the  U.  T.  C. 

JACOB  HOLCKER,  carriage  manufac- 
turer, vice  president  and  secretary  of  the 
Holcker  Bros.  Buggy  Co.,  at  Crestline,  O., 
is  one  of  the  solid,  substantial  and  representa- 
tive citizens  and  a  member  of  a  family  that 
has  contributed  largely  in  the  last  quarter  of 
a  century  to  the  prosperity  of  this  section, 
along  industrial  lines.  He  was  bom  in  Ba- 
varia, Germany,  April  26,  1846,  and  is  a  son 
of  Philip  and  Charlotte  (Dietz)  Holcker. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Holcker  lived  and  died 
in  their  native  neighborhood,  the  father  pass- 
ing away  on  his  estate,  at  the  age  of  78  years 
and  the  mother  when  aged  68  years.  He  was 
a  man  of  industry  during  his  active  years 
and  understood  and  followed  both  blacksmith- 
ing  and  carriage  and  wagon  making. 

Jacob  Holcker  grew  up  in  his  native  place 
and  secured  a  fair  German  education  and  then 
learned  the  trade  of  carriage  smith.  He  early 
cherished  a  desire  to  come  to  the  United  States 
but  remained  in  his  own  land  until  after  he 
had  complied  with  the  law  in  regard  to  army 
service,  then  secured  his  passport  and  in  1868 
set  sail  for  America  and  was  safely  landed  in 
the  harbor  of  New  York.  From  there  he 
came  to  Bucyrus,  O.,  there  to  join  his  brother, 
Louis  Holcker,  who  had  preceded  him  by  two 
years,  and  the  brothers  went  into  business 
together  at  North  Robinson,  in  Crawford 
county.  In  1870  their  brother,  Charles  Holc- 
ker, joined  them  and  since  then  has  been 
closely  connected  with  their  joint  manufactur- 
ing interests. 

The  history  of  the  Holcker  Bros.  Buggy 
Co.    dates    back    to    1873,    when    the    three 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1085 


brothers  above  mentioned,  Louis,  Jacob  and 
Charles,  established  themselves  as  a  firm  at 
Crestline,  coming  from  North  Robinson.  Here 
they  first  put  up  a  frame  shop  on  Seltzer 
street,  in  the  heart  of  the  town,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  comparatively  short  period  had 
to  enlarge  their  facilities,  a  brick  addition  be- 
ing first  added  to  the  plant  and  this  being  sup- 
plemented with  still  further  additions  until 
now  a  half  block  is  covered  with  substantial 
buildings,  the  plant  extending  300  feet  back 
from  Seltzer  street  to  the  Big  Four  Railway. 
The  product  of  this  plant  is  sold  all  over  the 
country,  their  traveling  men  covering  the  main 
business  sections  of  the  United  States.  Con- 
stant employment  is  afforded  35  skilled  work- 
men for  no  buggy  or  carriage  ever  leaves  this 
factory  unless  a  careful  inspection  proves  that 
it  is  first  class  in  material  and  perfect  in 
mechanical  construction.  The  firm  has  built 
up  a  name  for  honest  workmanship  that  is  a 
valued  asset.  In  1888,  Louis  Holcker  with- 
drew and  went  to  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  where  he 
embarked  in  a  similar  business  and  prospered, 
continuing  until  recent  years,  when  he  re- 
tired. The  business  at  Crestline  was  contin- 
ued by  Jacob  and  Charles  Holcker  and  had 
a  steady  growth  and  in  1902  was  incorporated 
with  a  paid  up  capital  of  $50,000,  and  was 
officered  as  follows:  Charles  Holcker,  presi- 
dent and  treasurer;  and  Jacob  Holcker,  vice 
president  and  secretary.  The  board  of  di- 
rectors include  the  above  officers  and  addition- 
ally, William  Monteith,  C.  F.  Frank  and  Joe 
Schill,  all  of  Crestline.  At  the  present  date 
of  writing  (191 2)  Jacob  Holcker  has  prac- 
tically retired  but  retains  his  official  position, 
his  name  having  great  weight  in  the  commer- 
cial world.  Like  his  brothers,  Mr.  Holcker 
is  a  member  of  the  German  Reformed  church. 
They  all  are  of  the  same  political  faith  and 
Charles  Holcker  has  been  quite  prominent  in 
Democratic  circles  and  has  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  city  council  and  for  some  years  on 
the  board  of  Public  Affairs. 

Jacob  Holcker  was  married  at  Crestline,  O., 
to  Miss  Magdalena  Plocher,  who  was  born 
in  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  Nov.  19,  1855,  and 
came  to  the  United  States  and  to  Crestline, 
in  1872.  She  died  at  her  home  here,  Jan.  31, 
1900-     In  every  relation  of  life  she  was  an 


admirable  woman  and  is  tenderly  remembered 
by  family  and  a  wide  circle  of  friends.  She 
was  a  devoted  member  of  the  German  Re- 
formed church.  Three  children  were  born 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holcker:  a  babe  that  died 
early;  Charlotta  Maria,  who  completed  her 
education  in  the  Crestline  High  School,  and 
who  married  Charles  E.  Brown,  who  is  an 
engineer  with  the  Pennsylvania  Railway  and 
has  two  children — Olive  Magdalena  and  David 
Holcker;  and  Louise  C,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Dr.  D.  W.  Peppard,  a  successful  physician  at 
Mansfield,  O.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Peppard  have 
three  children :  Gretchen  Louise,  Ruth  Bettina 
and  Heloise.  After  graduating  from  the 
Crestline  High  School,  Mrs.  Peppard  taught 
German  in  the  public  schools  for  some  years. 
The  family  is  socially  prominent. 

HENRY  W.  HUNSICKER,  a  well-known 
farmer  of  Lykens  township,  who  is  at  present 
serving  his  township  as  treasurer,  operates  a 
160-acre  farm  owned  by  his  mother.  He  was 
born  in  Lykens  township,  Aug.  12,  1884,  be- 
ing a  son  of  William  and  Catherine  (Lust) 
Hunsicker. 

Jacob  Hunsicker,  father  of  William  and 
grandfather  of  Henry  W.,  was  born  in  Ger- 
many. After  emigrating  to  America  he  lo- 
cated first  in  New  York  state  where  he  met 
and  married  Miss  Matilda  Knerieman,  also  a 
native  of  Germany.  From  New  York  they 
removed  to  Stark  county,  O.,  and  it  was  there 
on  April  15,  1842,  that  William  Hunsicker 
was  born.  In  185 1  the  family  again  moved, 
this  time  coming  to  Crawford  county  and  lo- 
cating in  Chatfield  township. 

William  Hunsicker  grew  up  on  the  farm 
and  all  his  subsequent  life  was  spent  in  tilling 
the  soil  together  with  threshing.  He  was 
married  on  Nov.  24,  1874,  to  Miss  Catherine 
Lust,  who  was  born  Dec.  30,  1850,  and  was 
a  daughter  of  Conrad  and  Magdalena  Lust. 
In  April  of  the  year  following  their  marriage 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Hunsicker  moved  to  a 
farm  of  160  acres  in  Lykens  township,  on 
which  he  erected  good  buildings  and  made 
many  improvements.  To  him  and  his  wife 
were  born  the  following  children:  Peter 
Franklin,  Madalena  Elizabeth,  John  Wesley, 
Charles  Simon,  Henry  W.  and  Laura  Ellen. 


1086 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


William  Hunsicker  is  now  deceased  but  his 
wife  still  lives  on  the  i6o-acre  farm  in  Ly- 
kens  township,  owning  also  a  tract  of  80  acres 
in  this  township.  She  is,  as  was  her  husband, 
a  member  of  the  German  Methodist  church. 

Henry  W.  Hunsicker,  the  direct  subject  of 
this  sketch,  after  completing  a  common  school 
education,  spent  one  year  at  the  Ohio  North- 
ern University  at  Ada,  Ohio,  and  one  term 
in  the  Ohio  State  University  at  Columbus. 
He  then  went  to  work  on  his  mother's  farm 
and  has  since  operated  it  for  her.  He  has 
also  become  well  known  in  his  locality  as  an 
auctioneer. 

Henry  W.  Hunsicker  is  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  at  Lykens  and  of  the 
Grange  at  Brokensword.  He  attends  the  Re- 
formed church  and  in  politics  is  a  Democrat, 
as  was  also  his  father. 

E.  W.  HADLEY,  one  of  the  best  known 
citizens  of  Crestline,  O.,  with  which  place 
he  has  been  identified  since  its  founding,  is 
yet  one  of  its  active  business  men,  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  since  retiring  from  railroading, 
having  been  engaged  in  the  grocery  business. 
He  was  born  in  Richland  county,  O.,  Jan.  16, 
1833,  a  son  of  Savannah  and  Martha  (Rid- 
dle) Hadley. 

Smith  Hadley,  the  grandfather,  was  born 
and  grew  to  manhood  in  New  York  and  there 
married  Mary  Van  Norman,  probably  of  Hol- 
land birth.  They  were  very  early  settlers  in 
Richland  county,  O.,  where  they  lived  into 
old  age. 

Savannah  Hadley,  father  of  E.  W.  Hadley, 
\\as  also  bom  in  New  York  and  was  a  young 
man  when  his  parents  came  to  Richland 
county,  where  he  followed  farming  until  late 
in  life,  when  he  moved  to  Noble  county,  Ind. ; 
where  he  died  at  the  age  of  83  years.  In 
Richland  county  he  married  Martha  Riddle, 
of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  whose  parents,  James 
and  Margaret  (Marshall)  Riddle,  were  pio- 
neer settlers,  the  former  being  born  in  Ire- 
land in  the  latter  in  Scotland.  Twelve  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Savannah  Hadley  and  wife, 
five  of  whom  are  yet  living,  E.  W.  being  the 
fourth  born  of  the  family. 

E.  W.  Hadley  was  reared  in  Richland 
county  and  there  attended  the  district  schools. 
In  1852  he  came  to  what  is  now  Crestline,  it 


then  being  but  a  flag  station  surrounded  by 
heavy  timber.  For  some  years  he  worked 
at  getting  out  heavy  timber  and  in  a  saw  mill 
for  the  Big  Four  Railroad,  then  in  course  of 
construction,  and  afterward  became  a  brake- 
man  on  the  road  and  in  three  months  was 
given  a  place  as  conductor  and  for  26  years 
he  worked  as  a  conductor  on  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad.  After  retiring  he  purchased  his 
present  store  and  has  continued  in  the  grocery 
business  ever  since.  In  politics  Mr.  Hadley 
is  a  Republican  and  has  been  an  active  factor 
in  his  party  in  the  county,  for  about  12  years 
a  delegate  to  the  county  conventions  and  at 
jiresent  is  serving  as  a  member  of  the  county 
central  committee  and  as  a  member  of  the 
board  of  elections. 

Mr.  Hadley  was  married  in  Richland  county 
to  Miss  Eliza  P.  Garver,  who  was  born  in 
Ashland  county,  O.,  and  died  at  Crestline, 
April  22,  1901,  aged  62  years.  She  was  an 
admirable  woman  in  every  relation  of  life  and 
the  mother  of  five  children :  Augusta  A.,  who 
is  her  father's  housekeeper;  Horace  G,  who 
v.as  accidentally  killed  in  a  railroad  accident 
at  Lucas,  O.,  when  aged  24  years;  Martha 
E.,  who  resides  at  Crestline;  Frank  E.,  who 
was  a  railroad  man  for  a  time  and  died  at 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  when  aged  46  years ;  and  Min- 
nie May,  who  taught  school  for  some  years 
and  at  present  assists  in  her  father's  store. 

BENJAMIN  F.  LAUCK,  a  representative 
business  man  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  dealing  largely 
in  wool,  was  born  May  27,  1839,  in  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  hot  far  from  this  city,  and 
is  a  son  of  George  and  Mary  (Deardofl) 
Lauck,  and  a  grandson  of  Peter  Lauck. 

Peter  Lauck  was  born  in  Holland,  married 
there  and  together  he  and  wife  came  to  Amer- 
ica about  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
locating  in  Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  where  he  be- 
came a  successful  farmer.  His  wife  died  there 
at  the  age  of  78  years  and  afterward,  Peter 
Lauck  came  to  Ohio  and  died  at  the  home  of 
his  son,  near  Bucyrus.  His  family  consisted 
of  two  sons  and  two  daughters:  George; 
Lydia,  who  married  a  Mr.  Diller,  of  York 
County,  Pa.,  where  their  son  lived  and  died; 
Mary,  who  married  a  Mr.  Fries;  and  John, 
who  was  a  farmer  and  miller  in  Perry 
county.  Pa. 


AND  REPRESEiXTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1087 


George  Lauck  was  born  in  Lancaster  coun- 
ty, Jr'a.,  in  1800  and  died  in  1852  on  his  farm 
in  Crawtord  county,  O.,  to  which  state  he  had 
come  in  1827.  He  married  Mary  Deardoff,  in 
Lancaster  county,  a  member  of  a  well  known 
old  Pennsylvania  Dutch  family,  and  her  death 
occurred  in  1859.  They  were  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church.  George  Lauck  was  prom- 
inent and  influential  in  the  Democratic  party 
in  Crawford  county  and  served  in  local  offices 
and  three  terms  as  county  treasurer.  To 
George  and  Mary  Lauck  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born:  John,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  two  years;  Jane,  who  married  Andrew 
Failor,  formerly  a  merchant  at  Bucyrus  but 
later  a  resident  of  Iowa,  where  both  he  and 
wife  died,  leaving  seven  children — Emma, 
Andrew,  George,  Mary,  Samuel,  Charles  and 
Frank;  Amanda,  who  was  the  wife  of  Judge 
Josiah  S.  Plantz,  both  now  deceased,  who  had 
four  children — Justinian,  Gailor,  Frank  and 
Anna;  Henrietta,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife 
of  C.  W.  Fisher  and  left  six  children — Mary, 
deceased,  Edwin,  Charles,  Frank,  Blanche  and 
Grace,  deceased;  Nettie,  who  married  L.  B. 
Lyday  and  died  in  Texas,  while  Mr.  Lyday 
died  at  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  they  having  had  four 
children,  the  one  survivor  being  Mary,  who 
lives  with  her  family  in  California;  Benjamin 
F.,  whose  name  heads  this  article ;  and  George, 
who  died  at  Toledo,  O.  For  some  years  he 
was  a  merchant  at  Bucyrus.  He  and  wife 
were  survived  by  four  children :  Qarence, 
Stella  and  Ella,  twins,  and  Mary. 

Benjamin  F.  Lauck  was  educated  at  Bu- 
cyrus, later  was  a  student  at  Wittenberg  Col- 
lege and  still  later  had  educational  advantages 
at  Newton,  la.  In  i860  he  went  into  the 
grocery  business  but  closed  it  out  shortly  after- 
ward in  order  to  become  a  soldier  in  answer 
to  President  Lincoln's  call  for  volunteers.  He 
enlisted  in  Co.  I,  86th  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  served 
four  months  under  Captain  Stone  and  Col. 
Burns,  in  this  connection,  and  then  reenlisted, 
becoming  a  member  of  the  57th  O.  Vol.  Inf., 
under  Captain  Skelton  and  Colonel  Munyon, 
and  one  year  later  was  honorably  discharged 
at  Black  River,  Miss.  He  participated  in  the 
siege  of  Vicksburg  and  the  following  battles : 
Deer  Creek,  Haines'  Bluff,  Jackson,  Chapin 
Mills,  Blue  Ridge,  Chickamauga,  Holly 
Springs,  Black  River  Bridge  and  many  others 


and  saw  hard  and  continuous  service.  He 
was  ever  at  the  post  of  duty  and  was  a  cheer- 
ful, efficient  and  dependable  soldier. 

For  some  years  following  his  army  experi- 
ence, he  was  a  clerk  in  business  houses  and  in 
1866  he  embarked  in  the  dry  goods  business 
with  a  partner,  under  the  firm  name  of  Fisher 
&  Lauck,  which  continued  for  nine  years. 
Flailing  health  caused  Mr.  Lauck  to  retire 
from  the  above  firm  and  for  some  years  after- 
ward he  traveled  as  a  representative  of  a 
grocery  house.  In  1880  he  became  a  partner 
in  a  grain  buying  house  and  continued  for  21 
years  and  then  went  into  the  wool  buying 
business,  purchasing  largely  for  Jeremiah 
Williams  &  Co.,  of  Boston,  Mass.  He  has  the 
northwestern  part  of  Ohio  as  his  territory  and 
in  191 1  handled  the  enormous  amount  of 
700,000  pounds  of  wool.  He  is  widely  known 
and  has  both  business  and  personal  friends  jn 
every  section. 

Mr.  Lauck  was  married  at  Plymouth,  O., 
in  i860  to  Miss  Laura  E.  Bodine,  who  was 
born  in  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  i,  1838. 
She  was  one  year  old  when  her  parents,  Peter 
and  Susan  (Erving)  Bodine,  moved  to  Ply- 
mouth, O.  Peter  Bodine  was  born  in  1784, 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  his  wife  in  1796,  in  New 
Jersey.  They  were  married  in  1814  at  Niles, 
N.  Y.  Her  father,  Peter  Erving,  was  a  na- 
tive of  England  and  later  came  to  the  colonies 
and  served  as  an  officer  in  the  Patriot  army. 
Peter  and  Susan  Bodine  came  to  Richland 
county  in  1837  and  he  acquired  much  land 
and  became  a  man  of  substance.  His  death 
occurred  there  Sept.  20,  1849.  His  widow 
survived  until  Oct.  28,  1868,  her  death  oc- 
curring at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Lauck.  They 
were  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Of  their  12  children,  three  are  living.  One 
daughter  is  the  widow  of  D.  R.  Locke,  the 
author  of  the  Nasby  Letters,  once  editor  of 
the  Bucyrus  Journal,  founder  of  the  Plymoutli 
Advertiser  and  later  owner  of  the  Toledo 
Blade,  which  she  yet  owns.  One  daughter, 
Martina,  who  is  the  widow  of  Alfred  Parks, 
was  married  first  to  Daniel  Locke,  a  brother 
of  D.  R.  Locke.  She  resides  at  Bucyrus  and 
has  a  family. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lauck  have  had  three  chil- 
dren: Anna  L.,  who  is  the  widow  of  James 
Franey,  and  has  one  daughter,  Marion  Alice, 


1088 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


who  was  born  Nov.  13,  1896;  Frank  B.,  a 
machinist  by  trade,  who  is  shop  superintend- 
ent in  one  of  the  large  plants  at  Bucyrus ;  and 
James  L.,  who  died  in  1908.  He  was  a  mer- 
chant. He  married  Grace  Reed,  of  Mansfield, 
0.,  who  survived  him  for  two  years. 

In  politics  Mr.  Lauck  is  a  Republican  and 
has  always  been  an  active  and  interested  citi- 
zen. He  served  five  terms,  eleven  years,  as 
a  member  of  the  city  council.  He  is  past  com- 
mander of  Keller  Post,  No.  128,  G.  A.  R., 
Bucyrus,  and  is  a  Royal  Arch  Mason. 

HARVEY  CANDEL,  one  of  the  represen- 
tative citizens  and  public  officials  of  Lykens 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  resides  on  his 
excellent  farm  of  130  acres  and  belongs  to 
one  of  the  old  county  families.  He  was  born 
in  Whetstone  township,  Nov.  12,  1875,  and 
is  a  son  of  Elias  and  Sarah  (Shupp)  Candel. 

Elias  Candel  was  well  known  in  Crawford 
county.  By  trade  he  was  a  tile  maker  and  he 
established  the  Candel  factory  in  Lykens  town- 
ship, which  is  now  operated  as  the  Zellner 
factory.  He  died  and  was  buried  at  Broken- 
sword  by  the  side  of  his  wife  in  the  Evan- 
gelical church  cemetery.  They  were  parents 
of  the  following  children:  Harvey;  Clarence; 
Cora,  wife  of  Marion  H.  Kline;  Ada,  wife 
of  Robert  Reamsnyder;  and  Florence,  wife 
of  Roy  Gatchell. 

Harvey  Candel  attended  the  public  schools 
and  after  the  death  of  his  father,  when  he 
was  18  years  of  age,  took  charge  of  the  tile 
factory  and  conducted  the  same  for  his  mother 
for  five  years.  He  then  purchased  50  acres 
of  land  and  cultivated  it  and  when  his  mother 
died,  he  bought  the  tile  plant  and  operated  it 
for  seven  years.  After  disposing  of  the  tile 
works  he  bought  80  acres  of  land  adjoining 
his  first  purchase  and  has  continued  here  as 
a  general  farmer  and  moderate  stock  raiser. 
He  is  also  engaged,  to  some  extent  in  con- 
tracting in  concrete  work.  In  politics  he  is 
a  Democrat  and  is  now  serving  very  satisfac- 
torily in  the  office  of  turnpike  road  commis- 
sioner. 

In  1899  Mr.  Candel  was  married  to  Miss 
Louisa  Laipply,  who  was  born  in  Lykens  town- 
ship, a  daughter  of  Simeon  and  Matilda 
(Bower)  Laipply,  who  still  reside  on  their  farm 
in  Holmes  township..  Mrs.  Candel  has  the  fol- 


lowing brothers  and  sisters:  Adam;  Eliza- 
beth, wife  of  John  Volkmer;  Frederick;  Abra- 
ham; Rosa,  wife  of  Herbert  Aurand;  Wil- 
liam; and  Pearl,  wife  of  Lloyd  Zellner. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Candel  have  six  children, 
namely:  Edison,  Arthur,  Alverta,_  Gladys, 
Harry  and  Lloyd.  They  are  members  and 
active  workers  in  the  Evangelical  church. 

FRANCIS  MARION  FOSTER,*  who  has 
been  a  resident  of  Crestline,  O.,  where  he  now 
lives  retired,  for  40  years,  for  36  of  these  was 
a  faithful  and  valued  employe  of  the  great 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company.  He  was 
born  in  Bracken  county,  Ky.,  in  July,  1841,  a 
son  of  James  and  Prudence  (Knight)  (Walk- 
er) Foster. 

On  the  paternal  side  Mr.  Foster's  ancestors 
came  from  Scotland  and  Ireland  and  were 
early  settlers  in  Tennessee.  Grandfather  Fos- 
ter was  born  in  Tennessee  and  was  married 
seven  times  and  survived  all  his  wives,  the 
fourth  one  being  the  grandmother  of  Francis 
M.  Foster  of  Crestline  and  was  the  mother 
of  four  children,  one  of  whom  was  James 
Foster.  He  was  born  near  Knoxville,  Tenn., 
in  1817.  In  early  life  a  farmer,  he  later  be- 
came mate  on  a  Mississippi  River  steamboat, 
but  afterward  returned  to  his  farm  and  died 
at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  1869.  Prior  to  the  Civil 
War  he  was  a  Democrat  but  afterward  was 
identified  with  the  Republican  party.  He  mar- 
ried Prudence  Knight  Walker,  who  was  a 
first  cousin  of  Hon.  James  G.  Blaine,  and  was 
born  in  Westmoreland  county.  Pa.  After  the 
death  of  her  husband  she  came  to  Crestline 
and  for  32  years  was  a  member  of  the  house- 
hold of  her  son,  Francis  Marion  Foster,  where 
her  death  occurred  in  January,  1900,  when 
her  age  was  82  years,  2  months  and  18  days. 
Her  grandfather  Knight  died  while  serving 
in  the  War  of  1812.  During  the  life  of  her 
husband  she  attended  the  Baptist  church,  to 
which  he  belonged,  but  later  she  united  with 
the  Presbyterian  church.  She  was  the  revered 
mother  of  four  sons,  all  of  whom  grew  to 
manhood  and  three  married,  Francis  Marion 
being  the  eldest  arid  the  only  one  living. 

Francis  M.  Foster  was  1 5  years  of  age  when 
his  parents  moved  to  Indiana  and  later  to 
Illinois.  When  he  started  out  for  himself  he 
entered  railroad  life  as  an  employe  of  the  old 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1089 


I.  &  St.  L.  line  and  engaged  in  construction 
work  for  one  year  and  then  became  fireman, 
later  a  brakeman  on  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road and  still  later,  on  the  O.  &  M.  Railway, 
which  is  now  the  B.  &  O.,  southwest.  In 
1872  he  came  to  Crestline  and  accepted  a  po- 
sition as  freight  conductor  with  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad,  beginning  a  connection  that 
lasted  for  36  years,  when  he  retired  with  a 
clean  record,  this  move  being  made  at  his 
own  request,  when  he  was  68  years  of  age, 
his  pension  being  dated  August  i,  1909.  Mr. 
Foster  is  well  and  favorably  known  to  all 
railroad  men  in  this  section  and  is  highly  es- 
teemed by  the  company  he  served  so  long  and 
by  his  comrades  who  had  confidence  in  his 
skill  and  knowledge  and  affection  and  admira- 
tion for  him  as  a  man.  Since  1885  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  order  of  Railway  Con- 
ductors and  was  a  charter  member  of  the  di- 
vision order  at  Alliance,  O.,  known  as  Divi- 
sion No.  177,  with  which  he  has  always  been 
in  good  standing.  From  1875  until  1885  he 
was  chief  conductor  in  the  old  order  of  Bro- 
therhood Conductors,  when  that  organization 
had  its  headquarters  at  Crestline.  Aside  from 
his  own  business,  Mr.  Foster  has  also  been  a 
progressive  and  energetic  worker  and  a  use- 
ful and  public  spirited  citizen.  In  politics  he 
has  been  a  supporter  of  the  policies  of  the 
Republican  party  since  the  close  of  the  second 
administration  of  President  Cleveland.  In 
1881  he  became  a  Mason  and  belongs  to  the 
Blue  Lodge  and  Chapter  at  Crestline,  actively 
interested  in  the  fraternity  and  living  up  to  its 
teachings. 

On  June  20,  1872,  in  Knox  county,  O.,  Mr. 
Foster  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Wertz, 
who  was  born  in  Holmes  county,  O.,  where 
she  was  reared  and  educated.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Foster  had  three  children:  Charles  H.,  whose 
lamented  death  occured  in  his  26th  year,  and 
who  married  Josephine  Dunlap  who  survives 
with  their  daughter,  Marion,  now  14  years 
old;  Ira  G.,  a  funeral  director  at  Crestline, 
who  married  Almira  Geiger,  and  has  one  son, 
Eugene  Francis;  and  Benjamin,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  seven  months.  Mrs  Foster  died 
Dec.  23,  1906.  Mr.  Foster  is  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  as  was   his 

wife, 
ei 


ABRAHAM  SCHIEFER,  one  of  the  en- 
terprising farmers  of  Lykens  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  who  owns  93  acres  and  also 
operates  80  acres  for  his  father,  was  born  in 
Holmes  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  April 
16,  1866,  and  is  a  son  of  Christopher  G.  and 
Sarah  Ann  (Miller)  Schiefer. 

Christopher  G.  Schiefer  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, July  II,  1824,  and  is  one  of  Lykens 
township's  venerable  and  respected  citizens. 
He  married  Sarah  Ann  Miller,  who  was  born 
in  Texas  township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  who 
died  in  1907,  her  burial  being  in  the  Broken- 
sword  Cemetery.  They  were  parents  of  the 
following  children :  Sarah,  deceased,  who 
was  the  wife  of  Lewis  Schiefer;  Jacob  F., 
Isaac  and  Abraham;  and  Amanda,  who  is  the 
wife  of  C.  H.  Ahlefield.  Mr.  Schiefer  is  one 
of  the  oldest  members  of  the  Evangelical 
church  in  this  section,  in  which  he  and  wife 
were  active  for  many  years.  He  is  identified 
politically  with  the  Republican  party. 

Abraham  Schiefer  attended  the  local  schools 
during  boyhood  and  one  term  at  New  Wash- 
ington in  the  High  School,  and  afterward,  for 
one  term  was  in  the  Normal  School  at  Ada, 
O.,  since  when  he  has  given  the  home  farm 
attention  and  has  devoted  himself  almost  ex- 
clusively to  agricultural  activities.  In  1887 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Emma  J.  Smith,  who 
was  born  in  Crawford  county,  a  daughter  of 
Frederick  and  Lucy  Ann  (Shupp)  Smith. 
The  father  of  Mrs.  Schiefer  was  a  substantial 
farmer  and  a  well  known  man.  He  was  mar- 
ried (first)  to  Christabel  Lipman,  who  was 
born  May  15,  1815,  and  died  June  2,  1846, 
the  mother  of  four  children :  Louis  F.,  Her- 
man, John  F.  and  Adolphus  G.  He  was  mar- 
ried (second)  to  Lucy  Ann  Shupp,  and  to 
that  marriage  the  following  children  were 
born :  Clara,  who  is  the  widow  of  Joseph 
Laipply;  Christabel,  who  is  deceased;  Cor- 
nelius W. ;  Martha  and  Matilda,  both  of  whom 
are  deceased;  Catherine,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Jacob  Meek ;  Frederick  T. ;  Henry  W. ;  Lucy 
Ann;  Jefferson  I.;  Emma  J.,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Mr.  Schiefer;  L.  Melanchton;  and  Sarepta 
G.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Clarence  H.  Flickinger. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schiefer  have  eight  children, 
as  follows:  Guy  Arden,  Charles  Richard, 
Harry  Edwin,  Christopher  Frederick,  James 
Gerald,    Russell    Washington,    Helen    Camile 


1090 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


and  Dorothy  Rebecca.  They  have  been  given 
excellent  educational  and  other  advantages 
and  are  intelligent  and  interesting  young  peo- 
ple. The  family  attends  the  Evangelical 
church.  Nominally  Mr.  Schiefer  is  a  Repub- 
lican but  there  are  occasions  when  he  is  led 
into  depending  entirely  upon  his  own  good 
judgment  in  casting  his  vote.  He  has  served 
his  township  on  the  school  board  and  as  land 
appraiser  and  for  two  terms  was  assessor.  He 
is  now  representing  the  Crawford  County  In- 
surance Company  as  its  agent  in  this  section. 
For  some  years  he  has  been  an  active  member 
of  the  Grange,  at  Brokensword. 

FREDERICK  STAIR,*  manager  and  sup- 
erintendent of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph 
Company  offices  and  also  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company  offices  at  Crestline,  O.,  was 
born  near  Orville,  O.,  Jan.  ii,  1865,  attended 
the  public  schools  there  and  spent  one  year  in  a 
Normal  School,  after  which  he  became  a  tele- 
graph operator. 

After  learning  his  profession  at  Orville, 
Mr.  Stair  accepted  a  position  in  1885  with  the 
Wheeling  &  Lake  Erie  Railroad  and  later  be- 
came connected  with  the  Pennsylvania  system 
at  Pittsburg,  three  years  was  with  the  same 
corporation  at  Wooster,  O.,  and  in  1893  came 
to  Crestline  as  an  operator  under  C.  N.  Frye. 
In  1899  he  succeeded  Mr.  Frye,  who  then  be- 
came manager  of  the  District  Telegraph  Com- 
pany at  Columbus.  Mr.  Stair  thus  became 
manager  of  the  Crestline  office  and  addition- 
ally, is  wire  chief  of  the  Pennsylvania  lines 
from  Crestline  to  Alliance.  Mr.  Stair  is  an 
interested  and  active  citizen  of  Crestline  and 
for  some  time  has  been  clerk  of  the  city  school 
board. 

At  Crestline,  Mr.  Stair  was  married  to  Miss 
Flora  Hoffman,  who  was  born  in  this  city  in 
1869  and  has  survived  her  parents.  Four 
children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Stair :  Ethel,  who  is  a  member  of  the  class  of 
1 913,  in  the  Crestline  High  School;  Helen, 
who  is  a  Junior  in  the  High  School;  Madge 
and  Charles,  both  of  whom  are  in  the  High 
School;  and  F.  Wayne,  who  is  preparing  for 
the  same  in  the  grade  schools.  Mr.  Stair  and 
family  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  of  which  he  has  been  treasurer 
for  some  years,  and  for  three  years  was  Sun- 


day-school superintendent  and  at  present  is 
teacher  of  the  Bible  class.  In  politics  he  is 
affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party. 

FRANK  LA  RUE,  an  honored  veteran  of 
the  great  Civil  War  and  one  of  the  best  known 
and  most  highly  respected  citizens  of  Lykens 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  in  which  sec- 
tion lies  his  valuable  farm  of  140  acres,  was 
born  in  Seneca  county,  O.,  July  22,  1842,  a 
son  of  J.  B.  and  Jane  (Gray)  La  Rue. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  La  Rue  were  both  born 
in  the  State  of  New  York  and  did  not  come 
to  Crawford  county  but  settled  in  Seneca 
county  after  marriage  and  there  the  father  be- 
came a  substantial  farmer.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Free  Will  Baptist  church,  most 
worthy  people  in  every  relation  of  life.  Their 
ashes  rest  in  the  Rock  Creek  Cemetery  in  Sen- 
eca county.  Seven  children  were  born  to  them : 
Frank,  Charles,  C.  W.,  Levi  G.,  George,  Jan- 
ette,  and  Albertus,  of  whom  all  are  deceased  ex- 
cept Frank  and  C.  W. 

Frank  La  Rue  attended  the  public  schools 
and  afterward  spent  one  year  at  Hillsdale  Col- 
lege and  then  taught  one  term  of  school.  He 
then  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  War,  be- 
coming a  private  in  Co.  K,  45th  O.  Vol.  Inf., 
and  remained  a  soldier  for  three  years,  less  28 
days,  during  this  time  bravely  facing  death 
on  many  a  battle  field.  He  survived,  however, 
to  return  home  although  numerous  comrades 
were  left  behind,  many  in  unknown  graves. 
Mr.  La  Rue  very  soon  afterward  settled  down 
to  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  agriculture  and  con- 
tinued a  farmer  and  stock  raiser  as  long  as  he 
remained  in  active  life  and  then  turned  over 
his  responsibilities  to  his  capable  sons.  A  gen- 
eral farming  line  is  carried  on,  stock  for  home 
use  is  raised  and  something  of  a  specialty  is 
made  of  Delaine  sheep.  A  combination  of 
fertile  land  and  careful  methods  of  cultivating 
it,  has  resulted  in  bountiful  crops  and  financial 
independence. 

Mr.  La  Rue  was  married  Feb.  20,  1868,  to 
Miss  Ardella  Waller,  who  was  born  in  Craw- 
ford county  and  has  passed  her  life  here.  Her 
people,  L.  M.  and  Arietta  (Cory)  Waller,  were 
old  settlers  and  her  father  became  a  man  of 
large  estate.  After  the  death  of  his  first  wife, 
Air.  Waller  married  Ann  Jane  Yingling  and 
they  had  one  child  that  died  in  infancy. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1091 


To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  La  Rue  the  following  chil- 
dren have  been  born :  Charles,  a  civil  engineer, 
who  married  Gertrude  Blazer  and  has  one  son, 
Baxter  B. ;  L.  W.,  who  is  one  of  the  home 
farmers;  Cora,  who  is  a  successful  school 
teacher,  having  taught  for  five  years  and  after- 
wards graduated  from  college  at  Ada,  O. ; 
Ralph  W.,  who  married  Edith  Flickinger,  and 
has  two  children — Forest  and  Stanley;  Guy 
G. ;  Harry  G.,  who  married  Mabel  Caldwell, 
and  has  two  children — Ellen  G.  and  Lois 
Marion;  James  O. ;  Edna;  F.  E. ;  and  Ger- 
trude. Mr.  La  Rue  and  sons  are  Republicans  as 
was  the  father  of  the  former  from  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Grange  at  Brokensword  and  belongs 
also  to  the  G.  A.  R.  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 
The  family  attends  the  Baptist  church. 

JOHN  W.  RONDY,  who  has  numerous 
business  interests  in  Crawford  county,  O.,  and 
is  a  director  and  stockholder  in  the  Weaver 
Bros.  Company,  extensive  dealers  in  grain 
and  other  commodities  at  Crestline,  and  one  of 
the  incorporators  of  this  company,  was  born  in 
Richland  county,  O.,  Feb.  28,  1873,  and  is  a 
son  of  Jacob  and  Catherine  (Sutter)  Rondy. 

Jacob  Rondy  was  born  at  Nassau,  Germany, 
in  1840,  and  was  three  years  old  when  his  par- 
ents came  to  the  United  States.  They  secured 
Government  land  in  Sharon  township,  Rich- 
land county,  O.,  and  Mathias  Rondy  cleared 
and  improved  the  same  and  it  subsequently  be- 
came the  property  of  his  son  Jacob,  who  still 
resides  there,  being  now  in  his  72nd  year. 
His  father  lived  to  the  unusual  age  of  96  years, 
retaining  all  his  faculties  to  the  day  of  his 
death.  To  Jacob  Rondy  and  wife  nine  chil- 
dren were  born  and  seven  of  these  are  living 
and  all  have  married  but  one,  John  W.,  our 
subject,  was  the  third  of  the  family  in  order 
of  birth.  The  parents  are  members  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church. 

John  W.  Rondy  was  reared  in  Sharon  town- 
ship, Richland  county  and  obtained  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools.  He  was  married  at 
Mansfield  to  Miss  Mary  A.  O'Rourke,  who 
was  born  at  Spring  Mill,  Richland  county. 
May  2,  1876,  a  daughter  of  Christopher  and 
Mary  (Brannon)  O'Rourke.  They  were  born 
in  Ireland  and  came  to  Richland  county  when 
young  and  married  there,  where  the  mother 


of  Mrs.  Rondy  still  resides,  the  father  being 
deceased.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  O'Rourke  reared 
their  children  in  the  Roman  Catholic  faith. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rondy  have  an  adopted  daughter, 
a  child  of  three  years,  who  has  been  named 
Mary  Dorothy.  In  his  political  affiliation 
Mr.  Rondy,  like  his  father,  is  a  Democrat.  He 
belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  the 
Knights  of  Ohio  and  the  Eagles.  Mr.  Rondy 
and  wife  are  members  of  St.  Joseph's  Catholic 
church  at  Crestline. 

VICTOR  D.  CAMPBELL,  who  is  a  leading 
citizen  of  Texas  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  who  is  serving  in  his  tenth  consecutive 
year  as  township  treasurer,  and  is  owner  and 
proprietor  of  a  general  store  at  Benton,  O., 
was  born  in  Wyandot  county,  O.,  July  30, 
1859,  a  son  of  Curtis  and  Isabel  (Caldwell) 
Campbell. 

Curtis  Campbell  was  born  in  Washington 
county.  Pa.,  and  during  the  greater  part  of  his 
life  was  a  school  teacher.  He  married  Isabel 
Caldwell,  who  was  born  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Martha  (Martin)  Cald- 
well, the  former  of  whom  was  once  sheriff  of 
Crawford  county.  They  died  in  Wyandot 
county  and  their  burial  was  in  the  Union  Cem- 
etery. Their  family  consisted  of  four  sons : 
Fremont  and  John,  both  of  whom  are  deceased ; 
Victor  D. ;  and  Elmer  E.,  who  is  a  resident  of 
Los  Angeles,  Calif. 

Victor  D.  Campbell  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Wyandot  county,  and  with  the  ex- 
ception of  seven  years  has  been  in  the  mer- 
cantile business  all  his  mature  life.  In  1901 
he  came  to  Crawford  county  and  bought  his 
present  store  from  R.  O.  Seery  and  now  con- 
ducts the  only  mercantile  establishment  at 
Benton,  serving  a  wide  territory  and  carrying 
a  very  large  stock  of  well  selected  goods.  He 
is  an  active  citizen,  in  every  way  possible  ad- 
vancing the  interests  of  the  town.  Politically 
a  Republican  he  has  frequently  been  called  on 
to  serve  in  local  offices,  his  fellow  citizens  hav- 
ing great  confidence  in  his  integrity  and  busi- 
ness ability. 

Mr.  Campbell  was  married  in  1891  to  Miss 
May  Caldwell,  who  was  born  in  Crawford 
county,  a  daughter  of  David  S.  and  Sarah 
Jane  (Doyle)  Caldwell,  the  former  of  whom, 
now  deceased,  was  a  native  of  Maryland  and 


1092 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUXTY 


a  minister  in  the  Reformed  church.  The 
mother  of  Mrs.  Campbell  \vas  born  in  Canada 
but  was  reared  in  Crawford  county.  To  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Caldwell  four  children  were  born: 
Ellsworth ;  May ;  Blanche,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  14  years;  and  Alpha  O.,  who  is  the  wife 
of  R.  E.  Hillborn.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Camp- 
bell was  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  having 
served  as  captain  in  Co.  H,  123rd  O.  Vol.  Inf. 
For  eight  months  he  was  a  prisoner  at  Libby 
Prison  and  was  one  of  the  fortunate  unhappy 
men  who  managed  to  escape  from  that  vile 
dungeon  by  tunnelling  his  way  to  freedom. 
He  served  all  through  the  war  in  the  company 
which  was  organized  at  Benton.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Campbell  four  children  have  been  born: 
Beth,  Dale,  Roscoe  and  Faythe,  of  whom 
Roscoe  is  now  deceased.  The  eldest  daughter 
is  a  teacher  of  Stenography  in  the  Lorain  Busi- 
ness College,  at  Lx)rain,  O.,  in  which  Dale  is 
at  present  a  student.  Mrs.  Campbell  and 
daughter  Beth  are  members  of  the  United 
Brethren  church.  Mr.  Campbell  is  identified 
with  the  Odd  Fellows  at  Upper  Sandusky,  O. 

REV.  JOSEPH  R.  WAECHTER,  pastor  of 
St.  Joseph's  Catholic  church,  at  Crestline,  O., 
has  charge  of  one  of  the  most  important  and 
prosperous  parishes  in  the  diocese.  He  was 
bom  at  New  W^ashington,  O.,  where  his  peo- 
ple still  reside,  Aug.  9,  1876. 

Father  Waechter  attended  the  parochial 
schools  at  New  Washington  and  completed  his 
theological  training  at  St.  Mary's  Seminary. 
On  May  24,  1902,  he  was  ordained  to  the 
Priesthood  by  Bishop  Horstman,  after  which 
he  was  assigned  as  assistant  priest  under  the 
presiding  priests  at  Tiffin,  O.,  where  he  re- 
mained until  Sept.  14,  1909,  when  he  took 
charge  of  St.  Nicholas'  church,  at  Ber\vick, 
Seneca  county,  O.,  and  continued  in  charge 
there  until  Dec.  25,  191 1,  when  he  came  to 
Crestline  and  took  charge  of  St.  Joseph's 
church,  succeeding  Rev.  H.  E.  Boesken,  who 
had  been  sent  to  Toledo  after  a  pastorate  of 
nine  years  at  Crestline.  Father  Waechter  en- 
tered upon  his  duties  with  characteristic  zeal 
and  has  aroused  fresh  interest  in  every 
branch  of  church  work.  This  is  one  of  the 
old  strongholds  of  the  Catholic  church  and  for 
years  has  been  steadily  advancing  both  spirit- 
ually and  materially.     There  are   few  better 


established  congregations  in  the  Toledo  diocese 
and  Father  Waechter  is  a  man  well  qualified  to 
carry  on  the  present  church  enterprises  and  to 
add  still  further  to  their  efficiency  and  useful- 
ness. His  parochial  school  is  flourishing,  with 
130  pupils  and  is  in  charge  of  a  niunber  of 
Catholic  Sisters. 

HENRY  M.  HEER,*  whose  well  cultivated 
and  very  productive  farm  of  80  acres  is  situ- 
ated in  Lykens  township,  Crawford  county, 
p.,  was  bom  in  Lykens  township,  Jan.  29, 
1873,  and  is  a  son  of  Philip  C.  and  Catherine 
(Herrwagon)  Heer. 

Philip  C.  Heer  was  well  known  in  Lykens 
township  where,  for  many  years,  he  followed 
the  shoemaking  trade.  Afterward  he  went  to 
Missouri  and  died  there.  His  wife  died  in 
Crawford  county  and  her  burial  was  in  Chat- 
field  township.  They  had  the  following  chil- 
dren bom  to  them:  Henry  M.,  our  subject; 
Louisa  M.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Jacob  Bower; 
Emma  E.,  who  is  the  wife  of  William  Huse- 
mann;  Matilda  C,  who  is  the  wife  of  Daniel 
F.  Long;  Edward  M. ;  and  Rosena  C,  who  is 
the  wife  of  William  Marquis. 

Henry  M.  Heer  attended  the  public  schools 
in  boyhood  and  since  then  has  practically  taken 
care  of  himself.  For  1 1  years  he  worked  for 
farmers  by  the  month  and  thus  accumulated 
the  means  to  purchase  40  acres  of  his  present 
farm,  this  being  about  1888.  The  second  40 
acres  he  bought  in  February,  191 1,  and  now 
has  about  as  much  land  as  he  cares  to  give 
attention  to.  He  carries  on  general  farming 
and  raises  some  good  stock  but  only  for  his 
own  use.  Mr.  Heer  was  reared  a  Democrat 
but  uses  his  own  judgment  when  he  casts  his 
vote,  frequently  putting  men  before  party 
when  he  gives  support.  He  attends  the  Luth- 
eran chiu-ch.     yir.  Heer  has  never  married. 

GEORGE  F.  NESS,  one  of  the  well  known 
citizens  of  Galion,  O.,  where  he  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  building  of  many  of  the  sub- 
stantial structures,  and  also  owns  a  tract  of 
farming  land,  was  bom  at  Tipton,  la.,  July 
16,  1856,  and  is  a  son  of  Charles  and  Phebe 
Jane  (Auten)  Ness. 

Michael  Ness,  the  grandfather,  was  of  Ger- 
man ancestry  but  was  bom  in  York  county, 
Pa.     In  1835,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  he 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZJiNS 


1093 


came  to  Galion,  O.,  when  it  was  but  a  small 
place  and  finally  became  a  landowner  and 
farmer  in  Polk  township,  Crawford  county. 
He  died  in  1870,  when  aged  75  years  and  his 
wife  survived  him  for  eight  years.  They 
were  industrious,  respectable,  thrifty  people 
and  were  consistent  members  of  the  German 
Lutheran  church.  To  them  were  born  three 
sons  and  one  daughter;  the  last,  Rebecca,  who 
has  been  twice  married,  lives  at  Waterford. 
All  three  sons,  Jacob,  Michael  and  Charles  are 
now  deceased. 

Charles  Ness  was  born  in  York  county.  Pa., 
Dec,  16,  1833,  and  was  two  years  old  when 
his  parents  came  to  Crawford  county.  He 
grew  to  early  manhood  here  and  learned  the 
carpenter  trade,  afterward  married  and  then 
moved  to  Iowa  and  for  a  few  years  lived  at 
Tipton,  in  Cedar  county.  He  was  always  a 
hard-working  man,  mainly  at  his  trade  but 
he  also  engaged  to  some  extent  in  farming  and 
it  was  said  of  him  that  few  could  excel  him 
in  the  use  of  the  old  cradle  in  a  wheat-field. 
His  death  occurred  in  1890.  He  was  married 
in  this  city  to  Phebe  Jane  'Auten,  who  was 
born  west  of  Galion,  in  1833,  and  was  two 
months  younger  than  Mr.  Ness.  She  accom- 
panied him  to  Iowa  but  willingly  returned  to 
Crawford  county  after  a  few  years  in  the 
western  state  and  here  her  death  occurred  in 
January,  1885.  Of  their  five  children  the  fol- 
lowing survive :  James  H.,  living  six  miles  from 
Galion,  in  Marion  county,  who  is  a  barn  car- 
penter, and  who  is  married  and  has  nine  chil- 
dren; George  F.,  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch ;  Mary,  the  youngest,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Sidney  Hill,  a  railroad  man,  living  at  Spring- 
field, O.,  and  having  six  children. 

George  F.  Ness  was  young  when  his  parents 
returned  to  Crawford  county  and  his  education 
was  secured  in  the  district  schools.  Under 
his  father  he  learned  the  carpenter  trade  and 
is  considered  an  expert  workman.  In  politics 
he  has  always  been  a  Republican  but  is  not  in- 
terested beyond  the  demands  of  good  citizen- 
ship. 

On  Feb.  8,  1880,  in  Whetstone  township, 
Mr.  Ness  was  married  to  Miss  Rachel  Bair, 
who  was  born  in  Whetstone  township,  Jan.  5, 
1859,  and  was  reared  and  educated  there.  Her 
parents  were  John  and  Rebecca  (Sherer) 
Bair,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  latter  in  Whetstone  township 


and  all  their  married  life  they  spent  in  that 
township.  John  Bair  died  there  in  1896,  at 
the  age  of  65  years.  His  wife,  who  was  born 
March  12,  1835,  died  on  the  farm  on  which 
she  was  born,  Oct.  12,  1888.  Her  father  had 
entered  the  land  from  the  Government  and 
it  has  been  kept  in  the  family  and  is  now  owned 
by  the  two  brothers  of  Mrs.  Ness,  Michael  and 
Samuel  Bair.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ness  two 
sons  and  one  daughter  were  born,  which  died 
in  infancy.  One  son,  Sherman  H.,  born  Nov. 
14,  1888,  who  died  Nov.  7,  1910,  was  a  bright 
and  promising  young  man.  The  other,  Cloyd 
L.,  born  Oct.  4,  1882,  who  operates  his  fath- 
er's farm  in  Marion  county,  married  Bessie 
Geiger  and  they  have  two  children:  Willard 
C.  and  Geraldine.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ness  are 
members  of  the  United  Brethren  church. 

FRANK  A.  NEFF,  proprietor  of  the  lead- 
ing barber  shop  at  Crestline,  O.,  and  an  enter- 
prising business  man  of  the  city,  is  a  native 
of  Crestline,  born  July  4,  i860,  a  son  of  John 
and  Catherine  (Burkhart)  Neff. 

The  grandparents  of  Mr.  Neff,  on  both 
sides,  were  natives  of  Germany,  but  both  par- 
ents were  born  in  Germany  and  were  married 
at  Marion,  O.  They  afterward  took  up  their 
residence  in  Galion,  coming  later  to  Crestline, 
spent  the  rest  of  their  lives  here.  The  father, 
who  was  a  car  finisher  with  the  Big  Four  Rail- 
road for  some  years,  was  a  skilled  cabinet- 
maker and  also  manufactured  delicate  musical 
instruments.  He  was  well  known  to  the  peo- 
ple of  his  adopted  city  and  universally  re- 
spected. In  his  religious  faith  he  was  a  Luth- 
eran, while  his  wife  was  a  Roman  Catholic. 
They  had  four  children:  Catherine,  John, 
Frank  A.  and  Edward,  the  last  named  being  a 
dry  goods  merchant  at  Crestline. 

After  his  school  days  were  over,  Frank  A. 
Neff  learned  the  barber  trade  in  1871  and  has 
been  in  business  for  himself  since  1886,  after 
spending  about  ten  years  in  New  York  state, 
and  has  established  himself  here,  having  a 
modern  tonsorial  parlor,  with  three  chairs  and 
skilled  attendants  to  care  for  patrons.  Through 
his  courtesy,  skill  and  careful  attention  to  de- 
tails, Mr.  Neff  has  built  up  a  heavy  patronage 
and  conducts  a  place  that  compares  very  fa- 
vorably in  its  equipments  with  these  found  in 
a  much  larger  city. 


1094 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


Mr.  Neff  was  married  at  New  York  city  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Cohan  who  was  born  in 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  and  who  losing  her 
parents  was  reared  by  an  aunt.  They  have 
the  following  children :  Bertha,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Gran  Blanford,  of  Crestline;  William 
L.,  who  is  a  factory  worker  at  Crestline;  and 
Alfonso,  who  is  a  brickmason  by  trade,  both 
sons  living  at  home.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Neff  are 
members  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  church. 
In  politics  Mr.  Neff  is  a  Democrat  and  frater- 
nally he  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the 
Maccabees  and  the  Modern  Woodmen.  In  ad- 
dition to  his  business  location,  Mr.  Neff  owns 
some  valuable  residential  property  here. 

ROBERT  U.  WALCUTT,*  one  of  the  pub- 
lic officials  of  Texas  township,  who  owns  and 
resides  on  the  old  homestead  farm,  was  born 
on  this  farm,  one  of  the  best  in  Crawford 
county,  0.,  Nov.  20,  1868,  and  is  a  son  of 
Mason  and  Susan  (Walters)  Walcutt. 

Mason  Walcutt  and  wife  were  born  in  Ohio, 
she  being  a  native  of  Wyandot  county,  surviv- 
ing her  husband  and  residing  with  her  son, 
Robert  U.  All  his  active  life  Mason  Walcutt 
\\'as  a  farmer.  He  voted  with  the  Republican 
party  and  was  a  member  and  liberal  contrib- 
utor of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  To 
Mason  Walcutt  and  wife  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born:  Daniel;  Alverta,  who  died 
when  aged  20  years ;  Amelia,  who  is  the  widow 
of  John  Smith;  Jane,  deceased,  who  was  the 
wife  of  James  Brown;  Laura,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Frank  Bower;  William  and  Robert  U. 

In  the  public  schools  of  Texas  township, 
Robert  U.  Walcutt  secured  his  education  and 
since  then  has  devoted  himself  to  his  agricult- 
ural industries,  carrying  on  general  farming, 
dealing  in  Durham  cattle  and  buying  and 
selling  horses.  About  four  times  yearly,  Mr. 
Walcutt  makes  a  business  trip  to  the  West  and 
ships  by  car  load  his  market  being  Crawford 
and  adjoining  counties. 

On  Feb.  2,  i8qo,  Mr.  Walcutt  was  married 
to  Miss  Alice  Klase,  who  died  in  1897,  her 
burial  being  at  Benton,  O.  She  was  survived 
by  four  children:  Raleigh,  Mason.  Inez  Floy 
and  Zelma  Merl.  In  IQOO,  Mr.  Walcutt  was 
married  (second)  to  Miss  Rose  Merbaugh, 
and  they  have  two  children:  Ralph  Edward 
and  Mercy  Dell.    Mr.  Walcutt  and  wife  attend 


the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  is  inde- 
pendent in  politics  but  is  a  respected  and  re- 
lied on  citizen  and  has  been  elected  to  the 
school  board  and  is  serving  also  in  his  first 
term  as  township  trustee. 

FRANCIS  M.  ANDERSON,  a  substantial 
and  representative  citizen  of  Crestline,  O., 
where,  for  many  years,  he  has  been  interestecl 
in  fire  insurance,  has  been  a  resident  here  for 
50  years  and  has  a  financial  interest  in  many 
of  the  prospering  enterprises  of  this  city.  He 
was  born  in  Fairfield  county,  O.,  Feb.  12,  1830, 
a  grandson  of  James  and  Priscilla  (House) 
Anderson. 

On  account  of  the  stormy  times  in  which 
they  lived,  the  ancestors  of  Mr.  Anderson 
succeeded  in  preserving  but  few  of  the  family 
records.  Among  these  may  be  found  proof 
that  William  Anderson,  who  was  born  in 
Scotland  in  1693,  was  a  supporter  of  the 
claims  of  one  of  the  pretenders  to  the  British 
throne  and  was  obliged  to  fly  in  disguise,  on 
account  of  political  troubles  and  first  reached 
England  and  from  there  crossed  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  to  Virginia.  He  located  in  Hampshire 
county,  Va.,  and  his  estate  is  still  known  as  the 
Anderson  Bottoms,  although  at  that  time,  it 
was  a  wild  and  unsettled  region  by  white  men. 
He  became  a  well  known  warrior,  took  part  in 
the  French  and  Indian  campaigns  and  served 
under  General  Braddock.  He  died  in  Virginia 
when  aged  104  years.  His  family  consisted  of 
two  sons  and  two  daughters. 

Mention  is  also  made  of  Capt.  Thomas  An- 
derson, who  was  born  in  1733  and  died  in  1808. 

James  Anderson,  probably  a  grandson  of 
William  Anderson,  was  born  in  England,  Feb. 
17,  1768,  and  died  Oct.  24,  1844.  He  entered 
the  cavalry  branch  of  the  military,  with  the 
rank  of  second  lieutenant,  and  assisted  in  put- 
ting down  the  Whiskey  Insurrection  and  after- 
ward served  under  General  Anthony  Wayne, 
and  for  meritorious  services  was  made  a  cap- 
tain. In  1808  he  came  to  Fairfield  county,  O., 
late  in  life  moving  to  Lafayette,  Ind.,  where  he 
died  at  the  home  of  a  son.  He  married  Pris- 
cilla House,  in  Virginia,  who  survived  him  for 
a  few  years,  passing  away  also  in  Indiana. 
They  had  eleven  children  and  ten  of  these  grew 
to  mature  life,  married  and  reared  families  of 
their  own. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1095 


John  Anderson,  son  of  James  and  Priscilla 
Anderson  and  father  of  Francis  M.  Anderson, 
was  the  third  born  child  in  the  above  family, 
his  birth  taking  place  in  Virginia,  March  4, 
1803,  but  he  was  reared  in  Fairfield  county,  O. 
Subsequently  he  learned  the  cooper's  trade, 
which  he  followed  for  eight  years  and  then 
moved  to  Marion  county  and  in  1838  pur- 
chased 120  acres  of  wild  land  there.  This  land 
he  cleared  and  cultivated  and  occupied  it  until 
his  death,  on  Jan.  4,  1888.  In  Fairfield  county 
he  married  Martha  Roult,  who  was  born  in 
Ohio  of  Pennsylvania  parents  who  were  of 
Irish  extraction.  Mrs.  Anderson  died  in 
Marion  countv  in  1847.  The  Andersons  were 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in 
this  generation.  In  politics  they  were  Whigs 
until  the  formation  of  the  Republican  party, 
when  thev  became  identified  with  it. 

Nine  children  were  bom  to  John  and  Martha 
Anderson,  five  sons  and  four  daughters,  and 
eight  of  these  grew  to  maturity.  One  son, 
Thomas  T.,  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil 
War,  in  the  12th  Ind.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  was 
stricken  with  an  illness  from  which  he  died 
before  arriving  home.  John,  the  next  son, 
died  in  1859,  while  Levi  died  in  1864,  all  be- 
ing unmarried.  Three  daughters  survive, 
Susan,  Ellen  and  Margaret.  Susan  is  the  wife 
of  Rev.  Walter  Scott,  a  retired  Episcopal  min- 
ister, residing  at  Oberland,  O.,  and  they  have 
four  children.  Ellen  is  the  wife  of  John  Blue, 
of  Belleplaines,  la.,  and  they  have  six  children. 
Margaret  is  the  wife  of  John  B.  Hines, 
of  Marion  county,  O.,  and  they  have  three 
children. 

Francis  M.  Anderson  had  common  school 
and  academic  advantages,  and  afterward,  for 
eleven  years  was  a  school  teacher,  and  for  five 
years  was  in  the  mail  service  on  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad.  In  1862  he  reached  Crestline 
and  shortly  afterward  became  agent  for  lead- 
ing fire  insurance  companies  and  has  continued 
in  the  business,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  suc- 
cessful agents  here.  He  is  a  director  in  the 
Crestline  Building  and  Loan  Association  and 
owns  stock  in  many  of  the  industrial  plants 
in  this  section,  his  investments  having  been 
made  judicially.  He  has  been  very  active  as 
a  citizen  and  has  served  as  mayor  of  Crestline. 
For  some  15  years  he  was  a  justice  of  the  peace 
and   for  many  years  was   a  member  of  the 


school  board.     He  is  identified  with  the  Re- 
publican party. 

Mr.  Anderson  was  married  (first)  in  Marion 
county,  O.,  to  Miss  Sarah  E.  Geiger,  who  was 
born  in  Marion  county,  in  1834,  and  died  at 
her  home  in  Crestline,  in  1899,  leaving  one 
son,  Harry  W.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was 
in  the  furniture  business  at  Crestline  but  now 
lives  retired,  a  man  of  ample  fortune.  He 
married  Mary  Etsinger,  and  they  have  two 
children:  Bertha  and  Frank  M.,  the  latter  of 
whom  fills  a  clerical  position  with  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railway  at  Crestline.  In  1900  Mr. 
Anderson  was  married  (second)  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  A.  Thrush,  who  was  born  in  Craw- 
ford county.  Mr.  and-  Mrs.  Anderson  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

TOBIAS  MORCKEL,  who  is  a  highly  re- 
spected retired  citizen  of  Gabon,  is  a  native  of 
Ohio,  bom  at  Windfall,  Crawford  county, 
April  16,  1838.  His  parents  were  Peter  and 
Anna  M.  (Stuber)  Morckel. 

Peter  Morckel  and  wife  were  born  in  Hesse- 
Darmstadt,  Germany,  where  they  grew  to 
maturity  and  married.  It  was  after  the  birth 
of  three  children.  Christian,  Katherine  and 
Elizabeth,  that  they  decided,  in  the  later  twen- 
ties, to  come  to  the  United  States.  They  took 
passage  on  a  sailing  vessel  and  after  76  days 
on  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  were  safely  landed  on 
American  soil.  They  made  their  first  home 
in  Pennsylvania  and  while  living  there  another 
son,  George,  was  born.  About  1832-3  the 
family  came  over  the  mountains  with  teams, 
accompanied  by  other  immigrants,  and  when 
they  reached  Jefferson  township,  Crawford 
county,  found  land  which  seemed  desirable,  al- 
though it  was  in  what  seemed  to  be  a  cyclonic 
section  and  was  named  Windfall  on  that  ac- 
count. Here  they  bought  many  acres  of  land 
and  erected  a  log  cabin  that  withstood  all  sub- 
sequent storms.  With  land  clearing  and  im- 
proving climatic  changes  were  evidently 
brought  about  and  the  parents  of  Mr.  Morckel 
lived  peacefully  and  undisturbed  until  the  end 
of  their  lives,  the  mother  dying  when  aged  65 
years  and  the  father  surviving  to  his  82nd 
year.  They  were  of  the  German  Lutheran 
faith  and  assisted  in  building  the  Windfall 
church.  After  coming  to  Crawford  county  the 
following  children  were  born :  Tobias,  whose 


1096 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


name  heads  this  article;  Maria,  deceased,  who 
married  here ;  Leah,  who  lives  with  her  family 
at  Cleveland;  and  Elizabeth  C,  who  lives  three 
miles  west  of  Gallon. 

For  the  first  23  years  of  his  life,  Tobias 
Morckel  lived  on  the  old  home  farm.  Later  he 
went  to  Crestline  and  for  ten  years  afterward 
was  with  the  Pittsburg  and  Ft.  Wayne  Rail- 
way, subsequently  moving  to  Cardington  in 
Morrow  county,  where  he  operated  an  engine 
in  a  grist  mill  for  some  time  for  his  father-in- 
law.  Still  later  he  went  to  Upper  Sandusky 
and  from  there  to  Columbus,  where  he  engaged 
in  a  business  enterprise  and  was  also  engaged 
in  this  way  at  other  points  prior  to  coming  to 
Gallon,  in  1876,  in  which  city  he  was  success- 
ful in  business  ventures  for  years.  He  had  the 
foresight  to  buy  some  valuable  tracts  of  city 
property  and  these  he  has  improved,  much  of 
his  improved  realty  being  on  East  Main 
Street,  right  in  the  heart  of  the  business  cen- 
ter, and  he  also  has  valuable  holdings  at  Crest- 
line. He  occupies  his  leisure  in  looking  after 
his  property  interests. 

Mr.  Morckel  was  first  married  to  Miss 
Matilda  Purkey,  who  was  born  in  Ohio  but 
was  of  Pennsylvania  parentage.  Her  death 
occurred  in  1873  and  she  was  survived  by  two 
children :  Augustus  J.  A.,  who  resides  with  his 
family  at  Tacoma,  Wash.,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren— Ruth  and  John  Allen;  and  Lilian,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Rev.  J.  Fred  Miller,  a  Lutheran 
minister  of  Baltimore,  and  has  four  children 
— Ernest,  who  has  been  well  educated  and  is 
an  electrician;  Carl,  who  is  a  resident  of  Co- 
lumbus, O. ;  and  Leona  and  Harold. 

The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Morckel  was 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Hinkle,  who  was  born  in 
Hesse,  Germany,  March  11,  1849,  and  was 
three  years  old  when  her  parents,  Conrad  and 
Mary  E.  (Eckel)  Hinkle  brought  her  to  Am- 
erica. The  voyage  consumed  68  days  and  after 
landing  at  New  York  the  father  was  taken  sick 
and  died  three  months  later.  Mrs.  Hinkle 
and  her  five  children  remained  in  New  York 
City  for  five  years  and  then  came  to  Gallon, 
where  she  lived  for  many  years  afterward,  her 
death  occurring  in  1899,  when  she  was  aged 
81  years.  Mrs.  Morckel  was  the  youngest  but 
one  of  the  children,  the  others  being:  Henry, 
who  died  in  Ohio,  leaving  a  family;  Conrad, 
a  stonemason  by  trade,  who  lives  at  Gallon 


now  retired ;  John  M.,  who  is  in  the  meat  busi- 
ness at  Troy;  and  Charles,  who  is  an  engineer 
with  the  Erie  Railway,  lives  with  his  family 
at  Gallon.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morckel  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Lutheran  church.  In  politics  he 
is  a  Democrat  and  fraternally  is  identified'  with 
a  German  organization. 

SAMUEL  HEINLEN,*  one  of  the  highly 
respected  retired  citizens  of  Bucyrus,  O.,  re- 
siding in  his  comfortable  residence  on  Wallace 
Avenue,  owns  an  excellent  farm  of  92  acres, 
which  lies  in  Bucyrus  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.  Mr.  Heinlen  was  born  in  this  town- 
ship, April  4,  1855,  and  is  a  son  of  Mathew  and 
Elizabeth  (Beckel)  Heinlen. 

Mathew  Heinlen  was  born  in  Gerinany  and 
there  learned  the  weaving  trade  but  later  set- 
tled in  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  followed 
fanning  in  Bucyrus  township.  He  was  mar- 
ried to  Elizabeth  Beckel,  in  Crawford  county^ 
and  they  had  the  following  children :  John,  S., 
M.  and  Frank;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Absalom 
Bolinger;  Matilda,  wife  of  James  Johnson; 
Lena,  wife  of  B3Ton  Kent;  and  Lucinda,  wife 
of  J.  S.  Murphy. 

Samuel  Heinlen  attended  the  district  schools 
in  boyhood  and  then  began  to  work  on  farms, 
first  by  the  day  and  later  by  the  month,  and 
thus,  by  hard  labor  acquired  enough  capital 
to  buy  40  acres  of  land.  This  tract  he  subse- 
quently sold  and  purchased  the  92-acre  farm 
which  he  still  owns  and  on  which  he  lived  and 
carried  on  farming  for  a  number  of  years  and 
then  shifted  his  responsibilities  in  large  de- 
gree to  younger  shoulders  and  retired  and 
took  up  his  residence  in  Bucyrus. 

Mr.  Heinlen  was  married  April  12,  1881, 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Catherine  Speigle;  who  was 
born  in  Crawford  county  and  died  April  28, 
1908,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Barbara 
(Myers)  Speigle.  The  children  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Speigle  are  well  known  people  of  Craw- 
ford county.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Heinlen  the 
following  children  were  born:  Lewis,  Law- 
rence, Leroy  and  Dora  Alvena.  Leroy  mar- 
ried Ermina  Eckert,  a  daughter  of  George 
Eckert,  and  they  have  one  son,  William  Lee. 
Mr.  Heinlen  and  sons  are  identified  with  the 
Democratic  party.  The  whole  family  attends 
the  United  Brethren  church. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1097 


WILLIAM  H.  WEAVER,  member  of  the 
firm  of  Weaver  Bros.,  the  well  known  grain 
firm  at  Crestline,  O.,  has  been  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  this  corporation  for  about  12 
years  and  is  numbered  with  the  careful  and 
astute  business  men  of  this  section.  He  was 
born  in  Wyandot  county,  O.,  in  1867,  a  son  of 
John  and  Mary  B.  (Rininger)  Weaver. 

John  Weaver,  the  grandfather,  came  to  the 
United  States  from  France  and  purchased 
Government  land  in  Jackson  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  on  which  he  and  wife  spent 
their  subsequent  lives.  His  wife  was  also  a 
native  of  France  and  they  were  members  of 
the  French  Catholic  church.  They  had  12 
children,  ten  of  whom  lived  to  marry  and  eight 
survive. 

John  Weaver,  father  of  William  H.,  was 
bom  on  the  old  homestead  in  Jackson  town- 
ship and  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in 
the  German  settlement,  his  death  occurring 
July  17,  1890.  His  widow  survives  and  re- 
sides with  her  son,  William  H.,  bein?  now  in 
her  71st  year.  Four  sons  and  two  daughters 
were  born  to  them,  namely:  William  H.,  our 
subject;  Frank  and  John  E.,  both  members  of 
the  above  named  firm;  Rose,  who  is  the  wife 
of  William  Gosser,  residing  on  a  farm  in  Ver- 
non township;  Anna,  who  is  the  wife  of  Peter 
Keller,  a  farmer  in  Darke  county ;  and  Charles 
D.,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Sharon  township,  Rich- 
land county,  on  the  old  homestead. 

William  H.  Weaver  came  to  Crestline  from 
Vernon,  where  he  had  been  in  the  grain  and 
stock  business  for  six  years  previously.  The 
present  business  is  one  of  large  volume,  incor- 
porated for  $100,000,  its  officers  being: 
Charles  Kindinger,  president ;  Peter  Huth,  vice 
president;  and  William  H.  Weaver,  secretary 
and  treasurer.  The  company  has  branches  at 
three  points.  Gallon,  Vernon  and  Crestline, 
John  B.  Weaver  being  manager  at  Vernon  and 
J.  J.  Patterson  at  Galion.  They  handle  hay, 
grain  and  livestock,  give  employment  to  five 
men  at  Galion,  eight  at  Crestline  and  two  at 
Vernon. 

Mr.  Weaver  was  married  in  Richland 
county,  O.,  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Frye,  who  was 
born  there  in  1864,  of  German  parents,  now 
deceased.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weaver  have  the  fol- 
lowing children:  Leo  E.,  who  was  educated  at 
Crestline  and  Dayton,  and  resides  at  home; 


Wilfred  F.,  similarly  educated,  who  is  asso- 
ciated with  his  father;  and  Norbert  R.  and 
Angeline  H.,  both  at  school.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Weaver  are  members  of  St.  Joseph's  Roman 
Catholic  church.  He  is  identified  with  the 
Knights  of  Columbus,  the  Elks  and  the  Eagles. 

A.  H.  KINSEY,  who  is  the  present  propri- 
etor of  what  was  the  first  established  drug 
store  at  Crestline,  O.,  has  been  in  the  drug 
business  for  32  years,  having  had  experience  in 
several  cities  and  a  resident  of  Crestline  since 
1891.  He  was  born  at  Galion,  O.,  in  1862,  a 
son  of  Samuel  and  Catherine  (Claes)  Kinsey. 

Samuel  Kinsey  was  born  in  Canton  Berne, 
Switzerland.  After  coming  to  the  United 
States  he  settled  near  Galion,  O.,  where  he 
first  engaged  in  farming  and  later  was  a  ma- 
chinist in  the  shops  of  the  Big  Four  and  Erie 
Railways,  his  death  occurring  in  1893,  when 
he  was  aged  63  years.  He  was  a  Republican 
in  his  political  views  and  was  a  member  of  the 
Reformed  church.  He  married  Catherine 
Claes,  who  was  born  in  Germany  and  was 
young  when  her  parents  came  to  the  United 
States  and  settled  at  Galion,  where  both  died. 
Mrs.  Kinsey  survives  and  resides  in  her  com- 
fortable home  which  is  situated  on  Atwood 
Street,  Galion.  Her  people  secured  and  im- 
proved land  near  Galion,  the  deed  for  the  same 
bearing  the  signature  of  President  Andrew 
Jackson. 

After  graduating  from  the  Galion  High 
School,  A.  H.  Kinsey  became  a  drug  clerk  in 
that  city  and  later  entered  the  Philadelphia 
College  of  Pharmacy  at  Philadelphia,  the  old- 
est institution  of  its  kind  in  this  country,  where 
he  was  graduated  in  1884.  For  five  years  be- 
fore coming  to  Crestline,  Mr.  Kinsey  was  in 
the  drug  business  at  Xenia,  O.  The  first  drug 
store  at  Crestline,  the  one  that  Mr.  Kinsey  now 
owns,  was  started  here  by  Dr.  Alexander  Jen- 
ner,  a  half  century  ago.  He  was  succeeded  by 
the  firm  of  Spencer  &  McCullough,  which  did 
business  for  a  few  years,  when  Dr.  Spencer 
became  sole  proprietor  and  continued  until 
1 891,  when  Mr.  Kinsey  succeeded.  Dr.  Spencer 
moving  to  Colorado.  Mr.  Kinsey  has  been  im- 
proving his  property  ever  since.  In  1907  he 
erected  the  Kinsey  block,  a  two-story  brick 
structure,  with  basement,  of  modern  construc- 
tion throughout,  one  of  the  most  substantial 


1098 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


business  blocks  in  the  city.  Mr.  Kinsey  enjoys 
the  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens  in  his  pro- 
fession and  is  numbered  with  the  representative 
men  along  all  stable  lines,  of  this  city. 

In  1892,  Mr.  Kinsey  was  married  at  Crest- 
line, to  Miss  Irilla  Rooks,  who  was  born  and 
educated  in  Illinois.  Her  parents,  Levi  L.  and 
Anna  (Frye)  Rooks,  are  residents  of  Crest- 
line, where  Mr.  Rooks  is  a  coal  dealer.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Kinsey  have  two  sons :  Herbert  S. 
and  Albert  R.,  both  students.  Mr.  Kinsey  be- 
longs to  the  National  Association  of  Retail  • 
Druggists,  the  Ohio  State  Pharmaceutical  As- 
sociation, the  United  Drug  Company,  of  Bos- 
ton, and  the  American  Druggists  Syndicate,  of 
New  York. 

MRS.  FRANCES  M.  SOURWINE,  who  is 
one  of  the  highly  respected  residents  of  Au- 
burn township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  the 
mother  of  Frank  A.  Sourwine  and  the  wife  of 
Henry  Sourwine,  deceased,  was  born  in  Seneca 
county,  O.  Her  maiden  name  was  Link  and 
her  parents  moved  from  Pennsylvania  to  Sen- 
eca county.  She  resides  on  the  farm  of  103 
acres  with  her  son,  this  farm  being  located  in 
section  5,  Auburn  township,  Crawford  county. 

In  1874  Frances  M.  Link  was  married  in 
Seneca  county,  to  Henry  Sourwine,  who  was 
born  one  mile  north  and  one-half  mile  east 
of  Attica,  0.,  a  son  of  William  Sourwine. 
Henry  Sourwine  died  in  December,  1909,  at  the 
age  of  64  years,  3  months  and  21  days,  and 
his  burial  was  in  Green  Lawn  Cemetery,  at  Ply- 
mouth, O.  In  1873,  Henry  Sourwine  and  his 
brother,  William,  Jr.,  bought  this  farm  in 
partnership,  and  when  they  subsequently  di- 
vided the  land,  Henry  took  103  acres  and  Wil- 
liam, Jr.,  took  92  acres  and  both  improved 
their  properties.  The  substantial  buildings  now 
standing  on  the  farm  of  Frank  A.  Sourwine 
were  put  there  by  his  father,  who  also  drained 
and  tiled  the  land  and  continued  to  be  inter- 
ested in  its  cultivation  until  his  death.  In  pol- 
itics he  was  a  Republican,  and  from  1898  until 
1901,  served  his  township  as  one  of  its  trustees, 
an  honest  and  tipright  man  in  all  his  official 
acts. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sourwine  but  one  child 
was  born,  Frank  A.  He  was  carefully  reared 
and  is  now  one  of  the  township's  solid,  reliable 
men,  a  Republican  like  his  late  father.  He  mar- 
ried Myrta  M.  Keller,  a  daughter  of  George 


M.  and  Ella  Keller,  of  Crawford  county,  now 
residents  of  Attica.  They  have  three  children : 
Carl  G.,  Wanda  L.  and  Gerald  K.  Henry 
Sourwine  and  wife  were  members  of  the 
Church  of  God. 

JEREMIAH  ERRETT,  who,  after  many 
years  of  active  agricultural  life  on  his  valu- 
able farm  in  Polk  township,  Crawford  county, 
O.,  came  to  Gallon,  since  1906  has  occupied  his 
handsome  residence  at  No.  638  West  Main 
Street.  He  was  born  on  the  old  Errett  home- 
stead in  Polk  township,  Jan.  14,  185 1,  the 
youngest  but  one  of  a  family  of  nine  children 
born  to  his  parents,  John  and  Nancy  (Bud- 
lin)  Errett. 

The  founder  of  the  Errett  family  in  Craw- 
ford county  was  Rev.  Henry  Errett,  who  was 
of  German  ancestry  but  was  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  grew  to  manhood  and  mar- 
ried Catherine  Fox.  In  1835  they  came  to 
Crawford  county,  O.,  accompanied  by  their 
three  children,  Polly,  Susan  and  John,  the  last 
named  being  13  years  old  at  that  time.  The 
grandfather  was  a  good  judge  of  land  and 
selected  a  heavily  timbered  tract  in  Polk  town- 
ship, well  situated  as  to  water,  and  there  built 
a  log  cabin,  gradually  cleared  the  land  as  his 
ministerial  duties  permitted  and  both  he  and 
wife  spent  their  remaining  years  here.  They 
were  among  the  most  venerable  people  of  this 
section  at  time  of  death,  although  they  had 
passed  through  many  of  the  dangers  and  hard- 
ships of  pioneer  life,  he  reaching  the  age  of  91 
years,  while  she  was  86  years  old.  He  was 
the  first  minister  of  the  United  Brethren 
church  in  this  part  of  Crawford  county  and 
was  the  means  of  organizing  churches  in  many 
neighborhoods  and  in  visiting  them  traveled 
hundreds  of  miles  back  and  forth  on  horse- 
back. He  was  widely  known  and  was  held  in 
great  esteem  by  all.  His  son  John  succeeded 
to  the  homestead  and  spent  his  long  life  of  75 
years  here.  He  married  Nancy  Budlin,  who 
was  born  at  Marion,  O.,  and  was  young  when 
her  parents  settled  in  Polk  township,  where  she 
lived  at  the  age  of  84  years.  Both  she  and 
husband  were  members  and  active  workers  in 
the  United  Brethren  church.  They  had  five 
sons  and  two  daughters  born  to  them,  all  of 
whom  became  respected  members  of  society 
and  became  well  settled  in  life. 


B.  6.  HAETLE 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1101 


Jeremiah  Errett  grew  to  manhood  on  the 
old  homestead  and  attended  the  country- 
schools,  atter  which  he  devoted  himself  until 
1906  to  farming  and  stock  raising.  He  still 
retains  his  finely  improved  fann  of  100  acres, 
in  Polk  township,  the  management  and  opera- 
tion of  which  now  rests  with  his  son  Charles. 
During  his  many  years  as  a  farmer  he  was 
considered  judicious  and  resourceful  and 
brought  his  land  to  a  high  state  of  fertility  and 
raised  excellent  stock  but  never  went  largely 
into  the  stock  business. 

Mr.  Errett  was  married  in  Polk  township, 
to  Miss  Lyda  N.  Traxler,  who  was  born  in 
1854,  in  Morrow  county,  O.,  but  was  reared 
and  attended  school  in  Polk  township,  Craw- 
ford county.  Her  parents  were  John  and 
Margaret  (Kriner)  Traxler,  who  moved  from 
Morrow  county  to  near  Ada,  O.,  and  from 
there  to  Polk  township,  Crawford  county. 
There  the  father  of  Mrs.  Errett  died  at  the 
age  of  84  years  and  the  mother  when  aged  76 
years.  They  were  members  of  the  English 
Lutheran  church.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Errett  have 
three  children:  Charles,  who  resides  on  the 
homestead  in  Polk  township,  and  who  married 
Elizabeth  Riskey;  Nellie,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Harry  Quigley,  an  engineer  on  the  Big  Four 
Railroad,  residing  at  Belle fontaine,  O. ;  and 
Burton,  who  is  a  fireman  with  the  Big  Four 
Railroad.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Errett  are  members 
of  the  United  Brethren  church  and  they  have 
a  very  pleasant  social  circle  and  are  respected 
and  esteemed  people  of  their  neighborhood. 

E.  G.  HARTLE,  secretary  and  general  man- 
ager and  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of 
the  Perfection  Road  Machinery  Company,  of 
Galion,  O.,  is  an  experienced  man  in  this  line, 
having  been  connected  with  road  machine  wofk 
throughout  his  entire  business  career.  He  was 
bom  in  Ohio  and  is  a  son  of  Americus  and 
Margaret  (Hastings')  Hartle. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Hartle  was  born  in 
Hardin  county,  O.,  in  which  he  yet  lives,  being 
one  of  the  progressive  farmers  and  well  known 
men  of  that  section  of  the  State,  a  graduate  of 
two  colleges  and  a  camoaien  speaker  of  note. 
He  married  Marearet  Hastings,  also  of  Hardin 
county,  who  still  survives,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  four  sons  and  one  daughter. 

E.   G.   Hartle  was   educated   in  the   public 


schools  and  was  about  21  years  old  when  he 
gave  full  rein  to  his  inclinations  in  the  direc- 
tion of  mechanics.  He  has  been  with  the  pres- 
ent company  since  its  organization  in  January, 
1908,  and  is  the  draughtsman  and  chief  de- 
signer of  practically  all  the  machines  of  this 
company.  The  Perfection  Road  Machinery 
Company  was  incorporated  with  a  capitaliza- 
tion of  $200,000,  with  the  following  officers : 
Ernest  Klopp,  president  ;J.  A.  Petrie,  vice 
president;  W.  T.  Resch,  treasurer;  and  E.  G. 
Hartle,  general  manager  and  secretary,  all  be- 
ing Galion  business  men.  Miss  Grace  McCool 
has  been  employed  as  private  stenographer 
and  bookkeeper  for  the  company  ever  since 
its  organization;  and  also  Mr.  George  Beach 
as  it  foreman.  The  output  includes  three 
styles  of  road  scrapers,  seven  styles  of  road 
drags,  and  several  styles  of  road  dump  boxes 
and  land  pulverizers.  A  specialty  is  made  of 
custom  work,  employment  is  given  30  people 
and  they  sell  all  over  the  world.  The  business 
has  been  successful  from  the  start  and  Mr. 
Hartle  has  been  its  manger  for  four  years, 
coming  here  in  this  capacity  from  Colum- 
bus, O. 

Mr.  Hartle  was  married,  at  Felicity,  O.,  to 
Miss  Isadora  Riley,  and  they  have  four  chil- 
dren :  Chester  C,  who  is  an  assistant  to  his 
father;  Hadessa,  Imo  and  Margaret  M.,  the 
ages  ranging  from  seventeen  to  nine  years. 
Mr.  Hartle  is  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows 
and  the  U.  C.  T.,  of  Ohio. 

CARL  J.  GUGLER,  attorney  at  law  and 
city  solicitor  of  Galion,  O.,  is  a  prominent  mem- 
ber of  the  Crawford  county  bar  and  a  sub- 
stantial factor  in  Republican  politics.  He  was 
born  at  Galion,  O.,  April  29,  1883,  and  is  a  son 
of  Jacob  and  Katherine  (Herzog)  Gugler. 

Jacob  Gugler  was  born  in  1844,  in  the 
Rhenish  province  of  Baden  Baden,  Germany, 
and  from  there  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1865  and  attended  school  in  the  city  of  New 
York  and  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  afterward  at 
German-Wallace  College  at  Berea,  O.,  where 
he  studied  for  the  ministry.  In  1875  he  came 
to  Galion,  where  he  was  a  merchant  for  some 
years  and  also  was  interested  in  retailing  oil 
and  gasoline.  His  death  occurred  April  17, 
1903.  In  politics  he  was  a  Republican  and 
fraternally  he  was  an  Odd  Fellow.     In  1875 


1102 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


he  married  Katherine  Herzog,  who  was  born 
at  Russville,  Lucerne  Canton,  Switzerland, 
April  5,  1852  and  came  to  America  with  her 
brother  a  short  time  before  her  marriage,  re- 
siding at  Elmore,  O.,  before  coming  to  Gallon. 
She  still  survives  and  is  a  well  known  and 
much  esteemed  resident  of  this  city.  She  is 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  church  as  was  her 
husband.  Of  their  nine  children  there  are 
seven  survivors:  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of 
George  Kunkler,  of  Gallon;  Louise,  who  is 
the  wife  of  James  Lindley,  of  Gallon;  Bertha, 
who  is  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  at  Ak- 
ron, O. ;  Carl  J. ;  Anna,  who  is  engaged  as  a 
stenographer;  Edna,  who  is  employed  in  the 
clerical  department  of  the  Gallon  Iron  \Vorks ; 
and  Carrie,  who  resides  with  her  mother. 

Carl  J.  Gugler  did  not  wait  until  his  school 
days  were  over  to  become  useful  and  self  sup- 
porting for  he  was  only  eight  years  old  w  hen 
he  became  a  newspaper  carrier  for  the  Gallon 
Leader  and  also  handled  the  Cleveland  and 
Cincinnati  journals.  After  graduating  from 
the  public  schools  in  1900  he  worked  for  one 
year  in  the  superintendent's  office  of  the  Erie 
Railroad  and  then  for  four  years  was  clerk 
in  the  master  mechanic's  office  at  Crestline. 
Having  cherished  a  laudable  ambition  for  a 
legal  career,  by  1904  he  was  able,  through  his 
own  efforts,  to  enter  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan, where  he  was  graduated  high  in  his  class 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  December, 
1906,  immediately  opening  his  office  m  his 
native  city.  In  1907  he  was  elected  a  justice 
of  the  peace  and  in  1909  was  his  party's  chosen 
candidate  for  prosecuting  attorney.  Although 
not  successful  in  that  contest  he  is  plenty 
young  enough  to  wait  for  still  higher  pro- 
fessional honors.  In  191 1  he  was  elected  city 
solicitor  and  his  thorough  knowledge  of  both 
English  and  German,  has  assisted  him  greatly 
in  public  office  as  well  as  in  his  private  prac- 
tice. He  is  legal  advisor  for  the  Ohio  State 
Legislative  Board  of  the  B.  of  L.  F.  &  E.,  an 
appointment  received  early  in  191 2.  He  is  iden- 
tified fraternally  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 
It  is  almost  impossible  in  these  days  for  in- 
telligent and  broad  minded  men  to  ignore 
lX)litics  even  if  they  so  desired,  and  Mr.  Gug- 
ler has  not  been  backward  in  announcing  his 
convictions  and  his  thorough  identification 
with  the  Republican  party. 


JOHN  HARVEY  BROWN,*  deceased, 
was  a  well  known,  respected  and  industrious 
citizen  of  Gallon,  O.,  in  which  city  he  was 
born  March  5,  1867,  while  his  death  occurred 
May  21,  1897,  at  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  his  burial 
being  at  Gallon.  He  was  a  son  of  Harvey 
and  Lucy  (Harper)  Brown,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Ohio. 

John  Harvey  Brown  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Gallon  and  as  he  had  natural  tal- 
ent in  that  direction,  learned  the  machinist 
trade  and  was  employed  in  different  railroad 
shops  as  a  competent  machinist,  until  the  time 
of  his  death.  He  was  a  member  of  the  trade 
organization  known  as  the  Machinists'  Union, 
and  politically  was  identified  with  the  Repub- 
lican party.  He  had  many  friends  as  he  was 
pleasant  and  genial  in  manner  and  was  ever 
ready  to  do  others  a  kindness. 

Mr.  Brown  was  married  at  Gallon,  O.,  to 
Miss  Mary  Boehm,  who  was  born  at  Gallon, 
Feb.  27,  1870,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Mar- 
garet (Price)  Boehm.  The  mother  of  Mrs. 
Brown  was  born  in  Ohio  but  her  father  was 
born  in  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Germany,  June  i, 
1 84 1,  and  came  to  Gallon  in  June,  1866,  where 
he  followed  shoemaking,  having  learned  his 
trade  in  his  native  land,  for  more  than  40 
years.  He  now  lives  retired  at  the  home  of 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  Brown,  at  No.  514  South 
Market  street.  She  also  owns  a  valuable  prop- 
erty on  Boston  street  and  her  father  has  nine 
acres  of  productive  land  near  the  city.  The 
mother  of  Mrs.  Brown  died  in  1907,  when 
aged  68  years.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church,  to  which  her  husband 
and  daughter  also  belong.  Mr.  Brown  is  sur- 
vived by  two  sons,  Peter  Henry  and  William 
I.  The  older  son  is  learning  his  father's 
trade  in  one  of  the  big  city  shops,  while  the 
younger  is  yet  a  student  in  the  Gallon  High 
School. 

FREDERICK  G.  BOWERS,  a  successful 
general  farmer  and  stock  raiser,  a  member 
and  supporter  of  the  Grange  and  a  man  of 
progressive  agricultural  ideas,  owns  50  acres 
of  excellent  land  in  Lykens  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  O.,  and  also  cultivates  a  tract  of 
80  acres  belonging  to  his  father.  He  was 
born   in  Lykens  township,   March   23,    1878, 


AMOH   F.  KELLER 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1103 


and  is  a  son  of  Frederick  W.  and  Caroline 
(Brown)  Bowers. 

Frederick  W.  Bowers  followed  farming 
during  his  active  life  and  now  lives  retired, 
making  his  home  in  Michigan.  He  was  mar- 
ried (first)  to  Caroline  Brown,  who  died  May 
25,  1891  and  was  buried  in  tthe  Brokensword 
Cemetery,  the  mother  of  the  following  chil- 
dren: Lafayette,  Frederick  G.,  Esther  and 
William,  Esther  being  deceased.  He  was 
married  (second)  to  Amelia  Huff,  who,  at 
death,  left  one  daughter,  Velma.  His  third 
marriage  was  to  a  Miss  Jane  Smith,  who  was 
born  in  Michigan. 

After  completing  the  common  school  course, 
Frederick  G.  Bowers  spent  two  terms  in  the 
Ohio  Normal  School,  at  Ada,  O.,  after  which 
he  taught  school  for  two  terms,  but  finally 
decided  to  turn  his  attention  entirely  to  ag- 
ricultural pursuits.  His  well  cared  for  land 
and  abundant  harvests  testify  that  his  decision 
was  a  wise  one  and  that  there  are  few  careers 
in  life  which  give  the  same  amount  of  per- 
sonal independence,  a  possession  so  dear  to 
Americans,  as  does  that  of  a  successful  farmer 

On  Nov.  5,  1 901,  Mr.  Bowers  was  married 
to  Miss  Lena  Aydt,  who  was  born  in  Marion 
county,  O.  She  has  two  sisters :  Christina, 
who  is  the  wife  of  George  Rentschler;  and 
Catherine,  who  is  the  wife  of  William  Lau- 
cher.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bowers  have  two  bright 
little  daughters,  Eleanor  and  Evelyne.  In 
politics  Mr.  Bowers  is  a  Democrat  and  is 
serving  in  his  first  term  as  township  trustee, 
taking  his  duties  seriously  and  as  an  official 
reflecting  credit  on  the  board.  He  and  wife 
are  members  of  the  United  Brethren  church 
at  Olive  Branch,  Lykens  township. 

FERDINAND  BLEILY,  deceased,  for  37 
years  was  in  business  at  Gallon,  O.,  where  he 
was  numbered  with  the  honest  and  reliable 
men  and  generous  and  public  spirited  citizens. 
He  was  born  at  Grutzing,  Baden,  Germany, 
May  26,  1827,  and  died  at  Galion,  Nov.  28, 
1888. 

Ferdinand  Bleily  was  28  years  of  age  when 
he  came  to  America,  crossing  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  on  a  sailing  vessel,  and  in  1854  was 
landed  at  New  York.  From  there  he  came  on 
to  Galion,  C,  where  he  remained  only  a  short 
time  and  then  went  to  Columbus,  but  several 


years  afterward  returned  to  Galion  and  made 
this  city  his  permanent  home.  He  was  a 
painter,  glazier  and  decorator  and  had  thor- 
oughly learned  his  trade  in  his  native  land, 
and  for  three  years  was  foreman  of  the  paint 
shops  for  the  Big  Four  Railway,  at  Galion. 
Subsequently  he  went  into  the  saloon  business 
and  continued  until  his  last  illness.  He  was 
a  man  of  good  fellowship  and  kind  heart  and 
was  exceedingly  charitable.  He  was  a  strong 
Democrat  in  politics  and  in  religion  was  a 
member,  with  all  his  family,  of  St.  Joseph's 
Roman  Catholic  Church. 

Mr.  Bleily  was  married  at  Galion,  May  12, 

1855,  to  Miss  Veronica  Frank,  who  was  born 
in  Baden,  Germany,  March  18,  1837,  a  daugh- 
ter of  George  and  Margaret  (Heegel)  Frank. 
They  came  to  the  United  States  from  Baden, 
Germany,  in  1841,  locating  first  at  Erie,  Pa., 
from  whence  they  came  to  Ohio  and  purchased 
a  farm  in  Morrow  county,  cleared  and  im- 
proved it  and  lived  there  during  the  remam- 
der  of  their  lives.  The  father  was  'j'j  years 
old  at  time  of  death  and  the  mother  was  aged 
70  year.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bleily  two  children 
were  born:  Pauline  C.  and  William  A.  The 
former  married  Joseph  F.  Lampert  and  they 
both  died  at  Cleveland,  O.  One  son,  William 
A.  Lampert,  survives  and  lives  at  Cleveland. 
William  A.  Bleily  who    was    born   Feb.    13, 

1856,  succeeded  his  father  in  business  but  how 
lives  at  Galion. 

AMOS  F.  KELLER,  vice  president  of  the 
Farmers  and  Citizens  Bank  and  Savings  Com- 
pany, of  Bucyrus,  O.,  is  one  of  the  foremost 
men  of  Crawford  county  in  many  lines,  the 
professions  of  teaching  and  law  having  claimed 
a  large  jjart  of  his  time  in  the  past,  while  pol- 
itics and  public  affairs  have  also  interested 
him.  He  was  born  in  Crawford  county,  O., 
and  has  had  the  satisfaction  of  occupying  the 
old  family  homestead  throughout  his  life  up 
to  the  present  time.  He  is  a  son  of  Phillip  and 
Hannah  (Stucker)  Keller,  old  residents  of  this 
section,  who  were  well  and  widely  known  and 
were  held  in  much  respect  by  their  neighbors. 

Amos  F.  Keller  in  boyhood  displayed  a  love 
of  learning' that  was  somewhat  unusual  among 
his  school-boy  comrades,  and  the  result  was 
that  he  soon  outstripped  them  all.  He  took  up 
the  scientific  course  under  Professor  Churchill, 


1104 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


then  of  Oberlin  University,  and  by  the  time  he 
was  nineteen  years  of  age,  he  had  solved  every 
problem  in  mathematics  that  belonged  to  the 
district  school  course.  When  he  began  to  teach 
school  it  was  probably  with  no  idea  of  the  real 
interest  the  work  would  have  for  him,  but 
later  he  continued  as  an  educator  because  of 
the  opportunities  it  gave  him  of  arousing  am- 
bition in  others,  as  many  of  these  have  since 
testified.  He  continued  in  the  educational 
field  for  more  than  eighteen  years.  In  the 
meanwhile  he  was  acquiring  knowledge  for 
himself  along  other  lines  and  not  only  equipped 
himself  for  the  practice  of  law,  but  made  a 
study  of  the  great  questions  of  the  day,  becom- 
ing deeply  concerned  on  the  subject  of  the  re- 
lations of  capital  and  labor.  Possessing  a  well 
trained  mind  and  the  gift  of  oratory,  Mr.  Kel- 
ler came  to  the  front  in  political  campaigns, 
and  identified  himself  with  the  Labor  party, 
becoming  a  party  worker  under  the  organiza- 
tion of  Hon.  T.  V.  Powderly.  In  1894  Mr. 
Keller  was  a  candidate  for  Congress  on  the 
People's  ticket,  and,  although  not  elected, 
showed  remarkable  strength.  He  subsequently 
became  an  admirer  and  supporter  of  Hon. 
William  Jennings  Bryan  for  the  Presidency, 
and  in  the  campaigns  of  1896  and  1900 
traveled  through  Ohio  speaking  in  his  behalf. 
W^hile  all  the  people  did  not  have  the  same 
confidence  in  the  political  wisdom  of  the 
Democratic  candidate,  a  large  proportion  were 
always  willing  to  go  long  distances  to  listen 
to  Mr.  Keller,  on  any  subject,  his  popularity 
being  very  general  all  over  his  native  state. 

Mr.  Keller  was  married  Oct.  30,  1895,  to 
;\Iiss  Hattie  Maudesta  Carrothers,  a  daughter 
of  James  B.  Carrothers,  a  substantial  farmer 
of  Vernon  township.  They  have  four  chil- 
dren. As  mentioned  above,  the  old  home  .farm 
has  continued  to  be  the  chosen  place  of  resi- 
dence by  Mr.  Keller  and  family,  he  having 
been  its  owner  since  he  was  twenty-three  years 
of  asre.  In  addition  to  being  second  officer  in 
the  Farmers  and  Citizens  Bank  and  Savings 
Company,  he  is  associated  with  its  president, 
George  W.  Miller,  in  the  Farmers'  Mutual  In- 
surance Company,  on  Jan.  2,  igii,  Mr.  Kel- 
ler was  appointed  deputy  sherifif  of  Crawford 
county.  He  is  now  the  Democratic  candidate 
for  Probate  Judge  and  is  certain  to  be  elected, 
nomination  on  the  Democratic  ticket  in  this 
county  being  equivalent  to  election. 


DANIEL  KREITER,  county  treasurer  of 
Crawford  county,  O.,  is  widely  known  as  a 
reliable  and  representative  citizen  and  also  as 
a  successful  business  man.  He  was  born  in 
Crawford  county,  Sept.  22,  1854,  one  of  three 
children  born  to  his  parents,  who  were  Wil- 
liam and  Elizabeth  (Hess)  Kreiter,  who  are 
now  deceased. 

Daniel  Kreiter  was  educated  in  the  schools 
of  Gallon,  O.  and  also  attended  school  at  the 
Capitol  University  at  Columbus  and  the  Le- 
banon, O.  Normal  School.  He  had  learned 
the  shoemaking  trade,  although  his  father  had 
been  a  tailor,  and  had  worked  at  that  before 
entering  upon  his  college  education.  Inter- 
vening his  school  course  at  Columbus  and  Le- 
banon, he  taught  school  one  year  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  at  Gallon.  After  his  graduation  in 
the  commercial  course  at  Lebanon,  he  was  em- 
ployed about  seven  years  in  the  freight  and 
ticket  office  of  the  Erie  "Railroad  Company  at 
Gallon.  Later  he  served  for  many  years  as 
bookkeeper  in  Kreiter  &  Schaefer's  grocery 
store  and  while  in  this  service  was  elected  for 
and  served  two  terms  as  city  treasurer  of  his 
home  city.  He  continued  as  bookkeeper  in 
the  grocery  business  until  he  was  elected  coun- 
ty treasurer  of  Crawford  county  on  the  Dem- 
ocratic ticket,  this  election  being  held  in  No- 
vember, 1908.  He  assumed  the  office  in  the 
following  year  and  has  served  two  terms  with 
the  greatest  efficiency. 

Mr.  Kreiter  married  Miss  Margaret  Bohl, 
a  daughter  of  Ludwig  Bohl,  and  they  have 
three  children,  namely:  Clio,  Fred  W.  and 
Elfrida.    They  attend  the  Lutheran  church. 

JESSE  G.  BROWN,  one  of  the  live  busi- 
ness men  of  Gallon,  O.,  progressive  in  his 
ideas  and  enterprising  in  his  undertakings,  is 
proprietor  of  the  Old  Reliable  Piano  Store, 
\\hich  is  situated  on  the  corner  of  Walnut 
and  South  Market  streets,  and  has  additional 
business  interests.  He  was  born  on  a  farm 
in  Champaign  county,  O.,  near  Kingston,  in 
1858,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Anna  (Myers) 
Brown. 

John  Brown  and  wife  were  born  in  Berks 
county.  Pa.,  of  old  Dutch  ancestry,  and  were 
reared  and  married  there.  In  the  forties  they 
came  to  Champaign  county,  O.,  locating  on  a 
farm  and  spent  their  subsequent  lives  there. 
well  known  and  highly  respected,  his  death 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1105 


occurring  at  the  age  of  58  years.  After  being 
left  a  wiuow,  JVlrs.  Brown  moved  to  urbana 
and  died  there  in  190S,  when  aged  89  years. 
Both  she  and  husband  were  members  of  the 
Methodist  lipiscopal  church.  1  hey  had  eleven 
children  and  of  these  one  son  and  three  daugh- 
ters died  in  early  childhood  and  seven  reached 
maturity.  Elizabeth  is  a  resident  of  Urbana, 
Champaign  county.  Sallie  J.  resides  at  Ur- 
bana and  is  the  widow  of  E.  M.  Most  and  she 
has  four  sons.  David  H.,  a  county  oificial, 
lives  at  Urbana  with  his  wife.  Eliza  is  the 
widow  of  E.  B.  Kiser  and  lives  at  Urbana 
with  her  four  daughters.  James  and  John, 
twins,  the  former  of  whom  is  a  business  man 
of  Springfield,  O.,  unmarried,  while  the  latter 
is  a  railroad  man  and  is  married  and  has  one 
son. 

Jesse  G.  Brown  was  reared  in  Champaign 
county  and  obtained  his  education  at  Urbana. 
When  19  years  of  age  he  accepted  a  commer- 
cial position  and  went  out  on  the  road  and 
for  about  20  years  traveled  over  the  country, 
his  business  taking  him  into  almost  every  State 
of  the  Union,  his  line  being  the  selling  of 
pianos.  He  was  thus  engaged  until  he  deter- 
mined to  go  into  business  for  himself  and 
chose  Gallon,  of  which  city  he  had  already 
been  a  resident  for  six  years,  as  a  good  busi- 
ness field,  establishing  his  present  store  in 
1889.  He  carries  a  fine  line  of  high  grade 
musical  goods,  including  the  Ivers-Pond  pi- 
anos of  Boston,  the  Adam  Schaafer,  of  Chi- 
cago, together  with  a  special  make  of  piano, 
with  new  and  admirable  features,  the  J.  G. 
Brown  piano,  which  is  specially  manufactured 
for  him  in  New  York  City.  He  also  has  the 
exclusive  agency  for  the  Edison  phonographs, 
for  which  the  demand  is  large.  Mr.  Brown 
has  been  public  spirited  in  promoting  many  of 
the  business  enterprises  of  Galion  and  owns 
stock  in  many  of  them.  As  a  pastime  Mr. 
Brown  interested  himself  some  20  years  ago 
in  horticulture  and  fruit  growing  but  the 
pastime  has  developed  into  a  large  business 
and  he  is  known  all  over  the  state  for  the 
products  of  his  fine  orchards  and  his  success 
in  the  growing  of  all  kinds  of  fruit  that  will 
mature  in  this  climate.  Mr.  Brown  still  finds 
enjoyment  in  his  experiments  and  has  solved 
many  horticultural  problems. 

At  Galion,  O.,  Mr.  Brown  was  married  to 


Miss  Minnie  Gledhill,  who  is  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Hershner)  Gledhill. 
This  substantial  family  of  Crawford  county 
is  well  known  and  is  one  of  the  old  settled 
ones  of  Jefferson  township,  members  of  the 
United  Brethren  church,  to  which  religious 
body  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  also  belong.  They 
have  three  children;  Claudia  O.,  a  graduate 
of  the  Galion  High  School,  who  married  E. 
Landis  Miller,  an  Erie  Railroad  official,  re- 
siding at  Galion;  Hazel  F.,  who  is  a  graduate 
of  the  Galion  High  School  in  the  class  of 
1908;  and  Jesse  Gledhill,  who  is  yet  a  school 
boy. 

In  politics  Mr.  Brown  is  a  Republican. 
While  he  has  not  accepted  any  political  office 
he  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Commercial 
Club,  of  which  he  has  been  president  and 
otherwise  officially  connected,  at  present  being 
chairman  of  the  entertainment  committee. 
He  has  been  the  chief  mover  in  many  of  the 
recent  successful  enterprises  organized  to 
make  this  city  more  widely  known  as  a  de- 
sirable place  in  which  to  establish  both  a  home 
and  business.  He  belongs  to  Lodge  No.  186 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  is  a  past  official  of 
the  State  Grand  Lodge,  and  belongs  also  to 
the  Odd  Fellows  at  Galion. 

WILLIAM  E.  MILLIRON,  who  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Milliron  I3ros.,  manufac- 
turers of  drain-tile  and  brick,  with  plant  lo- 
cated five  miles  northeast  of  New  Washing- 
ton, just  across  the  Huron  county  line,  in 
Richmond  township,  is  half  owner  of  this 
large  business  enterprise  and  is  a  very  active 
and  successful  business  man.  He  was  born 
in  Crawford  county,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  John 
and  Helen  (Page)  Milliron. 

John  Milliron  was  born  in  Pennsylvania 
and  came  to  Ohio  in  boyhood.  Later  he 
learned  the  carpenter  tracle  and  worked  at 
the  same  until  1882,  when  he  turned  his  at- 
tention to  the  manufacturing  of  drain  tile  and 
brick,  came  to  near  New  Washington  and  pur- 
chased 25  acres  of  land,  subsequently  adding 
ten  more  acres.  In  the  above  year  he  erected 
the  present  plant,  two  buildings  with  dimen- 
sions of  .-?oxi45  and  40x40  feet  and  also  built 
a  saw  mill  for  custom  sawing.  Here  he  re- 
sided and  manufactured  from  three  to  12-inch 
tile  building  blocks.     In   1890  he    took    his 


1106 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


three  sons  into  partnership  and  the  firm  name 
became  J.  Milliron  &  Sons,  and  a  large  busi- 
ness was  done,  trade  being  drawn  from  Huron, 
Richland  and  Seneca  counties,  as  well  as 
all  over  Crawford  county.  After  the  death 
of  the  founder,  in  1902,  the  three  sons  con- 
tinued under  the  style  of  Milliron  Bros.,  un- 
til 1 9 12,  when  Harry  L.  Milliron  retired  and 
sold  his  interest  to  his  two  brothers,  John  R. 
and  William  E.,  who  are  sole  owners.  The 
present  firm  has  enlarged  the  facilities  of  the 
plant,  erecting  two  new  buildings,  one  with 
dimensions  54x54  feet  and  the  other  of  32x40 
feet.  They  are  prepared  to  make  every  size 
of  tile  and  their  annual  output  approaches 
50,000  building  blocks  and  50,000  bricks,  and 
give  employment  to  four  steady  men  who  un- 
derstand the  business. 

John  Milliron  was  married  at  New  Wash- 
ington, O.,  to  Miss  Helen  Page,  who  was 
born  in  Guernsey  county,  and  they  had  twelve 
children  born  to  them,  the  survivors  being: 
Mrs.  Jeremiah  Lewis,  who  lives  in  Garfield 
county,  Okla. ;  Mrs.  John  Beamer,  who  lives 
four  miles  north  of  the  above  mentioned 
plant;  Mrs.  Newton  Carson,  who  lives  at  Ply- 
mouth, O. ;  Charles,  who  married  Lottie  Rapp 
and  lives  in  Auburn  township;  Harry  L.,  who 
lives  at  Plymouth,  O.  and  who  married  Nora 
Jones;  William  E.,  subject  of  this  sketch; 
John  R.,  who  resides  at  the  plant  and  who 
married  Minta  De  Witt;  Mrs.  Isaiah  Kem- 
mery,  residing  near  the  plant ;  and  Mrs.  Hen- 
rietta Yarnell,  who  resides  at  Norwalk,  O. 

William  E.  Milliron  makes  his  home  at  his 
place  of  business.  He  married  Miss  Matilda 
E.  Warner  and  they  have  two  children:  Alta, 
who  lives  at  Plymouth,  O. ;  and  Inez  B.,  who 
is  attending  school. 

HARRY  L.  BODLEY,  cashier  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Gallon,  O.,  and  one  of  the 
progressive  and  energetic  citizens,  wide  awake 
to  public  conditions  and  well  qualified  as  a 
citizen  and  business  man,  was  born  at  Bucyrus, 
O.,  Nov.  16,  1877,  and  is  a  son  of  \\'illiam  A. 
and  Frances  (Miller)  Bodley. 

William  A.  Bodley  was  born  near  Ply- 
mouth, O.,  and  his  wife  near  Olney,  111.  They 
were  married  at  Olney,  III,  and  shortly  after- 
ward moved  to  Bucyrus,  where  Mr.  Bodley 
engaged  in  business  as  a  merchant  until  1882. 


In  that  year  he  came  to  Gallon  and  resumed 
merchandising  here  and  for  30  years  has  con- 
ducted a  book,  stationery  and  wall  paper  store 
on  the  Public  Square.  He  is  a  well  known 
and  respected  citizen,  has  served  as  a  member 
of  the  board  of  education  and  is  a  leading 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
His  family  numbered  but  one  child,  Harry  L. 
The  latter  was  a  child  of  five  years  when  the 
family  came  to  Gallon  and  as  youth  and  man 
he  has  been  identified  with  this  city  ever 
since.  After  he  completed  the  public  school 
♦course,  in  1893  he  became  a  messenger  in  the 
First  National  Bank,  being  then  17  years  of 
age,  and  through  fidelity  and  efficiency  has 
won  promotion  all  along  the  line,  serving  as 
assistant  cashier  prior  to  being  made  cashier 
in  191 1,  being  elected  to  this  office  in  January 
of  that  year. 

The  First  National  Bank  of  Gallon,  O.,  was 
organized  in  1864  and  its  present  officers  are: 
E.  M.  Freese,  president;  B.  E.  Place,  vice 
president;  H.  L.  Bodley,  cashier,  and  J.  E. 
Casey,  assistant  cashier.  The  following  cap- 
italists make  up  the  board  of  directors :  E.  M. 
Freese,  B.  E.  Place,  H.  W.  Todd,  R.  W. 
Johnston,  M.  R.  Crim,  W.  A.  Bodley  and  H. 
R.  Schuler.  This  institution  is  the  oldest  bank 
in  Crawford  county  and  its  first  president 
was  C.  S.  Crim  and  its  first  cashier,  J.  S. 
Bloomer.  The  report  of  the  condition  of  this 
bank  at  the  close  of  business,  Feb.  20,  1912, 
showed  a  very  prosperous  condition.  The 
original  capital  of  $50,000,  in  1903  was  in- 
creased to  $100,000. 

Mr.  Bodley  was  married  at  Columbus,  O., 
to  Miss  Margaret  L.  Beelman,  who  was  born 
in  Richland  county,  C,  and  they  have  one 
son,  Herbert  D.,  who  was  born  in  January, 
191 1.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bodley  are  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  is  a 
Knight  Templar  Mason,  belonging  to  Mans- 
field Commandery,  Blue  Lodge  and  Chapter 
at  Gallon,  being  past  high  priest  of  the  Chap- 
ter and  junior  warden  of  the  Blue  Lodge,  and 
to  Gwynn  Council,  No.  83,  at  Bucyrus.  He 
belongs  also  to  Gallon  Lodge,  Knights  of 
Pythias. 

SAMUEL  EDWARD  AUCK,  an  enter- 
prising business  man  of  Bucyrus,  0.,  who  is 
associated  with  his  brother,  William  H.  Auck, 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1107 


in  the  real  estate  and  general  insurance  line, 
was  born  in  Whetstone  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  Aug.  ii,  1876,  and  is  a  son  of 
Michael  and  Caroline  (Ehmann)  Auck.  The 
family  is  an  old  and  very  prominent  one  in 
this  section  and  for  many  years  the  parents 
of  Mr.  Auck  resided  in  Whetstone  township 
on  their  large  estate  but  now  live  retired  at 
Bucyrus. 

Samuel  Edward  Auck  was  afforded  excel- 
lent educational  advantages,  from  the  public 
schools  entering  the  Ohio  Northern  University 
and  later  taking  a  business  course  in  a  Toledo 
commercial  school,  where  he  was  graduated 
in  1898.  He  then  taught  school  for  one  year 
and  then  came  to  Bucyrus  and  associated  him- 
self with  his  older  brother,  William  H.  Auck, 
in  their  present  line  of  business,  under  the 
firm  style  of  Auck  Bros.,  purchase  having 
been  made  of  the  business  of  F.  M.  Kerr. 
This  firm  handles  farm  and  city  properties 
in  Crawford  and  adjoining  counties  and  deals 
in  investment  and  security  bonds  and  repre- 
sents the  best  old  line  insurance  companies. 
During  his  father's  second  term  as  county 
treasurer  he  served  as  deputy  and  continued 
with  Treasurer  Wm.  L.  Alexander,  his  fa- 
ther's successor,  until  April  i,  1901,  when  he 
resigned  in  order  to  accept  a  position  as  cash- 
ier for  the  American  Clay  Machinery  Com- 
pany of  Bucyrus,  O.,  and  remained  with  this 
well  known  business  concern  until  Dec.  17, 
1908,  when,  as  noted  above,  he  joined  his  in- 
terests with  those  of  his  brother.  They  are 
men  well  qualified  in  every  way  for  successful 
business,  energetic,  honest  and  reputable  and 
their  standing  in  commercial  circles  is  equally 
high  with  that  won  by  them  personally. 

Mr.  Auck  was  married  Dec.  25,  1900,  at 
Bucyrus  to  Miss  Lulu  V.  Knoedler,  who  was 
born  Jan.  6,  1879  and  educated  here,  graduat- 
ing from  the  Bucyrus  High  School  with  the 
class  of  1898.  She  is  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  (Volk)  Knoedler.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Knoedler  reside  at  Bucyrus,  the  former  being 
a  retired  business  man,  and  both  he  and  wife 
are  members  of  St.  John's  Reformed  church, 
to  which  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Auck  also  belongs. 
The  latter  have  two  children :  Carol  Elizabeth, 
who  was  born  Feb.  22,  1902,  and  Donald 
Knoedler,  who  was  born  Aug.  23,  1907.  Mr. 
Auck  is  a  member  of  the  Blue  Lodge,  F.  & 
A.  M.    In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 


C.  P.  DEERWESTER,*  who  is  in  the 
iron  roofing  business  at  Brokensword,  O.,  re- 
siding on  the  edge  of  the  town,  is  well  known 
all  through  this  section  as  for  many  years  he 
has  been  at  work  at  the  carpenter  trade,  in 
Holmes  and  adjacent  townships.  He  was 
born  in  Defiance  county,  O.,  Sept.  10,  1854, 
and  is  a  son  of  Peter  and  Julia  Ann  (Hall) 
Deerwester. 

Peter  Deerwester  was  born  in  Clermont 
county,  O.,  and  was  a  farmer  all  his  life,  his 
death  occurring  at  the  age  of  56  years.  He 
married  Julia  Ann  Hall,  who  was  also  a  na- 
tive of  Clermont  county,  and  they  had  two 
sons  born  to  them :  C.  P.  and  W.  S. ;  both 
of  whom  are  residents  of  Holmes  township, 
Crawford  county. 

The  parents  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
died  when  he  was  but  a  babe  and  with  the 
family  of  Isaac  Heller  the  homeless  little  child 
was  brought  to  Crawford  county  and  here  he 
was  educated  and  afterward  followed  farm- 
ing for  about  ten  years  and  then  began  work 
as  a  carpenter.  For  some  20  years  he  fol- 
lowed that  trade  and  has  assisted  in  the  erec- 
tion of  a  large  number  of  the  most  substantial 
buildings  in  this  section.  Since  1900  he  has 
given  his  attention  mainly  to  the  iron  roofing 
business. 

Mr.  Deerwester  married  Miss  Rebecca 
Shupp,  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Samuel  Shupp,  a 
representative  of  one  of  the  old  county  fam- 
ilies, and  they  have  two  children :  W.  E.  and 
Grover  P.  The  older  son  married  Carrie  J. 
Hattick  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  son, 
Lloyd  A.  Our  subject's  younger  son  assists 
him  in  his  business. 

C.  P.  Deerwester  has  been  active  in  local 
political  circles  and  has  served  six  terms  as 
township  assessor  being  elected  to  ofifice  on 
the  Democratic  ticket.  He  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  Evangelical  Association.  For 
a  number  of  years  he  has  been  identified  with 
the  fraternal  order  of  Foresters. 

FRANK  M.  CAIRNS,  foreman  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railway  Company's  round 
house,  at  Crestline,  O.,  is  a  valued  employe  of 
a  corporation  with  which  he  has  been  con- 
tinuously identified  for  35  years.  He  was  born 
at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  in  October,  1861,  a  son  of 
James  and  Mary   (Young)   Cairns. 

James  Cairns  and  wife  were  born  in  Perth- 


62 


1108 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


shire,  Scotland;  the  old  family  estate  in  Scot- 
land, belonged  to  the  Cairnes  for  300  years. 
In  1 85 1  James  Cairns  and  wife  and  their  one 
son,  James,  came  to  the  United  States  and 
located  at  Dunkirk,  N.  Y.,  where  he  secured 
work  as  a  machinist,  having  learned  this  trade 
in  his  native  land.  In  1853  the  family  moved 
to  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  where  James  Cairns 
entered  the  machine  shops  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  and  remained  there  until  he  was  re- 
tired on  the  age  limit,  after  a  connection  of 
41  years.  Later  he  came  to  Crestline  and  his 
death  occurred  here  at  the  home  of  his  son, 
Frank  M.,  on  March  27,  1909.  He  was  a 
charter  member  of  the  Blue  Lodge,  F.  &  A. 
M.,  at  Fort  Wayne  and  past  master  of  the 
same  and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Caledonian  Society  of  that  city.  He  assisted 
in  the  organization  of  the  Congregational 
church  there  and  in  all  matters  pertaining  to 
good  citizenship  and  true  manhood  he  was  a 
leading  factor.  His  wife  passed  away  at  Fort 
Wayne,  in  November,  1903.  She  was  a  wo- 
man of  admirable  qualities  and  through  these 
won  recognition  and  esteem  wherever  she 
lived.  She  was  a  charter  member  of  the  East- 
ern Star,  a  charter  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church  and  was  president  of  the  Ladies' 
A^uxiliary  of  the  Caledonian  Society.  Three 
sons  were  born  to  James  and  Mary  Cairns : 
James,  John  S.  and  Frank  M.  James  Cairns, 
who  is  a  building  contractor  at  ^^'ichita,  Kans., 
was  city  marshal  for  nine  years  of  Wichita; 
he  married  there  and  has  two  daughters,  Edna 
and  Nellie.  John  Cairns  was  a  machinist  with 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  at  Fort  Wayne  and 
died  there  when  aged  27  years.  His  widow 
survived  with  two  children — ^James,  who  was 
killed  in  a  railroad  accident  at  Butte,  Mont.; 
and  Mary,  who  became  the  wife  of  W.  J.  Hess 
of  the  Fort  Wayne  Post  Office  and  has  two 
children. 

Frank  M.  Cairns  has  been  connected  with 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  since 
August,  1877,  first  as  an  apprentice  in  the 
machine  shops  at  Fort  Wayne.  He  worked 
his  way  steadily  upward  until  1897,  when  he 
left  that  city  for  Chicago,  111.,  where  he  was 
foreman  in  the  Pennsylvania  shops  until  1900, 
when  he  came  to  Crestline.  Prior  to  leaving 
Fort  Wayne  much  responsibility  had  been 
given  him,  as  he  had  charge  of  the  erecting 


department  and  more  or  less  had  charge  of 
the  machine  department  up  to  1900,  when  he 
was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  round- 
house at  Crestline.  This  is  a  jjosition  of  great 
responsibility  as  may  be  understood  even  by 
those  not  well  informed  concerning  railroad 
affairs,  while  all  railroad  people,  from  the  bot- 
tom to  the  top,  understand  that  a  man  must 
have  a  pretty  clear  record  and  be  deemed 
sober,  reliable,  experienced  and  skillful  in 
order  to  secure  a  position  of  this  kind.  Mr. 
.  Cairns  has  every  qualification  for  the  place  and 
has  faithfully  performed  his  duties  here  for 
the  past  twelve  years. 

Mr.  Cairns  was  first  married  at  Fort  Wayne 
to  Miss  Sadie  Kline,  of  that  city,  who  died  at 
Crestline,  Nov.  1,-1904,  The  children  born 
to  that  marriage  were:  Frank,  who  married 
Blanche  Foltz,  who  is  a  machinist  at  Crest- 
line and  has  four  children — Nellie,  William, 
Lloyd  and  Geneva;  and  Wibert  E.,  who  is 
employed  in  the  Pennsylvania  Railway  shops. 
Mr.  Cairns  was  married,  secondly,  to  Miss 
Mary  Adams,  who  was  born  at  Anderson, 
Ind.,  Sept.  8,  1876,  a  daughter  of  Ephraim 
and  Nancy  (Rector)  Adams,  of  Anderson, 
where  Mr.  Adams  still  lives.  The  mother  of 
Mrs.  Cairns  died  July  29,  19 12,  at  the  age 
of  61  years  and  eleven  months.  Mr.  Adams 
is  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  as  was  his 
wife.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cairns  have  no  living 
children.  They  attend  the  Presbyterian 
church.  A  Republican  in  politics  in  National 
issues,  Mr.  Cairns  votes  according  to  his  judg- 
ment in  local  matters.  He  belongs'to  the  Crest- 
line Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M. 

ADAM  NEFF,  carpenter,  builder  and  con- 
tractor at  Crestline,  O.,  has  been  in  this  line 
of  business,  including  the  operating  of  a  plan- 
ing mill,  for  more  than  50  years.  He  was  bom 
near  the  city  of  Darmstadt,  Germany,  March 
22,  1844,  and  is  a  son  of  Peter  and  Barbara 
(Pfeifer)   Nefif. 

Peter  Nefif  was  born  about  1822,  in  Ger- 
many, was  reared  there  and  married  and  after 
the  birth  of  several  children,  he  and  his  wife 
decided  to  emigrate  to  America  where  better 
advantages  could  be  secured  for  their  fam- 
ily. Taking  passage  on  a  sailing  vessel  they 
were   safely  landed   at   New   York  after  49 


AXD  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1109 


days  on  the  sea,  a  storm  nearly  wrecking  their 
ship  on  the  last  day,  carrying  away  the  masts. 
By  water  and  wagon  they  finally  reached 
Crestline,  O.,  and  then  secttred  no  acres  of 
virgin  land,  situated  in  Hancock  county,  on 
which  they  built  a  log  house  and  there  spent 
the  remainder  of  their  lives,  subsequently  de- 
veloping this  wild  land  into  one  of  the  finest 
farms  in  Hancock  county.  This  property  re- 
mains a  possession  of  the  family.  The  mother 
died  on  that  place  in  1875,  when  aged  48 
years,  the  father  surviving  until  1893,  passing 
away  when  aged  71  years.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Lutheran  church  and  were  leaders 
in  the  same  in  those  early  days.  By  trade 
the  father  was  a  weaver  but  he  was  more  than 
a  skilled  workman  at  that  trade,  having  some 
knowledge  of  medicine  and  enough  dental 
science  to  enable  him  to  pull  teeth  without  en- 
dangering life.  He  is  recalled  as  a  kind,  gen- 
erous, neighborly  man,  one  who  was  unusually 
well  qualified  to  be  a  member  of  a  pioneer  set- 
tlement. Of  his  sixteen  children,  ten  grew  to 
maturity  and  all  married  and  became  heads  of 
families  and  five  of  these  yet  live. 

Adam  Nefif  was  the  eldest  born  of  his  par- 
ents' children  and  was  but  three  years  old 
when  they  came  to  America.  He  assisted  on 
the  home  farm  in  boyhood  but  preferred  a 
trade  rather  than  an  agricultural  life  and 
learned  that  of  a  carpenter.  In  1864  he  came 
to  Crestline  and  was  engaged  here  for  12 
years  and  then  went  to  Hardin  county,  where 
he  became  owner  of,  and  foreman  in,  a  plan- 
ing mill  and  remained  12  years,  going  then 
to  Lima,  Allen  county,  where  he  was  engaged 
as  foreman  in  a  planing  mill.  After  an  ab- 
sence of  15  years,  Mr.  Nefif  returned  to  Crest- 
line where  he  has  become  one  of  the  leading 
men  in  his  line  of  business  and  has  been  iden- 
tified with  a  large  part  of  the  building  opera- 
tions which,  in  recent  years,  have  enlarged 
and  beautified  Crestline. 

On  Dec.  20,  1866,  at  Crestline,  Mr.  Nefif 
was  married  to  Miss  Catherine  Poth,  who  was 
born  in  Hesse-Darmstadt,  Germany,  in  1847, 
and  in  the  same  year  came  to  the  United 
States  with  her  parents,  George  and  Maria 
(Mathias)  Poth.  The  family  landed  at  New 
Orleans,  La.,  and  came  up  the  Mississippi  and 
Ohio  rivers  to  Cincinnati  and  then  to  Crest- 
line, locating  on  a  farm  near  this  city.     The 


father  of  Mrs.  Nefif  died  in  1893,  aged  71 
years,  and  the  mother  passed  away  at  the 
home  of  her  dauhter,  Mrs.  Nefif,  in  1901,  at 
the  age  of  82  years.  They  were  Lutheran 
church  people,  sturdy,  honest,  industrious  and 
virtuous. 

Four  sons  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Adam 
Nefif,  three  of  whom  survive:  Henry  W., 
who  is  connected  with  the  general  offices  of 
the  Buckeye  Pipe  Line  Company  at  Lima,  O., 
and  who  is  married  and  has  one  daughter, 
Lelia  W. ;  John  Adam,  who  is  married  and 
is  manager  of  the  shoe  department  of  the 
J.  L.  Hudson  Company  at  Cleveland,  O. ;  and 
Charles  F.,  a  dry  goods  merchant  at  Gallon, 
O.,  who  is  married  and  has  three  children — 
Lillian  M.,  Bertha  G.  and  Charles  A.  One 
son,  Philip  E.,  died  in  1909,  when  aged  32 
years. 

Mr.  Neff  and  family  have  always  been  more 
or  less  prominent  in  the  Lutheran  chtirch  and 
he  has  been  a  church  official  for  many  years. 
In  politics 'he  has  always  been  a  Democrat; 
for  six  years  he  was  a  township  trustee,  for 
seven  years  was  a  member  of  the  town  coun- 
cil for  five  years  has  been  on  the  board  of 
Public  Afifairs,  and  at  the  present  time  is 
serving  as  president  of  this  civic  body.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  identified  with  the  Odd  Fellows, 
and  belongs  also  to  several  insurance  or- 
ganizations. 

GEORGE  L.  JENNER,  whose  r6o-acre 
farm,  lying  eleven  miles  northeast  of  Bucyrus, 
O.,  is  a  very  valuable  property  and  one  of  the 
best  cultivated  and  productive  farm  in  San- 
dusky township,  Crawford  county,  belongs 
to  a  highly  respected  old  German-American 
family  of  this  section.  He  was  born  in  1852, 
in  Liberty  township,  Crawford  county,  and 
is  a  son  of  John  G.  and  Mary  A.  (Ackerman) 
Jenner. 

John  G.  Jenner  was  born  in  Wittenberg, 
Germany,  probably  about  1832,  and  was  16 
years  of  age  when  he  came  to  the  United 
States.  After  living  for  one  year  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, he  came  to  Ohio  and  lived  in  Liberty 
township,  Crawford  county,  until  after  the 
birth  of  his  children,  when  he  bought  the 
farm  in  Sandusky  township  which  is  owned 
by  his  son,  George  L.  His  other  children 
were:    Benjamin  F.,   Mary,   Elizabeth,   Erne- 


1110 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


line,    Emanuel    and    Amelia.     Mary    married 
Peter  W'eller  and  they  live  at  Bucyrus. 

George  L.  Jenner  married  Aliss  Louise 
Marie  Soldan,  who  was  born  in  Germany, 
A\here  she  was  reared  and  went  to  school. 
Her  parents  are  IMichael  and  Bertha  (Bohl) 
Soldan,  and  she  has  four  brothers,  only  one 
of  whom  left  Germany.  He  is  Julius  J.  Sol- 
dan and  is  a  resident  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Grimm  and  they  have  five 
children:  Louise,  born  May  14,  1900;  Peter, 
born  Dec.  26,  1901 ;  Lillian,  born  Aug.  20, 
1904;  Alice,  born  Nov.  10,  1906;-  and  Dor- 
othy, born  Sept.  14,  1908.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jen- 
ner are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Al- 
though never  active  in  politics,  ^Ir.  Jenner  is 
a  good  citizen  and  aims  at  all  times  to  do  his 
full  duty. 


most  prosperous  enterprises  of  this  section. 
The  ofificials  of  the  company  are  all  farmers 
belonging  to  the  capitalist  class,  including 
Messrs.  Musselman,  Brandt,  Charles  Coons 
and  R.  M.  Taylor,  all  of  Richland  county. 
This  , company  manufactures  all  mill  prod- 
ucts and  makes  a  specialy  of  the  Sweet  Home 
brand  of  flour,  and  they  have  a  market  all 
over  the  State  of  Ohio,  the  capacity  of  their 
mills  being  90  barrels  a  day. 

Mr.  Otto  was  married  at  Oberlin,  O.,  to 
Miss  Eleanor  B.  Bell  who  was  born  at 
Youngstown  and  educated  at  Cleveland,  O. 
They  have  had  three  children,  two  of  whom 
died  in  infancy,  Carl  Louis  surviving.  He  is 
identified  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  but 
otherwise  belongs  only  to  business  organiza- 
tions. 


CARL  L.  OTTO,  manager  of  the  Farmers' 
Milling  Company,  a  business  of  considerable 
importance  in  Crawford  county,  the  headquar- 
ters being  at  Crestline,  is  a  man  well  qualified 
for  a  position  of  this  kind,  being  a  practical 
miller  and  since  the  age  of  13  years,  interested 
in  this  industry.  He  was  born  at  Mansfield, 
O.,  Feb.  7,  1880,  and  is  a  son  of  Franz  and 
Caroline  (Kames)  Otto. 

Franz  Otto  was  born  in  Germany  and  when 
he  was  old  enough  to  enter  business,  became 
a  miller  as  was  his  father  and  grandfather, 
this  having  been  the  family  trade  for  genera- 
tions. He  married  in  Germany  and  after  the 
birth  of  two  children,  he  and  wife  came  to 
the  United  States  just  after  the  close  of  the 
Civil  War  and  settled  first  at  Mansfield.  O. 
and  afterward  lived  in  Richland  county  until 
his  death  in  the  fall  of  1909,  at  the  age  of 
65  years.  His  widow  still  resides  at  Mans- 
field, being  now  in  her  68th  year.  To  Franz 
Otto  and  wife  four  children  were  bom:  Ed- 
ward, who  died  at  the  age  of  36  years ;  Eliza- 
beth, who  resides  with  her  mother  at  Mans- 
field ;  Helen,  who  is  bookkeeper  for  the  Farm- 
ers' Milling  Company;  and  Carl  L. 

Carl  L.  Otto  was  reared  at  Mansfield  and 
in  Richland  county,  working  under  his  father 
in  the  milling  business  and  receiving  a  thor- 
ough German  training  in  the  same.  The 
Farmers'  Milling  Company  at  Crestline  was 
established  in  1903  and  under  Mr.  Otto's  able 
management  has   developed   into  one  of   the 


WILLIAM  M.  BECK,  who  is  one  of  the 
substantial  and  representative  citizens  of 
Crawford  county,  O.,  owning  97  acres  in 
Polk  township  and  90  acres  in  Jefferson 
township,  was  born  in  the  latter  township, 
March  16,  1858,  and  is  a  son  of  Isaac  W.  and 
Catherine   (Henry)   Beck. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Beck  were  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania. For  many  years  the  father  was  a 
farmer  in  Jeflferson  tow-nship,  Crawford  coun- 
ty. Both  he  and  wife  were  members  of  the 
English  Lutheran  church,  and  when  they 
passed  away  their  burial  was  in  Fairview 
Cemetery,  at  Gallon.  They  were  parents  of 
the  following  children:  Mary  E.,  who  mar- 
ried George  B.  Morrison,  Simon  H. ;  Mahala 
J.,  who  married  William  IModerwell;  Mar- 
garet, who  married  John  K.  Shearer;  Eliza 
E.,  who  married  J.  A.  Schreck ;  Sina  Bell,  who 
married  I.  K.  Umbarger;  William  M.  and 
John. 

^^^illiam  M.  Beck  attended  the  public  schools 
in  Polk  township,  and  later  the  Mansfield 
Normal  School  and  also  studied  one  term 
in  a  school  at  Fostoria,  O.  After  that  he  as- 
sisted his  father  on  the  home  place  until  he 
reached  his  majority  and  then  worked  for 
his  father  until  the  latter's  death.  He  has 
spent  his  entire  business  life,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  nine  years,  on  his  present  farm.  For 
some  20  years  he  conducted  a  dairy  in  con- 
nection with  his  other  farm  industries  but 
does  little  in  that  direction  at  present.     Mr. 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  QTIZENS 


1111 


Beck  has  one  of  the  best  improved  properties 
in  this  section,  a  handsome  residence  with  a 
modern  system  of  heating  and  acetylene  light- 
ing. His  buildings  are  situated  on  the  Gallon 
and  Bucyrus  highway,  a  very  desirable  loca- 
tion. 

On  Sept.  27,  1887,  Mr.  Beck  was  married 
to  Miss  Lydia  M.  Grimes,  who  was  born  in 
Perry  county,  O.,  a  daughter  of  Josiah  and 
Lydia  Sparr  (Wheatcraft)  Grimes.  Mrs. 
Beck  is  one  of  the  following  family:  Eliza, 
wife  of  Charles  Schofield;  Nancy,  wife  of 
Richard  Adcock;  Sarah,  wife  of  Robert  Ad- 
cock;  Mary,  wife  of  Evi  Brown;  Media,  wife 
of  F.  L.  Beck;  Lucy,  wife  of  Frederick  Wolfe. 
Cordelia,  wife  of  Thomas  Sherod;  Hannah, 
wife  of  John  Guthrie;  Joseph  and  Lydia  M. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beck  six  children  have  been 
bom,  namely:  Ethel  S.,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Roy  Kishler;  and  Irving  G.,  Whitney  S.,  Ruth 
C,  Clara  E.  and  Oliver  Thoburn.  Mr.  Beck 
and  family  attended  the  United  Brethren 
church.  He  casts  his  political  vote  with  the 
Prohibition  party.  Mr.  Beck  is  a  progressive 
farmer  and  is  a  member  of  Polk  Grange,  at 
Gallon.  His  ballot  will  be  cast  for  "Equal 
Suffrage"  Sept.   3,   1912. 

THOMAS  SNODGRASS,  deceased,  was 
one  of  the  pioneer  business  men  of  Crestline, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  the  meat  business 
for  43  years  and  was  a  representative,  reput- 
able and  substantial  man  of  this  city.  He 
was  born  in  Washington  county.  Pa.,  April 
29,  1832,  and  is  a  son  of  Williahi  and  Mar- 
garet  (Chambers)    Snodgrass. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Snodgrass  were  also 
born  in  Washington  county  and  were  of 
Scotch  and  Irish  ancestry,  the  Chambers  fam- 
ily in  Ireland  belonging  to  the  gentry  class. 
The  families  were  established  in  Pennsylvania 
prior  to  the  Revolutionary  War.  In  1840, 
William  Snodgrass  with  his  wife  and  three 
children,  Thomas,  Sarah  J.  and  Mary,  started 
with  teams  attached  to  big  wagons  to  make 
the  overland  journey  to  a  new  home  in  Jack- 
son township,  Crawford  conuty.  To  Thornas. 
who  was  then  eight  years  old,  and  his  sisters, 
who  were  younger,  the  journey  was  a  great 
adventure,  but  it  was  a  grave  matter  to  the 
father  and  mother.  In  part  they  realized  the 
hardships  they  would  probably  have  to  face 


and  the  dangers  they  would  encounter,  but 
it  was  a  long  and  tiresome  trip.  At  night  they 
camped  by  the  road  side  and  in  the  morning 
plodded  on,  their  courage  keeping  up  until 
they  reached  the  forest  within  which  their 
selected  home  lay,  when  Mr.  Snodgrass  had 
to  chop  a  road  before  the  spot  could  be 
reached.  Afterward  he  cut  down  trees  and 
thus  secured  a  site  for  the  first  log  cabin, 
which  served  until  a  better  one  could  be  built, 
which  later  was  supplanted  by  a  handsome, 
comfortable  frame  one  which,  with  barns  and 
other  farm  buildings,  are  yet  standing.  Al- 
though far  removed  from  all  the  pleasures  and 
comforts  of  civilization,  to  which  they  had 
been  accustomed,  the  family  led  a  happy,  busy, 
contented  life  and  through  industry  and  fru- 
gality increased  their  possessions  and  at  the 
time  of  death,  Williaw  Snodgrass  was  able 
to  leave  an  estate  of  200  acres  of  improved 
land.  They  were  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  The  first  wife  of  William  Snodgrass 
died  in  1849,  i"  the  prime  of  life,  her  young- 
est child  being  only  one  year  old  at  that  time. 
His  second  marriage  was  to  Rachel  Warden, 
who,  at  death,  left  five  children. 

Thomas  Snodgrass  grew  to  manhood  in 
Jackson  township  and  gave  his  father  assist- 
ance on  the  home  farm.  He  preferred  an 
active  business  life  rather  than  an  agricultural 
one  and  left  the  farm  and  came  to  Crestline, 
which,  at  that  time,  was  but  a  hamlet.  Here 
he  established  his  meat  market  and  continued 
in  the  same  line  until  the  close  of  his  life  on 
Feb.  10,  1 901,  having  been  continuously  in 
business  since  1858.  Mr.  Snodgrass  at  times 
had  invested  in  real  estate  and  had  become 
one  of  the  men  of  ample  fortune  here.  A  Re- 
publican in  his  political  sentiments,  he  voted 
according  to  his  conscience  and  judgment  and 
rarely  was  willing  to  consider  public  office  for 
himself,  although,  at  one  time,  he  served  as 
city  assessor. 

In  Jefferson  township,  Crawford  county, 
Mr.  Snodgrass  was  married  to  Miss  Eleanor 
Walker,  who  was  born  in  Crawford  county, 
Sept.  8,  1830,  and  died  at  Crestline,  Jan.  22, 
1887.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Esther  (Garven)  Walker,  natives  of  Ohio, 
and  very  early  settlers  of  the  county,  where 
they  died  in  18.S4  and  1855  respectively.  A 
sister  of    Mrs.  Snodgrass,  now  over  80  years 


111-2 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


of  age,  still  survives  and  lives  at  Blairsville, 
Pa.  Five  children  were  born  to  Thomas 
Snodgrass  and  wife,  namely:  Margaret  A., 
who  was  born,  reared  and  has  always  lived  at 
Crestline;  Josephine,  who  is  the  wife  of  Frank 
P.  Drake,  of  Massillon,  0.,  and  has  three 
children;  Mary  F.  and  William  F.,  twins,  the 
former  of  whom  is  the  wife  of  F.  D.  Steffey, 
of  Blairsville,  Indiana  county.  Pa.,  and  the 
latter  of  whom  died  at  Crestline,  unmarried, 
in  1908,  when  aged  49  years;  and  one  babe 
that  died  unnamed. 

Miss  Margaret  A.  Snodgrass  devoted  her- 
self to  the  care  of  her  parents  in  their  old 
age,  unselfishly  putting  aside  personal  ambi- 
tions that  might  have  interfered  with  the 
tender  care  she  desired  to  give  them,  and  finds 
compensation  in  the  realization  of  duty  faith- 
fully performed.  She  is  well  known  through 
Crestline  and  Jackson  township  and  is  much 
esteemed.  She  attends  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  at  Crestline. 

MARCUS  H.  McCLAIN,  one  of  the  ven- 
erable and  honored  citizens  of  Gallon,  O.,  vvas 
born  in  Highland  county,  O.,  Dec.  5,  1826. 
His  grandfather,  David  McClain,  was  born  in 
Scotland,  and  before  coming  to  the  United 
States  was  united  in  marriage  with  an  Irish 
lady.  They  crossed  the  Atlantic  Ocean  in  the 
days  when  such  a  voyage  was  a  test  of  courage, 
and  after  reaching  the  United  States,  located 
in  Beaver  county.  Pa.,  where  at  least  a  part  of 
their  family  of  children  were  born. 

Daniel  McClain,  son  of  David  McClain  and 
wife,  was  born  in  Beaver  county.  Pa.,  in  1798, 
and  in  the  early  twenties  came  to  Ohio.  He 
was  a  hatter  by  trade  and  worked  as  a  hat 
manufacturer  at  various  places.  He  married 
Mary  A.  Robinson,  who  was  born  in  North 
Carolina  and  from  there  was  taken  in  child- 
hood to  Culpepper  county,  Va.,  by  her  par- 
ents, Joshua  Robinson  and  wife.  In  the  early 
twenties  the  Robinsons  came  to  Ohio,  settling 
first  in  Highland  county  and  moving  later  to 
Logan  county.  Joshua  Robinson  was  married 
twice,  his  second  wife  having  been  an  Antrum. 
They  were  Quakers  in  religious  belief.  Both 
lived  into  old  age,  Joshua  Robinson  surviving 
to  the  age  of  94  years. 

Daniel  McClain  carried  on  business  at  dif- 
ferent places  and  proved  and  enterprising  and 


resourceful  man.  For  some  years  he  was  en- 
gaged in  locating  on  and  improving  farms 
which  he  would  sell  to  later  settlers,  but  sub- 
sequently established  his  permanent  home  in 
Logan  county.  He  was  able  to  see  and  take 
advantage  of  business  opportunities  and  for 
some  years  made  the  butter  contracting  busi- 
ness profitable.  Some  of  the  older  residents 
often  contend  that  former  days  were  more 
satisfactory  to  live  in,  in  the  light  of  the  pres- 
ent high  cost  of  both  necessities  and  luxuries, 
.and  in  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note 
the  cost  of  butter  in  the  days  when  Mr.  Mc- 
Clain considered  it  a  lucrative  business  to 
handle  it.  He  purchased  his  butter  for  six  cents 
a  pound  in  Delaware,  Union  and  Knox  coun- 
ties, and  sold  it  at  Bellefontaine  for  twelve 
cents  a  pound,  the  advance  rate  being  suffi- 
cient to  pay  handsomely  for  its  handling.  He 
was  also  in  the  wool  buying  business,  and 
prior  to  i8=;o  was  engaged  as  a  merchant  at 
East  Liberty,  Logan  county.  His  activities 
were  curtailed  some  two  years  before  his 
death,  in  1856,  through  loss  of  eyesight.  He 
was  a  pronounced  anti-slavery  man  and  his 
home  was  an  underground  station  for  escaping 
slaves  during  that  period  of  great  unrest  in 
the  country  concerning  human  slavery.  Daniel 
McClain  was  one  of  the  first  men  in  Ohio  to 
be  made  a  Freemason  and  he  took  pride  and 
pleasure  in  the  fraternity. 

To  Daniel  McClain  and  wife  five  children 
were  born,  all  of  whom  grew  to  maturity  and 
all,  save  one  who  died  when  aged  20  years, 
married  and  had  families.  The  only  survivor 
is  Dr.  Marcus  H.  McClain,  the  first  born,  for 
many  years  a  resident  of  Gallon.  The  mother 
survived  the  father  for  some  years  and  died  in 
Gallon.  Both  were  members  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  church. 

Marcus  H.  McClain  was  variously  employed, 
mainly  in  assisting  his  father,  until  he  was  30 
years  of  age,  when  he  entered  a  drug  store  at 
Wilmington,  O.  At  that  time,  as  he  humor- 
ously asserts,  he  did  not  know  the  difference 
between  salt  and  salts,  but  he  had  a  natural 
taste  in  the  line  of  this  profession  and  an  am- 
bition that  caused  him  to  apply  himself 
strenuously  to  the  studies  which  finally  made 
complete  his  knowledge  of  pharmacy.  In  the 
fall  of  iSqg  he  came  to  Gallon  and  here,  for 
40  years,  he  continued  in  the  drug  business, 


MARCUS  H.  McCLAIN 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1115 


not  only  acquiring  an  ample  fortune  in  the 
same  but  also  building  up  a  reputation  for  re- 
liability in  this  line  that  led  to  his  earning  his 
title  of  Doctor.  Some  ten  years  ago  Dr.  Mc- 
Clain  retired  from  active  business  participa- 
tion as  far  as  his  drug  store  is  concerned,  but 
he  still  continues  president  of  the  Galion 
Building,  Loan  and  Savings  Corporation, 
which  was  established  in  1881.  He  was  one 
of  the  organizers  and  still  is  president  of  the 
Galion  Cemetery  board,  and  for  several  years 
was  a  member  of  the  city  council. 

Dr.  McClain  was  married  (first)  in  Union 
county,  O.,  to  Miss  Lucy  A.  Reed,  who  died 
in  1868,  when  aged  45  years.  Two  daughters 
and  three  sons  were  born  to  them :  Mrs.  L.  H. 
Green,  who  is  a  resident  of  Galion;  Mrs.  Joseph 
an  infant  son  that  died  unnamed;  William  W., 
who  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years;  and 
Howard  B.,  who  died  when  aged  six  years. 
Dr.  McClain  was  married  (second)  to  Mrs. 
Malinda  (Sanford)  Bassett,  who  was  the 
widow  of  Dr.  Bassett,  of  Ravenna,  O.  She 
died  at  Galion,  July  7,  1889,  and  was  survived 
by  a  daughter  born  to  her  first  marriage,  Helen 
Bassett,  who  is  now  married  and  resides  at 
Belle fontaine,  O.  Dr.  McClain  later  married 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  (Walsh)  Boure,  who  was  born 
at  Bellville,  O.,  a  daughter  of  James  and  Sarah 
(Bell)  Walsh,  former  residents  of  Crawford 
county.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  McClain  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  For  64 
years  he  has  been  a  member  of  both  the  Ma- 
sons and  Odd  Fellows  and  has  served  officially 
in  both  local  lodges. 

WILLIAM  COOK,*  deceased,  who  was 
widely  known  in  railroad  circles  in  Ohio,  hav- 
ing been  connected  with  the  leading  systems 
for  many  years,  was  held  in  the  highest  es- 
teem by  the  traveling  public,  with  whom  he 
came  into  association  as  a  passenger  conduc- 
tor, and  also  by  the  different  officials  who  rec- 
ognized his  efficiency  and  fidelity.  He  was 
born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  1852,  and 
died  at  Cleveland,  O.,  in  1890.  Mr.  Cook 
came  to  Galion  in  early  manhood  and  for  some 
time  afterward  was  with  the  Erie  Railroad, 
for  some  subsequent  years  was  a  passenger 
conductor  on  the  Wabash  Railway,  still  later 
was  with  the  Big  Four  Railway  Company,  and 
at  the  time  of  his  accidental  death,  was  with 


the  Lake  Shore  Railway,  His  burial  was  ir^ 
Lake  View  Cemetery,  Cleveland. 

Mr.  Cook  was  married  to  Miss  Delia  At- 
wood,  who  was  born  at  Galion  and  educated 
in  this  city  and  has  made  it  her  home  since 
the  death  of  her  husband,  her  residence  being 
located  at  No.  442  South  Main  street.  She 
is  a  daughter  of  Alpheus  and  Cynthia  (Tracy) 
Atwood.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Cook  was  born 
at  Dunkirk,  N.  Y.,  a  son  of  Alpheus  Atwood, 
who  died  there.  After  his  father's  death, 
Alpheus  Atwood,  Jr.,  accompanied  his  mother 
to  Ohio,  and  following  her  death,  at  Mans- 
field, came  to  Galion,  in  the  early  fifties,  where 
he  became  a  prominent  banker  and  merchant. 
He  owned  a  large  amount  of  property  here 
and  Atwood  street  was  named  in  his  honor. 
He  was  very  public-spirited  and  favored  new 
business  enterprises  as  a  means  of  develop- 
ing the  city,  and  at  one  time  donated  13  acres 
of  land  on  which  the  Big  Four  Railroad 
erected  its  railroad  station.  He  was  an  ardent 
Republican  but  was  too  busy  a  man  to  enter 
very  actively  into  politics.  His  death  occurred 
at  Galion  in  1881,  at  the  age  of  68  years.  He 
married  Cynthia  Tracy,  who  was  born  near 
Galion  and  for  the  past  16  years  has  been  a 
resident  of  Cleveland.  Her  parents  were  early 
settlers  in  Crawford  county,  John  and  Julia 
(Green)  Tracy,  who  were  natives  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Mr.  Tracy  at  one  time  was  pro- 
prietor of  the  old  Galion  Hotel  and  later  built 
the  commodious  Capital  House,  on  the  corner 
of  East  Main  and  Washington  streets,  near 
the  Big  Four  Railway  station.  This  hotel 
was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1893.  His  widow 
survived  him  and  at  the  time  of  death  was  in 
her  93rd  year. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cook  two  children  were 
born :  Grace,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Galion 
High  School ;  and  George  Edward,  who  is  in 
the  automobile  business  at  Detroit,  Mich. 
Mrs.  Cook  and  daughter  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  she  is  active 
in  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  and  is  one  of  the 
interested  and  valued  members  of  the  W.  C. 
T.  U.,  at  Galion. 

GEORGE  F.  ALTAFFER,  who  conducts 
a  large  meat  market  at  Crestline,  O.,  with 
quarters  at  No.  367  Seltzer  street,  is  one  of 
the  prosperous  and   fully    occupied    business 


1116 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


men  of  this  city.  He  was  born  at  Mt.  Ver- 
non, O.,  July  24,  1878,  and  is  a  son  of  John 
and  Sigourney"  (Cassel)   Ahaffer. 

John  Ahaffer  was  born  in  Columbian  coun- 
ty, 0.,  and  died  at  Toledo,  O.,  Oct.  8,  1910, 
after  an  honorable  service  of  40  years  in  the 
employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  as 
freight  and  passenger  conductor.  He  was 
widely  known  and  stood  high  with  railroad 
men,  belonging  to  the  leading  organizations 
and  possessing  the  courage  and  fidelity  to  duty 
that  arouses  esteem  and  admiration.  In  poli- 
tics he  was  a  Republican  and  belonged  to  the 
order  of  Knights  of  P)d:hias  at  Mt.  Vernon 
and  to  the  Odd  Fellows  at  Crestline.  He  mar- 
ried Sigourney  Cassel,  who  survives  and  who 
was  born  on  the  old  Cassel  homestead  within 
two  miles  of  Crestline,  Oct.  19,  1848.  She 
is  a  member  of  the  English  Lutheran  church. 
Eleven  children  were  born,  as  follows :  John 
and  James,  both  of  whom  died  in  childhood; 
Anna  M.,  who  is  the  wife  of  H.  M.  Brown, 
of  Crestline,  and  has  two  children — Helen  and 
Ruth;  Margaret  V.,  who  resides  at  home; 
William  C,  who  lives  at  Crestline,  and  who 
married  Gertrude  Jenkins;  Rufus  B.,  who  is 
a  conductor  with  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad; 
George  F.,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Catherine 
T.,  who  is  the  wife  of  William  A.  Smith,  a 
merchant,  and  has  one  son,  Wilbur;  Bessie 
v.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Earl  Spelman,  a  rail- 
way mail  clerk  at  Crestline;  David  Henry,  a 
polisher,  who  resides  at  Crestline;  and  Frank 
Cassel,  who  is  a  flagman  with  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad. 

George  F.  Altaffer  was  four  years  old 
when  his  people  came  to  Crestline,  where  he 
attended  school  and  then  learned  the  machin- 
ist trade  and  followed  the  same  for  ten  years, 
since  when  he  has  been  in  the  meat  business. 
He  started  his  present  market  in  July,  1907 
and  has  met  with  much  success  in  his  under- 
taking. He  caters  to  the  very  best  trade  and 
does  his  own  slaughtering,  having  an  abattoir 
near  the  city.  His  careful  selection  and  hand- 
ling of  meats  and  his  sanitary  quarters,  com- 
bined with  business  methods  of  entire  honesty, 
have  and  still  continue  to  contribute  to  his 
prosperity.  He  attends  to  the  details  of  his 
business  himself  and  requires  the  assistance  of 
three  helpers. 

Mr.  Altaffer,  like  several  other  members  of 


his  family,  has  never  married.  He  and 
brothers  are  Republicans  in  their  political  af- 
Ifiliation  and  he  is  identified  with  the  leading 
fraternal  organizations,  being  a  thirty-second 
degree  Mason,  a  captain  in  the  Uniform 
Rank  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  a  member  of 
the  order  of  Eagles  and  of  the  Elks,  the  latter 
at  Bucyrus.  Additionally  he  is  vice  president 
of  the  Masonic  Club  and  is  serving  in  the  city 
council. 

EUGENE  E.  FRY,  one  of  the  enterprising 
and  successful  farmers  of  Cranberry  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  O.,  who  lives  on  his 
valuable  farm  of  152  acres,  situated  in  sec- 
tions 27  and  22,  was  born  in  this  township, 
June  30,  1864,  and  is  a  son  of  John  C.  and 
Mary   (Becker)   Fry. 

John  C.  Fry  was  born  Sept.  27,  1836,  near 
Sulphur  Springs  in  Crawford  county,  and 
died  on-  his  old  farm  in  Cranberry  township, 
Feb.  3,  191 1,  when  aged  74  years,  four  months 
and  six  days.  He  was  one  of  ten  children 
born  to  his  parents,  John  H.  and  Catherine 
Fry.  He  grew  up  on  the  farm  and  during 
1858-9  he  was  a  student  at  Oberlin  College, 
preparing  for  teaching  and  also  cultivating  his 
marked  musical  talents.  Afterward  he  taught 
school  for  one  year  in  Wyandot  county  and 
then  went  to  Missouri,  where  he  taught  until 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  ^yhen  he  re- 
turned to  Ohio.  On  Nov.  12,  1862,  he  mar- 
ried Mary  A.  Becker,  who  died  Jan.  4,  1898, 
the  mother  of  three  sons  and  one  daughter: 
Eugene,  Elmer,  William  and  Minnie.  After 
marriage  they  located  on  unimproved  land  in 
Cranberry  township,  which,  through  the  in- 
dustry and  perseverance  of  Mr.  Fry  was  devel- 
oped into  a  fertile  farm.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  and  one  of  the  main  financial  sup- 
porters of  the  Tabor  church  near  his  home. 
In  1889  when  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fry  retired  to 
Tiffin  they  identified  themselves  with  the 
Methodist  Protestant  body  there.  Following 
the  death  of  his  wife,  Mr.  Fry  spent  his  time 
with  his  children,  ever  being  a  welcome  pres- 
ence. He  was  a  man  widely  known  and  uni- 
versally respected.  Both  he  and  wife  rest  in 
the  Union  Cemetery  near  Sulphur  Springs. 

Eugene  E.  Fry  has  been  engaged,  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  ever  since  his  school  days,  and 
is  one  of  the  progressive  farmers  of  this  sec- 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1117 


tion,  a  charter  member  of  Cranberry  Town- 
ship Grange.  He  married  Miss  Ida  Elizabeth 
McKeehen,  who  was  born  in  Liberty  township, 
Crawford  county,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  A. 
McKeehen,  and  they  have  four  children :  Nina 
May,  who  is  the  wife  of  Milton  A.  Ulmer,  of 
Tiro,  O. ;  and  John  E.,  Carl  Elsworth  and 
Edith  Marie,  all  living  at  home.  Mr.  Fry  and 
family  are  members  of  the  Christian  church. 
He  is  a  Democrat  when  he  casts  his  political 
vote,  but  otherwise  takes  but  little  interest  in 
political  matters. 

W.  F.  L.  BLOCK,  a  retired  merchant  of 
Gallon,  O.,  where  he  was  active  in  the  business 
field  for  many  years,  was  born  at  Gallon,  Nov. 
6,  1854  and  was  reared  and  educated  here. 
Mr.  Block  is  a  son  of  Julius  F.  Block,  a  na- 
tive of  Greiswald,  Prussia,  who  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1853  when  a  young  man 
and  located  at  Galion '  where  he  was  a  car- 
penter and  contractor.  He  married  Susanna 
Peusch,  a  native  of  Germany,  who  also  came 
to  the  United  States  in  1853.  To  them  were 
born  one  child,  W.  F.  L.  Block,  the  subject  of 
this  article.  Julius  F  Block  died  at  Galion, 
Feb.  16,  1903,  aged  75  years,  his  wife  surviv- 
ing until  Dec.  8,  191 1,  when  aged  85  years. 

After  his  school  days  were  over,  Mr.  Block 
worked  at  the  carpenter  trade  for  seven  years 
and  then  became  a  clerk  in  a  local  dry 
goods  establishment  and  continued  until  he 
embarked  in  the  grocery  and  dry  goods 
business  for  himself,  in  1885.  After  some 
years  of  successful  trading  he  enlarged  the 
scope  of  his  business,  adding  carpets  and  wall 
paper  to  his  stock,  and  continued  without  in- 
termission until  1907,  when  he  retired. 
Through  good  judgment  and  natural  aptitude 
for  business,  Mr.  Block  prospered  and  became 
one  of  the  representative  men  of  Galion.  With 
pride  he  has  watched  the  development  of  his 
native  city  into  one  of  the  important  business 
centers  of  the  State  and  has  born  no  insignifi- 
cant part  in  much  of  the  material  progress 
made. 

Mr.  Block  was  married  at  Galion  to  Miss 
Louisa  S.  Ricker,  lifelong  resident  in  the  near 
vicinity  of  Galion,  and  they  have  the  following 
children-:  Amelia,  who  married  Peter  Wiener, 
of  Galion  and  has  three  sons — Edward,  Rob- 
ert and  Julius ;  Bertha,  who  resides  with  her 


husband,  A.  W.  Bradfield,  dealer  in  art  sup- 
plies, at  Columbus,  O.,  and  has  two  daughters, 
Mary  Louise  and  Margaret;  Arthur  W.,  who 
is  proprietor  of  several  drug  stores  at  Colum- 
bus, O.,  and  who  married  Florence  Fisher,  of 
Columbus,  O.,  and  has  one  son.  Nelson;  Carl 
F.,  who  is  located  at  Columbus  and  who  is 
connected  with  the  Marion  Publishing  Com- 
pany, of  Springfield,  Mass. ;  and  Oscar  M.,  who 
is  an  artist  connected  with  the  Art  Institute  of 
Chicago,  111.  Mr.  Block  and  family  belong 
to  the  Reformed  church.  He  and  sons  were 
Republicans  in  their  political  affiliation,  and 
he  is  identified  fraternally  with  the  Masons. 
The  family  is  one  widely  known  at  Galion  and 
in  every  way  is  held  in  esteem. 

GEORGE  LAFAYETTE  WAGONER, 
who  is  a  valued  employe  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company,  and  the  oldest  freight 
conductor  on  the  main  line  between  Pittsburg 
and  Chicago,  has  been  connected  with  this 
road  for  41  years  and  has  witnessed  many 
changes  and  a  remarkable  growth  in  this  great 
system.  He  was  born  in  Stark  county,  O., 
March  3,  1850,  a  son  of  Henry  and  Sarah 
(Nolan)  Wagoner. 

Henry  Wagoner  and  wife  were  both  born 
in  Pennsylvania,  he  being  of  German  an- 
cestry and  she  of  Irish.  They  were  married  in 
Stark  county,  O.,  having  accompanied  their 
parents  there  when  young,  and  afterward  they 
secured  Government  land  which  they  devel- 
oped into  a  valuable  property  and  on  their  farm 
spent  47  years  of  married  life.  Mr.  Wagoner 
was  born  in  1801,  a  son  of  Johanus  Wagner,  as 
it  was  then  spelled,  and  died  in  1882,  the 
death  of  his  wife  following  in  1884,  her  birth 
having  been  in  181 5.  They  found  their 
church  home  in' the  Reformed  body.  Fifteen 
children  were  born  to  Henry  Wagoner  and 
wife,  seven  of  whom  reached  maturity,  all 
married  and  five  became  heads  of  families. 
Of  these  three  sons  and  one  daughter  are  yet 
living. 

George  L.  Wagoner  was  the  third  youngest 
of  his  parents'  children  and  he  grew  up  in 
Stark  county  and  attended  the  country  schools. 
In  1871  he  came  to  Crestline  and  on  Sept.  23, 
1 87 1,  entered  the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad,  first  as  a  brakeman.  On  Jan.  19, 
1874  he  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  con- 


1118 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ductor  and  has  served  continuously  in  this 
capacity  ever  since  and  with  one  exception 
has  never  had  any  serious  accident,  in  which 
he  fortunately  escaped  with  his  life  but  lost 
his  fireman.  From  1871  to  1892  his  run  was 
between  Crestline  and  Alliance,  O.  and  after- 
ward from  Crestline  to  Pittsburg.  For  32 
years  he  has  occupied  the  same  "caboose"  and 
undoubtedly  would  feel  homesick  should  an- 
other car  of  this  kind  be  substituted.  While  a 
fireman  probably  has  to  possess  more  muscle 
and  endurance  than  a  conductor,  it  is  largely 
the  latter's  good  judgment  that  ensures  the' 
safety  of  the  train. 

At  Crestline,  O.,  Mr.  Wagoner  was  mar- 
ried Sept.  19,  1876,  to  Miss  Cornelia  Fecher, 
who  was  born  at  Columbia,  Lancaster  county, 
Pa.,  Feb.  i,  1853.  When  she  was  14  years  of 
age  she  came  to  Crestline  with  her  parents, 
Oliver  P.  and  Catherine  (Ort)  Fecher.  Her 
father  was  born  in  Germany  and  her  mother  in 
Pennsylvania  and  they  were  married  in  Lan- 
caster county.  Mr.  Fecher  began  railroad  life 
in  Pennsylvania  and  for  some  years  was  yard- 
master  at  Allegheny,  Pa.,  before  the  Civil 
War  closed,  and  prior  to  coming  to  Crestline, 
where  his  death  occurred  at  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Wagoner,  on  Sept.  8,  1905,  the  death  of  his 
wife  having  occurred  at  Crestline  Jan.  8, 
1890.  They  were  members  of  the  German 
Lutheran  church.  In  politics  he  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat while  fraternally  he  was  a  Freemason. 
Of  the  seven  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fecher, 
Mrs.  Wagoner  was  the  third  eldest  and  two 
sons  and  two  daughters  are  yet  living.  Mrs. 
Wagoner's  grand-uncle  was  a  military  man 
and  served  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wagoner  carefully  preserve  the  sword  he 
carried  and  no  doubt  bravely  wielded  it  on 
many  a  battle  field.  They  take  an  interest  in 
heirlooms  and  have  a  number  of  souvenirs 
with  interesting  histories.  They  have  no  chil- 
dren. 

In  politics  Mr.  Wagoner  has  been  allied 
with  the  Republican  party  since  early  man- 
hood. He  is  one  of  the  oldest  members  of 
the  Order  of  Railway  Conductors  and  now  be- 
longs to  Alliance  Division  No.  177,  and  for 
22  years  he  has  been  identified  with  the  fra- 
ternal order  of  Knights  of  Pythias.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wagoner  are  faithful  members  of  the 
English  Lutheran  church,  and  they  have  many 


friends  at  Crestline,   both  in  and  outside  of 
railroad  circles. 

WILLIAM  JONES,  a  well  known  and  re- 
spected citizen  of  Crestline,  O.,  a  retired  rail- 
road man,  was  born  at  Watertown,  Litchfield 
county,  Conn.,  July  4,  1840.  Beyond  the  fact 
that  his  grandfather  came  to  New  England 
from  Wales  and  that  his  parents  lived  and 
died  in  Connecticut,  Mr.  Jones  knows  little  of 
the  early  history  of  his  people.  He  was  an 
orphan,  when,  in  childhood,  he  was  taken  by  a 
brother  and  sister  of  New  York  State  and  as 
far  as  he  knows,  has  survived  them. 

On  a  farm  in  New  York  William  Jones 
grew  to  the  age  of  20  years  and  then  made  his 
way  to  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  in  i860  entered  the 
railway  shops  at  Allegheny,  Pa.,  in  the  painting 
department,  where  he  continued  for  ten  years, 
during  a  part  of  this  time  being  assistant 
foreman  of  the  shops.  In  1870  the  company 
sent  him  to  Crestline  to  take  full  charge  of  the 
car  painting  department  at  this  place  and  he 
continued  as  foreman  until  August,  1910, 
when  he  was  retired  on  a  liberal  pension,  hav- 
ing been  a  faithful  employe  for  50  years.  As 
a  further  testimonial  of  appreciation  he  was 
presented  with  a  pass  over  all  the  company's 
lines.  It  is  a  matter  of  justifiable  pride  to  Mr. 
Jones  that  his  well  rendered  services  were  ap- 
preciated. He  has  a  circle  of  friends  at  Crest- 
line that  includes  all  the  old  railroad  men  as 
well  as  neighbors  of  many  years'  standing  and 
a  birthday  celebration  was  arranged  in  19 10, 
his  70th  anniversary,  which  was  a  memorable 
occasion  for  all  present.  Mr.  Jones  was  pres- 
ented by  his  railroad  and  other  friends  with  a 
handsome  leather  reclining  chair  and  an  em- 
blematic Knight  Templar  pillow,  tokens  of 
afifection  which  could  not  fail  of  appreciation. 
For  45  years  Mr.  Jones  has  been  a  master 
Mason  and  for  42  of  these  he  has  belonged  to 
the  Commandery  at  Mansfield.  He  takes  a 
deep  interest  in  the  stirring  public  events  of  the 
times  and  in  his  political  views  maintains  an  in- 
dependent attitude. 

Mr.  Jones  was  married  (first)  at  Allegheny, 
Pa.,  to  Miss  Catherine  Van  Winkle,  who  died 
at  Crestline  in  1880,  at  the  age  of  40  years, 
the  devoted  mother  of  five  children,  four  of 
whom  died  young.  One  daughter,  Lillie  B.  sur- 
vived until  Feb.  23,  1907,  and  she  is  survived 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1119 


by  her  husband,  Marion  Jones,  and  two  daugh- 
ters. Mr.  Jones  was  married  (second),  ai 
CrestHne,  in  October,  1881,  to  Miss  Mary 
Clark,  who  was  born  in  Knox  county,  O., 
Dec.  9,  1844,  and  was  reared  and  educated  in 
Richland  county,  a  daughter  of  Willis  and 
Anna  (Speer)  Clark.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
Jones  was  of  Welsh  ancestry  but  was  born 
in  New  York,  while  her  mother,  of  Irish  par- 
entage, was  born  in  Pennsylvania.  They  came 
young  to  Ohio,  where  they  subsequently  were 
married  and  settled  down  as  farming  people 
in  Richland  county.  Mr.  Qark  was  born 
Aug.  10,  1810  and  died  at  Butler,  O.,  in  1877. 
Afterward  his  widow  came  to  Crestline,  where 
her  death  occurred  June  19,  1899,  her  birth 
having  taken  place  June  19,  1810.  She  was 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
but  Mr.  Clark  was  of  the  Universalist  faith. 
Of  their  children  two  daughters  are  living: 
Mrs.  Jones  and  her  sister  Lucy,  who  is  the 
wife  of  A.  B.  Eicher,  a  retired  farmer  of  Jef- 
ferson, Greene  county,  la.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Eicher  have  no  children. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jones  one  daughter  was 
born,  Maybell,  who  was  born,  reared  and  edu- 
cated at  Crestline,  being  a  graduate  of  the 
Crestline  High  School,  in  the  class  of  1904. 
In  1905  she  was  married  to  Paul  H.  Blum, 
who  is  in  the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
way Company,  having  charge  of  the  oil  cars 
and  oil  house.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blum  have  the 
following  children:  William  David,  who  was 
born  April  27,  1906;  Mary  Winnifred,  who 
was  born  Dec.  28,  1908 ;  and  Robert  Paul,  who 
was  born  May  21,  19 12.  Mr.  Jones  and  fam- 
ily are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

WILLIAM  M.  BELTZ,  a  native  son  of 
Crawford  county,  was  born  in  Polk  township, 
Oct.  29,  1853.  He  is  the  owner  of  107  acres 
of  land,  80  of  which  are  located  in  Polk  town- 
ship and  2^  in  Whetstone  township.  His 
father,  John  C.  Beltz,  is  still  a  well  known 
resident  of  this  county,  but  his  mother,  who 
was  in  maidenhood  Nancy  Reed,  died  Dec.  26, 
1899. 

John  C.  Beltz  was  born  in  Center  county, 
Pa.,  coming  to  Ohio  with  his  parents,  where 
he  grew  up  and  married.  To  him  and  his 
wife  were  born  the  following  children :  Sarah 
Jane,  who  became  the  wife  of  William 
Shearer;  Elias,  deceased;  Jemima  Jane,  who 


was  married  first  to  John  Keifer  and  upon  his 
death  became  the  wife  of  John  Shumaker; 
William  M.,  the  subject  of  this  article;  Alonzo 
Perry;  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  WiUiam  Wiggs; 
Willard  J.,  deceased;  and  Nancy  Margaret, 
who  lives  at  home  with  her  father. 

After  attending  the  common  schools  of  his 
locality,  William  M.  Beltz  spent  two  terms  at 
the  normal  school  at  Fostoria  and  after  spend- 
ing two  terms  in  teaching  turned  his  attention 
to  farming  and  has  since  made  this  his  life's 
occupation.  He  first  bought  35  acres  of  land, 
to  which  he  added  45  acres  ten  years  ago  and 
it  is  on  this  latter  tract  that  he  has  built  his 
comfortable  home.  The  27  acres  in  Whetstone 
township  he  has  owned  for  18  years. 

William  M.  Beltz  was  first  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Ida  J.  Kile,  a  daughter  of 
Tobias  and  Catherine  (Knipp)  Kile.  She 
died  April  6,  1889  and  he  then  married  her 
sister  Amanda.  Tobias  Kile  was  a  well  known 
farmer  of  Crawford  county.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  are  now  deceased  and  are  buried  in  Kile 
cemetery,  in  Whetstone  township.  Tobias 
and  Catherine  Kile  were  natives  of  Germany, 
who  emigrated  to  America  where  they  entered 
land  from  the  government.  They  were  in 
religious  faith  German  Lutherans  and  Tobias 
Kile  was  a  Democrat  in  his  political  views. 
To  them  were  born  the  following  children: 
Eva,  the  wife  of  Jacob  Helfrick;  Philip; 
Peter;  Elizabeth,  who  married  Peter  Knipp; 
Catherine,  the  wife  of  Simeon  Kiess;  Sarah, 
the  wife  of  Joseph  Dinkle ;  Fred ;  Eli ;  Amanda, 
the  wife  of  our  subject;  and  Ida,  now  deceased, 
who  was  the  first  wife  of  William  M.  Beltz. 

In  politics  William  M.  Beltz  is  a  Democrat 
and  has  served  four  years  as  school  director. 
He  is  a  member  of  Polk  Grange  at  Gallon. 

JOSEPH  MOTSCH,*  who  is  in  the  brick 
and  tile  making  business  at  Galion,  O.,  with 
plant  on  East  Main  Street,  has  been  in  the 
butcher  business  here  since  1868  and  controls 
the  leading  meat  and  fish  market  in  the  city. 
He  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany,  Oct.  14, 
1847,  ^nd  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  Anna 
(Thoma)  Motsch. 

The  Motsch  family,  father,  mother  and  the 
child,  Joseph,  the  latter  being  the  only  one  of 
several  to  survive,  left  Germany  in  1854  and. 
took  passage  on  the  sailing  ship  Ravens  worth, 
for  the  United  States.     Thirty-two  days  were 


1120 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


passed  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  after  land- 
ing they  came  immediately  to  Gallon,  O.  1  he 
father  was  a  stone  mason  by  trade  and  fol- 
lowed the  same  for  many  years  and  he  was  a 
good  business  man  up  to  the  time  of  his  death 
m  1 87 1,  both  he  and  wife  dying  at  the  age  of 
58  years  although  he  survived  her  two  years, 
ihey  were  Roman  Catholics  in  religious  be- 
lief. 

Joseph  Motsch  grew  to  manhood  at  Gallon 
and  attended  both  the  parochial  and  public 
schools  and  afterward  went  into  the  meat 
business  and  continued  for  18  years,  closing 
up  that  line  in  1900,  when  he  went  into  the 
brick  business,  to  which  he  added  tile  manu- 
facturing in  1908,  and  recently  reopened  his 
market  and  placed  it  under  the  management 
to  his  son  Bernard  Motsch.  Mr.  Motsch  is  a 
man  of  enterprise  and  his  dififerent  undertak- 
ings have  prospered  because  of  the  close  at- 
tention he  devotes  to  them  and  the  foresight  and 
good  judgment  with  which  he  entered  into, 
them. 

Mr.  Motsch  was  married  at  Gallon  to  Miss 
Louise  Reister,  who  was  born  in  this  city  and 
died  here  when  aged  40  years,  the  mother  of 
iour  children :  Clara,  who  lives  in  Ohio,  and 
is  married  and  has  two  children;  Emma,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Edward  Englehart,  residing  at 
Cuyahoga  Falls,  and  has  one  daughter,  Louise ; 
Henrietta,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Mc- 
Laughlin, and  who  lives  at  Tucson,  Ariz.,  and 
has  three  daughters;  and  Bernard,  who  man- 
ages the  meat  business  as  before  mentioned, 
and  lives  at  home.  Mr.  Motsch  was  married 
(second)  to  Miss  Catherine  McLaughlin,  who 
was  born  at  Ashland,  Pa.,  and  has  lived  at 
Gallon  since  she  was  ten  years  old,  and  they 
have  three  children:  Mary  Carmel,  Joseph, 
Jr.,  and  Paul,  all  of  whom  are  students  in  the 
public  schools.  Mr.  Motsch  and  family  are 
members  of  St.  Peter's  Roman  Catholic 
church  and  he  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Co- 
lumbus. In  his  political  views  he  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat and  has  served  two  terms  in  the  city 
council,  where  his  practical  business  way  of 
looking  at  things  has  made  him  a  very  useful 
official. 

HARRY  M.  McJUNKIN,,  assistant  post- 
master at  Crestline,  C,  a  reliable,  well  known 
and  representative  citizen,  v^'as  born  at  Ne- 
vada, Wyandot  county,  0.,  June  18,  1870,  and 


is  a  son  of  John  A.  and  Mary  (Montgomery) 
Mcjunkin. 

John  A.  Mcjunkin  was  of  Scotch-Irish  an- 
cestery.  During  the  Civil  War  he  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  Federal  Army,  serving  in  Co.  C, 
163rd  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  after  his  return  en- 
gaging in  farming  and  subsequently  in  mer- 
chandising at  Nevada,  O.,  and  still  later  be- 
came a  stationary  engineer  with  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad.  At  the  age  of  70  years  he 
retired  from  active  life  and  is  one  of  Crest- 
line's  well  known  and  respected  citizens.  In 
politics  he  has  long  been  a  stanch  Republican. 
He  married  Mary  Montgomery  and  two  sons 
were  born  to  them:  Horatio  and  Harry  M. 

Harry  M.  Mcjunkin  was  brought  to  Crest- 
line in  1 87 1  by  his  parents  and  attended  the 
Crestline  schools,  afterward  serving  an  ap- 
prenticeship of  three  years  in  a  pottery  situ- 
ated in  southwestern  Indiana  and  one  year  as 
kiln  placer.  Afterward  he  was  a  clerk  in  a 
grocery  store  at  Crestline  and  was  then  ap- 
pointed assistant  postmaster,  on  April  i,  1898. 
The  Crestline  office  belongs  ^to  the  second 
class  and  does  a  large  volume  of  business. 
Three  carriers  cover  the  territory,  with  three 
daily  deliveries. 

In  1898  Mr.  Mcjunkin  was  married  at 
Crestline  to  Miss  Grace  Hunt,  a  daughter  of 
Nelson  D.  and  Laura  B.  (Howten).  Hunt, 
residents  of  this  city.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Mc- 
junkin was  born  in  Ohio  and  his  wife  in  In- 
diana. They  were  married  at  Crestline,  where 
Mr.  Hunt  is  an  employe  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company.  They  are  members  of  the 
English  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Hunt  is  iden- 
tified with  the  Republican  party.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hunt  have  three  children:  Walter,  who 
lives  at  Cleveland,  O. ;  Jessie,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Walter  Mans,  of  Cleveland,  and  has  two 
children;  and  Mrs.  Mcjunkin.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Mcjunkin  five  children  have  come,  the 
record  being  as  follows :  Robert,  born  July 
13,  1899;  Albert,  Aug.  10,  1902;  Marion, 
Aug.  I,  1904;  Kathleen,  Oct.  26,  1906;  and 
Winifred,  Oct.  2,  1909.  Mr.  Mcjunkin  was 
reared  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  is  a 
Freemason  and  is  past  master  of  the  lodge  at 
Crestline. 

HOLLISTER  F.  DOLL,  who  is  one  of  the 
prominent  men  of  Crawford  county,  widely 
known  through  family  connections  and  busi- 


HOLLISTER   F.  DOLL 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1121 


ness  interests,  is  making  a  success  of  a  very 
necessary  industry,  the  growing  of  farm 
seeds,  to  which  he  devotes  a  part  of  his  190 
finely  cultivated  acres,  his  place  being  situated 
seven  miles  north  of  Crestline,  O.  and  four 
miles  west  of  Shelby,  O.  He  was  born  in  that 
part  of  Crawford  county,  which  was  formerly 
in  Richland  county,  in  1853,  and  is  a  son  of 
John  and  Mary  (Rogers)  Doll.  The  parents 
were  born  in  Adams  county,  Pa.,  and  came 
from  there  to  Ohio  by  wagon  in  1836.  The 
father  was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  after  serv- 
ing a  four  years  apprenticeship  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore,  he  entered  in  association  with  Rev. 
Joshua  Crause,  they  being  the  only  carpenters 
in  the  vicinity.  They  erected  most  of  the 
pioneer  residences  in  the  Dixon  settlement. 
Later  John  Doll  became  a  farmer  in  Crawford 
county.  He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of 
the  following  children:  Horatio,  Wesley,  a 
soldier  in  the  Civil  War,  Luther,  John,  Sarah 
J.,  Mary  A.,  Lucinda,  Caroline  and  Almira. 
The  survivors  are :  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Hershiser ; 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Baker,  Mrs.  Elmira  Dixon  and 
Hollister  F. 

Hollister  F.  Doll  followed  an  agricultural 
life  for  25  years  after  leaving  school,  and  then 
embarked  in  the  insurance  business  and  dealt 
also  in  real  estate.  For  a  number  of  years  he 
was  connected  with  the  Crawford  County 
Fire  Insurance  Company  as  a  director  and  ad- 
juster, and  during  this  time  was  also  notary 
public.  Failing  health  compelled  him  to  re- 
tire from  that  line  of  work  and  since  then  he 
has  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  his  farm 
interests  together  with  attending  to  the  duties 
that  public  office  frequently  entail.  He  con- 
ducted a  dairy  business  in  connection  with  his 
farming  for  12  years.  He  built  the  first  two 
silos  in  Crawford  county  and  at  that  time  was  a 
member  of  the  Ohio  State  Dairy  Association. 
For  ten  years  Mr.  Doll  served  as  a  member  of 
the  election  board,  was  Supervisor  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  and  also  member  of  school  board 
being  president  of  said  board  a  part  of  that 
time.  He  has  written  many  articles  for  news- 
papers on  political,  dairy  and  agricultural 
topics. 

Mr.  Doll  married  Miss  Eveline  Markley,  a 
native  of  this  countv  and  a  daue:hter  of  Joseph 
and  Elizabeth  (Stough)  Markley.  Her 
grandfathers  were  Horatio  Markley  and  John 


G.  Stough  of  this  county.  To  her  parents  were 
born  the  following  children :  John  G. ;  Ho- 
ratio W. ;  Jonas,  deceased ;  Jennie,  wife  of 
James  L.  Lauker;  and  Fenia,  wife  of  R.  T. 
Bower.  Upon  the  death  of  Joseph  Markley, 
Mrs.  Markley  married  Peter  Rutan  and  to 
them  was  born  one  daughter,  Anna,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Oliver  Horton,  superintendent  of 
the  steel  plant  at  London,  Canada.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Doll  have  two  daughters :  Jennie  Z.,  who 
married  Jacob  Stevens,  of  Toledo,  O. ;  and 
Bessie  J.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Ora  Taylor,  a  son 
of  Dr.  Taylor,  of  Marietta,  O.,  and  has  four 
children — Thurman  Hollister,  James  E.,  Donna 
E.  and  Kathleen  M.  Mr.  Doll  and  family 
belong  to  the  Lutheran  church. 

WILLIAM  LAUER,  mason  contractor  in 
business  at  Gallon,  O.,  who  bears  the  repu- 
tation of  being  one  of  the  most  thoroughly  re- 
liable men  in  his  line  in  Crawford  county,  is 
a  native  of  Germany,  born  in  Wurtemberg, 
Feb.  27,  1849,  a  son  of  Mathias  and  Mary 
(Hild)  Lauer. 

Mathias  Lauer  and  wife  spent  their  lives  in 
Germany,  where  they  died  aged  respectively 
50  and  64  years.  They  were  consistent  mem- 
bers of  the  German  Lutheran  church  and  they 
lived  on  a  small  farm  all  their  lives  and  reared 
their  seven  children  carefully  and  frugally. 
One  son,  David,  was  killed  in  the  French  and 
German  War  of  1871,  and  when  but  20  years 
of  age,  their  soil  William  became  a  soldier 
for  the  same  service. 

For  seven  years  William  Lauer  fought  for 
the  Fatherland  in  the  wars  and  campaigns  of 
that  period  and  before  he  returned  home  had 
seen  much  danger  and  hardship,  and  before 
Paris  fell  received  a  dangerous  wound  in  the 
jaw.  In  1878  he  set  sail  for  the  United 
States,  landing  at  the  port  of  New  York  and 
going  from  there  to  join  his  brother  Mathias, 
who  had  reached  this  country  ten  years  before 
and  subsequently  died  in  Indiana.  In  1880 
William  Lauer  came  to  Gabon,  went  to  work 
at  the  trade  he  had  learned  in  his  own  land  be- 
fore becoming  a  soldier,  and  for  the  past  18 
years  has  been  in  the  contracting  business  on 
his  own  account.  In  a  large  part  of  the  build- 
ing work  that  has  contributed  to  make  Gallon  a 
city  of  homes  as  well  as  of  commercial  struct- 
ures, Mr.  Lauer  has  been  interested  in  a.  busi- 


1122 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


ness  way  and  so  creditably  that  he  is  natur- 
ally considered  when  anything  of  importance 
along  this  line  is  proposed. 

Mr.  Lauer  was  married  in  Germany  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Scheifer,  who  was  born,  reared  and 
educated  in  the  same  town  as  himself,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Frederick  and  Mary  (Reiley)  Scheifer. 
Mrs.  Lauer  was  also  reared  in  the  German 
Lutheran  church. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lauer  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born:  William,  who  now  resides  at 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  is  a  master  mechanic  with 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  married  Estella 
Petri,  of  this  city  and  they  have  one  daughter, 
Florence;  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  Edward 
Neuman,  of  Gallon,  a  machinist,  and  they 
have  two  children — Harriet  and  Robert;  Karl 
F.,  who  is  a  Lutheran  minister  and  pastor  of 
a  church  at  St.  Clair,  Mich.,  was  educated  at 
Capital  University,  Columbus,  married  Flor- 
ence Gotchal,  and  they  have  one  son,  Roland; 
and  Albert,  who  lives  at  Alliance,  0.,  a  ma- 
chinist by  trade,  who  married  Blanche  E. 
Williams.  On  election  day  Mr.  Lauer  and 
his  sons  assist  in  swelling  the  Democratic 
majority,  when  possible,  all  being  identified 
with  that  party,  and  as  a  family  they  are  all 
well  established  in  life. 

JACOB  GOTTFRIED,*  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Gottfried  &  Spillette,  who  are  in  the 
grain  and  elevator  business  at  New  Washing- 
ton, O.,  and  manager  of  the  Gottfried  elevator, 
near  the  Northern  Ohio  Railroad,  is  a  well 
known  business  man  of  New  Washington. 
He  was  born  in  Chatfield  township,  Crawford 
county,  O.,  March  20,  1867,  a  son  of  Philip 
and  Barbara  Gottfried,  who  were  born  in 
Germany.  The  father  came  to  Crawford 
county  when  27  years  of  age,  was  twice  mar- 
ried and  lived  to  be  71  years  old.  His  second 
wife,  the  mother  of  Jacob  Gottfried,  died  at 
the  age  of  61  years.  They  were  members  of 
the  Reformed  church  in  Chatfield  township. 

Jacob  Gottfried  attended  school  near  his 
father's  farm  and  later  at  New  Washington 
and  afterward  engaged  in  farming  and  school 
teaching  up  to  iqo2,  when  he  bought  the 
Anem  farm  in  Auburn  township,  from  W.  A. 
Kessler.  It  contained  60  acres  and  he  operated 
it  one  year.  In  iqo^  he  bought  the  elevator 
at  North  Auburn,  which  he  operated  for  fifteen 


months,  in  1904  purchasing  his  second  ele- 
vator and  in  the  spring  of  that  year  admitted 
Frank  H.  Spillette  to  partnership,  and  to- 
gether they  do  a  large  business  with  their 
chain  of  three  elevators. 

Mr.  Gottfried  married  Miss  Olive  Spillette, 
a  daughter  of  James  and  Lucinda  Spillette, 
and  they  have  two  children :  Norman  and 
Theora.  Mr.  Gottfried  is  a  stockholder  in 
the  Toledo  Life  and  Underwriters  Insurance 
Company.  He  votes  with  the  Democratic 
party  but  is  not  very  active.  For  some  years 
he  has  been  identified  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  is  vice  chancellor  of  the  local  or- 
ganization. With  his  family  he  belongs  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Since  1904 
he  has  lived  at  New  Washington,  his  residence 
standing  on  Center  Street. 

WILLIAM  H.  BESSINGER,  one  of  the 
stable  and  representative  business  men  of  Ga- 
llon, O.,  who  does  a  large  business  as  a  sad- 
dler and  harnessmaker,  located  at  No.  121 
South  Market  Street,  was  born  at  Gallon, 
Sept.  2,  1870,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Susan 
(Errett)  Bessinger. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Bessinger  were  born 
and  reared  in  Crawford  county,  the  father  be- 
ing of  German  and  the  mother  of  English 
extraction.  The  latter  survives  but  the  for- 
mer died  in  Polk  township,  Crawford  county, 
in  February,  19 10,  at  the  age  of  67  years.  He 
was  one  of  the  leading  Democrats  of  that  sec- 
tion and  for  many  years  served  as  township 
trustee  and  in  other  offices.  The  two  chil- 
dren survive :  William  H.  and  Anna,  the  latter 
of  whom  resides  with  her  mother  on  the  old 
homestead  in  Polk  township. 

William  H.  Bessinger  attended  school  at 
Gallon  and  learned  his  trade  here  and  is  a 
skilled  mechanic  in  his  line.  He  has  been  es- 
tablished in  a  business  of  his  own  in  this  city 
since  1895  and  has  one  of  the  largest  and  best 
equipped  stores  on  his  street,  the  dimensions 
of  which  are  20x66  feet,  with  a  work  shop  of 
equal  space.  He  carries  a  large  stock  of  re- 
liable goods  and  has  steady  patronage.  Mr. 
Bessinger  was  married  at  Bucyrus,  O.,  to  Miss 
Emma  Keller,  who  was  born  there  in  1876 
and  is  the  onlv  surviving  child  of  her  parents 
who  were  Philin  and  Lovia  (Fink)  Keller. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bessinger  have  one  daughter, 


EEV.  FRAXCIS  J.  KEYES 


AND  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1123 


Susan  Keller,  who  was  born  Jan.  5,  191 1. 
They  are  members  of  the  English  Lutheran 
church.  Politically  Mr.  Bessinger  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat and  fraternally  belongs  to  the  Knights 
of  Pythias. 

JOHN  SIEFERT,  who  is  a  successful 
merchant  at  New  Washington,  O.,  where  he 
deals  in  poultry,  seed  and  agricultural  imple- 
ments, is  one  of  the  well  known  and  reliable 
business  men  of  this  place.  He  was  born  in 
Cranberry  township,  Crawford  county,  O., 
one  mile  northwest  of  New  Washington,  July 
26,  1866. 

After  attending  the  public  school  in  Cran- 
berry township,  John  Seifert  took  a  business 
course  in  the  Spencerian  College,  at  Cleveland. 
In  1889  he  embarked  in  the  grain  and  seed 
business  at  New  Washington  as  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  George  Siefert  &  Bro.,  which  as- 
sociation continued  for  18  years,  during  the 
last  three  years  eliminating  the  grain  line  and 
dealing  only  in  implements.  After  the  old 
firm  was  dissolved,  John'  Siefert  started  into 
the  implement  business  for  himself  and  has 
prospered.  He  does  about  all  his  soliciting 
himself,  occasionally  having  some  help  from  a 
salesman,  and  has  steady  patronage  from  the 
most  progressive  and  substantial  agriculturists 
and  he  carries  the  very  best  grades  of  machin- 
ery. He  has  erected  a  new  and  substantial 
two-story  building  of  modern  pattern,  on 
Mansfield  Street.  He  is  a  practical  mechan- 
ician, can  repair  all  the  machinery  he  sells, 
and  as  a  side  line  puts  up  lightning  rods.  An- 
other line  in  which  he  has  prospered  is  the 
handling  of  poultry. 

Mr.  Siefert  was  married  to  Miss  Ada  M. 
Sheetz,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth 
Sheetz,  of  New  Washington.  They  have  four 
children:  Christine  E.,  Ernst  G.,  Carl  F.  and 
Esther  M.  Since  his  marriage,  Mr.  Siefert 
has  been  a  resident  of  New  Washington.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church  and  for 
27  years  was  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday-school. 
In  his  political  views  he  is  a  Republican. 

JESSE  J.  PATTERSON,  manager  of  the 
Gallon  branch  of  the  Weaver  Bros.  Co.,  a  cor- 
poration of  which  he  is  a  director,  is  an  en- 
terprising and  representative  business  man  of 
this  city,  in  which  he  was  born  July  22,  1872, 


a    son    of    Capt.     W^illiam    G.    and    Sarah 
(Hershey)   Patterson. 

Capt.  William  G.  Patterson  was  born  in 
Massachusetts  and  came  to  Ohio  when  16 
years  of  age.  When  civil  war  was  declared 
between  the  North  and  the  South  in  1861,  he 
enlisted  in  the  64th  O.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  his  ser- 
vice covered  four  years,  three  months  and 
three  days.  He  was  with  the  great  army  that 
marched  with  Sherman  to  the  sea  and  for 
meritorious  conduct  was  again  and  again  pro- 
moted until  he  was  commissioned  captain  of 
his  company  and  afterward  led  his  comrades 
on  many  a  field  of  battle.  When  he  received 
his  honorable  discharge  he  returned  to  peace- 
ful pursuits,  a  scar  across  the  bridge  of  his 
nose  being  the  only  permanent  mark  of  an 
enemy's  musket.  Crestline  had  been  his 
earlier  home  and  there  he  returned  and  re- 
sumed work  with  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company  and  became  an  engineer  and  followed 
railroading  some  years  longer  and  then  be- 
came proprietor  of  a  hotel  at  Crestline.  Some 
years  later  he  sold  this  property  and  retired  to 
a  farm  in  Richland  county,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  farming  for  18  years.  Captain  Pat- 
terson came  then  to  Gabon  and  became  inter- 
ested in  buying,  selling  and  shipping  horses, 
continuing  in  this  line  eight  years,  when  he 
retired  and  his  death  occurred  at  Ontario, 
Richland  county,  Jan.  13,  1912,  when  in  his 
8 1st  year.  In  politics  he  was  affiliated  with 
the  Republican  party  and  at  times  had  served 
in  local  offices  in  Richland  county.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  was  commander  of  G.  A. 
R.  Post  No.  156  at  Gabon  and  later  became 
a  member  of  McLaughlin  Post  at  Mansfield. 

Captain  Patterson  was  married  at  Crestline 
to  Sarah  Hershey,  who  was  born  in  Spring- 
field township,  Richland  county,  in  1836,  and 
died  in  March,  1904,  at  Ontario,  O.  She  and 
husband  were  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  They  had  three  children: 
Minnie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Mounder, 
and  has  one  son,  Dale;  Harriet,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Robert  Jessom,  residing  at  Washing- 
ton Court  House,  O.,  and  has  three  children — 
Walter,  Harriet  and  Gladys ;  and  Jesse  J.,  the 
subiect  of  this  article. 

Jesse  T-  Patterson  was  reared  on  a  farm  in 
Springfield  township,  Richland  county,  O., 
from  the  age  of  two  3'ears  and  engaged  there 


1124 


HISTORY  OF  'CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


in  farming  after  his  school  days  until  he  came 
to  Gallon  and  became  connected  with  the 
Weaver  Bros.  Co.  He  still  owns  109  acres  of 
well  improved  land  in  Springfield  township. 
Since  January,  1910,  Mr.  Patterson  has  had 
the  management  of  the  Gallon  branch  of  a 
business  which  is  also  carried  on  Mt.  Vernon 
and  Crestline,  its  activities  covering  the  han- 
dling of  hay,  grain,  horses,  cattle  and  poultry, 
Mr.  Patterson  has  seven  men  in  his  employ  at 
this  place,  the  volume  of  business  being  heavy 
at  this  point. 

Mr.  Patterson  was  married  in  Springfield* 
township,  Richland  county,  Feb.  16,  1893,  to 
Miss  Altha  B.  Cotter,  who  was  born  in  Ash- 
land county,  O.,  Feb,  16,  1870,  and  was  young 
when  her  parents,  James  and  Elizabeth 
(Br indie)  Cotter,  came  to  Springfield  town- 
ship, where  they  still  live,  aged  about  65  years. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Patterson  have  one  son,  George 
C,  who  was  born  in  Richland  county,  0.,  June 
16,  1896,  and  is  now  a  student  in  the  Galion 
High  School.  Mr.  Patterson  and  family  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
In  politics  a  Republican,  he  has  always  looked 
ahead  of  party  ties  in  his  citizenship  and  for 
a  number  of  years  was  a  faithful  member  and 
honest  worker  on  the  school  board.  He  is  a 
charter  member  of  Highland  Grange,  Patrons 
of  Husbandry,  No.  1410,  of  which  he  was 
overseer  for  three  years  and  a  director  for  five 
years. 

REV.  FRANCIS  J.  KEYES,  pastor  of  St. 
Patrick's  Roman  Catholic  church,  at  Galion, 
O.,  is  one  of  the  scholarly  and  zealous  members 
of  the  Catholic  clergy,  who,  notwithstanding 
comparative  youth,  has  been  entrusted  with 
great  responsibilities  and  has  proved  his  abil- 
ity to  bear  them.  Father  Keyes  was  born  at 
Columbus,  O.,  and  is  a  son  of  Edward  and 
Helen  Keyes. 

The  parents  of  Rev.  Francis  J.  Keyes  were 
born  in  Ireland  and  both  accompanied  their 
parents  in  youth  to  the  United  States.  They 
were  reared  and  educated  in  Canada  and  were 
married  in  the  city  of  London,  Canada.  Both 
died  at  Tiffin,  O.,  the  father  in  1897  and  the 
mother  in  1907.  They  had  eight  children, 
seven  of  whom  survive:  Francis  J.,  Edward, 
Mrs.  Frank  Shaff,  Minnie,  Lula,  Albert  and 
Sister  Mary  Grace,  who  is  a  teacher  in  an 


academy  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.  The  brothers  of 
Father  Keyes  are  engaged  in  the  wholesale 
tobacco  business  and  are  residents  of  Cleveland, 
O.  The  father,  Edward  Keyes,  was  a  success- 
ful and  substantial  business  man,  for  many 
years  being  connected  with  the  Indianapolis 
Hedge  Fence  Company,  Indianapolis,  Ind., 
and  was  president  of  the  Belgium  Glass  Com- 
pany, at  Tiffin,  O.,  and  its  largest  stockholder. 
In  his  boyhood.  Father  Keyes,  attended  St. 
Mary's  parochial  school  of  Tiffin,  O.,  and  was 
graduated  in  1896  in  the  classics,  from  St. 
Francis  Seminary,  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  and  in 
the  class  of  1903,  from  St.  Mary's  Theological 
Seminary,  at  Cleveland,  O.  For  four  years 
prior  to  coming  to  St.  Patrick's,  Father  Keyes 
was  assistant  priest  of  St.  Patrick's  church  at 
Toledo,  O.,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  churches 
in  the  Northern  Ohio  diocese.  He  came  from 
that  charge  to  Galion,  succeeding  Rev.  L.  A. 
Brady  as  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's,  Oct.  26,  1906 
and  since  then  has  labored  effectively  for  the 
advancement  of  his  people  both  spiritually  and 
materially.  The  handsome  brick  edifice  was 
erected  in  1873  and  its  capacity  is  taxed  from 
the  fact,  that  he  has  a  parish  that  includes  an 
average  membership  of  one  thousand  souls. 
The  parochial  school  connected  with  it  is  in  a 
most  encouraging  condition,  there  being  100 
students.  Father  Keyes  has  won  the  warm 
affection  of  his  parishoners  and  at  the  same 
time  has  gained  the  respect,  confidence  and 
esteem  of  the  people  of  Galion,  irrespective 
of  religious  faith. 

ISAIAH  S.  MONNETTE,  a  well  known 
man  in  both  Marion  and  Crawford  counties, 
O.,  now  living  retired  on  his  valuable  farm  of 
100  acres,  situated  in  Dallas  township,  Craw- 
ford county,  was  born  in  Marion  county,  O., 
Oct.  16,  1845,  and  is  a  son  of  Jeremiah  and 
Mary  Jane  (Shank)  Monnette. 

Jeremiah  Monnette  was  a  son  of  Jeremiah 
Monnette,  and  was  born  in  Pickaway  county, 
O.,  later  lived  on  his  farm  in  Marion  county 
for  many  years  and  died  in  middle  life,  his 
burial  being  at  Monnette  Chapel,  in  Crawford 
county.  He  married  Mary  Jane  Shank,  who 
was  born  in  Northampton  county.  Pa.,  and 
died  in  Marion  county,  O.,  and  her  burial  was 
at  Kirkpatrick,  in  that  county.  _  They  had  but 
two  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 


ISAIAH  S.  MONNETTE 


AND.  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS 


1127 


They  were  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Jeremiah  Monnette's  second  mar- 
riage was  to  Sarah  Saylor,  who  became  the 
mother  of  two  children  and  subsequently  died 
in  Iowa.  The  daughter,  Mary,  lived  to  the 
*  age  of  39  years.  She  was  the  wife  of  the  late 
Bernard  Brockshus. 

Isaiah  S.  Monnette  went  to  live  with  his 
grandfather  when  he  was  about  eight  years 
old  and  attended  the  district  schools  and  re- 
mained on  the  old  homestead  until  he  was  21 
years  of  age.  After  spending  a  year  in  Iowa, 
he  went  on  to  Missouri  and  looked  over  busi- 
ness prospects  there  for  six  months  but  de- 
cided to  return  to  his  native  state  to  find  a 
permanent  home  and  in  1871  bought  his  pres- 
ent farm,  from  Abraham  Monnette  and  has 
resided  here  ever  since.  For  many  succeeding 
years  he  devoted  himself  closely  to  agricultural 
pursuits  but  now  lives  somewhat  retired. 

On  Oct.  13,  1870,  Mr.  Monnette  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Elizabeth  Miller,  who  was  born  in 
Marion  county,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Maria 
(Dawson)  Miller.  Mrs.  Monnette  died  Jan. 
10,  1904,  and  her  burial  was  at  Monnette 
Chapel.  She  was  one  of  the  following  family 
born  to  her  parents :  Anna,  wife  of  William 
Conrad;  Eliza,  wife  of  Jonathan  Famuler; 
Sarah,  wife  of  Willis  Van  Meter;  Elizabeth, 
wife  of  Mr.  Monnette ;  Bartlett ;  Malinda,  wife 
of  Samuel  Campbell;  Nancy,  wife  of  Mellison 
Shank;  Charlotta,  wife  of  George  Conrad; 
and  Amanda,  wife  of  Henry  Gibbs. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Monnette  the  following 
children  were  born,  all  of  whom  except  the 
eldest,  survive  their  beloved  mother :  Addie, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Lewis  Hill ;  Princess,  who 
married  Charles  Wattering;  Lottie,  who  mar- 
ried Christian  Smith;  Ella,  who  married  Chris- 
topher Kerr;  and  Eva,  who  married  Alfred 
Scott.  Mr.  Monnette  and  family  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Like  his 
father,  Mr.  Monnette  has  always  been  identi- 
fied with  the  Republican  party  but  has  never 
taken  part  in  public  matters  as  a  politician. 
He  has  lent  his  influence  in  the  direction  of 
all  law  and  order  movements  and  has  helped, 
as  able,  the  cause  of  education  and  of  religion, 
but  has  never  entered  into  any  struggle  for 
office.  In  the  everting  of  life  he  is  surrounded 
by  many  comforts  and  has  a  wide  circle  of  well 
wishing  friends. 

63 


GEORGE  BURGER,  who  is  one  of  the 
prosperous  and  contended  farmers  of  Auburn 
township,  Crawford  county,  O.,  where  his 
valuable  farm  of  165  acres  lies  in  section  6, 
was  born  in  this  township,  one  mile  east  and 
one-half  mile  south  of  North  Auburn,  and  is 
a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Scharry)  Burger. 

John  Burger  and  wife  were  born  in  Ger- 
many and  when  they  came  to  Crawford  county, 
O.,  he  bought  and  improved  40  acres  of  land  in 
Cranberry  township,  which  he  later  sold  to 
Peter  Young  and  bought  80  acres  south  of 
North  Auburn  and  on  that  place  both  he  and 
wife  died,  his  death  occurring  at  the  age  of  65 
years  and  she  surviving  to  be  78  years  old. 
Their  burial  was  in  St.  Mary's  Cemetery,  they 
being  members  of  St.  Mary's  Catholic  church. 
They  had  the  following  children:  Horace, 
Margaret,  George,  Mathias,  John  and  Peter. 

George  Burger  attended  the  district  schools 
in  Auburn  township  and  ever  since  has  been  en- 
gaged in  farming,  after  marriage  settling  two 
and  one-half  miles  east  of  North  Auburn, 
moving  later  to  his  present  place.  He  found 
it  necessary  to  drain  this  land  and  spent  con- 
siderable money  putting  down  tile  and  now  has 
it  in  fine  condition,  has  remodeled  the  dwelling 
and  erected  substantial  barns.  In  politics  Mr. 
Burger  is  a  Democrat  and  for  six  years  has 
served  on  the  board  of  Education.  He  is  a 
wide  awake  citizen  and  excellent  farmer,  hav- 
ing progressive  ideas  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Auburn  Township  Grange. 

Mr.  Burger  married  Miss  Emma  Ruff,  of 
Norwalk,  O.,  and  on  the  first  farm  four  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them :  Isabel,  Frank,  Peter 
and  Catherine,  and  on  the  second  farm,  the 
present  one,  six  more  have  been  added  to  the 
family:  Julius,  Rose,  Benedict,  Paul,  Loretta 
and  George.  Mr.  Burger  and  family  belong 
to  St.  Mary's  Catholic  church. 

LOUIS  K.  REISINGER,  whose  death  on 
April  6,  191 1  deprived  Galion  of  one  of  its 
foremost  citizens,  was  born  in  Galion,  O., 
Jan.  4,  1852,  a  son  of  Dr.  John  and  Sarah 
(Ditzler)  Reisinger.  His  parents  were  na- 
tives of  Pennsylvania,  in  which  state  also  they 
were  married.  Previous  to  this  latter  event 
the  elder  Reisinger  had  followed  the  trade  of 
hatter,  but  immediately  after  their  marriage  he 
and  his  wife  removed  to  Mansfield,  O.,  where 


1128 


HISTOR